Chapter 63

“I swear,” Nyle grumbled quietly as we pushed through the jungle mass, “I’m starting to think you just have terrible luck.”

“Is it just my luck, if you’re here too?” I countered as I carefully continued deeper into the jungle. We had split up into two teams for the hunt. The first, consisting of Nyle and myself, was meant to scout out for the gorillas. Once found, we needed to lure one, and only one, to follow us back. We were, for all intents and purposes, bait.

The other team, waiting patiently back at the base camp, prepared to take down the prey once we’d led it back. That team currently was made up of Quill, Shadow, Lyn, and Alax. To ensure Quill’s safety, it had been decided we split the Climber’s equally, just in case. His safety, first and foremost, was our main priority.

“Besides, being with me isn’t the worst luck you could have.” I continued; my voice soft as we moved as carefully through the jungle as possible. Our eyes, our heads, never ceased their rapid movements as we scanned for any and all signs of life, both hostile and not, all around us. Not only did we want to find the gorillas, but obviously, slimes were on our list of personal targets as well. “You could have been stuck with Alax.”

“As far as I can tell,” Nyle retorted, “that wouldn’t be terrible. He’s got an obvious bone to pick with you, but pretty sure Lyn and I can get along just fine with him.”

I looked at Nyle, and the grin on his face quickly faded. He sighed and relented.

“Alright, maybe it would be a bit more miserable. I’m not even sure why he agreed to this job, if he’s just going to be in a sour mood the whole time.” He shook his head, “seriously can’t figure him out.”

Alax had been part of a different squad than ours, meaning we hadn’t interacted with him all that much during training, save for large scale exercises. Still, given we had been in the same platoon, there should have been some sort of connection there. But as of yet, all he’d been was grumpy, cynical, and almost hostile. Was it all because of me? Was his grudge against me for not saving him during the Reaping putting him in such a foul mood? Or was that just how he normally was?

Either way, I didn’t have the time nor energy to try and figure him out. We had a job to do, and a goal at hand. Anything and everything else, didn’t matter right now.

Before I could say anything else on the matter, a loud screech from further in the jungle caused us to stop. Another high-pitched screech, followed by a heavy grunt. Then, a beating, drumming sound, heavy and deep. Exactly the types of sounds Quill had told us to look out for.

“Looks like we’ve found our prey,” I whispered to Nyle. He nodded, staying silent, and motioned with a hand signal for me to lead.

We crept forward, completely silent now, for what felt like a good mile, agonizingly slow, before we finally found what we were looking for. The dense trees and foliage spread before us, and in the opening, we saw them. The giant, muscled, dark furred creatures we’d come to hunt down. The gorillas. There was a good dozen or so of them in the clearing, some shuffling about in a strange way, using the knuckles on their long forearms. Others leaned against trees, and a few smaller ones clung on the backs of larger ones.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Quill had specifically instructed us to target the largest of the group. The ones with silver fur on their backs. While technically the job was just to hunt down gorillas, the ones he called ‘Silverbacks’ had higher quality drops and were worth more to the guild. They were also apparently the most dangerous, and once we took care of them, the others would be easier prey.

All of the creatures, of course, were constructs of the Tower. Just like the animals on the first floor, though they seemed real, like living, breathing creatures, they were just manifestations of the Tower’s magic. And yet, as I took a deep breath and sheathed Claw and Fang, summoning a set of throwing knives from my mental inventory instead, I couldn’t help but pause. Watching the creatures, they seemed extremely alive. It was almost serene, watching them as they went about very real activities.

Nyle tapped me on the shoulder, pulling me from my musings, and pointed towards a corner. A massive gorilla, it’s back and legs so silver it was nearly white, was holding a fruit in one hand, tearing into it with a large mouth that had a set of very sharp, very painful looking dagger like teeth, which stood out against the rest of its teeth, which seemed almost human.

I nodded and took aim. The creature was about thirty feet away, longer than I’d like. However, if we tried to get closer it would mean leaving the cover of the jungle we currently were utilizing and stepping into the middle of the troop of gorillas. In all honestly, Lyn’s bow would have been the best option here, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. And besides, all I needed to do was get the attention of the gorilla. The knife didn’t even need to stick, just hit its mark.

My arm pulled back as I thought about the throw. I could hit a target at 20 feet no problem, but longer, well that was a bit more difficult. I adjusted the angle of my throw, opting for a higher arc rather than a straight line. Luckily, when it came to targets, the massive gorilla, that was easily nearly six feet tall and quite broad at the shoulders, made for a nice sized target.

With a long, slow exhale, to steady my breathing and my heart, I prepared myself. We needed to get its attention, and then, we needed to lure it all the way back to Quill and the others. I could do this. Nyle and I could do this.

Another breath, the blade slick on my fingers. My arm moved forward, my aim, my intentions, clear in my mind. As I continued the motion to throw the knife, I felt the blade slide slightly, my grip in danger thanks to the sweat on my hands, courtesy of my nerves, and the humidity. I focused hard, praying to the Tower to let my throw hit its mark. I cursed silently as the blade ripped free of my fingers just near the point where I intended to release it.

The knife flew awkwardly in an arc towards the gorilla. It was wobbling and shaky and while I’d managed to at least hold on long enough to complete most of the throwing motion, I was scared. The last thing we needed was for the knife to attract too many of the gorillas. One at a time. That was how we were supposed to handle these creatures.

I watched as the gorilla held its fruit up to its mouth, preparing to take another bite from the oozing, brightly colored fruit. Then, to my disbelief, watched as the knife hit the fruit, sending juice and bits splashing up on the gorilla’s face, while the weapon itself bounced harmlessly towards the ground. The gorilla crushed the ruined fruit in its massive hand, its eyes narrowing, as it looked down at the knife, and then, with cold intelligence, towards us. It stood, its eyes locked on ours, and beat its chest. A moment later, it was running. A split second after that, so were we.