[Battle Info
Name - Abyssal Ape (Crier)
Grade - Abnormal
Description - An abominable being existing as a reminder of the dark age with features consisting of an Arachnid and Ape species.
Element - None
State - Healthy]
Ryan's face narrowed at the nightmarish beast.
The creature rose from the ground, revealing a horrid mix of two entirely different species.
Its six lower limbs resembling the legs of an Arachnid stomped the surrounding soil, causing its enlarged ape body to sway in response.
However, what made the image particularly unpleasant to look at was the widened jaw with teeth that resembled knives, and three pairs of pitch-black eyes staring at them from afar.
Another quest was activated.
[New Quest - Forest Game
Kill two Abyssal Apes
Reward - +4 Strength]
Before Ryan could even consider what was in front of him, Ian sprinted towards the front with a white light glowing from his paintbrush.
However, upon reaching the monster, it reared its huge head to the canopy above and unleashed a loud, ominous screech.
Ian jumped backwards, and the winds pushed him even further before he landed. The creature's noise had attracted the other soldiers; however, it had also attracted something much worse.
The trees that created the canopy above began exhibiting rustling noises, as loud hoots and screams echoed.
"Take cover!" One soldier shouted towards his fellow teammates. However, before they could react, the group witnessed a spear descend from above and slice the soldier in half.
After that, the ground rang with a thud as an abyssal ape appeared from behind the dead warrior and kicked his dead body away.
Before they entered the forest, Bertha had organized their numbers to prepare for a surprise fight.
Although the apes were causing chaos, there were many groups who fought against their newly found enemies.
In one group, a young mage tightened the grip on his staff. The stone glowed and proceeded to blast a white ball of swirling mana towards the creature.
The Monster then swung its upper body back as the attack lightly grazed its skin, leaving behind a bruise.
Angered by this, the ape raised its spear and slashed the next orb in half, dissipating its form into fluttering particles.
More attacks followed, and the beast simply reacted by cutting each attack with precision. It then lunged at the group and swung the spear forward.
The arm lengthened, expanding its range by two-thirds of its original length until a sword appeared and deflected it with a clang.
A swordswoman with a bandana around her neck revealed herself, spinning the sword near her body before facing the abomination.
"Run, go help the other soldiers." She said.
The mage and his crew nodded, leaving the woman to fight the beast by herself.
The Monster stared at her in response, beating its chest as it roared in anger.
"Do not be hasty, I'll allow you to meet your maker." She said, the moonlight highlighting her deep blue eyes.
As if it could hear the taunt, the creature galloped towards her and leaped forward with a sweeping attack.
Yet upon landing, its strike felt nothing but the wind. A soothing feeling spread around its neck before it burst, and its blood splashed onto the floor.
The Swordswoman slashed her sword, spreading blood over the leaves before setting her sights on another location.
Back in the Center where Ryan and his crew were, Ian had stepped in front of the beast a second time, determined to cast when the monster then swung its spear.
He dodged by lowering his back and once again created distance.
"Did its hand just expand?" He said, seeing as the beast's arm bounced around like spaghetti.
Pierre then appeared in front of him, holding his shining Runic blade, as it slashed the air. Flames gushed out of the blade's end and cut into the beast's fur, enveloping its form in fire.
Yet as it burned. Instead of screaming, the group witnessed a creepy smile on its face. An arrow flew from the side and pierced an eye. The arrow's tip then exploded, spilling its brains out.
Ryan shuddered in disgust as one of the creature's worm-like brain matter landed next to him.
More abyssal apes landed around the army, and after lifting up whatever weapon they had, would lounge at them. Spears, swords, and anything else they brought after descending from the trees.
He heard the sound of weapons clashing and then sprinted towards the bushes. Pierre followed suit.
Ian and the rest were about to join when an Abyssal ape appeared and landed right next to him and the other two.
"My time to shine!" Ian roared with enthusiasm as he uttered a Spell, white light extending from his brush as it moved.
The ape leaped at him with its face staring at the kill.
Ian's dark yellow eyes turned with a hanging grin, and the monster felt the hairs on its back stand.
Without a word, the one-word artist swung his light rope at the ape before uttering another word.
"Spike"
The beast's eyes shrank as the rope revealed flashes of light that covered its vision, right before the weapon gutted its chest.
Ian tapped his brush again, then the rope vanished with a flash as blood gushed out of the creature's flesh.
He turned his gaze away, but as soon as he did. The moon cast a dim glow over the forest, shining over the slumped beast's body.
The monster reared its frame up again and its legs hastily tapped the soil.
Ian froze, and a slight frown appeared on his face as a spear swung at him.
"Go Bertam!" A crude voice shouted.
As Ian was about to cast another attack, an arrow flew across the trees and pierced the monster's face.
The Creature swung towards its back, releasing a deafening shriek at its attackers. The arrow instantly exploded, and fire immediately engulfed its body. In a matter of seconds, its entire matter had now become a pile of ash.
Ian turned to the archer behind, seeing Bertam's serious face as his hands loosened their grip over a bow.
Bertha put her arms around his head, covering his eyes.
"Cool down." She whispered in her gruff voice.
The Woman then looked at Ian and said, "Please, watch him."
And with that, she took her poleaxe, unleashing a loud war cry as she fled towards another location.
Elsewhere, another Abyssal ape stood in front of soldiers; the men stepped back, their legs trembling as they witnessed the monster crack open a soldier's skull, eating through the bones with a crunch.
Its eyes stared greedily before it sank its teeth and devoured the warrior's brain.
Unable to handle the scene, two of them threw up while the creature was happily enjoying the meal.
Out of the blue, a fireball flew from the side and torched its fur. It howled loudly as its body began to char until Ryan showed from behind, using a mad dash and looped off its head, feeling the need to puke as blood spurted about, only to be sizzled.
"Sire!" The soldiers fell to their knees in gratitude, thanking him for saving their lives.
"Go find the others and reform," Ryan ordered, eyes frantically searching for whom to kill.
After they left, he looked at the tab above his head, and the information that he'd completed 50% of the job was shown.
"My King!" He heard Pierre shout after storming out of a bush.
Nameless then looked at the ashen corpse around before looking back at the King.
The ground around them rumbled, and a deafening roar was heard. The duo looked back and widened their eyes at the new horror that the trees had cast away.
It stood at almost four meters, four pairs of eyes darting around. A pair of gorilla-like arms sprang up its body like branches of a tree. and three pairs of spider-like legs carried its form, the moon's glint bouncing off their sheen.
Ryan subconsciously gulped as the creature raised a massive spear before its eyes spotted the King and his guard.
"Please step back." Pierre pleaded, his sword trembling as it raised in front of him.
[New Quest - A Rare Encounter
Kill the Rare Abyssal Ape
Reward - +6 Points (if done alone)]
"If I kill it? Will the first quest still count?" He asked internally, knowing the system would ignore him.
This time, though, he received a response.
[An Ape is still an ape, regardless of its status.]
Another panel appeared, giving him the King's details.
[Battle Info
Name - Abyssal Ape
Grade - Rare
Description - The One ape to rule them all, that's for sure. Somehow wields an element with a bit of dark arts.
Element - Nature
Mastery - First Realm
State - Full Health]
"Dark Arts?" Ryan gulped at the meaning behind those words but subconsciously steeled himself to remove his blade.
Seeing this, Pierre sent him a warning, "That serpent may have been defeated, but this is many times above its league."
"We'll kill it together. Consider this a joint battle." He said with an impassive look.
'Forget about 6 points; if he died, then getting those points was a joke.'
"But–"
The Rare Ape swung the spear at the two, and they both jumped in two different directions.
Ryan witnessed a dark mist rising from the ground where the spear had struck and tightened his resolve.
This was it.