The chattering and screeching became louder the deeper I went inside the Golden Forest.

Rustling leaves followed by clumps of snow falling made me stop. I cast my buffs and raised both my shields as I gazed upwards. Something larger than the baby monkeys was causing quite a commotion above me, agitated that I was trespassing on their territory—a group of ‘somethings,’ it seemed.

One of those ‘somethings’ burst through the cloud of leaves.

It traversed a branch to my right, glaring at me with beady blue eyes.

“Hi, there,” I said, turning to face it with my shields. “You didn’t happen to see a lady Mardukryon pass by here, haven’t you?”

The upset face of a [Lvl 18 Feral Frost Macaque] peeked behind a lush growth of white fur surrounding its head, almost like a lion’s mane. Its hair was unbelievably straight, contrasting with a Snowy Swineling’s curls. This little guy could be in a shampoo commercial because its fur was so damn beautiful.

“Level eighteen? I can handle a bunch of you.” I felt confident with my claim after I had fought Moa Manot solo. That monkey statue was one level lower than this real monkey, but it was a boss. How many normal monsters was a boss worth?

The Frost Macaque didn’t pounce on me just yet, more curious than angry. To get a closer look at me, it dangled upside down from the end of the branch with its tail… or hand?

A large hand with four long fingers ending in hooked claws was attached to its tail.

“That seems… handy.” I shivered at my lame pun. “I’m sorry you had to hear—hey, what’s this?”

A sprinkling of leaves announced the arrival of another adult Frost Macaque. The second creature positioned itself on a higher branch. It carried what looked like nuts, pebbles, and pieces of bark in its arms. This one wore a pissed-off look, its eyes glowing like pin lights behind its curtain of hair.

“A pebble? That doesn’t seem dangerous.” I eyed each of the monkeys scampering across the canopy above, remembering what the last farmer I met told me. He warned me of the dangers of looking for Peely plants alone—these little buggers must be what he was referring to. If all of them pelted me simultaneously, then it might hurt.

I gleaned from our conversation that this search for a missing person would turn into a rescue mission. And I supposedly needed to have a Hunter-Warrior accompany me. That meant significant challenges up ahead.

But what if I did it alone?

Braving the dangers on my own should increase my good standing with the village and entail more rewards. I’d also be rescuing Yusa earlier than what the story provided. Yusa and Gibil would be more indebted to me than if I did it with the help of a Hunter-Warrior.

If there was a hidden achievement somewhere here, even better.

The Frost Macaque near me grimaced, baring its fangs. Its eyes also began to glow like its buddy. It flipped mid-air, grabbing the branch with normal hands while freeing its hand-tail. The monkey on the higher branch dropped a stone; the one below expertly caught it with its hand-tail.

Swirls of snow gathered around the palm of the first monkey’s hand-tail. I peeked between my shields, prepping myself to react accordingly. Ice shards coated the pebble, turning it into a spike ball like that on the end of a medieval mace, likely adding damage and other effects.

Then its tail became a blur. The next thing I knew, something hit my shield.

“Barely a tickle,” I scoffed. It was like my health bar blinked, quickly regenerating the puny damage. “Looks like I have nothing to worry—Woah!" A tiny static shock bit my ass.

I looked over my shoulder just as another snowball slapped my back. Another pair of monkeys had settled on a tree behind me.

Impacts on my shield. I faced the front. The first two buggers continued their attacks. One of the projectiles hit my face. Before my regeneration healed the damage, I noticed that it was higher than the hits on my back.

More Feral Frost Macaques descended from the treetops, always in twos—one carried the ammo, and the other enchanted the projectile with ice magic before throwing it.

[ Status|Minor Chill: Reduce Attack and Movement Speed by 12% for 2 seconds ]

Several magical snowballs came. Snowballs? More like ice balls.

[ Status|Shattering Ice: Reduce Water Resistance by 7% for 2 seconds ]

Their attacks had a chance to inflict these ailments. I wasn’t sure how high the chance was because the first few hits didn’t cause them. But with at least five pairs of Frost Macaques continuously attacking, the ailments were sure to latch on. The two-second duration of these effects kept getting refreshed as more and more attacks connected.

These ice balls must be Water Element, I surmised. Healer Gula’s [Pristine Frostore Amulet] that gave eighteen percent Water Resistance was more valuable than I thought. This was a snow-covered mountain—monsters with Water Element attacks should be expected.

From my previous experience with Baby Frost Macaques, I knew they would endlessly respawn while I was in their territory. There was no point fighting these guys.

My hunch was that this quest must be to run through the Golden Forest, surviving the monkey-made hailstorm while looking for Yusa, and then protect her as we both escaped.

But running was for the soft.

Those hard enough did not need to fear anything—that’s the law of the jungle.

Still trying to figure out which jungle, but there were undoubtedly many jungles on Hierakon. One of them was bound to have a rule like this. Although, it might not apply to the Golden Forest. Were forests and jungles the same?

Whatever the case, this was the perfect setup to test my progress on being hard and killing normal mobs. Moa Manot easily resisted my poison and Burn. Too bad for these monkeys that they didn’t have the resistances of a boss.

“Come one, come all!” I said, giving my best announcer impression. I applied Morabodry on my equipment with retribution—my [Thorny Worn Targe] and Bramble gear. “Try your skills hitting the big bull centaur!”

This reminded me of our family’s vacation up north, enjoying the winter trails of Redpoll Town. Pops was alive back then; we had the money to travel all over the country. That was the first time my sisters and I had seen snow. We had a grand time having a snowball fight.

And I was having a grand time with the Feral Frost Macaques too.

The magical ice balls came from all sides, hitting me from my hooves up to my head. It was impossible to block all the incoming projectiles, so I focused on the pesky monkeys attacking me from the front. With my [Thorny Worn Targe], I’d deal extra retribution damage to the attacks. Head-On Blocking with my [Reinforced Pavise] increased my physical damage reduction.

Thorny Worn Targe | Item Level: 7

Rare | Shield | Off-hand

68 Armor

23% Chance to Block 75 Damage

Head-On Block 150 Damage

Deal 150 Retribution Damage to the enemy each time you execute a Head-On Block with this Shield

Requires: 20 Might, 35 Vigor

--------------------

+35 Retribution Damage (Neutral)

+73 Health

+12 Vigor

Reinforced Pavise {3} | Item Level: 12

Rare | Shield | Off-hand

127 Armor

21% Chance to Block 130 Damage

Head-On Block 225 Damage

10% Physical Damage Reduction for 3 seconds when you execute a Head-On Block

Requires: 25 Might, 45 Vigor

--------------------

+20 Blocked Damage

+250 Health

+15 Vigor

And now, my [Band of Loamy Renewal] added to my defenses and regeneration as long as I didn’t move. It also had Water Resistance. This must be why I was feeling so damn tanky against these monkeys. With maximum stacks of [Ancestral Constitution], [Greater Pyro Shell], and spamming [Healing Touch], my stats were:

Name: Herald Stone | Lvl 15 Exp: 87.8%

Base: Mardukryon

Health: 1,833/2154

Energy: 525/568

Ancestral Shroud: 873/1,069

ATTRIBUTES:

Might: 27

Vigor: 89

Spirit: 107

Sense: 15

OFFENSE

Attack Power: 181

Physical Dmg. Inc.: 13.1%

Magic Power: 328

Magical Dmg. Inc.: 37.1%

--------------------

Attack Speed: (-12)%

Movement Speed: 16(-12)%

DEFENSE

Armor: 1,808

Magic Resilience: 1,189

Phys. Dmg. Red.: 26%

Mag. Dmg. Red.: 16%

--------------------

Fire Resistance: 37%

Water Resistance: 34(-7)%

Earth Resistance: 13%

--------------------

Freeze Resistance: 10%

Slow Resistance: 10%

RETRIBUTION

Neutral Damage: 110

HEALTH / ENERGY

Healing Increase: 9%

Healing Received: 19%

Health per Second: 136

Health Regeneration: 2%

Energy per Second: 41

AS per Second: 46

I was indeed tanky, but the monkey troop count was ballooning. The incoming damage was so high that sometimes my shell would pop before its cooldown, so I used [Healing Touch] for safety.

Unfortunately, my shell’s explosion couldn’t reach the monkeys in the trees. But my retribution, Morabodry, and [Mantle of Kindling] could! The violet bubbles of poison and the orange embers of Burn accented the blanket of whiteness on the trees that were the Frost Feral Macaques.

Just as the monkeys could constantly refresh the [Minor Chill] and [Shattering Ice] they inflicted on me because of their rapid and numerous attacks, I could also constantly poison and Burn them. And those Burned would have their damage reduced. Not to mention that my retribution worked wonders on monsters with high attack speed.

And then the dying began.

Puffs of blue and violet sparkles showered me as if there was a fireworks festival.

"I'm sure Yusa would understand if I’m delayed in saving her,” I said with a contented chuckle.

Once a pair of monkeys lost its ‘shooter,’ the ‘ammo-carrier’ would flee into the canopy above. But the number of monkeys didn’t decrease because a new pair would arrive. Or maybe the ‘ammo carrier’ just found another partner and returned to the fight. These monkeys all looked the same to me.

This was an incredible way to level; the Essence and Gli flowed. The Feral Frost Macaques had higher levels than me, but with only three levels between us, the gap wasn’t big enough that the penalty would kick in to reduce the Essence and Gli.

[ Increased: Player Level to 16! ]

I increased my Vigor and placed my free Lesser Skill Point to [Greater Pyro Shell].

Lvl. 5 Greater Pyro Shell: Glorious blessings of the ancestors coat you with a formidable barrier of protective flames that boosts your defenses and absorbs (69% of incoming damage) up to the amount of Ancestral Shroud/Energy spent to summon it added by (24% of Armor). When the barrier expires or is depleted, the damage absorbed is dealt to nearby enemies.

Grants: +275 Armor, +3% Armor

Cost: 24% of Max Ancestral Shroud for Mardukryon; 15% of Max Energy for other Races

Duration: 20 Seconds

Cooldown: 7 Seconds

“Now, these monkeys would find it even harder to kill me,” I said. “But I think it’s time to look for Yusa." I should check the situation first before continuing this. I didn’t want Gibil to be angry with me if she died. And I was about to run out of [Morabodry] anyway, with one bottle left.