Chapter 60

“GRRRRR!!!”

As a feral beast growled and barked at Rey, he couldn’t help but let out a small smirk, watching the creature closely.

‘Well, that didn’t take very long…’ His thoughts trailed off as he observed the creature's unique features.

The beast in front of him looked like a monkey—no, more like a chimp—but it had a few distinct differences that made it stand out.

For one, its entire body was covered in white hair. Secondly, its pale gray skin and bright blue eyes were definitely not primate-like.

Finally, while it was as large as a regular human, due to it squatting in a quadrupedal fashion, it appeared shorter than Rey.

‘I guess the last one is pretty much in line with monkeys, huh?’

The beast before him had very sharp jaws, as if belonging to a carnivore, and its bright blue eyes exuded nothing but sheer hatred.

Despite all of these, though, Rey remained surprisingly composed as he assessed the unfamiliar creature before him.

‘I’ve never seen or heard of this kind of creature before. Is it only native to this Floor?’

Rey could see why, though.

‘Bright blue eyes to adapt to the brightness of this place, and pale white skin most likely due to the lack of necessity to get a tan.’

The area was very cold too, so the excessive hair was a necessity to keep warm.

‘Then there’s their teeth. If I consider what this monster was doing before I ran into it, then it makes sense.’

The Monkey Monster—as Rey decided to tag it—was nibbling on smaller chunks of the Mana Crystals around.

‘So its sharp teeth are that way because of how it has to grate through the hard rock and pierce it. I bet they’re insanely strong too!’

Rey shivered at the thought of being caught in the jaws of such a feral creature.

‘Even though it looks like a monkey, it doesn’t seem to have the kind of intelligence I’d expect from primates. Well, I can’t be too quick to judge…’

This one could have been an outlier or a savage variant of its species.

‘It looks strong, though. If that’s the case, there’s no need to concern myself with any other quality that doesn’t relate to my safety or its usefulness as my EXP juice.’

With that thought in mind, Rey pointed its finger at the growling creature.

The Monkey Monster noticed Rey's subtle shift in posture and charged toward him with its jaws wide open, clearly intending to attack.

Unfortunately for it…

Rey was faster.

“[Force]”

~WHUUSH!~

As expected, the Monkey Monster was instantly knocked back by Rey’s forceful attack.

It couldn’t even offer much resistance.

“Get up. Come on…” Rey approached the beast.

Rey was aware of the amount of force he had put into that push, so he knew the creature wasn’t dead yet.

“The reason I’ve not killed you yet is because I want to see your Skills. So come on…”

There was no way a Monster who was living off literal Mana Crystals wouldn’t have Skills.

To prepare himself for what was to come, Rey activated his [Safe Haven] Skill.

“Now let’s see—”

~WHOOOOSH!~

The Monster growled angrily as it shot from its position, lunging straight at Rey.

“Haha! That’s more like it!” Rey's grin widened with excitement as he watched the creature rush towards him.

His heart pounded in his chest as the beast closed the distance rapidly, its speed and power increasing exponentially, but that wasn’t all Rey wanted to see.

‘Show me your Skill!’

~SHWUUUU!~

Suddenly, the barrier surrounding Rey began to break down, almost melting away before his eyes.

‘E-eh…?’

Rey's eyes widened in surprise as the beast's white fur began to glow brightly, effortlessly tearing through his defensive measure.

Despite seeing it with his own eyes, his [Danger Sense] also alerted him of the imminent danger that was closing in on him.

‘It broke down my barrier? T-then!’

Rey quickly used his [Greater Lightning Magic] Skill to generate a Lightning Arrow and send it flying towards his opponent.

That was when the most shocking thing occurred.

~BZZZTTTTZZZ!~

As the Lightning arrow neared the Monkey Monster, a barrier formed around it, instantly shielding the creature.

‘Isn’t that…!’

Yes, it was [Safe Haven]!

Despite the imminent danger of the creature's jaws closing in on him, Rey’s mind raced to calculate the implications of this unexpected move.

One more second and it would rip his head right off his body.

‘It broke down and absorbed my Skill?!’

Before the Monster could finish its job, though, Rey sent it flying with [Force] again.

It was the only Skill he could rely on since he knew it was effective.

~WHOOSH!~

Once again, the Monkey Monster bounced back, but not with as much intensity as the first round.

‘[Safe Haven]’s effects are protecting it, huh? This is unexpected…’

Rey could feel his heart beat faster now, but this time it wasn’t due to excitement.

It was caution.

‘I can’t afford to take this one lightly…’

Facing an opponent capable of not only bypassing but also utilizing his own Skills for itself was a formidable challenge.

‘To think there’s an entire Floor crawling with things like these…’

The most worrying thing about the confrontation was his lack of information.

‘What kind of Skills can it break down? How long can it maintain the Skill it absorbs? What are the limitations?’

These were the questions that swirled through Rey’s mind.

‘The fact that [Force] affects it means it probably doesn’t do well with invisible attacks or Skills that use natural laws like gravity…’

Rey had also figured the Monster’s glowing skin was somewhat related to its ability.

‘The light is slowly dimming, so I’m guessing there’s a time limit. Could there also be a cooldown period?’

While Rey had been hoping for the display of a really cool Skill, he never expected an outcome of this magnitude.

‘I wonder if it can break down and utilize multiple Skills at the same time…

Rey doubted that was the case, but he had to know for sure.

“Guess there’s only one way to find out…” Rey’s eyes began to glow crimson.

“Let’s try something else.”

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

What do you think of the Monster? Remember to share your thoughts in the comments!

Also, character art should soon be available.

You’ll have to join the Discord Server for that, though…