14 Now We're Talking

The world was a crazy place, it made no rhyme or reason before retching some random plot for people to roleplay while it rested atop its rattling and rusty chair.

This would have clearly been regarded as an insult if any normal person heard it, but for Verhund, who was under an 'unreasonable' roleplay started by himself when he excitedly ran towards the strongest monsters that resided in the forest, it was simply the ideal reality.

Monsters were clearly hostile to human races, be it in the dungeon or outside of it, their savagery would be clearly exposed whenever they faced with humans - dashing and slashing at them as if meeting mortal enemies - even though they normally just acted like stronger kinds of animals.

Though this biology observation has no deep meaning, the fact that monsters from the forest refused to leave their wild haven just like those from the dungeon abhorred appearing above ground kind of confused Verhund, who believed it would have been better if constant assaults at settlements were a reality.

Though perhaps if something could be done about this fact, the world might become more hospitable and welcoming to live in.

Verhund, deep inside the forest, looked at the ground around him. His Death Sense innate ability allowed him to feel the 'presence' of everything potentially dangerous in his immediate surroundings, it was as if he was given a mini-map to travel around.

Another use of this skill was spotting strong beings or weapons until a certain distance, though after a certain point he wouldn't be able to feel their movements like he did against the scimitar man a few days ago.

He was curious, however, as the forest sent him a familiar feedback he has experienced recently, some kind of territory constructed by a being thousands of times stronger than his current self.

It didn't take long for him to confirm his suspicions and in just an instant, he concluded that the monsters were actually conceptually sealed in their 'nests', unable to leave the place of their own will.

This is perhaps the same method used in the dungeon, on a smaller scale, of course.

The reason this world had such hate for gods and humanity was starting to become clear to Verhund now. Still, matters left for the future shall not get in the way of today's entertainment, and blooming plans would not bring him away from the dangerous beast he was approaching.

He stepped into a small clearing, a sudden reprieve to the endless tide of trees and bushes. A pity the place was eerily reminiscent of a mini-boss arena or a tutorial monster grounds, with nothing but soft grass and hard earth filling the plane.

Verhund was here to hunt the local monster, woefully unprepared as he carried only a short sword and his hands to the fight, perhaps he should have bought a flash bang and a tear gas for support.

That wasn't as important as the challenge in front of him, though, his opponent was finally spotted.

It was a slim, furry figure over two meters tall when not hunching over, the muscles that could be seen through the golden brown color were naturally hard and tensed, a tale of its explosive strength.

It was most certainly a monkey of some kind, though its fangs were enough to maim and tear a hand if they bit.

Incredibly enough, the monkey was actually eating an apple - as opposed to bananas - and lazing over a thick branch of some tree.

This peaceful scene soon came to a close, however, as the monkey's face twisted in feral hatred at the mere sight of Verhund's existence.

The monster was about to leap down when it had a better idea, a proof of its more advanced intellect manifested when it launched itself at Verhund who was still a dozen meters away.

With a loud bang, the monster's fist impacted the tree just behind Verhund, taking a third of the trunk away and forcibly toppling it.

The 'surprise attack' made by the beast was of no surprise to Verhund, though the power contained in it would be more than enough to break his new short sword and body in case of a head-on confrontation, he thus decided to attack as soon as his opponent landed.

With precision and strength, his blade slashed at the monkey but failed to cut anything but a falling leaf.

It was an expected result, as his enemy possessed enough strength to threat an unguarded or otherwise tired level 3, the fact that it was actually decent at fighting - in contrast to dungeon monsters who are suddenly spawned as adults - allowed it to actually be enough to annoy a proper level 3 regardless of their state.

Of course, such a beast could be easily cut down... for a level-1 Verhund, however, it was another story.

After skipping to the side and easily avoiding his blade, the monkey pulled its arm back - somehow managing to shrink its size - and released a fast, powerful punch that also struck blank.

The wind whipped at Verhund, who somehow swerved to the side as if by magic, he had made use of his blessing for an unintended purpose while helped by his Death's Dog Skill, it was almost like he used a movement skill.

Two moves were enough for him to get a feel of his opponent's abilities, it had street fighting skills in regards to martial arts but could actually tense and press its muscles like a spring before releasing the stress as an extra package for its punches - kicks or other attacks were also valid.

Of course, it was possible for it to be hiding some other skill in its figurative sleeves, but Verhund didn't really dislike being surprised.

Verhund, holding his sword at waist level, stabbed upwards to penetrate his opponent's jaw, a move which was, once again, dodged with incredible ease before the monkey proceded with an error in judgment.

It actually tried to tackle him down, its already hunched body curving even further as its arms spread open to encircle his body.

Just as the muscles in its leg uncoiled and sent it careening forward, however, Verhund used the remaining momentum from the attack to jump and then 'float' atop it as he stabbed again, this time downwards.

The blade firstly hit the back of its head and bounced back without much harm as expected, when it came down again due to the continuous force exerted on it, though, it managed to nick its neck... just enough for an artery to be pierced.

The monkey rolled on the ground and stabilized itself with clear panic, holding its neck and trying to staunch a surprisingly high amount of blood leaving from a small wound.

The monkey's next movements were of no surprise to Verhund, its ugly hatred formed from natural detest of humans mixed with fear and anxiety borne from its impending death led it to struggle uselessly for a good while.

The next half of a minute was spent with him trying to keep a comfortable distance while the beast madly dashed and waved about, wasting more and more energy before it plunged to the ground with a constant twitch.

Verhund's battles should not be dragged under any circumstance, his speed was his greatest weapon, his unorthodox methods served to further confuse his enemies and give him a better chance, but it wouldn't be good to let his enemies experience all of his tricks and learn to counter him.

As for the future, when dealing with experts which could see through such petty tricks, when he reached that level he would have access to even better tricks and powers.

A mage could make a fireball with magic, a normal person could only do so with chemistry, he needed to satisfy certain conditions in order to perform better.

But now was not the time to wonder about the far future.

Verhund looked at the distant tower peeking from the leaves, more specifically, towards the person looking at him from within.

He grinned at the discovery that he was spotted from so far away - a feat accomplished by a god, no doubt - and shrugged as he turned to face the carcass of the monster he just killed.

The thing refused to disappear like dungeon borns but most certainly contained a core inside. Well, he just had to skin it.

Now there was only one problem, heart or brain... it couldn't possibly be in the kidneys?