After placing the Ape Lord's corpse in his storage ring, Ace, who felt like he hadn't had enough, wanted to fight another, stronger opponent. He knew he had to rest first before doing so.
After laying on the soft, warm surface of Blue, who had descended to the ground the moment the battle ended, Ace thought back to the fact that he had just fought a rank two monster and won without being at too much of a disadvantage.
Thinking about a few other things, Ace waited for his fatigue to reduce and recover his energy, which happened in less than half an hour, surprising Ace. The recovery was too fast. Anna was right. His body had indeed changed.
He acknowledged this but didn't dwell on it. With renewed energy, he hopped on Blue in search of a new opponent.
*******
Ace later found himself facing another opponent, a rank 2 Flame Serpent at level 57, two levels higher than the Ape Lord.
They were in a different location, a mountain range.