by John Nest
With the ruby bears' ruby-like armor dispersed, all six Daemon Knights attacked in a synchronized manner. They lopped off the ruby bears' arms and sliced off their heads.
Smoke wasn't sure how these Sonstwelters learned about the exponential damage inflicted by lopping off limbs and then going for the head, but it clearly showed that these members of the Dikaya guild knew what they were doing.
After the battle, the red Arch Bishop replenished the party members' life bars with another aerial spell. Red crosses appeared over their heads.
The blue Arch Bishop did a similar gesture, but this time blue stars appeared over their heads. With their life and mana bars both filled, they took out pieces of bread to increase their Satiety.
Smoke thought that his method of preparing meals was better, as it raised intimacy amongst comrades and the delicious taste of the dish was very realistic, but he envied how cost-efficient Dikaya's methods were.
The DarkElf situated on a redwood tree noticed that the party began preparing their equipment. He did the same. He was ready to jump to the next tree, but stopped once he noticed the presence of four Human-sized creatures approaching.
He saw four Simiavulgs carrying long black metallic staves step out of the bushes and into plain view. The group had all four of the Simiavulgs sub-races. A gorilla, a chimpanzee, a gibbon and an orangutan.
The DarkElf remembered Eldmar's description of them having Humanlike stature, but with dominant apelike features.
The gorilla Simiavulg stood at a height of six feet and two inches. He had black fur covering most of his arms and legs. His hair had a military cut and it stood up increasing his height in appearance.
The chimpanzee Simiavulg was the shortest among the four. She stood at a height of five feet. Her black hair was so straight that Smoke thought she could work as a shampoo model. Provided that only her hair was seen.
The female gibbon Simiavulg stood beside the chimpanzee and she had an equally beautiful blond hair but this was curvy and bouncy.
Finally, the male orangutan Simiavulg walked in front of the three Simiavulgs and spoke out to the Dikaya guild.
"You have entered Simiavulg territory. Leave now and no harm will come to you."
The red Arch Bishop replied with a big smile. "At last. We've found the Simiavulgs. We've been looking for your village for quite some time."
The blue Arch Bishop added. "We're not leaving, especially now that we've found what we were looking for."
"Please leave peacefully. Cuezaltzin would not wish for us to shed any needless blood." Pleaded the orangutan Simiavulg.
"We're here to increase our strength. A quest informed us that if you train in a Simiavulg Village for a month you could get unimaginable powers. We don't know if it's an item or a level increase but we're dying to find out."
"Howk, howk. That might be difficult since there hasn't been a non Simiavulg in our village for hundreds of years." The gorilla Simiavulg answered back.
The blue Arch Bishop let out a maniacal laughter. "BWAHAHAHAHA. True, but we know that if we defeat you, you will be obliged to take us to your village."
Despite the Simiavulgs pleas the Dikaya guild went on the offensive. Immediately, the Arch Bishops cast buffs on their party members.
The Aero Magus cast her strong whirlwind and it picked up all the loose objects in the area. A dust tornado formed around the four Simiavulgs and they disappeared into the tornado.
Lightning struck down from the heavens as the storm clouds gathered by the Electro Magus appeared. Bolts of lightning kept on attacking the insides of the tornado.
The red Arch Bishops created an inner Anti-Blessing casting circle while the blue Arch Bishop created an outer version of the same ability.
The double Anti-Blessing casting circle would not alone remove all buffs but would decrease the life and defense of its victims by at least 30%.
Three minutes passed and the tornado and lightning's power started to fade as their Magus ran out of mana. Twenty Dikaya members surrounded the area near the tornado's edge.
When the Aero Magus' tornado attack finally dispersed, the Dikaya members found four Simiavulgs intact. Their targets holding firmly onto their black metallic staves.
The Simiavulgs' life bars appeared and it revealed that all of them had over 250,000 HP. Yet, the truly terrifying thing was that even after the tornado and the lightning attacks, all of the Simiavulgs' lives remained at 100%.
The Daemon Knights and Battle Monks ran towards the unscathed Simiavulgs. Their Ogre slayer swords pointed up to the sky and came crashing down against the Simiavulgs.
A yellow force field covered the four Simiavulgs in a dome like shield. None of the Daemon Knights' swords could penetrate the barrier.
The Battle Monks metal gloves only created sharp ringing sounds every time they made contact with the yellow force field.
Three minutes of constant sword strikes and metal gloves pounding ensued against the Simiavulgs' yellow barrier. Yet, Dikaya's members could not make a single dent.
Special attacks from the Daemon Knights and Battle Monks all used mana, and they stopped when they all ran out of it. The two female Simiavulgs stepped outside of the barrier when their attacks ceased.
In a flash, the chimpanzee Simiavulg and the gibbon Simiavulg rammed their black metallic staves into the Sonstwelter Daemon Knights. Instantly killing two of Dikaya's members in a single attack.
The Aero and Electro Magus were both about to drink a blue potion bottle when the orangutan's black metallic staff skewered both of the two Sonstwelters at the same time.
After witnessing the one-hit-one-kill ability of the Simiavulgs, both of the Arch Bishops started to retreat, only to be faced with the gorilla Simiavulg.
"You should have listened to what Doctus was offering you. He told you to leave quietly, right?"
In sudden panic, the red and the blue Arch Bishops used up all of their known abilities against the gorilla Simiavulg. They cast various purging orbs, toxin orbs, anything they could think of until they used up their last mana point.
The gorilla Simiavulg grinned from within his barrier. "Tsk tsk tsk. I told you, you should have listened to Doctus. Oh well, know that I, Tenvis shall wait for your return if you are stupid enough to do so."
Tenvis ended his barrier and raised his black metallic staff over his shoulder.
KLOOGG! KLOOGG!
A swift downward-motion strike to each Arch Bishops head knocked them to the ground and killed them. The orangutan faced the Battle Monks and asked them.
"Do you want to end up like your Sonstwelter counterparts? Remember, they could return but you, ten, cannot."
The ten Battle Monks quickly glanced over at each other, and understood that they had come to the same decision. All of them ran the opposite direction from where the Simiavulgs stood and escaped with their lives.
Smoke remained motionless. The four Simiavulgs stood their ground until the Battle Monks were out of sight. He had been waiting for Ledur to arrive with his Tikbalang corps, but he feared that the next time he would meet the Simiavulgs they would have more than four members in their Simiavulg party.
He knew he needed to do something and it had to be now. Smoke could only think of one way that would give him the highest chance of being allowed into their village.
Hidden on top of a redwood tree, he was suspended fifty meters into the air. The DarkElf looked at the dizzying height. 'Well, here goes nothing.'
Smoke jumped from the tree and crashed into the branches below him. One of the thick branches broke his left arm while the smaller ones scratched his face.
The suicidal fall took less than four seconds but it felt like an eternity to Smoke. He finally smashed hard into the ground. CRAAASSSH!
The DarkElf tried to stand up but he discovered that he had broken his right leg. He was left with 8% of his life. 'This is perfect. I sure hope this works.'
He tried to crawl to where the Simiavulgs were, but his injured body co
uld not move very well. So he decided to call out his targets.
"Hey, Simiavulgs! I mean, Doctus! Over here!"
In less than three seconds the DarkElf was encircled by four Simiavulgs.
"Eeii. DarkElf? Why do you know my name?" Doctus asked.
"I was a captive of those Sonstwelters you just dispatched. They left me here as an offering to you. I don't know why they didn't use me. I prayed to Cuezaltzin to be saved. Luckily, the great god has answered my prayers."
"Why in the world would they think that the Simiavulgs would want a DarkElf as an offering?" The puzzled chimpanzee Simiavulg asked.
Smoke faced the female Simiavulg and replied.
"I don't know myself. All I know is that if I don't get help soon I'll be dead and I my body will return to their hideout, where I'm sure they will use me as bait again."
The four Simiavulgs discussed with one another.
Smoke thought that this was the best time to use his Beggary ability. "Please save me! Cuezaltzin will surely grant you favors in the here and now."
BEGGARY ABILITY SUCCEEDED!
> You have convinced the Simiavulgs to pity you. Your intimacy with these four Simiavulgs has temporarily increased to 80%.
Note: Intimacy levels will only last for 24 hours.
Doctus, the orangutan Simiavulg walked towards him. "Your faith in Cuezaltzin has rescued you. I find you worthy to be saved."
The orangutan Simiavulg grabbed pieces of branches, leaves, and vines and threw them onto a pile. He drew a transmutation circle around the pile and created an emergency gurney.
"Come, Tenvis, Meras, and Castas. Let us help this DarkElf to our village."
Chapter Six: Unique Indoctrination
A heavily-bandaged Smoke laid on top of an emergency gurney made out of latched logs, branches, leaves and vines. The Simiavulgs placed a splint on his right leg and left arm that broke as a result of his fifty-foot intentional drop.
He laid flat on his back, which displayed a black metal orb attached to his leather breastplate. The orb's bulky appearance raised Castas' curiosity.
The chimpanzee Simiavulg asked. "What is that thing on your chest? It looks like a part of a shield or something?"
"Good eye. I'm impressed! That's right, this was a part of my round shield. I needed to upgrade my shield for a better one, but I couldn't leave my lucky charm behind."
Smoke patted the round black orb on his chest. "I now think of it as a part of my body. I know that it's because of this thing that I survived through a lot of life-threatening situations. This shield even blocked against a ..."
Castas raised her hand and shrugged her shoulders as if to signify that she didn't want any further information. Smoke understood and shut his mouth. Thus, their silent trip towards Saruras village resumed.
From previous stealth operations and from the time when he pretended to be Ilad, the Flame Knight, Smoke realized that it was imperative to have a discreet hiding place for Igniz.
His dark ember sprite also felt uncomfortable staying hidden beneath Smoke's hooded cloak. Which was why he agreed when Sharanga, the WoodElf Huntress, suggested to create a metal compartment for his symbiote.
There were minuscule slanted holes on the orb's surface, allowing Igniz to see outside it. The dark ember sprite remained in his dimmest state to block the light from where he hid.
With Igniz's hiding place secured, he resumed his observation of the four carriers of his emergency gurney. Doctus, the orangutan Simiavulg, led the way as he carried the front right-side of Smoke's gurney. Castas, the chimpanzee Simiavulg, walked beside Doctus and carried the front left-side.
Tenvis, the gorilla Simiavulg, carried the back left-side of the gurney, while Meras, the gibbon Simiavulg, carried the back right-side. The whole group walked silently through a thick luscious forest towards the summit of Mount Yunggo.
Interestingly enough, the monsters inside the forest stayed away from them, although Smoke could feel their bloodlust and guessed their levels to be well beyond 100.
There were still some of the monster species from the lower level of the mountain, like the badger dogs and the ruby bears, but there were two other that stood above the rest.
A monster called Lemurcat closely resembled an asian tiger, except that its face was that of a lemur. Due to the lemurcat's comical appearance, Smoke found these monsters funny at first.
Yet, when he saw one of them prey on three ruby bears, his impression of the monster changed instantly. He imagined that if lemurcats were to travel in packs, they could prove extremely difficult to handle.
Then they met a group of monsters called Three-headed monitor lizards. These monsters had traveled in a group of five. The lemurcats that traveled solo did well to avoid these monsters with a body length of three meters.
Each head of the three-headed monitor lizard would attack with whip-like elasticity and its prey would be killed after three salmonella-filled bites.
For the three-headed monitor lizards, it didn't matter which kind of monster they would hunt. They would eat everything that stood in their path.
However, none of these two species of monsters ever came to attack Smoke and the Simiavulgs. The DarkElf noticed that these monsters always remained ten meters away from them.
Smoke made a habit of noticing minute details in his surroundings. There were many things he would still miss, but he felt that he had become better at it.
This was also in preparation for an escape route if things in the Simiavulg village were to go south. Smoke carefully watched where they had gone and where they were going. He tried to make a mental image of the route based on any imposing landmarks that he could find.
To his dismay, all of the scenery that they passed looked similar. Although Darius gave him a parchment with the locations of Saruras and Pferde, he feared that this information might be outdated.. He noticed that Pferde's actual location was ten kilometers off the mark when he found it, so the same might hold true for Saruras. He hoped that Saruras village was not like the temple of Aeternus Praesas, the medical temple of Guardias de Tiempo, where the last Beggar Imperator Kumbaba took his son Giro to. That temple would not appear on a player's map even if the player had been there already.
He learned this from the time he got his hidden Job. Darius told him that there were other places in Zectas with this bothersome ability. You would need a special map in order to find their actual location.
Despite the lack of prominent landmarks, Smoke noticed that his view from the gurney was slightly tilted. He concluded that they were still climbing further up.
He received a whisper from Ledur earlier. He told the captain of his Tikbalang corps to stay out of the Simiavulg territory, but to remain on Mount Yunggo.
Smoke told them to be ready for anything, but also to increase their levels and hunt while waiting for further instructions.
As they ascended further up Mount Yunggo, a notification window popped up.
+ Entered the Simiavulg village of Saruras
Wysteria Continent's only Simiavulg community. It has existed for over 5,000 years. The Simiavulgs survived by keeping mostly to themselves.
The notification window surprised Smoke. The scenery had not changed at all. Laying on the emergency wooden gurney, Smoke could only see tall trees and faint sunlight that would sometimes break through the canopy above him.
A few steps after the notification window popped up, his Cunning of the Dire Fox ability detected thirty Simiavulgs directly over him.
Smoke used his Telefax Vision ability and saw them expertly clinging onto the trees. Some of them only used one hand, while others hanged themselves upside down with their feet.
He felt extremely lucky. If Doctus and his party had traveled on top of the trees when they met, they would have seen right through his lie.
After his deep sigh of relief, he resumed his study of the scenery above him. All of the visible Simiavulgs on the trees carried staves, but theirs were blue, unlike the black m
etallic staves that Doctus and his party were equipped with.
He wondered if those colors had any special meaning to them. There were numerous occasions when he thought about asking Doctus and his men, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
This was only Smoke's second time experiencing broken limbs inside Zectas. The first time was when Mitleid tortured him. When he came up with this plan, he thought that he would recover 100% of his health after some time.
However, Smoke couldn't have been further from reality. It had been four hours since the Simiavulgs started carrying him and despite their medical treatment, his life bar only recovered to 80%.