Defiance of the Fall

The lava monkey didn’t look aggressive or violent like the normal monkeys , but rather harmonious . Even if it seemed crazy , it really looked like he or she was meditating under the peculiar tree . It was quite picturesque , the red streaks of the monkey matching well with the crimson trunk .

The good news was that it looked like he found his Herald . The bad news was that he had no real idea on how to improve the odds in his favor . He saw no method to sneak up on it , as the dried husks of the vegetation on the field wouldn’t provide enough cover .

He didn’t dare use Eye of Discernment] to see its level either , afraid it would notice him like the Imps . That it stayed in this forest with higher cosmic energy concentration , rather than in its natural habitat of the mountain peaks , was telling Zac that the monkey king possessed some sensibility for cosmic energy .

He debated whether he should charge in blind , or wait for a better opportunity . Finally he decided he had to go for it . Finding the Herald sitting by itself with no backup in sight could only be considered a perfect opportunity .

He also discarded the idea of creating crude traps as he had for Vul , the barghest herald . If this monkey could meditate it likely was too intelligent to run into spikes like an idiot .

The only question was whether this monkey was of roughly the same power as Vul or not . When the limiter was lifted at the turn of the month he had concluded that the beasts improved roughly 50% across the board .

He himself had improved far more than that though . When he fought Vul he had only 59 Strength , and now he was at 160 . On top of that , his gear had improved considerably , and he already gained a class and improved pathways . He felt that even if he met an improved Vul today he wouldn’t have to rely on traps to kill it , and it wouldn’t be a desperate struggle either .

But the monkeys were far stronger compared to the barghest . Would the monkey Herald be far stronger compared to the barghest Herald as well?

There was only one way to find out . He slowly repositioned himself to arrive from the east , which would at least let him approach the back of the Herald . It might give him some time to close the distance before it could react .

He steeled his nerves and slowly ventured out of the protective cover of the foliage , and entered the dead zone surrounding the magical tree . He took great care not to step on any of the dried twigs or branches that covered the ground , not wanting to alert the monkey of his approach .

But even though he made no sound it seemed to be to no avail , as the monkey snorted and slowly got up on his feet . Zac held no hope that it was just a coincidence , and immediately pulled out two daggers out of his pouch and threw them at the monster in quick succession .

The monkey turned around in a lightning-quick manner , and with two casual swipes slapped the incoming daggers away into the ground . As the edges collided with its hands sparks flew , but no wounds could be seen . Zac wasn’t surprised as the daggers were barely any use on the normal monkeys , let alone on this super-powered one .

Afterwards he gave up any idea of stealth and thundered straight toward the monkey , with his axe at the ready .

While charged he used the Eye of Discernment] on the monkey , which gave him a terse line of information .

Cindermane , Level 58]

That line removed any last doubts whether this monster was a Herald or not . A solitary Named beast around level 50 fit the bill perfectly . It was a full 13 levels above Vul , who had been level 45 when they battled . He didn’t know how levels worked for beasts , but if it was like for himself it meant it should have almost 100 more attributes in total . Together with the removed limiters , he realized he might be in for a tough battle .

Cindermane didn’t stay put , but charged toward Zac as well . As he did the red streaks on his body lit up and started to emit a fiery shine like lava . They clashed a few meters away from the red-white tree , with Zac doing an upwards horizontal swipe aimed at its torso .

The monkey actually dared to intercept the strike with its bare paws , which lit up completely to look like magma . A tremendous clash erupted when their attacks collided , the dead plants in the surrounding being pulverized by the shockwave .

Zac was surprised to see that his strike didn’t immediately overpower the Herald . With his recent improvements he started to believe there was nothing on the island that could have a comparable level of points in the Strength attribute .

The Herald was pushed back from the force however Zac didn’t emerge unscathed out of the initial collision either . The hands of the monkey did not only look like lava , but they were also as fiery hot as well . The air around them was wobbling due to the heat , looking like a mirage . The axe edge actually showed clear signs of heating up where it collided with the monkey’s palm .