Roar!
The roar was much closer this time, and far more terrifying.
Neo had never heard the roar of a beast so close to him before in his life.
He was beginning to feel a bit scared and nervous inside, but his legs remained firm, and his posture stayed straight.
He was quite skilled at combating and concealing fear, or negative emotions in general. This beast was terrifying, but Neo wasn't going to start shaking like a vibrator or something.
As long as he stayed protected at the back, that is...
"Good, I'm impressed." Gary gave Neo a small smile and moved a little closer, seemingly impressed by his display of courage and bravery.
"Linda, you're up."
Upon hearing her party leader's words, Linda, the most beautiful woman in the party of five, calmly stepped forward and activated her sphere.
Neo watched as the artefact began glowing a fiery red and floated to her eye level. Constellations began forming within the semi-transparent object, and a spell was being channelled.
Boom!
With a loud bang that echoed out, the beast finally pounced out of the forest and revealed itself.
Neo was stunned into a stupor...
'This is a monkey?'
Neo felt like his worldview was being turned upside down. How could a monkey be this muscular?
This primate could have easily competed for Mister Olympia in the Old Age!
It was like a huge mass of pure muscle!
While Neo marvelled at the workout routine of this monkey, Linda was feeling something quite different...
"Just one?" Linda cocked her head in confusion. It was only one Common-grade monkey?
One Common-grade monkey was so noisy?
"You said to study its abilities, right?" she asked casually.
As soon as her words fell, a low tingling sound, like the sound of stars, echoed from her sphere.
Neo knew that sound. It was the sound of someone tunnelling a constellation, or in simpler terms, casting a spell.
Her sphere glowed briefly after a few seconds, and a metre-long, burning hot arrow of flames manifested above her.
Neo felt like he was standing directly inside a boiling pot of soup!
It was too hot!
Boom!
With a low boom, the fire arrow shot towards the beast at a fast speed, soaring through the air and leaving a red trail behind.
The monkey noticed the attack and pounced forward on its two legs, like a human.
It snarled when the arrow got close enough and abruptly dropped down on all fours.
The arrow sailed above the monkey and hit the bushes behind, setting them on fire.
Boom!
Another fire arrow was released at that moment, and this one was a bit faster than the last.
It neared the beast even quicker and threatened to cook it upon contact.
Bang!
The monkey pounced to the side swiftly and evaded the fire arrow. It was closing the distance between itself and the group.
Suddenly, a ball of fire was shot at the monkey. When the monkey tried to dodge as usual, the fireball abruptly exploded, catching the beast off guard.
Roar!
The monkey roared in pain from the explosion and dipped its hand into its... anus?
What move was this?
Neo was confused.
The monkey's hand remained buried within its anus for a moment before it suddenly yanked it out.
Neo's eyes widened as a huge brown substance shot towards the group.
Was this actually shit?
It couldn't be, right?
"Yuk!" Linda scrunched her pretty little nose and made a disgusted sound. She hurriedly cast the fastest spell in her arsenal—the fire bullet.
A red, scorching bullet materialised above her and rotated briefly. The heat emanating from the bullet wasn't as intense as the others, but Neo knew this attack would penetrate most surfaces smoothly due to its high temperature.
Bang!
The sound the bullet made as it shot forward was similar to that of a shotgun. The bullet moved fast and straight, intercepting the ball of shit and exploding it into smithereens.
The fire bullet was so powerful that after destroying the beast's attack, it actually continued onwards and shot at the beast.
The tail of the monkey suddenly glowed a soft yellow before swinging out speedily.
The tail curved like a whip and smashed into the side of the bullet, swatting it away like an annoying fly.
Neo was surprised. Such amazing timing...
This beast was good!
"Hmph!" Linda was obviously displeased that her attack was deflected and scowled slightly.
The next moment, a ball of fire materialised, followed by another fire bullet.
Bang! Bang!
Both spells were released at the same time, but the bullet was faster and reached the monkey earlier.
Still, the monkey swatted it once again!
Unexpectedly, the fireball reached the monkey immediately after the bullet and exploded right in its face.
The power put into the swing of the tail was too much, and the monkey couldn't drastically change its trajectory at that brief moment.
But that brief moment was all it took—the fireball literally burnt off the beast's entire head!
Neo gulped. He stared at Linda's small, cute frame and gulped again.
So scary...
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The loud roars of multiple beasts interrupted Neo's thoughts, and the next thing he knew, dozens of monkeys charged out of the forest.
Neo was so scared he had to stop himself from turning tail and running.
The beasts looked so menacing and furious that Neo almost wet himself.
It was only when the fearless group of adventurers pounced towards the group and began releasing spells and skills that he finally managed to breathe once again.
He shouldn't have been so scared. He wasn't the one fighting, after all.
Neo lightly berated himself for being such a wimp while watching the party members take down the beasts one by one.
These adventurers were so powerful!
Neo felt like a single one of their spells would eradicate him instantly!
Bang! Boom! Swish!
The battle raged on, and Neo was quite entranced by the beautiful display of swordsmanship by the party leader when he suddenly felt a chill...
Neo's pale face stared in horror as a monkey escaped the encirclement and charged towards him!