'I am the Monkey King!'
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Neo was having the time of his life. He jumped from branch to branch, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Every time he grabbed a tree branch, the ease with which he maintained an iron grip was still astonishing to him.
It was too easy.
His improved agility and mind-to-body coordination shone through in this task, allowing Neo to leap from tree to tree like the Monkey King himself.
This was the effect of having a Common-grade physique. What once seemed impossible had suddenly become incredibly easy.
Neo could hardly wait to get his hands on a Superior-grade treasure to upgrade his physique once more.
If he could keep increasing the grade of his physique as easily as releasing a fart, wouldn't he quickly become overpowered?
The human with the strongest physique in history?
'Hehehe.'
Neo's mood grew even brighter.
As Neo leapt from the branch of one tree to another, a grin was plastered across his face. The failure against that gorilla had nearly caused him to underestimate the power of his physique...
But now, he couldn't help but feel content.
Crack!!
Neo's grin vanished mid-air as the branch he was heading for cracked and fell off the tree!
What sorcery was this?
What evil sorcery was this?!
There was no time to waste. Neo had to act fast!
He stretched out his hand, hoping to grab the nearest branch, but his fingertips barely skimmed the surface, and he began to fall faster!
'Shit!'
A large brown tree suddenly filled Neo's vision in a matter of seconds, and before he knew it, his face was mere inches from the trunk!
Splat!!
Neo hit the tree trunk so hard his mind went blank.
From a distance, one might have mistaken him for a crazy person hugging a tree. His pose was absolutely hilarious—painful, too.
After his aggressive 'hug', Neo's body slowly began to slide down the tree's surface. He fell until he collided with another branch that stopped his descent.
'Ow!'
Neo landed on the branch as if he were straddling a bicycle. The pain in his nether regions was worse than a bullet wound.
Neo's eyes watered. He felt cheated.
He could have sworn that tree wasn't there!
'Evil tree!'
How had it suddenly appeared in his path if it wasn't cursed? Neo even suspected it had some kind of hex!
Just like that, both his good mood and that of his future children were ruined.
He was still lamenting and massaging his bruised balls when the branch he was sitting on snapped once more!
Not again!
Neo was prepared this time. He looked down and rapidly searched for a nearby branch to grab, but just like before...
Thud!
The brown earth filled his vision in seconds, and once again, he gave the ground a warm embrace.
Neo realised there was only so much a person who couldn't fly could do while airborne.
He decided to play it safe and walk, since he couldn't summon a cloud like the real Monkey King.
After just five minutes of walking, he arrived at the gorilla settlement.
Just like before, Neo saw multiple structures with leaf-made roofs and deduced they were houses. However, since he approached the settlement from a different angle today, he could see—and hear—a lot more.
Tatatatata!!
Rhythmic slapping sounds echoed from the house directly in front of him.
Neo furrowed his brow as he tried to decipher the noises before suddenly realising what they were.
Neo sneered.
No wonder he hadn't seen any adult gorillas the last time he came here. They were probably having daddy gorilla and mummy gorilla time.
But wait, all of them? Were all the gorilla houses filled with mating pairs?
What was this? A primate brothel?
For real?!
Neo unconsciously shivered. He wanted to turn around and leave, but the thought of treasure kept him rooted in place, pushing him forward.
As he neared the house, the slapping sounds intensified to the point where they started to resemble actual combat.
Neo's hands instinctively went to cover his behind.
This place was too unholy!
But Neo's troubles were only just beginning. He had hoped to sneak into the deeper parts of the settlement more easily since all the adult gorillas were 'occupied'.
Unfortunately, his bad luck was too intense for that.
At every turn, Neo either stumbled upon an adult gorilla emerging from its house to rest before resuming its 'activities' or encountered a group of gorilla children playing.
His heart jumped so much it felt like a pendulum!
It was a chaotic dance of death, with the soundtrack being the rhythmic slapping sounds and the air reeking so badly that Neo was surprised he hadn't vomited.
Finally, Neo made it past the houses and came to an abrupt halt.
He quickly dove into the nearby trees to hide from the dozens of adult gorillas all heading in the same direction.
Neo's mind raced. He could almost smell the treasure!
His uncommon-grade physique was so close!
Steadying his heart, Neo carefully tailed the gorillas through a narrow forest, where the sound of splashing water echoed from ahead.
It seemed there was a body of water beyond this small forest.
Neo patiently followed the group, paying close attention to his footing. He had to be careful not to trip, or he would fall straight into the afterlife.
But he managed. He passed through the forest and emerged on the other side, where an unexpected sight greeted him.
Neo gazed up at a steep rocky wall with a small cave near the top. A yellow, blue, and pink glow emanated from within the cave, and the radiance was immense.
Neo was certain it was some kind of treasure.
His trip hadn't been in vain!
But that wasn't all he saw. Below the steep rocky wall, a huge river rushed past, and a powerful waterfall gushed out from just beneath the cave entrance. A multitude of gorillas were attempting—and failing—to scale the wall.
As the gorillas climbed, the water pressure from the waterfall increased, pushing them back down into the river below, which explained the splashing sounds Neo had heard.
Everything became clear to him.
They were all trying to claim the treasure.
My treasure!
Neo studied the wall for a while and quickly calculated how he could avoid the waterfall and still reach the cave, but it was structured in such a way that it seemed impossible.
After observing for a bit longer, Neo wisely decided to turn back and return at night. There was no way he could snatch this treasure in front of so many gorillas.
With his heart racing, Neo headed home.
He was about to pull off his first heist tonight!