Chapter 16 - New Approach

"Kh." Theo clenched his teeth, feeling the power behind the monkey's skill.

Luckily, the monkey's height was lower than him, so the attack launched him into the air instead. This situation allowed him to maintain his balance and recovered the instant he landed on the ground.

The monkey rushed forward, not giving him time to fight back.

Behind, Theo regained the control of his clone and made him charge forward.

"Kill him." He couldn't help but shout.

His loud voice forced the monkey to turn its head around, finding Clone Theo thrusting his sword from behind.

Kiki.

The monkey simply dodged the attack before it realized something just pierced his hand.

It turned out that the shout was only a distraction for the monkey.

"Pierce!" Theo also used his skill, penetrating the monkey's skin like it was nothing.

Clone Theo bent down and pulled his sword. As he did so, he took a deep breath that he had been using to gain enough strength to make another full swing.

Ki—

Before it could even finish its last laugh, Clone Theo had severed the head, and both of them quickly retreated a few steps to avoid the blood burst out of its body.

[Killed a Deku Monkey (Normal)]

[EXP+38]

"That was close." Theo let out a long sigh. "It seems I have been too complacent with the current accomplishment. I shouldn't become too proud and mess everything up."

Clone Theo disappeared after handing the sword.

After that, he touched the monkey's body and saw two cards drop from the disappearing body.

Monkey Tail (F)

Nutritious Ingredients.

Skill: Monkey Fist (F)

Effect: Allow the user to naturally draw the body's energy to release a stronger punch.

When he saw the two cards, he ignored the first one because there was no other use for Monkey Tail other than giving a healthy body. It was a common ingredient for a peaceful family who wanted to get good health, but it had no use for the current him.

As for the Monkey Fist, he contemplated whether to use it on himself or wait for upgrading the clone skill. Theo's current fighting style relied on his movement.

Even though he knew that skills were naturally stronger than regular movements, he had no money to buy skills or were lucky enough to find a skill like this.

After a few considerations, he decided to use it.

"It's better to increase my prowess first before upgrading the skill. I can get more money and kill more opponents if I increase my strength after all." Theo smiled before looking at the blood on the ground.

He recalled how he killed the bear, the lion, and the monkey.

"It's really easier to get more EXPs if I fight higher-level monsters. However, it is also riskier. Earlier, if I didn't have my clone, I might get injured and would be forced to retreat for the day." Theo looked down with his hand on his chin.

"I usually get 1-5 EXPs every time I kill a monster, and it's already hard to defeat them continuously. However, I can do more now that I have become a Level 20 fighter. I need to be more careful and not underestimate my opponent next time."

After reflecting on his action, he continued walking to the south and decided to rest there, where he didn't smell the blood anymore.

He took out his device to see the map.

This map was the accumulation of the fighters who risked their lives to explore the area because the satellite was useless.

Although some were using their drones or something similar, it was still the result of their efforts.

"South to my direction is a slope. After that slope, I will find the area where most of the level 15-20 monsters reside. This is my original destination."

Before he could go, he heard something ringing in his head.

Sshhh.

Sshhhh.

It kept echoing as if it was very close.

'This..' Theo felt that it was similar to the hissing of a snake.

He looked around and found a brown snake hanging on the tree behind the one he used to rest.

Without hesitation, Theo killed the snake with a single thrust of his spear.

[Killed a Green Serpent (Normal)]

[EXP+3]

"Yep, this is the usual EXPs I got since this snake is only a low-level snake." Theo nodded, finally seeing the normal rate he got.

"Hmm..I only need two more points to reach Level 21. This fast-paced but dangerous process is tempting one to keep progressing.." Theo looked down and shook his head. "I should meet another monster when climbing the slope, so I will level up before reaching my destination. Let's go then."

He turned around and walked toward the south.

He crossed the woods and found the slope not long after. Since the terrain didn't really change because the slope was very gentle, close to flat land, there shouldn't be too much adjustment needed to fight on this slope.

It didn't take too long for him to see the first monster.

The monster was not like what he had seen so far. It had a humanoid shape but walking with four feet like that of a beast. The body had a homogenous green color. The most intriguing was the shape of its head. It looked like a human, but without eyes and other parts.

Theo quickly checked the monster in the database.

Name: Ex-Humanoid

Level: 20-25

Beware of its speed and claw.

He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the description.

"All the monsters I've hunted so far are lower than my level. Of course, besides the Rock Turtle. Should I face this monster?" Theo furrowed his eyebrows. "The Rock Turtle incident may repeat in the future, so I should try fighting a higher level monster from now on. Still, it is strange to see a monster like this in front of the area consisting of level 15-20 monsters. Did something happen?"

Contemplating wouldn't help because he had no further information, so Theo ended the thought.

"Screw it. It's better to continue forward while being ready to run at any moment than think about this. It's not like I will venture too deep, so I think it should be fine." Theo convinced himself and summoned his clone.

Unlike the previous arrangement, the real him hid with a sword in his hand instead of the spear.

At the same time, his clone ran toward the monster with the spear in front.

"Grr.."

The Ex-Humanoid sensed his presence and leaped toward him with a speed that he had never seen before. It was even faster than Laust.

historical

Fortunately, his prediction was correct the moment he saw the simple description. He raised the spear, aiming at the monster's mouth.

With the spear length, it was enough for Theo to act if something happened.

The Ex-Humanoid raised its hand that had four sharp and long claws. It struck the spear's blade, trying to destroy it.

However, Theo managed to hold his spear as the spear's blade was undamaged.

"As expected from an Elite Rank Spear. Its quality is higher than your average one." Theo smiled while controlling his clone to counterattack.

"Grr.."

It picked up Theo's mutter and turned in another direction while avoiding the spear's thrust. As if it managed to locate Theo hiding behind the tree, the monster charged toward one particular tree, ready to swipe its claw.

Having no choice, Theo showed himself while slashing upward.

The monster quickly waved its hand, stopping Theo's blade with its claws.

Crack.

As one would expect, the quality was really different. One of the claws cracked with that one full swing.

Theo pushed the monster back and regrouped with his clone. He swung his sword from the left while his clone thrust toward the left arm.

The Ex-Humanoid didn't have an option other than blocking both attacks with its claws. However, the cracked claw had endured enough and snapped into two.

The monster jumped backward to assess its claw, but Theo didn't let it reset the fight. He and his clone charged forward, working together to attack the Ex-Humanoid.

He couldn't help but remember the time where he fought together with Eric. It was easier than fighting alone. And with his clone that was under his control, the movement became even better.

After all, Theo knew his weakness, the gap between his movements and his goal in every strike. This fighting style was better than any other pair because a thought could be done faster than any verbal command or physical signs.

The Ex-Humanoid slowly got pressured from the continuous attacks. His claws fell one by one because of Theo's Elite Rank weapons.

However, Theo thought of something more interesting and important enough to test as soon as possible.

With this kind of thought, the two Theos purposely got blown away by the creature. The real him turned around and started running as if he intended to escape while his clone stabilized his posture.

The creature obviously chose the one with his back facing him since it was undoubtedly the easiest one.

It leaped to the air, planning to trounce Theo from behind.

Suddenly, Clone Theo came between them and raised the spear handle so that the monster's two hands hit the spear instead of the real him.

He used the hardness of the metal handle well and stopped the monster from one second.

A dangerous glint flashed in real Theo's eyes as he turned around and ran back with his fastest speed.

Usually, he would go around and slashed the monster, taking one of its arms or something, but this time, he planned to do something different. It was something unthinkable before.

The moment he arrived behind his clone, he slashed his sword horizontally while moving forward.

"Ha!" Theo split the monster and his clone into two with a smile. "The shortest route possible."

[Killed an Ex-Humanoid (Normal)]

[EXP+97]

[Level Up.]