The Familia Head Was Reborn As A Wolf In Another World - Chapter 87

This is the third time…’ The first time I saw this happen was when I used Assess on the Tempest Wolf. Then, out of sheer shock, I unconsciously turned and used it on the ape only to be met by the same result for the second time. And now, such a thing happened for the third time as if foreshadowing that such incident would be now considered normal.

‘If I remember correctly, it had worked just fine the last time…’ At the end of my first encounter with the Underclaw, I was able to use Assess on the monster when it turned to run away. But just like what happened with the ape, the skill didn’t work when it was used on the Underclaw for the second time. Although considering all that had happened so far, I noticed one obvious similarity between all three.

‘All of them are alpha-class monsters. So, maybe it has something to do with that? But that begs the question. Why did it work on the Drake, Cerberus, Anties Queen, as well as the Tronobo and Pronobo? Are you telling me that those monsters allowed me to do as I please? No, maybe they simply didn’t care?’

Considering the strength of those powerhouses, the likelihood that the latter was true was very high. After all, from those monsters’ perspective, I was nothing but a mere bug that they could crush anytime they want. In short, they must have thought that I wasn’t even worth the effort. ‘Now that I think about it, maybe these monsters thought the same?’

When that thought crossed my mind, I stared at the ape and Underclaw without hiding my contempt. And though he was in the middle of a desperate struggle, I noticed the ape glancing in my direction with a confused look on his face. Funnily enough, I almost could hear him ask, “what now?” just from his expression alone.

‘Okay, maybe he had such thoughts back when I was still a prisoner in his place, but when I met him on that ant territory, I had already completed my ascension. So, maybe, just maybe, he allowed me to see his status that time because he knew that I could provide some help.’ Of course, the thought of being used and manipulated like that was still kind of aggravating. But in my opinion, being acknowledged like that was a heck of a lot better from being looked down upon. So, for that, I would be willing to let it slide.

‘You’re damn lucky I have such a big heart!’ I exclaimed as I jumped into the fight. Seeing my approach, the Underclaw stopped his attacks, before leaping back. ‘Oh, no, you won’t!’ Taking advantage of that small opening, I activated the additional effect of Accelerate—Air-Drive—to propel myself forward.

*Clang! *

To my surprise, the Underclaw used the armor-like shell on his c.h.e.s.t to block my attack. And as my claws bounced back, I saw it swung two of its scythe-like arms with a speed that I couldn’t hope to dodge. But at that moment, I noticed a huge black blur on the monster’s blind spot, and in the next instant, it slammed its fist into the Underclaw’s right side.

*BANG! *

A dull sound echoed as the Underclaw was pushed back. At the same time, the impact from that punch created a firework-like explosion that carried bits and pieces of the Underclaw’s shell as it spread around. Then, using that opportunity, I dashed forward at full speed before the monster could react.

This time, I aimed at the gap between the Underclaw’s shell—in the same way, that I did with that ant. And as I had expected, I heard a wet swishing sound as I felt my claws tearing apart the flesh inside. But knowing what the monster was capable of, I didn’t dare linger on that spot and leaped back. As a result, the Underclaw’s vengeful counter was met with nothing but air for I was already gone from that spot.

It was then that I heard a high-pitched violent sound. In that instant, what flashed into my mind was the sound that a bullet creates whenever one passed by. A split second after that, I saw something incredibly fast hit the Underclaw and witness two of its arms be ripped apart by the resulting impact. But as if that wasn’t nearly enough, that thing continued forward and pierced about three to four trees before coming to a stop.

‘Eh.’ I gaped in surprise.

All of these happened so fast that the Underclaw could only stand there in a daze, frozen on his spot. And when I turned my head to where that thing had stopped, I saw three mangled and fallen trees, and a fourth that had this weird cylindrical object pinned on its trunk.

‘What the heck is that?!’ I exclaimed, both in confusion and shock. Because not only was that thing had been able to penetrate the Underclaw’s shell, but it was also sturdy enough to demolish three more trees and still be left intact after all of that. Of course, the power and strength in which that thing was launched was the main cause for its destructive effect, but without enough durability, such a result would be pretty much impossible to achieve.

Still filled with curiosity and awe, I looked back to the Underclaw only to see the ape dashing in for an attack. But what caught my attention the most was the supposed weapon on the ape’s hand. And just like that thing that had almost kill the Underclaw in one shot, that weapon that the ape had pulled out from somewhere has the same exact shape as if it was a clone of the other one.

‘Is that supposed to be a staff?’ Now that I had better look, I noticed that the cylindrical weapon was reminiscent of a staff. But what I was most curious about was when and where in the world had that ape acquired not only one, but two of that staff. Because as far as I could remember, the ape didn’t have anything on him before this fight. Furthermore, we were also in the middle of a monster-infested forest, so there shouldn’t be anyone around who could make such precise measurements to create a weapon like that. Besides, if something like that had been laying around this forest, then I should have at least seen it once.

Judging by how the ape has been spinning that thing like it was a part of his body, I could easily tell that he was quite experienced in using that kind of weapon. More than that, his movements and attacks weren’t something to scoff at because they were all precise, calculated, complex, and terrifyingly fast. In my opinion, those movements weren’t just something that anyone could copy or reproduce. Because as far as could tell, those were the movements of someone who had spent years in training their techniques and polishing them using actual live combat. In other words, the ape was like an old martial artist who had already perfected his craft.

With his newfound weapon on hand, the ape danced around the Underclaw and used his staff to file away at the monster’s armor-like shell—sometimes he would poke, while other times he would outright smash it like a whip. And since the Underclaw had lost two of its scythe-like arms; the monster wasn’t able to keep up with the ape’s relentless attack. At this point, the battle had stopped being a contest of power and instead had turned into a one ma— I mean, a monster show of technique.

‘This guy is really full of surprises…’ I sincerely praised inside.

To be honest, there wasn’t even a point in having me rejoin that fight. Because as much as I didn’t wasn’t to admit it, the combination of the ape’s latent abilities and combat techniques were so overwhelming to the point that I would only be a hindrance if I butted in at such a time. And considering that I was still in a weakened state, I would be nothing but a fool if I attempted to do that.

‘The difference between them is really clear to see…’ All things considered; it wasn’t as if the ape had acquired a sudden boost in his strength. In fact, I would even dare say that the Underclaw was still far superior in terms of raw power and latent stats. The problem was, the Underclaw couldn’t really use his power to its fullest extent simply because he lacked the necessary experience and technique to do that. To put in simple terms, it was like giving a high caliber gun or extremely sharp sword to an untrained and inexperienced civilian—yes, it would boost their combat potential, but they still would lose against someone who had both the training and experience in actual real combat.

At which point, the Underclaw was already too banged up. Even in my position, I could see a multitude of cracks and some large gaps in his armor-like shell. And in proof of the power in each one of the ape’s attacks, some yellow-green liquid was leaking out of those cracks and gaps which of course was most definitely the Underclaw’s blood.

‘Looks like it’s about time…’ As if in sync with that thought, the ape lowered his center of gravity in preparation to finish off the fight. But just before he lounges forward, I realized that something seemed odd about how the Underclaw had reacted. ‘Wait, why didn’t he tried to run away?’

On our first encounter, the Underclaw immediately ran away the moment he sensed that he couldn’t win. But during this fight, not once had I sensed such intent coming from the monster. And though it could be interpreted as a result of the monster’s overconfidence, the very fact that he didn’t try even after losing two of his arms seemed incredibly suspicious for me.

Unfortunately, the ape was too focused on his fight to even notice this fact. So, before I could even bark in warning, he had already dashed forward. And out of nowhere, I felt the presence of another on my back. Following my instinct, I leaped out of the way and saw a large figure passed by. In the corner of my eyes, I also realized that the ape had looked back in surprise. But before he could even react, the huge figure tackled him headfirst and created this wet smacking sound.

As that sound reverberated into my ears, I watched as the two huge monsters slammed into the ground.