Saria stood off to the side, watching the giant Wardy locked in combat with the Gale Ape, a flicker of disdain crossing her eyes.
Jack caught that expression. Something about it didn't sit right.
He turned to her and asked point-blank, "Saria, you think Wardy can pull this off?"
A faint, smug smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Her voice carried a weight that suggested deeper meaning. "Couldn't say for sure. What I do know is even if Wardy wins, you're not walking away with a single piece of loot out of this."
The words snagged at something in Jack's mind. He pressed her immediately. "Saria, is there something you're not telling me here?"
She nodded, lowering her voice to a murmur. "C'mon. I'll take you somewhere actually worth your time."
Jack had no reason to distrust her. He slipped away from the crowd without a second thought, following her into the shadows.
Before long, Saria led him deep into a stretch of dense forest. In the heart of that forest, one thing dominated everything around it: a colossal tree, a full hundred meters high, soaring into the sky. Its bark was deeply grooved, ancient and weathered, radiating a quiet, primal gravity.
"This is where the Gale Ape makes its home," Jack said, spotting the deep claw marks gouged into the trunk.
"Yep. Now move it. We're heading up."
Saria sprang upward, leaping from branch to branch like it was nothing.
Jack wasn't about to be left in the dust. His attributes weren't anywhere near high enough for him to scale the tree in a single bound, so he drove his Blood Talons into the bark and hauled himself up. Moments later, he and Saria stood together at the tree's massive midsection.
"Look here," Saria said, pointing at a gaping hollow in the trunk. She grinned.
Jack peered inside. His eyes went wide. "That's the Gale Ape's lair?"
"The Gale Ancient Ape's lair," Saria corrected him.
The Gale Ape was only a C-rank monster, but half a day ago, it had still been the B-rank Gale Ancient Ape. B-rank and C-rank were entirely different orders of being. A single B-rank monster could crush dozens of C-rank monsters without breaking a sweat.
If the Gale Ancient Ape hadn't been afflicted by that curse, X and his crew wouldn't have dared to pick a fight with it even if they had ten times the nerve.
And the lair of a B-rank monster? That place would be stuffed with priceless treasures.
Rather than stand around waiting for Wardy's fight with the Gale Ape to end, why not rob the ape's home blind while they had the chance?
Jack and Saria slipped inside the hollow without another word and began their search.
The cavern was pitch-black, the floor slick with slimy fluids that squelched underfoot. They searched for a long while. Saria's brow furrowed.
"Nothing. Not a single decent find."
Jack wasn't disappointed. Just having the chance to explore the lair of a B-rank monster was more than enough for him.
Then, from somewhere deep in the darkness, a low growl rumbled through the cave.
Both of them went rigid. That sound was unmistakable. The roar of a Gale Ape. But this one was different from the beast Wardy was fighting outside. Weaker. Frailer.
Saria's expression sharpened. She pulled out a flashlight and switched it on. The beam cut through the darkness and fell on a creature huddled at the far end of the cavern. A stocky, stunted body covered in green-gray fur. A juvenile Gale Ancient Ape.
"Is that a Gale Ancient Ape cub?" Jack asked, stunned.
Saria nodded slowly. Her voice was grim. "That's right. But from the looks of it, this little one didn't inherit much of its parent's power. It's nothing more than a D-rank monster. A Gale Ape Cub."
"A D-rank monster?"
Jack's heart leapt. This was exactly what he needed. A D-rank beast carcass. If he could kill this cub, he would meet every requirement to advance to a D-rank profession. And once he became a D-rank professional, he would stand among the elite of
Frostveil City's younger generation.
Saria studied the heat in Jack's eyes. A knowing smile crept across her face. "Jack, you look pretty damn eager to take this little guy out."
Jack nodded. "Slaying monsters is the sacred duty of every citizen of the Kingdom."
Saria gave him a strange look, not entirely sure what to make of his answer. Still, she said, "Fine. You go first. If you can't handle it, I'll step in. But..." She let the word hang in the air, half-joking, half-serious. "If it comes to that, the carcass is mine."
"Deal."
Jack nodded once, then raised the Blood Talons and charged at the cub.
The Gale Ape Cub wasn't about to back down. It swung its fists—each one the size of a sandbag—straight at Jack's head.
Jack sidestepped and raked the talons across the cub's back. Blood sprayed. The cub shrieked in agony.
For a D-rank monster, this thing had pathetic combat instincts. It had barely left the lair since birth. Its fighting awareness was practically nonexistent.
But D-rank was still D-rank.
The cub adapted fast. It activated its skill: Gale Slash. In an instant, blades of wind came howling at Jack from every direction.
His speed skill, Rapid Surge, was still on cooldown. All he could do was try to parry with the Blood Talons, and it was ugly.
This was when Jack felt the hard limits of the Wasteland Hunter profession. It was built for ambush and stealth. Head-on brawls like this? Brutal. Total mismatch.
"When am I finally gonna unlock a second profession?" he muttered to himself, weaving between wind blades.
"How's it going, Jack? Need a hand?" Saria leaned against the cavern wall and smiled.
"Nah. I've got this."
Jack drew a slow breath. He kept dodging, watching. Searching for the one clean opening.
And then he found it.
Every time the cub used Gale Slash five times in succession, it paused. Just for a beat. A single, fleeting moment of stillness.
That was his window.
"Now!"
The instant the cub froze, Jack hurled the Blood Talons through the air. He didn't have time to close the distance. The throw was all he had. If it didn't kill the cub in one shot, he was disarmed and done. He'd have to beg Saria for help.
"Hit. Please hit."
The talons cut a silent arc through the dark and buried themselves in the cub's skull. A piercing wail ripped through the cavern. Blood fountained into the air. The cub crumpled to the ground.
Jack exhaled, relief flooding through him.
He pulled up his system panel. All three tasks were now marked with the same clear note: Complete.
" So what are you planning to do with the carcass?" Saria walked over and gestured at the ground.
Jack blinked at her, wide-eyed and innocent. "Saria, what carcass?"
"A D-rank monster carcass. I'm not gonna steal it from you, relax."
Saria rolled her eyes.
"There really isn't a carcass." Jack pointed at the empty ground, a sly grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.