Chapter 4: First Gene Obtained
Morden stared at the two golden monkeys that were currently on a thick branch, trying to observe each of their details.
The first one was a smaller and much leaner monkey; it wasn’t holding any weapon; instead, it just stood there baring its large teeth at Morden.
The second one, on the other hand, was much, much larger; its golden fur had a resplendent glow, and its eyes were sharper. It was even armed with another primitive-looking spear in its hand.
"I am getting ganged up on by two monkeys; now that seems unfair," he said while shaking his head.
Wohoohaaaaa!
As if they had suddenly grown tired of the stare-down, the lean monkey suddenly released a loud noise and jumped away from the tree it was currently standing on.
Its arm raised high above his head.
Looking at the approaching figure, Morden immediately shifted his weight to the side to dodge while also preparing to counterattack.
He didn’t really have any combat experience, but he also wasn’t completely oblivious to how to fight.
The flying beast finally arrived on the ground, and the moment it landed, a large crater was immediately formed on the ground.
"Thankfully that didn’t hit me," Morden said while sending his leg flying straight at the beast.
Dingg!
His leg hit it and was immediately sent back with a soft ding. Almost instantly pain shot up Morden’s leg and straight to his head.
"What the hell? How is the tiny beast so strong and also have such high defenses?" Morden cursed out loud.
He was then quickly reminded that he wasn’t fighting just one opponent as a flying spear came flying at him again with neck-breaking speed.
This time Morden wasn’t so lucky to be capable of cleanly dodging as the spear arrived in front of him and scraped his chest, leaving a gash that immediately started bleeding.
He was saved by his quick thinking.
The smaller unarmed monkey that was already close to Morden used Morden’s distracted state and launched another attack.
But instead of a punch or a kick, it grabbed him.
The grip wasn’t that hard at first, but after a few seconds passed, Morden noticed it tighten so hard he couldn’t move an inch.
Wooohooo!
The lean monkey shouted at the other one as if giving it the go-ahead.
Morden watched in horror as the other larger monkey raised its spear high and aimed at him. It seemed to charge up and then, with a wide swing.
Another spear was sent flying at Morden, but this time he had no way of dodging as he couldn’t get rid of the monkey currently holding him down.
"Death in less than an hour of arriving," he said with a dry chuckle.
But his eyes displayed something vastly different from his words; his eyes showed denial and refusal to back down.
He remembered that woman’s words, "Don’t die or I will have to kill you."
"Death in the Omnisphere meant death in real life."
He stared at the spear with eyes that were so hot he could almost burn it down in its path.
"But there’s no way; I am dying without finding out the bastard who did this to you guys," he shouted with rage.
In the fit of rage, Morden turned to his side, where a spear had previously landed, his blood still dripping from the stone head.
With a crazy twist of his waist, Morden’s hand grabbed the spear handle and swung it straight at the one flying at him.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Crackkkk!
The flying spear immediately broke the one Morden was holding and continued its path with only a slight change in its path and little to no change in the force.
"Haaaaaaa," Morden shouted in pain as he stared at the spear that had lodged itself in him.
His burst of rage had saved him; instead of his chest, which was the target, the spear was currently lodged in his shoulder.
Seeing their combo attack fail, the smaller monkey instantly released its grip on Morden and prepared to create some distance.
But Morden wouldn’t let that happen.
He gritted his teeth and pulled out the spear in his shoulder with a large amount of blood accompanying it and stabbed the spear straight down.
His stat boost and the adrenaline rush in the moment of rage both combined nicely in this moment as the spear met its target and stabbed straight through it.
The stab was so smooth, the lean monkey ended up dead in an instant.
Seeing its unmoving companion, the larger monkey flew into a rage and lashed out at its surroundings; luckily, it didn’t have any more spears.
Its rage was going unnoticed, though, as Morden’s attention was on the screen that was in front of him.
[Congratulations, you successfully killed a common-grade golden monkey and have been awarded 5 stat points.]
[Further rewards will be displayed on the status screen.]
It was taking absolutely everything Morden had to stop himself from going straight to the status screen, but he knew there was something bigger in front of him.
The larger monkey was already charging over menacingly.
Despite not knowing if it would work, Morden did the first thing that came to mind and immediately thought of adding the five stat points to durability.
[Durability +5]
The change in stat was immediately noticeable. The wounds on his chest and shoulder had the bleeding slow down, and it wasn’t as painful for him to move anymore.
With newfound confidence, Morden charged straight at the larger monkey with the spear skill in his hands.
In the blink of an eye, they both arrived in front of each other.
Morden raised the spear in his hands and sent it flying straight down while the monkey opened its jaw to bite down at Morden.
Unfortunately for the beast, Morden had another plan in mind. With a clean sideways weave, he moved to the side and sent his spear at the beast’s eye.
He had gotten that idea when he noticed how thick the beast’s body was earlier and how they appeared much weaker in moments they were unprepared for.
"Being spontaneous is the key," he muttered.
The beast was unable to move out of the way in time, and before it could blink, the spear had already moved deep into its skull, instantly killing it.
[Congratulations, you have successfully killed an uncommon-grade golden monkey and have been awarded 10 stat points.]
[Further rewards will be displayed on the status screen.]
Seeing the two messages again, Morden wasted no time and immediately called up the status screen.
[Name: Morden Tales]
[Race: Human]
[Status: Confused and Emotionally Depressed]
[Total Genetic Slots: 1]
[Occupied Genetic Slots: 0]
[Available genes: (Common-grade) Boost, (Uncommon-grade) Boost]
[Strength: 15]
[Speed: 17]
[Durability: 22]
[Assigned Mission: ???????]
[Temporary Mission: Obtain a gene and become a true bearer]
[Time Remaining: 1 hour 45 minutes]
"Wow, I obtained two genes from these monkeys. Is getting genes really that easy?" Morden said with a large smile.
"How do I record the gene then?"
[Are you willing to record the (Common-grade) Boost? Yes/No]
"Common-grade? Why would I record that when I have a higher grade one?" he said before quickly clicking on the "No" option.
[Are you willing to record the (uncommon-grade) Boost? Yes/No]
A smile formed on Morden’s face before he confidently clicked on the ’Yes’ option.
Just as he clicked that option, Morden felt something change in his body.
Something new was invading him and was heading straight for his core area.
"The gene must be heading to my tree," Morden guessed.
He remained quiet and paid attention to what was going on; he felt the new presence arrive and proceed to attempt to integrate.
But instead of a simple fusion.
The tree was shaken violently, and then there was nothing. Nothing happened, nothing changed.
The gene refused to accept and tried again, but it was met with the same reaction: a violent shake and then nothing.
[Error! Error! (Uncommon-grade) gene fusion unsuccessful]
"What the hell is going on?" Morden said in a worried voice while he stared at the screen in front of him.