Chapter 58: Mark vs Skull Ape [1]
The skull ape flew down from above at such a fast speed that it had no time to change its movement. Its powerful fist slammed straight into the tree with tremendous force, making the entire tree shake violently. A piece of bark and some wood chips were sent flying everywhere.
The powerful impact caused the bones in the skull ape’s arm to crack. But it seemed like it didn’t feel any pain, so it didn’t scream... Ah, the skull ape’s skull couldn’t make any sounds, so even if it was in pain, it couldn’t scream.
The recoil from the collision left the skull ape temporarily dazed, but Mark just stood there instead of taking this chance to launch a sneak attack. This couldn’t really be blamed on Mark because he hadn’t even been able to clearly see what kind of monster this was yet.
Now only about five meters away from the monster, Mark finally saw clearly what was trying to attack him.
"What the hell is this thing called?!"
He was already terrified by the power of the skull ape’s punches and long arms, and now seeing its completely white skull made Mark’s forehead break out in sweat.
His body seemed to no longer listen to him and started trembling. Although he had died twice before, this was the first time Mark had to face a monster.
Monsters were naturally stronger than humans before awakening. This absolute suppression in strength was deeply engraved into the instincts of humans.
Although Mark had awakened, he only had F-rank strength. His poor physical strength combined with an ability that was useless against the skull ape made him no different from an ordinary person.
Just think about it, the most important effect of a handful of sand was to temporarily blind the enemy. But did the skull ape even have eyes?
The System and Nexus had already calculated everything very carefully. They hadn’t randomly chosen a monster, but had chosen a monster that was completely immune to Mark’s superpower. Only being beaten into despair like this was the best way to break through his limits.
"This isn’t good. If this keeps going, it’ll definitely beat me to death."
Mark gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, his hand tightening around the spear shaft until it started to ache slightly. Obviously, he should relax normally and tighten his grip when necessary, but Mark was practically acting on instinct right now.
Although he looked like he was ready to fight at any moment, Mark didn’t rush forward to attack and just stood there on the defensive.
Mark was trying to buy time while rummaging through the memories he had never paid attention to, trying to see if there was any information about this monster.
"Skull ape, it’s definitely a skull ape. Weakness, I have to remember its weakness."
A long time ago, Mark had heard about this type of monster. The monster in front of him completely matched the description he had once heard.
Since it was a low-rank monster, it was bound to have many weaknesses that could be exploited. But no matter how hard Mark tried, he couldn’t remember them now.
Everything was extremely strange. The moment he remembered the key point, he would forget what that key point was. In his memories, everything about the skull ape was still there except for its weakness.
"System, do you think the difficulty still isn’t enough?"
At the top of the mountain, Nexus glanced at the System. Of course, he had no reason to seal part of someone else’s memories for no reason. So the only one who had tampered with Mark’s memories was always the System.
[Now it’s enough. Training means pushing yourself to the limit. The things he heard came from the experiences passed down by those who came before him, but we don’t need Mark to remember those things. I want to turn a piece of trash into someone useful. And at the very least, someone useful has to know how to analyze an unfamiliar enemy during battle.]
Maybe it was because the System had heard Mark flatter it too many times, but the System’s concern for Mark was a little too great.
As the one who acted as Mark’s master, even Nexus felt that compared to him, the System was the one who was truly Mark’s master.
Mark’s nerves were now stretched as tight as a bowstring. If he knew the System was the one messing with his memories, he would definitely go crazy.
While Mark didn’t make a move, the skull ape had already recovered from the recoil just now. It immediately charged straight toward Mark, throwing both fists at the same time.
That extremely stupid move that made it impossible for the body to exert its full strength was the skull ape’s absolute contempt for someone as extremely weak as Mark.
"You look down on me?!"
Mark started cursing loudly. Because he had been provoked, he threw his brain away and directly faced it head-on despite being completely inferior physically.
Following what he had learned from books, Mark raised the spear shaft to block the attack. The skull ape’s two punches were relatively aligned, so he could block both at once.
[What the hell is that stupid mortal doing?! How the hell do you dare to blatantly use such a stupid method to destroy the weapon I gave you?]
The System immediately started cursing as it watched. The spear shaft was made of good wood and didn’t have even a little spirit stone fused into it.
This was just a mortal spear. What the hell was Mark doing copying a technique cultivators used for weapons made from spirit stone materials?
Seeing Mark about to die stupidly without learning anything else, the System had no choice but to take action. The spear shaft had now been buffed with increased durability by the System, so it wouldn’t break easily anymore.
"I’m Mark’s master, yet I’m not even as anxious as you. Every action has a corresponding price. He made the wrong choice, and if the consequence is death, that’s perfectly normal."
Seeing Nexus’s indifferent attitude when talking about his disciple’s death made the System furious. The key point that made the System angry wasn’t because of Mark, but because Nexus hadn’t mentioned the most important point.
[You stupid master, what kind of extremely stupid and wrong idea about me are you having again? Do you think I’m worried about Mark? I did that because I didn’t want the gift bestowed by this great System to be destroyed in such an incredibly stupid way.]