024. Equipment!

Meanwhile...

The instant Black Monkey sent Merlin flying, black flames quietly began to spread across Black Monkey's body.

At that very moment, the muscular black-furred monkey, five meters long, who had just knocked Merlin away, collapsed to its knees. From between its interlocking fangs came a frail, utterly miserable howl.

Its glossy black fur quickly turned ashen white in the black flames, and hideous, gaping wounds abruptly appeared across its body.

Bright red blood sprayed from it again and again.

Its body slammed heavily into the ground as Black Monkey let out one agonized roar after another.

For a moment, the monkeys in the forest stood rooted in place, at a loss.

Merlin's eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth and sat up.

Black flames rose from his bent arms, and his injuries vanished at a visible speed.

In the blink of an eye, his arms were as good as new.

Merlin took a heavy breath. Absorbing the severe injury calamity had taken a toll on his stamina and focus.

His face dark, Merlin couldn't help feeling a hint of lingering fear. Luckily, he had equipped Lynx; otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted in time.

He strode toward Black Monkey, who was being ravaged by Platinum Lead Calamity and Pain Calamity.

He glanced around. When the monkeys in the surrounding trees met Merlin's gaze, fear appeared in their eyes. Then they slowly lowered their heads in submission.

Having defeated the old Monkey King, Merlin—their bald, hairless fellow—was naturally their new king.

Standing before Black Monkey, Merlin raised his right hand, black flames surging, and punched it in the back of the head. A muffled thud rang out as he released the calamities of his broken arm and severe injuries into Black Monkey.

With a series of cracking sounds, Black Monkey's thick arms suddenly bent at unnatural angles. Blood bubbled from its mouth and nose.

It grew even more listless.

Merlin looked at Black Monkey, hesitation flickering in his eyes. Then he went behind it, grabbed its tail, and dragged it toward the tree hollow.

Its tail stretched taut, and its nearly eight-hundred-pound body carved a long furrow in the ground as Merlin hauled it into the hollow.

Then Merlin realized the tree hollow didn't stink. Instead, the rich fragrance of fruit wine drifted faintly through the air.

He looked around. The hollow was spacious, ten meters wide and long, and twenty meters high.

At the very back, a heap of stones lay scattered across the ground, glowing with a hazy light.

Their glow lent the otherwise pitch-black hollow a strangely beautiful radiance.

Dropping the monkey's tail, Merlin followed the wine's fragrance up a slope on the right side of the hollow. He stopped before the petrified tree wall, where an irregular, flat, elongated slab of blue stone lay on the ground.

The wine aroma was coming from beneath it. Merlin's interest was piqued, and he bent down to move the stone aside.

In an instant,

a natural hollow, three meters long and one meter wide, was revealed.

Inside it, all kinds of fresh and aged fruit floated above the surface.

At the same time,

a rich wine fragrance wafted into his nose.

Merlin blinked, and a term suddenly came to mind:

"Monkey Wine?"

Kneeling beside the hollow, he pushed aside the layer of fruit floating on top. Ripples spread across the liquid.

He scooped up some wine in his palm and lowered his head to taste it. It was tart yet sweet, smooth and mellow, with an extraordinarily rich fragrance.

As the wine slid down his throat and into his stomach, warmth welled up inside him.

Soon, his whole body felt warm and comfortable, and the fatigue brought on by his earlier exertion began to fade.

"I wonder how many years this fruit wine has been fermenting naturally, with all those nutrient-rich fruits..."

Thinking of the legendary effects of Monkey Wine, Merlin pondered, then turned to look at the dying Black Monkey.

With a thought, Lynx appeared in front of him from the Equipment Slot, still unconscious.

The moment Merlin removed Lynx as his equipment, his vision changed.

He could barely make out his surroundings.

His body also felt "weak."

Merlin carried Lynx over to Black Monkey and placed his left hand on its head.

Whoosh!

His empty Equipment Slot was occupied by another [Equipment].

Information about Black Monkey quietly appeared in the Equipment Slot before him.

[Name: Dying Monkey King]

[Effect: After equipping, you gain the biological traits of the Monkey King.]

[Synchronization Value: 1%]

[Evaluation: A mighty king of a troop of monkeys, with an incredibly strong body but afflicted by several "calamities." A mutated member of its troop. After being equipped for a long time, there is a chance of permanently gaining a special trait possessed by this kind of monkey.]

Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly. Familiar but somewhat blurry night vision returned, and a powerful, explosive strength surged through him.

Sensing the difference between equipping the Monkey King and Lynx, Merlin stood and hopped around. Before long, a hint of distaste appeared in his eyes.

"Though it boosts my strength and physical attributes, its agility and dynamic vision are nowhere near Lynx's."

It was versatile, but had no particular specialty.

That was what Merlin thought. For him, Lynx was undoubtedly the more suitable equipment.

So,

Black Monkey appeared outside again in the blink of an eye.

The Lynx in his hand vanished at once, equipped once more.

Then Merlin's eyes suddenly widened. Lynx's Synchronization Value, which had risen to 2%, had suddenly dropped back to 1%.

Merlin's mouth fell open. He was puzzled, but soon instinctively understood what had happened.

[Once temporary "equipment" is unequipped, all previously accumulated Synchronization Value is cleared.]

The corner of his mouth twitched.

At the same time,

he felt a hint of relief. Fortunately, he'd discovered this early. If he ever removed his [equipment] after building up a much higher Synchronization Value, only to have it suddenly reset, he'd probably want to beat his head against a wall.

Luckily, he hadn't lost much this time.

Just then, Merlin glanced toward the hollow holding the Monkey Wine and walked over.

Next, he unequipped Lynx and plunged his hand into the Monkey Wine. The next instant, not a single drop remained in the hollow.

At the same time,

information appeared in the Equipment Slot.

[Name: Hundred Fruit Monkey Wine]

[Effect: After equipping, your body enters a state of all-around nourishment.]

[Synchronization Value: 1%]

[Evaluation: An accidental product born of a chance occurrence. A powerful wild monkey treasured it. It has many nourishing effects beneficial to living organisms. After being equipped for a long time, there is a chance of permanently gaining a special trait possessed by this kind of wine.]

As soon as he equipped it, a warm current welled up inside him, nourishing him from head to toe.

After a while, Merlin noticed his consciousness growing a little hazy.

A negative effect of the wine?

As his thoughts turned, Merlin gained a deeper understanding of this special kind of equipment.

The next moment, he willed it into being, and the Monkey Wine returned to the hollow. Lynx was equipped once more.

Merlin stared at the Monkey Wine in the hollow, pondering as he recalled the evaluation he'd seen when equipping it:

"If the Monkey King is gone, the troop might share this wine among themselves.

Then..."

He remembered passing a large bamboo grove on his way here.

Merlin covered the hollow with the long stone slab, then went over to Black Monkey.

He cut through the tendons in all four of its limbs with the blade of his sword. Blood sprayed as he ensured it could no longer resist.

Then he reclaimed Platinum Lead Calamity and Pain Calamity, making sure Black Monkey wouldn't die just yet.

Merlin headed out of the hollow and soon arrived at the bamboo grove.

He cut down a bamboo stalk half a meter in diameter at its base. Before long, he had two bamboo containers, each half a meter wide and one and a half meters tall, sealed at both ends by bamboo nodes.

He also made a bamboo cup.

Next, he used the tip of his blade to bore an egg-sized hole near the top of each container.

Before long, Merlin returned to the tree hollow with the containers for the wine.

He glanced at Black Monkey, lying on its side and squealing in agony, then walked over and thrust his sword into its neck, cutting a long gash across it.

With a flick of his blade, a spray of blood arced across the ground.

Merlin went to the hollow, moved aside the stone covering it, and used the bamboo cup to pour the Monkey Wine into the containers.

Time passed quickly. Twenty minutes later, both bamboo containers were more than half full.

The hollow, which was over a meter deep, had only a palm's depth of wine left.

Merlin looked over at Black Monkey, which had already breathed its last, and walked toward it with his sword in hand.

He began to skin it.

Merlin had noticed earlier that the monkey's fur was exceptionally smooth, and its hide was just the right size to use as bedding or a mattress.

Half an hour later,

Merlin returned, laden with his spoils.

Yol was still digging out a hollow in the tree.

Merlin began processing the hide, spreading it over a large blue stone beside the pool.

He scraped away the excess flesh and fat with the blade, then carefully worked the hide with a rough stone until the roots of the coarse fur were faintly visible.

He crushed the charred black wood into powder, added water, then wrapped the hide around it and kneaded it repeatedly to remove the last of the grease.

This turned the rawhide into tanned leather.

Then he tied the hide to a stone and threw it into the pool to soak. He repeatedly kneaded it in the water with sand and mud to soften it.

In the blink of an eye, two hours passed.

Merlin pulled the monkey hide from the pool, washed it carefully, then stretched it out with bamboo slats and hung it under the trees to dry in the shade, rubbing it by hand from time to time.

Time passed slowly. When night fell, Yol came over with Lami, looking triumphant after a job well done.

She smiled at Merlin.

"Our home is finished. Want to see what Lami and I worked so hard on all afternoon?"

Lami looked proud as she told Merlin,

"Brother Merlin, I kept watch properly today, and I even helped Sister Yol!"

Merlin ruffled Lami's hair and said with a smile,

"Good job, Lami. You're amazing!"

Lami walked over to the monkey hide and touched the pelt, her eyes full of surprise.

"It's this soft?"

Yol came over too and examined and stroked it. Then she turned to Merlin, a bright smile in her eyes.

"I never would've guessed you knew how to make a fur pelt!"

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "There's a lot you don't know about me.

And this is just the beginning!"