The Playful Monster

The forest east of Magnolia Town was neither large nor small.

Normally!

The residents of Magnolia Town never came here, because it was said that monsters dwelled deep within the forest, so it was usually quiet...

But today!

The silence of this eastern forest was shattered!

"Ahhh~~~"

"Help!"

"Big brother, I know I was wrong! I won't bother you and your wife getting intimate ever again, just let me go!"

A miserable scream tore through the sky, startling a flock of birds into flight.

Within the forest!

Ul fled in panic with all his might, while behind him, an ape monster covered in blue fur chased him relentlessly, its eyes bloodshot, growling continuously, looking thoroughly unsatisfied.

The ape monster moved nimbly, especially in this dense forest, where it was like a tiger gaining wings.

Yet even so, it could never catch Ul.

Because although Ul's speed couldn't match it, his movements were bizarre, and it was precisely by relying on these strange motions that he managed to evade the ape monster's pursuit time and again.

Seeing that it couldn't catch him, the ape monster's expression grew even more frustrated, until finally it couldn't help but let out an unwilling and furious roar.

Then!

The ape monster's pursuit speed increased by another notch.

Seeing this, Ul's face turned as ugly as if he'd eaten shit.

He had been here for three days!

The first three days of training had gone smoothly. Although Ul had encountered some low-tier monsters along the way, because he spotted them in time, he had successfully escaped danger before they noticed him.

But this morning, an accident occurred during Ul's training.

"Big brother, can you stop chasing me? I really didn't mean it! How was I supposed to know you had a habit of 'morning exercise'?"

"Besides, it's not entirely my fault!"

"To be honest, if your taste in romance weren't so unique, I wouldn't have failed to notice at all!"

Ul shouted loudly as he fled, trying to reason.

To be honest!

Ul felt like he'd been screwed over by a dog right now.

Because he knew monsters existed in this forest, he had raised his vigilance to the maximum during these days of training. As long as it wasn't a monster skilled at hiding, he could usually spot and avoid most of them in advance.

But Ul never expected this ape monster to be so creative!

You want to "fight," fine, but couldn't you pick a normal place?

If you were in a cave, a grass nest, or even just anywhere out in the wild, I wouldn't have disturbed you!

But you just had to go and hang from the vines to play.

What?

After turning into a monster, you have to show off your skills?

"Oooh oooh~~~"

After hearing Ul's speech, the ape monster didn't calm down at all; instead, it grew even more enraged, roaring repeatedly!

From the look of it, anyone would think this guy had been cuckolded.

Crack!

While fleeing, Ul suddenly heard the sound of a branch snapping and couldn't help glancing back.

And that one glance made his face change drastically.

He saw the ape monster, in the midst of its pursuit, snap a tree in half and then swing it, hurling it straight at Ul...

Boom!

Ul did a forward roll to dodge the massive tree, which crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Oooh oooh~~~ Thump thump thump!!!"

Seeing Ul so disheveled in the tree, the ape monster howled with excitement, pounding its chest several times with its massive hands, each blow ringing out like muffled thunder.

The ape monster's intelligence was not low, and neither was its strength.

When he saw that uprooting trees was effective against Ul, he immediately abandoned his usual pursuit methods and started using the tree-uprooting attack.

Crack!

The weight of a large tree in the Ape Monster's hands was like an ordinary wooden stick; it casually pulled one up and hurled it at Ul.

"Damn!"

Hearing the whoosh of the tree behind him, Ul finally couldn't help but curse.

Then!

His escape speed instantly became even faster...

There wasn't a very clear hierarchy among Mages in this world, but by Ul's own standards, this Ape Monster's strength had probably reached the threshold of a B-rank Mage.

A monster of this level was not something Ul could handle right now...

It had to be said!

The escape techniques taught in Guga Combat Arts were truly top-notch.

Although Ul couldn't beat this Ape Monster now, relying on those escape techniques and his own physical fitness, the Ape Monster simply couldn't catch him—not only couldn't it catch him, it couldn't even land a hit...

Not only that!

As Ul gradually grew familiar with the Ape Monster's attack patterns, his evasive maneuvers became even more effortless.

"Seriously, big guy, I love the way you can't stand me but can't hit me!"

After dodging another tree-uprooting attack from the Ape Monster, Ul suddenly turned back and said to it with a deadpan expression.

Ape Monster: "?????"

"Ooooh~~~"

Ul's words clearly struck a nerve in the Ape Monster. In an instant, the eyes that had just recovered a bit of clarity began to turn bloodshot again, as if they might even shed bloody tears.

The Ape Monster roared wildly, its attacks becoming even more ferocious!

However!

It was all useless.

Before he knew it.

This chase had already lasted half an hour.

After continuously uprooting trees for half an hour, even the Ape Monster's arms couldn't help but start to ache. Just as it was considering whether to temporarily give up the chase—

Suddenly!

A familiar figure appeared before Ul's eyes...