Monkey Evolution

Chapter 9: Battle Against the Lesser Mouse

Although Mamadou was in perfect condition, he decided to spend some time doing nothing while organizing his thoughts.

During that period, he rarely left his hideout and survived mostly on leaves without caring about their taste.

He had carved several stones and used them as tablets.

On them, he engraved all the information he knew.

It was a way to avoid forgetting certain things, but also a way to pass the time.

He recorded information, crafted new tools, and among them were a new axe, a spear, and a stone knife.

Of course, he knew he could not remain in this state forever.

There was still far too much to do.

The moment he finished carving his second knife, he stood up.

"I think it’s time."

He approached one of the walls of his cave and ran his hand across its surface.

Mamadou realized that the wall was hard, as hard as the stones he had been carving.

It was exactly what he needed.

First...

Mamadou opened and closed the palm of his hand, repeating the motion several times as if he were warming up.

"Let’s do it normally first."

He scratched the wall.

He had thought his fingers might break, but they did not.

Instead, claw marks appeared on the cave wall. freewebnσvel.cøm

"I had a feeling, but this thing is sharp and powerful."

Mamadou nodded, satisfied with the result.

"Now let’s try the skill."

Pain Resistance had activated on its own.

Because of that, Mamadou did not know how to test his Claws skill.

If I think about using the skill, will it activate?

Do skills trigger through thought?

"Let’s see."

He warmed up his hand once again.

This time he would use the exact same attack, but while activating the skill.

He also wondered whether it was really the same attack in the first place.

Previously, he had merely scratched the wall.

Still, I have a feeling I know how to use these skills.

As if the knowledge is engraved inside me.

Without further hesitation, Mamadou activated Claws against the cave wall.

"Oh."

He was pleasantly surprised.

The mark left by his first attack and the second attack had nothing in common.

The first one could only be considered superficial. frёewebηovel.cѳm

He was confident he could cut a snake’s head off in a single strike.

The pleasure of finally seeing things go his way gave him courage.

As a result, he decided that he could no longer continue eating leaves.

Furthermore, stagnation meant death, especially in a place filled with dangers.

He therefore decided to go hunting.

However, he had grown tired of goblins, so he headed in the opposite direction of their territory.

Once again, he walked for a long time.

His endurance was better than before.

His speed had improved as well.

Even so, he made sure to maintain a steady pace so that he could always observe his surroundings.

He had developed a certain fear of being attacked from behind.

As a result, he always tried to prioritize safety.

Mamadou had three objectives:

1. Hunt something other than a goblin.

2. Hunt something new.

3. Find a water source.

He was tired of drinking sap collected from tree leaves.

He also wanted to take a bath.

It had been a long time since he had taken one, and since arriving here, it had not rained even once.

The second objective existed because there was not much advantage in repeatedly hunting and eating the same thing.

Since his Evaluation skill did not level up from analyzing the same target over and over again, he reasoned that repeatedly hunting the same prey would likely provide diminishing benefits as well.

As for the first objective, Mamadou now hated goblins.

He no longer wanted to see those creatures.

He considered them disgusting pests.

While wandering through the forest in search of his next prey, he eventually found one.

Mamadou used his Evaluation skill.

[Lesser Mouse Level 2]

Lesser?

What exactly was supposed to be lesser about this thing?

What Mamadou was looking at was a giant mouse that his skill had somehow decided to classify as a Lesser Mouse.

He was fairly grateful that Evaluation now displayed enemy levels.

However, he thought the System had a serious problem.

There was absolutely nothing lesser about the creature in front of him.

I’ll launch a surprise attack.

But considering its size, that’ll be difficult.

The best approach would be to block its vision.

Mamadou suddenly heard movement.

The Lesser Mouse had started moving.

He immediately abandoned the idea of a surprise attack.

He had been spotted.

The Lesser Mouse was charging directly at him.

Am I just terrible at hunting?

I feel like I’m always the one getting surprised.

I never manage to take the initiative.

Damn it.

I’m a Level 2 Ark, aren’t I?

Don’t I have something that can intimidate a mouse?

Tch.

Just as the Lesser Mouse was about to crush him, Mamadou jumped and landed on top of its head.

He spun his stone knife between his fingers and drove it into the Lesser Mouse’s left eye.

The creature let out a shriek.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

It began thrashing wildly.

Remaining on its head was no longer possible.

Mamadou jumped to the side.

"That thing almost got me with its charge. Good thing my stats improved."

The knife remained embedded in the Lesser Mouse’s eye since Mamadou had no opportunity to retrieve it.

He grabbed the second knife attached to his belt and assumed a fighting stance.

This time, Mamadou was the one who charged.

The Lesser Mouse was not intimidated.

It rushed furiously toward him.

Mamadou moved into its blind spot and plunged the second knife into its right eye.

Because the Lesser Mouse was already in full charge, Mamadou, whose knife was still buried in the creature’s eye socket, was carried along until the Lesser Mouse slammed into a tree.

Mamadou crashed into it as well.

His HP dropped by five points.

However, that was negligible compared to his encounter with the goblin.

The strategy was simple.

Mamadou immediately got back up and slashed the Lesser Mouse’s left leg with his Claws skill, reducing its mobility.

Now that its vision was gone, it would become unpredictable.

Mamadou needed to finish it quickly.

Aside from its size, the Lesser Mouse doesn’t have much going for it.

No special abilities.

It’s just a giant wild mouse.

Its charge isn’t anything special when you’re faster and more agile.

It’s time to finish it off.