B2 Chapter 10: Soft Spots (Patreon)

I sat on the beach until I watched the fake tower sunset. It was a beautiful replica and once it was dark enough; I went back into the jungle. Nights Eye kicked in immediately and even with a waning moon I could see everything. It would help if the monkeys didn’t have strong night vision, but I couldn’t assume that, so I crept through the brush slowly with my cloak wrapped around me and my hood up.

It’s okay. I can figure this out.

I’ve circumnavigated the whole island and seen nothing outside of it but the ocean. That means that the answer is in the jungle with the shanker monkeys. So what do I know about them? They like to drop on prey from above to take them by surprise for one thing. Their skin is so tough that my knife struggled to penetrate it. I have enough blood stored in my bracer for a blood sword, but if my knife couldn’t work, I doubt the sword will be much better unless I strike a softer, weak point.

The other issue is that there’s a whole group in there. If I end up fighting more than one at a time, I’m dead. The screeching from the monkey I fought with wasn’t just aggressive posturing, but it was also a way to signal to his buddies to come help. I guess it figured that I was large enough that it was willing to share eating me with its friends.

I envisioned myself going back in there several times over, now knowing what I know. Slowly, a plan formed on how to deal with them.

I sat on the beach until I watched the fake tower sunset. It was a beautiful replica and once it was dark enough; I went back into the jungle. Nights Eye kicked in immediately and even with a wanning moon I could see everything. It would help if the monkeys didn’t have strong night vision, but I couldn’t assume that, so I crept through the brush slowly with my cloak wrapped around me and my hood up.

I tried activating Heightened Awareness to see if I could hear them breathing, but with no particular direction to focus on, the ability cast a wide net and all I could hear were bugs chirping. I turned the ability off and moved silently from tree to tree as if it was still daytime and the monkeys could see everything. My hands were empty but thanks to my blood cache bracer, it would take me less than a second to bring out a weapon.

My last foray into the jungle had gone poorly, and I was determined to not let it happen again. My new plan began with recovering my knife. It might’ve failed to stop the shanker, but until I got more blood, it’s the only sustainable weapon available to me.

I had a rough idea of where I’d dropped it and I headed in that direction until I felt a connection through my Blood Magnetism ability. When the shanker monkey had attacked me, it had gouged into my back and leg. The blood from those wounds had dripped onto bushes and the ground. My connection to it was weak and fading since it had fallen some time ago, but I was able to follow it like a thread to the exact spot where I’d dropped the knife. There were even a few drops of shanker blood still on the knife from when I’d shallowly stabbed it.

I stopped about twenty feet back from it when I saw the problem. Well, it was more like thirty problems.

It seems the shanker monkeys were smarter than I thought and had staked out a position in the trees above the knife. They must have recognized the object's importance to me and hoped I’d come back for it. Now they’d hooked themselves into the trees all around it with their claws and were waiting to pounce.

Just one shanker monkey was a serious threat that had come close to killing me. In fact, I still carried serious injuries from that encounter that hampered my movement and reduced my fighting capability. Even with my new plan, I wasn’t prepared to take on so many at once.

Disappointed, I almost turned around to go back to the beach to get some sleep when my eyes caught one of the shanker’s sway slightly. Heightened Awareness sharpened my sight further to confirm what I suspected.

They were all asleep.

That still ran counter to my plans, but at least it presented an opportunity for me to get my knife back.

Harnessing all of my dexterity, I moved into the shankers trap and recovered my knife without making a sound. None of the monkeys so much as stirred when I left, which left me feeling frustrated. I’d hoped to run across one or two of them instead of the entire group. If they’re still like that tomorrow, then I’ll have to abandon the plan and search other parts of the jungle.

I almost made it back to the beach when I sensed blood above me. On instinct, I dove forward into a roll just as death came plunging down on the spot where I’d been standing. My injured leg screamed at me for the abuse I was putting it through, but it had been necessary. Had I not moved, then the shanker monkeys attack would’ve been fatal. Had it been any other shanker monkey, then I wouldn’t have felt it coming. Fortunately, it was the one I’d fought before. The one that still had dried blood on its fur from the shallow stab wound I’d inflicted upon it.

*Beast identified* [Jungle Shanker Monkey (Common)] Level: 60

The shanker screeched in frustration at hitting nothing but dirt. Unlike his brothers and sisters, killing me was personal. It had stayed awake while others slept and had waited here to take me alone. Perhaps it was a point of personal pride for the monkey, if they’re capable of such things. Regardless, I smiled at the good fortune. I now had a test subject for the theory I’d come up with on the beach.

The shanker pounded its fist into the earth and quietened down. It seems that it wasn’t quite ready to call for back up just yet. But I had to keep in mind that that was always a card it could play later. This fight would have to be quick.

It charged at me and I remembered what I knew about fighting them. Their skin was tough, their claws were sharp, and their dexterity matched my own. Or it would have if it weren’t for my injured leg. I can’t dodge and getting into close quarters with a knife had been disastrous last time, so I used the one clear advantage I had.

I bent my knees, lowering my height to make myself look like a more reachable target. The shanker took the bait and, as it was running, it leapt into the air with its teeth bared. This was perfect. While in the air, the monkey’s dexterity was nullified. It had committed its body to a certain trajectory and now had to see it through. But even better than that, it gave me an opening to test one of my ideas.

As it flew through the air towards me, I formed a blood sword in my hand and lunged. The tip went through its open mouth and severed its brain stem before it hit the tough outer skin.

*DING!* You have slain [Jungle Shanker Monkey (Common)] Level 60 – Experience Points and Currency Acquired

*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 54 – Experience Acquired.

The points were hastily put into dexterity and constitution before I grinned at my victory. My theory was correct that while their skin might be tough, they had to have weak points. The two most likely soft spots were their eyes and inside their mouths.

Now that I had finally killed one, I carried it the last few meters back to the beach to further study it.

My killing stroke hadn’t yielded much blood and their skin was as tough in death as it was in life. In looking it over, however, I discovered that the shankers own claws could cut through their skin. I made an incision across its torso and began draining it of its blood.

First, I healed myself and felt the torn hunks of flesh on my leg and wrist regenerate. The cuts on my back closed, and I suddenly went from being tired to wide awake and brimming with energy. The remaining blood, I pulled out of its body and used to fill the gems on my bracer.

I then turned my mind to the group of shanker monkeys living together. Just because I knew their weakness doesn’t mean that I was ready to fight them all at once. Hitting the mouth or the eyes in a fight required patience and precision.

But then a new idea came to me.

If they’re smart enough to think the knife was important, then they’re smart enough to know other things.

I cut off one of the monkey’s claws to use as a backup weapon and put the rest of the body in my inventory. I still had further use for it.