Dyne moved quietly, activating the effects of the Golden Compass. And while the Golden Compass couldn’t hide the sounds that the users would make when moving, Dyne’s training allowed him to move silently and quickly easily.
Although the ape had already moved quite a distance, the mark that Dyne left allowed him to sense where the ape was. Dyne was careful to keep a vast distance between him and the ape. He couldn’t see or hear the ape but was only guided by the Soul Mark he left.
“This would have been easier if my Ra-Seru was stronger…” Dyne sighed.
“What did you say?!”
“You heard it. If you were more useful, I could leave the mark there and stay with Rena making the base! But now, I have to resort to this. If he moves a certain distance, I lose track of him!”
Jedo was complaining and crying at the same time.
Strafe looked with pity at Jedo.
“Poor Jedo. I’m not even attached to Dyne, and he still shocks me to death. If not for my Light alignment and my tendency to resist the emotions of jealousy, I would have died in envy.”
As he kept moving, Dyne picked up fruits, herbs, and flowers along the way. Some he kept to the Monster Hive, some he rubbed all over his body. Soon, not a remnant of his scent remained.
With this, Dyne began to move closer and closer to the moving ape.
The ape’s loud howl soon draws the attention of many other apes. Soon the enraged apes rushed towards the direction where the ape pointed while several others began to carry the ape, who now couldn’t walk.
“Wow. The Apes are pretty smart…”
“A little too smart.” Strafe gave a hint.
“Too smart? Oh? Is Cheap Strafe giving me hints?”
“A bit. But since I’m not using my powers to pierce through the fate of these creatures, I’m also curious as to how organized they are.”
“I did think about that. These Apes are organized, but why didn’t they attack Merkley? I’ve always been taught about that. If they are monsters that acquired a source of power, why are they building an army? It’s as if they are trying to minimize their losses.”
“I guess we’ll both find out when we get there. Hrm. I forget that it's fun doing these things. Not knowing what the future holds…” Strafe smiled.
“My rule in gaming is to always play the first game without reading any guides, FAQs, or walkthroughs. That way, I experience the full extent of the game—the frustration, the puzzles, and so on. Knowing the game takes the fun out of it. I play the game until I reach the end part of the game or complete it. That way, when I replay it, I get excited in trying to acquire every other secret I failed to acquire in my first playthrough.” Dyne happily recounted.
“… Is everything a game to you?”
“That’s not what I mean. I guess I was just trying to tell you how to enjoy games better. In this case, life. Not knowing is part of the fun!”
“I’ve seen you’re memories. You practically replayed Final Fantasy 8 three times because of everything you missed!”
“Hey! That game had a lot of missable objects! I only discovered how to acquire the other Guardian forces on my third playthrough!”
“Get stronger. You may just acquire the Summons, GF’s, and Eidolons in the Final Fantasy series.” Strafe shook his head as he ended the conversation.
Dyne moved happily at the thought of having those creatures.
Night had fallen, and Dyne kept following the Apes, who were carrying the wounded ape towards the deeper regions of the forest. Dyne had used another magic using his Brimstone. By channeling the light into his eyes, he could see clearly in the dark. Dyne occasionally paused and used Spirit to recover the depleted AP and ran and chased the ape.
Mountains, hills, and cliffs stood in the middle of the forest, and strange wild creatures roamed the night. The apes kept howling and shouting to warn these predators.
The night creatures avoided the apes, and Dyne used the path made to avoid the creature.
As hours passed, Dyne concluded that the ape was rushing back to its base with the dark magic.
“Interesting. I’ve placed a dark mark on it to search for the dark source. I thought it would take days for the ape to look for it instinctively. But this ape is smart enough to rush back home as it knows that conventional means of healing that wound works. Is someone controlling the Apes?” Dyne wondered.
“Someone controlling the Ape?” Jedo asked.
“Yes. I’m betting it’s probably another Mid-Level city or another that is stronger. If this world has faced several falling meteors, then the various powers ought to be after these meteors. The Mid-Level city is using the Desolate level town to conquer this place. But what if…”
“Another Mid-Level city or a Sanctuary level kingdom is controlling the monsters to attack the Mid-Level city, Trithefert?” Jedo completed Dyne’s thought.
“Exactly. It could be a Sanctuary that wants to minimize its losses, but the most probable level is a Mid-level city. It fears heavy losses and is using the Kong Apes to weaken the Mid-Level city. It looks like the town of Merkley that is caught in between the crossfire would take some effort to save. Regardless, I need that Dark energy to make you stronger. Only by accessing the Imaginarium Bond and sending me in and out, along with the Hunters and Biron Monks, can we save the town.
“You’re serious in saving the town?” Jedo asked.
“It’s not just that. Ever since that Slime God sent his magic, I feel that there have been changes in the Imaginarium Bond. Legaia is in danger.” Dyne frowned.
“In danger? Is it going beyond the ones in your memory?”
“Yes. That Slime God is quite evil. He rewarded me with great stuff but upped the difficulty of the game.” Dyne sighed and continued to move hastily. His mind wandered and tried to deduce just what the Slime God did.
It was already past midnight, and the Apes kept moving.
The Apes' loud howls made whatever remaining predators avoid the Kong Apes, and Dyne kept following the group. He had observed the Apes for several hours, yet they didn’t reach the base.
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“Someone is definitely controlling them! Their main base is so far from town and sent platoons to scout the forest to ensure no human could reach here! So just what are they hiding?” Dyne wondered.
The group eventually reached a large crater on the ground.
“The crash site!” Dyne realized and followed the group. But the Apes ignored the crash site as if there was nothing of interest there. Instead, several Kong Apes stood on top of the Crash site guarding it in various locations. Dyne took one look at it and concluded that these Apes' position was akin to humans making a perimeter to protect something.
Dyne hesitated for a bit. The wounded ape was not carried into the crash site but kept moving north.
“Jedo… Can you sense the Dark energy?” Dyne asked.
“I can sense a weak source. But it's as if…”
“They are just remnants, right? So then that means the apes moved whatever crashed here into the mountains!” Dyne concluded.
Dyne began to move closer and closer. The various herbs that hid his scent and the Golden Compass worked perfectly, allowing Dyne to lip through the Kong Ape patrols that moved around the area.
A large cave that appeared like a crack in the mountain soon appeared.
The Dark energy leaking out from it was so thick that even Jedo could sense it.
“It’s in there!” Jedo exclaimed.
But Dyne was looking at the many fallen soldiers around the mountain.
The Apes had gathered the bodies of many soldiers, and a fence was built around the pile.
“What happened here?” Jedo observed the warriors.
“It looks like these soldiers were ambushed. There are no signs of battle outside the cave. So it means those soldiers went inside… Right now, we can see some Kong Apes guarding the entrance. So it doesn’t make sense why there are no clashes outside the mountain. These Apes are smart. It didn’t attack and allowed the group to be led inside and ambushed it then.” Dyne concluded.
“But how could the apes know when the humans attacked? Won't they need to prepare and hide all of the apes patrolling and guarding this entrance?” Jedo asked.
“There is a traitor. Whoever led the humans inside had a traitor among them.”
“Those humans... I can sense the potent energy in their bodies. A few of them are still alive. And some of them are stronger than Lucas!”
“Way stronger. There are Martial Formation cultivators among the bunch! That’s something only a Mid-level city has!” Dyne corrected.
“It's a good thing I have a few healing leaves left and some of those healing herbs and berries. If I condense more light energy in it, it should increase the potency of healing.” Dyne muttered softly.
Dyne then stealthily moved around the area. With the Golden Compass, his secret senses, he managed to sneak up to a group of alligator-like creatures that was waiting nearby, hoping to score a meal.
Dyne summoned Grim out of Jedo and hacked on the hiding creature. A shrill cry of a reptile echoed at the attack. Dyne then used the Chicken King and vanished.
The Apes near the entrance heard it and rushed towards the area where they heard the sound. Dyne threw a rock coated in Darkness and struck an ape. The ape roared and attacked the Alligators. The two groups began to fight, and more apes rushed to attack the alligators that were now trying to escape.
Dyne bypassed the guards and finally reached the barricade where all the knights were thrown into.
“The Kong Apes are herbivores. Why keep these people?” Dyne wondered as he moved to the group of battered men.
“Who-who is there?” A weak voice asked.
Dyne searched for the source of the voice. He then approached one of the dying soldiers that had the strength to talk.
“Are you alright?” Dyne asked as he moved in front of the man.
The dying man was shocked to see a person!
“There is no time...Please, listen to me! The Archbishop Lazarus, he led us down here to find the lost prince!” The man began.
Dyne was shocked after hearing those words. He was so shocked that he couldn’t move.
“Could it be?” Dyne gazed to the heavens as he realized what had happened. Tears began to stream down his face.
“The bastard led us into a trap! Now everyone is dead... Killed by a demon... he called… The Butcher!” The dying man continued.
Strafe was so shocked that his figurative jaw was wide open. This was just too much of a coincidence!
“The Sovereign… What did he do?” Strafe muttered in amazement.
“Avenge us! Find this butcher and slay him! So that our souls may finally rest…" The man mustered the remaining strength to say those words before falling silent.
Jedo was confused at the scene.
“That… That sounded like that game you showed me. Diablo, was it?” Jedo asked.