Book 4: Volume 4 Chapter 3, Alignment

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

Friend Monkeys were monkey-like monsters that live on the 43rd Floor of Amamiya Tower. While their individual combat abilities are not particularly high, they were classified as upper-intermediate due to their excellent ability to cooperate with their allies.

 

That said, Friend Monkeys’ combat abilities are not particularly high to begin with. Even if their cooperation improves, the benefits were limited. The problem was that Friend Monkeys do not only cooperate with their own species.

 

For example, the Hail Rat that Riku was facing now also coordinates its attacks with a Friend Monkey. In short, Friend Monkeys were one of the few monster species that could cooperate with other species.

 

When this species was first discovered, it was mistakenly thought that they were born as a leader species. However, it is now confirmed that Friend Monkeys were born with the ability to cooperate with monsters of other species.

 

As a result of this ability, Friend Monkeys were able to launch a variety of attacks. What makes Friend Monkeys even more troublesome was that some individuals could use magic.

 

Magic-capable Friend Monkeys were initially counted as a different, higher-level species, but years of observation concluded that they were not. Even so, the fact that some individuals are able to use magic suggests that, like humans, there were some who could learn magic and some who could not.

 

While the truth of this remains unknown, it at least proves that Friend Monkeys were monsters that could learn magic if they chose to.

 

This Friend Monkey was chosen as the opponent for Riku and his companions’ rank-up exam. After somehow defeating the Hail Rat, Riku immediately headed toward the Friend Monkey that had given orders.

 

However, it escaped at the last moment and was soon reunited with its companions. As expected of a formidable opponent, Riku was not checking on Kousuke and the others at the moment.

 

After the Friend Monkeys escaped, Riku remained vigilant, checking on his allies. Looking at the results, none of them had sustained any serious injuries, and they had succeeded in reducing the monster numbers. However, they had not been able to defeat a single Friend Monkey.

 

After checking their surroundings, Riku reunited with his allies, and one of them spoke to him. “What should we do? Should we retreat and regroup?”

 

Riku immediately shook his head in response. If even one of them had been seriously injured, he would have considered doing so, but for now, only minor injuries remained.

 

Rather, he decided that it would be better to launch a further attack now that the Friend Monkeys were bringing fewer monsters with them.

 

“No, let us keep going. However, this time, be careful not to get separated.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Earlier, he had fallen into the Friend Monkeys’ trap and was forced to deal with them individually. However, next time, they aimed to maintain a certain distance so that they could coordinate their efforts.

 

It seemed his companions had no further opinions, as they all nodded and headed back toward the Friend Monkeys.

 

…

 

Kousuke and the others were observing Riku and his companions from a distance. If they did not maintain a certain distance, it would affect Riku’s hunting. In this situation, Rukich, who was in charge of scouting, was extremely helpful.

 

He used his more than ample abilities to monitor the details of the battle from afar.

 

“They are quite impressive. I was not sure what would happen at first, but they managed to pull themselves together.”

 

“Oh? They were able to stay calm even after being split up,” Rukich’s words made Gazeran look slightly impressed.

 

It is very common for a party to be split up by Friend Monkeys’ coordinated attacks. Friend Monkeys appear in forests, so they have the complete advantage. On top of that, they usually launch preemptive attacks, making things extremely troublesome.

 

Parties that struggle to deal with Friend Monkeys typically fall apart after being split up, unable to stay calm. Even if they understand it intellectually, parties tend to panic when their familiar strategies got disrupted.

 

Those who make it to the top were those able to stay calm even when their usual formation got disrupted. From that perspective, Riku and his teammates passed flyingly. In fact, the pass/fail status of the test was practically decided at this point.

 

The collected materials were merely an added bonus.

 

Meanwhile, Kousuke joined the conversation in a leisurely tone. “It looks like the Friend Monkeys will be manageable somehow, but I wonder if they have noticed the one approaching now?”

 

There was a moment of silence as Kousuke spoke.

 

“What? Damn, I have gotten so slow.” Rukich said.

 

Perhaps finally realizing what Kousuke pointed out, Rukich turned his gaze away from Riku and the others. Gazeran, understanding the situation from their conversation, narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction they were observing.

 

“I cannot see it yet, but is something coming?”

 

“Yes… this will get troublesome. It’s a pack of Red Wolves.”

 

Gazeran narrowed his eyes. “I see, that certainly sounds troublesome. Should I intervene?”

 

It is said that the combination of Friend Monkey and Red Wolves could rival an advanced team in some cases. Gazeran thought this was too much, but Kousuke shook his head.

 

“It’s fine. Besides, Riku seems to have noticed the Red Wolves as well.”

 

Kousuke said, turning to look at Riku and the others.

 

…

 

Just as Kousuke had guessed, Riku had already noticed the Red Wolves approaching. Furthermore, if the Red Wolves and the Friend Monkeys joined forces, they would be at a considerable disadvantage, if not completely defeated.

 

Having confirmed the situation, Riku quickly made a decision.

 

“Let us leave this area for now! Retrieve all the Friend Monkeys we’ve just hunted.”

 

With that order, he cut off the tail of the Friend Monkey he had just defeated and set off. Riku’s companions, who had been about to attack another Friend Monkey, also immediately moved.

 

With the two Friend Monkeys they had barely managed to hunt, they quickly left the area. If they had acted even a little later, those still alive would undoubtedly have been joined hands with the Red Wolves, and things would get really complicated.

 

However, because Riku’s orders were given quickly, they avoided being suddenly attacked from the side by the Red Wolves.

 

And so, Riku and his companions left the area, hearing the frustrated cries of the Friend Monkeys. Afterward, they defeated the Red Wolves individually as they pursued Riku’s group after they had left the scene.

 

Riku and his companions’ skills would have been enough to handle the Red Wolves, as long as they do not teamed up with the Friend Monkeys.

 

Unfortunately, when they finally managed to defeat the Red Wolves, there were no Friend Monkeys in their original location. The ones they had defeated before the Red Wolves arrived were not enough, so Riku and his companions still needed to end up finding the pack of Friend Monkeys again and finally succeeded in defeating the required number.