The Earth After Rebirth

The mountain suddenly felt like an insurmountable foe. Not because of the bloodbath that awaited them in a few seconds, but something beyond that.

Whatever Hubris sniffed at the foot of the mountain, they were finally going to be face to face with it. It leaked out its horrid disgusting aura, Kiro wasn't sure they were ready for it. But seeing as they had to take of this first, he put it out of his mind.

They climbed atop a little mountain top. Instead of the white ground they've been walking on all this way, it was red, red with all the crimson monkeys.

Ding!

[You've achieved something no one has. Conquering Sun's mountain is a great feat. This will be recorded in the hall of fame.]

"This can't be it? What about the many monsters this mountain is supposed to have?" He clicked his tongue, remembering he started watching this game after the patch.

Kiro knew that beating these minions wouldn't be the end of it, he wouldn't have had conquered Sun's mountain because what he feels beyond this point is even more sinister. So he didn't understand why the system couldn't detect it. Maybe they were still out of its reach.

[You've encountered Fire Monkeys. They're impervious to any kind of fire. They're a very agile bunch.

Fire Monkeys

Level 40

HP: 10000-25000]

The one that was chasing after them, didn't bother to climb the mountain top, it simply jumped over it and landed in front of its troops. It started banging its chest like it were a drum.

The troops followed with stomping their feet. At first glance it sounded like random chaotic sounds, but it was actually rhythmic. He couldn't make out which song it was, though he concluded this was their warcry of some kind.

The monkeys had crimson fur, like a rapid flaming forest fire. This is where their name came from. Their fur covered most of their face, it was trimmed so well it resembled a beard. They were awfully humanlike, they weren't hunched like normal monkeys. They stood up straight, looking at their enemies, well one of them, right in the eye.

Kiro wasn't going to wait for them to stop, so he appeared in front of their general and aimed his foot for his temple. The monkey general reacted faster than Kiro predicted, he didn't just block his attack, he grabbed his leg.

It cackled, mocking him. Kiro drove his palm aiming for his face, his palm was accompanied by a twisted gast of whirlwind when the kick failed him. It let go of his leg immediately, started it's countermeasures and dodged, jumping backwards as it did.

The little distance it created meant nothing, Kiro had already blinked to where it landed, he planted his fist, square on its face. It was pushed back, fell between it's allies, grazing the mountain floor and creating a path as it went.

Every monkey there acted at the same time, they jumped, attempting to land on their enemies to overwhelm them with numbers. As if connected by telepathy, both Hubris and Kiro activated fear inducement and vibrations, respectively.

They stunned the ones in their vicinity, it was a sight to see. It was raining monkeys in slow motion. They were stuck midair without anything to defend themselves with.

Hubris started clawing his way into the deepest parts of their stomachs, gauging out intestines as he went. The weakest part on their body was the torso. He was very surprised to learn that, although they could move, their defenses were almost nonexistent.

Kiro didn't have the chance to join in on the fun Hubris was having, as their general wasn't affected by the stuns because of the distance Kiro's attack put between them. He ran straight for the one who embarrassed him in front of his men.

It ran with the wind, causing a small gust of air as it went. The air around it denied it's name, it was colder than anything they've felt in this mountain. But it was too bad it had run into these two.

Kiro kicked some of the stunned monkeys to distract the one charging for him. They fell ontop of him one after another, it swatted them to the side without betting an eye, killing some of them.

He suddenly understood the savagery he saw in its eyes. For them, power was everything. The alpha could do as it pleased with the rest of its followers. This reminded him of the real world, a bit. Which angered him greatly, causing him to welcome its challenge, he ran straight for it.

It threw a punch as it came face to face with him, he dodged and planted an uppercut right on its chin. It flew in the air but managed to land on its feet, he was already in front of it, getting on his knees and elbowed it on the solar plexus. Draining its lungs of the very thin air that was in Sun's mountain peak.

Kiro never gave it the slightest chance to breathe. He used it as a proper punching bag, preparing for the real challenge ahead. They had a real challenge with the golems, these monkeys weren't enticing enough.

Hubris didn't even use his flames, the way these monsters were so confident not so long ago, made this one sided death sentence something humourous.

"Master, don't you want to take a break?" He asked decapitating one after another.

"So you can win? Very sneaky Hubris!"

Hubris was having too much fun to think of something as insignificant as the bet. He had forgotten they were in competition with each other, he was just being a loyal mutt to his master.

Ding!

[Congratulations, you've reached the peak of Sun's mountain and conquered it. This will be recorded in the hall of fame.]

[You've defeated the fire Monkeys. You've received 300k EXP and 50k gold coins.]

[You've levelled up]

"Wow, I still can level up? I bet the next one won't be for a very long time."

After that, the system didn't give out anything else. Kiro was suspicious that it was failing to mention something that was there. Hubris could sense, he also could, but not the system.

Kiro stood atop Hubris, looking at the beyond. They had no idea what to expect there. They still wanted to go. Ryu was safely strapped on Kiro's back.

"Are you ready, buddy?"

Hubris didn't answer, not with words anywhere. He instead took the largest leap he had ever taken. He ran faster than both thought he was capable.

Kiro simply smiled at how obedient his little mutt had become.