Chapter 129 — Monkaster

Chapter 129: Chapter 129 — Monkaster

Chapter 129 — Monkaster

Victor blinked.

Teacher?

He hadn’t known Monkasa had a teacher.

The old monkey laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Now, now, Monkasa. You know I don’t appreciate all that excessive reverence."

Monkasa straightened.

"Yes, Teacher. Sorry."

The old monkey shook his head with an amused smile.

He looked at Monkasa the way an older man looked at someone he had watched grow up. There was genuine affection in his eyes, and Monkasa returned the look with the same warmth.

For perhaps the first time, Victor saw a completely different side of his friend.

The loud, energetic monkey who loved fighting and banana pudding was suddenly much quieter. There was respect in his expression, but there was also something deeper.

Adoration.

The relationship between the two was clearly more than that of a student and teacher.

Victor couldn’t help but smile.

It was nice to see.

The old monkey finally turned his attention toward him.

"So..."

His eyes examined Victor for a moment.

"This is your friend?"

Monkasa nodded.

"The one you’ve been telling me about?"

Monkasa’s expression became slightly sheepish.

"Yes."

The old monkey chuckled.

"I’ve heard quite a bit."

He glanced at Monkasa.

"And apparently, this boy has been inspiring you to work harder."

Monkasa scratched his cheek.

"This boy can be pretty lazy sometimes."

Victor’s eyebrow twitched.

Lazy?

Before he could say anything, the old monkey continued.

"But I have to thank you."

He looked at Victor.

"You’ve lit a fire under him."

Monkasa looked slightly embarrassed.

The old monkey laughed again.

"I already know your name. Monkasa has told me all about you."

He extended a hand.

"My name is Monkaster."

Victor shook it.

"It’s nice to meet you."

Monkaster nodded.

"I am Monkasa’s martial arts teacher."

He paused.

Then his expression softened.

"And his adopted father."

Victor’s smile faded for just a moment.

His eyes shifted toward Monkasa.

Monkasa stood there quietly.

With a small smile.

Victor looked between the two of them.

He had known Monkasa as a loud, carefree monkey who loved fighting more than almost anything.

But now he realized there was a part of Monkasa he had never seen before.

A part that had been shaped by someone else.

Someone who had apparently been there long before Victor ever arrived.

Monkaster studied him for another few seconds before speaking again.

"You know, it’s impressive that you managed to learn Intermediate Monkey Fist."

Victor tilted his head slightly.

"Especially considering how quickly you learned it."

Monkaster’s expression became thoughtful.

"You learned it faster than the current Prime Ape."

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

"The Prime Ape?"

Monkaster nodded.

"It took him roughly a year and a half to reach Intermediate Monkey Fist."

Victor hadn’t expected that.

He had assumed reaching the Intermediate level in the time he had was normal, but he hadn’t realized just how unusual it actually was.

Then Monkaster looked toward Monkasa.

"And you learned it much faster than Monkasa."

Monkasa’s smile disappeared.

Monkaster chuckled.

"Honestly, before Victor arrived, you were probably looking at another three years before you finally understood Intermediate Monkey Fist."

Monkasa lowered his head.

Victor noticed immediately.

There was something beneath those words.

Something he didn’t understand.

Monkasa’s expression wasn’t simply embarrassed.

There was something else there.

Regret, perhaps.

Or frustration.

Monkaster turned back toward him.

"Honestly, when it comes to learning techniques, I’d even call you a prodigy."

Victor’s eyebrows rose.

Prodigy?

"But..."

Monkaster paused.

"When it comes to martial arts..."

A grin spread across his face.

"You almost have the skills of a toddler."

Victor stared at him.

Monkasa immediately looked at his teacher.

"Teacher."

Monkaster burst into laughter.

"I’m joking! I’m joking."

He paused.

"Sort of."

Victor couldn’t help but smile.

Monkaster’s expression became serious again.

"Jokes aside, the thing holding you back the most right now is your martial arts."

Victor listened carefully.

"Your fighting ability. Your understanding of how to use your body in normal combat. If you could improve that alone, you’d see leagues of improvement."

Victor didn’t take offense.

In fact, he respected Monkaster more because of it.

Monkasa respected this man.

If Monkaster was his teacher, then Victor would naturally respect him as well.

But beyond that, Victor could see the wisdom in the old monkey’s eyes.

And more importantly, he knew Monkaster wasn’t wrong.

He had experienced it firsthand.

During his fight with Monkasa, the difference had been obvious.

Without techniques, he had been completely outclassed.

Victor nodded.

"You’re right."

Monkaster’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"I haven’t had much practice learning martial arts. What I know is very limited."

Victor looked down at his hands.

"Most of the fights I’ve been in weren’t really fights I could learn from. I was thrown into one battle after another just to survive."

Monkaster nodded.

"Yes."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"It shows."

Victor looked up.

"Your instincts are overwhelmingly ahead of your martial arts."

Monkaster paused.

"But that’s not necessarily a bad thing."

Victor remained silent.

"If there’s one thing you need when it comes to fighting, it’s instinct. You can teach someone technique. You can teach them how to move their body. You can teach them countless methods of combat."

His expression became slightly more serious.

"But instinct is different."

Monkaster tapped his temple.

"Knowing when to move before you consciously understand why you’re moving can mean the difference between life and death."

Victor nodded slowly.

He understood that better than most.

There had been countless moments when his body had moved before his mind could catch up.

"Still," Monkaster continued, "your instincts shouldn’t be carrying everything."

He looked directly into Victor’s eyes.

"If you like, I could show you a thing or two."

Victor’s expression changed.

"I could teach you how to control your martial arts to a finer degree."

Monkaster smiled.

"I’d be more than happy to."

Monkasa’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Really, Teacher?"

Monkaster laughed.

Victor didn’t hesitate.

He immediately bowed deeply.

"I would be eternally grateful for any advice you can give me."

He paused.

"Teacher."

Monkaster’s smile widened.

"Good good."

He nodded.

Victor straightened.

Monkaster turned toward the dueling platform.

"The best place to start is with the basics."

He walked onto the platform.

Victor and Monkasa followed.

Monkaster positioned himself in the center.

Then he began demonstrating.

A simple stance.

A shift of the feet.

A turn of the hips.

A controlled movement of the shoulders.

A punch.

A retreat.

A change in direction.

Another punch.

Then a defensive movement followed by a counterattack.

Nothing looked particularly impressive.

Just the fundamentals.

But Victor watched carefully.

Monkaster’s movements were incredibly smooth.

There was no wasted motion.

Every step seemed connected to the next.

When he finished, Monkaster looked at Victor.

"Your first step is going to be mastering these movements."

Victor nodded.

"Every day when you wake up, practice them."

He pointed toward Victor.

"Whenever you eat, practice them."

Victor blinked.

"Whenever you go to bed, practice them."

Monkaster’s expression remained completely serious.

"And whenever you use the bathroom, practice them."

Victor stared at him.

Monkasa suddenly covered his mouth.

His shoulders began shaking.

Victor looked toward him.

Monkasa was clearly trying not to laugh.

Monkaster continued as if nothing unusual had been said.

"These movements need to become ingrained into your brain.

He tapped his temple.

"I want your body to know them before your mind does."

Victor nodded.

"Understood."

"We’ll meet every day for about two hours. The same time Monkasa trains."

Monkasa’s eyes widened.

"Wait..."

Monkaster looked at him.

"You’ll train together."

He gestured between the two.

"It’ll be good for both of you to have a sparring partner while I’m teaching."

Victor bowed.

"Yes, Teacher."

Monkasa immediately bowed as well.

"Yes, Teacher."

Internally, however, Monkasa was ecstatic.

Normally, he had to endure Monkaster’s training alone.

Every punch.

Every stance.

Every correction.

Every painful repetition.

Every time Monkaster pushed him past what he thought his body could handle.

But now?

He had Victor.

A fellow disciple.

A sparring partner.

Someone else who would have to experience the physical torture alongside him.

Monkasa’s grin slowly returned.

This is going to be great.

Victor noticed the grin.

He didn’t know why.

But somehow, he felt a strange sense of danger.

Monkaster looked between them.

"All right."

He stepped down from the platform.

"I’ll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

Victor bowed again.

"I’ll be there."

Monkasa followed.

"Me too, Teacher."

Monkaster smiled and turned around.

Then he slowly walked away.

Victor watched him disappear into the distance.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

Then a smile spread across his face.

For the first time since arriving in this strange world, Victor was going to have a proper teacher.

Not someone who simply told him how strong he needed to become.

Not someone who gave him a technique and expected him to figure everything else out himself.

Someone who could actually teach him how to fight.

And Victor desperately needed that.

He looked down at his hands.

Then toward the path where Monkaster had disappeared.

His smile widened.

Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.