Chapter 146: Elvish Ape

"Good job, Erza!" Alice shouted when the ape was blasted away by Erza’s arrow and she immediately charged toward it again.

ROAR!

The ape slowly stood up and let out an angry roar, its eyes turning bloodshot.

Seeing Alice rushing toward it, the ape’s brutal eyes flashed with killing intent.

BOOM!

The ground beneath the ape’s feet sank inward, and it shot toward Alice at lightning speed.

Alice’s eyes gleamed slightly when she saw this and just as she was about to clash with the ape head-on—

Flash Step!

She activated her skill, and her figure instantly disappeared, reappearing right behind the ape as she swung her sword.

Her curved sword, wreathed in flames, cut through the air and headed straight toward the ape’s neck.

The ape sensed the intense danger and immediately raised one of its arms to block the sword.

Puchii!

Red blood splashed through the air and although the ape managed to stop Alice’s attack, its left arm, which had taken the full impact of the sword was almost severed.

ROARRR!!!

The ape roared in pain, and its focus wavered for a moment.

The instant it lost focus, Alice didn’t miss the opportunity and brought one of her hands close to its face.

"Pyro Blast!"

A deep-red fireball formed in her palm and struck the ape directly in the face.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The fireball exploded upon hitting the ape, sending it flying backward like a broken kite.

Because Alice was standing so close when the fireball exploded, she also staggered backward and suffered a few burns from the intense heat waves.

The ape flew nearly fifty meters through the air before finally crashing into a group of tall trees, knocking them down one after another.

Half of its face was charred black, with even part of its skull visible.

The ape groaned in pain and tried to stand up.

"Heal!"

Seeing the minor burns on Alice’s body, Kevin activated one of his skills, and all her injuries disappeared in an instant.

Erza, who was standing beside him wasn’t idle either. The moment the ape was blasted away, she had already nocked another arrow and fired it toward the monster.

This arrow was pitch-black and released sinister black smoke as it cut through the air, heading straight toward the ape.

The arrow struck the ape’s arm and instantly transformed into a black liquid that began corroding its flesh.

"Their teamwork is perfect," Evan muttered in a low voice as he watched everything from the sidelines.

ROARRR!!!

The ape couldn’t help but roar in pain as it felt its arm gradually becoming numb under the effects of Erza’s poisonous arrow.

Not only that, but the entire right side of its body was gradually turning black, and its flesh made a hissing sound, indicating that the poison was also affecting it from within.

ROAR!

Overwhelmed by the intense pain, a look of madness flashed in the ape’s eyes. A crimson aura appeared around its body, making its already powerful aura even more intimidating.

It sprang to its feet and, like an enraged bull, charged toward Erza, who had attacked it from a distance.

However, it had taken only a few steps when Liam, who had already taken care of the Rank One Golden Monkeys, suddenly appeared behind it.

Without hesitation, he used one of the most basic skills of an assassin.

"Backstab!"

Liam plunged his dagger straight into the back of the charging ape.

The ape felt a sharp pain in its back and immediately lost its balance, falling face-first to the ground.

Liam’s dagger was also coated in poison. Combined with the poison from Erza’s earlier arrow, it became extremely difficult for the ape to get back on its feet quickly.

Alice, who was standing nearby, didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately rushed toward the struggling ape.

She reached it in less than a second and swung her sword.

Swish!

The blade cut through the ape’s neck, almost completely severing its head.

It wasn’t that Alice couldn’t behead a defenseless monster with a single strike. It was simply that they had already decided who would land the final blow.

"Kevin!" Liam immediately called out when he saw that the ape was on the verge of death after Alice’s attack.

Kevin didn’t hesitate and rushed toward the dying ape.

Alice tossed her sword to him, and after catching it, Kevin immediately finished the job.

A fountain of blood erupted from the ape’s body as its head rolled across the ground.

[You have cleared the fifth floor of the dungeon.]

[You can now enter the sixth floor of the dungeon.]

Evan looked at the two notifications before him and smiled slightly.

"I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly," Liam said as he pulled his dagger out of the ape’s back.

"I thought a Rank Two monster would be much stronger, but this..." Erza muttered, shaking her head before sighing.

"This monster wasn’t actually that weak," Alice said with a faint smile. "If we had faced it one-on-one, it would’ve been extremely difficult to defeat. We were only able to take it down so easily because our teamwork was so good."

"Indeed." Evan nodded at Alice’s words. "This ape really wasn’t weak. It was only because of your teamwork that you defeated it so easily."

Just as they were talking, Liam suddenly noticed something lying beside the ape’s corpse.

"What is this?"

He bent down to pick up the object, and his eyes lit up as soon as he saw it.

"A skill scroll?" Alice raised an eyebrow when she saw what was in Liam’s hand.

"We finally got our first drop from this damn dungeon!" Liam exclaimed with a laugh before immediately checking the skill’s details.

However, as he read the description, his expression turned strange and he couldn’t help but glance at Kevin from the corner of his eye.

"Here."

He handed the skill scroll to Alice, whose expression soon became similar to Liam’s.

Kevin looked confused when he noticed that even Alice was looking at him.

"Why are you all looking at me? Is this a skill related to my class?"

Liam and Alice didn’t answer and simply smiled at him.

After Erza finished reading the skill’s details, she handed the scroll to Evan and looked Kevin up and down as if she were imagining something amusing.

Evan held the skill scroll in his hand and examined its details.

---) Metal Ape’s Fur (Rank One, Level 5 Active Skill): Upon activation, the user grows the hard fur of a Metal Ape, increasing their defense by 100% for three minutes. Cost 100 Mana Points to activate. Cooldown Time: Five minutes.

After reading the skill’s description, Evan immediately understood why everyone had been looking at Kevin.

Because of his class, Kevin had relatively weak defense. As a healer and buffer, he was also someone who needed protection the most.

If Kevin learned this skill, he would gain the ability to increase his defense by 100%, making it perfect for improving his survivability.

However, as Evan imagined what Kevin would look like after activating the skill, the corners of his eyes twitched violently.

"An elvish ape..." He muttered in a low voice as he pictured Kevin covered in thick ape fur.

"What are you muttering about? If you’re done reading the details, let me have a look," Kevin said impatiently before snatching the skill scroll from Evan.

He immediately examined the skill’s details and his face soon turned green.

He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

After a moment of silence, he tossed the scroll back to Liam.

"I have already learned five external active skills, so I can’t learn any more before becoming a Rank Two Evolver."

"Stop lying, buddy," Liam said with a grin. "I know you still have one skill slot left."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Kevin replied flatly, completely ignoring Liam.

Liam sighed when he realized Kevin wasn’t going to entertain him and turned toward Evan.

"Do you want it? I think you can still learn a few more skills."

Evan immediately shook his head.

"This skill isn’t suitable for me."

"What a pity," Liam sighed as he put away the skill scroll. "I really wanted to see one of you covered in ape fur."

"Alright, enough joking around..." Alice said, glancing at the portal that had appeared before them. "Let’s rest for a bit before heading to the sixth floor."

Everyone nodded and after resting for some time to recover their Mana, they headed toward the next floor.