…

  Skylar sat in a lotus position on his sophisticated, well-crafted bed, looking at the holographic status screen in front of him after returning from the real world.

  I should start taking things seriously. This world is not as simple as I’ve experienced it so far, and if I am not careful, I will get what I don’t want and lose what’s precious to me—like I did those times. Well… I don’t have any at the moment…

  After careful thought and a quiet reminder in his heart, he dismissed his status window. Then he made his way to a room at one side of his large bedroom, where he brought out a wooden jar filled with water.

  Leaving his bedroom—a hollow space carved inside the tree trunk—he moved from one room to another, circling the wooden house built around the massive trunk and along its enormous branches. With the jar in hand, Skylar arrived in a dimly lit room. Inside, he approached a wooden washbasin at one corner and hastily washed his body with the water from the jar, scrubbing himself with a bio-sponge.

  “Great,” he muttered after washing, stepping out of the wooden tub.

  He quickly put his pants back on and exited the wooden house through the window gap. Leaping out, he landed on one of the thick branches and made his way quietly down the enormous tree. Upon reaching its base—where he had been earlier—he found the ugly gray monkey and the golden monkey still there, which surprised him.

  These guys are still here… or maybe they left and returned, he deduced.

  Moving closer, he acknowledged their presence with a nod and sat down in front of the large log, his back inches from the huge tree trunk his house is but on.

  “So, I should just carve anything out of this wood?” he inquired.

  With an affirmative nod, the golden monkey responded, marking the start of a task not entirely new to him.

  …

  A few moons later.

  Pant, pant, pant…

  I can’t hit this bastard no matter how hard I try…

  Under the blue moon—the mystical keeper of time in the Farland, according to legends—two figures, Skylar and the ugly gray monkey, stood facing each other like children rehearsing moves from a martial arts demonstration. They engaged at close proximity in a bid to subdue one another. Skylar had his two arms locked with the gray monkey’s, their legs moving rapidly as both attempted to land a clean kick.

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  I am pathetic. I can’t even gain an advantage over a common monkey, and there is someone in this world who defeated a colossal tiger in just two hits. Maybe I should just quit.

  Suddenly, their entwined figures separated, both jumping backward and leaving considerable distance between them.

  “You are very strong!” Skylar acknowledged, his eyes on the gray monkey, who stood casually and smiled—unlike him, bent over and panting.

  I wonder how much stronger that arrogant bastard is…

  Curious, he glanced to the side at their only spectator—the golden monkey—sitting in a lotus position on a small hill. He seemed engaged in meditation, eyes closed, his towering visage illuminated by the blue moon hanging beneath the celestial heavens.

  This guy is incredibly strong. I can clearly feel his hidden might from here. At times like this, it’s as if he is as tall as the heavens. Is there really a possibility I stand a chance against him…?

  “Ah…” Skylar inhaled deeply. "I don’t know." He mumbled.

  After the short breather he had been allowed, he refocused on his quiet opponent a few steps away and closed his eyes.

  No matter how much I try to attack his openings, it’s like he anticipates it and blocks at the last instant. So vexing. This bastard hasn’t even tried to exploit the gaps I leave when I throw my useless attacks. It’s like he’s guiding me toward something again. So frustrating…

  He frowned.

  Then he shut his eyes tightly, intentionally dulling his ability to detect danger signals and forcing his sixth sense under pressure—making it guide him on what to do, how, and when. It was a skill he employed in hopes of bridging the invisible chasm between them.

  I see something…

  He focused.

  In the next instant, his opponent pounced.

  Left and up…

  Skylar dropped into a squat, barely dodging the ruthless wooden staff aimed at his head. A split second later, he launched a slow, skyward sweeping kick.

  With sharp reflexes, the gray monkey jumped midair, narrowly avoiding the kick. The inaudible soundwave generated by the strike traveled into the distance, striking a small cloud blocking the blue moon. The cloud vaporized instantly, clearing the sky and brightening their surroundings—a field hedged by flowers.

  After dodging, Karo disengaged, flipping backward several times before landing gracefully. He clapped three times, a bright smile stretching across his ugly face.

  “Not bad.”

  Meanwhile, the golden monkey opened his eyes, a faint smile on his face.

  “You can talk?!” Skylar exclaimed in surprise, turning toward him.

  The golden monkey stared at him with clear blue eyes, smiling brightly.

  Bastard…

  Skylar frowned, interpreting the smile as arrogance meant to belittle him. A moment later, he sighed and relaxed.

  "When the spirit is robust, when the soul burns… any sentient creature capable of communication can express itself in the first and oldest language in the cosmos…"

  Who—?

  Skylar traced the source of the voice and saw an old white monkey emerging from behind the massive tree upon which his house was built. Short in stature, with a glowing face and a long, abundant beard, he looked ancient.

  What’s with this nutcase of a monkey…?

  The old monkey smiled knowingly at Skylar, as if aware of his thoughts.

  "The language we call the Tongues," he concluded.

  So it’s not because I can understand them. It’s because they’re speaking a language I can understand. Skylar reasoned. That means this Tongue goes both ways—they can understand my language too.

  “Young one, that’s not necessarily true…” the old monkey interrupted.

  Brushing his snow-white beard with his wizened palm, he smiled as Skylar gave him a questioning look.

  This young one is definitely… the old monkey mused.

  "You must have met creatures that can communicate through the Tongues. They understood you easily not because of their effort, but because you instinctively speak the Tongue at important times—even if what you express is barely coherent. You are halfway expressing your thoughts in that language. You understand?"

  Skylar nodded, half-focused.

  So this old monkey is saying Pretty Sis and the others have been trying their best to interpret my words. But how am I instinctively speaking some ancient language?

  "They grasp your intent through your extremely robust spirit," the old monkey explained. "From there, they piece things together. It’s clever."

  But your spirit needs to be reforged, he added silently.

  The serpent mentioned something similar, Skylar recalled.

  He looked at the old monkey. “Old guy, are you saying I’m kind of… very loud? Is that stupid?”

  The old monkey briefly glanced at the gray monkey and the golden monkey listening in before answering.

  "You must have learnt to shield your thoughts. Intent hides behind thought. Unless you express yourself intentionally, no one can read your intent. But you still need to master the Tongues."

  He paused and glanced at the two onlookers again before turning back.

  "You are very loud and irritating when you ‘communicate.’ We will do something about that too."

  As he finished speaking, the old monkey suddenly appeared directly in front of Skylar—as if he had always been there—startling him.

  An old monster…

  Skylar narrowed his eyes at the ancient monkey, who stared back with clear, ageless eyes that seemed capable of piercing through his mind and uncovering every secret.

  After their brief clash of stares, the old monkey walked past him toward the exit—the gap in the flower hedge.

  *YOUNG ONE,* he called, his voice echoing across the field as if carried from miles away and amplified. *YOUR NEXT OPPONENT IS HIM. KARO, STEP DOWN.*

  What are these monkeys really after? Who would willingly focus on the growth of a stranger? It’s not like I have something that benefits them… or is there something I’m unaware of…?

  Skylar turned to the bald gray monkey and smiled in realization.

  “So your name is Karo. Your name is kind of girly. Is that why you act like a girl sometimes? And also your voice—”

  "Laud mouth, shut up!" Karo snapped, pointing toward the golden monkey, who watched them with his usual smile—the one that seemed arrogant.

  Prompted, Skylar turned to the golden monkey, his next challenger.

  This guy and his smile… so very annoying…

  "Idiot. You next partner," Karo chattered, reminding him.

  Suddenly it hit him.

  “F—, c—, u—, k—, me…” he muttered under his breath, eyes widening.

  It’s time for the mid-boss. Should I just run away…? No. I have to try, even if I don’t stand a chance. It’s not like it’s the end of the world…

  Resolving himself, he focused on the golden monkey, who was staring at his quivering fist with a vacant gaze.

  “Golden guy… let’s do it now,” he said quietly, issuing his challenge.

  "Come at me with everything you have," the golden monkey replied calmly, never taking his eyes off Skylar’s trembling fist. "If you touch me, you win."

  “Thank you for the win in advance.”

  He spoke rapidly and, like a cheetah, pounced—seeming to vanish in a flash, turning into a streak of light.

  But in the next hundredth of a second, he reappeared midair, a meter from the golden monkey, frozen for a brief instant before an invisible force struck his head.

  He was sent flying backward, spiraling into the distance before being embedded into a vine net, hanging there unconscious.

  "So weak," Karo remarked, his eyes reflecting Skylar’s distant, limp figure, hung amidst flower vines.