Chapter 36: Something Interesting
Mamadou retraced his steps.
Since the Greater Ark Monkey had expressly told him not to venture beyond the first level, he did not want to accidentally end up on the second floor.
Even knowing what he had accomplished so far, he still found it difficult to suppress his curiosity.
After all, taking a quick look to see what he was dealing with couldn’t hurt, could it?
Nevertheless, he pushed the thought aside.
As he approached the entrance of the pit, he could see daylight.
So it was daytime.
He immediately began climbing the wall that led straight to the surface and realized just how far he had fallen.
Once outside, Mamadou breathed in the fresh air.
He felt free.
Aside from the chamber where the special monster had been, the rest of the pit had possessed a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. Although he had gradually become accustomed to it, the smell had never been particularly pleasant.
Mamadou stretched his body.
"Ah, there it is!"
He found his basket-shaped backpack exactly where he had left it—or rather, where it had fallen.
Mamadou immediately opened it and pulled out a vine rope.
He drove a stake into the ground, tied the rope to it, and tossed the remainder into the pit.
Then he climbed back down.
Returning to the place where he had stored the two Wind Green Bears, he hauled them back up. Even cut into pieces, they were incredibly heavy, but he still managed to extract a large quantity of meat from the pit.
"Why am I even doing all this?"
"But seriously, it feels like I’ve spent an eternity down there. Eight days?"
He shook his head.
Anyway, this isn’t the time to worry about that.
Just focus on carrying this stuff.
Mamadou calmly transported the meat toward his shelter.
He already knew that later, the entire mountain would come to visit him again.
"I really feel like I’ve gone from a survival mission to a cooking show."
"But whatever. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was part of my plan anyway. Ever since that monster showed himself, these monkeys have become much less aggressive. If I could somehow train them, wouldn’t they become a force to be reckoned with? Besides, he talked about our species eventually becoming sapient, so this isn’t a completely hopeless case. I can use this situation to my advantage."
As Mamadou reflected while carrying the meat, a voice interrupted him.
"That’s certainly not a bad plan."
Mamadou immediately jumped.
He spun around.
"How long have you been there?"
The Greater Ark Monkey was carrying the remaining portion of Wind Green Bear meat that Mamadou had left at the entrance of the pit.
Cold sweat immediately broke out across Mamadou’s back.
He had no idea how to react.
Was he about to be killed?
How would the Greater Ark Monkey react to what he had just said?
Mamadou cursed his habit of overthinking and occasionally doing so out loud. Most of the time he had been alone, so it had become second nature.
Slowly, he began moving his left hand toward Osbone.
The Greater Ark Monkey simply walked past him.
"Five days isn’t bad. It’s still within the acceptable range."
"???"
Mamadou had no idea what the old monkey was talking about, and the Greater Ark Monkey offered no explanation.
"You’ve certainly become a little stronger."
The Greater Ark Monkey walked away carrying the meat toward their usual gathering place.
Mamadou remained frozen for several seconds before following behind him.
---
Mamadou prepared for the next great event.
This time, he built a much larger fire and used Osbone to carve properly sized skewers.
Just like before, the smell spread through the mountain.
And just like before, uninvited guests arrived.
They sat around the fire and began eating the roasted skewers.
He’s not coming?
He’s the type to say, "I take what I’ve earned." Since he helped carry the meat, I thought he’d at least come grab a few skewers.
Or is he thinking about how to deal with me after what I said earlier?
Mamadou felt a knot in his stomach throughout the entire gathering.
Watching so many Ark Monkeys together would normally have felt surreal.
But one time had been enough.
The scene no longer felt extraordinary to him.
That wasn’t normal either.
It was simply how things were now.
After everyone had eaten, Mamadou found himself unable to enjoy the meal.
His anxiety had ruined the taste.
Eventually, he withdrew to his cabin perched high among the trees.
---
The Greater Ark Monkey was the closest thing to a human that Mamadou knew.
He still possessed the characteristic tail of the Ark Monkeys and a few other traits that distinguished him from humans, at least physically.
Yet from the way he spoke about the world, Mamadou had deduced that this monkey must be incredibly old.
He didn’t know exactly how old.
But he had that feeling.
Combined with the fact that he wasn’t merely an Ark Monkey, but a Greater Ark Monkey.
Such a being had evolved to the point of becoming sapient, as he himself had described.
An existence like that possessed its own way of thinking.
Its own plans.
Its own goals.
Only he knew what those were.
That was why Mamadou always tried to remain careful.
After all, nothing was more dangerous than an intelligent being.
The source of Mamadou’s fear, but also the source of his hope, sat on the branch where he usually perched, observing the distant fire illuminating the darkness.
The Greater Ark Monkey tossed aside an empty skewer and grabbed another roasted piece of meat.
He took a bite.
"It’s bland."
After finishing it, he ate the remaining skewers beside him.
From the very first skewers Mamadou had cooked to the ones made today, he had never found them particularly impressive.
"Although he’s become stronger, that’s not what I was hoping for. Did he fail?"
The reason the Greater Ark Monkey had thrown Mamadou into the first level wasn’t merely to provide him with opponents of appropriate strength.
He had expected Mamadou to show him something interesting.
He became sapient the moment he left Mount Meru.
And since then, he’s shown me all sorts of things.
But if this continues, it will take far too long...
I’d better...
His gaze drifted into the distance.
Then suddenly he heard a scream.
The Greater Ark Monkey raised his head.
His hand moved to cover part of his face.
"He can control the timing?"
"That makes sense."
"He’s changing again."
The Greater Ark Monkey’s laughter spread from the tree where he sat and was carried away by the wind.
"So it really is worth breaking this curse after all..."
"Ah, finally. Things are about to become interesting."
"Don’t worry, Ma. I’ll make sure you don’t disappoint me..."
"Control the power of our species?"
"What a narrow-minded perspective..."
"Heh!"
