Meanwhile.
At the exact moment the black monkey swatted Merlin away, black flames quietly spread from the monkey's body.
Just then, this massive, black-furred beast—standing fully five meters tall—collapsed to its knees. A shrill, weak howl of misery escaped its mouth, filled with jagged canine teeth.
Its sleek, oily black fur rapidly turned a patchy white amidst the black flames. Simultaneously, savage, tearing wounds abruptly surfaced all over its body.
Bright red blood spurred out from around it in a continuous stream.
Its body slammed heavily onto the ground, its mouth emitting constant, wretched shrieks.
For a moment, the troop of monkeys in the forest froze in place, at a loss for what to do.
At this time, Merlin sat up from the ground, his eyes bloodshot and his teeth clenched.
On his bent and broken arms, as black flames rose, the injuries vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In the blink of an eye, his arms were restored to their original state.
Merlin exhaled heavily. Having absorbed the "Heavy Injury Calamity" from his own body, his physical and mental stamina were significantly drained.
Merlin's face was dark, but a lingering fear rose in his heart. Fortunately, he had the [Lynx] equipped; otherwise, he absolutely wouldn't have been able to react in time just now.
He stepped forward, walking toward the black monkey now ravaged by the "Amber Lead Calamity" and "Pain Calamity."
He glanced around. When the monkeys in the surrounding trees met Merlin's gaze, fear surfaced on their faces. Then, they slowly lowered their heads in submission.
He had defeated the old Monkey King; therefore, Merlin—this hairless kin—was now the rightful King.
Arriving in front of the black monkey, with black flames rising from his right hand, Merlin punched it in the back of the head.
Bang!
A dull thud echoed. At the same time, he released the "Severed Arm" and "Heavy Injury" calamities he had absorbed earlier.
Crack, crack!
Amidst the sound of bone fracturing, the black monkey's thick arms suddenly bent at unnatural angles, and bubbling blood foam sprayed continuously from its mouth and nose.
It became even more listless.
Merlin looked at the black monkey in front of him, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes. Then, he walked behind it, grabbed its tail, and dragged it toward the tree hole.
The tail pulled taut. The massive body, weighing nearly eight hundred pounds, plowed a long trench in the ground as Merlin forcefully dragged it into the tree hollow.
Suddenly, Merlin realized that the tree hole didn't stink. Instead, there was a faint, rich aroma of fruit wine wafting out.
He looked around. The space inside the tree hole was not small—ten meters long and wide, and twenty meters high.
Furthermore, on the ground at the deepest part of the hollow, a pile of stones emitting a hazy luster was scattered about. This brought a strange, beautiful glow to the otherwise pitch-black interior.
Dropping the monkey's tail and following the scent of wine, Merlin walked up a slope on the right side of the cave. He stopped in front of a fossilized tree wall where an irregular, flat, long strip of bluestone lay on the ground.
The wine scent was coming from beneath this stone. With a thought, Merlin bent down and moved the stone aside.
Instantly.
A natural trough, three meters long and one meter wide, appeared.
Inside this trough, various fruits—some new, some old—floated on the surface.
At the same time, an incredibly rich aroma of wine rushed into his nose.
Merlin blinked, and a term suddenly popped into his mind:
"Monkey Wine?"
Kneeling halfway beside the trough, he reached out and pushed aside the top layer of fruit, causing ripples in the liquid.
He cupped a handful of the liquid in his palms. Merlin lowered his head and took a sip. It was tart yet sweet, smooth and soft in the mouth, and incredibly mellow.
As the wine slid down his throat and into his stomach, a warm sensation surged from within his body.
Soon, his whole body felt warm and comfortable, and the physical fatigue caused by his earlier exertion began to alleviate.
"I wonder how many years this fruit wine has been naturally fermenting, added to the fermentation of various nutrient-rich fruits..."
Thinking of the legendary effects of Monkey Wine, Merlin looked thoughtful. He turned his head to look at the dying black monkey.
With a thought, the [Lynx] in the Equipment Slot suddenly appeared in front of him, still in a comatose state.
As he unequipped the [Lynx], Merlin's vision instantly changed.
His eyes couldn't see the surroundings clearly anymore.
His body also became "weak."
Merlin carried the lynx over to the black monkey and placed his left hand on its head.
Shua!
The empty Equipment Slot was once again occupied by an [Equipment].
At this moment, the information of the black monkey quietly appeared in the floating Equipment Slot before him.
[Name: Dying Monkey King]
[Effect: After equipping, you gain the biological characteristics possessed by the Monkey King.]
[Synchro Value: 1%]
[Evaluation: A King of Monkeys with an incredibly strong body, yet entangled by several "Calamities." A variant among monkeys. After equipping for a long time, there is a probability of permanently obtaining the special expertise possessed by this simian.]
Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly. A familiar but somewhat blurry night vision appeared again. At the same time, a powerful, explosive sense of strength surged from his body.
Sensing the difference between equipping the Monkey King and the Lynx, he stood up and hopped around. Soon, a look of disdain appeared in Merlin's eyes.
"Although strength and physical constitution are buffed, body agility and dynamic vision are far inferior to the Lynx."
It was an all-rounder, but it had no specialty.
This thought surfaced in Merlin's mind. For his current self, the Lynx was undoubtedly more suitable to equip.
And so, in the blink of an eye, the black monkey reappeared in the outside world.
The lynx in his hand vanished instantly, re-equipped into the slot.
But then, Merlin's eyes suddenly widened. The Synchro Value for the [Lynx], which had previously grown to 2%, had suddenly reverted to 1%.
Merlin's mouth opened slightly in confusion, but he quickly understood why this happened instinctively.
[Once a temporary "Equipment" is unequipped, the accumulated Synchro Value will be cleared.]
The corner of his mouth twitched.
But at the same time, he felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, he discovered this early. If he had unequipped it someday in the future after accumulating a high Synchro Value, he would have wanted to bash his head against a wall.
Luckily, the loss wasn't significant this time.
Merlin turned his gaze back to the trough of Monkey Wine and walked over.
He unequipped the [Lynx] again and reached his hand into the wine. In the next instant, not a drop of wine remained in the trough.
Simultaneously, information appeared on the Equipment Slot.
[Name: Hundred-Fruit Monkey Wine]
[Effect: After equipping, the body gains a state of comprehensive nourishment.]
[Synchro Value: 1%]
[Evaluation: An accidental product of chance, treated as a treasure by a powerful wild monkey. It possesses multiple nourishing effects beneficial to biological organisms. After equipping for a long time, there is a probability of permanently obtaining the special expertise possessed by this type of wine.]
As he equipped it, a warm current surged through his body, nourishing him from head to toe.
After a while, Merlin noticed his consciousness becoming slightly tipsy.
The negative status of alcohol?
As Merlin's thoughts turned, his understanding of this special equipment deepened.
In the next moment, with a shift of consciousness, the Monkey Wine returned to the trough, and the [Lynx] was equipped once again.
Merlin stared at the Monkey Wine in the trough, deep in thought, recalling the evaluation he just read.
"If the Monkey King is gone, this trough of wine might be divided up and eaten by the monkey troop. In that case..."
Merlin thought of the large bamboo forest he had passed on his way here.
He covered the wine trough with the long stone slab and went back to the black monkey.
His blade sliced through the tendons of its limbs. Amidst spraying blood, he ensured it had no room to resist.
Then, he withdrew the "Amber Lead Calamity" and "Pain Calamity" to ensure it wouldn't die just yet.
Merlin strode out of the cave. Before long, he arrived at the bamboo forest.
Using his sword, he cut down a bamboo stalk half a meter in diameter from the root. Soon, two bamboo cylinders appeared—half a meter wide and one and a half meters high, sealed by bamboo joints at the top and bottom.
He also made a bamboo cup cut from the stalk.
Next, he used the tip of his sword to drill two egg-sized openings into the tops of the two bamboo cylinders.
Not long after, Merlin returned to the tree hole with the wine containers.
Glancing at the black monkey lying on its side, screeching miserably, he walked over and stabbed his sword into its neck, slicing open a long horizontal gash.
With a flick of the blade, a spray of blood drew a crimson arc on the ground.
Merlin went to the trough, moved the stone slab, and used the bamboo cup to transfer the Monkey Wine into the bamboo cylinders.
Time passed quickly. Twenty minutes later, both bamboo cylinders were more than half full.
Inside the trough, which was over a meter deep, only a palm-deep layer of liquid remained.
Merlin looked at the black monkey, which had long since stopped breathing. Gripping his sword, he walked over.
He began to skin it.
Merlin had noticed earlier that the texture of this monkey's fur was very smooth, and its size was perfect for making bedding or a mattress.
Half an hour later.
Merlin returned, fully loaded.
Seeing that Yol was still digging the hole in the tree, Merlin began to process the fur. He spread the pelt on a large bluestone by the pool.
He used the blade to scrape off excess fat and grease, then carefully polished the skin layer with a rough stone until the roots of the coarse hair were faintly visible.
He crushed extinguished black charcoal into powder, added water, wrapped it in the fur, and rubbed it repeatedly to remove the last of the grease, transforming the raw hide into tanned leather.
Then, he tied a stone to the fur and threw it into the pool to soak, repeatedly kneading it in the water mixed with sand to soften it.
In the blink of an eye, two hours passed.
Merlin fished the monkey skin out of the pool. After washing it carefully, he propped it up with bamboo strips and set it in the shade under a tree to air dry in the dim light, rubbing it with his hands from time to time.
Time slowly passed. When night fell, Yol walked over with Lami, wearing an expression of accomplishment.
She looked at Merlin with a smile.
"Our dwelling is complete. Do you want to go see the results of Lami and my hard work for most of the day?"
At this moment, Lami said to Merlin with a face full of pride:
"Merlin-niichan, I kept watch properly today, and I even helped Sister Yol!"
Merlin rubbed Lami's head and smiled.
"Not bad, Lami is amazing!"
Lami walked over to the monkey fur, touching the pelt with her hand, her eyes filled with surprise.
"Is it this soft?"
Yol followed, examining and stroking it. She turned to look at Merlin, a thick smile appearing in her eyes.
"I didn't expect this. You actually have the skill to craft fur!"
Merlin raised an eyebrow at her words. "There are plenty of things you don't know. We're just getting started!"