"GRRRRR!!!"

As a feral beast growled and barked at Rey, he couldn't help but leak out a small smirk.

'Well, that didn't take very long…' He found his thoughts trailing.

The beast in front of him looked like a monkey—no, more like a chimp—but it had a few key differences that made it stand out.

For one, it had white hair all over its body. Secondly, its pale gray skin and bright blue eyes were definitely not primate-like.

Finally, while it was as large as a regular human, thanks to it squatting in a quadrupedal fashion, it appeared shorter than Rey.

'I guess the last one is pretty much in line with monkeys, huh?'

The beast before him had very sharp jaws, as if belonging to a carnivore, and its bright blue eyes exuded nothing but sheer hatred.

Despite all of these, though, Rey found himself calmly assessing the situation.

'I've never seen or heard of this kind of creature before. Is it only native to this Floor?'

Rey could see why, though.

'Bright blue eyes to adapt to the brightness of this place, and pale white skin most likely because of the lack of necessity to get a tan…'

The area was very cold too, so the excessive hair was a necessity.

'Then there's their teeth. If I consider what this monster was doing before I ran into it, then it makes sense.'

The Monkey Monster—as Rey decided to tag it—was nibbling on smaller chunks of the Mana Crystals around.

'So it's sharp teeth are that way because of how it has to grate through the hard rock and pierce it. I bet they're absurdly strong too!'

Rey shivered at the thought of being caught in the jaws of such a feral creature.

'Even though it looks like a monkey, it doesn't seem to have the kind of intelligence I'd expect from Primates. Well, I can't be too early to judge…'

This one could have been an outlier, or a savage variant of the rest of the species.

'It looks strong, though. If that's the case, there's no need to be bothered about any other quality that doesn't have to do with my safety or its viability as my EXP juice."

With that thought in mind, Rey pointed its finger at the growling creature.

The Monkey Monster noticed this slight change in Rey's posture and instantly rushed towards him.

Its wide jaws tore open, and it was clear what its intentions were.

Unfortunately for it… Rey was faster.

"[Force]"

~WHUUSH!~

As expected, the Monkey Monster was instantly knocked back by Rey's attack.

It couldn't even offer much resistance.

"Get up. Come on…" Rey approached the spawning beast.

He knew the kind of power he put behind that push, so he knew it wasn't dead yet.

"The reason I've not killed you yet is because I want to see your Skills. So come on…"

There was no way a Monster who was living off chewing literal Mana Crystals wouldn't have Skills.

To prepare himself for what to come, Rey activated his [Safe Haven] Skill.

"Now let's see—"

~WHOOOOSH!~

The Monster growled as it shot from its position and lunged at Rey.

"Haha! That's more like it!" Rey grinned excitedly as he watched it rush towards him.

He could feel his heart racing as the beast neared. It's speed and power had increased exponentially, but that wasn't all Rey wanted to see.

'Show me your Skill!'

~SHWUUUU!~

Suddenly, the barrier that surrounded Rey began to break down—almost as if it was melting.

'E-eh…?'

Rey's eyes slightly flinched as the approaching beast's white fur glowed brightly and it tore through his defensive measure.

Despite seeing it with his own eyes, his [Danger Sense] also alerted him of the imminent danger that was closing in on him.

'It broke down my barrier? T-then!'

Rey swiftly used his [Greater Lightning Magic] Skill to generate a Lightning Arrow and send it towards his opponent.

That was when the most shocking thing occurred.

~BZZZTTTTZZZ!~

As soon as the Lightning neared the Monkey Monster, a barrier formed around it, shielding it instantly.

'Isn't that…!'

Yes, it was [Safe Haven]!

Rey's mind quickly calculated the implications of what that meant despite the jaws of the creature already being too close for comfort.

One more second and it would rip his head right off his body.

'It broke down and absorbed my Skill?!'

Before the Monster could finish its job, though, Rey sent it flying with [Force] again.

It was the only Skill he could rely on since he knew it was effective.

~WHOOSH!~

Once again, the Monkey Monster bounced back, but not with as much intensity as the first round.

'[Safe Haven]'s effects are protecting it, huh? This is unexpected…'

Rey could feel his heart beat faster now, but this time it wasn't due to excitement.

It was caution.

'I can't afford to take this one lightly…'

An opponent that could eat through his Skill and use said Skill for itself was nothing short of formidable.

'To think there's an entire Floor crawling with things like these…'

The most worrying thing about this entire arrangement was his lack of information.

'What kind of Skills can it break down? How long can it maintain the Skill it uses? What are the limitations?'

These were the questions that swirled through Rey's mind.

'The fact that [Force] affects it means it probably doesn't do well with invisible attacks or Skills that use natural laws like gravity to attack…'

And Rey had already figured out the Monster's glowing skin was somewhat related to its ability.

'The light is slowly dimming, so I'm guessing there's a time limit. Could there also be a cooldown period?'

While Rey had been hoping for the display of a really cool Skill, he never expected an outcome of this proportion.

'I'm also curious about whether it can break down and use multiple Skills at the same time…'

Try doubted that was the case, but he had to know for sure.

"Guess there's only one way to find out…" Rey's eyes began to glow crimson.

"Let's try something else."

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Thanks for reading!

What do you think of the Monster? Remember to share your thoughts in the comments!

Also, character art should soon be available.