Below—
Trying to regain its balance, the Zephyr Monkey felt a slight thud against its head—light, almost insignificant, as if something had randomly fallen on it.
Its gaze flickered upward in confusion, but before it could even register what had happened, a voice rang out from below.
"Four."
The realization came too late.
Kei surged forward, his form a blur as wind coiled tightly around his fist, mimicking the very technique the Zephyr Monkey had used against him.
Bang!
His uppercut crashed into the monkey’s chin, a burst of force sending a shockwave through the battlefield. The Zephyr Monkey shrieked in pain, its body lifting slightly off the ground from the sheer impact.
Crunch!
Before it could react, Kei’s knee drove viciously into its stomach, sending it skidding backward, its feet clawing at the dirt for stability.
But there was no time to recover.
A piercing pain flared in its leg.
It jerked its head down—only to see nothing.
From Kei’s point of view, the Fangcub wasn’t even close enough to bite the Zephyr Monkey—so why did its leg feel like it was caught in a vice?
Then—
Aether surged, glowing within the Fangcub’s maw as it activated Lunging Rend.
But unlike before, it didn’t close the distance.
It didn’t have to.
Above its open jaws, an astral projection formed—an ethereal, spectral duplicate of its fangs.
Aether-made teeth clamped down on the Zephyr Monkey’s leg, pinning it in place.
Its body flinched, pain wracking through its limb as it struggled to move—but the Fangcub wasn’t done.
The projection grew sharper.
Stronger.
The bite force increased, digging deeper into its flesh.
For the first time since the fight began, the Zephyr Monkey was taking real damage.
Kei, breathing hard but grinning through bloodied teeth, tightened his stance.
They were overwhelming it.
The tides of battle were shifting.
Truly enraged, the Zephyr Monkey shrieked, its control over the wind wavering, but its anger igniting what little it could still command.
A gust of wind surged toward it, answering its desperate call.
Kei tensed. Something was coming.
The Zephyr Monkey’s eyes burned with malice as Aether surged into its hands. The winds twisted violently around them, condensing into a spinning vortex of razor-sharp Zephyr energy.
Kei’s instincts roared.
This was bad.
"Oh, oh—hey, let's talk about this for a minute." Kei let out a nervous laugh, holding up his hands.
"You did some things, we did some things, you hurt us, we hurt you. How about we let bygones be bygones, huh?"
KREEEEEEE!!
The Zephyr Monkey’s response was to unleash more wind, its rage pouring into the vortex forming between its hands.
Kei gritted his teeth, his muscles coiling as he fought for control.
His Breeze Force surged, orange flames surging in his eyes, fighting to disrupt the Zephyr Monkey’s grip over the wind.
He was winning.
But not fast enough.
The Zephyr Monkey still had time to launch it.
Kei’s gaze flickered to the Fangcub, which was already moving. Its ethereal maw, strengthened by the contract, launched forward, a spectral projection of its bite aiming straight for the monkey’s hands.
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Crunch!
The Zephyr Monkey staggered back, its fingers snapping open involuntarily as pain shot through its nerves. The Aether-infused wind in its hands faltered, destabilizing before it could fully form the attack.
A desperate shriek escaped its throat.
Kei didn't let it breathe.
Bang! Bang!
"Two."
Two Aether-infused pebbles drilled into the Zephyr Monkey’s skull, sending twin spurts of blood spraying into the air.
From the side, the Fangcub turned to look at Kei, its expression unreadable—but something about it seemed to say:
"You have issues. I think you're mentally disturbed."
Kei only grinned wider, his bloodied teeth bared.
KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
The Zephyr Monkey’s fury exploded.
The wind screamed.
A thousand blades of air burst outward, sharp, relentless, cutting through the battlefield like a storm of razors.
Kei folded into the wind currents just in time, barely slipping past the first barrage. The Fangcub, moving with its heightened senses, weaved between the deadly gusts, its body twisting through the storm.
Kei took a moment to catch his breath. The battle was pushing his limits, but something new was flashing in his vision.
A blinking system message.
[You have formed a comradeship with a creature of this expanse. Your will is strong enough to force it upon the creature and form a contract. Please select from the options below.]
Kei briefly glanced at the choices.
He didn't even hesitate.
[You have chosen to form a contract of equals with this creature. You have acknowledged the Fangcub as your equal. As a result, it benefits from your strongest stat: [Will].]
[Please assign a name for the Fangcub.]
Kei let out a breath, smiling.
"I can’t keep calling you Bitey, huh? You’re not really a dog, but this should suffice."
In the same moment, the Fangcub howled.
A new power surged through its body, a response to the contract now binding them.
Its ethereal projections became more solid, tangible. Aether radiated from its form in raw, pulsing waves.
The Zephyr Monkey, still blinded from Kei’s earlier strike, shrieked in frustration.
Another blade of wind shot toward the Fangcub—
But it never landed.
The Fangcub swiped with its claw.
Aether surged—
And its astral projection crushed the incoming attack, shattering the wind blade mid-air.
Kei laughed, stepping forward, readying the last of his pebbles.
"Get him, Hachi!"
The battle had truly begun.
And as such, both human and Fangcub—now bound by contract—launched a relentless assault on the Zephyr Monkey.
Hachi, now surging with renewed strength through Kei’s Will and temporarily bolstered by Howl of Resilience, struck with devastating precision. Each attack carried more force than before, its astral projections becoming an extension of its body, striking like tangible weapons.
Its tail, no longer just a tool for balance, had become a blunt instrument of force. With a powerful swing, the Zephyr Monkey was launched straight toward Kei.
Kei, benefiting from the dexterity boost granted by Hachi, felt his movements sharpen—every strike more refined, every motion smoother.
Activating Aether Control.
Aether and wind surged through his limbs, wrapping around his fists, knees, and elbows—reinforcing every movement.
He met the Zephyr Monkey mid-air.
His first strike—a sharp palm to the ribs—forced it to twist instinctively.
His second—a knee to the gut—drove the air from its lungs.
An elbow strike crashed into its abdomen, sending it reeling.
The Zephyr Monkey, struggling to regain its footing, barely had time to react before—
Crunch!
Fangs tore into its leg.
The Zephyr Monkey shrieked, but its voice lacked its former power. Its movements were sluggish, its stance unsteady.
It was losing.
For the first time in its existence, it felt something foreign—fear.
Kei grinned through bloodied teeth, another pebble already nestled between his fingers.
"One."
The Zephyr Monkey flinched.
Not because of pain.
Because of the number.
Ever since Kei had begun counting, each declaration had been followed by pain—precise, unrelenting, and inescapable.
And now, only one remained.
It barely stood, swaying, blood trickling from its wounds.
And yet—
It laughed.
A weak, rasping laugh.
A laugh at the absurdity of losing its treasure.
A laugh at being defeated by two thieves who were weaker than it just a few moments ago.
Splash.
A cool sensation spread across its face.
Gree?
Confused, the Zephyr Monkey blinked. The burning in its eyes—the searing pain—was gone. Slowly, its vision returned, clarity creeping back into the world.
It looked up.
Kei stood before it, holding an empty health potion vial.
The monkey stared at him.
Kei stared back.
Hachi, watching this unfold, let out a deep huff, as if questioning Kei’s sanity.
Kei sighed. “Now I’m down to one. Gotta figure out how to make more of these.”
Sensing the weird gaze from the Zephyr Monkey, Kei frowned.
“What? Don’t look at me like that. You stabbed me first. Your eyes were payback.”
The monkey kept staring.
Kei exhaled, rolling his shoulders. “You were strong. Really strong. Taught me a lot about fighting with the wind.”
He pulled up his status screen.
[Force Progression: 35% → 50%] (Capped for Current Stage)
The battle was over.
But something had changed.
The wind, once howling, had fallen still.
And the Zephyr Monkey, rather than fleeing or attacking—
Simply sat there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Confused, the Zephyr Monkey watched as both the Fangcub and the human no longer paid it any mind. No hostility lingered in the air. No malice.
“That’s it?”
The Zephyr Monkey stood, truly baffled.
The Fangcub, exhausted beyond words, found a spot on the ground and collapsed onto its side. Before closing its eyes, it lazily glanced at the Zephyr Monkey as if to say, Yeah, same thing happened to me… and I’m still here.
It yawned widely, stretching its sore limbs—then promptly fell asleep.
Kei, meanwhile, stood still, his eyes scanning the flashing system message before him.
[Emergency Quest: Galeborn Calamity – COMPLETED]
Perfect Completion Achieved.
Rewards Granted:
- +10% Force Progression (Stage Cap Reached)
- Aether Control Significantly Enhanced
- Unique Title Acquired: [Stormbreaker] (One who has conquered the gale itself.)
- Force Affinity Unlocked: [Zephyr Force] (Grants advanced control over wind-based Aether techniques.)
- Skill Unlocked: [Tempest Step] (Allows seamless movement through wind currents, increasing speed, agility, and evasion.)
- Stat Gains: +2 Agility, +2 Will
- Rare Relic Acquired: ??? (Claim your reward to reveal its nature.)
The winds bow to you.
Kei exhaled slowly, running a hand through his sweat-drenched hair.
The battlefield had settled. The fight was over.
And yet, the Zephyr Monkey still stood there, unmoving.
It glanced between Kei and Hachi—its former enemies—now simply resting, as if nothing had happened.
The realization dawned on it.
It had lost.
But it was still alive.
And for the first time in its existence… it didn’t know what to do next.