"...Is this some sick joke?" - Noire

"Numbers don't lie... even if we want them too..." - Alf

When I safely returned from the scouting mission and told them what I found, the depression was visible from a mile away. Even more so when they got to see the snakes' stats from the bestiary of the Kigal-Note. 

"...I've heard a rumor about the Boitata. That one's supposed to protect the forest, so the forest in return recovers that thing's mana and lifeforce." - Mira

"So... it's like the Cerberus you told me about?" - Garami

"The one guarding the Nether, yes. It is something called a 'Territory Boss'. If this 'Boitata' is the same, then we can forget about defeating it." - Mira

It's Fire after all. Both me and Alf have a natural disadvantage against that one. Mira... could probably deal some damage, if she uses her Extra Skill to the point of breaking, along with some Zahhak-support... no. That won't work. This thing's RES is too high. Not to forget-

"C-can we not ignore the flaming snake and focus on the black one instead?" - Noire

"The black one, the Boiluna, could be even worse. In a pure fight, it may be weaker than the flaming one on land, since the Boiluna is specialized in fighting in the river and not on land, but it is a Darkness attribute. That gives it defense against Garami's own Darkness-related moves, not to mention that it can kill Mira in one strike." - Alf

"I think that none of us can survive either one though." - Mira

That's the problem. I managed to Identify goat-head's status page before I left, and from the looks of it, he's weak in a physical fight. Even Marc could win in a fistfight if he uses those Barrier-skills of his. The three classes of his ain't exactly battle-worthy either.

The Main Class is called Trick Dealer. According to the Note, it's an Advance-tier of the Gambler class. The card soldiers are a result of one of the skills related to this class. 

The first Sub Class is called Snake Charmer, the biggest pain in the ass for us. This is an Advance-tier version of Reptile Tamer, and a sub-variant even, as the original Advance-tier is called Reptile Commander.

Snake Charmer limits the user to tame only snakes instead of all reptiles (excluding dinosaurs and dragon-types), but one could do so without caring about the snakes in question. It's closer to mind-control than taming at this point. The ability he used to take control over the snakes lies in one of the skills unique to the class, but he can only control 2 snakes with his current skill level of Lv.11. No need to worry about him suddenly bringing out a new snake.

The third class is, surprisingly, Merchant. And it's maxed even. The only thing hindering goat-head from reaching his third Advance-tier is his lack of Skill Points. The skills here are not that dangerous for us, so we can safely ignore them.

"He's weak alright, but his lackeys are the problem here." - Mira

"All those Leadership skills he has will make the situation problematic... as if it wasn't that already." - Noire

There's also the time limit to sometimes tonight, right when they're going to tele-poison the water reserves with that junk of theirs. After all this work raising our likability with the city, then the whole place's gonna end up in a zombie-apocalypse look-a-like? No way I'm gonna let them do so! 

...Tele-poison...

"Hey, why aren't they just leaving town if they know how to teleport the sludge?" - Garami

"...Ah! If that's true, then they could just escape-" - Mira

"No can do. This area is under the protection of a Lesser God and direct subordinate of one of the Ultimate ones. Even Blot needs to ask for permission to be able to use his Spatial Magic in this area." - Noire

Wait, a GOD!? As in, something outside the World System's direction? 

"She's right. I even got a Blessing from the god residing in the Seventh Tower of the city." - Marc

Wait, he did... yup, he did. And what a fitting Blessing. 

So, the tower in the middle of the city is the home of a literal god. I figured it was an important location since access to it was strictly regulated, but for someone of that high status to live there...

"God or not, even they will be distracted if the city falls into a monster pandemic. Avido must be aiming for that slip in the god's concentration to bail out of this region." - Alf

"And even if we did reach the town in time, something we're not able to, we do not know which water reserve the sludge is going to be sent to. And even if they isolated all of them in time, there are still monsters that make use of the reserves..." - Noire

"In the end, what we need to do is stopping that hazardous substance from being zapped over from the beginning. Which means we need to stop that Avido-guy, which requires that we somehow can stop those two monster-snakes for long enough to beat the stuffing out of him." - Mira

"Not to forget that Avido still has that army of 'trumps' or whatever he calls them." - Alf

"We're too undermanned for this!" - Mira

"Alf. Freeze the lake and dash to the city." - Garami

"AS IF! Freezing this whole thing..." - Alf

Alf stopped midsentence and started thinking about it... Looks like he fancied the idea. It's impossible now though~.

But back to the present. We're all stuck Only Marc was fidgeting around, concerned about the safety of his lucky cat. 

I mean, how are we supposed to take care of those two boss-class snakes? The black one's probably immune to anything related to Darkness, so I'm no good against it. There's also Mira's weakness against it...

As for the fire-snake, my threads are as good as useless if that thing starts throwing fire here and there. Alf's ice is probably no good either. The difference in levels and all that... 

No matter how you twist or turn it, we seriously need some backup. The problem is, we can't expect someone to arrive on time. Should we resort to some kinda distraction... hmm? I got deja-vu all of a sudden...

"Hey, I got a question for you guys," I asked the group that could give us the answer to our problems.

"...*ook?*" - Lemurs

---

I raced through the jungle from the treetops. Man, if this ain't improving my movement skills, then nothing is! Wonder how high the movement skills of that loinclothed fellow who was raised by monkeys would be if he ever arrived in this world?

I pushed my curiosity aside and followed the lead of the lemur that's roosted on my shoulder. Over to the left is... a large river in the middle of the forest.

So, this is the place. He may try to stay hidden, but he's not good enough to escape these [Empyrean Eyes]. And... he's sleeping? Should I wake him? I know his past, so... Dark Bullet~.

*Bang!*

Following the explosion, something rose from the river. A giant, blue snake, with scales that contains a tint of gold on the edge. It has a dignified appearance... for as much a snake can appear dignified, I mean. And the "person" inside is ruining it since it has the aura of an overworked, white-collar worker.

Long time no see, former 5th Floor Boss.

---

Mira's PoV:

"Are we soon there?" - Noire

"For the last time, when we see some armored gorillas, we're there," I answered while looking at the simple map Garami had drawn for us.

Garami herself had gone into the jungle on her own, taking one of the lemurs with her as a guide. Something about "meeting an old friend".

The rest of us, meaning everyone including Marc, walked into the jungle heading for the "right eye". Which idiot drags their client into a dangerous jungle anyway? It's safer than having him attacked while alone in the camp.

"Gorilla located! And it's holding a spear." - Alf

"There. We've here." - Mira

"You don't need to point it out like that! And isn't that gorilla... coming towards us!?" - Noire

The spear-holding gorilla rushed towards us with his weapons ready. I could feel several others coming towards us from the shadows of the trees and bushes.

"Wait! We are here to meet with your leader!" shouted Alf, trying to get the gorillas' attention. 

The primates stopped in their tracks, looking stunned at Alf's outburst. Are they surprised that a human would try to communicate with them? Or...

Some of the gorillas gathered together for a quick group meeting while the rest looked at us with caution.

"I don't believe it... Garami was right." - Noire

I won't admit it, but I had the same thoughts as Noire.

Garami theorized that the gorillas, at least those living around the "right eye", had some level of intelligence, which would mean we can strike a deal with them. The proof she had regarding this was the primitive weapons that the primates had developed, along with the fact that even the lemurs had enough intelligence to respond to our questions, even drawing pictures in the beach sand to show us what they were talking about.

"...They're not going to snap at us for what we did yesterday?" - Mira

"T-th-that's probably... alright... even the lemurs said the gorillas in the south were equal to delinquents." - Noire

I and Noire had this stiff conversation while Alf acted as our spokesman. It took a little while, but the monkeys finally seemed to have agreed on something and sent one of them deeper into the jungle. The rest is keeping an eye on us. They're not trying to get closer, but the moment they do...

The tense situation lasted for a minute or so until we heard something coming out from the forest. Something big... hey, ain't this guy a little too big?

What arrived out from the forest was a new gorilla, many meters high. Its arms weren't deformed like the gorillas that had taken over the camp, but the sheer size of this guy made certain that he was in a class of his own. Same did the lightning-shaped yellow marks on his fur, which crackled with electricity now and then.

Yup. This is the all-famous boss-monkey alright...

"Weaklings. Why invade our holy grounds?" - Boss-monkey

IT TALkS?! Wait, that'll make the negotiations easier-

"Huh? W-wh-what..." - Alf

...Or maybe not. Don't freak out because the monkey can speak!

Hmm? Alf's frozen solid. Noire and Marc are in the same situation... ahh. They've not faced a real C-rank monster before. Garami mentioned something about a monster-spider, but wasn't that just a weakling with elevated levels? 

Whatever the case, the plan of having Alf say our cause is busted. 

"By all means, great monkey, we did not want to invade your place of holiness." - Mira

Guess it's up to me then.

"Hmm. Spirit, is it?" - Boss-monkey

"Sprite, but who cares about the details? However, great monkey, are you aware of what is happening in the western forest?" - Mira

"...That the blasted snakes' land. I no reason to think about them." - Boss-monkey

"Yes, yes. Your mightiness could never lose to such simple reptiles. That much is obvious even to someone as lowly as me." - Mira

The lemurs back at the beach told us that the snakes and the monkies have a sort of rivalry with each other. And from this guy's opening speech...

"You know respect, spirit. True. I great. The snakes are trash. They only survived due to generosity from me." - Boss-monkey

Like I thought, a battle-idiot. Or, a lovable idiot? Despite him acting all smug, he is not giving any aura about looking down on the snakes. Quite the opposite, actually. A hint of respect can be heard when he talks about them... despite the actual words he speaks.

"A true statement indeed. However, great monkey, there may not be a chance to prove it to the world at this rate." - Mira

"...What did you say?" - Boss-monkey

"It is an unfortunate truth. The serpentine leaders of the western forest, the Lesser Boitata and Lesser Boiluna, they have both lost to some ruthless villain, who used tricks to rob them of their free will." - Mira

"WHAT!?" - Boss-monkey

"Yes, dear me. That disrespectful goat, he ignored the sacred rules of this jungle and robbed your mightiness from the chance of demonstrating your strength being above that of those reptiles." - Mira

"Grrrrr..." - Boss-monkey

"And even more, that same villain now wishes to use this sacred forest to develop a poison to attack our home. So we please ask you, your mightiness, to lend us your strength to defeat this vile goat and save both our homes." - Mira

The boss-monkey started to think-

"Never. What happens to the snakes or your home, no concern for us." - Boss-monkey

Yeah, I expected that. No good leader would place his own wishes above his pack. He's on the point of tipping over, so just one small push...

"Then, your mightiness, how about a small offer from us, as an apology for taking your time. Marc, your turn." I said, nudging the cook so he would wake up. He then retrieved something Garami asked us to prepare in case the negotiations went south.

"...!?!? I-i-i-is that-!?" - Boss-monkey

What's up with that reaction? And the gorilla's around us suddenly got excited as well.

"T-t-t-t-t-t-those are the legendary fruits!!" - Boss-monkey

They're only bananas... speaking of, there are no banana trees on this island? Despite it being a monkey paradise? Or did they go extinct? The monkey's reaction makes me think something like that happened...

"...If you want some more, then I can always come back to the island to trade with you guys-" - Marc

The monkeys did a funny dance of happiness.

"-If my shop does not get destroyed by that bad guy Mira mentioned." - Marc

The monkeys froze on the spot. Their eyes started to glow red from pure anger.

"F-f-fine! We will honor our rivalry with the snakes and our newly formed friendship by helping you save those snakes. Men! For the legendary fruits!!" - Boss-monkey

The monkeys made a roar filled with the hopes and dreams of their tribe.

Seriously, what the heck? It all went exactly as Garami had told us it would. Glad I decided to join her. Guess my eyes are better at choosing leaders than bets.

Speaking of which, I hope she's having as easy a time as we do.

---

"-and therefore, we would be grateful if you could lend us a hand..., or tail, or whatever?" I asked the former Floor Boss, after explaining the situation to him. 

"Whaaaat~? No way, man. I've finally managed to find a place for me to live peacefully, so why do I have to charge in at the biggest, baddest monsters in the jungle?" - Former Floor Boss

"...Aren't they friends of yours?" - Garami

"Hah! You wish! Do you know how long it took me to convince them to rent out this part of the jungle?" - Former Floor Boss

Tch, there goes option number one. What else can I do to convince him to help us?

"Then don't blame me when you lose your home." - Garami

"Yeah, sure... wait, why did it end up like that!?" - Former Floor Boss

"Think a little about it. They'll easily sniff out that the muck was teleported from this island. Then what do you think people would do when that knowledge becomes public?" - Garami

"Ehhhhh..." - Former Floor Boss

"Attack the place, raid it to the ground, making sure something like that mess never happens again. And adventurers will be happy to help if it earns them a new snake-skin wallet." - Garami

"WHAAAAAT?! You serious!?" - Former Floor Boss

"Serious, serious." - Garami

It's a serious bluff. Taking counteractions to future events like this is something they'll probably, no, definitely do. But raiding the island down to the dirt because of it? Like they had the manpower to do so. Rather, teleportation is so scary because you can't track back the location after the spell's finished. I'm just tricking this guy to cooperate. No matter how impressive of a Floor Boss you were in the past, none of it's gonna help you understand human society and investigation powers.

".......ALRIGHT! I'll help!" - Former Floor Boss

Sucker.

"But I'm only doing a distraction! And only if you get those gorillas to do their part of the job. I won't last a second if I have to fight those two monsters at once! Even if it's just to buy time!" - Former Floor Boss

"Then, if the gorillas are participating, it's okay?" I asked, pointing behind the snake.

"Huh, what's... seriously, what's going on!?" - Former Floor Boss

A ton of primate types was running crazy through the forest, all aiming for the "left eye". And in the front was some King-Kong level one with electricity sparking from its fur. 

"...How..." - Former Floor Boss

"All according to the plan." - Garami

Eh? Seriously, eh?? Why're they that aggressive? [Rage]? No, [Wrath]? What did you do to those poor monkeys, Alf? Or was it Mira? It's either her, or Noire, who could get the gorillas in that high tension, and it's not an R-18 one, so it's not Noire, since she looks like she would become the victim in that scenario. Then, it's really Mira? How? When? What?

---

By the "right eye".

All the primates had left the area, all in hunger for the long-lost treasure from generations before. Even Mira and the rest had left, all so that they could save Milo the Maneko.

However...

*Crank*

At that time...

*Crank!*

They should have left...

*Crank!!*

The gatekeepers behind.

*CRASH!!*