Ch.180180. The Passion of the Black Monkeys (2)

Tribal Morale Buff.

This is an extremely valuable reward in the Farming World.

In terms of rank, it’s at least Hero grade or higher.

Depending on how many stacks of morale buff are accumulated, it can be classified as Legendary or Mythic, but since it’s extremely difficult for it to appear as a reward in the first place, people say it’s a jackpot just to see it pop up.

It’s like having a stat +1 grade option attached.

Just getting it makes it Hero grade.

If it has +2 levels attached, it becomes Legendary. At +3 levels, it’s Mythic.

Legendary and Mythic are rarely seen and are usually obtained through extremely difficult quests, but since these tribal morale buffs have a low probability of appearing even in hidden quests for the respective tribes, the advice is that if one appears, you should absolutely complete it and receive the reward no matter what.

What is this reward?

The reward itself is simple.

Typically, when tribal morale buff increases, effects are granted by level.

Basically, at +1 level, stats matching the tribe’s characteristics increase by +1 grade.

You might think, “That’s it?”

But since the stats of all tribe members increase, it’s quite a good buff.

Above all, there are no restrictions.

This means there are no limitations like it only applies within a certain area, or the buff disappears if you get sick.

Once the morale buff is applied, it’s permanent.

For this buff to disappear, the tribe itself would have to be completely exterminated or everyone would have to die, eliminating the tribe entirely. Even then, it’s not that the tribal morale buff disappears—it’s that the tribe disappears, so the buff hasn’t actually disappeared.

So, for an easy-to-understand explanation, it can be considered as tribal evolution.

After overcoming a specific hidden quest, the tribe achieves evolution, whether mentally or physically, and this improvement in abilities is reflected across the entire tribe.

That’s why I immediately changed my stance and called for everyone to try when the quest appeared.

Originally, the Black Monkeys were workers handling the dirty jobs on the farm.

Three of them had already been killed by Guava Snakes, reducing their numbers to 132, and I wondered how many more we would lose fighting the Guava Snakes, which have poor compatibility with Black Monkeys.

I’m the greatest villain who reduced the Black Monkey population by more than half, but we can’t afford any more losses.

That’s why I had kept them out of it, but if we can increase all Black Monkeys’ main stats by +1 grade, I can accept some sacrifices as long as they don’t all die.

There’s no need for everyone to charge in and fight with their heads down to see who dies first.

They just need to use their numbers to lead the hunt against the Guava Snakes in battles they can handle.

I’ll do all the difficult and dangerous work myself.

The reason I’m going this far is because I’m currently the leader of the Black Monkey tribe.

In the system, I’m not a Black Monkey species, but I belong to the Black Monkey tribe.

And according to this, the tribal morale buff +1 level can apply to me as well.

Free stat +1 grade.

How could I resist a permanently applied +1 grade stat boost?

In a world where people spend tens or hundreds of billions to increase their stats by just +1 grade.

“I have a good idea, gentlemen.”

How can I keep these guys alive as much as possible while completing the quest?

Another task has been given to me.

———————-

It’s impossible for me to face all the Guava Snakes alone.

If I enter the Corrupted Steam Snake’s den alone, I would have to face it by myself, but if I involve the Black Monkeys in battle, they’ll need to play their respective roles before entering the den.

So my scenario is to have the Black Monkeys hunt small numbers of Guava Snakes beyond their territory, gradually clearing the area and reducing their numbers.

Then I would enter the Corrupted Steam Snake’s den alone to clear it.

This plan isn’t just for the quest content; I’m also a bit nervous about the dense chaotic energy, so I decided to reduce the number of Guava Snakes outside to minimize their interference.

So I asked the Black Monkeys:

“How have you hunted Guava Snakes before?”

Even if they’re lower in the food chain compared to Guava Snakes, it can’t be a completely one-sided relationship.

If the difference were that great, the Black Monkeys wouldn’t have been able to establish any hierarchy in this Steam Forest.

If tribes face each other head-on, the Black Monkeys might suffer more damage and lose the war due to compatibility issues, but if they couldn’t hunt Guava Snakes at all, they wouldn’t have gotten away with just losing three members.

“Keek. Five monkeys catch one snake. Keek!”

The Black Monkeys’ strategy was simple.

They can’t defeat a Guava Snake one-on-one.

The Black Monkeys’ strength and weakness—high stats but limited to close combat—applies equally to Guava Snakes, but the Black Monkeys are at a disadvantage in terms of physical structure and stats.

Fighting the same way but with inferior stats.

Could there be a worse compatibility?

The slippery scales make it difficult for Black Monkeys to grab hold, and the thick body can’t be wrapped with their arms.

Meanwhile, the long, thick snake wraps around a Black Monkey with its slippery, flexible body, squeezes until bones break, then swallows it whole with its huge mouth and dissolves it—this isn’t even a fight, it’s a one-sided hunt.

But when there are many Black Monkeys, the story changes.

“Keek keek. We ambush the snake on its path, and when it crosses a rope woven from Balmosoo roots, we tie it in four sections. Keek. After tightly binding the snake so it can’t escape, we kill it by stabbing spears into its mouth. Keekee!”

They set traps in advance, using the rough texture of Balmosoo roots that prevents snake scales from slipping through, then target the weak interior.

Of course, even that isn’t an easy method.

While the snake’s interior is a weak point, stabbing it doesn’t kill it immediately.

They stab the open mouth as much as possible to weaken its combat ability, then squeeze the bound body to break its spine, striking and twisting until it dies.

It’s incredibly crude, but it suits the Black Monkeys’ hunting style perfectly.

At least they could kill one snake this way, which is probably why the Guava Snakes didn’t bother with the Black Monkeys who settled on the outskirts of the level 2 biome, Steam Forest.

In a way, it’s less of a hunting method and more of a desperate survival tactic.

When your kind is being killed, you have to do something.

That’s where I got my idea.

“Jihyun, can you make capsules with poison that dissolve and break when they react with gastric acid? It’s fine if they explode too.”

“Oh… I actually have a few prototypes. Want to see them?”

“…Huh?”

“I’ve been learning and making interesting recipes whenever I’m bored.”

These days, Jihyun is almost like a shut-in.

She brought alchemy tools to her room and stays cooped up all day, finding it so enjoyable.

When asked, she says she doesn’t do alchemy all day—she spends half her time on alchemy and the other half lounging around watching dramas or movies, saying this must be heaven, so I’m glad it suits her.

Well… I might enjoy it too if I were in a world where I could use my abilities without worrying about money, with good work-life balance and no interference.

And she’s even developing her skills in her spare time.

Wearing comfortable pajamas with no makeup, she ran to her room, rummaged around, and brought out various potion bottles, explaining each one:

“This is an extremely poisonous potion. If drunk, it can dissolve even a strong steel stomach within 30 seconds. Its performance is amazing, but the downside is that it must be consumed directly. If it touches the skin, its effectiveness is greatly reduced—it’s not useless, but it’s not worth the effort to make. I don’t have much of it anyway.”

“This is the explosive type potion you mentioned, Boss. Think of it as a mini-sized bomb? It’s made in capsule form so it looks like medicine. If someone eats it thinking it’s medicine, it dissolves in the stomach and explodes, causing certain death. Or you could put it in food that needs to be chewed thoroughly? If unfortunately chewed in the mouth, it explodes right there, so it’s not great for discreet assassination.”

“…”

Watching her enthusiastically introduce the potions I needed, as if she had been waiting for this moment, I felt like I was discovering a new side of Jihyun.