Ch.7171. Reflex S+

Even a single rank increase in stats makes a huge noticeable difference.

Especially from A-rank upward, it’s said that a single rank difference can enable you to do things that were previously impossible.

Take me for example—with my S-rank stats, I display strength and agility that someone who’s never exercised in their life couldn’t possibly achieve.

At first, I couldn’t even properly control it due to lack of adaptation, but lately I’ve definitely been feeling that my body has become superhuman.

And now my agility has increased by another rank.

From S to S+.

How much difference will it make?

Will I even be able to feel the difference?

Agility is similar to dexterity in games.

Depending on how high a person’s agility is, they can dodge incoming attacks, block them, or display faster movements.

That’s why the actual feeling is somewhat abstract.

While it’s physically measurable how far my reactions can go, I honestly didn’t know my limits even when I was at S-rank, since I never bothered to check with machines.

But what’s clear is that, contrary to my doubts about whether I’d notice a difference, the feeling itself is completely different.

“I’m fast.”

I can feel my body becoming lighter.

The Black Monkeys in the trees are probably laughing at me.

No matter how strong I am.

Even if I thoroughly slaughter one of them with a single strike.

This is the Black Monkeys’ territory.

The countless tall, thick trees are the land where they’ve grown up and lived.

There’s a saying that even a mutt acts tough in its own home, so how much more so in the territory of Black Monkeys, which are A- rank monsters, not mutts.

With hundreds of Black Monkeys freely climbing trees, it would be laughable to think they’d lose.

They probably think they could handle even an A+ or S- rank monster if it came here, not just me.

Of course, that’s their arrogant thinking, not knowing that I’m an SSS+ rank monster far beyond them.

“Kieek!”

As I moved my foot, my body was suddenly standing on a branch of a 10-meter tall tree.

“Get lost. This is my spot.”

The three Black Monkeys standing on the branch have their throats split in half and fall straight to the ground.

They don’t die in one hit?

Then I’ll kill them in two.

Moreover, I have 8 attack opportunities in a single strike.

That means I can take out up to 4 at once.

Given the Black Monkeys’ physical structure, they can’t stand many on a tree at once, and the number that can attack simultaneously is limited, which was actually favorable for me.

Hundreds of Black Monkeys?

As long as I have enough mana and health, it’s just a matter of time.

“Kiki…”

I slowly dealt with the Black Monkeys.

Moving between branches was no problem even across distances of tens of meters.

After taking out some Black Monkeys, by the time the others figured out my position and quickly crossed trees to reach me…

I’d already moved to another location to take down the Black Monkeys in empty spots.

“Kieek! Kieek! Human! Coward!”

“Unfair human.”

“Must kill.”

Fighting while buying time means my mana is practically unlimited.

Among the accessories I deliberately purchased this time, I added one with a mana option.

Mana Stone Rings are gems that drop from monsters in dungeons at a low probability, containing pure refined mana according to the monster’s rank, and they’re traded at extremely high prices.

Since mana itself is used in many places, and these are processed into accessories…

Even low-rank Mana Stone Rings are carried by hunters who use a lot of mana, just like Glass Rings.

The A-rank Mana Stone Ring I purchased is treated almost the same as a Glass Ring.

While the Glass Ring’s options are better since it’s from the Rift Dimension, I paid nearly 11 billion for this one.

And it delivers performance worth that price.

30% increase in maximum mana plus 10% mana recovery per minute.

“Kill! Kill!”

The Black Monkeys’ frenzy intensified as time passed.

Their rage was visibly growing.

And for good reason—their numbers are overwhelming.

And when a seemingly weak human enters their territory and preys on their kind like a predator, it would be unnatural not to be angry.

They must eliminate me.

Not just anger, but the fear ingrained in their instincts also stimulated the Black Monkeys.

If they can’t stop me here, they might face extinction.

Having seen dozens of Black Monkeys fall to the ground with their heads and necks separated, the thought that they could be next is a powerful motivator.

They probably have some confidence too.

So far, not a single Black Monkey has managed to lay a hand on me.

The Black Monkeys’ greatest strength and weakness is their good basic stats in strength, agility, and constitution.

Black Monkeys don’t use separate weapons.

Their solid build, quick movements, and raw strength are the weapons of Black Monkeys, whose advantage is overwhelming opponents with power.

In some ways it’s an advantage, in others a disadvantage.

The fact that advantages outweigh disadvantages can be seen in how Black Monkeys occupy a large territory in the level 2 biome.

But right now, those advantages were becoming hopelessly weak points for them.

They were helplessly falling to me, even more powerless than the Goblins who at least tried to hit me with blind attacks by spitting.

To them, I am a natural predator.

This wasn’t a group-versus-group dogfight, but me overwhelming them with my S+ agility and [Leap Slash] attack that was practically teleportation, rendering their physical abilities useless as I nimbly continued the battle—something the Black Monkeys had no way to counter even with hundreds of them.

It’s not that they had no method.

The simple solution would be to swarm me all at once as they’re doing now.

But that only works when their advantage of high basic stats is effective against me.

“Ki… Scary human…”

The reason Black Monkeys keep fighting despite deaths instead of fleeing is because they are predators.

They have nowhere to retreat.

Once they abandon their territory and start descending to lower-level biomes, there’s no end to it.

And as they descend through biomes, their strength naturally weakens.

While this is clearly a place where nature’s ecosystem is maintained, considering the Farming World’s system, the level-specific biomes are set at those levels because that’s where the creatures live.

An intense battle between me and the Black Monkeys who cannot retreat.

I was fighting somewhat experimentally, but… it was intense in its own way.

“If I slash eight times in one go, will it deal more damage?”

Hitting the same spot again deals additional damage.

It’s subtle, but that’s how the Farming World is set up.

In a way, it makes sense since wounded areas become vulnerable spots.

So I always slashed the same spots consistently.

The moment I realized this wasn’t just a game mechanic unique to Farming World was during the test with Team Leader Kim Jin-hyeop from the Hunter Association in the real world.

The shield that shattered when I penetrated it with a focused strike supports my theory.

Of course, one could argue it broke from receiving too much damage at once, which is why I was conducting multiple experiments until I was certain.

Conveniently, the sturdy Black Monkeys were distributed in various ways.

By the time it got dark…

I finished my venting/cleanup and headed back.

“See you tomorrow.”

I probably killed about 100 of them.

I didn’t clear out that many since I killed them little by little.

Like with the Goblins, I could have gone all out and used my mana to the extreme to kill them all at once if I wanted to, but I didn’t because I needed to fill the empty slave positions.

The moment I saw the Black Monkeys, I thought of the vacant slave positions.

For farm management, it’s advantageous to fill permitted spaces with slaves or NPCs to maximum capacity.

If possible, I’d like to increase the number of slave positions first, but when slaves with solid stats come walking in on their own, I can’t just kill them all indiscriminately.

And slavery isn’t as simple as going up to them and saying, “You, become my slave,” and having the Black Monkey respond, “Yes, master.”

You need to instill thorough fear.

The reason Goblins accepted slavery relatively easily is because they’re the lowest-tier monsters in the level 0 biome.

They easily submit to deeply ingrained fear, but Black Monkeys are level 2 biome monsters.

An overwhelming existence they can’t even face.

They need to recognize and accept this before they can be used as slaves, so I’m imprinting it slowly, even if it takes time.

I also had something else I wanted to experiment with.

“While the number of slaves is limited, if I enslave only those who can control the others, could I use the ones below them through them?”

Since they’re intelligent and live in groups, I thought it might work—that was the basis of my experiment.