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“Wrong!” The voice chuckled, “Think again.”

“But... your voice isn’t coming from anywhere...”

“Exactly, so how do you think I’m talking to you?”

Oli blinked. “Through... my mind?”

“Bingo, we have a winner!” The mysterious voice’s laughter echoed in Oil’s mind, mocking the gorilla. “It took you long enough. And I thought you were supposed to be some sort of prodigy.”

“Why did you put me here!”

.....

The voice sighed and sounded like the man was shaking his head, “Oli, aren’t you more curious as to why I don’t sound like the man that captured you?”

“I... I guess...” mumbled the gorilla, growing quieter and giving in to his curiosity.

“Well, that’s simple. It’s because I’m not that person.”

“That’s it?” Oli looked around, showing his disappointment. “That’s your big explanation? You won’t tell me how I got here or how I find you and not him.”

“Is this enough explanation?”

Just then, Oli noticed something fall from the cave ceiling with a thud. He got up to get closer, only to be shocked to recognize the disembodied head rolling around on the cave floor.

“So... you weren’t working with those bandits?”

“Maybe I was... Maybe I wasn’t...”

“Then, if you killed the bandit leader, why did you still take me away if you weren’t working with them?” asked Oli.

“I thought you already figured that part out?” stated the voice in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“Did you really not think figure out what you’re supposed to do? Even when I left all those clues on the desk? That scroll for human metamorphosis could be considered a priceless treasure, you know...”

Scratching his head, Oli replied, “You mean I have to become a human?”

“Of course!”

“But how do you expect me to do that? I’m just a novice plane gorilla with an elder bloodline?”

“Really? I could’ve sworn that you had a mutated bloodline from your Iron-body Gorilla clan and the Shadow-toxic dragons. Was I wrong?”

Dumbfounded, Oli showed his surprise in his eyes.

“And haven’t you already figured out a way to take a human form, albeit a more crude and painful way than what’s stated in that manual?”

“I... How...” Oli’s confusion was growing more and more with every second, bringing his train of thought to a grinding halt.

“See, I was right to think you could take a human form with enough practice,” the voice proudly stated.

“But... How do you know all of this?” asked Oli, whose brain was aching.

“Simple, because you said so and did so while you were cultivating in your private cultivation room back in Iron Town.”

Gaining a thread of a lead, Oli asked, “Wait, you were there the whole time? Are you, by any chance, the same person who rigged the final fight at the tournament?”

“Aha! So you are good at critical thinking like I guessed! Then how come it took you so long to figure out that you need to take a human form?”

“That’s not the point right now!” shouted Oli. “I only heard about it from Vloz, but I was almost killed, thanks to you!”

“Well, I had to know if you were worth my time in the first place,” reasoned the voice plainly. “Since you won and survived, even if they did help you with that last part, you proved that I should keep watching you. And I’m glad I did. To think that you had a mutated bloodline and both dark and earth essence was a splendid surprise.”

“But what about you trying to kill me?! Or how you let those bandits get away with what they did?!”

“Who said I let them get away with it?” laughed the voice. “If you look now, the head is gone. That’s because I need to send it back to the people who dared invade a small territory from a different prefecture.”

“Different prefecture?!”

“Right, you didn’t know much about them. That guy was a High King, better known as a king that ruled over a province.” Seeing that Oli was still confused, the voice continued his explanation, “A province is a group of regions. High Kings are the people in between region rulers and the lord of a prefecture.”

“What?! And that man was a High King?!”

“Yup, in both position and plane.”

“Huh?!”

As if not bothered by Oli’s shock, the voice continued, “Anyway, I’ll be sending that head back to the lord of the prefecture as evidence of the crimes his prefecture has committed. That should stop them from returning to your home for quite some time.”

“You mean, you’re helping my Iron Territory?”

“In a way, I guess I am. But I’m sure the king of your region will figure it out anyway and put a stop to it, so don’t worry about your friends or family. It’ll cloud your mind and keep you from cultivating.”

“But why am I here?” asked Oli. “And how come you took me away? If they committed a crime by kidnapping me, didn’t you do the same thing?”

“Yeah, so?”

“What do you mean, ‘Yeah, so?!’ Isn’t this a serious crime?!”

“True, but they have no way of stopping me,” laughed the voice. “You may not realize it since your young and naive, but that man who kidnapped you wasn’t actually human. He was a beast.”

“Really? That doesn’t make sense though...” reasoned Oli. “If he had to fight you, then how come he didn’t transform into his true form before he died, in order to fight at full strength?”

“Because I had already removed his head,” stated the voice. Even if Oli couldn’t see the man, Oli was sure that the man smiling. “In other words, so that you’re slow mind can understand, me and that high king plane cultivator aren’t on the same level.”

Chills ran through Oli’s body. He couldn’t move, frozen in shock by the comparison.

The strongest beasts he had ever seen were Brak and Trada. Witnessing their power as low kings was extraordinary. Imagining a high king cultivator was already beyond Oli, let alone someone who could kill a high king so easily as that voice stated it could.

“H-how do I know you’re telling the truth?” muttered Oli.

“How else would I have an ancient manuscript on human metamorphosis? Or be able to take you away while remaining completely untraceable?” the voice stated. “If anything, you should be thanking me. I’m offering you the chance to be human and learn from humans. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to learn some of the magic that makes us so tricky to deal with?”

With his interest piqued, Oli sighed, “And what about everyone else back in the Iron Territory?”

“They’re fine. You were their only target and the rest of the bandit were all slain, even those that escaped.”

“How can you be so–”

Suddenly, corpses started to fall from different parts of the ceiling, littering the cave floor. “Do you believe me now?”

“But... But why did you bring me away? I don’t get it?”

“Didn’t you want to leave in order to learn new things?” asked the voice, surprised and annoyed at Oli’s continuous questions. “I thought you wanted to learn from humans? You know, how they made their cultivation techniques and how you could possibly make your own as well?”

“I–”

“Either way, you’re already here and you’ll be stuck in here until you can get through that barrier.”

Looking to the cave’s only exit, Oli asked, “And how exactly do I get through that barrier?”

“Simple,” stated the voice, “there are two requirements. One, only humans can pass through it. Two, you’ll only manage to break through it after all your essence types are at the adept plane.”

“What?! That’s insane?!”

“Well, those are the requirements, and the barrier is already set up so there’s no way around it,” chuckled the voice. “Plus, I’ve already given you everything you’ll need in order to blend in with the people in the nearby city. Aren’t I thoughtful?”

“But... That’s way too much to ask while I’m so weak!”

“True... My guess is that it’ll take you a few equinoxes...” Oli’s blatant despair wasn’t enough to keep the voice from talking. “Either way, this makes things faster and better for you in the end. And who knows, maybe you’ll surpass my expectations? In fact, I hope you do.”

“But... But...”

“Calm down, kid. Seriously, you’ll thank me for all this someday, I’m sure of it,” reasoned the voice. “Besides, in order to be with that fox, didn’t both you and her need to learn human metamorphosis? Wouldn’t that manual speed things up a bit?”

“Yeah, maybe if I was there to give it to here!” shouted Oli.

“In time, I’m sure you’ll see her and your mother again. But for now, focus on reaching the adept plain and, more importantly, mastering human metamorphosis. I’ll check in on you every now and then...” The voice drifted off, gradually disappearing entirely.

With mixed emotions, Oli grunted and walked back to the formation. Though he didn’t like being stuck there, at least he could focus better knowing that everyone was alright and that he had a way out, albeit a difficult way.