Voices carried through the jungle. Scott crouched upon a high branch. He tilted his head and frowned. He couldn’t pick up what was being said. Without his ability he wouldn't have been able to hear anything for another few dozen paces. He counted at least six different voices. Must be from the base.

  The depth of the jungle blocked Scott’s vision of anything like a base. He leapt onto the lower branches of the next tree, again he leapt to the lower branches of the next tree, and then he swung to the jungle floor. He wanted to keep as much distance as he could. If he had the ability to hear beyond a normal radius, and he was only at level 17, then those around level 48 should be markedly more apt at sensing him.

  Scott halted his course when what was said was no longer incoherent. He quietly climbed a tree and straddled a branch with his back to the trunk. He listened.

  “Everything all right, Kriss?”

  “He should have returned by now.”

  “I wouldn’t worry. Of all the minions, humans are the trickiest. They don’t exactly rush to battle. They get their bearing before they die. Carree’s probably chasing the dumb thing around.”

  “Still.”

  “He’s powerful. A level one human doesn’t stand a chance against him. Don’t worry.”

  “I’m trying not to, but I feel sick.”

  “It’s been a few months since the last wave. It’s just jitters.”

  “Maybe.”

  “So, when did he propose?”

  “Yesterday.” The woman’s voice softened as if she had turned around. “He took me to the ridge and he had this whole spread of flowers and fruit. It was lovely.”

  “When will you espouse?”

  “When?” Laughter bubbled through the jungle. “We’re concerned with where! Not out here, no. Perhaps at the cathedral in Eirdam.”

  “Oh, I’m so excited for you!”

  “I didn’t know he was going to propose so soon, I mean we talked about it and he said he would but I thought maybe next year. I’m thrilled, though. Very happy. I’m having a hard time containing myself.”

  “Well there’s why you’re so worried. Your soon to be husband is off hunting a notoriously tricky monster.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Maybe. I hope that’s all it is. You’re right. Humans are monsters. The worst kind. Why couldn’t the wave have been undead trolls again? Those were harder to beat but still better than dealing with humans.”

  “Tell you what, if Carree isn’t back by tomorrow morning, we’ll go for a stroll. How does that sound?”

  Footsteps padded upon stone. “I’m brewing today. Do you guys need anything?”

  “No, all good.”

  “No thank you.”

  “Carree not back yet?”

  “Isn’t that odd?”

  A whistle pierced the jungle. Footsteps slapped stone. “Hey guys come help. We caught forty humans.”

  “Is that our biggest haul yet?”

  “For numbers, yes. Jhin, can you release the skeleton ogres? Let them level up in the jungle. We need their cage.”

  “Mind if I take one down?”

  “I do mind. Let them level up.”

  “You’re the boss.”

  “And Kriss, don’t worry. It’s a human we’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, thanks, I guess.”

  Footsteps padded away.

  Scott pinched his chin between knuckle and thumb. Images of him drowning the Lynan man filled his mind. He remembered clearly each bubble popping on the water. He saw them now as frantic beads of a final breath. But he couldn’t feel too horrible about it—listen to the conversation they just had! They were going to kill him! Or capture him? Shove him in a cage with other humans where skeleton ogres had been held captive? How many humans?

  Scott rubbed his face. He was not going to save humans with a bunch of powerful people around. No way.

  Scott was firm that he could only underestimate their capabilities. Kriss was going to find out that her fiancé was dead, and then he would be hunted. There was no time to save the humans. He had to leave the area. He had to put distance between them.

  Scott peered through the jungle. He wanted for a moment to see if he could spot anything. In his scramble to kill Carree, he hadn’t really taken the time to notice the difference between a human and a Lynan. Why did the Lynans look down on humans so much? For how similar they were, it was a bit odd to hear them equate humans with monsters.

  Feet firm beneath him, Scott strolled across the branch, and then he leapt to another branch on another tree. He made his way as far south from the area as possible. He planned to turn west to circumnavigate the Lynan base as much as possible. Now was the time to take action.

  Scott jogged across the jungle floor. He batted foreign flora out of his way. While looking out for monsters, he found himself daydreaming of a successful attempt to rescue the humans. He frowned for two reasons: First of all, he was not responsible for humans, especially considering the risk—and he hated that he felt bad about it; secondly, daydreaming divided his attention from keeping his senses as keen as they could be.

  “This is how you die. You’ll end up in a cage just like everyone. Trust your gut. When you're more powerful, then you can save a bunch of your kind. Until then, survive.”

  The canopy, above eight different boughs, rustled. The sound put images in Scott’s mind of branches suddenly bouncing. He skidded to a halt, and he leapt back into a crouch. Eight skeleton monkeys slammed into the ground. They came at him with hung jaws and reaching fingers. With his awesome branch, Scott shattered their spines in half. A few of them clamped hard enough to leave bruises on his arms. Scott cursed himself when he pressed on one of the thimble-wide bruises.

  8 level 1 skeleton tuaw monkeys slain.

  320 xp gained.

  The jungle floor rustled. Scott prepared himself, for a horde of beetles must have sensed him. No other monster he’d heard so far agitated the jungle so much.