Like Father, Like Son

It was an incredibly tedious task to brew potions without the help of my goblin subordinates. Even now that I could command monsters, it was the same. I missed Nanaruk's spot so badly—the way she flawlessly understood my intentions with such sharp intuition. Right now, Nanaruk was probably conquering the goblin tribes of the Great Forest, charging forward like Alexander the Great. But I still hadn't heard any rumors of the epithet Ouroboros rising in prestige. Well, it had been less than a month since we parted, so that was to be expected.

In any case, I liberally used a potion that could be considered fairly rare on the gorilla. "Uwaaaang, we're family, uwaaaang! They... tore off my arm...!" The female gorilla seemed more shocked by her banishment from the troop than the pain in her arm. Considering how I'd promised to accept her as family and shower her with love, it was understandable she'd feel betrayed. And I felt a twinge of guilt. Not that it was my fault she'd ended up like this—blame the savage, deranged monkey leader for that.

During the fight in the monkey forest, I'd lost track of her at some point. "Uwaaaang." Stop crying. I made a gesture to shut her mouth. I needed to stay calm myself. To act cold and composed, I just had to imitate Gunter. You can stay here. If you want, I'll even get you an arm. Truth be told, I needed the female gorilla anyway. She could speak. Compared to other monsters, she seemed far more intelligent. No offense to Dotbakyi, but I needed smart subordinates.

If she becomes my subordinate! The female gorilla startled and looked at me. "You'll... accept me as family...?" Not family—subordinate. I nodded for now. "Th-thank youuu...!"

The skill leveled up. She must have been a fairly tough monster to tame.

"Should I... be your big sis...?" No. Last time she called me "son," I'd smacked her with my tail, and now she was going on about being "sis." "Oh, nooo...?" Right, you're my subordinate. And my advisor. "Ung...?" Hm...? She caught on a bit late. The gorilla responded as if she understood my thoughts. Advisor.

Huh, I was just calling her that. "My... name... is that?"

If she likes it, fine. Can you understand my thoughts? "L-le... ad... er...?" Was it the taming effect? That might explain why Dotbakyi had been following my commands so well lately. A skill perk, maybe. Most monsters couldn't even grasp my intentions at all. Maybe the gorilla's high intelligence made it possible, or she had an aptitude for it. You're about 0.7 Nanaruk. Sadly, not quite at Nanaruk's ghostly level of comprehension. Still, I'd gained a smart, armless advisor. You need arms, right? Now it was time to arm my armless advisor. "Ung...!" I fetched a prosthetic from the display case. A massive one no ordinary human could wield. Finally, this junk had found its owner. It might hurt, but endure it. "H-heuk!" To attach the prosthetic, I had to jam a 15cm needle into her severed shoulder. That day, I learned gorillas' faces could go pale too.

* * *

It happened abruptly. That message rang out.

All the messages I'd heard so far had been about me or something right in front of me. But now it was telling me about a World Tree root fruit sprouting somewhere nearby? The surrounding monsters all lifted their heads at once—they must have sensed it too. Drool started flowing from their mouths on instinct. They'd all tasted the fruit before. There's a saying about the white tiger on the left and azure dragon on the right. In my case, it'd be gorilla on the left, hyena on the right. Strong Arm Gorilla Chammo Lv40 now truly lived up to her prefix. Let's go! I shouted, and she instantly roared in response. "Leeeet's gooooo!" "Awooooo!" Dotbakyi howled competitively. My twenty subordinates charged down the hill. At the base, a single root had sprouted, bearing three fruits. Orange ones—unripe. But their sweet aroma wafted all the way up here. I hopped onto the gorilla's back. Time to test how strong she'd become. She seemed tougher than I'd thought. She launched forward with a whoosh. The leap was so powerful it felt like flight. She descended just as long as she'd risen. With her massive weight and new arms, she smashed down on the monsters crawling the ground.

Kabooom! The swarm on the ground was bugs. Monsters from the insect legion, apparently. They'd rushed in the moment the fruit appeared, already closing on the root. Subordinates of the Great Centipede King? But in the wild, you couldn't nitpick like that and survive. Cat-sized crickets leaped through the rising dust.

I considered stepping in, but the gorilla seemed trustworthy still. She was a romantic warrior—she called out her technique names. "Laaaariiiiot!" Arms spread wide, she spun like a top. Was that a lariat? But the metal whirlwind was storm-worthy. Thud thud thud! The crickets burst, spraying purple juice. Impressive. Brawn and brains. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠terms, maybe like Jiang Wei. The bugs outnumbered us, but their quality was inferior. My crew, Zoo Beasts, crushed the insect legion easily. I was honestly relieved. No real threats. My subordinates swarmed the root. Then the gorilla lunged toward it. A seven-legged lizard Lv16 scaling the root snatched a fruit. Chammo grabbed its tail. "No... way!" Bam! She slammed it down, tail in hand. Dotbakyi snatched the spat-out fruit. Instead of eating it, she loyally brought it to me. And for the lizard daring to salivate first, the gorilla... "Beeehave...!" Crack! Smacked its head. The lizard retreated with a dented skull. Tough little thing. Anyway, Chammo was an advisor with clear rewards and punishments. Excellent hire. The three fruits lay before me. For reference, the Zoo Beasts crew ran a dictatorship. The boss owned all fruits. Same for insect legions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and primate families. Familiar with the system, Chammo didn't question my monopoly. Good. I ate one first. My body stiffened briefly, but no one touched it.

My head's poison glands twitched. Yeah, same effects as last time. I stored one in my subspace. I'll use this. Chammo nodded as if it were natural. What shocked her was my next move. I offered the last fruit, then sliced it in half with my tail and tossed half to her. Half for you, the rest divide among the crew by merit... "Uwaaaaaang!" Before I finished, she wailed. "Uwaaa! Th-thank youuu!" That moving? Clearly, the monkey troop was "family" in name only—more like labor exploitation. "Really... thank... you!" Yeah, yeah. Dotbakyi looked jealous, but Chammo's performance earned it.

—Tch, giving one of three and acting all generous. After hogging two yourself. "I'm eating one too," I clarified to Pellelian. I left Chammo in charge of the others. Wait here till I return. "Boss... where?" That rocky area. I pointed with my tail. "Big cool snake place... boss, die." I'll be fine. "Why go?" To meet family. That hit her somewhere. She thumped her chest. "Good... luck!" So solemn. The monsters saw me off. I headed to the rocks. No spider trackers this time. I pulled a fruit from subspace. Last time, Dad fled at the sight of me. I wanted to ride his back, so I'd prepared.

—This'll be good. Even Pellelian was excited. Polaris Serpent—a rare monster that thrilled even archmages. The fruit's mind-bewitching scent. Would it hold my father too? I arrived at the rocks. No sign after searching. Had he left? Then—Rumble rumble rumble! Dad rose from the rubble. Dramatic entrance again.

"Saaak!" I called to Dad. Your son is back—with tasty World Tree fruit! But he didn't see me, scanning around for someone. Only after confirming no one else did he notice me. The shock came next. "Mother...?" Dad spoke. Telepathically? —Mental waves! Impressive! True superior species! Snakes can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠speak properly due to mouth structure. Maybe like transmission arts in wuxia. I couldn't mimic it, so I gestured solemnly, slicing across my throat with my tail. She's gone. I didn't expect tears. "Sigh." Wait—that relief? Noticing my stare, he looked skyward. Tears glistened—ice shards. Plink, plink. Ice tears from a snake. Snakes have nictitating membranes anyway, but now wasn't the time. "You... my child?" He looked down. Yes. I raised the fruit. He lowered his head slowly. Close enough to strike. Gap open. I'd hesitated on a plan: test Taming Lv8. Might anger him. Probably fail. Just a fleeting thought.

...? He struck first?

"Sorry...?" Clear panic. Screw it!

Sorry. I bowed. Pellelian chimed in. —Like father, like son. Awkward silence hung.

* * *

With the snake gone to the rocky area, the Zoo Beasts monsters waited endlessly for their master. A leader must be strong to command monsters. And provide for them. The snake excelled there. He fed them well, earning respect and affection. Despite his small size, he'd beaten every foe, inspiring fear. But now was different. He'd gone to meet the "big cool snake." "Woof, woof." Dotbakyi barked at Chammo. The gorilla gave a wry smile. "Yeahhh, it's... suicide... pretty much..." To them, he might as well have gone to die. The "big cool snake"—weaker than Silverback Akimus or the swamp horror, but neither dared provoke it. Immensely huge, with devastating destruction beams. He'd said family, but would he return alive? Even Chammo doubted. "Woof!" "Rescue... him?" Chammo shook her head at Dotbakyi's suggestion. "Boss said... he'd return." She'd wait. "I believe... the family promise." Her new family, new boss, had promised. Night fell dark. As they slumped in exhaustion—Rumble rumble—the ground ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shook. Earthquake? New root? "Awooooo!" Dotbakyi's cry woke them. "Awooooooo!" Joyful howl. Chammo rushed over, roaring too. "Kuwaaaaa!" A massive snake approached. Terrifying alone—but a small snake rode its head. "Riiiide—! Booooss!" The boss returned, mounted on the big cool snake.