Reincarnated as a Helion in a world of hunters

Chapter 9: Before the walls rise

Outside the habitat, the first tree that caught my attention was massive, oak-like, with broad branches and leaves tinted a deep purple.

“Scratch!”

My claws flared as I activated the skill. With a single leap, I landed a horizontal strike at the base of the trunk.

SHHHHHHHHK!

A deep claw mark carved into the wood, shaving away a chunk of the base.

“Ooo! Look at that…” I muttered. “My level-ups weren’t for nothing.”

Confidence boosted me as I struck again.

SHHHHK!

The tree toppled.

BAAAM!

Dust burst upward as the behemoth slammed into the ground. Before I could step closer, the fallen tree dissolved, breaking apart into drifting particles.

[Normal Wood has been added to inventory.]

“…What? Inventory?”

The moment I spoke the word, a window appeared before me with rows of small rectangular slots. One of them was filled with an icon of stacked wood, a number written beneath it, 250.

“Well… so there is an inventory system.”

As soon as I said the word inventory again, the window vanished.

“If one tree like that gives me 250 wood…” I murmured, thinking. “Then four should be enough.”

I didn’t waste anymore time as I moved through the forest, looking for massive trees and large stone outcrops.

But they weren’t common. By the time the sun climbed directly overhead, I had only managed to gather 750 wood and 500 stone.

My limbs were exhausted as I could feel my muscles were starting to stage a mutiny. Every step felt like I was dragging weights behind me.

The habitat felt far behind me now, and I was already thinking about turning back …

“There!”

The fourth behemoth stood ahead, thicker than the rest. White vertical lines spread across its green trunk gave it a unique touch, crowned with leaves of deep sea blue.

“Finally.”

I leapt forward baring my claws. The trunk rushed toward me as I drew back my arm…

And something slammed into my side.

The impact sent my body flying left. My back hit the ground first, then my body flipped hard across the dirt. My ribs screamed in pain as the breath left my lungs in a ragged wheeze.

But I wasn’t inexperienced anymore.

Blink!

The world twisted as I reappeared on my feet, skidding slightly as I braced myself. A sharp ache pulsed at my side as I covered them with my left arm, panting.

I didn’t even think and pulled up my stats. My HP had dropped by nearly half.

I could feel the damage throbbing through my body.

“Damn it!”

Then something dropped down from the tree.

A monkey, larger than the Baby Ape I’d fought before. Its body was thicker, muscles packed tight beneath its fur. It landed lightly, then threw a familiar one-two punch into the air before locking eyes with me.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

[Boxer Ape encountered.]

[Final Evolution Form of Baby Ape.]

[Class: Alpha]

“…Oh.”

I flexed my claws, lowering my stance.

“Guess what? The annoying brat’s big brother showed up.”

I opened with the same failsafe tactic that had worked against its younger brother.

Blink!

I closed the distance instantly, swinging my claws in a tight right strike aimed at its face. But the older one didn’t panic like the baby did.

It came at me immediately with a right hook.

“Ooh,” I muttered, twisting mid-step. “You’re the mature one, huh? Then how about this?”

Blink!

As the hook whistled past my ears I vanished and reappeared behind it. My swing completed…

SHHHK!

The ape lurched forward. I saw the slash clearly this time, blood streaking across its back. But it was too heavy to be thrown aside like the Baby Ape.

Still, its reaction was familiar.

It spun around instantly, eyes wide, locking onto me.

“Eh? So it works on you too.”

I repeated the pattern.

Dash in close with open strike then blink to its blind side and finish the blow. It was a cheap loop that worked.

But the elder one adapted faster.

On my third attempt, it twisted the moment I blinked, its left cross snapping toward where my jaw would have been.

Too close.

Blink!

I escaped by a breath, reappearing above its head as the punch ripped through air again. I flipped mid-air, claws dropping straight down.

The ape noticed as it rolled forward just in time as my strike only caught a handful of air. I landed hard behind it.

“Damn it,” I hissed. “It’s not just guessing faster…its reaction speed’s higher too.”

But the more it learned my Blink, the more options I had.

I blinked again. It turned backward instantly, one eye tracking above, waiting for the follow-up Blink.

That hesitation—

—that was it.

SHHHK!

No second Blink. I stepped in and drove my claws straight across its back.

The ape turned as its body slid, still on its feet, eyes wide again as blood seeped through its fur.

I felt that familiar, ugly heat of a win bubbling up inside me.

“What?” I said lightly. “Your baby brother didn’t warn you about Blink?”

I tilted my head.

“Or are you a brother from another mother he’s got a grudge against?”

It felt like the monkey understood my intent. It leapt back several steps, then roared at me…

KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAA!

KIIIIIAAA!

It threw another one-two into the air. But something was wrong. The ape was nowhere near me. And yet, two massive stone fists burst into existence right in front of my face, swinging in a brutal one-two.

I swayed left, then right. The blows whistled past my ears, close enough to stir the fur along my neck.

“…Outboxing,” I muttered, eyes widening. “Hit-and-run.”

The Baby Ape had done the same thing when Blink confused it, keeping distance.

Now that I am facing an evolved version of it, that distance had turned lethal. In-boxing became out-boxing.

My skin felt too tight as irritation spiked. A jagged pulse of frustration throbbed in my temples.

KRRRRRHHAAAA!

“I’ll overwhelm you.”

A spark caught in my chest as I moved.

“Rolling Dash!”

Blink burned MP. If it wanted to fight from range, then I’d close the gap without it—and use Blink only when necessary.

I rolled forward as another stone fist slammed down where my head had been. I kept moving, dodging mid-roll as more blows ripped through the air behind me.

I curved my path, looping in a tight arc—

—and launched.

Like a truck tyre spinning out of control, my Rolling Dash smashed straight into its chest.

KIAAAAA!

The ape flew backwards with a heavy crash. I didn’t stop.

Blink!

I reappeared behind its airborne body and carved a deep slash across its back. The impact twisted its trajectory mid-air.

Blink!

I appeared again with another strike.

Blink!

Again.

The world fell silent as my mind went quiet, leaving only the rhythm of my blink and the wet sound of my claws finding their target. The forest trembled as our movements tore through it like two violent forces colliding again and again in a star-shaped blur.

SHHHK!

SHHHK!

SHHHHK!

Blink after Blink, Scratch after Scratch, I overwhelmed it.

I twisted my body violently mid-air as the final blow sent the ape flying straight into the massive tree behind it.

KIAAAA!

It’s back slammed into the trunk. Blood sprayed, and then dripped down as its body slid limply to the base of the tree, collapsing into a seated position.

I stood in front of it, breathing hard. Its eyes were half-lidded. Blood ran freely from its wounds.

That’s when a thought struck me.

“What if I mix it…?”

Elemental affinity, combined with attack.

I remembered the sensation. The burning crawled up my spine when Helis first integrated into my body, when blue particles melted through invisible restraints of the spiders.

“Helis Integration,” I murmured.

The sensation returned instantly.

Blue particles bled out of every pore as heat sparked through my core. My claws flared as the energy collided around them, igniting into a faint blue shimmer.

I mixed it with Scratch. But I didn’t aim at the ape.

I swung.

The blow passed just above its head and cleaved straight through the massive tree behind it.

The behemoth split in two.

The upper half collapsed with a loud noise, shaking the ground as it hit. The ape lifted its head weakly, meeting my eyes one last time… and fainted.

I stood there, claws still glowing faintly, staring down at it. My eyes burned with triumph and fury as a grin carved itself across my lips.

[Level Up.]

The system chime hit me like a jolt.

“…Level up?”

My head snapped toward the monkey.

“Did it die?” I shouted in panic. “Did I kill it?!”

“Status!”

The screen appeared immediately.

[Boxer Ape — Class: Alpha]

[Status:

Level: 80

Experience: 1744 / 2000

HP: 10 / 1900

MP: 460 / 970

Stats:

STR: 150

AGI: 160

INT: 280

SPD: 180]

“It’s not dead…” I muttered. “Then how…”

My gaze drifted away from the ape.

The massive tree behind it was disappearing, its broken trunk slowly evaporating into faint particles.

[Normal Wood has been added to inventory.]

My lungs felt heavy as if they were filled with thick tar, something inside my chest had slammed shut, cutting off the air.

“…These are lives too,” My voice barely carried the whisper. “Lives that I’m taking.”

A cold twitch of realization made me grip my chest as the warm feeling of triumph switched with a dark, cold guilt.

And as I stood there, surrounded by broken bark and fading particles, busy gathering materials for my domain and learning the rules of this world…

Far away, inside sealed halls where civilized beasts gathered behind stone and law, trembling hands drafted an order.

[Bearda, Capital of Regilios]

Inside the royal bedchamber, the only sound was the frantic scratching of a quill. A trembling hand dragged the final line across the parchment; the ink was still wet beneath the unsteady glow of candlelight.

For a brief moment, the hand hovered.

Then the parchment was folded sharply and slipped into an envelope. Hot red wax followed, dripping thick before a seal was pressed down with unmistakable authority.

A royal decree.

No words were exchanged as it changed hands.

A maid took the envelope and moved quickly through the stone corridors, her footsteps echoing too loudly in the silence and her breath shallow as if the walls themselves were listening. She reached the gate and stopped.

A soldier was already waiting.

His face was hidden beneath a steel helm, unreadable. He accepted the letter without question, mounted his horse in a single practiced motion, and kicked hard against its flank.

The wild crackle of hooves tore through the sleeping capital, carrying the order that would, in time, turn my ‘safe’ world into a graveyard of regrets.