Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Azrael stared at the light-golden orb with a deep frown etched across his face.

Even from a distance, he could tell by the feeling it gave off that the orb would be incredibly useful to him—if he managed to get it, that is.

However, due to his current lack of power, he couldn't take it.

Suddenly, Azrael froze, taking a deep breath.

"Since when did my thinking become so rigid..." He muttered under his breath, exhaling softly.

'I can't kill an elite monster that's close to level 25... but who said I need to kill it to get the orb?'

The Titan Ape was monstrously powerful—so much so that Azrael didn't even have the confidence to last a single minute against it.

But… did he truly need to fight it?

"I don't need to fight or kill it… I just need to make sure I can safely escape after robbing the orb," He muttered to himself and began planning.

First, he climbed down from the tree. While maintaining a distance of approximately three hundred meters from the Titan Ape, he carefully surveyed the surroundings.

During this time, he avoided all other monsters. After nearly two hours of focused effort, he completed his analysis of the terrain around the Titan Ape.

Once that was done, he moved farther away from the ape's location and surveyed the distance surrounding areas, calculating how best to use the terrain to his advantage.

Relying on his Infinite Comprehension, he planned every detail meticulously. This took him another five hours.

After thoroughly familiarizing himself with the terrain, he returned to his original spot and resumed observing the Titan Ape.

Time passed—one hour, two hours… five hours… eight hours.

Azrael continued to monitor the Titan Ape, noting down every detail—from its walking style to the exact distance it covered with each casual step.

He even began tailing it discreetly, turning himself into something of a stalker.

One crucial observation he made was that the Titan Ape never went more than five hundred meters away from the light-golden orb.

To test its reaction and speed when someone approached the orb, Azrael captured a level five monster, broke its legs, and when the Titan Ape finally moved about five hundred meters away, he threw the crippled creature near the orb.

The moment the monster landed near the orb, a thunderous roar echoed through the central area of the forest as the Titan Ape came charging back.

It covered the five hundred meters in just seven seconds.

When Azrael witnessed the Titan Ape's speed, his mouth twitched involuntarily.

With his current agility, he was far slower than the ape. Even if he pushed his speed using cosmic energy and pushed his leg muscles to their limit, it would still take him around ten seconds to cover that distance. Worse, he wouldn't be able to maintain that speed for long.

Meanwhile, the Titan Ape could maintain its superior speed effortlessly over extended periods.

For two whole days, Azrael observed the Titan Ape, engraving every single detail into his mind.

He threw a few more monsters near the orb and made a crucial discovery that he felt would be helpful to him.

During this time, he also hunted a few monsters and managed to raise his level to 7.

After two days of stalking—I mean, observation—Azrael finally devised a double-layered plan in his mind.

He ceased his surveillance and began preparing.

To prepare everything he needed to safely escape from the monster, Azrael spent an entire day on preparations, and by the end of it, he was physically and mentally exhausted.

That night, he left the central area of the forest and returned to the outer zone to rest properly.

The next morning, he awoke fully refreshed and ready to carry out his plan.

He made his way toward the Titan Ape's location, his eyes calm and devoid of emotion. He was under the influence of Cold Blooded, enhancing his focus and helping him avoid mistakes born from unnecessary thoughts.

Since he hadn't traveled too far from the central area, it only took him half an hour to return to the Titan Ape's vicinity.

When he arrived, he saw the Titan Ape lying beside the light-golden orb, casually scratching its rear from time to time, as though bored.

"The Despair-level difficulty really is something else…" Azrael muttered under his breath.

"In Hell-level trials and below, you can't obtain any real items during the trial. But in the Despair-level, there are treasures that can increase your strength… though getting them means walking on the edge of a knife."

He stood there for several minutes, watching the Titan Ape and simulating every step of his plan once more to ensure he hadn't missed anything as one mistake could cost him his life.

'If instead of stalking this guy, I had just hunted monsters over the past three days, I'd probably already be level 8… maybe even close to level 9,' He thought.

But then he shook his head, forcing himself to stop thinking about it.

"Let's just hope whatever this thing is doesn't disappoint me," He said to himself.

Changing his position toward the deeper part of the central area, he finally stepped out from behind the trees.

He was about two hundred meters away from the Titan Ape. Seeing the beast lounging lazily while scratching its ass, he closed his eyes for a second, then opened them and called out loudly.

"Oy, you! Brother of the red-butt monkeys!"

The Titan Ape turned its massive head in Azrael's direction the moment it heard the voice, locking eyes with him.

Its deep yellow pupils radiated cold, predator-like malice.

Just from that glance, Azrael felt immense pressure crash down upon him—it was the oppressive force of a superior lifeform's gaze.

He could feel the bloodlust and malicious intent of the creature, but his expression remained calm and unchanged.

He slowly raised his middle finger at the Titan Ape, boldly delivering the universal gesture of utter disrespect, and spoke in a cold tone.

"Fu*k off."

The moment those words left his lips, Azrael didn't hesitate for even a second. He spun on his heel and dashed away at full speed.

The Titan Ape stood stunned for a brief second—but in the next instant—

ROOAAARR!

A furious roar exploded through the central forest, shaking the trees as the Titan Ape launched into a ferocious pursuit.