Chapter Nine
Monkeys, Pain, and Evolution? Why does my Nonexistent Immersion Keep on Being Destroyed?

Staring down at the apes, I readied myself for their next move as I oriented myself to a perfect position to let loose hellfire on my opponents. As I scanned them from here, it appeared as though, they were eyeing me and my friend. Observing what we were doing. They looked to be critically thinking this through, but I wasn't sure.

Then another monkey threw more rocks at me, gaining my attention. But before I could react, I heard a rush of wind originating from where the donkey kongs were standing, and then there was added weight to the side of my body, as a donkey kong had managed to jump all the way up to where I was floating in mid-air and was now hanging onto me for dear life. The monkey was holding onto my wing/propeller extension, struggling to not get their stupid grubby fingers into the rotors.

This had caught me off guard, with me thinking, 'What the fuck!' before reacting in the only way I could: flying into a stalactite horizontally. Colliding my body against a stalactite, crushing the monkey's ribs, and likely damaging my wings in the process. I proceeded to utilize my blow torches to burn the monkey. The monkey resisted my attempts to roast it, but it only ended with its face completely incinerated. The monkey screamed as the fire showered over its face, causing the monkey to flail its arms all over the place.

In the end, the monkey became one with the environment and became limp. I didn't want to leave it to fall to the ground because I needed to fill up my Stamina by taking their biomatter so I could still properly function in a battle. Pulling out four knife arms, I cut more meat than I was used to inserting into my body to power myself before said arms receded into my body.

SP: 30/90 - SP: 89/90

'Wow, that's a lot more than what I'm used to... Like for a small chunk of meat, I'm used to taking in, this seems beneficial.' I thought before hovering slightly away from the stalactite, dropping the surgically eaten monkey to the cave floor. At that moment, I saw that the other donkey kongs that had been eyeing down my friend were now making their moves.

Albeit, being met with each their own fate of doom. One had apparently thrown a large boulder at her, destroying the platform that we had nested upon. Thankfully, she had managed to get out of the way in time to dodge the incoming projectile. She now based herself on a web platform she built between two stalactites, using more webbing to halt monkeys from reaching her and then using poison magic to eliminate any that get too close to comfort. Then another Donkey Kong made a similar jump that the monkey that had done the same to me at her.

The monkey barely got close to her before being webbed up, and then it was force-fed poison. I made my way to remove any more monkeys from this plane of existence.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Hovering LV 6] has become [Hovering LV 7].

'Not right now, the mysterious voice from the heavens!' I thought about the system's voice, fully aware I wouldn't get a response. Pulling out more blow torches, I aimed for the big buff monkeys that were yet to make a move. They proceeded to respond by throwing rocks, which were met with fire, fire, and even more fire.

Then out of nowhere, a large boulder was thrown at me, and before I could react, my right wing was crushed, and I was sent spiraling toward the cave floor. This only resulted in a firey tornado forming. My body wildly spun around with my blow torches spewing out even more fire because if I was going down, these monkeys were coming down with me.

Experience has reached the required level. Scouting Drone, Roger, has increased from LV 8 to LV 9. Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired. Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Cutting LV 1] has become [Cutting LV 2]. Skill [Metallic Skin LV 1] has become [Metallic Skin LV 2]. Skill [Artificial Life LV 1] has become [Artificial Life LV 2]. Skill Points Acquired.

Oh, a level-up? I'm glad I don't have to die because of monkeys. Now, why haven't I seen any of these skills before? I mean... I can understand the cutting skill, but the artificial life and metallic skin skills? I feel as though that's pretty important information that I should know! WAIT! Now is not the time to complain. The time right now calls for monkey stakes!

Pulling out my knives to accompany my blow torches, I wanted to fight back that any monkeys that got too close got a mighty stabbing. If I was in the united kingdom right now, the British authorities would be knocking down my door for having multiple knives that I didn't have Loisences for. So right now, I was pretty well-armed for the moment.

One donkey kong stomped toward me, to which I responded with fire. 'I'm starting to feel I'm developing a liking to fire...' I thought as the ape was bathed in fire. Surprisingly, it didn't kill it outright, only resulting in said monkey's fur being on fire as the monkey continued to approach me. 'Well, time for me to use my knives!' I thought before using my knives to stab areas of the monkey's body, for example, the veins, organs, and finally... the knee. Why the knee? Well, if the monkey did survive and fled the battle, they would never be able to become an adventurer.

Even though there was no chance in hell that I was letting this guy live to tell the tale. I then removed one knife arm, I proceeded to insert a blow torch into one of the monkey's wounds and let loose a lot of fire, cauterizing the wound but killing said monkey. Dropping the monkey, I then looked around, observing my surroundings. Fire, rubble, and bodies. Some monkeys were still alive but stuck in the webbing that was produced by my companion. Only one donkey kong was left available to make a move. I then stared the ape down, intimidation blaring into the remaining monkey. It was up to said ape to decide whether or not it wanted to die.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Intimidation LV 7] has become [Intimidation LV 8].

The ape decided to run off, though reinforcements could be seen in the distance. That was for future me to worry about right now. However, it was time to end these monkeys' subscription to life early. Needed me some EXP!

Turned out my friend had the same idea. She used her fangs to kill the monkeys as I began to hover close to any that were close enough for me to fly near. I then proceeded to use my knives and a little amount of fire to put an end to these apes. This ended up with me leveling up and gaining a new title.

Condition satisfied. Acquired Title [Merciless Machine]. Acquired skills [Heresy Resistance LV 1] and [Heretic Magic LV 1] as a result of the title [Merciless Machine]. Skill [Heretic Magic LV 1] has been integrated into [Heretic Magic LV 2]. Error: As the result of the title [Mana-less Machine], you gain a +200 to magic.

'Hmm, that's interesting. Though that title? Not the Merciless Machine, the Mana-less Machine? Is that why I have such a debuff?' I thought before putting an end to another monkey. Sure, they sounded scared, but they made the decision that sealed their fate, so why should I care what they have to say?

Experience has reached the required level. Scouting Drone, Roger, has increased from LV 9 to LV 10. All Basic Attributes have increased. Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired. Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Cutting LV 2] has become [Cutting LV 3]. Skill [Metallic Skin LV 2] has become [Metallic Skin LV 3]. Skill [Hovering LV 7] has become [Hovering LV 8]. Skill Points Acquired.

Condition Satisfied. Scouting Drone can now evolve.

'Excuse me, what?' I thought as I stared at the words in front of me. "Scouting Drone can now evolve." I reread that part aloud, trying to process it all, and tried to logically think how a robot, a literal machine equipped with an AI, a non-organic lifeform, could somehow evolve. This... defies all logic that I am trying to compute. How exactly can I do that in the first place?

'Alright, let's just see what it shows me!' I thought before continuing on. I was met with three separate variants of robots/drones.

Small Support Drone.

Scouting Rover.

Small Attack Drone.

Ok, yeah, three options I can evolve into either of three things. A support robot. Evolve into a flightless robot or an attack drone. I... don't actually know what to choose. Maybe I can bring it up with my friend and all that? Maybe there we could figure something out.

But now was not the time. We needed to leave before any reinforcements show up. Luckily, there was a tunnel sloping up, which meant we had gotten a step closer to the surface! So, we made our way and entered the tunnel.

While my immersion was broken again, that only meant that I had to keep on track and base the world realistically. I mean, what are the chances that we come across a lava environment in a cave that isn't prone to earthquakes?

Reaching the end of the tunnel and walking into the new environment, I wished I hadn't jinxed myself. Why do you ask? Well, it just so happened that there was a lava environment right in front of me!

"ARE YOU FU-" I yelled, with my shout echoing throughout the cave, expressing my rage with my surroundings. First, I was reincarnated as a drone in a fantasy setting. Next, I came across a spider, bigger than one should be. Then, I was given the option to evolve. And now there was the sight in front of me, breaking all logic.

If I get to meet a god, I will not be afraid of complaining to their face, even if it ends with me being smited.