The black ape eyed the mangled chests of the slain bodybuilder apes as it stomped towards the blood-covered Lewis.
Still feeling the sting of his wounds, Lewis didn't try to attack the ape general but instead took his time to scrutinize the creature.
It looked like a bigger version of the bodybuilder apes, but it likely also had some sort of nasty surprise hidden away due to being a sort of mini boss. Based on the life mana exuding from its body, it also had strong regenerative capabilities, but unlike the others, he wasn't confident in being able to overwhelm it with a flurry of concentrated attacks; the ape's body was simply too thick, requiring far more effort to reach and disable its heart, not to mention the likely far more potent life mana within acting like a shield against anything he could throw at it.
But right as the ape general stepped towards him, Lewis noticed several other figures appear at the edge of the jungle. The faces of angry apes staring back at him as the lower-level bodybuilder apes came to watch their great general beat the shit out of him. While also serving as a wall to stop him from escaping if he tried to run.
There was no getting out of this fight, and nor could he win with pure endurance and determination anymore. He needed a new plan, and fast. But the ape general wasn't about to give him any opportunity to think. Breaking Lewis out of his racing thoughts by doing something entirely unexpected.
"Are you really here alone?" It asked, its words surprisingly giddy, as if it knew something he didn't.
"Y-you can talk?" Lewis stammered, completely taken off guard by the sudden question.
"Of course I can. Just because we are within a trial dungeon doesn't mean we are mindless animals."
If the general wanted to stop Lewis from thinking up a different strategy, then it had succeeded, since his brain was on the fritz processing the implications of the ape's words.
He had naturally assumed that this secret trial within the spiral mines dungeon was artificially created by the system to challenge them. The fact that the dungeon creatures were animated rocks powered by a mana core had made him assume that these apes were the same. Just another system designed mob with the strange quirk of imitating bodybuilders. But if that was the case, then they definitely shouldn't be able to talk, let alone know that they are within a trial dungeon.
"Wait, you know you're inside a trial? Are you real?" Lewis asked, utterly confused about what was going on and with a creeping dread that maybe the apes he had just ruthlessly murdered under orders by the system were also other sentient beings from another world.
The ape general began making a strange, deep grunting noise that took Lewis a moment to recognize as chuckling.
"Of course we're real. Just as real as anyone else. We simply weren't born like you denizens but are spawned in by the system and assigned quests by the trial. Same as you." He replied, seeming to watch Lewis with amusement as the pieces fell into place in his mind.
"So, those guys I just killed..."
"Don't worry, they'll come back when the trial resets and curse you for beating them." The general answers before he could even finish the question.
"You lot can respawn after death and remember everything that happened?"
"Well, not quite. It's more like a dream for us when we return. We know that we have been here before, but the details are all hazy." The ape replied with a relaxed voice.
"But don't you find that horrible? Aren't you locked in an endless cycle of imprisonment, forced to fight people like me and not even being able to stay dead?" Lewis asked, feeling an increasing disgust at the system for doing this as he imagined himself in their shoes.
"It's not as bad as you think. This trial may be a challenge for you, but it's equally important for us. After all, we are all real denizens who have died in the past, and surviving this trial gives us the chance to escape and get a second chance at life. Besides, everyone has to willingly agree to become part of a trial, so we can hardly complain." He said, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck.
"That being said, I'm going to have to kill you now. Nothing personal, just part of the process." He added, flashing his fangs in a dangerous smile before lunging at Lewis.
Having been too distracted by the ape's massive bombshell info dump, Lewis was immediately on the back foot as the general threw a left hook, forcing him to dodge backwards, then making him roll sideways to avoid the ape's kick. But unlike the previous two, the general made a lot more use of his gripping strength as he managed to snag Lewis's leg in a vise-like grip, squeezing it so hard that he was sure an ordinary human would have been turned to paste.
But with his immense constitution, his bones only produced a squeaking sound as he grunted in pain, kicking with his other leg and unleashing an unravelling strike into the general's arm to get him to let go. It worked for a moment, but the general was quickly back on him, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him to the ground.
Lewis was being completely manhandled by the ape, the creature then kicking him in the side and sending him rolling across the dirt, but before he could catch himself, he received another kick in the back, pushing him back down to the ground. Trying to get back some control, Lewis swung his hand out and grabbed onto the ape's leg, sending a blast of destructive energy into the limb, but it had even less effect than with the previous two bodybuilder apes, not even seeming to stun the general as his body repelled the energy attack before it could even begin damaging the flesh.
He received a punch to the face in retaliation, his vision blurring as the general slammed his face into the dirt before picking him up by his arm and squinting at him with an unimpressed look.
"How on earth did those two juniors even lose to you? Your strength shouldn't have been nearly enough to defeat them. Especially not with their healing capabilities." It spoke, not waiting for a response as he tossed Lewis against the nearby stone training equipment, his back slamming into a boulder and sending waves of agony down his spine.
Lewis sat panting, more pain wracking his body from the few seconds with the ape general than the entirety of his fight against all the other apes. If there was any doubt about the creatures' strength before, then this interaction had solidified their respective capabilities. And it wasn't looking good for Lewis.
"You know, I should be thanking you, really. I'm grateful that you chose to come to my domain first. You would have died to any of the generals, so I'm lucky you came here first. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen someone enter a trial with such a low level and not even any gear or party. Were you perhaps looking to commit suicide?" He said, casually walking over to Lewis. Its large frame is making its steps longer and bringing him over to Lewis within moments.
"I didn't exactly have a choice. A stupid plant tried to eat me, and I came out here." Lewis replied, coughing shallowly as he recovered the air that had been expelled from his lungs on impact, feeling his body slowly repair itself as the pain faded, but it was nowhere near as fast as those bloody nature apes.
"Huh? That's new... You must have terribly bad luck. But don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery." It replied, reaching for his head with its massive hands.
Lewis could already see his skull bursting open like a watermelon and moved his hands up to protect himself, using his leg to kick out at the ape, but the general simply tanked any of his unravelling strikes without so much as flinching, pushing past and grasping for his head.
Panicking, Lewis tried to push the massive limb back, holding it with both hands and blasting destructive energy into it, but it was no use.
The ape general got a good grip on the top of his head and started applying pressure. Lewis intensified his attacks, lashing out with everything he has, but the ape was simply too strong, over twice his level and specializing in brute strength rather than magic.
He began crying out as the pressure on his skull continued to increase, his adrenaline reaching new levels as he clawed at the large black haired arm, screaming at the top of his lungs as it felt like his brain was being pressure cooked. The pain making Lewis's mind tunnel vision on the source of his fear and agony. His entire being focusing in on that monstrous arm grasping his skull as he threw everything he had at it to dislodge its hold.
His hands blasted destructive energy into the limb repeatedly, but it wasn't enough to push back the torrent of life energy within the ape, nullifying his effort to destroy the arm. With his skull now making creaking sounds and the pressure reaching a tipping point, Lewis suddenly had an epiphany.
[Unravelling strike] is a skill that allows him to inflict physical damage on his opponent, while [Arcane nullfield] destroys mana. But both skills are useless right now as the mana involved is within the apes body, and the nullfield can only wrap around a person, not sink into their bodies, while the Unravelling strike is being neutralized by that out of reach mana.
All this was very self explanatory and obvious to Lewis, but the final skill, [Mana detection] had proven that he could use skills inside of a persons body for a brief window right after his destructive energy invades them. Its thanks to these flashes of information from within the apes that he had discovered their heart were the source of their regenerative powers. But he hadn't been using this knowledge to its fullest extend.
Right when he felt like his head was about to implode from the apes immense strength, he activated both [Unravelling strike] and [Arcane nullfield] at the same time. The blast of destructive energy briefly removing the apes natural resistance to external mana for just long enough for a tendril of his arcane nullfield to enter the apes arm, immediately dissolving the nature mana that serves as its regenerative fuel, stopping the ape from being able to repel his destructive energy as they pushed deeper into the limb. The two skills even seeming to empower each other as the nullfield actually seemed to propel the destructive energy onward, granting it far more steam than it would otherwise possess, as it severed muscles and tendons in the generals arm. Simultaneously eroding its mana and destroying its flesh as the limb was completely separated from the rest of the body, the ape's grip loosening on his head as the severed arm fell to the ground with a wet thud.
Lewis gasped in relief as the pressure disappeared, messages appearing in his mind, but he ignored them as his hand shot up to his head as it continued to release burning waves of agony. His heart beating so loudly that it sounded like someone playing drums right next to his ears. The ape general stared in confusion at the stump near its elbow, stepping back in shock as its face twisted into a rictus of pain and confusion, the bleeding slowing as flesh started to scab over the injury, although it didn't look like it was regrowing itself.
Lewis shakily got back to his feet, his vision still blurry and tinged red from the blood in one of his eyes, as he stepped closer to the stunned ape general, knowing he needed to finish it off before it had the chance to recover. After all, it was still in much better shape than him even without one of its arms, its plentiful supply of healing mana making it more than capable of breaking his skull with its other hand.
With his spirit physique seemingly even more unstable than before, his steps were stumbling and uneven as he closed the distance, the ape still staring at his stump in disbelief as Lewis pulled his arm back, and slugged the generals chest with all the force of a wet noodle. But it wasn't the physical blow that he was focused on, but on that feeling he got when his two skills activated at the same time and merged together.
His arcane nullfield shot out of his body alongside the destructive energy, empowering its chaotic force as it tore apart the apes defenses and shredded its body, blasting straight through the generals large muscled chest like it was wet paper, the nature mana being utterly helpless to block the destructive energies rampage.
The ape was clearly not used to being injured. The nature mana likely having repaired any wounds it had ever possessed within moments, so to have its arm cut off had clearly put it in a state of shock, especially since Lewis had been utterly helpless until moments before. So its surprise only grew as Lewis's arm plunged deep into its chest with little resistance, slamming straight into and through its heart, the general coughing up blood as it watched Lewis reach in all the way to his shoulder, his hand nearly sticking out the other end, but the ape was too large for it to exit through its back.
Still, the general was finished, his healing power source destroyed as his eyes seemed to convey a hint of approval before turning glassy and collapsing backwards, Lewis following moments later as he felt his head spin and a feeling of profound cold emptiness resonate within him.