Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

Flinging myself through the scores of giant trees and branches, I felt a grin creep up on my face as I felt the air rush past me in this never-ending game of jumping, running, and weaving through the inanimate forms of flora all around me.

"Ahahaha!" I felt myself laughing at the absurdity of me feeling the burn and adrenaline pumping through my veins. "This feels so fucking great!"

I grabbed another branch and swung into a vine that was conveniently hanging a few meters away. Letting go from the vine, I found myself flying through the air once more and into another thick branch which I was sure could support my weight.

Landing on the branch, with my hand-like feet grasping it, I felt myself stop, my body tilting forward, but the grip force of my feet prevented me from tipping over. Pushing myself back straight up, I looked down at the ground and saw the supply drop sitting pretty, its lid still sealing its contents from any would-be scavengers.

I felt my previous high die down and, moments later, reduced to nothing but a seed, planted inside my body, ready to grow once the proper catalyst was given.

I felt the branch shake a bit, before I looked at the person who made it do so. Typhial crouched silently, her gaze locked on the supply drop, before addressing me with her eyes.

"I saw a couple of movements coming from that way." She pointed her hand in the direction where she saw the movement.

"I see. What should we do?" I nodded, and looked at her for any kind of plan.

"We wait. We'll first check if they are from any group of Dungeon Masters, and then we strike once they have their guard down." Typhial looked down once more, her gaze locked on the direction where some type of sound was coming from.

I strained my ears, listening for the sound that increased by the second. Once it was clearly audible in my ears, I recognized the sound as footsteps, and it wasn't just a single pair of footsteps.

"I count five… Maybe six…" Typhial said as she ducked even lower. I followed suit and tried to make myself less noticeable among the foliage. It wasn't long until the perpetrator of the footsteps appeared from beyond some bushes.

They were six Dungeon Masters in total, each having a different race. I spotted a troll, an ogre, a lamia, a goblin, an arachne, and a dragonewt.

"Alright, we've seen one land here, and there it is." The dragonewt, a male suited up in slender armor that covered the majority of his body, except his tail and where his scales were located, was the first to pass through. "Check the contents, and let's haul it back to camp before any other Dungeon Master or group can claim it."

The troll and ogre saluted, both of them having intelligence on par with a human as they approached the sealed container and meticulously unlocked the locks fastened on it. It wasn't long before the contents of the supply drop were revealed to the other Dungeon Masters.

"Hmm… Not a bad haul." The dragonewt hummed and he clapped his hands. "Trog, Orlg, seal it back up and let's get going back to camp. The rest of you will be with me on guard duty."

The rest of the Dungeon Masters nodded and they branched out into a formation where the two giant-bodied monsters were at the center carrying the sealed supply drop, with the rest surrounding them at each direction.

"You can sense them, right?"

"… Yes… I think so…" I nodded at her question. She was talking about the aura that the both of us were feeling from the Dungeon Masters. They were part of a group, that much was for certain, so we both had to play our cards right in order to not prematurely cause the death of one of their members.

"Good." Typhial stood up and spread her wings once she was sure she was out of sight of the retreating Dungeon Masters. "We'll strike them once they're recuperating. Until then, we'll be following them."

"Understood." I stood up as well, the thick branch creaking in protest at my weight. Typhial didn't say anymore as she flew up into the air, this time gently, so as to not alert the retreating Dungeon Masters.

As for me, I had to minimize the sound I make when I traverse through the treetops. I kept them in my vision, and the moment they were gone, I changed spots.

It was half-an-hour into our stalking session that the troll and ogre placed the supply drop down on the ground and the rest proceeded to take a break. It was then that Typhial made her presence known to me, as she silently landed on the thick branch where I was standing.

"It's time." Typhial said as she readied herself for the conflict that awaited us in the near future. "Give me your thoughts on how we approach this."

"Well, I can place the supply drop inside my hammerspace if I touch it, and we can quickly bail once I have it inside." I supplied and she nodded, a plan forming inside her head as she directed her gaze towards the resting Dungeon Masters.

"Okay, I have a plan, and it's going to involve myself as a distraction." Typhial said readily, risking her life for the sake of supplying our camp with necessities needed for survival. "While I'm distracting them, you're going to either sneak in, which is impossible with your build, so I'm assuming you're going to rush in with the element of surprise and snatch the supply from under their noses. Once you get it, we'll run away. Any objections?"

"Hmm… None whatsoever. Just keep them distracted long enough, and you can rest assured that I can steal it from them." I replied back with a bit of confidence. Typhial nodded, her smile nowhere present as she separated herself from me. Once we were a good distance away, Typhial mockingly fell to the ground, acting as if her wings were clipped by an enemy.

This got their attention, and it was time to make my move.