Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

There were still more than 50 minutes left before the safe zone shifted—this was the only thought going through Alex's head.

He was rushing toward the center of the safe zone, and although it was not against the condition Karan had put forth, it could be seen as one if he didn't reach them before the really strong beast hordes arrived.

*Woosh*

The trees in his surroundings blurred as he increased his speed, ignoring the growls he could hear from a distance.

Just like when he was fighting with the beasts last time, the group of humans daring to fight against their horde were getting on the beasts' nerves. They had all of their focus on killing those humans, marching toward them with frenzied expression.

For Alex, who didn't have the penalty of having a scent that attracted the beasts, it made things easier since he could move as stealthy as he could.

"GRAAAA!!"

But that didn't mean that no beast would notice his presence. The ones who were to clash paths with him would pounce at him without a second thought, hoping to tear his head apart from his body...

*Slash—Thud*

Only to have their heads decapitated mid-air, falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

Alex, on the other hand, would just zoom past their dead bodies, not wanting to stay close to a dead body for long since the scent of blood was only going to attract more beasts.

But no matter how hard he tried, some beasts had still noticed his deeds and were following him, but Alex just increased his speed, leaving those beasts behind. He didn't want to waste his energy on those weak beasts; he would rather conserve it for the bosses.

*Rustle*

Finally, he reached close to the safe zone, slowing down his pace and taking every step with extreme caution, his eyes scanning the surroundings for the slightest change, but just then...

'What?'

He frowned as he found a blue dome-like structure in his path.

What was that?

<I believe this is something that's stopping the boss beasts from leaving this area. It was strange for them to not want to hunt humans in the first place.>

It was then that the AI's words echoed in his head, filled with deep contemplation.

It was not like that thought didn't sprout in his head—just why were the boss beasts not coming out? Alex knew that his action must've already been noticed by them, especially when he was killing the beasts under them in every turn, yet they didn't move.

Now it was all clear to him.

<The safe zone must be somewhere inside of this blue zone.>

As he heard the AI's words, he opened his map, only to see a green mark around 100 meters ahead of him. There was no blur mark though, meaning that this blue zone was not something they should worry about.

And just like he had thought, as he stepped forward, he passed through the blue barrier without any obstruction, but just as he passed through it...

"GRAAAHHHHH!!!"

"ROOOAAARRRR!"

Two ground-shaking roars were heard as the earth trembled. It was as if something was moving toward Alex at breakneck speed while roaring in anger, making Alex step back in a hurry.

*Step*

*BOOOMMM**BAAAAAMMM*

The moment he did was the moment two bodies came crashing into the blue barrier, only to realize that Alex had already stepped out of the zone.

<Looks like they are angry...>

The AI commented as it saw the two beasts with their heads pressing on the barrier, wanting to break out of it, glaring at Alex.

From their gaze, all one could feel was fury—pure and unfiltered rage. Alex could see that as well; he could literally feel it on his skin. And if looks could kill, Alex was sure that he would've died at least 100 times.

"Well, this is... a bit concerning..."

Nodding at the AI's words, Alex muttered with a frown. He was confident of being able to defeat one or two bosses if he were to fight them.

But as he saw more and more boss monsters coming up, gathering in front of him, staring down at him with their towering bodies covering the sunlight, standing just some meters away from him inside the blue zone, he didn't think he could take on all of them.

They were all strong enough to wipe the area off humans if left to roam free, and maybe that was why they weren't left free, but no matter how hard he tried to search for the one monster he wanted to fight more than others, he couldn't find it.

*Rustle*

That was until the tree in the surroundings trembled and a root-like structure, darker than any other tree in the surroundings, slowly snaked toward the blue barrier.

The beasts and monsters in the area, with their eyes wide, hurriedly scuttled away, making way for the root, not wanting to even stay close to it. Alex could see one thing—fear—clear in their eyes, making him frown.

The root soon came close to the blue barrier, raising itself up like a snake preparing for a strike as it lightly tapped the barrier.

*Tap**Tap*

But the barrier only made tapping sounds, making the root pause for a bit before it looked at Alex. Yes, even if it had no eyes or facial features, Alex could tell that it was staring at him—it was observing him.

*Twitch**Twitch*

In a moment, it started twitching continuously, tapping the barrier again and again, making Alex frown.

'What is it trying to do?'

He couldn't understand what was happening, but just to be safe, he took a step back, not wanting to take a risk. This root was probably part of the Ent boss, the only monster he came here for, and as it was a monster that could manipulate roots, who knows if it could just attack him with those? Roots travel under the ground, and who knows if the barrier stopped things from moving underground as well?

But soon it stopped and started to look around, searching for something until its 'eyes' landed on an ape-like beast standing among the boss beasts; it was a boss beast as well.

*Rumble*

The ground under Alex's feet rumbled as the thin and small root started to grow, becoming as thick as a tree trunk, rising high up in the sky, making the beasts in the surroundings panic.

*Woosh*

But the root, unbothered by all that, directly shoots toward the ape, making Alex's eyes widen a bit in surprise.

'Fast!'

He exclaimed as he followed the speed. That attack was at the limit of what a level 40 beast could do, and this was when the Ents weren't supposed to be quick.

'Is it a monster with all stats at level 40 without getting the boost of demonic lineage?'

Alex couldn't help but think that, as that is what it seemed, but for some reason, instead of being scared, he felt excited, making his blood bubble up for the first time.

"Krieeeee!!!"

His thought process, however, was soon broken as he heard the agonizing and terrified screams of the ape-like beast. But a frown made its way to his brows as he heard the content of the beast's screams.

"L-Let me go!!!" (It's the beast's words; I'm just writing it as what Alex is hearing.)

"I-I don't want to be controlled!"

"Please! J-Just let me—"

The beast kept pleading, but the root, coiling around it, suppressed its body, making its struggle useless until it stopped yelling altogether.

*Stomp*

The ape jumped out of the root's grip, moving toward Alex at a slow pace; its eyes, however, unlike the frenzy they had before, were now blank, as if the beast was already dead.

*Drag*

Alex didn't fail to notice the root that was attached to the beast's head, being dragged along, making him squint his eyes, deep in thought.

*Wave**Wave*

The ape, on the other hand, started making gestures as soon as it reached in front of Alex as it was trying to say something, and Alex, who saw those gestures, had his frown deepen.

It was waving its hand, gesturing for Alex to follow it inside—that much was now clear to Alex even without it speaking out—but that didn't mean he would just follow it inside, especially with that dangerous ability of those roots, which made it able to control other beings.

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"Grrr..."

"Khhhhgg..."

"Hisss..."

Alex's eyes scanned the surroundings, finding the boss monsters hiding here and there, waiting to pounce at him the moment he entered the zone. The 'ape', looking at Alex's expression, followed his line of sight, catching the sight of the beasts, and it trembled as if realizing what was happening.

*Wave**Wave*

The ape waved its hand, pulling Alex's eyes toward itself, smashing its chest with a blank expression, as if telling Alex that he could take care of those things, turning to look at the beasts, the root on its head vibrating, making a strange sound that made the beasts in the surroundings bow their heads, shivering in fear.

This, however, just made Alex more uncertain about following the monster, and for the first time, even the gods seemed confounded by what was happening. None of them seemed to have any idea of what was happening.

*Wave**Wave*

The 'ape', on the other hand, turned to look at Alex again, gesturing for him to follow it as it went deeper into the area, and Alex, staring at its back, decided to follow it.

For some reason, he wanted to know what was happening and not feel like he had anything to fear. In the worst-case scenario, where all of the beasts decide to gang up on him, he could just run away.

It was not like he didn't have any more Trump cards under his sleeves...