Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

"Uuuu..."

"Grrr..."

"Kiiee..."

Low growls and whimpers could be heard as Alex walked through the area filled with high-rise trees, reaching 30 meters at the very least. They seemed to have been forced to grow, as Alex could even now see the veins of the trees, pulsating as they grew every second.

Alex's eyes, taking in every detail of the surroundings, were mainly focused on the root that was attached to the ape-like beast's head.

[A root of... #$%!%&@!.]

He was frowning as he couldn't get anything else on the root. He was obviously expecting more than this.

Looking at this for a while, being unable to think of why it was happening, Alex decided to finally inquire the AI about it, who, just might know, 'Why is it like this?'

<From what I can make out of this, the root we are seeing is not something that's entirely linked with its owner. There's a large probability that this root is a disposable part of the monster, making it impossible for you to get the status window.

As for the name part... I'm sorry, but even I can't tell why it's showing like that...>

He did receive some information from the AI, making his frown deepen as this monster might be more complicated to deal with than he had initially thought.

*Thud*

But just then, a heavy thud was heard, breaking him out of his thoughts as the body of the ape, which was walking straight in a mechanical motion, dropped right in front of his eyes. Its eyes were upturned and mouth open, drool mixed with blood seeping out of it, and its breathing had stopped. Clearly dead.

Alex's body tensed. In the next second, the root, which was stuck to its head, started wriggling and popping out of its head. It was moving left and right as if shaking its head in disappointment before it turned to 'look' at Alex.

*Wave**Wave*

Not long after, it started to wave just like the gesture the ape was making, asking Alex to follow as it started to get retracted, its 'eyes' still staring at Alex, as if inspecting him.

*Drag*

Alex, whose frown never left his brows, ready to activate Thunderveil Steps on a moment's notice, followed behind, more alert than before. His gaze lingered on the dead body of the ape for a while, but soon they turned up front, only to find a strange-looking tree a distance away from his.

He paused, his eyes squinted, observing the tree as its vines, instead of the other tree, pulsated in a different direction. All of its veins seem to be entering a crevice in its trunk, filling it up completely.

*Wave**Wave*

His focus, however, soon returned to the root as it was continuously waving at him, insisting he follow behind, making a flash of doubt pass through his eyes.

*Step**Step*...

But he still stepped forward, walking about 5 meters behind the root, wanting to keep his distance from it until he found more information about the one controlling it.

*Tear*

It was then, as the root neared the tree, the crevice on its trunk made a ripping sound, opening up wide enough to fit a human in it, making Alex pause in his tracks one more time, 'No way it wants me to enter the tree...'

Alex couldn't believe it, as the root, after entering the gap in the trunk, still kept waving at him, wishing for him to still follow behind, going deeper into the tree trunk until it vanished from sight.

"..."

*Woosh*

There was nothing but silence in the surroundings now, with Alex being unable to sense any living monster or beast in the surroundings. Only after observing closely did he notice the beasts, who had been following him, growling now and then, were all standing meters away, trembling with their heads down. It was as if they were scared to even come closer.

This revelation elevated Alex's vigilance; the Tidebreaker already summoned, held tight in his hand as he stared at the gap in the tree trunk, waiting for whoever was within it to come out, but just then...

*Rustle**Rustle*

He saw the whole tree waving at him as if asking for him to enter the gap, but Alex, being Alex, just stared at it coldly.

Did this monster really think he would enter that thing? Wouldn't that simply limit his movements? Alex was sure that he could run away from every one of these beasts without even a scratch, but what if his exit was blocked?

What if the tree's truck closed the moment he stepped a foot inside it? That was a risk Alex didn't want to take.

But just then...

["Whew... looks like I'm right on time!"]

Alex almost jumped back as he heard a voice in his head—a voice he was very familiar with—exclaiming in relief. His eyes snapped toward the sky, looking for something or someone until he finally saw a star going dim.

[The Calamity of Tomorrow has perished.]

[The Certain God is looking at you.]

It was not until these messages flashed in front of his eyes and the same star that went dim started to shine again, brighter than before—brighter than any other star—that he turned his eyes back to the tree.

The next instant, however, he frowned, 'What is this...?'

He muttered inwardly as a strange sense of relief flooded his mind. It was as if the Certain God's arrival took a huge weight off of his shoulders. Was he concerned about the certain god's well-being? Was he, the master of strings, even capable of such a thing?

The more he thought about it, the more perplexed he became, but soon, another notification flashed in front of his eyes, tinged with silver as he heard the same voice in his head again.

["What's thissssss~~? I went through so much for you and even came back as quickly as possible because I sensed some... rather interesting creature's presence, but this is all you do??? Would you not even greet me?!"]

Alex could hear the disbelief in her voice, and although he knew pretty well that she was just acting like that, some of her words made a glint pass through his eyes, making him turn toward the brightest star—the place she lived in.

"Hello," he spoke with a neutral tone, no hint of excitement or elation audible in his voice before he added, "Now if you could please tell me more about this being, I could make plans for the next course of my actions."

Alex's words echoed through the surroundings as the air seemed to have stilled. Alex himself wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but he had to do it someday—he had to talk with the gods. There was no other way for him to gain information about things that neither he nor the AI were aware of.

He wasn't aware of it, but his words had shocked the Certain God as well. The link that connected her world and the star trembled for a second, almost breaking down before she calmed down, and the next second, the connection trembled again, but unlike last time, it was in elation.

She was finally able to get past some of Alex's barriers, and although for someone in her position, this wasn't something worthy of celebration, for some reason, she could suppress the happiness in her heart.

The Certain God wasn't aware of it, but something within her was changing, and it was all because of a certain step she had taken in the future.

But as both Alex and the Certain God were busy with their thoughts, the tree had stopped waving; it had tilted a bit, staring at the star that Alex had gazed at a second ago—the star that belonged to the Certain God.

Alex, on the other hand, noticing this anomaly in the tree's behavior, tensed, waiting for the Certain God's reply as he needed some clue on what he was going to face. But just then, as he focused on the tree, a new series of texts appeared in front of him.

[The Secondary body of... #$%!%&@!.]

The same kind of notification he had seen before, but that was all. He couldn't get any more information about it.

Could it be that the monster in front of him had its level so high that his ability couldn't even detect it? There was no way, right? None of the gods had warned him about it, and even the Certain God didn't say anything about this creature being dangerous—all she said was that this creature was interesting.

However, just when things seemed to have reached the peak of tension, Alex noticed a change in the tree; the gap in the tree's trunk extended, reaching 3 meters in height, and soon...

*Dun*

Alex felt the pressure increase by folds as a shadowy silhouette that looked almost like a human, if not for its size, which was 3 meters, appeared right inside the tree's trunk.
Your adventure continues at мѵʟ

Its features were indiscernible as it was standing in the dark interior of the tree where no light reached, but Alex was damn sure that this being was staring at him right now, its intentions unclear.

'Please, come inside. I do not mean any harm... yet.'

The next moment, however, Alex's body froze as he heard a voice within his head, deep and broken as if still not used to speaking. It was pretty clear who it was...