I, the All-Class Magus, All My Awakening Skills are LvMax

The surrounding aroma of wine grew increasingly potent, causing the corners of John's mouth to lift into a subtle smile.

He gripped his staff tightly and slowly made his way inside.

The little monkeys around him were constantly jumping about, some presenting him with flowers, others with fruits.

The Treemonkey King stood at the highest point, his face also softening into a kindly smile as he watched John.

As John took a few steps forward, the smell of the wine became even stronger, and he found himself craving a taste.

"Would you like to try some? This is our newly brewed monkey wine for the year; it tastes truly wonderful," said the Treemonkey King, holding out a cup of wine and personally handing it to John.

The amber liquid glimmered faintly under the torchlight, seeming to emit a silent allure.

The scent of the surrounding fruits grew more intense as the little monkeys sang and danced, seemingly to welcome John's arrival.

John took the cup of wine from the Treemonkey King's hand.

As he held it, the wine swirled gently, releasing a strong fragrance.

It looked so tempting, and the monkey wine even had a special buff.

Surely, just a little sip wouldn't hurt, he thought.

He brought the cup to his lips, but in that instant, he suddenly felt something was amiss.

No!

The Treemonkey King and I are merely allies, not close friends! There's no way he would present these things to me!

No, something is very wrong here!

John struggled to lift his head and took in the scene within the cave.

The firelight flickered, and the little monkeys continued their singing and dancing, but the shadows cast by the torches were strangely eerie.

Each little monkey stared at him, their mouths twisted into unsettling grins, as if rejoicing over some secret triumph.

They danced incessantly, as if celebrating something.

What were they celebrating?

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"Drink it, then we can discuss our cooperation properly. This wine is the best," said the Treemonkey King with a smiling face, his eyes glinting with a peculiar light as he looked at John.

John fought desperately to remove the cup from his hand, but he found himself unable to control his movements.

His left hand trembled, but his right hand continued to bring the cup closer to his mouth.

No! Wake up!

He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain jolting him awake, but his body was now completely under control.

No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free from the mysterious force that bound him.

He had unknowingly fallen into a trap.

How did this happen?

He had always been so vigilant, but now he couldn't resist at all!

The cup of wine drew closer and closer, and he could almost feel the wetness of the amber liquid.

The Treemonkey King was still smiling, but that smile had become sinister and terrifying.

John's tongue was already bleeding, but he still couldn't control his body.

Just then, the Heart of Dwarf necklace on his chest suddenly grew hot! The instant surge of heat snapped him out of his dazed state.

In that moment, he felt himself regain control of his body and almost immediately smashed the cup of wine to the ground!

Crash!

As the cup shattered on the ground, everything around him instantly vanished.

He gasped for breath, looking around.

This wasn't a cave at all; he was still in the forest.

The Thorned Rock Serpent had completely stopped moving at some point, and he was standing on its head.

He suddenly turned around and saw the fortress not far away!

Estimating the distance, he was shocked again!

He was less than 500 meters from the fortress.

This meant he had been ensnared almost immediately after setting out! Despite his vigilance, he had still fallen into the trap.

The sinister shadow's mental attack was terrifyingly potent, catching him off guard so effortlessly!

John then noticed that the dark shadow beside him was gradually taking shape, slowly forming into a human figure, also holding a staff.

Though the shape was still indistinct, it was clear that it was mimicking his form.

John let out a cold laugh, lightly waved his staff, and his skill attack instantly struck the dark shadow.

45367!

In almost an instant, the dark shadow vanished!

John thoughtfully watched the direction where the shadow disappeared.

Although the shadow's attack was impossible to guard against, its defense was absurdly low.

He had just cast a fireball, and it was already obliterated.

Fortunately, he had Old Nick's Heart of Dwarf this time; otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to wake up.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and summoned the serpent once again, quickly heading toward the Treemonkey King.

He suddenly realized that the serpent was quite useful—good for both attacking enemies and serving as a mount.

Having been on guard, John now dispersed any gathering dark mist at the first sign, keeping himself from losing control again.

Though he still felt dizzy, it was manageable and not the helpless state he had experienced before.

After a thrilling but safe journey, he finally reached the Treemonkey King's mountain.

Even before approaching the forest, he saw the little monkeys on guard.

When the little monkeys saw him, they all raised their blaststones.

John smiled wryly and quickly summoned the Treemonkey King.

After all, if those stones rained down, he would indeed be in trouble.

It was five minutes before the Treemonkey King arrived.

He looked at John, who was standing on the serpent's head, and frowned slightly.

"How did you get here?"

John, feeling inexplicably perplexed, simply replied that he had come directly.

"You weren't affected by the shadows?"

"You know about those shadows in the forest?" John's interest was piqued.

The Treemonkey King and his kin lived in this forest, and it seemed they didn't have any defenses up at night.

How did they protect themselves from those pervasive black shadows?

"Come with me," said the Treemonkey King.

He then slowly walked ahead.

John disbanded the serpent on the spot and followed in the Treemonkey King's footsteps.

As he stepped into the forest, John caught a faint, elusive fragrance.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it came from the torches the little monkeys were holding.

"The forest contains Aloeswood. Shadows cannot proliferate within the range of burning Aloeswood."

So that's the secret...

John nodded.

No wonder these little monkeys could stay here without fearing the appearance of the shadows.

"Tell me, what exactly are you here for this time?" the Treemonkey King asked coldly, sitting on his chair and staring at John.

Though he had indeed cooperated with this human, it didn't mean he had any special affection for him.

To him, all humans appeared deceitful and vile.

So there was no other consideration; if he had to do something, it was only because this human showed a bit more unusual wisdom than the others.

"You've always lived in the forest. I'm here to look for some supplies. We need to stock up on various resources for the fortress," John explained the issues currently facing the fortress and noted that the monsters attacking were becoming increasingly formidable.

"And these humanoid monsters drop these shiny things when they die. I don't know what they are, so I thought I'd come ask you."

John generously took out a handful of sparkling shards from his backpack.

The Treemonkey King didn't take the shards but fixed his triangular eyes on John.

"We are merely in a cooperative relationship, not an employer-employee relationship."

John laughed heartily.

"Yes, a cooperative alliance. But only if we survive can we continue to cooperate and achieve mutual benefits, right?"