Humans hadn't always been relegated to being a slave race. There was once a time when simple human settlements roamed the globe.
That changed however with the arrival of a passing Pongo civilian ship. According to universal law, any planet without a nascent soul cultivator was deemed a protected area.
It was strictly forbidden to interact with or leave any item of cultivation or technology that might affect the fate of that specific planet.
Cultivation or technological advances were meant to be discovered naturally, but due to one cultivator's negligence, he had inadvertently changed the fate of millions.
Despite it being common knowledge to never leave anything behind, the cultivator decided to take a shit on the planet.
It was something inconceivably small but from his shit fertilized a mutated tree that bore fruits extremely concentrated with spiritual energy.
When an unsuspecting monkey munched on its fruits the surge of spiritual energy killed it in an instant.
For centuries it became known as a cursed tree, created by something that came from outside the world.
No one dared to approach it until a lone monkey had no choice but to seek its leaves as shelter.
He was the lone survivor of his family, the last one of his tribe, which prided itself on guarding the cursed tree.
Surrounded by pursuers from all sides, it bite down on the succulent fruit as a last-ditch attempt to go out on his own terms.
While he believed himself to be a deadman like those who bite the forbidden fruit before him, there stood one glaring difference.
Through generations of guarding and living in close proximity to the tree, their family had gained an affinity towards the spiritual energy that leaked from it.
So when the lone monkey chomped down on the fruit his body was able to survive the surge of spiritual energy.
Having survived the trial of his first consumption, spiritual energy coursed through his body as he recovered from the brink of death, becoming stronger than anyone else on the planet.
From that single moment came the meteoric rise of the monkey race on planet Papio.
***
Life on the 'farm' was everything Evelyn had ever known. She had lived in the cave which served as her home since she was born 16 years ago.
The walls of the cave were lined with stones, which glimmered the space to life. Now, they seemed dim compared to the blazing twin fires that lit up the outside world.
Unlike the rest of her generation who would either stay on the farm or go to work in the outside world she was settled into a different fate.
Through some weird testing, her oppressors had labeled her as a subject of importance. She was to be shipped to another 'farm' where she would be better-taken care of.
She had but a few days left before her time was up. For what little she had left she spent it with her pregnant mother.
There wasn't much to do on the farm, but her mother had always told her stories that were passed down from her grandmother and beyond.
But now it was her turn, as she told her mother about the outside world. She confirmed the existence of the two balls of fire that lit up the world.
She spoke about the fresh air and the so-called breezes which caused her spine to shiver. She described the towering trees and the blue sky which stretched beyond what she could see.
***
Luke gripped the shaft of his spear so tightly that an imprint of his palm now rested upon the already enhanced weapon.
Currently, the entrance which he stood near was close to the ceiling of the large cave, and connected to a large artificial platform that spanned the whole perimeter of the cave's walls.
It served almost as a viewing point from which someone could look down on the humans that lived on the floor of the cave.
Leading down were spiraling staircases with guards near each entrance to the human's living quarters.
While Luke could've easily taken the stairs, he wasn't in the mood to just quietly walk down.
Knowing his strength, the drop of 60 meters from the platform on which he stood to the ground was a fall he was confident in surviving.
He focused his sight on the closest guard from his current position and then jumped 10 meters onto the cave's roof.
By concentrating spiritual energy to strengthen the joints and muscles of his leg, he launched himself from the roof, rocketing himself with the spear in front.
With the added launch the fall which would've taken 6 seconds now halved to a mere 3 seconds.
No one noticed until it was too late. With thunder came a puff of dust, debris, and blood.
Humans and monkeys alike stood silent, unsure of what had just happened.
As the dust cleared they saw the figure of a human standing on the pulverized corpse of a monkey guard.
It took a few moments of recollection before the dazed monkey guards moved to action.
The mothers and children on the other hand looked in awe and fear at the sight of someone killing a monkey.
Luke was lucky that the guards had taken a moment to adjust since he was reeling from the mental shock of the impact.
"YOU'VE PROVOKED DEATH HUMAN" A monkey shouted while raising his sword.
"HOW DARE YOU KILL SIMON YOU MONSTER." Another shouted while charging towards him.
In response Luke charged forward as well, choosing not to exchange meaningless talk.
Each guard was equipped with simple tunics and crude metal swords, a far cry better than the wooden spear Luke had crafted.
But weapon quality only mattered when the opponent was on similar skill levels. With the enchantment from his spiritual energy, his spear was leagues better despite the trash base material.
With one thrust the spear punctured straight through his heart, bypassing any semblance of defense.
"MANDI!!" One monkey cried out.
"MEN CHARGE AT HIM ALL AT ONCE." One leading monkey commanded.
Within a few moments, 10 monkeys each 3 meters in height began their mad charge towards him.
Surprisingly while he had sensed spiritual energy inside the monkeys, their strength was much weaker than he had anticipated.
Even then he wasn't a fool to face 10 of them at once. He had the range and the physical superiority to choose his own battles.
With a burst of speed, he launched himself explosively to the monkey at the rear. Just like before all he needed was a single thrust to finish the job.
And with one more down, he jumped back to avoid the wild swings of the second closest monkey.
"Stop running, and face us, you bastard." They roared.
Like hell he would, that would be the stupidest thing to do, Luke thought.
***
Evelyn was terrified when the thunder echoed through the cave, she wasn't sure of just what could've caused something that loud.
It was only when she followed her mother's gaze that she saw the large cluster of dust in the far-off distance.
Looking around she saw that it wasn't just her but every single mother and child was trying to figure out what was happening.
Each moment that passed led to a growing feeling of dread and horror for the monster that was lingering within that cloud of dust.
So imagine her surprise when she witnessed the figure of a human standing around the chunks of what used to be the guard.
Holding nothing more than what seemed like a branch he moved like a phantom in the night.
Each time he appeared a monkey fell to the ground, dead from a single strike to the heart.
It took mere minutes before all 12 monkeys lay dead on the floor. It was as if a dream had come true for all the humans on the 'farm'.
They had witnessed countless young men try and fail to harm even a single guard, but now in front of them lay all their corpses.
Some mothers wept for their sons who had been avenged by this mysterious stranger. While others couldn't even process the reality that was in front of them.
Evelyn on the other hand felt an inkling of hope sprout in her heart. But first, she needed to inform the man about the impending danger that would soon arrive.
***
Luke began wiping the dust and blood that had splattered on his body from the fight. It was something so small, but he really did like keeping himself clean.
The fight was a lot less anticlimactic than he had expected as even the one monkey that could've posed him a threat was easily taken care of.
Despite his overwhelming victory, it was just the beginning of the day, as he had to clean up much more of the town.
2 hours would be enough, he felt, that much to kill the remaining 200 or so monkeys that resided inside the village.
Lost in thought he came back to reality once he realized someone had breached into his 5-meter passive spiritual sense.
Though faint he felt his spiritual sense being absorbed by her, making it hard for him to fully pick up on her.
"Mister, there's something I must tell you!" She cried out of breath.
"What is it?" He asked seriously.
"There's someone who's coming for me. They're from something called a city…" She informed.
"When'd you hear about that?" Luke asked.
"Maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago?" She recalled.
That was right around the time frame that one monkey had led him to the bigger city. From what it seemed the little lady's info checked out.
But now came a larger question.
"So what's up with you?" Luke asked.