Dean returned from his inner realm with a deep shuddering breath; a residual ghostly sensation lingered through his being before he blinked hard several times, entirely breaking away from the meditative state. He was lying on the grassy bank by the side of a stream; the sun was close to setting, and a chill hung in the air. His fishing rod was nowhere to be found. Before going down that avenue of thought, he wanted to address something.

  ‘Frank, can you hear me?’ Dean queried internally. He wasn’t sure this would work, but if it did, it would mean he wouldn’t have an imaginary screen take up almost the entirety of his vision during a potential fight or other dangerous situation. There was no reply. Instead, he was greeted by said screen.

  ‘You’re shittin’ me?’ but the realisation hit Dean before he could process the new revelation, and he opened his skills menu.

  Dean read the changes and then immediately thought of the Map. Knowing his intention, the System navigated to the Notes tab and displayed it before him.

  [COOL MAP WILL GO HERE]

  While having access to a virtual map that could be manipulated by panning and zooming with his mind was cool, he could not resist the allure of the ever-shifting alien script in the adjacent tab.

  Aolyl pz uvaopun olyl.

  P ht zvyyf av kv aopz av fvb, klhy ylhkly.

  Aybaombssf, pa dhz h mvythaapun lyyvy, iba P dpss rllw pa hz 5 ahiz puzalhk vm 4.

  Ha slhza buaps P jvtl bw dpao hu pujylkpisl zljyla ahi pklh?.

  Fvb jhu zohyl fvby pklh vm doha aol zljyla ahi jvbsk il pm fvb dhua.

  P dhz aopurpun vm ihjrkvvy hjjlzz av aol hktpupzayhavy jvuzvsl. Pa'z hu Luk-Nhtl zvya vm aopun.

  Klhu kvlzu’a ullk ayhuzjluklujl dolu dl jhu hsaly ylhspaf aoyvbno jvuzvsl jvtthukz!.

  ...

  Dean just stared at the screen in confusion for a long moment before his heightened senses picked up movement in his peripherals, and he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding an object aimed at his head. About 10 meters away, standing by the treeline, was a creature that resembled a two-headed macaque with a long prehensile tail that hefted a pebble and two pairs of arms, one above the other.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Its lower arms looked peculiar, and he realised why when the creature raised Jeb’s fishing rod above its heads and flapped his lower feathered appendages, revealing they were, in fact, wings. Wings with little fingers on the end. Fingers that flicked him off.

  “Oi! You’re askin’ fer a skelpin’,” Dean said as he got to his feet. The monkey cocked its tail back and narrowed its eyes at Dean as a toothy smile formed on both faces.

  The screen appeared just as the Xiaot-Out released its stone. Dean knew it was coming; he attempted to dodge away and dismiss the screen, but, despite his heightened senses and awareness of the creature’s intent, the little bugger scored one right on his dome, letting out a roar that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Dean looked again to see the diminutive Xiaot-Out bend over and give itself a smack on the backside before running off into the surrounding wood.

  Despite being the target of the Xiaot-Out’s shenanigans, Dean did not find himself genuinely mad; it was annoying, sure, but he was amused more than anything. The premise of getting quests from now on only reinforced his amusement.

  “Curse you, monkey!” Dean bellowed in glee as he made chase

  Dean tried his best to keep up with the Xiaot-Out as he made his way through the ever-denser forest, but as the forest floor became more treacherous, he found his pace slowing further and further. So, it was a relief to him that his quarry would stop occasionally to let out that same roaring laughter, allowing Dean to keep track of the critter.

  After an hour of this game, Dean was losing patience. It was quickly getting dark, and he felt tired and lost (though he would never admit it). The adventurer hadn’t heard the mocking cries of the Xiaot-Out in over five minutes and was beginning to suspect the creature was losing interest in its own little game when he remembered his new map ability. He opened it up and found his bearing. He also found a clearing not too far from where he was. According to the map, it looked as though a sinkhole had formed, and the overhang left there would make for an emergency shelter in a pinch, so Dean decided to scope it out.

  As he got closer, he could hear the familiar sound of the Xiaot-Out, but this time, it sounded a bit less like laughter and a lot more like screaming. Curiosity quickly became apprehension as Dean saw the sight below. The Xiaot-Out was cornered against the steep wall of the drop by 2 rather hungry-looking big cats. They looked like Lynx, with long, fluffy, pointed ears and big fluffy feet, only these Lynx had iridescent scales covering the rear half of their bodies and multiple distinct tails. Despite his concern for the Xiaot-Out, he had no idea if he should intervene. If this was how things worked in the wild, it was not his place to step in.

  One of the Lynx-things made to step closer to the Xiaot-Out but rescinded its movement when the winged monkey screamed and swung the fishing rod in warning. Dean was about to leave and let nature take its course when the sound of a snapping twig from the ledge above the Xiaot-Out caught his attention.

  At first, nothing was there, but just as he was about to call it his imagination, a pair of intelligent golden eyes with slitted pupils loomed out from its near-perfect camouflage. Those fuckers were playing dirty.

  Without thinking, Dean yelled at the top of his lungs, “OI!! MONKEY!!” before lowering his trousers, bending over, and giving himself a smack on the backside. “MISS ME?”

  All eyes were on him now, including the Lynx waiting in ambush. ‘Okay, let’s see if I can resolve this without violence,’ he thought right before the hidden hunter dropped down on the Xiaot-Out. In immediate response, Dean dove for the lunging lynx, his ass still out. He managed to tackle the rear end and legs of the beast, diverting it from its intended trajectory.

  Dean put his whole body weight down on the big cat as they landed, forming a crater from the impact. In response, the Lynx let out a pained cry and kicked at Dean, who was still caught up in the tackle. Pain seared down his waist to his thighs as he released his hold and scurried to his feet, drawing Sheila in the same move, giving the fiendish feline a glancing slash.

  Dean dismissed the prompt immediately; he could not risk taking the time to read it. It turned out to be unnecessary as the two closer Vipurrs stood tense and alert, unsure how to proceed. The further and larger of the three Vipurrs paced back and forth, weighing its next move. Seeing the lone Xiaot-Out as no threat, they focused their attention solely on Dean.

  Dean took a wide, balanced stance with his arms held out in front of him in a somewhat mocking portrayal of that one good scene from that one bad dinosaur movie. His back was to the wall, and the Xiaot-Out, having discarded Jeb’s rod, moved next to him and cowered against his leg. He gave the monkey a reassuring pat on one of its heads.

  The alpha Vipurr bared its long serpentine fangs at Dean, producing a hissing growl. The atmosphere changed, becoming frozen; he could see the muscles coil in the rear legs of the lesser Vippurs, their eyes unblinking, their multiple tails unmoving. They exploded forward, right towards Dean, who, at the same moment, grabbed the Xiaot-Out (that now clung to his side) in his free arm and dived in the same direction.

  He narrowly avoided a swipe from one of the lesser Vipurrs as they barrelled into the wall, causing large cracks to form and sending debris falling around them. Dean managed to roll to his feet before the two monsters had fully separated themselves. He placed his new monkey companion on his shoulders and glanced around. The alpha was nowhere to be seen, but he decided to let that mystery go in favour of focussing on the immediate threat.

  The twin predators began to incircle Dean, but he wasn’t going to let them set the rules of engagement; he darted at the closer of the two Vipurrs, taking them both by surprise before feigning an attack and suddenly switching targets. The second Vipurr was attempting to strike Dean from behind when he suddenly turned to face it and dropped a low skidding kick at the monster's front leg In the same moment that he raised Shiela high in both hands and activated [Mighty Strike], bringing Shiela straight back down on the nape of its head, severing its brainstem.

  Dean swore as the lifeless body of the big cat trapped his leg beneath it. His training with Doug was coming along well, but he still wasn’t anywhere near the same level as when [Flow] was active. The Xiaot-Out screamed in warning as the remaining Vipurr lunged. Dean pulled the monkey off his shoulders and clutched it tightly to his chest as he bent forward as far as he could. White-hot pain slashed across his back, causing him to scream and reflexively tense as tears welled up in his eyes. In one swift movement, Dean pulled the dead Vipurr into him and brought his trapped leg around with all his might, freeing it from beneath the corpse with a sweeping motion.

  In a stroke of uncharacteristic luck, his sweeping back-kick intercepted the next attack from the Vipurr. With the predator unbalanced, he seized the opportunity by rolling over the cadaver before him, creating much-needed space between him and his target. He struggled to stay standing; even breathing sent his back racking in pain, and he was sweating profusely. He needed to finish this up quickly and get back to Lonely Hill for medical intervention before he bled to death. The Xiaot-Out remained clung to his shirt and stared up at him with two sets of beady, intelligent eyes, its pinkish faces creasing in concern.

  “Aye, I’ll be fine. Just hold tight, wee lad,” Dean reassured with a smile, and it made a cooing noise in response. Understanding?

  Going out on a limb, Dean decided to change tactics. Breathing deep a few times, holding eye contact with his enemy, he stood tall and confident, trying to be as imposing as possible before stomping over to the dead Vipurr and resting one foot atop it; he roared with all the animalistic might he could muster.

  Overcome with the adrenaline freshly coursing through his veins, he screamed at the startled animal, “Is this what yous want?! Yous want me to embrace the law of the jungle?! ‘MON THEN! NOW GRIN AND BEAR IT ‘CAUSE YOUS FUCKED AROUND AND NOW YOUS ARE GONNA FIND THE FUCK OUT!”

  He stepped over the body, holding eye contact with his prey. Something caught in his throat as pent-up emotion he had long ignored swelled and crashed beneath his bold demeanour. The Vipurr flinched at his approach and backed against the wall of the sinkhole in a reversal of roles that did not go unnoticed.

  Now, standing just a few steps from the beast, it started to growl and raise its hackles, but Dean knew he had won; the Vipurr was low to the ground, and its tails were between its legs. He took a step closer, and a screen appeared:

  Rage, confusion, loss, fear, and regret stormed inside him as he sobbed tears long overdue. He raised his hands high, roaring down at the cowering animal beneath him. It was finally time he took control of his life. It was time he did what he wanted and didn’t allow his fear of failure to stand in his way; here, in this new world, he could become strong and finally get everything he deserved but gave up on for the sake of others. But something was there, something nearly drowned out by the rage and the fear, something almost imperceptible. Hope. Like the steady flash of a distant lighthouse to a ship lost at sea, Dean found his way back to who he was, leaving the darkness behind. It was still there, always, but he would not succumb. Not today.

  His eyes softened, and he lowered Sheila slowly. He was not stupid; this was a wild animal, and it was cornered, but the same certainty he had come to recognise since coming here told him this creature was not currently a threat to him. He gently reached his free hand out to the Vipurr with his palm up; the Vipurr, in turn, bolted from its place beneath Dean and scrambled up the opposite side of the hole. ‘Worth a try,’ he mused to himself.

  With the danger now gone and the adrenaline fading, Dean winced and exhaled a hiss as something on the threshold of his senses sent a cold sweat down his back. He turned to the wide earthen bowl and pondered how to get out when time seemed to still. [Flow] activated, and he moved in the same instant that something he couldn’t see with a pair of golden eyes tackled him, ramming them into- no, through the wall of the sinkhole and plummeting into the darkness beyond.