Mornin' mist slid through the trees like lazy ghosts. Arka stood on the edge of the new lookout—Skyvine Tower—stretchin' his arms with a yawn so wide it could catch flies.
Kiki was posted up beside him, tail swingin', eyes scanning the tree canopy like some jungle bodyguard.
"Feels quiet," Arka said, not really expectin' an answer.
Kiki chirped, then froze.
Branches cracked.
The kind of crack that don't come from wind. The kind that comes from something heavy.
"Yo…" Arka's voice dropped. "That ain't just a raptor."
Then—BOOM. A tree exploded like someone yeeted a semi through it.
And there it was.
Spinosaurus.Massive. Wet-scaled. Hungry. Its snout dripped like it just came from a fish buffet—but it wanted meat now. Jungle trembled with every stomp. Spino didn't roar. It growled, low and vibey, like a bass drop from a cursed playlist.
"Okay Kiki—time to bail!" Arka shouted, sliding down the vine ladder while Kiki parkoured off the side like a feathered ninja.
The beast lunged. Chomped. Missed by this much.
Arka hit the dirt running, heart kickin' triple tempo. "Why's it always gotta be the BIG ones?!"
They juked through undergrowth, vines whippin', heatstones crackin' as they passed. Arka pulled a flash-bomb seed from his pouch, primed it mid-run, and lobbed it over his shoulder.
FLASH—POP!
The forest blinked white. Spino roared, blinded for half a sec.
It bought them just enough time to reach the crafting bay.
Tam looked up from hammerin' a glowplate. "...Yo, y'all got company?"
"Big toothy kinda guest!" Arka wheezed.
"Say less."
Tam grabbed the railgun sap launcher—jury-rigged from heatvine coils and old Builder tech. Arka and Kiki turned and flanked while Tam charged the shot.
"Now!" Arka yelled.
BOOM. Glowing sap shot like magma. Nailed the Spino right in the face.
Didn't kill it. But it slowed it down.
Beast thrashed, screamed, and—finally—stomped off into the jungle, leavin' trees bent like spaghetti.
🌀 ARKA'S SURVIVAL LOG
New Encounter: Spinosaurus, Alpha TierStatus: Repelled (for now)Base Alert Level: 🔥🔥🔥Tribe Morale: +10 (Everyone's hyped we're still alive)
That night, the crew sat around the fire. Everyone lowkey buzzin'.
Lina broke the silence. "That thing? It wasn't hunting random. It knew where we were."
"Yeah," Yen muttered. "Like it was… sent."
Arka nodded slowly. "Everything's escalatin'. The Builder's warning, the jungle freakouts, and now giant apex dinos with revenge in their eyes?"
Kiki chirped.
Arka opened his stat screen.
🌀 LEVEL UP!
Arka – Level 7Trait Unlocked: "Last Stand" – When health dips below 20%, speed and damage boost by 50% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 1 day.
🌀 KIKI – Level 7
Trait Unlocked: "Instinctive Dodge" – +40% evasion when targeted by larger predators.
Arka grinned. "Alright… we're not just survivors anymore. We're turnin' into something better."
Lina raised her drink—a gourd filled with fermented skyfruit. "To the tribe."
Everyone clinked. Even Kiki clacked his claws on the rim.
In the distance, a low howl echoed through the trees.
Tomorrow was comin'.And the jungle?It was done playin' nice.