Dean's brain screamed so loud he was surprised the monsters couldn't hear it.
'Helllllll no!'
Yeah, nope. Not today. He wasn't hanging around to let those smiling freaks start doing their creepy brain-messing routine.
The second his eyes hit the man and woman by the fallen tree, he was already moving. Didn't wait for them to open their mouths again. His hand slammed the gearshift, the car went into reverse, and he yanked the wheel hard. Tires screeched, gravel flew, and the Lexus swung around like it was auditioning for Fast & Furious: Oh Hell No Edition.
Then he floored it.
The Lexus roared, almost as scared as he was, launching forward so fast the seatbelt felt like it was trying to cut him in half. Didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was distance. Get as far away from those smiling nightmares as possible.
Because here's the thing—Dean had seen the show. He knew how they played it. They didn't just leap out and rip you up right away. Nah, they liked to talk first, smile at you, get under your skin until your brain was scrambled eggs… and then they fuck you up.
But not him. Not tonight.
His hands clenched around the wheel until his knuckles turned white.
The night air was cool, but sweat was already running down his forehead. His eyes kept flicking between the rearview mirror and the road ahead, waiting for something to jump out. His breathing was fast and uneven. Twice he thought he caught movement in the trees—shapes that didn't belong in the dark—but he pushed it down and kept driving.
Hitting one of those things? Yeah, that would be the opposite of a good idea.
A normal human would be dead meat if hit at seventy miles an hour… but these things weren't human. Hitting one might not even slow it down, and if it latched on to the car? Oh, great, now it's hitching a ride on your roof and tearing you out of your car like it's opening a can of tuna.
Could they rip through metal? He didn't know. But he'd seen one in the show tear through a horse like it was nothing. Muscle, bone—gone. If they could do that, his Lexus door was basically tinfoil.
Dean sucked in a deep breath through his nose, then pushed it out through his mouth, trying to steady his heartbeat.
In through the nose… out through the mouth…
It didn't magically make the panic vanish, but it stopped him from slipping into full-on screaming.
And then he remembered—he wasn't just some random unlucky idiot who got dumped into a horror show without any cheat.
No.
Like any halfway decent main character in a webnovel, he too had a cheat.
That skull-cracking info dump earlier? It included the details of his cheats too. And now, he could pull up the details whenever he wanted.
With a single thought, a glowing blue panel popped up in his mind. Thankfully, it wasn't the kind that blocked his view like some half-assed VR crap. Even with it floating in his head, he could still keep his eyes on the road just fine. And thank God for that—because with his situation right now, if he had to focus on both the panel and driving, he'd probably end up plastering his damn car around the nearest tree.
***[ World Travel Panel ]***
Name: Dean Ross
Age: 23
Store points: 0
Current World: From (TV Show)
This is one of the first worlds you have been sent to. More worlds will come in the future.
Arrival Point:
Right as the first episode of Season 1 begins.
World Progress: 0 / 100 %
When World Progress reaches 100%, you will be rewarded and can leave this world to travel to a random new world.
Time Limit: 3 Years
You must reach 100% World Progress before the time runs out. If you fail, there will be… unimaginable consequences.
Missions:
The Missions tab will give you tasks to help you earn points. The Missions aren't compulsory and non- completion will not result in any penalties.
World Store
(The store contains abilities, skills, and provisions, all tied to the world you're in. Everything can be bought using the points you earn from completing missions.)
Starter Gift Pack
***
The words 'Starter Gift Pack' blinked at him like a button just begging to be pressed.
Dean didn't even hesitate.
Click.
The moment he chose it, the old panel vanished and a new one appeared, sliding in like a sci-fi HUD. It didn't block his view — just hovered like a clear overlay, letting him watch the road while reading the glowing text.
***
[ Starter Gift Pack ]
~100 Points
~M9 Pistol (Beretta) + 24 Bullets
~First Aid Kit
(The pistol and first aid kit are stored in the space provided by the World Store panel. This storage space can only hold items obtained from the World Store. Nothing else.)
***
Dean stared at the glowing list.
"Wow," he muttered under his breath. "A hundred points, a pistol, and some band-aids. Real generous."
The points? Yeah, those he could work with. The pistol? Not so much. He knew exactly what he was dealing with here. In From, guns didn't mean jack against the night creatures. You could empty an entire clip into one of their smiling faces and all you'd do is annoy them — maybe make them blink a little if you were lucky. But kill them? Not happening.
The first aid kit? Useful… if he somehow survived long enough to actually patch himself up. He wasn't sure if it even had morphine or just a roll of gauze and some antiseptic wipes. Probably the latter.
Still, he had to admit — the storage thing was pretty sweet. A pocket dimension just for World Store stuff. That meant the gun and kit were basically weightless and instantly accessible whenever he needed them. If he needed them.
But for now? That was two-thirds useless gear and a chunk of digital currency burning a hole in his mental wallet.
'Alright,' Dean thought, 'let's see if I can buy myself something that doesn't get me killed in the first five minutes.'
The Starter Gift Pack panel closed, replaced instantly by the World Store interface.
And man, it was big. Not literally — it was still a mental projection — but it felt wide, like a proper department store crammed into a single glowing screen.
At the top were three tabs Each had a little description underneath:
Abilities: Special powers unique to the world you're in. Can include supernatural traits, physical enhancements, or passive buffs.
Skills: Learnable techniques or proficiencies. Can range from combat styles to crafting expertise.
Provisions: Consumables — food, water, or other short-term survival gear.
Dean scrolled — or, well, thought-scrolled — through the lists. Under each section were items… but not a lot of them. And that's when he realized the trick: the store only showed what he could currently afford.
Anything above his 100-point budget? Gone. Hidden. Like they didn't even exist.
At first, he thought, 'Eh, fair enough. Why bother showing him stuff he couldn't buy yet?' But then it hit him — this was actually a massive pain in the ass.
What if there was something incredible he'd want to save up for? Some god-tier ability like "Can't Die to Creepy Smiling Freaks" or "Punch Through Monster Skulls Like Paper"? If it wasn't in his price range right now, he'd never even know it existed. No dreaming, no goal-setting, no saving up. Just: Nope, you're broke, so don't even think about it.
'Great,' Dean grumbled. 'It's like shopping at Walmart, but they black out the whole store except for the bargain bin.'
Still, he wasn't totally screwed. The point was, he had some options. And in his situation, some was better than zero.
He took a breath and focused on the Abilities tab first.
***
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