Alex screamed in fear at the darkness, dragging his knees to his chest as his heart was beating rapidly.
Suddenly, a blue light appeared above them, covering the forest in light like a mini sun, revealing Max's deadpan expression as he stared at the curled up Alex in utter disappointment.
Before the canine could utter a word, the ruffling of leaves was heard from all around them, followed by high pitched squeaks as adorable fluffy brown squirrels popped out of the trees, slowly approaching them.
Alex calmed down slightly, tilting his head as he stared at the squirrels. "They're.... cute. Adorable in fact."
"They're evil," Max growled at the creatures, ending up receiving smack to the head from Alex, who he later stared at scandalized.
The screen appeared once more:
[Trial One: Survive the Demon Squirrels and collect two items]
"Demon..... Squirrel?!" they exclaimed in sync, then turned to each other and bursted out laughing like complete maniacs at the ridiculousness of the statement.
Crack
The duo immediately stopped laughing, pure horror written on their faces as they stared at the squirrels morphing.
The sickening sound of bones cracking echoed across the forest in a way that made Alex's skin erupt in goosebumps, as their bodies grew twice their size, appearing skinny. Their soft fur became brittle, frizzy, turning black in colour. Their eyes narrowed and glowing crimson as their claws and teeth grew longer and sharper like blades.
By the time their transformation was complete, Max and Alex were already sprinting deeper into the forest by the first crack. Running at a reckless speed in hopes of getting away from creatures, completely forgetting the fact that they're surrounded by trees.
The forest was unusually silent, except for their breathing and rapid footsteps as the air was filled with the earthly scent of moss and dirt.
Ruffle. Ruffle. Ruffle.
SQUEEEEAK
The duo flinched at the sound then continued running as fast as they could, tripping and stumbling just as the squirrels fell from branches with their claws stretched out to attack them.
'First my shoe got shoenapped, I woke up in woke up in a strange forest, Max talking and now..... I'm going to be killed by Demon SQUIRRELS!? And in the end, I didn't confess to Mia.....' Alex felt a tear flow down his cheek, his heart raced wildly as he tasted the metallic taste of blood at the back of his throat from the inadequate amount of oxygen he was inhaling.
"I always knew that squirrels were evil!" Max growled in anger and fear, stumbling ahead of the teen after tripping over a root.
"I want to get out of this nightmare!"
"How?! The forest clearly seems to love us too much to trap us in this endless loop with those upgraded big-tailed tree rats, that are growing wings and flying towards us!"
Silence....
"They are growing WINGS?!"
They hesitantly turned to peek over their shoulders and they screamed in absolute terror as one of the squirrels flew over their heads with a.... Grin???
"We're so screwed!"
"We're going to die!!"
Suddenly, a bright light flashed from their left, catching the duo's attention through the corner of their eyes, which distracted them as they tripped over each other and started rolling..... away from the light.
"My salvation!" Max screamed, dramatically reaching out his paw to the light that became a speck as they rolled away, "My SHAYLA!"
They landed on a rough rocky surface, groaning in pain as the demons perched on the branches, surrounding them. Watching. Waiting for a moment to strike.
"Death by squirrels? Literal demon squirrels for that matter? I never thought I'll see this happening..... But I still need to confess to Mia."
Fueled by the power of a desperate delusional simp, Alex sat up with a determined look in his eyes as he clenched his fist.
'If that screen is what I think it is, then I can summon my own system like the guys in light novels I read,' he thought, stretching his hand out with a dramatic flair with a cool action music playing in his mind, he said, "System!"
Silence.
"I summon thee!"
More silence.
"Bro, I think-" "System, I call upon you!"
Awkward silence.
"Abracadabra!"
"A-appear!"
"A-a-arise???"
"..... Pop-up, you freaking screen!"
Max placed his paw on Alex's arm, "Alex, stop. Even the squirrels feel embarrassed." He gestured to the cringing creatures that stared at the boy in pity.
Alex dropped his hand, feeling like he was about to burst in tears as he curled up, "Let this nightmare end."
Max stared at his companion with droopy ears, then glared at the squirrels. "I'm a dog who likes chasing things, especially squirrels. It is my birthright to make them fear me."
Suddenly, Max barked loudly, startling the squirrels that flinched back in fear. He smirked at their reactions and his barks grew louder, more vicious, as he slowly walked towards the squirrels, causing them to hide in the trees.
"Come on. Let's dip," he ran, with Alex catching up to him as he continued barking. They climb up, back into the path they rolled away from and sprinted towards the light.
They arrived at a clearing and there stood a cloak and daggers strapped to a belt, hovering over the ground with a sigel glowing below.
"Are those the items?"
"You tell me, bro. After all, humans are intelligent creatures."
"Do you really have to be sarcastic?"
"Aren't you supposed to check before the squirrels come for us?"
"What if it's a trap?"
"Then I'll tell your story. Now go and take them."
Breaking away from their glaring contest, Alex slowly walked towards the hovering items with an audible gulp. His limbs trembling as he reached out without stepping on the circle.
Once his fingers held the cloak, the sigel vanished and they stopped hovering as the belt hit the ground with a thud.
Alex sighed in relief, picking up the belt and holding both of the items in his arms.
"Good job," Max trotted towards with with a proud glint in his eyes.
The trees returned to their normal size as the blue light and smoky grey smoke vanished, the forest no longer covered in darkness.
[Trial One - Complete]
[You've successfully survived the Demon Squirrels and obtained the two items:
-The cloak of a mercenary
-The belt of an assassin]
They stared blankly at the screen, "Really? That's the best names you could come up with?"
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble like a violent Earthquake, causing them to fell to the ground.
[Trial Two: Collect two items without being caught]
"Eh?"
[Good luck! You'll really need it :)]
"EH??"
The ground then split open and the duo fell in, screaming at the top of their lungs before the ground sealed shut and the rumbling stopped.
[Trial Quest: Survive The Forest
-Escape the forest in 24 hours
-Collect the ten items
-Stay alive
•Duration: 21 hours 30 minutes
•Reward: ???
•Failure: Erasure from existence]