The forest within the biosphere stretched out before me like a dark green sea, with trees towering above like silent giants. Roy hadn’t spoken in a while, and the blue arrow guiding me had disappeared, likely because I was already on the right path. The air was humid, filled with that earthy scent forests carry after rain. Inside the biosphere, the air wasn’t exactly fresh, but at least I no longer felt the initial oppression or that annoying hum. I moved forward with a clear objective in mind: to find my first capturable MonMonster and help Roy complete this damned game area.

Step by step, I reflected on my choices. Had I been too reckless? But I hadn’t become champion of Shine Super Destiny by playing it safe, had I? I’d always followed my instincts, taking risks others would call foolish, and I’d won.

This time would be no different.

"Aren’t you going a bit too fast?" Roy’s voice echoed in my head, breaking the rhythm of my thoughts. "We haven’t even had a chance to check the menus and see what’s changed with the new stats. Looks like something new has popped up." His concern was tangible, as always.

I smiled to myself, knowing Roy was probably on the verge of a panic attack, and I tried to calm him down. "I’m moving at the right speed for someone like me," I replied, keeping that cocky tone I used when I wanted to instill confidence. "Besides, we’re still in the first part of the tutorial, so I doubt I’m in any real danger here. We’ll figure out the rest later." I finished, determined.

"Yeah, but maybe we should think about a strategy..." Roy continued, trying to stay calm. "This forest isn’t as simple as it seems. There are creatures that—"

"Relax, Roy," I interrupted. "We’re here to win, right? And I know how to win. Trust your friend Ekla, risk is my business."

Roy sighed in my head. "Risk might be your business, but in here, I’m the one risking something..."

"Don’t be so dramatic. I’ll capture the first MonMonster I see, complete the whole area for you, and then we’ll head back to the real world so you can treat me to a nice pizza and a slice of cheesecake. The one with raspberries and strawberries is my favorite." I tried to lighten the mood.

Roy let out another deep sigh. "Yeah, but it would be nice if, just once, you’d follow the instructions."

I burst out laughing. "Champions don’t follow the manual, Roy. Champions follow their instincts."

Without waiting for his response, I ventured deeper into the forest. The vegetation thickened, with oversized leaves forming a kind of green tunnel overhead. The trees were incredibly tall, their trunks wrapped in vines that intertwined like ropes. Here and there, strange glowing mushrooms lit up the underbrush, and small luminescent insects fluttered around me like dancing lights.

I kept walking briskly, my eyes darting from side to side, searching for any movement. Anything capturable would do for me. I wasn’t too picky, at least not for this first capture. I needed something easy, just to prove that my method worked.

And then, I saw it.

Through the bushes, in the distance, there was the shape of what looked like a large boulder covered in sharp spikes. It was an HeHedgehog, oblivious to my presence, busy rubbing itself against a large tree.

I smiled. It was exactly what I’d been looking for.

"Roy, do you see it too?" I said, my tone filled with excitement.

"Yeah," he responded quickly, but his tone was more worried than enthusiastic. "It’s an HeHedgehog. They’re skilled in ranged combat. They attack by launching those spikes."

"Perfect! Looks like an easy target," I said, rubbing my hands together. "This one’s mine. It’ll be my first MonMonster."

Roy cleared his throat. "Okay, Ekla, it’s doable. We got lucky. The lightning symbol next to its name means it’s capturable, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be a walk in the park."

"You worry too much, Roy. I’ve got everything under control," I said confidently.

Without wasting any time, I slowly approached the HeHedgehog, which seemed entirely focused on the tree it was using, maybe to clean its spikes. I slipped through the bushes with an agility that I’d describe as ninja-like. With my Agility stat so boosted, I felt almost invincible. No one would take me by surprise. The plan was simple: get close, throw the lasso from the Omnigron, and capture it in one go. Easy, right?

Or so I thought.

As I moved closer, I stepped on a branch that snapped under my weight. The HeHedgehog instantly curled up, its back inflating, covered with spikes that looked like oversized skewers for roasting chickens. Its quills shot up instantly, and before I could react, a shower of spikes was heading straight for me. I dodged the first spike with a fluid move, feeling immediately proud of my decision to boost Agility.

"See, Roy? I’m untouchable!" I shouted, growing more confident by the second.

But before I could finish the sentence, another spike whizzed through the air and struck me square in the side.

"Argh!" I groaned, grabbing my side with one hand. The pain was… unexpected. Not debilitating, but strong enough to make me stagger for a moment.

"I told you to be careful," Roy said in a tone that hovered between worry and amusement. "In the game, you can feel pain. It won’t kill you, but it’ll let you know when you’re in trouble."

"You didn’t tell me I’d feel this!" I responded, trying to stay calm as I pulled the spike out of my side. "What kind of madness is this?"

"It’s to make the experience more immersive," Roy explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I’m ‘immersed’ enough for today!" I grumbled, massaging my side where the spike had hit. The pain was already fading, but the sensation had been too real for my liking.

Meanwhile, the HeHedgehog was already preparing another volley of spikes. Without thinking too much, I dived behind a bush, hearing the spikes whistle past my head and thud into the ground. This MonMonster was a sniper, and its spikes were as precise as arrows.

"This isn’t working," I admitted through gritted teeth. "Every time I move, it shoots a volley at me, and I’m still too far away to attempt a capture. I don’t want another spike in my side!"

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"I told you," Roy repeated calmly. "Catching an HeHedgehog isn’t easy. You need to think strategically."

"Strategy, strategy," I grumbled. My attention fell on the Omnigron, which was highlighting my HP bar, showing that I had already lost over 20%. "It only hit me once, and I’ve already lost a fifth of my health. Four more hits, and I’m KO."

"Maybe it would’ve been worth putting some points in defense?" Roy replied sarcastically.

I crouched even lower behind the bush as another volley of spikes flew over my head. The HeHedgehog wasn’t letting up. And me? Well, for the first time, I began to think that maybe this MonMonster wasn’t the best one to start with. Its tactics perfectly countered mine—too cowardly, too many ranged attacks.

I sighed, deciding it was better to give up. "You know what? It’s not worth it."

Roy sounded surprised. "Are you saying you’re quitting?"

"It’s not quitting," I said, slowly standing up and backing away to a safer part of the forest. "It’s choosing my battles. I don’t like it when someone fights without honor."

Roy chuckled sarcastically. "Of course. It’s not that you can’t catch it, right? The problem is that MonMonster doesn’t fight with honor."

"Don’t start. It’s not that I can’t catch it, it’s just... boring. This HeHedgehog is a coward, hiding behind its spikes and refusing to fight face to face. It’s not the MonMonster for me."

As I retreated, another spike thudded into the ground just inches from my foot. I turned to take one last look at the HeHedgehog, which seemed almost triumphant, watching me back away. "We’ll see who’s laughing last, spiky bastard," I muttered as I finally left the scene.

Once I was safe, I followed Roy’s advice and used the Omnigron’s "rest" function to quickly recover my lost HP. A soft green light enveloped me, and I sat on a small rock. In a few minutes, my stats were back to full. I immediately set off again.

The forest began to open up before me once more. I saw the blue arrow reappear on the ground, but this time I decided not to follow it. Roy kept grumbling in my ear, annoyed that I wasn’t sticking to the regular paths. I was still frustrated by how the battle had gone, but I couldn’t afford to waste too much time—I needed a masterstroke. I had to find a capturable MonMonster, and, more importantly, one that suited me.

As I walked, something caught my attention. Through the bushes, I saw movement. I froze, observing carefully. And then I saw them clearly.

I smiled to myself. "Perfect," I whispered. "This is my target."

I gently parted the leaves of the bush and peered down, spotting a small group of BuBull grazing further below. The massive muscle mass of those MonMonster was impressive, even from a distance. With their dark fur-covered bodies, powerful horns, and strong arms, they resembled giant bulls with the posture of gorillas—massive and slow, but devastating. Among them, my target: a young BuBull, slightly smaller than the other two. The blue lightning bolt next to its name confirmed that it was capturable.

Roy, in my head, was clearly skeptical. "You couldn't even take down an HeHedgehog, and now you want to take on three BuBull?"

I smiled to myself, ignoring his concern. "Of course I do. Now this is a challenge worthy of my level!"

"Yeah, but it’s also a challenge that could knock you out before you even start. Those BuBull are strong, and you’ve got three right in front of you!"

I kept watching without replying. Despite their threatening appearance, they hadn’t noticed me yet. The youngest one, my target, was lazily grazing away from the others. This plan could work.

"Just isolate the young one," I whispered to myself, already plotting my attack.

"Ekla, listen. You can’t always do things your way!" Roy sounded frustrated, but I had already made up my mind. "There are other ways to catch MonMonster besides attacking head-on, you know? Maybe we could try—"

"Nah, you’ll see. It’ll work," I cut him off. "You’ve got to trust me."

Roy fell silent, but his hesitation was palpable.

I carefully observed the herd’s behavior. The younger BuBull occasionally drifted further away, while the other two seemed more focused on a shaded area of the pasture. It was the perfect moment. Silently, I descended from my vantage point, moving like a shadow through the tall, dense grass that blanketed the forest floor.

I got close enough to act, just behind the young BuBull. I took a deep breath, preparing for my strike.

"I feel like a tiger about to pounce on a gazelle," I whispered to Roy.

"From the outside, you look more like a chihuahua about to get crushed by a grizzly bear," he retorted. I could see why.

I pounced.

My speed surprised me as much as it did the young BuBull. The ground beneath me seemed to blur as I closed the gap between us in an instant. For a brief moment, the world around me seemed to slow, as if each step I took left a trail of wind behind it.

"What the hell?" I blurted out as my Omnigron flashed a warning on its holographic display. My stamina was draining fast.

Roy chimed in immediately. "You’ve activated your ‘Sprint’ ability. I told you, you’re going too fast—you didn’t even take time to figure out how to use your unlocked abilities!"

"Sprint?" I asked, confused, trying to keep my focus as I closed in on the young BuBull. "I didn’t know I had abilities already active!"

"Exactly! That’s what I was trying to tell you! We boosted Agility so much, and this is one of the results. But no, you had to rush in blindly!"

I didn’t reply, concentrating on the BuBull now in front of me. With a swift punch, I aimed for its side. My fist bounced off its tough hide like I had punched a rubber wall. I had tickled it.

"What are you doing?" Roy groaned in despair. "Your Strength stat is pitiful!"

"Okay, maybe this beast is tougher than I thought," I muttered, throwing another punch with all my might. The BuBull staggered slightly but didn’t seem even remotely fazed. In an instant, it swung a brutal hoof at me, but my enhanced agility allowed me to dodge with ease. "See, Roy? Pure agility!"

"I know you can dodge, Ekla. But hitting is another matter!" Roy replied with his usual sarcastic tone.

Yet, despite my quick attacks, the young BuBull wasn’t backing down. At some point, I noticed its muscles tense, and its horns lowered—it was preparing to charge.

"Don’t worry, I can dodge it!" I shouted, fully focused. But just then, I suddenly felt slower. My movements, which had been fluid and light a moment ago, now felt heavy and sluggish. I glanced at the Omnigron and realized the problem.

"Sprint is over... and your stamina is almost zero," Roy said, as the last bit of energy drained from me. "That’s what happens when you don’t listen to advice!" Roy exploded with frustration.

Before I could react, the BuBull charged. I managed to partially dodge the impact, but its charge still clipped me, sending me tumbling to the ground like a ragdoll. The world spun for a moment as I was thrown several meters away.

I slammed into a tree with a violent thud, momentarily losing my breath. My HP bar had been more than halved. The BuBull, however, had rammed straight into a massive tree, splitting it in two with a tremendous impact. The MonMonster staggered, clearly hurt from the collision with the gnarled trunk. I noticed its health bar had dropped below mine.

Roy shouted, “I can’t believe it! With your dodge, it crit-failed!”

It was the perfect moment.

"Now!" I exclaimed, ignoring the pain as I raised my arm with the Omnigron.

The device reacted immediately, emitting a lasso of light that wrapped around the BuBull. The glowing loop tightened around the creature, pulling tighter as its health deteriorated. The light changed from a soft blue to a bright golden glow. I knew it was time.

I activated the Quantum Pack to complete the capture. A surge of energy coursed through me as the sides of the Quantum Pack opened, creating a swirling vortex of light that began pulling the BuBull in. The creature resisted for a moment, but the damage it had taken from the charge made it vulnerable. Within seconds, it was completely absorbed by the vortex, disappearing into my Quantum Pack.

A flash of light, and it was over.

I collapsed to the ground, my breath ragged and my body aching. The silence of the forest wrapped around me, broken only by the sound of my own heavy breathing. I had captured my first BuBull.

Roy stayed silent for a moment, maybe too shocked to say anything. Then he let out a loud “Wooooooaaahh!” that made me jump. He burst into a fit of relieved laughter. After a deep sigh—whether from relief or disbelief, I couldn’t tell—he said, "You seriously got so lucky, you know that?"

"I wouldn’t call it luck, dear Roy," I replied, laughing weakly as I finally slumped down and activated the “rest” mode on my Omnigron once more.