“Eww, what the heck?” Another massive pile of crap lands on my left shoulder this time.


    “Fucking hell!” I was just enjoying how well the wind cleaned my hair, and now this?!


    Great. I shattered a good weapon a while ago. My broken baton! “Welcome back, buddy.”


    As it materializes in my right hand, I grip it tightly, but only by one half. If it breaks, I need a backup. The heavy chair leg wasn’t with me for long, but I can already feel the downgrade. Looking around in all directions, I try to figure out where the flying feces came from. No sound, no movement.


    *Fwoosh*


    A small white monkey leaps down from above the bamboo trees and lands in front of me, grinning. Completely silent, it stares at me. Apparently, I checked every direction except above.


    White Guardian, level 4, appears over its head with a thin bar.


    “Oof. Okay, four, I’m six. I should have a slight advantage,” I mutter. At least with my strength, despite the fact that primates are way too strong for their size.


    “What’s with the ‘guardian,’ though?”


    I stop questioning everything as the monkey starts to scream loudly after its initial “self-presentation,” revealing its sharp teeth. I notice a golden bracelet on its tail, which is curled at the end with slightly longer white fur. A bit strange. Is this someone’s pet?


    <hr>


    No hesitation—no waiting to see who strikes first. I step back and try to surprise it with a hit from my baton. The monkey dodges at the perfect moment, leaving me wide open. Surprisingly, it doesn’t counterattack. It just keeps grinning.


    “Damn.” This thing is fast and agile, dodging almost every hit I try to land.


    My next strategy is chaos. I start waving my broken baton like a maniac in front of me. The monkey dodges nearly every swing perfectly, but my aggression lands a few successful hits. Its health is depleting slowly, but still much faster than those damn nutrias.


    After pausing for a brief second to catch my breath, the White Guardian seizes the moment and suddenly gets too close to my legs.


    “Don’t you dare!” I smack it in the temple, and it stuns briefly. It recovers quickly and rushes at me.


    “Ouch! Fuck!” It bites my left knee through the thick fabric of my pants, clamping down tightly while hugging my leg with its arms and legs. I stand there, nearly losing balance, but manage to maintain a wide stance. The teeth haven’t penetrated the fabric yet, so I use the moment to smack it on the head again.


    The bite only tightens.


    “Damnit!” Small red spots appear on my sweatpants around the monkey’s mouth. I can hear it struggling to breathe. It doesn’t hurt much—probably the adrenaline.


    There’s only one way!


    “Items!”


    I shout and quickly grab my small folding knife. I unfold it aggressively and switch to a reverse grip position. My items menu is still open.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    It might look silly with such a small knife, but I feel more powerful and theatrical with the reverse grip. A quick thought flashes through my mind.


    Eye or not? Nah, that’ll be super gross. I don’t want any more eye fluid on me today.


    Before my reckless stab, I make a quick decision.


    I stab it in the neck with an aggressive grunt. The tiny knife sinks through the white fur without any resistance. The knife is deep, with only the handle sticking out.


    Immediately, the monkey’s pupil shrinks as life drains from its body. I watch with great interest, seeing both blood pouring out and the health bar depleting in sync.


    As I pull out the knife, I feel the pressure of the spine bone against the blade as the body goes numb. Finally, the jaw releases, and the monkey begins to fall.


    Its curved teeth are still hooked into my sweatpants, and as the monkey falls, it almost pulls my pants down with it. I grab it by the fur on top of its head and wiggle the corpse free, ditching it on the ground.


    *Ding*


    Another point and level up. I ignore it for now. “Phew, that was not a pleasant experience.”


    I check my knee. There are only small bite marks and a little blood. It doesn’t hurt much—maybe just stings a bit. What worries me is the possibility of infection. I pour some leftover beverage from my inventory onto it and clean it up a bit. It might help, or it might make it worse. No time to think about that now.


    Following the direction the arrow pointed, I keep stopping and looking around for any possible threats.


    <hr>


    After a few minutes of walking, I see the silhouette of a structure in the distance.


    “Some sort of temple?” I mutter, assuming by the pointy features and overall majestic design.


    “Markuus!” “Maark!”


    *Loud whistling*


    Joy fills me. I recognize the voice. Mike is yelling from the direction of the temple’s silhouette.


    <hr>


    I run toward the voice and approach the white temple. As I get closer, I notice that it’s not a solid structure, but only four huge pillars made of marble with a marble roof and golden accents. A few convenient stairs lead inside. Instead of solid walls, there are white silk curtains covering the sides of the temple.


    Mike is walking toward me slowly. I wave at him to let him know it’s me and that I’m okay. I don’t want to scare them—they’ve seen me die before.


    Astrid suddenly appears from behind Mike and sprints to me. She hugs me instantly.


    “I died, but it was all weird afterward. I had to sacrifice my finger, and... and I woke up at the flame,” I try to explain my nonsensical experience. “But what happened to you guys back there? I was worried you died too.”


    “We know. We were so out of control and panicked, Astrid almost didn’t make it here,”


    "But how did you know?" I ask confused.


    Mike explains, waving his hands as he speaks. “The merchant inside assured us you’d be alright. It was all cryptic, but he calmed us down a bit.”


    "Pulling any info from him is like pulling teeth." He continues.


    “Speak for yourself, Mikey,” Astrid adds. “We’re here because of my little Pocco.” She notes with a tear in her eye. “He saved us, teleported us right behind the gate, but then disappeared.”


    “He had something new in his eyes. More sentient than ever. I think he tried to communicate with us for that brief moment,” she explains with deep emotion.


    “We found a second door beside the castle gate. It was on the wall of the mountain, but it was shut from the other side,” Mike adds.


    I nod, trying to interrupt and explain my experience. “Yes, yes, I went through that door. Heavy, but I managed to push it open from the inside.”


    He pauses, waiting for me to tell my side of the story, but I urge him to continue first.


    “While following the path through the bamboo, we were ambushed by a white monkey. It threw feces at us, but we managed to make it near the temple,” he says, dusting off dried stuff from his jacket.


    “Astrid fell asleep out of exhaustion on the stairs there,” he points to the marble staircase, partially covered by long curtains. “I went in and got myself a new weapon.”


    He opens his inventory, and a long medieval saber expands in his hand from thin air.


    “Dope!” I’m super impressed at first, but the longer I look at it, the more I notice how weathered and poor in quality it is. I’m no expert, but it definitely doesn’t meet modern standards. Still, for the medieval age, it’s probably good.


    “I was planning on taking out that monkey the whole time, but Astrid was still sleeping. Then we heard the screeches of a beast, and then you showed up.” He finishes, glancing at my bloody right wrist.


    “There’s no monkey anymore, right?” He assumes from my smirk. “Go stock up. We’ll continue later.” He turns away and waves his hand.


    “You bought this for twelve coins?” I ask him, one foot on the first stair.


    “Nah, it cost me my brand-new Samsung.”