The next morning hit different.
Sunlight sliced through the leaves like golden daggers, hitting Kiki's face just as he woke up. Arka yawned, stretched his limbs, and checked on the crew. Everything looked chill. Until—ding!
A weird translucent panel popped up in front of Arka's face. Like, straight out of a video game.
🌀 SYSTEM UPDATE:🦖 Companion Detected: KIKI🧠 Bond Level: 35%⭐ KIKI has gained 50 XP!📈 Evolution Path Unlocked🔓 New Ability: "Alert Scream" – Warns squad of incoming threats.
Arka blinked. "Yo... what the hell?"
Kiki just looked at him, tilting his head like, You good, bro?
Arka grinned. "Okay, Kiki. Looks like you're not just cute, you're OP now."
He tapped on the floating screen, which responded like it was synced with his mind. More info popped up:
KIKI –Type: Scout DinoCurrent Level: 2XP: 80 / 100Next Evolution: ???Trait: Curious, LoyalAbilities:– Tail Swipe (minor dmg)– Alert Scream (AoE warning)
"Damn," Arka mumbled, "We got ourselves a leveling system."
Kiki jumped in excitement like he felt the glow-up. He started bouncing around, showing off his new tail flick. When a nearby bush rustled, he let out a loud chirp — not scared, but tactical. His scream echoed with a high-pitched frequency, making every creature nearby freeze for a second.
Arka's eyes went wide. "That's the new ability? Yo, that's clutch."
The bush only had a sleepy iguana in it, but still. Proof of power.
From that point on, Arka started keeping mental notes like a gamer tracking stats.
🗒 ARKA'S SURVIVAL LOG
Kiki gains XP from:
Discovering food 🍃
Helping the squad 🧡
Spotting danger 🔍
Surviving predator attacks ⚔️
Possible Evolutions:
Swift Stalker 🌀
Shieldtail Guardian 🛡️
Ember Fang (??? 🔥)
As the squad moved through the jungle, every moment started feeling like a co-op survival game. The forest had mini-challenges: like slippery mudslides, weird vines that stung, and random predator birds overhead. But with Kiki's new alert scream, they dodged trouble like pros.
Each night, Arka checked the glowing interface.
🌀 KIKI XP GAINED: +30💥 LEVEL UP!🎉 KIKI reached Level 3!🔓 New Trait: "Fearless" – Less likely to panic near predators🔓 Skill Tree Branch Opened – Select Evolution Path Soon
"Brooo," Arka muttered, staring at the screen. "You're gonna be a beast."
Kiki looked proud as hell. He even puffed up his little chest feathers like he was ready to take on a T-Rex solo.
That night, as they huddled near a makeshift campfire (Arka had finally mastered making sparks using some volcanic rocks), Kiki curled up next to him. The little dino's breathing was steady, tail twitching every now and then. Around them, the other dinos were slowly falling asleep.
Arka stared at the sky, still glowing faintly with starlight, and whispered, "We're not just surviving out here anymore. We're leveling up."
And somewhere in the shadows, a pair of glowing yellow eyes blinked once—watching them.