The forest is empty. I was expecting Goblins attacks or an Eldritch abomination, but there’s nothing here. Did I go the wrong way? Maybe I am supposed to go in the other direction, where the empty plains are? Who knows. Let’s hope that I’m correct. After all, what can be a better strategy than blindly wandering around?

I have no experience in hunting. Or forests, or — Or pretty much anything relevant to this Test. I only have a gun and a positive attitude!

And also the reality-bending power to travel through an alternate dimension with a single thought. That might be a bit more important. Still, my hopeless lack of qualifications will not stop me from acing this Test! Or I could die, mauled to death by a horrible monster.

No! I have to think positive thoughts! Positive thoughts! Pretty flowers and rainbows, and — Is that movement? I aim my weapon at the moving shadow and fire, causing a pained shriek to echo. Oh God, oh fuck. There’s a monster here! An actual monster. And I shot at the beast like a moron. Now it's angry! I fire a couple of bullets, and the shriek dies down.

Is that it? Well, that was— A ton of shrieks echoes, causing birds to fly off the trees.

Fuck. Should I run? Should I give up and flee? I shake my head. Come on Zach, think of the Twilight Points. I need them, and I will not let a bunch of disgusting, terrifying monsters that — I should not piss my pants too much. That is good enough. But first, I need to know what I killed, so I let the world turn dark.

***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.***

***Countdown: 00:56:45***

I rush towards the source of the original shriek. The forest is dense, but the foliage crumbles under my feet like it has been dead for a long time. Why is that happening? Oh wait, I’m an idiot. the only living thing in the Twilight world is me. A world where ‘nothing can intrude’. I thought it only applied to people and animals, but it seems that it also applies to plants. I finally find the body. And — oh boy, I almost vomited. The thing I killed is— a large six-legged bunny with two horns on top of its head between the ears.

What is this place? Why does everything look twisted, so horrifying beyond measure? Even a simple bunny looks like it eats children for breakfast! Think of the Twilight Points, think of the Twilight Points. Wait a moment. What about the other shrieks? It sounded a lot like this eldritch rabbit of doom, so — Fuck this, I’m not taking any chances. Being overwhelmed by a tide of magical vermin and eaten alive is not happening. I need to hide somewhere, but where? Should I climb a tree? Can rabbits climb trees?

I think not. I hope that these don’t as I look for a tree to climb. I finally find a good one with thick enough low-hanging branches. I must have been six years old the last time I climbed a tree, but I can manage. I pull myself up after a bit of a struggle. That gym membership was so worth it! Even if I didn’t go often, at least it allowed me to do that much. Now, how high should I climb? I don’t want to go too high, but I need to be high enough to be safe from the pack of bloodthirsty rabbits.

Now that is a sentence I never thought I would say. I lean against the massive trunk of the tree once I get to a decent height. It is smooth to the touch. I’m not too far from the ground, but still high enough that the rabbits shouldn’t notice me. I still ready my weapon as I go back to reality.

And I almost fall to my death. The once silent forest is now full of loud shrieks as a wave of gray rabbits stampede across the foliage. I hold my breath, I’m very glad that I hid. Otherwise, I would be a very clean skeleton. I shudder at the sheer amount of creatures. A wriggling mass of deadly abominations that eat everything in their path.

It takes a minute before the tide subsides, and I wait another ten minutes before coming down. That was something, and I hope this horrible place doesn’t have anything else in store for me. I need to find two Deers and a Harpy. But Nathaniel warned that the Scaled Flame Deers also moved in packs.

Shit, I hope it’s a regular-sized pack of ten-ish individuals. And not the massive stampede of death I saw.

The clock is ticking. I need to find my targets, as much as I don’t want to. I head back into the depths of the woods, wary of yet another beast. I’m a bit surprised that an ecosystem like this one can even exist. It’s filled to the brim with horrible predators, yet it looks like a paradise from a far-away distance. Does that mean that there are even bigger predators lurking around to regulate the population of lesser species? I shudder, maybe I should worry about dragons. They wouldn’t look out of place in this hellhole.

It’s also likely that dragons wouldn’t be at the top of the food chain.

I frown, what the fuck am I doing? This place is insane, and at this point, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ I die to a horrible abomination, but ‘when’. I should have never accepted this shitty Test Of Might. But what’s done is done, giving up now wouldn’t make any sense. I tighten my grip on my gun and narrow my eyes. I won’t die here, I will make sure of that.

Who cares about abominations? So far, they have shown that we share the same weakness to a tremendous amount of physical damage. Who cares if you’re some mishmash of mystical creatures and that you can shoot lasers out of your eyes? Some .308 to the fucking dome will put you down.

Now, how should I find those Deers? They can’t be too common, but also not too rare. I guess I should look for a river? Everything needs hydration, right? Or is it different for the beasts of this Pocket Dimension? How do I even find a river? I let out a sigh, I’m so under-prepared it’s not even funny anymore. In the end, I have no other choice than to rely on the tried and true technique of ‘walking around like an idiot’.

It feels like I’m doing a lot of that lately.

I keep going into the dark forest, and the sunlight is now almost obscured by the thick canopy above my head. The air is becoming damp while a smell of humidity permeates the atmosphere. Did I luck out and found a river? Or will I end up falling headfirst into a swamp full of toxic goo? Those are questions that I would never have asked myself before.

I’m also afraid of the answer. What if I end up in the den of some Kraken-like horror? Can I even react in time before I’m eaten? But still, I have to keep going. I have to stay confident. Who cares about abominations when I have a gun. It shouldn’t be —

“Oh,” I say out loud. “Hello there.” I’m then punted into the chest by a pair of sharp hooves. My front-facing ballistic plate cracks under the impact as I’m propelled backward at a tremendous speed. The one on my back also explodes when I smash into a tree.

“Oh fuck,” I wheeze as I struggle to get up. The attack took all the air out of my lungs, but I don’t have any broken bones. Or I think I do. I do my best to ignore the slight tearing sensation that now accompanies my every breath. It isn’t too bad, I will survive. And I’m not bleeding to death, which is a plus. I also gained neat burn marks on my plate carrier.

I wince as the pain flares up. The best way to deal with medical issues is to ignore them until they go away! I repeat that mantra full of sound advice as I ready my rifle. As expected, the attacker shows itself. I flew back before I made out a silhouette, so now I can see what the hell attacked me. I immediately notice two important pieces of information.

First, I found a Scaled Flame Deer.

Second, it is three-time bigger than I thought it would be. I curse Nathaniel and his imprecise holograms under my breath. Proper annotations should be mandatory. Especially for something as important as a list of monsters to kill!

Oh, and last but not least. It is angry if the flames coming out of its mouth are any indication.

Now, how should I fight a Deer larger than a two-bedroom house head-on? I usher my inner brave hero and —

***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.***

***Countdown: 00:56:54***

—And I run away like a courageous man. I can’t help but laugh at my unfair advantage as I scan the ground for hooves marks. As expected, something weighing multiple tons leaves rather noticeable tracks on the soft soil of the forest. So I run a good distance away while maintaining a line of sight if the creature moves. I then hide behind a dead tree and go back to reality.

As expected, the wary Scaled Flame Deer — Who even names these things? Well, as expected the creature is mighty confused by my sudden disappearance. It’s still pissed off, but it can’t find a good outlet for releasing its rage if its enraged stomps are anything to go by. It was also a good call to take its movements into account since I have a clear shot on it. Well, shooting its ass is better than not shooting at all, so I unload the rest of my magazine into the backside of the abomination.

The scales stop most of the bullets, but some still crack and leak blood. A sign that my efforts weren’t in vain. But my attack gave away my position. The beast’s head snaps towards me. The flames around its hooves burst into a tornado of fire that envelops its body. The fire condenses around its disgusting maw before a —

***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.***

***Countdown: 00:54:27***

As if I was going to stay there! I move away from my position and reload my gun before going back to reality. As expected, a trail of burned vegetation leads to a crater of molten glass. That crater happens to be where I was standing a few moments ago. I gulp as a shiver goes down my spine. That attack spells certain death, so I'm lucky that it did not hit. The creature notices me before I can fire. It charges me with its flaming antlers to turn me into a very burned skewer.

***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.***

***Countdown: 00:54:02***

I never thought I would take part in an interdimensional bullfight with an overgrown Deer who thinks it's a flamethrower. I run away for a couple of seconds before going back to reality. As expected, the confused Deer is looking for me. “Clever girl,” I say as I unload my magazine into its face. The beast screeches as it braces itself. Black blood now flows from various spots where the bullets hit. The seething monster roars, causing my ears to ring and my vision to blur as a flaming cloud expands from the creature. A wave of heat washes over me as I enter the Twilight World.

***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.***

***Countdown: 00:53:45***

I wipe off the sweat on my forehead. That was way too close! That Deer figured out the limitations of my power and switched to an area of effect attack. And now it’s waiting for my reappearance to turn me into a pile of cinders. I run as fast as I can until I put a good distance between me and the last known position of the creature. It shouldn’t be anywhere near my new hiding spot behind a large moss-covered boulder. The smell of burned wood accompanied by a substantial increase in ambient temperature marks my return to reality.

“Fuck me,” my jaw drops at the sight. A good portion of the forest where I was standing a minute ago is now devoid of any vegetation. The furious Scaled Flame Deer standing in the middle of the created clearing destroyed everything. How is that fair? How am I supposed to fight something like this?

But still, I aim and empty a magazine. The flames around the creature dim as the beast jump back, but it’s limping now! Good, let’s see how you like another volley! I load a fresh mag into my rifle and fire. This time, I aim more carefully to strike the damaged scales. It fires its beam while yelping, sowing even more destruction around the ruined clearing. Some splotches of blood erupt when the bullets strike their target, and the limping of the beast becomes even more apparent.

“Die you fuck!” I fire another magazine before switching to my pistol and firing. The screeches of the monster turn into gurgles as it falls on its side, a pool of blood as dark as the night forming beneath its body. I wait a few minutes until it stops twitching before going into the Twilight World.

***Welcome, Heir of the Twilight World.***

***Countdown: 00:54:05***

The body is there, which means that the Deer died. I exhale as I reload my weapons with a big shit-eating grin. Maybe I overestimated these creatures. It wasn’t so bad, even if I used a bit more ammo than I anticipated. Luckily, I filled my backpack with spare magazines. I fill my magazine pouches with fresh mags before going back to reality.

A massive cloud of fire emerges from above the horizon. I freeze when I realize that I forgot one crucial detail about the Scaled Flame Deers.

They hunt in packs.