Ricardo had made his way toward the city of Barcelona from the northwest and was currently in the area of Vallvidera, near what used to be a reservoir. The local wildlife largely left him alone, but here and there were System-generated monsters that attacked without warning.

  After dispatching something like looked like an otter with spikes, the former rooster received a notification from his Patron, Grimfalk.

  Rend was one of the first skills that Ricardo had unlocked after the deity had granted him a special class, Paragon of Atavism. If he struck a creature with the talons on both forelimbs, the skill activated, giving him a damage boost.

  The enormous green-scaled beast hefted his bulk and continued his trek toward the ocean, leaving the monster’s corpse behind. Ricardo had tried to eat one of them before, but they not only tasted awful but also hurt his mouth. He would find something better to eat, and soon if his nose was leading him correctly.

  The wet mud squelched underneath Ricardo’s hind claws, annoying him and the loss of his wings. He put such thoughts out of his mind: Grimfalk’s patronage was nothing but an unmitigated blessing, allowing him to thrive despite seeing death everywhere he went. But still, he was lonely, and he wondered when his benefactor would see fit to bring him brothers and sisters to aid in his hunt.

  After his successful devolution, Ricardo’s instincts had changed. No longer was he a solitary creature, seeing females only for their reproductive value and males as nothing more than rivals. No, Ricardo was now more a pack animal than not, and thus he felt incomplete as a solo hunter. His reawakened predator instincts told him that there were so many tactics that he simply couldn’t perform on his own.

  And so, with a heart heavy with loneliness and claws heavy with mud, the former rooster entered the city of Barcelona proper. Most of the city had been gutted by fires that had sprang up during the panic and looting brought by Integration day, but there were still lots of humans living in the area. And Ricardo’s nose had brought him straight to a group of hunters, roasting a pig over a fire while they drank something that smelled awful and made the blood rush to their faces. Against such a group, Ricardo didn’t even need to bother with a plan. He just pounced.

  Not bothering to chase down the few humans who had immediately run, Ricardo leaned over the hot coals and grabbed the pig, bringing it with him stick and all. The smoke from the fire and the stench of human panic had ruined this area as a suitable picnic site. Heading upwind and uphill, the former rooster found a nice spot to crouch and have a warm meal. The only thing better, he thought, was if Grimfalk himself would come and hunt with him.

  Thinking back upon the beneficence that his Patron had constantly bestowed up him, first by making him a Champion, then by unlocking a special class, and most recently issuing something called a “Quest”, Ricardo pulled up the interface that was granted by the System and took another look at his instructions.

  Ricardo had no idea what a lesser boon token was, but he knew that if it came from Grimfalk, he wanted it. Grimfalk had brought him the System, and the System was good. He blinked away the strange markings that hung in the air in front of him, reminding himself that he still had a task to complete as he cracked the last few marrow bones and consumed the delicate treat within. It was time to move on.

  Heading southeast into the city, the devolved rooster avoided the main road and slunk through abandoned buildings, down alleyways, and across side streets as much as he could. Near a small park that used to be known as

  Pla?a de Lesseps, Ricardo found an abandoned rain barrel and slaked his thirst. A few hours later, he took a long detour to the north to avoid the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, having been warned by Grimfalk to stay away from areas that smelled strongly of humans. Because of this, he ended up hitting the water to the north of the aquarium and had to work his way down south.

  As he inched closer to the docks, where the aquarium was located, Ricardo had to skirt a few other locations, such as the Casino Barcelona and city’s zoo. The former reeked of humans, but the zoo was something else entirely. Ricardo rationalized avoiding the zoo by telling himself that he was on a mission, but the truth was that he sensed something incredibly strong lurking in the zoo.

  After what felt like hours of creeping between buildings, not even able to kill the rats he could smell and even occasionally see, Ricardo made it onto the small man-made peninsula that housed his goal and was relieved when the System informed him that he had arrived at his destination.

  The sleek predator made his way into the building, appreciating the dark, damp ambiance he found inside. Remains of both humans and aquatic species littered the floor, many locked the awkward embrace of a life or death struggle. For those decaying on the floor, the struggle had clearly ended in death. Regrettably, none were edible, as they had already been picked clean.

  Picking his way past the countless shards of broken glass, Ricardo made his way deeper into the aquarium, noticing as he did that the ambient light was getting stronger. A few monsters that resembled rats charged him, but they were slow and easy to put down. They also tasted terrible, but the devolved rooster forced himself to eat one to keep his energy levels up.

  A tapping sound caught Ricardo’s attention, and he turned to look for the source of the noise. An enormous fish with a round, flat body was looking at him. One yellow fin rose upward, while another went straight down. It took Ricardo a few moments to realize that the fish was not on its side: rather, the fish was just that oddly shaped. The fish’s eyes were a deep crimson, or at least the one that the former rooster could see, while its scales were bright orange. A warm yellow light emanated from the fish’s body. That must be the sunfish, Ricardo realized.

  “Tap, tap, tap,” the fish once again bumped against the glass.

  “Rawwr,” Ricardo answered, not having understood the fish’s intent at all.

  “Tap, tap,” the fish responded.

  “Rawr?”

  “Tap, tap.”

  Realizing that they were getting nowhere, the former rooster took a look around the room. The sunfish was inside a pool of water that was contained in a cylinder of glass, and the room itself was almost a perfect circle as well. The Quest had instructed him to help get Mola the sunfish to the ocean, but if he broke the glass wouldn’t she end like the other fish that had turned into nothing but bones?

  Ignoring the constant tapping sound coming from the glass container, Ricardo retreated to a corner to think, stopping next to another of the rat monsters that had been burnt to a crisp. He needed something that could help the Sunfish get to the water. What about adding more water to the room they were in now? He didn’t know how to do that. What about breaking the floor beneath him until he reached the water below them? A few powerful strokes of his back claws rent the floor, but underneath the carpet and rubber lay a thick plate of metal. He could probably work his way through it, but it would take him a while.

  Could he just pick up the sunfish and carry it outside. Surely it could survive a few minutes out of water. Yes, that was the best option, Ricardo decided. At that moment a wide beam of light flashed out from the sunfish’s body and bathed something on the opposite side of the room in a soft, white glow. The former rooster quickly investigated and realized that Mola had been trying to show him something: a giant plastic tilt truck with a metal frame and built-in wheels. Whatever could the fish be planning?

  Walking over to the tilt truck, Ricardo stuck his head in, expecting to find water. There was nothing inside. While he stood there, still trying to puzzle out what the fish wanted him to do, the light shifted, stopping on the floor just in front of the tank holding the enormous sunfish.

  Ricardo walked over and stood in the spot, ready for whatever would come next. The light moved back to the tilt truck and then to the spot on the floor again. It repeated the pattern a few more times until the former rooster figured out what was needed. Mola wanted him to take the empty cart over to the spot right by the glass!

  Ricardo quickly grabbed the cart, using his forearms to push it to the spot indicated by the sunfish. Then he stood back, unsure what to do next.

  “Bam, bam, bam,” the fish banged the glass before flashing the light directly at its scaly rescuer.

  Ricardo moved over to the glass and tapped back three times, wondering if the fish wanted him to copy it. Then the fish banged harder.

  “BAM, BAM, BAM,” it went, blinking rapidly as it did.

  Finally catching on, Ricardo slammed his claws into the acrylic tank wall, wishing for once that he still had a beak rather than teeth. Once both claws impacted, however, his Rend skill activated, gouging a huge chunk of the wall out. It only took a few more blows for the tank wall to fail entirely.

  Ricardo was knocked clean off his feet by the flood of water that emerged from the tank when he finally made a whole clean through the acrylic. Moments later, Mola slammed into the weak part of the wall, breaking clean through and landing in the lift truck. Water went everywhere, but enough covered the enormous sunfish to keep its gills partially submerged.

  A strange burbling sound emanated from the water. Oddly enough, this time Ricardo could understand what Mola was saying.

  “Let’s go. That door, hurry!”

  Ricardo hustled to push the cart out, but the mechanics of opening the door, then using the cart to wedge the door open, and finally pushing the cart through were beyond his mental capabilities. He opened the door, turned to get the cart, and then had to open the door again. After the second iteration of this, he solved the problem rather handily by knocking the door clean off its hinges.

  The pair made an interesting sight as they burst out into the late afternoon sunlight: an enormous fish luxuriating in a plastic bin while a scaly beast that looked an awful lot like a velociraptor pushed it around like it was a baby in a stroller.

  “Where now?” Ricardo asked.

  “Watch out!” shouted Mola.

  Ricardo didn’t have time to react as a large black and brown canine raced up, snarling as it sprang. The dog’s sharp teeth closed over the meaty portion of the former rooster’s thigh, causing Ricardo to scream in agony as his sciatic nerve was cut. He fell, exposing his vulnerable belly and neck to the beast.

  The dog wasted no time in capitalizing on its advantage, wrenching a huge chunk of flesh free before diving straight for the former rooster’s neck. Ricardo closed his eyes, ready to meet his Patron Grimfalk and apologize for having failed in his Quest. A yelp of pain startled him out of his resigned state. His eyes opened and then immediately shut again, an image momentarily seared onto his retinas.

  Mola had entered the battle, and the fish’s light generating ability was more than just for show. The smell of burning fur and flesh was overpowering, and the dog’s pained yelps turned into sad whimpers before fading entirely. There was along moment of silence and then a splash as something fell into the water. A second splash followed soon after.

  Ricardo opened his eyes and found that he was alone and unharmed. As the System notification appeared, fresh tears of gratitude rolled down his cheeks, joining those caused by the overly bright light.