ALL NOVEL 1.13: The Aftermath
Henry poked his head out from behind cover and watched the fight rage on.
The serpent caught one of the sharks in its mouth and chomped. Henry saw a glow around the teeth, which confirmed a Skill when the remaining half of the shark floated down, cleanly severed from its upper body.
Another shark lay dead, caught by a green ray that thankfully hadn’t been shot his way. Two sharks were still alive. One was able to tag the serpent with its tail, causing it to swim awkwardly for a few seconds, as if in a daze.
The other shark rushed, suddenly accelerating, and took a sizable bite out of the serpent’s neck. It chewed for a few moments, then turned belly-up as well.
“Shit.”
That meant Henry shouldn’t even think of trying to get a bite of the serpent. Not that he was. But clearly, its flesh was poisonous enough that an E-Rank shark passed out within seconds of biting into it.
The remaining shark decided to cut its losses, and swam away. The serpent hissed again, a loud screech which filled the water around them, then it swallowed the two Riptide sharks, the remains of the Whipcrack sharks, and swam away toward the kelp forest. By the time it neared the thicker parts of the forest, its neck had stopped bleeding.
Henry stared down at the site of the battle. The remaining tail-part of the shark which had been bitten in half was still there.
“The water might still be toxic. But the tail should be safe. No way for the venom to spread through all that without a heart… I can nibble on the tail. Also… did the serpent collect the Cores? How is it getting them?”
Maybe it had to do with how the whales didn’t need to hunt? Maybe there was a Skill or a Trait that bypassed the formation of a Core?
Henry waited a few minutes, enough for whatever toxic compounds to dilute a bit more and just in case anything showed back up, then swam toward the discarded tail.
Before more scavengers showed up.
A couple of minutes later he arrived, and no shark had shown up yet. The serpent’s ruckus probably scared them away.
Henry examined the surrounding space. If a Core had formed, it was probably lost in one of the cracks or under some coral leaves. He couldn’t waste time looking for it.
Maybe he could ask the whales about that as well.
Henry approached the large, cartilaginous tail of the Whipcrack shark and bit into it. Seconds later, the notification showed up.
Tail Whip Skill is not compatible. Skill has been adapted to Tentacle Whip.
Tentacle Whip (F) was copied by Magic Mimic.
Ephemerals (1/1):
Tentacle Whip (F): Strike out with a tentacle to create a sonic boom that stuns the target while delivering a powerful blow. (Time remaining: 11 hours, 54 minutes)
“Oh that’s good.”
This, in concert with Razor Tentacle, might be strong enough to cut through Deepcaller’s skin. Henry paused.
Maybe he should make sure the tentacle wouldn’t backlash into his face first. A whipping-blade like that would absolutely slice him in half.
No other notification showed up. They just had one Skill?
Henry tried a couple more timid bites, but then Riptide sharks began showing up and he decided it was time to leave.
“Maybe they also have Bite and that’s why I can’t copy it.”
It was time to test it out, then head out to Deepcaller before the Skill ran out of time.
He hoped he’d get more Skill slots soon.
Henry’s tentacle flashed forward with a terrifying speed. The bladed edge impacted the whale flipper’s skin and bounced off harmlessly.
“Dammit.”
“[You are… getting… close. I could… feel… that.]”
“Thanks, Deepcaller. I have a couple of questions for you. About classes and powers.”
Deepcaller had come alone this time. The whale hummed and both its left eyes stared at Henry as he rubbed his sore tentacle. The whipping motion didn’t do it damage–not really–but it did make his limb feel numb for a few minutes.
“[Questions? Of… course. You…can ask.]”
Henry kept his questions simple. He asked about Traits first and how he was supposed to fill the options he had available. He asked about Trait Upgrades and how to get them, and he finally asked if everybody needed to consume Cores to level.
He ended up skipping the question about why some beings had only one Skill. That was one question too many. And clearly the starfish had two, so it probably wasn’t anything too special.
The giant eye blinked at him. “[Those… are… many.]”
The whale went quiet for a few seconds, then its voice echoed in his mind. “[Traits… we acquire in the … Current. But I know… the flesh you wear… acquires it through bites. The Deceiver obtains its abilities… through blood.]”
Magic Mimic, Henry thought. So it must be an upgrade.
“[Traits follow… our Class. When you ascend… to the next stage, your Traits ascend with you.]”
Henry nodded along. Answers. Should have asked about this days ago.
“[As for Cores… only those… with the gift… of mind… are offered… the choice.]”
Henry hummed. Those couple of seconds of waiting for the Core to finish forming were not ideal… but maybe they were required to have the choice between consuming and converting a Core to Tokens?
“Thank you, Deepcaller. Your answers are very helpful.”
“[You said… there were beings… like us… where you came from. Did they… have the gift… of mind?]”
Henry looked up at the massive, telepathic whale and sighed. “I don’t think we know for sure. We know their brains are developed and they communicate with each other, but we can’t communicate with them. I don’t think they’re as intelligent as you are, though.”
Deepcaller was quiet for a moment. “[We will… be here… for one more… cycle. Then we will… say our… goodbyes.]”
Henry rocked at the news. He’d known they were going to leave soon… but they were also the only intelligent being he was able to speak with. He took comfort in their presence.
He was going to be left alone?
“[You should… hurry. You will not… be able… to pierce… my skin… by… swimming… in your own… sorrow.]”
Henry shook his head at that. Aven through the anxiety and worry, he chuckled.
Who would have known he’d ever meet telepathic whales with a sense of humor.
Henry stayed nearby and hunted Riptide Sharks.
He still had to isolate them, because he couldn’t freeze two of them at once with Telekinesis. When he wanted to recuperate, he just swam around the reef and explored, trying to identify everything he would meet.
He was still on the hunt for something to heal faster, even though it was less of an emergency now with Recuperative Meditation.
[Common Starfish (F) - Lvl 1]
Henry continued his swim. He’d had the chance to test out Tentacle Whip a bit more, and it was extremely efficient when mixed with Razor Tentacle. Terrifyingly so. Unfortunately he couldn’t level it just yet. And he was about to lose access to it.
“Less than an hour,” he said to himself as he consulted the Skill description.
[Fishbane Sea Cucumber (F) - Lvl 3]
Henry stared at the black and yellow sea cucumber, then shoved it away with Telekinesis when it tried approaching him.
It might have miraculous healing abilities, but he wasn’t biting into that. That thing was only missing a skull and crossbone pattern on its back.
Henry swam further away, going back up to his perch. He wanted to reach level 50, and he was getting close. Though in the meantime, he had some points to assign.
Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 40 achieved! 1x Stat point awarded.
...
Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 45 achieved! 1x Stat point awarded.
Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 46 achieved!
Henry gave a point to Strength and a point to Perception, as promised. He waited through the process, and was gratified to notice his vision extending slightly farther. Nothing dramatic, but anything helped. He checked his updated stats for a moment–and activated another option he found when he looked for it–before going over his Skill levels.
Stats:
Strength: 7 [1Class] [0 Purchasable]
Constitution: 11 [5 Class] [6 Purchasable]
Spirit: 10 [2 Class] [2 Consumption] [6 Purchasable]
Perception: 7 [1 Class] [0 Purchasable]
Dexterity: 6 [0 Purchasable]
Hoard Vitals (E): Level 1 -> Level 2
Razor Tentacle (E): Level 1 -> Level 2
Telekinesis (E): Level 2 -> level 3
“Good progress.”
From now on, he’d focus on Bite and Mimicking Tentacles, getting them to 10. And hopefully by tomorrow, he’d hit level 50.
With that, Henry activated Mimicking Tentacles and waited.
It took close to six hours of on-and-off fighting that was slowly making Henry sick to his stomach.
“I should change targets soon,” he thought to himself as he swam toward his turtle-shell home.
He doubted his own impact on the Riptide Shark population would be that pronounced in the grand scheme of things, but it was starting to feel a bit much to him. Still, the results were undeniable. And they helped alleviate the guilt.
Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 47 achieved!
...
Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 50 achieved! 1x Stat point awarded.
1x Class Skill Slot added
1x Class Trait Slot awarded
Mimicking Tentacles (F): Level 9 -> Level 10
Bite (F): Level 9 -> Level 10
“I’ll build a memorial for you somewhere, Riptide Sharks. But you guys almost killed me as well, so… yeah. Now, let’s see.”