CalCroissant
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2.01
🕑 Added 2024-08-28 13:06:22 +0000 UTCA/N: As always, thank you all for supporting me! Book 2 starts now :)
2.01: The Current
The seas were quiet for a moment while the pod of dolphins stared down at the talking kraken.
Maurice broke the silence by lifting a claw. “[Hello! I’m Maurice. Are you new friends?]”
Henry watched all of the dolphins suddenly focus on Maurice. A couple of clicks emanated from the group, but Henry couldn’t pick up anything from these–which meant they were either reflexive or they were signals.
Either way, Henry was tense. These dolphins were not weak. Their leader was high C-Rank, maybe almost at B-Rank, while each of the other four individuals were in the mid C-Rank.
Henry wasn’t sure he was ready for this fight. He couldn’t sense anything from them telepathically. He felt their presence, but not their mood. When he tried to discreetly ask Maurice about it, the crab confirmed his suspicion.
“[Nothing. They feel blank. Either they have no feelings or they can hide them.]”
One of the dolphins–not the leader–swam closer, head tilting left and right as it examined Maurice’s shell. Henry tightened his grip and readied himself to send the crab into his Maw.
Then the dolphin swam up and began circling. “I like the shell colors. It would make a great gift. Once I get the crab out,” it said, filling the space with squeaks and clicks.
“It’s unusual for D-Rank kraken to speak. But I guess it’s not impossible,” said another.
“What’s a human?”
“What if it’s lying?”
“Quiet,” clicked the leader, and all four dolphins went still. The largest dolphin moved closer–Henry readied himself to trigger every defensive ability he had–then the leader spoke. “Odd. Very odd. Explain?”
Henry went on an abbreviated summary of the last… couple of months? Maybe three? It was hard to keep track of time underwater. Still, he mentioned waking up as small octopus, omitted the role of the turtle in this–he didn’t want the dolphins to want Maurice’s shell even more–made sure to mention the Bahamut whales, mentioned his scuffles with krakens, and even switched his identification so they could see his class.
The dolphins must have all identified him then, as a lot of them started clicking excitedly.
“How?!”
“A kraken that preys on other krakens?”
“Ugh… those whales? They’re so pompous… but I guess they’re not bad.”
Another click sounded from the leader and the chatter immediately died down.
“There seems to be truth to your words. But why should we care? You and that crab aren’t so unique we’d need to skip an easy meal.”
“Easy!”
“Only D-Ranks.”
“Pretty gift!”
Henry exhaled, and a glowing, green scale pattern appeared along his skin as he stretched his limbs, one of which quickly morphed into the memorized shape of a spiked bone-flail. “[I’m going to need to use electricity, Maurice.]”
The crab–as often–emanated anxiety and excitement in equal measures as he clicked his pincers. “[That’s okay. I’ve got the Resistance for it.]”
Henry and Maurice readied themselves as they stared down at the five dolphins. Waiting for them to make the first move. Waiting.
Then a click sounded out of the leader–making Henry coil his arms in anticipation–and all five dolphins began merrily clicking as they swam around.
“It fell for it!”
The dolphins continued to laugh at the duo–Henry assumed–for a few more seconds before the leader came closer.
“It was a joke. Come with us. Come see our city. But you should be careful with your pretty friend. Some might try to steal him away.”
“Pretty shell!”
“Do you have more stories? We like stories.”
Henry wasn’t sure how he could say this nicely, but he didn’t feel very confident following a pod of dolphins to a second location. He may have had a chance against these five here, but if there were more? He’d be completely at their mercy.
Henry located the leader–the only one who wasn’t bounding around the waters. “[Will we be safe?]”
The leader came closer and did something Henry wasn’t really shocked by, but he was still surprised. The dolphin spoke directly to his mind. “[Yes, you will be guests. Just be aware that some might be alarmed at first. Some might try to provoke you, or take your friend away, but we’ll stay with you. Just let us know. In any case, you don’t have to. We can part ways here and now.]”
The dolphins turned and began swimming away, with one of them stopping to wait for the duo. Henry and Maurice shared a look.
“[What do you think?]”
“[I’m curious. I want to see their city.]”
Well, these dolphins didn’t seem to be murderous psychopaths. Just pranksters. If they really wanted to hurt Henry and Maurice, they had enough individuals here to let them think they would have had the upper hand. Them giving Henry and Maurice the choice might be another sign that they meant no harm.
“[Alright. Let’s check it out, then.]”
Henry was slightly optimistic–though he was still worried he was swimming into a trap. But one thing was on his mind, and he didn’t want to pass this opportunity up.
These were the first intelligent beings he’d met since the whales. Beings who knew anything about this world, of course, which excluded Maurice. He could ask some questions and get some answers.
Henry followed the dolphins quietly–as instructed–with Maurice tightly held in one of his arms. They swam low around the current, never really crossing through, and soon enough they reached a rocky area.
The dolphins swam further from the golden light then, until they reached a flat area where the leader dove into the rock.
Henry’s eyes widened for a moment, until he realized what had happened.
“A cave?”
Henry slowly followed the closest dolphin. The cave was more of a tunnel that slowly turned into a literal maze of connected rocky corridors. Countless twists and turns later, the pod and the duo exited into a wide open chamber brimming with dolphins and golden light.
They were in the Great Current.
Henry couldn’t help but tune out the view ahead for a second. Being in the Current felt… like leveling. Like buying stat points and receiving them. There was something almost electric about the water. As if it was full of potential, waiting to be tapped.
And within seconds, something happened that confirmed his impressions and made Henry’s eyes widen.
Krakenbane Wanderer (D) - Level 60 achieved!
1x Stat points awarded.
1x Strength Stat points awarded.
1x Spirit Stat points awarded.
1x Constitution Stat points awarded.
“[Henry. Henry I just leveled. What’s happening?]”
Both Henry and Maurice had stopped following the dolphins as they swam away from the entrance. Henry distractedly lifted Maurice to eye level, and one of the dolphins turned to them curiously.
“You haven’t been in the Current before? It’s something, isn't it? You two will be C-Rank in no time! Anyway, come on. Let’s go meet the others.”
Henry slowly followed. “[I guess this is why the whales said they didn’t need to hunt. That the Current fed them.]”
“[It explains how everything is so strong here…]” said Maurice in response as he marveled at his surroundings.
The cave was brightly lit, with many room-like caves dug into the walls. Quite a few were decorated with seashells. Some only had plants around, while a handful had miscellaneous bones and teeths. Whether those had been salvaged or won in battle, Henry didn’t know. But whenever they passed one of the homes, dolphins would poke out and stare at the strange visitor. Some younger dolphins began chasing, clicking and squeaking when they noticed Maurice’s brillant shell.
Henry noticed that he could sense the young one’s emotions–even though some of them were slightly higher level than he was. Which made him think that the powerful individuals had an innate sort of telepathic barrier… or something like it. Maybe it was more of a stealth thing?
He could ask. When there was less of a crowd around.
By now, it seems like most dolphins–nearly a hundred or so–had stopped doing whatever it was they’d been busy with to come stare. Finally, from one of the larger homes came a specimen that immediately made Henry tense.
[Spotted Dolphin (?) - Lvl ?]
“[That means B-Rank, right?]” whispered Maurice.
“[Yup. Be polite.]”
The dolphin was the largest Henry had seen so far. At least twice as large as the average cave resident. Its spots seemed to shift and dance as it ponderously swam out. Its mere presence reminded Henry of that odd feeling he’d gotten from the Trickster when it tried to intimidate him. It felt heavy. It drew attention and made everything else in the environment fall away.
As if the world stopped what it was doing and waited on this individual to take action.
Henry hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath when the B-Rank dolphin finally spoke in that clicking tongue of theirs. “Ah… a meal.”
There was a silent beat as the words echoed in the giant cave, before all the dolphins burst out laughing.
