CalCroissant
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1.23
🕑 Added 2024-06-15 12:14:55 +0000 UTCA/N: Thank you so much for supporting me. Enjoy!
1.23: A new paradigm
“That’s land. Well. Island. And it definitely doesn’t look that safe.”
From afar, Henry couldn’t see much but a greenish pebble in the distance. A green-covered island with a smoking peak.
“Volcanic island. Is this what the whales meant by sea of flame?”
Henry considered it for a moment, then dove back down and made sure nothing was about to bite into him.
He wasn’t comfortable being this large. A 60 Kg octopus–around 120 pounds–was massive. He was easily around 9 to 10 feet tall, so wherever he moved, he felt exposed. He’d tried to alter his general shape or put more weight in his tentacles, but the Skill didn’t seem to allow for that. He just grew larger, keeping the same proportions.
“Maybe something I’ll get in a future upgrade.”
Henry swam back down to the sea floor and started roaming. He took the shape of a rock and hopped forward, keeping an eye out for anything he could catch. And for anything that might be following him.
That thing he’d detected right before the seal arrived yesterday might still be around. And he still didn’t know what it was.
“23 charges of Hoard Vitals should be good to do some hunting, right?”
There were some Riptides and some common low rank fish around. He saw a lionfish chase after a Riptide, but he didn’t feel like dealing with them right this second.
He wasn’t underestimating those things again. Henry eyed it and those sharp spines it was shooting at the poor Riptide. “It’s probably the Piercing Projectile Trait that made them so dangerous.”
He studied his surroundings. The area was sparser when it came to kelp stalks. Brown rocks covered in coral and other reef denizens were ubiquitous, and among them was a pretty large black stone boulder that he now knew was the result of an eruption.
The turtle shell was hidden under it, in a small crevice he’d dug out into the gravel and sand. It was also a few yards away from a crawl space under one of the larger reefs, where he’d slept last night.
“I could head toward the volcano. In stealth-mode. Maybe get some practice with Slick Coat. Hmm.”
The problem was that if there was trouble, he couldn’t run and hide. At this size, he couldn’t hide in small burrows and dens. Anything he fit into would be large enough for some predators to follow. Not large ones, but he wouldn’t be that protected.
He knew he could probably fit in very small spaces, because that’s what octopi did in the wild but… “Nope.”
Maybe if he ever gets a Trait that could shut down claustrophobia. In the meantime, he was sticking to spaces where he could stretch his tentacles a bit.
Henry shivered. Just thinking about enclosed spaces made his skin crawl.
“Focus.”
So, he could roam in the island’s direction and hope for a seal or two to come toward him, and could ambush them. He wanted to test Slick Coat before the Ephemeral expired. He didn’t want to waste the slot if it was underwhelming.
Henry nodded to himself, then dropped his disguise and glided over the seafloor, toward the island.
It took around ten minutes for him to hear the first seal call.
Henry dropped to the sea floor and looked for something to hide near, then melded into a boulder and waited.
This area was thick with kelp. Which was good. It meant he wouldn’t get bogged down by multiple seals.
Well. Maybe not if they only relied on echolocation. If they used their eyes while hunting, though, then the cover should work to his advantage.
Henry began moving one of his tentacles; sometimes slow, sometimes fast. He waited for close to five minutes until one of the calls began getting closer.
He exhaled, and didn’t suppress the shiver. “I can do this. They don’t deal that much damage. And I’m strong now.”
Those three points weren’t the only thing making a difference. When Henry had pushed his weight and size to the maximum of Alter Physique, he realized he’d been hobbling himself and his stats.
To test it, he had tried to lift a small boulder that morning. Nothing too large—he estimated it to be around a hundred and fifty pounds and didn’t expect to do much with it.
He had been able to lift it. With only two tentacles. Something he wouldn’t have been able to do if he’d been smaller.
Henry spread his awareness to his massive tentacles and felt the strength residing in each and every one of them. This was going to be the first time he fully tested his martial abilities.
The seal got closer, and Henry picked up his pace. He kept moving his tentacle and watched as the seal crept closer.
“Sorry buddy.”
When the seal got within a couple of yards, Henry detached from the rocks, dropping his disguise as he attacked.
The mammal immediately lunged, activating its coating Skill as it did, and Henry whipped a bladed tentacle forward to meet its charge.
A tuft of fur and a cloud of blood were the result. The coat had deflected most of the attack, but the impact was powerful enough to throw the seal backward.
It backed away and swam around him, eyeing him warily. Its fangs were visible, and it clearly had no intent of backing away.
It was hunting as well, and Henry had a bad feeling.
Right as he put his mental finger on the Telekinesis button, the seal sent out a call.
Telekinesis cut it off, but the damage was done. Henry darted forward and coiled a thick tentacle around its neck. He pressed hard, then activated the Razor.
Blood surged out of the seal’s neck and Henry winced as it fought back against Telekinesis. Soon enough, its movements flagged.
Then air bubbles escaped from its mouth, and the shiny coat faded as the seal stopped moving.
Henry looked down at the limp corpse and felt something gnaw inside of him. Guilt.
“We’re both predators. They tried to get me yesterday, and I’m getting them today.”
1x Echo Seal Core (E) was collected.
Henry unrolled his grip, then looked down at his thick tentacle. “Night and day.”
He really had been hobbling himself.
More calls were surrounding him, and Henry glanced at his mana bar. “96%. Spirit stats are worthwhile as well. I wonder if my size affects my mana,” he mused as he blended with the rocks again.
Expecting more than one to show up, he activated Slick Coat as well. The mana gushed out of him and a film spread all over his skin.
“Jeeez. That’s almost 10% of my mana!”
Henry couldn’t focus on the changes the Skill made around him, but he could feel how the water felt softer and warmer on his skin. Half a minute later, the first seal arrived and rushed to the dead one. It made some calls and two more joined it. They went up to the surface for air, then they all came back down and began searching, making trilling sounds.
Henry didn’t wait for them to find him.
As soon as the first one got near, he froze it and quickly wrapped a tentacle around its neck before releasing Telekinesis. These things could fight back, and he could feel the strong body batter against his Telekinesis.
He did notice something though; the water barely slowed his movements. The Slick Coat made his tentacles fly through the water like it was air.
Henry’s bladed tentacle slowly and inexorably dug into the seal’s neck. Blood welled out and spread around his tentacle–
And the seal slipped out of his grip.
Henry blinked, then cursed as all three seals surrounded him, one of which was slowly bleeding, dyeing the water around him red.
“Whip is bad here. I have to immobilize them with Telekinesis. Or use multiple tentacles and Bite.”
Henry sent an Ink Clone forward, then rushed back toward the one he’d already injured. It lunged at him, and Henry immobilized it and climbed over its back.
He was larger than it was. Maybe not in weight, but the seal was definitely smaller than him.
That was an odd realization.
Henry didn’t waste any time and bit down. He struggled to Bite through the coat, but he kept at it while the second seal went for his stomach. Henry felt it bite and pull at him, and the movement made his vision oddly distort, but he knew it wasn’t doing much damage.
Actually, it wasn’t doing any. Slick Coat wasn’t holding up well against its attack but combined with high Constitution, he could barely feel the pain.
Further away, the Ink Clone had already dissolved. The seal that had chased it was coming back.
Henry dug down harder with his beak and used Bite again. The Skill broke through the coat, and blood surged out of the frozen seal’s neck. Then the next Bite snapped its spine and he could let it go. In the meantime, while the second seal was chewing and pulling on his stomach as if he was a chew toy. He had begun wrapping two tentacles around it and two more joined the effort, while he held the rest up in front of him to defend against the third.
His vision pulled down.
“You’re… annoying.”
Henry had enough of a grip now to try again. He used Razor Tentacle on three different spots, hoping the two extra around the seal’s waist and paddles would secure it while he cut its throat open.
Then the third seal made another call, and Henry cursed.
Henry was readying himself for another scuffle when more reinforcement calls sounded somewhere far to his left. A couple of seals that might have come toward him began swimming in the same direction, and Henry followed them with his eyes.
He released the seal under him, letting it bleed down to the shallow sea bed. He looked around, trying to regain his sense of direction. He found the set of rocks he’d come around, then another black boulder he memorized for reference, then it clicked.
“Northeast from my home-base.”
But before he began following them, he converted one of the Cores into Tokens and bought Slick Coat. It was mana-expensive and not that effective compared to the seals' version, but he could see it improving with levels and potentially merging with Mimicking Tentacles. For that fact alone, it was worth taking.
With that done, he began swimming toward his home, keeping an eye out.
He was curious as to what the seals found. Whatever it was, he was thankful. He hadn’t been in that much danger, but it certainly saved him a drawn out fight. Well. It could have been bad if a dozen or two more seals had shown up.
They were annoying to fight. They kept calling for help, and if there was a whole island of them, they’d wear him down.
It was something he should keep in mind for the next time he encountered them. Maybe he should even stay away until he was able to cut through their coat faster.
Henry kept gliding along the seafloor. When he was halfway back to his home, he veered toward the calls. He quickly checked his notifications as he swam, and was pleased at his progress.
3x Echo Seal Cores (E) were collected.
Bite (E): Level 3 -> Level 4
Mimicking Tentacles (F): Level 7 -> Level 8
Telekinesis (E): Level 7 -> Level 8
Tentacle Whip(F): Level 3 -> Level 4
Henry considered pushing his weight up with the improved Alter Physique Skill, but he had to be careful with his mana. Plus, it would take a while to gain the new 24 Kg anyway.
He had mixed feelings about that part. One one hand, he’d get larger. And become more of a target. On the other hand, he’d be more tenacious and he’d be able to hit harder.
Well, not as if he had a choice. And he had picked the Stalking Threat Class instead of Surviving Opportunist, so he should live like it.
Barely minutes later, he came upon a familiar scene. He immediately forgot about his misgivings when he saw what had riled the seals up.
Henry grinned as he took in the fight ahead of him. “Hello, you.”
[Juvenile Sea Serpent (D) - Lvl ? ]
