Book 1: Chapter 14

Aqua Once I get back to the cavern filled with sharks – which takes longer than I’d like due to some of the monsters along the way being back again no doubt thanks to the mana and dungeon – I begin to hunt the sharks one after another. Gradually increasing my REGEN stat all while leveling up. And by the time I finish clearing out the sharks and most of the monsters in the cavern other than the putrid shark and its lackeys in that smaller corner with the exit, I finally reach level ten. Earning me my next skill. [You have killed a level 9 Deepsea Luminescent Shark. EXP has been granted accordingly.] [You have killed a creature underwater. Apex Predator of the Depths has been activated, increasing your REGEN stat by one.] [Congratulations! You have now reached level 10! Your total free points have increased by two, and your mana stat has increased by ten. Allocate the free points whenever you please. Additionally, you have now unlocked your second skill.] A faint smile comes to my face before I go ahead and open my status. [REQUESTING STATUS: USER AQUA FALLEN] [STATUS RETRIEVED] [Name: Aqua Fallen] [Level: 10] [Mana: 100] [Strength: 25(17)] [Dexterity: 16] [Constitution: 16] [Magical Strength: 12] [REGEN: 99] [Free Points: 2] [Traits: Physique of the Abyssal Kraken, Apex Predator of the Depths] [Skills] [END STATUS] And this time I hold back on using the free points. Just because I want to see what skill I get first. So without any hesitation, I select the skills menu to check out my new skill. [REQUESTING SKILLS: USER AQUA FALLEN] [2 SKILLS RETRIEVED] [Skill 1: Abyssal Kraken’s Embrace] [Description: Abyssal Kraken’s Embrace allows the user to summon tentacles of the Abyssal Kraken within three meters of their body. These tentacles can then stretch for five meters away from where they are summoned.] [Cost: Abyssal Kraken’s Embrace costs a total of 10 mana for every tentacle summoned. The tentacles can then stay summoned free of charge for a maximum of one minute.] [Cooldown: Abyssal Kraken’s Embrace has no cooldown and can be used as many times at once as the user has mana.] [Skill 2: Hydrokinetic Wrath] This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Description: Hydrokinetic Wrath allows the user to manipulate and pressurize water around you to use as a weapon. The amount of pressure controllable is dependent on the user’s Magical Strength stat.] [Cost: Hydrokinetic Wrath costs a total of three mana for every base use of the skill. However, additional mana costs will be added depending on how strenuously the skill is used.] [Cooldown: Hydrokinetic Wrath has no cooldown.] [END SKILLS] Hydrokinetic Wrath? I don’t know if that’s a Bloodline skill or not. Regardless of that though, the skill looks useful. And it’s a magic attack skill at that. So I go ahead and add two points into Magical Strength. Alright, so how am I going to test this... After looking around for a bit and not finding even a single monster to test it on other than the enemies I’ll be taking on soon, I decide to just try it out against a corpse that’s floating nearby. One of a level 9 shark. It should still make for a good training dummy after all. And since I made sure to avoid using my other skill while fighting the other monsters, I should be good and fully charged for this battle against the other sharks. So I go ahead and activate the skill, giving me a strange sense of the water around me along with the feeling that I can control it. But only some of it. Not even that much of it. After feeling it out a bit, I use the skill to grab ahold of some water in front of me before increasing the pressure as much as I can without costing myself extra mana. Creating a blade of incredibly pressurized water in front of me. Even more pressurized than I’m sure the water around me already is considering I’m in the deep sea right now. Then I send the blade flying straight at the shark. And miss the shark entirely. Oops. Right. Aim is a thing. I’m glad this skill only costs three mana. “That was on purpose,” I make sure to tell the chat no doubt watching me, just to clear up any misunderstandings. And I of course avoid looking at the chat afterwards. Just to maintain my focus. Definitely just that. It’s not that I want to avoid seeing them call me out on what I just said or anything. I send another blade at the shark and this time it actually hits it. Although it only barely does, even if it still manages to cut deep into the thing’s tail. Then I send a third. And this blade hits it right where I was aiming. At the center of its back. Slicing a good few inches into its flesh in the process. Good. I’m getting the hang of this. I try it two more times on other corpses nearby before deciding – after hitting both of the corpses right where I want to – that I’m good enough with it to use it in combat now. So I finally turn towards the large group of sharks numbering about eight in total with a ninth just floating at the center of them all. With the eight green sharks swimming around in a sphere around the putrid shark. From the one green shark I fought out here with the other sharks, I’m pretty sure it’s poisonous. Since I saw it with a green liquid leaving its fangs. But I never saw it put that liquid to use, nor do I really want to see that. I think what I’m most worried about in this battle though is the putrid shark. After all, it’s level ten, so it is around the same level as my armor was meant for. Meaning it could potentially break through my armor unlike most of the other monsters I’ve faced thus far. Ignoring the rigal. I take a deep breath before slowly beginning to move towards the last section of this cavern. Where the nine sharks are currently calling home. The green sharks are all levels eight and nine, and with the tentacles, I shouldn’t have a problem dealing with them. Right. I should be good. With that bit of self-confidence boosting, I finally pass under the large bit of rubble separating their little section and the rest of the cavern. Instantly making the sharks all turn their attention my way. So I start out with a bang the moment the green sharks begin speeding my way by summoning five different tentacles. Startling them as they appear from portals all around me. But their surprise doesn’t end there as I send the tentacles to slam into and grab onto sharks one after another. With two of the tentacles wrapping around two sharks and slamming them into another two sharks. Leaving the other three to slap down sharks like swatting a fly. I leave the tentacles to handle those six green sharks while I swim to the side to dodge the remaining two green sharks before sending two pressurized blades of water at both of them. And while I end up missing the green sharks with one blade each, one of my blades still hit them. So I rush up to the closest green shark and pierce the thing with my trident right where the pressurized blade hit. Killing the shark before yanking my trident back out of its corpse and turning towards the other one right as it turns towards me. I don’t let it attack even as it starts to charge though. Instead summoning another tentacle right in front of it and having the tentacle wrap around the shark. But right as I’m feeling good for dealing with all eight of the sharks, I feel something latching onto my side, making me turn around to see one of the green sharks I left the other tentacles to deal with latching its jaws onto my waist. Fortunately for me, its jaws don’t pierce all the way through. So I just see the green liquid leaving its mouth without getting to my skin as I swing my trident around and stab it straight into the shark’s eyes. Only briefly taking a moment to notice the deep purple bruises on its side. I hurry to pry the green shark off of my side before having the tentacles finish off the other green sharks. But then I remember something in the form of a putrid stench appearing right in front of me before tackling me, sending me flying straight through the water in the process. And the putrid shark doesn’t even stop moving as it continues pushing me personally, getting me far away from the tentacles. Out of their range by a long shot. Leaving them useless over there other than to finish off the green sharks. Which they at least manage to do. I grit my teeth before checking on my mana. And right when the putrid shark finally slams me into a wall, I find a rather depressing sight. My mana levels are down to a measly thirteen mana. The putrid shark backs up, leaving me struggling to breathe for a moment before air rushes into me again. No doubt from the pressure on my chest and stomach from the shark’s body slam. And the sight that greets me when I look isn’t a pleasant one. Because it’s the sight of cracks in my armor. I raise my head to narrow my eyes at the shark. A one on one now then, is it? I can do that.