Aqua
Alright. That should work.
I’m not one for speaking a lot, and when I do speak I do it rather bluntly. Stating what I need to state and that’s really all.
The cranky grandmother always got on me about that. But it’s fine.
I believe I said everything I needed to. And the chat is proving it as they’re all going on about how people need to sponsor me with something that can give me a safe place.
Honestly, even just getting some sort of special barrier to place around that waterless place would work.
Although the first thing I’m going to want is a toilet. Because… yeah.
Anyway, today’s plan is to first test out my new skill, and if it’s strong enough, to pass through the large cavern and hopefully leave this place. Or just end up finding another tunnel. Which is entirely possible.
So I continue swimming through the tunnels while gritting my teeth a little at the pain.
Actually, on the note of the pain, it doesn’t feel as bad as it was before. Probably because I was a higher level than most of the monsters in that cavern by the end of it. So I was hunting weaker creatures.
Plus I increased my constitution, which made my body tougher. And my regeneration has been constantly rising to the point where it’s four times the average human’s natural regeneration.
I probably healed a bit while sleeping too.
It feels nice to have a bit of relief compared to before, that’s for sure.
With that thought in mind, I continue on into the large environmental cavern. Then I begin to look for more monsters.
There are dozens of monsters in this place of all sorts of different types. And the ones I killed yesterday were mostly different versions of the ones I identified at the start.
So I killed a few angler sharks, quite a few delfish, some leg crabs, and the blue octopus.
This time I want to try my hand against a couple others.
First I want to try out my new skill though. Which requires a target I already know well enough but isn’t too weak.
I turn my attention to an angler shark that’s swimming calmly through the water after having eaten a delfish.
That’ll work for a volunteer.
So after I get within about five meters of the creature while it’s distracted, I go ahead and activate my new skill. Summoning forth a tentacle three meters away from me.
And the moment it appears it, uh, just shoots out of the ground and proves itself to be five entire meters long. With a width of almost an entire meter.
On top of that the thing seems to be covered in scales that are so dark blue that they’re almost black. Even darker than my hair.
And it’s just kind of emerged from some sort of deep blue portal thing that appeared in the ground.
The shark quickly begins to turn around when it notices the massive tentacle – which, to be fair, is hard not to notice – but it’s too slow. Because the tentacle moves at a much faster speed than I can manage before wrapping around the shark. Then it begins swinging the shark around, slamming it into coral and the cave itself, and even other monsters. Killing a couple delfish in the process.
All the way until the shark itself dies, both from being crushed and from being swung around and slammed against everything.
[You have killed a level two Deepsea Delfish. EXP has been granted accordingly.] x2
[You have killed a creature underwater. Apex Predator of the Depths has been activated, increasing your REGEN stat by one.] x2
[You have killed a level three Deepsea Angler 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.]
I find myself openly gaping at the tentacle as it just slowly wriggles around after letting go of the corpse.
Oh. Right.
It stays for an entire minute.
Okay, that shark was just level three. Which is two levels beneath me.
So let’s try using the tentacle against a higher level monster.
I quickly scan the area before finding a much stronger looking creature not too far away that is actually looking directly at me. And it’s not long before the thing begins charging over here, clearly drawn by the tentacle slamming the angler shark all over the place.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Without hesitation I identify the thing while swimming out of the way of its charge.
[Deepsea Horned Shark – Level 6]
Oh, shit. That thing’s a higher level than me.
Fortunately the thing doesn’t seem to be great at turns. So it ends up swimming straight past me.
Towards the tentacle in fact.
So I control the tentacle – which I’m still growing used to – and have it attack the approaching shark. A shark that’s literally just as its name says. A shark with a horn. Albeit a pale pink shark for some reason. And with a size of about a meter and a half in length.
But when my tentacle wraps around it, the shark opens its jaws and tears into the tentacle. Piercing into the scales and ripping off a chunk. Making my tentacle writhe in what looks like pain.
Uh, random tentacles summoned from who knows where can feel pain?
That’s… uh, news to me.
Well, tentacle pain or not, I rush forwards while the shark is bound and trying to rip its way out. And without any hesitation, I stab my trident straight into the back of the shark’s head. Ripping through its scales and digging the thing about a fourth of a meter through it. About the length of the trident’s head. The three blades at the end.
The shark doesn’t make any sound despite the clear pain it must be in. Meanwhile the tentacle continues to grip the thing tighter and tighter despite its own pain.
So I rip the trident out of the shark before stabbing it back in again, digging it even deeper this time than the last time. Then I proceed to do that again and again.
All the way until I finally get a message about the shark’s death.
[You have killed a level six Deepsea Horned 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.]
I let out a sigh before smiling.
Good. It looks like the tentacles are around as strong as I am underwater. Which bodes well for me.
I begin looking around for the exit to the cavern which I found yesterday. And after confirming the direction it’s in, I glance at the tentacle just to find it retracting back into the portal.
Looks like it’s been a minute.
This skill will be very useful in the future, that’s for sure.
I turn and begin heading towards the exit to this cavern. Which is another tunnel.
But when I get a couple dozen meters into the cavern I begin to notice something.
The cavern walls are changing color. They’re getting a tiny bit lighter.
With that sight motivating me, I begin to move a bit faster. All while glancing at the chat, only to find it being incredibly chaotic right now.
[TENTACLES!!!!]
[WHY DOES SHE HAVE TENTACLES?!]
[So… she’s not an orca type creature then?]
[Have you ever seen an orca with tentacles?]
[I sure hope not.]
[WHY TENTACLES?!]
[A beautiful woman with tentacles…]
[She doesn’t have the tentacles, so it doesn’t count. They grow from the portal she summons.]
[True.]
I scroll back to look at what it was like when I first revealed the tentacles as I swim, and what I find is even more chaotic.
[excuse me wut?]
[why…]
[how?!]
[TENTACLES!!!]
[THAT IS NOT WHAT AN ORCA SHOULD HAVE!!!]
[I was not expecting this…]
Yep. Pretty much what I expected.
Anyway, I continue swimming through the tunnel. While being careful of other monsters, of course.
But I don’t find a single one. And I eventually find an exit to the tunnel.
An exit from the tunnel system in fact as it looks like it leads into the deeper ocean. Finally.
A smile touches my face, meanwhile the chat goes on about finally being out of the cave system.
I move a little bit away from the cavern’s entrance while looking around, but I don’t see any surface no matter how much I squint my eyes looking upwards. All I see is endless ocean.
At the same time, there’s endless ocean going downwards as well, but only at an angle. Like I’m at a part that is getting deeper.
That’s fine though. I found my way out of the caves.
Which means I just have to…
My thoughts trail off when I notice something strange. Some sort of bright light.
A light?
What was it… I feel like I remember some sort of warning about the ocean and lights…
I’m not given long to think about it as the light continues growing brighter and brighter, making me half cover my eyes due to it being too bright. Then it just suddenly vanishes, leaving spots in my eyes as I find it difficult to see thanks to the light and its sudden disappearance. Despite my Bloodline’s incredible ability to see down here.
Then I feel something slamming into me. Something so big it slams into my entire body, sending me flying straight into a wall while letting out one of the loudest cries of pain I’ve ever made in my life before I cough out a lot of blood. Blood that I soon realize is a red so dark that it almost looks black. Yet with a very faint bluish tint to it that can only barely be seen.
But more importantly, now that my eyes are beginning to clear up again, I feel my heart drop straight to my stomach at the sight of what just hit me.
It’s a massive monster spanning over four meters in length and another meter in height. The thing is gray in color and has a few spots on its forehead that look kind of like lights that are only barely on, along with two deep blue eyes and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
[Deepsea Luminescent Rigal – Level 42]
I’m dead.
That much is obvious.
There’s no way I can fight something like that. Especially not with what feels like a good third of my bones being broken.
I can still breathe well, so it doesn’t look like my lungs were pierced by any bones. And I don’t feel any heart pain, so I’m guessing my heart is fine too.
But there’s no way to tell where the rest of this immense pain is coming from beyond my bones.
The large and deadly monster lets out a cry as it slightly opens its mouth before closing it. Not taking its eyes off of me in the process.
Meanwhile I see the chat in the corner of the screen going absolutely wild. With quite a few people already writing me off as dead now.
And I don’t blame them.
After a moment of pause, I activate my skill four times in a row. Instantly summoning four tentacles right as the creature rushes at me again.
But instead of immediately targeting the monster with the tentacles, I use them to grab me and throw me away from the place the rigal is striking. Making it slam into the ocean floor instead.
Then I attack it with the tentacles, grabbing it with all four of them.
Not even that does anything to it though, because the monster just chomps down on the tentacles one after another. Biting straight through and even eating them with ease.
Shit.
I grit my teeth and try to swim away despite the immense pain flooding my body, but the monster just finishes off the tentacles and finally turns its attention back to me.
The sight of the creature’s eyes locking onto me as me letting out a sigh.
Right. This was my fate from the moment I was chosen as a Pioneer, Bloodline or no Bloodline.
Why did I think I ever had a chance?
But just once… just once I wanted hope.
Just a single time in my life I wanted hope for a life worth living.