What Timothy was about to do, took a lot of guts. He was about to encounter that big mako-shark, and this encounter could end up badly, but he was simply mesmerized by the idea of ‘special crabs’! He wanted them.
He found the shark lurking about fifty meters away from the reef, and then approached him. Tim felt uncomfortable about this plan, but he had to get close in order to catch the shark’s attention. "Hey, flame-ass! Harold the eel needs your help, he sent me to find you!" He shouted. However, a stingray’s vocal cords were very limited, so he couldn't make any loud noises. For that matter, he had to approach even closer, and then yell out once more. He called out, “Hey, fish face! Harold needs your help! Can you hear me?” Tim was about ten meters away from the shark now, and this was as close as he could get. If he swam any closer, then Drake the shark may attack, and he surely didn’t want to get bitten today. Thankfully though, the shark seemed to have heard him. It turned around, and then headed towards Timothy. “Nope,” Tim grunted, and then instantly swam towards a little hole nearby. The hole was snug, but it was made out of stone, so he figured that the shark wouldn’t be able to bite him there. This was the safest option he had right now. Moments later, he heard a gravelly, manly tone calling for him. “You’re that menace that bit me… get outta there, I saw your flaming fins, jackass!” “Yeah, it’s me.” Tim answered, and yelled as much as he could. “Get your dumb nose away from my hole, buddy! My tail is amped up with fire and thunder, so I’m not afraid to use all that on you, Drake.” “How do you know my name?” The shark gasped, much like a shark would gasp. “Pull your ears out of your ass and listen to me,” Tim yelled out, “Harold the eel sent me here! He’s trapped in some coral, and he needs you to get him out!” Drake sounded confused afterwards, as he asked. “That fucker’s still alive? I haven’t seen him in ages!” The conversation that followed was more of a long session of bickering. Tim didn’t want to get eaten, so he made Drake promise on his mother’s watery grave that he wouldn’t attack whatsoever. It took about ten minutes of bickering to reach an agreement of that nature, but they did meet with mutual terms eventually. Tim slipped out of that hole in the ground eventually, and swam side by side with this two-meter long mako-shark. It didn’t attack him, and Tim couldn’t be happier about it! He convinced a whole shark to behave properly, and with that part done, most of this little mission was completed already. He just had to show the shark where Harold was trapped at, and that was about it. Both of them swam quite fast, as Tim was still bearing the ‘flaming fin’ powers he stole from this same shark. They got to the reef within less than a minute, and then, he showed Drake where to go. He explained, "That’s the spot, under the sea-bushes there. Now… how are you gonna help Harold, huh?" The mako-shark didn’t answer that question. Instead, he just charged towards the coral and bashed his head against it! That bash wasn’t enough, though. The coral was tough, especially since Harold was stuck under a couple layers of them, so it won’t be easy to break them! Drake didn’t stop trying, however, he continued to bash the coral with his head, even though each bash was piercing through his skin! This was painful to watch, there was blood everywhere! At some point, Drake struck the coral with the left side of his body, a couple of times, instead of with his head. This was more comfortable, and seemingly more effective too! The layers of red coral shattered into four, huge pieces, so Drake’s barbaric approach was now a success, as they saw a huge, dark-blue eel emerging from within the coral. The eel was three-meters long, half as fat as his shark friend, and surely seemed terrifying all together! “There you are,” Drake celebrated. “Here I am!” Harold followed along, “This place almost drove me crazy, I was cooped up in there… and could barely move.” “And now you can move,” Tim interrupted the two, quite shamelessly. “How about you stretch with me a little bit? Show me where those special crabs are, eh?” He was intimidated by these huge beasts, however, he had a tail packed with power, which made him feel a tad protected. He was willing to threaten these beasts if he had to, in any given second. Harold didn’t seem amused, however, he said. "Get out of here, dumbass, there’s no such thing as special crabs!" With that said, Tim realized that he had been tricked, so yelled out. "What the fuck? But we had a deal, you big fat liar!" Drake intervened afterwards, he said. "Fuck off, kid. Quit harassing my friend." Timothy did not let that slide. This new fishy life made him really greedy over these past few hours, so he wasn’t willing to do free labor, even for a minute! This betrayal angered him quite a bit too, so he was quick to respond. His tail spun around a couple of times, as if it charged with power. He was just finding the best way to aim at these beasts, and moments later, he attacked. Less than half an hour ago, he had eaten flaming crabs, so his tail was charged with a bit of fire too. Paired with the lightning he had stolen from that slaughtered eel, the attack he unleashed left a mark! Tim shot Harold right on the forehead. This shot was powered with twenty volts of thundering electricity, so surely, it left a mark! Harold squeezed backwards in response, and then shot a gust of cold wind from his mouth. This wind was meant to hit Tim, but it was too slow, so he got away from it quickly! Afterwards, he poured every ounce of offensive powers he had, both against the shark and the eel. He didn’t manage to kill them, no, but at least he managed to pour his anger out on them! It felt nice. Afterwards, he swam away quickly, and started squeezing within the many layers of coral close by. The beasts were both too fat and too tired to follow him, so he escaped effortlessly! He even mocked them along the way. Anyway, though he got a bit of revenge on these traitors with his attacks, it was certain that he and them had a vendetta from now on. A vendetta, which wouldn’t stop unless either side was dead! Tim bickered with himself, "They will die by my hands, well fins… soon enough Vengeance is the only way!"Tim's sense of vengeance went down, as soon as he found a place where he could rest at. The hard outlay of coral was his best friend around here, and he used it well, as he hid beneath about four layers of this hardy coral. Nothing could get to him at that point, nothing dangerous at least, he was deep within these natural barricades! He thought, "Harold can't get me here… and fuck that guy! Who tricks a kid by promising spooky crabs? That was borderline pedophilia there, or at least, in the real world he would've gotten in trouble for tricking a child! I'm only like twenty-nine days old, god damn it." Such accusations were way out of line, but this little outburst had a simpler outlay. He cared less and less about either Harold or Drake, the more he talked about them, and as long as he avoided them from now on, he'd be perfectly fine with forgiving them. Forgiving was an exaggerated word, even, as he simply did not care to get involved with them at all
Tim woke up after about five hours, and he was fully rested. However, the recent upgrades have tampered with his body quite a bit, so he felt really weird right now. He felt lighter, quicker, and had this urge to explore the seas and hunt anything that moved! This was how he usually behaved, yes, but today this behavior was amped up tenfold for some odd reason! Tim felt powerful and capable, but thankfully, the coral that surrounded him managed to cage his deadly enthusiasm. He couldn’t move much down here, and while he tried to slip out of the coral layers he had hid in, he found the infinite wisdom to calm himself down. Well, his wisdom was very finite actually, but that was not the point. The point was that he could reason with himself a lot more now, it was fascinating! In due time, Tim figured out what was happening with himself; This jolting temperament had something to do with the brain upgrade he had, just a few hours ago, he was sure of it!
Tim was astounded by the concept of magic. The fact that it was available in this world, was the only thing that kept him from being suicidal. This world simply promised a lot! The talk about magic brought back some memories, even, he said. “A protective spell, huh? I think you mean a deflective spell, system. When I was a human, I remember playing a video game of some sort, one about dragons, and it had a bunch of these deflective spells, they were pretty cool.” Tim was feeling nostalgic, it was difficult not to be. However, the system snapped him out of it right away, as she made another promise. [Video games? Oh, they’re available in this world too, in the mildly advanced civilizations at least. This world is very vast, and it’s difficult to get into a good civilization, however, if you do get into one, then you can play plenty of video games there. The highly advanced civilizations have even better games, hyper-realistic ones.] The s
Tim was intrigued by the new purchase options. He and the system discussed them for a long time, just so he could pick the best option there was. They came to the conclusion that the cheapest upgrades were the best option, as though they weren't as effective as the rest of the upgrades, they still were the most accessible! Accessibility, on its own, was really useful in terms of ensuring survival. Tim was convinced about what he was supposed to buy, and now, there was only the matter of getting system points, a bunch of them. For safety's sake, he waited until dawn, just so he could see and analyze his surroundings better, as it was really stupid to hunt in the dark, and he simply wanted to avoid getting killed. Tim took a couple of naps, just to kill some time, and when it was finally the break of dawn, he emerged from within the protective layers of the coral reef. Tim swam for a few meters, and then mumbled. "God damn… I am really hung
Tim searched the reef for any other kind of creature for him to kill. His belly was full, so he wasn't really desperate for food, but he did need to gather up a bunch of points! The panzer crabs he had killed gave him plenty of points, yes, but they weren't enough. Some of the upgrades were really expensive, and if he was to afford them, then there was no benefit in slowing down right now. Tim wanted to hunt for a few more hours at least, and then get back to those panzer crabs afterwards, once he got really tired. The idea was to get points, and then to find a safe spot where he could rest afterwards. He could eat a few mouthfuls of crab meat as well, to encourage his growth sprout. If the area near the crabs was safe enough, then he planned to buy an upgrade or two as well. There were a lot of things on his plate today, but he didn’t mind it. Tim enjoyed working under pressure, it gave him this overwhelming, and constant adrenaline rush
"Wow…" Tim gasped in amazement.He was astounded by the idea of magical, mana-oozing roots. He guessed that they'd only make him more powerful, but overall, he also got this explorative, adrenaline rush after hearing about them! This world had so much to offer, so he couldn’t wait to escape his current physical limitations, in order to explore things that were beyond, and greater than magical roots! He was desperately eager.Anyway, the system broke his train of thought shortly after. She announced a little warning. [Timothy, pay attention! Before you go near any roots, you need to unlock your mana pool at first, specifically, the most expensive upgrade available right now. Mana roots excrete mana, and in order for you to harvest it or accumulate it, you need to unlock your mana pool. You don't need to rush on about this task, however, you probably noticed that each of these tasks encourage you to explore the world more, so one way or the other, this hunt will be g
Over the course of a couple of minutes, Tim gathered all the courage he needed to approach this odd and massive cloud. Sure this approach made him a bit nervous, however, he gathered a bit more courage, as he kept insisting that this was a golden opportunity, one where he could reap a lot of system points! If these sardines were easy to kill, then he could just slip between this school of fish, and stab them left and right with his tail. This could turn out to be his greatest, point-farming opportunity yet, and he was aware of it! Tim also noticed a hint of suspicious, green dots within the cloud as well, but decided to ignore that for now, as he didn’t want to back down.He wasn't given much time to think about that either, as now the cloud was approaching him by itself, rather than the other way around. This sudden approach intimidated him a lot, but he wasn't even given any time to think about swimming away from the approachers, no.A few seconds later
Tim was quite speedy. He swam three hundred meters deep, under the sea, and completed the task as a result. He didn’t get hurt either, as at some point he swam really slowly, just so he wouldn’t cross any physical bounds. His disk-like body was upgraded to endure three-hundred meters of ocean depth, specifically three-hundred, and he wasn’t willing to try his luck on the matter.The system confirmed his success, the moment he hit the mark, she said. [Okay, that’s enough. You’re 300 meters deep, so we can mark the task associated with it as complete. Congratulations!] Furthermore, she added. [As promised, you just got 30 system points as a reward. In total, you’ve accumulated 500 points, which isn’t bad at all for a guy your size! Good job, Timothy, very good.]“Thank you,” He said, “You deserve most of the credit, though, for getting me out here. I got a hell lot of points, without working much for them… and I guess that’s why I need you as a guide in thi
[Before you go mental on those fireflies, you should know that you’ve spent 10 mana points already. That’s a lot for a little guy like you, do I have to keep reminding you? Be careful with how you spend your mana, please.] The system scolded him.Tim looked at the ‘fireflies’ in the meantime, the same ones who soared above the grass, and as he watched them approach, he couldn’t help getting nervous. He also ignored the system entirely, as this was not the time to be greedy or cautious with his points! He had to survive! Tim then looked down at the circle of grassy ashes, the very graveyard-like pit that he had caused. It was a foot away in front of him, and as he looked at it, he couldn’t help but piece a certain puzzle together. He guessed that the intense fire that he caused was what attracted these specific fireflies!It was a firm theory, and it made him really nervous, so he thought. “Look at them go! I’d be damned if they were here to have a picnic, those bastards want fried, s
Tim was in a lot of trouble, for multiple reasons, and on top of that, he also felt incredibly disturbed! He noticed that unlike any other insects that he had seen before, these ants that were attacking him, had feet!Now of course these feet weren't as full and as detailed as the feet of a human's, but it was disturbing enough nonetheless, when he saw that their legs bent outwards near the very tip of their legs, it was odd. These red bellied ants had feet, each and everyone of them, and he didn’t know how to feel about that. On top of feeling disturbed, he was irritated as well.“This is why they run around so fucking fast,” He thought, and then pouted. “Why didn't I get a pair of flappy feet? I need a pair. They sure as hell would've gotten me out of that sand quicker, I almost died there!”There was a lot to think about here, however, he didn’t have the luxury to pause and complain about things, not for long, at least. Tim was still being hunted by these ants, regardless of how he
Tim wanted to be a human again, he craved to be one as soon as possible! However, for the time being, he was an itsy-bitsy spider, and like most spiders, he was very vulnerable to all sorts of danger! Aside from that, he also had certain limitations now, power-wise. His arsenal of power had been severely weakened at the very moment when he turned into a spider! The system started getting into detail about the matter, as best as she could. While Tim strode forward and across the sand, she unraveled a bundle of information, in a computersized manner.She called for attention, [I respect your aspirations, Timothy, however, let us get back to reality for a while. Your current statistical, and or arsenal-oriented capabilities are the following…][Health Bar = 32/32][Hunger Bar =11/12][Sleep&Stamina Bar = 10/16][Mana Pool = 120/120]“Well shit! Looks like I gotta go ninja-mode for a while, because at this rate, I can’t risk running into something as little as a cricket, it’s not safe! G
Tim Was very self-motivated for once. Such a feeling was rare for the likes of him, because he was usually motivated by fear, rather than such an indomitable progressive will. It was a new feeling, and he was willing to chase its euphoric highs for as long as it was physically possible. He urged to do so!Physics may be his biggest enemy throughout the following few days, come to think of it, and the reason behind this conclusion was obvious, he was a spider! Spiders weren't quite heavy, not at all, and Tim was an anorexic spider, too, which although it sounded hilarious in certain contexts, it still served the prior point; He was very light, and perhaps vulnerable too!Now there were certain physical disadvantages when it came to being a spider, even when things weren't going wrong. In this case, things were going very wrong at the very beginning, because Tim was a wet spider! The ocean waves had hit him a couple of times ever since he shapeshifted, and those same waves almost killed
Tim was an explorative guy, by nature, his soul craved it. However, today those explorative senses of his were beaten down and abused. In the search for land, he had been slapped shitless by the ocean waves, who refused to cooperate with him. He was near the ocean shores, which meant that the waves could be more violent once in a while. He was flipped around like a pancake, tens of times, as his body seemingly wasn't designed to browse the ocean surface, out here near the shores, not at all!Things were tough, but at least the trip he took wasn’t entirely bad. The coral reef below him, for example, had softened up the intensity of the waves, at least for a little while, and this gave him some peace. The reef was complex enough to protect the ocean shores from tougher waves, which was beneficial to him, but this itself hadn’t been enough to tame Tim’s scrambled nerves. In fact, other than helping him, the reef also irritated him.The reef was huge, so it had taken a while to cross it.
“A fraction? What does ‘fraction’ mean?” He asked. Tim was in no condition to think. It wasn’t easy to escape two deadly threats at once (the other being hunger), and with that considered, it wasn’t a surprise that his mind was absolutely scrambled right now. He felt burned out.The system never felt tired, however. She was far more superior than a computer, and therefore, the work she did was tireless. For that matter, she was quick to come up with an answer, she was sharp!She said, [A ‘fraction’ means that it’s a tiny portion. Specifically, you only absorbed a tiny portion of the shifter’s powers. The shifter was far stronger than you, in terms of mana quality and although you killed a much stronger opponent, it doesn’t mean you’re strong enough to absorb all of its powers, you won’t be able to shapeshift as greatly or efficiently. I hope that makes sense to you.]“It does make sense, and it also doesn’t. How was I able to kill a stronger guy… erg, girl?” He followed along.[Luck,
The octopus wasn’t as cruel as Tim had imagined. This thing stopped charging at him all of a sudden, for example, which was a really confusing course of action. Then, the octopus just stared at him!Tim stared back of course, and then he asked about what was on his mind. “What the hell do you need fifteen arms for, man? You could kill me with like, four of them if you tried hard enough.”This was not the greatest time to ask such a question. Come to think of it, it never was a good idea to converse with an enemy, when both sides were so close to battling! Yet he did ask questions, quite shamelessly too. Even the bubonic shifter was confused by Tim’s questions, as he appeared overconfident while he spoke! Scared folks weren’t supposed to ask casual questions, it was just the natural order of things. With that considered, the shifter was enthralled, and felt really motivated to converse. This was a unique encounter without a doubt.It said, “I have twelve arms, guy, not fifteen. Also,
[You have no choice, Timothy, you must fight.] The system said.At first, even Tim second guessed the logic behind her words, but then, she also added. [The ambusher will likely follow you, especially if it’s a bubonic shifter, so it’s pointless for you to swim away. That aside, even if you escape with your life, you don’t really have the privilege to waste another hour. You need food immediately, and it so happens that the ambusher is edible, well, most likely edible. Kill it, and eat it!]With that said, Tim didn’t put up a debate. He heeded the system’s recommendations, and in effort to intercept the ambusher in a safer manner, he made a sharp turn to the right, and then started swimming as fast as he could. He had intercepted the electrical signals behind him, and in order to launch a proper, defensive attack, he had to make some distance away from the ambusher. He had to get a bit more comfortable, if he was to have a fighting chance!Tim used both the flaming fins ability, and
Tim’s sight, scent and overall senses were upgraded to level four most recently, but that may not be enough to battle the utter darkness that the sea possessed. He had to be very attentive, just to have a brief understanding of what was going on around him at all times! It wasn’t fun. However, there were a couple of things working to his favor out here. It didn’t take much effort for him to maneuver through the darkness, for example, which was a good thing, as he technically didn’t have any physical obstacles out here on the open waters. The advantage behind this was that he could focus on heightening his senses, other than sight, as vividly as possible, without having to worry about bumping into something along the way! This was great, and surely, he had to use every advantage there was, if he was to succeed. Tim tried his best to focus, but he was also getting really hungry, yet, there wasn't any food around for him to eat. With that considered, at some point later on, he ended up