2024-11-06 21:35:13Tim 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! “I feel moodier than that human girlfriend I had, god damn! She was always hungry for some reason.” Tim thought. Just then, he noticed that he was also recalling some of his human memories all of a sudden, which was quite a surprise. He did not want to think about his past, human life right now, as he felt sure that he’d mourn those good old days. Recalling those old days would beat on his conscience viciously, without a doubt! He thought, “Even my divorce was easier than this, new thing… I’m a fish now, god damn it!" Tim was a bit depressed right now, however, as he dances within the lines of depression, he came to a realization. It was still amazing that he could remember fractions of his old life to begin with, regardless of how much it hurt to remember them! He was impressed. The system promised power, and a fraction of the power she promised, was evident at this very moment. His soul had migrated here, all the way from earth, yet he still had the option to remember stuff from his past life, and this fact alone was fascinating! There was a lot to think about, he was stumped for words! However, the system interrupted his train of thought, before these thoughts of his could run rampant, for hours and hours on end. This world certainly didn’t need a stingray who had anxiety right now. She said, [Timothy, hello. I’d like to tell you that each upgrade was a success yesterday, and as for now, you’re experiencing hormonal changes, which come with impulsive urges, and some occasional mood swings. Nothing about this is permanent, it’s just that the rest of your body is still adjusting to your recently restructured brain. It's no easy task.] “That makes sense,” He nodded, and accepted the fact that he just had to be patient, at least for a little while. Moments later, he squeezed himself out of the four layers of red coral, and then had this urge to rush across the sea. This urge of his was equal to that of a feral dolphin, but then he noticed that the sea seemed darker than usual. This scared him, so he didn’t feel so explorative anymore! “I’m afraid of the dark? Glad to see that I still have some human traits… or maybe I'm scared because in this body, I’m just a baby? Baby stingrays are probably scared of a lot of stuff, they gotta be.” Tim asked himself. Right then, the system followed along. [The entirety of what you just said is… debatable. However, do not be sad because of your lost humanity, as you will get back most of it, eventually. Your ‘explorative soul’ ability is the first step to worldly exploration, and eventual shape-shifting; I can help you turn back into a human one day, but you have to be patient.] “Really? Well that’s a fantastic thing to say!” Tim celebrated, “I don’t want to get any of my human friends back, fuck them! I want new friends, and maybe a wife that won’t divorce me, just to run off with her stupid assistant! God, I just remembered how much humans make me sick… maybe being a fish is a blessing, but I just haven't realized it yet?” [Your stances are debatable, but as far as I'm concerned, you can have it all, as long as you try to survive long enough. The magic in this world is extremely developed, so anything is possible, I promise you that!] She said. “Survive, huh? Okay, I probably shouldn’t be out here at night, then.” He said, and then squeezed back into the coral reef. Tim had wanted to hunt just a moment ago, but he couldn’t see anything out here, nothing at all, it was too dark. Predators were dangerous enough during the day, so he didn’t want to run into them at night, not in the slightest! He had to kill a few hours of time, and he may get a bit hungry throughout this period of both waiting and napping, however, this wasn’t a major task. He was safe within this coral, and that was all that mattered. Besides, the system was keeping him company. After all, she had a bunch of other upgrade options which she had to introduce! After Tim settled in some coral, the system got into business right away! She said, [Okay, Timothy. Since you bought every upgrade available yesterday, you unlocked a few new ones, five of them, to be exact. Now, some of them are pretty expensive, but they're really worth your while.] "Let them be expensive, I'm not intimidated by your prices anymore. It's not that hard to get system points, or at least, it's easier than what I had imagined at first." He added. Tim wasn’t cocky, no, but he was very direct instead. Exploration came hand to hand with system-based rewards, and he sure as hell liked to explore, so for that matter, he didn’t care about the prices anymore. The system didn't really expand on this side-topic either, but instead, she started talking about the new upgrades. She introduced, [Your first purchase option is pretty useful, essential even. For 60 system points, you can upgrade your bodily strength and speed, to level two! This is pretty much the cheapest upgrade right now.] "Hmm… yeah, speed is very important. Anything that keeps me away from the mouths of sharks is something worth buying." He muttered. [Well, you can't afford to buy anything right now, but it wouldn't be a bad idea if you prioritized buying that one. Strength and speed are truly essential if you're to improve your chances of survival.] She said. They could talk about stuff like these in detail, for hours if they could, and considering that he had several hours to waste, they just might do exactly that. However, there were four more upgrades to introduce, so the system was prioritizing that at the moment. She said, [Your second purchase option, is what'll link you to your stingray ancestry thoroughly, and for good! For 200 system points, you can unlock the 'extingus breath' magical ability, which would help you deflect most kinds of offensive magic, as long as the opposing caster isn't too strong! This ability is very common amongst your species, and you don't need spells or mana to use it.]
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I'm a Stingray? Chapter 13 - The great introduction!
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
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 14 - Panzer Crabs
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
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 15 - "I hate you, Harold"
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
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 16 - Sardines; Deadly, or not?
"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
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 17 - The Murder Spree
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
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 18 - Drunk Stingray
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
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 19 - Vengeance, exacted
Tim was severely drunk, however, he did eventually find his way to the reef, and even closed in to the den, where Harold the eel was living in. He had spiraled like a WW2 warplane for a while, but at least he swam near the spot that he had aimed for. He was as confident as a drunkard could be, so at some point, he shouted. “Harold, get outta there and face me, you retard!”Tim’s intent was clear, and some may even think that what he was doing was suicidal. However, regardless of how dangerous his idea was, he didn’t plan on backing down! Anyway, since his vocal cords were very limited volume-wise, Harold didn't hear him whatsoever, he wasn't in trouble. This gave him a bit more freedom to attack, and he did exactly so! Just moments later, in that drunken state, he came up with an idea that was both crazy, and perhaps effective. He simply rushed into the snug den, and aimed to bite anything in immediate sight!Harold was still in there, in the de
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 20 - 5x Upgrades!
Tim found the panzer crabs he had stashed. It took him a moment to find them, since he was both hungry and disoriented, but he did succeed nonetheless. Without wasting a second, he started munching on them.He got a belly full of crab meat in less than ten minutes, and from the looks of it, he wasn’t going to run out of food anytime soon. Tim was still pretty small, so his belly could only fit so much food. Survival felt a lot easier this way, and Tim guessed that if he killed anything as big as a shark, then he'd have food forever around here!Of course, he wasn't so great at math, so he didn’t consider that meat would rot quickly. There was no such thing as an infinite food glitch, even in this odd world, but it was fun to fantasize about it nonetheless. Anyway, as for the panzer crabs that he had stashed between a crack of coral, he was eating and protecting this stash for a greater reason, as he remembered what the system told him about them. These crabs were p
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Chapter 353 - Arch Mages can't fly?
“Watch out!” Timothy shouted.Despite the dangers that were approaching them, the team was fine. The dragons had seen the Ancient Sea Orcs leap out of the water before anyone else did, so they started flying up just a second later!The dragons flew twenty more meters higher in just under two seconds, and left the orcs lagging behind. No matter how big they were, and how much muscle may be backing up the movements of the orcs, they still couldn't make it far above water! They were heavy serpentine creatures, and didn't have wings, so they only leaped forty meters above the water before they started free falling.“That was close,” Ortana sighed. Afterwards, she teased, “Do you still wanna take the fight down there, Gussy?”“Hell nah!” He answered. “That bastard ate one of my lightning bolts up without a problem! Mouth open and all, so they're tough bastards! Too tough.”Timothy listened to what his friends had to say, and he couldn’t help but agree with them. He was shocked that there
Chapter 352 - Boar face
“Oh, the bastard is ancient, huh? Is it weak enough for me to kill, system, because I don’t care how old or important he is! The bastard had a jaw like a damn wild boar, so other than being a literal giant, he seems to have the tools to destroy ships. He's our culprit.” Tim spoke to the system, inwardly.For a number of reasons that were quite understandable, he was not happy to see a Sea Orc. The fact that this one was double the size of a normal orc, and had a head that looked like a battering ram, gave him even more reasons to be upset. He wanted to kill this monster immediately, though, he also knew that it was stupid to rush and face a monster that he had never seen before, so he waited for the system's input.She answered, [The Ancient Sea Orc may seem rugged, and dull, but they used to be known for reaching amongst the highest realms of mana quality. In a timeline where this beast isn't even supposed to exist, my guess is that he's an extra tough one. Fighting it wouldn’t be id
Chapter 351 - Ancient Sea Orc
A city that depended on seafare to develop its commerce, and economy was a wealthy city. Or at the very least, it was a developing one, who had the capacity to support a large population. However, in a situation where its commerce was abruptly halted, the city would end up being very vulnerable to poverty. Its economy could collapse within itself in just a few weeks, because businesses would either have to spend more gold in order to move and sell their merchandise elsewhere, or they had to sell it at much cheaper prices! Regardless, it was a horrendous situation to face, and it already left thousands of people unemployed. Timothy did not like this at all, because if the City of Fik was vulnerable, the rest of the cities that were further inland, were even more vulnerable, because they also depended on the one, big river that led to the ocean to connect them to the rest of the world. In his eyes, each city within a forty-kilometer radius was worthless now, up until they could eradic
Chapter 350 - "What haunts the sea?"
With little effort, Gustav turned into a Hunting Eagle. This species was massive with a twelve foot long wingspan, so surely, if they were going to put the armor’s flexibility to the test, then turning into a six foot tall eagle would do the trick! Gustav stressed the armor out while he was shapeshifting. The armor moved around as if it just got melted, but in reality, it was mirroring its wearer’s body, and movements. Shapeshifting always pushed Gustav into a liquid-like form before he successfully turned into the species he was aiming for, and so far, they were happy to know that the armor could recognize his efforts.Twenty seconds later, once he successfully turned into a giant Hunting Eagle, he felt the armor moving around, making its final adjustments. The helmet tightened on his head, the one-piece suit covered his body properly, and even spread out exclusively across the main bones of his wings, as if it knew that birds couldn’t afford to have their wings weighed down too muc
Chapter 349 - One ton of gold
“Sure,” Timothy answered. “Where do you want me to place the root at? It’s about fourteen-feet wide, and if you don’t want to squish it, or pop it, you need some room to place the root at.”“My basement is down there, follow me.” Lindon said. Timothy and Lindon made their way down the basement, and the latter didn’t even bother to lock any doors. He knew that the sets of armor he sold were too heavy for the average guy to steal, so he wasn't worried. He was mainly focused on the mana root right now, which could give a decent boost on his wealth if he acquired it, and got the chance to resell it.“You can haul it down here,” Lindon said. “I’m certain that the root will fit through the door, even if it's bigger than you described it. So, when can I expect the root?”“In a minute,” He sighed.Afterwards, he opened a portal to the needle universe of Purpureous Mundi, leaving Lindon the merchant in utter shock! He didn’t know what to say, but he certainly started to believe that Timothy w
Chapter 348 - Shapeshifter’s Iron Armor
Within the City of Fik, the team made their way into another prestigious shop, and browsed its wares. This shop was quite big, meant to house plenty of armor that was for sale, and likewise, the shop was quite tall as well. With the latter fact considered, Garry could also squeeze into the shop. He was happy to step in and look at stuff, even if he couldn't care less about the armor within the shop. There weren’t many buildings around here that could safely welcome giants such as himself.Anyway, once they stepped in, Timothy sought out the merchant, because he wanted to ask what magical armor actually was! He had never heard of something like that before, even though the bone armor that he wore himself was technically made by one of his magical abilities, so he wanted to figure out what these shining sets of armor that were laid across the shop offered, and why they were different from whatever he could create. Once he found the merchant, he greeted him, and asked, “What are these
Chapter 347 - 50/50
The merchant that was trying to bargain with the team remained calm, he didn’t lose his composure. He was old, and his body seemed dried out, so surely he had made plenty of much tougher sales throughout his lifetime. Therefore, his answer was equally sharp, “The root may be worth ten kilos of gold in the market, but it’s difficult to sell it unless you know your way around. To the right people, I can sell it for as much as thirty kilos, if we’re being honest? I’m offering to give you five kilos of gold, because I know that you won’t be able to find a better deal anywhere else across the City of Fik.”Such honesty stunned Timothy, he did not expect it. However, he had also kept his cards close to his chest, and had tried to sell a single root only, rather than more. He never revealed that he had four hundreds of them stashed away safely. With that considered, he was able to argue, and pitched, “What if I said that I have fifty of them to sell, sir great merchant?”“That’s virtually
Chapter 346 - The gold value of Mana Roots
The team was accepted into the city, as the guards didn’t cause them any trouble. They left their dragons in the stables that were close to the city walls, and the stables were quite big, as they were meant to keep hundreds of horses, so the eight dragons fit in there just well, despite their various, big sizes. Timothy got close to Billy the dragon, and said, “We’re gonna have to leave you guys here for a while. Now, I want you to behave, but if anyone tries something funny, just burn them, and head back home.”Billy nodded in response. The team then separated with the dragons, and made their way into the city. They were dumbfounded by how big this place was, and it was definitely bigger and more packed than the cities that they had visited back in the micro-universe of Valporovus! The most common thing that they could see were three story buildings, which were made both with stone, or wood. The wooden ones were likely supported by thick, wooden beams, otherwise it would be difficu
Chapter 345 - The City of Fik
In the magic world, being a team was oftentimes more beneficial than raw-dogging the challenges of the world alone. No two mages were the same, on the count on how random the magical world could be, so a team could benefit from each other’s perspectives, and arsenal.Timothy, and most of his friends, had progressed through worldly settings that were no different from complete anarchy. Timothy started out in the ocean, where laws of any sorts were unheard of. Everyone tried to kill everything, even if they felt slightly threatened, so his earlier upbringing had certainly been tough. Magical stagnation was uncommon in this magical world however, as long as one managed to survive for long enough. Whoever survived was bound to progress eventually, so Timothy had mastered a good part of the ocean already and he even had a whole coral reef to call his own. He considered himself the owner of the reef that he had popped into months ago, or at least, he was its great ambassador. He was the fi
