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 160 - The portal closer
“You’re alive!” Ortana rushed over, and hugged him. She was relieved. “Of course I am?” Timothy hugged back, and looked at the rest of the team. He was wondering what was going on. “You’re alive too. I guess?”The group chuckled in response, they were enjoying his confusion. He might as well be confused, because he only saw this woman yesterday, and yet she acted as if he had been missing for ten years!“I’ve been looking for you for five days…” She then said, “The guards said that you got killed, and eaten, so I gutted a lot of bugs in order to find your body. Those guards are liars, they lied to me with a straight face!”Before Gustav could chime in on that last statement, Timothy cut his words short because no one wanted to be lectured right now, and then he emphasized a question. “Five days? We've only been here for an hour. Maybe an hour and a half, give or take.”With that said, both sides caught up with all the drama almost instantly. Time worked differently in this universe,
Chapter 159 - The Button
Tim and Gustav explored the castle that they were in. This place was even roomier than they had imagined, as they ended up exploring several rooms, most of which looked like personal bedrooms, it was a big place. The prior inhabitants have been living here for a while, so it was a bit sad that they died so unnecessarily, as simply, they could've kept their homes if their master wasn't so rash. These dead mages were one of the unluckiest humans in any universe!Apart from the bedrooms, they also saw a few workshops. Though they understood that one of them was a forge, and one of them was an alchemy lab, they couldn't nearly understand what two of the other workshops were about, on the count that the tools there were very foreign to them.Anyway, even though they explored most of the castle, they couldn't find any lever of sorts to open the door. The mechanics of the main door seemed very complex as well, they were connected to a bunch of old, large mechanical bolts, springs, and other
Chapter 158 - The Centipedes
Skendus, Arvena, and Ortana crossed the portal that they’ve discovered. They were immediately overwhelmed by the exclusive shades of red here at first, and then they made sure to be cautious of every step they took, because they didn't know what to expect here. For all they knew, they could be overwhelmed by a bunch of Demon Beetles at any second, and they would've been none the wiser, because they couldn't even tell the trees apart from the bushes around here. Caution was beyond necessary!“Aah, do you smell that?” Arvena asked, after a deep sigh. “Do you smell the mana? This has to be a needle universe, they're so secretive, and very hard to get to!”“A needle universe, huh? That's interesting, but I can't really smell mana like you can.” Skendus admitted, and Ortana was just as helpless. “There’s a lot of mana in the air, more than in Valporovus, actually.” She insisted, and then she pitched. “Maybe we can stay here for a while? Assuming that we don't get attacked by bugs. My mana
Chapter 157 - I gots me a universe"
Timothy and Gustav knew how to close that portal now, so they virtually had no other reason to stay in this castle any longer. With that said, they made their way to the door, but after they ran down the staircase that led to the main hall, they were quickly reminded that there was a gigantic door in front of them. It was a door that they couldn't open, at least not without destroying it!“We should burn it down,” Gustav pitched.“No… that door is half a meter thick, it'll take forever. We'll be dead by the time it burns down.” He pointed out.With that considered, they had to figure out a smarter way to get out of here. Jumping through a window might do the trick, but of course, they had to walk back upstairs to find one of the few windows that were in the castle, and furthermore, they had to cut through the cell bars just to jump out. It was a lengthy process which could lead to their demise, just as quickly as their first idea.The two of them were stumped, and ten seconds later, t
Chapter 156 - The Devil's Kiss
Timothy was very close to a heart attack, but his willpower was unbreakable, he wasn't afraid of death! However, he didn’t want to die so randomly either, so he put something in motion to try and save his life.Gustav seemed to be oblivious through all of this, it took him a while to realize that something was wrong with his friend. When he saw Timothy holding his chest, he thought that he was choking on a cricket leg or something, so he patted him on the back!The old master hadn't attacked Gustav yet, and this was for the best, because he helped create a great diversion. Timothy leaned forward after he was patted on the back, as if to comfort himself a bit, but in reality, he was just trying to hide his hands under the table.A second later, a single bolt flew out of Timothy's open, leather bag of bony bolts, and it darted towards the master! He had been summoning the Bone Multiplier ability while his hands were under the table, and was strong enough to launch a single bolt.It was
Chapter 155 - "You must help"
Tonirus led his guests across another portion of the castle. They crossed a small library, and this library didn't look too significant, so they didn't even stop to look at it, or ask questions about its contents either.They were led to a dining hall. It was big, with a sizable table along the middle, and plenty of chairs too. This hall was meant to house the entire sect from the looks of it!“Sit, please, I'll go and get our Sect Master.” Tonirus said, and then walked out of the room.While he walked out, he snapped his fingers, and a bunch of silverware started floating in response. The silverware gently landed in front of Timothy, and Gustav, and the two of them were fairly amused by this light display of power.“You'd never guess that someone would use telekinesis for house chores,” He said, as it was very fun for him to see something other than bones float around for once. “Seems like a waste, though, right? They could be lifting houses and shit, but they lift spoons.”“I think
Chapter 154 - "Where's Tim?"
“What do you mean he disappeared five days ago?” Skendus asked, and he was beyond worried. “Timothy disappeared first, and Gustav, one of our guards is said to disappear within the same timeframe as him, someone saw the two of them together up on a hill. We're quite certain that it was Gustav who signaled us, but when we got there, they were gone, and our best guess is that they got severely wounded in battle.” A guard explained, and his tone was rather formal, he almost sounded unapologetic.It wasn't too hard to believe that Timothy might have died, because he was generally reckless, and got himself into trouble quite often. Paired with the fact that a literal god may beam down here at any time, and kill them all together, his death became all the more believable. Arvena was here in the camp too, and she wasn't so appreciative of the other's tone, so she asked. “Well, did you find their bodies? Also, where’s Ortana?” “Ortana is out looking for Timothy’s body. Our scouts report th
Chapter 153 - The Light Feet sect
Timothy and Gustav eventually made it to the castle. They hadn't been attacked by anything else ever since they killed that mantis, which was weird, but they were happy about it nonetheless, because neither of them wanted to pour their mana points on every corner along the way.They discovered that the castle had a big, wooden door, which surely kept the outside world away. The main entrance was ten-meters tall, while the castle itself was about fifty meters tall. It was the largest building Timothy had seen ever since he stepped into Valporovus, he was impressed!Anyway, such large doors were quite difficult to push, especially for tiny goblins such as the two of them. If the door was barred from the other side, then it was virtually impossible to enter this castle, and this was concerning, because neither of them wanted to walk around in this red hell right now. They wanted to rest, even though they didn't feel good about entering a mysterious castle.“Any bright ideas this time?” T
Chapter 152 - "A Castle?"
Timothy and Gustav continued to explore the forest of sorts that they were surrounded with. The both of them were quiet as they walked, because since they couldn’t see the creatures around them, who were typically camouflaged, they wanted to try and hear them instead. This was their best course of action, and they were willing to burn the whole forest down if it came up to that point, because this place held wildlife that were very hostile to the goblin kind, after all. If beetles went through the portal, so can every other insect in here, and they took that into consideration. The two of them were quiet, and the further they walked, the more accepting they became of something that they noticed. This forest had a single, straight path between it, and this path led back to the portal that they’ve left behind. There were sections where the red grass was trimmed, as if someone tried to make this path more walkable, and this was very difficult to miss! They couldn’t miss it, because as e
