I'm a Stingray?

Chapter 12 - Magical Stingray!

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!

“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.]