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! He enjoyed it quite a bit.

This time around, he was working hard in order to progress as well, rather than to just survive, like he did so far. Life was far more interesting, when he didn't have to worry about food for once! He wanted power.

Anyway, after snooping around the reef for less than an hour, he found himself floating back towards his den. The den he called home was more of a ditch, which was hidden under coral and sea plants. It was an interesting and useful place, because a bunch of tiny critters often ended up there, and he was hoping to find a few more of them today, for the sake of getting some quick points!

However, before he got there, Tim's senses tingled. He was suddenly more alert, as he noticed some commotions in his very den!

"Something big is in there, fucking huge…" He thought, and then immediately found a place to hide.

Tim was a small stingray, so he managed to nosedive, and slip deep within a coral crack, almost immediately. His senses were tingling, and they advised him not to face whatever was lurking in his den. Common sense encouraged it as well!

Instead of confronting the beast, he simply stalked the spot, for about half an hour. Throughout this time bracket, he got a couple of glimpses of what lurked in his den.

"That fucker is large, long and very dark skinned… or, blue-ish? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Harold stole my fucking house! The fuck would he do there? He wouldn't fit… unless he has a kink for tight places now, or something?" Tim thought.

Regardless of what was happening, Tim had to keep his peace, and play it safe. It was a terrible idea to confront a three-meter long eel right now, especially since he didn’t have an ounce of destructive magic to his aid! He only had a bit of venom on his tail, but that wasn’t enough to kill an eel, no. It was best if he avoided his home, his den, completely!

Tim was furious about it, he thought. "This fucking vendetta just got real… I'll be back for you, Harold. I will mount your head on my wall, eventually!"

Afterwards, he carefully snuck out of that crack within the coral, and made some distance away from his den. Survival was the ultimate goal, after all, and if he was to get his revenge, then he needed a lot of points first! Points and upgrades, that is.

For the sake of points, Tim planned to swim deeper within this massive, coral reef this time around. He hadn't found anything to kill so far, and figured that he had to expand his hunting grounds in order to progress. However, before he made it twenty meters away from his den, the system spammed him with a little announcement, which made him reconsider his course.

She said, [Timothy, I have three new tasks for you, official system tasks, that is. You're in a hunt for points right now, so it’s appropriate to introduce you to some tasks that pay well.]

This was the best announcement he could've hoped for, it definitely shifted his mood for the better! Anyway, in order to carefully listen and focus on what the system had to say, he hid in a little hole within the stretch of red coral, and then listened to her patiently.

The system then went into detail about the matter, she added. [Task number three = Locate and kill at least twenty sardines! They swim in schools of fish, and often are really easy to kill, so good luck with that. If you succeed, you will get fifty system points as a reward, and of course you get to keep any point you make by killing the sardines.]

"Alright, that's fantastic!" He celebrated, "I'll get that spooky, magical breath in no time!"

The system didn't celebrate with him, instead, much like a computer, she continued to explain the couple of other tasks that were available. She was efficient, so she avoided small talk once more, as she often did.

The system added, [Task number four = Put your depth durability to the test and to its limits, by swimming three hundred meters under water. This task is a bit dangerous, but otherwise it's rather easy to do, so it'll only get you thirty system points.]

"Okay, that's fair." He thought.

That task may even be the easiest task he ever had to do, because he'd be able to achieve it within minutes! A task like this was definitely easier than poking at random, explosive or bubonic urchins in exchange for a couple of points, so he didn’t complain about this low-paying task at all! The next task, however, sounded a lot more interesting.

The system said, [Task number five = Locate and meditate near a bulge of thick, undersea mana roots! This species of roots is a bit rare, so if you find a bundle of them, you'll be rewarded with a hundred whole points!]