2024-10-18 19:58:51Tim returned to his stingray body, and now, he had a lot of time to kill before he could explore again. The wonders which were sandwiched between the sky enthralled him, so he couldn’t wait to get up there again, a week from now!
Exploring the skies may get boring at some point, but the rewards were plenty! Tim gathered up a bunch of system points while he was up there, for example, and that was the best reward of all. He intended to use those points fully, but he wasn't in a rush right now. Upgrades were expensive, so he hoped to find a couple more critters to kill first, before going on a shopping spree later on! It was a responsible idea. "Ah, this'll be more than boring, it'll be exhausting…" He sighed. It wasn't easy to swim for extended periods of time, but right now, he didn’t really have anything better to do. Tim stretched his fins a bit, and then started exploring the reef! This place was massive, especially since it had complimenting cracks and tunnels within it, which made the reef all the more expansive! So just like that, he got occupied for a solid two hours, within a puny, thirty-meter radius across the reef! He barely reaped any fruits from this labor. There were plenty of fish across the reef as well as other species, ones which may or may not give him points, but he couldn't catch either of them, as they were too fast and very good at hiding! "Bloody hell! Why don't they just give up? They can’t be having fun here!" Tim referred to those fish, he was very irritated. Throughout this time span, Tim only managed to find about seven marble shrimp, and four ignatius crabs. Such a haul wasn't too bad, but these creatures only gave him a point per kill, and that was what made things difficult. He didn’t manage to accumulate as many points as he hoped for, and that aside, he could barely even eat half of these critters either! Tim wasn’t so hungry, and the shrimp would put him to sleep if he ate them, so he only bit their heads off, and left their carcasses to float around. It was cruel, but a bit efficient. Considering the overall results, however, he wanted to call it quits here, and check out what upgrades he could buy from the system. Small-time hunting wasn't getting him anywhere. The system said that he had gathered 225 system points in total, and in hindsight, that amount did seem like a lot. He was eager to use them all, for progression's sake! Tim slipped through a bit of coral, and sought out a comfortable spot to rest on. He wanted to lay down on some sand, and have a layer of protection surrounding him as well. Safety was important, after all. However, it would appear that he slipped in the wrong hole. He swam into a wide place which was quite dark, but yet, it wasn't empty! Tim spotted a pair of light-blue eyes in the midst of darkness, and could only assume that these eyes belonged to some monstrous fish! He was getting stared at directly, and it was nerve wracking! "Hello, I'm Harold. Please, don't leave..." The inhabitant suddenly spoke out. "You can talk to stingrays… so, are you one? Let me see your tail." Tim followed along. Tim didn't trust this one, it was difficult to. That aside, he would only feel comfortable around other stingrays, so if this was another creature instead, then he planned to beam out of here! "I'm not a stingray, I'm an eel, kid. A shivering var-blood eel, to be exact." It said, and then added. "But please don't be scared, I'm not gonna hurt you… I need your help." Tim had tried to position his thunder-charged tail, the moment this thing said that it wasn’t a stingray. He wanted to burn the eel's eyes off, if not kill it, just to protect himself! Then again, a creature who pleaded for help wasn't so easy to kill or attack. He ended up asking, "Help with what? Also, how do you understand me? You're not a stingray… not even close." Harold got a bit irritated there, though he did answer. "I'm an eel, kid, and your language isn't that hard to understand. But please, listen and focus… I'm stuck here, have been stuck for months because this place really managed to fatten me up. I'm not as small as I used to be, and that's what's killing me now." With that being said, Tim was intimidated even more. He barely saw the eel's body, apart from small portions of its head, and yet he was still intimidated. If this thing was as big as it described itself to be, it could kill him in a blink! For that matter, he didn’t really feel comfortable about another eel being loose across the reef. It would be hazardous! Tim's better judgment convinced him to back away, and meanwhile he said. "I can't help you, Harold, sorry. Eat less and exercise… maybe that'll get you out of here?" "Oh, you'll help me." Harold insisted, and his voice sounded quite sleazy now. "You're looking for food, right boy? The sharks went on a feeding spree a few months ago, and they devastated most of the reef… damn, it's why I hid here to begin with, but, I do know where to find good food, special crabs, if you know what I mean…? Help me get out of this shithole, and I'll show you where the blue-clawed crabs are, I promise!" "Oh…" Tim sighed, and he was enthralled by this offer. "Well, how can I help you then?" With a hint of joy in his tone, Harold answered. "Look, sharks are assholes, but I did manage to make friends with a few of them. There should be a shark with flaming fins here, around the reef. Find him, and tell him to come and get me… his name is Drake, mention his name, and he won't eat you." "Shit… I saw that guy. This idea can kill me, Harold, so those crabs better be worth it." He sighed, and then left, by squeezing through a couple of short tunnels within the coral. On his way out, he even asked the system about these special crabs, but she didn't respond kindly. He would have to bite on those crabs himself, in order for the system to talk about said crabs. There could be many species of blue-colored crabs, and they couldn’t make any speculations without seeing, and tasting one of them, first hand. He couldn't cheat his way towards the good stuff. Anyway, Tim was very nervous about approaching a shark, as things could go horribly wrong along the way. He was excited though nonetheless, and couldn't wait to taste these special crabs as soon as possible!
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I'm a Stingray? Chapter 10 - Fish Vendetta
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 aro
I'm a Stingray? Chapter 11 - Upgraded Stingray
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
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'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
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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
