Chapter 8: Elementalist
The dawn came later than Marco thought it would, or perhaps just felt that way. He had heard older children graduating into their class talking about how they suddenly needed less sleep, how the stats buoyed the body to a point where the normal reluctance to get out of bed and to work was much lighter.
Whether that was true or not, Marco was suddenly awake and completely alert. He couldn’t tell in that moment whether that was really because his constitution score was rewriting the script on what his body needed to survive, or if it was Elisa screaming for him to wake up as half of the sun peeking over the horizon illuminated the massive body of a truly giant fish coming towards them.
“About time!” Elisa yelled. She was leaning almost all the way out of the boat, holding her hand in the water. “It’s been coming for about a minute now. It’s getting faster. Can you make the boat move any quicker than it is?”
“No.” Marco jumped to the wheel and gave it a spin. “Not much. But I can make it work harder.”
The fish was trying to broadside them. It would have been the narrowest part of the fish body hitting the widest portion of the boards. In other words, it was the strongest weapon of the fish against the weakest part of the ship. As improved as the ship had been after absorbing a fish power, it wouldn't hold up to that kind of damage.
Marco angled the ship into the path of the fish, cutting slightly to the right of its trajectory.
“You sure about this?” Elisa asked.
“As sure as I can be. You think the fish will turn too?” Marco said.
“Maybe, but turning takes effort,” Elisa said as she plunged her hand in the water. Soon, there was a small gleam coming from that part of the waves.
“What are you doing? Trying to feed it?”
“I’m trying something. Those levels you got me last night did something to my skills. I have an idea, but we’d have to get pretty close to the fish to do that. Can you do it?”
Marco thought about his options and read the monster description for good measure. Knowing things tended to help in this kind of situation.
| Bladefish Variant (Large) This Bladefish is a mutant, a naturally occurring variation on the normal beast made possible by system support and guidance of the species' normal breeding process. While rare, such variations are not unheard of. The particular enemy you have spotted has assumed a protector function over local schools of Bladefish, spending most of its time hunting the wildlife that would normally control their numbers. While not specifically adapted to have increased strength, the sheer size and weight of the animal ensures that it will bring more force to bear on its enemies anyway. It is an outsized danger, and should be treated as such. If it has any weakness, it is structural. Its abnormal size puts especial strain on its muscles when it is forced into quick, violent maneuvers.
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