Chapter 84: Vermilion Bandfish
Gray fired Riptide Slash.
The crescent blade of compressed water tore through the dark and missed. It sliced past the monster’s flank, carving a trench in the sand three feet to the left.
’Tch! My aim’s gone to shit.’
The monster twisted toward him, its pale hide rippling as another volley of needle-spines shot from its back. Gray pulsed sideways, but the spines spread wide. Two caught him across the bell.
[-12 HP]
[-14 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 816 / 870]
He gritted through the pain and fired another Riptide Slash. This one clipped the creature’s tail, splitting the flesh but not enough to stop it.
’Tch! My aim is getting worse. The psychic interference is still messing with my head.’
Cindy’s voice came, sharp. "Then stop relying on aim! Use something that can’t miss!"
’Right.’
He charged Neurotoxic Drift at maximum concentration and deployed it in a wide sphere around himself. The monster, already wounded and trying to burrow, had no choice but to pass through it.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 22 DAMAGE]
A violent tremor ran through its frame, the creature’s wail dissolving into a choking rasp as the toxin flooded its system. It abandoned its burrow attempt and lunged at Gray, mouth gaping, lure blazing with desperate golden light.
The instinct to flee surged, but Gray buried it, his bell already flaring with Overcharge as the monster closed in.
The electricity erupted from his bell just as the monster’s teeth closed around his margin. The current arced directly into its open mouth, through its throat, into its core.
[OVERCHARGE — 90 DAMAGE]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The creature went rigid, its jaws frozen wide as the light in its lure guttered and died.
Gray pulled himself free and floated above the stunned creature. His bell margin was torn, but he ignored the pain.
’Now stay still.’
Cavitation Pulse charged. The water around his bell superheated, the crystalline structures along his margin glowing white-hot. He aimed at the sand directly beneath it.
The blast struck.
The seafloor exploded upward in a geyser of molten sand and boiling water. The shockwave lifted the monster’s body and slammed it against a nearby rock formation, cracking its pale hide in a dozen places. Steam billowed through the water like smoke from a dying fire.
The monster twitched, still alive, but barely. Gray drifted toward it, his tentacles trailing behind him like ribbons of dark water. His serrated bell margin gleamed.
’You should have stayed buried.’
One final Riptide Slash. He didn’t miss this time.
The crescent blade caught the creature across the throat, splitting it open in a spray of dark fluid. The monster’s body went limp, its spines drooping, its lure dark and lifeless.
[PSYCHIC ANGLER DEFEATED — 680 EXP]
Gray let out a slow breath.
’...Finally.’
Cindy’s voice came, soft but firm. "You were sloppy."
’Thanks for the encouragement.’
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Mental Fortitude" (2/3)]
Gray stared at the notification for a moment, then turned his attention to the Psychic Angler’s corpse still hanging in the water. Its flesh was pale, slimy, and leaking a dark, viscous fluid that clouded the surrounding water.
He drifted closer and pressed his feeding surface against the creature’s body, beginning to absorb it.
The taste hit him like a wave of rot.
’UGH—’
He stopped immediately. The flesh felt like decayed plants soaked for days in stagnant water — bitter, sour, and carrying the heavy taste of wet earth.
He spat it out, pushing the half-dissolved flesh away from his feeding surface.
’This tastes terrible,’ he said with disgust.
"That’s because you eat everything without thinking."
’Let’s just find other prey,’ Gray muttered, already pulsing away from the corpse. ’I’m not eating that thing again.’
He swam through the dark water, his tentacles sweeping ahead, his senses sharp for any sign of life.
Then he sensed it.
A fish. Small, no more than eight inches long, but its body blazed with color so bright it seemed to glow against the darkness — vivid orange, electric blue, and stripes of neon yellow that pulsed like a heartbeat. It moved in short, jerky bursts, its fins fanning out like tiny wings.
Gray slowed, watching it from a distance.
’Usually,’ he said, ’when something’s that bright, it means it’s carrying deadly poison.’
Cindy’s voice came, curious. "Where did you learn that?"
Gray’s answer was simple.
’Instinct.’
He moved closer, keeping his distance. The fish didn’t seem to notice him; it was too busy nibbling at something on a nearby rock.
The system flickered to life as he focused on the creature.
[VERMILION BANDFISH — Level 18]
HP: 85 / 85
Threat Level: LOW
« Analysis »
A small, slow-moving fish known for its brilliant crimson-and-yellow banding and potent defensive toxin. The Vermilion Bandfish secretes a paralytic poison through its skin, making it dangerous to eat for most predators. Its bright stripes serve as a warning — this creature is not worth the effort.
’There it is,’ Gray said. ’I might be able to get Toxic Resilience from this thing.’
"Are you really going to fight that thing? Isn’t it dangerous?" Cindy asked.
’Relax. I’ll attack from a distance so I don’t touch its poison.’
He drifted into position, keeping a careful distance from the Vermilion Bandfish.
’Riptide Slash first.’
He fired the crescent blade of compressed water. It shot through the dark and struck the fish cleanly across its flank. The impact spun it through the water, its bright colors flashing in a panic.
[RIPTIDE SLASH — 78 DAMAGE]
[VERMILION BANDFISH — HP: 7 / 85]
Before it could escape, Gray fired Cavitation Pulse. The superheated jet of water and crystal shrapnel ripped through the dark and struck the fish square in the center of its body.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 58 DAMAGE]
[VERMILION BANDFISH DEFEATED — 110 EXP]
The fish went still instantly. Its bright stripes faded to a dull grey as it floated lifeless in the water.
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Toxic Resilience" (2/3)]
’One more to go,’ he said.
Cindy let out a soft breath. "That was... surprisingly easy."
’It’s a Level 18 fish. I’m Level 30. Of course it was easy.’
"I still don’t understand this ’level’ thing, but you didn’t even get close. You really weren’t kidding about the poison."
’Why risk it?’ Gray replied, already scanning the water for another bright shape. ’If I can kill it from a distance, there’s no reason to touch it.’