Chapter 107: A Predator’s Payday
Gray erupted from the seafloor like a spear of dark crystal, his serrated bell tearing through sand and stone as he launched himself into the chaos. The nearest survivor, a wounded Synthwing Serpent with two severed tendrils still dangling from its flank, barely had time to turn before his barbs punched through its skull.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[SUBTERRANEAN AMBUSH — 118 DAMAGE]
[SYNTHWING SERPENT DEFEATED — 1220 EXP]
’First blood is mine!’
He didn’t stop. His tentacles lashed out, wrapping around a Loricati whose central orb was cracked and leaking pale fluid. Grip Jaw locked on, crushing it in a single convulsive squeeze.
[PROC! GRIP JAW BONUS — CRUSHING BLOW]
[GRIP JAW — 54 DAMAGE]
[LORICATI DEFEATED — 620 EXP]
The battlefield had become a slaughterhouse. The surviving serpents were wounded, their bladed tails moving slower now, their silver eyes dulled by poison. The Loricati were scattered, many of their orbs shattered, their tendrils still twitching uselessly on the seafloor.
’Tch! You’re all so noisy. Just die quietly.’
A Loricati lashed out at him from the left. He twisted aside, Flow State bending the water around his body, and fired Riptide Slash point-blank into its central mass.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[RIPTIDE SLASH — 132 DAMAGE]
[LORICATI DEFEATED — 620 EXP]
A serpent dived from above, bladed tail aimed at his bell. Gray rolled, letting the crescent of displaced water pass so close it left a thin line of frost on his armor.
[-14 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 958 / 1010]
’Nice try.’
He fired Cavitation Pulse upward. The superheated jet caught the serpent in its exposed underbelly, punching through scale and flesh.
[PROC! CAVITATION PULSE — ARMOR BREAK]
[CAVITATION PULSE — 96 DAMAGE]
[SYNTHWING SERPENT — HP: 58 / 520]
The creature shrieked and fell, its body spiraling toward the seafloor. Gray followed, coiling his tentacles around its throat before slamming it into the sand.
’Not getting up from this one.’
[GRIP JAW — 40 DAMAGE]
[SYNTHWING SERPENT DEFEATED — 1220 EXP]
Two more Loricati drifted too close, their tendrils raised. Gray spun, firing Riptide Slash in a wide arc. The crescent blade carved through both of them at once.
[DOUBLE KILL!]
[RIPTIDE SLASH — 90 DAMAGE]
[RIPTIDE SLASH — 88 DAMAGE]
[LORICATI DEFEATED — 620 EXP]
[LORICATI DEFEATED — 620 EXP]
A wounded serpent tried to slither away into the rocks. Gray caught it with a tendril and yanked it back.
’Where do you think you’re going?’
[PROC! GRIP JAW — BONE BREAK]
[GRIP JAW — 58 DAMAGE]
[SYNTHWING SERPENT DEFEATED — 1220 EXP]
The largest remaining serpent let out a furious hiss and charged, bladed tail glowing faintly as it prepared one last attack. Gray met it head-on. Abyssal Lance activated, his body becoming a spear of dark crystal.
[CLASH!]
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 156 DAMAGE]
[SYNTHWING SERPENT DEFEATED — 1220 EXP]
The serpent’s body split apart, pale fluid clouding the water. Gray burst through the other side, breathing hard, his crystalline barbs slick with gore.
Cindy’s voice came, strained but sharp. "Gray, the last serpent is trying to flee!"
’Let it try.’
Gray shot forward, his bell skimming the seafloor as he pursued the fleeing predator. The serpent was fast, but its movements were jerky, its fins damaged by Loricati venom. It was running on instinct now, fear overriding its hunger.
’You came to my ocean, chased me through your hunting ground, and now you want to run?’
He dove beneath it, activated Subterranean Ambush, and erupted from the sand directly in front of the creature.
The serpent’s silver eyes widened. Gray saw his own reflection in them, a ghost of translucent crystal and lightning.
’Too late.’
[PROC! OVERCHARGE — PARALYSIS]
[OVERCHARGE — 142 DAMAGE]
[SYNTHWING SERPENT DEFEATED — 1220 EXP]
Blue-white lightning exploded from his bell, arcing through the water and into the serpent’s open mouth. The creature’s body lit up from within, every fin splaying wide before it went rigid and sank.
Gray hovered above the carnage, breathing hard. The battlefield was quiet now. The violet orbs were dark, the serpents were still, and the only movement was the slow drift of severed tendrils and scattered scales.
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 35.]
[20 Stat Points available for distribution.]
[2 Skill Points available.]
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 36.]
[20 Stat Points available for distribution.]
[2 Skill Points available.]
’Two levels at once... I wasn’t even paying attention.’
Cindy’s voice came, barely a whisper. "You killed them all..."
’They were already dying,’ Gray said, though even he didn’t sound convinced. ’I just... helped them along.’
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Ambush Predator" (4/5)]
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Ambush Predator" (5/5)]
[Trait Complete! Ambush Predator will be available as an evolution option at Level 40.]
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Hydrodynamic Frame" (2/5)]
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Hydrodynamic Frame" (3/5)]
[....]
[Trait Complete! Hydrodynamic Frame will be available as an evolution option at Level 40.]
’Haha! What a harvest!’ Gray’s voice boomed in his own head. ’I’m rich! I’m rich baby!’
He pulled up his status, the golden text materializing in the blood-tinged water.
[Level: 36]
[Stat Points: 40]
[Skill Points: 4]
He dumped the points like he’d been waiting his whole life.
Twenty points went into SPD, ten into ATK, six into DEF, and the last four into LUK.
[SPD: 228 → 248]
[ATK: 123 → 133]
[DEF: 97 → 103]
[HP MAX: 1010 → 1070]
[LUK: 36 → 40]
The skill points went into Abyssal Lance and Grip Jaw.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — Lv. 8 → Lv. 10 (MAX)]
[GRIP JAW — Lv. 5 → Lv. 7]
’Now... let’s eat.’
He descended toward the nearest serpent corpse, its long body still leaking pale fluid into the water. He pressed his feeding surface against its flank and began to absorb.
Cindy was quiet while he fed. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, almost subdued.
"This place... it’s become so quiet."
Gray paused, a half-absorbed Loricati still pressed against his feeding surface. He looked around. She was right. The Violet Stillness, which had once been full of pulsing orbs and skittering creatures, was now still in a different way.
’It’s because all the predators are dead,’ he said. ’Nothing left to make noise.’
"It feels... empty."
Gray resumed feeding, slower now.
’Empty can be good,’ he said. ’Quiet means we can explore without being ambushed.’
"You’re thinking of exploring more?"
’Of course,’ Gray said. ’This area is perfect. Whatever else is here, it’s probably hiding. And if something valuable was left behind... we’ll find it.’
Cindy made a thoughtful sound.
"Something valuable... like that giant clam pearl?"
’Exactly.’ Gray finished the Loricati and drifted upward. ’The abyss is full of treasures. We just have to be strong enough to take them.’