Gray absorbed the three Razorwing Ray corpses one by one, his feeding surface working through the dense, silver-scaled flesh. The taste was faintly metallic, like licking a coin, but the biomass was substantial. His HP and MP climbed steadily as the wounds of the fight faded into memory.
He pulled up his status screen, the golden text materializing in the dark water.
STATUS MENU
Name: Gray Ashford
Species: Aurelia abyssalis — Tidal Reaper (Hydrodynamic Abyssal Aurelia Variant)
Level: 30
Title: Colony Killer, Exterminator, Cold-Blooded Killer
Stats:
· HP: 830 / 830
· MP: 650 / 650
· ATK: 97
· DEF: 79
· SPD: 173
· INT: 73
· LUK: 25
Stat Points: 20
Skill Points: 2
He allocated without hesitation. Ten points into SPD, six into ATK, four into DEF.
[SPD: 173 → 183]
[ATK: 97 → 103]
[DEF: 79 → 83]
[HP MAX: 830 → 870]
The skill points went into Riptide Slash and Flow State.
[RIPTIDE SLASH — Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]
[FLOW STATE — Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]
Cindy’s voice came, soft and curious. "So what’s your plan now?"
Gray turned toward the open darkness, his serrated bell margin cutting through the water with barely a ripple.
’Maybe I’ll try heading to a new area,’ he said, his mental voice calm. ’I’m also looking for the monster that dragged me down here. But I don’t know if it’s already dead... or still up there somewhere.’
"The monster that dragged you down here... You think it might still be alive?"
’I don’t know,’ he admitted. ’But if it’s still alive, I’ll tear it apart.’
Cindy let out a soft, almost amused hum. "That’s very confident of you."
’It dragged me down here when I was weak,’ Gray said, his mental voice cold. ’I’m not weak anymore.’
He pulled up his status screen again, scrolling past the main stats to the trait list.
Pending Traits:
· Reflective Skin (3/5)
· Adaptive Camouflage (2/5)
· Blade Fin Edge (1/5)
· Mental Fortitude (1/3)
· Undying Heart (1/5)
· Hydrodynamic Frame (1/5)
· Toxic Resilience (1/3)
’But before that,’ he said slowly, ’I’m going to hunt some specific monsters.’
Cindy let out a light, almost dismissive hum. "Do as you like. It’s not like I can go anywhere, I’m always stuck to you anyway."
Gray swam past a cluster of small crabs and shellfish, their shells clicking faintly as they scuttled out of his path.
’If you don’t like it, you can leave,’ he said, his mental voice flat.
"Wow. How cruel," Cindy replied, though there was no real hurt in her voice. "You know I can’t move on my own."
’Then stop complaining.’
"I’m not complaining. I’m just saying—"
Gray’s tentacles snapped taut. His body went still in the water, every sense locking onto a faint, familiar vibration ahead.
’Quiet. I found one.’
"One of what?"
’The lure-type. A monster that hides in the sand and uses bait to draw prey in.’
’I’ve fought something like this before. I won’t get caught twice.’
Gray fired Riptide Slash.
The crescent blade of compressed water tore through the dark and slammed into the sand where the light pulsed. The impact exploded outward, scattering sediment in a thick cloud.
The monster erupted from its hiding place.
Its flattened body burst out of the sand, pale and wide, its mouth a gaping crescent lined with needle teeth. The golden lure on its forehead flickered frantically as it turned toward the direction of the attack, its small black eyes scanning the water for the source.
It never saw Gray.
He was already above it, his bell margin glowing faintly as he charged Cavitation Pulse.
’Yo.’
The blast hit it point-blank. The superheated water and crystal shrapnel tore through the creature’s exposed back before it could even orient itself. Steam billowed through the water, and the monster’s body convulsed, its lure dimming as it shrieked.
Gray drifted back, watching the creature thrash in the sand.
Cindy let out a short, impressed laugh. "Wow. You’ve become such a bully now."
’It works,’ Gray replied, already charging another Riptide Slash. ’That’s all that matters.’
The second Riptide Slash struck the creature across its flank, splitting its pale hide in a spray of dark fluid.
Something hit Gray’s mind like a wave of static.
’What... is this...? My thoughts feel scrambled...’
His vision blurred. His tentacles twitched erratically, and for a moment, he forgot which way was up. The world tilted, and his bell pulsed in confused, unsteady rhythms.
Cindy’s voice cut through the fog, sharp and urgent. "Gray! It’s a psychic attack! It’s trying to scramble your mind!"
Gray forced his thoughts back together and said.
’Tch... cheap tricks...’
His tentacle pressed against the side of his bell, as if steadying a spinning head.
’You think this is enough to stop me?’
He pushed through the static and deployed Neurotoxic Drift at maximum concentration. The dense venom cloud spread through the water, invisible and relentless.
The monster’s shriek cut off as the toxin seeped into its wounds. Its lure flickered violently, and it twisted, trying to burrow back into the sand.
Gray’s mind cleared. The psychic pressure faltered, and he could feel the creature’s panic through the water.
’Too late for that.’
He activated Abyssal Lance.
The water howled around him as he closed the distance in an instant. Before the monster could disappear beneath the seabed, his barbs tore into its side.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 112 DAMAGE]
’Now — OVERCHARGE!’
The electricity arced through the water and into the monster’s body, illuminating the darkness in a violent flash. The creature’s shriek turned into a choking gurgle as the current fried its nervous system.
[OVERCHARGE — 92 DAMAGE]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The monster went rigid, its lure dimming, its jaw hanging open. Gray wrapped his tentacles around its throat and squeezed.
’Tricks won’t save you.’
Then pain exploded through his limbs.
’AHGH!’
[-28 HP]
[PIERCING SPINES — 15 damage over 5 seconds]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 842 / 870]
He released the monster instantly, yanking his tentacles back as dozens of needle-thin spines pierced through his flesh. The barbs had erupted from the creature’s entire body, a defensive burst that turned its pale hide into a living pincushion.
Gray drifted back, his tentacles stinging with fresh wounds. Thin trails of his own translucent blood seeped into the water.
’What the...’
The monster was already moving, using the moment of distraction to writhe toward the sand. Its body rippled, and the spines along its back clicked together in a warning rhythm, ready to fire again.
Cindy’s voice came, tense. "Gray! It has spines covering its whole body! It released them when you grabbed it!"
’I noticed,’ Gray muttered, his mental voice sharp with pain. ’You’ve got a lot of tricks, huh?’
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