[TRAIT WATER FLOW MASTERY — PREVIEW]
« Analysis »
A rare control trait derived from creatures with advanced hydrokinesis. Allows the user to sense, manipulate, and generate water currents with precision, shaping the battlefield through pressure and flow.
Effect at Completion:
· Grants a new active skill — [Hydrokinetic Grasp]. Generate powerful water currents to bind, push, or crush targets. Damage and control strength scale with INT.
· Passive: 10% increased movement speed while underwater.
· Passive: 15% reduced effect of enemy water-based attacks against you.
Gray stared at the description, his tentacles twitching with interest.
’Hoo... interesting trait,’ he murmured, still floating above the Mirage Squid’s corpse. ’If I can get this, water pressure attacks like that won’t be as dangerous anymore and I’d be faster too.’
Cindy’s voice came, weak but curious. "Are you planning to hunt more of those things?"
’Not now,’ Gray said. ’That thing was level 33 and i barely survived. But later, after I level up a few more times... yeah. I’ll come back for the rest of the fragments.’
He pulled up his status screen, the golden text glowing in the dark water.
[Level: 32]
[Stat Points: 20]
[Skill Points: 2]
He allocated carefully. Ten points into SPD, five into ATK, three into DEF, and two into LUK.
[SPD: 193 → 203]
[ATK: 103 → 108]
[DEF: 83 → 86]
[HP MAX: 870 → 900]
[LUK: 25 → 27]
The skill points went into Riptide Slash and Flow State.
[RIPTIDE SLASH — Lv. 4 → Lv. 5]
[FLOW STATE — Lv. 2 → Lv. 3]
Then he turned toward the Mirage Squid’s corpse, still drifting near the seafloor. Its colors had faded to a dull grey, and its tentacles hung limp in the water.
’Now... let’s eat.’
He pressed his feeding surface against the squid’s mantle and began to absorb. The flesh was dense and strange, with a texture unlike anything he’d eaten before. The taste was briny and sharp, with an almost electric undertone that made his tentacles tingle.
’Not bad,’ he thought. ’Actually... pretty good.’
Cindy made a small, disgusted sound. "You’re really eating that thing?"
’It’s the best meal I’ve had in days,’ Gray replied. ’You don’t know what you’re missing.’
"I’ll pass."
Gray continued feeding, his body slowly restoring itself. The cracks in his bell began to seal. By the time he finished, he felt almost whole again.
He drifted upward, scanning the area around him.
’Alright. Let’s head back to the shelter.’
"Yes, please," Cindy said with relief. "I’ve had enough excitement for one day."
Gray let out a slow pulse, his tentacles trailing through the dark water as they made their way back toward the shelter.
’Yeah... that was exciting,’ he admitted. ’But we nearly didn’t make it.’
"I’ve been thinking about something too." Cindy said.
Gray passed over a sand crab half-buried in the seafloor, its shell barely visible in the gloom. It didn’t move as he drifted above it, and he didn’t bother with it.
’What is it?’
"If I stay like this... I won’t be able to help you."
’What are you talking about? You helped a lot. With your shield, I won. If you weren’t there, that squid would’ve crushed me.’
Cindy was happy to hear that, but she said, "No, Gray. We almost died. If that monster had used its shield again, your attacks wouldn’t have been able to break through. We only survived because it made a mistake."
A small, glowing fish darted past in the distance, its body pulsing with soft blue light. Gray watched it vanish into the dark.
’The monster didn’t use its shield because it was already weakening,’ he said. ’You helped me push it that far. That’s not nothing.’
"But you also escaped the water pressure because the squid was caught off guard," Cindy insisted. "If it hadn’t been surprised... you would’ve died."
Gray’s gaze shifted downward, to where the locket hung against his bell.
’So what are you thinking?’ he asked quietly.
Cindy hesitated briefly, as if steeling herself, then said, "I’ve been thinking... that I want to become a monster too. Just like you."
Gray stopped swimming.
The current moved around him, soft and cold, but he stayed where he was, his tentacles hanging motionless in the water. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. He just floated there, processing what Cindy had just said.
’...Are you serious?’
"I’m serious."
’You won’t be able to go back to being human again,’ he said slowly. ’Once you become a monster, that’s it. There’s no undoing it.’
"I know," Cindy said. "I’ve thought about it. But if we stay like this, we’ll never escape this place. I can’t just keep relying on you while doing nothing."
Gray tried to ask her again to confirm her decision.
’You really want to become a monster? Like me?’
"Yes," Cindy said, her voice steady. "I’ve made up my mind."
Gray was silent again. The weight of her words settled between them, heavy and irreversible. He knew better than anyone what it meant to leave behind a human life. He’d done it without a choice.
But Cindy was choosing this.
’...Alright,’ he said at last. ’If that’s what you truly want, I won’t stop you.’
Cindy’s voice brightened immediately.
"Then it’s decided! I want a monster that’s cute and sweet and beautiful! And if possible, one that can use magic."
Gray let out a slow pulse, already swimming again and veering around a cluster of dark coral.
’Do you think that kind of monster just appears? Don’t make unreasonable requests.’
"Then... I also want a monster that can regenerate," Cindy continued, completely ignoring him. "And one with pretty eyes! And maybe wings? Or fins that look like wings?"
’Listen to me...’
Cindy kept rambling, her voice growing more animated with each new addition. Gray let her talk, his tentacles twitching faintly in something close to amusement. She sounded less like a trapped spirit and more like a girl excitedly planning a new dress.
He just kept swimming toward the shelter, a faint smile curling in his thoughts.
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