Side Chapter

Short Bus was a Great White Shark, and as far as he was concerned, the undisputed apex species of the ocean in the same way humans were the undisputed apex species of the land and sky.

He had been born off the coast of South Africa, and grown to maturity there as well. He enjoyed a brief moment of fame when he was featured in a YouTube video. He felt he had been horribly tricked into jumping out of the ocean by a fake seal that had been dragged behind a boat; if they were going to put him on camera, they could have at least used a real seal.

He had always been unusually intelligent for a shark, coming to the surface almost every night to ponder the stars and the moon. More impressive, he realized the moon moved in a cycle, and even began to organize his mind around that oldest and most reliable clock on Earth.

He did not like dolphins, or killer whales, or other certain deep sea creatures mankind had never caught a glimpse of. Each and every one of them thought they were the real rulers of the ocean, but Short Bus knew they were wrong because he knew he was right.

In addition to his intelligence, he was also unusually large, even among the already huge great white sharks. He liked to believe he would never stop growing bigger, and someday would be able to eat a killer whale. In. One. Bite.

He had dreamed about it some nights; his primitive animal consciousness playing with his memories, changing the reality of him running from a whale, to the whale running from him. Some cognitive scientist would have given up an arm to scan Short Bus's brain if they had known what kind of activity was going on up there.

Because he was so smart, he knew he was dying. When the water had been pulled back, he had tried to fight it, but no-one can stand against nature.

He should have died in the rush of water, should have been rolled and torn and broken; yet, he had seen a strange trail of light and followed it. It was as though a path through the disaster had appeared to him, and guided him away from the worst of the ripping forces.

Then, when the wave surged towards land the path appeared one last time, and Short Bus placed his faith in it.

“So much for that,” he telepathically projected even though there was no-one around. He was resting in a shallow pool of warming saltwater, which only covered a single gill and had formed in the hollow of a gigantic tree.

He had crashed into a weird crystal and initialized the level system. He had gotten a couple of skills and racial traits in the brief moment before he slammed into a tree.

As of yet he had not blacked out, but it was coming.

“Ah,” Short Bus mused, wishing he had the kind of flexible face Ben had. He made it look so easy to tell a joke, or share a feeling. Short Bus had no muscles in his face, except the ones for his jaw, and there was really only one thing he could do with that.

Bite.

“He's a good kid,” Short Bus said, “this'll be good for him. A little loss. Boy, I remember when I lost my buddy. That was rough, but sharks like me swim alone.”

Short Bus delighted in the ability to use language, something that was very new to him. All the thoughts and emotions he'd ever experienced were suddenly. . . available, and packaged in neat, easy to retrieve and understand boxes. Even the concept of a package was new to him, and he loved it.

Dying like this was very uncomfortable. The human equivalent would be a collapsed lung, broken ribs, and a dwindling air supply.

“It was fun watching him shoot through the water like a fish,” Short Bus said, reviewing his favorite memories. All of them featured Ben in some way or another; except the time he was harassing the Orcas. That one was all Short Bus.

His vision went black and he faded out.

[You have gained the class: Pirate!]

[You have participated in a raid which destroyed a high grade Town Crystal!]

[You have achieved level 1! You have achieved level 2! You have. . .]

[You have achieved level 10!]

[Your racial trait Evolution can be activated, or abandoned.]

[You have multiple Evolution options available to you.]

Short Bus floated in the void between sleep and death, looking at his two choices, feeling the urge to weep.

[Megalodon]

[The undisputed, largest, most powerful creature in the ocean. This is a final evolution. This option will not be available to you again.]

It was right there. Everything Short Bus had ever wanted, and all he had to do. . .

“All I wanted to do was swallow a killer whale whole,” he said, true sadness in his heart as he selected the only option which would allow him to survive.

[Your levels have been reset!]

[Your class has been reset!]

His eyes opened for just a moment, and he felt his body start to shift, his pliable bones rearranging into a skeleton with a more solid structure.

He took a breath for the first time through his mouth, and the air tasted sweet on his tongue.

His vision started to go black once again, and he chuckled, the sound physical and telepathic at the same time.

“Who am I kidding, Ben wouldn't last two seconds without me.”

Then Short Bus passed out, and the transformation continued.