《Getting big in the Big Blue》Chapter 14
Advertisement
Sometimes, danger truly brings great reward. However, in my modest opinion, I much prefere great rewards with no danger. And that is why I am currently watching as two titans duke it out between themselves.
A giant turtle with two heads was engaged in a fight to death against an opponent that seemed to match it in almost every way: an equally large lobster with 4 claws so big they looked almost comical, if one disregarded just how deadly those things must be.
And then, there was me. I was somewhat longer than them, but they were still far, far bigger than me overall. Not that such a thing would ever dissuade me, of course.
These beasts were far above my current league when in their top condition, but... They'd be easy prey if they weakened each other.
And so, as the two titans fought, I focused on clearing the area of all bystanders, forcing most to flee and biting any that lingered too much.
By the end of their fight, I'd succesfully cleared the area and was hidden from sight, observing how healthy they were.
The lobster had lost one of it's claws entirely, and two of them looked out of commision. It also had various cracks on it's exoskeleton, which must have hurt a lot considering how careful it was with moving the cracked areas.
Meanwhile, the turtle had suffered even more. It's shell looked broken, and one of it's heads had been decapitated by a lucky strike from the lobster. Still, they both held on as they kept on fighting brutally.
And I, like the opportunist I was, struck when they were at their weakest. Just as the lobster looked about to triumph over the turtle, I rushed at it at lightning speed from behind and harshly bit into it's back. The lobster recoiled, but it was far too weak to do anything as my coils wrapped around it and squeezed.
It's exoskeleton had simply been too damaged already to put up much of a fight. With a sick crunch, the exoskeleton around my coils shattered, allowing me to reach into it's soft and squishy internal organs and flesh.
Advertisement
It died pretty quickly, but I still wasn't done. The moment I received it's death pop-up, I let go of the lobster and rushed at the turtle, who'd been trying to escape. However, it's fins had been broken during the brutal fight, and it was in no position to resist me either.
It quickly died once I latched myself onto it. In a way, it was a fitting end for such a defensive creature. It might have had the hardest shell I'd ever seen, but what use was it once it was broken? It's attack and speed were seriously underclassed.
When the turtle died as well, I knew I had to be quick. I bit the turtle on it's side and dragged it away, while coiling my body around one of the lobster's claws, also dragging it with me.
It was awkward swimming like this, and it was also very, very dangerous. Nonetheless, I made it back to the reef without encountering any other strong open-ocean fish. There were of course some other opportunists who tried to steal away my meal, but they were easy to repulse.
When I finally reached the reef, I allowed myself to relax and heaved a mental sigh of relief. This was the first time I went up against the stronger open-ocean beings, and it took a lot of courage to not flee when they first began to fight.
After all, the lobster had somehow managed to shatter a rock with just a swing of it's claw. That was just plain scary.
Nonetheless, I'd profited from this big times. Although I still couldn't feel emotions, my logical mind was jumping in false excitement.
I ignored the pop-ups for now and instead focused on swallowing the turtle first. I'm going to be honest here, it was a pretty disgusting sight. Even I didn't know I could dislodge my jaws so much that I was able to open it so wide. Still, I was thankful for the ability.
Advertisement
The lobster followed suit, and although they tasted very good, their shells made it a lot less tasty and also much harder to eat and digest. I'd give it a 7/10. More spice would be good.
Jokes aside, the experience I gained from these things was insane. I'd been hunting in the Killzone for around a week now, but I must have gained twice as much xp from just these two than all of my hunts combined, and then some more.
[Nameless] Has reached Lv. 16. 5 Status Points granted
[Nameless] Has reached Lv. 17. 5 Status Points granted
It was glorious. I'd already reached level 15 after a day of hunting in the Killzone, but for me to level up twice just like this... It made me wonder if I should risk it again.
... No. I was just very, very lucky this time around. If I'd been a bit slower or just unluckier, I would have easily been destroyed. I'd rather go for the slow but steady way.
I invested my points after some thought as I returned to my throne.
[Nameless] Adult Snakeling]
Age - 0 years
Level - 17
Constitution - 30
Strength - 20
Dexterity - 15
Intelligence - 15 (?)
Wisdom - 1
[Special] Poison - 10
Remaining Points - 0
Remaining Veteran Points - 0
Skills - (Bite Lv. 20), (Swim Lv. 20), (Extreme Constriction Lv. 11), (Headbutt lv. 10), (Inhale Lv. 9), (Venom Injection Lv. 20), (Poison Resistance Lv. 14)
After doing so, I decided that it was about time I look at the various evolutions. I knew this wasn't a choice to be made carelessly, as it might very well define my future.
Opening the Evolution menu, I observed the various options.
Evolution Options - Display all paths or only open ones?
I huffed, annoyed at the question. I didn't care about seeing all the paths, I just wanted to know what was available right now.
Open Paths
Queen Snakeling - Queen of the Snakeling Race. Allows for limited control over other snakelings. Requirements: Slay a King / Queen title holder. Warning: There can only ever be one queen / king of a race.
Reef Snake - Snake of the reefs. Allows for camouflage and increased stealth. Requirements: Be born in a reef.
Venom Serpent - Ocean snake that is extremely poisonous. Gives bonuses to venom attacks and intimidation buffs. Requirements: Be a snake, have sufficient venom stat, survive certain-death by poison.
I'll admit, as I looked through the three options I was presented, I was very much disappointed. They all seemed so... lame.
Thankfully, the system came to my rescue with some suggestions of it's own.
Possible Open Paths - Suggestions
Abyssal Snake - Snake of the deep oceans. Gives bonuses when in the deep ocean areas. Requirements: Visit the deep ocean area and survive.
Greater Ocean Serpent - Rare branch of the Snakeling race. Is bigger, stronger, and tougher than your average snakeling. Requirements: Be a level 20 snakeling
Colossal Serpent - Gigantic snake whose legends claim that it can one day swallow the world. Bonuses to strength, size, and power. Requirements: Bathe the aura of a Mighty Being, slay a King/queen title holder, reach maximum size for the Snakeling race, be level 20.
Alright, it should be obvious just which path I decided on. It took me just about half a second to decide that I would become a colossal serpent, or I would die trying.
With renewed determination, I made my way back to the killzone, more than ready for another meal.
... Or not, I decided, feeling extremely bloated with the two giants in my belly. Maybe some sleep would do me good.
Advertisement
The Gambit of the Gods
Tony ain't nobody's bitch. Or at least he wasn't in Downtown Las Vegas where he worked for people doing things that aren't legal in any sense of the word. Some people would call him a 'thug' or a 'goon', but Tony always preferred the term enforcer. So when he wakes up in the middle of a forest and doesn't recall anything from the night before he figured he's run out of luck. Always was going to happen it's Vegas after all. He was very wrong. He's been chosen to be the 'Pathfinder' whatever that means in some game for the god's amusement. He's not amused. He's nobody's bitch not even a god's.
8 153The Heart of Nimble Woods
Seeking Apprentice Want adventure?Want fame?Want riches?Do you have what it takesto be the one with all the answers? Jack's friends love him, but they know he can be trouble. Sure, it's all fun and games playing pranks in high school, but eventually, it's time to grow up and get a job. They didn't expect that job to be located in another world, accessed through a fiery portal, which just opened up in Jack's bedroom. A cyborg emerges from that portal with an intriguing proposition. If they can complete a task set by the mysterious Alchemist, Jack will become the Alchemist's apprentice and they'll all have access to a whole world of science and magic. All they have to do is find the castle in the middle of Nimble Woods. For Jack, the stakes in this game are higher than he is willing to admit. And convincing his friends to step through the portal is only the beginning...
8 228Lizards Ascent
A small lizard woke up. Its eyes were gleaming with an Intelligence never seen before in its species. Follow the story of a lizard, as It learns about the world it lives in and gets stronger. Not actually Isekai.
8 122MUHAMMAD
I decided to bring it back after it being taken down 3 times.THIS BOOK IS NOT ABOUT MUSLIMS!!!!! Take that mess some where else besides my comments or just don't read it.
8 111GCSE Descriptive Writing
🚨 PIECES THAT GOT ME AN A*🚨 This is a compilation of descriptive pieces that I wrote during my GCSE course, including loads of great tips for creative writing. Maybe you won't enjoy reading these pieces as much as I enjoyed writing them. But if you're here to get inspiration for creative writing in GCSEs, I'm telling you now that these pieces got me grade 9s. Feel free to steal a metaphor or two and point out any mistakes.Please vote :)
8 50Beep, Bop, Bugger off! (Pico x BF/Keith)
(Cover art by me)(Characters from Friday Night Funkin, a game available for download on itch.io. Check it out, it's really cool!)Pico was well known not just for his rapping abilities, but also for his brutish nature and unnecessarily rude responses. Keith, a guy who clearly hasn't grasped the proper concept of personal boundaries, tries everything in his best nature to get close to Pico after beating him in a singing competition.
8 174