It would have been a good idea for Tormacc to either sleep or meditate during the night in preparation for his foray in the Sealine Shard, but because he had been resting the last few days he ended up finding a gym to practice his new skills in. He didn’t really need to sleep every night anyway, and practicing his new abilities was potentially even more valuable than rest. While he was able to get an instinctual understanding for what a skill did once he unlocked it, it would still take time for him to integrate all of his new skills into his combat style.

Truthfully he might have to make a completely new combat style, as the amount of new skills he had unlocked was truly overwhelming. And since he was going to be focusing a lot on those new skills, his old way of fighting might have to be thrown out to make room for something new, especially considering the Shard he was entering. He was going to have to practice underwater combat, as he had no previous experience with it. He was confident he could at least hold his own until he adjusted though. His water elemental skills were powerful, and after a night of experimentation and practice he was incredibly happy with the synergy of all his skills.

When morning came he made his way out of the gym and headed towards the portal to the Sealine Shard. It was possible to enter a Shard during the night but since the day and night cycles of the Shards and the First City were synced it generally made sense to wait until it was light out to enter a portal.

Despite the early hour, Tormacc was not alone in his trek, as what felt like a veritable tide of Humens made their way to the portal plaza. A similar phenomenon happened during each of the previous days he had been in the First City, as people swarmed towards the Sealine Shard in droves. Tier two Shards weren’t rare, but neither were they common, and among tier two Shards the Sealine Shard was one of the best, so it only made sense that people would flock to enter it.

The crowd around him was also in stark contrast to when he entered the previous Shard. Back then, people were somber; the weight of the Shard they were about to enter weighing down on them. But now it felt like he was part of a parade, people laughing and good-naturedly jostling each other on their way towards the portal. He tried to keep calm and not let the atmosphere affect him, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t affected at least a little. The atmosphere reminded him of his feeling when he first entered The Tower and the honor and glory he chased.

He was a bit more seasoned now, what with his first successful Shard foray under his belt. It was the dividing line between complete noobs and those who were just less experienced. There was still a lot that he didn’t know, but he wouldn’t be caught off guard this time by something like the stone rats.

The flow of people carried Tormacc forward, almost everyone taking the portal to the Sealine Shard, the other two portals devoid of people in a sharp juxtaposition. With a deep breath Tormacc followed the crowd through the portal, the sea of people morphing into a literal sea, a deep, aquamarine expanse stretching out endlessly before his eyes. He stared at the vast expanse of water, mesmerized by the waves lapping against the shore. He wasn’t sure if he had seen an ocean before, but he had never seen one like this.

It was beautiful; the deep near-green color shimmering in the morning sun. Swarms of fish jumped out of the waves, their scales reflecting rainbows around them in sparkling showers of water droplets. He could hear the cry of sea birds, the deep caws echoes infinitely along the shore as a large bird of prey swooped down to catch its breakfast.

Tormacc stared at the bird, perplexed by something just outside of his consciousness. Something was off about the bird, but he wasn’t sure what. Then it hit him: those weren’t swarms of small fish, those were large fish, almost as big as he was, which meant the bird of prey that swooped down and easily grasped a fish in its claws could do the same thing to him.

Just like that, the spell was broken, and Tormacc remembered that he wasn’t on some island paradise. He was in a Shard, and no matter how nice the Shard might look, it could still kill him if he let his guard down.

Expanding his senses, he took stock of his situation. He spawned in the Shard on a beach, the sandy shore extending out to both sides of him, the beach lost around a bend as it eventually curved inward on his right and left, which likely meant he was on an island, and a rather small one at that. Behind him towards the center of the island was a large hill that was densely forested all the way up to its peak, the jungle surrounding it teaming with life. Casting his eyes out over the ocean he was unable to see any anything other than water, the fish and birds the only things breaking up the sparkling sea.

It was beautiful, but as beautiful as it was his first step was to try and make his way to Sealine City: the main city in the Shard. The only problem with that plan was he had no clue where he was in relation to the city, or in relation to anything really. He wasn’t lost per se, but he certainly didn’t know where he was.

Without a better plan, Tormacc set off to explore the island. At the very least he could try and see if he could spot anything from the top of the hill. Making his way into the jungle he was immediately assaulted by a horde of small insects. It reminded him of his time in the starting zone; the jungle atmosphere conjuring up memories of his younger days. Well, he wasn’t actually that much younger, but because he was missing his memories comparatively it was a long time ago.

Inspecting some of the fruit trees along his path he paused to take a bite out of a large, purple-skinned fruit. It had an interesting taste, reminding him of something vaguely citrus-like. He ended up picking a few to eat later. He had restocked his food before entering the Shard but even without that food probably wasn’t going to be an issue, what with all the fish he could eat. Water was also not a problem anymore either, as while in his Elemental Form Water he was able to passively absorb water from his surroundings, negating his need to drink.

So far, the jungle was devoid of any animals or monsters bigger than a few birds and small rodents. Nothing seemed dangerous, although he was on the lookout for anything poisonous or venomous. It was a real consideration, and while he trusted in his ability to heal himself if he was poisoned, he was getting a little spooked from the lack of threats in the surroundings. While the Sealine Shard was only a tier two Shard, that didn’t mean it was safe, and something about this island rubbed him the wrong way.

Ascending to the peak of the hill, he clambered up a tree to get a clear 360 view of his surroundings. As it turned out, the island he was on was part of a larger chain, and on the far side of the hill was a small channel between his current island and a larger island that extended out into the distance. That one was also covered in dense jungle, but the hills on it were much taller, some almost big enough to be called mountains towards the center of the island.

He wasn’t able to see any other landmasses from his new vantage point, but since there were taller mountains on the bigger island there was no need to panic yet. It was possible he could spot something from up there, and if worst came to worst he could always pick a direction and set out across the ocean. He wasn’t in any danger of drowning or running out of food or water so he was bound to run into another landmass at some point. Based on what Stella had told him this Shard didn’t actually have an end, and if you reached the “end” of one side you would come out on the other, so as long as he didn’t swim in circles he should be fine.

Before moving across to the other island he wanted to explore this one. He had a hunch that there was something more going on, and while he didn’t know where the feeling was coming from yet, the island was small enough that it would take two or three days maximum to explore all of it so there was no reason to give up on any potential treasure that he might find. The islands in the Sealine Shard changed constantly, meaning that if this island was new and he was the first person to discover it there was a good chance he could find something valuable.

As it turned out, it didn’t take him long to find something of interest. On the other side of the hill there was a cave built into the hillside. It was clear that it served a purpose, as there was a crumbling archway surrounding the entrance, either alluding to it being purposely constructed in the past or an attempt of The Tower at replicating some old ruins.

Inspecting the inside, it appeared to be a normal stone tunnel, and after taking out a torch and lighting it Tormacc made his way in, moving slowly with his water form active in case he ran into any traps.

The tunnel was completely straight, and other than some moss and vegetation that had started creeping in the tunnel was clear of any obstructions, and a short three minute walk had him reaching the tunnel’s end, which opened up into a small chamber that appeared to be laid out like a bedroom. Against the wall there was a bedframe and dresser made out of wood, both of which were not quite rotting but clearly showing their age. A large, fancy metal chest lay open at the foot of the bed, a key stuck in the lock below the lid. The chest was empty, the last person to enter the cave having cleared out anything of value.

Speaking of the last person to enter the cave, Tormacc easily spotted them lying on the bed, or rather, what was left of them. Everything else in the room seemed to have rotted away with time, leaving only a partial skeleton lying on the now empty bedframe. The skeleton seemed mostly Humen, although it was hard to tell as it was missing quite a few pieces, almost the entirety of one leg, the other leg below the knee, and the left hand. In addition, the skull was also cracked, part of the front part caved in, although if he had to guess the full fracturing was likely a post-mortem injury, and when the person had died their skull had only been cracked, not crumbling, the passage of time completing the process.

Glancing around, there appeared to be nothing else in the room, so he made his way over to the skeleton, a jewel-like radiance catching his interest. Inspecting it’s head, he saw a milky white gemstone stuck inside the skeleton’s forehead. Were it not for the crumbling skull he might have never noticed it, as if the skull had been intact the gemstone would have been safely ensconced in the skull, completely hidden from view.

He wasn’t familiar with any race that had gemstones in their skull, but it wouldn’t surprise him if the gemstone was natural. Reaching down, he moved a few pieces of broken bone to the side, his fingers brushing over the milky white glow.

The reaction was immediate, and as soon as Tormacc touched the gemstone the world faded away and he was swiftly inundated with memories that weren’t his own as he collapsed to the floor, leaving him at the mercy of whatever force was assaulting his mind.