As Clay’s stomach reeled from its new culinary experience, he felt a strange, itching tingle run across his back, consuming the previous pain with a no-less-extreme sensation of crawling. It was like a thousand worms were slithering in his skin, but Clay knew better; they were his skin.

What he was feeling was his muscles and flesh stitching themselves back together. Reaching over the wound to seal up.

Clay made several very ape-like sounds as he resisted the urge to reach back and scratch desperately at the sensation. Coral just giggled.

“First time?”

“Being pieced back together?” Clay grimaced. “No. This fast? Yes.”

Suddenly he clapped his hands against his throat. The same itching, shivering sensation of bugs parading across his body was happening there. “What…?”

“Side effect.” She shrugged. “It thinks you should have gills.”

Thankfully, he didn’t grow full-blown gills. Just distinct lines of pinkish flesh along his neck, like rows of slanted scars. Clay sighed in relief when they finally stopped itching, the tender skin hurting every time he tried to scratch.

“One second…”

Leaving Coral by the shore, he started doing push-ups. His current situation, gaining skills every time he did anything, seemed to be unusual; going by how the snake talked it was once-in-a-lifetime, and only in a blessed lifetime.

No sense wasting it.

And he desperately needed to do something familiar and comfortable, to deal with the cavalcade of bizarre things that were happening to him.

After ten reps, his body had stopped being a carnival of unfamiliar sensations, and the skill he’d been hoping for had popped up.

「 Skill Gained - Calisthenics

Slightly increases strength.

Slightly decreases all Might usage.

Rank - 0.0 // Grade - Mundane 」

Listening to the voice sing in his head, he pushed himself further.

Since he was in college, twenty had been his limit. Twenty push-ups had been the go to penalty for a dozen different stupid games he’d played with his dorm mates. After twenty…

Clay would usually be done and dusted.

Today, he felt different. The adrenaline in him had woken up his muscles like never before, and after eating the healing slug, he had to admit. All the pain was gone. All of it. The tired, usual pain in his back from sitting all day, the lingering soreness of sleeping awkwardly…

He felt powerful. He smiled as sweat ran across his lips.

At twenty seven, the next notification popped…

Calisthenics Skill increased to 1.

He stopped there, sweat dripping off his nose. He could’ve gone further; that was exactly the problem. The fiery power of Might was trying to push outwards from his chest. If he used that strength, he could have easily done twenty more, but he’d be burning himself from the inside out.

Clay didn’t fancy dying of organ failure before he got to see…

Before he got to experience this new world of his.

“Whatcha doing?” Coral asked.

“Oh, uh…” He had no way to explain ‘push ups’ in a way someone born underwater would understand. “Just exercise. A land-people thing. I needed something to distract me.”

“Oh I see! How about… You come over here?” She smiled mysteriously, beckoning with a finger.

Clay felt an instant and sharp impulse to do exactly what she said, and shook it off. It was going to be a struggle dealing with this world where people could make you want to listen to them. In fact, as best as he could tell, once you had a social skill you could never turn it off…

“You’re not going to drag me into the water, are you?”

“Well, uh…” She paused, and crossed her arms to pout. “You could’ve pretended to be surprised.”

The truth was? Clay had a paranoid streak a mile long, and the fact every word she spoke tried to force its way into his skull and make him trust her was only making that worse.

But he had no reason to think she was going to harm him, and she’d already had the chance if that was her intention.

So with a sigh, he picked up his sword and stepped into the water.

“Oh no. I hope nobody grabs me and-” he began.

But he didn’t finish before she yanked him down into the brine. Bubbles streamed up from his mouth, and the drag of the water swept through his hair. Clay opened his eyes to see the rocky underwater passage that led into the hidden bay-

And it was beautiful.

Luminous algaes glowed faintly as they wrapped the base of stalagmites in swirling patterns. Crustaceans with shells like jewels crawled across the bottom, their clear carapaces rising to colorful points, their tiny organs beating like dark stars beneath. An octopus swirled past, body and limbs painted in luminous points. It swam towards Coral, butting its broad, blobby head affectionately against her arms and demanding attention. Like a dog.

She squeezed it until its eyes bugged out, and then gently pushed it away.

Clay was smiling, but his lungs were starting to burn from holding his breath. He made to kick up for the surface and she caught him.

“No no silly…” Somehow she could talk clearly underwater. “Remember that slug you ate?”

How could he forget?

“It lets you breathe underwater. C’mon, try it.”

It ran against every instinct Clay had. In fact, the first time he tried, he simply couldn’t bring his body to try. It wasn’t a matter of will. It was hardcoded into his flesh. The water ran into his mouth and his throat clenched tight. Panic burst through his entire frame; and then he breathed in.

The water flooded his lungs.

And it was fine. Better than fine. It felt good.

He exhaled, finding the motion unexpectedly heavy, his lungs working double to move water instead of mere wind. The taste of salt was everywhere, but there was no stinging as it found his eyes.

Coral clapped.

Okay. Okay this is weird. And you know what? Clay thought. The next thing will be too. This is what you wanted. The weird. The wild. Fucking roll with it.

Because if you keep gawking and floundering every time something new comes up, you’re going to be on the back foot for the rest of your short life.

His toes settled into the nests of feathery, furry algae at the base of the bay, and he kicked up into the weightless embrace of the water, sliding into a freestyle swim. He twisted as he shot past Coral, giving her a wave.

Her tail was long and sleek, pink scales layered like pearls. She moved incredibly fast underneath the waves. Each kick of her tail sent her sailing, propelling her in spirals so quick and graceful they seemed effortless.

For a moment they swam together, before Clay asked, “So what’s this crisis we’re supposed to solve?”

“Come with me.” She grasped his hand and pulled him forward.

And the ocean was beautiful. They swam past the edge of the dull gray shelf of volcanic stone that made up the island’s foundation, out into the abyssal reach of open water beyond. With the rain thudding down onto the surface, stirring waves, there was no light; it should have been impossible to see. But Clay’s eyes took in everything.

Forests of brine-tangled kelp rising from the ocean bed like the hair of a green giant. Massive starfish with pearl-white blisters on their back crawling across the sand. Eels slick-bodied and covered in circular glowing marks, their tiny eyes and wide, tooth-filled mouths giving them a terrifying appearance. Oysters lay like treasure chests, littered through the deep, each one massive, with shells the consistency of stone and covered in furry mosses; the oysters breathed in and out, filtering the water.

Shoals of silver fish burst past.

And in the distance Clay saw a terrible glow. It started as a single, ember-orange blot on the horizon, but as they swam more and more points of fiery light drifted into view. By their glow, Clay saw rusting, oxidized metal, dark glass…

The closer they approached the more became clear.

It was a massive, metallic creature like a lobster perched on the bed of the ocean, turned on its side. One arm had been ripped away; the other was intact, curled around a splintered, curved beam of wood that Clay recognized as a ship’s rudder. It had glass portholes for eyes and a segmented, heavily armored body.

From dozens of breaches and cracks, a fiery light escaped. The water that touched those injuries boiled; seething vents of bubbles frothed up from the wounds.

Clay couldn’t tell if it was a living creature or a metal construction. It had organic, electric-blue feelers emerging from its head, and a cluster of tendrils surrounding a mouth. But at the same time, there were cloth sailed extending from its spine.

“Is that… the Lustful Tortoise?”

“Mhm. A smuggling ship.” Coral agreed. “But it’s been wounded.”

“Okay, so it’s both. A living ship…” Clay stared down at the strange, wounded creature, its body leaking volcanic heat into the water with a malevolent glow. “And we need to help it?”

“We need to kill it.” Coral said, with a sudden spite in her voice. “Look…”

Breaking off from the dark hull, almost concealed by the shadows, several small darting sources of movement began to scuttle along the ocean floor.

“We have to go.” Coral insisted.

The tone of her voice made Clay draw his sword.

The things were moving fast. They drift-scuttled backwards over the sand, and then took off, kicking up into the deep blue like dark bullets. They were small, segmented, many-legged- they resembled shrimp made of black iron with glowing underbellies.

If it was just them, Clay wouldn’t have blinked.

But bigger creatures were emerging from the wreck; a thing the size of the shark moved in the dark.

Clay turned and followed Coral. They fled through the water, his limbs pushing hard to propel him past mountainous piles of scintillating corals, past colonies of tiny, feather-bright fish feasting on the bones of a leviathan creature.

The shrimp-creatures followed. Their bodies left luminous trails as they flew through the depths.

Clay pushed himself to the limit. His body contained…

A knowledge? A talent? A Skill.

It was guiding every motion, subtly nudging him to swim better, to exceed his normal limits. He swam better and faster than he ever had, even with the sword gripped in one hand.

Swimming Skill increased to 3.

Calisthenics Skill increased to 2.

And it still wasn’t enough.

They were closing in. Moment by moment, the water ceased to be a friendly, beautiful place; the water became a cold restriction fighting every motion Clay made as he struggled to stay ahead.

And the fire of Might began to burn in his chest. He had reached the limit. If he pushed on any further, he’d start burning through himself.

Coral was far ahead.

Every man for themselves, huh…

Desperately, he looked down at his arm. Tapestry of Scars could save him, but at the cost of giving up his safety, his escape option going forward. The Lantern would draw two new cards, but there was no guarantee of anything good…

The Candle. He hadn’t read that one before.

「 Minor Arcana - The Candle

Allows for a brief moment of supernatural clarity,

vastly reducing usage of the Five Powers.

Infinite use.

(Basic) (Enhancement) (Mana) (Discipline) 」

’Vastly reducing usage…’

Less use, less burning up his internal organs.

‘A brief moment…’

No telling if a ‘brief moment’ would be enough time to get to safety. Probably not. These things were tracking them like bloodhounds.

But it might be enough time to fight. Using Might just to run and leap had made him feel godly, like the man that olympic athletes dreamed of being. If he used it in combat…

He turned in the water, lifting his sword. The thin light of luminescent plants reflected onto the blade and made it shine an eerie, drowned silver as it pointed towards the oncoming enemies.

There was only one way to find out. And god help him, Clay was excited.