Current Status:

Name: Sakura

Level: 1/10

Species: Aqua Larvae

HP:100/100

MP:100/100

SP:50/50

Offense:1

Defense:100

Magic Power:1

Resistance:100

Speed:20

[Skills: Wail Lvl 1, Swimming Lvl 2, Appraise Lvl 1, Water Immunity, Night Vision Lvl 1, Ice Resistance Lvl 1, Digging Lvl 2]

[Titles: The Last of Her Kind, Hybrid Species]

Title: The Sweet Song of The Sea: The Parasites and the Wailer

She was now fully adapted to her new body and kept to the bottom of the ship before going up the floors. She was still reeling from all that happened to her in such a short space of time but she was slowly adapting. If not for her reminding herself that she needed to survive she wasn’t sure she would be as calm as she was right now but deep down she knew she wasn’t alright.

She swam slowly and cautiously through the sunken ship. Her tiny eyes looking around in case anything attacked her. While exploring the bottom of the sunken ship she appraised anything she saw, hoping to level up the skill. She found tons of lost treasure on the inside of the ship that made her imagine her old life surrounded by such luxury.

‘I want to become human as fast as possible.” Sakura thought, greedily soaking up the precious treasure especially that golden crown sitting in one of the boxes. If there was a possibility of her not getting home and had to stay here then these treasures would be of use.

She quickly opened up the menu, wanting to see which evolution could transform into a human. She scrolled through the evolution list but many of the names were blanked out on the three evolution trees. She could only see the names of her next evolutions and closed the menu

‘Unfortunately, none of them were sirens..’ Sakura gathered herself mentally before she went up the floors of the ship, appraising random stuff as she went into each room.

[Swimming Lvl 3]

[Night Vision Lvl 2]

[Ice Resistance Lvl 2]

‘ I can't feel the cold that much but this water must be freezing if my Ice Resistance leveled up automatically.’ Sakura thought as she entered another room. She looked around the room and found a mirror. She quickly swam in front of the mirror and was finally able to see her form properly. She wanted to hurl, as she couldn’t get the look of a leech from her mind. Although her body was transparent she couldn’t stomach looking at herself and quickly turned away from the mirror.

‘As I thought, I still hate my appearance and leeches.’ Sakura shuddered. Finding nothing interesting in the room, she continued swimming until she reached the deck of the ship. She could see old boxes and other random debris on the deck but not much else which made her even warier.

‘Amaria said that there were creatures on hiding in this ship so where are they?’ Something didn’t feel right so she quickly returned to where she buried her mother and found that the body was gone. She was petrified and wondered what could move such a big body that quickly. She quickly found some tracks that led around to the left side of the ship.

She was hesitant to follow the tracks but she wanted to find that body. It was out of respect for Amaria and that it was her only source of food. She followed the trail that looked like little dots and found that it led to a broken part of the ship she hadn’t explored. She swam inside and found a trapdoor that leads into a basement room.

Quickly swimming inside she found her mother being eaten alive by what seemed to be like thirty or more black crabs. The sight of them crowding around the body in a black grotesque ball made her body tingle. She knew this was would be her first battle and wanted to logically think without fear getting in the way. They didn’t notice her yet so she carefully observed the situation.

‘Appraise!’

Name: N/A

Level: 2/8

Species: Parasitic Crabber

‘J-Judging by the names they’re parasites which doesn’t tell me much but there is not much live meat here in this part of the ocean so they’re scavengers whose only options are leftovers from stronger creatures.’ Sakura theorized quickly.

Suddenly, the Parasitic Crabbers stopped their feast and turned around. They glared at her while snapping their pincers. ‘How did they notice me?’ Sakura thought fearfully. She looked past them at her mother’s body and she could see chunks of meat torn from Amaria’s tail and other parts of her body.

Without waiting for her reaction, the crabbers rushed towards her. She turned around and swam as fast as her speed carried her while thinking of a way to get out of her situation. When she reached the outside of the ship, she dove into the sand using her digging skill. She position herself so her body was facing upwards, so she could hear them.

They're thundering steps scared her, thinking she would be found but after a while of them not finding her, she felt relieved. She opened the menu and quickly reoriented herself with her skills. She found that her Wail skill was the perfect skill to escape this mess. Sakura pushed her body upward and her mouth was slightly above the sand. She took a deep breath before letting out an ear-splitting screech and retreated into the sand quickly.

Their footsteps got more and more frantic and squeals could be heard from up above. She waited with bated breath as everything above went silent.

[You’ve reached Level 2]

[You’ve reached Level 3]

[You’ve reached Level 4]

[You’ve reached Level 5]

[You’ve reached Level 6]

[You’ve reached Level 7]

[You’ve reached Level 8]

[You’ve reached Level 9]

[Wail Lvl 2]

[Skill Points gained 160]

‘I survived.’ It was the only thought that ran through her mind. ‘I survived.’ She repeated in her mind with relief. She stayed in the sand and opened up the menu to look at her progress.

Name: Sakura

Level: 9/10

Species: Aqua Larvae

HP:400/400 (+300)

MP:400/400 (+300)

SP:100/100 (+50)

Offense:10 (+9)

Defense:109 (+9)

Magic Power:10 (+9)

Resistance:109 (+9)

Speed:40 (+20)

“Some stats got nice boosts but the others are abysmal. I’ve noticed that upon level up, I can get a free recovery in HP, MP, and SP. In battle, this could mean life….or death.'

Looking at the skill points she received, she remembered seeing an option to buy skills in the menu. She hoped there would be some sort of protection that she could use. She didn’t want to feel pain although it was inevitable in the future.

She opened the menu and her eyes went wide.‘Only one skill available and it’s for 100 points.' She felt wronged as she looked at the screen. It was bad enough that she was one of the weakest in the entire Terrestrial Expanse but not even more than one skill? She read the description with disappointment, not expecting much.

[Guardian Of The Ocean: This title is given to those of Mermaid and Siren descent This grants the user the ability to acquire experience points through prayer and worship. The user can also hear the calls for help from those who believe in the guardian. 1 worshipper equals 500 EXP. Requires the Water Nymph evolution and Hybrid Species title to purchase. Cost: 100 Points.]

She was surprised by the skill and impressed. 'I have to admit, the skill is amazing for long term investment,’ She thought, ‘Free experience points and combined with The Last Of Her Kind, then 1 follower would equal 5000 EXP. The Water Nymph evolution is the only way to proceed it just...’

Being a guardian over people means she would have to protect them and possibly be in battle constantly. That alone was enough to deter her from getting the skill. She didn’t want to fight at all but it was survival of the fittest in the end. She needed to be strong no matter how scary it gets.

Sakura closed the menu and slithered out of the sand. Carcasses were all around her and the sight was quite ghastly. She stared at the crabbers for a moment before swimming away back to the underground room. She was feeling hungry but she wasn’t about to eat parasitic crabs. She swam back to the room where Amaria was kept and was able to see her condition.

Her body had chunks of meat missing from her body with a haze of blood floating around. Without much thought or care, she burrowed inside Amaria’s body using the digging skill while ignoring the emotional pain she felt defiling her body. She greedily sucked up the blood, ignoring the taste.

She didn’t know how many days passed but she had lost herself drinking the blood. Though, deep down she knew that staying inside Amaria granted her some comfort and protection. She knew it was wrong, it was disgusting but in the matters of the mind and heart, her heart won. Days later, she struggled to emerge from her Amaria’s empty husk, and when she made it out she was bloated.

‘How shameful and disgusting.’ Sakura thought shamefully, upset at her condition, and how greedy she was. 'I’m already going down that slippery slope...” She managed to drink all of the blood from the body and turned it into a slab of skin and bone.

[New Title Acquired: Blood Sucker]

[New Skills Acquired: Foul Heart Lvl 1]

She jumped at the notification, scared by the sound. She calmed herself and looked at the new skill and title.‘ These don’t sound ominous at all.’ She thought fearfully before looking at the descriptions.

[Blood Sucker: The user consumes the blood of its enemies to restore HP. Any excess blood would be stored as pure life energy.]

[Foul Heart Lvl 1: This rare skill is gained when you commit one of the three acts of evil. The more this skill levels up the less guilt you feel when committing evil acts and the darker your heart becomes. Beware, upon reaching the max level you will unlock the darkest, deepest, parts of your heart.]

Name: Sakura

Level: 9/10

Species: Aqua Larvae

HP:400/400 (400/400)

MP:390/400

SP:100/100

‘Blood Sucker gives me an extra 400 points of health which is great and increases my survivability and anything that increases survivability is good,’ She happily thought before looking at the skill and her mood feel, ‘This was gained because I committed one of the three acts of evil? But she said I can use her body as sustenance and what are the three acts of evil?”

She couldn’t help but wonder if Amaria planned this all along. Did the siren know she would get that skill and planned it in a way that she would have to feed on her body? She pushed all thoughts about the skill to the back of her mind. Closing the menu, she slowly swam back outside, cautious of her surroundings.

Noticing the carcasses of the crabbers where gone she began to look around with more caution and less fear. ‘This doesn’t surprise me. I thought something wasn't right from the start and nothing can get inside this barrier so either they came back to life or something ate them.’

Sakura circled the ship a few times and still didn’t find anything useful. The only thing she did was waste her SP. ‘But at the very least my swimming skill and ice resistance leveled up again.’

[Swimming Lvl 4]

[Ice Resistance Lvl 3]

Suddenly, a loud sound came from the deck of the ship, which startled her. She decided to take a short cut and slowly swim directly to the deck of the ship with a little caution and distance. The moment she reached the top she could see the very same crabs that attacked her surrounding a slightly bigger crab which has a crown on its head.

‘Appraise!’

[Appraise Lvl 2]

Name: N/A

Level: 1/15

Species: King Parasitic Crabber

[This King controls the smaller Parasitic Crabbers to do his bidding. Once it is alive the Parasitic Crabbers can never die and will revive automatically minutes later.]

‘So that’s how and he was controlling them. But why didn’t it attack me when I was feeding unless it was scared of what I can do?’ She believed, ‘There is no way I can beat that thing. However, I’ll use his underlings against him. It’s going to be the long game but I’m patient.’

She swam a little closer, her confidence growing, and when the King Crabber noticed her it jumped back, distancing itself from her. She observed them, trying to look at this entire situation from a different angle.‘My the hypothesis was correct it seems from his behavior. Also, judging by their bodies, I hope they can’t swim.’

She had the advantage of being a swimmer and they didn’t but that didn’t stop her from being cautious. The King let out a horrible screech before pointing its pincer in her direction. Its underlings swarmed towards her and they jumped high, high enough to reach her which was surprising. She moved out of the way quickly and they immediately re-grouped with their king.

‘They can’t swim but they can jump high.' Sakura trembled, thinking that she grew too confident. ‘I still have the advantage.’

She took a deep breath before letting out a high-pitched wail and the results didn’t disappoint her at all. The underlings immediately turned on each other as well as the king. The King Crabber became enraged and started to dispatch its underlings by swinging its glowing pincers that crushed them under its power. She could see how powerful that king was and knew that one hit from his pincers would probably kill her.

‘I have to survive.’ This simple line was what kept her going. Her line of thinking was that if she keeps repeating it she could make it.

After the King killed all of its underlings it screeched at her and jumped towards her with a glowing pincher. Her will to survive propelled her body to the side, dodging the attacked smoothly. It kept jumping at her, swiping wildly but she remained just out of reach. She was bidding time for the moment the underlings came back to life.

It jumped towards her once more with frightening accuracy, its glowing pincer ready to smash her to pieces. She swerved out of the way, feeling the way the water shifted behind her.

‘If I get hit, I’m dead!’

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the underlings were back to her feet and she immediately let out another wail. The king and its underlings started attacking each other again. This process of cat and mouse went on for a day leaving Sakura in a pinch.

Name: Sakura

Level: 9/10

Species: Aqua Larvae

HP:100/400 (0/400)

MP:50/400

SP: 0/100

Her SP was all about gone and her life was barely hanging on and she was scared yet determined. She wanted to win this at all costs. ‘Come on, why won't you die!’ Sakura thought with her body unmoving on the sand.

‘I have to survive.’

She watched the King's movement stopped and then all other movements from the underlings ceased.

[You’ve reached Level 10]

‘I survived!’ Sakura trembled before she fell onto the sand. She felt relieved that it was over and done with. Being in a dangerous world kept a deep-rooted fear inside her heart but she pushed through with pure will and was proud of herself. She took a few more breaths before getting up and thinking about what happened to her.

‘Losing SP is a death sentence and results in massive drops of HP and MP.’ She remembered how close to death she was and felt out of sorts. To distract herself, she opened up the menu.

Name: Sakura

Level: 10/10

Species: Aqua Larvae

HP:400/400 (400/400)

MP:400/400

SP:100/100

Offense:19 (+9)

Defense:118 (+9)

Magic Power:19(+9)

Resistance:118 (+9)

Speed:60 (+20)

[Skills: Wail Lvl 4, Swimming Lvl 4, Appraise Lvl 2, Water Immunity, Night Vision Lvl 2, Ice Resistance Lvl 3, Digging Lvl 2, Foul Heart Lvl 1]

[Titles: The Last of Her Kind, Hybrid Species, Blood Sucker]

[Skill points acquired: 200]

[You can now have the ability to evolve. Do you wish to see the options? Y/N]

‘I can finally evolve.’ Sakura thought with relief and quickly clicked yes on the menu. Three options had their evolution trees and she carefully went through the options.

[Sea Witch-ling: This octopus-like creature specializes in curses and is a very hostile and territorial creature. They’re always solo and build their homes with material from old ships.]

[Jelly Matriarch: This jellyfish-like creature has a special ability to reproduce thousands of smaller jellyfish to do her bidding. Combined with the poisonous harpoons in their tentacles this creature is very dangerous.]

[Water Nymph: This life form is considered to be one of the keepers of nature and are attuned to the water and all things within. They are considered protectors of balance and also protectors of oceanic life and use their ability sometimes to see the future from pools of water. Hidden Description: If this life form has the Hybrid Species title then it is considered a rare existence, and is worshipped as 1/3 of a trio of guardians where it represents life.]

Sakura read over the options many times and the only appealing one was the water nymph and the ability to see the future could help her avoid danger. However, the hidden description was related to the title she saw in the skill shop. Reluctantly, she chose the Water Nymph option.

[Are you sure this is the correction option. Warning: Evolution directly affects the soul and you can suffer some small or large behavioral changes. Y/N]

Sakura read the warning over and over before finally clicking yes. She didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. She just hoped everything will be the same when it is done. She began to feel drowsy and sleep overtook her body.