Breathing with gills was far more difficult than I expected, first and foremost part of my mind was still telling me not to breathe in. When I did finally take my first ‘breathe’ it had an odd taste, bits of who knows what. Second it was more work than I was expecting, I figured it was due to the crushing pressure and it felt like I was trying to take a deep breath while being bear hugged. I could at least feel oxygen in my blood again. I checked my health.

Health 100/130

Not bad but the pressure was getting worse and I could feel it on my ear drums in particular. I tried to move around but the grip was too strong.

"Gave myself gills but pressure on me is increasing." I sent to the entire group.

"Good, just stay calm and try to breathe will get you out." Root said but I could feel some worry.

The water elemental was too murky to see anything other than indistinct blobs of color, then I had to tightly shut my eyes as I felt the pressure on them too. With the pressure building up I felt my left then my right eardrums burst and fuck did it hurt but they would heal. I needed a solution to relieve some of the pressure… and fast.

An exploration would very likely kill me due to the energy transfer so that was out. My force blade in my vambrace might work if it had not been less than a millimeter in diameter. But that gave me another idea, I then attempted to focus on projecting my mana as force out of my body everywhere all at once.

The pressure did relieve quite a bit but quickly came back in. Right one pulse wasn't going to do this; it would have to be a continuous drain, so I formed a mana shield.

"Fuck me… made a mana shield around myself… will hold for…" I then checked my mana usages.

Mana: 85/145

"Maybe a minute and a half." I finished.

"Great a few more seconds and will have you out." Root said.

I was now just watching my mana dwindle away. I was down another 40 points before I fell down to the ground soaked. Strangely after a few seconds I was still covered in water and my mana was still dropping but much more slowly.

"Nicole? What did you do to yourself now?" I heard Root via the band.

"Wait, it's not still attacking me?" I asked confused.

"Nope." Root said.

That's when I realized the mana shield around me was holding the water that was captured in it against my body. I released the barrier and the water flooded away from me.

"Fuck me that was annoying." I said wheezing. Things still felt off, I just needed a moment to recover.

"You can't hear us can you?" Root asked via the band a moment later.

"What? Wait, are you guys saying stuff out loud?" I asked.

"Yes and your ears are bloody." He said.

"Oh they ruptured before I could equalize the pressure…" I said, the sound I was hearing was just a constant ringing.

"Understood, how's your health?" He asked.

Health 90/130

"Down 40 points." I said starting to gasp for breath.

"Having trouble breathing now…" I said.

"Wait, do you still have gills?" He asked in a panic.

Oops… I concentrated on releasing the latest change and this time I noticed the large slits or flaps on my back seal up. Then I started to cough out the last bits of water and other gunk still left in my lungs. I just hoped the temporary gills didn’t seal up any crap and I was hoping it was forced out of my now lungs.

"Right… are you feeling now?" Root asked after I stopped coughing.

"Better… how long was I in there for?" I asked.

"Maybe 3 minutes?" He said.

"I'm guessing elementals are particularly resistant to physical damage." I commented.

"Yes… and fire on water elementals was one of the least effective." Iser added.

"Good call on the gills and mana shield, I didn't know you could do that." Turnip said.

"I didn't either until I thought about trying to push the water away with my Vambrace force blade. Actually it's a very obvious application of my mana type." I said, I then checked my mana.

Mana: 53/145

Shape Alteration, Rank C - 96%

Mana Manipulation, Rank B - 57%

I needed to monitor those skills more, the flexibility in both was invaluable but I knew I would be running into general point limitations soon.

After a moment I stood up then promptly fell over and was caught by Turnip.

"Nicole… your ears are ruptured and your balance is going to be all fucked up… just give yourself… and me a minute and we can fix the ears as least." Root said via the band.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

I instead just concentrated on the membrane and remolded the flesh to close the holes. Sound popped back into if not clear then at least a muffled understanding.

"Fixed some of the hearing… just the skin though… The rest should repair itself in a few hours." I added, then I started to work my jaw to try and ensure no water was left inside my ear… ear infections suck.

After a little bit I collected myself and we ventured back the way we came by about an hour. Then once we found a spot we started to set up camp.

"So we're going to investigate tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well time for a group vote…" Orlo said, as it turned out everyone was curious.

I was just practicing my Shape Alteration ability. I wanted to get it to rank B for tomorrow, I was wondering what it could do at the next rank. I was in our tent when Iser poked his head in.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Not bad, all things considered… the possibility of suffocation did scare me a bit however… Also I think I pulled something in my stomach or abs or something… it just feels a bit off " I said then rested my head on Iser's shoulder once he was seated.

"Have you attempted to probe the area with your shaping ability?" He asked.

"Yeah but I don't really get a good understanding of what is going on… unless I already know what's going on… does that make sense." I asked.

"It does, some skills only augment what you already know." He said, then I felt his tail wrap around my waist.

"Root may have better luck at diagnosing what is wrong." He added.

"If it's there tomorrow morning then I will." I replied I nuzzled his neck.

We laid down and I cuddled up to him, his warmer body temperature did help a little. Then I fell asleep.

"Umm Nicole?" I heard Iser ask.

"Hmmm?" I mumbled groggily.

"You may want to wake up, you seemed to have a bit of an incident." Iser told me in a quiet and gentle voice.

"What?" I asked, finally coming back to consciousness. I followed his gesture looking down at my legs.

"Did one of us accidentally cut the other?" I asked confused.

"No… I believe this is known as your time of the month." He said.

It took me a good 5 to 7 seconds to register what he meant.

"Fuck… right you said I smelled different… I guess part of me didn't want to believe it… actually as annoying as this is… it is also very affirming." I said.

I spent the next twenty minutes trying my best to clean up in the dark, with Iser assisting where he could. I then found a clean rag in my pack, shoved it between me and my panties, and ensured it was snug. Then pulled Iser close to me then fell asleep curled up to someone I was very sure I loved.

"Morning, now it's really time to get up." Iser said.

"Mmmm… still blehhh" I groaned.

"I will see if we have some tea that could help." He said and left the tent.

A few minutes later someone else came into the tent.

"Hey girl, we're making some tea. It will be ready in a few minutes." Lluvia said.

"Thanks" I said, flipping around so I could see her.

"So welcome to the shit side of woman hood." She said with an amused tone.

"It's honestly not that bad… it would have been easier to deal with in town though. The cramps are really annoying however." I commented.

"Yup… sounds like it's not too bad for you." She commented.

"We'll see… helps that I know why I feel like crap and what's going on… by the way how do you umm… keep from making a mess…" I asked.

"Can't always avoid it… I do have a thing or two that will help and it looks to me like you figured out one trick." She added.

*Yup but don't have the supplies to do this for very long…" I commented.

"Turnip and I have had to share supplies in the past so it will be fine. Just need to clean everything a bit more often." She commented.

I did my best to get up and make myself presentable which meant very little to this group when traveling. For now I had another clean rag tucked down there. I sat next to the camp fire which had breakfast being warmed. I ate and drank in relative silence until I started to feel a bit better.

"Bleh…" I mumbled.

"Yup…" Turnip agreed.

"I just realized this is the first time I have seen you not bouncing around and chatting… it's actually kind of a nice change of pace." Orlo commented.

"Yup" I confirmed.

After another minute or two.

"You doing ok? It’s actually sort of worrying to see such an abrupt change with you." Root asked.

"Actually if I didn't feel so bloated and umm other things I would be ecstatic right now… Yeah… It’s complicated." I commented with a smile.

"When is anything with you not complicated?" Orlo asked sarcastically.

"Ok give me a little bit and I'll be ready to go. The tea is actually helping mostly for the headache and body aches." I said, then headed back to my tent.

Maybe an hour later after Lluvia assisted and explained how to use a few things did I feel I was ready to go.

"Just remember to replace that with another one this evening before going to bed. You can get sick if you don't. I’ll show you the secrets of how to clean it tonight… don't ever reuse a soiled one." Lluvia reminded me one last time.

"I believe it's called toxic shock syndrome where I'm from but I think that represents a much wider range of causes and just that one…” I said.

“You just have to know a bit about everything don’t you…” Lluvia said.

“Maybe… also thank you, if I had been on my own I would have been much more worried.” I told her.

“We're family and we help each other.” She said and pulled me into a hug.

As we broke camp and left, Root grabbed a quick chat with me.

“You did very well by the way, we didn't tell you this at the time but it was a level 21.” He said.

“Oh fuck… wait that's the same evolution as the final boss of our last dungeon.” I said wide eyed.

“It's a good thing that size and type factor into overall strength… you staying calm and using your skills is what gave us the time we needed.” He said.

“I was in there for a few minutes…” I said in a bit of shock.

“Yep, if that was just normal water I mean you could have held your breath the entire time… but I know you said it was crushing you. Your solution to defend and reinforce yourself instead of trying to break free was the right call.” He said.

“And if I had tried to break free?” I asked a bit concerned.

“You would have been injured far worse than that… most likely even killed.” He said.

“So, any tips on when to attack and when to defend? I doubt it will be the last time that happens…” I said concern evident in my voice.

“Honestly listen to your gut but more often than that it's just luck.” Root said.