The green water had the same effect as the darker blood, if only milder, both taking longer to take effect and shorter to wear off, and barely corroded my face. It still hurt, but after the pain from earlier, it was far easier to manage.

I was almost disappointed, it didn’t affect me mentally.

Backing away from the pool, I begin to think about what I saw.

Under the water, the pool was something of a hole following the line of a circle, dipping down, then rising back up, cutting off from sight. I wanted to dive deeper to get a better perspective, but there were three more eels of relatively similar size as the first, swimming around. Something told me that they would consume each other out of hunger, leaving only one potentially injured opponent eventually. I really didn’t want to fight them, but something else told me I couldn't stay here. Not forever.

*Tang!*

Guh. I start hitting down the stalactites with my sword.

From there I began to shovel the rough powder up into small mounds, and built them up until they could hide my crouched figure from the sight of the eels. During this process I found something quite interesting. The thorns of the stalactites were hard. Very, very hard. They were also just as sharp, piercing my finger with unintended ease, earning a wince from me. Unfortunately, only the tips were such. But how did such a… thing come to be? Something else, strangely enough when I start imagining them as a weapon, I feel… immense disgust.

I wonder why, but I can’t come up with any ideas, so I just gather them and place them on the mounds, facing the pool. With any luck the eels were just as blind as they looked, and would be impaled by them. Just in case, I also sprinkled a few on the ground, memorizing the locations carefully.

By the time I finished, there were only five stalactites left on the ceiling, all both relatively thin, and in a somewhat good location. Namely, right around the mounds which totaled to the same amount. Three in the front, two in the back. However, there was a side of the cave left somewhat bare. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite me, but if I left six or so piles, the other mounds may have not been high enough or large enough to hide me.

Glancing at my work, I was anxious whether it was a bad idea, but I didn’t have any other ideas. It would have to do.

But first I have one last thing to check. I drag a regular strand from the orb and rest it along my arm. The strand sort of… melted along my arm, and a small amount of energy filled my armor. I swing my arm, and the energy melts once again, this time into my arm, and accelerating my swing.

A large swoosh echoes throughout the cave and my sword arm blurs.

Huh. Seems useful, but it isn't very easy to set up quickly.

This time I take a braid from the orb and stretch it along my right arm once more, and let it soak in. Once it does so, I glance at the wall next to the craters, and swing horizontally along the wall.

The energy quickly begins to burn into power, and my swing travels faster and steadier and I can feel my muscles straining from the force. Instead of stopping, I try to go even faster, and the energy starts to slide along my muscles, from my arm, to hand, to my sword, and fills it.

That energy began to spill out, and a small yellow light began to cover my sword, stretching from the force, until it finally snaps and flies into the wall.

But as soon as the light became independent from my sword, cracks began to line it.

It completely dissipated into gassy light upon clashing with the wall with a large clang, leaving behind a cut around two arms long and a fifth of my finger deep.

I watch the gas in fascination, but something else does so, a section of the cave begins to shudder, before dissipating entirely.

!

Gazing into the tunnel, a shallow sense of nostalgia comes over me, but I shake my head. I can’t go right now.

Breathing deeply, I walk over to the pond before crouching down, and gathered my focus as I dipped my sword and swung it slowly, left, and right. Left, and right.

Sure enough, soon two shadows appear in the pool.

Releasing my hold on the braid, and urged it to sink into muscles. Once it does so, I accelerate my swing, briefly watching as the light spills out, before I turn back, running behind a mound.

As I did so, anxiety came back up. Should I have slashed twice? Made more braids? Maybe I should’ve gone behind another mound.

Among all the things that flashed across my thoughts, only the last one seems feasible now.

As the eels came up, I jumped over the mound behind me, landing on the other side, and ducked down, just in case.

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I flinch as I see the eels once again, but I can see that I managed to slice both of the eels along the head. Surprisingly they didn’t seem to care, or even notice. I know that I definitely would. As they simultaneously glance towards me with tilted heads, they began their thing and got ready to charge at me, opening their maws and all that. As they did so, I shoveled up a few spikes and threw them, aiming into their mouths.

I flinch again, this time in shame as they all miss.

*Bang!**Bang!*

The eels jump one after another, and I quickly dash behind the mound beside me. However, my worries seem exaggerated, as they didn’t even make it past the first, but there was something else besides that.

Fear and mild interest fills me as the first rammed heavily into the mound, bleeding holes thanks to the spikes, before the second rammed into the first, and began to feast.

Acidic blood began to spray everywhere as the eel cannibalized with a fervour the last could not show me.

Crap. This isn’t the time. Capitalizing on this opportunity, I take aim, carefully this time, and throw my sword towards the stalactite above them.

The stalactite breaks quickly, but my sword ricochets off it, into the pool, taking my courage along with it. Seriously?

A meaty crash draws my attention back to the eels’. The stalactite worked wonderfully, pinning them together, right though the mouth.

Honestly looking at this, I feel even more shame thinking of my first fight. I was almost beaten by such… one dimensional creatures.

You have defeated Level 3 Uncommon (I) Jumper Eel(Normal).

You have defeated level 5 Uncommon (I) Jumper Eel(Normal).

You have gained 3 levels.

A splash drew my attention back to the pool. Crap, that third eel is coming back up.

I quickly come up with ideas and discard them. I couldn’t get the orbs without a sword. The spikes, while extremely sharp, were far too short to do damage to the eels. The teeth of the eel were far too brittle. So I look towards my shield. While it was still bent, and my arm was cracked, it was still the largest thing available. Of course the stalactites could have counted, but they were too brittle.

Heading down onto the bare side, ready to dash back behind the mound, and I watch the eel. The eel is the exact same, if only slightly bigger, then the others.

Despite that, this isn’t good.

After a moment of hesitation, I decided to stay at the mound instead of going into the hole.

I was almost positive that I wouldn’t be able to kill this without my sword, so I had to get it back, and hopefully I could faint this eel into charging into the bare space behind me.

As it starts to contract, I angle my shield arm slightly to try and get a bounce like the stalactite did with my sword, and pull the shield more up my arm, so my hand was poking out.

Examining the eel as close as I can, I quickly begin to shuffle once I notice signs of a charge.

As the figure of the eel starts to blur, I change my shuffle into a jump.

My shield does its job and deflects the eel, and I shift my left hand back and stab it into its side, letting its momentum do the rest.

My hand shreds a long cut along the eel, and large amounts of dark green comes spilling out, and my fingers strain from the force.

Wincing at the feeling, I tug my hand out and leap into the pool.

Inside the pool, I immediately began to swim down into the pool, down towards a telltale shimmer that could only be my sword on the bottom.

Some sort of instinctive joy rises as I grasp my sword, but our reunion is disrupted by a splash above me.

Companies here.

I plant my feet and glare up through the water towards the eel, the rippling water making its figure wave in time with the psychedelic effects the water gave.

Fixing my shield hand, I wait in the water and watch the eel. I was fairly positive that it couldn’t charge in water. Something about… physics. Something else about physics told me I had to leave the pond soon.

Despite that, the eel once again did it charge, masses of bubbles flowing from its mouth.

O-oh dear. I snap my sword and shield up as fast as I can.

*bang*

Oh. While the eel DID manage to dash, it was somewhat… no, it was very pitiful. It did manage to somewhat reach me. Barely within sword length in fact.

Quickly I drag a couple strands as fast as I can, plant my feet on the ground, and stare it down.

Once my arm is filled, I quickly jump up and slash as hard as I can.

Bubbles drag behind my sword as the water… why does it do that?

Focusing back on the eel, my sword swipes across its mouth, slicing both of its cheeks.

But the eel somehow managed to charge once more.

Ughh!

Bubbles come out of my helmet, and corrosive water fills me as my mouth opens from the impact.

The already psychedelic visions seem to become even more chaotic as my chest begins to burn.

Panicking, I quickly pull back my sword, release my hold on the shield and grab onto its flesh, pulling myself towards it, before stabbing my sword into its eye, and thrusting it deeper with my palm, twisting it too.

You have slain Level 6 Uncommon (I) Jumper Eel(Normal).

You have gained 1 level.

Instantly, the eel ceases its movement, so I pull my sword and shield out, and swim back to the surface.

Breaking my surface, I spit out the water, and hiss in the air. Im stupid. I am very stupid.

Looking back at the already eels, I can’t help but imagine them chomping down on me.

Dangit. Thinking of how my first kill vanished, I can’t help but imagine these would do the same. Thinking times for later.

…

Shaking water off me, I can’t help but be somewhat disappointed with my inability to eat the last eel. That's what I get I suppose.

I try to sear my stupidity into my brain, but the water makes it very, very hard to focus. I try anyway.

Standing around for a bit, I soon give up. I’ll try again once the waters gone.

Glancing at the hole, the faint nostalgia fills me once more. This time, as there isn’t anymore eels left, at least not immediately, I can head in.

Walking back through the tunnel, soon my attention heads elsewhere as I walk through the winding tunnels.

I guess i'll check the… thing too.

I tug on it, and it promptly appears.

(I)

Possessed Armor (Common)

Level 6 (Normal)