Chad had gotten fairly used to holding back his strength. Whether it was hurling objects, punching monsters, or launching himself across the ground, he had come to more or less understand what an appropriate amount of force to use in a given situation. But now? Now, he let loose.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as the turtle's shell crumpled beneath him. Cracks spiderwebbed out from beneath his fist, multiplying over and over in ever denser patterns. The shell's dome inverted, then exploded outward with astonishing force, sending squishy turtle meat and blood erupting outward.

His fist continued forward, spraying gore every which way as it careened through the turtle's spine and internals. A shockwave continued to ripple outward, blasting the creature apart as it moved. On and on he fell through the carnage until he crashed through the bottom of the shell.

Chad barely had time to tuck in his chin before he found himself careening toward the ground. Whether or not he had managed to slow his fall, it certainly wasn't enough to stop him completely. He braced just a moment before impact, his fist continuing down and making a secondary crater in the lakebed below.

His body slammed to a halt, knocking the air from his lungs. His ears rang with the impact as his body flared with pain. His vision swam, darkness creeping at the edges from the sheer force of the impact.

He groaned in pain, disoriented. The world seemed to spin around him as he looked up. Dimly, he registered that his skin had returned to normal, the silvery sheen of Iron Skin dissipating from its surface.

I can't... pass out. The thought floated through his mind, threatening to slip away even as he latched onto it. Gotta fix this.

With a mental effort, he forced himself to open up his status screen, navigating to the stat allocation menu.

You have defeated a Tortimer (Lvl 19)! +405 Exp.

You have displayed intermediate knowledge of how to turn countless man-hours of hard work into a pile of useless rubble. Demolition (D) proficiency earned!

Level 20 threshold requirement met!

Rewards:

+4 Stat points

+1 Proficiency Upgrade

+2 Skill Upgrades

He waved the notifications away, barely reading them. His muddled thoughts felt slow and molasses-like as he fumbled with the more basic Specialized Training window. But he managed to find what he needed.

Stat +1 CON will be applied to the following:

Head

Please confirm your selection.

Without hesitation, he hit yes.

Immediately, his vision cleared. Chad's thoughts ground back into motion once more, the fog of injury lifted. Even the ringing in his ears ceased, though a slight rushing sound still persisted. He shook the last of the issues off, blinking a few times until his mind caught up with the situation.

His entire body hurt, save for his newly healed head. His right shoulder hurt, his legs were still useless, and Iron Skin had worn off. But the turtle was gone, and he was alive. Somehow.

Wait... I'm on the lakebed, right? Then where's the water?

With an effort, he glanced up and around. He sat in the bottom of his newly-made crater, the ground wet but not submerged as it should have been. As his gaze crawled upward, he didn't see any lake water dripping in, either.

"Chad?! Are you alive?!" Squawkers's voice pierced his thoughts.

He coughed, caving up at the distant figure of the parrot above. "I'm good! Hurt, but ok. Just give me a --"

"You need to get out of there, now!" The bird interrupted him frantically. "You're gonna drown!"

Chad frowned. For the first time, he realized that rushing sound had stuck around even after healing. It wasn't a problem with his ears. It was the sound of water. Lots and lots of water. And it was getting louder.

Shit.

Suddenlty, a wall of lake rushed toward him from all sides. It made the Tortimer's splash look like a child's cannonball in comparison. The sheer mass made it seem as though the whole lake had reared itself up to crash down on him.

Gritting his teeth, pushed off the ground and shot into the air once more, curling up defensively as he flew. He angled himself out of the crater, going for a diagonal arc instead of a straight shot upwards.

His angle was slightly off. Rather than arcing above the wave, he crashed through its top, the water slamming into him like a wall. It filled his nostrils for an instant, making him cough reflexively. Then, he was through, sailing a few dozen feet over what remained of the lake below.

The entire lake roiled like a stormy sea, rushing to fill the crater and battering the shore with waves. Evidently, Chad's punch had more far-reaching consequences than expected. He sailed above, heart racing as he realized his next problem.

I'm not gonna make it to the edge. I'm going down into the water.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The realization shot a lance of panic through him. Maybe he could part the lake again? But no, he'd barely kept himself from going unconscious last time. Hurtling into the earth over and over didn't seem like a great idea. Plus, who knew if he'd have the same results without Ultra Instinct and Power-Up Punch both?

He steeled his resolve. One thing was certain -- if he was going into the water, he was going in prepared. In a panic, he swiped through his menus again, assigning another point of constitution to each of his legs. Feeling returned instantly, to his relief. But the distraction had cost him airtime. After taking a deep breath, Chad's flight path sent him back into the lake below.

He tumbled head over heels in the water. The waves buffeted him every which way, making it impossible to tell up from down. His left hand plugged his nostrils, desperately trying to keep them from filling with water.

"Chad?! Where are you?!"

Squawkers cried out for him, but he couldn't respond. Not without getting a lungful of lake. He lashed out with his right arm, gouts of water propelling him forward until he finally thumped his head against something solid.

The impact hurt, but not as much as it could have. It still cost him a bit of air. Forcing himself to think, Chad repositioned and angled his feet toward what he hoped was the ground. Then, he sent himself back upward.

He shot upwards, a little bit higher than intended, like a cork popping out of a champagne bottle. His lungs took in relieved gulps of the fresh air. This time, as he fell back down to the water, he was able to keep himself oriented and near the surface. The waves still crashed over his head, threatening to pull him back under, but Chad didn't let them.

I won't drown. I'll be ok. I'm stronger now.

With a determined grimace, he put his right arm below him and began fanning his hand back and forth. The motion shot him forward, skimming across the top of the water like a speedboat. He didn't know where exactly he was going, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be on dry land.

"Over here!"

Squawkers called out from above. As he looked up, the bird made a beeline to the right. Chad angled to follow, sucking in rapid breaths and trying to keep his head above the water.

As they finally reached the shore, Chad got a little more perspective on the damage he'd wrought. The lake level had dropped precipitously, to the point that the shoreline appeared more clifflike than gradual as it once had. The ground beyond seemed soaked through with water and the remnants of the dock and treeline had been washed out, forcing him to dodge debris as he traveled. But soon enough, he shot himself up and out of the water, digging a furrow in the muddy ground beyond.

With a groan of pain and relief, Chad rolled onto his back. His chest heaved with exertion.

I made it. Back on land. I don't even care that it's wet land, it's land. Thank goodness.

As he lay there, he felt Squawkers land on his chest. "Chad! You ok? Are you hurt? Hey!"

"I'm.... fine." He wheezed. "Just... gimme a minute."

The parrot continued to fret over him for a few minutes, hopping about on his chest. Eventually, he heard footsteps jogging over as Major Geoffries and his men approached.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," Chad coughed, his heart rate returning to normal. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he realized he was cold. And very wet. "Just peachy."

He got to his feet as the Major's eyes widened in confusion. "The hell? You can walk now?"

"Er... yeah." Chad scratched his head. "I panicked a bit and used some points. Sorry."

The man just shook his head. "How did you come out of that healthier than before...?"

Chad chuckled. "I'm just that special. Everyone else ok?"

Geoffries nodded. "Fine. A bit wet, but we survived. We got the kill notification, too."

"Awesome." Chad grinned. He was half tempted to look at his new rewards immediately, but it looked like the man had more to say.

Geoffries hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth. "That was a bit more than we expected going into things. You taking out those rockets saved us, not to mention actually taking the damn thing out. You did good, kid."

Chad shot him a tired thumbs up. "It's what I'm here for. I didn't want to get blown up either, you know."

The Major snorted. "I suppose that's true. You did save us, so I won't comment on how stupidly risky throwing yourself around like a damn tennis ball is. Regardless, we should get going. We've done what we came for."

With that, the man called over his shoulder. "Alright! Let's move out! Someone make sure the truck's still working and keep an eye out for any other massive turtles we might've pissed off."

The soldiers buzzed about their business as Chad moved to follow. As he started walking, his eye caught a flash of blue to the side. It was Nick, his form half-hidden behind a tree. His jaw hung open as he stared at Chad.

He grinned at the alien. "Well? You coming?"

"What?" Nick blinked as though waking up from a dream.

"Are you coming? To our place?" Chad explained. "If you're worried about staying safe, that's probably your best shot. I'll be there, along with some other people."

"Er..." Nick blinked a few more times, his expression turning to confusion. "Y-yes. I will come."

He hurried to follow a shivering Chad, then stopped. "Wait. One moment."

Nick knelt on the ground and scooped up a handful of soil. His thin fingers plucked a seed from thin air and placed it inside the handful, closing his eyes. A moment later, the seed began to sprout into a tiny cluster of reddish-orange flowers.

He held the flower out, offering it to Chad. "Here. Eat this."

Chad reached forward, but an outstretched grey wing stopped him. "Wait, wait, wait. Chad, you gotta be a little more suspicious. How do we know he's not trying to poison you?"

He blinked. Oh, damn. Good point. I don't think Nick would do that, but...

"Ah. Right." The idea seemed to dawn on Nick as Squawkers spoke. "It's not dangerous. It's a warming herb. Er… here." Nick plucked one of the flowers and ate it. "See?"

"You were literally talking about dying this whole time. It could still be a poison."

"Well, if it is, then we'll both die. I don't see how that would benefit me." Nick shrugged. "Besides, he has offered me protection, shelter, and a Nick-name. What reason do I have to bear him ill will?"

Squawkers narrowed his gaze, peering into Nick's eyes. "How do we know we can trust you?"

A long sigh escaped Nick. "Perhaps you should not. My people have not been the most peaceable, as you are well aware. But if you are suspicious of my gift, then why do you invite me into your home?"

"Hmm..." With a sudden movement, the bird flapped onto Nick's arm. With a quick snap of his beak, he snatched a cluster of the flowers and swallowed them whole.

"Squawk--!"

"Don't worry, don't worry. I identified it first." Squawkers straightened and cocked his head. "Wow. That's weird. It literally gives me the warm fuzzies."

"See?" Nick shook the remaining flowers. "I told you, I mean you no harm. You can refuse if you'd like, but it is for your comfort. That is all."

With a final glare, Squawkers once again perched on Chad's shoulder. "You know what? Fine. You win this time."

With a final nod, Chad reached forward and plucked his own cluster of flowers. Chewing them filled his entire belly with a warmth that radiated outward into his limbs. It felt as though he'd suddenly walked beneath a massive blowdryer.

Well, I'm still wet. So maybe a massive hot tub is more accurate.

No longer shivering, he grinned at his companions. "Well. Let's get going. I'm hungry, and I want to be home for dinner at least."