44-Back to farming experience

Krahs finally let the children go, but with a punishment: they would have to eat twice the usual amount of the dreaded fish egg paste at dinner. Upon hearing this, Nexha already felt his stomach turn. Just remembering the horrible taste made him want to swim far, far away.

Trying to distract himself from the punishment, Nexha swam among the seaweed, now calmer after the storm. Some were overturned, covered in sand, and the seabed looked like it had been stirred up by the chaos of the previous night. He decided to check on the sprouts he had been taking care of. Unlike the moray seaweed, which grew quickly, these seemed slower, more like regular plants.

— The fish here haven't decreased at all… This is going to be a problem if it stays out of control. — Nexha muttered, watching the school swim around without a care. — Ever since Zhaelor wiped out all the predators on this side of the moray seaweed wall, they've multiplied too much.

He remembered seeing Zhaelor hunting fiercely, exterminating the predators because he thought they were a threat to him and Lilay. Nexha sighed.

— I hope at least they give me more experience than the crabs.

Gripping his knife, he prepared himself. As soon as he managed to take down a fish, the entire school darted away in panic. Not a single one remained nearby.

— This seems like a problem… — he murmured, frustrated.

A childish laugh interrupted his thoughts. He turned around and saw Lilay swimming nearby, giggling as he watched his brother try to hunt.

— That's not how you do it, brother! — Lilay teased, swimming around him with an amused smile.

Nexha frowned.

— Oh yeah? And now the little genius wants to teach me how to hunt?

Lilay grinned and began to explain:

— Dad said that if you want to catch a lot of fish, you have to be quick with the attack. The faster, the better! So, a bigger weapon that grabs several at once helps a lot.

— Okay, that might work for Dad… But we're nowhere near as fast as him.

Nexha remembered the first and only time Krahs had taken him hunting. After the battle with Zhaelor and the recent accident, it was clear how much the old shark struggled to swim fast. That must have been making his hunts a lot harder. That's why the ones who usually came back exhausted were Nalu and Zhaelor.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Thinking about this, Nexha got an idea. He grabbed several strands of seaweed that had been washed up by the storm and started weaving them together. Lilay, seeing his brother inventing something new again, got curious and helped him. It seemed fun!

While Nexha was focused on his project, Lilay took the opportunity to eat the fish his brother had just caught.

— I think this will make hunting a lot easier. — Nexha said, satisfied with his work.

— I still don't get what you're going to do with this.

— I'm going to swim through the fish and use this net to catch a bunch at once!

Lilay flapped his fins excitedly.

— That sounds fun! Can I try?

— Let me show you how it's done first.

Lilay puffed out his cheeks in frustration but let Nexha go first. His brother swam toward the school, but as soon as he got close, the fish scattered in all directions.

— What?! Weren't fish supposed to have short memories?!

Lilay burst into laughter, clutching his stomach from laughing so hard.

— Hahahaha! They learned to run away from you, brother!

Annoyed, Nexha swam back and handed the net to Lilay.

— Okay, you try then.

Still grinning, Lilay took the net and swam above the school. With a quick motion, he cast the net, which fell over the fish. The smaller ones slipped through the gaps, but the bigger ones got caught, struggling. With some effort, he pulled the net back and lifted it triumphantly.

— I caught more than you! — he said with a victorious smirk.

Nexha crossed his arms, pretending to be irritated.

— Next time you're about to die, I won’t swim after you.

Lilay paled and immediately pushed the net full of fish toward Nexha, giving him a pleading look.

— Big brother, don’t say that!

Nexha sighed, ruffled his little brother’s hair, and laughed.

— Alright, alright. Let’s eat.

They started eating right there. Nexha wanted to cook, but Lilay was still hesitant to go near the surface. So, he decided to stay with him and eat by the seabed.

After a while, a notification that hadn't appeared in days echoed in Nexha’s mind.

{Congratulations! You have reached Level 4! Check your status to see the changes.}

The message made Nexha jump. He had completely forgotten about leveling up with everything that had been happening over the past few days.

Quickly, he opened his status screen to check.

[Crystal-Scaled Mermaid]

Name: Nexha

Age: Baby

Status: Normal

Lv: 4 | XP: 160/0

HP: 40/40 | MP: 25/25

Attack: 5(+1) | Defense: 34(+1)

Intelligence: 14(+1) | Luck: 7 | Beauty: 30

Title: First of Many

Skills: Analyze, System Shop Access, Passive Hardening

Looking at the status screen, Nexha realized it had been a long time since he had checked it.

— Wow, this thing was gathering dust… — he muttered, feeling a little embarrassed. As a good gamer, he should have paid more attention to it!

Lilay, completely unaware of his brother's internal struggle, kept eating his fish peacefully. Meanwhile, Nexha rolled around in the sand, drowning in his own shame.

Lilay looked at him with a puzzled expression.

— Brother? What are you doing?

— Nothing! Just… let me suffer in peace.

Lilay giggled and playfully tossed a small piece of fish onto his brother's head, making Nexha groan.

And so, the two spent another day together, surrounded by the endless ocean and the warmth of their bond.