66-Competition

After confirming that the plantation was growing as planned, Nexha floated in the water for a few moments, watching the sprouts sway gently with the current. He smiled, satisfied. Everything was going according to plan.

But then, a deep, loud sound echoed through the water.

Grrrrrrrroooommm.

He blinked, confused, before realizing the noise came from his own stomach.

— Ah... I guess I need to hunt for breakfast.

With sudden hunger taking over, he swam towards the Mother Tide Algae plantation. Upon arrival, he saw Krahs and Lilay eating fresh fish, their mouths still chewing as shiny scales floated around them.

— Ah, finally remembered you need to eat? — Krahs teased as the boy approached.

— Yeah, yeah, I know! I was busy! — Nexha grumbled, grabbing the fish Krahs handed him.

As he ate, he noticed Lilay holding a net similar to the one he used before the barracuda completely destroyed it. The boy looked elated, almost defiant.

— Hey, where did you get that? — Nexha asked, suspicious.

— I made it myself! — Lilay lifted his chin proudly. — And it's way better than that old junk of yours.

Before Nexha could respond, Lilay launched himself into the water with impressive speed. He swam fast, chasing a school of fish with the net trailing behind him. With a skillful motion, he captured the fish that lagged behind, pulling them in with a satisfied grin.

Lilay returned beaming, holding up his full net triumphantly in front of Nexha.

— See? I can catch a lot of fish too! — he said, his tone laced with challenge.

Nexha narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

— I catch bigger fish.

Lilay pouted, offended.

— Hah! But I'm still bigger than you, sardine!

Anger flared through Nexha like fire. Without thinking, he tackled Lilay, and the two started rolling in the sand, pulling at each other's hair and fins.

Krahs, watching while chewing his fish, sighed. He let the kids "play" in the sand for a while before finally standing up and giving each of them a light tug on the ear.

— If you want to fight, do it in a more productive way...— he smirked mischievously. —Whoever catches the most fish by the end of the day wins.

The two kids exchanged looks, their brawl instantly forgotten as a new challenge was set. Their eyes burned with determination.

— You're going to lose, sardine!

Lilay taunted, already preparing to dive.

— Ha! We'll see, squid-face! — Nexha shot back, already strategizing.

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Before Krahs could say anything else, the two shot through the water, leaving a trail of sand behind.

The competition was fierce from the start. Nexha, experienced and calculated, chose an area near the rocks where fish liked to hide. He used natural hiding spots to ambush his prey. Lilay, on the other hand, relied on speed and his new net, sweeping through entire schools at once.

The first moments were intense. Nexha dove deep, holding a knife. With quick movements, he speared a fat, silvery fish, feeling the satisfaction of a precise hit. He grinned, swimming off to deliver it to Krahs.

But when he returned to the hunt, he saw Lilay zoom past him in a blur of fins and bubbles, laughing.

— I got five at once! — Lilay teased, showing off his full net.

Nexha clenched his teeth. This was going to be tougher than he thought.

He decided to change tactics. Instead of chasing open schools, he focused on hunting larger, solitary fish. He spotted a big eel hiding among the rocks and, with patience, waited for the right moment. When it tried to escape, he threw his knife with precision, striking it dead center.

— Hah! Got you! — He pulled the eel with effort, feeling it thrash. It was large and would count as two regular fish.

But then, Lilay appeared again.

— You're still on that one fish? I've already caught ten! — He spun his net in the air before diving again.

Nexha huffed. This wasn’t over.

The competition remained intense. The two swam relentlessly, challenging each other with every new fish caught. Nexha, with his precision and strategy, began to counter Lilay’s speed. But Lilay, determined to win, used every advantage he had—he even seemed to swim faster than before, sometimes trying to disrupt Nexha’s hunt.

— Hey! — Nexha complained when Lilay swam past, purposely kicking up a cloud of bubbles and sand.

— Hehehehehe. — Lilay laughed.

Minutes turned into hours. With each new fish captured, the rivalry only grew. By late afternoon, both were exhausted, their hunting bags heavy.

Finally, they returned to where Krahs was waiting. He crossed his arms, examining their catches. Nalu and Zhaelor gathered curiously to witness the verdict.

— Alright, let's see… — Krahs began, counting the fish. Nexha and Lilay held their breath.

— Nexha caught ten big fish, including this large eel... that counts as two. — He nodded, satisfied. — Total of twenty.

Nexha happily flicked his fins, but then Krahs moved on to count Lilay’s.

— Lilay... caught twenty-four fish. Even if they’re smaller, the winner was whoever caught the most fish.

Silence was shattered by Lilay’s victorious shout.

— Hahahaha! I won!—He danced in the water, tossing fish into the air like aquatic fireworks.

Nexha, sweating and exhausted, stared in disbelief.

— What?! How?! —He flopped onto his back, floating in frustration.

Lilay leaned over him, grinning.

— Sardine looost! — he sang.

Krahs laughed heartily.

— That was quite the competition! You both did a great job. — He eyed the fattest, juiciest fish in the pile.

—Here’s your prize!—He tossed the fish toward Lilay.

Lilay caught it, hugging his prize like a trophy.

Nexha sighed but soon smiled. Even though he lost, it had been a fair competition. And deep down, he knew he’d have his revenge.

— Next time, I’ll win. — He promised, looking at Lilay.

Lilay blinked.

— Little bro won’t beat me unless he grows first… — he smiled, dimples forming.

— Just wait until I’m bigger than you.

And so, between teasing and laughter, the competition ended. But this was just the beginning. Nexha was already thinking about the next one.

As he considered his next advantage, he checked Lilay’s stats.

[Mimic Mermaid]

Name: Lilay

Age: Baby

Status: Tired

Lv: 4

HP: 40/40 | MP: 25/25

Attack: 5(+4) | Defense: 5(+4)

Intelligence: 5(+4) | Luck: 7(+3) | Beauty: 30

Title: Intruder, Natural Actor

Abilities: Disguise, Charm, Master of Acting

Nexha raised an eyebrow at Lilay’s luck but then recalled how the boy occasionally ate those awful-tasting fruits from the Mother Tide Algae. He figured that was the reason. Maybe he should try it too... but the thought of eating that bitter fruit often made him grimace.

As he analyzed Lilay’s stats, something else stood out—Lilay didn’t have as many points as him, yet he still won. Nexha realized that by focusing on bigger fish, he had left a huge opening for his little brother to gather more overall. Lilay had been on more hunts with Krahs, after all.

Realizing he had unknowingly handed over the victory, Nexha smirked but remained silent, watching Lilay’s joy over winning.

—Lucky.