Tim swam forward for a few more meters, before he unleashed another wall of fire within the waters. He still didn't understand how his fireballs were water resistant, but as long as they did what they were supposed to, he did not question their mysterious nature. He used the fire's collective, wall-like results to eradicate the things that had threatened him, and he succeeded as a result, he won the battle.
“That should be the last of them,” He mumbled, “I spun my tail like it was some fucking helicopter blade! Spun it longer than I wanted to… I didn't even know that my thin ass tail could get so exercised.”
The things that he was saying were as horrendous as ever, but this time, he said them with the pretext of irritation. He was irritated, because he felt worn down and still hungry, and overall really challenged. He had enough reasons to excuse the nonsense that he just spewed.
Then, the system came along to twist his feelings even more. A couple of things had happened over the course of ten minutes, so she had to update Timothy on the matters.
First, she said. [You've spent 432 mana points in just under two minutes. Although I understand that it was necessary, do your best to avoid any other battle like that one for a while. In total, you have 712 mana points remaining.]
This notification was enough to irritate him even further, and the system didn't stop there either. She had good news to share as well, but those news were stitched together with this perplexing disadvantage, one that made him question his morals, even if just a little bit.
The system went into as much detail as she could, she said. [Congratulations are also in order, Timothy, as you just won 4,109 system points throughout that battle, so in total, you've accumulated 4,261 system points. You killed a bunch of dolphins, though, I am yet to find a reason regarding why they were the way they were, but killing them is still frowned upon by some civilizations! Unfriendly dolphins are rare, and dolphins who bark out green light, well, they shouldn’t exist at all, so I don’t know what species they were. You were right to kill them, but plenty of people will challenge your better judgment someday.]
“I was right to kill them, no kidding! They were the ones who tried to corner me, so I would've killed them even if they were friendly, system! Friendly doesn't mean that they can't become deadly at some random point of time, and I learned that the hard way. I don’t regret killing them.” He muttered, and that was about all of the remorse that he felt.
Afterwards, Tim ignored all the system points he won over, and focused on the dolphins instead, because he wanted to find reasons to further excuse the murders he had just committed. He was also curious about their weird nature, very curious, so he then tried to find one of their carcasses, in order to observe it properly. The system applauded his scientific effort.
He found a dolphin, one who was slowly sinking within the crushing embrace of the salty sea, and then he approached it. The sea’s embrace was especially abusive against mammals such as dolphins, because the immense depths of the sea would eventually force its carcass to implode, but then again, that was how mother nature functioned. There was no challenging the will of mother nature, regardless of what planet he lurked in.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Tim didn't care to preserve the dolphin's body, neither did he plan a proper funeral for it. Instead, he just wanted to figure out why the dolphins had emitted that radiant, green light, as there had to be a reason behind it. That was the main thing that interested him right now.
He found the carcass, as mentioned, and then circled around it to get a closer look. It didn't take a scientist to figure out where the problematic area was spread across; The dolphin's abdomen, along with its frontal pelvic fins, were seemingly infected by this layer of gross-looking, green flesh!
“Is that a fungus or something?” Tim asked, because he was under the impression that fungus was green.
[No, no. Fungus doesn't give anyone any magical powers. Or at least, I'd be surprised if it actually did bless someone with powers.] The system followed along, [Then again, even though not every species harbors magical powers, them, and everything physical still has the potential to carry mana at some point of their existence. So… for once, I'm not sure what to think, maybe this is magical fungus after all?]
“I think you were right the first time around,” He added, after a moment of silence. “This can't be a fungus infection, because fungus isn't supposed to make someone’s veins glow, right? I can see the fucker's veins, they're drawn out like some elegant ass map of a river.”
[It can't be fungus, then.] The system concluded, but the rest of the issue seemed unsolvable, so she then decided. [I wish we could analyze this creature more, but everything about its body seems deadly, and or poisonous to be around. Forget about eating it as well, it is inedible!]
Timothy did not like that part of the deal. He was still as hungry as a starving hyena, so he hated that he couldn't eat this fatty, two-meter long dolphin! If the dolphin's flesh hadn't been poisonous, then he would've stopped his hunt for food right here, but considering the circumstances, he couldn’t stop hunting now, or anytime soon.
The system points he won over, however, were really plentiful, more than he ever had. He had been on a hunt for points for a while now, so it felt pretty bizarre how he got a bunch of them so randomly. Furthermore, these points gave him a little idea.
Tim backed away from the dead dolphin, and in the meantime, he asked. “System, I have enough points to buy that micro shit upgrade now, right? I want to be smaller, as soon as possible, maybe I'll feel less hungry too, but do you think it's a good idea to buy that shit here? Would I get knocked out from any kind of pain? I gotta know.”
[Micro shift,] The system first corrected.
Furthermore, she added. [Also, unlocking this ability will most definitely knock you out, because it will make a lot of changes to your body, including altering your internal organs, for them to retract and expand upon will. It's not a fun process whatsoever, so fill your belly up first, and then find a nice patch of sand to hide in. You're in no condition to take unnecessary risks.]
Tim may not be the smartest fish in the ocean, but he was smart enough to take the system's recommendations seriously. The hunger that he still felt motivated to be cooperative even more, so as a response, he continued to hunt anything within close vicinity. The fish within this massive crowd were mostly small, but he felt sure that if he ate enough of them, Tim may tame his hunger at last!
Furthermore, the discovery they made regarding the dolphins was shocking, but there was nothing they could do with this scarce information right now. Their radiant, green color remained a mystery, one that even the system couldn't decipher!