Tim woke up feeling partially rested. He had crashed on the sand, so it wasn’t that he had been uncomfortable while he was asleep, he was comfortable, but some things were still working against his favor. His stomach felt like an empty pit, first of all, and furthermore he felt hungover, which shouldn’t be so common amongst fish, yet it was. Though not damaged, his brain had been overworked!
While he had been asleep, Skendus the sawfish, had tried his best to be helpful. He hunted and brought a slaughtered, fatty, one-meter long reef shark, for Tim to nibble on. Considering the circumstances, this may be the best time to eat a whole shark, as he really needed to eat.
He nodded at Skendus, and muttered. “Shit, for a second I thought that you killed Marlo for me there, he was a shark too, but that poor bastard is dead already. He was a good friend, but the anti-mana got to him, and he died in an explosion.”
That part was sad, but then again, not every reef shark was related to Marlo, they didn’t bear his memory, so there was no point in wasting this delicious food. Tim needed the food, gravely, and one whole shark may not even be enough to feed him if he decided to share the carcass with Skendus, no. The latter was double the size, he strode the waters at three meters long, and he was a true fatty fish, so he’d surely eat a lot!
Thankfully, Skendus wasn’t as hungry, he followed along. “It’s sad that your friend died, but that shouldn’t stop you from eating these kinda sharks, ‘reef sharks’ you call them? They’re pretty common around here, I ate two of them before you woke up. They're pretty filling, so you shouldn’t exclude them as a food source, kid. Eat whatever you can, because I don’t think that stingrays should look as flat as you do, it doesn't look healthy, you gotta become fatter.”
“Well, no kidding, I’m slim!” He said, after chewing through a few mouthfuls of shark meat. “It’s not that I can’t eat, but I had a big growth-sprout before, and my body just hasn’t adapted to that sprout yet. I’m as soft as a feather, well, internally.”
While the other nodded along, Tim also asked. “How’d you manage to kill three sharks? That sounds pretty badass for a guy who never was a fish before, it really is something to brag about.”
“I have a big nose,” Skendus answered, and he didn’t need to explain himself any further.
Skendus was a sawfish now, as his magical arsenal had given him the opportunity to be one, and such fish had a very useful saw-like nose, like the name encouraged. His nose was two-and-a-half feet long, and it was armed with fifty, pointy teeth too, which meant that he’d just have to slash his nose against his prey in order to get the job done. That method was simple, and effective!
A sawfish didn’t even need any magical abilities to hunt, though Skendus wasn’t as crude. He still used his illusion-based powers, and he used them to soothe the sharks, before he executed them! It was safer to hunt that way, and the results were bountiful, as he managed to feed both himself and Timothy. Skendus did well overall.
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Anyway, Tim then started questioning the system, he asked. “Why did I faint, system? I’m used to fainting because of upgrades, but that was very sudden. I feel like I ate a hundred alefin rotter sardines, and I remember those fish specifically, because that was the last time when I got drunk!”
[Look at you remembering whole names now, the upgrade did its job, for sure!] The system teased him, and then she added. [As per your question, you just fell asleep earlier, you didn’t actually faint, and the reason behind this is easy to understand, you should be able to understand it now.]
[Due to the recent upgrade, a lot of neuro-transmitters were suddenly generated, and then they were released in your brain, all at once. This was a sizable surprise for your brain, and since it couldn't counter the neuro-transmitters whatsoever, your brain just accepted them, and then started working really fast! This speed was what made you feel so euphoric, and as you know, euphoria has to end at some time, no matter how great it feels to experience it. When you started slowing down, your brain also relaxed, thoroughly, and that was when you crashed. All of this was just like a sugar-rush, except the sugar, in this case, were a bunch of neuro-transmitters! You’re fine, don't worry.] She explained, as best as she could.
The system’s explanations were expansive, as always, but they were useful. She covered topics that Timothy wouldn’t even think of, so there was no replacing information like that! Most of fishkind didn’t even know what a neuro-transmitter was, for example, and this emphasized how important her vast information-sharing was! She was priceless!
Anyway, since Timothy got an explanation for what happened, he could focus on other things afterwards. He had a couple of open, visual system tabs in front of him, which explained some possibilities. One tab featured the remaining system points that he had, and the other tab featured the five remaining upgrades that he was to buy, eventually. They were all really interesting, so he focused on those.
“Twenty-two hundred points for a CQ upgrade, huh? I won’t be buying that anytime soon, then! What does CQ even stand for, again?” He asked, through a thought, while he nibbled on the reef shark’s intestines.
[Creative intelligence,] She answered, [Creative intelligence as I mentioned, can be useful in many instances. In your case, it’ll help you come up with more clever, and creative solutions when your back is against the wall. It’s really useful in battle, great war generals are known to be creative!]
“Well, I’m fighting fish, so that doesn’t require much creativity from my side, not for now at least, so I’m gonna have to skip this upgrade for a while, system. If I’m being honest, the level-six jaw upgrade thingy looks a lot better to me! It’s cheaper at least, it’s only eleven-hundred points.” He expressed.
Tim was contemplative for once, and this was interesting, as it was an indicator of progress. It was very rare of him to think things over, and in most cases, he simply picked the first idea that was presented to him. He was rarely picky, so this was a new phenomenon!
Perhaps it was best that he actually was picky this time, because aside from those two, mentioned purchase options, the remaining three seemed especially useful. All three of them were magical abilities, and although they didn’t seem extremely destructive, they may offer the most unique advantages that Tim had ever heard of!
Even their names seemed manic, gravely. Not to mention their descriptions! These powers could even be considered pre-necromantic!
Their names were the following; Bone multiplier, electro nerve splitter, and soul grabber!