Soooo I must say that the meal last night was delicious but now I have a bit of a problem.
Firstly let me backtrack. Last I remembered before going to sleep was me hurting my tooth on what I can only describe as a Large Black Pearl inside the flesh of the SHELLDER that I victoriously ate.
Not technically a problem in and of itself.
Sitting beside me is an empty shell around 1 metre squared - also not the problem.
Now the problem isn't the Shell, it also isn't the pearl.
It's the frozen entrance to my cave. And visible through the transparent freezing cold glassy block of ice is the second part of my problem. MAMA CLOYSTER has decided that she wants what I have. I think.
I have the feeling that were this the human world she would be the collector come to take her dues. The gangster after his hidden stash. The possessive girlfriend after her partners royal jewels.
It seems the Black pearl in question isn't SHELLEDERS, nonono it's BIG MAMMA'S.
Now how do I know this you might ask? Well because I am brilliant and my process of deduction is also top notch.
Also the Black Pearls surrounding MUMMA CLOYSTERS SHELL is missing a spot. Secondly, when I move the Pearl around on the ground she starts hyperventillating CLOYSTER - LVL 30. MP/HP???
Lucky for me she is unable or unwilling to freeze the inside of this cave so i'm at least not dead.... yet.
Unluckily for me there is no other exit to my burrow. Something I will have to remember for the next time I choose my home, as apparently this one just isn't going to cut it anymore. My "safe space" is filled with many SHELLDER who look at MAMA with love and respect (and a very healthy dose of fear). Why they didn't just come inside and drag me out is beyond me.
Maybe they are worried I might wake up and somehow smash the pearl in a desperate act of revenge? Lucky then that they have no clue that I have no skills to break said pearl. Shhhh don't tell them.
So to sum things up i'm trapped in a hole with something that MAMA CLOYSTER and her goons want badly and there is literally no where for me to run.
How did they even find me? Does MAMA have a GPS placed on each and every one of her PEARLS or the SHELLS of her offspring?
Although I'd like to say I don't negotiate with Terrorists, this is certainly a hostage situation and from their perspective in the captor.
Recalling previous bank heists than never end well for the bad guys I consider my options. ... ... Do I even have any options? I have no escape helicopter to take me away from here and my hostage has some ability to let CLOYSTER know where it is. Do I use the shellder shell and pretend I'm one of her goons?
Somehow I just don't think she's stupid enough to fall for that as she can clearly see an empty shell, a seel and a pearl. If I eat the pearl ... she will just kill me and remove it from my corpse. Soooo..... yeah I got nothing.
I stare at CLOYSTER as she stares at me. She's waiting for something and I have no idea what it could be. Does she have a demolition expert who is going to blow open this cave and a SWAT team to incapacatite me to remove the hostage from my grasp? Highly unlikely.
A deep rumble echoes outside her large purple shell as she simply states as a matter of fact "CLOYYYY!!??"
*DING - CLOYSTER has attempted to start trade negotiations Y/N*
Yes I guess? The ball has always been in your court MAMA bear.
Simple commands can be provided via the SYSTEM for what is to trade, only items, money and promises that can NOT be broken may be used
Well that's something! Maybe I can figure out a way to live.
CLOYSTER wants BLACK PEARL and promises that your death will be swift and painless.
Um... no hard pass on that. REJECTED
Would you like to make a counter offer?
Oh my god this really is a hostage negotiation! Okay so what do I want... hmmm well A) to live B) something to sweeten the deal
You know Edward Elrich full metal alchemist bull shit, I want an equivalent exchange!
SEEL will trade BLACK PEARL for his life and an item of equal value.
"CLOYYYYYYYY!!!!!"
Oh she seems pissed. She proceeds to rise up into the water and then slam into the ground with a loud *THUMP*
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Nifty trick - that's got to be some high level shennanigans to pull of something like that. I definetely recognise BODY SLAM but the first part... no clue.
REJECTED
CLOYSTER has a counter offer
CLOYSTER will allow you to live, forgiving you for murdering one of her spawn and will take BLACK PEARL as payment
I guess that's kind of equivalent, a life for a life? The Pearl was never mine to begin with anyway.
ACCEPTED
The pearl dissapears from my cave and appears in the vacant spot around CLOYSTERS SHELL completing her set. With glee she yells "CLOYYYY" and the SHELLDERS cheer *SHELL SHELL*
She gives me one final look, has the audacity to *CHUCKLE like some bloated fat fuck in an ugly purple house* and then proceeds to levitate from her spot and travel away into the distance with her goon squad in tow trekking along with her through the sand.
Well that was scary as hell..............
Oh well time to find a new home.
I attempt to leave my cave......... *BAM*
GUYS!.... i've still got a massive problem. I forgot to ask her to remove the thick ice surrounding the entrance to my hole.
No wonder she chose to leave with her posse as she laughed, well fuck you i'll have the last laugh level up and beat your arse and steal every single one of your black pearls.
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DAY 7
Sooooo good new or bad news?
Good news is i'm still alive
Bad news is i'm still trapped and the ice does not look like it is going to melt... EVER.
Same thickness, same see through lack of colour, no cracks.
In other bad news i'm really hungry and I haven't eaten in over 2 days, I've used most of my stamina trying to figure out ways to break out of my ice prision.
I can't find any purchase on the ice block, the funny tusks on my face which I can see in the reflection in the ice have no real use and the rocks behind me are too solid for me to break with my strenght and the abilities I currently have.
I admit that in my desperation I have tried to HEADBUT the ice, the wall, the roof. I have tried to empowered bite my way through the stones... one word... OUCH.
Some of my broken teeth litter the sand beneath me, this seems to be a common thing for me these past few days.
So basically, I guess the CLOYSTER gets the last laugh, she said she wouldn't kill me but I'm sure she knows i'm going to die trapped in here anyway, much smarter then I gave her credit for.
Probably the only reason she agreed to the trade in the first place.
I have tried desperately to learn new moves that might help me but i've learnt NADA, ZIP, ZERO.
I slowly sink down to the soft sand and try with all my knowledge to figure a way out of this shitty situation. In frustration I smack my tail on the ground watching as shards of broken teeth and sand settle back down around me.
WAIT.. THAT'S IT!
EUREKA!
With excitement I work on scooping up mouthfuls of sand and pour them into the makeshift bucket that is the SHELLDER's empty shell. How far down does this go? In excitement I continue my excavation downwards being careful not to allow the sand to fall back into the hole beneath me.
*DING - Skill learned - DIG - use watever is at your disposal to .. dig* Bloody useless, i've already been digging for hours, how is this supposed to help.
In the likely event that this hole is VERY deep I have stacked the SHELL against the wall and once it fills up I can start stacking sand on the other side of the shell, which theoretically will be too heavy to be moved.
Literally hours later and after a couple of mishaps, the use of the skill dig as it levelled has helped me know where to place the sand and also a little easier to ... dig.
However mistakes were bound to happen and the sand did in fact spill into the hole numerous times, forcing me to backtrack.
But FINALLY i've reached the end.
And not only THE END but MY END.
In frustration I stare at the rock beneath me. The feeling of depression has never hit me harder then it does today. I shed salty tears mixing in with the water as I wail at the top of my lungs over and over *SEEL!!!!* This is just so unfair!
As I wallow in my saddness and the futility of my work I hear a distant response that I pay little attention to *GONGG?*
As I continue to bemoan my fate I slowly come to realise that the *GONGGG* sound is much much closer then before.
WELL GREAT now something is coming to eat me, can't you give a guy a break as I yell out loudly in anger and frustration "SEEL!!!!!*
*GONGGGGGGGGGG* *CRACK, CRACK, CRACK BOOM*
Shards of ice rain down from above and force the shell and the sand to fill the hole that I have to quickly swim out from. I look around, stunned and confused to see the most beautiful blue eyes staring at me from the exit to my cave. A look of concern is visible from her face .
Blue Eye Texture [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/3530ed00-cf29-452f-8fbd-e4eb9e9debea/dc5kitt-178cbc13-2c00-4b07-8da2-4af2e7b91e0f.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzM1MzBlZDAwLWNmMjktNDUyZi04ZmJkLWU0ZWI5ZTlkZWJlYVwvZGM1a2l0dC0xNzhjYmMxMy0yYzAwLTRiMDctOGRhMi00YWYyZTdiOTFlMGYuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.GOJo1jHvhL0np4njIgYy2BvuEjgQKNB4GMpzruNuIR8]
Well she looks a little familiar, I wonder why?
IDENTIFY DEWGONG - LVL 32
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STATUS
[SEEL - LVL 3]
[Water/???]
[HP 25/30 MP 20/30]
Lvl Move Use Cost 2 SWIM ... to swim.. idiot Uses 0 MP, requires some energy to use 3 Bite Om nom nom Empowered required 2 mp, unempowered 0 1 Struggle Fight for your lifeee, wiggle like a epileptic Uses 0 MP however causes recoil damage 3 Headbutt Now that's using your head! Uses 0 MP however causes recoil damage 3 Propel Use your primary appendage to give yourself forward momentum 1 MP per use 1 Tourniquet Apply pressure to a site to cut off circulation No Mp per use however loss of use of the limb bound until tourniquet is removed 1 EVIL EYE Glare at a creature had enough and lowers the target's crit rate, whilst making them more suscetible to critical hits. 1 MP per use 1 REST Recover HP at the expense of giving yourself the condition ASLEEP Uses fat reserves/energy 1 AMBUSH Sneak up on unsuspecting foes - if ambush is successful you will attack first and always score a critical hit. Uses 0 MP however requires skill, patience and practice to successfully pull off 5 DIG Use watever is at your disposal to .. dig Uses 0 MP, requires some energy to use