Day 3

I am feeling much better now, better in this form than I ever have. In fact I haven't been whole since I was a tiny little squid. I know it sounds silly with the actual amount of time that has passed but I barely had any time where I wasn't injured.

The wounds are healing so fast they aren't even leaving scar tissue.

I have been thinking about my current defenses and utility since I want to avoid the difficulties of being crippled again for as long as possible.

So I have the reflection field spell and the permafrost spear spell I kind of pulled out of my head... does all magic work this way? Implanting instructions for the magic in the brain? That seems unlikely. Perhaps it is part of the evolution process?

Well I should try to look for other similar spells buried in here. Hmm.

Oh. Permafrost Squall? It summons a freezing burst of icicles to rain from the sky?! Well it sounds useful if I ever have to fight something on a boat or on land... less so down here.

That is all? I am a little disappointed. Is it because I'm a 'lesser' icicle squid? This is the basic stuff?

Well, I do have some flexibility with (lesser) cryokinesis.

Anyway, the day is wasting away and I'm hungry. Also I get the feeling I really don't want to be home right now...

Hey, no window.

Oh, that's right I don't have premonition any more but 'sixth sense'? Is it more accurate? Longer ranged? I leave before whatever misfortune arrives.

From a distance I note half a dozen fishing canoes heading back the way I came.

Since it is none of my business... I'll ignore it.

I spot the siren flitting in that direction. She waves.

“See you around...” Her fingers say in passing.

Is that why she knows my language? It is more convenient than words down here?

I ignore that too. They must be separate issues.

I scout around the area, looking for threats in the second nearest reef. I would be foraging on the nearest... but I seem to have wiped out the crab population and scared off the fish there. I'll rotate through them to try and keep my hunger sustainable.

This reef is different. I just hit the jackpot. Two foot long lobsters crawl on it, roughly fifty of them... or are they crayfish? Either way, this is a big score.

The nearest has no large claws. Crayfish? It is spiky and sky blue in color. I make a quick grab for it before it flees.

Jet Charge activated~

Ouch...

Ever walk into a brick wall? Ever sprint into a concrete one? Ever jet charge into a magic force-field with no give? I am glad I have no bones... they would be broken at this point, I'm just bruised. Now, I'm kind of stumped. How do I get at the tasty, tasty crustacean behind the impervious barrier?

Permafrost Spear activated~

It just slides away? I braced it against the coral and it still wouldn't work. The barrier just can't be pierced, huh? Frustrating...

Barrier breaking method no.2

I use cryokinesis and cover the barrier in permafrost and squeeze.

No, still no give.

Barrier breaking method no.3

The permafrost covering on the barrier sprouts spikes across the entire surface and compresses the barrier.

Damn, this isn't a bubble a splinter will pop. I didn't even get one inside.

Barrier breaking method no.4

I grow blunt projections of permafrost on my arms and using cryokinesis and my own muscle (I am mostly muscle) I proceed to strike the barrier to the tune of 'Hammer Time' to relieve my stress... unsuccessfully.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

To hell with it.

Using a three foot wide spiraling growth of permafrost I try to drill through the barrier... but as before it doesn't pierce. That isn't the end of this strategy... I burrow into the soft coral beside the barrier and up into the bubble from there. Hollowing the drill gives me direct access to the bubble through a tunnel.

The crayfish has realized the peril now. Too bad for you my tasty... I mean worthy opponent. You are still stuck inside the permafrost barrier of spikes from method 2.

Freeze Touch activated~

The tropical critter is instantly killed by the temperature difference from a single tap of my right arm and ends up nicely chilled. It is for lack of better words: incredibly delicious. Sweet, soft flesh under the hard armor and there is so much I barely finish it. If I could I would drool at the thought.

I glance around with smiling eyes at the herd that remains on this reef... oh, I'm in paradise...

I snap out of it as I hear a squeaking noise from the other barrier protected food items.

I have a sudden worrying sensation...

A slender, large shape with fins sweeps our way from one of the far reefs.

Oh shit, she is *huge*.

A shark is coming... I say she... because that thing could only be the mother of all reef sharks... long fins with a black tip and her body a solid sandy color.

She is thirty foot long at least and judging from the speed she is faster than me by a good margin in a straight line. Sharks do seem to have difficulty making sharp direction changes other than turning... on the other hand squids have a great amount of maneuverability.

I also have a new trick up my arms... I hunker down using the reflection field spell and drive spikes of permafrost into the coral beneath anchoring it solidly. I round out the surface and add some small holes for circulation of water. I calmly wait for the super-predator lured by the barrier crayfish to give up gnawing on my barrier. Sharks aren't mindless however... I'll have to keep an eye out for sudden ambushes, I really didn't like the animosity the tiny black eyes showed.

I don't dawdle in open water and head home as fast as my jets can carry me.

Hmm. That is new...

There are spears and rocks inside my 'cage'. Looking closer I see a broken chisel at the base of my new statues. I sweep the junk outside and add new layers of security to my prison of safety. I make the front entrance a solid wall of transparent permafrost. Lets see them try to spear me through that!

I hear a knock on the ice before I finish the construction and excavation.

The siren Yumi is floating there.

“Hello, neighbor.” She said with gestures.

I greet her and ask why the people were after me and my sculptures.

“Oh, they heard some ridiculous story about cursed dolls made of gemstone guarded by a demon. They gave up fairly quickly.” She shrugged.

I thought for a moment before asking if she by any chance knew any magic.

“Of course I do. Why? Did you want to learn some?” She yawned. “Well let's see about that tomorrow~ I'm kinda sleepy.”

I saw her off, mentioning the shark and got a cryptic reply.

“Don't bother the shark. Just stay out of its way. There are far worse things out there for an apex predator than a belligerent brute of a shark.”

Did she mean that thing owned this area as a territory? If we lost one we gained another? What did she mean by 'worse'?