´Alright then, how in the hell do I do this?´
Although Mari wants to kill all [Lance Sharks] immediately, without delay, really really badly, she knows well that wouldn´t be possible. If she struggled against just three of them, there´s no way she could take on multiple dozens, even if her Level went up considerably since last time. The girl has clearly seen how this large group of fish takes out incredibly strong opponents, they may not seem like it at first glance, but they´re predators through and through.
´Although, I am considerably faster now, and my [Camouflage] should be better too... No, I think my best bet would still be to go for a scout again, just carefully so not to be spotted like last time´
Her plan — hastily crafted yet not terrible — consists of building up her [Poison Resistance] first, and that would be best done by taking on one of them at a time and absorbing their Life-Essence. Her biggest flaw was being bad at taking on multiple opponents at once, and this came as a huge disadvantage considering the enemy she chose. So to stand a chance in this battle, she had to minimize all risks she hoped she could somehow influence, and poison was not only the [Lance Sharks´] strongest weapon but also something the girl´s skill set allowed to build a nice resistance against.
Second, she would also need a way to avoid being skewered like a shashlik, be it either by impenetrable skin or fast enough reflexes to avoid their attacks entirely — though Mari was fairly certain it would be near impossible to dodge all of them. If she could, she wouldn't need to go for any resistance in the first place.
So tough skin it is, the question is how? If increasing defense was so easy, she would have long done it. Maybe one of the big guys had something that could help her? Then again, how would she take a giant down anyway?
´I really need some sort of attack, or a poison would be great too, but there´s still a few ten thousand Life-Essence left to go for that... This is kinda awkward,´ Mari rubbed the wrinkles that began to form on her forehead.
Although she did absorb the Life-Essence from the Leviathan, a being hundreds — or millions, hell if she knew — times larger than her, she would´ve died miserably hadn't it been for her "Hidden Reward."
Mari wasn´t fully sure if the poison played a role there as well, but remembering the faint second of the torturous pain she felt right then, she was afraid of testing that theory.
Then again, even if she were to defeat an enemy with Life-Essence in the thousands... what exactly would that accomplish? She still wouldn´t be able to absorb all of it, not even closely so. And if it died, there would be no more Life-Essence anyway. Maybe fighting wasn´t the best option out there, though for now the girl didn´t see any other.
At least until she maybe did?
´I could just not absorb everything at once then?´ Mari suddenly realized ´This 50% bonus will be gone, which would suck, but at least I´d be taking something. Better than sitting here and brooding without getting anywhere´
Though the girl wasn´t just sitting here, she was on the move, swimming near the ground and riling up the sand beneath with her speed, while in her thoughts. It made her happy that she didn´t fall for her habit this time around.
But then she remembered, to absorb even a bit of Life-Essence, she would need to immobilize the big fish first and get her mouth on them, meaning a fight seemed inevitable. She needed to win either way... Or did she? Mari wasn't quite sure how exactly her [Skill] worked even after all this time, maybe she could just get to them from behind, stick to them which her tentacles allowed wonderfully, and finally flee with [Camouflage] after eating her fill? Could work, but also could not...
On that note, there could be a way to activate her [Skill] even without using her mouth, she needed to test that with some [Lance Sharks] in the future
And concerning the big guys, maybe she should level up a bit more first before testing that out?
Mari sighed.
´So much to do...' she sighs, yes again.
'Alright then,´ she then decides to come to a closing ´For now, three steps it is: I'll test my new abilities first, then get [Poison Resistance] up there while I farm some Levels too and finally do something about my defense. I don´t expect them to not penetrate my skin at all, but being able to take some hits would be already pretty good. But before all of that, I need to find them, I have no clue at all where they could even be...´
So, in search for [Lance Sharks] and revenge, Mari set out.
-- -- --
It didn´t need long for her to find her target, be it due to luck or because her swimming speed increased. Or maybe both.
But something doesn't seem right, the group is different from what she remembers. Not only are their numbers far greater, but all of the fish have a weird, shiny line on the left side of their scales. There's no way so much had changed in just a few days, and yet her [Skill] clearly tells her that these are [Lance Sharks]
´Multiple schools, then? With this many to boot? Honestly I don't like complaining about more prey, but this may take a good while, to kill all them that is...´
Not that Mari ever even considered to go back on her words. She would see to it that all [Lance Sharks] she came across were to die, that's how much she came to hate them, meaning that at the end of her genocide there would either be at least two schools of [Lance Sharks] or an uncommon squidctopus wiped from the face of this planet.
Mari was a little conflicted, but decided to nod her head and take it as a good thing. In the end, more prey is more prey. Furthermore, she also managed to try her improved [Camouflage] on the way, which she felt hid her more effectively now. Not only that, she could use it for longer too, and a lot longer at that. Where was a five before now stood a 30, and upon deactivating the [Skill], she felt that she would be able to use it again after about a fifth of the waiting-time she was used to.
With that, she was pretty sure she would be able to escape almost any enemy if something were to go wrong. She wondered how this wasn´t one of these [[Unique Skills]] by how strong it seemed. Though a Unique or not wouldn´t really change anything, the [Skill] wouldn't really benefit from an additional bracket, would it now? So Mari just shrugged her shoulders. The only thing that was important is that she could use it in the first place.
Lost in her ramblings, from the corner of her eye the girl saw how one of the fish separated from the group and swam to where she was hiding. She didn't think they noticed her, so presumably just a Scout setting out to do its work. Perfect, because she was already starving, but was just about to get bored too.
Mari activated [Camouflage] and hid in the rough sand, the [Lance Shark] swam past her without any sort of suspicion and she started tailing it shortly after. She remembered having difficulty last time, but she could keep up with it easily now, very easily even. She made sure to create a decent distance from the main group, enough time to get away if something were to go wrong, then jumped on the fish without any mercy. She made sure to press hard once it was deeply bound by all of her tentacles. Mari noticed that she must've grown again because its body was entirely wrapped to the point it couldn't even struggle or be seen anymore, in her memories the fish were larger, like at least twice the size. Well or maybe this one is just especially small? Either way, she left the fish no chance to call for help, but...
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
---
[Lance Shark] -- 68/68
---
[Lance Shark] -- 0/68
Its body twisted too much under the pressure.
´Eh? Are you serious?´
It died just like that. Mari released the gore from her grip as it slowly floated in all directions, her limbs now tainted a faint red that she washed away without another thought.
Again, Mari felt conflicted at that. Obviously she was upset because she wouldn´t get to feel good now — which honestly she had been looking forward to very much — but at the same time a feeling of ecstacy coursed through her stomach at the realization of how strong she´d become. She rolled her tentacles together, then rolled them out again — which sort of translated in clenching and opening your hand to check on your strength — as a sinister smile appeared on her cute face. Her black eyes sparkled, or so it seemed.
´Oh, well, it´s a bit of a waste, but guess I'll enjoy a normal meal for once. The next one I'll be sure to not kill immediately´
-- -- --
Mari took this opportunity to test out her new mouth, and she found it very surprising how much better it could taste. Eating was something she usually did because she had to, because it was inevitable for survival, but this... this she could get used to. And yet, although she was thankful for the addition of flavor, it still didn´t hold a candle to it, meaning that she´d probably still use the back of her head for her next real meals.
The prey was still devoured in record time. Because of her starving even the bones disappeared into her stomach, and the girl was glad to have done so because it didn´t take long for a group of three [Lance Sharks] to swim out, presumably tasked with checking on the scout that's surprisingly gone missing due to a very unknown reason.
---
[Lance Shark] -- 67/67
---
[Lance Shark] -- 54/54
---
[Lance Shark] -- 75/75
´Hmpf,' Mari scoffed and glared 'Look at these stupid faces, so high and mighty. Though there are indeed three of them. I could just sneak away, but...´
Mari didn´t feel like fleeing, not even in the slightest, so she mimicked the sand´s color once more and waited for them to come closer. If she was able to kill them so easily, she should be in good position to face two of them at once. Two because the third would be taken out immediately in her surprise attack:
The girl lunged herself onto the strongest member first, not giving it any chance to react and squeezed it to death before the others even realized. Its partners turned around in shock, too late to notice that they were already caught by two tentacles respectively.
´Oh no~ Look at you, struggling like the vermin you are,´ she mocked
Mari made sure to not use too much power this time. Her goal was to test just how much they could take, ideally finding a perfect strength that would leave them unconscious but not dead. These two would make for perfect guinea pigs. She firmed her grip, bit by bit, until their resistance started to seize, but she knew they were still awake. She increased the force a bit more, and one of them passed out. The other needed some more, but soon fell to her strength as well.
Mari enjoyed the show, their futile struggle, with a captivating smile. She was almost a bit sad that it ended so soon.
´Alright, so this much should be good,´ she said, having approximately figured out just how much she needed to hold back.
´So let´s get to the fun part now´
Mari looked at the fish to her left, then the one to her right, not really able to decide with which one to start. So she relieved herself of the decision and brought them both to the back of her head at the same time:
---
[Life-Essence Plunderer] has been Activated
Absorption of Life-Essence in progress...
´Uwa!´
The sudden start had caught the girl off guard. Why though? Even disregarding the Leviathan, it wasn´t too long since she last absorbed Life-Essence and yet if felt like ages. Of course, if she was used to about three absorptions per day — which in this sense replaced her meals — more than two days of not eating would have left her starving. This might not be the best comparison, but it was a fact that she didn´t consciously absorb any Life-Essence since her escape, and she has gone through quite a lot since then, mostly thanks to these... how she would call them? Ah yes "fuckers."
But now, she was thankful to the [Lance Sharks]. If they didn´t almost kill her, she wouldn´t have any reason to feel this deep hatred toward them. The addition of revenge made this experience so much better...
---
[Lance Shark] -- 48/54
---
[Lance Shark] -- 42/54
---
[Lance Shark] -- 59/67
---
[Lance Shark] -- 51/67
´Ha--!´
A sudden burst hit her and she felt her preys´ lives flow inside her. She felt goosebumps appearing on her skin. The ticklish feeling overcame her two mounts again too. They were larger and plumper now, their form more defined and sensitive, but the itch seemed to flow through them and accumulate at the tip. At the tip where her two cherries were.
´This is so much better than I remember,´ the girl released a soft sound
She... made a sound? Her new mouth allowed her to do so, and it felt incredibly relieving.
´Ahaha! Here comes another wave, I can feel it--´
---
[Lance Shark] -- 36/54
---
[Lance Shark] -- 29/54
---
[Lance Shark] -- 43/67
---
[Lance Shark] -- 33/67
Mari took the wave head-on and brought her hands to her two mountains to finally ease the ever-growing tickle, then pinched their tips
´Hngaaaa--!´
She jerked, feeling herself frozen by pleasure. A new wave of pure ecstacy spread throughout her body. It felt incredible, her legs shook before giving out. The girl shivered as she felt the entire Life-Essence filling her body at an incredible pace.
---
[Lance Shark] -- 14/54
---
[Lance Shark] -- 0/54
All Life-Essence has been absorbed in one go. 50% Bonus added
---
[Lance Shark] -- 18/67
---
[Lance Shark] -- 0/67
All Life-Essence has been absorbed in one go. 50% Bonus added
'I can't take itttt--'
The climax had come. She tightly shut her eyes and heavily bit down with her mouth. How was this so incredible? So unbelievably good? What more was there in life that could top that? Nothing, there was nothing the girl could think of.
Her brain realized it made the girl stop breathing for a moment, so she forced herself to pant for air. So she did, she did until she had calmed down a bit.
---
71 Life-Essence has been Absorbed!
100 Life-Essence has been Absorbed!
Level Up! You have reached: Level 31 (78 / 310)!
Stats have been increased!
Absorbed Life-Essence is compatible with [Fast Swimming]: 171
[Fast Swimming] has reached: Level 30 (76 / 310)
Absorbed Life-Essence is compatible with [Poison Resistance]: 171
[Poison Resistance] has reached: Level 6 (43 / 70)
Absorbed Life-Essence is compatible with [Concoct Poison]: 171
[Concoct Poison]: (259 / 30000)
´This, is exactly what I wanted,´ the girl said, taking one final deep breath.
First and foremost, she was talking about feeling it again of course, but there´s no way she would disregarded her level ups either, especially the three for [Poison Resistance] that she´s been aiming to increase. She was pretty content with the result for this being her first hunt after coming back. She wasn´t sure when the [Lance Sharks] would realize something wrong and up their guard. It would probably happen fairly soon, but even if it took her time and patience, she would find her ways to decrease their numbers until they eventually disappeared completely. That she was certain of, she only needed to avoid stupid mistakes, and as there was no reason to rush, Mari found herself confident that she would manage to do so.
The girl finally released the inedible parts of the fish that had remained captured in her tentacles, but noticed she was still a bit hungry. Or let´s say, less hungry but she could still eat some more. Shortly after that thought, her gaze shifted to the strongest of the fish she had killed first. She extended her tentacle for it, tied her limb around its body and drew it closer to her, then bit into it with her new mouth.
´It really is much yummier this way,´ the girl munched and made the fish disappear too before long, or at least the meat from its bones.
She stood up, patted her stomach and walked back to where she assumed the rest of the [Lance Sharks] would be by now. She could´ve arrived there much faster by swimming with her tentacles, but she felt like using her legs for a change, feeling the sand beneath her with every step. They were a new body part she was curious about after all.
She played with her tentacles on her way, touching them with her hands, or picking up some sand or stones only to drop them again.
Just the thought of eradicating her next prey shifted her mood for the better. Mari hummed to herself, not realizing what she was on the way to become.