The calm ocean became chaotic as several thousand souls flailed towards the shore. It didn’t seem too far from the ship but the distance seemed to multiply after jumping into the water.

“Don’t kick me!”

“I can’t swim… help!”

The strong swimmers started to pull ahead. The weak made slow progress away from the hull of the ship. The unfortunate few quickly sank beneath the waves, never to be seen again.

Zachary was in the middle of the pack. He had learned how to swim out as a part of the standard curriculum for novice summoners. But he wasn’t good at it and he expended a lot of effort simply keeping his head above the water.

Other prisoners around him were equally struggling, weighed down by their wet clothes and leather supply bags. They were tightly packed together like a school of fish.

“Hey! Let go!” Someone shouted. “My cards! Bastard, get back here!”

Zachary tightened his grip on his bag. He didn’t need to look to understand what was happening. People were already starting to fight amongst themselves, robbing supplies from each other. After jumping from the ship, they were no longer prisoners. They were now summoners of the New World. The weak would be eaten so the strong could survive!

“Watch out!”

“Murderer!”

Screams filled the morning air as blood spilled into the water not far from where Zachary was. Someone had pulled out their knife. These people were robbers, murderers, rapists, and traitors; the most heinous people the republic could gather. But it still shocked him that their humanity could be so easily thrown away.

“Ahh!”

All of a sudden, an even more wretched scream cut through the morning air. But it wasn’t a scream of anger or defiance but one of sheer terror.

“Ahh! My leg! Help!”

Zachary’s stomach tumbled. Something was here, something not human. Another scream from a different direction meant there was more than one.

His training as a summoner kicked in once again. He took a deep breath, stuck his head underwater, and opened his eyes. The first step when facing a wild Ensouled was to identify it. Only then could he analyze its strengths and weaknesses and whether he should fight or escape.

He scanned his surroundings but found nothing. The ocean floor was featureless with black sand in all directions. The turquoise waters were empty. He couldn’t even find small fish. It was as if they had all disappeared.

He closed his eyes and looked inward. When an Ensouled could not be found through normal senses, there was a chance that they could still be found by sensing Eternum, or what humans called the world's energy.

Eternum, it was an invisible phenomenon that permeated everything; every speck of sand, every ray of sunlight, every leaf on a tree, every creature in the world. It was this energy that gave birth to Ensouled. It was what allowed humans to be summoners.

All Ensouled emitted this energy from their soul. With enough soul force and practice, humans could sense the aura of Eternum in their surroundings, whether it came from inanimate objects or other Ensouled. It was a basic skill required for all summoners.

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Zachary stayed still and let the waves carry him. He filtered out the commotion caused by people swimming around him and focused his senses downward. Faint ripples of Eternum brushed ever so slightly against his soul. These were normal and a product of the water.

Then he felt it, a powerful surge of energy coming towards him from behind and at a steep upward angle. It was fast, far faster than a human could possibly swim. And there was something else too, a feeling not connected to Eternum but a visceral desire, a primal sense of hunger and an overwhelming desire to kill.

His eyes snapped open and he whirled around. He almost shouted in surprise as he came face-to-face with a large shark. It was at least twice as long as he was tall. It had a streamlined head, small black eyes, and a gaping maw below its snout that was filled with rows of razor-like teeth.

It was closing fast. He didn’t know what species of shark it was but he knew one thing. For sharks at the lower ranks, their greatest threat was their teeth and this was also their weakness.

He extended his right hand at the shark. At the last moment, he caught the top of its snout with his palm and firmly pushed downward, directing it away from his body.

The creature pushed against him, trying to find something to bite. He pushed back with all of his strength, even calling upon his soul force to assist. The momentum forced his body almost entirely out of the water. Thankfully, he did just enough and splashed down behind the shark.

The beast slid away through the water and quickly disappeared from view. During the brief encounter, he was able to get a close look at it. It was a common species of Ensouled in tropical waters known as the blue tiger shark. It had blue scales in a wavy pattern that acted as natural camouflage. In addition, its innate soul skill enhanced this natural attribute to the point that it was impossible to see with human eyes.

“Get away!”

“Nooo!”

The screams around him continued and grew even more wretched. There wasn’t just one blue tiger shark but a whole pack of them. They attacked indiscriminately to satiate their hunger.

“Help...”

“Ahh…”

People were torn apart limb from limb by merciless beasts. The water turned blood red. One after another, human lives transformed into freshly blossomed flowers of death.

Zachary felt sick but had no time to rest. He kept his soul force active to sense the ripples of Eternum around him. This put tremendous strain on his wounded soul and reaggravated his monstrous headache. But he could only grit his teeth and carry on.

He felt a surge of bestial hunger again as another blue tiger shark came after him. He used the same strategy to deflect its attack. This time, the shark turned sideways and immediately charged at another person swimming beside him. It happened too fast and that person was directly chomped in half before he could even scream.

Zachary recognized the face that was frozen in agony and disbelief. It belonged to Derrick Mason who had resided two cells from him. If Zachary had been a little slower to react just then; if his soul force had been slightly weaker...

As the dead man sank, something in the water caught Zachary's attention. It took him a moment to realize what it was before he lunged towards it. It was Derrick's supply bag, now without an owner.

Zachary swiped at the bag but missed. He went upside-down and reached as far as he could. It was a hair too far away. Weighed down by summoning cards, the bag slipped past his fingers and disappeared into the depths.

He screamed in frustration underwater, letting out a long stream of bubbles. This attracted another shark and he was forced to expend nearly all of his strength to escape and not drown in the process.

Around him, more and more people died with every passing moment. Their supply bags were no longer needed and were up for grabs. Driven by greed, a large number of people stopped swimming to rob the dead or dying. But before they could enjoy the spoils, they were set upon by more blue tiger sharks. It all seemed so futile.

Zachary knew he had to get out of his mess. He had to get out of the water as quickly as possible. He continued swimming toward shore. He dodged shark attacks one after another until he lost count. His head felt like it was about to split open from pain. His limbs were so tired that he could barely feel them. There was only one desperate thought, to get out of the water and it was what kept him going.

Gradually, the screams of the dying faded away to the rumbling of waves crashing against black rocks. His weary body slammed against a jagged boulder, shredding his shirt and leaving behind a bloody mess. He wasn’t able to grab hold and he was swept away. Another wave carried him into the same boulder. This time, he pushed himself out of the water with all four limbs and grabbed onto a sharp ledge. Gasping from pain and exertion, he was finally able to pull himself up and away to safety.