Nathan rolled to the side and lined up his harpoon with the wyvern’s jaw. Behind him, the cool mountain air beat against his back, and a cloud rushed by overhead.

He threw his harpoon.

It cracked through the air like lightning and slammed into the wyvern’s chest. It let out a roar and flapped its wings, flying into the air. It did a few loops before it dived right for Nathan.

Nathan jumped backward, and the wyvern slammed into the ground with a loud crash. Dirt, dust, and rocks scattered through the air like smoke. Nathan coughed and waved his hand.

Before he could react, he felt something hard smash into his chest, and he flew through the air before he slammed into the spring water.

His eyes sprang open, and he manipulated the water around him and burst into the air. During the split second he was there, he faced his hand toward the wyvern, and watery tendrils burst out of the spring and toward the wyvern’s mouth.

The wyvern tried to duck back, but it was too late. The water wrapped around its chest and dragged it into the pool.

Nathan fell back into the water. He forced himself back up and gasped for air. The wyvern thrashed in the pool, wings beating against the water’s surface, sending waves crashing against the rocky edges. It roared and tried to escape from the pool, but Nathan’s grip held strong.

Nathan swam through the spring and dived straight for the wyvern’s neck. The wyvern roared and tried to dislodge him, but it couldn’t. Nathan wrapped his arms around the throat and squeezed.

Immediately, the wyvern swam backward and slammed Nathan against the rock wall. The sharp stones dug into Nathan’s back, but his Constitution held up, and none of them penetrated his skin. He continued to hold on—but the throat refused to constrict. Eventually, Nathan let go and swam back.

Nathan narrowed his eyes. He needed an ace in the hole, some kind of tool. Could he use his fishing rod? No, that would probably only last another battle, if that. Better to save it for an emergency. What about his new fishing rod? No, that wasn’t a combat fishing rod. The hook was light and normal. Maybe Nathan could use it to drag the wyvern around, but it wouldn’t do real damage.

He looked down at his plant hand as he treaded the water.

That might work.

He focused on the arm, willing it to change. He imagined thick vines, sharp as thorns, erupting from the woody flesh. At first, nothing happened. He flexed his fingers, and a few thin, leafy tendrils sprouted, then withered. Frustration prickled him. He’d had it earlier, he’d done it by accident. He could do it again.

The wyvern, sensing weakness, lunged again, snapping its jaws. Nathan narrowly dodged, the wind from its jaws ruffling his hair. This was it. He had to make this work. He closed his eyes, picturing the vines again, but this time, he didn’t just visualize them. He felt them. He imagined the flow of energy through his own body, extending into the plant arm, becoming one with the woody fibers.

Suddenly, a surge of power coursed through him. The plant arm twitched, then erupted. Thick, thorny vines shot out, lashing towards the wyvern. They pierced the creature’s leathery hide, drawing a roar of pain. The vines tightened, pulling the wyvern deeper into the water. More vines erupted, thicker now, like branches, impaling the wyvern’s wings and pinning them to the pool floor.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. That had been looking a little shady at some point.

The wyvern’s roars became weaker, gurgling cries. It thrashed less, its movements becoming sluggish.

Nathan rubbed the sweat off his forehead.

Phew, that was looking kind of tricky.

A light came from the wyvern. Nathan froze.

Ah, shit.

The light grew brighter, pulsing like a heartbeat. Nathan's stomach dropped. He'd seen enough monster battles to know what this meant—the wyvern was transforming. Just his luck.

If only I had an ally, damn it!

At the mere thought, something warmed inside his chest—the familiar feeling of a skill activating. Nathan’s eyes widened. He hadn’t meant to activate anything, he didn’t even know what it was he’d activated.

Suddenly the water around him churned. A familiar presence materialized beside him, accompanied by the distinct smell of cheap cologne.

"Yo yo YO, Nathan my man!" A carp about the size of Nathan's forearm zipped through the water, nearly crashing into his face. "Oh geez, almost hit ya there. Still working on the whole entrance thing, ya know?" Finny adjusted a new set of miniature sunglasses, which were slightly crooked on his fishy face.

Nathan groaned. "Finny? I didn't mean to—"

“Hot damn!” Finny interrupted, spotting the glowing wyvern. "That's a big boy! I know I told you to call me in, but this might be too much!”

The wyvern's light reached its peak, and its form began to shift and grow. Nathan's vines started snapping one by one as the creature expanded.

“Uh, Finny, maybe you should make a run for it?” Nathan said.

“Hell no! Do you know how many penalties your lawyer buddy added in? I’d be screwed seven days to Sunday if I didn’t fulfill my side of the bargain!”

The wyvern, now twice its original size with crystalline scales forming across its body, let out a roar that made Finny dart behind Nathan's head.

Nathan gulped. “This is going to be interesting.”

The sound of swimming caught Nathan’s attention. Water splashed the back of his head. Before Nathan could protest, Finny shot forward, his tiny form darting through the water like a bullet.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Hey ugly!” Finny said. “You ever hear about the time I convinced a shark I was his long-lost cousin? No? Well—YIKES!" He dodged a snap from the wyvern's jaws, tumbling through the water.

"Okay, okay, maybe not the best time for that story!" Finny recovered, zipping around the wyvern's head. "But seriously, your dental work is atrocious. I know a guy who knows a guy who could help with that—WHOA!" He barely avoided a tail swipe.

The wyvern, distracted by the annoying fish darting around its head, didn't notice how the water pressure was slowly building around it. Finny might have looked like he was just goofing around, but each dodge and weave was directing more and more pressurized water against the creature's crystalline armor.

Nathan’s jaw dropped.

Holy shit, is Finny actually competent?

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his harpoon. He swam over to it as fast as he could.

“You know what your problem is?” Finny called out, now swimming figure-eights around the wyvern’s snout. “You take yourself way too seriously!”

The water pressure finally reached its peak. With a sound like ice cracking, the wyvern’s crystal armor began to splinter.

“NOW, NATHAN!” Finny yelled, his voice cracking slightly.

Nathan grabbed the harpoon from the water and threw it as hard as he could at the head of the wyvern. The harpoon spun through the air, water exploded from its rear, and it cut directly into the wyvern’s brain.

The wyvern flew backward and slammed against the spring wall, shaking the entire hill back and forth. A massive tidal wave emerged from where it landed and crashed directly into Nathan. He fought through the wave and blinked the water out of his eyes.

The wyvern floated on the water, belly up and clearly dead.

Finny swam back to Nathan, slightly out of breath. “Okay, so that was fun! Terrifying, but fun! Really builds up an appetite, you know? Speaking of which…” He tried to look casual, which was difficult for a fish. “I was at a restaurant. Kind of in the middle of a date with a hot fish, so I’ll be going now.”

Nathan just stared at his tiny, cologne-wearing companion.

“Anyway, don’t forget about that favor you owe me!” Finny said.

With a wink and a puff of bubbles that smelled suspiciously like garlic bread, Finny disappeared.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan spotted a dead fish floating to the top of the spring.

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

----------------------------------------

Nathan managed to eventually get the wyvern’s dead body out of the spring. It fell off the side of the hill where it tumbled off into the distance. He poked his head over the side of the hill and watched it fall.

It made a whistling noise before it slammed into the ground with a loud bang.

“I’m sure that won’t attract any attention whatsoever,” Nathan said.

Nathan then turned his attention back to the spring. Near the shore, the dead fish that he’d spotted earlier floated toward him.

As it got closer, an odd feeling like something inside his stomach was shaking assaulted his senses. He frowned and opened up his menu to check his status. Off to the side, the inventory button seemed to be working.

Nathan clicked on it and opened it up. To his surprise, the button opened up and immediately highlighted an object.

The new fishing rod he’d gotten from the boy.

Nathan pulled the fishing rod out. As soon as he did so, it lit up with a golden glow. A moment later, the fish at Nathan’s foot flew into the air and into the fishing rod. The light coming from the rod grew even brighter, drowning Nathan’s senses. He shut his eyes. A moment later, it died down and he hesitantly looked at it.

…nothing had changed? He inspected his fishing rod.

[Spring Carp] - COMPLETE

[Cursed Desert Tilapia] - X

[Spirit Fish] - X

[Bass of Many Fins] - X

Nathan tilted his head.

“Well, that’s good. Only three to go.”

Nathan put his fishing rod back into his inventory and looked over at the spring. Without the wyvern in it, he was able to better take it in.

The water was a light blue. Bubbles popped up every now and then from the bottom. There was a slight amount of movement the whole time, all of it springing from underground.

But more important than that was the magic coming off it. Nathan could practically smell it. It was comparable to being in the grove where his weird flower-arm thing had been growing, when the sense of power was so overwhelming that it felt almost suffocating.

What was it that Finny had told him to do? Just… use his powers?

Nathan tapped into Riptide Grasp, and the water bent to his will. He frowned. Nothing interesting had happened, and he was fairly certain that the skill hadn’t upgraded.

He stepped into the water, letting it come up to his calves. The cool sensation sent a chill up his spine.

Nathan sensed something just at the edge of his awareness. There was something he was missing, something—

He heard a splash and turned his head.

He blinked.

His plant arm had grown a vine that had splashed into the water. It twitched, and the water splashed again.

…okay, that’s not concerning in the slightest.

Nathan looked away. It was probably just some weird aftereffect of using it so extensively earlier?

He shut his eyes and tried to feel around for it—

Another splash. Nathan’s head darted toward the vine sprouting from his arm, and he glared at it.

The vine shriveled up and retreated back into his arm.

Nathan frowned sharply. It had responded to his emotions. The mere fact that it was showing this kind of awareness was deeply disturbing. Was it just going to get smarter and smarter till it took over his brain or some shit?

It could be stronger than me.

He still remembered that feeling of suffocation, of raw power, back when he’d first encountered the plant. It had started out as nothing more than a tiny seed. It had its roots all across his town. Now it was attached to his arm. What was stopping it from going further?

…It’s not like I’m going to rip my arm off out of caution. There’s nothing to do but keep an eye on things.

Nathan looked back at the water. What was he missing?

He felt around the spring using his water manipulation till he felt it bump into something.

He frowned.

Deep under the water, there was some kind of pocket that his water manipulation couldn’t penetrate. It was like there was a solid wall between him and whatever was inside.

Nathan dived into the water.

He kept his eyes open as he got deeper and deeper. Before long, he arrived at the location, only to find…

Nothing?

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows. He was at the spot where his Riptide Grasp had stopped working. He was inside the bubble, but… there was nothing here?

He reached out his Riptide Grasp to use the water… but nothing happened.

He frowned.

He tried again, and once again, nothing happened.

Okay, that’s not normal.

He waved his hand through the water—nothing odd happened, his hand just moved through the water.

Nathan tugged on the water again. For a split second he saw the water swirl before it slipped from his grasp.

This is the trick, isn’t it? This water, for whatever reason, is resistant to my skill. So if I can manage to succeed using the skill on this water, that’ll probably give me the upgrade I’m looking for.

Nathan spent the next hour or so struggling to get a grip on the mysterious water using his skill. Every single time he’d put everything he had into it. Every single time it would slip out of his skill like butter between his fingers.

As time went on, he began to feel a deep pain. It was hurting him to continue. Something was beginning to strain deep inside him. He’d never hit the limits of his skills, but he was beginning to sense that he’d hit it soon.

What would happen at that point?

He didn’t know. But he had to keep trying.

The pain continued to build. Every time he went up for air, it took longer and longer.

Nathan sank to the bubble.

One last try, then I’ll take a break.

Nathan felt power flood his veins. He mentally gripped the stubborn water as hard as he could and tugged.

The water began to swirl. It was starting to move. But in the back of his soul, something began to crack and splinter. Pieces of him taped together unravelled

And then, in a split second, it all shattered

His body erupted in flames, pain arching up and down his spine. It was pain unlike any he’d ever felt, only comparable to the time he’d ascended—it was this familiarity with the pain that allowed him to force himself to swim up for air.

Black crawled at the edges of his vision. He pushed through. His heart pounded in his chest, his head swam with muddled thoughts.

The blackness narrowed to a single point and he fell unconscious.