Water bolts flew towards Nathan’s shoulder. Out of instinct, he dodged to the left. Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived. A split second later, a bolt from another crab hit him square in the shoulder. Pain shot up and down his spine, the magical energy penetrating his skin.
Nathan swam as hard as he could to the right, narrowly avoiding another three or four water bolts that zipped past him. It was much the same case for the rest of the Mafia fish. Finny and another fish had thrown up some kind of shield, but based on the cracks appearing on it and the sheer volume of water bolts being slung at them, the shield wouldn’t hold up for much longer. The other fish darted back and forth in frantic attempts to dodge the attacks, but glancing blows were landing, and the smell of fish blood was already permeating the water.
Nathan looked down at the crabs and held out his hand.
“Riptide Mastery!”
Water swirled around him and crashed into twenty or thirty crabs, scattering them and tossing them through the water.
One of the crabs, dislodged by his attack, flew up and pinched Nathan’s ear. He hissed through his teeth, his back arching from the sharp pain. He reached out and squished the crab in between his powerful hands.
“Okay, that wasn’t as well-planned as I would’ve liked,” he muttered.
The sound of shattering glass filled Nathan’s ears. He looked to the left and saw that Finny’s shield had crumbled, leaving them exposed as water bolts hurtled straight toward them.
“Tidal Shield!”
A shimmering barrier of water, intricately patterned with flowing waves, appeared in front of Nathan, blocking the incoming bolts.
“Thanks for the save!” Finny said.
Nathan dodged another water bolt and turned his focus back to the swarm of crabs. This wasn’t looking good. His eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. What the crabs lacked in intelligence, power, or skill diversity, they made up for with sheer, unrelenting quantity. Their constant barrage of water bolts was overwhelming.
Amidst the chaos, Nathan tried to use his vines to penetrate the crabs’ hardened shells, but to no avail. The shells were too tough.
Nathan’s hand hovered over his inventory. What could he use? His harpoon? His fishing pole? None of his tools had the kind of wide-area damage he needed. If only Mara were here. She’d probably have a bucket of napalm, or something equally catastrophic.
Before he could dwell on it further, another water bolt zipped past his ear, making him grit his teeth.
“We need an opening!” Finny shouted. “Some kind of distraction to let us get in close!”
Nathan pursed his lips. A distraction? Maybe he could pull something off.
“I’m about to try something!” Nathan called.
He held out his palm and poured energy into his arm. Vines and leaves erupted from his hand, growing wildly underwater. Fueled by the surrounding water, they spread out like a living web, tangling between the crabs and the soil. A moment later, the vines surged upward, bursting out behind the crabs and knocking them into disarray.
“Now!” Finny yelled.
A skill lit up Finny’s fish frame, and he burst forward in a stream of light, smashing into a cluster of crabs. His fellow fish quickly followed, their bodies glowing as they launched into the fray. Within moments, the water was a chaotic blur of light and motion. Crab shells shattered, and their innards spewed into the water, the metallic tang of blood filling Nathan’s nostrils.
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The water churned with violence as Nathan watched the Mafia fish tear through the disoriented crabs. But the crustaceans were already regrouping, their beady eyes glowing with malevolent blue light as they readied another volley of water bolts.
“They’re reorganizing!” Nathan shouted. His shoulder still throbbed from the earlier hit, but he forced himself to focus. “We need to keep them scattered!”
He channeled more of his power into his arm. More vines erupted from the soil, but this time he directed them to weave between the crabs’ legs, creating a tangled mess that threw off their aim. Water bolts sprayed wildly through the water, giving the Mafia fish precious seconds to press their advantage.
Finny spun through the water like a torpedo, his scales flashing as he smashed through three crabs in quick succession. “Nathan! Above you!”
Nathan looked up to see a particularly large crab descending toward him, claws extended. He twisted away, but not quite fast enough – razor-sharp pincers raked across his back, drawing blood. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Nathan grabbed one of the crab’s legs and swung it like a makeshift club, smashing it into two of its companions.
“Nice move!” Finny called out, before diving to avoid another barrage of water bolts.
Nathan counted maybe fifteen left, but they were the strongest of the bunch. Their shells gleamed with an unnatural blue sheen, and their water bolts seemed to pack even more punch than before.
“I’ve got an idea,” Nathan said. “But it’s going to take precise timing. Finny, can you and your friends push them toward the wall?”
Finny nodded, quickly relaying the plan to his companions. The Mafia fish began a coordinated assault, herding the remaining crabs with quick strikes and feints. Nathan waited until they were in position, then poured every ounce of power he had left into the seafloor.
Vines exploded upward through the wall, wrapping around the structure and pulling. With a thunderous crack, the entire formation came loose, toppling toward the clustered crabs. The crustaceans tried to scatter, but they’d been too tightly packed. The wall crashed down, crushing most of them instantly. The few survivors were quickly finished off by the Mafia fish.
Nathan floated in the suddenly quiet water, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. His back and shoulder burned, and he could feel exhaustion creeping in at the edges of his consciousness.
Finny swam up beside him, looking a bit battered but alive. “That was some quick thinking with the wall.”
Nathan looked around at the carnage, then back at Finny. “Think we should collect what we can from these guys? Some of those shells looked pretty valuable.”
“Already on it,” Finny replied, gesturing to his companions who were already picking through the remains. “But first, let’s get those wounds of yours treated. Can’t have our new partner bleeding out on his first job, now can we?”
Nathan was about to respond when he spotted something floating amidst the junk.
A fish.
Nathan frowned. “Finny. I think one of—“
“It’s not ours.”
Nathan blinked. He swam out next to it and took a closer look. It was thin and translucent, like some sort of ghost. Off to the side, there was some sort of tablet floating next to it.
Nathan reached out and touched the fish. Instantly, it shattered into dozens of floating white flecks. Internally, Nathan could feel something shift. A window popped up.
[Spring Carp] - COMPLETE
[Cursed Desert Tilapia] - COMPLETE
[Spirit Fish] - COMPLETE
[Bass of Many Fins] - X
One left.
Nathan reached out toward the tablet. There was some kind of language written on it, but Nathan didn’t recognize it.
Wait, I can’t recognize it? How…?
The translation magic should’ve been taking care of it. How wasn’t it working?
Nathan scanned the tablet.
[Mysterious Tablet]
A weird tablet with weird words written on it. Sorry, looks like you don’t understand it. Bummer, huh?
Thanks for nothing, scan ability.
“What’s that you’ve got in your hands?” Finny said.
Nathan looked to his left. Finny had swum over to his side and was reading the tablet text.
“I don’t know,” Nathan said. “I don’t understand what it says—“
“What do you mean? It’s clearly readable. It’s just some stuff about the Dustend and—“
Nathan froze. “What did you say?”
Finny looked toward Nathan. “Like I said, it just says some stuff about the Dustend. Something about the Dustend’s origins—I don’t know, it’s kind of hard to make out.”
Nathan stared at the tablet for several seconds.
Who would’ve thought? Looks like my little detour actually turned out to be pretty useful.
----------------------------------------
Nathan eventually managed to get out of the water basin with some trouble. The method he’d ended up going with was just digging his way through the top until he popped out of the desert like some kind of mole man.
He dashed back to the palace, almost mumbling into the guards with how quickly he was moving. He ran into the throne room—
And paused. Zayen, along with half of his court, stared nakedly at Nathan.
Among them, Rami.
Her lips curled into a smile.
Nathan felt a chill go down his spine.