2.05: I want one

The black fang sunk into a drake’s neck like a hot knife through butter. It didn’t just cut the tough scales and flesh, it almost vaporized them. Still, Henry winced.

Maintaining a flow of mana to the greedy tooth was taking a lot out of him, especially when the tooth applied its magic. Whenever it made contact with a target, the mana would go off, rending and cutting through anything that made contact with the black coating. Immediately after it would start refilling, pulling prodigious amounts of mana out of Henry.

Then again, this might have just become one of the best offensive abilities Henry had in his repertoire.

“[I want one.]”

Henry pulled the dark tooth out of the dead drake’s neck and, with a pained groan, threw the carcass into his storage.

“[You complained non-stop when I was pulling them out of the creature’s jaw. Now you want one?]”

Henry began swimming toward the staring dolphins, and he almost thought he could feel shock out of the younger one. But maybe he was imagining things. Yeah. he probably was.

Maurice put a claw on Henry’s arm, surprising the kraken before he spoke again into his mind. “[I was impatient. I was too distracted to realize the importance of your actions back then. I want to be better. Please. Give me a tooth. I want it. Please. I rarely ask for much. I would be infinitely grateful–]”

Henry listened to the oddly earnest and solemn request of the crab. Looking down at eye stalks staring up at him, Henry couldn’t resist. “[No.]”

The eye stalk reeled back in shock. The claws trembled before a wave of hilarious outrage came rushing back. “[Henry, please! I helped you get them! I was just joking back then, please! I’ll pay you back. Please! I–]”

Henry cackled as he interrupted the crab.“[I’m joking! Just calm down, I’ll give you one. Or two, even. You can probably make some sort of toothed claw out of them. And don’t forget I still have the vertebrae! Why do you think I got those? With this,]” Henry said, lifting the tooth, “[We might be able to carve a shell out of them and you’ll be able to recover some of the monster’s abilities. So just, you know, relax.]”

The crab finally calmed down. “[Ah… haha. Right. Yes. They’re just so good. Do you think the other bones will do the same?]”

Henry eyed the tooth for a moment, humming. “[Nah… I don’t know why the tooth’s behaving like it did, and clearly the dolphins are seeing something we can’t… but this seems like a power a tooth would have. It wouldn’t make any sense for a vertebra to be able to cut through flesh like this. Mana or not.]”

Henry and Maurice eyed the duo ahead of them as they swam down to the entrance of the cave tunnels. Stormsong turned slightly to look back at them before dipping into the tunnel first.

“[I think it has to do with the concept business Sundots mentioned, which would explain why those two seemed to be able to see whatever it is that made this tooth special. Means we need to hurry up and get to C-Rank.]”

Maurice clacked his pincers as he curiously examined the path they were following. “[We’ll need to go outside more, then.]”

Henry could only agree, and preferably, they’d be on their own. Having to wait for other dolphins to dispatch their prey would only slow them down.

***

“[I apologize, young Henry. Moon’s one of our best warriors and something… came up. He will not be able to act as a guide until tomorrow at the earliest. In the meantime, you can relax. Have a meal with us. Your ability is mighty useful, able to carry so much in a single hunting trip,]” said Sundots as he bit into the green eel’s flank. Next to him, a younger calf struggled to cut the tough meat. The older dolphin tore a small piece off the flank then dropped it in front of the young dolphin, who quickly picked it up.

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

Henry and Maurice shared a look. “[We could head out by ourselves, I guess.]”

Sundots looked up and his pectoral fins wiggled. It oddly looked like a shrug. “[You are free to do what you wish, of course. You have no obligation toward the pod. But you might struggle to find us again… and you might encroach on dangerous territories. Trust me, I’m not the only B-Rank in these parts. Moon said that you are strong and that you are well equipped…]” said the dolphin as his eye swiveled to Henry’s toothed arm. “[But that might not be enough when dealing with certain beings out there. I hope you’re aware of such.]”

He knew that. Henry eyed the relaxed dolphin and could still feel its heavy presence. He knew he wasn’t ready to tangle with B-Ranks just yet. Not when he was this clueless about concepts and while he had no way of countering them.

He was slowly getting a clearer picture of what they were, though. Maybe. The odd pressure he was feeling from Sundots. The authority he’d felt from the Trickster kraken. The crab who somehow pushed him through bedrock as if he were some cartoon character.

Henry had never had a mountain fall on his head, but that was pretty close to what he imagined it’d feel like. Somehow his body still felt a bit sore, even though he knew it had been perfectly healed.

“[Yeah… I guess that’s a fair point. Could we get another guide instead, though? Also, do you recognize this tooth? Do you know what it’s from.]”

“[I could ask around… As for the tooth. I believe I know. Could you channel mana into it for me?]”

Henry did as asked. He channeled mana down to the tooth, which greedily accepted it, quickly gaining its ominous dark sheen.

Sundots moved away from the carcass. When the calf behind him tried to approach, a current of green water appeared around it, shoving it back and away. “[You can stop now.]”

Henry felt a shiver course through him. All pleasantness seemed to have evaporated out of the older dolphin. When the mana dissolved out of the tooth, the tension began to drain out of the area as the looming presence of the B-Rank dolphin pulled back.

It reminded Henry of the first time he’d met the whales. When they’d been hostile and called him a deceiver.

Henry shakily exhaled. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath.

“[Ah… apologies. That was not a pleasant magic to sense. I might be wrong… but I believe that is a leviathan’s tooth. A dangerous one. Dangerous enough that its fangs still retain their destructive strength long after the beast lost them.]”

The dolphin swam back toward the carcass and took a bite. He slowly chewed, then looked back toward Henry. “[Where did you get it? Was it still alive?]”

Henry looked down at the fang and began working away the bone that held it. A moment later he sent it back into his Maw. “[It was dead. We found a skeleton and pulled its teeth.]”

Sundots bobbed then gently nudged one of the calfs with another piece of eel. “[Ah. Good. Good. If such a thing was near, we would have had to move.]”

After that, Henry left the B-rank and swam back to his temporary room. Once he was in, he put Maurice down.

The crab looked up at him. Henry looked back, considering their situation and if they’d be better off heading out. Though the free levels were certainly nice.

“[What?]” asked the crab after a few seconds of quiet contemplation.

Henry poked the crab with an arm, and the crab clacked his pincer at the limb. “[I’m just thinking. Maybe we should leave soon.]” Looking out, Henry watched the dolphins swim back and forth. Further away, a bunch of young calves were watching. When they noticed his gaze, they scattered. “[I’m still thinking of Moon’s warning about thieves and whatnot… I don’t know. These dolphins seem nice, but I also don’t feel like working as a glorified backpack to be drip-fed tidbits of information whenever they feel like it.]”

Maurice hummed and stared out for a moment. “[If that big dolphin gets mad at us…]”

The crab didn’t need to finish his sentence. The B-rank had been an unexpected surprise. If the dolphins had mentioned a B-rank when they extended the invite, Henry would have thought it over more. Thankfully Sundots seemed nice enough, but there was no denying the danger of being in proximity to such a powerful being.

And compared to the selfless and generally placid whales, Sundots seemed a bit more… demanding.

This could all be paranoia on Henry’s part, of course. He might have been blowing things out of proportion, but better safe than sorry.

This was only a quick stop.

“[Yeah… This might be a good time to leave. Better– Is that Stormsong?]”

Maurice tsked. “[Yes. This is the fifth time she’s passed in front of our door. Is she here to glare at us again? Do we need to beat her up?]”

Henry swam closer to the exit of their little room just as the dolphin finally stopped pacing and faced them.

Had Sundots already sent them a guide?