A grinding scrape broke my slumber, half-asleep eyes quickly adjusting to the morning's light. My darker-scaled brother started to roar, just barely waking the others. What stared back at us blocked most of the light with a glinting body the size of a motorcycle and likely just as heavy. My siblings awoke much more quickly than I, spurred into action with a glow of familiar horns.
[Nameless Phyllopteryx (II) has invited you to join his party. Accept?]
[Yes][No]
Something clicked. I knew something was different about my siblings, but was too wrapped up in practice to see it. In addition to the expanded sizes they sported; The black-scaled one had grown a shining helmet of a skull, The red one looked more ridged in their armor design, much like that seal I hunted earlier, and the tail-crystals on the blue one seemed even more majestic in the light. The green sibling took a different approach, cobra-like hood on their flaring in an attempt to dissuade the swimming predator. I suspected I was the runt of the pack, but this only amplified the difference and made me look smaller by comparison.
But as the weapon-fish charged, the roar persisted. I felt my strength grow, felt my muscles firing faster, felt-
A sense of dread as a sword skewered my leaderly brother. He tried to dodge, tried to twist out of the way, but the impressive blade pierced his stomach and slashed downwards
[Party leader has died. Party has disbanded.]
I cursed under my breath more than any hatchling should, watching in horror as the shark inhaled. Both halves of my brother vanished down it's double-rowed maw, and I noticed it wear a look of pain. "That's what you get for eating my brother!" I shouted through tears.
But the whirlpool towards the shark's mouth did not let up. It pulled a fearful hatchling closer, accelerating by the second-
Until my ruby-coated sibling rammed the monster's side, glowing a similar colour. Just as abruptly as the inward current started, it stopped. The fish awkwardly turned, broad fins thrashing to keep it's weapon towards it's enemy, when my speedy azure sibling acted. They circled the swordfish with skill, latching onto the fin's base and biting. Blood trickled out, only seeming to embolden my not-yet-evolved siblings. White and purple swam up first and grasped onto the other fin, orange and yellow latched onto the shark's tail, and green floated to the side of the slashing blade. They opened their mouth, ball of quickly-forming poison poised to shoot into our foe's mouth-
When with a burst of speed, the sharp fish jetted forward in a sharp turn and crunched down on my venomous sibling. Greedily the fish swallowed, gulping down a massive amount of water and dislodging those who hung onto it's fins with the gill-based exhale. The fish swam to one side and turned, putting all of us on the same side of it, and I saw it wear a look of pain.
"Is executing my siblings making you guilty?" I spat, noticing a hatchling vanish down it's hatch.
Something in my chest flared. This was beyond predatory. The intelligence I noticed in the slashing fish's eyes, the pauses to line up it's strike, and the taunting expression as it swallowed my hatchling sibling were too much for me to put down to instinct. I couldn't prove it, but I knew: This flipping fish was trying to inflict psychological warfare on all of us.
As my thoughts clutched this action, something in my chest sparked to life. I was too far for from the blood for [Frenzy] to activate, not to mention: activating that skill was a conscious decision, albeit sometimes it was very persuasive.
I took a deep [Breath] and rocketed towards the creature's underside, whiff of my own kin's blood intoxicating in it's power. Frenzy was only level 1, but seemed to push itself harder than before. I struck it's underbelly with my tail, knowing no damage was coming, but repositioning sideways with a wingbeat. The shark summersaulted forwards, missing me by inches with it's built-in blade and giving me the chance to counter, when I saw a winged blue sea serpent on the end of it's slashing horn.
Instead of fear, my frenzy spiked even higher. I swam in the way of it's tail, bracing for impact and activating my [Bite]. I could feel power jolt through my fangs, one of them cracking against the shark's armor, but one slipping through to the articulated joint. I swerved wildly with only one point of contact, thrashing my wings to twist and gouge my one good fang.
[Skill: Breath has leveled up to 5. Upgrade availabl-] No time, System! I dismissed, as the fish swam in erratic circles to dislodge me. While it's movements seemed to grow sluggish, they were still strong, throwing me across the cave and into the rough wall.
I blinked away the stars in my vision, seeing the fish finish activating it's breath white a white crystal-lined tail wriggling out of it's mouth. Frenzy's stamina drain was gone, it's pulsing sensations seeming to linger as the pain of exertion faded into the background. I swam forward, lost weapon undeterred, and conjured up my last trick in the bag: Poison.
I felt my mouth fill with the orb of liquid, almost losing some out the sides. The shark gulped in water again, and while I couldn't stop it's next meal;
"I could sure give it the chef's special sauce, extra-spicy!" I thought, blowing my poison into the whirlpool it created. My orange sibling vanished into hundred-tooth hell, but the deadly purple liquid vanished even faster- look of green overcoming the armed fish. It's air of confidence was waning, something inside it close to breaking even as it brought me close to being an only child.
When something inside me was growing stronger and stronger. A white flame burned brighter and brighter just under my throat, only contrasted by a dark, visceral flame from below.
[Skill: Frenzy has risen to level 2.]
I charged the beast straight-on, swerving to the side of it's predictable blade. A burst of breath took me out of range of it's whirlpool, but not before leaving a poison blob behind as a false prize. I slammed my head into it's gills, causing the fish to cough and sputter, and began a lopsided series of [Bites].
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Frenzy had grown even stronger, my tooth peircing through it's tough but unguarded flesh and into the soft inside. I rapidly chomped while it was stunned, boosted breath shooting spent air right into it's gills
"You're thirsty?" I taunted, beginning to see red with vengeful anger. "Have a drink!"
I left frenzy behind to conserve stamina, and shot glob after glob poison to it's desperate lungs. The fish grew weaker and weaker, falling closer to the cave floor in defeat. As it did, I felt my heart slow, shining copper feeling more like heavy lead in my chest.
[Skill: Poison synthesis has risen to level 4. You have slain: Barrongcuda. You have gained much Experience]
A sense of bittersweet releif filled me with the victory notification.
[Phyllopteryx Hatchling has risen to level 8. Strength +1. Five skill points gained.] That sounded like... around two more than I should have earned.
I swam back and upwards, taking stock of my remaining family. Purple and yellow remained alive, cowering behind coral with a mere seven hatchlings cowering behind them. Ruined eggs littered the battlefield, a testament to my grim victory.
[Gained achievement: Giant slayer (Deal the final blow to a creature two tiers above you). One Fundamental Power gained]
So Fundamental power wasn't as limited as I thought.
Physically ready to go but mentally exhausted, I left the cave. I couldn't protect my siblings yet, and my obsession with curiosity had lead me to a weaker path. If I had evolved with my siblings, more of them would have survived the encounter, grown strong, and protected...
There was no use in thinking about alternate timelines. Instead, I sought consolation in my character sheet
Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling (I) Level: 8/10 Titles: Useless Stats Skills Mutations Strength: 9 Breath (I) Level 5 [!] Copper Heart (1) Quickness: 12 Poison synthesis (I) level 4 Vitality: 6. Bite (I) Level 3 Mind: 16 Frenzy (I) Level 2 Fundamental Power: 2 Skill points: 6 Mutagen: 0
I had... grown in the days I spent as a hatchling. The raw numbers barely increased, but my core of skills was solid. Mutagen I had neither the knowledge nor the resources to touch, so my attention turned to the points to spend and upgrades to gain. I read as I swam, glare in my eyes daring anything to challenge me.
[Upgrades available Skill: Breath (I)]
[Controlled breath (II). Allows greater precision when breathing]
[Forceful breath (II). Increases exhalation power]
[Gathering breath (II). Increases inhalation power]
[Lasting breath (II). Increases breath storage]
I looked at my handful options, and chose one that was clear to me. Lasting and controlled breath were hardly needed, and gathering looked useful for bullying small creatures by drawing them into your mouth
[Upgrade Breath (I) into Forceful breath (II) for 2 skill points?]
The cost was steeper than I wanted, but the effect looked promising.
I looked at my Skill list again, seeing several more had joined it. Dash, Headbutt, and Dodge joined the party, but what drew my eye was an old returner.
Breath (I)
Another instance of it was always welcome, and my options were compounding. I knew I wanted to advance poison synthesis, and use my back-mounted fins for flight, but those seemed out of reach at the moment.
"Just two new skills" I thought. "Then I'll save my other two points for more poison"
[Stamina cap]
[Scent]
Frenzy had much potential, but needed a lot of stamina and needed me to smell blood. Even if those didn't work, they were still useful for tracking prey and sprinting after it.
I saw a small island within sight. Not wanting to approach it off-guard, I made a hasty decision for where to spend my Fundamental Power.
[Skill: Forceful breath (II) has become Fundamental skill: Forceful breath (II+)]
[Skill: Poison Synthesis (I) has become Fundamental skill: Poison Synthesis (I+)]
I drew closer to the island, seeing a human on it. She looked... less than threatening, but the bad feeling in my gut returned. What was my intuition telling me, and could I throw skill points at the problem?
As I swam closer curiously, a double helix shot at me- one side lilac in hue, and the other side a shiny off-white.
"Good morning, creature." Greeted an unusually sad voice. "I'm Topaz, are you hungry?"