From Bulgaar's back, the flesh began to bubble up like a ball of flesh.

Pop!

The ball burst, and a little bug-like creature appeared, completely made from Bulgar's flesh.

Crik!

Crash!

The axe suddenly shattered, and a light beam passed through it. But Bulgaar hurriedly turned around in an instant, grabbed the bug-like creature in his hand, and threw it away as far as he could.

"Go, inform my king... Arghhh," As he spoke his final words, the light pierced through Bulgaar's body, causing him to burn and shatter into particles.

Thud!

The bug creature flew a long way through the air before landing on the ground. After landing, the creature stood up, turned in a certain direction, and began to walk.

The remaining dust of Bulgaar's body floated up through the air and vanished. The forest guardian floated back toward the giant tree and to the unbloomed bud at its top.

Once closer to the bud, the guardian stopped, gazing at it.

[Protect the garden, the garden is safe,] a shallow voice echoed through the air, and the guardian slowly began to vanish.

Time passed. The sun rose in the east and set in the west, and as the sun went down in the west, the nightly moon rose in the east and set in the west.

A few weeks later...

Plop-plop!

Splash!

A flow of water, peaceful and calm, ran through a field of grass. The stream wasn't a large one, but its depth was enough to accommodate dozens of larger fish throughout its course.

On both sides of the water flow, the overgrown grass field created a strong boundary, preventing the stream from widening.

Plop!

A colorful and plump-looking fish jumped up from the water, flipped in the air, and then fell back into the stream.

Plop!

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Within seconds, another fish of the same kind jumped up. From time to time, these fish leaped joyfully from the water, flipping in the air before falling back into the stream.

Through the bushes beside the water flow, a few eyes could be seen, hiding among the foliage.

Plop!

One of the fish jumped out from the water, flipping through the air, readying itself to dive back in.

Swish!

But in the next moment, from the bushes, a creature dashed out, leaping from one side of the water flow to the other. While in mid-air, it caught the fish that was hovering above.

Thud!

The creature landed on the other side of the water flow. The fish in its mouth began shaking continuously, trying to free itself from the sharp teeth that held it.

Chiz!

In the next second, those sharp teeth pierced deeper into the fish's body, and as they did, the movement of the fish slowly came to an end.

Shrush!

Through the field of bushes in front of him, Blanco's father appeared, observing Blanco's hunt. He gave an acknowledging nod to Blanco, who was waiting for his response.

"He seems satisfied with the results, but he's not the only one satisfied with myself,"

"Who knew these gills of mine have this hyper-sensitivity? Thanks to them, I can pick up any unusual things happening around me in an instant." The gills around his head were shaking as Blanco though about them.

"And to this moment of training, I've learned a lot of things about this forest," Blanco reflected. "The first one is that every creature living here at least has one skill. Most of the time, that skill ends up being their racial skill. But in some rare cases, an individual can awaken some special abilities that can be more powerful than the racial one, the racial ability which, in my case, is the sharing of one's skill to another of my kin.

"It's not the most helpful ability, but if used mindfully in the hands of a being like me who has awakened special abilities, it can become useful. My father is also a rare case like me, one with a special ability awakened. That's why all the others are trying very hard to gain his acknowledgment and receive his skill for themselves to become somewhat strong."

"But their hope got crushed when I was born. As one who also possesse a rare ability, if I receive my father's skill at the end of this month, I will be much stronger than the others of my age.

"And at the same time, there's another reason why I think my racial ability is a good one. It doesn't having any weaknesses side to it's is the most valuable part of it"

Thump!

Dropping the fish from his mouth to the ground, Blanco gazed at it thoughtfully.

"Floater fish, Their racial ability gives them the ability to breathe in water and even outside of it, which helped them greatly in survival. But instead of using it solely for survival, they also began to use it for their entertainment."

On a day when the sun shone brightly in the sky and the air was as hot as boiling water, they jumped out from the water to feel the warmth and temperature of the sun, which I think they enjoyed doing.

But on the other hand, this habit of theirs also ended up being their downfall. Predators who knew about this fishing habit would wait on those sunny days close to the rivers and lie in wait until the fishes began to jump up. Once out of the water, they were hunted by predators very easily. Just like what we are doing.

He once again looked at the fish with pity in his eyes.

Shrush!

Blanco heard movement from nearby bushes and saw one of the weaker frost makers looking at him with greedy eyes. It had been hiding there for a long time but unable to catch any fish for itself.

"Take it," Blanco pushed the fish toward the frost maker before turning back toward the water flow. The frost maker quickly grabbed the fish and dragged it back to the bush.