15 "I hate you, Harold"

Although this short journey uncomfortable for either sides of the stick, this more than helpful shark aided at a pre-holy matter to find the den.

Tim's energy flinched by a hunch once he spotted the entrance of the den, and invited the shark to come in if he can.

Squeezing in with the help of this same shark, they find over 15 sardines swimming around, most likely got down here accidentally.

Seeing it as an opportunity to pile up more food but not nearly having what it takes to do it, Tim looks at the shark and requests. "Kill these fish for me, they come in handy."

And of course, being a few times bigger than Tim, the shark companion starts biting through sardines, chasing them around in the den and only about 2 minutes after, all the living sardines met an end.

Sad really, Tim could have gotten a few extra points here but right now the main aim is survival.

So while the shark was terrorizing these fish, Tim went ahead towards the food stock, asked the system a couple of questions and figured that eating sardines will give the quickest health.

Eating a barracuda is helpful as well, but within a few bites he will feel full and will have to wait it out.

Chomping through 3 entire sardines by now, picking the smallest just for the sake of being able to eat more in quantity, the young Tim questions. "How's my health now?"

[Health bar = 47/100]

"Okay okay, I'm recovering. But what will I do about this shark? I can't kill a shark!" Of course he is grateful as well but the last experience with a shark didn't go so well.

[You might not have to, this shark is showing abnormal behaviour.]

[He could have killed you in the sardine school.]

[System recommends asking the shark what this is all about.]

[You're full, don't eat for a while to avoid gut damage.]

Asking for the shark to come closer, Tim instantly tries to break the ice cap of confusion. "I appreciate everything you did but why did you help me?"

"Because I need your help." The small shark instantly replies, cutting to the case although still not transparent.

"What could you need me for? I almost died out there if it wasn't for you." Pointing out the obvious here but it's a good point of reference.

Even Tim's tone strikes low, most definitely sick of this bullshit, although the urge for revenge still hits strong.

Uttering what Tim didn't nearly expect, the young shark recites. "The word is going on about you, are you the stingray who helped Harold out of that den?"

"Yeah I am." Tim answers, not wanting to explain how he got cheated and disrespected.

Finally shedding light of all that help, the shark utters. "I'm Marlo, the whitetip reef shark. I represent a group, we want you by our side."

Pointing out the obvious, Tim challenges the offer after digging in the sand to rest. "You want a stingray in your group? Isn't that odd? You're a shark."

Expecting this one, the shark in a greater enthusiasm adds. "Our group has 37 members, half of them aren't even sharks."

His curiosity peaked, liking to work with a group who will inevitably make him appear stronger, Tim first questions. "And what does this big group do?"

And perhaps revealing what might get Tim entirely convinced, he cites. "We all share something in common. We want Harold the eel and Drake the shark, dead."

"I'm in then, those bastards will die." Tim slightly shouts, but instantly regrets it because his fin ached in pain right after.

"I didn't realize you'd accept to join us this quickly. But I like it, those two will pay for terrorizing our reef for months now!" Marlo continues with a stronger shout, happy about having a powerful member.

Well not so powerful, but brave yes. The young Tim actually had the guts to deal with these monsters before and Marlo can see a barracuda longer than him, dead in this den.

Tim is becoming a stingray obviously worthy to either fear or be in the same league with, Marlo did a good job today.

Letting out a demand after, Tim adds. "Get me... what are those leggy crabs called..."

[Marble shrimp]

Revealing the reason behind a demand, Tim explains. "Yes marble shrimp, I have to become sleepy so my stomach digests all that food. After that I need to eat more to get health, I can't join your group if I can't even swim."

Not quite understanding how this works but knowing what to do, Marlo expresses. "I'll kill a few and bring them here for you."

Swimming towards the hole, the helpful reef shark adds. "Rest now, you need it."

...

Later on, Tim gets waken up by what we can consider a light fin tap and a sweet tone repeating. "Wake up."

"Oh you're here." Tim adds, normally he would panic but right now he doesn't want to move.

On the shark's side, stand two odder looking fish. Definitely smaller than Tim although a lot more round. But thankfully Marlo gives a quick introduction. "These are Konon and Koob, the pufferfish brothers."

Letting go of a marble shrimp they each picked up, the brothers both greet. "Hello."

"Hello, you must be part of the group." Tim replies, wanting to get on their good sides from the very beginning.

"Oh they are but don't understand your stingray language." Marlo became quick to decipher, and adding. "They just know how to say hello and learned it today."

"Oh, that's okay." The young stingray assures, not caring much about such barriers.

These are the first puffer fish he sees, but remembers learning a bit about them through his human life. These fish puff and that's when they can become the most dangerous.

In front of Tim, they look small. Perhaps 10 centimeters long but he doesn't want to try their luck with them.

In front of him, the young stingray notices about 6 more marble shrimp, these are likely brought from Marlo the reef shark.

Not wanting to ask a system based question out loud, Tim thinks, knowing the system can read his mind. "Can I eat now?"

[Hunger bar = 12/15]

Tim isn't the best at math but this does sound kinda good. "Oh so that means I can eat... how many?"

[You can eat 10 marble shrimp before reaching full capacity.]

And that gained a smile on the young stingray's face, of course he only has 8 shrimps to chew on but the sleepy effect they bring can help fall back asleep, that way it will be easier to wait it all out so he can eat for health again.

"Thank you for these shrimp but I'm still in no condition to swim. I will sleep again and eat a few sardines, then I should be able to join you." Tim has to be honest although at this point it sounds like a scam.

But Marlo found the young stingray in a terrible condition and most likely can understand that this isn't a lie, so he expresses. "Take your time, there is no rush."

Soon as they swam out, Tim feels his stomach roaring a tad bit and to feel relief, he started letting it all out, poop flying out of his ass and the system as if congratulating. [Hunger bar = 7/15]

"Great, now I can eat more sardines as well!" Tim celebrated with a thought, not wanting to yell and got into work towards the shrimp in front of him.

...

[Health bar = 55/100]

[Eating capacity reached, don't eat anything for a while to avoid gut damage.]

This is a congratulation along with bad news, his health has most definitely gotten better and he feels the fins feel less numb, can move them around a hunch easier.

But his tail, it still feels numb although it hurts a bit less. Luckily he has nearly 30 more sardines to chew through and is feeling tad sleepy because of the 8 marble shrimp he ate.

Swimming back towards the sand, digging in and not bothering to move his fins for the sake of not receiving damage, Tim talks to himself. "I will heal my tail soon! Just need more sleep, yes... more sleep."

...

Author note:

This series is getting revamped, a.k.a edited entirely. So, if some chapters make less sense than others, know that you probably wandered into a 3 year old, unedited chapter, that hasn't been revamped yet. You can check which chapters are new, by checking the date of publishment of the chapter (Tap anywhere between paragraphs, and make your way to the Table of Content option).

Thank you for your patience, and I hope to count on your support.