Ch 2: Exploration

" talking "

' thinking '

[ System ]

{ Author Note }

as I quickly swim towards a cave that seems not to have anything in it as I get comfortable and start to relax so I can continue my exploration before I head to the grassy plateaus.

'damn that was a great nap the grass and fallen kelp feels so nice unlike the sand and rocks on the floating islands I kinda don't want to get up. though I really should as I want to finally get to the grassy plateaus but I also want to finish exploring this segment of the Kelp forest'.

I start to slowly swim out of the cave and its wonderful comfort and looking through my map but also seeing that my quest tab has a star next to it. 'I wonder what that is'. as I click on the quest tab to see what it is.

[Quests]

[King of the Forest] *

Tasks

1: Become the ruler of the Kelp Forests

Rewards

1: random mutation

'That's a new quest and it's extremely familiar with the King of Bones quest so I guess I will get one like this for every biome I go to maybe well that's a good thing as it will make getting strong easier and I should be able to instantly complete it if I go to the shallows'.

'though I need to stop getting distracted so let's finish exploring this kelp forest then head to the plateaus'. I then close the quest tab and start exploring the rest of the kelp forest letting me see some of the shallows and the mushroom forest.

'Finally, I'm done exploring this part of the kelp forest'. As I swim out of the kelp and into the wide open space admiring the red grass and the beautiful plateaus, 'it's beautiful I can see sand sharks hunting after fish and a new kind of creature hunting after bone sharks'.

'Now let's start hunting'. as I quickly propelled myself forward and insta-kill what seemed kinda like a sailfish and then a sand shark in quick succession. 'that was faster than expected though I did appear out of nowhere and had the high ground'.

'but let's start eating'. as I start tearing into sailfish like animal. which tastes like mackerel which is kind of ironic but I then start quickly eating the Sandshark as well eating its legs first as it tastes like buttered lobster.

[DNA Absorption]

Scythefish DNA Sandshark DNA

Mutations Gained: Foldable Fins, Boneblade, Little Feet, and Two rows of teeth

As I swallow the last bite of the sand shark I start to feel my sides burn slightly as I feel small feet grow letting me scurry along the sea floor if I don't feel like swimming.

I also feel the inside of my mouth burn as another row of teeth grows in giving me three sets of teeth including the set that's part of my exoskeleton. as the blunt side of my fins start to burn and slightly harden letting them gain more heat so I can use them to cut through fish.

I then feel my back and sides burn as my dorsal ridges shrink and connect to each other with a thin film letting me fold them back for less resistance when swimming as my side fins grow a thin film as well letting me fold them back as well.

'well, that's a great gain from eating just two things so let's test them out'. as I fold back all my fins against my body and use my small feet to more easily move against the grassy floor.

'This is really strange but also kind of useful as I can do sneak attacks if I eventually get a camouflage ability. But now I need to see how fast I can move with these new foldable fins'.

I then let my fins out and start propelling myself rapidly increasing my speed while also using currents making my fins heat up and start shining orange as they pick up more heat and then I bring my fins back letting me rocket through the water and break through the surface and fly a good 30 meters forward.

'God I caught a lot of air'. as I crashed into the water seeing that I was near the edge of the grassy plateaus near the mushroom forest. 'so now I know that I can move at the speed of sound'. While I watch the hardened parts of my fins cool down and return to a normal color.

'If I can get cool stuff like that from these guys I wonder what else I can find'. as I start rapidly moving through the water looking for anything new I can eat.

'what in an alien world is that'. as I stare at a leviathan that has a sleek build with its two front fins looking almost like hands similar to the sea empresses and his tail fin having what looks like red feathers with his arched back and a pattern on him that is similar to a zebras but gray and brown.

with six eyes that are all pupilless making it known that he is blind as well as his head is shaped kind of like an arrowhead with red feathers like his tail while directly behind that are frills which I assume are his gills.

'It looks like it is slightly smaller than a reaper but it also seems to be blind as its six eyes have no pupils and are just green though I shouldn't mess with it but the sight of a new leviathan is rather intriguing especially since this one is so different compared to the one at the bottom of the floating island'.

'I bet I could probably kill it if I get enough speed and then cut its side with my extra hardened fins but he might be able to sense me as if he's blind he will probably have developed a use of echolocation to make up for it'.

'well I guess life is all about taking chances am I right'. while I quickly turn around a good half a mile away letting me see him still though smaller. I then start to rapidly speed towards him using my propulsion to heat up my fins while bringing them in for the extra speed then letting them out when I'm a meter away from cutting his side open.

I move past him after leaving a clear mark on his side and cutting halfway through one of his frontal fins leaving him without the ability to turn right as I rapidly move forward to kill it so it won't have to suffer.

As I make it to his face about to cut his eyes out the chew his throat he moves his head up and opens his mouth trying to grab me but I just turn slightly to the side and rip right through his neck killing him.

'well, that was easy for my first Leviathan though I guess it helps that he was blind as was incapacitated him from the beginning, though I should start eating him to see what I get'. 

as I start to tear through the skin of the leviathan and slightly struggle through the muscles. but I manage but since I'm so small compared to him since I'm 9 meters and he's 45 meters it will take some time to eat his entire body.

[DNA Absorption]

Frill leviathan DNA

Mutations Gained: Expandable throat, echolocation, and large pelvic fin.

as I finish the frill leviathan. I feel my throat burn and feel a slight sag in my skin that I feel would let me expand my throat for bigger bites and easier to swallow. My lower stomach burns as pelvic fins start to grow out of my body letting me make sharper turns and more support for my speed. 

As well as a burning in my nostrils and forehead as I feel several sensitive hairs grow and what feels like a melon-shaped bone grows letting me use echolocation.

[Quests]

[Leviathan eater]

Tasks

1: Eat your first leviathan

Rewards

1: random mutation

2: random title

[COMPLETE]

'wow, I finally finished my first quest though I don't remember this being one of my available quests let's see what rewards I get'. I start swimming towards a cave in the distance so I won't be sneak attacked by anything while I accept my rewards.

as I get into the cave I first accept my random title with me getting Giant Slayer letting me do more damage to something bigger than me. after I read through the details I saw what my random mutation is and found out that is something minor but useful.

'the mutation being vocal mimicry which I can use to potentially lure out different leviathans or other things I want, now let's test it out'. I then let out several clicks and chirps replicating a baby reefback.

As I finish the small broadcast I see a small herd of reefback head over to see what let out what a baby reefback would sound like but I quickly see something attack them and wipe them out with unregistrable speed.

'what on gods green earth is that'. as I see a leviathan cruelly ripping through them with a deep blue coloring and rocklike protrusion on its back that also seemed to be flexible but also incredibly sturdy as whenever it rammed into a reefback it would send it flying but also bed the protrusions slightly.

'that thing can easily kill me and it looks like it's enjoying treating these reefbacks so cruelly, if this thing could smile it obviously would be as its eyes show evident glee while ripping it about while also not letting the others flee'.

'I might eat everything but even I have some mercy for these creatures as it is the circle of life but he has no reason to do this, it's just cruel to an unneeded extent it just ripped off the back of a juvenile reefback'.

'I feel like I need to intervene in this'. as I have an internal battle about to intervene as this is technically still part of nature but it's also playing with its prey to the extent that it's asking to be killed by not even fighting back anymore.

I then watch the leviathan slowly wrap its tail around the reefback like he is a snake and its rocklike protrusions on its back start piercing into it. this scene causes me to just throw caution to the wind as I move as quickly as I possibly can.

using my red hot fins to try and cut into the leviathan but I only chipped one of his protrusions, causing him to quickly turn towards my smaller form and releasing the reefback and tries to ram me with his head but I quickly get out of the way.

'he's way too beefy but the less injured reefbacks should be able to get away'. I started weaving around the leviathan trying to cut through his skin on any part of his body but it was too rough beside some areas on his stomach.

'this isn't going to be as easy as the frill leviathan because at least he didn't have such strong skin and was given more room for speed build-up'. I swim between the protrusions on its back while leaving small scratches on them.

I then quickly swim under him and bite into the small part where his fin and body connect letting me make enough room for more of my corrosive saliva and making it bigger.

after continuously biting the small parts where his fins meet I made room big enough to actually fit into the wound I made which is a tight squeeze but my teeth are incredibly sharp and durable.

making life a whole lot easier though I could tell this guy isn't enjoying it as I'm ripping through his muscles especially the parts where it meets the bone making it harder and harder for him to move.

'at this rate I will actually be able to kill this guy in about an hour or two'. as I continue chewing through his tendons and ligaments making him slow down tremendously.

'I think he finally stopped moving though I know for a fact he's still alive as I can still feel his heartbeat through his body though I should start going for veins as well'.

I then swim through the blood and saltwater in the leviathans body looking for veins and arteries I can bite through and kill the leviathan without getting hurt.

'well it took time but I finally got here'. I stare at the red beating heart in front of me while beating slowly it is evidently still alive as I rush forward and start tearing into the leviathan's heart.

'it tastes good for it still beating'. as I quickly eat his heart knowing that he was dying making me eat his heart faster as even though he was cruel he doesn't deserve a slow death, no animal does'.

I then finish eating his heart and start eating the stuff around it slowly eating the entire inside of the leviathan as the outside is too rough to be eaten by me. 'well he tasted a lot better than expected it was a little tough but not bad'.

[DNA Absorption]

Tumbler leviathan DNA

Mutations Gained: serrated fins and flexible body

As I finish the last slurp of the tumbler's brain I feel my body start to burn as my tendons and ligaments become more flexible through my entire body letting me take more hits with less of the damage. My fins also keep burning as the ends start burning as well and small sharp edges start growing while making the ability for it to heat up faster.

'That's not bad but maybe I was greedy for a bit more than just this as this guy was huge and definitely put my giant slayer to the test since he was 85 meters'.

'After a fight like that I need to sleep because I have fought two leviathans and eaten a lot which hasn't given my body the best condition as I still need to adapt to some things'.

I then quickly swim out of the tumbler's empty husk as all that's left is its skin and bones and quickly swim to a nearby cave seeing that I'm in a completely different grassy platues as I see the dunes in the distance. As I get into a cave I nestle myself into the grass and keep an eye out for any bleeders and then quickly fall asleep.

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{A/N Okay guys I hope you enjoyed the second chapter, I know that in this chapter the system wasn't showing much but I mainly wanted to show what the MC could do with the simple power of a sneak attack which can determine a battle from the very beginning so I hope you enjoyed it and I will put the usual below.

[Status]

Species: Mutated Boneshark

Titles: Giant Slayer

Length: 17m (55ft)

DNA Assimilated: 16

[Quests]

[Tutorial]

Tasks

1: Help The Sea Empress

2: Become Leviathan Class

3: Explore

Rewards

1: Added system function

2: unique mutation

3: ?

[King of Bones]

Tasks

1: Become the ruler of the Floating Islands

Rewards

1: random mutation

[King of the Forest]

Tasks

1: Become the ruler of the Kelp Forests

Rewards

1: random mutation

[King of the Grasslands]*

Tasks

1: Become the ruler of the Grassy plateaus

Rewards

1: random mutation