Chương 593: From Prey to Predator

Luke was sitting on the ground, eating, when he saw a creature sprinting toward him. Its body looked like a fish's, but it had crab legs. Its face was almost human, except for the swordfish-like nose. One arm ended in a crab claw. The other looked almost human. [Selmarine Aberration - Lvl 80]"Yeah. So you things are out here too." Luke got to his feet. The creature picked up speed and came in swinging. Luke slipped aside, flipping backward to avoid the blow, then raised a hand and fired off Shadow Balls.

He hurled them one after another, and the creature's body began to burn.

"You really don't like fire, do you?" The monster spat a jet of water over itself, then turned the stream on Luke. But by then Luke was already in close. He drove it back with a flurry of cuts. When the creature tried to rise again, Luke took off what passed for its head with a kukri coated in the power of [Curse]. Your second class [Arcane Witch] has reached Level 64! Night had fallen, and in the distance he could already see that enormous mass of water coming for him again, the same towering tsunami.

"Here we go again," Artemis said.

"This time I've got a better plan." Luke stepped onto a pentagram circle. Just as the wall of water was about to crash into him, he vanished. [Teleportation Pentagram activated] He reappeared on the second circle, already inside the ocean the wave had dragged in. He activated the Spectral Beast, and the serpent fought against the current, straining not to be swept away. They stayed in that tug-of-war for a while, until the waters finally calmed.

By then the wave had already moved on, and Luke began exploring the ocean. The serpent lifted its head above the water, with Luke standing on its back.

"Told you, Artemis."

"Yeah, yeah. You actually pulled it off." Even from above the surface, he could still see the glow of coral and of certain creatures below. The serpent sank again and kept moving into deeper water. Traveling on its back was much faster than crossing the exposed ground during the day, or even swimming on his own. When the serpent spotted a massive fish, Luke directed it to attack. The creature was crushed in its jaws.

[You have slain a Scale Scourge Fish - Lvl 42] The serpent kept attacking whatever crossed their path. High tide seemed to drag an entire biome in with it. Luke spent an hour exploring those waters.

"So what's the plan?" Artemis asked in his thoughts.

"We pretending to be mermaids now?"

"I need to collect the Marine Artifacts if I want to win this event. I have to clear all six phases." After a while, Luke spotted something glowing in the water. It was not coral. The color was different, a silvery light, almost white. He guided the serpent downward. Now they were among the ruins of what looked like a city. A gigantic brown rock rose from the depths, with structures built into it, houses or some kind of dwellings. Luke leapt from the serpent and landed on top of one.

Streets, buildings with plantlike architecture, all of them threaded with schools of fish. Luke jumped again, and the Spectral Beast slid beneath him so he could land on its back as it carried him toward a large building. Inside, algae glowed around clusters of bright orange fruit. [Sea Fruit]: A single bite is enough to quench thirst and restore hydration. Luke started gathering them.

Then he swam toward another building, one overgrown with algae and coral trees that stretched through its interior and connected to the next structure. In the distance, he saw a chest lying in the middle of a treasure pile. Please let there be something good in there. It looked similar to the chests from the island. It had to be part of the event. But as Luke got closer, he realized the group around it was not made of fish. It was a group of selmarines.

They were swimming together, and one of them was riding a fish. The moment the creatures spotted Luke, they spread out. They carried spears. One of them, mounted on a fish, rose higher in the water. Luke ignored them and headed straight for the chest while they closed in. The serpent lashed out, smashing into them with its tail before sinking its fangs into one of the selmarines. Through the beast, Luke forced venom into the creature's body.

Above him, the one riding the fish dove at full speed and slammed into the Spectral Beast, driving it back and stirring up a vortex that nearly dragged Luke with it. We may be underwater, but unlike the island, I've got my skills here. He started throwing knives, pairing [Telekinetic Impulse] with [Cursed Weapon] to strike. Even when the blades failed to kill outright, the selmarines writhed in agony under the curse. The serpent bit into another and began devouring it while Luke launched himself toward a third.

[Witch's Thread activated] The thread caught on a ruin and yanked Luke forward. He came in hard with a kukri and cut the selmarine down. The mounted one rushed him next. The serpent struck first, and Luke followed with [Crimson Fang]. The selmarine died. The fish escaped. The rest of the bodies drifted in the water around him. All dead.

[You have slain a Selmarine - Lvl 65] [You have slain a Selmarine - Lvl 65] [You have slain a Selmarine - Lvl 65] [You have slain a Selmarine - Lvl 65] [You have slain a Selmarine - Lvl 65] When Luke opened the chest, he found a wooden bottle inside. [Restorative Rum: An alcoholic drink with healing properties capable of restoring 500 HP to whoever drinks it, though it will also leave them slightly drunk.] All that work for this?

"I'm not complaining about booze," Artemis said. Don't touch it. One way or another, this might save me later. He sent the Spectral Beast onward, continuing to explore the place. They passed through the drowned city, weaving between ruins, until Luke spotted a golden glow at the top of the tallest structure. He guided the serpent upward through the water. At the summit stood a wooden totem, glowing gold. [You are near a Marine Artifact!] The notification flashed before him. Looks like I got lucky.

Luke started swimming toward the artifact when tentacles burst out from inside the ruin. The octopus emerged from within the structure itself. Somehow, despite its size, it had been wedged inside the ruin's cramped upper floor. We meet again. The monster stretched its tentacles outward. Above. Below. From every direction. Luke hurled knives laced with [Curse]. Then he drove forward with the Spectral Beast, the serpent biting deep into the creature. The octopus let out what felt like a roar.

The water around it trembled. And then Luke saw it. A beak. Like a parrot's. What? The octopus yanked the beast closer and began striking with the beak. Luke leaped clear, dodging the suction-lined tentacles that had latched onto his summon. He gripped one of his knives, concentrated [Shadow Mana Explosion], and dismissed the beast. The knife slammed into the octopus and detonated. The blast twisted the water into a vortex. Luke spun away violently.

The octopus seemed to roar again, somehow forcing sound through the water. Its tentacles thrashed, creating a current that hurled Luke backward until he smashed into a ruin. Now you're not getting away, you bastard. He drew another knife to throw, but suddenly both he and the octopus were dragged sideways at terrifying speed, pulled by something stronger than either of them. A burst of black ink exploded toward him. Luke crashed into a building and felt the water rushing backward.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He swam into the structure as the sea kept retreating. Some time later, the water was completely gone. Luke stepped out of the building. It was daytime. The tide had receded.

"Shit." The octopus had vanished with the ocean. And the Marine Artifact was gone.

Luke was looking at his system screen. Seeing it so full of skills and numbers had never felt so comforting. His time on the island had made him miss it.

Name: Luke Level: 80 Race: Half-Demon Rank: E Core: [Spectral Beast (Rank E)] Class: [Demonic Predator (Lvl 82)] 2nd Class: [Arcane Witch (Lvl 64)] Profession: [Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya (Lvl 78)] Titles: [Dark Lord], [Myth Slayer] Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon] Health Points (HP): 9493/9560 Mana Points (MP): 9971/11800 Stamina: 6483/6800 Soul Fragments: 663/1000 Stats: Strength: 687 Lethality: 1234 Agility: 1106 Dexterity: 512 Endurance: 680 Vitality: 956 Toughness: 446 Perception: 1036 Wisdom: 1180 Intelligence: 1119 Willpower: 902 Free Points: 20 Class Skills: [Advanced Blade Handling (Uncommon)], [Advanced Knife Throwing (Rare)], [Twin Blade (Common)], [Basic Dark Dash (Rare)], [Crimson Fang (Ultra-Rare)], [Predator's Mark (Rare)], [Demonic Blade Dance (Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Advanced Stealth (Rare)], [Assassin's Tracking (Rare)], [Mana Infusion (Rare)], [Basic Archery (Common)], [Demonic Predator Hands (Epic)], [Demonic Predator Throwing Knife (Epic)], [Burst Throw (Epic)], [Stealth Critical Strike (Rare)], [Shadow Dive (Rare)] Second Class Skills: [Basic Magic Conjuration (Common)], [Teleportation Pentagram (Legendary)], [Curse (Common)], [Cursed Weapon (Uncommon)], [Shadow Ball (Common)], [Weak Telekinesis (Uncommon)], [Witch's Gaze (Uncommon)], [Cursed Weapon Throw (Rare)], [Telekinetic Impulse (Rare)], [Telekinetic Pull (Rare)], [Witch's Thread (Rare)], [Despair Aura I (Rare)], [Clear Mind (Ancient)], [Shadow Mana Explosion (Ultra-Rare)], [Spell Grimoire (Epic)] Profession Skills: [Herbology of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Precise Extraction (Common)], [Advanced Potion Crafting (Uncommon)], [Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)], [Plant Sensor (Uncommon)], [Botanical Bond of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Seed Conversion (Rare)], [Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)], [Thorn Mutation (Uncommon)], [Soil Analysis (Uncommon)], [Botanical Purification (Uncommon)], [Acid Blood Arrow (Epic)], [Soil Guardian I (Ancient)], [Vegetal Respiration (Common)], [Stomach of Mother Freya (Ancient)] Race Skills: [Identify (Common)], [Demonic Perception (Uncommon)], [Dark Blood (Uncommon)], [Advanced Meditation (Uncommon)], [Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)] Rank Skill: [Soul Infiltration (Rank F)] Bloodline Skill: [Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)] Servants: [Unavailable], [Unavailable] Familiar: [Unavailable] He distributed the free stat points he had earned from his Witch level-ups, putting 10 into Wisdom to increase his mana reserves, 5 into Toughness, and 5 into Lethality.

A few things had changed since Artemis had trained him to use the power of his eye back when they camped together. The first was that, upon reaching level 80, he had received a notification saying a title slot was now available. Besides Dark Lord, he had four other titles: Survivor of the Midnight Tutorial, Regicide, Sariel, and Myth Slayer. The Sariel title contained a divine-rank skill he still could not access.

The tutorial title granted a 5% bonus to all his stats, while Myth Slayer gave him an 8% stat bonus along with a passive skill that functioned like a detector for mythical creatures. He chose Myth Slayer. The extra 8% stacked nicely with the 10% bonus from Dark Lord. This event started right when I was about to be able to use Spell Grimoire. It was the Epic skill he had chosen at level 60 in the Arcane Witch class.

[Spell Grimoire (Epic)]: Driven by an insatiable hunger for arcane secrets, the Witch refuses to walk only the paths of her own magic. As a devourer of knowledge, she dares to violate the natural order, stealing power written into the very fabric of reality. This grimoire grants the Witch the ability to permanently absorb the spell contained within a scroll, destroying the scroll in the process. Once the spell is consumed, the grimoire loses its original function and becomes the stolen spell itself.

(Warning: The Witch may absorb only a single spell through this power, and it must be compatible with her Rank. Any spell inscribed on a scroll may be taken, even those belonging to other classes, whether arts of healing, wisdom, or sorcery. As long as a scroll exists, the Witch can make its spell part of her own power.) I'm going to hold off on using that... unless I happen to find a really good scroll out there. His plan before the event had started was simple: get his hands on a scroll with an excellent spell.

Once absorbed, that spell would become one of his own skills, something powerful enough to open entirely new branches in his Witch path. The moment the system offered him that skill, he had not hesitated for even a second. He clicked it immediately.

"So that's it. Zoe's alive," Artemis said.

"Well, in that case, this side character could still return later as a possible candidate for the lust route."

"Okay, no. I don't have that kind of thing with Zoe, and my life is not entertainment media." Artemis had finally finished watching Luke's memories of the Battle Royale. He was exploring the city now, empty in the wake of the ocean's retreat. No selmarines. None of the creatures that had been there before.

"The ocean brings everything in with it." Luke looked toward the top of the ruin where the Marine Artifact rested.

"I hope it comes back tonight." He was sitting on the edge of a building, eating something from his storage item.

"You're pretty old, aren't you?"

"What kind of question is that, Luke?"

"Just making conversation."

"Write this down. Never ask a woman her age."

"You're a goddess. Age doesn't matter for you."

"Yes, it does. Do you think any woman would be happy saying, 'I'm three trillion years old'? No. Absolutely not."

"Is that your age?"

"I picked a random number. I'm not telling you how old I am."

"Now that I think about it, you hitting on a mortal, isn't that, I don't know, some kind of serious sex crime?"

"If there's consent, and he's considered an adult by his species' standards, then I'm beyond judgment." Luke dropped to the roof of a lower building.

"And what about your Fifty-One? How did your event go? Were you there when it happened in your universe?" he asked.

"No idea. My version here doesn't have access to those memories. And rule number one for couples, never ask about your partner's past."

"We are very far from being a couple."

"In your universe, a couple is two people who like each other and have feelings of affection for one another."

"I definitely don't feel that about you."

"And also, people bound by a powerful bond of love, marriage. And, well, our souls are linked since I'm your soulbound item."

"That is nowhere close to a marriage." Sunset was approaching. Then the sun slipped beneath the horizon.

"It's coming."

"I wasn't finished classifying our relationship."

"Finish later, chatterbox." Luke broke into a run and leaped toward another building, throwing a knife as he moved. A thread of mana appeared and yanked him forward. The tide was rising. The ocean was coming back. It's a gamble. A big one. That the artifact reappears. The water hit. Luke landed on top of a teleportation circle and vanished. He reappeared inside a building that was already filling with water. Luke braced himself, gripping hard as he felt the pressure of the wave tearing past him.

When it was over, he pushed out from inside the structure. He saw algae. Fish. Everything had returned to its place. And at the top of the building, there it was again. The golden glow. That's it, damn it. Luke climbed fast, and when he reached the top, he saw the totem. Then, beside it, something shifted. His perception caught it an instant before it moved. On the side of the building, something was clinging to the ruin. The octopus. Camouflage?

The massive creature was plastered against the structure like a chameleon. Was that bastard here the whole time during the day? The moment it saw Luke near the Marine Artifact, it went berserk. Its skin flushed crimson in an instant, and it lunged at him, already spewing a thick cloud of black ink. The Spectral Beast appeared, coiling around Luke and shielding him. The instant it dissolved, Luke threw a knife. [Shadow Mana Explosion activated] The octopus took the hit. Luke threw another knife.

Then another explosion ripped through the water. The octopus dropped, falling lower. Its tentacles lashed onto the ruin, then it launched itself upward like it had jumped. The creature appeared above Luke. He ran and leaped away. The Spectral Serpent struck, biting into the creature, and Luke hurled two knives with [Burst Throw] and [Telekinetic Impulse]. One of the octopus's tentacles was shredded apart. Luke landed on top of the creature's head.

Below him, the serpent tried to coil around the octopus and crush it. It did not work. The thing had no bones. Still, the serpent kept trying to pin it down. Luke slashed into the creature and jumped away. Tentacles shot toward him. He hurled a knife into a ruin. [Witch's Thread activated] The thread yanked him clear, and he threw another knife. The moment the octopus opened its beak to strike, the blade hit inside and detonated. Black ink burst outward, and the octopus started to fall.

Before it could flee, Luke appeared again. He stood on the head of the Abyss King as the serpent dove downward. With a burst of force, Luke launched himself off its head. The Abyss King lunged at the octopus, and Luke came down with his kukri glowing crimson from [Crimson Fang]. The blow pierced deep. When Luke pulled back, a massive core was in his hand. [You have slain a Grasping Octopus - Lvl 103] [You have reached Level 81! Half-Demon (Rank E)] (+2 bonus points to all attributes, +5 free points) The octopus sank to the ruined city floor, its corpse riddled with wounds. Perched atop the Spectral Beast, Luke stared down at the remains of the monster, then rose toward the artifact. [Marine Artifact Claimed] It was an octopus totem. Luke took it and stored it in his pocket dimension. I got it. The first one. Below him, other creatures were already swarming over the octopus's body to devour it.

Luke swam into a building, then, holding the octopus core in his hand, tossed it to the Spectral Beast, which swallowed it whole. Absorb the octopus's soul. Luke settled into a meditative posture. The Spectral Beast vanished. Inside Luke's soul, he saw the enormous octopus emerge within his soul realm, the copy of the Capital of the Midnight Kingdom. Luke ran straight toward it.

"Now you're out of the water. In my territory." And there, he began attacking the creature. In its panic, the monster tried to reach the river running through the capital. It did not make it in time. Luke stayed there, fighting it until he finally killed it. Then he opened his eyes with a smile. [Abyss King Form has been replaced with Grasping Octopus] When Luke summoned his Spectral Beast again, the creature that appeared was a gigantic octopus. Now we're a sea predator. [Unlocking Grasping Octopus skills...]