That’s land. Well. Island. And it definitely doesn’t look that safe.

  From afar, Henry couldn’t see much but a greenish pebble in the distance. A green-covered island with a smoking peak.

  Volcanic island. Is this what the whales meant by sea of flame?

  Henry considered it for a moment, then dove back down and made sure nothing was about to bite into him.

  He wasn’t comfortable being this large. A 60 Kg octopus–around 120 pounds–was massive. He was easily around 8 to 9 feet tall, so wherever he moved, he felt exposed. He’d tried to alter his general shape or put more weight in his arms, but the skill didn’t allow for such customizations, no matter how much he tried. It only allowed him to grow larger or smaller without much alterations to his proportions.

  Maybe something I’ll get in a future upgrade.

  Henry swam back down to the sea floor and started roaming. He took the shape of a rock and hopped forward, keeping an eye out for anything he could catch. And for anything that might be following him.

  That thing he’d detected right before the seal arrived yesterday might still be around. And he still didn’t know what it was.

  23 charges of Hoard Vitals should be good to do some hunting, right? Also, I should seriously check if there’s an upper limit to these things or if they expire. They hadn’t so far, but who knows…

  There were some Riptides and some common low rank fish around. He saw a lionfish chase after a Riptide, but he didn’t feel like dealing with them right this second. They were a pain to deal with, and he wasn’t underestimating them again. Henry eyed it and those sharp spines it was shooting at the poor Riptide.

  It’s probably the Piercing Projectile trait that made them so dangerous.

  He studied his surroundings. The area was sparser when it came to kelp stalks. Brown rocks covered in coral and other reef denizens were ubiquitous, and among them was a pretty large black stone boulder that he now suspected might be the result of an eruption.

  The turtle shell was hidden under it, in a small crevice he’d dug out into the gravel and sand. It was also a few yards away from a crawl space under one of the larger reefs, where he’d slept last night.

  I could head toward the volcano. In stealth-mode. Maybe get some practice with Slick Coat. Hmm.

  The problem was that if there was trouble, he couldn’t run and hide. Well, from seals he could, considering their attention spans and their need to breath, but maybe not from the other dangerous denizens. At this size, he couldn’t hide well in small burrows and dens. Anything he fit into would be large enough for some predators to follow. Not large ones, but he wouldn’t be that protected.

  He knew he could probably fit in very small spaces, because that’s what octopuses did in the wild but… just the thought made him breath faster.

  Nope.

  Maybe if he ever got a trait that could shut down claustrophobia he’d consider it. In the meantime, he was sticking to spaces where he could stretch his arms a bit.

  Henry shivered. Just thinking about enclosed spaces made his skin crawl.

  Focus. I need to get some tokens. Where could I get them?

  He could roam in the island’s direction and hope for a seal or two to come toward him. He could ambush them. Though escaping their notice was a pain in the arms, and they might try and swarm him. Then again, they hadn’t been that effective at dealing with him and now that he picked up Slick Coat, he should be much better equipped to deal with them.

  They’re fat in tokens, too.

  Henry nodded to himself, then dropped his disguise and glided over the seafloor, toward the island.

  ***

  It took around ten minutes for him to hear the first seal call.

  Henry dropped to the sea floor and looked for something to hide near, then melded to the side of a boulder and waited.

  This area was thick with kelp. Which was good. It meant he might not get bogged down by multiple seals. Well. Maybe not if they only relied on echolocation. If they used their eyes while hunting, though, then the cover should work to his advantage and if the last encounter had taught him anything, it was that they’d get distracted sooner or later.

  Henry began moving one of his arms to tickle their echolocating senses; sometimes slow, sometimes fast. He waited for close to five minutes until one of the calls began getting closer.

  He exhaled, and didn’t suppress the shiver.

  I can do this. They don’t deal that much damage. And I’m much stronger now.

  The extra stat points he’d gotten weren’t the only reason Henry was feeling confident and to be frank, he was still a bit miffed at the skill for not having specified its downsides to him. Because when Henry had pushed his weight and size to the maximum of Alter Physique, he realized he’d been hobbling himself and his stats.

  Being smaller came with a penalty. He should have guessed, considering strength and power were tied to weight, but in a world where there was stats for these attributes, he didn’t expect the weight to matter so much.

  To test it, Henry had tried to lift a small boulder that morning. Nothing too large—he estimated it to be around a hundred and fifty pounds and didn’t expect to do much with it and he’d been shocked he had managed to carry it for a few feet. With only two arms.

  The water helped, of course, but Henry was sure he wouldn’t have managed that with his smaller size. Hell, even the turtle shell felt a bit heavy to him, and he hadn’t been that far behind when it came to the Strength stat points.

  Henry spread his awareness to his massive arms and felt the strength residing in each and every one of them. This was going to be the first time he fully tested his martial abilities without being hobbled by size.

  The seal got closer, and Henry picked up his pace. He kept moving his arm and watched as the seal crept closer.

  Sorry, buddy.

  When the seal got within a couple of yards, Henry detached from the rocks, dropping his disguise as he attacked. The mammal immediately lunged, activating its coating ability, and Henry whipped a bladed arm forward to meet its charge.

  A tuft of fur and a cloud of blood were the result of opening salvo. The coat had deflected most of the attack, but the impact was powerful enough to throw the seal backward.

  The mammal recoiled and circled with smooth, fluid movements, eyeing him warily. Its fangs were visible, and it clearly had no intent of backing away.

  It was hunting as well, and Henry had a bad feeling. He surged forward, bladed arm raised as he locked the creature’s movement with Telekinesis, but it was too late.

  The seal, unable to move, opened its fanged maw and sent out a call.

  Well… that was expected. Happened sooner than I’d liked, but I can handle this.

  Henry darted forward and coiled a thick arm around its neck just as he let go of Telekinesis. He pressed hard, then activated Razor Arm.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Blood surged out of the seal’s neck as it tried to swim away, dragging Henry behind as it trailed red toward the surface but soon, its movements flagged, and it never reached the surface. Air bubbles escaped from its mouth, and the shiny coat faded as the seal stopped moving.

  Henry looked down at the limp corpse and felt something gnaw inside of him as his light-brown, blue-dotted arm pulled away from the deep cut along the mammal’s neck.

  We’re both predators. They tried to get me yesterday, and I’m getting them today, he told himself and instead of dwelling on the feeling, he looked at his notification.

  1x [Echo Seal (E) - Lvl 28] core was collected.

  Henry exhaled and looked away from the dead seal.

  The fight had been a lot easier than yesterday’s. He really had been hobbling himself by staying small.

  More calls were surrounding him, and Henry took stock of his mana. He hadn’t expended much, so he could still keep going.

  I wonder if my size affected my mana as well, he mused as he blended with the rocks again.

  Expecting more than one to show up, he activated Slick Coat once more. It had faded somewhere along the fight, and mana gushed out of him as the defensive film spread all over his skin as he hid once more.

  It was an expensive skill, but it was worth it and now, it should start levelling pretty fast, considering the many fights Henry was getting himself into.

  Water felt softer and warmer on his skin, and as he mentally reviewed the last fight, he felt the skill had allowed him to swim easier. To move faster. But he hadn’t been hit much so he wasn’t sure of the skill’s efficiency when it came to defence.

  He will know soon, though.

  Half a minute later, the first seal arrived and rushed to the dead one. It made some calls and two more joined it. They went up to the surface for air, then they all came back down and began searching, making trilling sounds.

  Henry didn’t wait for them to find him.

  As soon as the first one got near, he froze it and quickly wrapped a arm around its neck before he repeated the same maneuver its brethren had fallen to. He thought of locking the seal down with him and suffocating them, but these things could fight back. Henry was forced to cancel Telekinesis to reach the neck, but he wouldn’t have been able to maintain the skill for long anyway.

  Not yet.

  Henry’s bladed arm slowly and inexorably dug into the seal’s neck. Blood welled out and spread around his limb–

  And the seal slipped out of his grip.

  Henry blinked, then cursed as all three seals surrounded him, one of which was slowly bleeding, dyeing the water around him red.

  Whip had not been very effective yesterday… but that was before my new size.

  Henry whipped an arm at the first approaching seal, and the limb cut through the water as if it had been merely air. The seal swerved, but the bladed magic still caught it right above its right fin, cutting deeply into the fur and blubber below it. Blood surged in a cloud, but Henry wasn’t done. Next, he sent an Ink Clone ahead, and pivoted. He locked the one he’d injured first as it continued bleeding from the neck and went to finish it off. It thrashed against his grip, it’s powerful body flexing, and almost broke through Telekinesis. Henry grit his beak at the sharp pain that stabbed behind his eyes, but he didn’t let on and only released the skill when had climbed over the seal.

  He was larger than it was. Maybe not in weight, but he could get multiple arms around its body.

  That was an odd realization.

  Henry didn’t waste any time and bit down on the neck. He struggled to force his beak through the coat still, but he kept at it while the second seal went for his stomach. Henry felt it bite and pull at him, and the movement made his vision oddly distort, but he knew it wasn’t doing much damage.

  Actually, it wasn’t doing any. Slick Coat wasn’t holding up well against its attack, considering its low rank and level, but combined with high Constitution, it was enough. Henry could barely feel the pain.

  Further away, the Ink Clone had already dissolved. The seal that had chased it was coming back.

  Henry dug down harder with his beak and used Bite again. The skill broke through the coat, and blood surged out of the thrasing seal’s neck. The next Bite snapped its spine, and so Henry hopped off its back. In the meantime, the second seal was chewing and pulling on his stomach as if he was a chew toy. Henry had already begun wrapping two arms around his attacker and two more joined the effort, while he held the rest up in front of him to defend against the third.

  His vision was wrenched down as the seal tried dragging him to the sea bed.

  You’re… annoying.

  Henry had enough of a grip now to try start cutting. He used Razor Arm on three different spots, hoping the two extra arms around the seal’s waist and paddles would secure it while he cut its throat open.

  Then the third seal made another call, and Henry cursed.

  ***

  Henry swam back to his hiding spot, panting, and was mentally readying himself for another scuffle when more reinforcement calls filled the sea around him.

  Two approaching seals stopped and swerved, and Henry followed them with his eyes as he took stock of his health and mana.

  He hadn’t been hurt much. Multiple puncture wounds and he felt a bit banged up, but he won’t die. His mana was a bit lower than he’d liked, but he still had plenty. And he hadn’t used any charges of health, so he could still keep going but clearly, something was happening.

  Henry looked around, trying to regain his sense of direction. He found the set of rocks he’d come around, then another black boulder he memorized for reference, then it clicked.

  Northeast from my home-base. That’s where they headed.

  Henry could go after them, see what they were up to. It might lead to him to an interesting creature. Maybe it’ll even allow him to finish off something big. But to that, he had to spend some tokens.

  Let’s see what they’re dealing with first. I don’t think it will change my priorities, but just be safe.

  Henry pumped his arms and began gliding along the sand and rocks. He was curious as to what the seals found. Whatever it was, he was thankful. He hadn’t been in that much danger, but it certainly saved him a drawn out fight. Though it could have gotten risky if a more seals had shown up. They were annoying to fight. They kept calling for help, and if there was a whole island of them, they’d wear him down.

  Their cores are full of tokens though. And they’re good for working on skills.

  Their number was something he should keep in mind for the next time he encountered them. Unless he got powerful enough to cut through their defensive skill and thick hide faster.

  Henry kept gliding along the seafloor. When he was halfway back to his home, he veered toward the calls. He quickly checked his notifications as he swam, and was pleased at his progress.

  3x Echo Seal Cores (E) were collected.

  Bite (E): Level 2 -> Level 4

  Mimicking Arms (E): Level 7 -> Level 8

  Telekinesis (E): Level 7 -> Level 8

  Razor Arm (E): Level 4 -> Level 7

  Arm Whip (F): Level 3 -> Level 4

  Slick Coat (F): Level 1 -> Level 3

  Henry considered pushing his weight up with the improved Alter Physique skill, but he had to be careful with his mana. Plus, it would take a while to gain the new 24 Kg anyway.

  Becoming more and more of monster…

  Henry pushed the thought away. It would allow him to be safer. To get more out of his stats. He’d be more tenacious, and he’d hit harder.

  I made my choice. I chose the class.

  Barely minutes later, he came upon a familiar scene, and seeing what had riled up the seals, his worries and anxieties were soon replaced by something else, and Henry welcome the distractions.

  There was some fear, sure. But also a bit of excitement, and a bit of greed. After all, his goal was to grow stronger and survive this ocean, and ahead, he saw something that could save him days of grinding.

  Henry felt his blood rush to his limbs as he took in the fight ahead of him, and he gladly welcome the primal sense of trepidation. The potential challenge. He couldn’t do much about what had happened and what he looked like, but this… he could do something here.

  Hello, you.

  [Juvenile Sea Serpent (D) - Lvl ? ]

  episode, on DBZ Abridged chapter! (that sentence has been stuck in my brain for years)

  if you haven't followed yet, pleased do! Following/rating/reviewing helps me move up the Rising Stars list. I'll stop saying this soon. I promise. Or at least, I'll say it less.

  If you want to fuel me with a cup of coffee, there's . For now I'm aiming for two week's worth, but once I have more time, I'll add more chapters to the tier. I use the new subscription model, so you will not get double billed on the first of the month.