Lukey stared at the old man before him, wondering what he could possibly want with him. Did it have to do with the strange eel he hooked? Was the old man looking for this fish? He seemed strong, but not the type to bother with stuff like this. Lukey figured it was pointless to keep musing over his thoughts, so he figured he'd get some answers.

  “Sure, old man. Though, I doubt I know any more than you do about what just happened,” Lukey said.

  The old man chuckled to himself before saying, “Oh, I doubt that.”

  The old man then turned his face and nodded to two flat stones not too far from where Lukey was, gesturing him to sit down. Lukey was somewhat worried, but he couldn’t think of any reason this stranger wanted to harm him, so he obliged the old man. Lukey walked over to one of the stones and sat down, the old man following suit. There was a moment of silence between them before the aged spearman spoke first.

  “So… What’s your name, boy?” the old man said.

  Lukey was put off by the attempt at casual conversation after what just happened, so he responded hesitantly with his name, phrasing it more like a question, “Lukey?”

  “Alright Lukey, you can call me Triton,” the spearman said. He followed it up with a question that made Lukey tense up: “Now, mind explaining why in the Abyssal Depths you’re here and how you encountered that thing?”

  Lukey winced; he was afraid of this. He came here to be away from people and challenge himself on his own terms. Now he was stuck in an interrogation with some old geezer. He could only hope that the old man didn’t spread news to the village about where he has been coming from for the last few weeks. Lukey chose his words carefully and responded.

  “I discovered this reef today and happened to find this fishing spot. I was getting some fishing done when the eel caught my line. We had a pretty good standoff going until my fishing rod broke and it escaped.”

  Lukey began to elaborate by regaling him with the entire tale of how he was minding his own business before the eel challenged him. He left out a few details, like how he had discovered the reef weeks ago and had been scouting the location for a good fishing spot. After all, if rumors spread about how he was visiting a secret fishing spot, his mother would erupt on him like a volcano. Strangely, Lukey saw Triton chuckling to himself while he was recounting the entire experience.

  When Lukey was finished, Triton slapped one hand on his knee and broke down into laughter, only adding to Lukey’s tension. Did he figure out Lukey was lying, or was he amused by such a far-fetched story?

  Triton’s chuckling slowed until he stopped, then he took a moment to recompose himself before he spoke again.

  “Boy, there is something you clearly don’t understand.” Triton sat a bit straighter, then crossed his arms before he continued, “That tyrant didn’t escape; you did.”

  It was Lukey’s turn to chuckle before he responded, “Yeah right, I had that thing on the back foot. It didn’t have a chance of dragging me down there. Besides, you seem to know more about it than I do; mind explaining what that giant eel was, or perhaps why you call it a tyrant?”

  Triton raised an eyebrow at that, saying, “You don’t know? Don’t they teach you anything in that stupid school?”

  Lukey merely shrugged, replying with, “If I knew anything, then I wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t have met. Why worry about what could have been when we could focus on what is? Which is the fact that I know nothing.”

  Lukey was trying to play dumb in the least offensive way possible, something he didn’t need to fake since he really didn’t know much about the situation.

  Triton let out a deep sigh before relenting, “Alright. I suppose it isn’t fair that I am the only one that can harass you with questions, so allow me to explain the situation.”

  The spearman thought over his words carefully before responding, “That eel was a tyrant, and it’s basically taken over this entire labyrinth.”

  Lukey pondered at that statement. He knew that monsters like those had a name but had completely forgotten what it was. In his lessons, he heard that these tyrants were named specifically because they had something special about them that set them apart from the ordinary variety. What he didn't know was that this area was called a labyrinth and that the tyrant had taken over. He didn’t even know why a tyrant was such a big deal. Triton clearly knew more than he did, so he pressed for more information.

  “What is a tyrant, and what makes it so special?” Lukey asked.

  Triton gave him a look of disbelief before pinching his nose and looking down, shaking his head. He muttered something about “forgetting that most people don’t bother hunting these things down” before he looked up and steeled himself.

  “Tyrants are monsters that have evolved to a point where they are superior to everything around them, basically becoming downright unstoppable,” Triton said. “They have no known predators, eat everything, and overtake ecosystems to the point they eventually escape and start going on a rampage until someone or something intervenes.”

  Luke's eyes went wide at that. The eel didn’t seem to be that strong; after all, Lukey was classless, and he was still able to fight with the eel on equal terms. Perhaps there was more he didn’t understand.

  “I doubt that,” Lukey said. “Before my fishing pole broke, I’d say we were roughly of equal strength. How can that thing hope to go on a rampage if it can’t even overpower a classless person like me?”

  Triton simply raised his palm to stop him before answering his question.

  “It’s not that simple, young man. Technically speaking, any monster with a special trait automatically becomes a tyrant. It’s only after the monster abuses their traits and grows stronger that they become a headache.”

  Triton began thinking, then continued.

  “From what you said, it looks like the eel only recently developed its special trait and hasn’t gotten much stronger since then. From its title, I can only guess it had something to do with its eating habits, but without learning more, I can’t say for sure.”

  Lukey mulled over what he just heard before adding, “It seemed smart too. Far more intelligent than any monster should be.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “That’s normal,” Triton shrugged. “When a monster becomes a tyrant, they gain a wicked intelligence that guides them on how best to use their trait. It’s like they develop some sort of advanced instinct that increases their survivability tenfold. Nobody knows why that is, though; even the wisest people on the continents haven’t figured anything out, and they’ve been studying the phenomena for years.”

  Lukey thought over everything Triton said, committing his words to memory if he ever encountered another tyrant.

  “You said something about a rampage,” Lukey asked. “Can you tell me what that involves?”

  Triton looked at him suspiciously and carefully considered his next words. He probably didn't want to alarm the boy, but at the mention of a rampage, that ship had well and truly sailed. Triton took a calm, steady tone with his next words to attempt to calm Lukey down.

  “Calm down; it hasn’t gotten to that point yet. The eel is still young and weak. It will take a while to gather its strength before it escapes. Even then, I doubt it’ll leave the island, what with all the sea monsters.”

  Lukey suddenly stood up, eyes wide with the implications of what Triton said.

  “You mean that thing is going to stay on the island!? Near the beaches and harbors!? Kids play there; people fish there! We can’t let that thing escape!”

  Triton looked up at the boy with a mixture of confusion and alarm.

  “’We’? What do you mean, ‘we’? I’m going to hunt it down, boy. You just forget you saw or heard anything.”

  Triton made up to leave, but before he could, Lukey said something that stopped him.

  “You don’t seem to have much luck catching him though,” Lukey calmly said. “If anything, I would say he was avoiding you.”

  Triton then looked at Lukey and slowly gave him a strained smile.

  “For someone who claims to know nothing, you sure are perceptive.”

  “That’s it, isn’t it?” Lukey exclaimed. “The tyrant’s instincts that you talked about—it’s avoiding you on purpose because it knows you’re coming to kill it, and it doesn’t stand a chance.”

  Triton sheepishly scratched his neck before relenting with a sigh.

  “Unfortunately, you’re correct.” Triton said, “Recently I discovered various corpses of large fish and crabs chewed through and eaten, then disposed of around the reef. I was looking for signs of a tyrant, and lo and behold, here it was.”

  “So, what’s your plan?” Lukey asked.

  Triton lowered his head into one palm, seemingly trying to hastily put together a plan. It took a moment, but eventually he responded.

  “I’m probably going to prepare and head into the labyrinth tomorrow. The way it moves through the reef might make it difficult to catch, though,” he replied.

  Lukey only briefly encountered the eel, but he knew that this might be his ticket to something better than being a botanist. He loved his mom, but he’d rather drown than spend his life working with plants without ever being fulfilled.

  He slept through his classes, barely paid attention to what his classes taught, and just spent every day feeling empty. The only time he felt any sort of achievement was when he was exploring or fishing. Lukey had to convince Triton to take him into the reef and hunt the tyrant, even though he had no idea what hunting it entailed or even how he planned on taking it down.

  Lukey knew he was probably being impulsive, but then again, was success ever attained by being passive? If he lets this opportunity slip by, there’s no way something better will come by the time he has to choose his class. With his mind made up, Lukey put on his bravest fa?ade and seized his chance.

  “I can come with you into the labyrinth to hunt it,” Lukey said.

  Lukey could practically see the old man’s thoughts skip a beat before he turned to Lukey and gave him an ‘Are you serious?’ look. Triton looked the young man up and down before shaking his head.

  “Boy, I know you want to be a hero, but I mean this with all sincerity when I say that you would be useless in a fight. You would probably just end up holding me back while I search the labyrinth.”

  Lukey was disappointed but didn’t relent.

  “I’m not looking to be a hero,” Lukey said. “I’m looking for an opportunity.”

  Triton lifted an eyebrow at that; whatever Lukey said, it resonated with the old hunter. Lukey gauged his reaction, then carefully considered his next words. Judging by his demeanor and outfit, Lukey could guess which group he belonged to.

  “You work for Dragon’s Lance, don’t you? You can get me what I need to get a good class; maybe take me to the continent to find a path that resonates with me. Give me a chance, and I promise you won’t be disappointed,” Lukey said.

  Triton practically groaned at hearing all that. Clearly, he didn’t think he would be listening to some kid advertise himself to him when he went on this mission. Still, he didn’t immediately say no, opting instead to gauge Lukey and see if the boy could back up his big mouth.

  “Alright,” Triton said, letting out another deep sigh. “Boy, do you even know what Dragon’s Lance is or even what they do?”

  Lukey didn’t expect this reaction. Didn’t everyone know who they were? They practically owned the Abyssal Ocean that surrounded the island; everyone had surely heard of them. Still, Lukey did his best to meet the geezer’s request.

  “Dragon’s Lance is a society of hunters that specialize in the lancer class, whose goal is taking down large monsters. Anything that involves a large-scale force goes through Dragon’s Lance. That included protecting the ships that sail the Abyssal Ocean.” Lukey said calmly.

  Triton’s eyes rose with mild surprise. He replied, “Well, you already know more about them than most. Many people just think they're nothing but marauders and glory seekers. It’s mostly organizing large hunts to protect people from tyrants and organizing expeditions into labyrinths. There is a lot of work that needs doing, but many people think we do this for fun.”

  Triton steadied himself before continuing, “Still, what we do is dangerous; many die every year even with the best training. Why would you want to join Dragon’s Lance?”

  “Who said I want to join Dragon’s Lance?” Lukey said, “I just want a better opportunity than what I have on this island. If anything, once I get a good class, I’m taking the first boat and heading to the continent.”

  Triton broke out in raucous laughter. He acted like that was the funniest joke he heard all week. Lukey couldn’t blame him though; what he had said up until now had been a bit misleading. Still, he waited for Triton's laughter to die down before hearing out his reply.

  “So that’s what it was. You just want a different class,” Triton said. “What’s the matter? Not up for being a botanist?”

  “With all due respect, sir, I’d rather sleep on a bed of hot coals,” Lukey replied with a determined grin.

  Triton seemed to size him up, considering whether to tell Lukey something. The old man measured Lukey with his wizened eyes, giving the young man hope that he could fulfill his request. Triton was scratching his chin in thought, spear tucked in his armpit, when he made his reply.

  “How good of a fisherman are you exactly? Triton said.

  Lukey was taken aback. ‘What did that have to do with anything?’ he thought. Confused, he answered as truthfully as he could.

  “I spend most of my time fishing around the island. I often play hooky with my responsibilities if it means I can have more time to myself,” Lukey said. “Before I came to this reef, I prepared with a fishing rod that I made from scratch, along with some specially made bait. The fact that I not only lured the eel to me but also stood my ground against it should be proof enough that I am at least somewhat skilled.”

  Triton seemed to come to a decision as he heard Lukey’s story.

  “Alright, boy,” Triton began, “Let me start by saying that it is completely unrealistic to just take you across the ocean free of charge just so you can get a class. The dangers alone make it completely unfeasible unless you can afford the hired protection.”

  Lukey looked down, tightening his fists in frustration. What Triton said had dashed every hope he had; however, before he could be dejected for long, Triton began again.

  “That being said, however, I might be able to help you out,” Triton said. “It may not be exactly what you want, but in your case, I’d say it’s a perfect match.”

  Lukey looked up…cautiously. He didn’t miss the way Triton spoke of this supposed solution. Whatever Triton proposed, it wouldn’t be ideal, but it would give him access to a better life. Perhaps he was insane for trading the peaceful life of a botanist for anything else, but a life of tedium wasn’t worth living in his eyes.

  Lukey didn’t miss the other part of his statement either. A solution that was ideal for him? That just sounded too good to be true. Especially on an island in the middle of the ocean where so few opportunities presented themselves.

  Lukey steeled himself and said, “So long as I’m not a botanist, whatever it is, I’ll take it.”

  “Very well then,” Triton said. “Now tell me, Lukey, how would you feel about embarking on the path of a fisherman?

  Lukey looked at Triton in confusion, then realized what he meant.

  “You mean as a class!?” Lukey said in disbelief.