It took nearly thirty minutes for Henry to feel normal again after having triggered Hoard Vitality.

  It was as if he’d been punched, kicked, and was forced to stay up for 48 hours in the seconds after he used the skill. Nausea, pain, and blurry vision were the immediate symptoms, along with a small white luminescent spot which had formed on his forehead.

  He couldn’t see it. But he felt it. One of the healing charges.

  And of course it’s on my forehead.

  Over the next few minutes, as he recovered from the sickness induced by the skill, Henry decided he needed a better healing skill. This was good, and it would probably save his life, but he needed something better. Maybe there was a way to upgrade Accelerated Regeneration and if that was possible, he’ll want to look into it.

  Henry didn’t want to make too many assumptions, but the rankings right next to the Skills seemed to imply the existence of better tiers of the skills. Did that have to do with the levels in some of them? There was no menu to make the skills or traits better, so he guessed he hadn’t satisfied some condition yet.

  The new menus had only showed up when he’d gotten some Tokens. Maybe the upgrade options needed enough Tokens? Or levels?

  Henry looked at the Hoard Vitality’s description and shuddered. He had to stock up on health before he went out again and before it disappeared from his skills. After which, he’ll go out and get the Tokens to make it permanent.

  Henry braced and triggered the skill once more, and his lunch came creeping down his throat.

  This will take forever.

  ***

  By the time Henry came out of his crevice, hours later, he felt good. He had four spots, one of which he could see at the base of his frontal arm. Which was the arm he’d lost yesterday.

  Henry had spent the last ten or so hours watching it regrow.

  It had been eerie, but he did have a regenerative trait. He just didn’t think it would be so effective.

  Henry also realized he didn’t have to keep count of the charges. They just appeared next to the skill’s name.

  Hoard Vitality (F)[4 charges]

  Too bad temporary Skills can’t level. At least, I assume they can’t. Dart didn’t have levels either.

  In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a big loss. He would be using this skill so much that it won’t matter much that he didn’t get levels out of the few times he’d triggered it. But Henry will have to find a better way to make use of the skill. A way to make it more entertaining. Because somewhere around the three-hour mark, he was ready to bash his soft brains on the rock from boredom.

  He ended up edging closer to the exit and just observed the local fauna, which–even though it helped stave off the boredom–just annoyed him even more.

  I can’t see crap.

  Still, that gave him some ideas. He could maybe roam around–safely and under a camouflage–and watch his neighbors while he recovered his health. See how they lived. What kind of skills they had. All the while, he’d keep using Hoard Vitality until he found something that healed faster.

  It seemed like there was a pattern to skills though. A healing ability on a starfish. A speed skill on a fish. His own mimicking abilities, which strongly reminded him of mimic octopuses. Only the eel didn’t seem to fit, with its ability to freeze its prey.

  What else is known for their healing abilities? Sea slugs? Jellyfish?

  Henry wrapped half of his arms around him and became a rock that slowly inched its way toward a few lazy fish he’d seen swim close by. He also wanted to know more about the big shapes he’d seen swimming far above, but he didn’t dare leave this small area. Not yet.

  And I need something better than my arms to catch other fish… like the eel’s ability.

  That would be useful. But could he take the eel?

  Henry pictured its ability to freeze things. Those sharp teeth and bulbous eyes.

  Nope. He knew as soon as the question formed in his mind. He’d need to do a lot more fishing before he could tangle with that thing. Was it even still around?

  Henry paused, watching the fish swim away from his little corner of the ocean floor.

  He added another arm to his disguise and exhaled. Might as well check.

  Then he slowly rolled toward his turtle shell.

  ***

  The turtle shell looked like the refracted light from a diamond.

  Even though he didn’t have a clear vision of it, he could still see the incomprehensible colors as it shimmered in the dancing lights coming down from the surface.

  Henry marveled. But his excitement was marred by the purple head that poked out of one of the entrances to the shell, which, from this angle, seemed like the posterior part of the turtle.

  Did the turtle get stuck upside down? Also… the eel’s purple?

  He wanted to be mad at the beast, but he couldn’t contain his excitement at seeing an animal he’d never heard of before.

  The eel poked its head out when it noticed a small shoal of thin silver fish swim nearby. A purple hue appeared around one of them, and the rest of the fish scattered while the captured fish was slowly dragged toward the eel’s open jaw.

  Fascinating. I’ll still beat it up and take my shell back, but… fascinating. Let’s see what Identify says.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  [Telekinetic Eel (F) - Lvl 14]

  Oh. That makes sense.

  It was mostly opportunistic creature, and telekinesis fit perfectly with its lifestyle. Still, he frowned. How had he been able to escape this thing the first time? When it had taken one of his arms? Was it because he’d startled it in its own home? Or was it the ink?

  Probably the ink… its telekinesis failed when I used Inkjet. It needs to see its pray to work, I bet.

  Still, that could have ended up a lot worse for him. But at least now he knew where the creature was.

  Was it kicked out of its home? Is that why it came after me? Or did it smell the fish I pulverized?

  Henry narrowed his eyes. No matter. He would get his turtle shell back. If somehow he made it back out of the water and back home… he still wanted to have it.

  Henry couldn’t even muster some humor at such a delusion.

  Home? I’m not even human, anymore.

  That raised so many questions and concerns, but he looked away from all of them. He had to survive for now. That was the priority. And he still wanted to get the shell back. It was the only thing he had left from… before.

  Henry had died pursuing that turtle. He wasn’t letting it go just yet.

  The octopus looked up and around at the underwater world. It was so… quiet. Eerily lonely and teeming with life all at once.

  Do my friends realize I’m gone? Does my dad?

  He doubted the latter… Not if it’d been only a few weeks. Or even months.

  He slowly rolled himself back toward his hunting grounds, keeping an eye on potential dangers.

  He needed to get strong. And then…. What?

  Henry shook his head. One step at a time.

  ***

  Henry Identified the third core he’d harvested since leaving his cave.

  [Mackerel Core (F) - 4 F-Tokens]

  It had been a productive couple of hours. He managed to bring down three fish, all level between level 1 and 3. One [Goatfish] like before, and two [Common Mackerel]. He’d gotten them with the same technique, by baiting them, then Biting the back of their heads. Now as he sat down in his den, he brought up his interface.

  He was sitting at 11 Tokens which was enough to get Hoard Vitality and start leveling it.

  That and… a point in Strength. Yeah, why not.

  He would have caught more, but the ache in his chest had come back from his use of skills. It felt risky to be out with reserves that low so he decided to retreat and he could use the downtime to stock up on more Hoard Vitality charges. At least that skill didn’t use mana. Just his health. So he could just lay low while and build up his store of health charges while he waited for his mana to refill. hoarding more health. And wait for his mana to refill.

  Henry rolled his arms under him and pulled up his notifications.

  Mimicking Arms (F): Level 4 -> Level 5

  Bite (F): Level 2 -> Level 4

  Inkjet (F): Level 2 -> Level 3

  Henry considered sitting at the entrance and watching the surroundings, but… he felt tired.

  He brought back the menu, not wanting to see the dark and silent rocks around him and to cover-up the unbearable quiet, he hummed to himself. An old tune from his childhood that his mom used to sing.

  Henry wondered if she’d been reborn somewhere else, too.

  ***

  When Henry emerged from his cave again, the ocean shook.

  Well, not really. But he did manage to beat up a lot of low-level fish. Enough so that he’d had to scamper away when some larger and more dangerous-looking swimmers came by, attracted by the scent of blood.

  As he scurried around the rock as a ball of moss, he brought up his upgrade budget and dismissed the level-up notifications of his Skills. He’d gotten a level each, and it seemed like they were slowing down. He guessed that was due to how easy it’s been to deal with the local small fish.

  22 Tokens? Not bad… let’s spend this, then.

  Henry considered getting more that one points in Perception, but he felt like he needed more health. More safety.

  Then again, I’d be a lot safer if I could see the danger coming. And small fish are easy enough to catch, so I could always work on the others stats after.

  Increase Perception: From 3 to 4 for 2 F-Token?

  Increase Perception: From 4 to 5 for 4 F-Token?

  He nodded to himself and confirmed the increase.

  The magic–or whatever it was–sunk into his eyes and Henry stilled. He looked around, amazed at the colors and the clarity of the water. Above–further than he expected–he could see the surface, and he could make out sharks roaming just below it. Red, striped sharks. Looking back down and around, he could see the kelp forest, stretching away as far as he could see. It seemed sparser here, but that could be a trick of the eyes. Soon, he might be able to go up and see the surroundings.

  Kelp forests are usually coastal… I wonder if there’s land nearby.

  Endless blue surrounded him. And it was terrifying. But at least he could see.

  This is almost like my regular vision. Better, considering I’m not wearing any scuba gear.

  The cost was definitely worth it, and he was tempted to get another Perception point, but he talked himself down.

  As soon as it calms down outside, I’ll get back out and hunt some more.

  In the meantime, he raised Constitution to 5, which left him with 8 Tokens.

  Hmm… what else?

  With 8 Tokens, he could get a point in Strength, a point in Dexterity, and bring Spirit up to 5. He nodded to himself, and confirmed them as well.

  Magic went through him again, and it made him feel more present. Less at the whims of the waves and more ready to face his obstacles. Feeling reinvigorated, he slunk of his hiding spots and barely seconds later, he found his first victim.

  Henry came up on a crab. It was… smaller than the specimen he’d seen before, but he recognized those sharp pincers.

  [Bladed Blue Crab (F) - Lvl 8 ]

  Risky. But it might have a skill related to those sharp pincers. A weapon like that could save my life.

  Henry tried to talk himself into it. He looked up and around, and the coast was clear.

  Gotta take some risks or I’ll never get out of here.

  Henry continued his approach as a ball of algae. He hoped those seven healing charges were ready.