Henry poked his head out from behind cover and watched the fight rage on.

  The serpent caught one of the sharks in its mouth and chomped, teeth glowing. There was a flash of green that instantly disappeared into a cloud of blood. A second later, the tail-half of the shark floated down, cleanly severed from its upper body.

  A few yards away, another shark lay dead, caught by a green ray that thankfully hadn’t been shot anywhere close to Henry’s position and by now, only two sharks were still alive. One was able to tag the serpent with its tail, disorienting for a couple of seconds, but the giant quickly recovered.

  The other shark rushed in, suddenly accelerating, and took a sizeable bite out of the serpent’s neck. It chewed for a few moments, then turned belly-up as well.

  Shit.

  That meant Henry shouldn’t even think of trying to get a bite of the serpent. Not yet, at least. If its flesh was poisonous enough that an E-Rank shark passed out within seconds of biting into it, Henry would need either a teensy tiny portion, or he’d need to work on some toxin resistance trait.

  The remaining shark decided to cut its losses, and swam away. The serpent hissed again, a loud screech which filled the water around them, then it swallowed the two Riptide sharks, the remains of the Whipcrack sharks, and swam away toward the kelp forest. By the time it neared the thicker parts of the forest, its neck had stopped bleeding.

  Henry stared down at the site of the battle. The remaining tail-part of the shark which had been bitten in half was still there.

  The water might still be toxic. But the tail should be safe. No way for the venom to spread through all that without a heart. Probably. I could nibble on the tail. Also… did the serpent collect the cores? Or does it have another way of getting its levels?

  Maybe, just like the whales, it had some other way to gain levels. Maybe the core-creating trait was different for it?

  Questions for another time. For now, it’s scavenging time.

  Henry waited a few minutes, enough for whatever toxic compounds to dilute a bit more then swam toward the discarded tail. Before more scavengers showed up.

  Moments later, he stealthily arrived, and no shark had shown up yet. The serpent’s ruckus probably scared them away.

  Henry examined the surrounding space. If a core had formed, it was probably lost in one of the cracks or under some coral leaves. He couldn’t waste time looking for it.

  Henry approached the large, cartilaginous tail of the Whipcrack shark and bit into it. Seconds later, the notification showed up.

  Tail Whip is not compatible. Skill has been adapted to Arm Whip.

  Magic Mimic: Arm Whip (F) was copied temporarily.

  Arm Whip (F): Strike out with a powerful blow, creating a sonic boom that can stun the target.

  Oh that’s good.

  This skill, in concert with Razor Arm, might be strong enough to cut through Deepcaller’s skin though maybe he should make sure he couldn’t hurt himself with such a combination. A whipping-blade like that would absolutely slice him in half.

  Henry glanced back at his interface for any other skills, but there was nothing.

  They just had one skill?

  Henry tried a couple more timid bites, but then Riptide sharks began showing up and he decided it was time to leave.

  Maybe they also have a Bite skill and that’s why I can’t copy it?

  It was odd, but he figured he’d find out eventually as time went on. For now, it was time to go see if he had what it’d take to break Deepcaller’s skin.

  His time with the skill was limited, after all. Henry didn’t have enough slots in his class to fully buy Arm Whip.

  As he swam toward the whale’s territory, he hoped he’d get more skill slots soon.

  ***

  Henry’s arm flashed forward with a terrifying speed. The bladed edge impacted the whale flipper’s skin and bounced off harmlessly.

  Dammit.

  “[You are… getting… close. I could… feel… that.]”

  “[Thanks, Deepcaller,] Henry grumbled as he came to a rest on the tip of the flipper. The giant whale began swimming leisurely around, and Henry watched the fields of algae roll under them. “[I have a couple of questions for you. About classes and powers.]”

  Deepcaller had come alone this time. The whale hummed and both its left eyes stared at Henry as he rubbed his sore arm. The whipping motion didn’t do it damage–not really–but it did make his limb feel numb for a few minutes.

  “[Questions? Of… course. You…can ask.]”

  Henry kept his questions simple. He asked about traits first and how he was supposed to fill the options he had available. He asked about trait upgrades and how to get them. He also asked if other predators needed to consume cores to level and finally, he asked why some beings had only one skill, though he didn’t expect much for that lost one. For example, the starfish had had two skills, but something like the Whipcrack sharks or the Riptide sharks only gave Henry one skill. There was a logic there, clearly, but he wasn’t sure the whales held the key to that secret.

  The giant eye blinked at him. “[Those… are… many.]”

  The whale went quiet for a few seconds, then its voice echoed in his mind. “[Traits and skills… we acquire those… through training. Trials… and error. But some… like you… acquire it through bites… and other means. The Deceiver obtains its abilities… through blood.]”

  Magic Mimic, Henry thought. So it must be an upgrade that’d allow him to copy traits.

  “[Then the more you use them… and understand them… you will be allowed to improve them.]”

  Henry nodded along. Answers, finally. He should have asked about this days ago.

  “[As for cores… yes. It differs, but eating your… prey’s powers… is common. Finally, for your question… about why some beings… have only one ability for you… to copy, it might be… that they only have one cornerstone… ability.]”

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  Henry looked at the giant purple eye. “[What’s a cornerstone ability?]”

  “[It is…an ability… close to your nature … and soul. For us… it is our telepathy… but it evolves… and allows us to do much more… than just talk. When you would copy it… you will not… get our full ability. Only the ability’s… base form.]”

  Henry hummed. That made a lot of sense. Taking a look at his skill list, he guessed the the species’ abilities were the cornerstone skills and if he was understanding things right, then it’d mean those ability would get better as they evolved?

  I bet that’d happen when they upgrade… which means the upgrading process might be a bit different from the skills I copied.

  It was a theory. But soon, he’ll know for sure. After all, his first skills were approaching level 10.

  “[Thank you, Deepcaller. Your answers are very helpful.]”

  “[You gratitude… is appreciated,]” said the giant being. After a few moments, he spoked again. “[You said… there were beings… like us… where you came from. Did they… have the gift… of mind?]”

  Henry looked up at the massive, telepathic whale and sighed. “[I don’t think we know for sure. We know their brains are developed and they communicate with each other, but we can’t communicate with them. I don’t think they’re as intelligent as you are, though.]”

  Deepcaller was quiet for a moment. “[We will… be here… for one more… cycle. Then we will… say our… goodbyes.]”

  Henry rocked at the news. He’d known they were going to leave soon… but they were also the only intelligent being he was able to speak with. He took comfort in their presence.

  He was going to be left alone?

  “[You should… hurry. You will not… be able… to pierce… my skin… by… swimming… in your own… sorrow.]”

  Henry shook his head at that. Even through the anxiety and worry, he chuckled.

  Who would have known he’d ever meet telepathic whales with a sense of humor.

  ***

  Henry stayed nearby and hunted Riptide sharks.

  He still had to isolate them, because he couldn’t freeze two of them at once with Telekinesis. Not yet, at least, and when he wanted to take a break, he just swam around the reef and explored, trying to identify everything he would meet.

  Henry was still on the hunt for something to heal faster, even though it was less of an emergency now with Recuperative Meditation.

  [Common Starfish (F) - Lvl 1]

  Henry continued his swim. He’d had the chance to test out Arm Whip a bit more, and it was extremely efficient when mixed with Razor Arm. Terrifyingly so. Unfortunately he couldn’t level it just yet. And he assumed he was going to loose access to it soon, but he hoped he’d still be able to buy it once he’d get an extra slot.

  Probably have a couple of days before it disappears from the available list. Dart is already gone, but Riptide Rush is still available. Then again, I’m frequently eating shark anyway, so that might be way it’s still around.

  [Fishbane Sea Cucumber (F) - Lvl 3]

  Henry stared at the black and yellow sea cucumber, then shoved it away with Telekinesis when it tried approaching him.

  It might have miraculous healing abilities, but he wasn’t biting into that. That thing was only missing a skull and crossbone pattern on its back. Though he took note to come pick one up once he started working on his toxin tolerance, preferably after he sample something less dangerous.

  Henry swam further away, going back up to his perch. He wanted to reach level 50, and he was getting close. It also meant, he had some points to assign.

  Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 40 achieved!

  ...

  Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 46 achieved!

  2x Stat point awarded.

  Henry gave a point to Strength and a point to Perception, as promised. He waited through the process, and was gratified to notice his vision extending slightly farther. Nothing dramatic, but anything helped and next, he checked his updated stats for a moment.

  Strength: 7

  Constitution: 11

  Spirit: 10

  Perception: 7

  Dexterity: 7

  Hoard Vitals [17 Charges](E): Level 1 -> Level 2

  Razor Arm (E): Level 1 -> Level 2

  Telekinesis (E): Level 2 -> level 3

  Good progress.

  From now on, he’d focus on Bite and Mimicking Arms, getting them to 10 and hopefully by tomorrow, he’d hit level 50.

  With that, Henry activated Mimicking Arms and waited for his next shark.

  ***

  It took close to six hours of on-and-off fighting to get Bite and Mimicking Arms to level 10,w which was slowly making Henry sick to his stomach.

  I should change targets soon, he thought to himself as he swam toward his turtle-shell home.

  He doubted his own impact on the Riptide shark population would be that pronounced in the grand scheme of things, but it was starting to feel a bit much to him. Still, the results were undeniable. And they helped alleviate the guilt.

  Don’t think about it like that. You’re out here trying to survive. That’s what’s most important, Henry reminded himself as he popped his interface up and checked his progress.

  Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 47 achieved!

  ...

  Undecided Marine Biologist - Level 50 achieved!

  1x Stat point awarded.

  1x class skill slot awarded

  1x class trait slot awarded

  Mimicking Arms (F): Level 9 -> Level 10

  Bite (F): Level 8 -> Level 10

  He’d done it. He got two more skills to level ten. He had the tokens to upgrade them, and level 50 gave him more ability slots. All thanks to the sharks.

  I’ll build a memorial for you somewhere, Riptide Sharks. But you guys almost killed me early on , so… yeah. Now, let’s see.