I'm a Stingray?

Chapter 144: Slap of life

It felt nice to wake up fully rested and without thousands of animals to command, this was a good break for the little man and he noticed that the slumber he had submerged too was long enough to allow the entire night pass by.

It was now the break of dawn, and the first thing he wanted to know more about could be seen as crucial considering day to day life in this environment. "How's my health? I forgot."

By that sentence alone it was evident that his memorisation capabilities were yet to be honed. But no one could become a super genius overnight after all. Not through a leveling system at least.

[You've eaten 8 marble shrimp last night so your total health is 71/110]

[Also, you've received 8 additional points yesterday thanks to the same shrimp you have killed.]

[Total system points = 158]

"This is good, but not good enough. You said that there are only a few more fish who can kill me around here. I can't risk having low health, it has been a big pain in the ass for a long while anyway." It was fair to say that paranoia had taken a root in his heart.

Which was weird as a whole because he wasn't paranoid before when almost anything could have killed him. Right before the system was about to say anything, a familiar figure managed to capture the corner of his eye after he had left the crack in the coral.

The figure was long and although far from his vision, it portrayed a hint of blue. Which made him ask, "Barracudas give health, right?"

[Correct]

He didn't need a second reference after that portion and used the opportunity to directly charge against the pole-like creature. It was fairly swimming peacefully, high above the coral even but that didn't matter.

It only was a matter of seconds to reach the enemy, being able to swim 5 mph now was helpful for such an aim.

What he did not expect was for the barracuda to actually fight back! It noticed the water piercing speed that was enslaving the waters. And the first thing it did was charge straight forward to avoid the attack, following the original route it had already followed prior to the attack.

In a handful of seconds it managed to turn around and charge towards the same little boy who tried to land a bite. Tim was yet to turn around so an open blind spot was provided, that of which the enemy didn't fail to use.

The hero felt a sharp pain on his right fin and the system instantly alarmed, [Health, -10 bars]

[Total health = 61/110]

The barracuda's face when it noticed that it was impossible to bite entirely through the skin, was priceless. It's eyes widened in shock and it felt that the razor sharp teeth it was packing, was utterly useless even against a species that was mostly such an easy kill.

On the other side of the stick, the little flat-fish thought. "Only 10 points?"

And began bashing the marvelous barb to the right, managing to push the very tip against the enemy's chin. The enemy was afterwards blessed with an additional burning sensation on the same spot, thanks to the entire quantity of venom that had been stored on the hero's stinger.

The sudden shock of pain had managed to force the enemy to open those former dangerous jaws. Which inevitably allowed the stingray to escape, that's where disaster erupted for one side of the stick.

Ignoring the bit of pain that was enveloped on his fin, the hero charged towards the enemy once more and inflicted a bite right on the enemy's bottom tail.

Such a wound accelerated only for the worse when a crack came out of that same bite. Such pain forced the barracuda to twist its upper body, backwards as much as possible.

Feeling that a bite wasn't enough, he spat out the chunk of flesh and bone. Afterwards clung on the enemy with another half-bite, moving the tail as if a propeller in all directions ~ stabbing the barracuda at a count of 5 times before separating from the battlefield.

With a few flaps against the water, he witnessed the enemy trying to beat the wounds away and continue the battle. But much like the recent fish the hero had killed, this one shivered violently left and right, almost unable to swim away.

"Weak spots work like a charm." He celebrated, but then noticed that the enemy just didn't want to give up.

Using its front fins, or more properly named pectoral and pelvic fins, the barracuda continued to swim forward but at a much more inferior speed - far from being good enough for battle.

This resulted to Timmy swimming backwards as he observed the enemy, uttering. "Sad. You seem like the kind of fish I wouldn't kill, just because you're stupidly brave."

And he felt a bit of guilt too, over attacking this one. But barracudas never really proved good will so far, in the long run it wasn't a bad idea to try and kill this one.

After 15 seconds of forced and imbalanced swimming, the enemy's belly turned towards the water's surface and so the hero heard. [Great barracuda killed. 40 system points have been given to you as a reward]

[Total system points = 198]

"I'm becoming rich again!" He celebrated while gazing upon the dead marine animal. But also wanted to assure that this was a kill worth while, "Just how much health will this one give me?"

[Eating a full grown barracuda only has great positive effects on your overall state of being.]

[But as for health, this one should give you 30 points if fully consumed]

Looking at the carcass, he began recounting goals before taking the first bite. "I will need a lot of health. You can read my mind system, you know what the deal is. There might be more holy-tar tribes up here and I must kill them all. Those toothy ass-faces will only bring chaos to the reef community I'm risking my life to build for the sake of helping. They can't mock my effort like this."

"Most importantly, no one else is strong and smart enough to kill these crazy bastards." He was exaggerating a bit of that sentence, clearly narcissistic but a point had been made. "Their death will lie on my hands... well, fins."

Finally, he was self aware enough to add. "This isn't about surviving anymore, this new life is becoming more complicated."