Chapter 9 - The All-Knowing One.
Everywhere was the same, the expanse inside the cave was the same in the sense that it was the same coral reef sight that greeted Sebastian wherever he went. It was a beautiful but bloody adventure.
In his previous world when he was still a human, he was a great fan of animated cartoons where the main characters were fictional creatures who went on adventurous tours through jungles and oceans.
Never in his life did he think that he would become just like one of those main characters, Oceania rebirth was the best thing that has ever happened to him.
Even better than the first time he kissed his girlfriend, though she dumped him just a few days later due to his weird anatomist tendencies.
He didn't know for how long he's been in the expanse already, but he didn't care as he was having the time of his life. In here, he hardly found a creature that could threaten him, only prey.
[You have activated skill: Swim.]
[You have activated skill: Dash.]
[You have activated skill: Bite.]
[You have activated skill: Tail fin attack.]
[You have dealt crippling damage to your foe; you have killed a Blue Tang…]
[You have killed a…]
[You have gained…]
These were the messages that his system kept on spamming at him, but he didn't get irritated by them at all, it made him fall into a euphoric mood.
Since he arrived here, his most frequent victim was the Blue Tang.
Most of them here were not even above level 5 yet, and without magic, he only needed one crunch to snap them into 2 and expose their blood and internals.
Another thing that made him euphoric was the sheer number of them, this cave seemed like their breeding ground. He wondered where their nest was, going there was the most optimal way to level up.
Despite the number of times that he ate the Blue Tang fishes, the flesh taste that still seemed the most appetizing to him was that of the snake.
They were evil beasts that are supposed not to exist in this world at all, but he still loved them. The soft feeling when his sharp teeth dug into their flesh almost left him crazy, it was just too sweet.
After he killed the young Primordial snake, he only found and killed another common water snake before they became scarce. He suspected that they already noticed him and were hiding.
Thinking of the sweet softness of the snake flesh, his mind could not help but divert to human flesh. He had to admit that in terms of flesh, humans certainly beat snakes in terms of softness.
He started craving it a bit.
It was crazy, but after staying in this shark body for more than a day already, he already started thinking like a great white shark.
"Perhaps, this is why sharks bite humans so much back on earth. What delicious flesh!"
Forgetting about that, as soon as he finished the last Blue Tang food that was before him, he set his eyes at the front again.
[You have activated skill: Electroreceptors.]
Despite the strain on his stamina, he always left this essential skill activated. He didn't know how life would have been here without it, he already classified it as his 3rd love.
All he wanted now was to continue farming Adaptation points, he wanted to get the Map said by the system as soon as possible.
During his attacks, he also observed another fact. Against creatures like the Blue Tang fish, his attacks dealt considerably more damage than when he fought with higher-leveled opponents.
He guessed that this was also a cause of the difference in species.
After killing so much of the Blue Tang fish, his human mind told him to rest but his sharky mind told him to continue. He felt like 2 personalities were warring in his head, one more rational and the other more bloodlust-filled.
He didn't know the one to follow. Why was he even still thinking like a human? He was a freaking great white shark now.
As he warred with the rationality in his mind, he suddenly stiffened as he detected the presence of another predator just like him in his domain. Through his electroreceptors, he felt a heavy presence from the beast.
Raising his head slowly, sparks flew in the air as he stared man to man at this new challenger.
A giant Grouper.
Unlike normal grouper fishes, this one was too unreal for Sebastian to wrap his head around. It was smaller than the tiger shark that he encountered yesterday, but this bro was still a boss at a staggering figure of over 8 meters.
He wondered how this fellow was able to fit inside the tunnel.
Grii…!
The Grouper suddenly let out a sound like a low growl intimidatingly, making all the hair equivalent in Sebastian's sharky body rise.
Compared to this towering fellow, he was far smaller but he was not afraid. He had the intelligence of a human which was projected in his 14 Mind points, and he was sure that it meant something here.
The Grouper tried to let out another growl, but Sebastian already disappeared from his previous position like the flash.
[You have activated skill: Dash.]
Whoosh!
He arrived at the Grouper's side almost immediately but the fellow despite being shocked was able to react, the familiar blue glow of the shield suddenly covered its body.
Already anticipating it, Sebastian drifted to a stop. The shield flickered a bit before disappearing, as soon as it disappeared…
Crunch!
With all the force in his body, he bit down with mind-blowing force.
[You have activated skill: Bite.]
[You have bitten your opponent, you dealt -3 damage.]
The Grouper quickly recoiled from the pain, with rage now evident on its face it turned its head towards Sebastian's position with equally fast speed.
Already predicting what would happen next, Sebastian quickly withdrew but he was still affected.
The Grouper's mouth opened like a huge 0 as the bright energy flared deep inside before sucking the next moment, Sebastian felt an enormous force of attraction pull him towards the opened mouth immediately.
The worse part about it was that as he resisted it, damage was continually being dealt to him.
[You are under the influence of a magic skill: -0.7 to -0.9 damage for the duration of the skill.]
Not able to withstand it again, Sebastian's body was pulled against his will. He hit the Grouper's mouth and the energy exploded the next moment; with pain erupting all over his body he flew away.
[You have been dealt crippling damage; you have received -11 damage.]
Horrified, Sebastian quickly turned around. The Grouper was already about to charge at him again, but a voice suddenly reverberated from the side.
"Big Group, that's enough".
The Grouper obeyed and stayed still, but it still directed a resentful glare at Sebastian probably for the bite injury that was inflicted on it.
"So, you're the new Shark guy who's been terrorizing this area since yesterday, huh?"
"Aren't you ashamed? A great white shark, afraid of the outside expanse and coming to a cave here to act as the shameless big dominator".
Sebastian was shocked twice; he never knew that the creatures here could speak. He turned his head warily. "Who is there?"
"The one that his name cannot be called!"
"The heck! Show yourself, cowardly boaster!" Sebastian cursed.
The tone deepened. "I'm behind you!"
Freaked out, he turned around slowly but he only saw water and nothing else. He broke down immediately, this only made him even more spooked.
Voice softer now, he demanded again. "Who are you?"
"I'm the all-knowing one!"
"…"