"Tariek, what's the matter?" The human holding the water magic construct let it go, noticing the puzzled look on his friends face.
"Nothing Jathem, it's just that this Tri-Tail is missing a tail, looks like it was just torn off too." The other man shrugged his shoulders, and replied as he was looking through the rest of their haul.
"You probably snatched it from something, you didn't see anything? I was casting Fish Eye on you the whole time." The man holding the wooden spear shook his head.
"Nah man, I was too focused on the Tri-tail. Plus casting Stone Throw is hard as hell on a fish as fast as a Tri-Tail. I thought I saw it move to bite a fish, but I let the spell go at the same time." Tariek inspected the bloody fish in his hands, noticing the small needle-like holes on its side. "Looks like it was attacked by a Fanger." Jathem looked at him, eyebrows raised.
"Bullshit, Fangers don't rip parts off their prey, plus they're never out in the open on the Reef. Too many Beijaws."
"Man, look." Tariek thrust the now dead fish at his friend, and they inspected the wounds together. Eventually Jathem had no choice but to agree with him. They leaned back over the edge of their little boat, to see if they could spot whatever attacked the Tri-Tail. They were shocked to see a fish staring right back at them, its head above the water. It had fangs like a Fanged Eel, but looked just like a Silver Batish, except being a little darker in color. Tariek grabbed his spear while starting to cast Stone Throw. As the spear raised above his head, the odd looking fish vanished beneath the water. Jathem cast Fish Eye on Tariek, who took a deep breath and jumped over the side of the boat. With the spell running, Tariek could see perfectly fine under the water, but try as he might he couldn't spot that odd looking fish for the life of him. After running out of air, he climbed back onto the boat, and had Jathem dry him off with a quick Evaporate spell. They both grumbled about it for a little while as they prepared to leave. They were always paid more for rare fish. Beneath their boat, Thomas sat, trembling. Once they started to move away, Thomas fled back to his little cave, but remembered what direction they went. He was so excited to see people that he momentarily forgot he was a fish, so when he stuck his head above the water he could barely see anything! A fish's eye is designed differently than a human, with a wider lense which is optimized to see underwater, as light refracts underwater. When Thomas stuck his head above the water, everything became extremely blurry. He could barely make out the shape of the two people. He did, however, recognize the long stick the one human had used to spear the Tri-Tail. As soon as he saw that blurry stick go over the man's head, Thomas immediately dove back under the water, and hid under the boat. To his absolute fear, the man jumped in after him! He swam to the other side of the boat, hugging its underside, and prayed that he wouldn't be found. Thankfully, the man got back in and they both pulled away. He was now hiding in his little cave, happy that he wasn't caught.
'That was fucking stupid Thomas, fucking stupid..' After a few more minutes of self shame, Thomas was ready to go. He wanted to follow the people, to see if he could learn more about them. 'But first, I have some points to spend.' He opened the Mutations page, having a couple Muta Points he could blow. He wanted to check what he got from the Tri-Fish. First, he read its info;
Tri-Fish: A common reef dwelling creature, the Tri-Tail is known for being a speedster, for a reef dwelling creature. Boasting three tails, it is highly muscled to propel itself through the water at fairly impressive speeds. For reef fish, none are faster
As he thought, the Tri-Tail was based on speed, something he was looking forward to taking. Willing open the Mutations page, Thomas could see the only entry, Tri-Tail Fins.
Tri-Tail Fins: While many believe the Tri-tail to have three tails, it is actually two highly advanced fins that grow off of the spine, creating a tail of sorts. This Mutation gives the Tri-Tail its famous speed, vastly increasing Agility. As new muscles and larger are required to properly use and control the fins, Strength is proportionally increased. Cost: 1 Muta Point
Gritting his teeth, Thomas purchased the mutation, and prepared for the pain. And oh boy, was there pain. Thomas could feel the base of his spine growing, a growth on top and a growth on the bottom. Not only that, his skin began to swell to match the bone growth, with new muscles growing in. It was excruciating. After a few minutes, Thomas could move again, and immediately opened his status page;
Race: Silver Baitish (Minnow)
Level: 4
Health: 16/16
Skills: Swim (Level Max), Bite (Level 1), Headbutt (Level 1)
Mutations: Hollow Fangs, Toughened Scales, Leonfish Venom, Tri-Tail Fins
Strength: 10
Agility: 25
Fortitude: 4
Toughness: 4
Will: 15
Intelligence: 25
Thomas sat, staring at his new status.
'Holy… Holy shit. A 15 point increase to Agility, more than doubling it, AND and 5 point increase to strength?!?' This was, by far, the best mutation Thomas had gotten so far, well worth the pain. He swam out of his cave, finding it a little too tight for comfort. Once he was out, he swam around, and was amazed with how fast he was! He could swim circles around every other fish on the reef now. He wanted to laugh out loud as he zipped back and forth. Feeling especially daring, Thomas swam as fast as he could to the surface, and lept out! He flew through the air for a few moments, and tried to look around. All he could see was a vast, blurry, expanse of blue, the ocean around him. Oh, and a small black dot above him, that was rapidly getting closer. 'Oh, SHIT' Thomas dived back into the water, and immediately activated Swift Swim. He practically rocketed through the water, reaching the reef ground in less then a second. He was able to stop before he smashed into the coral. Behind him, he could see a massive bird like creature, floundering in the water. It looked like a crane, except its beak was as long as its body, and it had massive wings, with a second, smaller set lower down on its body. It finally broke free of the water, and flew back above the surface, where he could no longer see it. Thomas' heart was pounding as he watch it leave
'...What the fuck man'