"Hmm?"
Stunned, Granny watched in silence as Rans unconscious body slowly floated downwards and plopped onto the red sand.
Silence ensued for a few seconds before she called out to him.
"Child?" However, there was no response.
"Ran?"
She went up to him and poked his body a bit, but he still would not wake up. By this point, it was clear that he was completely unconscious which only surprised Granny more.
What had happened? He broke through?
Thinking about this, she was almost surprised a third time. When they had met a few months ago, wasn't he still a little fry that was at rank-9? Now he's at what, six?
Hmm… this was faster than usual, but still not too fast. There were only a few explanations.
Potential would usually be brought up in these sorts of scenarios, but it's honestly too nebulous to even really exist in this story which I guess is my bad.
Except, even if it did exist, it wouldn't be able to account for ranking up as the ranking system was very niche and few things could directly influence it, let alone indirectly.
Stubbornness and or hard work was, of course, the most logical explanation as it would be in most of these cases.
However, in the back of Granny's mind existed another possibility that itched incessantly. After all, no matter what, Ran was now at least part carp. As such, there was a possibility that his insatiable hunger could rise at any moment. Well, not really how it works, but that's what she thought anyway.
However, if this was true and indeed his hunger had awakened and he had abused it, then in all honesty, he would be far past this point.
This stubbed that itchy toe in her mind and thus, so that line of thinking was thrown away. Of course, there was a good chance that there was some mechanism that he was using that she didn't know of considering he was an outsider.
On a more serious note, now that Ran was unconscious, what was she supposed to do now? She had been waiting for this dirt bag for days so that she could finally sleep when he left! He ghosted her and then left the chat as soon as he returned, as if to mock her.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought for a second. Then, her eyes lit up as she left the cave.
Soon, she returned with an object in her hand.
She injected some soul juice into the object and soon water was sucked in from one end and flowed from the other.
But more than that, a mysterious sound soon ebbed from the object; it sounded like the rushing shores of a beach, the tides softly crashing onto the sand over and over.
The usually quiet ocean was now filled with this calm noise, at least this little cave was. But, the point of this device wasn't just for meaningless music.
She made sure to place it next to Ran as she occasionally checked his condition.
Along the way, she saw his body slowly heal from the backlash and even faintly smelled of what appeared to be a herbal remedy of some kind. Other than that, however, there were no other abnormalities.
Soon, the object did its job and within a half-hour, Ran's mental state stabilized from the collision, smoothing out any unstable ripples. She took another half-hour just to give him some time to properly rest and afterwards, she woke him up.
"Huh?"
Still groggy, Ran slowly awoke from being unconscious. He pushed himself against the sandy ground, trying to sit himself up, only to uncover the mouthful of sand in his mouth. He quickly coughed it out, even using some soul juice to make it more convenient.
Suddenly, as he sat up, he felt a grip on his shoulder, and he was spooked almost to the point of fainting.
"Do you remember what happened to you?"
Granny looked at him and asked, making sure he was still grasping onto reality. Can't be too sure, right?
Ran, stunned by the question, was silenced for a few seconds in contemplation, before responding.
"I… I broke through?"
"You did."
"While activating the skill?"
"Exactly."
In response, Ran rubbed his face as he sighed. Honestly, maybe he should have seen it coming. He knew it was bound to happen one of these days, but he hadn't prepared, hence the current situation.
And yet, he still didn't understand. Recently, especially after awakening his sigil, he's been repeatedly falling unconscious; it was something he practically never experienced before. Not just himself, he never saw other people fainting so much within a single year. Just… why? Was it some kind of plot-device? A way to progress the story? And especially in this case—was it really so necessary?
What if the author just liked giving the main character a hard time?
Anyways, putting all that aside, Ran was overjoyed by his current prospects so much so he wanted to break into song and dance. The reason he didn't was because a certain someone was still gripping his shoulder.
"Uh… Granny?"
"Right."
Feeling the increase in awkwardness, Granny realized that she still held onto him and let go.
"However, you have yet to show me you can take care of yourself, child."
"You mean you want me to show you the skill again?"
"Indeed."
Ran agreed to it. After all, she was right; he couldn't stay cooped up here in this cave forever. Plus, she had previously mentioned the spiritual kelp could help further awaken his bloodline, whatever that entailed.
And so, he once again stood against the wall of the cave. He stood there for a few minutes in silence as he looked over any problematic areas regarding the activation of the stonefish's stealth skill.
The skill was fairly simple, which was in part why Ran was able to figure it out so quickly. Through the use of one's pores, one's soul juice can output the signature extremely similar to that of its surroundings, obscuring their figure. It was simply like wearing a green shirt while standing in front of a green screen. Though I guess a floating head, arms and lower body would be quite shocking to most.
Once he finished revising, he glanced at Granny who watched him from the side before activating the skill.
Immediately, the aura that vaguely shrouded Ran melded with the surroundings. Within a few seconds, Ran's figure completely disappeared, leaving the wall of the cave undisturbed.
Another few seconds later, Granny approached where Ran hid and began her inquiry.
"Hmm… not bad for your first time. I say you should be fine now—huh?"
Quickly, after a cursory investigation, while everything seemed normal at first, something seemed off to good ol' Granny. At first, she couldn't really put her finger on it, that was, until she realized it had nothing to do with her fingers. Instead, it was her nose.
"Your smell is—how should I put it?"
Ran was utterly confused by her train of thought and he dispelled the skill. He looked at her as the recent interaction with Shirley's father came to mind. Suddenly, he was a lot more anxious.
"What do you mean?"
"Your smell is… distinct. I don't quite get it; it's just too strong."
"Meaning what? Are you saying it exposes me?"
Ran still didn't quite get it. Was his scent really that weird? Well, Ann seems to really like it, but then again, it is Ann… as in the one who regularly flexes on her fellow group members.
However, Granny didn't see it that way.
"Not really, you're just too weak compared to me, so it was really obvious."
Granny was curious, but how would one ask about someone else's… aroma? Even for an old woman like herself, it would be too awkward.
To that, he relaxed himself. Having a skill such as this would most likely prove extremely useful in the coming times, and to have that taken away by something as seemingly benign as a mere scent would be utterly maddening. And all of that was especially true here, where he would be away from Ann who was significantly stronger and was able to protect him currently.
As for Granny, she wasn't too hung up on it. Sure, it was weird, but she didn't think it would be detrimental to Ran in the long run.
…
Following Ran's initial success in using his new stealth skill, Granny then led him all the way to the entrance of the kelp forest.
"If you remember, child, the rockfish's territory is at the center of this forest. It's a few dozen miles out, so take it easy and you'll get there in a few days."
Then she pointed in different directions of the forest as she spoke.
"Around the forest and to your sides exist other tribes, such as some sea urchins and crustaceans, and now that the rockfish's crops are ripe, they'll conduct periodic raids to get a share. The route you're taking is free range and in between territories. However, that means it is prone to skirmishes from both sides, so be careful nonetheless."
She then patted Ran's shoulder, as if to encourage him.
"Do you understand?"
In response, Ran could only look into the waving forest of kelp, where in the center was a dim brownish light. It had grown brighter since he last saw it, almost as if it wanted to catch his attention. He nodded solemnly, though it was unsure whether he nodded at the light in the forest, or at Granny.
"Alright, child, go do what you have to. Oh, and you might as well take this…" and she shoved an object into Ran's hands.
Only now did Ran realize that she had been holding onto something this whole time.
"A conch shell?"
Indeed. The shell in his hand was a conch.
"A conch? No, it's a queen conch. Not only that, It should remain useful to you for quite a while."
"Really?"
Ran looked at the conch but failed to find anything of notice outside the small hole at the end that was supposed to be enclosed. Not just that, it seemed that because of how much time had passed, any remnant of soul juice had been swept away, making it much harder to determine how strong the conch was.
"Of course. I snatched—I mean collected it a long time ago. Though, if you see a naked snail in the third zone, you might want to run," she said awkwardly. Granny touched her head a few times as she spoke; the whole ordeal of getting this thing seemed to be a bit of a touchy subject to her.
"Oh—" Ran bowed, "thank you."
"Yeah; it's supposed to calm the mind and even induce a sense of inspiration if used long enough. It's what helped you wake up so quickly."
Granny waved her scaly black hand, indicating it was no big deal; she then turned around, preparing to leave. However, before she could leave, Ran called out to her:
"Hold on."
"Yes, child," she asked questionably, but she didn't bother to turn around.
"Who… who are you?"
"Hmm?" Granny was clearly perplexed by his question and didn't know what he meant. Obviously, he knew who she was.
"No, I mean your name. Wouldn't remembering you as 'Granny' be rude?"
Ran appeared a bit flustered and why wouldn't he be. Wouldn't you at least want to know a person's name if they were important to you? You wouldn't? Okay, I get it Mr. Contrarian.
That was his line of thought, but Granny didn't see it that way. Rather, she still didn't turn around, but she did wear a little smirk.
"Heh, child, us coelacanths are free roamers, including roaming free from each other. I never knew my parents, and by proxy my name if I ever had one. I don't see the need to grant myself a name either; calling me Granny is fine."
Ran didn't like where this went, but seeing an opportunity, he went for it nonetheless.
"Eh, you don't have a name? I know, why don't I give you one!?"
His eyes lit up as he looked at Granny expectantly. After all, look at how Fluffy turned out.
"Child, you can't be serious, I already said it's unnecessary. You really don't have to. Also, don't you have to leave?"
"Please? I promise I have a good naming sense!"
Ran thought about how he had come up with the name Fluffy and how it made perfect sense. Yeah, I mean it's not like it's fat shaming or anything… definitely not. Fluffy is obviously such a nice and comforting name that fits her just right.
Thus, unknowingly, his confidence grew and now that he had another chance to name something—I mean someone, how could he pass that up?
Granny, on the other hand, was amused by his antics. Clearly she didn't care for a name, but her curiosity was piqued by his poking of the bear so to speak.
"Oh, alright then. Tell me, what's my name?"
Her eyebrows were raised; clearly, she wanted to see what he would come up with.
Seeing the opportunity present itself, Ran immediately went to work.
Firstly, one obviously has to go by appearance.
Therefore, he closely examined her naked body unbothered. She was slim and covered in black scales. He didn't forget her backside though; of which had six limb-like fins sticking out for roughly about half a foot. Finally, both her hair and her eyes were black. Overall, she appeared almost like a stalker that prowled the deep abyss of the ocean, blending in with the complete darkness of the water.
In the end, after a few minutes of serious deliberation, Ran settled on what he thought was a suitable name.
"I've got it."
"Oh? What is it?"
Granny had been waiting the whole time as Ran stood there quietly with his thoughts, so when he spoke, her anticipation shot through the roof. Of course, her reward would far surpass her expectations.
"Okay. Your name is… Scaly!"
Ran too had much anticipation for her reaction, but he would not be rewarded.
Instead, hearing the name Ran had supposedly chosen for her, she felt as if the few hundred years she had been living were all for naught. She couldn't help but think that maybe all of this was a joke and thus ended up asking, "Is that it," with some confusion on her face.
However, upon seeing how Ran's face took on a "sad puppy" expression, she realized he was completely serious. What the fuck happened with all the time he took then!? Would it take so long to come up with a name that directly correlated to her physical appearance!?
Might as well call her Bullshit 'cause she wasn't having any of it!
"You don't like it?"
Ran took on a very regretful tone, as if he had done a bad deed. He had truly wracked his brain like you would an empty can to suck the last bit of Sprite cranberry. Alas this was the best he could come up with.
Maybe next time he gets a chance to name something, he would get the chance to give a more symbolic and meaningful name.
As for Granny—I mean Scaly, after realizing he was serious, she reluctantly took it seriously as well. It wasn't the best name, and yeah, maybe it didn't have any shallow meanings that could be dug up, but after a few seconds she knew now it could go further than that as she looked at Ran.
Indeed, the mere fact that he had given it to her gave it inherent value; a great analogy would be a coworker giving a nice warm, comfy pair of christmas-themed socks for secret santa. At first glance, it seems to be a silly and shallow gift until you wear them and realize how cozy they are while watching the newest season of You on Netflix. It was simply the perfect gift from someone!
To Scaly, this was already the closest she had gotten to someone these past few hundred years, so believe it or not, this abruptly became a momentous occasion for her. What was previously seen as merely a bygone memory of a kid attempting to personalize her was now beginning to entrench itself deep within her heart.
In fact, because "Scaly" was such an upfront name that says exactly what it says, the message it came attached with was able to shine unmuddled!
In the end, she indeed accepted the name, but she didn't quite wear it on her sleeve.
She just grabbed Ran's shoulder and with a mostly straight face, thanked him.
"No… it's a good name. Thank you, I'm sure you put a lot of thought into it."
And yet, how could Ran end it here so easily?
Rather, he simply hugged her, which was something she didn't expect. When was the last time she hugged someone? She couldn't remember!
Either she had never hugged someone or the last time it happened she forgot because it was so meaningless as to simply be a random gesture from a random person. But she knew this time was different.
When would be the next time they meet? Who knows!
Well, I do but you're missing the point here! This was a very emotional moment, cry damn it!
Ran didn't cry, maybe because he felt that they would indeed see each other some day, but it still hit a bit hard. He would now be on his own in this vast oceanic expanse.
Scaly didn't cry either as she hugged him back, but maybe that's because she's a fish. But then again, I don't remember fish having hair…
Anyways, this was their final goodbye, and as Ran finally left this cave and into the kelp forest, Scaly watched him gradually disappear.
After he left, a small smile crept onto her face unknowingly. Maybe they will meet again.