Prince hid behind the wall of a building.
He was just watching. Why?
Because two goldfish were currently just duking it out before him, sending quakes throughout the water.
Goldfish - Level 29
Goldfish are intelligent, highly adaptable freshwater fish. They have no special traits apart from their extreme Water Essence mastery. Some may even learn to fly in the air and live there without water.
Goldfish - Level 31
Goldfish are intelligent, highly adaptable freshwater fish. They have no special traits apart from their extreme Water Essence mastery. Some may even learn to fly in the air and live there without water.
This wasn't the first time that Prince had seen something that was just a straight-up upgrade from the original animal. The fox was an example, back in the Malevolent Mountain.
The level 31 was obviously winning. The level 29 couldn't keep up, despite it only being a 2 level difference.
The level 29 was slammed into the building Prince was hiding behind. Smoke clouded the water around the wreckage.
Prince swam through a broken window, making his way toward the goldfish.
The goldfish had multiple broken and bleeding scales. It gasped.
Prince punched right through it, kill-stealing without any remorse.
What little gamer was inside of him felt bad, but fuck that guy. Prince needed to take every opportunity he could.
Level-up! You are now level 29.
Prince opened his status screen to allocate his points.
Attribute Screen - Prince Collins
Species: Human
Faction: Towering Peak (F)
Class: Martial Warrior
Subclass: Champion of Victorious Fighting
Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (1000), Planetary Dao Prodigy (100), Solo Leveler
Grade: F
Dao: Node of Martial Arts
Level: 29
Strength: 64
Endurance: 68
Dexterity: 62
Vitality: 48
Mental: 35
Wisdom: 33
Free Points: 20
Prince put two into endurance, six in strength, eight in dexterity, and then four into vitality.
Dexterity helped greatly down here.
Just as he was finished assigning his attributes, the level 31 burst into the building. Beady eyes locked onto him.
The goldfish shot toward him.
Without any gimmick, I can take this thing.
Prince shot his fist toward the oncoming fist.
It was like punching a brick wall. One he could still break, but blood leaked from his knuckles.
Prince flew backward, spinning upright.
He ducked under a wide tail swing that completely decimated the wall behind him and lunged into a grapple.
He tightened his muscles, reinforcing them with Essence. Scales began to crack. The fish thrashed.
He wouldn't give it a single moment to use its Water Essence.
Finally, Prince squeezed so hard that he created craters on either side of the goldfish. Blood leaked from the wounds, but it wasn't dead.
A wave of Water Essence pushed Prince off of the thing, surrounding the fish like a bubble.
Prince hit his head on a pipe. He barely felt it.
He cracked his knuckles. "Dying throes? Aren't you somethin-"
Prince felt a sense of danger. He moved his head out of the way. The area behind where his head had just been was cut by a wave of Water Essence, invisible down here.
"My child..." An aquatic voice said. Prince scanned the monster. It could talk?
Fish King (Dungeon Boss) - Level 41
Fish King are the evolved version of many different types of fish, combining together to create a humanoid aquatic creature that can be mistaken for a System cultivator at first glance.
The Fish King was a naked, buff humanoid man with scales crisscrossing its body, a flat nose, and webbing between its clawed fingers and toes.
The Fish King placed a hand on the goldfish, which was still bleeding out. The water around it was turning red.
"You did this." The Fish King raised a finger toward Prince.
"Yeah," Prince said. Hopefully, the goldfish would die from that attack.
"Do not speak to me with arrogance!" The Fish King appeared before him, moving through the water with ease.
Prince punched him immediately. His fast smashed into The Fish King's face... And slid off of it.
A knee connected with his stomach. Prince gasped, shooting through the ceiling and into open water.
Prince moved away, strengthening his body with Essence. But it was too late, a cut appeared along his calf from The Fish King's follow-up slash.
"Shit-" Prince was disoriented. He was floundering around, spinning through the water.
A clawed hand appeared before his face.
"This is MY DOMAIN!" The Fish King roared, slamming Prince's head into the ground and sending up a huge cloud of dust.
Holding down Prince with one hand, The Fish King brandished his other clawed hand-
"[THE ODDS ARE AGAINST ME], SO FUCK OFF ALREADY!" Prince's foot connected with The Fish King's stomach, a solid blow powered by Water Essence.
The Fish King flew a few meters into the water, leaving Prince alone for a bit.
Level-up! You are now level 30.
A minor boost in strength. Prince looked up, his muscles tense.
The Fish King roared, shaking the surroundings. It too had realized that the goldfish had died, and that only served to enrage it more.
Prince immediately activated Warrior's Will, increasing his power. The Fish King's aura spread out, Prince's clashing against it.
Prince rose. He needed to finish this quickly.
The titanic aura of The Fish King finally receded from its temporary burst into something more stable.
"DIE!" It roared.
"I'd like to see you try!" Prince yelled back, antagonizing it more.
Water Essence swirled around it, a thick concentration. Masterful manipulation, as if it was stretchy and stringy.
"WATER ARROW!"
"THUNDEROUS PALM!"
A gargantuan arrow of pure Water Essence shot toward Prince. His Essence rose to meet the challenge, a tidal wave. It wasn't enough. He needed to extend it, more and more...
Prince thought he saw the outline of a giant palm against the arrow. Perhaps for a second. But that understanding was locked away from him- perhaps temporarily.
Attack met attack, clashing in a spectacle that sent a shockwave around the area.
A harmless wave coursed through the entire dungeon, notifying every creature within it of Prince's presence.
And he would conquer them all.