"Oh shit!"
Dragged into the river, Alex instinctively held his breath and frantically struggled to free himself from the kelp-like tendrils.
As an awakened, he had the capability to hold his breath underwater for more than 30 minutes. But that was only if he was not struggling or engaged in a fight while under.
Alex was being pulled under and the more he struggled the more force he felt. He could even tell more tendrils had joined the frail.
'What the hell are these things?!'
Because he could not see the depths of the river when he was outside, he couldn't see the kelps and other water plants within.
Lying in wait under the kelps were the Kelpstriders—humanoid creatures with kelp-like tendrils covering their body. With these kelps, they blended seamlessly with underwater plants.
They use their tendrils to trap anything that comes close to the kelps, dragging them to the riverbeds where they feast on their prey.
