"What is this, a bracelet?"
Inside the chest was what looked like a bracelet with a circular space in the center, but instead of a bracelet, it had a hole to insert something.
Kyle didn't understand what that object was for. Luckily, inside the chest was a piece of paper with letters on it that he had never seen before, although, surprisingly, he could read it without difficulty.
{Bracelet of the Chimera Nvl 5 (red).
Instructions: Place a core in the space and copy the wielder's Skill}.
The explanation was brief and left a lot of doubt - what core, what Skill? Although the paper didn't clarify much for him, Kyle thought that, somehow, such an item might be useful.
Everything in the chests could come in handy at some point. For now, he would wait and then understand its function.
"Humm..."
Kyle debated on what to do now. He didn't seem to be being chased and this place didn't light red, so he figured he could stay, at least rest for a moment.
Schlp!
"Ughh!"
But just as he was about to make up his mind, an octopus appeared beside him and coiled its tentacles around him.
Although it wasn't as big as the sharks, its elastic limbs managed to hold him firmly. Kyle, surprised and unprepared, tried to use all his strength to free himself, but the octopus held on tenaciously.
Unarmed and with only the bracelet in his hand, he was in an unfavorable situation.
An octopus the size of a person was not an easy thing to deal with.
The space was filled with boxes, tools and containers, making it difficult for it to move.
The octopus' tentacles clung tightly around his torso and legs, immobilizing him with its suction cups.
Kyle tried to break free, but the octopus' grip was tenacious; he felt the tentacles pressing harder and harder, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Kyle squirmed in the octopus' strong grip, its elastic limbs wrapping around him tightly, seeking to immobilize his arms and neck.
The person-sized octopus seemed to anticipate his every move with uncanny accuracy, adapting quickly and displaying great intelligence.
In the middle of the submerged agricultural hold, with no effective weapon at hand, Kyle understood that he would have to take advantage of the environment and his wits if he was to survive.
Searching around in desperation, he spotted a number of agricultural tools nearby: hooks, ropes and a small shovel rested on the back wall.
With a quick, determined movement, he managed to slide his arm far enough to grab one of the hooks and, with force, used it to hook the tentacle wrapped around his torso.
Fwip!
The octopus, surprised, loosened its grip for only a few moments, giving Kyle the opportunity to propel himself against a wall and grab a rope.
He used that brief moment of leverage to wrap one of the tentacles around and tie it firmly to a metal support on the floor.
However, the octopus would not budge. Twisting hard, its free tentacles reached for Kyle, trying again to pin him down.
But Kyle had anticipated this attack: with quick, evasive movements, he dodged the tentacles until he found the paddle.
Slam! Slam!
With a precise movement, he used the shovel and delivered several direct blows to the creature's body, enough to stun it momentarily and free its arms completely.
Then, he took advantage of the octopus's bewilderment to surround it and tie it with the rope for good, leaving it immobilized.
Swish! Slam!
Now Kyle switched the paddle to the other side and, with its sharp end, began to strike downward. It was difficult due to the density of the water, but his strength helped him to accomplish his purpose.
Swish! Slam! Swish! Slam! Swish! Slam!
Again and again he struck without realizing that the beast had stopped resisting. Kyle had already killed it.
"Haaa~..."
Finally, he exhausted himself and looked at the shattered octopus in front of him. He felt like he had lost his sanity for a moment.
Having that creature strangling him, with its beak about to stab him in the side, made him more nervous than when he was killing the tuna. He felt death closer than ever... and all because of his carelessness.
Learning from his mistake, he inspected the area closely. He didn't notice anything unusual, but now, without the chest, the surroundings were once again glowing red, just like everywhere else. And that was not good at all.
Exhausted, he noticed something shiny among the remains of the beast: a strange sphere that looked like a pearl.
Now that he thought about it, he had seen a similar one when he finished eating the tuna, but paid no attention to it, thinking it was something the creature had swallowed.
However, as he found another similar one and remembered the note along with the bracelet he had found earlier, an idea crossed his mind.
Seeing the bracelet on the ground, a thought occurred to him, "Could it be possible...?"
Following that intuition, he placed the dial in the space on the bracelet. It fit perfectly and then...
"..."
Nothing happened, beyond the sphere snapping into place.
Kyle didn't even know what he was waiting for. While many things followed the logic of his game, there were too many new mechanics, and this type of item was one of them. He could only go by logic, so he equipped the bracelet on his wrist.
[Chimera Bracelet Nvl 5 (red) has been equipped. As long as you wear it, you copy the skill:
>Othuly Camouflage (Spark)]
The message was heard and Kyle finally understood what the bracelet was for.
It was an item that allowed him to acquire Skill. However, he decided not to activate it right away, as his amount of anima was low and could drain his resources.
Now, free from pursuit and with no immediate danger around him, Kyle rethought what to do next.
While it was annoying to see all red, it helped him to distinguish the octopuses, which seemed to have the ability to camouflage themselves.
However, he could no longer keep this ability active, as Kyle felt something was being drained from him.
If he had to describe it, he would say it was his anima, the energy that sustained all abilities and other things to the best of his knowledge.
After making sure there was no more danger, he decided to temporarily return his vision to normal. He closed his eyes for a second and thought about deactivating the ability. When he opened them again, the surroundings had returned to the dark bluish hue of the sea.
He returned to the front of the tent and cautiously opened the door. With a quick glance, he confirmed that there were no nearby dangers.
Still, he was still in a red zone, so he deactivated his ability again. He felt that doing it this way would allow him to reduce his anima consumption.
Thrum!... Clank!, Clank!...Thamm!!
Noises could be heard in the distance. Initially, he assumed it was the sharks ravaging everything in their path, but as he peered out, he understood the situation: it wasn't just him who was in danger.
Looking up, he clearly saw the conflict between sharks and octopuses, both fighting each other.
It was a full-fledged battle, with a staggering number of creatures. This city seemed to be the octopuses' territory and, during the chase, the sharks had invaded.
The octopuses, though numerous, were outnumbered in strength by the sharks. Still, the fight remained evenly balanced.
"Huff...at least on this one he's realistic."
Kyle was glad that at least it wasn't like in his game, where all the creatures would attack him alone. At least he wasn't alone against the world.
Fearing being spotted, he returned to the tool tent, a bit away from the center of the battle.
Finally, with a brief moment of rest, he began to think about what to do next.
Kyle thought that, now that the sharks were fighting the octopuses, it was possible to escape.
He was still in a danger zone, but when he activated his eyes again, he noticed a few places that seemed to emit golden glows. In the center of the city, one was clearly larger and very visible, but Kyle wouldn't go near it, because he also saw a huge black spot, which for him was tantamount to a death sentence.
He was already taking too much of a risk walking through this red terrain, but he suspected that some chests would be guarded by octopuses. Still, there had to be unguarded chests as well.
If it weren't for the fact that too much had already happened outside of his knowledge, Kyle would be sure of what to do. However, reality had shown him that he couldn't completely trust what he knew. It was better to expect the worst.
However, he needed a weapon.
The shovel he used to hit the octopus was broken to the point where, by the end, he was hitting it with the stick.
Normal weapons would not support his newfound strength for long, let alone be able to pierce a shark's head.
With the octopus he was lucky, as they were relatively softer than other species, but he was sure he wouldn't even scrape the sharks.
"Better to take a chance."
Kyle decided to take the risk. He wanted to believe that now the octopuses were too busy with the sharks. This was the best time to take advantage of the situation.
Something inside him was urging him to find a way to survive. He had to take a chance.
This opportunity might not be repeated.