I'm a Stingray?

Just a bit after mid-day, Timothy managed to consume yet another whole great barracuda. In exchange, his entire health bar had been replenished.

Of course as expected, his bones did not completely heal due to this achievement; but his mobility has increased quite a lot.

Apart from strings of continuous pain that surrounded his fin, there weren't any other problems worth considering. He was healthy and could swim without assistance.

Of course he couldn't swim for over a kilometer at a time, but half of such an amount could be achieved ~ which itself was rather insane, especially after considering that it only took a few days to almost completely heal three broken bones!

Thanks to these achievements, the whole group could finally move forward with the mission. The prime goal at the moment, was to face the crazed mantis shrimp, who supposedly convinced all those sharks to specifically hunt stingrays.

Finding that crazed woman should not be a problem, as Gerlach had reaped enough information out of that last shark. In other words, they knew exactly where to go.

And it only took about three hours to reach the destination, they could find the exact spot simply because that shark had been very descriptive.

Chances were that they could have reached the spot even sooner, but the hero needed time to relax. It was best to slow down sometimes, so his bones wouldn't head towards becoming a bigger wound.

But now, as they stared at the spot where this shrimp was supposed to be at; the whole group had been stumped for words a little bit.

Because they were witnessing something that wasn't exactly insane, but proved itself familiar enough to radiate value.

They were looking at a big anchor, it likely belonged to a ship before. The group wasn't sure regarding why the anchor had been separated by the ship, but neither did they care.

Because this rusty piece of metal carried another valuable item. This thing could make life easier for the entire group, but it proved especially valuable for a specific individual.

In other words, the very top of this large metal tool, carried a green crystal that unleashed quite a bit of illumination.

It could capture the attention of any passer by, as it was literally out in the open waters.

Such a fact managed to raise a prime question, just why had not such an attractive gem been snatched by any bigger fish?

A question like that was surely thought-provoking, but the group didn't want to focus too much on this ~ instead, they acknowledged the fact that this crystal was familiar, and could surely prove as a valuable tool.

Dana was the first to notice this item's presence, as her senses wildly tingled due to its lucius radiance!

And after they approached the item a bit closer, she had to ask. "That's a green crystal, right? A body part of that space worm?"

Strings of joy grew through her consciousness, so she had to pressure. "Please tell me I'm right,"

"Yup that's gotta be a worm crystal," Timothy assured after using his upgraded sight to get a better view.

"Indeed," The old shrimp weighed in a confirmation of his own.

With such assurance, it seemed reasonable for the skeleton to plan out. "I need to go get it!"

"Who dares glance at my treasure!" A strong female tone suddenly echoed across the sea-waters.

Before the scream itself could have been fully comprehended, they noticed a small creature leaping out of the big rocks, specifically where the anchor was wedged in.

It took little observation to figure out that this critter was a shrimp. And a few seconds were required to figure out, that this creature was almost an exact copy of Gerlach; well, at least in appearance.

This enemy's appearance was quite fascinating, even though size was not to this creature's favour.

However. Hilariously enough, the crystal had distracted the team to the extent, that they completely forgot about the tiny enemy they had to slaughter.

So it took them a few seconds to mentally acknowledge the critter, which managed to make the situation uncomfortable for both sides.

Gerlach was the one who broke the awkward silence, and he even began focusing on the prior idea.

Unapologetically, he questioned through a little shout. "Are you the crazy shrimp who told sharks to go and eat stingrays?"

Without the slightest fear, the latter answered. "Yes, I am the wise genius who managed to build up my own shark servants!"

The old man got a bit offended by such confidence, so he had to dim the other's ego.

And what better way to do that, than to embrace sympathy. "Your dumb little crave for power, has ruined many families!"

"Those are the words of a man who doesn't understand power," The enemy was swift to follow along.

"Oh I do understand it," He contradicted right away.

And was about to start a thorough debate as well, but Timothy decided to cut the conversation short by adding a few thoughts of his own.

With quite a bit of irritance in his tone, he slightly yelled. "Bla-bla shrimpy powers, whatever. We didn't come here to talk with you all day, old lady."

After his presence proved radiant, he also added. "We're here to kill you and get on with our lives,"

Since irritance grew stronger on both sides of the stick, the old lady decided to finally embrace some salty language.

To do so, she simply needed to ask. "So you're the little flat-fuck who lost his family?"

"Yes," The sea-pancake instantly answered.

But then realised what he agreed to, and had to shout. "No!"

With the urge of correction growing stronger, he began yelling. "I'm not a flat-fuck, but you will die today!"

"Well, go ahead and try to kill me then." The other side encouraged.

This blasted enemy's tone was far lower now, so it only made sense that her confidence for such a matter wasn't really low.

And of course without thinking about it twice, the hero instantly charged towards the shrimp; and aimed to land a bite against its noggin, in order to embrace an instant death.

But what managed to come as a great surprise, was the barricade that managed to stop the hero on his spot!

He didn't exactly crash against anything, but the impact was still strong enough to absolutely stagger his pace!

Such a result was extremely odd, as he didn't make any physical contact whatsoever ~ he was still just floating across water!