Chương 54: Chapter Fifty Three

For a moment, Bob felt nearly apoplectic. Filled with the kind of white-hot rage that sears away reason and leaves nothing behind but a frothing berserker. One dedicated to the slaughter of their enemy no matter what consequences might be wrought upon their own body in the process. Then he noticed that the 'blood' currently filling the water was a number of degrees darker than any he'd ever seen before. And that the giant fish swiftly exiting the plume seemed to be not at all a fan.

Great bursts of tainted liquid rushing from its gills as it seemed to almost writhe away from the point of impact. A point of impact where Bob could just make out a sluggishly moving figure.

'Friend… Run…' A weak voice faintly warned him from within his mind. The clearing dust slowly revealing the badly-mauled form of his companion. The creature missing at least a few of its arms and leaking a concerning amount of thick, blue blood into the surrounding waters. And, just like that, the fury was back. Unfortunately, by the time Bob had recovered from the shock of the attack, the mutated pike had done the same. Managing to flush enough of the toxic ink from its system to again dart off.

Though this time not swimming far enough afield to escape his detection range. Instead getting out to around sixty or seventy feet before it cut in to begin circling them. Circling its already injured prey. Bob didn't hesitate. As soon as he realized he had no opening to attack, he quickly rushed towards the closest thing he'd made to a friend in this universe. More than willing to take the attention off the badly injured octopus even if it meant alerting a mass of nearby crabs.

And being more than a little surprised when his actions were met with absolute silence. The fish's movements didn't even seem to stutter as he broke 'Lifeless Disguise' and dashed across the upturned sands. And Bob knew it had to have seen him. The grass simply not being tall enough to obscure his boxy body from the height the creature was circling from. He pushed the oddity out of his mind as he got nearer to his injured companion however. The octopus apparently noticing his arrival.

Its form beginning to move slightly more as it struggled to crawl towards his location. Movement which was apparently noticed. With the monster remaining silent, the only warning Bob was given was the brief slowing of the fish at the outer range of his senses. Its body seeming to stutter as it bent slightly inwards. Still, it was enough. Ding! Mindful Evasion (D) Has Leveled up!

2 – 3 Even with a total nearing a hundred and fifty, Bob felt like his Dexterity was pushed to its very limits as his tongue shot out to wrap itself around the injured Cephalopod. Moments later hurling both himself and his companion to the side as a flash of silver cut through their previous location. The fish, if anything, seeming faster than in its previous pass.

'Friend… Run…' The octopus repeated itself. Though the fact that its remaining tentacles clung tightly to the corded length of his tongue made Bob think that, perhaps, it intended for him to do so with it in tow. Either way, he ignored the creature. Continuing to retract his prehensile limb as the fish seemed to recover from its last attack. And, once he'd pulled it back to his body, quickly swallowing his monstrous companion whole. The was a brief, confused,'friend?'

just as he closed his lid, but Bob ignored that too. His attention now utterly focused on the monster swimming through the waters above him. Or, the perhaps not-a-monster. Given that it apparently lacked the most aggravating and dangerous trait shared by all the other monstrous creatures he'd encountered. Even if it otherwise seemed to be on the high-side of power level for a D-rank. Still, lacking the inborn desire to shout obnoxious threats into his head didn't seem to make it any less aggressive.

Bob steadying himself as he noticed the creature's form begin to slow again. His sole 'Clairvoyance' Path Skill working double time as it showed him the exact angle he'd need to dodge to avoid the creature's attack. Unfortunately, this time his Dexterity wasn't quite up to the task. Alert! - 19 Health! Or, more accurately, his strength wasn't. With Bob managing to avoid the creature's terrifying mouth, but not having the muscle to fully pull himself away from its thick, reinforced skull.

He'd considered trying to teleport, but wasn't sure if the ability would take the octopus with him. Or, frankly, what it would do to the creature. Or him, for that matter. The system itself having already confirmed that Dimensional Path Skills weren't exactly 'user friendly'. And his first experience 'creating' one of them not exactly being something he wanted to repeat.

The impact sent him tumbling through the grass, but didn't seem to deal that much in the way of structural damage; his newest Class luckily having come with a sizeable Constitution bonus. By the time he'd managed to get back to his many feet though, the enormous pike was already circling him again. Its form far outside his range with 'Shattered Space' and moving far too fast to target even if it wasn't. A quick search for any nearby source of cover yielded nothing either.

The closest thing that qualified being the manor still some ways in the distance. And getting anywhere close to the building would only multiply his problem many-fold. The only reason he wasn't currently dealing with more opponents being the injured octopus's voracious appetite. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. His thoughts halted as he sensed the monster's speed once again stutter.

Bob beginning to side-step quickly back and forth in hopes of managing to juke the fish in its next pass. His mind desperately searching for an avenue of attack. When the strike finally came, it was nearly too fast for him to consciously register it. Luckily his defensive Skill combo seemed almost custom made to deal with the situation. His wooden body moving without him even ordering it to; just managing to spin away from the beast without it impacting.

The system seeming to relish in his success, given the rewards. Ding! Battlefield Meditation (C) Has Leveled up! 3 – 4 Ding! Mindful Evasion (D) Has Leveled up! 3 – 4 The rushing waters still held force enough though. Lending power to his own movements and casting him like a top across the bed of seagrass; tearing apart a good deal of the vegetation and making Bob glad that dizziness wasn't exactly a thing for him anymore.

Shortly after experiencing that little bit of introspection however, the innocent thought turned into something of a 'Eureka' moment. One which had his body stiffen almost immediately afterwards; Bob making an impulsive decision. And not one without consequences. Alert! - 38 Health! This time, there had been no attempt to dodge. Or even ability. The mutated pike apparently being set off by his sudden change in behavior and going on attack the moment Bob's body had frozen and been left helpless.

He found himself briefly carried through the water. The monsters protruding teeth actually stuck in his oaken sides. He was fairly quickly shaken off though. The fish perhaps feeling once-bitten, twice-shy after the octopus's ink attack. He rolled through a dozen or so feet of thick grass before he came to a stop. Bob able to feel the broken and punctured boards lining his body as he once more levered himself to his feet. Still, as he did so, it was with a grim sense of satisfaction.

Once he was upright, he didn't bother to move any further. His body still as he patiently observed the fish with 'Treasure Sense'. While his attempts to 'juke' the beast had been successful before, there was no point in trying them now. Not with 'Mindful Evasion' currently unequipped. As he 'felt' the fish slow down, he began pushing himself deeper into 'Battlefield Meditation' than he ever had before. Ignoring the rest of his surroundings as he focused on timing things perfectly.

On waiting just until the monster turned into its attack. Until it was fully committed. And, once it was, he released a spell. One which could never have outpaced the pike, normally. Luckily, it didn't have to. What with the monster charging directly into its path.

'Enjoy directional dyslexia, asshole.' Ding! Uncertain Direction (F) Has Leveled up! 3 – 7! The effect was immediate and catastrophic. At least for the fish. The F-ranked illusion cantrip impacting the beast around three-quarters of the way through its attack and sending it rocketing directly into the ground at an absurd pace. The shockwave running through the water afterwards nearly toppling him backwards. After he regained his balance, Bob began rushing towards the impact site.

The lack of a system notification not being lost on him. Once he arrived however, he found that there was little need to be nervous. While the fish was apparently still alive, it was certainly in no state to go anywhere. Its head bent at an angle and its body crumpled up behind it in a mess of broken bones and ruptured flesh. Its prone form a perfect target for 'Shattered Space'. Bob, instead, chose a nearby rock.

'YOU! DO NOT! TRY TO KILL! MY! PETS!' Each word was punctuated with an impact. His tongue raising the hefty stone into the air before casting it down with the entirety of his fourteen points of strength. By the end of his truncated sentence, he felt the majority of his fear and anger drain out of him. With the pike's life apparently ending at around the same time. Though whether due to his blows or just as a result of the original impact, Bob couldn't be sure. Ding!

You have defeated a Greater Mana-Mutated Pike (D) (112) Experience gained for Class: ' Dimensional Mage (A)' (68) Experience gained for Class: ' Treasure Hunter (B)' Ding! Congratulations!' Dimensional Mage (A)' is now level 8! Intelligence + 10 Willpower + 6 Constitution + 4 Bob ignored the messages, quickly opening his 'lid' to check on the injured creature inside him. Realizing, belatedly, that he had no idea what kind of effect staying in his dimensionally-expanded space could have on a living being.

'Friend!? Are you okay in there?' He called out. Feeling strangely embarrassed by both his franticness and the awkward monicker they'd both somehow gotten stuck with. Deciding in the moment that, should it be alive, the octopus would be receiving its own name.

'Friend…? The reply was weak, but it didn't sound much worse than it did shortly after the attack. The creature still being conscious at the very least, which gave Bob a small amount of hope. Still, the pike had managed to deal out an egregious amount of damage. Even if the octopus managed to survive the wounds, its body would be left beyond crippled by the attack. Which meant just surviving wasn't an option.

'Are you hungry?'

'Hungry?' It replied, obviously feeling a bit surprised by the non-sequitur. It didn't take long before the meaning behind the statement hit it though. At which point the octopus's voice regained the slightest bit of strength.

'Yes. Very Hungry. Good Eat?' It said, the words sounding shockingly avaricious considering how badly damaged the creature was.

'Good Eat.' Bob said in reply.

'Just hold on for a few more seconds.' Looking over the fish in front of him Bob realized that, given its injuries, his companion wouldn't be able to process it in its current state. He briefly considered just hitting it with 'Shattered Space' a couple times, but then decided that this was actually an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Because if he was going to have a convalescing creature living inside him, something else was going to have to come out.

'Don't move, okay?'

'Friend?' Quickly and carefully, Bob reached inside himself and off to the back-right corner. Him having made sure to remember its location to prevent any accidental health-loss.

'Friend?' He ignored the confused cephalopod as he pulled a glimmering sword out of his body. Being surprised to notice that that not a speck of steel was used in its construction. A shining silver blade instead being set into an elaborately decorated golden pommel. The ostentatiousness alone stating this was a blade made purely to be used by nobility. It made a delightful 'thwacking' sound as it cut into the flesh of the oversized fish.