I'm a Stingray?

Chapter 12: Level 3

Surprisingly talkative, the long fish continues to shed. "Why aren't you talking? I'm speaking your language."

The upgrade still going on, Tim's body feeling completely sore, trying to talk, the young stingray can't yet let out a word.

Pissed because of the silent treatment, the long fish doesn't say a word more and slowly swims closer towards Tim's face.

[Your jaws have been upgraded to level 3.]

Still feeling sore but able to speak, Tim unleashes a sentence for the sake of stalling. "I don't know who you are."

That of course is a lie and the long fish decided to point it out. "So you don't remember stabbing my eye out?"

And the few seconds of silence after it, is all Tim needs to launch what can make the difference between life and death.

Charging forwards from his spot, swimming underneath the long fish, Tim waves his barb and stabs the enemy right across the face.

It's enough to make a fish of this size [1 meter] flinch in pain and Tim didn't fail to further stretch out this disposition.

Using the upgraded jaws, Tim bites the long fish right near the neck, takes off a 4 centimeter wide bite.

The jaws went through flesh rather quick, they feel sharper than usual which grants another second to land strikes.

Swimming forward, Tim swipes his tail up and down, hitting the long fish on several spots across the belly and at the end going for the tail to take a chunk off.

"Just stand still so I can eat you!" The elongated fish yells out, somehow still alive regardless of all those strikes from the little Tim.

"Eat my ass." Tim replies, spotting that the enemy has turned around already.

Clapping its row of pointy teeth, the enemy charges forward at a built up burst of speed.

Swimming upwards and inevitably evading the enemy, Tim's spots him bashing the wall of the den.

Getting a bit of a blurry vision, the enemy doesn't move a foot more and tries to wait it of.

Swimming above the enemy, Tim uses his weaponry of a tail to strike the long fish all across the back, landing about 6 more blows and again going for the tail, taking off a bite in less than a split second.

Spotting that the enemy isn't turning around to strike, Tim goes ahead to take another bite off.

Witnessing something he did not expect after, the enemy fish's belly directs towards the ceiling, blood coming out of everywhere already.

It ain't pretty but it's survival of the fittest. This fish busted in the den, threatend to take the food and not to mention threatening murder.

[Great barracuda killed, 40 points have been rewarded.]

"That was a barracuda?" Tim questions, tad forgetting that these animal species exist.

[Eating an entire barracuda grants the following.]

[Effect on hunger, +30 up to 70 bars.]

[Effect on health, +30 bars.]

[Effect on sleep, +10 bars.]

[Effect on stamina, +15 bars.]

"Those rewards are huge! He was an easy kill." Tim yells out the obvious, hoping that this isn't a mistake.

[This isn't a shrimp, you can see how large the barracuda is.]

Taking a better look, Tim starts to understand the point. This fish has to be at least 15 times his size, stretches a meter long even.

But still the reward is still large and Tim can't help thinking. "Maybe this system isn't so greedy."

[Your hunting skills have become exemplary, you nearly don't fit the criteria to kill a barracuda any yet you did.]

Getting a compliment from the system, that's the first time for everything but it's more of a seed for something else. [I recommend increasing personal IQ, it will make you a better hunter.]

Liking the idea of becoming smarter, but having doubts, Tim questions. "Do I have enough points?"

[Total system points = 75]

[You need 15 more system points to increase your personal IQ by 5 points.]

And this time instead of complaining, Tim actually finds enthusiasm. "Oh, maybe I need to kill more sardines. Still I'm very close to buying another upgrade!"

Going for the barracuda after, the young stingray sinks his jaws in but not enough to snap another chunk of meat off.

Just enough to move the fish and place it near the other food storage, but it's no easy task. Would make one think that it would be easier to kill a barracuda than carrying it.

Tim uses all the power of his fins to drag it back, flapping them around and putting every muscle into use but it's still barely enough.

Such a struggle can't help make him think, "What I'd give to be bigger right now. There isn't an upgrade like that, right?"

[System can't control how big you grow, that solely depends on your age.]

[At the moment you are 31 days old.]

Finally pulling the body down to the edge of the den and swimming to his last sleeping spot, and questions. "Do you have another task for me... which task is this?"

[You have completed 3 system given tasks so far.]

[Next task, locate and kill any species of seahorse.]

Remembering what the last task projected, and searching for a seahorse striking unusual, Tim questions. "They aren't dangerous right? I don't want to walk in another death trap."

[No task I give you projects a death trap, system wants guest to progress and survive.]

[Sea horses are commonly harmless, easy to kill. The only trouble you will face is finding one, they are small and not so common in these parts.]

"Oh so I should rest?" A good question to ask, the system hasn't been wrong so far.

[Not necessarily, but you need to replenish your health since this task may require travel that's longer than usual.]

Looking at the barracuda, Tim takes a few more moments to replenish stamina and then slowly makes his way towards the corpse. "Oh then this barracuda will be my meal today. That should teach him a lesson for wanting my meal."

[Take as many bites as you can handle, scavengers tend to go in dens when the resident isn't there. You might not find bits of your meal after returning.]