Chapter 75: DOUBLE HIT!
The two Obsidian Crabs armor was cracked and scorched, their movements sluggish from venom and exhaustion, but they came on anyway.
Gray charged forward, his crystalline barbs aligning as his body compressed into a spear. But before he launched, he fired Cavitation Pulse.
The superheated jet of water and crystal shrapnel shot toward the crabs. The first blast struck the smaller crab in the face, cracking its carapace and searing the flesh beneath.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 54 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (2) — HP: 656 / 920]
The second blast was already charging. Gray angled it toward the larger crab’s already-scorched leg joint. The superheated water struck, and the joint finally gave way with a sickening crunch.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 56 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (1) — HP: 556 / 920]
[LIMB CRIPPLED — MOBILITY REDUCED]
Both crabs stumbled but didn’t stop. The smaller one snapped its serrated claw. The larger one dragged its useless leg, still pushing forward with the others.
They were wounded, slowed, desperate and closing in on their own deaths.
He watched them close in from both sides, timing their movements, reading every vibration in the water. Predator’s Instinct whispered through his nerves, mapping their trajectories, calculating the exact moment when both would be in the same line.
The smaller crab lunged first.
The larger one followed a half-second later.
’Perfect.’
[ABYSSAL LANCE — ACTIVATED]
Gray launched. His body became a bolt of crystalline death, every barb aligned, every tentacle tucked tight. He shot between the two crabs at an angle that carved through both of their carapaces at once.
The barbs tore through the smaller crab’s flank, then continued into the larger crab’s already-cracked shell. The 50% DEF penetration ignored their armor, the barbs buried deep in their flesh, dragging through organs and tissue as Gray’s momentum carried him clear out the other side.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 108 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (1) — HP: 448 / 920]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (2) — HP: 548 / 920]
[DOUBLE HIT!]
Both crabs howled. Their screams tore through the water, a grinding, metallic sound that made the sea plants tremble. The smaller crab’s legs buckled. The larger one’s claws snapped at empty water, its body twisting in agony.
Gray turned in the water, already charging his next attack. The crabs were reeling, their armor breached, their HP bars dropping. The fight was over, but they didn’t know it yet.
He darted in and activated Overcharge, the bioelectric organ in his core releasing a violent burst of blue-white lightning. The electricity arced through the water and into both crabs simultaneously, racing through the wounds Abyssal Lance had carved.
[OVERCHARGE — 86 DAMAGE]
[OVERCHARGE — 84 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (1) — HP: 362 / 920]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (2) — HP: 464 / 920]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
Both crabs seized, their legs locking rigid, their claws frozen mid-swing. Gray deployed Neurotoxic Drift at maximum concentration, flooding the stunned creatures with venom.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
The stun broke. The crabs stumbled forward, slower now, their movements jerky and uncoordinated. Gray hovered above them, watching their HP bars dwindle as the venom spread.
’Time to end this.’
He fired one final Cavitation Pulse at the smaller crab’s head. The superheated jet punched through the already-cracked carapace and into the creature’s brain.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 52 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (2) DEFEATED — 380 EXP]
The larger crab let out a low, grinding moan. Its claws drooped, its legs trembled, and its crimson eyes flickered as it tried to drag itself away. Gray drifted in front of it, blocking its path.
’You’ve already lost,’ he said calmly.
He activated Abyssal Lance one last time.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 104 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB (1) DEFEATED — 450 EXP]
The massive body collapsed into the sand, finally still. The crimson glow in its eyes faded to black.
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Obsidian Carapace" (5/5)]
[Trait Complete! Obsidian Carapace will be available as an evolution option at Level 30.]
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 29.]
[10 Stat Points available for distribution.]
[2 Skill Points available.]
Gray hovered over the carnage, his body aching, his tentacles trembling with exertion. The glow of the sea plants cast pale light over the broken shells and scattered limbs. The water was still now, heavy with the taste of blood and scorched chitin.
Cindy’s voice came after a long silence, quiet and a little breathless.
"That... was a lot."
’Yeah,’ Gray said, already moving to absorb the corpses. ’But it’s done.’
He fed slowly, his feeding surface working through the dense, mineral-rich flesh. The warmth of biomass and experience spread through him, easing the ache in his bell.
He allocated his stat points without ceremony. Five into SPD, three into ATK, two into DEF.
[SPD: 138 → 143]
[ATK: 69 → 72]
[DEF: 67 → 69]
[HP MAX: 710 → 730]
The skill points went into Grip Jaw and Neurotoxic Drift.
[GRIP JAW — Lv. 4 → Lv. 5]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — Lv. 10 (MAX) → Cannot be increased]
’Neurotoxic Drift is already maxed...’
He redirected the point into Cavitation Pulse instead.
[CAVITATION PULSE — Lv. 9 → Lv. 10 (MAX)]
’Another maxed skill.’
Gray drifted upward, scanning the battlefield one last time. The remnants of the fight were already sinking into the sand.
’Let’s go back,’ he said. ’I need to rest.’
Gray was about to turn back toward the shelter when pain exploded through his side.
’AGH—!’
His bell convulsed, and his HP bar dropped in a sudden, sharp line.
[-34 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 696 / 730]
Cindy’s voice cut through immediately. "Gray?! What happened?!"
’I don’t know!’ Gray spun, his tentacles lashing out in every direction. His electroreception swept the water. His vibration detection strained for any sign of movement but there was nothing.
Predator’s Instinct hadn’t triggered.
’It attacked me and I didn’t even feel it coming—’
Pain lanced through him again.
[-38 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 658 / 730]
’FUCK! Where—’
He twisted, but there was nothing there. Just empty water and the drifting remains of the crabs.
Cindy’s voice rose with alarm. "Gray! You need to hide! Now!"
[EMP SHROUD — ACTIVATED]
The electromagnetic pulse radiated outward, erasing his electrical signature, silencing his vibrations. Gray dove behind the largest crab shell, pressing himself flat against the seafloor. His Hollow Cloak wrapped around him, making him nearly invisible.
For a long, tense moment, nothing happened.
Then he saw a creature gliding through the water above the battlefield. Its body was flat and angular — shaped like a boomerang, with two swept-back wings that tapered to sharp points. Its skin was pale grey, almost silver, catching the faint glow of the sea plants and scattering it like a mirror. It moved slowly, almost lazily, its body tilting as it circled the area where Gray had been floating.
It had no visible eyes. At least, none that Gray could detect. Its entire body was covered in a sleek, reflective surface that seemed to blur at the edges.
The system flickered, then stabilized.
[RAZORWING RAY — Level 32]
HP: 450 / 450
MP: 180 / 180
Threat Level: HIGH
« Analysis »
A solitary mid-abyss predator with a highly specialized hunting mechanism. The Razorwing Ray’s boomerang-shaped body functions as a living blade — it attacks by launching itself at prey in high-speed slashing passes, using its wing-like fins to deliver deep, lacerating wounds.
Its skin is covered in a reflective layer that absorbs and scatters bioelectric fields, rendering it nearly invisible to electroreception and vibration detection while in motion. This same layer also masks its heat signature, making it exceptionally difficult to track.
Behavior: Patient and territorial. The Razorwing Ray stalks prey for extended periods before striking, circling just outside sensory range. Once it commits, it attacks in rapid, repeated slashes until the target is disabled.
Weakness: Its reflective skin is fragile. Direct hits can crack the reflective layer, causing it to lose its sensory camouflage. While stationary, it becomes partially visible to electroreception. It must align its body before each slashing pass, creating a brief window of predictability.