Chapter 57: Perfect Camouflage
Gray moved across the dark sand field, crystalline barbs clinking with each gentle contraction. The taste of the Krakenling still lingered on his feeding surface — spicy and metallic, a reminder of his recent victory.
He was hunting Obsidian Crabs now. The trait fragment he’d earned from the first one was still incomplete, and with LUK 20 on his side, he hoped the grind wouldn’t take too long.
The first crab he found was smaller than the one he’d killed — maybe four feet across, its obsidian carapace still gleaming with the dark luster of youth. It was picking at something half-buried in the sand, its crusher claw raised defensively as it fed.
Gray circled behind it, targeted the joint of its rear leg, and activated Cavitation Pulse. The superheated jet of water and crystal shrapnel punched through the thinner armor.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 50 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 470 / 520]
The fight was short. Abyssal Lance to the wounded joint. Grip Jaw around the crusher claw. Overcharge to finish it.
[OBSIDIAN CRAB DEFEATED — 250 EXP]
The fragment didn’t drop.
He absorbed the corpse and moved on. The second crab was even smaller — barely three feet across, its shell still soft in places where it had recently molted. It tried to flee when it sensed him coming, scuttling across the black sand with desperate speed.
Gray ran it down. Cavitation Pulse to the leg joints. Neurotoxic Drift through the gaps in its shell. One Overcharge ended it.
[OBSIDIAN CRAB DEFEATED — 280 EXP]
Nothing dropped.
He absorbed the corpse and kept hunting. The third crab was a proper challenge — nearly as large as the first Obsidian Crab he’d killed, its carapace thick with mineral deposits that glittered like embedded stars. It stood its ground when Gray approached, crusher claw raised, crimson eyes glowing with defiance.
The fight took longer. The crab was experienced, its movements more deliberate, its counters more precise. Gray took a glancing blow from the crusher claw that sent him tumbling across the sand.
[-38 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 632 / 670]
But he’d learned the patterns. He targeted the joints with Cavitation Pulse. He used EMP Shroud to vanish and reposition. He waited for Overcharge to come off cooldown, then struck.
[OBSIDIAN CRAB DEFEATED — 300 EXP]
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Obsidian Carapace" (2/5)]
’There it is. One more down.’
He absorbed the massive corpse, his oral arms straining to process the ultra-dense chitin. The trait fragment settled into his core with a warm pulse.
’Three more to go. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find another one soon.’
He drifted through the black sand field, his senses sweeping the darkness for his next target. The bioluminescent glow of the distant forest cast faint shadows across the volcanic sand.
’Where is everything? This field should be full of crabs.’
He pulsed forward, his tentacles extended to their full length, reading every vibration in the water. The sand beneath him was perfectly still.
Then pain exploded through his bell.
[-35 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 597 / 670]
’What—’
He spun, his crystalline barbs raised, his tentacles lashing out in every direction. Nothing. The water around him was empty. His electroreception swept the darkness, searching for the source of the attack. But his senses found nothing — no electrical fields, no vibrations, just an eerie stillness.
’Where did that come from?!’
He activated EMP Shroud, vanishing from every sense that might be tracking him. The electromagnetic pulse radiated outward in a silent sphere. If something was out there, it would be blinded now.
Pain exploded through his bell again.
[-42 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 555 / 670]
’WHAT THE—’
He pulsed backward, his crystalline armor scraping against the black sand. His tentacles whipped through the water, searching for a target that wasn’t there. EMP Shroud was still active — nothing should have been able to sense him.
But something had.
He spun in a slow circle, his eight tentacles extended in every direction, his crystalline barbs clicking together with rising panic.
Then he saw it.
The sand beneath him shifted.
It was subtle — a ripple in the black sediment, like a current passing over the seafloor. But there was no current. The water was absolutely still. And the sand was moving against the natural flow.
’What...?’
He stared at the spot where the sand had shifted. His electroreception mapped the area, searching for anything unusual. At first, there was nothing. Just sand and rock and the faint glow of distant tube worms.
Then the sand moved again.
Closer this time.
Predator’s Instinct pulsed a warning through his nerves, and he pulsed upward just as something erupted from the seafloor. A long, sinuous shape shot past him, barely visible against the black sand. It was there and gone in half a second, disappearing back into the sediment before he could even process what he’d seen.
Then the pain returned.
[-38 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 517 / 670]
’It’s in the sand! It’s attacking from below!’
He deployed Neurotoxic Drift directly into the seafloor. The venom cloud sank, seeping through the gaps between sand particles. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the damage ticks began.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 18 DAMAGE]
[??? — HP: ??? / ???]
Something writhed beneath the sand. The surface of the seafloor bulged and cracked as a massive body shifted below. Gray backed away, his crystalline barbs raised.
Then the creature emerged.
It was a sea worm — a segmented, muscular creature easily ten feet long, its slick translucent skin shimmering with the exact color and texture of the volcanic sand. As it rose from the seafloor, its camouflage shifted — black sand became dark rock, dark rock became the mottled grey of the volcanic boulders. It was a living mirror, reflecting its surroundings with perfect fidelity.
Its head was a blunt, rounded mass with no visible eyes. A circular mouth ringed with rows of inward-curving teeth pulsed at the center, already stained with Gray’s translucent blood.
[GLIMMERWORM — Level 25]
HP: 420 / 420
Threat Level: HIGH
« Analysis »
A highly specialized ambush predator found in sandy and sedimentary regions of the Abyssal Veil. The Glimmerworm possesses perfect adaptive camouflage, allowing it to blend seamlessly with its surroundings. Its skin is covered in specialized chromatophores that can mimic not just color, but texture, temperature, and even electrical resistance — making it nearly impossible to detect through conventional sensory means.
WARNING: This creature’s camouflage extends to its bioelectric field. Standard electroreception and vibration detection are INEFFECTIVE against it while it remains burrowed. It can only be detected visually when it reveals itself to attack.
Weakness: Once exposed, its camouflage is less effective in open water. It relies on surprise attacks from below. Direct damage to its body prevents it from re-burrowing effectively.
Gray stared at the creature, his crystalline barbs still clicking with the rhythm of his racing pulse.
’Perfect camouflage. No wonder I couldn’t sense it.’
The Glimmerworm’s circular mouth pulsed, rows of teeth grinding together. It was orienting toward him, tasting the water where his blood had spilled.
Then the sand shifted again.
Two more bulges appeared in the seafloor, one to his left and one directly behind him. The first worm was still rising from its burrow, its segmented body glistening with dark sediment.
The system’s identification popped up like a death sentence.
[GLIMMERWORM — Level 25]
[GLIMMERWORM — Level 26]
Gray felt something cold settle into his core.
’Haha... looks like my luck has run out...’