Chapter 58: Glimmerworm
Gray’s crystalline barbs clicked rapidly as he assessed the situation.
’Alright. They hunt by sensing disturbances in the sand. They can’t see me if I’m not touching the seafloor.’
He pulsed upward, putting five meters of open water between himself and the black sand. The first Glimmerworm tracked his movement, its blind head following him with unsettling precision. It could still sense him. Its camouflage was ineffective in open water, but it wasn’t helpless.
The other two bulges in the sand were moving, circling beneath him like sharks. He could track them now through the visible disturbance they created in the sediment. The sand shifted and rippled wherever they moved.
’You’re not invisible anymore. I can see your trails.’
He targeted the nearest bulge with Cavitation Pulse. The superheated jet of water and crystal shrapnel slammed into the sand where the worm was burrowing. The explosion of steam and molten glass sent a shockwave through the seafloor.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 48 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (2) — HP: 372 / 420]
The worm erupted from the sand, its segmented body thrashing. The superheated blast had burned through its camouflage, leaving a scorched, blackened patch on its flank where the sand had fused to its skin. It could no longer blend perfectly — the burn mark was a beacon, a target.
’There you are.’
The first worm lunged. Its circular mouth gaped open, rows of teeth spiraling inward. Gray pulsed sideways, 130 SPD carrying him clear. The worm’s body shot past, close enough that he felt the rush of displaced water.
He wrapped four tentacles around its midsection and activated Grip Jaw.
[GRIP JAW — 28 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) — HP: 392 / 420]
The worm thrashed, its segmented muscles rippling with surprising strength. It tried to coil back toward him, its circular mouth seeking his bell. Gray deployed Neurotoxic Drift directly into its open mouth.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 18 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) — HP: 355 / 420]
The venom took hold quickly. The worm’s thrashing slowed, its muscles beginning to seize. But before Gray could finish it, the third worm struck.
It erupted from the sand directly beneath him, having circled around while he was focused on the first. Its circular mouth closed around his bell margin, teeth grinding against his crystalline armor.
[-45 HP]
[LACERATION — 6 damage over 8 seconds]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 472 / 670]
[VENOMOUS RIPOSTE — ACTIVATED]
[TOXIN VULNERABILITY — APPLIED]
The venom-tipped spines along his bell lashed out automatically, injecting concentrated neurotoxin into the worm’s mouth. The creature convulsed, its grip loosening. Gray tore free and activated Overcharge.
[OVERCHARGE — 86 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (3) — HP: 334 / 420]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The third worm seized, its segmented body locking rigid. It hung in the water, twitching, completely vulnerable. Gray didn’t hesitate. Abyssal Lance shot him forward, crystalline barbs impaling the stunned worm’s body.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 104 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (3) — HP: 230 / 420]
[50% DEF PENETRATION — APPLIED]
Grip Jaw followed immediately, crushing the worm’s midsection while Neurotoxic Drift seeped through its wounds.
[GRIP JAW — 30 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (3) — HP: 180 / 420]
The third worm thrashed weakly in his grip, its segmented body coiling and uncoiling with desperate strength. The venom was spreading fast — too fast for it to burrow, too fast for it to fight back. Its circular mouth snapped blindly at the water, rows of teeth grinding against nothing.
Gray squeezed harder. His crystalline barbs dug deep into the worm’s flesh.
’You’re not getting away.’
Overcharge detonated at point-blank range. Blue-white lightning surged through his tentacles and into the worm’s core, lighting it from within.
[OVERCHARGE — 88 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (3) — HP: 92 / 420]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The worm seized, every segment locking rigid. It hung there, twitching, helpless.
Gray released Grip Jaw and fired Cavitation Pulse directly into the worm’s exposed midsection. The superheated jet of water and crystal shrapnel tore through the stunned creature’s flesh.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 54 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (3) — HP: 38 / 420]
Gray wrapped his tentacles around its head one final time.
’Go to hell.’
He squeezed.
[GRIP JAW — 32 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (3) DEFEATED — 280 EXP]
The worm went limp in his grip. Its segmented body drifted slowly toward the sand, the perfect camouflage finally useless in death.
Gray released the corpse and turned toward the other two bulges still circling beneath the seafloor.
’One down. Two to go.’
The second worm, the one he’d burned with Cavitation Pulse was already burrowing back into the sand. Its scorched flank made it easy to track, but if it got fully underground, he’d lose it again.
’Oh no you don’t.’
He targeted the burn mark with Cavitation Pulse. The superheated jet struck the worm just as it was disappearing into the sediment. The blast tore through its weakened flesh.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 52 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (2) — HP: 320 / 420]
The worm shrieked — a high, keening sound that vibrated through the water. It abandoned its burrow and fled along the seafloor, its body leaving a visible trail in the sand. Gray pursued, 130 SPD closing the distance in seconds.
Overcharge detonated.
[OVERCHARGE — 88 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (2) — HP: 232 / 420]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The second worm seized, its body curling into a tight spiral. Gray wrapped his tentacles around it and deployed Neurotoxic Drift at point-blank range.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (2) — HP: 193 / 420]
But the first worm was still alive. It had recovered from the venom and was rising from the sand behind him, its circular mouth aimed at his exposed back. Predator’s Instinct screamed a warning. Gray pulsed sideways just as the worm lunged, its teeth grazing his crystalline armor.
[-18 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 448 / 670]
He turned on it with a snarl, his crystalline barbs flaring. ’You just don’t know when to quit.’
He activated Abyssal Lance at point-blank range. The worm was too close to dodge. The crystalline barbs punched through its body and out the other side.
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 102 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) — HP: 253 / 420]
Grip Jaw locked on, four tentacles wrapping around the worm’s throat while Gray pumped Neurotoxic Drift directly into its mouth.
[GRIP JAW — 28 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) — HP: 206 / 420]
The worm thrashed, but its strength was fading. The venom was spreading, its segments twitching. Gray squeezed harder.
Then the second worm hit him from behind.
[-40 HP]
[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 408 / 670]
The impact tore through his armor, the worm’s teeth punching deep into his bell. He cried out — a sharp, involuntary pulse of pain and lost his grip on the first worm. Both creatures circled him now, their circular mouths grinding with anticipation.
’Two on one. Fine. Let’s dance.’
He activated EMP Shroud. The electromagnetic pulse radiated outward, and for ten seconds, neither worm could sense him. They thrashed in confusion, their blind heads sweeping through the water, their mouths snapping at empty space.
Gray rose above them, positioning himself directly over the second worm’s exposed back. He deployed Neurotoxic Drift at maximum concentration, the venom cloud descending over both creatures.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) — HP: 167 / 420]
[GLIMMERWORM (2) — HP: 154 / 420]
The venom seeped through their gills, through the gaps in their segmented armor, through the wounds he’d already carved into their flesh. Both worms slowed, their movements growing sluggish.
EMP Shroud expired. Gray’s electrical signature flickered back into existence. The worms turned toward him, but they were already dying. Overcharge, Cavitation Pulse and Abyssal Lance came off cooldown.
He unleashed everything.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 50 DAMAGE]
[ABYSSAL LANCE — 100 DAMAGE]
[OVERCHARGE — 84 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (2) DEFEATED — 300 EXP]
The second worm went limp, its segmented body drifting to the sand. The first worm, now alone and critically wounded, tried to burrow. But the venom had eaten through too much of its muscle. Its body wouldn’t obey.
Gray floated above it, watching it struggle.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) — HP: 128 / 420]
’That’s enough.’
He descended slowly, wrapped his tentacles around its head, and activated Overcharge one final time.
[OVERCHARGE — 86 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) — HP: 42 / 420]
[GRIP JAW — 28 DAMAGE]
[GRIP JAW — 32 DAMAGE]
[GLIMMERWORM (1) DEFEATED — 280 EXP]
The worm went still. Gray held it for a long moment, making sure it was dead. Then he released the corpse and drifted back, his bell heaving with exhaustion.
The black sand field was silent again. The three Glimmerworm corpses lay scattered across the seafloor, their perfect camouflage finally useless in death.
Gray let out a long, slow pulse of relief.
’Fighting... in the dark... while something hunts you from below... that’s too much for one jellyfish.’
He absorbed the corpses one by one, his oral arms processing the dense, muscular flesh. The taste was strange — faintly mineral, with an undertone of something almost electric. The wounds on his bell were already beginning to heal, his crystalline armor slowly repairing the damage from the worms’ teeth.
Then the system chimed.
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Adaptive Camouflage" (1/5)]
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Adaptive Camouflage" (2/5)]
[New Trait Discovered!]
[ADAPTIVE CAMOUFLAGE — Preview]
« Analysis »
A rare stealth trait derived from creatures with perfect environmental mimicry. Allows the user to alter their skin texture, color, and bioelectric signature to match their surroundings. This camouflage extends to thermal and electrical detection, making the user nearly impossible to detect through conventional sensory means while stationary.
Effect at Completion: Grants a new active skill — [Ambush Veil]. When activated, the user becomes invisible to sight, electroreception, and thermal detection for up to 30 seconds. Movement reduces effectiveness. Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Gray stared at the notifications, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
’Adaptive Camouflage... that’s insane. Combined with Hollow Cloak, I’d be completely undetectable.’
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 27.]
[10 Stat Points available for distribution.]
[2 Skill Points available.]
He allocated quickly. Five into SPD, three into ATK, two into DEF.
[SPD: 130 → 135]
[ATK: 66 → 69]
[DEF: 63 → 65]
[HP MAX: 670 → 690]
The skill points went into Neurotoxic Drift and Cavitation Pulse.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — Lv. 9 → Lv. 10 (MAX)]
[CAVITATION PULSE — Lv. 7 → Lv. 8]
’Neurotoxic Drift maxed. That’s two maxed skills now.’
He pulled up his status, reviewing the changes.
STATUS MENU
Name: Gray Ashford
Species: Aurelia abyssalis — Abyssal Lancer (Armored Abyssal Aurelia Variant)
Level: 27
Title: Colony Killer, Exterminator
Stats:
· HP: 690 / 690
· MP: 620 / 620
· ATK: 69
· DEF: 65
· SPD: 135
· INT: 68
· LUK: 20
Pending Traits:
· Adaptive Camouflage (2/5)
· Elemental Resistance (3/5)
· Mental Fortitude (1/3)
· Obsidian Carapace (2/5)
Completed Traits (Waiting for Evolution):
· Rapid Burrowing (5/5) — Available at Lv. 30
’Three levels to evolution. Time to finish what I started.’