Ten meters. Thirty meters. A hundred meters. She couldn’t push off the surface very hard with her back glaive, but she making steady progress into the fog, skating past the first wreckages on her left. Her back muscles ached at how much she had to bend over just to keep her body weight low, but she couldn’t stand up straight for the Silent Step. The idea was to skitter slowly along the surface almost like a crab, and thankfully, she’d seen the children on the island do that enough times to know what she should look like.
It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the way she was slowly skating across the sea—the giant remipede’s shadow still lurking beneath her—felt quite ‘graceful’ to her.
She trusted the technique would keep her safe.
She wasn't as afraid as she should be.
The shadow of the giant remipede writhed and contorted, circling deep beneath her. It probably knew was standing above it, but it didn't know exactly what. If it decided to surface and 'check', she'd be found out instantly.
she thought, biting her tongue.
It seemed like the giant remipede was just staring at her from below, too. Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe her imagination was running wild, and it hadn’t noticed her at all.
But could she create her own ripple and lead it elsewhere, buying time for her to skate out of its shadow?
Moonlight was present, but sparse. She didn’t have a firefly lantern or candle with her, either, so she narrowed her eyes and on the senses at the tip of her glaives—was there anything under her she could fish out and toss somewhere else?
The Archive mused for a moment.
A status screen popped up next to her head.
[Basic Hydrospines Lvl. 2 → Basic Hydrospines Lvl. 5]
[Aura: 444 → 642]
[Points: 202 → 4]
But then a status screen popped up below that, and this one had a few more words.
[First Branch Mutation Selection' available for T2 Core Mutation ‘Basic Hydrospines’]
[First Branch Mutation Option: Attracting Hydrospines]
[Brief Description: Your hydrospines can be vibrated to make thin films of water cling to you instead, allowing you to camouflage yourself with water shimmers]
[Second Branch Mutation Option: Repelling Hydrospines]
[Brief Description: Your hydrospines can be vibrated even harder than before, allowing you to repel water even if you are not in close proximity to it]
[Third Branch Mutation Option: Adaptive Hydrospines]
[Brief Description: Your hydrospines can now repel liquids of other viscosities such as oil, mud, tar, and honey et cetera]
The Archive wasted no time hopping onto the status screens, tapping the words with its little legs.
the Archive said.
she recited,
The Archive shrugged.
A status screen popped up next to her head again, confirming her decision.
[Basic Hydrospines Lvl. 5 → Repelling Hydrospines Lvl. 5]
[Brief Description: You have grown microscopic spines that you can vibrate to create a thin hydrophobic barrier across your skin. You can also repel water from a distance if you vibrate your hydrospines even harder. Subsequent levels in this mutation will decrease the stamina drain from vibrating your spines]
The Archive said.
She looked down at the Archive worriedly, a bead of sweat threatening to fall off her brows.
it said confidently.
She took a deep breath and imagined the hydrospines on her fingertips shaking, vibrating so fast they made her hand slightly blurry, and then she flicked her hand out to the left.
Lo and behold, a ripple on the sea’s surface immediately shot towards the left, and the novement was loud and sudden enough that the giant remipede immediately chased after it.
Half-grinning, she didn’t dare turn to look as she heard the giant remipede surfacing to devour the wreckage she’d sent the ripple towards. She simply began moving once more, dragging one glaive before the other at a Sand-Dancer’s crawling pace, moving one meter forward at a time.
she thought, repeating what she did to the first wreckage every twenty or so meters, throwing the giant remipede off whenever it got close to her. Surely, at point, it would realize it was being toyed with, but maybe she was giving it more credit than it was due?
What were the chances it was just a big, dumb bug?
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
With newfound confidence in her heart, she heeded the Archive’s instructions and kept on skating while sending ripples away, slowly getting the hang of how to control her ripples.
she asked, having a bit of attention to spare on not focusing on skating.
The Archive’s curt answers were throwing her off a little, and she felt like snapping at it to give more detailed responses–
the Archive said plainly.
the Archive began.
she thought.
the Archive began.
the Archive continued.
the Archive said abruptly.
the Archive said.
She pursed her lips.
Then the Archive stared up at her pointedly, looking strangely sad.
the Archive said. nape, giving you a chance to survive. He was an immensely powerful Hasharana to the very end, and he has served the Worm God faithfully for over two decades—so please do not look down on the death of any Hasharana.]
Marisol looked at the Archive in a way she’d never looked at it before, and among the catalogue of the little water strider’s ‘expressions’ that she’d created in her head, she couldn’t form a conclusion as to what the Archive could be thinking now.
It could read her thoughts, but she couldn’t read its thoughts in return.
it repeated.
On her face was cold sweat and exertion, but on her lips was a soft, knowing smile.
the Archive muttered,
it said, sounding almost proud as it pointed at itself.
she thought.
She sighed softly. The Archive hummed in what could be worry or amusement, but she was getting so, close to the wreckage she was aiming for. Just three hundred more meters and she’d reach what looked like the silhouette of a fully-functional rowboat—it must’ve survived the destruction of its original ship. If she could just climb on board and survive until dawn, maybe she could even row it all the way to the perimeters of the Whirlpool City.
she thought.
Her thoughts trailed off for the second time tonight as she caught a glimmer of silver light on the left. She turned to see what looked like an empty husk of a man standing on the water with his back turned towards her, facing a set of half-sunken shipwrecks.
It looked like a ‘ghost’.
Then, all of a sudden, a sharp splintered the air and made the husk of a man sink into the sea—revealing a pregnant woman lying on her back on a single piece of wooden debris. She held up a bright red pheromone flare that sputtered a column of smoke into the sky.
Marisol blinked.
She didn't get to finish her thought. The sea rumbled, and the shadow of the giant remipede immediately began charging straight towards the pile of wreckage the woman was lying on.
A surge of anger rose inside Marisol when she realized, for a brief second, that her very first emotion was ‘relief’ at knowing someone was distracting the giant remipede for her.
In the next second, she abandoned the Silent Step and charged full speed ahead at the woman, determined to make it there before the giant remipede could.
