The creature stood.
Its grotesque, fish-like body unfurled to full height, towering, hulking, nearly twice James's size. Its fins twitched like muscle spasms, and its gaping maw unhinged wide enough to slam against the dirt with a wet thud.
James gulped.
And then it charged.
Acting purely on instinct, James yanked a smoke bomb from his inventory and slammed it to the ground. A burst of thick gray smoke consumed the clearing. The monster barreled through it, confused, thrashing its head back and forth.
But James was no longer there.
He'd activated the Cloak Item mid-movement — his form melting into the mist, almost invisible. Clinging to a rocky ledge just above the beast, breath held, every muscle taut. His pulse throbbed in his ears.
Wait until it's back in the water, he thought. Then slip away. Quiet. Controlled.
A rock beneath his boot cracked.
Snap.
The creature froze.
It looked up — slowly, head tilting — and locked eyes with him.
It snarled.
BOOM.
A blast of cold, biting water surged from the beast's tail like a cannon shot. James ducked the first — barely — but the second hit him square in the shoulder.
Pain exploded across his body. He was ripped from the ledge and slammed into the ground below. Dirt flew. He rolled once, twice, before skidding to a stop a few feet from the creature.
He didn't move.
He couldn't.
His whole body throbbed — his shoulder was likely dislocated, his muscles weak and twitching.
And the beast was still coming.
James stared up at it. At the creature looming over him with open jaws and empty, glassy eyes. Ready to consume him like it was just doing its job.
And in that moment, something in him cracked.
Shit. I guess my time's run out, he thought. I couldn't even make it one full day in this damned world.
His fingers dug weakly into the dirt.
Why am I so weak? Is this all I am? Is this all I'll ever be?
He squeezed his eyes shut as tears welled.
Too weak to save my family. Too weak to avenge them. And now too weak to even save myself.
"I'm so," he whispered aloud, shaking, "fucking weak."
The beast lurched forward.
Desperate, James flung the knife still in his hand. He didn't think. He barely aimed.
It struck the monster's thigh.
And blew a hole clean through it.
The creature screamed — a horrible, watery screech that split the air like thunder.
James's eyes widened.
Then it hit him.
Deadly Aim (Passive) — Uncommon
Precision sharpens. Hands steady. Every throw pierces cleanly, bypassing armor and natural defenses.Accuracy unaffected by conditions, scales with level and projectile speed.Always active.
James's hands flew to his belt, knives spilling into his palms like fate itself was loading a weapon.
One.Two.Five.Ten.
He hurled them faster than thought. Each found a mark — chest, neck, eye socket, belly, gills. The monster jerked with every hit, its body convulsing under the barrage.
It fell to one knee, groaning.
James rose to his feet slowly, panting, bloodied but alive.
Did I… do it?
Then the beast's body twisted.
With a final burst of dying fury, it spun — its thick tail whipping around in a brutal arc. James couldn't dodge.
CRACK!
The impact sent him flying, tumbling end over end, straight into the lake.
Cold swallowed him. Darkness curled around the edges of his vision. The taste of copper flooded his mouth.
He fought upward, but his limbs were slow. Everything ached. His lungs burned.
And then—
Splash.
A shadow descended from above.
The monster leapt in after him, mouth wide, dragging blood and knives into the water like a mythic demon.
James's eyes went wide.
"Fuuuucckk—"
James sank.
The world above faded — the light, the fight, even the pain.
Down here, the water was colder, heavier, almost suffocating.
And something was waiting.
As he drifted deeper, lungs screaming for air and blood trailing from his torn shoulder, a pressure began to rise all around him. Like the lake itself was exhaling after holding its breath for centuries.
That's when he saw it.
A shape.Sleeping in the gloom.Massive. Coiled like a drowned god.Its skin shimmered with stone-colored scales, its head crowned with bone antlers like sunken coral. Its eyes—rows of milky-white pupils—stared through dimensions.
Beast Identified: The Drowned Crown
Class: DType: Mythic Leviathan / DreamerStatus: Dormant… waking.Threat Level: Absolute retreat advised
James couldn't move.
His heart stuttered as the shape stirred. And then—
CRACK.
A blast of crushing water pressure erupted from the creature's chest — not a roar, not a spell, but an instinctual deathwave.
It tore through the water like an oceanic cannon.
The E-class fish that had chased James down was obliterated in the same instant as James himself.
The impact punched a hole through his body — clean, precise, fatal.
James felt nothing.
No fear.No thought.
Only silence.
He floated upward, blood spilling in wisps around him, eyes dimming.
Until—
Chime.
A pale golden shimmer flickered beside him in the depths.
Level Up: James Whitlock — Level 12
Rewards Granted:– +2,000 Coins– Stats Increased Automatically– Inventory Capacity +10 slots– Mana Pool Expanded
New Skills Unlocked
Run and Hide (Movement / Escape)Instant teleport to any marked location. Marks must be consciously left (touch, aura, blood).Cooldown: 5 minutes-Cannot bypass dimensional seals. All marks will vanish after 12 hours.
Warrior's Pride (Passive / Conditional Buff)Activates when HP < 20%:+25% Strength & Agility No flinch from non-critical hits, Resistance to mental debuffs (fear, confusion, despair)Duration: 30 seconds or until HP > 20%
Blood Ties (Active / Utility)Manipulate blood within 10 meters: yours and wounded enemies'.Form blood threads or blades, slow bleeding, pull/push enemies, draw marks for teleport/traps.Physical/mental strain limits usage.Cannot heal HP.More effective with pain/emotion.
James's body floated in the lake's cold silence. Blood curled like smoke from his wound, rising with him.
But then—
His fingers twitched.
He clenched his jaw, opened his hand, and focused.
[Skill Activated: Blood Ties]
With a gasp, he drew the blood back. His own.
It rippled through the water and slammed into his chest like a returning tide. Warmth flooded his veins.
[Skill Activated: Fast Recovery – Pulse Heal]
Light bloomed under his skin — bruises faded, muscles reknitted. The hole in his shoulder sealed halfway. Not perfect, but enough.
He wasn't done.
From his inventory, a dozen knives burst into his grip. He let them fly — underwater torpedoes of glinting steel.
Most veered off course, bent by pressure.
But one…
One struck true.
Thunk.
The blade slid into a wound beneath the creature's gill — a raw, exposed patch.
James's eyes flared.
He reached out and pulled.
[Blood Ties – External Manipulation Engaged]
The monster shuddered. Its blood rebelled inside, veins bulging, pressure building.
It thrashed violently, but James was already surging sideways—
[Skill Activated: Sprint]
Water blurred.James weaved past tail strikes and toothy lunges.
[Skill Passive: Sixth Sense]
Every motion had a warning.Every ripple told a story.And James read them all.
The creature roared, bubbles bursting — but its movements slowed. Lifeblood drained toward its enemy.
A swipe caught James's ribs, spinning him.
But he didn't panic.
He drank deep from the stolen flow.
Blood surged like molten lightning. Not enough to heal fully — but enough to keep moving. Enough to finish this.
He kept his distance.Kept throwing.Kept pulling.
The lake turned red.
The monster groaned — then stopped moving.
Its body rose like a corpse, drifting to the surface beside him.
James collapsed onto muddy shore, coughing, gasping, bloodied — but alive.
[LEVEL UP — James Whitlock — LEVEL 16]
Stats increased.New skills unlocked.Passive aura expanded.Trait gained: Blood-Linked Memory (Locked).
The ripples faded, leaving only quiet.And in that stillness, James felt it—The weight of despair breaking,Replaced by the raw, unbroken pulse of defiance.This was only the beginning.