A stream of imploding bubbles tore chunks off of the underside of the cephalopod. It flailed its limbs and raised the one gripping Maurice to bash him against the rocks and as Henry approached, he couldn’t help but tense as the Goliath kraken grew larger and larger in his vision. It was easily twice as large as Henry. Its skin was pebbly and chestnut-red. In comparison, Maurice was barely a multicoloured bead held by the extremities of the kraken’s arm.

  It knew there was magic in there, because there weren’t any nutrients Maurice could provide to something so large.

  Henry whipped a barely visible arm forward. His 20-foot-long limb tore the water with pinpoint accuracy, unimpeded thanks to Slick Coating, and the bladed magic bit deep into goliath kraken’s arm, but not fully through. Thankfully, Maurice picked up the slack.

  The hermit crab sent out a stream of bubbles which impacted the bleeding arm with a series of bursts that finished severing the limb.

  Maurice and the arm dropped to the coral-covered rocks, and the kraken flailed in pain. Blue blood streamed in the water and to Henry’s arms. It tasted familiar, but he didn’t let that distract him.

  Henry picked up Maurice and the severed limb with ease, then swam away, pumping the goliath’s vicinity with a cloud of ink. He summoned a clone and sent it swimming past the goliath’s head for good measure.

  This wasn’t a good fight to get stuck in. That thing could be anything from level 1 to 30, and Henry was out of Hoard Vitals charges. Plus, there was another kraken around. If the second one decided to get aggressive, both Henry and Maurice would be cooked.

  Henry crested over reef and dove back down, bobbing and weaving around the various landmarks and caves as he created as much space between him and the krakens as he could. Glancing down at Maurice after a few minutes of non-stop swimming, he found the crab leisurely watching the surroundings. The crab wasn’t terrified. There was still a bit of wariness but right now, it was more interested by the sights and the various fish swimming around.

  Henry stole a glance backward. Nothing was following. Nothing that he could see.

  He continued swimming for a few more minutes. He kept his colors pitch black, and occasionally he’d send a clone in a random direction. He repeated the maneuver a couple of times until finally, he created a cloud of ink, sent two clones left and right while he himself dipped down to a reef formation. He gripped on to it and made himself part of the natural formation after tucking Maurice and the severed limb under an outcropping.

  He watched the water above, and he thought he saw the transparent shape of the trickster kraken chasing after one of the clones.

  Or I’m imagining it.

  Henry looked down at the severed arm–which was almost twice as large as Henry’s own limbs–then at Maurice. “[You okay?]”

  Right pincer.

  Henry exhaled. “[It was odd how I hadn’t encountered any octopuses since I woke up here. Now I know where they are.]”

  Maurice pointed to him, then back to where they came from as the blue hue showed up around his mouth.

  “[Are you asking to go back and fight?]”

  No.

  “[Why it attacked?]”

  Yes.

  Henry eyed the hermit crab and mostly felt confusion from it.

  “[You haven’t met any of my kind before?]”

  No.

  Oh, boy.

  Henry sighed, glanced up and around, then leaned down to face the crab. “[I wasn’t born like this, that’s why I can talk. You, I think, became smart because of the turtle shell. The krakens we met… are smart, in a way. But not like you or me. But octopuses–or krakens, I bet–usually eat crabs like you. They usually eat whatever they can get their arms on.]”

  Maurice shuffled in place. Henry tried to pick up on its feelings, and he thought he felt understanding, mixed with worry or nervousness. The crab looked down at the severed limb and pointed at it, then raised both pincers.

  “[You want to eat?]”

  Maurice hesitated. He lifted the right pincer, then lifted both again.

  “[Why I dragged it with us?]”

  Yes.

  “[I can copy skills and traits by eating, remember?]”

  Understanding dawned on the crab. It scuttled closer, seemingly done with its questions, and pinched some meat off.

  Henry inched closer as well, then bit into the meat. The meat was chewy. A bit tough, but it definitely didn’t taste bad. For a moment, he thought of the significance of him eating a kraken, but quickly decided he didn’t care. He might be wearing the body of an octopus, but that was not who he was.

  Henry watched the surroundings for a bit. This area seemed lively, with large crevices and high reefs. An ideal spot for monsters who liked to hide and ambush.

  To think I just wanted to relax and explore the area. Then boom. Krakens.

  Henry swallowed and watched as Maurice continued to nibble on the oversized piece of meat. Its pincers weren’t having much trouble cutting into it, and Henry didn’t see any skills being used.

  Hardy little fella.

  Seconds later, Magic Mimic sent a notification.

  Magic Mimic: Regenerate (F) was copied temporarily.

  Magic Mimic: Superior trait analyzed. Sample insufficient.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Henry waited for a few seconds. Then took another bite, hoping that would count as a sample for whatever trait was being analyzed, but nothing showed up.

  Superior Traits… Could it be Magic Mimic? Or a recovery trait? And how come that’s all I’m getting?

  Henry considered everything–whatever little of it–he’d learned so far. From what he’d learned from the system, the whales, and Maurice, it seemed like classes were exclusive to sapient beings, and if the Boliath kraken had started as a Trickster octopus, it should have more skills. Though without a class, Magic Mimic might work differently for unawakened monsters.

  But it still should have more abilities. Unless it hadn’t started as a Trickster octopus.

  Maybe specializing in healing and being huge came at the cost of its other abilities?

  Henry couldn’t tell. But he also now knew what his next evolution would entail.

  Juvenile Trickster kraken. That one had to be the same species as me. And it does have some skills.

  That one could turn invisible. And it wasn’t camouflage. Mimicking Arms didn’t allow Henry to go translucent as far as he could tell. So if that one could copy skills and traits, then there must be a way for monsters to affix their copied abilities without a class.

  Would Henry get access to those? Could he copy class skills or was he limited to the innate abilities of a species?

  I’m sure I’ll figure that out eventually. But speaking of skills…

  Henry paid for the skill and added it to his collection.

  Regenerate (F) - Level 1: Spend mana to restore your health and recover from ailments.

  You and I are going to become the best of friends, Henry thought at the skill. Then paused and shook his head. Why am I talking to a skill…

  He shifted his focus back to the question at hand. There wasn’t enough data to confirm his theories, but he could always try and ask.

  Henry glanced down at Maurice. “[Maurice, were you capable of getting abilities from shells before your last evolution? When you didn’t have a class?]”

  Maurice stopped eating and seemed to freeze for a moment, then hesitantly lifted a right arm. The left arm followed suit.

  Henry guessed it wasn’t sure. He tried to detect Maurice’s thoughts, but the emotion was muted enough or complex enough that he couldn’t really put his finger on it.

  “[You don’t remember?]”

  Right pincer.

  Hmm…

  A few minutes later, Maurice seemed to be done eating, so Henry ate more liberally from the remaining arm as he considered what they should do next.

  I can start moving toward the Current and stop at the island, but if there are D-grade krakens around, it might be good to hunt a few. Especially that goliath. Both for levels and for the abilities they might have.

  The Trickster kraken could be a prime target as well if Henry could access its copied skills and traits. But so far, it showed no hostility, so Henry wouldn’t want to go straight for the kill. Clearly, it could communicate with patterns and colors, so he’d like to do some more testing first to see how intelligent it really was and maybe they could do an exchange of some sorts.

  On the other hand, if it got agressive for one reason or another, then Henry could defend himself without compunction. He just felt bad killing something that was only being friendly. Or only harmlessly-creepy.

  Henry glanced down at Maurice. “[You interested in hunting some krakens?]”

  Maurice looked up, considered it, then raised a right claw.

  “[Good. You can be my bubble-gun. And when things get hectic–oh, right…]”

  It’d been close to twenty minutes. Long enough for a test.

  Henry spat out the blue grouper. It immediately tried to dart away, but he caught it with Telekinesis.

  Maurice peered curiously at the fish as Henry examined it. It was fine. Healthy. Undamaged.

  Henry let it go, and watched the fish swim away then dip into a crevice.

  “[I’ll test this some more, but I got a solution for us when things get a bit crazy. I have a skill that lets me hide things in a private space. I can hide you when we have to be careful. That way you’re safe.]”

  Maurice pincers danced above his head. The note Henry got was clear this time. Amusement.

  “[What’s so funny?]”

  Maurice pointed at him with its right pincer, then lowered his left pincer until it almost touched the seabed. Then the crab pointed at itself and raised the left pincer higher.

  Henry narrowed his eyes at the smug little crab. “[You’re saying you’re higher level so you don’t need my help?]”

  Right pincer.

  “[I saved your shelled butt from the kraken.]”

  Maurice pointed at its own mouth.

  “[Yeah, sure you helped, but I did more damage. And I swim faster.]”

  Maurice threw both pincers up, then scuttled away, seemingly done with the conversation.

  “[Listen here you little–]”

  A shadow fell over both of them.

  Henry looked up to see the Trickster kraken hovering above them. Before he could react, it lunged toward Maurice and picked the crab up.

  Henry slashed at it. His bladed arm cut into one of the kraken’s limbs, but before it fully sliced through, he felt a familiar resistance and cursed as his blade skidded to the side.

  Slick coat or something similar. High level, too. But before things get out of hand, I’ll try…

  “[Let him go,]” Henry sent. He said he’d give it a shot, and maybe this situation was salvageable. To his surprise, the kraken paused. Henry spoke once more, hope blooming in his chest. He wasn’t that afraid of the creature, but if he could get an ally out of this encounter, it would be worth it. He wished he hadn’t attacked first though, but then again, the kraken had started the hostilities. “[That is a friend. Let him go, and we can talk.]”

  The colors of the kraken rippled and seemed to clear for a moment. Even the bands flowing down its length slowed.

  Maurice was still, while Henry hoped the creature would see reason and back away. But in case it didn’t he was ready.

  The standoff stretched for a couple of seconds, then the kraken’s clear colors faded, and the darker ripples came back as it brought Maurice to its beak.

  I tried.

  Henry surged up, bladed arms pulled back as a series of implosions smacked against the monster’s face and stomach, sending it flailing backward. Blue blood surged out of the Trickster kraken and a cloud of ink bellowed. It dropped Maurice, but Henry wasn’t letting it leave. He soared above the ink cloud and locked the monster with Telekinesis as it began to turn translucent.

  In the end, the Trickster kraken was still a beast. It wasn’t friendly and no matter how intelligent it was, it couldn’t be trusted.

  It was a monster.

  “[Maurice, hit it!]”

  Henry grit his teeth as the juvenile kraken battered itself against his Telekinesis, and Maurice started blasting.

  BlissForgotten, Quinstin, Dylan H, Steven B, Taylor, Ripstick 12, Chloe R, Donny B. ninjos3564

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