I'm a Stingray?

Chapter 37: Recruitment and solidarity (5)

"Hmmm another overgrown clownfish to humiliate." Tim murmured, but the species on the other side doesn't seem to understand the stingray language.

Without warning, or uttering a single sound for that matter, the enemy charged forward at the whole speed it could gather up.

It wouldn't take a scientist to figure out that this opponent was twice as fast if not more. It's short but yet decently sized, orange coated tail surely contributes to such speed, but muscle might stand behind such success as well.

Tad nervous, Tim felt like it would be a bad idea to head bud this one, considering that he didn't have the chance to build up momentum.

Instead, he used a short and desperate burst of energy, to get the rest of his body out of that tunnel. And flapped his fins like a struggling seagull, managed to swim straight up.

Avoiding the enemy became the inevitable. That fish itself proved that speed didn't always link to agility.

The opportunity given, although through desperation, Timmy used his now considered signature move against the enemy.

His tail acted as if an extra fin, that pushed him upwards, but at the same time it behaved like the lethal weapon it usually was.

Right at the moment although half random, his stinger dipped it's flesh piercing tip right on the forehead of the fish, just a bit above the eyes.

And the enemy just kept going on at that momentum, following the tunnel, taking a second to realise that the target had escaped.

"Take that you bullfish wannabe!" Tim celebrated, certain that he once more got the upper advantage.

And then turned around to wait for the enemy. Whichever way it chooses to attack, Timothy felt certain that he can land another heavy blow, especially considering that he was higher than ground level.

[Blackfin grouper killed. 14 system points have been given out as a reward.]

[Total system points = 33]

Absolutely staggered at this point, Tim shook his head abruptly and asked himself. "What? With just a sting? These fish are weak! Tsk tsk tsk."

[Not necessarily, but you actually managed to find a weak spot.]

At this point uncertain if he should feel confident or like a loser sea disk, all Timmy could grunt was. "Huh?"

[All enemies or prey have a weak spot. In this case, you hit the opponent on the head and severely damaged it's brain.]

[In most cases, fish can't live without a brain.]

Carrying a smirk on his face and closing his eyes, lifting the entire nose, he uttered. "I guess we can say that I am a master hunter. Best in the reef and the universe!"

[Health -10 points.] The system alarmed as his fin felt a sharp pain. [Total health = 72/100]

Almost near his flat booty but thankfully not close enough to the tail, he really doesn't want to feel tail pain any time soon.

Whatever bit him, had thankfully let go. So Tim swiftly turned around and noticed orange features, the enemy obvious considering where he was at. "You disky motherfu..."

Pissed beyond measurement, Tim charged straight forward and landed a strike right across the fish's face, through the split second where he swam underneath the enemy.

Rageful enough, he decided to land a more embarrassing blow, equally as painful.

His little jaws that were closer to each other, dug right close to where the enemy's reproductive system would be. And didn't plan on letting go, continued to chomp and chomp on that place, digging an inch deep in the enemy by bow.

In panic, the enemy just lunged at full speed, circling around each corner of this small opening. Timothy laid like a disk on the enemy's belly, fairly upside down at the moment.

And his tail, well it was working faster than the gut chewing mouth. Flinging around like that of a wasp's whose girlfriend was stolen.

Landing about 7 hits with it across the enemy's face and neck, the system interrupting as the enemy slowed down. [Blacktip grouper killed. 14 system points have been added as a reward.]

[Total system points = 47]

Letting go of the enemy, Tim rushed through a rageful thought. "I want to reap every health point this orange peel took from me... but damn I'm full."

After taking a moment to observe the pain on his fin, he realized, judging from the pain that this enemy had sunk his teeth on of the young boy's left fin.

Pretty big but yet again small when giving a thought that this enemy was just a bit above Tim's length, although a bit shorter than the first attacker.

Sucking it up, insistent that this wasn't such a big deal, Tim began to follow the tunnel.

A couple more minutes passed, he had gone through about 20 more meters of stone enslaved by sand on the bottom.

This part was a bit easier to pass through, he enjoyed every second of this freedom.

He finally swam into a bigger opening. This one stretched just 7 meters across, but to a small stingray this felt like a mansion.

He seriously began contemplating about living here, it's pretty roomy although the enemies here seem more common.

Of course the new den he already found was good enough and the old den he was stripped out of, still remained in his mind... but there was nothing wrong with having 3 dens.

The idea of proper housing went out of his stingray mind as the yellow and grey walls eventually led to spotting a bigger... fatter looking enemy.

Near it, stood 5 crabs, moving about. These have to be the little ones that Tim was sent here for in the first place, their size pointed out such a characteristic.

They are alive, that's tremendously rare when something so small faced against a predator, heck they are smaller than Tim, which said a lot.

But his entire focus became captured by that bigger fish, it's patty lips were covered with roundish patches of black and pale yellow.

The rest of its body carried similar characteristics, the only difference was that the patches were either bigger or too small. Every bit of this fish's skin uttered a clue, random texture.

Trying his luck, Tim first warned. "Hand over the dungeness crabs and you can live."

"I can assure you, little stingray. There are other options. For example, you become my slave like them. Their family shall be my slaves too, it's either that or I eat their children." Not only did this fatter fish speak the stingray language but his vocabulary stretched expansive.

Confusing at best but at least he sounded smarter than most of the enemies that Timmy dealt with.

Impressed but yet heavily offended, Tim contradicted like a hero who didn't think of an entrance phrase in advance. "No offense but... wait actually, a lot of offense! Who would want to be a slave to a sea cow?"

Scooping to the boy's levels easily, the fish across the other side of the wall, answered. "I'm not a sea cow you little thin tailed fish! I'm a tiger grouper!"

Insistent with his points, Tim whole heartedly teased. "A fat one."