Tales of the Endless Empire-Chapter 145: Those are my crystals now!

Over sixty massive tiger sharks circled around Thalion, their sheer size and numbers creating an almost palpable tension in the water. The situation was precarious—any single bite could spell his end. Thalion’s focus sharpened, every nerve attuned to his surroundings as the nagging paranoia typical of his title crept in.

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"Go. Bring me those pearls," he commanded, his voice calm yet authoritative. At his word, the sharks dove toward the reef, their powerful bodies slicing through the water like predatory missiles. Below, water mages were already hard at work dismantling the reef’s defenses, though their efforts were far from seamless. Navigating underwater was proving more challenging than anticipated for some.

Many lacked the passive skill required to breathe underwater, though the system had compensated by granting them the ability to hold their breath for hours. It was astounding how much the system had altered their bodies.

Still, Thalion’s mind wandered briefly, unease settling in. If this so-called tutorial was designed to prepare them for the new world, just how dangerous would that world be? Would they face monsters even stronger than these or entrenched factions with a significant head start? The latter seemed impossible—how could they possibly compete? No, the real threat had to be something else entirely.

Greed glimmered in Thalion’s eyes as he watched the tiger sharks tear through the reef’s defenders, slaughtering anything that dared protect the shimmering pearls. By tomorrow, he would have hundreds of them. Satisfied with the progress, he began his descent into the ocean’s depths, eager to claim the larger crystals and gain more experience.

He was close to leveling up—killing all those termites earlier had nearly pushed him over the edge. Just one more kill, and he would reach level 51. As he dove deeper, the colors around him shifted, the light filtering through the water growing dimmer with each passing meter.

On Earth, he recalled, red light vanished completely at around twenty meters, but here in the tutorial, the rules seemed different. Blood in the water still gleamed crimson, though very little natural light reached these depths. Best not to dwell on it, he thought, and instead focus on his true task: slaying beasts and hoarding crystals.

On the way down, he encountered two crabs perched atop glowing crystals. They fell quickly to his water slashes, their broken bodies and the crystals they guarded vanishing into his spatial ring. One crab, however, held a surprise: a skill worth keeping.

Devour Essence (Uncommon)

The crab’s natural affinity for processing and absorbing the vital energies of natural treasures is honed to an extraordinary level. After consuming a natural treasure, the crab’s body immediately begins breaking down its essence, allowing it to absorb the treasure’s full benefits much faster than normal. This includes enhanced integration of the treasure’s properties into the crab’s physical and mystical attributes.

It was the perfect skill for the Tidecaller Serpent form. He transferred it without hesitation, though he suspected there might be a limit to how often he could reassign skills. Each time he switched them in rapid succession, he felt a growing resistance, as if the system itself imposed a cooldown to prevent abuse. Still, the ability would synergize well with the Tidecaller Serpent’s natural aptitude for material absorption.

He made a mental note to be cautious about what he consumed in snake form—there was no telling how difficult it might be to remove undesirable traits once integrated. The last thing he wanted was to mutilate his own body to fix a mistake, though his passive regeneration would at least heal such wounds quickly.

The familiar surge of power signaled his long-awaited level up. Reaching level 51, he allocated his human form’s points into wisdom and the Umbral Predator’s into agility. With each passing moment, he felt stronger, more in tune with the forms he wielded.

As he ventured deeper, he wondered how far he could push his level today. Aquatic beasts seemed to yield far more experience than the termites he had slaughtered earlier. Perhaps it was due to their stronger souls, or perhaps insects simply lacked the essence required to provide significant rewards.

At last, he reached the spot where the tiger shark had left its crystal. A swarm of small fish now surrounded the gleaming gem, their silvery bodies forming a protective barrier. Otherwise, the crystals’ guardians appeared unchanged. This time, however, Thalion was done with subtlety and restraint.

He flexed his serpentine muscles, his resolve hardening. It was time for carnage. He had no need to escape with a form today—no constraints to hold him back. He would kill them all and claim every crystal in sight.

Thalion dove at the swarm of tiny fish, his predatory instincts sharpening as he unleashed an Aqua Lance. The yetstream of water tore through the mass of tiny fish, but the scene quickly devolved into chaos. It was now obvious—they had been cannibalizing one another all along.

The wounded or dead fish were immediately consumed by their kin, leaving no trace of weakness behind. The swarm, numbering in the thousands, retaliated with shocking coordination. They split into groups, attacking from every angle like a living tidal wave.

Thalion, unperturbed by their tactics, activated Tsunami Breaker. A shockwave rippled out from his position, obliterating every single fish in its radius. The water around him turned into a swirling red mist, devoid of life.

Sensing the moment, Thalion transformed into his human form, allowing the amulet to siphon the souls of the fallen. The crushing pressure of the ocean bore down on him, his lungs straining under the force. Without the enhanced toughness granted by consuming the termites earlier, the weight might have caused significant damage.

The souls of the fish were surprisingly potent, stronger than he had expected. Each one rivaled or surpassed the essence of the termite workers, their energy bolstered by their collective nature. After a few seconds of absorption, Thalion morphed back into his Tidecaller Serpent form, ready to rejoin the fray. Chaos reigned as the death of the swarm had triggered a feeding frenzy.

A misfired Aqua Lance had severed two of the octopus’s massive tentacles, accidentally injuring a beast lurking behind it. This ripple effect ignited a war between the predators. The white shark tore into a smaller reef shark, sending it fleeing in desperation. Meanwhile, four colossal squids had seized a giant crocodile, dragging it into their grasp. Two squids latched onto its hind legs, another anchored its tail, while the fourth coiled around its thrashing back. The crocodile’s raw power was useless against their overwhelming grip. Its jaws snapped and its hide pulsed with energy, but nothing could halt the inevitable. Piece by piece, the squids devoured it alive.

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Thalion squared off against the massive octopus, eager to hone his underwater combat skills. This time, he refrained from using Tsunami Breaker, opting instead for a prolonged duel. He kept his distance, peppering the beast with Aqua Lances and Water Slashes. The octopus retaliated with astonishing speed, whipping its smaller, lightning-fast tentacles—each stretching over fifty meters—in an attempt to ensnare him. The creature’s desperation grew with every lost limb, its movements becoming more frantic.

In a last-ditch effort, the octopus camouflaged itself, blending seamlessly with the murky water. But Thalion’s title, paired with his heightened connection to his surroundings, rendered the trick useless. He tracked it effortlessly, anticipating its every move. With a precisely aimed Aqua Lance, he pierced the octopus’s head, ending the fight in a decisive blow. As the beast’s lifeless form drifted downward.

Disappointment flickered across his face. The octopus’s skill—a technique to accelerate tentacle speed—was entirely incompatible with any of his forms. Shaking off his frustration, he harvested the creature’s crystal and set his sights on the remaining predators.

The battle between the squids and the other beasts had devolved into chaos, and Thalion capitalized on it. His form’s superiority was evident; none of the other creatures could match his long-range attacks or his raw destructive power. One by one, he dispatched them, Aqua Lances and Water Slashes reducing his foes to nothing more than corpses.

Once the waters settled, he tested the available forms but found them lacking. However, one of the small swarm fish had a rare passive skill that caught his interest:

Endless Appetite (Rare)

This passive skill increases the capacity of the character's stomach, allowing them to consume and store a significantly greater amount of food or items without experiencing discomfort or fullness. The more the character eats, the more efficient their digestive system becomes, slowly expanding the available space within their body for nourishment. This skill works on a variety of consumables, from food to special materials that can be ingested for magical or alchemical purposes.

The implications were promising. Endless Appetite would synergize perfectly with the Tidecaller Serpent’s absorption capabilities or even the Umbral Predator’s feeding-focused abilities.

For now, he assigned it to the serpent form but began to consider transferring it. As the Umbral Predator, the ability to devour more corpses and gain additional stats could prove invaluable. The possibilities were endless, and Thalion’s mind raced with potential combinations.

Why stop there? He mused about merging Endless Appetite with Devour Essence, the crab’s skill he had obtained earlier. Together, they would create a near-perfect synergy for mass consumption and efficient stat gains. That would be a project for later, back in the safety of his lair. For now, the ocean offered an endless bounty of creatures to kill and crystals to claim.

With a wicked glint in his eyes and bloodlust burning in his veins, Thalion dove deeper into the abyss after putting the giant blue crystals in his spatialring. The slaughter was far from over.

<--

Seraphina was in crisis. The situation had spiraled out of control after she had ruthlessly eliminated the other human slaves from Earth. Her mission had seemed straightforward at first, but now everything was unraveling.

The little girl, Annie, had escaped on the fourth stage, slipping away amidst the chaos. It was a disaster. Seraphina’s patron had specifically tasked her with aiding the child, suspecting that Annie possessed a dormant bloodline that would awaken under the right conditions—perhaps through achieving a certain level of power or enduring a particular kind of trauma.

And now the girl was gone, vanished into the vast, perilous ocean.

The sea itself was treacherous, more so than Seraphina had anticipated. Even she, armed with formidable strength and rare equipment, dared not dive into the depths alone.

With her guards, hunting was still manageable, but even a single mistake could mean her death. The ocean teemed with creatures far beyond her current capabilities, their savage presence a constant reminder of her mortality.

To make matters worse, Nerissa, that insufferable young noblewoman, was applying unrelenting pressure. Nerissa was also blessed by their shared patron, which meant Seraphina couldn’t simply kill her and be done with it.

Realizing her immunity, Nerissa had grown increasingly bold, her demands for resources and progress becoming a daily annoyance. Worse still, opposition within the palace was beginning to take root. Seraphina’s options were limited—she couldn’t kill Nerissa outright, but she often wondered if the girl would hesitate to do the same, given the chance.

The possibility loomed large in her mind: what if Nerissa survived the tutorial? Would she come back for revenge?

Her thoughts darkened further as she considered more drastic measures. Perhaps one of her subordinates could handle the problem. But would her patron see through the ploy? It was a gamble she wasn’t yet willing to take. The patron’s favor was her most valuable asset, and jeopardizing that for a petty rivalry seemed foolish.

Then there was the ocean itself—a monstrous enigma. On the third stage, the strongest beasts were confined to the depths, but here, in the fourth stage, they roamed freely. Vast schools of ravenous fish patrolled the waters, consuming everything in their path.

These swarms were a plague, unstoppable in their sheer numbers. Each fish was nearly a meter long, and their collective ferocity rendered any defense futile. Spells might kill hundreds, but there were millions.

Seraphina’s forces had already suffered devastating losses to these swarms. Entire groups of guards had been wiped out, and over twenty ships destroyed by the more powerful aquatic beasts. She hadn’t dared dive deeper than four kilometers, but she suspected the true terrors of the ocean lay even further below. The thought sent a chill through her.

As for Annie, Seraphina doubted the girl’s survival. The ocean was unforgiving, and the odds were slim. Yet, she had known the risks when she’d chosen to kill the other slaves.

Their experience had been invaluable, but they were liabilities she couldn’t afford to take to the higher stages. Their deaths had been a calculated move to strengthen her own position, and she didn’t regret it. Not yet.

Standing atop the tallest tower of her palace, Seraphina gazed out at the ocean. From this vantage point, the sea appeared tranquil, almost serene. But she knew better.

Beneath the surface, a war raged—an endless struggle for survival. Her palace’s defenses were formidable, enough to repel most aquatic beasts, but a larger swarm could overwhelm them. She would need to invest in more fortifications soon.

Her current situation was precarious. Despite reaching level eighty and unlocking the ability to evolve, she faced critical choices. She wasn’t sure how much experience she earned from kills shared with her guards, nor whether it was worth venturing into the depths to hunt stronger beasts. Staying near the surface and targeting weaker creatures alone might be safer, but it would also be slower.

Her patron would contact her again in a few days, and Seraphina hoped for guidance. Their most recent messages had focused on shoring up defenses against the ocean’s growing dangers. Her equipment, of legendary rarity, was already at the pinnacle of what the system shop could offer.

Since acquiring it, she had primarily invested in knowledge and materials. One skill she had obtained allowed her to cook the beasts she killed, creating meals that granted stat boosts akin to elixirs. The process was so effective—and delicious—that it had become something of a passion for her.

Cooking wasn’t the only thing on her mind. Hunting, body tempering, and soul cultivation all demanded her attention. Hunting was by far the most efficient for gaining strength, but she couldn’t ignore the importance of the others.

Body tempering was agonizingly slow, and soul cultivation had become a painstaking ordeal after forming her soul core. Still, every effort counted.

Yet, another, darker idea had taken root. Killing the slaves had proven advantageous—why not take it a step further? What if she sacrificed the people in her palace, offering their lives in a ritual to amplify her own power?

She had already researched the cost of the formation scroll. It wasn’t prohibitively expensive. The thought of sending the blessed out of the city, then slaughtering everyone else in one fell swoop, sent a shiver of anticipation through her.

The influx of stats from such a sacrifice would guarantee her survival and secure a powerful evolution. A sinister smile spread across her lips as she turned her gaze back to the horizon. It was an idea worth keeping in mind. For now, she would bide her time, but the future was filled with possibilities.