The first clash

'Cold' was the first thought that entered his mind.

His body screamed for air as the ice-cold water engulfed him. The impact of the swirling tides disoriented him more than the freezing water ever could.

Raian couldn't tell which way was up or down. Whenever he gained a semblance of an idea and tried to swim toward the surface, the tides would knock him off balance and confuse his senses again.

He needed to breathe soon, or the future wouldn't be so bright. The solution was simple: swim up until he reached the surface, but he couldn't know which way was up thanks to the waves. His sense of direction was entirely lost. Under this crushing pressure, Raian chose the most logical option: do nothing.

Hoping the deep breath he had taken before entering the water was enough, he waited for the tides to calm down and lift him to the surface. Weathering one tide, a second, and a third. By the fourth tide, his patience wore thin.

His body urged him to start swimming to survive, but every time he started to float and swim to the surface, another tide would toss him around.

Eventually, through sheer willpower and mental perseverance, Raian reached the surface. 'Never expected me to be this happy over breathing,' he thought, taking deep breaths before swimming aimlessly.

One of the beasts inside the black sea wasn't able to hide its killing intent well enough.

The gruesome tides of the sea affected these creatures much less than they did Raian. Transforming from an elite runner to an elite swimmer, Raian mimicked the images he had seen in books.

He glided through the water with powerful, rhythmic movements. His arms alternated, one reaching forward and the other pulling back, maintaining a streamlined position.

The surface rippled and splashed with his strokes and kicks, displaying speed beyond any mundane human.

The creature's intent still followed Raian, its bloodthirsty gaze locked on him. His movements were not smooth, even with all his theoretical knowledge. Despite his extraordinary strength, the creature caught up.

With a fin around half Raian's height, it looked like a shark except for its scarred body and crooked blade-like teeth. Spinning underwater to dodge its lethal bite, Raian started planning. Even though the bite missed, some of its crooked teeth grazed his flesh.

If swimming was foreign to him, fighting in water was beyond his understanding. Swimming this well was only possible thanks to preparation and logical execution.

Fighting the creature in the water was a horrible idea, but not long after swimming away, it caught up again. Feeling the sharp jaws attempt to bite him, Raian chose to confront it head-on. Grabbing one of its bigger teeth near the center, he gripped it hard, cutting his hand. Still, he succeeded in securing a grip and started pummeling the creature's head with his free hand, blocking its attempts to shut its mouth with his legs. Feeling the sharp teeth dig deeper into his palm and soles, Raian ignited his inner flame and reinforced it with his aspect. The shark, feeling the fresh surge of power, spun to force him to release his grip. Raian tried to follow its motion but couldn't keep up. He had to release his grip and switch off his aspect to conserve stamina.

After creating some distance, Raian reached the surface to take a breath. Removing his wet bangs to see better, he spotted land not too far away. Everything seemed better, except for the shark between him and the land. Being outmatched in this deadly dance with one of the black sea's predators didn't feel good. The shark was stronger, but Raian could still test his limits. Activating his aspect full throttle, bleeding from his left palm and both soles, Raian faced the charging shark. He focused on defense and counterattacks. Moving his left arm forward to bait the shark, it took the bait. As its sharp teeth sank into his flesh, the reinforced muscles delayed the biting force just enough for Raian to pierce its eye and yank something deep inside. Luckily, the shark's anatomy reflected reality. He couldn't grab all of its brains, but enough to win the fight.

[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Maddened Kast]

[Your will has grown greater.]

It wasn't a perfect victory, but it was a victory planned and reached by Raian.

Relishing in it for a moment, he pulled the shark's unmoving jaws to free himself. Even with the deep bite marks across his left arm, the arm moved with less trouble than he expected.

The cold water dampened the pain, but it still ached as he started swimming. Unable to stop the bleeding, Raian beelined for land. Upon reaching solid ground, he summoned a [cursed potion of vitality] and took a big gulp of it. The rapid blood loss made his mind hazy. As the cursed vitality began healing his wounds and regenerating his lost blood, he cursed out loud.

Mental clarity following the healing process made Raian realize the worst pain he could imagine was coming. Taking a deep breath, he wiped away his blood sweat and tears to brace himself while activating his aspect.

Giving up or dying was the last thing on his mind.

-xXx-

Sometime later her peaceful slumber, Liala woke up sweating bullets, struggling to breathe.

Realizing her mistake, she hurriedly unsummoned the memory blanket and pillow, finally understand why they were pure bait for Sleepers or Awakened. The essence required to sustain these utility memory's passive enchantment was beyond her measure. Sleepers couldn't gauge their essence core, perhaps because it was still dormant.

She could have slept until dawn peacefully even with the memory absorbing her essence, but the natives didn't allow it. Whether it was the freshly slain corpses or the small light from her cooking fire, a few crab-like creatures were moving toward her.

Inhaling as she moved toward one of the crabs.

Instead of waiting for the crabs to strike her first with their hard pincers, Liala dashed toward the danger. Dodging the initial attacks, she gauged the crabs' battle prowess. They were much stronger than the initial group of dormant monsters she had slain. The strength behind the deadly pincers, toughness of their rigid carapace was a level above her initial foes.

'It's time to tactically retreat,' she thought.

Taking on one of these two-and-a-half-meter tall, demonic crab-centaur nightmares alone was tough, let alone a few of them.

Smiling, she stood straight, facing the crab. Before its descending pincer could crush her, Liala's body moved backward in an unnatural manner, like a puppet being gently pulled by its string. The crab's legs couldn't muster enough speed to catch up to her, so their attention turned to the dozen carcasses of dormant creatures.

Away from the crabs, Liala stopped to catch her breath. Her aspect was unique and took a lot of essence to use. Without being able to gauge her remaining essence, it was reserved for emergencies.

Summoning a leather pouch to drink from, she dismissed her armor-type memories and started her great hike towards the unknown while cursing Forgotten Shore.