I'm a Stingray?

Chapter 202: Geezer

"Oh." Was the first thing of which the young man could answer.

And after thinking it through, he agreed. "That's fair."

"Okay so the fish is... black?" It didn't take much intelligence to figure that portion out.

[Well it's in the name, so yes]

After that portion was well established, he slid towards one of the most reliable solutions when it came to finding new animals. It wasn't a method that guaranteed success, but it simply was the best available option.

Peeking at Osira, he questioned. "Do you know where I can find a... uh."

Well it took only that much time for the young one to forget the fish's name. Yet luckily, the system could refresh his memory. [Black ranchu goldfish]

Noticing that the grouper was a little pissed, he instantly continued the sentence. "Uh, I need to find a black ranchu goldfish."

It was difficult to understand why the young boy was looking for such a fish now, when a mission to seek out an enemy tribe sounded like the main priority. But after thinking it through, she got a couple of ideas.

Yet still, a question had to be asked. "Is it important?"

It was still a bad idea to tell anyone about the system in his head, so the best option was to brush it off with the slightest detail possible. Because after all, it's difficult to figure out a secret if there weren't any patterns to pick up.

That's why he mumbled through a sentence, "Uh... kinda, like yes but not exactly important."

"I know a few spots. We're going there after we find a holy-tribe." Time management seemed important now, and this lady felt more than happy to contribute towards its honing.

So like that, they continued to search for any signs of a holy-tar tribe, but so far it seemed like a waste of time. Worse yet, the stingray was becoming a tad impatient.

Dawn had broken a bit earlier and he was already feeling tired, that's when a complaint was let out. "This is becoming annoying. Where are the tribes?!"

"Be patient." Osira instantly answered and continued, "We can't win all the time, and we can't win quickly either."

A bit stunned to hear such a sentence from the lady, he questioned right after. "What do you mean?"

After giving out a sigh that signified agitation, she recited. "We need to put in a lot of work first. Do you see how big this reef is? It might take all day before we swim into another tribe, they can't appear anywhere we go to."

Feeling that his intelligence was challenged, Tim answered. "Alright sassy pants, we will look for them all day."

Sensing that she had created a slightly tense atmosphere, the grouper quickly put an attempt to tease the other. "You're a good little boy."

"I'm massive!" He contradicted, and carried confidence that was almost delusional.

Most definitely willing to wreck the boy's nerves, Osira added. "Yeah right, I could knock you out with a fart."

Before endless bickering could have erupted, they've heard what sounded like a spear piercing through the waters. The massive difference here however, was that the whistling sounded far more ferocious!

The fine grouper lady was sensitive enough to notice this massive change in the water's atmosphere, and managed to act quickly. Within less than half a second, she barged towards the left side and took the sea-disk with her!

And it was great that she did so! Because just a moment after, a tiny thing had enslaved the waters with its speed: right where the two friends were swimming a bit earlier!

It was frightening at least. But curiosity grew stronger than any fear towards the unknown. Likewise, Osira began peeking in all directions for the sake of figuring out just what that was.

"You're quick, my young discipline." A tone ensnared the attention of these friends, but it sounded rather muffled.

A few seconds later, the black-skinned lady managed to spot the attacker hiding in a coral crack, it appeared to be some species of shrimp. It was fair to say that all of her senses had been upgraded for the better thanks to that mutation, vision included. And at the moment, she was willing to put all her powers into use.

"I'll show you what's quick..." She mumbled. And then instantly shot out a chunk of black-light, which stretched around a foot wide!

In an instant, it bashed against the spot where the shrimp stood and managed to blow bits of coral in all directions; but it wasn't exactly damage that would create a new pit-hole in the reef.

Yet contrary to any expectations, the same shrimp lunged upwards but not for the sake of damage. It had stopped on its spot, right near Osira and locked eyes with the lady.

An old but yet fairly masculine tone was uttered out of the shrimp's mouth, "How did you become this fast?"

After observing this shrimp for a few seconds, it was noticeable that something was off. When it came to appearance, this shrimp seemed nothing but average; but after taking a peek at his eyes, a hint of green was present deep within, although not so noticeable.

A string of confidence had stricken the lady, and it was enough to make her answer. "The same way as you, except I never wanted this speed to begin with."

Although this shrimp seemed normal, one look at his facial expressions was enough to figure out a key fact: this shrimp knew more than appearance would reveal, he seemed wise too.

And when this same old man spoke, it was even more noticeable. "My guess is, you swum in an accident?"

Before the black-grouper could speak, the geezer continued. "You and I aren't so different then."

A new layer of respect was laid out for this shrimp, as one short sentence was able to reveal so much. But yet, it became evident that another species here, hasn't quite understood what was going on.

Without a doubt, the clueless one was Timmy and he bubbled through a sentence. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

It fairly managed to spoil the mood, but it also put everyone back on track. This situation seemed bizarre, but at least both sides of the stick were eager to explain it.

"This man had also been mutated. Well, accidentally at least." Such a sentence played a heavy value, and she didn't lower her gaze away from this shrimp either.

Because when it came to mutants, one wouldn't know what to expect. It didn't take much experience to realise that fact. Because as long as the mutations were related to the holy-tar sect, evil could come out of it more than anything good.