The village bustled with morning noise when Ren climbed back onto the platform. Nets clattered, gulls cried, and children darted between huts, laughing and chattering. The ordinary rhythm of life pressed against him like nothing had changed.
But everything had changed.
Ren's clothes clung wet against his battered frame, crimson smears staining his side where the shark's teeth had grazed him. His body trembled with exhaustion, but his eyes gleamed with quiet fire. The system's blue panels flickered faintly before him.
[Status Window]
Level: 7
HP: 280
Power: 27
Agility: 30
Speed: 29
Defense: 18
Luck: 5
Skills:
Piercing Lunge (Active)
Predator's Instinct (Passive)
Frenzied Bite (Active)
Tidal Surge (Active)
The difference was stark. Yesterday, he had been another weakling barely scraping victories against small fish. Today, his veins thrummed with the essence of a predator that ruled the abyss.
And already, whispers reached him.
"That's him. The one who failed the Awakening.""He didn't awaken anything, right? A dud.""Maybe he'll just end up hauling nets forever."
Ren said nothing. Their words no longer mattered. Let them speak. He would show them the truth.
By midday, the older children gathered in the central platform. It was customary after an Awakening, they tested their new abilities, sparring under the eyes of the elders. Victories earned respect. Defeats left scars.
Ren approached silently, spear in hand. A few kids sneered at his presence.
"You?" one boy scoffed. His gills flared along his neck, shark-like teeth glinting. "Didn't the stone reject you? What are you doing here?"
Ren's gaze was steady, voice calm. "Testing myself. Same as you."
Laughter rippled among them. But the elders allowed it. A fight was a fight. The ocean judged strength, not words.
The first challenger stepped forward: a boy named Kairon, broad-shouldered with the glint of scales along his arms. He had awakened to the essence of a swordfish, his speed sharp and piercing.
"Don't cry when you hit the water, dud," Kairon sneered, brandishing his spear.
Ren didn't answer. He stepped onto the dueling platform a flat, open section of planks roped off above shallow water. His eyes locked on his opponent, his stance loose but precise.
The elder raised his hand. "Begin!"
Kairon lunged first, spear thrusting like lightning. His movements were sharp, trained, honed. But to Ren's eyes, they were slow.
Predator's Instinct pulsed, enhancing his reaction. His body shifted half a step to the side. The spearhead missed by inches.
Ren's counter was immediate. His own spear snapped forward, the wood cracking against Kairon's ribs. The boy staggered, air rushing from his lungs.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"What?"
Kairon snarled, charging again, faster this time. His strikes blurred, but Ren slipped through them effortlessly. Every thrust, every slash, was seen, predicted, avoided.
"Piercing Lunge."
Ren's body blurred forward. His spear struck Kairon's chest with brutal precision, knocking him flat onto the planks. The boy coughed blood, eyes wide with disbelief.
The fight was over in less than a minute.
Silence hung heavy.
Ren stepped back, lowering his weapon. His voice was flat, almost cold. "Next."
Another challenger stepped forward, anger flashing in her eyes. She bore manta fins along her arms, glowing faintly. Her strikes swept wide, graceful arcs meant to disorient. But Ren dismantled her rhythm with ruthless efficiency one feint, one sudden burst of speed, and her spear clattered from her hands.
Two more came. Both fell.
Ren moved like the predator he had become. Calculated. Relentless. His strikes weren't wild or flashy they were clean, efficient, ending fights before they could even begin.
The murmurs grew louder, shifting from mockery to unease.
"He… he's not normal.""That speed…""Wasn't he the one who failed?"
The elders exchanged glances. Some frowned. Others nodded quietly.
By the fourth fight, no one stepped forward. The children avoided his gaze, their earlier confidence drowned beneath the memory of how easily he had dismantled the others.
Ren stood in the center, spear in hand, expression calm. But inside, his blood still sang. Every clash, every movement, sharpened the predator within him.
He exhaled, lowering his weapon. "If no one else will…"
"Enough."
The eldest of the elders raised his voice, cutting through the murmurs. His face was lined, his eyes sharp as the sea. "The ocean tests all. This boy has proven himself."
Ren bowed his head slightly, then turned away. He didn't need their approval. What mattered was clear: he was no longer prey.
He was climbing, one kill at a time, toward the top of the food chain.
That night, alone again at the far dock, Ren opened his system window. His fights hadn't granted levels, but they had refined him, confirmed the truth. He was beyond ordinary awakenings.
Yet as he stared at the map, a new icon pulsed.
Not red. Not hostile.
Golden.
[Treasure Detected: Abyssal Relic]
Ren's breath caught.
The elders had spoken of such things rare artifacts born from the gods' radiation, relics of fallen divinity. They could elevate a human beyond natural limits, granting boons no creature essence could provide.
And this one… was close.
Ren tightened his grip on his spear. His near-death battle with the shark had proven he could survive the abyss. Now, the abyss itself was calling him deeper.
His lips curved in a faint, cold smile.
"Then let's see what kind of gift the sea hides."
And with that, Ren dove once more into the darkness, chasing the golden glow beneath the waves.