Thalassar twisted at the last second, the crab's pincer slicing air where his torso had been a heartbeat earlier. He laughed again deep, rolling, almost gleeful as he drove the butt of his spear into the joint of the creature's foreleg.
The shell cracked with a satisfying snap, black ichor spraying in an arc that hissed against the sand.
To any observer, the fight looked desperate the merman bleeding from shallow cuts breathing harder, the crab growing bolder with every missed strike, its mandibles snapping closer, its legs churning the beach into a slurry of sand and foam.
To Ceto crouched low behind a low dune, it looked like a man dancing on the edge of death.
He didn't know Thalassar could end this in seconds if he wanted to.
The prince was toying with the beast.
The air thickened with the scent of brine and blood, the sun's glare reflecting off the waves like shattered glass.
Each clash sent tremors through the sand, and Ceto felt his frail body vibrate with the force.
One errant swing from that Level 789 monstrosity could pulverize him without effort.
His Cynical Insight pulsed, outlining vulnerabilities in stark red. But exploiting them? That was suicide for someone like him.
Ceto's new eyes sharp and predatory scanned the scene with unnatural clarity.
He had seen this monster before not in person, but in countless farming videos back when IEatAss was still grinding mid tier zones.
"Abyssal Sandreaver Crab." level 700–800 range, favorite of high level parties for easy exp and rare shell drops.
The trick wasn't raw power it was patience and the environment.
And right now, the environment was screaming at him.
The tide was coming in slow, relentless, creeping higher with each wave. Shallow pools had already formed in depressions behind the crab.
The sand here was loose, unstable after the earlier burrowing attacks. Thalassar's water mana kept flaring in controlled bursts, but the crab's own innate affinity was pushing back, churning the ground into quicksand like slurry.
Ceto's mind clicked.
He didn't have strength. He didn't have levels. But he had memory, observation, and a body that despite its frailty moved with surprising silence when Shadow Veil flickered on.
He began to move.
Low crawl. Bare feet silent on the sand. Circling wide, staying downwind, letting the wind carry the scent of salt and blood away from the fight.
One wrong step, and the crab's eyestalks would swivel his way ending him in an instant. His heart hammered, Unyielding Will the only thing keeping his hands steady as he skirted the edge of a foaming pool.
Thalassar noticed,of course he did but the prince gave no sign. He simply parried another claw strike with absent ease, then grabbed the extended limb in one webbed hand and spun the entire multi ton beast like it weighed nothing.
The crab skidded across the beach, legs scrabbling, leaving deep furrows that nearly clipped Ceto's hiding spot.
Thalassar's gaze flicked sideways.
Curiosity sparked in those deep sea eyes.
"What is this strange little thing doing?" He murmured.
Ceto reached the first tidal pool. He dipped his hand in, felt the cool water, and focused willing it to respond. Nothing happened. No tingle, no ripple. Just cold, indifferent liquid. He cursed under his breath. No affinity. No edge. He'd have to rely on brute improvisation.
He scooped handfuls of wet sand, packed it tight into dense, palm sized spheres, and began forming more. Crude projectiles, but heavy. He worked fast, staying low, using the crab's own thrashing to mask the soft sounds.
Thalassar was growing bored.
The crab's attacks were predictable now lunge, clamp, burrow, repeat. The prince could have ended it ten exchanges ago.
Instead he watched the purple skinned human out of the corner of his eye. The creature moved with surprising cunning for something so weak. No panic. No bravado. Just cold calculation.
Thalassar hummed low in his throat.
Interesting.
He decided to play along.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent a crescent of water slicing across the crab's eyestalks blinding one cluster temporarily. The beast reared in fury, exposing its underbelly for a precious second. Thalassar could have driven his spear through the soft spot then and there.
Instead he stepped back.
Letting the crab surge forward.
Letting it chase him toward the tidal pools.
Toward where Ceto waited.
Ceto rose from cover the moment the crab's back was turned. He hurled the first sand sphere hard and accurate straight into the monster's left eyestalk cluster.
The packed wet sand shattered against the soft tissue with a wet smack. The crab shrieked, staggering sideways.
Thalassar's lips curled.
Clever.
Ceto didn't stop. Another sphere. Another. Targeting joints, eyestalks, the seam in the carapace.
Each hit was small, insignificant on its own but they accumulated.
The crab's movements grew erratic, blinded on one side, joints grinding with grit. A pincer swung wildly, clipping a dune and sending sand exploding inches from Ceto's feet he dove aside, breath ragged, Shadow Veil straining to keep him hidden.
Thalassar saw the plan fully now.
A slow smile spread across his face.
He exhaled, mana surging.
One final push.
He summoned a towering wall of water behind the crab then collapsed it forward in a controlled crush, driving the beast straight into the deepest tidal pool.
The sand slurry swallowed its legs up to the thorax. The crab thrashed, mandibles clacking wildly, trapped in the environment it had once commanded.
And Ceto moved.
He darted forward Shadow Veil flaring one last time leapt onto the crab's partially submerged back, and drove both fists wrapped in wet sand for grip into the glowing weak spot beneath the eyestalks.
His strength was laughable. But the spot was already compromised. The ganglion cluster ruptured under the pressure, the creature's own water propulsion system backfiring in a final, violent surge.
The crab convulsed once.
Then went still.
Dead.
Experience Gained!
Main Contributor: Thalassar Veyn
Level Up! Thalassar Veyn → Level 524
Secondary Contribution: Ceto Ageon
Experience Overflow Detected
Level Up! Level 1 → Level 52
New Skills Acquired:
• Tidal Surge (F) – Channel a burst of water to propel yourself or allies forward, increasing speed and evasion in aquatic environments. Cost: Moderate mana drain.
• Brine Lash (F) – Form whips or tendrils from nearby water sources to strike or restrain foes. Damage and control scale with Water Affinity. New Affinity Unlocked: Water Affinity (F+) Earned through environmental synergy and combat against a water-affinity beast. Grants minor control over water sources and slight resistance to water-based damage.
Ceto slid off the corpse, breathing hard. His body trembled not from fear, but from the sudden rush of power.
Muscles felt denser. Reflexes sharper. The frailty was still there, but it had retreated a step. And now… the water responded. A faint ripple answered his thoughts, small tendrils rising from the tidal pool to coil around his fingers before dissipating.
The affinity had awakened earned in the heat of the fight.
Thalassar lowered his spear.
He regarded the smaller figure with new eyes curiosity no longer veiled.
"You…" he said slowly. "are full of surprises."
Ceto wiped sand and ichor from his hands, flexing his fingers as the faint blue glow of nascent water mana faded.
"Had to do something." he replied. "Couldn't just watch."
Thalassar studied him for a long moment.
Then, almost reluctantly, he jerked his head toward the distant line of coral cliffs that marked the labyrinth's true entrance.
"Come." he said.
"If you're going to be this persistent, you might as well not die immediately."
Ceto's lips twitched.
That was as close to an invitation as he was likely to get.
They walked in silence for a stretch, the only sounds the rhythmic crash of waves and the soft crunch of sand underfoot.
Thalassar's long strides forced Ceto to half jog to keep pace, but he didn't complain. His body still buzzed from the level surge, every muscle feeling denser, sharper, more alive than it had minutes ago. Curiosity won out over caution.
He pulled up his status window with a mental flick.
Name: Ceto Ageon
Level: 52
Class: None+
Race: Human (Unclassified)
Title: None
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Health: 820 / 820
Mana: 1,450 / 1,450
Stamina: 680 / 680
Strength: 92
Agility: 92
Vitality: 65
Intelligence: 210
Wisdom: 245
Charisma: 68
Luck: 145
Water Affinity: F+
Skills:
• Tidal Surge (F+)
• Brine Lash (F+)
The Class field had a small golden plus sign pulsing beside it active, waiting.
He selected it.
A scroll of options unfurled,Rogue variants, Shadowblade hybrids, basic fighter paths, elemental initiates familiar classes he recognized from Eternal Realms.
All standard, all safe. All boring.
Then one stood apart.
{Tide Caller}
The name glowed with a faint, shifting blue light, like moonlight on deep water. No tooltip icon like the others. No recognizable emblem. Just the name, stark and unfamiliar.
Ceto's pulse quickened.
He tapped it.
Class: Tide Caller
Rarity: Unique
Description:
A rare path born of the sea's deepest currents and the will to command them. Tide Callers are conduits between mortal flesh and the primordial ocean. They breathe beneath the waves as easily as air, their mana flows like tides, and their presence stirs the waters to obey.
Bonuses:
• +150% Water Affinity growth rate
• Permanent underwater breathing
• +40% Mana pool
• +30% Wisdom & Intelligence
• Innate resistance to water-based damage and pressure
• Access to exclusive Tide Caller skill tree upon further progression Drawbacks:
• -20% Strength & Vitality base
• Mana regeneration halved on land
Ceto didn't hesitate.
If he wasn't wrong, this was Unique or higher. In the old game, Unique classes were lottery wins rare drops from hidden quests, ancient relics, or system anomalies.
Progression trees for them were exponential powerful enough that even midtier Unique users could outscale high level standard classes later on.
He selected Accept.
A pulse of cold energy surged through him, starting at his core and radiating outward. His skin prickled as if dipped in ice water. The air around him shimmered faint wisps of abyssal blue coiled like smoke, weak but unmistakable.
His muscles felt lighter less dense, more fluid while his mind sharpened, mana flowing clearer, stronger.
The status refreshed.
Name: Ceto Ageon
Level: 52
Class: Tide Caller
Race: Human (Unclassified)
Title: None
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Health: 820 / 820
Mana: 2,030 / 2,030 (+40%)
Stamina: 680 / 680
Strength: 92 → 74 (-20%)
Agility: 92
Vitality: 65 → 52 (-20%)
Intelligence: 210 → 273 (+30%)
Wisdom: 245 → 319 (+30%)
Charisma: 68
Luck: 145
Water Affinity: F+ → C
Skills Upgraded:
• Tidal Surge (F+ → E-) – Increased range and force now leaves a trailing current that slows enemies.
• Brine Lash (F+ → E-) – Tendrils now carry minor corrosive effect from saltwater duration increased.
Ceto exhaled slowly, feeling the shift settle into his bones. The aura of abyssal sea still clung to him faint, but noticeable. He looked up to find Thalassar watching him with a raised brow.
"It seems you've taken much from this little run in." the prince said, voice carrying quiet approval.
Ceto gave a small shrug as he matched the merman's pace.
"More than I expected from one fight."
Thalassar hummed, then glanced sideways.
"And what were you doing in the labyrinth to begin with, Crown Prince? Don't you have… kingly duties waiting?"
Thalassar's expression darkened.
He walked in silence for several strides before answering.
"I was betrayed."
The words were flat, but the undercurrent of rage was unmistakable.
"A vassal I trusted,Lord Kaelith of the Outer Reefs lured me here under pretense of investigating a disturbance in the Veil.
Next thing I knew, spatial anchors activated. I was thrown inside. That was seven days ago."
Ceto frowned. He had never heard this plot on any forum, any stream, any leak. Nothing about the Crown Prince of the Abyssal Court being trapped in the labyrinth.
Had his arrival… changed something?
He filed the thought away.
"I know a way out." he said.
Thalassar froze mid stride.
In a blur too fast for Ceto's new stats to track, the merman's hands shot out, seizing his shoulders and hoisting him clean off the ground until they were eye to eye.
"Speak plainly." Thalassar growled. "Now."
Ceto didn't struggle. He met the prince's gaze evenly.
"I don't know the exact layout. But I know how this place works. The labyrinth is alive constantly shifting. There's only one true exit, the core. Reach it. Kill the boss. Conquer the dungeon. That's the only way out."
Thalassar's grip tightened fractionally.
"Impossible." he said. "Even for me. The core guardian is rumored to sit at Level 1500 or higher. The paths to it are death traps. I've scoured every inch of these outer shores no entrance, no pathway, only sand and beasts. The sea creatures beyond the breakers are worse. No one survives diving blind."
Ceto didn't flinch.
"The paths change. If you haven't found it on land, then the only place left to look is the sea itself."
Thalassar tsked in frustration and set Ceto down harder than necessary.
Ceto stumbled once, caught himself, and muttered a quick "Thanks" that was promptly ignored.
"Do you have a plan?" Thalassar asked, voice tight.
Ceto nodded.
"It's simple. We level up. A lot. Then we enter the sea. From there… we find the way."
Thalassar stared at him for a long moment, weighing the words.
It was basic. Brutal. And given his week of isolation and endless fights with no progress it was the only path left.
He had no other options.
This strange, shameless, demon looking human was his only hope for the moment.
Finally, Thalassar exhaled.
"Very well."
He extended his hand not for a shake, but forearm to forearm, the merfolk way.
Ceto clasped it without hesitation.
Thalassar's grip swallowed his forearm whole.
"I will strengthen you." the prince said. "And myself. We will carve a path through this hell together… or we will die trying."
Ceto's lips curved in a small, dangerous smile.
"Deal."