Master Of None

Walker was stunned. The number of sun bathing fish that he saw were only increasing as the sun rose in to the sky. The surface of the water was also warmer which made the merfolk patrol closer to the ships. It was just a habit to avoid the warmer streams of water that would flow around. Many of the merfolk preferred the slightly cooler waters instead of the hot sun heated waters.

There were many things that Walker was catching on to while they were underwater. He was seeing that the merfolk had to carry their weapons in certain ways. He had seen some of this before but was jo able to see it in better detail.

The way a weapon, or anything, was held underwater would cause friction. It was why Leon used a spear for battle instead of an ax. It was actually very uncommon for any merfolk to use an ax at all. It was hard to keep in water because the broad side would catch the most water resistance causing them to swim slower and slower.

Swords were a different thing all together though. They had the sharp edges to cut through the waters without any issue. Therefore, the sword was able to facilitate the faster swimming speeds that the merfolk were used to. It was also why they were made in one single piece.

Normally, swords were made as one blade with a handle. The difference between merfolk swords and other swords was that the merfolk made swords out of a single ore, stone, or monster part. That way when they swam, the sword maintained a constant singular dut through the water instead of having any divots or holes that could catch the water.

Leon also went out of his way to show Walker the formations that the merfolk used while patrolling through and around the ships. They would split in to groups of three or five to go to the edges. Not many issues appeared during these underwater rotations. Sometimes if they got too close to a ship, the merfolk would just use the slightly sharper than usual nails on the ends of their webbed fingers to hold on to a ship. This was also the perfect way for them to take a break. Luckily, the craftsman thought of this and also added railings for the merfolk.

The way that the ship was made greatly helped those underwater. The ship could be turned easily to avoid things that the merfolk warned about. But the small divots and railings were made in a way that only those that knew they were there and had a certain level of intelligence could use them. A basic monster would never be able to latch on to the side of the ship easily and resist the currents around it while the ship moved.

Every now and then, one of the sun bathing fish would dive down. Walker was sure that the system all around appraisal had told him that they did this at night. Therefore, he was curious as to why this would be happening. When he saw that Leon was surfacing, Walker took the chance to ask the question.

”Why are some of the sun bathing fish we see diving now? Isn’t that bad for them since they still need to absorb the light elemental mana at the surface?”

”That’s kind of sad. When the sunfish get older, they start to forget how much light they need. Then they dive too early. That’s how they become food. But with how many of them there are around here, we might be in an older school. It means we will probably see some red tangs.” Leon could see that Walker was lost. He had definitely never heard of red tangs before.

”There are other fish named tangs but they are not actually dangerous. They are fairly docile and small. But red tangs are not nice at all. They had an almost diamond shape with two red sharp fins to cut through the things they fight. Then they eat the pieces left behind.” Leon looked more aggrieved as he spoke. It was clear that the merfolk had dealt with red tangs more often than not when these monsters hunted the sun bathing fish.

”So I will freeze them in place before they ever get close.” Walker’s general idea was to use the water against them. He could freeze the water around the red tangs so that they would be unable to fight back at all. It would even defeat them or simply trap them before any damage occurred.

’You can try. But they will travel in small schools of ten or so. They are family groups. One school will fight another unless it’s breeding season. Then they will migrate and join in to larger schools. Luckily, it is not that season… If it was, I would have warned every ship personally.” This was the perfect example of how Leon thought ahead. He would have been sure to protect everyone from this danger.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to enjoy laughing at those that inhabited existence. As if on cue, a single flash of red caught Walker’s eye. He had just enough time to use the all around appraisal skill out of instinct and habit.

’Red tang

The red tangis is considered a dangerous ocean predator even though it has a smaller size compared to the truly dangerous predators. Their fins hide razor sharp bones made to cut through weaker scaled fish.

They are known for using their slim size to move faster to cut apart prey better. But where the true danger lies is that they leave behind some parts of their prey and attract larger predators. This is just part of the food chain and the red tangs always fleece before a larger predator appears.’

The dangers of the ocean began to show themselves. There was no longer the feeling of awe from the open blue waves or the depth of darkness that stunned Walker. Now he could feel the adrenaline growing. He had to face whatever these monsters brought head on or else somebody would be hurt.

”Move!” The shout from Leon was enough to make Walker lower himself again below the surface. He didn’t need to communicate because he saw the four red tangs swimming around attacking one of the sun bathing fish. But the merfolk had already set themselves up to take down the dangerous monster.

Three moved from different sides with swords extended. They had their arms out holding swords so that they seemed bigger than usual. This confused the red tang as it felt like a larger predator was trying to swallow it. This was a wise tactic that many would have missed.

The result was the panicked red tang swimming with speed to flee from the danger it felt. In its panic, it literally swam head on in to one of the merfolk’s swords. Walker was a little surprised but thought that this was ingenious.

Finding the simple way to fool the red tang’s instincts was perfect for the situation. The merfolk had learned this through their hardships. Now they had grasped a fool proof, yet dangerous, way to defeat the red tangs almost every time. But as Walker could see, it was not always as planned. One of the red tangs had managed to slice in to the hand of a nearby merfolk sending him toward the ship quickly. The wound would bleed and attract more predators if he did not work fast.

This was the added danger of being in the open sea. Regardless of the situation, it was better to consider that there was always something larger and more dangerous nearby. That meant that even the smallest injury should be healed. Even the tiniest cut should be thought of as a bait that lured in a monster.

This thinking made Walker reach out to heal the merfolk before he even made it half way to a ship. He had the skills to heal others and instead of risking a technique to hunt the red tangs that he was not familiar with, Walker knew it was better to heal. He could reduce the injuries that the merfolk had while also ensuring that they did not lose a single fighting force.

The merfolk saw his hand heal quickly and used his better swimming skills to return to battle. A single glance portrayed the respect and gratitude he had for Walker. Being out of the battle and letting his fellow soldiers perish or become hurt was a worse punishment. But he understood he would have been a bigger risk if he stayed in the water.

Meanwhile, Leon showed why he was the best of the best when it came to the merfolk. His swimming speed was faster than a red tang. Therefore when he spread one, every merfolk felt their pride swell. Walker even felt himself getting a little more energetic too, the battle was on!

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