Morning light rose across the Ark with a soft pulse, subtle and clean, the hallways shifting from muted

  blue to gentle white. Bash woke to the familiar hum of circulation vents, though the quiet still felt

  strange after only two days with the Guild. He geared up quickly, clipped his knives into place, and

  stepped into the corridor.

  He was beginning to understand the rhythm of this new life. Not comfortable yet, but less alien than

  yesterday.

  The team was already assembling outside the briefing chamber. Vanra stood in her normal place, hands

  clasped at her lower back, posture calm and level. Orran and Tyrish checked the last buckles on their

  armor. Kayris rolled her shoulders with a soft crack, green resonance flickering faintly along her

  bracers. Korvex loaded a fresh magazine into his rifle. Rhoen leaned casually against the wall, half

  awake but alert.

  Vanra activated the holo panel. The projection unfolded, revealing a wide shallow basin lit by

  shimmering reflections.

  “Lumeris Sea today,” she said. “Water dominant world. Sixty-five percent. Wind secondary at twentyfive. Reflective Shell at ten. Another blue portal, but a difficult terrain environment. Prepare for

  shifting zones.”

  Bash studied the map. Islands rose and sank as if breathing, connected by thin strips of land that

  appeared and disappeared beneath the tide.

  Vanra continued, “The Great Tide controls everything here. Water levels shift dramatically without

  warning. Islands merge or separate within minutes. Expect unstable footing, mudflat traps, and

  aggressive wind shear along the coastal ridges.”

  Kayris sighed lightly. “So we get soaked all day.”

  Korvex glanced at her. “You use wind. You will dry fast.”

  “That is not how comfort works,” she muttered.

  Vanra closed the panel. “We also have potential targets for Bash’s unlocking. Two of the three affinities

  present today are ones he has not interacted with in combat before in our group. If any of them trigger

  an unlocking response, we will adjust accordingly.”

  Bash nodded, though he felt no expectation. The last two days with the group they had given him six

  affinities and still nothing, just like when a Novarch.

  “Standard formation,” Vanra said. “Move out.”

  The team walked together to the transport bay. The interlocking blue light of the chamber rose around

  them as the portal keyed in. A soft pressure wrapped Bash’s skull, the air shifting.

  The world snapped into place.

  They stood upon Lumeris Sea.

  The world breathed water.

  A shallow, endless basin surrounded them, dotted with long stretches of slick sandbars, mudflats, and

  exposed land bridges. The tide was descending, pulling vast sheets of water outward with steady force.

  Dozens of islands rose in the distance, some only bare humps of stone, others towering cliffs ringed

  with white foam. The skies swept with fast moving clouds, carrying winds that curled and twisted

  above the tidal gradients.

  The ground beneath their boots glistened, coated in thin layers of wet silt. Every few steps the terrain

  squished softly, like stepping across half formed clay.

  Rhoen took a long breath. “Smells like fish.”

  Kayris flicked water off her boots. “This entire place is a fish.”

  Vanra smirked faintly. “Move. The tide is falling fast. Our first objective is the island ahead.”

  They advanced across a narrow land bridge. The wind cut sharply across them, pushing cold air along

  the wet surface. Bash kept close to Korvex, watching the clouds overhead. The entire world moved

  with a rhythm, like a slow heartbeat. Each shift in tide created new patterns in the air and water.

  SC spoke quietly in his mind. “Environmental hazards are moderate. Mud pockets, tidal shear, minor

  resonance distortion.”

  “Minor,” Bash repeated. “Feels like the ground wants to swallow my boots.”

  “Minor relative to other worlds,” she clarified.

  He snorted once and kept moving.

  A shadow crossed overhead.

  Kayris tensed. “Something is coming.”

  Vanra raised a hand. “Positions.”

  A flock of small, nearly transparent creatures spiraled downward from the cloud cover. Their bodies

  were thin sacs of air and membrane, vibrating wings flitting at impossible speeds. Hundreds of them,

  each barely the size of Bash’s palm.

  “Skiff Wisps,” Vanra said. “Wind affinity. T2G.”

  The swarm collapsed toward them in a dense, chaotic vortex.

  Korvex reacted first, lifting his rifle as a concentrated wind blast swept outward. The vortex shattered,

  half the creatures scattering into mist-like fragments.

  Rhoen lifted his hand, a thin funnel of wind and fire spiraling up his arm. He thrust forward, unleashing

  a flame tinted cyclone that tore through the center of the swarm. Dozens fell in an instant, burned or

  shredded by the heated gust.

  Vanra mirrored Korvex’s move, shaping the loose sand and mineral bits beneath her feet into a whirling

  pebble storm. The stones tore across the battlefield, ripping through Skiff Wisps with impressive

  efficiency.

  The rest of the team finished the stragglers within seconds.

  Bash closed in with the others and struck several before the vortex dissipated. A pulse hit him. Then

  another. More followed in rapid succession until a total of twenty seven had struck his core. Painful,

  but manageable, especially at this tier.

  Korvex and Rhoen absorbed most, but the sheer number guaranteed some reached him.

  The wind quieted.

  “Move on,” Vanra said.

  They crossed the land bridge fully and stepped onto the next island. The tide had fallen significantly

  since their arrival, exposing shallow basins of clear water. Movement shimmered beneath the surface.

  Kayris shielded her eyes. “Something big trapped ahead.”

  The team approached cautiously.

  A massive shape lay stranded in a huge, now isolated pool. Its wide body was covered in pale blue

  spots, its mouth broad and gentle. Gill slits moved slowly along its sides, struggling to draw enough

  water through the limited space.

  “Tidal Grazer,” Vanra said. “A whale shark type, T3C Water. Stranded by the rapid tide fall.”

  Orran frowned. “It cannot defend itself.”

  “No,” Vanra said. “Which is why Bash will take it. Water is a new resonance for him. We test in low

  risk first.”

  The others stepped back.

  Bash moved forward. The creature thrashed violently the moment he approached, its massive tail

  slamming against the shallow pool in blind fury. Stranded or not, it snapped its wide jaws in his

  direction, gills flaring, the entire pool churning from its desperate attempts to lunge. Even weakened, it

  was treacherous, instinctively hostile, and fully prepared to kill anything that came near.

  “Throwing knives,” Vanra instructed. “Aim for the eye. Quick and clean.”

  Bash pulled a Razorvein knife.

  Bash circled to its flank where the water was lowest and its striking angle was limited, keeping just

  outside the reach of its snapping maw and violent tail swings. He waited for the brief opening when its

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  head turned, then threw.

  He exhaled.

  He threw.

  The blade struck home.

  The creature convulsed once, and Razorvein’s cutting resonance triggered, splitting vital pathways

  within. It went still.

  A heavy pulse hit Bash a second later, deep and crushing, the strongest yet today. His muscles

  tightened, breath caught in his chest, but he remained upright.

  SC spoke calmly. “T3C Water absorption recorded.”

  Vanra watched him closely. “Unlocking?”

  Bash shook his head. “Still nothing.”

  “Then we find more water types.”

  The team continued on.

  They moved along a newly forming land bridge, the tide pulling back further and revealing long arcs of

  stone and wet sediment. Their boots left deep impressions in the soft surface. A faint shimmer rippled

  across the mudflat ahead.

  A massive swarm of Skiff Wisps descended without warning.

  “Again,” Kayris groaned.

  Rhoen grinned. “We can practice tornadoes.”

  They fought quickly and efficiently. Bash stayed close to the group, adding damage where necessary.

  Another forty three pulses hit him, painful but predictable.

  They advanced to a larger island where the mud reflected the sky like glass. Something moved subtly

  in the distance.

  The ground looked like a field of mirrors.

  Then the mirrors moved.

  Hundreds of small, slow creatures crawled across the reflective mudflats. Their shells shone like

  polished gemstones, each plate catching the light with perfect clarity. When they shifted, the reflections

  slid and twisted like broken glass.

  “Mirrortoise migration,” Vanra said. “Reflective Shell affinity. T3C type. Use ranged attacks. They can

  redirect physical force.”

  The team spread out.

  The Mirrortoises tucked into their shells at the first sign of aggression. Their shells gleamed, reflecting

  everything around them in perfect clarity. Tyrish struck one with a heavy blow, only for the force to

  rebound toward Korvex, who dodged barely in time.

  “Distance only,” Vanra repeated sharply.

  Korvex adjusted his aim and fired concussive shots, cracking the shells piece by piece. Rhoen followed

  with flame-laced wind bursts to weaken the mineral composition.

  Bash aimed carefully, cutting joints and weak points where the plates fused.

  Each kill sent a pulse into him. These were T3C. Every one hurt.

  His body flinched minutely with each strike, even when he tried to hide it. Twenty T3C hits. Fifty. One

  hundred. Two hundred.

  SC reported quietly, “Total absorption now two hundred fifty one. All Reflective Shell. No unlocking.”

  He gritted his teeth but kept moving, forcing his posture to stay neutral.

  Vanra watched him closely. She did not comment.

  The field eventually grew quiet. The reflective creatures lay in neat piles, their shells scattered across

  the mud as the team collected the fragments.

  They returned to another land bridge. The wind picked up again.

  The next Skiff Wisp swarm hit them midway across. Bash struck several but stayed tight in formation.

  They cleared them again.

  Finally the team reached a shallow basin where Orran paused suddenly.

  “Something is off,” he said.

  He knelt near a pool of shimmering water, dark with thousands of tiny silver fish trapped by the falling

  tide. Tide Sprinters. Their movements were frantic, vibrating in perfect unison.

  Orran exhaled once. “Back up.”

  The whole team stepped away slowly as Orran kneeled and placed his hand in the water.

  Bash saw it coming.

  He braced.

  Orran released a massive electric surge into the pool. The shockwave erupted outward, shaking the

  entire mudflat. Every fish in the pool died instantly, their bodies vaporized, their scales left behind in a

  glittering pile.

  A tidal wave of pulses slammed into Bash, Rhoen, and Korvex at the same time.

  Bash blacked out for a fraction of a second. His vision went dark, then white. His core felt like it had

  been stabbed with burning pressure.

  But his boots did not move.

  When his vision cleared, Rhoen rubbed his forehead. “That was noticeable.”

  Korvex exhaled. “Even for me.”

  Bash said nothing. His hands were trembling faintly, but he locked his muscles in place.

  Behind him, Vanra watched silently.

  “Collect the fragments,” she said.

  Fortunately, Orran’s pulse had evaporated most of the water and destroyed all fish bodies, leaving

  behind a perfect heap of silver scales. They slid them into bags.

  SC’s voice returned softly once Bash steadied.

  “You absorbed two thousand three hundred fifty eight T2G Water pulses. Your reaction blackout lasted

  zero point nine seconds, but your body did not move.”

  Bash swallowed. “I noticed.”

  The team returned along the land bridge, fought through another Skiff Wisp swarm, and finally reached

  the portal exit node.

  They stepped through and reentered the Ark.

  The calm lighting, steady air circulation, and familiar metallic hum washed over them like a blanket.

  Weapons lowered. Armor dimmed.

  Vanra led them to debrief.

  Inside, the scanning table glowed as Beast Fragments poured onto it. The system read every shard.

  Bash stood still as SC synced his absorption logs.

  Vanra read the data. Her expression did not change.

  “Totals confirmed,” she said. “Dismissed.”

  Everyone left. She said nothing about anything.

  Bash picked up a ration pack and made his way to his quarters. Once inside, he sat on his cot and

  exhaled long and slow.

  “SC,” he said quietly. “How bad is the count.”

  “Today you absorbed one hundred twenty T2G Wind, two thousand three hundred fifty eight T2G

  Water, one T3C Water, and two hundred fifty one T3C Reflective Shell.”

  He rubbed his face. “Yeah. Every T3C pulse nearly made me stutter. They will notice.”

  “They already have,” SC said. “The numbers cannot be hidden.”

  He lay back and closed his eyes.

  Vanra returned to the control chamber alone. She uploaded the final report and stared at the numbers.

  Six thousand eight hundred eleven Beast Fragments turned in. Four thousand four hundred fifty three

  essence logged. All attributed to Rhoen and Korvex. Bash flatlined at zero.

  Yet she had watched him during the turtle fight. He had flinched every single time a Mirrortoise fell.

  And according to the log, no one absorbed the T3C Whale Shark.

  She opened a private channel.

  “Rhell. I have the day’s results.”

  Rhell’s face appeared. “Report.”

  Vanra transmitted the numbers. “The discrepancy grew. Almost double yesterday. Today’s anomalies

  are significant. Tidal Grazer absorption missing. Mirrortoise logs came back zero for the entire team,

  this is expected, since no one here has the Reflective Shell affinity. But Bash reacted every time one

  was killed. The only indication of absorption is his physical response, not the data. And the fish

  pool…” She paused. “Thousands of Water affinity essence unaccounted for. The logs show Bash

  absorbed none.”

  Rhell studied the report without speaking.

  Finally he said, “Continue monitoring. Report again tomorrow.”