The sea outside Saltwind Tidal Academy was not ceremonial.
It did not test politely like the evaluation basin.
It hunted.
Jeather stepped off the outer reef shelf and let himself drop into the open blue.
Water closed over his head in one smooth swallow.
Cold. Dense. Alive.
Below him stretched a maze of jagged coral towers and fractured stone ridges. Small schools of silver dartfish scattered at his descent, flashing like broken mirrors.
And something else moved among them.
A shape clung upside down to the underside of a coral arch.
It resembled a stingray at first glance— until it unfolded.
Bronze-tier Razorfin Skulk.
Its body was narrow and bladed, wings lined with serrated bone ridges. Its eyes were positioned vertically along its spine, allowing it to see above and below simultaneously.
It had been waiting.
The moment Jeather's shadow passed—
it struck.
Fast.
Silent.
Astrael manifested instantly beside him, intercepting the glide with a burst of condensed flame. Steam exploded outward.
The Skulk veered sharply and sliced forward again, one fin grazing Jeather's thigh.
Blood misted into the water.
"Seriously?" Jeather muttered through clenched teeth.
The Skulk circled tighter now.
Testing.
Jeather didn't retreat.
He swam toward it instead.
The Skulk accelerated.
At the last second Jeather twisted sideways, grabbed one serrated fin, and let its own momentum flip it over him.
He drove his elbow into the creature's underside where bone plating thinned.
Crack.
The Skulk shrieked in distorted bubbles.
It tried to whip its tail around his neck.
Velkaria surged briefly, redirecting the surrounding current just enough to throw off its balance.
Jeather pressed his palm against its skull.
Seal glyph ignited.
The beast thrashed violently.
For a moment it nearly tore free—
Then the sigil completed.
The Razorfin Skulk dissolved into light and sank into his inner realm.
Jeather exhaled.
"…One."
He continued deeper.
The terrain shifted as he descended.
Coral grew thicker here, layered like cathedral arches formed by centuries of growth. Purple and red bioluminescent strands illuminated narrow passages.
And perched within one of those arches—
was a beast that looked carved from stone.
Silver-tier Barnacle Juggernaut.
A hulking crustacean the size of a carriage, its shell layered in hardened coral plates.
Barnacles grew across its back like parasitic armor, each one capable of firing compressed water spikes.
It wasn't hiding.
It was blocking the passage.
Jeather hovered several meters away.
"…You're not subtle."
The Juggernaut's eye stalks twitched.
Then—
every barnacle opened at once.
Compressed water spikes fired like a barrage of underwater ballista bolts.
Jeather dove downward as stone shattered behind him.
A spike clipped his shoulder.
Pain flared.
Astrael surged forward, flame aura boiling the surrounding water into violent steam bursts that distorted visibility.
The Juggernaut charged blindly through the steam.
Jeather shot upward and landed atop its shell.
"Let's see how thick this thing is."
He drove his fist into a seam between coral plates.
Nothing.
He hit again.
Again.
The Juggernaut bucked violently, trying to scrape him off against a stone pillar.
He grabbed a barnacle cluster and ripped it free.
It exploded in his hand.
"Okay— that works."
The Juggernaut reared back and slammed itself into a reef wall, crushing coral into dust.
Jeather was thrown clear.
The beast advanced, claws crushing rock with each step.
Velkaria surged outward fully this time, weaving a tightening spiral current around its legs.
The massive crustacean slowed.
Astrael gathered heat at one point—
not across the entire shell— just a single seam.
Focused flame drilled into the weakened plate.
The coral cracked.
Jeather launched forward through the opening and slammed both palms against the exposed inner core.
Seal glyph flared violently.
The Juggernaut roared, claws snapping wildly—
One claw nearly crushed his leg—
But the glyph completed.
The massive body dissolved into sigil-light.
Silence returned to the coral vault.
Jeather floated there, breathing hard.
"…Silver-tier, huh."
His ribs ached.
His shoulder throbbed.
He grinned anyway.
"Worth it."
He followed the passage beyond where the Juggernaut had stood guard.
The coral opened into a narrow trench that descended sharply.
The water pressure increased.
Visibility dropped.
Something brushed past his ankle.
Fast.
He spun—
Nothing.
Then again.
This time he saw it.
A cluster.
Silver-tier Veilshade Prowlers.
Eel-like predators barely visible against the dark water, their bodies shifting color to match surroundings. Only their faintly glowing eyes gave them away.
There were five.
They did not attack individually.
They hunted in formation.
The first struck from below.
Jeather twisted, but teeth grazed his side.
The second latched onto his forearm.
"Damn it—!"
He smashed it against stone, but another wrapped around his calf.
They tightened simultaneously.
Coordinated constriction.
Astrael flared violently, forcing two of them to recoil from heat.
Velkaria surged in expanding pressure pulses, disrupting their formation.
Jeather grabbed the one on his arm and bit down on his own lip to steady himself as he channeled mana directly into its skull.
Seal attempt—
The others reacted instantly.
They tried to tear it free from his grip.
Smart.
"Fine— all of you then."
He slammed his palm against the trench wall.
Mana burst outward in a concussive wave.
Stone fractured.
The shock scattered the Prowlers long enough for him to grab the nearest two.
Dual seal glyphs ignited.
They thrashed wildly—
But exhaustion was beginning to slow them.
The glyphs completed.
Two sealed.
Three remained.
Now cautious.
They circled wider.
Jeather steadied his breathing.
"Come on."
One darted forward.
He caught it mid-lunge and drove it into the stone again.
Seal.
Another attacked from behind—
Velkaria intercepted, freezing its movement for half a second—
Just enough.
Seal.
The last one hesitated.
It watched him.
Then it fled into darkness.
Jeather did not chase.
He looked down at his bleeding side.
"…You can live."
He turned upward instead.
He emerged near a broken reef spire as sunset burned across the horizon.
He climbed onto rock, water streaming from his clothes.
A small creature perched there waiting.
Bronze-tier Shellback Otter.
Round body. Armored shell plates along its spine. Whiskers twitching.
It held a crab in its paws and stared at him.
Jeather stared back.
"…You're not attacking?"
The otter blinked slowly.
Then it pushed the half-eaten crab toward him.
Offering.
Jeather laughed quietly.
"I don't eat raw."
The otter tilted its head.
A moment passed.
Then—
very casually—
Jeather placed his hand on its shell.
Seal glyph shimmered faintly.
The otter blinked once more.
Then dissolved into light without resistance.
Jeather sat back.
"…That one felt almost rude."
Inside his realm, Saxum immediately celebrated.
"New friend!"
Jeather lay back on the warm rock, staring at the darkening sky.
Today:
Razorfin Skulk.
Barnacle Juggernaut.
Four Veilshade Prowlers.
Shellback Otter.
His collection was growing.
Not through spectacle.
Not through survival tests.
But through the simple, brutal rhythm of the sea.
Hunt.
Adapt.
Seal.
Below the reef spire—
something large shifted in deeper water.
Not attacking.
Not retreating.
Just aware.
Jeather closed his eyes briefly.
"…I'll find you too."
The ocean did not answer.
But it did not deny him either.