Limits.

We dived deeper, inside the pond . When I wasn"t able to see anything, I closed my eyes . I focused and tried to awaken my Darkness Perception . After about 40 seconds, I opened my eyes and my vision awakened . I motioned to Frosty, for it to take the lead, and we dived deeper, towards the bottom of the pond .

Frosty headed straight to the location of the Water Stones . After a while, we reached the bottom of the pond . The only way to go for us, was to turn left and follow the tunnel further . Frosty did just that, while I swam after it . The tentacle creatures were nowhere to be found at that moment, but I didn"t hope for them to not appear . I knew they could appear any second, the deeper we went .

We"ve been under water for about 2 minutes, and the Water Stones were still not in sight . After another minute, we arrived at a large opening of the tunnel, almost like an underwater cave . "So, this is where those tentacle creatures are" I thought . Frosty looked behind and pointed at a certain location . There were 2 blue stones, edged into the wall, where Frosty pointed . I knew I had very little time, so I swam there as fast as I could, in order to grab those stones .

I made some disturbance, but I didn"t care anymore . It was either, get them or leave . I arrived in front of the Water Stones and thought about depositing them in my Storage Feather . The stones disappeared, which was a sign of my feather collecting them . What appeared on the other hand, were the tentacle creatures, quite angry at that .

I quickly turned around and started swimming back . Frosty was already on its way back, so I didn"t have to worry about it getting left behind . The problem was me, not Frosty . I was not as fast in water, as I was on the ground . The tentacle creatures behind me gained on me pretty fast .

"If I just swim, I have no way of outspeeding them . I need to get faster!" I thought . It was easier said than done . As a human being, I was able to swim, but no matter how strong I was, a creature that was born in the water and was adapted to it 100 percent, was not something a land dwelling being could beat at swimming . I decided to give a certain idea a try .

"So far, I"ve been using my hands to swim, just like any other human being, but what if I use a skill?" I thought . At this stage, my air was almost gone, the pursuers were much faster than me and sometimes, my ideas might"ve been stupid, but usually saved my life . I turned around, to face the tentacle creatures, and used the Pressure Dagger skill, but without holding a dagger in my hands .

I punched, as if I would an enemy, with the real skill . Due to the friction of water, my muscles started to heat up rather quickly, but a miraculous thing occurred and I did speed up . Although I was happy at first, my face quickly lost that happy expression . The reason? One of the tentacle creatures became much faster . "It must be the leader… I"m in deep s.h.i.t, if it catches me" I thought and punched as much as I could .

The creature was getting closer but I also managed to punch my way to the bottom of the pond . My air was almost non-existent at that point, and only willpower kept me going . I had about 30 more seconds, until I reached the surface . But, the tentacle creature had different plans . It managed to catch up to me close enough, so that one of its tentacles caught my leg . "s.h.i.t!" I thought and punched the tentacle, but nothing happened .

I was in the water, so my strength was limited by a lot . The creature itself, was like rubber, punching it, didn"t produce much of a result . I tried swimming but the tentacle kept pulling me backwards . "This is bad . I have no way of using Yellow Dust here, my weapons are useless as well . My strength limited… How do I break free?" I thought . I then felt something moving on my arm . It was Frosty, who became a tattoo again . "It"s worth a try, I might as well try and freeze it" I thought and placed my right hand on the tentacle .

"FREEZE!" I screamed in my mind . I could feel extreme coldness seeping from my arm . The tentacle holding my leg, froze almost immediately . I was surprised by that myself, but I had no time anymore . My air was gone, the only thing I could do was swim . The tentacle broke off from my leg and I could hear a screech coming from the bottom, but I didn"t pay attention to it . My only goal, was to swim .

Before I reached the surface, my vision got darker and darker, until it went completely black . I lost consciousness, due to the lack of air . I don"t know what happened, in the time I pa.s.sed out, but when I woke up, I was outside the pond . I could hear Frosty"s cries, then a loud splash . When I finally woke up, I found myself laying on the ground, while the tentacle creatures emerged from the pond .

"Ugh" I picked myself up with a groan, grabbed Frosty and ran . I was already in weakened state due to the lack of air . My speed was of course affected, but I didn"t stop . The pursuers behind me, chased after us relentlessly . I headed toward the Valley entrance, in hopes to attract the attention of the Avians . Fortunately, the pond was not that far away from the Valley entrance .

The creatures behind me would use their tentacles to attack once in a while, when they got into the range . Thanks to my keen senses, I was able to avoid most of them . Some tentacles grazed me, but thanks to my new set of clothes, the damage was minimal . We finally arrived at the Valley entrance, and I screamed "HELP US!" at the swarm of Avians .

The Avians, fortunately saw my predicament, and loads of them flew over to help me immediately . When the creatures saw the amount of Avians flying towards them, they stopped and retreated . I could finally rest . I fell down on my a.s.s and breathed heavily . "This was close, really close" I thought . A few of the Avians landed in front of me, while others chased after the creatures . One of the Avians asked "What were those things?" . In between my breaths, I said "Those things… come from the pond… . in the Valley" . The Avian was visibly shocked, he said "We never saw those creatures . The pond you speak of, is known to us, but it never had any creatures . Why did they chase you?" .

I said slowly, while taking in breaths of air "It"s… because I wanted to explore… the pond… . I found them… at the bottom" . The Avian responded "We need to notify the King . Wait here, I will return with the King" . I nodded my head . I wasn"t about to go anywhere anyway . I was too exhausted to move .

After a while, the Avian I spoke with, returned with his King . She asked "How many of these creatures are there?" . I said "About 15 of them . Although, that is how many of them I saw" . She nodded and asked "How strong are they?" . I thought for a while and said "They are like rubber, physical attacks don"t seem to do much to them . You can either burn them down or freeze them, this seems to work as well" .

She asked "How can we burn them in water?" . I replied "Not in water, but on land . You can blow them up, with the Yellow Dust . I already killed one of them like that" . She nodded and asked another question "What type of number of them, would you say is there, in overall? I know you only saw 15, but you are not stupid . You could figure out the number of Corpse Dogs, so what estimate do you have for that creature?" .

"I have to admit, she isn"t stupid either . She knows, that I know much more, than I told her" I thought . It was true, I only saw 15 of them, but there was a 2nd tunnel in the large underwater cave . This could only mean, there must"ve been more of these creatures . The ones I ran away from, were only guards .

I looked her in the eyes and said "I know you helped me, but I want more herbs" . She didn"t seem surprised and said "I knew that already . I will provide you with some more . Now tell me" . I nodded my head and said "There was another tunnel . I have no way of knowing the exact size of that underwater maze, but if 15 of them were guards, my estimate is that there are around 800 to a 1000 of them . It of course depends on the size of those underwater tunnels" .

She seemed surprised and asked "That many?" . I said "Yes, that is my top estimate, my lowest would still be around 500-600 . 15 guards, including one Elite or Variant . There must be at least 500 of them" . She nodded her head and asked another question "What about threat? Is it big, just like the Corpse Dogs threat?" .

I thought about it and said "Bigger, if all of them invade . You would need a few Avians, just to kill one . Of course provided, you didn"t use the Yellow Dust . With the Yellow Dust, the threat is smaller . But you would still receive some damage" . She seemed shocked, while I continued "My sincere advice is, collect the Yellow Dust and store it . If they invade, you can just explode them . Also, make sure to protect some animals and plants, in order to rebuild the Valley in the future . With that many of them pouring out, you will have to destroy some of the Valley for sure" .

I could see fear in her eyes, when I finished speaking . After a while, she asked "Can you deal with them?" . I shook my head and said "No . They are underwater . I have no way of igniting the Yellow Dust . I also barely escaped with my life, I don"t want to return there" . She asked "What if, I have a proposal which will change your mind?" . "Hmmm? Interesting" I thought .We dived deeper, inside the pond . When I wasnt able to see anything, I closed my eyes . I focused and tried to awaken my Darkness Perception . After about 40 seconds, I opened my eyes and my vision awakened . I motioned to Frosty, for it to take the lead, and we dived deeper, towards the bottom of the pond . Frosty headed straight to the location of the Water Stones . After a while, we reached the bottom of the pond . The only way to go for us, was to turn left and follow the tunnel further . Frosty did just that, while I swam after it . The tentacle creatures were nowhere to be found at that moment, but I didnt hope for them to not appear . I knew they could appear any second, the deeper we went . Weve been under water for about 2 minutes, and the Water Stones were still not in sight . After another minute, we arrived at a large opening of the tunnel, almost like an underwater cave . So, this is where those tentacle creatures are I thought . Frosty looked behind and pointed at a certain location . There were 2 blue stones, edged into the wall, where Frosty pointed . I knew I had very little time, so I swam there as fast as I could, in order to grab those stones . I made some disturbance, but I didnt care anymore . It was either, get them or leave . I arrived in front of the Water Stones and thought about depositing them in my Storage Feather . The stones disappeared, which was a sign of my feather collecting them . What appeared on the other hand, were the tentacle creatures, quite angry at that . I quickly turned around and started swimming back . Frosty was already on its way back, so I didnt have to worry about it getting left behind . The problem was me, not Frosty . I was not as fast in water, as I was on the ground . The tentacle creatures behind me gained on me pretty fast . If I just swim, I have no way of outspeeding them . I need to get faster! I thought . It was easier said than done . As a human being, I was able to swim, but no matter how strong I was, a creature that was born in the water and was adapted to it 100 percent, was not something a land dwelling being could beat at swimming . I decided to give a certain idea a try . So far, Ive been using my hands to swim, just like any other human being, but what if I use a skill? I thought . At this stage, my air was almost gone, the pursuers were much faster than me and sometimes, my ideas mightve been stupid, but usually saved my life . I turned around, to face the tentacle creatures, and used the Pressure Dagger skill, but without holding a dagger in my hands . I punched, as if I would an enemy, with the real skill . Due to the friction of water, my muscles started to heat up rather quickly, but a miraculous thing occurred and I did speed up . Although I was happy at first, my face quickly lost that happy expression . The reason? One of the tentacle creatures became much faster . It must be the leader… Im in deep s.h.i.t, if it catches me I thought and punched as much as I could The creature was getting closer but I also managed to punch my way to the bottom of the pond . My air was almost non-existent at that point, and only willpower kept me going . I had about 30 more seconds, until I reached the surface . But, the tentacle creature had different plans . It managed to catch up to me close enough, so that one of its tentacles caught my leg . s.h.i.t! I thought and punched the tentacle, but nothing happened . I was in the water, so my strength was limited by a lot . The creature itself, was like rubber, punching it, didnt produce much of a result . I tried swimming but the tentacle kept pulling me backwards . This is bad . I have no way of using Yellow Dust here, my weapons are useless as well . My strength limited… How do I break free? I thought . I then felt something moving on my arm . It was Frosty, who became a tattoo again . Its worth a try, I might as well try and freeze it I thought and placed my right hand on the tentacle . FREEZE! I screamed in my mind . I could feel extreme coldness seeping from my arm . The tentacle holding my leg, froze almost immediately . I was surprised by that myself, but I had no time anymore . My air was gone, the only thing I could do was swim . The tentacle broke off from my leg and I could hear a screech coming from the bottom, but I didnt pay attention to it . My only goal, was to swim . Before I reached the surface, my vision got darker and darker, until it went completely black . I lost consciousness, due to the lack of air . I dont know what happened, in the time I pa.s.sed out, but when I woke up, I was outside the pond . I could hear Frostys cries, then a loud splash . When I finally woke up, I found myself laying on the ground, while the tentacle creatures emerged from the pond . Ugh I picked myself up with a groan, grabbed Frosty and ran . I was already in weakened state due to the lack of air . My speed was of course affected, but I didnt stop . The pursuers behind me, chased after us relentlessly . I headed toward the Valley entrance, in hopes to attract the attention of the Avians . Fortunately, the pond was not that far away from the Valley entrance . The creatures behind me would use their tentacles to attack once in a while, when they got into the range . Thanks to my keen senses, I was able to avoid most of them . Some tentacles grazed me, but thanks to my new set of clothes, the damage was minimal . We finally arrived at the Valley entrance, and I screamed HELP US! at the swarm of Avians . The Avians, fortunately saw my predicament, and loads of them flew over to help me immediately . When the creatures saw the amount of Avians flying towards them, they stopped and retreated . I could finally rest . I fell down on my a.s.s and breathed heavily . This was close, really close I thought . A few of the Avians landed in front of me, while others chased after the creatures . One of the Avians asked What were those things? . In between my breaths, I said Those things… come from the pond… . in the Valley . The Avian was visibly shocked, he said We never saw those creatures . The pond you speak of, is known to us, but it never had any creatures . Why did they chase you? . I said slowly, while taking in breaths of air Its… because I wanted to explore… the pond… . I found them… at the bottom . The Avian responded We need to notify the King . Wait here, I will return with the King . I nodded my head . I wasnt about to go anywhere anyway . I was too exhausted to move . After a while, the Avian I spoke with, returned with his King . She asked How many of these creatures are there? . I said About 15 of them . Although, that is how many of them I saw . She nodded and asked How strong are they? . I thought for a while and said They are like rubber, physical attacks dont seem to do much to them . You can either burn them down or freeze them, this seems to work as well . She asked How can we burn them in water? . I replied Not in water, but on land . You can blow them up, with the Yellow Dust . I already killed one of them like that . She nodded and asked another question What type of number of them, would you say is there, in overall? I know you only saw 15, but you are not stupid . You could figure out the number of Corpse Dogs, so what estimate do you have for that creature? . I have to admit, she isnt stupid either . She knows, that I know much more, than I told her I thought . It was true, I only saw 15 of them, but there was a 2nd tunnel in the large underwater cave . This could only mean, there mustve been more of these creatures . The ones I ran away from, were only guards . I looked her in the eyes and said I know you helped me, but I want more herbs . She didnt seem surprised and said I knew that already . I will provide you with some more . Now tell me . I nodded my head and said There was another tunnel . I have no way of knowing the exact size of that underwater maze, but if 15 of them were guards, my estimate is that there are around 800 to a 1000 of them . It of course depends on the size of those underwater tunnels . She seemed surprised and asked That many? . I said Yes, that is my top estimate, my lowest would still be around 500-600 . 15 guards, including one Elite or Variant . There must be at least 500 of them . She nodded her head and asked another question What about threat? Is it big, just like the Corpse Dogs threat? . I thought about it and said Bigger, if all of them invade . You would need a few Avians, just to kill one . Of course provided, you didnt use the Yellow Dust . With the Yellow Dust, the threat is smaller . But you would still receive some damage . She seemed shocked, while I continued My sincere advice is, collect the Yellow Dust and store it . If they invade, you can just explode them . Also, make sure to protect some animals and plants, in order to rebuild the Valley in the future . With that many of them pouring out, you will have to destroy some of the Valley for sure . I could see fear in her eyes, when I finished speaking . After a while, she asked Can you deal with them? . I shook my head and said No . They are underwater . I have no way of igniting the Yellow Dust . I also barely escaped with my life, I dont want to return there . She asked What if, I have a proposal which will change your mind? . Hmmm? Interesting I thought .