The ship bounced across the ocean's surface, its crystalline prow smashing into waves as they pushed it harder, faster than it should have been safe to ride. And Kai, moving before he could think about what he was doing, leapt over the side into the crashing waves.
Three things hit him in quick succession.
First he felt the impact of the water's surface, then once he plunged underneath, the metal cable around his waist tugged him backward. The cable was all that kept him from being left behind, because they were still racing at top speed away from their pursuers. Not that there was any time to think about that: the third thing he felt after jumping off the side was the monster closing around him.
The monstrous eel that had been trying to drain the crystals on their hull now latched on to him. First coils that tried to drain his mana, then large teeth on his shoulder that tried to drain his blood. Behemoth's Heart was able to defend him from both, but underwater being pulled at high speed, he didn't have many good options.
Of course, Kai had kept Isulfr's Bite with him, just in case the monster was a real threat, but based on the strength of this one, that would be too easy a solution. Unless he improved his underwater combat, he'd have a serious problem when they ran into the larger threats.
For a start Kai headbutted the eel, but the motion was too slowed in the water. It slithered back, wrapping around his arm instead - which was a mistake. Kai unleashed Tyrant's Claw, chopping apart the eel without even needing to move his arm. Now he let his teeth snap out, consuming the pieces whole before they could be left behind.
Barely a meal... he needed to eat the four other eels that were now speeding toward him.
They were fast enough to race ahead of the ship, so being dragged behind it made him an easy target. Two of them moved to intercept while the other two circled around behind him. Kai tried to swing his hand forward and stop the attack before it started, but underwater Tyrant's Claw failed to make enough headway. Once it was slowed down, the eels easily slipped around it.
He managed to turn around, grabbing one of the eels before it could reach his back. The other three got through and struck as one. Their stingers managed to penetrate his skin and he immediately felt the poison injected into his body. It might have been lethal, if not for Behemoth's Heart and all the poisons he'd subjected his body to. Kai squeezed his hand, crushing one of the eels, but then another eel wrapped around his face.
Before that point, he'd been breathing using Sahagin's Lungs, one of his less powerful monstrous abilities. With his mouth completely covered, he might actually suffocate. Most likely he wouldn't get a chance, as all three eels were doing their best to drain him and gnawing on his neck.
Instead of ending it with a single bite, Kai struggled to grab them or at least land a blow. He was too sluggish in the water and the eels were damn fast, so he ended up flailing. What did he have left? Kai had kept an empty slot in his soul where his new Baleful Breath went, since he wasn't sure how well it would work underwater. In theory he could draw on one of the others... and all at once he had his solution.
Kai drew on Direurchin's Spikes and tried to manifest them. He couldn't change his body that quickly, but spikes of mana emerged from his back and neck. All three of the eels were partially speared by the mana and Kai made quick work of them after that.
Since the threat had passed, Kai relaxed and let himself be dragged by the cable while he chewed over the eels. His sense for aquatic monsters was still being refined, but as soon as he got a taste everything always became clear.
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Monster: Necrotic Eel
The eels had only been Gamma-ranked threats, but eating five of them was enough that he retained their essence in his soul. They might even be the piece he needed, though he'd been disappointed before. Since the ocean concealed many threats and they might have to fight the cultivators over water, he wanted to consume enough to be effective underwater.
That was trickier than it seemed, because aside from Monstrous Hunger, he could only maintain five monstrous abilities at once. Despite all his advancements, new slots in his soul appeared to be one of the most challenging to acquire. He didn't want to give up Behemoth's Heart, and Direboar's Strength was the only way he could effectively swim at such speeds, so that was already two down. He needed Sahagin's Lungs to breathe underwater, which forced him to temporarily give up Isulfr's Bite to have one free slot. Today it had been Direurchin's Spikes, and that had worked well enough, but he needed something better.
Ideally, he wanted to be able to merge all his aquatic abilities into one, which he could keep for the appropriate time. He was still figuring out the details of his powers, though, and strong underwater monsters didn't show up every day, so he was reluctant to begin feeding them to one another. Then again, there was no path to mastery but experimentation...
Their ship turned sharply and Kai's momentum kept him swinging out to the side before being tugged after it. The movement took him closer to a school of shimmering fish, glowing with their own mana lights. They seemed to be just animals, not monsters, because he saw little with his spiritual senses.
Still, they were about the size of his torso, so they were a good target. Kai put all his strength into a flutter kick, pushing him briefly to the side. Before he was pulled back, he thrust out with a Tyrant's Claw and speared three of the fish. At point blank range it was enough to impale them, and he managed to curl the technique around them so they wouldn't be pulled away.
Now that he had dinner for everyone, Kai grabbed the cable dragging him and began working his way up. With only one hand it was a bit of a struggle, fighting against the currents caused by their speed to climb back toward the deck.
When his head broke the water he took a deep breath, an instinct that had never gone away despite being able to breathe underwater. Once Kai got out of the current he let himself breathe a sigh of relief: his defenses might make the rushing currents harmless, but he always forgot how much they battered him until he got back out.
He heaved himself over the side of their ship and deposited the dead fish there, then untied the cable from his waist. In the process he checked the mechanism extremely carefully, just in case it showed any damage or wear. Ostensibly it was used to dredge up things much heavier than him, but he wasn't going to take the risk of something breaking and him being left behind.
His mind returned to the cultivators, as it so often did. Even when he strained his eyes - which were substantially enhanced at D-rank Physique - he couldn't see any sign of them. Zae Zin Nim claimed that they were still in pursuit, though, so they couldn't relax.
"The ship's running better now that the eels aren't latched onto the crystals." Omilaena stood at the front of the ship, still wearing one of her fancy dresses despite the circumstances. She glanced over her shoulder at the dead fish. "That's lunch, I assume?"
"I already ate," Kai said. "Want me to cook them?"
"I'll handle it. Take over here."
A large disc embedded with crystals was built into the front of their ship. It could be used to steer, but more importantly it allowed someone to flood the engine with their own power. When Omilaena let go, their speed began to drop rapidly, so Kai hastened to grab it and began feeding his own qi into the engine.
"Where's Zae Zin Nim?" he asked.
"Cultivating inside, where else?" Omilaena rolled a glimmer of metal across her fingers and it became a needle much larger than the usual, which she used to spear through the fish like a spit. As she spoke, she lit an alchemical flame in the hardened pit to cook them. "We really need to have her take more turns. I have chakra to spare, and you seem to be able to go all day, but she needs to pull her weight."
"Isn't that what she's trying to do? Those Earth Soul cultivators will be a big problem if they catch us, but if she manages to break through to the same stage..."
"I'm telling you, we aren't going to fight them now. Unless we screw this up, we can reach Rosemount and give them the slip."
"I guess I need to ask about that." Kai was gripping the wheel and driving them forward, but he had no idea where they were going. Nothing but ocean in all directions. "I felt you pivot earlier. That makes our heading... north? Isn't there nothing much to the north but ocean?"
"Oh, it's a very specific part of the ocean." Omilaena gave him a self-satisfied grin. "The easy part of the trip is over. We're headed straight for the Blood Current."