Chapter 122: Beyond the Circle

They moved through the pale stone ridges together, Gray’s serrated bell cutting a steady path while Cindy drifted beside him. She was slower than him, her small axolotl body still adjusting to movement in open water, but her silver glow was steady and her frills swayed with growing confidence.

’You’re keeping up better,’ Gray said.

"I’ve been practicing," Cindy replied. "This body is more capable than I expected."

Gray angled toward a cluster of dark rocks where he’d spotted movement earlier. A group of crabs scuttled across the seafloor, their shells a mottled purple-black, their claws tipped with something that glistened in the faint light.

[VENOM CLAW CRAB — Level 26]

HP: 280 / 280

Threat Level: MODERATE

« Analysis »

A territorial crustacean found in the lower Abyssal Veil. Its claws secrete a potent neurotoxin that causes paralysis and disorientation. The Venom Claw Crab is slow but highly aggressive, and its shell is thick enough to deflect most physical attacks.

Weakness: Vulnerable to ranged attacks and elemental damage.

’Venom Claw Crabs,’ Gray said. ’Their toxin is annoying. I’ll take the front two. Can you handle the third?’

Cindy studied the crabs with a mage’s eye. "I can do more than handle it."

’Oh?’

"Watch."

She drifted forward, her frills splaying wide. Silver light gathered around her small hands, glowing in slow layered waves. The nearest crab turned toward her, its claws raised, venom dripping from the tips.

Cindy raised one hand.

"[Spellbind]."

A thin ribbon of silver light shot from her fingertips and wrapped around the crab’s legs. The creature tried to scuttle forward, but the binding held firm, locking its joints together. It stumbled, its claws snapping uselessly at the empty water.

Gray watched her work, quietly impressed.

’You can bind them?’

"Third Circle magic," Cindy said, and there was a quiet pride in her voice. "It’s not as strong as my barriers, but it’s enough to slow them down."

Gray followed the bind before it could loosen. He fired Riptide Slash at the two crabs in front, the crescent blade slicing through their leg joints. Both stumbled, their shells cracking from the impact.

[RIPTIDE SLASH — 96 DAMAGE]

[RIPTIDE SLASH — 92 DAMAGE]

[VENOM CLAW CRAB (1) — HP: 184 / 280]

[VENOM CLAW CRAB (2) — HP: 188 / 280]

They recovered faster than he expected, their claws snapping toward him in unison. Gray pulsed backward, letting Flow State carry him out of reach, and fired Cavitation Pulse into the first crab’s cracked shell.

[CAVITATION PULSE — 118 DAMAGE]

[VENOM CLAW CRAB (1) — HP: 66 / 280]

The second crab lunged. Gray twisted, but a claw caught his bell margin, venom seeping into the shallow wound.

[-26 HP]

[PARALYSIS — 1 SECOND]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1014 / 1040]

His body locked for a split second. The crab raised its other claw for the killing blow—

"[Mana Bolt]!"

A sphere of silver light shot past Gray’s bell and struck the crab square in its face. The creature recoiled, its claw swinging wide.

[MANA BOLT — 74 DAMAGE]

[VENOM CLAW CRAB (2) — HP: 114 / 280]

Gray shook off the paralysis and finished the first crab with a point-blank Abyssal Lance.

[ABYSSAL LANCE — 158 DAMAGE]

[VENOM CLAW CRAB (1) DEFEATED — 320 EXP]

He turned to the second. Cindy had already bound it again, her Spellbind wrapping around its legs while she prepared another spell.

"Finish it, Gray!"

Cindy’s voice barely reached him before he struck.Overcharge detonated at point-blank range, the lightning arcing through the crab’s cracked shell and into its core.

[OVERCHARGE — 156 DAMAGE]

[VENOM CLAW CRAB (2) DEFEATED — 320 EXP]

The third crab was still struggling against Cindy’s binding, its claws snapping at nothing. Cindy hovered above it, her frills glowing with mana.

"I’ll finish this one myself," she said.

She raised both hands, and silver light gathered between her palms. It shaped itself into a spear, thin and sharp, pulsing with concentrated mana.

"[Spell Piercer]."

The spear shot downward and punched through the crab’s shell, cracking it open. The creature convulsed once, then went still.

[VENOM CLAW CRAB (3) DEFEATED — 320 EXP]

Gray drifted closer, studying the wound she’d left behind.

’You killed it in one hit.’

Cindy let the spell fade. "It’s nothing compared to what I used to do," she said, her voice softer now. "But it’s enough for enemies like this."

’Still, that was impressive,’ Gray said.

Cindy’s frills lifted slightly. "It was just Third Circle magic. Nothing special."

’Maybe. But it’s more than I can do.’ Gray paused, his serrated bell tilting toward her. ’By the way... do you feel anything different when you defeat an enemy?’

Cindy blinked, her silver eyes confused. "Feel anything? What do you mean?"

’Like... a change. Something shifting inside you.’

Cindy was quiet for a moment, checking herself the way she might have checked her mana back when she was human. Then she shook her head.

"No. I don’t feel anything like that. Why?"

’No reason,’ Gray said. ’Just making sure of something.’

"Making sure of what?"

Gray drifted forward, weaving between two pale stone spires before answering.

’I was curious whether you could evolve too. Or if that’s something only monsters can do.’

Cindy’s frills lowered thoughtfully.

"...Maybe I can," she said slowly. "Like I told you before, mages have studied monsters that evolve. They wrote entire treatises on it. But they never figured out exactly what triggers it. Some said it was mana, others said it was absorbing essence, some said it was a combination of both. Nothing was ever confirmed."

’So it’s still a mystery.’

"To humans, yes," Cindy said. "But you’ve been evolving since the moment I met you. You’re living proof that it’s possible. Maybe if I grow stronger, I’ll find the trigger myself."

Gray was quiet for a moment, his tentacles swaying with the current.

’Hmm. I see.’

"You sound disappointed," Cindy observed.

’Not disappointed,’ Gray said. ’Just thinking. If you can evolve, you’d grow faster. And we need all the strength we can get.’

Cindy’s voice softened.

"Then I’ll figure it out. For both our sakes."