Chapter 151: Starfall Seeker

Gray didn’t know how long he’d been asleep. The gentle pulse of the Azure Coral Grotto wrapped around him like a warm current, and for the first time in days, his body felt truly at rest.

Then something bit his tentacle.

It was small, more of an insistent pinch than a real attack, but it was enough to pull him toward consciousness. He stirred, his bell contracting weakly, his thoughts still foggy with sleep.

Then he heard it.

"...Gray... Gray, wake up..."

The voice was faint, distant, like someone calling from the other side of a wall. He tried to focus on it, but his mind kept slipping back into the comfortable dark.

The bite came again, harder this time.

’...Who’s biting me...?’

He forced his awareness upward, clawing through the fog of sleep. His senses returned one by one, the cool water against his carapace, the soft glow of the moss beneath him, the steady pulse of the coral on the walls.

And then he heard the sound.

A low, rhythmic thrumming, like something vibrating through the water. And beneath it, a sharper sound, the crackle of mana against mana, the same sound Cindy’s barrier made when it took a hit.

Gray’s senses snapped to full alertness.

The grotto’s gentle glow was gone, replaced by the flickering silver light of Cindy’s barrier. Its surface rippled under a barrage of impacts, cracks spreading and sealing as she struggled to maintain it.

Cindy was hovering in front of him, her small axolotl body tense, her frills splayed wide, her silver eyes fixed on something beyond the barrier.

"Gray! You’re awake!" Her voice cracked with relief. "There’s an attack! Don’t move, I’ve got a barrier up!"

Gray pulled himself upright, his tentacles spreading instinctively.

’Where are they?’

"Right in front of you."

He looked, and beyond the barrier’s edge hovered five creatures shaped like five-pointed stars, their flat, angular bodies covered in a lattice of crystalline plates that pulsed with a faint, sickly green light, each with a single eye at its center that rotated slowly and independently, scanning the chamber.

As he watched, one of them spun forward and slammed a point against the barrier. The silver light rippled and cracked, and Cindy flinched, her mana flaring to seal the damage.

[STARFALL SEEKER — Level 34]

HP: 480 / 480

Count: 5

Threat Level: HIGH (In Formation)

« Analysis »

A territorial pack predator native to enclosed caverns and coral grottos. The Starfall Seeker’s star-shaped body allows it to attack from multiple angles simultaneously, and its five points can rotate independently to deliver slashing strikes. They are highly protective of their nesting grounds and will attack any intruder that enters their territory.

Behavior: Highly coordinated. The Seekers surround intruders and attack from all angles at once.

Weakness: The central eye is the only vulnerable point. Each point of the star is heavily armored, but the eye can be damaged with precise strikes.

Gray studied them for a moment, his blade-tentacles curling.

’They’re nesting here,’ he said. ’We’re in their home.’

Cindy’s frills lowered. "I know. I realized that when I saw them."

Gray didn’t answer right away. He watched the Seekers circle, their points rotating, their eyes fixed on him with cold patience. They weren’t going to leave and they were going to keep attacking until either he was dead or they were.

’How’s your mana?’ he asked.

"I have enough for a few more minutes of this. But not much more."

’Drop the barrier.’

Cindy turned toward him, her silver eyes wide.

"What? Gray, they’ll—"

’Drop it. I’ll handle them.’

Cindy hesitated for a moment. Then she let the barrier fall.

The Seekers surged forward instantly, their points rotating into slashing positions. Five star-shaped bodies shot toward Gray from five different angles, their crystalline edges gleaming.

Gray activated Current Dash and dissolved into the water, reforming directly above the cluster. He fired Needle Storm downward, the paralytic needles spreading in a wide arc.

[NEEDLE STORM — 168 DAMAGE]

[NEEDLE STORM — 162 DAMAGE]

[NEEDLE STORM — 158 DAMAGE]

[NEEDLE STORM — 164 DAMAGE]

[NEEDLE STORM — 170 DAMAGE]

[STARFALL SEEKER (1) — HP: 312 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (2) — HP: 318 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (3) — HP: 322 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (4) — HP: 316 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (5) — HP: 310 / 480]

[PARALYZE — RESISTED]

The Seekers convulsed but didn’t stop. Their formation broke apart, then reformed, tightening around him.

’Persistent.’

He fired Void Reaper’s Lance into the nearest Seeker, the void-edged spear punching through its central eye.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 228 DAMAGE]

[STARFALL SEEKER (1) — HP: 84 / 480]

[BLEED — 10 DAMAGE PER SECOND]

The creature shrieked, its star-shaped body spinning wildly. Gray didn’t let up. He fired again.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 224 DAMAGE]

[STARFALL SEEKER (1) — HP: 0 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER DEFEATED — 680 EXP]

The first Seeker dissolved, its crystalline plates scattering into the dark.

The remaining four tightened their formation, their eyes burning with fury. They attacked as one, their points slashing from every direction. Gray twisted through the gaps, Flow State bending the currents around him.

One point caught his carapace, cracking a plate.

[-82 HP]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1268 / 1350]

He ignored the pain and fired Needle Storm again, aiming for the cluster.

[NEEDLE STORM — 166 DAMAGE]

[NEEDLE STORM — 160 DAMAGE]

[NEEDLE STORM — 158 DAMAGE]

[NEEDLE STORM — 162 DAMAGE]

[STARFALL SEEKER (2) — HP: 152 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (3) — HP: 162 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (4) — HP: 154 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (5) — HP: 148 / 480]

Cindy’s voice rang out. "[Water Vortex]!"

A whirlpool formed around three of the Seekers, pulling them into a tight cluster. Their rotation slowed, their points tangling.

Gray fired Void Reaper’s Lance into the cluster.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 226 DAMAGE]

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 218 DAMAGE]

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 224 DAMAGE]

[STARFALL SEEKER (2) — HP: 0 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (3) — HP: 0 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER (4) — HP: 0 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER DEFEATED — 680 EXP]

[STARFALL SEEKER DEFEATED — 680 EXP]

[STARFALL SEEKER DEFEATED — 680 EXP]

Three Seekers dissolved at once, their plates scattering like shattered glass.

The last Seeker broke away, its single eye locking onto Cindy. It lunged toward her, its points rotating into a killing strike.

Cindy raised her hands, an Ice Wall forming just in time. The Seeker’s points shattered against the ice, and Gray was already there, Void Reaper’s Lance driving into its exposed eye.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 230 DAMAGE]

[STARFALL SEEKER (5) — HP: 0 / 480]

[STARFALL SEEKER DEFEATED — 680 EXP]