Marisol didn't need telling twice.

With a sharp twirl, she started skating back the way she came, hurtling down a particularly long root as the crab-headed men screeched behind her.

She refused to turn around and look, but the rustling of the gargantuan forest behind her told her the men were pursuing.

Blackclaw Marauders? She chewed her lip as she skated down a root and launched into the air for a brief moment, landing on another root. You know those people, then? What's up with their heads? Freaky!

[In the western seas, marauders rule in the straits where the Harbor Guards and Imperators from the Whirlpool City cannot defend,] the Archive explained calmly. [Think of them as bandits of the sea. Like many bandit fleets on the mainland continent, these marauders regularly consume crustaceans and biologically strengthen themselves. Now, since most of them did not obtain their systems until quite late into their 'careers', the bioarcanic essence they consumed was not controlled and steadily distributed across their body. Thus, even though they have systems now, their bodies have long since mutated wildly, which is why they remain… disfigured like that.]

You mean if I'd eaten the fairy shrimp's meat without having you in my neck, I'd have mutated random fairy shrimp traits on my body?

[Possibly. And it is important to note that any mutations and enhanced attribute levels you obtain cannot be removed. Humanity does not currently have the bioarcanic medical knowledge to safely make someone weaker by removing their mutations.]

Must suck to be them.

[The Blackclaw Marauders are a relatively new organization, and they may not be powerful enough to truly be considered an infamous bandit fleet, but they are, nevertheless, amongst the many known bandit organizations in the Hasharana's database,] the Archive said plainly. [They do not have an established outpost. We believe they drift around solely on their ships, making it difficult for the Hasharana stationed in this region to track them down and eliminate them. However, it is rumored that wherever they settle down for repairs, they always make sure to choose a location with plenty of crabs for them to chew on. Suffice it to say, they probably eat more crabs in a single month than most men ever do in their entire lives, so I would not exactly say their lives suck.]

Right as she slid off a root and prepared to jump onto another one, she heard a rustle in the shrubs next to her. She turned. A pair of bright orange pincers snapped at her neck, forcing her to jerk her head so far back that she almost lost her balance. She managed to keep skating along the forest, though, and the crab-headed marauder cursed in his foreign tongue.

If she'd been a fraction of a second slower, her head would've been snipped off already.

They're fast! And strong!

[Indeed. And the Blackclaw Marauders are known to be particularly cruel and vindictive during their pillages as well. If they catch you, they will probably enslave you in their galleys, and you will never see the light of day again,] the Archive said. [That is, if they do not simply pluck off your limbs and decide to turn you into bait for catching more crabs. That is also very much a possibility.]

Her heart hammered in her ears as she kept her eyes focused on the roots ahead, trying to map out her escape route before she was skating on top of it. There were around twenty marauders at the outpost, so if all twenty were chasing her right now, and she was trying to run on their home turf…

[... Do not tell me you are getting cold feet about going to the Whirlpool City, now.]

[Did you not slay the fairy shrimp with a less than five percent chance of success?]

…

She gnashed her teeth together and forced out a grin, glancing behind her to count the number of vaguely humanoid shadows charging through the forest. Thank the Great Makers their chitin were bright orange and their throats were loud like barbarians. She could hear them screaming and shouting curses from half the forest away, and were it not for that, she wouldn't be able to tell where they all were.

On water, she didn't think she'd lose in a battle of speed, but on land? She was more than happy to see just how fast she could glide.

I don't suppose I can beat them, right? I mean, I've never been in a human to human fight before!

[Even if you knew how to fight, I would not recommend going up against twenty F-Rank Giant-Class marauders with superior battle experience and weaponry. Please just run.]

Where? Is there anywhere I can–

[This appears to be a rather large landmass. Skate west and begin ascending a series of small hills. There is a cliff overlooking the entire landmass next to a waterfall—you can lose them there.]

She'd just have to take the Archive's word for it. Eyes flickering across the roots, she eventually found one that seemed like it'd bring her west, so now she put in all her effort as she felt herself moving up—actively swinging her arms, controlling her breaths, picking up her skating rhythm. She could actually see the top of the cliff peeking through the canopy fifty meters overhead, and to her relief, she also heard the roar of the waterfall slamming into a basin close by. All she had to do was get up to the very top of the cliff.

Easier said than done, of course.

Without warning, the moment she started routing through the forest and skating up a steep slope, the marauders fired. The projectiles weren't like the bullets fired from the Rampaging Hinterland Front's rifles, nor like the mortars the Attini Empire's Forward Armies used. One of them grazed her ear right as she made a sharp turn, and she winced without touching her wound. She'd lose her momentum otherwise.

Besides, she saw the fizzle of steam where the projectile slammed into a nearby bark.

They were shooting 'blood' at her.

Whoa!

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Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey—

[The Blackclaw Marauders have Lightfoot Crab Classes—also known as the 'Red Rock Crab', one of the more common species of crab in the western seas,] the Archive explained, plucking the question out of her mind. [Most adult crabs of the species are mottled or spotted brown, pink, or yellow, and their Art is 'Aqua Volley'. It allows them to spit high-pressure streams of blood in response to external threats. Now, if a little lightfoot crab spat seawater at you, it would not really hurt. When you scale a lightfoot crab up to the shape and size of a human, do a little bioarcanic modification, and then have them spit their own highly dense blood instead of seawater, though… The result has far more punch than normal seawater—]

If I get hit once, I'll die?

[Perhaps. Or perhaps not.]

How useful you are, she mumbled in her thoughts. Should I use my points to increase my speed? Or my strength? Or maybe—

[Please refrain,] the Archive interrupted, [Regarding your points, I have a proposal to make once you reach the top of the cliff.]

'It better be worth dying for' was what she wanted to say, but the Archive probably heard her thoughts anyway. If the Archive had a better use for sixty whole points, then she'd put her trust in it for just a little while longer. She narrowly dodged streams of blood, leaped over more chasms, and skated like the desperate, flailing girl-out-of-water that she was.

Eventually, she skated out of the woods and emerged onto the top of the cliff overlooking the entire rest of the island.

For a moment, she lost herself in the breathtaking sight. So high up above the sea, the air was fresh with the scent of herbs and mint, salt in the winds. The island was more 'round' than she'd expected. Without clouds above, the pure blue sky really was something to marvel at as well—and then the Archive snapped at her to focus, dragging her back down to cruel, uninviting reality.

[See that small boulder next to the waterfall? Pick it up, throw it off the edge, and then climb down the cliff on one of the vines.]

… Oh!

She understood immediately. Before any of the marauders could burst out of the forest and corner her at the edge of the cliff, she picked up the small boulder—it was surprisingly light with her enhanced strength—and immediately tossed it over the edge. She'd like to watch the boulder plummet the horrifying sixty meters down to the large basin below, but she had no time to spare. She heard the first marauders screaming through the forest and grabbed onto a few vines, sliding herself right off the edge of the cliff.

She started falling.

Then her vines snapped taut and she stopped falling, slamming back into the cliffside.

Dangling next to the roaring waterfall, she held onto her vines like her life depended on it. Freezing water sprayed into her face and made it difficult to breathe, so she gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, praying the marauders would overlook her.

J-Just hold on a bit longer!

Brave the cold!

A second later, she heard the massive plop of the boulder hitting the basin below her. A second after that, the sounds of disgruntled chatter from the marauders washed over her. Brain freezing, hands slipping, she continued gritting her teeth and counting the seconds as they passed by—one by one by one until she heard the marauders cursing out loud, racing back into the forest in an attempt to catch her at the bottom at the cliff.

She'd done it.

She'd made them believe she'd jumped down the waterfall.

Y-you're a genius, Archive!

N-now I just h-have to climb back up—

[I detect a hollow space behind the waterfall,] the Archive interrupted. [Deposit fifty points and unlock the tier two mutation named 'Basic Hydrospines'.]

Her eyes were still squeezed shut and her teeth were still chattering from the sheer cold and weight of the waterfall. She couldn't afford to look at her status screen and see what the Archive was talking about.

W-What do you mean? I—

[—just tell me to do it—]

Deposit fifty points and unlock 'Basic Hydrospines'!

And it took a while after that, but, over the course of what felt like three or five, or even ten minutes, it was like someone had thrown a blanket over her to protect her from the waterfall.

Her skin felt warmer.

Dryer.

She gradually peeled her eyelids open and saw 'magic' before her eyes—the sprays of water that'd been pummeling her body were now bouncing away from her, like she was being surrounded by an invisible barrier of wind.

A status screen popped up next to her head as she wiped water from her face, gasping hard for breath.

[T2 Core Mutation Unlocked: Basic Hydrospines Lvl. 1]

[Brief Description: You have grown microscopic spines that you can vibrate to create an extremely thin hydrophobic barrier across your skin. Your entire body can now repel water slightly. Subsequent levels in this mutation will decrease the stamina drain from vibrating your spines]

[Aura: 513 → 563]

[Points: 61 → 11]

… Whoa.

Can I really—

[Yep.]

[Try shoving your arm through the waterfall.]

Clenching her jaw, she reached an arm through the waterfall, and she watched with wide eyes as she parted the falling curtain of water.

All she had to do was focus on vibrating little 'hydrospines' across her skin, and she could repel water.

[As mentioned on the status screen, subsequent levels in this mutation will lower the stamina drain whenever you are vibrating your hydrospines. The maximum level of all mutations is level ten, and remember: every five levels, you will be able to choose from one of three branch mutations to further upgrade its effects. The options I offer depend on your physiology and idiosyncratic preferences as I synchronise with you more and more, so the options will always be equally useful to you,] the Archive added. [Now, the point cost of increasing a mutation's level is its current level cubed multiplied by its tier. Because 'Basic Hydrospines' is a tier two mutation currently at level one, it would cost—]

One times one times one times two equals… two!

[Correct. So you can actually upgrade this mutation once now.]

Do that for me!

[Basic Hydrospines Lvl. 1 → Basic Hydrospines Lvl. 2]

[Aura: 563 → 565]

[Points: 11 → 9]

Grinning weakly, she felt around the back of the waterfall until she felt dry air behind it. There really was a hidden cave of sorts, so she kicked the cliff, gathered some momentum, and then swung right through the waterfall.

Her hydrospines weren't one hundred percent water-repelling, so the waterfall still smacked her face as she swung through, but… she landed hard on her back. She'd done it. She was in the hidden cave.

She let go of the vines and lay sprawled out inside the cave, panting for breath.

For a brief few seconds, she thought she was in one of those fairy tales her mama used to read to her in bed. It really was quite magical seeing sunlight refracting through the waterfall. It cascaded in glimmering sheens of golden-orange light, illuminating only the mouth of the cave. Slowly, she panned her head to the side and saw the cave seemed to lead somewhere deeper, somewhere darker. Frankly, though, she couldn't care any less about where it led.

Her stomach was growling.

Her throat was parched.

And most important of all, she still hadn't gotten a good night's rest since integrating with the Archive.

[Objective #3 Completed: Run from the Blackclaw Marauders before they turn you into crab bait]

[Reward: Survival]

… Nope, she thought, shaking her head softly. Can't walk anymore. Can't think… anymore. Need to lay down. It's safe to rest here… right?

[I believe so,] the Archive said, and she let out a huge sigh of relief hearing it say that. [I hope you do not roll in your sleep. Three rolls to your left and you will fall out of the cave and down into the basin. Perhaps you should move a little bit deeper into the cave.]

Right… I'll do just that—

She jolted when she heard legs skittering from the dark, unlit end of the cave, and somehow managed to find the strength to sit up straight.

Squinting at it now, there was nothing moving at that end of the cave, but she swore she heard something skittering past like crab legs.

Goddamnit.

What is it now?

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