Chapter 14: 14. Fishman

14. Fishman

“Alex, are you alright?”

“Yesh, I’b fine!” I can’t articulate while ugly-crying. “I’b jush sho happy!” I can’t stop looking at the little girl’s face on my tummy mark. “She’s so beautiful!”

“You didn’t cry when you impregnated me…” Gabby sounds a bit dejected.

I pin the little Goblin to the sand, lift her robe, and kiss her belly. “I’m sorry! It just hits different when I can see her face. I promise I’ll love and cherish whatever comes out of you.”

It’s harder to get attached to something you can’t see. With Ariella’s daughter, I get a glimpse at what she’ll look like when she’s older! I assume, when the fetus develops, I’ll be able to monitor her growth with something like an ultrasound through my tummy tattoos.

When Gabby starts to show, I think it’ll feel more real to me that I’m a father too.

“Alright, alright. Let’s skip to the good part.”

*Breeder Marks - One!*

Paternal Malleability I (II - 3)

Paternal Customization (3)

Paternal Inheritance I

Paternal Seminal Control

Paternal Seminal Potency

Partner Tracker

Maternal Ovarian Control

Maternal Fetus Protection

Maternal Inheritance I

Maternal Fast-Gestation I

Maternal Mammary Control and Potency

Paternal options are grey, so I can’t use one for the other, huh?

Wait, Maternal has five options to Paternal’s four? Aren’t Maternal marks going to be much harder to come by? It’ll take me years to fill this list! And three of the Paternal options are basically funsies, while half the Maternal ones look critical. Super unfair! At least Mammary Control and Potency are rolled into one, compared to the Semanal equivalent. Not totally unfair, I guess.

My new motherly instincts are screaming for me to get Fetus Protection. I don’t know what it does, but it sounds important.

At the same time, Inheritance would give my daughter the best start in life, right?

I almost feel bad considering Mammary, Ovarian, or Fast-Gestation.

“Ovarian Control?” Gabby reads aloud. “Wouldn’t that let you decide whether and when you get pregnant?” Like birth control? Not that anyone in town practices that. It’s a forgotten science. “Also, couldn’t you eliminate your period with this?”

“Ack!!!”

Shit, if ancient human females were offered one supernatural ability, and you put this on the list, I’d bet money most of them would select it in a heartbeat. No more periods. No more worrying about some stupid wolf or ogre getting me pregnant. It’s so damn tempting!

“Alex, you don’t have to get Inheritance. You don’t even know if it will help this child or only your next. You don’t need Fetus Protection, either. I’ll stockpile food for the winter, and we’ll stay in the hut when our bellies start to swell. When the children come, you’ll watch them while I forage. Trust in me to protect our family. Get the mark you know you want.”

“Thanks, Gabby.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

*Selected Maternal Ovarian Control!*

It’s the option that best helps me accomplish my mission as a Tamer, from what I can tell. Inheritance next time, then Fetus Protection. I can chill for nine months and try again later, no problem. I even had this thought after getting my tummy tattoo from Ero-teme.

I’m eighteen. I have a whole career of Taming and Breeding ahead of me! Less worrying, more fun!

“Just a couple of pregnant girls walking along the beach.” My wife and I stroll together through the shallow waves. It’d be relaxing if not for the possibility of a monster crawling up through the depths to snatch us! I see the appeal for ancient humans, who supposedly enjoyed this as a pastime.

“Glad to see your mood has improved,” Gabby says.

Yep, no point in wondering where Ariella went. I’ll find her when I find her.

“Hold on,” I say as I strain my Harpy Sight to zoom in on a speck ahead.

A lumbering figure stumbles onto land. He’s bigger than a man with a huge head. Looking closer, I see fins and fish scales all over. He turns my way, revealing inhuman piscine features. I’d say he most resembles a reverse-Mermaid with a fish head and a humanoid lower body.

He wields a spear, which he uses to poke at clumps of seaweed and driftwood while foraging.

Sure am glad I didn’t get found by one of those last night!

“Fishman.”

“Second-tier Mermaid evolution,” Gabby relates as if summarizing an entry from the Book of Monsters. “Requires one impregnation, then… eating the pregnant woman and unborn child.”

A real monstrous monster, huh? One whose appearance comes to reflect their blackened heart when they evolve. I certainly don’t want to help Ariella in that direction…

“Let’s go the other way,” Gabby says.

“Y-yeah.”

I’m not ready to fight something like that.

“Heading the opposite direction from Harpy Mountain makes more sense to me anyway.” We need to travel several miles from where we started to throw the Dire Wolf off my trail.

The two of us retrace our steps before heading towards where Charlatan Forest dead-ends in a cliff overlooking the sea. There’s nothing but the sun and the surf out here, so time slips away until we stumble across another monster.

“There’s something…”

“What?”

“It’s squishy, blue, and lying on the beach.”

“Squishy?”

“Like jelly.”

“Hmm. Let’s risk it,” Gabby says.

It doesn’t move during the minutes it takes us to approach. Even when we come within feet of the figure lying prone on the wet sand, nothing happens.

“Ah, it’s a Jellyfish Slime.”

While the name conjures a less-than-flattering portrait, what I see before me stirs more than a little interest. A skirt-like jellyfish bell covers an enticing feminine rump while a hatlike bell conceals the woman’s face. She’s surrounded by limp tentacles like strips of fabric. Her flesh is semi-translucent and eminently squeezable.

My hand reaches for that blue, shapely, supple rear until Gabby smacks it aside.

“Don’t touch it! What part of ‘jellyfish’ or ‘slime’ made you think it was safe?”

I rub the back of my hand to soothe the stinging slap mark. “I can’t help it when I see a cute monster girl’s butt!”

“Mmmph?”

The Jellyfish Slime stirs.

We’re both instantly on our guard, but the enemy doesn’t lunge for me. Instead, she levitates into the air without her tendrils leaving the ground and slowly scans the area. She moves as if groggy from sleep.

“Hello?” I try to get her attention.

“Mmm…” Her head swings in my direction, but I can’t see her eyes beneath the hatlike bell from this angle. It’s not a coherent response. This feels more like trying to wake a sleepwalker.

“Don’t encourage it!” Gabby reaches for a pouch, then reconsiders and switches to another.

“Don’t hurt her,” I say. “She’s not hostile.” The looming Jellyfish Slime floats towards us at a snaillike pace.

“Not hostile?” Gabby seems affronted. “This isn’t an innocent monster like your little Mermaid. Base slimes are formless; they evolve by eating people.”

“What’s your name?” No response. “She doesn’t seem like she’s trying to hurt anyone.”

“Regardless, we need to get past this monster.”

Gabby is right; the Jellyfish Slime is uncomfortably close to the sea. Neither of us want to go deeper to get around her, and returning to dry sand this soon would defeat the purpose of my attempt at losing the Dire Wolf. We’re sandwiched between unknown threats.

I grab the Goblin’s hand before she throws something. “Let me try.”

While Gabby hesitates, she eventually stops resisting and allows me to take the lead. I smile at her as a reward for giving me a chance.

Summoning my will and Water Magic, I conjure a spray of liquid from my palm. I aim the stream and up the flow. My firehose keeps the Jellyfish Slime at bay without hurting her. Success! We’re able to slip by while the water pressure keeps the Slime from advancing on us.

She stops following us when we’re more than a few feet away and returns to napping on the sand.

The vibe I get from the Jellyfish Slime is totally unlike that of the Fishman. I don’t 100% buy the killer slime story. She’s definitely lacking a malicious aura. Maybe there’s more going on? I’ll have to try and find out later when I’m not such a vulnerable, squishy human.

“At least we found our second sea monster, right?” I say.

“Hmm,” Gabby considers. “That’s a bit iffy. I’d bet your marks would classify that monster as a Slime; not Seafolk. I’m not sure that’s good enough for the Triton requirements…”

Darn.

I’ll have to settle for having gotten to practice magic. I imagined I’d feel tired after, but no, even using a lot of Water Magic doesn’t slow me in the slightest. The flowrate wasn’t impressive, though. Not enough to stop a Dire Wolf or even a Fishman.

The two of us continue along the beach as the forest trees come into focus. Our beach trek dead-ends in jagged rocks at the bottom of the steep cliff overlooking the sea. However…

“Oh, an inlet,” Gabby says as we come upon a small stream leading inland.

“Should we follow it?” I ask. “This can’t be more dangerous than the beach, right?”

Gabby considers while adjusting her spectacles. “You need to return to the hut by a different route, anyway. We’ll retreat if necessary.”

We didn’t find Ariella… so, I guess this trip was kind of a bust.

The inlet cuts a path through stone parallel to the forest line. Overhangs give us some much-needed shade as we enter a narrow passage. The stream isn’t that deep, but I can’t see the bottom from the edge of our rocky walkway.

Sunlight filters in softly from above, and a pool of water throws ripples of light onto the walls of this cool grotto.

I see a small waterfall at the far end and make a connection. “Here’s where the brook empties into the sea!”

“Ah,” Gabby says, then frowns at the water cascading down the sheer rock. “This way appears impassible.”

Shrugging, I agree. “It’s back the way we came, then.”

As we turn to leave, I see some bubbles disturb the surface of the pool. I suppose the waterfall conceals the sound since Gabby’s ears don’t twitch. However, nothing more happens. I keep my breathing steady and don’t make any sudden moves.

It might’ve been my imagination or a fish.

Reentering the passage dims the waterfall’s din. Now, Gabby’s ears twitch, and her spine goes rigid. The little Goblin extends her arm to shield me.

“Footsteps.”

I strain my ears but get nothing. “What is it?”

“…Fishman.”

Leaning forward, I whisper into Gabby’s ear, “Let’s retreat into the grotto, and you hide. I’ll distract him, then you hit him with pepper spray, and we make a break for it.”

She grunts, not happy about my role, but unable to argue in the shadow of a Fishman. “Good plan.”

Gabby hides among the rocks while I take position on the path. It isn’t long before he rounds the corner. He’s big, bulky, and bald. An inadequate fin protrudes from between his shoulders and another at the base of his spine. His meaty arms clutch a long spear.

His dead, fishy black eyes find me kneeling on the ground. My gaze locks on his dangling rod that dwarfs my poor Goblin cock. Then I look up into his gaping piscine features and fake a smile.

“Hello!” Why be rude?

“Human… female.” He doesn’t sound terribly bright. In fact, his fish lips mangle the words into a rough mess.

“Yes, female!” I grab my tits and squeeze them enticingly. I have Gabby’s blanket covering my penis, in case he’s not into that. “Want blowjob?” I mime taking a shaft in my hands and sucking the tip.

His member stiffens at my amateurish seduction.

“Want… pussy.” He lumbers forward.

I do have that! And I’ve been trained to take all kinds of monster dickings to survive. If we do it from behind, he doesn’t have to see I have a cock.

The Fishman smells like low tide. I can almost feel his cold flesh draining the heat from the air and almost taste his abrasive, slimy scales. He towers above me.

My eyes fall on the erection before me, and I consider getting his mark before we make our escape. Then movement catches my attention. He’s raising the spear!

“Me… not picky. A corpse… is fine, too.”

“Alex!” Gabby shouts as she darts from cover, too late to stop the blow from falling.

A red pincer bursts from the water to grab the spear’s shaft mid-plunge. It’s a giant enemy crab!

“Second-tier Mermaid evolution?” Gabby mutters nearby. The two monsters are evenly matched in a tug of war until the Goblin reaches my side. “Close your eyes and hold your breath!” she says as she grabs a handful of powder from one of her pouches. “Pepper spray!”

Gabby the Goblin Apprentice hits the Fishman’s whole piscine face with a fistful of super-hot pepper flakes.

“Aaahhhrrrggg!”

The Fishman howls and clutches his bestial features while the giant crab snatches the spear from his grip and tosses it aside. To my shock, the Fishman instantly summons another spear to his hand from nothing. He retreats to block the passage while chaotically waving the weapon.

I look at Gabby and see the same thought process as mine running through her mind. The pepper spray won’t incapacitate him forever. We can’t sneak by him because of the narrow walkway. We can’t swim around him because of the giant crab.

I need to do something!

Casting my gaze to the ground, I scan the floor to find the first spear lying nearby. It didn’t vanish when he summoned the second!

*Selected Goblin Apprentice Fast Learner!*

This qualifies as an emergency!

I snatch the spear from the ground and turn to face the Fishman. He’s already recovering, his movements less frantic and more menacing by the second. Charging him with Wolf Rush activated, I’m there in a flash.

My spear thrust is as basic and direct as can be. He easily deflects my blow aside. Despite talking like an idiot, he’s a competent fighter.

At first, I don’t feel anything after my mark selection. Watching his motions, however, sets my mind afire. Massive amounts of information pour into my brain from moment to moment.

I copy his spear grip effortlessly. I notice inefficiencies in my stance and footwork. Ah, this is what a proper thrust looks like. Wait, I need to dodge! Wolf Rush!

I’m able to avoid the Fishman’s counterstrike by activating my ability. With Harpy Lightweight, I can flit about the battlefield with ease. It’s unfortunate the walkway is so narrow, or I’d have circled around to his blind spot and finished this already.

The crab, half emerged from the water, swipes at the Fishman. He blocks with his spear shaft, then threatens me with a blow from the butt when I lunge forward.

Hmm, the crab could’ve attacked me as the easier prey but is consistently targeting the Fishman. I think it’s on our side. Gabby can’t flank the Fishman because of the narrow walkway, so I’m glad to have an ally against an opponent with greater skill.

The Fishman grunts in frustration and cocks his arm back for a throw. Shit, with his ability to summon replacement spears, he can throw them at us with impunity! If he has the brain cells to aim at Gabby, I’ll have to shield her with my body… I’m in a tight spot here.

Right before he launches the spear as a projectile, another form bursts from the water.

“Ariella!” Red hair, aquamarine scales, and gossamer fins, it has to be her!

The Mermaid grabs the shaft at the apex of her breach! The Fishman and Ariella wrestle for control of the spear as the crab and I try to land a hit.

Another crab claw swipe forces the Fishman to dodge aside. I may not be an expert spear fighter, but I see his evasion coming a mile away and aim my jab at where he’s going to be. My spear tip draws blood from a shallow cut to his gut.

The Fishman, unprepared for pain and overconfident from a lifetime of bullying the weak, releases his spear to clutch at his wound. Ariella, armed with his spear, surges forward to drive the point through his gills with all her momentum and strength. He lurches, gurgles, and summons another spear to lash out in his death throes.

I won’t allow the bastard to harm her! Wolf Rush! I yank my spear from his gut and thrust its length into the Fishman’s gaping piscine mouth. The metal tip finds something vital in his throat because he vomits blood and croaks his last.

Ariella falls back into the water, dragging the spear with her, and the shaft’s withdrawal topples the Fishman into the stream. His floating corpse drifts downstream and out of the grotto.

I spit to rid myself of the flecks of his blood that landed in my mouth.

*Fishman Slayer – One Mer Mark!*

I feel the burning sensation of my tummy tattoos shifting to add this mark to my collection. I’m a little surprised because I thought my marks were exclusive to sex. Although, I suppose I haven’t done any killing until now.

Then a huge crab claw grabs me around the middle.