Eren stepped out of the giant Sea Serpent's body, his body covered in a stench of blood.
He did not clean himself as he understood that he was going to get bloody again. He still had to test his Aquatic Mastery after all.
Xiu Ying noticed that Eren looked quite pleased as he came out from the Sea Serpent. Before entering the serpent, he looked like he was a little stressed and worried about something.
Now, he looked like he had received the answer to the question that had been worrying him for a long time.
"Did something good happen?" she asked as she approached Eren with silent steps.
The sweet scent of Xiu Ying covered the stench of the blood.
"That is correct. I found a solution to a problem that had been troubling me for a long time," Eren answered, not hiding his happiness from Xiu Ying. "With this, everything is in place."
"All that's left is to hunt a Sea Dragon and then, the puzzle will be complete."
Eren was really close to his goal. He only needed to kill the Sea Dragon and use the Memory Fragment. With that, he was sure that he was going to get a lot of answers regarding his unknown past.
"Are we going to hunt one now?" Xiu Ying asked. She did not mind it.
The faster they could finish it, the faster she could help Eren get rid of his worries. After that, she could have him for herself.
"We will do it today, but not right now. For now, I want to test a skill and master it."
Eren told Xiu Ying to stay on the island and to hide if she came across anything dangerous.
He wanted to push his newfound abilities to the limit, to truly understand the extent of his Aquatic Mastery. As he swam, he could feel the water responding to his presence, as if it recognized him as one of its own.
Eren tested his ability to communicate underwater, speaking softly to convey his thoughts. To his surprise, his words carried through the water, reaching his own ears with clarity. It was as if the sea itself had become his medium of expression.
As he continued his underwater journey, he soon encountered a few small fishes that looked similar to piranhas. The fishes attacked him with their sharp fangs. But unlike before, he was able to fight back thanks to his new skill.
With a swing of his sword, he was able to kill these violent fishes. For a moment, he even thought about trying their hearts to see if he could get another ability, but he quickly dropped the thought.
He did not want to gather waste and weak bloodlines as he did not know how many slots the Devouring Skill actually had. No one knew how many bloodlines Devourer actually possessed.
Time seemed to lose its meaning as Eren explored the depths. He reveled in the freedom and tranquility that the underwater world offered him. It was a stark contrast to the chaos and uncertainty of his past.
Here, in the embrace of the sea, he felt a sense of belonging, a connection to something greater than himself.
"Is this Bloodline trying to affect me, just like the Devourer helped me eat without disgust? It can be quite dangerous to stay here for long..."
He stopped the thought of exploring further and turned around. He started swimming back to the Island where Xiu Ying was waiting for him.
Not far from the island, a young man with dragon-like horns was standing over water.
He had a frown on his face as he saw a Sea Serpent sitting on an island. Usually, the Serpents weren't known to come out of the water.
Suspicious, he approached the Island. While investigating, he could even gather the Sea Serpent's heart as finding these things was sometimes harder than killing them.
On the other side of the Island, Eren came out of the blood red water.