Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 164: Power Leveling (4)

Thalion stood before a crowd of over eighteen thousand people, regretting his decision but knowing it had to be done before they moved on to the higher stages. One thought nagged at him—the vinehorses wouldn’t be able to follow them. Maybe he should’ve thought this through more carefully, but it was too late now.

"Alright, listen up," Thalion's voice boomed, amplified by mana. "I have only a few things to say, but they’re important. Make sure everyone who couldn’t be here today hears this."

The crowd's murmurs faded, their attention sharpening.

"First, we’ll be teleporting to the fourth stage in thirteen days. If things are bad on the fourth stage, we’ll move straight to the fifth. Here's the harsh truth—if you don’t have two hundred thousand credits by then, you’ll be left behind and end up as food for the undead."

A ripple of nervous murmurs swept through the crowd.

"Next, gather as many materials as you can. We won’t have much time for that in the higher stages." Thalion's gaze shifted toward the newcomers. "For those who just joined us, I wish you the best of luck. I’ll leave a few skyships behind so you can continue living as safely as possible."

He paused, letting that sink in. "And one last thing—leave the vinehorses alone. They’ve joined us in the fight against the undead, so treat them with respect. Any aggression toward them will be punished severely."

With that, Thalion concluded, "Good luck leveling."

The crowd erupted into applause as he turned toward the portal. They seemed particularly pleased about the resources left for the newcomers, but Thalion didn’t dwell on it. His mind was set. He had an ocean to conquer and beasts to slaughter.

The ocean held countless opportunities to power up, and Thalion knew he’d face Kael and the others before the tutorial ended. This time, he would cut off those loose ends. No one could know about the Sanguine Thorn inside his body. Once the tutorial ended and Kael or one of his former friends was still alive, even the gods would learn of it, and that knowledge could spread.

Right now, memories were wiped after every encounter with a god-blessed being, with only basic information retained, like the current special quests. That would change after the tutorial, and Thalion had no intention of appearing on any divine radar—especially given his dealings with the outsider.

Perhaps he’d even hunt Kael and the others down personally. If fate led them to meet in one of the catacombs, their lives would end there.

Since their last encounter, Thalion had grown significantly stronger, and three key power-ups loomed on the horizon: his current power-leveling spree, the rapidly evolving darkness elemental, and thousands of liters of empowered blood waiting in his basement. Plus, there were the vampires he planned to feast upon during the fourth and fifth stages.

The Sanguine Thorn was already incredibly powerful, easily ten times stronger than when he fought alongside Kael against the orcs. Thalion felt confident he could now defeat Kael, Kai, and Sylas in a fight.

But his pulse quickened with hatred as he thought about his former comrades. Calm down, he reminded himself. Maybe they’ve had big power-ups too. It could be harder than anticipated.

No matter. The time for thinking was over. It was time for killing.

Thalion stepped through the portal and emerged on the skyship hovering above the ocean. The black water shimmered under the moonlight. With a nod to the captain, he leaped overboard, plunging into the depths below.

He shifted into the tidecaller serpent and began descending. The water was eerily calm, with only the moon's reflection shimmering on the surface. Midnight hung heavy over the ocean, and the absence of life was unsettling.

Most shapeshifters and water mages had already returned to the base, either body-tempering or engaging in idle chatter. Unlike them, Thalion could stay awake for weeks without feeling tired.

As he descended further, he noticed something strange: the beasts were clustered around the reef, hiding. The open water was barren.

Back on Earth, beasts typically hid at depths of two to four hundred meters, only surfacing at night to hunt. Was it the same here? Were the true powerhouses of the ocean out for blood tonight?

But that would mean they’d left their crystals unguarded, and Thalion doubted that was a risk worth taking.

So why was the ocean, normally brimming with life, so silent?

Perhaps it was some lingering instinct from Earth—the primal memory that night was dangerous. But that didn’t make sense. Thalion could see perfectly well in the darkness, and so should the other beasts here.

He continued his slow descent, deliberately avoiding sudden movements. Speed would only attract predators, and he preferred to be the one doing the ambushing.

Thalion's passive skill worked well, and it didn’t take long for him to spot his first target without getting detacted. In the distance a tiny fish swarmed around a creature that looked like a salamander, though it was hard to tell from this far away. What stood out was the fact that all the tiny fish had to be E-grade, an unusual sight in this region. The salamander, likely E-grade as well, confirmed Thalion's earlier theory: stronger beasts emerged during the night. The salamander disapeard pretty quickly as the tiny fish devoured it in seconds.

The swarm was massive, perhaps with a radius of two hundred meters, though the distance made it hard to judge accurately. Thalion was still six hundred meters away when he spotted something rising from the depths. A much larger school of fish, sleek and powerful, resembling mutated tuna with a palpable aura of strength.

Panic rippled through the tiny fish as they clumped together into a tight, rapidly rotating bait ball—a defensive maneuver Thalion had seen sardines use back on Earth. It rarely worked for long. More predators would inevitably arrive until the tiny fish had no escape.

The larger fish circled below, cutting off all escape routes. Then one struck, launching itself with breathtaking speed at the edge of the bait ball. Thalion observed closely, recalling footage from Earth where similar tactics had been filmed. The key difference here? The tiny fish bit back.

Even as one or two were swallowed whole, others darted at the attacking tuna, sinking their sharp teeth into it. The mutated tuna lost its tail, then its entire body, consumed in moments before the tiny fish re-formed their defensive ball.

Undeterred, the larger fish launched attack after attack, striking in rapid succession. The tiny fish struggled to retaliate and were quickly overwhelmed. Thalion watched as the bait ball was devoured, the last shimmering bodies disappearing into gaping mouths.

Then something unexpected happened—the mutated tuna formed their own bait ball.

Strange, Thalion thought. Why don’t they just retreat to the depths?

His question was answered when a giant squid materialized out of the darkness, tentacles snapping around one of the tuna and dragging it down. More squids emerged, their shifting colors making them difficult to spot until they were right on top of their prey.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

There were at least a hundred of them.

Thalion's eyes gleamed with bloodlust. Squids were the easiest prey, and he rarely had to worry about them—Tsunami Breaker would tear them to pieces if things got serious.

He sped up, descending swiftly to attack from below. His passive skill kept him undetected as he closed in on a group of squids. With a sudden burst of energy, he activated Tsunami Breaker, shredding ten squids in an instant.

Chunks of flesh and ink clouded the water as Thalion followed up with an Aqua Lance, piercing through three more squids. The remaining squids tried to retaliate, but Thalion was too fast, darting through the chaos as lance after lance tore their bodies apart.

Those near the bait ball were distracted, still feeding on the mutated tuna, which seemed to lack any means of defense.

Easy pickings, Thalion thought, slicing through another squid.

A second Tsunami Breaker obliterated several more as they ventured too close. Against him, they had no chance. Their tentacles flailed in desperation, but Thalion's water shield deflected the few attacks that came close to threatening him.

Some squids managed to vanish into the depths, but most perished under his relentless assault. Blood and dismembered tentacles floated everywhere.

With the giant squids gone, the remaining tuna dispersed into the depths. Thalion pursued, firing occasional Aqua Lances that struck down multiple fish.

Then something massive appeared in the distance, and Thalion halted his pursuit.

Right... the blood. He had known it would attract predators, but he hadn’t expected anything this large.

A colossal white shark loomed from the darkness, flanked by a swarm of bull sharks. Calling them "small" felt wrong—each measured around ten meters long—but they were dwarfed by the great white, which was the size of a blue whale.

Definitely one of the beasts guarding a giant crystal, Thalion thought grimly.

The mutated tuna tried to turn, but the bull sharks were incredibly fast. In moments, the entire school was gone, devoured.

Thalion had already begun retreating, relying on his passive skill to slip away unnoticed.

To his disappointment, the great white's eyes were locked solely on him.

Of course, Thalion thought bitterly. No easy way out, huh?

What was the best move now? Fight—or flee?

Before Thalion had time to form a plan, the great white shark attacked. Propelled forward with astonishing speed, its black eyes gleamed like the abyss. Thalion decided to handle it the way he had dealt with most sharks—blasting it with an Aqua Lance. If the beast wanted a direct confrontation, it would have to swim straight into his attack, or Thalion could use the moment to escape.

Taking his time, he empowered the Aqua Lance fully, ensuring the blast would be devastating. A jet stream of water erupted from his mouth, surpassing anything he’d unleashed before. It struck the shark square on the nose, penetrating at least a meter deep.

Pushing his body to the limit, Thalion swerved sharply to the side, narrowly evading the charging beast. He had always believed the nose was a shark's weak point, but this one hardly seemed to notice the wound. Blood streamed from the injury, staining the water behind it—a clear sign the attack had done something, though not enough to be fatal.

Guess I’ll have to try again, Thalion thought grimly.

He unleashed a second empowered Aqua Lance, aiming at the exact same spot. The shark shuddered, slowing momentarily before accelerating once more, faster than ever. Thalion prepared to fire a third shot, but the first of the bull sharks caught up to him.

Forced to deal with the smaller threats, he activated Tsunami Breaker, ripping through the closest sharks as he sped away. He veered to the side, forcing the white shark to plow through the bull sharks. But the bull sharks weren’t foolish. They broke off their pursuit, allowing the accelerating predator to pass through unhindered.

Thalion was faster at gaining speed, but when it came to top speed, the great white was the clear winner. He had to adapt. Sharply turning left and right, he slowed the shark down while creating opportunities to fire Aqua Lances. The water pulsed with each blast, and though the shark bled heavily, it refused to relent.

Thalion could only hope no new beasts were drawn to the chaos, though with all the blood in the water, that seemed unlikely. As long as nothing stronger showed up, he could manage. If a true powerhouse appeared, he would retreat and return when the "bigshots" had reclaimed their crystals.

The battle dragged on far longer than he had anticipated. When the level 84 beast finally succumbed, the water was littered with torn bodies and blood. Every bull shark had fallen to his Tsunami Breaker, used liberally throughout the fight.

The great white had to be a high variant, but when Thalion checked the skills it dropped, there was nothing. Strange—but then, the shark hadn’t used any abilities during the fight.

He examined some of the more intact bull sharks, but they only had basic biting skills.

Time to get out of here, Thalion thought, already spotting movement in the depths.

He could only hope it was a squid, something he could easily destroy, and not another nightmare like the great white. A beast with powerful skills would be real trouble.

Keeping his movements minimal, he drifted slowly to the side. Suddenly, a giant jellyfish rose from the depths, its translucent form gleaming faintly as it began gobbling up the dead sharks Thalion hadn’t collected in his spatial ring. Its umbrella was massive, easily twenty meters across, with incredibly long tentacles stretching into the abyss.

Thankfully, it hadn’t noticed him—yet.

The good news? One or two attacks should be enough to kill it. The bad news? A single sting from those venomous tentacles could dissolve his body in seconds. Even his insane recovery rate wouldn’t save him.

Thalion remembered his previous battle against the jellyfish in the sky. This one was far stronger.

What’s the best move? he wondered. Tsunami Breaker might fail to kill it from this distance, and Aqua Lance was risky since he didn’t know where to hit for a one-shot kill. If he messed up, he’d have to flee and he wasn’t confident he could outrun that monstrosity.

The jellyfish drifted closer, tentacles waving hypnotically through the water. Thalion stopped drifting, hiding behind a slowly sinking bull shark corpse. Playing dead was his best option for now.

The jellyfish’s paper-thin tentacle wrapped around the bull shark, drawing it upward.

Now or never, Thalion thought.

He activated Tsunami Breaker, channeling every ounce of power into the skill. The shockwave obliterated eighty percent of the jellyfish’s umbrella in a single devastating blast. Moments later, the kill notification appeared.

The experience gain was insane, pushing Thalion to level 54.

If this keeps up, I might gain ten levels in the first week, he thought excitedly.