I'm a Stingray?

Chapter 2: Enemy

"System, I've been waiting for an hour now! Where the hell are those crabs?" Tim let out yet another complaint. But at least his behaviour can be acceptable now, it wasn't easy to wait so long for food while being dangerously hungry.

[You've been waiting for 37 minutes, guests aren't supposed to lie]

[You should continue waiting, crustaceans will eventually come here. Talking isn't recommended as it can scare away prey]

While the two exchanged a bit of dialogue, the little boy could feel something pointy touching his back. Thankfully nothing was stabbing him but it still felt weird.

Upon in-built reflex, he swung that dangerous tail and felt the barb piercing through whatever was on his back. That should teach this creature to respect personal space. Wait no, this was what the little stingray had been waiting for.

Now was the time to strike with the best of his abilities. So Timothy pulled out his tail and then bashed it in through the prey again. This procedure was repeated over and over until the upper hand had been completely gained.

Throughout the stabs, he could feel several pointy feet on his back which gestured that this could be a crab. Although killing it does feel hard on the conscious, it's either it or him.

The battle generated into being short lasting, there wasn't much a crab could do against a stingray that stretched several times its size. The inflictor wasn't large but the crab species that fell prey was just very small, possibly a juvenile.

Rising from the sand now as there was no reason to hide, he finally managed to get a glimpse of the crab in question. It was small obviously, but also didn't seem to escape a stereotypical crab's form apart from its yellow colour that covered most of the carcass.

It had swollen eyes, they poked out of its head but it seemed like this battle had damaged one of its eyes. Most likely thanks to that barb that was randomly stabbing here and there, throughout the attack.

Feeling a bit nauseous to consume an uncooked crab, not so fond towards the countless stab wounds on it either, the little stingray thought. "This is so disgusting, but I have no choice."

[You have other choices, death is an option but you have to starve through it]

[As for what most of my guests were concerned about, as a stingray you don't have taste buds so this meat won't make you hurl]

"Wow thanks for all the motivation." He replied with a hint of sarcasm, having it difficult to appreciate how the system had to comment on everything.

When he was buried in the sand earlier, the blue-dotted boy had a bit of time to analyse this whole situation, this new life. So far he wasn't a fan towards any aspect of these circumstances, even to the slightest minimum. This situation was tremendously bizarre to think about. He had somehow died, reincarnated into a stingray's body and now had to just deal with it.

He thought that the best this darned system could do was at least to be quiet. This whole new life was tiring enough and he didn't need a moody mind-lady running her mouth. The system should know to keep quiet now, considering that it can read the guest's mind but no!

Deciding to just get on with it now, he sunk jaws towards this dead crab's leg and then felt absolute ease biting it off. Suddenly, he remembered something about his jaws being level 2 so this made sense.

Unable to taste anything but still liking how his stomach felt when food had finally got in there, Timmy gave in a bit more effort to swallow the rest of the crab's leg. Taking one bite at a time even, which made the meal feel like some kind of edible stick.

This crab was small, possibly about 7 centimeters wide. So it proved that this carcass could have belonged to a newborn. It felt tad sad to eat this one but the options were painfully limited.

He got a hint that this crab had a somewhat protective shell. The prime example was how its back cracked once jaws were sunk in it. The shell portrayed a mildly durable form, but it couldn't be too powerful if a small stingray managed to bite through it.

[Ghost-crab killed. 1 system point has been given to you as a reward]

[System task completed. 1 additional system point has been rewarded]

[Total system points = 6]

[Eating a full grown ghost-crab typically gives the following effects on your overall state of being...]

[Effect on health, non existent]

[Hunger is being tamed...]

[Effect on sleep, +1 bar]

[Effect on stamina, +1 bar]

A tad pissed towards the system's never ending banter, but less pissed this time compared to when he had nothing to eat. Timothy uttered, "Darn you've got a lot to say! Calm down, I just ate a crab."

And then he went for the carcass again, continuing to feast on it. And felt his own belly becoming bigger after every crunchy but yet soft, bite. A few munches later, with the small crab mostly consumed and getting a tad tired of eating even, he heard the system yelling out statistics once more.

[Hunger bar 7/15]

[System recommends you to sleep, you have eaten enough to avoid starving]

[Short term sleep is recommended, because other predators are always on the move]

Willingly agreeing with this darned system for once, he still had to ask a question that felt rather stupid. "Stingrays sleep in the same way that humans do, right?"

It felt as if the system gave a large sigh because of that question, but it still answered. [Affirmative. Do bury yourself in the sand as it increases the rates of survival against any bigger predator]

...

Once opening his eyes, Timmy spotted a big fishy face that was glaring all the way down to his little soul. Worse yet, this fish carried a pair of terribly shining teeth.

At such a sight, he couldn't help letting out a bubley complaint, panicking and demanding information. "What's that?"

[System recognizes a species of shark, specific information can't be given to you unless its meat is consumed]

Not exactly caring what branch of species it was, he hollered. "Okay and how the hell do I get away from it?"

An instant reply was expected but for once the system remained absolutely silent. Not even willing to specify that she wouldn't give away such delicate information.

Feeling that the shark's nose was touching his head, out of developing fear and animalistic instincts, he swung the barb against this enemy and felt the collision against flesh. Good enough, the shark suddenly swam away! maybe its eye had been struck? It was hard to tell, the shark swam away faster than it got stung.

He dashed out of the sand and firmly hoped to not meet that enemy again. Even hoped to find a safe space for himself, so a demand had to be shouted out. "What do I do now? Why aren't you talking?"

[You're demanding information that doesn't reach your current criteria. Such purchase options will be available for you after many upgrades]

Tremendously pissed towards this system, the little stingray hollered. "You greedy bastard! There won't be any upgrades if I become shark food."

Out of a sudden he saw what could be the same shark, cross and block the straightforward route that he was originally heading towards. Once lending focus towards the nose, he could see a hole located a couple of inches below the enemy's eye.

Yes, this was the same shark and anger was conquering its entire subconscious! The urge for revenge was radiating.