"The hell!? Why am I underwater?"

[System reboot]

[Loading...]

[I'm your ocean survival system, you are my servant]

[Feed me points, and I'll show you the secrets of survival with the aid of body upgrades]

"Oh for the love of..."

...

[Your first task = locate and kill any small species of the crustacea family, juveniles are preferable]

Regardless of that task being spoken out, he was confused about what the hell was going on here and just how on earth did he, Tim Lake appear here underwater. At this point the predicament was so bizarre that he completely ignored what the system had just said.

In fact he wasn't even sure what the system was and thought that craze was creeping in, because he could hear the system but not see it.

"Who the hell are you? How did I get here?" Tim shouted, panic was evidently growing stronger after every ticking second.

[I'm your inbuilt ocean survival system, you are the new owner of this stingray body]

[I have knowledge equal to one world and beyond it, I can help any oceanic creature survive this cruel environment]

"Damn this thing has a lot to say." Tim complained, but he didn't speak out loud and only thought of it briefly.

[I heard that]

"Oh so you can read my thoughts too, perfect." He answered with the aid of sarcasm, feeling a bit embarrassed especially since the system sounds like a lady although it also sounded a tad computerised.

[Yes]

That aside, a few seconds after the self claimed amazing system, continued without being asked too.

[Available system points = 10]

[Purchase options = 1]

Now the best solution was to play along. This all felt like a bizarre dream, especially since he wasn't suffocating. "Let's hear that option out I guess."

It did feel like a dream, he even tried to swim fast but the effort was shunned down by slow results. Which often happened in dreams when one tried to run away from the antagonist of the nightmare.

[Option number 1 = learn everything about your species]

[Price = 3 system points]

"Kind of expensive for information that is solely about 'my' new body." The little stingray continued with his complaints, but didn't want to stretch it either.

A hunch inched that he won't be here for long, therefore stating. "But whatever, I'm buying the first option."

[Loading purchase]

[Loading information]

[Species = bluespotted ribbon-tail ray]

[Family = dasyatidae]

[Gender = male]

[Age = 29 days]

[Length = 15 centimeters]

[Width = 7 centimeters]

[Weight = 0.3 kilogram]

[Purchase complete]

[3 system points consumed]

[7 system points remaining]

"Sounds like I'm very small." He pointed out what was painfully obvious. And right after, the system continued with no relation to the main spoken topic whatsoever.

It felt difficult to communicate with someone or in this case something, that didn't listen. And now although drowsy, he was trying to figure out a way to get rid of this system since nothing good seemed to come out of it.

[3 more options have been unlocked because of the previous purchase]

[Option Number 1 = learn location]

[Price = 14 system points]

Pissed about this cheap bastard of a system and feeling even more convinced to get rid of it, Timmy started shouting. "Damn, that's expensive as hell! What good would my location do me here? Find and visit old friends? Hell, I can end up on a sushi dish even though we're in a dream."

The boy's complaints became a bit expansive and of course he had many reasons to yell like a crazed sea-dog, who would have the chance to encounter such a situation or a dream...

A dream couldn't be this specific. And the young man kept feeling his body parts work on the water as he calmly swam on the noticeably, salty sea. So bit by bit it became even harder to believe that this unfortunate situation was a dream.

However the system obviously didn't care about all these complaints, it even continued to list down what she was about to say. [Option number 2 = view the chart of your capabilities]

[Price = 3 system points]

"That sounds interesting." He most definitely felt intrigued and instantly wanted to hear this one out, "I want to purchase this option."

[Purchase confirmed]

[Loading information]

[Your capabilities will be stated shortly, each level gives you a brief example of just how good you are on specific capabilities]

[Hunting capabilities = level 1]

[Jaws = level 2]

[Barb = level 1]

[Barb venom = level 0]

[Body strength = level 1]

[Speed = level 2]

[Natural camouflage = level 4]

[Vision = level 1]

[Sniffing = level 1]

[Sex appeal = level 0]

"Wow. It feels like anything could kill me." The little one pointed out, trying to ignore the fact that his sex appeal was down to level 0.

[It can]

[System recommends small prey, until further notice]

[Purchase complete]

[3 system points consumed]

[4 system points remaining]

Afterwards, without asking about Tim's opinion once more, the system continued to explain what the last new option was. Although this began to feel tremendously annoying.

[Option number 3 = upgrade hunting capabilities to level 2]

[Price = 28 system points]

"That's insane!" He shouted. While from any other point of view, it would just look like bubbles coming out of a tantruming stingray.

[Ocean survival system is of high class]

[Ocean survival system provides points per completed task]

[Ocean survival system assures survival as long as you obey the commands and finish the tasks!]

[To increase the odds of survival you need points and capability upgrades]

It was certain that even as a system, she was already fed up by the boy's continuous tantrums, and the rant she thundered through just now was intended to humble the young one.

"Fine fine, nothing but a rip off!" He replied, still heavily unconvinced.

Being reminded of something through the system's rant, he questioned. "How much to remind me what my first task was?"

[Free of charge]

[Your first task = locate and kill any small species of the crustacea, juveniles are preferable]

"What the hell is a crustacea?" Tim queried with another shout, feeling puzzled. But the name did ring a bell.

[Humans commonly know them as, crabs]

[Upcoming hunting tip, free of charge...]

[Bury yourself in the sand and wait for any passing by juvenile crustacea to crawl by. Once close or over you, sting the crustacea and then consume it after the kill]

"I hope it is as simple as you explained it." Timmy butchered but it was also half a question that the system did not answer.

As the little sea pancake began swimming towards the sand, the system gave out a bit of information that might motivate him here.

[Upon one killed crustacea, you will be rewarded with 1 system point. Since it is also a task, system will give you an additional single point]

"Am In a rush? I feel very hungry!" The little boy queried, since he could use a second thought on this.

[Upcoming current state information, free of charge]

[Health bar = 100/100]

[Hunger bar = 3/15]

[Sleep bar = 11/35]

[Stamina bar = 12/15]

[Based on your current state, system recommends to hunt a crab down as soon as possible]

Tim was damn right, this system just won't shut up. Ask one question and it gave more than one answer. It most definitely managed to overwhelm his little stingray brain.

"Can I upgrade any other capability? Like venom? It would at least make this hunt a lot easier." And he did have a point of course as such a perk would come in handy.

[The only body upgrade available is, hunting]

[After that is upgraded, you can upgrade jaws. Afterwards you can upgrade barbs and then barb venom]

Giving out a gentle bubbly sigh, the stingray came to agree with one fact. "Looks like there is a long journey in front of me."

[Good luck]