Chapter 11
◎ Novice Protection Period ◎
The moment Yu Chi leaped into the sea, her skin touched the cool seawater, and the ringing in her ears suddenly became clear. She held her breath—
【Morph Mermaid】
Instantly, her bones and flesh felt as if they were being kneaded and reassembled, and her senses were continuously amplified. She looked down and saw her legs transform into a shimmering silver fishtail, its scales dense and packed, looking beautiful and mysterious under the moonlight.
Translucent fins grew behind her ears, and her silver hair floated in the sea like seaweed. Her pupils contracted into vertical slits, and her vision could actually penetrate the deep sea, allowing her to see distant scenery clearly.
The seawater flowed over her body. The usually dangerous sea opened its gentle embrace to her, as if she had returned to the happiest moments of her childhood.
Yu Chi flicked her tail, and without needing to adapt, her whole body shot out like an arrow released from a bow. She was so fast that she even left a trail of fine bubbles behind her.
【Mermaid Form Traits: Max underwater movement speed, 50% strength boost, can breathe underwater, scale defense +++】
“Max?” It was the first time she had seen such a description. She opened her mouth to speak, but a string of gurgling bubbles emerged, carrying an ethereal sound wave that rippled through the seawater. Only then did she realize that she couldn’t speak human language in her mermaid form.
Ten seconds passed in a flash. When her fishtail turned back into legs, Yu Chi was almost choked by the seawater that rushed into her mouth. She grabbed the edge of the boat and flipped herself on board. The sea breeze blew past, making her shiver with cold.
It feels so good not to be human…
Yu Chi lay on the boat, her eyes staring blankly. After resting for a while, she sat up again.
“Time to try the other forms!” She was full of energy.
【Morph Cinnabar Finch】
The moment she confirmed, a tearing pain shot through her shoulder blades. Yu Chi bit her lip and hissed. Soon, a pair of crimson-gold wings unfurled from her back with a “swoosh.”
Tiny flames burned at the tip of each feather. Her feet transformed into sharp bird talons, her nails glinting with a cold metallic light, and other parts of her body also began to change.
When the transformation was complete, Yu Chi flapped her wings a couple of times, and the entire small boat swayed from the wind pressure it generated.
She picked up the metal knife on the boat with her talons as if it were a feather. As she spread her wings and soared into the sky, the sea surface rapidly receded beneath her.
【Cinnabar Finch Form Traits: Max flight speed, 30% strength boost, +100% fire resistance, talon strikes inflict a burning effect】
Max again. Yu Chi realized just how powerful this ability of hers was. She didn’t dare to fly too far, circling the small boat three times in ten seconds.
After landing back on the boat and turning back into a human, the coldness in her body had long since vanished.
Finally, there was the elf form. After transforming twice in a row, Yu Chi’s body was already starting to feel tired, but she felt she still had some strength left—perhaps this was the benefit of having high Spirit?
【Morph Elf】
Beautiful, pointed ears pierced through her hair, and vine-like patterns appeared on the back of her hands. Yu Chi couldn’t see her own appearance and curiously touched her hair.
Her black hair had turned golden after transforming into an elf. It felt like the finest silk, slipping silently through her fingertips.
Yu Chi stood quietly on the boat, looking cool and noble.
【Elf Form Traits: Plant manipulation, elven blessing, 50% Spirit boost, +30% Agility, +200% night vision】
The elf form didn’t have a “Max” trait, but it had the additional abilities of plant manipulation and elven blessing. Yu Chi automatically interpreted “plant manipulation” as max plant affinity.
She casually picked up the small flowerpot on the boat and touched it lightly. Spirit flowed from her fingertips, and the watermelon seedling suddenly sprouted and grew wildly, bearing three plump, large watermelons in the blink of an eye.
They rolled onto the boat, looking delicious and cute.
Ten seconds passed quickly, and Yu Chi was left wanting more. She first grabbed the clothes she had taken off and put them on, then bent down to pick up the watermelons.
With these three abilities, what couldn’t she succeed at?
Even in farming, she would be the most badass!
However, Yu Chi didn’t dare to be arrogant. When you discover that your own strength exceeds your understanding, you should be aware of the strength of others.
If [SurfingTheSea] and [GrumpyBro] both had skills of this caliber, then it made perfect sense that they had such abundant materials.
While Yu Chi was still thinking, a jet-black pillar of water suddenly erupted from the sea surface in the distance.
That lingering shark monster rode the waves over, the slime on its fangs dripping onto the sea surface with a sizzling sound. This time, it was followed by three slightly smaller sharks of the same kind. Four pairs of scarlet eyes glowed like a row of red lanterns in the night.
Yu Chi: “…”
Is my vicinity a shark’s nest?
She had only seen one yesterday, how did it suddenly become four today? Did the system really think it was reasonable for such monsters to appear in the novice area?
Of course, Yu Chi didn’t know that these sharks had gathered together because they had sensed a dangerous aura.
As a level 3 mini-boss, this area of the sea was its territory.
Now that an anomaly had appeared in the sea under its jurisdiction, it naturally had to investigate… Just to be cautious, it had called over its buddies from the neighboring sea area.
And then it saw that human again.
It was indeed this fellow’s doing. The mutated shark angrily rammed the small boat in front of it, letting out a hoarse sound from its mouth.
Yu Chi: “Different species, can’t communicate.”
Yu Chi: “And you’re really rude.”
Yesterday was one thing; she was weak, and she admitted it.
But today, even Yu Chi felt she had the strength to fight.
She narrowed her eyes, sitting on the boat to recover her stamina.
The 4 mutated sharks surrounded the human’s boat, letting out threatening low growls while trying to intimidate the human with their eerie eyes, hoping the human would attack first and break the system’s restrictions.
Yu Chi made no move. As expected of a type of fish, her thinking was now in perfect sync with the mutated sharks’—both hoped the opponent would attack first.
She sat cross-legged at the bow of the boat, her chin propped on one hand, staring at the four sharks circling her small boat. The rhythm of the waves hitting the boat and the frequency of the sharks’ tail swings gradually synchronized, creating a strangely harmonious scene.
Ten minutes later, Yu Chi had rested enough. She stood up and stretched. These four sharks seemed determined to kill her today, constantly circling her small boat without leaving.
Her movement seemed to have startled the ever-vigilant sharks. One of them suddenly slapped up a three-meter-high wave with its tail fin. The black slime splashed onto the boat’s planks, instantly corroding several holes that emitted green smoke.
Yu Chi looked down at her pajamas. The hem had also been corroded by the splashed slime, and the shape even looked a bit like a heart.
“…Your love is too heavy for me to bear,” Yu Chi said with a pained expression, while simultaneously raising her guard to the fullest in her mind.
The corrosiveness was too exaggerated, but this level of action didn’t count as an attack yet. There had to be a clear intent to attack.
This wasn’t difficult for her now. Yu Chi could already see that although the sharks had a certain degree of intelligence, they were generally quite dumb.
A little bit of baiting shouldn’t be a problem.
Yu Chi was very curious. What kind of punishment would the sharks receive if they actively attacked her?
【Morph Cinnabar Finch】
A large red bird, one meter long with a wingspan of 1.5 meters, appeared in the air above the small boat. It let out a sharp cry and quickly spewed flames around the startled sharks on the sea surface.
The flames separated the sharks from the small boat, seemingly just forming a fiery barrier for the boat.
However, the provoked sharks collectively launched an attack on the large bird. Yu Chi’s 10 seconds were up. After landing on the boat, she leaned back and clumsily dodged a stream of black slime.
She was betting that the system would punish these sharks for attacking her. If not, it didn’t matter. The transformation into three different forms was enough for her to put up a fight against these sharks.
Yu Chi was already very clear about the benefits of high Spirit. Although the transformation time was only 10 seconds, as long as her body could withstand it, she could continuously restart this 10-second duration.
This way, her chances of victory against the sharks were greatly increased.
The four sharks’ eyes glowed red, their tails swinging rapidly as they rammed towards Yu Chi’s small boat. Just as her heart was in her throat, the system’s notification sound suddenly rang out.
【Warning! Detected contaminated creature No. 114514 actively attacking a player!】
【According to Novice Protection Regulation Article 233, initiating countermeasure program.】