Shrimp

The duo ventured through the vast wilderness, and an uncanny feeling of amazement washed over Jason's very being.

He wasn't outwardly fond of nature or stars, but internally he ranted about things like this in his head to people he loves such as his ex-girlfriends. They would hear a near never-ending rant about what he read, witnessed, or thought of.

He was quite a callow powerhouse. With such a childish imagination, what kind of ridiculous things will he come up with?

Over the time of adventuring, the two became closer than before, forming a comical brother relationship. Although they commonly insulted each other, both received and conveyed it as jokes, making it a very jesting friendship.

"Right here."

They stepped past a rusted stop sign, a frenzied insect scattered across it, locking its tiny eyes onto the two unsuspecting men.

Its antennas squirmed. Its mouth is crammed with microscopic teeth outstretched, releasing an incomprehensible shriek to travel through the vast space of trees.

The vibrant color spectrum flew through it like waves. Every angle you examined it from it would reflect a different color giving it an imperceptible amount of color and diversity.

The shrimp-like creature sped down the pole and rendezvoused with his relatives on the grass field just behind the duo.

[Possible threats: 94 meters.]

[Update: Threats: 89 meters.]

Two red messages concurrently popped up in Jason's vision.

He widened his eyes and swallowed heavily. Turning back to Hugo, "We have to run. I don't know what it is, but my skill is notifying that threats are within 80 meters."

Without further confirming it, the two had a fierce dash forward, leaving an enormous gust of wind to shoot out behind them.

They were both shoulders to shoulder, a nearly exact copy of when they first encountered each other played out.

The only noticeable difference was that Jason didn't tire, didn't falter, or even look like he was using effort.

He neglected stamina for far too long. He thought having such high natural stamina was an excuse to overlook it. Such a thing would've cost him his life if not for Hugo.

If he wanted to be able to take down Nysa, not only would he have to fight incessant battles, but he'd also have to be able to fight multiple people and exert himself while battling.

The duo cleared the distance between them and the closest Walmart, not even daring to look behind them.

Following their trail was a gigantic group of shrimp-like creatures scurrying their little legs after the two. The group numbered well into the thousands, possibly even reaching 10,000.

The stupendous group of shrimp continued to raise their numbers as they hounded Jason and Hugo.

"Like hell that building can hold against so many fucking 'threats'! We HAVE to escape them!"

Hugo cried out, which Jason only caught a fragment of over the deafening clangor of a thousand shrimp legs beating the floor at once.

"I don't know what the fuck you just said!"

"THE BUILDING WON'T HOLD! WE HAVE TO ESCAPE OR KILL THEM SOMEHOW!"

"Fuck..."

'Should I use it?'

Jason talked to himself through many thoughts, all of which could determine the fate of the two men.

'System help me god damnit!'

[They're powerless. You can outrun them... If you can run for a few hours.]

'Any other solutions?'

'They're just shrimp. Just kill them.'

Jason spun around, reaching out his hand at the stampeding shrimp.

In what seemed like a second, a deformed arrow formed of green lights came into existence, aiming its tip at the shrimp.

Jason also realized the most predictable thing, the more mana consumed, the more powerful.

Jason poured his mana into the arrow, filling it to a size quintuple of what it was before!

Jason threw his arm at the crowd, instantly relieving him of all his energy and stamina. It was like he threw all his will with the arrow, he felt like sleeping- like he could barely stand.

It shone with a radiant green, illuminating the entire area in a 100-meter radius, giving it a natural sheen to spread on all the objects in its vicinity.

An all-powering light ripped through the air, bending the space around it as it reaped hundreds of shrimp. Each second the arrow was present in the universe, it reaped life, demanding blood.

[Evolved Shrimp kill: 150 XP]

[Evolved Shrimp Kill: 150 XP]

[First Evolved Shrimp Kill: 450 XP]

[Level 12 > 13]

[Level 13 > 14]

An overload of notifications enveloped Jason's vision, but that didn't falter his character or composure.

He continued to concentrate on his arrow, his eyes reflecting an odd grimace of coldness.

A small crater was created wherever the arrow crossed, leaving a long scarlet trench of earth and road in its wake.

[Level 14 > 15]

[Too many Evolved Shrimps killed! Activating XP nullifier.]

[XP From Shrimp decreased by 80%]

[Level 15 > 16]

Notifications kept popping up, but Jason disregarded them wholly. He was focused on the annihilation of these shrimp.

Agony.

A sharp pang that was more sinister than his spine getting crushed spread throughout his body. Anything he's experienced in the past couldn't care to compare to what he is going to feel.

A blistering headache flared, costing Jason all of his focus and mental functions.

[Level 16 > 17]

The arrow dissipated into thin air as Jason fell to the ground grasping his head.

He let out a terrifying shriek, squirming and yelling to do anything to nullify the pain.

If another experienced mage was watching, he'd instantly recognize this as Mana Exhaustion.

The most basic conflict in books, using too much mana than you should.

Jason not only poured all of his mana into the arrow but his life mana into it as well.

While it did pay off in the end, it only exacerbated Jason's pain and suffering.

All the time in the cells of Dorian's house, mercilessly tortured without pause, if you added all of it up it couldn't compare at all.

"JASON!"

Hugo dashed over to his side, struck in disbelief. A beginner spell doing such damage? It was insane.

Jason tried to yell for Hugo yet all that came out was a hoarse wheeze

[User suffering Mana Exhaustion: Automatically set to sleep.]

Simultaneously, Jason passed out in Hugo's arms.

"Jason?"

Hugo kept slapping, repeating his name, and shaking him, but to no avail. Hugo put his index finger to Jason's throat, searching for a pulse; Something to show he was alive.

Luckily, he felt a weak pulse thump against his fingers. He let out a sigh of relief as he slung Jason over his shoulder, picking up his fallen sword.

Behind him lay an entire 100-meter space swathed in shrimp blood, all with a tiny crater drawing a line straight through the central region of it.

**

Jason awoke from his slumber with an indescribable sensation of pain, and power soared through his body, alleviating him of all his fatigue.

[You have 12 unallocated stat points.]

[Title Earned: Shrimping the shrimp.]

[Description: After destroying so many shrimp, equipping the title gives the user a 30% attack boost while damaging a shrimp.]

Jason didn't fully read the messages before skimming at his surroundings. He sat in a solo hospital bed in a large cafeteria with old food causing a rancid stench to flow throughout the building.

"You're awake."

Jason snapped his head behind him and sat a young but stunning dark-toned man wearing a thin pair of glasses and doctor attire.

"Your friend brought you over, he wasn't expecting us to claim the hospital and school but we did. Sorry to spring this on you but you're indebted to us now.

"Where is he?"

"He's out cleaning the exterior and interior of every single building by hand. That was all he had to pay."

Jason chuckled. The thought of such a muscular man cleaning was hilarious to him.

"I wish to postpone this but due to matters, I cannot. What is your name, age, and affinity if you have one?

"Jason Pruitt... I'm 14, My affinity is wind."

The man relayed all the information onto the sheet bound to the clipboard in his hands.

After a few more seconds, the man stood up, signaling Jason to follow him.

"How long was I out for?"

"Long enough to be a pain in my ass. A month."

Jason's eyes widened, an entire month?

"That's impossible... I was supposed to find my parents..."

"Hugo told us, your parents are fine. They're at another encampment up north. An entire wave of Suljars was traveling through central California so they couldn't travel without encountering one."

The man didn't ease up, his face became expressionless, looking deep into vast nothingness.

"With the breeding animals, there's even more threats than when you passed out. You fought shrimp, correct?"

Jason nodded and thought if Suljars could breed animals, what would happen if they were to breed with a human? Such a disgusting thought creeped Jason out, but really.

If they received the human-like intelligence and the baby Suljars' tentacles and potential, an all-new race would be born that could alter Earth's fate.

"My name is Javion, Javion Prinston."

On cue with his speaking, he pushed a large steel door to reveal an enormous population barricaded in a few-mile space. He could see plenty of buildings. Clinics, hospitals, stores, stands, and many other things.

Children were playing with each other. Off in the distance, he could see men and women training with each other.

"And this is Altidor."

'Why are his hands out like that? This is the most cliche reveal I've ever seen."