Chapter 14.
"Maybe we should just keep trying, they're bound to blunder into it eventually," Garin spoke up, his voice lacking its earlier conviction.
I understood that the guy was trying to be the anchor for our confidence, but right now, I had a sinking feeling that things were only going to continue on a downward spiral.
It was as if the universe was laughing at my attempts to bring a little human ingenuity into this aquatic hellscape.
Isekai Protagonists really made this stuff look easy in books... Of course when I try, it's going to end up in failure.
"Alright, let me try one more time," Artria suggested, her face set in a mask of stubborn determination.
Before I could even open my mouth to suggest a different angle, she flicked her tail and darted off into the blue.
And so she tried. Again. And again. Alas, each time it looked like the silver cloud of fish would finally be funneled into the seaweed mesh, the lead tuna would bank at the last possible second, and the entire school would follow like a unified unit, effortlessly avoiding the trap.
The first few attempts were manageable, but by the tenth time, the repetitive failure began to grate on everyone's nerves.
Even Garin, who had been the most patient of us, was starting to reveal his frustration through the tight set of his jaw.
I couldn't blame the man since even I was struggling to hold myself back.
"Why did we even believe this stupid idea of yours could actually work!" Artria finally snapped, her voice high and shrill as she swam back toward us, her blue hair a tangled mess around her face.
"All we've been doing out here is wasting our breath and our time on a fool's errand!"
Though Garin remained silent, judging by the grim, hollow look in his eyes, I could tell he was firmly in agreement with her.
Having even Garin feeling disappointed in me really did hurt a bit.
"Hey, calm down, will you?" I said, trying to keep my own rising temper in check. Sure, the plan was currently a bust, but that didn't give her the right to insult my idea, especially since it was a masterpiece created by yours truly.
"It's a technical issue, not a conceptual one."
"A technical issue? It's a blatant failure!" she hissed.
"You know what? Fine. Come hold this end of the net," I said, my pride finally snapping. "I'll go out there and show you how to properly herd these dumb guppies."
"Ha! So you're saying I'm the reason this shitty plan of yours never worked?" she sneered, her eyes narrowing until they were just slits of blue fire.
"I'm not saying it's you specifically," I said, rolling my eyes at her as I gestured to her slender frame. "But perhaps your physique might not be up for the task of intimidating a school this large. Here, just take this."
I didn't wait for her to agree; I simply pushed my end of the seaweed net into her hand and used the momentum to propel myself toward the school of tuna.
I knew I had talked a big game, but the truth was, I had no clue how I was supposed to succeed where she had failed. Nevertheless, the stubborn streak in me wouldn't let me back down now.
I decided to try being much more aggressive with them than Artria had been. I lunged at the edges of the school, baring my teeth and snapping my jaws, but it seemed that was a tactical error.
The tuna didn't panic; they simply split apart, flowing around me like a silver river before rejoining on the other side.
The sight of them making a mockery of my efforts sent a surge of irritation through my chest.
"What's the hold up, 'Master Hunter'? Let me guess, it's not quite as easy as you thought it would be, is it?" I heard Artria's mocking voice drifting through the water from a distance.
That was the final straw.
Before I knew it, I was chasing the fish all around the reef, my movements becoming more erratic and desperate.
Each time I failed to herd them toward the net, my rage grew, feeding on my exhaustion and the stinging insults from the sideline.
Eventually, I felt my very blood beginning to boil with an unnatural heat.
I rushed forward once more, but when the school split apart again, I lost my last shred of reason. Rather than trying to change my direction; I lashed out.
My webbed hands swiped through the water with a speed I didn't know I possessed, and my sharp claws shredded several of the fish that were unable to evade in time.
As the bodies of the tuna drifted apart, I felt a momentary sense of calm, until the copper-sweet scent of fresh blood hit my nostrils.
With that single whiff, everything changed. I felt my black pupils expand at a terrifying rate until they consumed my iris, leaving my eyes as solid, pitch-black orbs.
At the same time, my merfolk body began to ripple and morph against my will. My bones lengthened and thickened, and my skin hardened into a dark, leathery texture.
I was completely oblivious to the physical change, lost in a haze of red, until the transformation finally settled.
I was no longer a man-fish hybrid. I had become a massive, obsidian version of a Great White shark.
Both Garin and Artria stared at me from a distance, their faces frozen in masks of pure, unadulterated disbelief and terror.
I didn't have the time or the sanity to dwell on what I had become, because a primal bloodlust was rapidly rising within me, fueled by every drop of blood in the water.
The school of tuna seemed to sense the change immediately; the silver cloud shifted from a coordinated group to a frightened mass swimming away in panic.
Seeing the moving targets, the only thing my mind could register was the urge to give chase.
My jaws ached for the thirst of blood, for the sensation of flesh wripped apart in my jaws.