The dragon's harem

Chapter 1599 1599: Lost In The Endless Sea

Arad opened his eyes. He was floating away, drifting with the current of the cold waves. Something felt off; it was cold, dark, and the moment he tried to take a breath, sharp pain surged from his nose down to his chest.

Realizing he is underwater, Arad tried to switch to breathing through his stomach, but soon realized that he couldnʼt sense any of his magic. Arad knew this feeling; he was in the body of a weak human.

Cursing, he swam up, feeling his lungs burning and his limbs growing colder with each stroke. Each move was a struggle, forcing himself to push forward through pain, exhaustion, and cold.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached the surface and broke through, taking a much-needed gasp. He cried and opened his mouth once more, sucking as much air while still coughing the water in his lungs out.

Arad had never drowned in his life before. Now, he could say with confidence that it isnʼt fun at all. After taking a few seconds to breathe, he finally looked around.

Nothing, just waves and floating ice. There was only him, the frozen sea, and the starry sky above. His limbs were already getting numb from the cold, so he got to swimming immediately.

Arad couldnʼt recognize any of the stars above, so he knew that he wasnʼt in the mortal world or in Gojoʼs stomach anymore. The last thing he could remember was that Blue Ice Nymph tearing his mind apart.

With how cold this sea was, he could swear she was the one who threw him here. But for now, Arad didnʼt have the time or energy to think for much; all he could do was swim, and swim, hoping to find land before freezing to death.

He looked again at the sky and his eyes opened wide. The stars have shifted; none of them is in the same place as before. As Arad swam, he kept observing the stars above, trying to find order in their chaotic movements, but in the end, it was utterly useless.

After almost half an hour of constant swimming, Arad finally saw something on the horizon, a flash of light. It sparked once, then faded away. Once more, then once more.

Light meant land, so he started swimming in that direction as fast as he could. Arad didnʼt know if the stars were the only ones unable to remain in one place, for all he knew, land here could be just as transient.

Soon, the source of the light came into view. Arad stopped swimming for a second, a frown covering his face. He was just a few meters away, but no matter how he looked at it, this was strange.

The source of the light wasnʼt land, but a strange lantern coming out of the surface of the sea like a flower. It flashed faintly with light as if about to fade away, its pale yellow light illuminating the dark sea for but a moment.

Arad couldnʼt see that well in the darkness, but he wasnʼt completely blind thanks to the stars above. And that damned lantren had just moved, a tiny bit toward him.

”Damn it!”

Arad growled and swam backward, getting away as fast as he could. He had fallen for it like a stupid little fish. Now, he had to run for his life.

The lantern behind him moved, slowly at first, but it quickly picked up speed, chasing after Arad.

He looked back and growled.

”Damn it! Stay put! Youʼre an ambusher, right? Donʼt start chasing your meal when itʼs me!”

The monster had used a lantern to attract prey, in this case Arad, which should mean itʼs an ambush predator, one that waits and bites. Now, who is the best swimmer, him, or a fish that shouldnʼt be able to move much?

Soon, Arad looked back. He was out of luck; the lantern was getting closer and closer to him. He canʼt outswim fish, no matter how good he was and how bad that fish was.

Running away would eventually lead to his demise, so Arad decided that enough was enough.

^I guess itʼs raw fish for dinner.^

Arad suddenly turned around and dived into the water, finally catching a glimpse of the shadow chasing him. He had never seen such a fish before, but from its shape, he could tell it looked like a fat shark with a lantern instead of the dorsal fin.

The lantern shark stopped for a brief moment, confused. It expected Arad to get tired and give up soon, but it didnʼt expect him to turn back. Besides, the stare in his eyes wasnʼt that of a prey, but that of a predator.

Arad then burst forward, swimming toward the lantern shark as fast as he could. The shark did the same, charging at Arad with all of its might.

As the two clashed, Arad tried to dodge the sharkʼs charge and get above it, but the shark jolted its head and bit his arm. The shark expected Aradʼs bone to shatter in its jaw, his flesh to rip Arad, and his screams to fill the water.

Its teeth dug through Aradʼs flesh, cracked his bone, but Aradʼs arm held, refusing to tear. The shark was a bit surprised, but not afraid. All it needed to do was shake its head a bit to rip Aradʼs arm off.

^No, shark. I do not play by your rules.^ Arad swung his other arm, jamming his thumb right into the sharkʼs eye, and he then started ripping whatever was inside, eye, tissues, and nerves. He pulled them all out, causing the shark to freeze for a second before jolting in pain.

The water around them boiled, splashing everywhere as it turned red. The shark didnʼt expect Arad to fight back, but here it was, having its eye ripped out, and that wasnʼt the end of it. Aradʼs arm flew right into the sharkʼs gills and started tearing at the delicate flesh inside, violently scrambling anything and everything in his fingersʼ path.

The shark struggled, and so did Arad, both of them causing a massive pool of blood to form and taint the water.

Arad wasnʼt letting the shark go, and the shark was now enraged, violently trying to tear Aradʼs arm off and bite something more vital. After a while, the shark was forced to let go of Aradʼs arm to try biting somewhere else, and that was its mistake.

Arad wrapped his legs around the sharkʼs torso and jammed his foot into the wounded gill, using that to anchor himself. He started assaulting the other eye and gill on the other side of the sharkʼs head, ripping and tearing until the shark couldnʼt breathe anymore.

As the fight ended, Arad surfaced and screamed, finally breathing in agony. His left arm was messed up; he could even see the bones. But he was alive, and that was what mattered.

He took his shirt off and wrapped his arm, making sure it stopped bleeding first. He then used what remained of the shirt to cover the wound, hoping the seaʼs salt would be enough to prevent it from rotting.

After that, he dove down to the sharkʼs corpse, ripped the fatty eyes, gills, and whatever soft flesh he could.

Some of the parts he picked looked disgusting, but those were the parts he needed the most. Here in the cold and harsh sea, all he cared about was fat and energy. Itʼll take him longer to digest the tough meat, and even then, he wonʼt get much energy from it.

After eating his fill, Arad swam away as fast as he could. He knows that the smell of blood would attract even more terrifying monsters, and he wasnʼt that confident that he could survive.