Chapter 265 - Orc hunt

Being flightless birds out on the North Pole was a tough task back on earth, and it was especially tough on this planet, with magical beasts swimming around. They could get wiped out any moment if they weren't careful enough!

Some beast could simply eat them whole, and this was their biggest fear for the time being, because they experienced this sort of danger before. A Sea Orc had swallowed them whole once, all of them, apart from Timothy, so they knew how dangerous these serpentine creatures could be! The sea itself worked to the advantage of the monsters, and by all odds, Frost Orcs were a lot more violent in comparison to their sister species!

“Keep your eyes peeled,” Timothy kept reminding them, as they swiftly swam across the depths of the cold sea. “We are not the fastest bunch here, not by a long shot… Let’s try to keep our heads.”

Although they were coming to find his constant reminders a bit annoying, they understood why he was a bit paranoid. They were outmatched here in the waters of the North Pole, by all odds they were outmatched, and it was very important to pay attention to that fact. Magical perplexity, even the kind that Timothy bore, wasn’t enough to battle a greater, brute strength that the common monster might throw against them down here! Caution was the greatest tool that they could get.

“If we reach the bottom of the sea, I can make a bunch of slaves to protect us. My mana pool is full anyway, and basic math has shown us that six hundred fireballs are better than three or four greater fireballs.” He said.

Getting to the bottom of the sea would be ideal, because he could find a bunch of old skeletons down there that he could restructure, and that was his main idea. It would help him stack the odds to the team’s favor, however, they were yet to see the bottom!

At the three-hundred meter mark, the waters around them were pitch black, and only Tim’s advanced eyes could steer the team through these waters. A further issue was that the water pressure was getting to them at this depth as well, they were really starting to feel it. Tim wasn’t feeling it as much, because he had bought upgrades before to fight water pressure itself, but if his team was affected, it meant that he wouldn’t be able to push deeper within the sea anyway. Not by himself.

“Water pressure, huh? Damn, penguin bodies are more useless than I thought.” He said.

Thankfully, he got another idea regarding what they could shapeshift into. He didn’t like his idea at all, but it was a viable option; It being the team shapeshifting into a bunch of anglerfish!

Regarding the matter, the system added. [Your idea is decent, and considering your circumstances, it would be best if you shapeshifted into Double Spined Sea Devils. This is a species of anglerfish that’s otherwise small, but at the very least you’d be perfectly camouflaged within your surroundings, and you won’t be feeling the water pressure either.]

The system guided him appropriately. Timothy pitched the idea to his team, and then led by example. After shapeshifting, they discovered that sizes between anglerfish were very extreme, specifically based on their gender, with males being a lot smaller in comparison to the females!

Being the only female here, Ortana ended up having a grand size of twenty-five centimeters long, or barely a foot. The species that they turned into, looked very lumpy, brownish, and odd, but they didn’t pick this species because of the aesthetics behind it, after all, but the benefits.

The guys were ten times smaller in comparison to her, and this fact itself featured the extreme aspect between their sizes! In order for them to travel properly as a group, they had to latch on to her, and they were hoping to do it non-sexually. This was the best plan that they could think of, and if the water was too deep, then this plan of theirs would be amongst the best, as they would be able to travel without having to worry about the dangers all that much!

“I’m hoping that we hit the bottom soon, cause I’m almost sure that dragon eggs shouldn’t be three-thousand meters below the water. This can turn into a significant waste of time!” He thought to himself, “I just need a bunch of slaves for myself, at the very least.”

The team continued pushing downwards, and sure enough, they didn't run into any problems. They were practically invisible to the common dangers of the sea, so they made some good distance, even though Ortana swam slowly. This new body of hers wasn't the fastest in the world, it wasn’t designed to be fast, but as mentioned, they still progressed.

At the two-kilometer mark, they started admitting that swimming this deep was a waste of time. They hadn't reached the bottom yet, and at this depth, it was unlikely that dragon eggs could survive the water pressure! It wouldn't make sense, regardless of the fact that Frost Orcs were aquatic beasts.

Timothy tried to remain positive, so he said. “Okay… we put our toes in the water, and we put some theories to the test. This part of the sea is too deep, it can't sustain the existence of large dragon eggs.”

“No kidding,” Gustav remarked, and then he mumbled. “I’m starting to sound like an asshole, but I'm probably the most confused one here, god damn it! Where are we supposed to look? Do you think that orcs would risk putting their eggs up there, in between all the ice and snow?”

“They wouldn't be able to protect their eggs so well, so it's unlikely. It’s not like they can grow legs and chase birds away.” Skendus added, but then, this train of thought gave him an ingenious theory. “Hmm… assuming that Frost Orc adults burrow their dens, does it sound crazy that they're burrowing their dens deep in the ice, and then lay their eggs there?”

It took Timothy a moment to realize what his friend just said, but once he processed it, his brain activated all together as if it was on fire! He was surprised that he didn't think of this first, but then again, at his current body size, his brain had shrunk to be as small as a needle point, which wasn’t ideal for brainstorming, so he cut himself some slack. Nevertheless, he appreciated a good theory more than anything!

“That makes a lot of sense, Skendus, it makes a lot of fucking sense!” He celebrated. “We gotta go back up.”