Kyne took a step toward the water, his gaze determined. Without ceremony, he jumped in again.
The water received him with the same penetrating cold, the same current that tried to drag him away. This time, however, there was a small difference. When he opened his mouth and the water began to enter, the sensation was less violent. His throat did not constrict as strongly, and his lungs did not immediately rebel.
His Expanded Lung Capacity (F-) was already working.
The drowning still happened, still a slow and agonizing death, with the water replacing the air in his lungs, but it took a few seconds longer. Enough time for him to think.
'It's slower. Interesting.'
…
[You drowned to death.]
[Water Affinity updated to Rank F]
[Expanded Lung Capacity updated to Rank F]
[You will respawn in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne was reborn coughing, but already with a smile.
He was seeing progress, always progress through death.
He didn't wait. He didn't rest. He dove again.
The third death by drowning was even slower. His lungs now seemed to have greater capacity, he could hold his breath for almost three minutes before instinctive despair took over. And when the water finally entered, his body resisted a little longer, as if it were beginning to accept the liquid as something less alien.
…
[You drowned to death.]
[Water Affinity updated to Rank F+]
[Expanded Lung Capacity updated to Rank F+]
[You will respawn in 3… 2… 1…]
The fourth time, Kyne decided to change his approach. Instead of just drowning at the surface, he dove deep.
The light from the surface became a distant glow above him. The pressure increased in his ears. The cold was more intense in the depths. He swam downward, his eyes scanning the riverbed.
The bottom was rocky, covered with algae that moved sinuously with the current. Fish of various colors and shapes swam in schools, ignoring him or fleeing from his presence. Kyne observed everything with curiosity.
That was when he saw something different.
Swimming near a rock formation that jutted out like a small underwater cliff was a solitary fish.
It was completely blue, not the blue of the forest grass, but a deep blue, almost cobalt, that seemed to absorb what little light reached that depth. And at the front of its head, there was a small luminescence, a protrusion that glowed with a lighter blue, like a natural lantern.
Kyne felt a chill that had nothing to do with the water temperature. It was anticipation. Curiosity. What was that fish? What could it do?
He swam toward it. His movements were more agile than before, his Water Affinity at Rank F+ did not give him supernatural swimming abilities, but there was a certain… familiarity with the aquatic environment. The water seemed to offer less resistance, as if it were beginning to recognize him.
The blue fish did not flee immediately. It continued swimming near the rock, its frontal light blinking softly. Kyne approached, extending his hand slowly, as if trying to touch a wild animal.
At three meters away, the fish finally noticed him.
It turned abruptly, its blue body rotating in the water with a grace that was almost supernatural. The luminescence on its head shone intensely, no longer a soft blink but a pulsating and aggressive light.
Kyne stopped, floating in the water, watching. What would happen?
What happened was almost instantaneous.
The water around the fish's head distorted, as if it were being compressed under impossible pressure. In less than a second, a needle of water formed, not frozen water, but liquid water so compact that it seemed solid, transparent, and lethal.
Kyne barely had time to register what he was seeing. The needle fired.
Under the water, there was no sound of impact. Only sensation.
The pressurized water needle struck his forehead with the force of a bullet. It penetrated the frontal bone as if it were butter, passed through his brain, and exited through the back of his skull, leaving a clean and perfect tunnel of destruction.
Death was instantaneous. Faster than drowning, faster than most of the deaths he had experienced. A fraction of a second of sharp pain, then darkness.
His body, now inert, was carried away by the current, floating like just another piece of debris in the river.
…
[You died from water magic from a Rank E+ Blue Lantern Fish.]
[You received: Water Resistance (F-)]
[You will respawn in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne woke up on the riverbank, but at a greater distance, his body had been dragged several dozen meters before respawning. He sat up and touched his forehead. Intact. Perfect.
"Water magic." He murmured, his eyes shining.
"The fish used water magic."
He had gained a new adaptation. Water Resistance. Different from Water Affinity, which seemed related to perception and interaction, this one was specifically resistance, probably to damage caused by water, including aquatic magic.
He dove again, determined to find the same fish. Dying to it repeatedly could increase his resistance, maybe even unlock some related ability.
He swam to the spot where he had found the fish, scanning every centimeter of the riverbed. The school of common fish was still there. The rock formation still jutted out. But the Blue Lantern Fish had disappeared.
Kyne searched for ten minutes, swimming deeper and deeper, exploring smaller underwater caves, and searching among the algae. Nothing.
"When I resurrected, it was no longer there and probably moved away or hid. Damn." Kyne thought, a little frustrated.
"I won't be able to die to it again to increase water resistance. At least not now."
He swam back to the surface, emerging near the bank.
"But that's fine." He said to himself, stepping out of the water.
"I can still increase my water affinity a bit."
Determined, Kyne drowned himself again.
And again.
And once more.
Each death by drowning increased his Water Affinity and his Expanded Lung Capacity.
From F+ to E-, then to E, then to E+. The process became increasingly slow, where before he died in seconds, now it took minutes underwater before he finally succumbed.