“The taste is indeed quite good.” Aoyama ate three more small silver fish in a row.
With every mouthful he swallowed, he felt a faint stream of warmth seeping from his throat into his chest.
Feeding Log: Small Silver Fish × 5 Current Progress: 5/20 Effect Preview: Underwater Breathing (Fish) — Continue consuming the same source ingredient to complete activation.
“Aoyama-kun.” Kasumigaoka Utaha sat on the sandy ground beside him, leaning back on her hands as she gazed up at the sky.
“You said you’d gain the ability after eating twenty of them.
What if you suddenly get full on the nineteenth one?” “I won’t get full.” “Why not?” “Because I’m very hungry.” Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head to look at him, her gaze drifting between his slightly bulging cheeks and his earnest expression.
Then, she chuckled softly.
“Is this ability of yours to tell deadpan jokes with such a straight face also something you got from eating bugs?” “This one is innate.” “Hmm.” Aoyama didn’t reply, continuing to prepare the small silver fish in his hands one by one.
He used the blade to deftly slice open the fish’s belly, clean it, fillet it, and put it in his mouth—the entire process flowing smoothly like water.
The silvery-white fish flesh, shimmering with a pearlescent glow in the sunlight, was sent into his mouth slice by slice, chewed, and swallowed.
By the tenth fish, the warm current in his chest had grown more distinct.
He could feel a subtle change taking place at the very edges of his lungs.
It was as if countless tiny cilia were gently unfurling against the inner walls of his alveoli.
With every breath, the air he inhaled seemed to be utilized more fully, and the efficiency of oxygen exchange had improved by more than one level.
“Aoyama-kun, has your breathing changed?” Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly asked, her tone tinged with curiosity.
“Hmm?” Aoyama hadn’t expected her observational skills to be so sharp.
She turned to face him.
“Your inhalation is much quieter than before—I can barely hear it.” “And the rise and fall of your chest is less pronounced, yet you don’t seem to be holding your breath.” “It’s as if your body is utilizing the air more efficiently.” Aoyama noticed it himself.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
The entire process felt smoother, lacking the usual resistance.
Once inside his body, the air seemed to be automatically distributed to every corner.
Without any conscious effort, his entire body was flooded with ample oxygen.
“That’s because I’m evolving.
I’ve decided to stop being human.” “…Monster Aoyama-kun?” Kasumigaoka Utaha thought about it.
If it was Aoyama-kun, perhaps it wasn’t so hard to accept?
The thirteenth fish.
The fourteenth fish.
The fifteenth fish.
As he swallowed the seventeenth small silver fish, Aoyama suddenly felt a violent tremor deep within his chest.
Voom—!
It felt as if a door had quietly swung open deep within his lungs.
The breathing rhythm he had previously needed to consciously control became completely irrelevant in that moment.
He could feel the walls of his alveoli undergoing a subtle change, better adapting to the needs of gas exchange, causing the oxygenation efficiency of his blood to soar.
“Why does breathing feel so damn good?!” Aoyama marveled.
He didn’t stop, continuing to eat the remaining three small silver fish.
The moment the last piece of fish was swallowed, a virtual panel materialized before his eyes.
Consumption Record: Small Silver Fish × 20 Current Progress: 20/20 (Completed) Ability Unlocked: Underwater Breathing (Fish) [ Effect: Lungs have gained adaptive enhancement, improving the surface tension regulation of the alveoli.
The user can now absorb dissolved oxygen through the mouth and nasal cavity in underwater environments.
(Breath-holding time extended to 25 minutes.
Oxygen consumption during underwater movement is reduced by 37%.
Tolerance to seawater salinity is significantly enhanced.) ] “It’s a success.” The glowing text on the panel materialized line by line.
Aoyama could feel his body undergoing a synchronous transformation.
Kaka-kaka…
A subtle, tingling sensation emanated from deep within his chest, as if every single bronchiole was being re-aligned, becoming more supple and elastic.
Aoyama could clearly perceive the path the air took with every breath.
Details he would normally never notice were now exceptionally vivid.
He tried taking a deep breath, then held it.
“…” One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Thirty seconds passed, yet his lungs felt no stuffiness.
A minute passed, and his heartbeat remained steady.
At the two-minute mark, he began to feel the stored oxygen in his lungs slowly depleting, but the sensation was completely different from the usual feeling of suffocating when holding one’s breath.
It’s more like the water in a pitcher slowly decreasing, rather than someone strangling me?
He exhaled the air, then drew a fresh breath.
The entire process was smooth and natural, as if his body had already learned how to use every breath of air more efficiently.
“Aoyama-kun, did you succeed?” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s voice came from beside him.
She had been watching him quietly, her gaze focused.
“Yeah, it was a success.” Aoyama turned his head, meeting those crimson eyes.
He nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips.
“I can hold my breath underwater for about twenty-five minutes now.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s eyes lit up.
“Twenty minutes?
That’s more than enough to swim to that shipwreck, isn’t it?” “Completely.
More than enough.” Aoyama expanded his chest, feeling the new sense of control.
“And my body’s ability to adapt to seawater has also improved.” He felt that his ‘Environmental Adaptation’ ability was playing a part in this.
“Do you want to try it out?” Aoyama looked at her, then at the deep blue expanse of the ocean before them.
He stood up, his bare feet stepping across the warm sand as he walked into the water.
The waves washed over his ankles, his knees, and then his waist.
He didn’t stop, continuing forward until the seawater reached his chest.
Whoosh!
Aoyama took a deep breath and plunged beneath the surface, the ocean completely enveloping him.
He opened his eyes.
He had expected a stinging sensation, but the seawater felt surprisingly gentle.
“This feeling…” He looked down at his hands.
The underwater visibility was excellent, allowing him to see the sandy bottom about ten meters away.
Schools of fish swam past him, their scales shimmering in the light.
He turned and looked toward the shore through the clear water.
“Aoyama-kun…” Kasumigaoka Utaha stood in knee-deep water, cupping her hands around her mouth as she shouted something to him, but her voice was already muffled and distorted by the seawater.
Her shadow, stretched long by the sun, was projected onto the water’s surface, swaying gently with the waves.
Aoyama surfaced, water droplets sliding off his black hair and cheeks.
He waded back to Kasumigaoka Utaha’s side, water streaming from his school uniform.
“How was it?” Kasumigaoka Utaha looked him up and down, a hint of undisguised anticipation in her gaze.
Aoyama wiped the water from his face, a smile tugging at his lips.
“It felt…
amazing!” “Could you see clearly underwater?” “The visibility was good, about ten meters.” “Did any fish try to bite you?” “I think…
probably not.” “That’s good.”