After killing the beasts Nereus carefully transported his spoils to one of the cavelike crevices located along the walls of the deep trench below.
Using his control over the element of water, he was able to move the rest of the barracuda parts that he couldn't hold with his own hands the entire way.
Not a single piece of the fish nor even the scraps of the starfish attacked by the barracuda were left behind as his water manipulation kept a tight hold of every morsel of the beasts while he traveled.
He figured it would be easier to make multiple trips, but he didn't want to chance attracting other predators plus he felt this was a great way to train his abilities and element control at the same time.
At his new makeshift cave base, Nereus had hastily began to devour the raw and bloody barracuda meat.
"Mmmmm"
As he took bite after bite of the thick and fragrant barracuda meat, he couldn't help but moan joyfully to himself.
This had been his first real meal since returning to this world, and with every swallow of the nutrient rich meat, he felt raw and potent sea essence explode throughout his body and meridians.
'Mmm I knew this is just what I needed' he remarked while feeling his body soak up the nutrients, ' This trip was well worth it!'
In a dazed frenzy he continued devouring the barracuda meat and after a while he looked the complete image of a savage.
In fact, if anyone were to see his current state they would sooner classify him as a seamonster or an animal of some sort instead of a member of the civilized and refined Mer race.
However, Nereus gave no thought to this at all considering his current circumstances.
As such he continued enjoying his meal until there was nothing left..
Now finished devouring all of his spoils, Nereus's stomach was full and bulbous looking while he had a content and sleepy look upon his face.
Alas this satisfied state wouldn't last long because suddenly a strange pain began to spread all over his body from his stomach.
"Mm? What's happening?" Nereus exclaimed as the shocks of pain began to intensify.
"Agh!' a stream of bubbles escaped his mouth as he couldn't help but scream.
The sudden pain ceaselessly barraged Nereus's inner and outer body.
At this moment he felt as if his body was being burned from the inside out and worst of all the strange burning pain showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.
'My Leviathan blood' he suddenly realized, ' I-I can feel it, it's multiplying!'
Nereus continued to thrash helplessly on the floor of the cave.
He had turned a pale and sickly color and while he wanted to scream in horror at his current state and the pain he was experiencing, Nereus knew it was best to just silently endure this hell lest he risk attracting predators.
CRACK
CRACK
At that moment audible snaps could be heard emanating from within his body as various bones and muscles seemed to snap and break before repairing themselves and repeating the process again.
Simultaneously, his skin, the scales on his tail, and even his fingernails became dry and brittle as if all the moisture had been sucked out of them before they started to flake off little by little a moment later.
After some time of this repeating cycle of creation and destruction on and in his body, visible changes began to appear.
First, Nereus's structure and build began to morph as his muscles and skeleton lengthened and thickened. His canines and fingernails then became sharp and deathly pointed at the tips.
Then healthy and revitalized sections of his scales and skin began to grow and show.
His face slightly matured as the beginnings of a sharp yet strong jawline, high cheekbones, a noble nose, and a defiant chin began to shape.
More impressive yet, a pair of dark azure ulna fins and a pair of matching lower pelvic fins had sprung forth and flexed out mightily signifying the possessing merman had reached sexual maturity.
Although most mermen gained this feature at the ages of 17 or 18, for one to gain them at the age of 15 was not unheard of but still exceedingly rare - but of course quite late in terms of Leviathanic development.
From an onlooker's perspective Nereus's figure had changed dramatically within a relatively short time, from that of a runty and malnourished 15 year old merman to that of a burgeoningly handsome and toned 16 possibly 17 year old merman.
If anyone were to have witnessed this scene they would have sworn it was some sort of witchcraft at work but this was simply one of the benefits of having the bloodline of the mighty Leviathan.
Argent's body had always been severely malnourished and underfed but now that he was able to receive a large dose of proper nourishment, and sea essence enhanced at that , his Leviathanic bloodline made sure to multiply the effects x2.
This resulted in his body not only reaching the normal growth and dimensions of his peers but also strengthened slightly beyond that.
Just as suddenly as the painful transformation had descended up Nereus it had seemingly disappeared leaving him stunned yet somewhat physically matured in it's wake.
As soon as he felt the phantom pains disappear Nereus's eyes blinked open and wildly scanned his surroundings before he unfurled his now much lengthier and sturdier tail from beneath him in inspection.
"Nice, there's still more to be desired but this is definitely much more befitting of me" he remarked as he scanned his bodily improvements.
With just a flex of his much bigger hand and a swish of his much more muscular tail Nereus knew that whether in terms of strength, flexibility, or endurance, his body was no longer far out classed by those of his peers back at the sect.
With the added benefits of his Leviathan bloodline his physique would from now on would be twice as impressive as other mermen of the same level and it would only require half the effort or training.
GRUMBLE GRUMBLE
Nereus's stomach issued a series of grumbling sounds pulling him from his thoughts, as the food he'd eaten had been expended in his bodily strengthening.
"Hmm I can't believe it but I'm hungry again" he said as his azure eyes darted to the mounds of starfish meat he'd hauled to a corner off the cave.
"Luckily I had the forethought to bring seconds" He then decided to have another meal when he thought about the gains he'd gotten from the first.