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Chapter 49: Kraken
🕑 Added 2025-02-17 04:19:43 +0000 UTCJames opened the door to the topmost deck on the bow. There, a chest lay at the center of a helipad platform, while the group was admiring the crab and pillaging the monster’s gun.
"Sometimes they are hidden, and sometimes they are laid out in the open," James muttered as he strolled toward the chest.
"Wait!" Sanders ran up to him. "That one is trapped. Don’t open it."
James blinked at him. Then he blinked again before finally asking,
"So… can you disarm the trap?"
"No. That’s why we should leave it alone," Sanders answered. James rolled his eyes at such an answer.
"I am opening it from afar. Thanks for telling me."
James nudged the chest from a distance with his ice spears. Since it showed no reaction, he came closer and attached his spiderweb to it. After opening it from afar, three poisoned arrows spat out from inside the chest. Of course, they hit nothing but air.
"There is only one bullet. We’ve got to make it count," Sanders said as he handed Anderson the gun. James overheard them since they had gathered behind him.
"But you're the better shooter."
"I have my sword. I am a vanguard," Sanders said.
James turned to him and offered his bullet.
"Does this bullet fit inside that gun?"
"Huh? But you only have one bullet left, right?"
"I am going to take it back. I was just wondering—if I give you this bullet, will it appear in your shop?" James said as he gave the bullet to Anderson. The group could now buy the flashbang grenade that James had handed them before. The system should treat this bullet the same.
"Hey! The system really gives the option to purchase the bullet! It will cost 10 coins apiece? This is going to be tough. I am low on coins because I need to purchase food. The caliber is a match. Did they use this .45 caliber for all guns on this floor?" Anderson said.
“Hand it to me and Kaina. We have spare coins,” Sanders said, and Anderson nodded. He then handed the bullet to the other member before giving it back to James.
“I will note it down. Um… did you know why your bullet could be purchased from the shop while the other bullet couldn’t?” Anderson asked.
“If the bullet came from the treasure chest, it can be registered in the shop. That’s why chests are so important,” James answered. He then shrugged. “You owe me.”
“...Of course. We are extremely grateful for your help.”
“Help me on the other side, okay?” James said as he walked toward the chest.
[Congratulations, you have obtained a skill scroll. Which skill would you like to upgrade?]
“Yes!” James pumped his fist. “My axe skill!”
[Your Axe Mastery skill has been upgraded to Novice Axe Mastery Level 5. New skill learned: Boomerang.]
“Boomerang?”
[The axe can return to your hand if you throw it using the weapon skill. However, it is not a sure thing. If there are obstacles in the way or if it is lodged inside the enemy, the axe will not return.]
“I see.” James tried his new skill. A golden glow shone on his axe as he threw it. The axe seemed to have a mind of its own as it flew out from his hand, spinning like a boomerang. The axe then curved and returned to James’ hand.
“Hmm… about twenty meters,” James muttered, measuring the distance of his throw. It was a lot shorter than he thought, but this one is a skill. The power was different.
As James was admiring the new skill he got, the ship suddenly shook. The massive cruise ship trembled, sending everyone to the ground.
“What is that?”
“The ship is hit!” Anderson, who had experience as a marine, rushed to the fence. “Damn it! We are fucked. The ship is taking in water.”
“What?” James was horrified and rushed to the fence just like Anderson, and true to what he said, the hull of the ship was slowly sinking.
James thought the whole ship was protected by the system. The purple flash that protected chests was also on the ship as well. It shouldn’t sink no matter if you hit it with missiles or torpedoes. Moreover, he thought the whole dungeon was the ship. If the ship was sinking, did that mean the dungeon would be destroyed?
“We have to find a lifeboat!” Anderson exclaimed.
“I shouldn’t have thrown away the gill!” James cursed inwardly.
“Let’s find the lifeboats. We should have about three to four hours before the ship completely sinks.” Anderson looked at the hull of the ship once more before scrambling for the lifeboats. There were no holes on the side of the hull, but it was evident that the ship was sinking.
“No! We should defeat the boss and get out of here!” James raised his voice as the group scrambled for the said lifeboats. His voice halted the group. Modern lifeboats were compact, and thus, their placement was not immediately clear to the naked eye.
“What?” Anderson said, flabbergasted. He couldn’t believe how much of a battle maniac James had become. To think they should go for the boss even though the ship was about to sink.
“We should defeat the boss. If we defeat the boss, we can escape by using the golden portal,” James answered. Realization dawned upon them when they understood what James meant.
“I see. You are right! Let’s go find the boss,” Kaina hopped in.
“I think it would be faster to search for the lifeboat. The battle with the boss might be risky as well,” Anderson complained, but Sanders answered him before James could.
“We need to fight the boss either way. Rather than fighting it on a lifeboat, I would rather fight it on a ship. Besides, this is an alien ship. There is no guarantee that it has lifeboats.”
“I see. That makes sense.” Anderson sighed. This decision was not to his liking; it was akin to assaulting the enemy base because they were cornered, but it made sense. The group ran toward the middle deck through the plaza.
Due to the ship rocking earlier, the place was a mess, as glasses, tables, and ornaments had fallen and were scattered on the floor.
“What the fuck is that?!” Sanders stopped in his tracks as a pink slithering tentacle came upon them from one end of the corridor.
“Octopus tentacle… and it looks more delicious than the humanoid ones. I guess the boss is the one looking for us," James said, deadpan.
“We shall make takoyaki out of them.” Kaina prepared her spear.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Anderson sighed at their jokes while preparing his dagger. James handed him his Waterspout Dagger before facing the boss.
“Here. I think this dagger is better than what you are using. You can dual wield it with your other one. You are borrowing it, understand? Don’t lose it,” James said. He didn't like seeing something used improperly, and he had been using that dagger as a water pitcher ever since he got it. Seeing the shiny dagger finally put to good use made him feel at ease.
“T-thanks!” Anderson said.
Golden lightning crackled from his axe as James leaped at the tentacle waiting for him. Of course, Kaina and the others waited at the back. A single swipe from it could kill them due to their low stats.
A single slash was all it took to bisect the writhing tentacle. The cruise ship trembled. Its hull groaned as the tentacle before the group retreated. A monstrous howl soon erupted from beneath the deck as if the ship itself roared in pain. James grinned as he jogged through the corridor, following the retreating tentacle.
“Ugh… shit…” James cursed as the corridor was cut off midway after an intersection. It didn’t take long for James to find the boss monster. However, it had destroyed most of the decks, leaving a large area for itself in the center of the ship. James gazed at the monstrous cephalopod. It was at least twenty meters tall. Its many arms spread out across the mall.
“Where is the takoyaki? Ah… never mind…” Kaina finally caught up to James but halted as she saw the octopus. She had never seen a live octopus before and was disgusted by how it looked. James wondered whether she really meant the food or if there was some other nuance from her language. But he ignored her. Kaina might be bright and cheerful, but she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed either.
“Damn… how are we going to defeat it?” Sanders asked.
James didn’t answer. He dropped to another deck, then to another, then to another before finally reaching the deck where the octopus lay. He was afraid; however, he remembered. If he ran now, he would be back to his old self. He would be back to the old pushover James. James promised that from now on, he would do things his own way.
The octopus had seen him. Its eye glared down at the humanoid furry beast that approached it. The king of the sea prepared its tentacle against the flaming tiger.
James drew his longsword. This wide room finally provided him with the space to use it. The giant octopus whipped its tentacles toward James, only to be met with a golden flash from James's sword.
The kraken roared as it flanked James from the side, but it retreated again as spikes made of ice sprouted on the floor behind James.
“That’s cheating!” James cursed as he saw the tentacle he had just cut grow back. Krakens have high resilience. They can grow back their tentacles in a matter of minutes.
Golden sparks with lightning flashed from his axe and hit another tentacle that came after James. The giant octopus reeled back as it saw all of its attacks were ineffective against James. Apart from its regenerative power, flammable ink, and stats, it had no other means of attack. It could spew out its ink, but it knew James was fireproof after seeing him light himself on fire.
Water gushed out from the floor like a fountain. The hull groaned as it took in more and more water inside the deck. This enemy was easy, but James realized that he had a time limit.
Even though it was huge, its body could squeeze inside the corridor, leaving James and the trio behind.
James blinked at the scene. He had never expected a boss monster to flee from him like that. Sure, there was that frog before, but it didn’t run—merely hid, trying to ambush him. But this one fled like its life depended on it.
“Wait! Come back here!” James rushed toward the corridor where the creature had gone. Panic was in his voice because water kept coming from the ground and windows.
James realized it was a race against the clock. The true enemy on this floor was not the octopus—it was time.
[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 42
Coins: 280
Stats:
STR: 138
DEX: 134
MAGIC: 89
MANA: 900
Skills:
Novice Axe Mastery Level 5 (Powerstrike, V-slash, Boomerang) (↑1)
Beginner Sword Mastery Level 7 (Hurricane)
Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
Magic:
Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar
Class:
Attacker (Level 15) (10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level) (↑1)
Unique Skill - Chimera Level 2:
Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
Orc’s Left Arm (STR +10%) (Arm Slot)
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
Ratking's Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
Mollusk Pirate’s Arm Tentacle (Reach: 3 meters, Negative Trait: STR -30%) (Extra Slot 3)
Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
Land Shark's Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
Equipment:
Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
War Axe
Longsword
Crossbow (x12)
Waterspout Dagger
Mask of Identity
Leather Bag
Sphere of Fethusiane
Cloak of Dark Night
Thompson Center Contender (x2)
Frag Grenade (x1)
Flashbang (x1)
