NOVEL WEB chapter 73
Chapter 73
■□■ Eighteen hours later ■□■
It’s 3 AM. Good evening.
I wonder why I’m doing this on such a beautiful moonlit night, but I’m still in the midst of my epic struggle with the squid.
However, the battle is nearing its climax.
A terrifyingly massive black shadow has become visible on the surface of the ominously dark sea.
Moreover, the sea is frothing, and glimpses of bluish-green tentacle-like appendages are occasionally breaking the surface.
“It’s almost time,” Tsuna remarks.
The rocky area that was bustling with people during the day is now occupied by just the two of us.
There were a few anglers who wanted to watch, but as midnight approached, they started to leave one by one. When Tsuna said, “If you stay and get caught up in this, it’s your own fault if you die,” everyone vanished.
Well, those who stayed this long to watch were probably fishing enthusiasts, and it’s unlikely they’d have well-developed combat skills. I think they made the right choice in leaving.
“Yeah, I think our opponent is quite weakened. Let’s finish it off in one go when we reel it in.”
I can somehow sense the creature’s condition from the tension on the line. And based on that feeling, our opponent is considerably weakened.
Well, it would be troubling if it weren’t weakened after struggling for hours with a hook pierced through it.
But is this really EOD?
I have a feeling it’s not…
You see, I have a strong image of EOD rushing straight towards us once it detects our presence. Like some kind of player-killer monster.
Yet this opponent keeps trying to escape.
That might be what’s giving me this impression.
“—! Its movement has stopped! I’m reeling it in!”
“Anytime you’re ready!”
As the creature’s movement ceases, I activate [Demi-God Descent]. While processing the surging emotions with [Parallel Thinking], I pull up on the rod with all my might.
Feel the power of nearly 600 physical attack!
With a tremendous heave…
As if the sea’s surface itself were rising, a massive silhouette appears, and suddenly an enormous bluish-green body is lifted into the air.
“[Appraisal]!”
▶ Appraising ???.
▶ [Appraisal] successful.
Name: Deepa the Ship Sinker
Race: Hell Tentaculus
Gender: ♂
Age: 324
LV: 214
HP: 2451/5150
MP: 867/1720
Physical Attack: 352
Magic Attack: 276
Physical Defense: 273
Magic Defense: 268
Stamina: 515
Agility: 148
Intuition: 138
Spirit: 172
Fate: 165
Unique Skill: [Gluttony]
Racial Skills: [Physical Damage Halved] [Aquatic Creature]
Common Skills: [Limb Regeneration] LvMAX / [Multi-Thinking] Lv7 / [Constriction] Lv8 / [Continuous Attack] Lv9 / [Poison Mist] Lv7 / [Poison Resistance] LvMAX / [Water Magic] LvMAX / [Water Sorcery] Lv9
It’s so strong!
And it’s probably not EOD!
There’s no mention of EOD in its status!
Wait, is this what they call a monster!?
This is my first encounter, but are named monsters always this powerful!?
Honestly, how is this any different from EOD!?
In terms of danger level, they’re practically the same!
“Can you see it?” Tsuna asks.
“It’s got high stamina, probably a named monster! It has [Physical Damage Halved], so physical attacks might not be very effective!”
Also, that [Aquatic Creature] skill gives me a bad feeling.
It’s in the air now, so we should finish it off quickly—whoa!?
Deepa extends its tentacles from mid-air and wraps them around me.
Suddenly, it tries to crush my body with [Constriction]!
And then it starts falling back into the sea, trying to drag me down with it!?
“Ngggh!”
Thanks to [Magic Plate] activating automatically and my MP taking the damage instead, I’m only a bit uncomfortable, but without it, I might have lost my will to fight instantly!
And to make matters worse, my feet are slipping!
“God!”
Thud!
“Thanks, Tsuna!”
Tsuna saved me by stabbing his harpoon into the rocks as a stopper! Thanks to that, I manage to hold on without letting go of the fishing rod.
“Don’t mention it. …Hm? Isn’t the named monster’s arm glowing?”
I use [Appraisal] again to check Deepa’s arm, and its HP is recovering…?
“Is it recovering HP equal to the damage we’ve dealt!? Is this the effect of [Gluttony]!?”
If so, we can’t afford to take our time!
“Hah!”
I tear off Deepa’s tentacle wrapped around me and escape, then grip the fishing rod tightly!
But Deepa immediately regenerates its torn-off tentacle and tries to wrap around me again!
However, I quickly dodge and swing the fishing rod in a wide arc—
I reel in Deepa with all my might!
“Come to the surface, you!”
Splash!
Once again, Deepa’s body rises from the sea and floats in the air.
This time, I’m not caught off guard. I pull it in forcefully and slam Deepa’s body onto the rocky shore!
BOOM!
A tremendous sound echoes as the rocks shatter, but despite this, Deepa extends its massive tentacles towards me.
Grrroooaaarrr…!
For just a moment, Deepa’s tentacles stop moving.
It seems Tsuna has used [God Descent].
He grabs the harpoon he had stuck in the rocks and begins stabbing Deepa frantically!
Deepa’s aggro shifts to Tsuna.
Alright, now’s my chance!
“[Flare]!”
Level 10 Fire Magic. A band of hellfire moves at my will, wrapping around Deepa’s entire body, trying to burn it to ashes!
How’s that! Become grilled squid!
“Kiiiiiaaaaaaa…!”
But with Deepa’s screech, rain clouds suddenly gather overhead, and a torrential downpour begins.
Probably [Call Rain], level 9 Water Magic?
I thought it was a useless spell since the description only mentioned strengthening water attributes by making it rain, but it’s quite effective against fire magic…
The flames of [Flare] don’t extinguish, but they’re definitely weakened.
“I guess I have no choice but to fight with my sealed weapon…”
I feel like I just broke the seal recently, but I’ll ignore that.
I retrieve Gaga’s magic sword from [Storage].
The dully gleaming magic sword possesses power that could instantly kill even me. There shouldn’t be many opponents who can withstand this! …I hope!
“Now the real battle begins!”
Slash—
I easily cut off Deepa’s tentacle as it tries to restrain me after I draw the magic sword.
As expected, this magic sword’s attack power is abnormal.
It burns the cut surface of Deepa’s tentacle, preventing regeneration.
Moreover, it’s cutting through Deepa’s tentacles as if [Physical Damage Halved] never existed.
But well, Deepa is a named monster after all, so it doesn’t flinch from just this.
Multiple tentacles as thick as large trees come at me.
It would normally be a terrifying sight that sends chills down one’s spine, but…
“Too slow!”
To my eyes, Deepa’s attacks seem almost stationary.
Or rather, I barely perceive them as moving at all.
It’s probably because my agility and intuition are more than five times higher, and [High-Speed Thinking] is active.
I swing the magic sword at high speed, slicing and burning through the approaching tentacles as I advance.
“Kiiiiiaaaaaaa…!”
The moment I thought Deepa howled in pain from its body being sliced apart, an unpleasant chill runs down my spine.
“[Dark Avatar]!”
I instantly create a shadow version of myself to deal with Deepa while I turn around following my intuition.
There, I see a tsunami larger than a five-story building rushing towards us—
“Don’t tell me this is [Water Sorcery]!? This is on the level of a natural disaster!”
If I don’t do something about this, the town will be destroyed…
But can I really do anything?
“This is the only thing I can think of…”
I take out Kogwan from [Storage] and attach it to Gaga’s magic sword.
This triples the attack power of Gaga’s magic sword, so the attack power should be around 15,000?
I should be able to intercept that tsunami, but Kogwan will probably self-destruct in less than ten seconds. It’s made of magic iron, after all. If only it were made of orichalcum…
Sigh…
Sorry, Kogwan.
I’ll make you with more durable materials next time, okay?
Also, there’s a fundamental problem: even if I extend the blade of light, it’ll only reach about 20 meters, which isn’t enough to deal with a tsunami that fills my entire field of vision.
What should I do…
▶ [Balance] has activated.
Adjusting range balance.
Range has been expanded up to 124 times.
You can now freely extend or retract the range.
…Huh?
Wait.
At this incredibly busy moment… no, perfect timing?
But how does balancing result in a 124-fold increase in range?
Is it because of Deepa?
Are Deepa’s tentacles 124 meters long?
And is my arm length about 1 meter, so that’s how it works?
Is that how the range balance was adjusted?
This is absurd!
But thank you!
The light blade with Kogwan attached was originally 20 meters long.
If that’s multiplied by 124, it becomes 2,480 meters.
“That’s about four times the height of Tokyo Skytree! Take this!”
I activate Kogwan and swing the magic sword towards the sea. The blade of light, growing rapidly as I swing, cuts through the base of the tsunami, slicing through the entire gigantic wave in one horizontal stroke.
The severed tsunami loses its momentum on the spot, falling back into the sea like a waterfall. I hear Kogwan, which was attached to the blade, explode with a pop.
Ugh, I’m sorry, Kogwan…
Next time I make you, I’ll make you more durable and even higher performance…
I wonder if Gaga’s magic sword’s durability has decreased too…
This is just one thing after another…
“This is all your fault!”
I turn around and swing the magic sword on the spot.
The blade extends to a length of 124 meters, cleanly slicing Deepa in half vertically.
It seems that even Deepa can’t regenerate when its brain is split in two, and it dies with its body divided.
Seeing the disgusting, slimy innards(?) spilling out, I start to feel sick.
And it looks like [Dismemberment] actually left behind a kaiju-sized squid carcass.
▶ You have made the first defeat of the named monster “Deepa the Ship Sinker”.
SP +10 added.
▶ Acquired title: [Hero]
SP +5 added.
▶ Acquired title: [Giant Killer]
SP +5 added.
▶ Gained 45,602 experience points.
▶ Obtained 24,583 reward stones.
▶ Yamamoto’s level has increased by 2.
▶ [Balance] has activated.
Adjusting acquired items for balance.
▶ Gained an additional 21,019 reward stones.
Wow. Another world announcement.
Well, I guess it’s a small mercy that it’s the middle of the night and no one’s around.