Day 5 of the Voyage: Assault of the Colossal Kraken
On the fifth day of the voyage, Namgung Seojun was on deck when a strange, ominous feeling washed over him.
......Danger!!!
His Super Sense was delivering an intensely perilous warning for the first time in ages. Without hesitation, he bolted straight for the captain's cabin.
"Captain! We're in danger!"
"What?"
Kang Inho, the captain, was startled by the sudden declaration, but he quickly assessed the situation and barked orders.
"Emergency! Full speed ahead! Full speed!!"
At the captain's command, the crew sprang into action, and the Prokho ship surged forward rapidly.
But!
Kwaaak!
A distant roar that exuded overwhelming pressure echoed through the air.
"K.. Kraken.."
"That size.."
"It's a colossal Kraken....."
As the crew murmured, the massive form of the colossal Kraken emerged.
"......"
For a moment, everyone aboard froze. The mere appearance of the colossal Kraken had paralyzed them all instantly.
Namgung Seojun was the first to snap out of it, as expected.
"Get it together! Keep moving!"
His words triggered an instinctive frenzy of motion among everyone on board.
"Move! Move!"
"Hurry up! Faster!"
"If you wanna live, keep moving!"
"Push with everything you've got!"
The crew and party members reacted swiftly, and the Prokho hurtled through the sea at top speed.
However, the Kraken's movements were terrifyingly fast.
"Captain! The Kraken's closing in fast!"
At the watchman's shout, Kang Inho peered through his magic telescope to confirm the Kraken's approach.
"Insane.."
The speed was unreal. No matter how fast the Prokho fled, it was only a matter of time before it was caught.
"Fire! Blast the cannons now! Suppressive fire—no need to aim!!"
Following the captain's orders, the gunners unleashed the mana cannons.
Boom! Boom!
Flames erupted from the two mana cannons, striking the colossal Kraken with mana blasts. But the beast pressed on undeterred.
"Damn it!"
Kang Inho, seeing the Kraken's speed barely falter, yelled toward the deck.
"Party leader! We need your attacks!!!"
Namgung Seojun and his party were already prepped before the captain even called.
As the party members finished loading the super mana crossbows, he shouted,
"Fire!"
With aim locked, they infused mana into the super mana crossbows.
Piiing!
Gisohee's mana steel arrow shot out first, followed in rapid succession by the others' shots.
Pak! Bang! Piiing! Thud!
Over ten mana steel arrows launched, scattering across the Kraken's body and hitting their marks.
Kwaaak!!
Thankfully, Captain Kang Inho confirmed the colossal Kraken's speed had slowed slightly.
"Port side! Port! Turn to port!"
The Prokho maintained its blistering pace while veering sharply left. The ship's sturdy build and the captain's skilled crew prevented it from capsizing, but it rocked perilously close to tipping.
"Entering reef zone ahead!"
Kang Inho opted for the hazardous reefs to shake the pursuit, deeming the Kraken's attacks a greater threat than sinking.
Thud! Clang!
"Watch out!"
"Grab on tight, everyone!"
Screeech.
"Aaaah!!"
"Hold on!"
"Fall and you're dead!"
The ship shuddered violently as it scraped against small reefs at high speed. Its momentum slowed a bit—fortunately, the colossal Kraken didn't follow into the reefs.
"Hyungnim... the Kraken's not coming?"
"Seojun-nim, we're good, right?"
"Seojun! It's not following."
The party members looked relieved, but Namgung Seojun's expression remained grim. He warned,
"Everyone, hold on tight. Grab anything!"
"Huh?"
When Lee Guho questioned it, Seojun bellowed,
"Be careful! Hold on!!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the colossal Kraken unleashed a massive jet of water from its maw.
"Starboard! Starboard!!!"
Kang Inho wrenched the helm right, twisting the Prokho aside, but the water blast grazed the ship's side.
SPLASH!!!!!!
"Aaaah!"
A deafening crash rocked the ship sideways. It held together—miraculously—but the propulsion died in an instant.
"Restart the mana engines!"
The captain snapped back to action with orders, but bad news came from engineering.
"Mana Engine 1 shut down due to malfunction."
"Engine 2 suddenly cut out—restarting now. It'll take time."
The engines, jolted by the Kraken's attack, refused to fire. And the beast drew closer.
"Everyone, prep for close combat!"
As Namgung Seojun shouted, the colossal Kraken's tentacles reached for the Prokho.
"Radiant Strike!"
Seojun slashed the lead tentacle with a powerful blow.
Kwak?
It wasn't devastating damage, but enough to startle the Kraken. The party's attacks followed.
"Emerald Missile!"
"Holy Thrust!"
"Holy Shield Bash!"
"Continuous Thrust!"
The relentless barrage inflicted serious damage on the tentacles.
The colossal Kraken, enraged that these puny foes had wounded it, let out a thunderous roar.
Kwaaaak!!!
Its tentacles began pummeling the Prokho indiscriminately. Direct attacks on the group met fierce counters, so it targeted the hull instead.
Thud! Thud! Bang! Boom!!
"Hold on! Hold!!!"
Kang Inho urged endurance, but the passengers struggled to stay composed amid the chaos.
Then, hope from engineering: "Second mana engine ready!"
"Engage!!"
One engine roared to life at the captain's command. Seojun unleashed his trump card.
"Sylph!"
Simultaneously, he crushed a spirit stone from his pocket. Sylph grew instantly, absorbing the stone's energy to reach mid-tier spirit level.
Forcing growth via spirit stone had side effects, but they had no choice now.
"Strong winds, please!"
The empowered Sylph whipped up a gale. The Prokho's sails billowed powerfully.
"Captain! Speed's picking up!"
Thanks to the engine and boosted Sylph, the ship accelerated, gradually pulling away from the colossal Kraken.
Kwak?
But the Kraken had no intention of letting them escape. Before momentum built fully, it targeted the sails.
Whoosh.. Boom!
A tentacle smashed a sail, shredding it and nearly capsizing the ship.
"Aaaah!"
The impact rattled everyone aboard, leaving most dazed. Even Kang Inho gazed at the Kraken with despair, judging its assaults too much to bear.
"......"
Amid the desperation, one being remained calm: Pharos.
No choice.
Pharos decided it was time to intervene. He touched the ring on his finger.
Crack.
Crushing one of its gems, a subtle blue glow enveloped him.
"Asdasdasdwdsdwsas."
Pharos chanted an ancient incantation. A colossal mana barrier erupted between the Kraken and Prokho.
Kwak! Kwuk! Kwaak!!
The Kraken's tentacles slammed into the immense holy barrier, wracked with agony. As the apex predator ruling these waters for a century, it instinctively sensed the barrier's deadly threat.
The Kraken halted.
Kang Inho couldn't fathom it logically, but he seized the chance.
"Move! Move!! Blow the engines if you have to—go!"
Engineering overrode the engines at his command, and the Prokho fled at breakneck speed.
"What?.."
"We escaped?"
"A miracle!"
"We're alive!!"
"We made it!"
Party members and crew cheered as the distance grew, hailing it a miracle.
While others puzzled over the Kraken's retreat, Seojun had witnessed Pharos's chant—the reason.
"Pharos... how.."
Pharos silenced Seojun's question with a finger to his lips and a grin.
"Shh."
Seojun nodded at the clear signal.
The Prokho sailed relentlessly after escaping the Kraken. After a full day nonstop, a new message appeared to the group.
"Achievement!"
"We survived at last!"
"Whoa!!"
"We cleared it! We cleared it!!"
Starting with Kim Hoon's shout, cheers erupted. Namgung Seojun's party and Captain Kang Inho's crew had safely escaped the colossal Kraken zone, completing the 30th floor sea passage.