One Fist to Split the Sea
Hmm. Fighting that octopus isn’t particularly difficult in itself. It’s only a little oversized, so what real challenge could there be? Still, if we stay on the boat, I’ll be perfectly fine, but Enri and Pipi will end up having an intimate swim with the fish. It might be a memorable experience for them, but since they lack gills, they won’t last long. For their safety, I need to pull the creature’s attention away from the ship.
Decision made, I tossed the sleeping bag carelessly onto the deck and pressed my acupoints. From my once-empty dantian, qi erupted like madness, raging through my meridians as if it would tear them apart. Any ordinary person would have been devoured by that power and killed on the spot. Even the lucky ones would end up crippled, unable to walk again. But every rule has its exception, and I was that exception.
I subdued the rampaging qi with laughable ease, then leaped from the boat and stepped lightly onto the water’s surface. Perhaps it thought I had willingly entered its arena? The beast, which had grown cautious after I severed its first tentacle, now thrust several massive limbs from the depths, trying to swallow me whole.
The enormous tentacles lashed like whips. Their sheer size alone made them threatening. Yet if the one swinging those whips was nothing more than a mindless animal, the threat meant nothing at all.
Stupid, cowardly octopus. Remember this well: being straightforward isn’t always a virtue.
I took two steps to the right. A tentacle slammed down exactly where I had been standing. With a deafening CRACK, a spray of massive water droplets shot past my hair. I hopped backward, and another tentacle exploded upward from the spot I had just vacated. All it caught was seawater.
The one now stretching straight up made for a perfect target. My sword flashed. The exposed tentacle split cleanly in two and crashed back into the ocean. More droplets flew as a deep vibration rolled through the water from below. At first I thought the octopus was screaming in pain, but no—it was simply the sound of the creature rising.
Soon the center of the sea parted, and the ruler of these waters revealed itself. Calling it a living being felt wrong. It was more like an island given flesh.
Hah. It’s fucking huge. At that size, our little wolf could run around on its head and have the time of her life. Plenty of meat was appealing, but how was I supposed to carry this thing back? Would it even fit on a boat? It looked like I’d need several ships, each towing one leg.
While I was lost in such pointless thoughts, multiple magic circles lit up around the giant octopus.
“What? It can use magic too?”
I had assumed it was a mindless beast, yet it possessed rather mysterious talents.
“Didn’t I say it repeatedly? It’s not that I ran away because magic was difficult. I simply found something that suited me better.”
I spoke to my viewers while effortlessly dodging the octopus’s spells. Most of its magic relied on water—currents to knock me off balance, attempts to seize my ankles, or waves meant to swallow me whole. It probably planned to hinder my movement with magic and let its tentacles finish the job.
But both the spells and the physical attacks were equally obvious to me. Completely useless.
“Look at the magic this thing is using. It’s utterly pointless, isn’t it?”
I was in the middle of persuading my viewers who still didn’t understand when the tactless octopus interrupted me. It spewed a cloud of ink from its beak.
Normally ink would be easy to avoid, but when expelled by a creature this size it was different. The ink spread like fog, dyeing the entire area pitch black. A cheap trick to rob me of sight and make dodging harder. Of course, it had no effect on me. What did losing one sense matter?
But that only applied to me. My viewers watching the stream were now staring at nothing but darkness!
This was problematic. I needed to prove that my magic was meaningless and that the dosul I had learned was superior. What kind of nonsense was this? I was annoyed. A creature whose only redeeming quality was its taste had the gall to pull this!
Still, this black fog was nothing but ink. If I dispersed it, the problem would vanish. I would paint a new picture upon the world.
First, the canvas must be cleaned. I erased every trace of energy in the area. All the magic lingering nearby scattered into the void, and the ink fog dissolved along with it. The tentacles that had been blocking the sky began to sink.
If I left them alone they would paint me black, which was not what I wanted. So I painted something new—this time, wind. A fierce gale exploded outward from where I stood. The ink that had been falling helplessly along with gravity could not withstand the force. It rode the wind and scattered in every direction.
Once more, the octopus’s eyes met mine.
Good. I have neutralized your magic with my dosul. Now it is my turn to attack.
I painted again. This time I created a water orb small enough to fit in my palm. There was nothing special about it. It was simply a ball of condensed water. I gripped it, then hurled it toward the octopus’s head.
The orb screamed past the speed of sound, trailing a shockwave, and struck the creature’s massive skull. The head visibly caved inward before the sound caught up.
BOOOOM!
A thunderous explosion like a bomb going off echoed across the sea. The staggering octopus slowly sank beneath the waves.
“See? Isn’t dosul far more useful?”
“Of course. It’s the result of my water orb, isn’t it?”
Hmm. The message was finally getting through. As expected, showing something once is far more effective than explaining it a hundred times.
I nodded and waited for the octopus to resurface, but it remained hidden beneath the waves. Was it playing dead? Did it really think I wouldn’t know it was still alive?
Just as disappointment began to set in, something shot up from below the surface. I swung my sword and cut it apart, only then realizing it was an arrow made of water.
Hah. So instead of running, it changed tactics? And the new tactic was this pathetic sniping? How ridiculous. After getting hit only once, it hid in a place I couldn’t reach and started firing tiny attacks. I wouldn’t call it a bad strategy. Winning by any means necessary is only logical. Still, it was impossible not to feel irritated.
Anyway, the legs I had already cut off would be more than enough to taste. There was no need to leave the rest of its body intact.
I stored my sword in my bag and released my true qi. The footing was unstable, but that was no problem. I could simply create my own foothold with inner energy.
I gathered my power and stepped forward.
Octopus. Did you think hiding in the sea would keep you safe? Did you believe that within its vast, deep embrace I could not kill you?
That was your mistake.
No matter how thick the ocean’s waters are, they cannot surpass the sky above. Before my fist, they hold no meaning whatsoever.
I unleashed a single punch carrying everything I had. The sea split down the middle, revealing the seabed that should never have seen daylight. The octopus hiding there could not possibly withstand the force. It vanished without a trace, and in its place a single bag appeared.
That must contain the magic stone. If I retrieve it and bring it to Enri and Pipi—
“Kyaaaaaaaah! Save ussssss!”
“This is so spectacuuuuular!”
I turned toward the voices coming from behind as I fell with gravity. The boat carrying Enri and Pipi was soaring through the air.
“Oops.”
I had messed up. Of course. If I split the sea in half, the boat would lose its support and fall too. I desperately wanted to save them, but after throwing a punch without holding back for the first time in a while, my body was in tatters. I didn’t have the strength left.
This was troublesome. If I left it like this, the parted seawater would come crashing down on the falling boat. Everyone would drown together in a friendly group death. The boat itself wouldn’t survive, and neither would the sleeping bag I had left on deck. After I died and revived, would the bag the octopus dropped still be there?
If it disappeared, I would simply have to catch another octopus… Assuming another one even appears. Losing the only chance because of my own mistake would be truly painful.
While I was pondering this, I saw the seawater beginning to pour down from above. Well. Worrying about it now wouldn’t change anything. I would think about it after I died and came back to life.
“Hwaryeong, I’m sooooorrrrrryyyyyyyyy!”
“Sorry about that, Enri. Just think of it as a valuable experience.”