Chapter 83

Chapter 83 – Is This Really Happening Again? (7)

The members of the hero’s party stood side by side as they looked down at the underwater stone grave.  It had been a complete collapse, and the corpse of the defeated Ancient Kraken remained within this grave.  Yes, it was deep within.

Maetel opened her mouth..

“Artpe, I’m curious about one thing”

“What are you doing with your hand?  Recently, you always seem to grab me before I even ask anything of you.”

“No way.  I would never do that.”

Maetel retracted the hand she had been sneakily extending towards him.  She asked him a question.

“The Kraken is buried deep within the ocean, so how do we take it out and loot it?”

“I’m thinking about using the great magic spell again.  ·····are you disappointed?”

“Piii.  I hate you, Artpe.”

It was a grave mistake to think that Artpe would always be slow to come up with an answer.  As more time passed, Maetel was starting to come after Artpe in a direct and open manner.  He wouldn’t easily give ground to Maetel!

‘Now that I think about it she is 14 years old.  Is it her puberty?  In the past, I could just grab her hand, and she would smile all day…….’

She gradually wanted more and more from him.  It seemed she was spooked when she saw women like Mycenae and Etna loiter around Artpe’s vicinity.  She became persistent in trying to seal the deal.  Artpe didn’t want to complicate his life any further, but if things progressed well like this…..

‘······I guess that won’t be too bad. Huht!?’

In a flash, the mere fact that he was having such a thought made him want to bash his own head in with a hammer.  He quickly turned around.  He could confirm where the Kraken was buried, so he just had to use his magic spell.

However, before he could do that….

[I want you guys to head back first.]

[We’ll wait until master’s work is done.  We’ll return together.]

[When the buried Ancient Kraken is brought out, its Demonic gene will overtake all of you.  If you want to see the merfolk suffer the same pain as you, do you as you please······.]

[If I’m being truthful, I prefer that outcome by a large margin.]

Sherryl replied with a strong voice.  He hadn’t noticed it before, but after the light surrounding her disappeared, a small gem-like crystal letting out purple light had appeared on her forehead .  It created an additional aura of mystery around her.

[I know what was done before was wrong, but I’m sure this is the primal source of energy.  If master can share the demonic energy with me, I can adjust the energy, and I can lead my people down the right path.  Master instructed me by showing me the right path. I’ll depart this knowledge to my people.]

[······.]

A deep purple light was being emitted from the forehead gem when Sherryl proclaimed her unequivocal commitment.  This was accompanied by new information being displayed in Artpe’s eyes.

[Sherryl Anaid]

[Genesis Mermaid]

[Mermaid Queen]

[Level : 139]

[Innate Ability : Race Command]

“Ha.”

He never expected to see a day when a mermaid would awaken to an Innate Ability.  He didn’t reincarnate for nothing.  Artpe burst out in laughter when he saw something he never expected to see.

One couldn’t develop Innate Ability just because one was strong.  It didn’t matter if one was wise.  It  also wasn’t an ability one could gain, because one was born from a good bloodline.  Talent, experience, luck and Record must all be in harmony for one to have a chance of developing an Innate Ability.

Moreover, her Innate Ability was called Race Command.  It was a terrifying ability.  If a human with this ability had shown up,  he would probably be able to newly write history by creating a unified empire.

Artpe once again had a hunch that he had caused this trouble.  This situation might progress into something enormous.  It couldn’t be compared to the time when he had saved Sienna.

‘If she is able to advance the other merfolk without a hitch….  No one will be able to ignore them just because they are merfolk.  This is turning interesting.’

Yes,it was true that a variable had shown up on the Demon King’s side.  There would be no downside if one or two variables appeared on his side.   He put on a fairly confident expression, and he willingly accepted the request made by his first familiar.

[All right.  I want you to take this as far as you can.  However, if it turns out weird like the Ancient Mermaids, I’ll personally end them.]

[I won’t let master lift a finger.  If that happens, I’ll kill them myself.]

[You are good at talking.]

Artpe snorted as he once again turned towards where the Kraken was buried. He put away the grimoire, which had fulfilled its role.  He didn’t take out the Demite’s Gemstone either.  He just raised his hand, and he set a similar magical circle like before.

When she saw this, Sienna tilted her head in confusion.  She queried Artpe.

“Oppa, you gathered an incredible amount of Mana before….   Even if you’ve leveled up, are you sure you have enough?  Shall I lend you my Mana?”

Despite Sienna’s worry, he just pointed towards the location in front of him with a smirk on his face.  It was the location where he had activated the great magic.

He had activated a great magic called God Flush to end the Kraken, and the traces of the magic circle still remained there.  Of course, it could only be seen by people like Artpe and Sienna, who possessed supreme gift in dealing with Mana.

“There is an advantage in using magic through a magic circle.  This is especially true when the Mana is undisturbed.  When one uses the same spell in the same location, the Mana consumption drops below half compared to before.”

“I see….  Then we should be careful in locations where our enemies created a magic circle?”

“No, you can use your unique Mana to disrupt the Mana flow.  You can erase the magic circle.  I’ll explain in more detail later.”

“Yes!”

In  the past, Maetel had shown an instinctive ability to do this very thing.  She had taken control of the surrounding magic, so no other magic could be activated near her.  However, he didn’t expect Sienna to possess such genius talent.  The fact that there were already two heroes was already causing him a headache.

“So······ The mystery that fell from the sky.  The cradle of creation.”

After he finished giving the short magic lesson, he started chanting the magic spell.  It was the exact same incantation he had used against the Kraken!  Matel belatedly tried to stop him.

“Wait a moment.  If you create another whirlpool, wouldn’t it bury the corpse further?  Wouldn’t it be harder for us to take it out!?”

“No.  This magic spell has two patterns for activation.”

The first was a downward flush.  What was the second pattern?

Maetel easily figured out the answer to his question.

“It surges upwards······?”

“That’s it!  Flow backward, God Flush!”

In a flash, the magic circle let out a brilliant light.  In the next moment, a silence that had been observed once before descended on the party.  However, Artpe’s party had experienced this magic once before.  They knew it was the silence before the storm.  He didn’t say anything, yet Maetel and Sienna clung to him.

Then the spell arrived.

“Kyahhhhhhhhhk!”

“It’s gushing!  The rocks are soaring upwards!”

Water sprang up from a place deeper than the ocean floor.  The surging water crushed the pile of stones into dust, and the dust covered the entire region.

Of course, Artpe had already expected this to happen, so he protected his party with a barrier he prepared beforehand.  This God Flush was being used to bring out the corpse of the Kraken.  He didn’t need to invest too much Mana into this spell.  This was why he had plenty of Mana left to create a barrier.

[I…it is coming out.]

[Huge······ It is too large..]

[How dreadful.  Is that really its corpse?  Is it really dead?]

Soon, the Kraken’s corpse appeared alongside the surging water and rocks.  Since it had been infused with Demonic energy, it had been thoroughly beaten with holy power.  It was also swept up in the surge water after being flushed down before.  Its corpse was in tatters.  It was in worse condition than the Kraken that had been beaten to death by the Hellfire Sentinel.

“Is it because it was sealed away for a long time?  Wow.  Its body was completely destroyed.”

“What are you going to do with it, Artpe?”

“It is something you like the most”

At Artpe’s words, Maetel’s eyes gleamed.

“I can eat it!?”

“Yes.”

Artpe solemnly nodded his head as he answered her.

“I’ll make it so that you’ll never be able to eat a normal octopus again.”

“It’ll probably take us about 100 years to eat it all……”

[Nyaaaaaa.]

Artpe’s party earnestly talked about the meals they would have during their travels.  While they were doing so, Sherryl had gathered the merfolk in one location. She chose merfolk with potential and qualification.

[I ask this of the merfolk that had advanced from the previous battle.  Are you ready to return to your primal form?]

[Queen······ We are willing!]

[Her majesty have already walked the path.  We will willingly follow in your footsteps!]

Candidates were selected in short order.  When she nodded her head, the rest of the merfolk moved to the back  She extended one hand.  All the demonic energy that was flowing out into the ocean waters were gathered towards her.

Sherryl wasn’t the Greed Beast Roa, yet she was able to control the demonic energy.  She possessed an Innate ability called Race Command, and there were abilities that came from being a Genesis Mermaid.  It would have been impossible for her to do this if not for these conditions.

[At the end of your pain, I’ll be waiting for all of you.  We will return to a form that we were unable to regain for a very long time.  My master revived this Record, and it is our duty to propagate it.]

[Ggooh-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

[Koo-hahhhhhhhhhk!]

When the demonic energy flowed into their bodies, the merfolk let out horrible screams as they writhed.  The result was the same as Sherryl from before.  However, a bright light was emitted from Sherryl’s forehead gem, and she was able to freely control the demonic energy that had settled within their body.

[Oh primal energy.  Guide those that obey me through the right path!]

Of course, Artpe didn’t care if the merfolk were starting a new mythos.  He started looting the Ancient Kraken in earnest.  The first thing he had to do was put away the broken altar.

“The Kraken, temple fragments and altar fragments are all gathered in one place.  All right.  Let’s go!”

“Aht!  I saw that before in sunbae-nim’s Dungeon!”

“You are really late in noticing it.”

Originally, the altar was supposed to suck in all the Mana and Record making up the temple.  It was supposed to impart the Mana and Record into the Skill book and Spell book.  However, Artpe had unintentionally broken the altar first. If he wasn’t careful, the altar would lose its significance.  He won’t be able to use the Skill Book and Spell Book.

“However, I’m already well acquainted with the Mana patterns of sunbae-nim’s magic spells.  I’ll be able to reverse engineer it with no problems….······!”

“I can feel the Mana being concentrated within the altar…..  Yes, I see.   That is why the temple fell.”

Artpe didn’t respond to Maetel’s words.  He grinned as he placed both hands on the altar, and he concentrated.  When the temple fell, the Mana couldn’t find its owner.  It rampaged as it spread into the surrounding.  However, the Mana was starting to gather within the altar at Artpe’s guidance!

That wasn’t the end.  The Mana and Record were sucked out from the Kraken’s corpse and the temple fragments.  It was all absorbed into the Skill book and Spell book.

How long had it been since he started to pull the Mana from his surrounding?  All the light within the surrounding dimmed a little bit.  As a result, the brilliant light around the Spell book and Skill book became apparent.  The reward he could earn from the Kraken decreased by a little bit, but it was a small price to pay for strengthening their skills.

“It’s done.  Grab it, Maetel.”

“It feels as if Artpe is feeding me……  I wish it was the reverse.”

The Skill book had the ability to strengthen Maetel’s Record Divide.  The Spell book had the ability to strengthen Artpe’s Mana String.  He had been using the cheat-like spell as his main spell up until now.  He felt a flutter at the prospect of his spell being strengthened.  The Spell book was absorbed into his body, and he waited for a change….

For some reason, the change never came to him.

“Huh.  Did it fail?”

“It’s all right, Artpe.  We’ve been succeeding at everything up until now.  It is ok to fail once.”

“Thank you for consoling me, but there is no way this should have failed…  Huh?”

He checked with his Read All Creation ability, but he couldn’t find anything wrong.  There had been too much change within him, so it was hard for him to figure out what had gone wrong in the middle.  Artpe felt very leery about the situation, but Maetel didn’t make any fuss about it.  Therefore, he decided to overlook it for now.

“Shit······  I’ll be sure to get my revenge against that sunbae bastard.”

“Sunbae-nim probably never expected the altar to be pulled out in the middle of the process.”

He had a dirty feeling.  It was as if he hadn’t brushed his teeth.

Artpe destroyed the altar, which was of no use to him now.  Then he started to loot the Kraken.

It was funny, but the loot that popped out was exactly four in number.  One particular item caught his eyes.

“Level 291 Boss monster’s magic stone······.”

He had consumed the level 267 monster’s magic stone already.  This acquisition soothed his heart.

Somehow, he couldn’t erase the thought that this was a zero-sum game, but this item’s level was much higher.  He would be able to put it to better use.  He firmed his resolve.  He would Reinforce the Artifacts with it.  He put the magic stone away.

When he looked over the rest of the loot, he found a black bastard sword, a black helmet, and an enormous tower shield, which gave off a bad feeling with its uneven surface.  They were all made out of a black metal.

“We did our best to hunt down a strong monster, yet there is nothing here that Artpe can use.”

For some reason, Maetel looked dejected.  Artpe smirked as he stroked her head.

“The fact that our vanguard gets stronger means the probability of us winning in a battle increases.   So don’t worry about it.  You’ll be able to swap out your bastard sword now.”

She switched between a bastard sword and a long sword depending on the situation.  She had been swinging this particular bastard sword since she was 12 years old.  No matter how much he Reinforced it, there was a limit to its function based on the item’s basic stat.  She was able to acquire an absurdly reliable weapon here.

“Yes.  I will protect Artpe with this sword.”

“Sp I have to use this helmet and shield?”

“It might be a bit stuffy, but this is for your safety.  There will also be less men bothering you, since they won’t be able to see your beauty.”

“Oppa, it is embarrassing if you say stuff like that.”

Sienna behaved herself as she blushed.  She took pleasure in his compliment. Maetel used to be like this……..

“Ah.  There is something we have to do before you guys can take it.”

Roa had been obediently held in Artpe’s bosom as she missed out on the appetizing demonic energy of the Kraken.  She had been grinding her teeth at the lost opportunity.  He brought her forward, and he ordered her with a stern voice.

“I want you to suck out all the curse within the Artifacts.  What a nasty piece of work.  It placed traps on the Artifacts even in its death.”

[Nyaa-ah, nyaa nyaa-ah nyaa.]

She said she would be satisfied for now.  Roa gave a coy reply as she opened her mouth.  All the curse was sucked into her mouth.  The only thing left were artifacts that had turned pure-white.

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“That thick darkness was all cursed Mana!?”

“My shield turned pretty!”

Artpe smirked when he saw that his party members loved the Artifacts they received.  After divvying up the loot, he turned around.  Sherryl had done well.  She had been successful in leading the merfolk towards being a primal race.  A mature aura like the one surround Sherryl emanated from the newly born merfolk

He had no idea if the merfolk would sink completely.  Maybe, they might float to the top by taking advantage of this new possibility····· At the very least, he was sure that Sherryl Anaid would stand center in the middle of history.  At this fact, he felt an emotion that was hard to pin down.  He let out a sigh.

He had acquired a lot of things, but it truly was time for them to leave towards Aedia.