375. The Bizarre Sea King

As we make our way towards the royal capital of Ardezia, I fly at a low altitude so as to not stand out as possible.
The wind caressing through my scales and the smell of the tide are very pleasing.
Looking behind us, the shockwave generated by my flight speed draws a huge line on the ocean’s surface as I stride over the seawater.

Riding on top of my head, Alo is currently deciphering the map to find routes for us to follow while avoiding populated towns.
With my speed, a few detours here and there should be no problem.
My speed stat may not be that impressive when compared to others of my rank, but it’s the stat of a Rank A, which is already considered one of the top ranks in this world.

Seeing how I treat long-distance travel as something that I can easily traverse is once again making me realize just how powerful I’ve gotten as a high-rank dragon Ouroboros.
All of a sudden, I miss those days when I was still struggling for my life everyday as a baby dragon.

“…… Ryujin-sama, please forgive me. I may have… lost track of our path”

Alo, while desperately trying to understand the directions in the map with a confused expression, says in a soft tone as if she’s about to cry.
She must be thinking that she let me down or something, but that’s actually understandable since even after Lilyxila gave us a map and an item that serves as a compass, the ocean is still vast.
It’s even harder to tell which island is which.
Plus, with all the detours we tried to make, we’re even more lost now.

Alright then, why don’t we go find out where we are by flying up at a high point and checking out any nearby landmarks.
We’re far from the continent anyway so we should be fine, and even if someone spots us from far away, they probably won’t be able to tell that it’s an Ouroboros in the distance and just shrug it off as some random dragon.

But, in the off-chance that they are able to notice that I’m an Ouroboros even from afar, I’ll just fly away immediately, and even if they attempt to inform Ardezia about me, I’m sure that I’ll get there first with my speed.

I face up the sky and fly straight upwards.
The ocean starts to shrink away from my view and I can see all the nearby islands and the direction of the mainland from up here.

How’s it looking, Alo? Think you can figure out where we are now?

【“She’s noddin’ like crazy”】

Partner informs me when she looks at Alo.
Alright. We’re back on the road again.

As I was about to glide back down to the ocean, I noticed that Partner was still looking off into the distance.

When I looked behind to see what she was staring at, I see a large four-meter bird monster perched on a rock, repeatedly thrusting its beak on the water.
It doesn’t look particularly strong, so what’s making Partner so interested in it……?

【“…… Looks delishous”】

Ah, I see……
Well, we have been flying all day.
Guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick break for once.

“Gra~a! Gra~a!”

Partner bobbles her head in glee.
What a glutton. I mean, I can feel us getting hungry, so I can’t blame her……
It looks to be around Rank D or C, so one〖Wind Slash〗should be enough to get this over with.

But then, the water around the rock where the bird monster is perching suddenly turns into a large whirlpool.
My〖Presence Sense〗is picking something up from under that swirling vortex.
The bird monster notices something strange too and quickly swallows his catch, but when he looks down to see what’s under him, his beak gapes open in shock.

The bird monster attempts to escape and fly away.
Immediately after it took off, a large pale-colored tentacle extends out of the vortex and grabs the bird monster, dragging it underwater.
All the while I was just watching the spectacle unfold.
With Partner watching along with me.

The bird monster screams and cries as it’s being dragged to the center of the vortex, until eventually, it disappears.
Then, a gigantic oblong, twice as big as the bird monster, emerges from the vortex.
It has six eerie eyes arranged in two vertical rows with golden eyeballs and black pupils.
Those six eyes are eyeing directly at me.
Multiple tentacles then rise out of the vortex one after another.
It wasn’t just eight or ten, in fact, even a quick glance is enough to know that it’s got over twenty of them.

“Oo~o~oooooon……”

Its low-pitched cry vibrated all around the water surface.
So, what’s this new grotesque monster called this time……

【〖Kraken〗: RankＢmonster】
【Widely known to many as the ‘King of the Sea’.】
【It sinks passing ships and dragons for its sustenance.】
【It is considered to be one of “The Three Great Disasters of the Sea”.】
【Encountering a〖Kraken〗means death for sailors.】

Ooh……
For it to be able to sink dragons too, it must be powerful then.
Partner is just staring at the Kraken all speechless, she must be scared of it or something since her mouth’s just hanging open.

Sorry, Partner. That bird got taken by the Kraken.
I’m sure we’ll find another one again. Let’s just go look for some other food to chow down for now.

Then, Partner’s mouth began to drool.

【“Let’s chow on that wan……”】

Eeh…… you want us to eat that?
I mean, yeah, it looks like squid, and I’m sure it’ll taste like squid, but really?
It has six eyes, you know. I’d rather go for normal-looking squid than monster squid.
Partner’s wish of trying out new culinary dishes is getting worse.

The Kraken seems to have sensed Partner's hunter eyes and dives back underwater.

【“A-After it! C’mon, let’s go hunt it!”】

C-Can we still make it in time if we chase after it now though?
When I asked that question, Partner responded by looking at me straight in the eye while her eyes started to glow.
She’s trying to use〖Demonic Eyes of a Ruler〗and take over my body.
Okay, okay, I get it! Just calm down! Don’t waste our MP over something like this!

I dive down from the sky and head towards the Kraken.
But just when I was about to get close to it, the Kraken had already disappeared. It submerged itself under the water vortex.
A quick-to-run squid. Or is it an octopus? Nah, who cares.
I’m somewhat relieved I didn’t make it in time.

“Gra~a! Gra~aaaa!”

Partner begins to thrash about right next to me.
I get it, I get it! I’ll look around some more.

I flap my wings and fire a〖Wind Slash〗at the center of the vortex.
The blade of wind hits the water and creates a huge splash that almost reaches us.
It’s kinda hard to tell if it got hit or not.
As I look closer, trying to make out what I can see under the water, a blue liquid is seen floating from underwater to the surface.
Apparently, I hit it.

Then, in the next instance, a black gas is ejected from the center of the vortex.
I repel it away with wind by flapping my wings.
Although, I kinda ended up inhaling a small portion of it and now I feel woozy.
Looks like the black gas causes some kind of status condition.

A tentacle emerges out of the sea and attempts to grab me.
Even though I was feeling lightheaded, I was still able to move and fly up to escape from the tentacle.
It only managed to grab my hind leg, but then two more tentacles emerged and wrapped around my ankle.

It’s clearly trying to pull me under the water.
But, if it thinks this is enough to drag me down to its level, it’s got another thing coming.
I flap my wings and fly higher up to the sky. The Kraken, despite being the one who was pulling me down, is now getting lifted up into the air.

“O~on? O~o, o~o~oo~o~o~o~o~ooooon?!”

The Kraken lets go of my legs and attempts to escape.
But Partner quickly reaches down and bites one of the tentacles, preventing it from escaping.
I also grab one of its tentacles and pull the Kraken closer to me.

With one swing of my claw, I rupture three of the Kraken’s six eyes with some of its blood splashing into me.
Then, I follow it up with another devastating blow.

The Kraken was unable to withstand my claw swipes and Partner’s bite attack that it ended up dangling lifeless in the air, until the tentacle that Partner was biting got ripped and the Kraken fell to the ocean.

【Obtained 910 Experience Points.】
【〖The Walking Egg: Lv—〗skill gives you additional 910 Experience Points.】

As always, God’s Voice is here to remind us that the enemy is confirmed dead.

The Kraken’s corpse remains floating on the sea.
Black ink emits out of the Kraken’s mouth, dyeing the ocean in black.

Come to think of it…… what kind of status condition does that black substance inflict anyway?
I turn my eyes towards it and check out its info.

【〖Sea King’s Ink: ValueＢ〗】
【A type of ink that is only released by one of the three great disasters of the sea, the〖Kraken〗.】
【It causes〖Hallucination〗,〖Poison〗, and〖Sleep〗.】
【In addition to being used as both an attack and a smokescreen, the〖Kraken〗also instinctively expels a large amount of ink when fleeing from an enemy, which further enhances the flavor.】
【Because of this, it is also regarded as one of the seven major delicacies of the world, with the〖Sea King’s Ink〗being used as a sauce or seasoning after diluting its toxins.】
【Other than having to face the ferocity of the〖Kraken〗to obtain it, it is considered as a rare ingredient that is found nowhere else in the world.】

I-It’s not just one of the three great disasters but also one of the seven major delicacies?
Well, it's true that there's a certain kind of seafood aroma emanating from the black ink leaking out of the Kraken’s corpse.

I put my snout near the black ink and take a whiff at it.
It’s a little strong, but it does smell quite addictive. Next, I take out my tongue and do a quick taste at it.
Despite being inflicted by the〖Sleep〗and〖Poison〗status, the rich flavor was just too exquisite that I really did almost fall asleep.
Plus, the mix of saltiness from the seawater is a good touch too.

No, no, I shouldn’t be licking this without diluting its toxins first.
I shake my head and restrain myself. One lick from that delicacy was already enough to make me drool but I resisted the temptation.

Be patient. To think that something so delicious could be stacked with such dangerous status ailments.
If I keep gulping it down, I’ll be a no-good human…… I mean, a no-good dragon.

While I was busy holding myself back, Partner was also busy shoving her face to the black sea and swallowing the water without a care in the world.

【“Yum! Yummy! Too yummy!”】

Even though I’m restraining myself, this dragon head……!