Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Odyssey (26)

The Kraken that went into the sea.

When the Kraken was completely submerged, it was no longer a human body.

The hands and feet became long tentacles, and from the torso to the head, it melted into one mass.

Kraken.

A mythical monster, and considered the most famous among sea monsters.

The ultimate monster created by the hatred and fear of cephalopods like octopuses and squids, combined with the unknown depths of the deep sea.

However, sea monsters are only the terror of the sea. They do not become a subject of fear on land.

Thus, the Kraken coming out of the water and interacting with humans was a factor that halved its power and abilities, and it was an action incomprehensible to others.

Why did the Kraken, who could use its majesty without any restrictions in the sea, take the risk and come to the land?

There were two main reasons.

The first was the Kraken’s extremely high intellectual ability.

The Kraken is fundamentally a monster, and therefore has a great hatred for humans, but at the same time, it has a tremendous curiosity about them.

However, in this world, the sea was an area not permitted to humans. For humans who could not go beyond the barrier, the sea was something mysterious that their ancestors talked about long ago.

Although the mystery of the sea and the stories of the Kraken continuously circulated, increasing its power, it was ultimately a useless power as long as humans did not go to the sea.

Even if it is the king of the sea, a king without subjects is just an individual.

In the end, the Kraken could not endure the boredom and loneliness and came out to the shore.

The second reason was that the Kraken found humans incredibly interesting, to the point of surprising itself.

Apart from the human hatred that monsters have, humans were a very amusing species to it. Regardless of whether it was good or bad from a human perspective, it was clear that this was the biggest reason it stayed on land for a long time.

During that time, it met a group called Indus. They pretended to be a group for commoners but had ambitions to overthrow the empire, which the Kraken found very appealing.

The Kraken, who had a hatred for humans, and Indus, who wanted to overthrow the empire. As long as they were within the empire, their goals aligned. While with Indus, the Kraken also had a clear sense of camaraderie and its own affection for humans.

However, Indus collapsed, and the Kraken was punished by the heavens and imprisoned.

The world changed a lot while it was in Obsidian.

A group stronger and more radical than Indus waged war against the empire, and the empire crushed them with almost no loss. After that, gods and demons gradually revealed themselves, and eventually, humans waged war against the gods and even won.

Now, humans, free from the influence of the gods, are preparing to go beyond the barrier.

That means they are preparing to head to the sea. It was clear where the Kraken needed to be.

‘I heard that even Poseidon participated in the war and was defeated.’

The Kraken moves deeper into the sea.

It had roughly heard the details of the war and knew that Poseidon had been defeated.

The important thing was that Poseidon was not defeated by fighting Frondier.

In other words, that devilish being did not directly intervene in the fight.

Therefore, it had no choice but to go. To the very place where Poseidon fell.

“…As expected!”

When the Kraken arrived, it had already become a giant octopus monster.

Swimming incredibly fast with its massive body in the sea, it found what it was looking for.

Deep in the seabed, a single spear was embedded, emitting a brilliant light.

Poseidon’s trident, the Trident.

“No one thought to come this far!”

This is the deep sea. A place of darkness without a single light, where the pressure would crush any ordinary person.

Moreover, above, dozens of waterspouts are raging due to the aftermath of the battle between Poseidon and Hercules, so humans do not approach here in the first place.

Thus, the Trident that fell into this sea is just quietly sleeping in the deep sea.

In the original Etius game, Kraken also succeeds in obtaining the Trident with a low probability. If successful, it is game over for the player, a complete failure.

In fact, during the time when Frondier was conscious of this and was in conflict with Indus, he always watched to see if Kraken was heading to the sea.

The biggest obstacle for Kraken in obtaining the Trident is, without a doubt, Poseidon.

But now, Poseidon is not here.

If he can just succeed in entering this deep sea, the Trident is a no-risk, high-return divine object that can be obtained without any interference.

“Frondier, I will make you regret showing mercy to me with your arrogant heart.”

Kraken approached the Trident.

And then,

[Visitor.]

He stops at the unfamiliar voice.

The sea monster, the king of sea monsters, Kraken.

With Poseidon, the god of the sea, fallen, the sea is now entirely his.

It should have been.

[To think someone would really come to this deep place.]

The sea Kraken knows is only within his world.

One cannot predict the existence of something that should not be.

“……This.”

Kraken widened his body towards the voice.

The massive body of Kraken, which could easily crush a ship with its legs.

Beyond that.

[Do you have business with this spear?]

Yellow eyes looked down at Kraken.

A long tongue, a mouth torn wide. A voice too clear and eerie to be just a voice, resonating in Kraken’s head.

A giant snake was in front of him.

“……Jormungandr.”

[You know me. Octopus.]

Jormungandr resides in this abyss.

The new master guarding the Trident.

He is comparable to Poseidon, no, a far more ferocious being.

“Why are you here? Didn’t you return after the war ended?”

[Return?]

Jormungandr tilts its head.

[Where would I return to?]

“……Ah.”

The Kraken has one misconception.

The belief that Jormungandr’s dwelling place is fixed.

Jormungandr originally lurked in the sea below this world. A place generally unreachable, where Odin cast him down.

That place was undoubtedly where Jormungandr had stayed the longest.

But now, with the world of salvation shattered and the gods gone, there is no reason for Jormungandr to return there.

However, there is something that remains incomprehensible.

Even if he doesn’t return there, why is he here, right now?

‘The area where he fought Poseidon would be nearby, but I heard Jormungandr moved the Frondier afterwards. After moving the Frondier, why did he return here?’

There is only one answer to this question, the Kraken’s guess.

Damn it, only one.

“……Frondier.”

[Ah, you’re clever, octopus. Frondier, a truly interesting being.]

Jormungandr nodded.

[He did avenge me and Loki, so I was willing to help him once. But he made a rather simple request. If my location didn’t matter, wouldn’t I stay here? I didn’t mind. If I could repay the debt to that extent.]

The Kraken’s thoughts were correct, after all.

That insane fellow was bothering him even from a place where he wasn’t.

[But now I see.]

Jormungandr’s eyes gleamed.

[You seem to be the reason, octopus.]

“……I will take the spear. I don’t intend to fight you. You weren’t ordered to guard the spear, were you?”

The Kraken spoke cautiously.

His constant use of the word “octopus” grated on his nerves, but he wasn’t going to fight Jormungandr.

[Of course, I didn’t receive such an order.]

Contrary to what he said, Jormungandr thrust its head forward, protecting the spear, its body coiling around the spear in a circle.

[But I’m curious. What kind of threat did that Frondier feel, to interfere with you? Whether you possess such power, I mean.]

Jormungandr’s mouth opened wide.

From its upper teeth to its lower teeth, it was more appropriate to call it a distance rather than a length.

To this, Kraken laughed. It was a laugh close to resignation. Since he had become an octopus, his smile was barely visible, but his heart felt that way.

“You’ll regret this.”

There was no other way now.

“Snake.”

[A fine spirit, indeed.]

* * *

Elodie’s magic circle was complete, and Frondier and Quinie lay side-by-side on it.

“I’ll tell you beforehand.”

Elodie looked down at the two and said.

“Time flows faster in dreams than it does here. Conversely, from the dream’s perspective, time here will be very slow. The reason I chose a dream when I was in danger of disappearing from the world was also because of this.”

“To slow down time, even a little?”

To Frondier’s question, Elodie nodded.

“Right now, our mana is linked. If things go wrong in the dream, shout ‘Ariadne.’ Then I’ll undo the magic.”

As Frondier had experienced firsthand, entering someone else’s dream carries significant risks.

One cannot use all of their power, and because it is fundamentally a dream, logical prediction is almost impossible. Therefore, a safety device is necessary.

“However, there’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“As I just said, time flows faster in dreams than here. So, even if you let me know of an emergency, it might already be too late. This magic takes time to undo, and in the dream, which has a much faster flow of time than here, the situation might already be over.”

“Then what should we do?”

“……We can only predict.”

Elodie spoke in a somewhat somber voice.

“I’ll state clearly, this isn’t the kind of thing we absolutely *must* accomplish. So, if you feel even a little bit of danger, come back immediately. Both Frondier and Senior Quinie possess excellent judgment and composure, so you must make a good decision about when to retreat.”

“You mean to weigh the pros and cons? Don’t worry. It’s my specialty.”

Quinie said with a confident voice.

(Note: All characters are fictional and above the age of 21.)

Elodie thought it was a little different, but perhaps it was better for Quinie to think that way.

“Okay. Then both of you close your eyes comfortably.”

At those words, Frondier and Quinie closed their eyes.

In the short time Frondier had her eyes closed, she saw Elodie gently raise her hands to cast a spell.

……And nothing happened.

Frondier, having kept her eyes closed, opened them after quite some time, noticing no change.

“Elodie, when—”

And Frondier found herself facing a library with massive bookshelves stacked high to the sky.

“……Indeed.”

It wasn’t that nothing happened; they had instantly arrived in a dream.

Frondier stood up. She checked for Quinie, but she wasn’t there.

“Frondier, I’m here.”

Quinie’s voice was heard then, and when Frondier turned around, Quinie was browsing through the books in front of the bookshelves.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know either.”

Quinie answered as if it were obvious.

“……Then, why are you so comfortable browsing the bookshelves as if it were your own home?”

Frondier rephrased her question slightly. The intention of the question was the same, however.

“Look at these books. Something’s strange.”

At Quinie’s words, Frondier examined the bookshelves. She lightly scanned the titles. ‘Records of Barter’, ‘Knight’s Oath Guidelines’, ‘Break-Even Point and Sunk Cost’, and so on. But none of them were books Frondier recognized.

“I don’t know what’s strange. They’re not books I know.”

“That’s what’s strange.”

Quinie snapped her fingers as if she’d answered correctly.

“……Is that so?”

“Yeah. Because these books…”

Quinie narrowed her eyes and looked around the bookshelves once more.

“I don’t know either.”