Max Talent Player

Freedom, the whale breath-infused pill that previously allowed him to breathe freely in the Sea of Clouds, was created. Hyukjin used it immediately.

[Use Freedom?]

He jumped into the ocean, sinking into the depths. Thanks to Freedom, he didn’t have to go up for air. Even after entering the water, he could visualize what was happening above the surface. The acidic ink spewed by the King Kraken completely disintegrated an entire ship before seeping into the water, causing his skin to sting all over. Hyukjin used Flash Step again, approaching the King Kraken.

‘This thing’s the ruler of the sea.’

At least during the beginner-intermediate period, this boss was the strongest monster that would show up in seas with late level 40 monsters. This sea was no exception—here, the King Kraken was the ultimate predator.

‘Since the King Kraken is a monster that runs away if there’s anything stronger than it…’

The King Kraken spewing ink and destroying ships with such abandon was a sure sign there was nothing stronger than it in the near vicinity.

‘...it won’t be on guard against anything in the ocean.’

Hyukjin had intentionally jumped towards the ships before plunging into the water. The boss wouldn’t pay any attention to the tiny creature swimming around in the depths.

Crunch!

Another ship was crushed in one of the King Kraken’s long legs.

‘Good thing I raised my Willpower.’

His Willpower stat was impossibly high for a level 44 Player. Perhaps because of that, he didn’t suffer much mental shock even when his ships were being smashed and desummoned.

‘Dammit, this’ll take a while to recover from.’

Still, his bet with the Herdsman of Las Vegas was riding on this, as was the Explorer of Service’s class scenario. His ships might be getting destroyed, but this was definitely a worthwhile investment.

‘There it is.’

Krakens had large anuses that made perfect gateways into their bodies. Hyukjin continued swimming. Because of how enormous the King Kraken was, its movements generated unbelievably strong ripples. Whenever he thought he was getting closer, a big current would roll out and push him away.

‘I have to be careful.’

Even if its movements weren’t targeted, each of its legs was a fatal blunt weapon simply by virtue of their size and strength. A direct hit would kill him.

Hyukjin used Flash Step again.

‘I’m going in.’

It was a little disgusting to go in through the anus, but it couldn’t be helped. The most efficient way to hunt a King Kraken was to enter its body and attack it from the inside.

He swam inside, recalling the notes written by the Great Explorer Jackson.

–Once you’ve penetrated the King Kraken’s anus and gotten inside, you’re halfway to success.

Now that he thought about it, Jackson was the one who revealed the King Kraken guide to the world as well.

–The inside of the King Kraken’s body is like outer space. You won’t feel gravity there. Players will need to swim while afloat.

It was exactly like the notes said. There was no gravity—it was like being in space. Hyukjin slowly moved his arms and legs to propel himself forward.

–Somewhere in its body runs a major artery.

The King Kraken’s internal structure was different from humans or regular creatures. Depending on the settings, it was possible it had a major artery, but not a heart, or that the artery was cut off.

‘I need to find the major artery.’

He couldn’t smell any blood. Like Jackson said, it was almost like he was floating in the vastness of outer space. Hyukjin had to search for a long time. There weren’t any real dangers. It just required time. As he swam, he let his mind run, thinking back to when he went to the Endless Sky under the Demon King’s scheming. There were a few similarities between his journey in the Endless Sky and his situation now.

‘The ocean outside was like the Sea of Clouds.’

He could breathe freely thanks to Freedom. The sensation was similar to back then.

‘And when I went up to the Endless Sky, I did so inside a whalekin’s body.’

This time, he was inside a King Kraken’s body.

‘And this energy I feel…’

After thinking for a long time, Hyukjin was able to pinpoint what this feeling was.

‘Endless Sky mana.’

It reminded him of the Endless Sky. The mana of the Endless Sky was a violent, fierce force that ruthlessly devoured everything other than the whalekin. But as faint as it was, he could feel that same mana here.

‘I can feel Endless Sky mana from inside its body?’

Hyukjin had a flash of understanding.

‘Inside its body… is an Endless Sky Crystal!’

He had already heard of its existence in this dungeon.

[All foreign influences in the ‘Endless Sky Crystal’ have been removed.]

[Canceling ‘scenario alteration’.]

[Returning to the regular scenario trajectory.]

It seemed the Endless Sky Crystal mentioned in the notice was hidden inside this boss monster’s body. Last time, Hyukjin was given one by Jackson. This time, he was certain that he could get one by his own strength.

‘I need to get it.’

Hunting the King Kraken boss was important, but more than anything, he needed to get the Endless Sky Crystal somewhere in its body. Endless Sky Crystals were filled with unprecedented power. It was a treasure regular mana crystals couldn’t even come close to.

‘Where is it?’

Hyukjin floated forward, cranking up Eye of Perception and Observer’s Eye to the max. The Endless Sky mana around him was slowly getting more dense. It couldn’t compare to the real Endless Sky, but it was definitely Endless Sky mana.

‘Over there.’

He swam like he was drawn to the mana.

‘I can feel it.’

Endless Sky mana, the violent energy flowing from the Endless Sky Crystal.

‘I can’t be harmed by Endless Sky mana.’

He had acquired the Endless Sky Physique—Endless Sky mana was no longer an enemy. Hyukjin swam for quite a while longer, breathing in deeply.

* * *

* * *

A voice echoed in his head.

(You’re doing well.)

It was Isabel. Hyukjin was very glad to hear her.

(Focus. It’s true you have the Endless Sky Physique, but it’s not perfect. You’re still too weak and fragile.)

Hyukjin snapped back to full attention at those words.

‘I need to focus on my 2nd heart.’

The most important aspect when handling Endless Sky mana was the 2nd heart he had made with Isabel’s help, the heart he had named ‘Isabel’. With this heart, he would absorb the Endless Sky mana and convert it into his own strength.

(That’s it. It’s good to get some practice with tiny amounts like this.)

A while later, a blue jewel came into Hyukjin’s view. Its name was a question mark.

‘Endless Sky Crystal!’

It looked exactly the same as the one he had gotten from Jackson. The Endless Sky Crystal back then was marked with a question mark as well.

(You’re weak, so I’ll help you.)

Last time, Jackson gave him the ‘Great Baptist’s Blessing’, which allowed him to identify the item. This time, Isabel helped him. Golden dust fell onto the blue crystal. Isabel had used a special ability, allowing him to activate the item description.

[Endless Sky Crystal]

A crystal imbued with the mana of the Endless Sky. People with particular constitutions can manipulate the mana within using a special method.

Grade: Low

He obtained an Endless Sky Crystal, an item that hadn’t existed in any notes, Playpedia, or guides in the past.

‘I got it.’

If it was the same as the Sangam World Cup Stadium Dungeon, the Nanba Terminal Dungeon would break. But even so, he didn’t once consider giving up the crystal in front of him. Instead, he resolved to prevent as much damage from that break as possible.

(Husband, I’m proud of you.)

He was in tune with her feelings. Her praise was sincere. It was like she was saying ‘you’ve grown a lot’.

(Now that you’ve got an Endless Sky Crystal, I should be able to stay awake a little longer, too.)

Hyukjin asked, “What about manifesting?”

(Not only would that be out of the question with a single Endless Sky Crystal, but I think that crystal would turn straight to dust. The most I can do is maintain consciousness for a little longer while taking care not to exceed the limits of the Endless Sky Crystal.)

Hyukjin was a little sad. To be honest, he wanted to see Isabel again.

(Husband. You thought just now that you wanted to see me manifest, didn’t you?)

Isabel snorted scornfully, but her laugh exposed her good mood.

(Sentiments like that, they don’t make me happy at all. But it’s commendable, I suppose. Indeed, that’s how a husband should be.)

Because they were mentally connected, he could feel her intense happiness. Hyukjin briefly thought that she was cute, even though she was so strong he couldn’t even dare to look upon her.

(Husband, don’t go that way. Go left, that way.)

Isabel was only able to exert her abilities a little more with the slight reinforcement of her consciousness, but even that made her an incredible help.

(You were looking for this, right? The major artery.)

Hyukjin saw a creek flowing with red blood. It was quite long and really did seem like a small stream. It didn’t smell at all like blood.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

This was the major artery, the key to this strategy.

–The King Kraken’s major artery looks like a red creek or stream. The blood in this stream must stay clean and pure and cannot be tainted with any impurities. This “major artery” is the King Kraken’s heart.

Hyukjin walked up to the major artery. Isabel warned, (Be careful. If you fall in, you’ll die.)

A wave of heat hit him. The blood seemed quite hot. Hyukjin took out an Iron Horn. He had decided to use it as soon as he had seen the King Kraken.

–After many tests by the author, hot, molten steel was found to be the most effective.

Hot, molten steel was said to have a better, more instantaneous effect than blades or poison items. Hyukjin began drawing forth the pure Athenae energy within him.

Isabel seemed rather pleased.

(Not bad, Husband.)

Having learned how to use sword ki, he’d already experienced wrapping his energy over a foreign object. Moreover, he had used Athenae’s flame multiple times and had practiced drawing forth flame ki many times while making the Blackfire Bow. The act of smelting the Iron Horn in itself wasn’t very hard.

The Iron Horn began to drip from his palm.

‘It’s hot for me, too.’

The horn he had smelted with Athenae’s flame inflicted severe injury to Hyukjin’s palm before flowing into the major artery.

The first Iron Horn, the second, and then the third all dripped into the major artery. A small tremor arose in the stream, quickly intensifying until the world around Hyukjin was violently rocking. The red blood flowing in the major artery started wildly splattering out.

(Watch out!)

A small, bluish barrier formed before Hyukjin’s eyes, created by Isabel.

‘She can do this sort of thing, too?’

Isabel fumbled for an excuse.

(That was a thin sword barrier. You can make sword barriers like this by swinging a sword ultra fast. Really.)

There was no way she was being truthful.

(It-it’s all because Husband is too weak. That’s why I swung out.)

Even if there really was a technique called ‘sword barrier’, it wasn’t this. This was all magic. A barrier, aka the defensive magic called Shield.

“Thanks. So it was an amazing sword technique, like I thought.”

(Th-This is nothing, ho, hoho, hoho!)

The red blood flowing in the major artery boiled over like molten lava, splattering all over this outer space world. Wherever the blood touched, a hole was burned in its place.

Seawater began shooting in from the holes, and the pull of gravity was reestablished. It felt as though he had returned to the world from which he had come.

He could feel it.

‘It’s dying.’

About thirty minutes later—

[The boss monster King Kraken has been killed.]

[EXP cannot be acquired.]

[Items will not be dropped.]

In the end, the King Kraken perished. Hyukjin swam up to the surface. The entirety of the Immortal Fleet had been destroyed, so he couldn’t go by ship. He started swimming back to the beach, sensing his guild members waiting for him in the distance with Eye of Perception.

As he swam, Hyukjin thought, ‘Normally at a time like this, the Guardians should’ve been rushing to send a bunch of messages.’

But none had come. That meant the Guardians had determined this scenario wasn’t over yet. And Hyukjin knew what the end of this scenario was.

Simply hunting the boss monster wasn’t all.

‘It’s time for the conclusion.’

He would bring this scenario to a close.