Chapter 118 - The One-Legged Kraken V

The agenda was discussed over a simple breakfast of plants and raw seafood. Though Claire had gathered all of the fresh ingredients, she knew very little of what she had brought to the table. One was a strange tentacle monster that refused to die even with its head impaled by a piece of ice. Another was apparently meant to be a fish, but more closely resembled a deflated slime than it did any sort of swimmer; its blobby body was made entirely of soft, malleable tissue. The third and final catch was a living rock that would occasionally stick a snorkel into the water and move it around. The rogue didn’t exactly think that any of them were edible, and they had half been caught in jest, but Sylvia enjoyed all them deliciously nonetheless. All three morsels vanished down her throat despite each being larger than her stomach.

The pair had already parted ways with the lardball that had accompanied them throughout the morning. Marcelle was apparently more interested in gorging herself on grass than she was their companionship, a choice that Claire definitively ruled as rational. The not-hay was one of the least bad tasting things in the lost library, and the lyrkress had even gathered some of it for herself.

“Dad says that Fred works really fast.”

“What does that mean in days?”

“Uhmmm… I dunno, I’ve never really asked.”

Claire opened her mouth to speak, but Sylvia cut her off before she could make a sound.

“Don’t even start! I’m not useless! He’s never made anything for me before! How am I supposed to know exactly how fast he works!?”

“I wasn’t going to call you useless,” said the lyrkress, with a quiet giggle. “But I’m glad you know.”

Sylvia covered her ears with her paws and rolled around in the sand. “Ahhhhhh! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”

“No you don’t.” Claire magically pulled the fox into another hug. The victim tried to escape, but was paralyzed with a glare and forced to sit still. “How long will it take to track down the chain and chasm lords?”

“Ummmm… the chain bird is gonna be a huge pain because it runs and I don’t think you’re fast enough to chase it down. The chasm lord is pretty far, but I think we can knock it out today if you want.”

“Okay. Then let’s do that,” said Claire. “Is there anything else I can kill?”

“Hmmm…” Sylvia rubbed her cheek against Claire’s ice spike before resting her jaw on top of it. “We can head down to the green belt if you want. I think that’s technically supposed to be the toughest zone, unless you count the equitaur’s chamber.”

“Is that all there is?” Claire furrowed her brow. “That… doesn’t seem right.”

“Huh? It doesn’t? Why not?”

“I didn’t see any of the famous warriors that came here to seek glory. None of them were in the citadel, or up on borrok peak. And none of the monsters I’ve seen were strong enough to kill them.”

“Oh ummm… Al had this whole fancy explanation for that, but I don’t really remember it. You can probably ask Dad if you’re curious. I think he’s got a pretty good idea why.”

“I’ll do it later. When you’re less useless.”

“Oh, shush about that already! I’m not useless!”

“Sure.”

Claire finished one last mouthful of hay before slowly rising from her seat. Unlike her companion, who had devoured an entire sea creature with every bite, the moose had needed a few minutes to chew through all her hay. Her teeth were too jagged to consistently grind down the plant matter. It was a problem she had always had, but it had gotten worse following her ascension. The incisors in her mouth had only grown pointier.

Together, the pair walked across the beach and stepped into the ocean, with neither faltering for even a second. Sylvia’s bubble appeared as her paw touched the water, enveloping her in a protective layer. Claire needed no such thing, but changed her cloak to emulate the waterproof linens so often worn by the servants that used to bathe her. She wasn’t worried about getting soaked; the water was sure to wash right off her skin, but the sensation of wet clothes against her skin wasn’t one she particularly enjoyed.

How many hellhogs can I take at once? After taking a moment to recall her first in-library kill, Claire began following her guide deeper and deeper into the sea. The light in their surroundings began to dim as they got further from the shore and away from all the islands darting the beautiful archipelago. Vibrant corals gave way to darker patches of kelp and seaweed, and the once iridescent schools of fish vanished, leaving duller fauna to take their place. Along with the bountiful life went the currents and waves. The water grew still and quiet, eerie even, as the headcount dwindled and shrank.

The skeletons dotting the ocean floor didn’t help the impression. Most lay still, but the several intact specimens continued to swim about, as they had in life. Their fleshless bodies darted through the depths with little to no difficulty; the only source of sound in an otherwise silent world.

“Welcome to the chasm!” said Sylvia, as she caught one of the skeletons in her paws. To her owner’s complete and utter confusion, the pet swallowed it whole, as she had its living counterparts.

“Why are you eating that?”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to know how a bone fish tastes… and um… the answer is not very fishy.”

“That’s not the problem…” Claire pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat the undead.”

“Huh? Oh! Right! You don’t know what these are!” She darted over to another fish, caught it in her mouth, and brought it over. “Here, look! It’s actually alive!”

Narrowing her eyes into a glare, Claire took a close, careful look at the skeleton. And in doing so, discovered that there was more to it than she had thought. Though difficult to spot, there were tiny blood vessels arranged in what looked like a preset pattern floating in the space around the monster’s bones. It wasn’t until she touched it that she realised that it was made of flesh. There was a soft squishy layer of transparent tissue wrapped around the swimmer’s boney interior, but it was nigh impossible to spot, even from up close.

“Is the lord going to be one of these?” asked Claire, with an annoyed sigh.

“Nope! It’s still a huge pain in the butt, but it isn’t nearly as bad. I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble with it since you beat the labyrinth’s lord.”

Is that supposed to mean it’s weaker? The other lord wasn’t very tough. Just sly.

“Oh yeah! What level is your force resistance now? I think it should be about time for it to evolve, right?”

Claire froze. A glowing box appeared in front of her momentarily, remaining for just long enough to allow her to confirm that she had failed to make any progress.

“Uhmmm… Claire? Hello?”

The bloodthief was stone-faced by the time the fox turned to check on her. She continued to step into the abyss with her eyes unblinking and her head held perfectly still. Sylvia paddled over and waved a hand in front of her face, but she refused to breathe, let alone react.

“What the heck! Don’t just ignore me!” Though the half-elf was confused at first, she soon caught on and arced her back like a hissing cat. “I won’t go away even if you pretend I don’t exist.” She leapt onto Claire’s face and sank her teeth into one of her ears.

It was more of an annoyed nibble than it was a real bite. And that was precisely why the half-cervitaur reacted with a start. She nearly jumped out of her skin as an odd tingling sensation shot down her spine and coursed through her body.

After a brief delay, during which she regained her composure, the blueblood yoinked the fox right off her head, and held her in front of her face. “Don’t ever do that again,” she said, with a hiss.

“Well too bad! I found one of your weaknesses, and I’m gonna keep using it!” chirped Sylvia. “And besides, that’s what you get for ignoring me!”

Claire paused for another moment before breathing a sigh and shaking her head. “We’ve been over this before. It’s not a weakness.”

“Huh?” Sylvia blinked. It took a few moments of floating around in place for her to finally recall the conversation in question. “Oh… right. Sorry. I almost forgot that you were an ear-perv.”

“You have no right to call me that. Especially not after what you just did.” A glare was fired in the fox’s direction.

She didn’t feel as vulnerable as she did the last time the fox had accidentally touched her inappropriately, but she remained just as uncomfortable. The maidservants had been the only ones allowed to touch her ears into the later years of her adolescence, and that was only so that they could decorate them with accessories for whatever special occasion she needed to attend. Allowing the fox to play with them freely was already pushing the limit; it was only somewhat acceptable because she was functionally a dog.

“That’s what Al says when I kick him in the face!” she said, with a grumble. “It’s not my fault that something totally normal makes you feel funny.”

“Yes. It is,” hissed Claire. “No more ear nibbling. Ever. And don’t ever compare me to Alfred again.”

“Ughhh… oh, fine,” grumbled the fox. “I won’t do it again unless you really annoy me.”

“Not even if I annoy you.”

“Well too bad!” Sylvia stuck out her tongue. “So what level is your force resistance?”

Claire averted her gaze. “Twelve.”

“Wait… only twelve? Did you totally forget about leveling it?”

“Maybe.”

The lyrkress took a moment to recall the last time she had actively put the skill to use, but nothing seemed to come to mind. She had forgotten about it the day after she received the fox’s instruction.

“I’ll start working on it.”

“Don’t forget this time!” shouted the fox. “Oh, and watch your step. There’s a huge ridge right in front of you.”

Looking forward, Claire found herself staring at an underwater cliff. The darkness had kept it obscured from afar, but the dim light radiating off her body illuminated it as she closed in. It was a massive gorge, tens of meters across, and wide enough to extend off to parts unknown. Fish swam in and out of the ocean trench, sometimes more successfully than others. Bizarre-looking predators would shoot out from the depths and drag the fleeing bass back into the abyss.

The hunters were somewhat reminiscent of the octopuses she had caught for Sylvia earlier, but sported three heads instead of eight legs. Their skulls radiated from a central core like a triangle’s points, with a single sucker-tipped feeler rising from the middle. On the opposite side of the appendage was a large beaked mouth, filled with rows upon rows of gnashing hooked teeth.

Claire snatched one out of the water and crushed it in her hands; its soft, squishy body offered no resistance as she ground its flesh to a fine paste.

Log Entry 3012
You have slain a level 27 monopus.

This feat has earned you the following bonus rewards:
- 1 point of strength

“Do we go down?”

Not batting an eye at the notification ringing through her head, the lyrkress returned her gaze to the abyss. When she looked more carefully and strained her eyes, she found that she wasn’t the only source of light. Somewhere, deep down in the ocean, there were others, faint twinkling hints of luminescence that dotted the depths like stars in the sky.

“Yup! Just be careful not to go too far down at once.”

“I’ll be fine.” Claire leapt off the edge and pushed herself further into the sea. “The monopuses are weak.”

“That’s not why!” shouted Sylvia, as she paddled after her. “You’re gonna get squished!”

“I’ll be fine.”

She knew what the fox meant. She could already feel the weight of the water on her insides, the combined mass of the ocean pressing down on her from above. The deeper she got, the more powerful it became, but something in her gut told her that she needn’t be concerned. Her body was adapted to extreme climates, and she had no doubts that the seafloor was on the list, given all of the other aquatic features built into her form.

The stars brightened as she continued to descend, revealing that they were not celestial bodies glimmering off in the distant skies, but rather large fish with lamps hanging from their heads. They were joined by sparkling crustaceans, glowing plants, and shimmering caterpillars, each shinier than the last.

There was still the occasional patch of black strewn about the gorge, but there were so many different light sources teeming within the channel that the darkness was nearly as rare as the occasional bubble-shrouded fox. There were roughly a dozen of the out-of-place mammals swimming around, nonchalantly, as if they were in their natural habitat. The only thing they shared with the sea monsters around them was their appetite. Like just about everything else, the foxes were feasting on whatever they could get their paws on. They were apex predators, with one even swallowing a shark ten times its size in a single breath.

“Are you okay? Is the pressure getting to you?” Sylvia landed on top of Claire’s head and peered over at her face. Unlike the moose, she was completely unperturbed by the scene laid before her.

“It doesn’t bother me.” The snake paralyzed the two-headed shark charging her with a glare before magically grabbing a skull with each hand and tearing it in half.

Log Entry 3013
You have slain a level 41 Stormsturt.

This feat has earned you the following bonus rewards:
- 1 point of wisdom

“Wait, really?” Sylvia blinked. “Wow, your body must be really weird.”

“It’s normal,” said Claire. “Where’s the lord?”

“You’ll find it if you go a little bit deeper,” said Sylvia. “I think I’m gonna stick around here and get myself something to eat.”

“You just ate.”

“Yeah, but I can still eat a little more. Besides…” She pointed a paw at a particularly round fox. “Even Burr’s on a feeding frenzy, and he hates fish! Can you imagine how tasty they are?”

“I doubt they’re anything but mediocre. Like everything else.”

“Geez… You really need to stop being such a spoilsport!” jeered the 78% catgirl. “Oh, and I don’t think you’ll have any trouble against the lord, but don’t worry! I’ll be keeping an eye on you, just in case something goes wrong.”

“Don’t.” Claire lifted Sylvia off her head and prodded one of her cheeks with her tail.

“Well too bad!”

The fox stuck out her tongue before darting off after a chimera resembling both a fish and a turtle.

“Stupid fox.” Alfred’s threat still fresh in her mind, the halfbreed took a long breath, filled her lungs with water, and sank further into the depths.