NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

The Kraken had an imposing size, like the citadel from the kingdom. I could even argue that the head had the size comparable to our ship, which catered three people with dozens of cabins inside. Each tooth of the Kraken reached around a cabin's room, which instilled fear inside our minds.

As the Kraken rose from the water, the sea creature's mossy skin greeted our eyes. Some of Kraken's flesh burst open, greeting us with its insides. However, within a flash, that flesh closed, leaving no opportunities for us to strike.

We had no other choice but to run away from this fight, considering our lack of preparation against this godly beast.

Our boat miraculously survived the tsunami, but we ended up far away from the site. The Kraken from behind refused to tail us and continued patrolling the area. It only meant that this sea creature wanted the site for its own, scaring everyone away from its place. And if someone disrespected that wish, the Kraken would devour anyone who would stand in its way.

"Thankfully, that Kraken did not want us dead. If that bad boy was hungry, we would have become the Kraken's dinner," Wolf remarked, while wiping the sweat dripping from his face.

Even he, the strongest player inside this game, felt shivering sweats after witnessing the Kraken. Judging by Okami's reactions, he already knew the features of the Kraken.

Match and I both almost peed our pants after seeing such a beast. If we had not run away as fast as possible, all of us could have frozen in place, unable to do something about the situation. Fortunately, thanks to Okami, we escaped the dreadful event and kept our hearts inside our bodies.

However, Ryoshi had it rougher than any of us on the ship. A puddle of acrid liquid drenched his pants as he clung onto the rails. That guy puked all his meals, including that one we previously had from yesterday's meal. He even shivered like a chicken showering in the rain, wearing nothing but a swimsuit and his bow and arrow.

Well, Ryoshi was not wearing that attire when we encountered the Kraken. But he had his weapon with him at all times, since we were out in the open.

"What are we going to do now?" Match asked, while staring at our faces.

We were just lucky to escape from that violent Kraken, ready to kill us if he wanted to. But now that we had time, we needed to prepare some counterattack against that monster.

"Okami, would my bows deal damage against that thing? If you'd ask me, I'd say that these arrows would not be enough to stop the Kraken."

"And I don't think my fire spells would do anything against a sea creature…. in the middle of the ocean," commented Match.

That girl had a point. Since Match could conjure blaze magic, she cannot deal any damage to the sea creature around this ocean. That Kraken had immunity against fire magic, making Match's spells useless for this battle.

If she would use her wind abilities, Match could push the monster away, but not slice it with her spells. Match specialised with fire magic, and not wind abilities. She could use some spells, but those abilities could only do much compared to the flames she had mastered.

I, who could only rush forward to slit someone's throat, considered myself useless. Regardless of activating my red right eye, I won't deal with any damage against such a beast. But if Match could amplify my feet with those wind thrusters, I could close the distance and reach the Kraken's front.

However, it would take a lot of time before I could reach the monster. And if that beast noticed me hovering in the skies, that would be the end of me.

Wolf could transform into his first form with the added abilities that Match could give. However, I doubted that strategy would be enough to take that monster down, considering its height. Despite Wolf's agile capabilities, his level limited him from dealing with any damage.

"Do we have any weapons inside this shop? The dwarves should have prepared something….," Wolf asked, as he ordered everyone to search for possible weapons built in this boat.

After a few minutes of looking around, we spotted some cannons that we could use against the Kraken. These cannons were the same as the pirate's ship we fought before, but with added features.

Thanks to the minds of those dwarves, these cannons had a faster fire rate. It also had a damage amplifier which enhanced all stones or materials inserted inside the cannons.

However, the only downside of this artillery was its usage of arcane. Each strike would cost the one who fired some mana before it could actually discharge. As soon as the cannonball got released, the one who fired the mana would instantly get deducted. The system would also help track the usage of these magic problems, since we all had it with us.

"But this is not enough!" shouted Okami, as he went back to the deck. "When I was still using my main account, I had trouble killing this monster. That Kraken is a menace in the game! And I can't believe the game developers for not deleting it inside Code!"

"Why did you have trouble killing it? With your powers, you could have annihilated everything," I retorted, and posed a question.

"Yes," answered Okami. "Everything but Alice's creations."

"If you would look closely, that sea creature does not have any flesh besides its heart. That Kraken was Alice's favourite pet, a squid, which later on died with Alice. She also had some puppets surrounding her, which made this Kraken as both her pet and a puppet," Okami continued.

Okami had always mentioned Alice and her legions of puppets. Pinocchio, the puppet we met before, also mentioned Alice. That event led us to this place and the obelisk we needed to collect.

However, if Alice made the Kraken out of enhanced strings and fabrics, it only meant it won't feel any pain. And if that monster could not feel any emotions and sensations, it could crash against us and suicide.

I pushed those grim thoughts aside and continued talking with the group.

"So, how did you deal with the monster? There should be a way to stop it, right? There's nothing too overpowered in this world, especially a game, not unless for a god! Even you were not a god, Okami," Ryoshi exclaimed, while brushing his hands across his already crazed hair.

"Well, Fenrir and I finished the job with ease," Wolf answered.

"Fenrir?" I asked.

Okami nodded. "Yes. Fenrir. I used my third form and gobbled up the beast. But that Kraken escaped or got revived by Alice. I definitely remember obliterating the Kraken into pieces…. I just don't know why it's still alive."

Despite our exchange, none of us had an answer against the sea creature lurking ahead of us. We did not have any overpowered abilities or characters that we could use to fight against the sea creature.

If we need to progress, we must defeat this monster in front of us. But that question revolved back to the first one, asking how to defeat.

"You can still use that electric current, right?" Okami asked, as he stared into my eyes.

I gave him a nod and replied, "Yes. Somewhat. But I can't just summon it! I need some sort of lightning before even conjuring it with my own arcane."

Despite redirecting the lightning at a different site, I could not summon any thunder shock. I could only transfer the electric current through my arms.

"But I could try... I mean, I haven't really thought about it," I corrected, while scratching the back of my head. "When are we going to fight that thing? We're on a timer right now, since the soldiers are slowly catching onto us."

"After an hour. You only have an hour to summon lightning and an hour for everyone to prepare the cannons and magic circles. We also need to monitor the ocean, since we're floating around our enemy's turf. If the worst happens, those hungry sharks would be the first ones to sink our boat."

"S-S-Sharks? I've never thought about that!" Match shouted, while hiding behind my thighs.

Although she had some brave moments to share, Match was still a little girl in my eyes. Match could still shiver and hide inside her shell whenever she felt afraid. And since we fought against soldiers and pirates, Match barely remembered other threats swam in the ocean.

Luckily, none of the wild creatures rammed their heads against our ship. Okami and Ryoshi kept saying that those creatures could have done that if we were excreting more arcane than we should.

Ryoshi fired multiple arrows in each direction of our ship. Within a few seconds, a sudden chime resounded around us.. That noise came from the barrier Ryoshi created to fend off the sea creatures storming beside our raft.