It didn’t take long for the threat that had spooked the Stoneclad kraken to show up, and somehow, Henry was not surprised. Of course, if this area had one kraken, it had a higher chance of having a second kraken. In this scenario, it had second and a third.

  Another breeding ground isn’t far, I bet. Though I’m surprised they managed to grow and level in this area. The survival rate must be under the floor-boards.

  Two krakens were gliding along the seafloor, and unlike both Henry and the Stoneclad friend, these two were very conspicuous. Clearly, they had adapted to the local fauna, if their names were of any indication.

  [Thundermaw Kraken (B) - Lvl ?]

  [Thundermaw Kraken (B) - Lvl ??]

  These were smaller beings, compared to their rank and level. Their bodies were lithe and glowed with a deep turquoise color, and it seemed that, just like the Sparkfin tunas, arcs of blue-matching electricity danced between their arms whenever the limbs got closer, as if they were living, organic Tesla coils.

  Henry gave a sidelong glance to the kraken near him. “[They’re dangerous? For you?]”

  The Stoneclad seemed to hesitate, then with an arm, he pointed at Henry and Maurice, then when it pointed at itself, its arm wavered, and from the creature’s mind he sensed annoyance more than fear.

  Henry turned back to the oncoming duo as they approached the rocky formation, and he guessed they were going into the canyon territory to hunt. “[Watcha thinking, Maurice? Wanna see if they’re friendly?]”

  “[I’d like it if they were unfriendly…]” said the crab as he rubbed his pincers together.

  Henry grinned inwardly. He would love some hostile krakens, right about now. They’d be great to get some skill training done, and if there was one family of monsters he had an advantage against, it was his own. So if he wanted to get an achievement for beating a two-mark B-rank, he couldn’t find a better monster to do so. But first, he had to try the diplomacy route. If these krakens were friendly, then he’d move on and hope he’d soon meet an evil kraken he could dispatch guilt-free.

  Henry began to move, only for the Stoneclad to put an arm on him. The kraken was growing agitated, sending thoughts of alarm and danger.

  The Trickster kraken tapped him on the arm and gently pushed the arm away. “[If they get aggressive, we’ll be fine… You. Do you have a name? No? I’m gonna call you Rocky. Don’t worry, we can handle this if you want to stay hidden.]”

  With that done, both Henry and Maurice slipped out from behind cover and came down to intercept the duo. “[Their electricity will probably pack a punch, Maurice. Are you ready?]”

  “[Yes!]”

  “[And?]”

  The Maurice deflated“[…If it’s too much, I’ll hide.]”

  “[Good.]”

  The two krakens changed course as soon as they noticed the giant red and blue dotted kraken come down. They separated and surged forward, each coming at him from a different angle, and already, he didn’t think these two intended on being friendly.

  They’ll be in range of Mindweaver’s Tongue in a couple of seconds… Now.

  The two minds crashed into the range of his Telepathic Sense like two bolts of thunder, and just like the natural phenomenon, there was no subtlety in their minds. They were intelligent, sure, but there was also an intense hunger and sense of territoriality that felt too wild for Henry to expect anything but hostility from these two, especially when the sense of superiority slipped through as the duo began circling him. Still, he tried.

  “[Hello. I’m Henry and I mean you no harm. I come in peace.]”

  His response was a flare of annoyance and a bolt of lightning that tried to fry his eyes out, then the smaller of the two surged forward. The arm carrying Maurice moved to the back, while at the same time, he pushed a dollop of the Guardian Aspect into Trickster’s Fortitude. That attack had hurt a bit, but once the electric krakens started using their own Aspects, it might do some real damage.

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  “[Works for me. Maurice, pepper the weaker one and keep it away from us. I’m dealing with the big guy first.]”

  “[Okay!]”

  With a flex, Henry pulled most of his Octominds with him into the fight. Not the clones, but the cognitive power.

  The weaker of the two continued its charge, thinking it could just shrug off the bubbles coming its way, only for the dark bubble to blow one of its arms off once Maurice detonated it remotely when the kraken flitted by. The smaller kraken flailed, then spat out a cloud of thunder-cloud-like ink before swimming back toward its companion.

  “[Whoa… It’s weak,]” Maurice said.

  Henry watched the attack from his nearby clone, but his main eyes were fixed on the higher-rank kraken that had opted to keep its distance and watch.

  “[They’re not as tough as they should be for a B-rank, but those dark bubbles are nothing to scoff at, either.]”

  Then the larger of the two moved.

  Not too strong defensively. So attack power, most likely, mana, and maybe speed. Would fit with their shape.

  Henry was ready. Two of his arms were pulled back, and his figurative finger was ready to pull all the triggers while four of his Octominds supported him. So when the skin of the higher-level kraken shone and as its body blurred toward him, it all happened in slow motion.

  Well, relatively speaking. Even to his slowed perception, the kraken was coming awfully fast, and already it was twirling around to wrap its arm around him before it electrocuted him to death–he guessed. Henry was sure a magic-specialized kraken would hurt like hell.

  If it managed to get to him, of course.

  Krakenbane’s Wrath lit up around his body like a ghostly, ominous fire, filling his body and spirit with raging strength. As soon as that skill activated, Henry’s arm moved.

  Evershifting Strike. Whipping, accelerated, and unimpeded. As for the strike… Cutting.

  Henry’s red-covered arm made the water boil as it tore through the distance separating it from its target. Like a drawn, slicing sword, it blurred and even to his own eye, the movement was barely visible. A fraction of a second before the impact, he thought he felt shock. Maybe even fear.

  Henry’s arm sliced through the first arm, then the second, and without losing any momentum, it kept accelerating, cutting into the creature's gut, left eye, then all the way through its brain until it came out the other side. Thanks to his larger size, and much larger arm, the effect was devastating.

  A cloud of blue blood and guts spilled as the two parts of the bisected kraken fell to the side, rolling as their momentum went haywire. The three arms on the left side spasmed and curled, but the other side was already trying to swim away. But it couldn’t. The kraken was trying to move parts of its body that just weren’t there anymore, and before it could get away, another Krakenbane-empowered strike came at it. This time, it was charged with an imploding impact instead of cutting. Henry’s arm hit the exposed brains of the Thundermaw kraken, and the notification came immediately as the brains of the creature geysered out into the sea.

  1x [Thundermaw Kraken (B) - Level 57] core was collected.

  The second kraken stared at its dead companion for half a second before it let out another cloud of thunder-generating ink and tried to run, only to find itself pincered by a metal-covered kraken.

  Rocky? He can change the types of minerals covering him?

  The Stonclad kraken rushed the Thundermaw, all arms spread out, and got a grip on the scrambling kraken, but it was as if he’d just laid a hand on a live electric wire.

  The flash of lightning was blinding, but while it might have expected its opponent to be left writhing on the sand, Rocky was completely unaffected. The electricity danced on top of his body before it dissipated in the salty water around him.

  Right. Metal. I guess he’s immune?

  With the help of Maurice and a few more smacks from Rocky, the second kraken was brought down, and Henry found himself staring at the unmoving carcass of the first one.

  I know I have an advantage against kraken, but I didn’t think the attack was going to be this effective. Dammit. I didn’t even get to work on my skills…

  Rocky approached him, dragging the weaker—and now dead—Thurndermaw while Maurice was latched onto it, munching on its eye. The Stoneclad’s rocks were reverting, slowly losing their metallic sheen and turning back to regular stone, which was… incredibly impressive. Was it a temporary skill, or was it literally transmuting the matter on top of its body?

  The Stoneclad seemed to have questions, but it struggled to put the words together or communicate them. Once more, it seemed a bit wary of Henry, and there was a bit of shock there as well.

  Henry didn’t know if his words would appease some of the kraken’s questions, but he still spoke up. “[I fought a lot of krakens in the past, and I got some abilities to deal with them fast. Though I didn’t expect to be this easy. If you—]” Henry froze for a fraction of a second. Then he moved. “[Maurice, Rocky, let’s go. Otodus sharks are on the way. Too many of them.]”

  With a practiced swipe, Henry threw both carcasses into his Maw and picked up Maurice before they doubled it toward the rocks once more, with Rocky following suit.

  Well, even though I didn’t get my training sessions with the krakens, I’ll get it with the sharks. In a bit though. I’ve got a core to consume.

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