Chapter 92: Her Sister’s Judgement
Swimming after Ao Tenshin, Martin could already feel the difference between the Baby Trident and his Control Devil’s Shield in the water.
The trident cut through the lake with almost no drag, letting him move his right arm freely. His body still felt slower than it would on land, and every turn dragged at his bare skin and limbs, but the weapon itself moved cleanly.
His shield was another story. The weight on his left arm dragged at his balance, and every small adjustment felt half a beat late. It might as well have been an anchor.
What I love about this shield is its tether skill. If I get a new shield from the Baby Kraken, I need to ask Ragnar if skill extraction is possible.
If not, especially at such an early level, he would have to part with his first truly great item.
Still, he could not spare the thought for long, because Angel had already drawn the Baby Kraken’s attention. Its tentacles lashed after her, but instead of retreating, she slipped between them with practiced ease, twisting through the water in quick, playful arcs until she had them knotted together.
Martin watched her loop around the mass with raw excitement and innocent pride shining through every movement. For all her power, she still felt newly born. The sight pulled a brief smile from him before his focus sharpened again.
"Aim your Dragon Breath at the knot!" Martin shouted.
Ao Tenshin obeyed without hesitation. She turned in the water, aimed her snout at the tangled tentacles, and opened her mouth. A piercing jet burst forward.
The attack fit her size, but more importantly, it matched her speed underwater.
It tore through the lake in a straight line and punched a clean hole through the knot, sending ripples and shredded fibers rolling outward.
"Again!" Martin shouted. "Keep going until you’re spent!"
She had plenty of mana, so she fired several more jets. Each one widened the gap. The bound tentacles quivered, strained, and then began to tear apart under the pressure until chunks ripped free and drifted toward the surface of the lake.
Angel squealed and kicked through the water in a proud little loop. Even without mana, she was still a Dragon Turtle, and her stamina did not depend on it, so the lake still felt like her playground. She circled back to Martin with bright eyes and eager energy, hovering close, lifting her head, and paddling in place as if waiting for him to tell her she had done well.
"Good job, Angel," Martin said, unable to hide the smile in his voice. "You pulled it off perfectly again."
She brightened at once and gave an excited little swish of her tail.
The Baby Kraken did not appreciate the moment. Its massive body jerked in the water, and the torn tentacles lashed wildly around it, churning the lake into a cloud of murk and drifting shreds.
But Martin wanted to be part of the fight too. Repeating the same move did not feel right. He would just end up getting shown up by Angel, and he could not allow that. He was a man.
The shield strapped to his left forearm was the problem. Martin decided to use his Ricochet Shield Skill and hurl the anchor straight at the boss.
Unfortunately, the water resistance was too much. The shield pushed forward only a short distance, lost its force almost at once, and wobbled there in front of him in a way that felt almost insulting. It looked ready to drift away like the severed tentacles.
Just then, Ao Tenshin recovered enough mana for another Dragon Breath. Her eyes sharpened. She angled herself, fired at Martin’s shield, and blasted it straight into the Baby Kraken’s head.
It struck cleanly.
[You have stunned the Baby Kraken.]
Martin’s eyes widened in shock. That’s a genius move, Angel!
She had used his shield and even his Ricochet Shield Skill. Otherwise, he would not have received the notification that he had stunned the boss.
Martin’s gaze shifted to his Baby Trident, and a dangerous idea came to him at once.
He smirked at Ao Tenshin.
She caught his look and turned toward him at once.
Her beautiful sapphire eyes sparkled, and her small body gave an eager little surge through the water, as if she already knew he had come up with something exciting.
Martin grinned, and Angel swished through the water with bright eyes, already bracing for whatever came next.
Around them, the stunned Baby Kraken twitched, its torn tentacles writhing as the murk thickened through the water.
—
"What’s your judgment of Martin?" Chaosgraphy asked as she and her sister made their way toward the Triple-Headed Wooden Wolf Boss to kill it over and over.
She was not worried about him, only curious.
Her sister had a sharp eye for people, and Chaosgraphy wanted to hear what she had made of Martin.
"He’s a bad boy with a good soul," Crimson Halo said, drawing a chuckle from Chaosgraphy. "Though he does have some self-esteem issues."
I’m not telling her that I thought he was an actor in disguise. I’m taking that to the grave.
"Self-esteem issues?" Chaos repeated, her tone flat even as her twin swords flashed out and cut down one of the wooden wolves lunging from the brush. Bark shards spun through the air and scattered across the mossy path.
"He lacked presence when we first met. It is not that he lacks presence. His low self-esteem just keeps it locked away until he is with all of you.
Just as he brings out the best in the party and acts as its heart, the rest of you help him stand out more too.
Women do have that kind of influence over men, but in his case, it is more that your competence pushes him to step forward."
Chaosgraphy sighed inwardly as she stepped past the falling monster and drove a blade through another without breaking stride. Leaves rustled underfoot, and splintered branches snapped beneath the bodies they left behind.
Why does she get weird at times when she has such a good eye for people?
She asked her older sister, "It’s just a game. Meeting in real life is out of the question."
"Is it?" Crimson Halo asked.
She moved beside her with calm elegance, her tome resting lightly in one hand and her expression soft with knowing amusement.
"It has not even been a month yet. As long as you keep spending time together in this world, one of you three will carry it into the real world. My bet is on the Diva."
Chaosgraphy did not reply. Her grip tightened around her swords for just a moment.
Then she lunged at the next wooden monster and cut it down a touch harder than necessary, her blades biting deep enough to split the wooden body apart in one clean, vicious cross.
Crimson Halo watched her for a moment, then smiled to herself. That silent answer was very much like Chaosgraphy.
"That’s why you’ll need to fix that low self-esteem of his if you want to keep this party together. Otherwise, once he meets the Diva or you in real life, he might just distance himself instead of gooning after you," Crimson Halo said.
Chaosgraphy said nothing. Even so, Martin’s awkwardness around Cassandra rose in her mind at once, giving Crimson Halo’s words more weight than she wanted to admit.
The forest around them creaked with every step, broken branches and wooden carcasses littering the path behind the sisters.
Just then, the Triple-Headed Wooden Wolf Boss stepped out from between the trees. Its massive body looked carved from gnarled timber, with splinters jutting from its shoulders and roots twisting around its legs like tendons. Three snarling heads rose from the same trunk-thick base, their hollow eyes glowing through the forest gloom.
Chaos pushed those thoughts aside and raised her twin swords, lowering her center of gravity as her gaze hardened on the boss. "Later. Show me what you’ve got, sis."
"I’ve got healing, barriers, and purification, all on cue," Crimson Halo said, readying herself as well. Light gathered faintly around her as she took her position behind Chaos.
Chaosgraphy’s eyes ran over the boss’s three heads, and the corner of her mouth lifted just slightly. "Let’s see if we can turn those three heads into three whimpering puppies."
Crimson Halo let out a soft, pleased hum, her fingers brushing lightly across the cover of her tome as her gaze lingered on the beast. "My, it feels almost too real. My heart is beating faster already. I do want to see it brought down."
The sisters were more than ready for the boss.
And with that, everyone settled into the real work of leveling and grinding for drops. No one had expected any meaningful progress on the first day, but it came anyway. Martin was the first to receive the message.
[Chaosgraphy: Let’s meet at the Light Tree Hub. I have something fun to show.]
[Emperoar: Oh? Give me a minute.]