Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

Chapter 70: From the Very Beginning (5)

As if it wasn't enough that the platforms I had to step onto midair moved arbitrarily, they also tried to attack me, and below me was that Kraken monster waiting for me to fall into the endless ocean.

How thrilling to have an aerial battle under these circumstances.

There's just one thing I definitely knew, though: I really didn't want to do this.

Kyaaah!!

Was it after I sank two more ships? While heading toward the remaining ship, I got attacked by a Harpy and kept losing altitude.

In return, I grabbed the Harpy by the neck and head, but that action wasn't without pain.

My index and middle finger of the hand holding the Harpy's head entered its open mouth. The saliva coating my fingers aside, it would absolutely end up biting me.

“Filthy…!”

Just because I turned down the pain level didn’t mean I wanted my finger bitten into.

I used some strength to open the mouth of the Harpy about to bite me.

Teaaaar!

Having perhaps put too much strength into my hand, I heard the skin around the Harpy’s mouth ripping apart as I forced it open with my hands coated in Arcane Power.

I momentarily held the head I’d torn from the jaw before throwing it away, feeling a little frightened.

However, this wasn’t the end of my ordeal: I’d grabbed the Harpy’s head right after jumping off the Wyvern’s back. Since I tore it off in the process, I was still falling.

I needed a foothold.

Stab!

I quickly drew the scimitar and stabbed it into a Gargoyle flying below me.

I failed to land on it properly, so I was swung around in the air, holding tightly to the hilt of the blade embedded in the Gargoyle’s body.

There were times when the sword nearly fell, unable to support my weight, and the Gargoyle also lost its balance and was about to crash.

Kyeeeeh!

However, even if the sky fell, there would still be a hole to rise to the top again. Another Gargoyle rushed at me from directly below.

I quickly switched to it. The one I had stabbed failed to recover and got thrown into the sea.

Uuuuwoah!

Was it right when I prepared to switch rides as the other one was about to lose its balance? The Kraken’s arm rose from right below us.

I freaked out and swung my sword at it. While my Arcane Power wasn’t as plentiful as before after being used to sink some ships and strengthen my body, I couldn’t do anything else.

My HP, which I’d used to fill my Arcane Power reserves, had been reduced by over ⅔ and was about to fall even lower. I felt like crying. Blood rose up my throat.

Slash!

Converting my HP still had some uses. I cut off the octopus’ slippery leg without a hitch, revealing its snow-white cross-section.

At that moment, the Gargoyle I was on flew away from the Kraken’s limb as quickly as possible. The Demons caught in its other tentacles showed why it escaped.

Crash!

“Why is that monster attacking the ships? This is different from what you told us!”

“Damn it, that monster clearly isn’t something we can fully control with our current—!”

“An intruder!”

“There’s an intruder on the ship!”

I somehow reached the next ship. A strange person was among the pirates on the deck I was looking down upon.

They weren’t wearing a sailor’s uniform or an adventurer’s equipment. I’d also encountered such people aboard the other two ships I sank earlier.

“You guys, do something about him!”

“This is something you guys specialize in, right?!”

“We already have enough on our plate just controlling that monster over there!”

Where did Demon Contractors like this pop up from? I descended while such thoughts occupied part of my mind.

Just as my feet lightly touched the main deck, I quietly moved my scimitar. Soon, the silver-white slash turned red as that guy’s head was cut off.

“Enemy!”

“Kill him!”

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“Die!”

“Take this!”

The pirates were rushing toward me.

“We need to throw that damn bastard into the sea right now!”

It would be very easy to crush them all with my Arcane Power, but I planned to save it for now. There was a limit to how much of my own vitality I could convert, after all, and if I used that skill against them, I might lack that power when I went to hunt the Kraken. The amount I would recover would be completely depleted the moment I took to the skies again.

So, I decided to deal with them using only [Survival Instinct].

My scimitar slashing through the air seemed like a single ray of light as it cut down those who came rushing at me first. Grab! And after grabbing one of them by the neck with my empty hand, I merely swung him around using my pure, unenhanced strength.

Of course, the guy was pretty heavy, so I couldn’t throw him around as I pleased. I mean, it wasn’t even like I wanted to do that anyway.

However, it was enough as long as he fell before the other enemies, ultimately blocking their path.

I quickly turned my ankle, twisted my back, and looked behind me. Then, as I quickly slashed through the air with my scimitar, I heard metal striking metal.

“That monster…!”

After I successfully blocked their attack, the enemy’s upper body was left completely open. With a single snap of my wrist, my sword rushed forward with the tip pointing straight at him.

The other enemies’ slashes occupied the space behind me.

Stab!

Bang!

Unable to pierce the enemy’s heart, I drove them to the mast like a wild boar. The sword went through their body and hit the mast, destroying the spot it hit.

Slash!

One of the enemies, unable to properly keep up with my movements, lowered his head as my right hand grabbed the sword hanging from his waist.

It was a straight sword, albeit a bit short. It wasn’t too shabby, though.

Clang. The moment I pulled it out with my right hand, the sword, which successfully blocked a strike aimed at my wrist, quickly spun around.

The hilt of the sword, which I was holding in a reverse grip, immediately penetrated the neck of the enemy attacking me from behind.

“Uwargh!”

“The monster is here!”

“Too late…”

By then, this tyrant of the sea had closed in on the ship. Its rising tentacles did something similar to before.

The railings were broken, the mast was bent, and the ship looked to be on the verge of sinking.

I’d seen this happen four times, including now, and I would have to see similar things happen in the future. My life sure had become something.

“Now that it has come to this, I can only…!”

However, hadn’t my life already turned upside down the moment I realized I was trapped in this game?

I had quite the late realization there, didn’t I? Stab! The next moment, the sword, which had left the fingers of my right hand, pierced right between the Demon Contractor’s eyes.

I couldn’t simply stand by and let him chant his spell just because I was distracted by some unnecessary thoughts, right?

Bam!

The ship began shaking as if it were about to be devoured by that giant octopus. The Kraken completely occupied one side of the ship, hence that appearance.

Should I just run away now? Or should I leave once the ship was completely torn apart, just to be sure?

I dodged the tentacles, carefully securing my path of escape. Of course, my movements weren’t just for evading its attacks.

Anyway, the pirates stopped targeting me when the Kraken attacked the ship, but the Demon Contractors kept staring at me as if possessed.

“Why is the spell…?”

It was a bit unfortunate that I couldn’t properly hear them recite the spell to determine what was happening, but that didn’t mean I would just ignore them and let them do as they pleased, right? Even if I was planning to escape, dealing with those bastards was my top priority. I ignored them before and bled for it because of the Demons they’d summoned, so one should understand how important this was.

Bang!

“Gag!”

Because the distance between us was too great, I kicked something I found on the deck at him. The thing that flew toward him hit the Demon Contractor directly in the face.

It seemed that playing so much soccer every break during elementary and middle school had its merits. Although back then, it was strictly forbidden to hit other people’s heads with the ball.

“You bastard!”

* * *

* * *

I grabbed the harpoon one of the pirates rushing toward me carried on the side.

Kick. When my raised knee hit the pirate’s stomach, their tongue stuck out. He also released the harpoon.

Swish.

I pushed him away and tightly grabbed the harpoon I had taken from him. Clang! I also didn’t forget to block the sword coming at me from the other side. Screeee. The struggle between the two weapons continued for a moment.

Stab!

However, wasn’t I holding a harpoon here?

I pierced my enemy’s body with it and quickly pulled it back out. When that obstacle left my field of vision, I finally threw the harpoon.

Two Demon Contractors I hadn’t yet dealt with were successfully pierced by the harpoon and died. There were five more remaining.

“…!”

At that moment, a tentacle rapidly approached me and slung around my arm. It was so thin and stealthy that I hadn’t noticed it before.

The octopus’ suction cups stuck to my gauntlet and tightened around my arm.

Slash!

Unfortunately for it, it was blocking the hand that wasn’t holding a sword.

I swiftly cut it off with my curved blade and jumped away.

Baboom. Right after, a massive tentacle came crashing down where I had stood. The deck was pierced through, broken, and thrown into utter chaos.

“The ship will capsize!”

The ship was tilted so far back that it almost stood at a 90-degree angle. It seemed the Kraken was trying to overtake this oversized dining table, huh?

Now I really had to leave this ship. The Demon Contractors didn’t matter. I seriously had to escape now.

I stepped onto the only intact mast and jumped off.

As the ship tilted, the mast, which had become easy to climb now, seemed to be my only escape route. At least, that was the case for the moment.

“…!”

The speed at which the boat was turning over had accelerated more than I’d expected. By the time I reached the end of the mast, it was facing not the sky but the sea.

“The Sea Dragon was easier…!”

Once I realized that, I changed my route. Then I jumped, grabbing the ship’s railing.

Now that the ship had tilted over 90 degrees, climbing its side would be like standing up straight.

I could clearly see the Kraken’s body clinging to the ship's hull.

“That thing’s an octopus, right?”

I still hadn’t found a way to reach the skies. Behind me was the sea, and in front of me was only that Kraken, its body sticking out of the water.

All the troublesome enemies, namely the Demon Contractors and pirates, had fallen into the sea, and the flying Demons circled the skies tens of meters up in the air.

“I remember a colleague of mine being into mukbang videos.”

Then, all I could do was catch that Kraken. It was the only enemy left, after all.

“They also showed me a lot of methods on how one could prepare an octopus…!”

I quickly stepped on the outer hull and ran forward. The Kraken aimed its sucker-covered tentacles at me, but they weren’t that difficult to avoid as I rushed toward it.

Squish. The Kraken’s skin was as soft as putty and felt rather unpleasant.

“If stabbed between the eyes, an octopus will faint!!”

However, with the threat of a GAME OVER hanging over my head, I somehow gained the strength to move forward.

I stepped on the Kraken’s head, which was somehow still out of the water. I quickly located its eyes and the place we would call a forehead.

Stab!

Briefly jumping into the air, I plunged my Zweihänder’s blade into the Kraken’s forehead.

The black energy rotating around it like a spiral penetrated the Kraken’s flesh as if drilling into it.

Its body suddenly shook, and its tentacles moved in a frenzy.

Splash!

That blow was obviously effective as the Kraken’s body, which had been out of the water for some time now, instantly began diving beneath the waves.

I followed it.

Seawater, the slime of the Kraken’s mucous membrane, and the salty water pouring from its torn skin kept entering my nose and mouth.

Although I had broken through the Kraken’s outer membrane and penetrated deeply into it, it was still like this, so I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if it were at full health.

Blub blub.

Anyway, as seawater continued coming through the hole I had torn, I was suddenly completely submerged in water.

I felt a little short of breath but was otherwise in pretty good condition.

I began tearing into the cold, squishy flesh before me and sliced through its insides with my blade. Of course, I didn’t intend to find its three hearts and burst them individually.

Splash.

When would I use the Arcane Power I’d conserved if not now?

Pitch-black energy began slicing through the octopus’ pale flesh. As that was happening, I saw a dark blue light appear, likely the Kraken’s heart bursting or something.

Anyway, the more I moved my sword, the more the Kraken’s internals shook. By the time I finally managed to catch my breath, the vibrations had completely stopped.

Riiiip!

I finally left through the torn skin. I saw the monster’s mangled body sinking deeper to the bottom of the ocean before turning my head toward the water’s surface, on which rays of light were playing.

After that, of course, I struggled to ascend. I was short of breath, and my vision was already darkening, but I still somehow managed to move my limbs. I would’ve felt so wronged if I died here after all that.

“Puhah!”

Right as I was wondering whether this was the end of me, air rushed into my lungs.

“Huff, cough, gasp.”

I gasped, spitting out copious amounts of seawater that had entered through my nose and mouth.

My vision, which was getting blurry, slowly returned to normal, and the moment the feeling of ‘ I survived’ washed over me, relief swept over my heart.

The Kraken was dead, right? It was, right? Although I knew such developments were quite cliche, I still hoped it would be like that.

I couldn’t see it coming up when I plunged my head under the water again. If it was still alive, that thing was scarier than I thought.

Well, even if I didn’t manage to kill it, I survived for now.

“See if I… ever… come back to… the sea again.”

Seasickness, aerial battles, and the sea itself were far too problematic. After this was over, I would never, ever get close to the sea again.

After vowing that to myself, I pulled my head above water again. What should I do now? Immediately after that thought entered my mind, something caught my eye.

“…Running away, huh.”

Still, using the Kraken for some easy team kills sure was convenient. I could see the last enemy ship I hadn’t gotten the chance to sink moving away.

It seemed they’d given up on attacking. Even the Gargoyles, Wyverns, and Harpies followed after the ship and stopped their assault on the port.

“Tsk.”

If they’d chosen to retreat in my direction, I would have boarded their ship and dealt with those guys somehow.

I found it quite ironic that they were retreating through the empty space between me and the port. Well, since they’d seen me and the Kraken fighting to the death around here, it wasn’t all that strange for them to keep away from this place.

Moreover, my immediate survival was more important than my regret of not dealing with all the enemies.

I struggled to avoid sinking into the sea and looked for a way to get to the port. Even if I couldn’t swim properly right now, I had to at least hold out until a rescue team came to get me.

“…!”

Fortunately, debris from an overturned boat came into view.

“Shit, kill that bastard before he gets here!”

Of course, some passengers were already on it: pirates who had fallen into the water before me or got away while I was struggling with the Kraken.

However, did they still have bows or other long-range weapons with them?

Those with harpoons on them tried throwing them at me, but their accuracy was incredibly poor because of the waves moving the debris, and I swatted away those that came close to me.

“What a monster…”

“How dare someone joining hands with Demons say something like that.”

In the end, my legs finally stepped onto the remains of the overturned ship.

「❖ Fangs aimed at Jacrati

∎ Find the bases of Vipurit’s gang: 11 / ??

∎ Destroy the bases of Vipurit’s gang: 11 / ??

∎ Optional: Stop the Demons’ attack

∎ Optional: Kill Vipurit」

This marked the end of the sudden optional Quest.