Chapter 93: The Bear Goes to Slay the Kraken

Chapter 93:
The Bear Goes to Slay the Kraken

 

THE DAY AFTER my little brainstorm session, I went to the adventurers’ guild to get permission to act. The guild workers bustled around just as they had yesterday. It was so strange that half of the work being done was for a completely different guild, though the trade guild staff were following Atola’s instructions to a “T.” I caught sight of Atola, busy as she was, and struck up a conversation.

“Yuna, what’s wrong?”

“Could I ask you about something quick? Please? There’s a favor I need to ask.”

“For you? Anything.”

Oh, anything? If I was a guy, I guess I would’ve reacted to that differently. Err. Okay, that was a weird thing to think, right? It was enough that I wanted to scream, Please get those melons out of my face. It’s not like I’m jealous or anything, okay?

“Could we do this away from other people?” I asked, glancing around. She nodded and led me to a back room.

“It’s a little messy, but please have a seat.” There were piles and piles of documents. Were all of these for work? Man, they piled up fast over the course of what, one day? Had Atola even slept? “What did you want to ask?”

“It’s about the kraken. Slaying it and all.”

Atola pursed her lips. “Uh. Sorry. It’s been a long few days. I think I misheard you. It sounded like you just said you want to battle the kraken. Which would be crazy and stupid.”

“No, that’s what I said.”

“That’s what you—okay, no, you cannot be serious.”

“I finally have a reason to, though.”

“What reason? Is it something worth risking your life over?”

“It’s…personal.” Which sounded a lot cooler than “I would like to fight it for rice, soy sauce, and miso.”

“Did you want to ask me to lend you some people to help because you’re going to defeat the kraken? Because I can’t afford to, Yuna. There’s not a single adventurer who can battle a kraken. Blitz and the others might be able to give you a hand, but I ended up asking them to do something else already.”

I knew that. I saw them off as they left yesterday.

“I know—I saw them off when they left. Don’t worry about that. I’m gonna solo it.”

Atola came up to me and put her hand on my forehead. “Looks like you haven’t got a fever. Yuna, the kraken isn’t a monster anyone can defeat on your own—not even you, and I don’t care how many bandits you’ve apprehended.”

Admittedly, it wasn’t the type of monster you could solo in the game, either. “Guess I can’t just ask you to trust me, huh?”

“Well, how likely do you think you’ll win?”

“If the kraken appears in a certain place, then I’ll be able to defeat it for sure.”

Atola stared into my eyes for a moment…and finally let out a small sigh, “Ugh, all right. What am I supposed to do?”

“On the road where the bandits were prowling, there’s a giant cliff that faces the ocean, right?”

“Yes.”

“I want to battle it there. I need you to make sure no one comes near it. It’s going to be dangerous that day, so I want you to make sure no one even goes near the ocean.”

“How do you intend to bring the kraken there?”

I told her I was going to prep some bait. “But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fish it out.”

“Yuna, no one has ever thought of fishing for a kraken, let alone attempted it. And even if you can draw it to you, it might get away, right?”

“I won’t let that happen.” Once it got close to the cliff, it’d be in my domain.

“Hmm. If you’re sure. Just give me some time. I’ll do some convincing.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. You’re doing this for us all, after all.”

(I was doing it for my stomach, actually, but she didn’t need to know that.)

“Also,” she continued, “I was wondering if I could ask you for additional wolves? That would definitely help persuade me.”

Oh, easy. I told her I could produce a thousand, even two thousand—but she just asked me for two hundred. Ah well.

 

The next day, Atola came by the inn. “As promised, the residents will be restricted from leaving the town two days from now.”

“Uhh, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m impressed you managed that.” I mean, I only asked her just yesterday. I thought it’d take more time.

“All I really needed to do was convince the most senior fisherman. We’ll deal with the rest through the adventurers’ guild. It’s no problem.”

“I can’t believe the fisherman would give the okay on that though.” Weren’t fishermen supposed to be grizzled, stubborn old sea dogs?

“The senior fisherman would agree to just about anything if you were the one asking. You provided food, eliminated the bandits, and also saved the prisoners. You stopped the trade guild’s tyranny.”

“The trade guild has got nothing to do with me.”

“Not true. You provided food and eliminated the bandits, which was how their crimes were revealed. That’s why the old man’s willing to hear you out. He gave me a message to pass along, too. Ahem. ‘Please don’t push yourself. I’m grateful to ya, bear girl. I have no idea how you’ll defeat that monstrosity, but just tell me when ya need help.’ Never would’ve thought that old grump would say something like that.”

Wow. Now I really hoped nobody found out that I was fighting for rice. “You didn’t tell him that I’m battling the kraken, did you?”

“I had to, in order to persuade him. I asked him not to mention it to anyone else, though, so it’ll be fine. It’d start a huge commotion if the townspeople found out.”

Jeez, no kidding.

 

On the day of the fight, I woke up bright and early and looked outside from my room’s window. It was sunny; fine weather for a battle. When I went downstairs, I found Deigha.

“Miss, where are you off to today?”

“I’m going for a walk. What about it?” I couldn’t just tell him I was off to fight the kraken.

“A walk, huh. Well then, I’ll prep you a delicious breakfast, so make sure you fill up.”

“Your food is always delicious, Deigha.” Now that was no lie. All of Deigha’s meals were great, and his rice was just the best.

“You’re gonna make me cry, kid!” He sniffled and rubbed his eyes with his huge muscled hands. “I’m going to have a meal ready for you, so you better come home.”

“I’ll be sure to get back before dinner.” That was what he meant, right? Or was he worried about me paying my inn fees? I suppose I was his only customer, after all.

When I headed to the exit of the seaport, Atola and several other adventurers’ guild staff were there.

“Morning,” I said. And every single one of them greeted me in return. She hadn’t told her staff, had she?

“Well then,” said Atola, “I’m headed out. No matter what happens, you can’t let anyone come down here.” She was going? Going where, exactly?

“You’re not planning on coming with me, are you, Atola?”

“Yes, of course. It’s not like I could let you go alone.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“If things get dicey, I’ll grab you and run. It’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be fine. You can run away on your own when things get dangerous, okay?”

Once we were out of the town, I summoned Kumayuru and Kumakyu.

“These are your summons?”

Since I couldn’t hide them, I told Atola about my bears. “Please ride on that black one.”

“Are you sure this is okay?”

“Yeah. I just want to defeat this thing quick and head back.”

“How reassuring.”

I got on Kumakyu and headed to the cliff where I planned to battle the kraken. All the while I watched the sea. It was such a calm sea. I couldn’t believe a kraken was out there, but they’d seen the kraken far out in the ocean just yesterday.

“Hey, Yuna, why are you doing so much for us? You don’t have any connection to this place. You don’t have friends here. I just can’t figure why you’d want to battle the kraken.” She looked at me so seriously. Yeah, I really couldn’t tell her that it was for rice, soy sauce, and miso.

“I have tons of friends here. I’ve got you, Deigha, Yuula, and Damon.” Which was true, wasn’t it? Even Atola, whom I found ridiculous when we first met, turned out to be really kind. Deigha sure seemed concerned about me, too. Rice and all aside, I really did want to help out.

“Thank you. I’m happy to hear that, but please, don’t do anything reckless.”

At last we reached the seaside cliff.

“Are you fighting here?” she asked.

“Only if the kraken will come out here.” I pulled out the bait that I’d use to bring out the kraken: the body of the wyrm from back when I fought the ten thousand monsters at the capital. Since time was stalled in my storage, it was still freshly slaughtered.

“Wai—what is that?!” Atola nearly lost it at the sight of the wyrm.

“It’s a wyrm.”

“Okay, yes, it…it sure is. But how? The wolves were weird enough, but what is with your item bag?”

“It’s a high-grade bag.”

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? I can understand why you had Elfanica’s seal. But what are you going to do with this wyrm?”

“It’s kraken bait.”

“And you’re going to waste it like this? Wyrm meat is a delicacy, and you can sell the parts for a lot of money.”

Ugh, I knew it—people did eat this thing. It was fine. I didn’t need money.

“If this wyrm can save the village, then it’s a cheap price to pay.” It sounded cooler in my head. Honestly, I just didn’t want to eat it, and selling it would just draw attention.

“Yuna, you’re just so…”

All right, here we go. I used ice magic to encase the bottom half of the wyrm in ice and hung it over the edge of the cliff. Half of the creature was submerged in the ocean.

I’d seen people using grubs when fishing on TV. Wyrms are kind of like grubs, aren’t they? Practically speaking, krakens ate humans, so wouldn’t they eat wyrms? The wyrm was big, too, and freshly dead, so the scent should easily spread through the water.

If things went well, the kraken might come right to us. If they didn’t, then all I could do was ride on my bears and battle it on top of the water. But that would put me on real thin ice.

 

“It still hasn’t come.” Some time passed since I’d hung the wyrm up in the ocean. I sat sandwiched in between Kumayuru and Kumakyu, looking out at the peaceful ocean. Maybe I really couldn’t catch a kraken with a wyrm.

“You have to be patient when it comes to fishing,” said Atola. “Keep watching.”

Ugh, I guess? I was a shut-in, so how could I know? I never fished before. Waiting for it to take the bait was boring, and I was getting sleepy just chilling between my bears.

But then again…were the waves rising or was it just me? My bears started to make little noises at the sight of it. I stood up and kept watching, just as Atola said.

“Yuna?”

What was that in the distance? I used my Detection skill and…there it was. The kraken, practically flying through the ocean toward our cliff. And there it was rising out of the water! Its lanky feelers leapt out of the ocean and entwined around the wyrm. The icicle snapped as it dragged the wyrm into the sea.

“Yuna!”

“Atola, stand back!”

I activated my earth magic and created a mental image. A gigantic bear—one as tall as the cliff.

Emerged from the sea floor, several gigantic bears made of earth rose to form a semi-circular barrier flush to the cliff wall. First time in a while I used that much mana all at once. Oof. Suddenly, I was exhausted.

The bears weren’t just big—I also fortified them so the kraken couldn’t bust through. My mana took a giant hit, but it was worth it: I trapped the kraken against the cliff. The creature chewed mindlessly on the wyrm, oblivious to the fact that it was trapped by what I was calling my “bearrier.” It looked like a gigantic cephalopod, more squid than octopus.

I created a countless number of giant fire bears and just let ’em loose on the feasting kraken. The flame bears soared and seared the kraken, and the sweet smell of singeing squid wafted over us. The kraken dove into the ocean at once, shaking off the bear fire. It noticed me and stretched a long feeler out, grasping for me. Could it reach me up here?

I wasn’t about to find out—I let a wind blade fly, slicing the tentacle clean off right as it reached the clifftop. Another tentacle shot up. I dodged it and launched flames. Though the tentacle lit right up, the kraken immediately retreated into the ocean and extinguished them.

I chucked flame bear after flame bear into the enclosed wall of huge bears. The kraken extended its tentacle to me where I was on top of the cliff. I retreated back. More flame bears. No, even more. Being on the ground really, really helped, huh?

I didn’t let up. The kraken gave up on offense in time, and tried to make a break back into the ocean, but the Great Wall of Bears barred its way. It tried to climb over the wall, but a few rounds of magic dropped it right back into the ocean. When it tried to dive, I’d shoot flame bears at it.

The temperature was rising higher and higher from my flame bears, turning the semicircle of ocean trapped by the giant bear wall into a hot pot. The kraken writhed. It hurled itself against the bear wall over and over, but I poured a ton of mana into that wall. It wouldn’t break so easily.

The water started to bubble and boil. The kraken extended its tentacles and tried to climb up the bear wall, but I didn’t let it. I sent a bear cutter to sever the tip of its tentacle, but it immediately regenerated and stretched out again—or no, that wasn’t it. The cut ends reattached themselves.

Cutting it was futile, then. As long as it had mana to regenerate using that method, we’d end up repeating this pattern. Maybe this would become a mana battle of attrition? The battle would be decided based on whether the kraken ran out of stamina before my mana ran out or I ran out of mana and it made a break for it.

The kraken reached its tentacles out to the bear wall over and over again. Cut, cut, cut. Ugh, I should’ve made the bear wall even taller. Since this wasn’t physical combat, I would’ve been better off fighting in the white bear outfit, but I hadn’t thought of that. If I did almost run out of mana, I’d end up having to strip down right in front of Atola to change into my white bear outfit, and…nope. No thanks.

The kraken rampaged in the steaming water. A part of the cliff broke off and collapsed, changing the very landscape. I kept up. Couldn’t let it run, couldn’t stop. Though it was too late to do anything of the sort, I wished I’d made a giant lid or something.

The offense and defense (if you could call it that?) of spamming flame bears dragged on. The kraken stretched out its tentacles and tried its hardest to escape, but I didn’t let it. This had to end soon. I was feeling wearier and wearier. I really was running out of mana…

And then, thankfully, the kraken’s movements started to dull. It could no longer lift its tentacles. It stopped even trying to bash itself against the bear wall. I eased up on the offense and watched its behavior until—finally, finally, the kraken stopped moving.

I used my Detection skill. No signal from the kraken.

…It was over.

I sat down on the ground and collapsed onto my back, completely beat. That had consumed so much mana. I felt sluggish, but the kraken was dead and nobody had needed to run around buck naked in another world.

“Yuna!” Atola came running over, dripping with sweat. This place had to be miserable right now. “Is it over?”

“It’s over.”

“You’re sure?” Atola looked at the kraken that was floating in the boiling water. Not a single one of its tentacles moved.

“Yep,” I said. “Atola, can I leave the rest to you? I think I used a tad too much mana and, uh. I can’t…move anymore. Sleeeeepy.” I didn’t even have the strength to walk anymore.

“Yes, of course—I’ll take care of it. And…thank you.”

My real thanks would be all the rice, soy sauce, and miso, but I couldn’t say that. I called my bears. Kumakyu approached, crouching to make it easier for me to get on. “Thanks, little guy.”

 

When we rode back to the seaport, a ton of people gathered on the town outskirts.

“Guild master!” The guild staff ran over. “What’s going on?”

“There was a report that the kraken was seen where you headed, guild master, so the townspeople were starting to stir.”

Atola seemed to hesitate a bit before answering, “This girl, Yuna, defeated the kraken.” She pointed at me.

Oh, I forgot to ask her not to tell anyone I did that. Whatever. I wanted to hurry up, get to the inn and lie in bed for the next thousand years.

“Guild master, is it true?”

“Yes, it is. If you don’t believe it, you can go check yourself. The kraken’s corpse is there.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?” one of the staff members said.

Atola shook her head. “What’s dangerous about it? There are no bandits. The kraken is gone too.”

“Well…”

“More importantly, could you open the road for us? I’d like to let the hero who saved the seaport get back to the inn to rest.”

“But guild master, do you really want those bears in town?” They were looking at Kumakyu and Kumayuru.

“I’ll guarantee they’re not dangerous. And are you really going to tell the person we owe everything to—right after battling the kraken until she was too exhausted to move—to get off of her bear?” She was glaring now. “Are you really going to ask that in front of me?”

Well, that shut ’em up. The guild staff and residents opened up a path, and Kumakyu trudged on through to the inn.

“Miss!” Deigha shouted that at the top of his lungs when I got back to the inn.

“I’m fine. Need sleep. Lemme sleep. Thanks.”

Kumakyu, big body and all, squeezed up the narrow stairs. Kumayuru followed right behind. Once we got in front of the room, I managed to get off of Kumakyu and opened the door.

“Thanks, big guy.” I turned the bears into cubs and headed into my room. “Even if the king—or the president or prime minister, or any other VIP shows up—don’t wake me.”

I somehow managed to climb out of the onesie, reverse it, and change into the white bear outfit. The room whirled, and my mini bears cuddled close beside me. I thanked them, and then I was out.