Data.42 – Old Bowman, Facing the Sea God

These large-scale Scrambles were like natural disasters.
They weren’t activated as a result of specific players. They were frightful events that came out of nowhere and attacked players.
There were no requirements for participating. And there was no penalty for running away.
It was up to the player if they wanted to fight or not.

Of course, I would face it.
Well, I wanted to…but I couldn’t get out of the water!
If I let go of the rock that I was clinging to, who knew where the current would take me…!

“Gar! Gar!”

As the Ravengar was a fish, it could swim freely in the sea.
It was also quite big, so maybe it would be able to swim if I held onto it…?
That would mean that the skill I had thought was useless in the water would actually come in handy.

“Ravengar! Ocean Sphere!”

Ocean Sphere was the skill that created a sphere of water around Gar.
While it had seemed pointless at first, it actually shut out the strong current, and would create calm waters around me.
And so I was able to let go of the rock and grab onto Gar with ease.

“Now take me to the shore.”

“Gar! Gar!”

The raging waves were nothing now.
We shot towards the sandy beach like an arrow. And there, I was able to see the enemy clearly for the first time.

On the horizon, there were 8 giant octopus tentacles rising towards the sky.
Each one was wielding a trident, and they writhed in the air as it came closer to us.
There was heavy rain and great waves. It seemed like we were witnessing the end of the world.
While I wasn’t too familiar with the mythology, it reminded me of Cthulhu.

But this was just a game.
The world wasn’t ending, and the enemy was not a monster from myth.
As long as we keep our calm, we should be able to defeat it.
Well, it would still be difficult…!

First, we should attack the tentacles.
The main body was hidden underneath the water.
It was likely that you had to destroy its arms before it showed its body, which was its weak spot.

“Bow Shower!”

Arrows joined the pour of rain.
As the wind was strong, many of them missed their target, but a few still pierced into the tentacles.
It seemed that its defense ability was not particularly strong.
In that case, I could shoot from far away and…

OOOOOoooo…Oooooo…!

Was it the sea? Or the cry of the monster?
There was a low, echoing roar. It was as if the air was shaking around us. And then a wave that dwarfed all of the others rose high into the air.
It was big enough to swallow up the whole beach and more…!
I would have to attack and erase it first.

“Sea Bow Arts – Form Seven…Whale!”

I didn’t shoot directly at the great waves, but at the water in front of it.
This skill would be submerged once in the water, and then shoot back up to the surface like an upper punch.
Its hitbox was huge, just like a whale, and it had a lot of power. However, you were limited in terms of places that you could use it.
However, it was perfect for being a defensive wall that stopped giant waves.

However, one whale was not enough to stop a wave that could erase an entire beach.
And so…I hoped that the other players would do something.

“Glace Mur!”
“Wind Breaker!”
“Meteor…!”

A wall of ice rose up in the sea.
There was a violent gust that changed the direction of the wind.
And a punch that had all the impact of a meteor.

After being hit by this barrage of unique skills, the great wave could do nothing but fade away..
So there really were a lot of them…these strong players.
I couldn’t allow myself to be left behind.

That being said, I did have an advantage when it came to attacking the tentacles, which were still very far away.
The other players either had to wait for it to come closer, or adventure out into danger in order to get close.

Or that’s what I thought. But the situation changed rapidly.

The Kraken started to attack the beach with the tridents that it was holding.
That meant the tentacle holding the trident would come close.
And that gave them time to attack.
And so the other players launched a counter attack all at once.

But some brave players who could not wait for the enemy to attack, stepped forward and did something shocking.

“Glace Terre!”
“Rise Grand!!”

The sea began to freeze, creating platforms to step on. And like that, they were able to get as close as they dared and attack the enemy.
While the tentacles were big, they could not maneuver very effectively, and seemed to have trouble dealing with players that were close by.

I was very impressed by their work, but would continue with my own style.
As I had range, I targeted and shot at the enemy from the beach.
Quietly, I racked up damage.

While we seemed scattered, we were all working together.
Adhering to your own style helped everyone.
And in no time at all, we destroyed 4 of the 8 tentacles.

Amidst the raging storm, there was an atmosphere of hope. We could do this. It would be easy.
Even I thought the same thing.
That is, until the Poseidon Kraken’s head came out of the water.

It’s head was…like an octopus with a crown.
To be honest, it was almost cute.
Not exactly mascot material, but a monster that could potentially be quite popular.

And amidst this slackened atmosphere, the Kraken fired off black lasers.
Actually, it was ultra high-pressure ink.
It targeted specific players, and if those players didn’t move, then the attack would only hit a small area.

However, it was so powerful that it could kill you instantly if you didn’t move. So, of course, they ran.
And then the ink lasers would follow them, meaning that other players got caught up in the attack.
They would die if they stopped. But they might hurt others if they moved. It was a terrible attack indeed. And it chipped away at our fighting force.
Things were especially bad for the people on the sea, as the platforms they stood on were very small.

And obviously, there was a penalty for players that died during these large-scale Scrambles.
Your status was reduced to nearly 70%, and you would not be able to challenge the Kraken again.
You could act as support or healers, but there were limitations.

Some players would have just run away.
In that case, what happened to the difficulty?
The Scramble difficulty depended on the number of participating players.
But if the difficulty was decided at the beginning, then it would put them at a great disadvantage if a lot of players ran away without doing anything.

Has management done something about this?
Prepared something to help us…perhaps not. This was NSO…

GYYAAAAOOOooo…!!

There was a deafening roar, as if to deny my thoughts, and then it appeared.
From the sea…!

“The Blue Sea Dragon!?”

Now there was an unexpected helper…!
The Blue Sea Dragon turned its back to us and faced the Kraken.
Then the dragon bared its fangs at the god of the sea…!

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