Chapter 28: It's a Festival, Not a Funeral (3) (28/225)
"Ugh, I'm exhausted…"
"We should've brought more mana potions…"
Boom! Boom!
The three mages frowned as they watched the kraken's tentacles smash apart a warehouse.
Their robes were soaked through with sweat, and the pages of the spellbooks they had dropped on the ground fluttered noisily in the wind.
They had succeeded in rescuing the people of the harbor by mobilizing every spell they had learned at the Mage Tower, but they had barely managed to launch any proper offensive magic at the kraken that caused all this chaos.
Facing a kraken for the first time in their lives, they had entered the battle in a state of extreme tension. Since this was their first real combat, they had failed to use their mana efficiently.
As a result, their mana was completely depleted, and they collapsed within the light barrier, utterly drained.
"Eat this!"
However, Jinseo had a way to get the mages back on their feet.
"This is… ice cream?"
"Just eat it!"
Jinseo tore open the packaging and forcibly stuffed the ice cream into the mages' mouths.
"If things get too dangerous, retreat to the trailer with the Cardinal!"
The moment he finished speaking, Jinseo dashed toward the kraken, leaving the mages staring blankly after him.
"Why ice cream at a time like—huh?"
"R-right…?"
"Why didn't we think of this?"
As sweetness spread across their tongues, their depleted mana began recovering at a rapid pace. The mages quickly regained their strength.
With ice bars clenched between their teeth, they formed hand seals with both hands and began chanting spells.
Whoosh!
Massive fireballs flew toward the kraken in succession, striking it squarely.
As the kraken flinched under the sudden flames, Jinseo seized the opening and charged forward—straight toward Aston, who was fighting on the very front line.
"Jinseo! It's dangerous!"
Seeing a tentacle rushing toward him at high speed, Jinseo squeezed his eyes shut.
Reflexively, he swung his left arm.
"Huh?"
Instead of being sent flying as he had expected, Jinseo found himself still standing firmly in place.
The tentacle that had been knocked aside shot upward, then lunged toward him again.
Thud!
Jinseo swung his right arm with all his strength.
The tentacle, which flew even higher than before and crashed down beside him, bore a clear imprint of his fist.
"So it works?"
Recalling the vague numbers the AI had shown him, Jinseo clenched both fists tightly.
Fear drained away, replaced by confidence.
Thud! Thud!
Tentacles struck by his heavy punches were sent flying far away.
With the same right leg that had once snapped a tree in half, Jinseo kicked another tentacle high into the air.
"Good! At this level, I can fight!"
Now wasn't the time for mere counterattacks—it was time for real offense.
Jinseo charged straight at the tentacles coming for him in succession.
At that moment, a black shadow streaked past his side.
{Companion Nero, registered as the companion of Mobile cooking equipment owner Lee Jinseo, is entering combat.}
"Nero?"
Whoosh.
The spirit in the form of a black cat, Nero, halted in front of Jinseo and began to burn red-hot.
"You're not thinking of doing what you did back then… are you?"
Above Nero's head, a fireball began to swell.
It was so large that the magic Nero had unleashed on the attackers who once assaulted the food truck now looked tame by comparison.
"Meow!"
Fireballs far surpassing the magic of the three mages shot off—one each toward the kraken's head and massive tentacles.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, raging flames engulfed the kraken.
Four tentacles wrapped in fire hurriedly sank beneath the sea, and the kraken's enormous head was scorched black.
The escort soldiers who had been locked in fierce combat gaped at Nero in stunned silence.
Jinseo was no different.
"Nero… were you always this strong?"
"Meow."
Nero hopped onto Jinseo's left shoulder with a soft thump, then calmly licked his front paw as if nothing had happened.
"Do not let your guard down! The kraken is not defeated yet!"
Aston tightened his grip on his sword, never taking his eyes off the kraken.
Mages firing spells nonstop while biting into ice cream.
Aston and the knights standing at the forefront, swords wrapped in aura.
Escort soldiers desperately trying to create openings in the kraken's defenses.
As the standoff at the docks dragged on, Fedora—who had been praying the entire time—slowly rose to her feet, spreading both arms wide.
"…To those who fight against the wicked that defy His providence… may His blessing be upon you."
Flash!
Brilliant light burst forth from Fedora, who had risen into the air, and enveloped the entire dock.
The Blessing, said to be usable only by high-ranking clergy of the Heirem Order, descended upon those facing the kraken.
Including Jinseo.
{Due to the Blessing, Mobile cooking equipment owner Lee Jinseo's physical grade has increased to A+. This effect will fade after a set duration.}
{Based on calculations, Lee Jinseo is capable of hunting the Kraken alone.}
"What? Really?"
{However, as it is a giant monster, combat without a weapon may take a considerable amount of time. The use of an appropriate weapon is recommended.}
"A weapon? Something usable…"
His days of active service surfaced in his mind, and he thought of guns—but this was not Korea. There was no way firearms existed here, and even if this were Korea, they wouldn't be easy to obtain.
Spears dropped by startled soldiers after Nero's magic also entered his field of vision, but Jinseo shook his head.
He needed a weapon he was at least somewhat familiar with.
"Whatever. I'll just do it!"
Jinseo sprinted back to the food truck and pulled on thick work gloves instead of disposable ones.
Then he grabbed a kitchen knife from the rack above the sink and held it in his right hand.
AI, I'll trust what you said.
After taking a deep breath, Jinseo charged back toward the kraken.
"Jinseo! It's dangerous!"
He brushed past Aston, who tried to block him.
At that moment—
Three tentacles lunged toward Jinseo at once.
"D-danger—"
Aston froze with his left hand stretched out.
What unfolded before his eyes was not Jinseo being crushed beneath massive tentacles, but something completely unexpected.
"It cut that easily?"
A trail of light lingered where Jinseo's knife had passed, and severed tentacles writhed on the dock floor.
Whoosh.
Nero's fireballs followed, engulfing the severed tentacles in flames as smoke rose into the air.
The long tentacles browned and crisped, filling the surroundings with the unmistakable scent of grilled squid.
This works?
Jinseo stared at the kitchen knife in his hand in disbelief.
Another tentacle lunged at him, but this time he slashed upward, cutting it clean off and sending it flying.
Splash!
The severed tentacle fell into the sea, spraying water everywhere.
"…."
"I heard Jinseo was strong, but this strong?"
"The knight order should recruit him at any cost."
Wielding nothing but a kitchen knife, Jinseo overwhelmed the kraken.
The escort soldiers could only stare at him in utter shock.
The kraken, now missing more than half its tentacles, rolled its eyes in panic.
When its gaze met Jinseo's, it flinched and slowly retreated.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Jinseo ran along the slack tentacles like a makeshift path—straight toward the kraken's head as it tried to flee beneath the surface.
"Hah!"
Leaping high with a shout, Jinseo landed squarely atop the kraken's head.
He gripped the kitchen knife with both hands and drove it straight down with all his strength.
Kreeeeech!
An eerie scream echoed in all directions, but Jinseo twisted the knife clockwise without hesitation.
The kraken's eyes rolled back, then shut, and its massive head began to sink like a deflated balloon.
{Unexpected Quest completed. Rewards have been distributed.}
{Mobile cooking equipment owner Lee Jinseo's base physical grade has increased to A-. All owned abilities have been adjusted to match A- grade.}
{Current adjusted physical grade: S-. Once the Blessing expires, it will revert to A-.}
This… feels like the message window's going to keep popping up.
{Congratulations! Mobile cooking equipment has reached level 25.}
{As the Mobile cooking equipment's level has increased, its flavor enhancement rank has slightly improved (E+ achieved).}
{More detailed analysis of customers using the Mobile cooking equipment will now be possible.}
{Companion Nero has reached level 2.}
{When a companion levels up, a special ability is granted. Please select one of the following three abilities:}
{Magic Specialization: Further enhances the companion's magical power.}{Hygiene Reinforcement: Drastically reduces the chance of food prepared or sold via the Mobile cooking equipment spoiling.}{Bunsik Promotion: Increases the probability of attracting new customers to the Mobile cooking equipment.}
{The number of registrable companions has increased. Maximum—}
As Jinseo expected, message windows flooded his vision.
From the long list, he selected the second ability after confirming Nero's level-up.
No matter how powerful he had become—enough to kill a kraken with a single kitchen knife—his true profession was still that of a bunsik vendor.
No matter how careful he was about cleanliness and hygiene, accidents could still happen.
With an ability that could prevent such accidents available, there was no reason not to choose it.
"Whew… it's finally over."
Jinseo slid down the limp tentacles like a playground slide and returned to the dock.
The escort soldiers looked at him with eyes full of awe.
"J-Jinseo killed the kraken…"
"How is that even possible?"
Jinseo had once been attacked by assailants targeting the food truck.
He had defeated all of them alone—but that had been against humans.
No one had imagined he would charge straight at a gigantic monster and actually bring it down.
"Please don't stare like that. You're embarrassing me."
With an awkward smile, Jinseo looked over the escort soldiers.
A few were injured, but most were safe.
"Jinseo!"
At Fedora's call, the escort soldiers surrounding Jinseo hurriedly stepped aside.
She reached out and placed her hands against Jinseo's chest—then quickly pulled them back.
"A-are you hurt anywhere?"
"No. As you can see, I'm fine. Please check on the other injured people."
"Really? There's nowhere you're hurt? None at all?"
Fedora examined Jinseo from head to toe with intense focus, eyes wide as she searched for even the slightest wound.
"That's where the kraken hit you earlier…"
"Huh? I thought you wouldn't have seen it since you were praying."
"Of course I saw it! And really—there's not a single injury?"
Only after confirming that Jinseo didn't even have a torn collar did Fedora finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew… Jinseo, you surprise me every time."
"I surprised myself too."
A colossal monster appearing out of nowhere.
Aston and the escort soldiers fighting it head-on.
Mages supporting them with magic.
And Fedora, whose holy light played a crucial role in bringing the kraken down.
Something Jinseo had only ever seen in games, novels, or movies had unfolded in reality.
And the fact that he had played the biggest role in that surreal reality still didn't feel real.
I still can't believe it. Now that it's down, I can't even tell how strong the kraken really was. And more importantly…
Jinseo took a deep breath, savoring the smell hanging thick in the air.
The distinctive scent of grilled squid that had spread since Nero's fireballs struck the kraken.
After moving so violently since early morning, his stomach let out a loud growl.
The same sound came from Aston standing beside him.
"Ah… that's… now that the tension's gone…"
As Aston scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, Jinseo smiled lightly.
"Same here."
"Honestly, it was hard resisting that smell."
They laughed together, but the other escort soldiers felt the same way.
Once fear loosened its grip, hunger surged back to life.
To them now, the kraken was no longer a terrifying monster.
"Just grilling it smells this good…" Jinseo placed his hand with a thump on one of the massive severed tentacles scattered across the docks. "If we deep-fry it, it'll be incredible."
At some point, Jinseo had gone from kraken slayer—back to being a food truck owner.
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