Chapter 159: The Turtle Must Be Slain
“Rio!”
I reached out toward the flash of light extending from beneath the sea. As the brilliance gradually narrowed, the figure of a safe and sound Rio emerged on the other side.
“Ah, that startled me…”
Hearing her carefree voice, I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed she had managed to evade the danger successfully. The unsettling sensation and anxiety that had been gnawing at the back of my mind had faded away. Somehow, I felt a strong conviction that the immediate threat had passed.
Seriously, that was terrifying. What was that? I was driven by an overwhelming sense of unease… But I’m glad I sensed it in advance. Perhaps it was some kind of Skill.
“Shuu… thank you.”
Rio approached me slowly, pressing her left hand against her chest, her cheeks flushed. As I moved closer to her, I pulled her into an embrace.
“Are you okay? Is there anywhere that hurts?”
“Yeah… I’m fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It seems my call reached you just in time.”
Just to be safe, I decided to cast Healing Magic. I channeled my Magic Power throughout my body, enveloping Rio in a warm glow.
“Ah, ahem. We’re retreating!”
Suddenly, Linford’s voice snapped me back to reality. That’s right; we were in the midst of the Sea Emperor Turtle assault operation with a team of B Rank or higher Adventurers. The massive turtle still floated on the surface of the sea, resembling an island. Its shell was cracked, with several rock projectiles embedded in it.
I tried to assess its condition… but its HP had indeed decreased a little. It was down by about 500, but considering it had six digits, that was hardly significant. The last time we had reduced its HP, it hadn’t retaliated… Perhaps that was because we had been in a blind spot on its shell.
“Understood.”
The flash of light had erupted from beneath the sea, but the waters didn’t seem particularly turbulent. It appeared that the others on the ship were safe as well. Upon returning to the ship, I noticed Nil, with her tail bristled, glaring at the turtle. To reassure her that the threat had passed, I gave her neck a gentle, fluffy rub.
“Tch.”
Rex clicked his tongue at me, but I had no intention of responding. I could sense a mix of fear from the other members, but Saskia seemed to be sparkling with curiosity. I had used more Magic Power than I expected, and I felt mentally drained. The ship returned to the harbor in silence, with no one uttering a word.
“Oh! You’ve returned safely!”
As we entered the Guild, the Guild Master was waiting for us in the lobby on the first floor.
“I was worried when I saw that white light rising from the sea.”
“Did you see it from the town as well?”
Linford, acting as our representative, began to give a brief report to the Guild Master, but it seemed the detailed discussion would take place in a separate room. We were led to the conference room where Lowell was waiting as the secretary, just as usual. It was only now that I began to truly grasp the reality of having faced a counterattack from the Sea Emperor Turtle. Although we had dealt damage, I couldn’t overlook the fact that Rio had been put in danger.
I had thought that things would turn out as they would, but that was unacceptable. That turtle must be slain.
“So, what was it like facing the Sea Emperor Turtle?” the Guild Master asked.
“That thing is a monster… Our attacks seemed to have no effect at all.”
“Even for you, it was like that… It seems the records were accurate.”
“However…”
The Guild Master, stroking his chin in thought, lifted his gaze at Linford’s next words.
“The counterattack that produced that white flash was triggered by Shu and Rio here.”
“What… did you say?”
The Guild Master’s sharp gaze turned toward us.
“Yes. After unleashing a powerful spell infused with all my Magic Power, we were hit by what seemed to be the turtle’s retaliatory attack.”
“So that was the white pillar, huh?”
“Yes. It appeared to be fired from beneath the sea, and just before it launched, there were a few bubbles surfacing from the water.”
“I see… By the way, were you able to change the turtle’s course?”
Looking around at everyone, the Guild Master’s gaze finally settled on Linford.
“I’m not sure… Its speed is slow, so we won’t know until we’ve traveled a bit further…”
“I see.”
Linford replied with a furrowed brow, and the Guild Master muttered softly, as if he had come to a realization.
“We’ll conduct a separate investigation on that tomorrow. By the way—”
He gave Lowell a directive, then turned to face us with a serious expression.
“If we were to face the Sea Emperor Turtle again, do you think we could defeat it?”
I couldn’t answer that question immediately. The damage we dealt today would likely be recovered by tomorrow. It was clear that we couldn’t proceed as we were.
But—
“We will give it our all… However, I can’t say whether we can take it down before it reaches land.”
“Indeed. I have a plan to deal more damage than today.”
Exchanging glances with Rio, we nodded in agreement.
“I have an idea inspired by Linford’s magic.”
At my words, Linford raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Oh? My Sniping Magic, huh? It’s not a proprietary technique, so feel free to imitate it… but it’s not something you can master overnight.”
“Thank you. I don’t expect to be able to do it that quickly. I’ll just use it as a reference.”
There was no way we could manage it in just a day or two. In Linford’s view, it would likely take years, but with our enhanced Skills, we could master it in just a few days.
No one in the room voiced any objections to my statement. Meanwhile, Nil was being pampered and fed by several Adventurers, enjoying her fluffy charm.