Dungeon Predator

"Octopuses?" Kang Oh questioned.

"They're octopuses."

"Indeed they are."

Eder and Grano said.

They possessed round heads and eight legs covered with countless suckers.

They were definitely octopuses.

But they were huge and possessed eight eyes on their heads.

The position of their mouths were different too.

A normal octopus's mouth was located between its body and its tentacles, but these octopuses' mouths lay at the center of their round heads.

Their mouths were shaped differently too.

The octopuses' mouths opened horizontally with sharp teeth that resembled a shark's.

"First time I've ever seen them," Kang Oh said.

Not only was this the first time he'd actually seen one, but he also had no information on them either.

Obviously, he couldn't figure out what their level or name was. He also didn't know what kind of abilities they possessed.

"Interesting."

Grano adjusted his glasses.

"But they're still octopuses."

Eder, who'd obtained a new body, as well as equipment, had become incredibly confident.

"That's true," Kang Oh agreed.

After all, how strong could octopuses be?

Moreover, they had Grano, a mage who was in the mid 200's. 

Kang Oh looked at Grano.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Grano retrieved a blue sphere from his subspace. It was about the size of a basketball, but it looked similar to a pearl.

It was an 'orb', an item used by mages to substitute for a staff.

"Then, please make the first move," Kang Oh said.

Mages were all about a single powerful blow. Plus, Kang Oh also wanted to see how powerful Grano was.  

"I understand."

Grano began casting a spell.

"Blue wave's serenity..."

Unlike a skill, which could be used immediately, spells often required an incantation to use them.

In exchange, spells that required an incantation were more powerful than skills.

"...Sweep away all that remains hidden!"

He pushed the orb towards the octopus-shaped monsters and streams of water began to flow from it.

Torrent!

Chaahk!

Six water cannons assaulted the monsters.

Half of the monsters were swept away by the water and crashed into the walls.

"Oh."

Kang Oh was in awe.

Compared to Eder's mediocre bone or curse magic, seeing actual magic from a mage was a truly refreshing experience.

Ruta!

Turu!

Those that weren't swept away by the waves gave out a bizarre cry and dashed towards Grano.

They moved forward with their sucker-attached legs. However, they approached unexpectedly fast.

Thud!

Eder stamped onto the ground.

The Star of David underneath his foot transformed into black lines and stretched out in every direction.

He was using Cursed Ground: Ruined Ramparts!

Eder positioned his shield in front of him and blocked the incoming monsters' way.

Rua!

The vanguard octopus rushed towards Eder's shield.

It attempted to rip Eder to shreds with its sharp teeth.

"Die!"

Eder swung his mace.

Bang!

The spike-studded mace struck the octopus's head.

Then, the octopus's head flattened like a dried filefish filet.

He swung his mace once more.

Heavy Blow!

Boom!

Once his mace made contact with the octopus, it erupted in a small explosion with a 'boom'.

Kyaru!

The octopus tumbled onto the floor.

Grano finished casting another spell.

Waterball!

Grano shot out water bullets the size of his fist from his orb.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The waterballs battered the octopuses' heads and legs.

The octopus that had come for Eder, having been struck by the waterballs, stumbled and fell.

Kang Oh hadn't participated in the battle yet and continued to monitor Eder and Grano.

'Eder's become a full-fledged tank.'

Back when Eder was a skeleton, he was more like a supporter that specialized in utility, but by possessing the Immortal King Arumode's body, he was able to both weaken his enemies with curses and tank their attacks.

'And Grano's a mage through and through.'

Grano was no combat mage; he was a magic engineer that focused on creating magical devices.

Therefore, his fighting ability and the destructive force of his magic wasn't very high. However, it wasn't as though he were a weakling either.

He was good enough to do the job of 1 person or perhaps 1.5 people. 

Then, at that moment...

The octopuses that had been swept away by Grano's spell got a hold of themselves.

There were more than twenty of them.

"I guess I should get in there now too."

His body itched.

Kang Oh gripped his demon sword and entered the battlefield.

* * *

Darkness Strike!

His demon sword unleashed a black wave following the trajectory of his sword.

Boom!

Giant shards of light colored the sky. The octopus struck by Darkness Strike drooped.

[You have defeated a Kurima.]

[Stats have been stolen through Darkness Strike.]

[Physical +1]

'They're called Kurima, huh?'

The octopus-shaped monsters were called Kurima.

They were stronger than the thunderbird Agaths.

Despite that, Kang Oh took down the Kurimas faster than he did the Agaths.

The reason behind that was none other than Eder! The effect of his Cursed Ground was incredible.

Due to the effects of Cursed Ground, what would have taken two or three attacks to finish them only took one. 

'Nice.'

Kang Oh felt that providing Eder a new body had paid off.

Taaru!

The Kurima's cry shocked Kang Oh back to reality.

It opened its mouth wide.

A tongue that resembled a snake's popped out of its black, gaping maw.

Kang Oh moved to the left, avoiding the Karima's tongue.

However, there were sharp teeth like a saw blade at the end of the Karima's tongue.

A tongue within its mouth, and a mouth at the end of its tongue.

Chomp!

The end of its tongue bit the air; the sound itself was menacing.

However, Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition had warned him of the tongue.

While the tongue was a powerful weapon, it also served as the Kurima's weakness.

Kang Oh slashed the tongue with his sword.

Swish.

Red shards of light spilled from the Kurima's tongue.

Kyaruru!

The Kurima quivered and attempted to withdraw its tongue ASAP.

However, Kang Oh was faster.

Kang Oh slashed the tongue once more.

Swish!

The slashed tongue trembled, glistening with red shards of light.

Then, its eight eyes began to glow with a red light. Its body also changed color, turning red like a well-cooked octopus.

Hyper Intuition warned him of danger.

Danger, danger!

Kang Oh quickly shielded himself with his sword and retreated from the Kurima.

The Kurima's body expanded instantly like a balloon.

Boom!

Its body exploded. Sharp teeth flew everywhere like grenade shrapnel.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

A few of the teeth pieces struck his sword, emitting a rattling sound.

Another few grazed past his body and he received a message that he'd taken damage.

Beside him, Eder, who was engaging the Kurimas, was struck by a barrage of teeth as well.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Eder blocked the teeth shrapnel with his four-colored skull shield.

"When you attack their tongues, they blow up. Please be careful," Kang Oh yelled.

"Alright," Eder said as he bashed an approaching Kurima with his shield.

"Then let's force them to self-destruct," Grano, who was supporting from the rear, yelled.

Kang Oh, who was dealing with a new Kurima, glanced in Grano's direction.

"Force them to self-destruct?"

"Yes. I know a spell called Water Prison. If we imprison the exploding monsters within this spell it won't matter whether they explode or not," Grano quickly said.

Kang Oh quickly considered his options.

'Hmm. That way we'll be able to take them down quickly.'

A Kurima would self-destruct if their tongue was hit twice.

If they could deal with the aftermath of the explosion unscathed, then they could defeat the Kurimas in two hits.

"Alright. Let's try it."

Kang Oh dashed towards the Kurima he'd kicked away. 

The Kurima tumbled twice on the floor and extended its tongue towards Kang Oh.

Kang Oh shook his body from left to right. It was as if he were a willow tree.

Chomp!

Once it witnessed its target shake, it meaninglessly chomped at the air.

Kang Oh quickly swung his demon sword and instantly slashed its tongue twice.

Red shards spilled from the top and bottom of its tongue like glass, crashing to the floor.

Kuraha!

The Kurima's eyes radiated a red light and its body turned red.

"Mr. Grano!"

Kang Oh sent him the signal saying that 'It was time.'.

At the same time, he protected himself with his sword.

Grano's lips moved slightly. The orb above his hand began to spin.

Squash!

The Kurima was surrounded by droplets of water. 

It swelled like a balloon and was about to explode. 

The Water Prison was faster though; it enclosed around the Kurima as if it were a piece of fruit smeared in jelly.

The Kurima exploded.

Bubble.

There was no sound of an explosion. Instead, countless bubbles rose from the water and the Kurima turned to particles of light. 

Its teeth remained in the water. However, the teeth lost their power and speed due to water resistance.

A few pieces of teeth flew out of the water, but they were extremely weak.

The teeth that couldn't escape flowed through the water and when the Water Prison was over, the pieces clattered onto the floor.

"Your plan worked," Kang Oh said, having witnessed every part of the plan.

"Then let's finish off the rest of them with this method," Grano said.

"You know what to do, right?" Kang Oh asked Eder. 

Eder nodded his head.

He repelled a tongue coming towards him with his mace. 

"I'll keep going."

Kang Oh aimed his blade at the closest Kurima.

Then came a torrent of water.

Once Kang Oh and Eder began aiming for their tongues, a couple of the Kurima began to self-destruct.

When they did, Grano would surround them with his Water Prison.

The Kurimas' self-destruct became pointless and ultimately, left only their teeth behind. 

* * *

The Demon's Lair hunt was much too sweet.

By forcing them to self-destruct and then trapping them in a Water Prison, they could kill the Kurimas very quickly.

Because of that, Kang Oh leveled up quickly. His was currently level 110.

"There're stairs here that go down."

Eder, who stood at the vanguard, pointed towards the end of the passageway. As expected, there were stairs that went further down.

Grano radiated the crystal's light down the stairs.

"I don't see any monsters or traps," Grano observed the stairs and said.

"Let's go."

Kang Oh's party began to walk down the stairs.

Because the stairs held no monsters or traps, Kang Oh's party was able to reach the underground 1st floor with ease.

The cave on the Demon Lair's 1st floor was even larger and was filled with seawater, so much so that it actually slowed down their advance.

There was also another monster that appeared down here, along with the Kurima.

The new monster was an ugly fish that resembled a monkfish.

Its body was both wide and flat, and swollen at the same time; its skin was uneven and its mouth was large.

However, it only had one eye.

Plus, rakes were attached to its front and back legs like a frog. 

It was about the size of a large dog.

'This is the first time I've seen this thing too.'

Like with the Kurima, he didn't have any information on this monster either.

Plop.

They approached whilst splashing water.

The octopus-shaped Kurimas used their suckers to scale the walls.

"Eder, keep those ugly ones company," Kang Oh said.

"They're all ugly though."

Octopuses and monkfish. To Eder, it was difficult to figure out which was worse looking.

"Those ones."

Kang Oh pointed towards the monkfish-shaped monsters.

"Understood."

"Mr. Grano. You and I will quickly take care of the Kurimas first."

Kang Oh planned on taking down the Kurimas quickly and then focusing on the new monsters.

"I'm all ready."

The orb above the palm of his hand began to turn like a globe.

Then...

Kyaruka!

The monsters that resembled monkfish gaped, drooling in the process, and dashed towards them first. 

"Haahp."

As Kang Oh ordered, Eder advanced forward to take them on.

That's how the fight against a new type of monster commenced.