Chapter 73 — The Blackwater Hunt

The roar came again.

This time—

Kael felt it.

A vibration ran through the ground beneath his boots.

Birds fled from the distant canopy.

Small monsters vanished into burrows.

Even the mana flowing through the forest seemed to hesitate.

Kael stood at the edge of the Ashen Wilds.

Beyond the final line of dark trees lay a massive basin.

The land gradually descended toward it.

The air became colder.

Moisture gathered on the rocks.

And somewhere beyond the mist—

water moved.

A lot of water.

Kael looked down at his father's map.

The black circle covering the next region was enormous.

Blackwater Expanse.

His father had written only one sentence beneath the name.

Do not assume something is weaker simply because you cannot see it.

Kael folded the map.

“Good advice.”

He stepped forward.

The forest changed almost immediately.

The trees became thinner.

Their roots twisted through dark, wet soil.

Mist hung low over the ground.

After another kilometer, Kael reached the first pool.

It wasn't really a pool.

It was part of a river so wide that the opposite shore was barely visible.

The water was nearly black.

No reflection.

No visible movement.

No fish.

No insects.

Nothing.

Kael crouched.

He touched the surface with one finger.

Cold.

Very cold.

He activated Mana Detection.

His expression changed.

The water was saturated with mana.

Not ordinary water mana.

Something darker.

Denser.

It almost felt like the entire river was one enormous living structure.

Kael pulled his hand back.

“Don't like that.”

He stood.

His danger sense suddenly activated.

Kael spun around.

Nothing.

He activated Network Sense.

Still nothing.

Mana Detection.

Nothing.

He narrowed his eyes.

Then he looked at the water again.

A single ripple crossed the surface.

Kael's expression became serious.

“So that's where you are.”

Silence.

Another ripple.

Then—

the entire river exploded.

BOOOOOOM!

A gigantic black shape erupted from the water.

Kael moved instantly.

The impact tore apart the ground where he had been standing.

Water crashed through the trees.

Kael rolled behind a large stone.

The creature came fully into view.

It was enormous.

At least fifteen meters long.

Its body was covered in dark blue-black scales.

Four massive fins extended from its sides like wings.

A long armored head emerged from the water.

Two rows of pale teeth filled its mouth.

Along its spine were glowing green lines.

Its tail alone looked strong enough to crush a house.

Kael's System activated.

[Blackwater Abyssal Crocodrake]

Level: 43

Grade: Lord

Potential: Overlord

Classification: Blackwater Territory Lord

Traits:

Abyssal Scales

Blackwater Dominion

Depth Pressure

Water Mana Absorption

Regeneration

Predator's Perception

Abyssal Burst

Territory Authority

Kael's eyes narrowed.

Level 43.

Nine levels above him.

And unlike the Ashen Crown Mauler—

this creature had an environment completely suited to it.

Kael's gaze moved across the battlefield.

River.

Mud.

Mist.

Loose stones.

Sparse trees.

Very little solid ground.

He understood the problem immediately.

“I have to fight in its territory.”

The Crocodrake opened its mouth.

A deep rumble emerged.

Then it disappeared beneath the water.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“No visual.”

His danger sense triggered.

Left.

Kael jumped.

The river exploded where he had been.

The Crocodrake emerged beneath him.

Its jaws snapped shut.

Kael twisted in the air.

The teeth passed within centimeters of his leg.

He used Metal Control to create a metal platform under his foot.

CLANG!

He pushed off.

The platform shattered from the force.

Kael landed on a tree branch.

He immediately raised PR-02.

The Crocodrake disappeared into the river again.

Kael didn't fire.

He waited.

He had already learned something.

The monster wasn't simply attacking from underwater.

It was using the entire river as a sensory field.

Its Predator's Perception meant hiding was almost impossible.

A ripple appeared.

Kael aimed.

But instead of the creature—

a column of water exploded upward.

BOOM!

Kael was struck and thrown from the branch.

He landed in the mud.

The pressure alone knocked the breath from his lungs.

He rolled immediately.

A massive tail swept across the area.

CRASH!

Three trees were flattened.

Kael used Metal Control.

A thick shield formed.

The tail hit.

The shield bent almost instantly.

Kael was thrown backward.

He slammed into a rock.

For a moment—

everything went quiet.

Kael slowly stood.

His shoulder hurt.

His breathing was heavier.

But his eyes remained clear.

He looked at the river.

“This isn't going to work.”

The Crocodrake surfaced.

Kael fired PR-02.

BANG!

The round struck its head.

The bullet penetrated slightly.

But then—

the scales around the wound began glowing.

The wound closed.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“Regeneration plus water absorption.”

He fired again.

BANG!

Same result.

The creature turned toward him.

Kael immediately stopped.

It was absorbing the mana from the bullets through the water.

Not completely.

But enough to recover.

Kael switched to physical ammunition.

One shot.

BANG!

This time the effect was different.

The scales cracked.

The Crocodrake roared.

Kael smiled.

“Physical damage works better.”

The creature submerged.

Kael moved.

He ran inland.

He didn't want to fight at the river's edge anymore.

The Crocodrake followed.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then—

BOOM!

A wall of water struck the land.

Kael jumped over it.

Another wave came.

He jumped again.

Another.

Another.

The Crocodrake was pushing water inland.

Kael realized what was happening.

“It doesn't want me on land.”

He looked behind him.

The river was expanding.

The surrounding ground was becoming flooded.

Kael's expression hardened.

“It's changing the battlefield.”

The water reached his boots.

He moved faster.

The Crocodrake emerged.

Kael fired three physical rounds.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

One struck its eye ridge.

Another struck the side of its neck.

The third struck a glowing green line along its spine.

The monster recoiled.

Kael noticed it.

The green line flickered.

He immediately stopped.

“That wasn't regeneration.”

He focused.

The glowing lines weren't scales.

They were channels.

Mana channels.

The same kind of internal pathway he'd discovered on the Ashen Crown Mauler.

But this creature had many more.

And they were connected to the water.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“That's the source.”

The Crocodrake charged.

Kael dodged.

The creature's head smashed into the ground.

Kael jumped onto its back.

The scales were slippery.

He nearly lost his footing.

The monster twisted violently.

Kael grabbed one of the dorsal spikes.

The Crocodrake rolled.

Kael was thrown.

He landed on the riverbank.

The creature immediately turned.

Its mouth opened.

Water compressed inside.

Kael felt the pressure.

His danger sense screamed.

He raised both hands.

Metal Control.

WHUM!

A layered metal barrier formed.

The Crocodrake fired.

A massive compressed beam of water struck.

BOOOOOOM!

The barrier exploded.

Kael was launched backward.

He hit the ground and rolled several times.

His ears rang.

He looked at his hands.

They were shaking.

“That attack…”

He looked toward the monster.

“It's compressing the river's mana into a single point.”

That explained its enormous destructive power.

But it also revealed something.

The creature needed time to build pressure.

Kael had noticed roughly two seconds between the opening of its jaws and the release.

Two seconds.

Enough to exploit.

The Crocodrake charged.

Kael ran.

The monster followed.

Kael deliberately moved closer to the river.

The creature seemed to realize what he was doing.

It accelerated.

Kael waited.

Then—

he abruptly turned inland.

The Crocodrake crashed into the bank.

Kael jumped onto a tree.

He drew PR-02.

He fired.

Not at the body.

At the water.

BANG!

A Mana Disruption round struck the river.

The water's mana flow broke apart.

The Crocodrake's eyes widened.

Its body convulsed slightly.

Kael smiled.

“Got it.”

The creature roared and attacked.

Kael fired again.

BANG!

Another disruption round.

The green channels on its body dimmed.

The Crocodrake became slower.

Kael finally had proof.

Its strength depended heavily on the mana concentration of the Blackwater.

Break the flow—

and the monster weakened.

But one problem remained.

The river was enormous.

Destroying the entire water source was impossible.

Kael needed another method.

He looked at the battlefield.

Then at the creature.

Then at his Space Ring.

His eyes moved toward the pile of metallic stakes inside.

A plan formed.

Not a perfect one.

A dangerous one.

But possible.

Kael pulled out eight stakes.

He threw them.

One near the riverbank.

One farther downstream.

Another beside a large rock.

Another beneath the water.

The Crocodrake noticed.

Its eyes followed the movement.

Kael threw two more.

Then one.

Then the final stake.

The creature charged.

Kael deliberately allowed it closer.

Ten meters.

Eight.

Five.

The Crocodrake opened its mouth.

Blackwater compressed.

The air itself seemed to bend.

Kael waited.

Three meters.

The attack began.

Kael slammed his palm against the ground.

“Now.”

Metal Control activated.

The eight stakes connected.

A giant metallic field formed beneath the water.

WHUM!

The current was redirected.

Mana flowed away from the Crocodrake.

The green channels across its body dimmed.

Its compressed water attack weakened.

Instead of a devastating blast—

a massive stream exploded from its mouth.

Kael dodged.

The attack carved through trees.

But it had lost most of its force.

Kael moved.

PR-02.

BANG!

A shot struck the exposed eye ridge.

The Crocodrake recoiled.

Kael fired again.

BANG!

The second shot struck the green channel on its neck.

The creature roared.

Its tail swept toward Kael.

He ducked.

The tail demolished the metal field.

The eight stakes flew apart.

Kael cursed.

The Crocodrake slammed its head down.

Kael barely escaped.

The battlefield was returning to normal.

The water's mana began recovering.

Kael's breathing became heavier.

He had found the weakness.

But he couldn't maintain it.

The monster was adapting.

Its eyes moved constantly now.

It had realized what the stakes were doing.

The next attack came from the water.

Kael saw nothing.

He sensed pressure.

He moved left.

The Crocodrake erupted from the right.

Its jaws opened.

Kael raised the katana.

CLANG!

The sword struck one of the monster's teeth.

The impact nearly tore the weapon from his hand.

Kael was forced backward.

The Crocodrake attacked again.

Kael stepped aside.

Tail.

Dodge.

Claw.

Block.

Water blast.

Jump.

Another tail swing.

Duck.

The creature was relentless.

Kael was being pushed farther and farther toward the river.

He couldn't keep reacting.

He needed to take control.

Kael looked at its body.

The green channels.

The neck.

The eyes.

The mouth.

The dorsal line.

And then he noticed something.

Every time it used a large attack—

the green channels along its back brightened.

But one channel always brightened first.

The fourth one.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“The fourth spine.”

The Crocodrake charged.

Kael sprinted toward it.

At the last moment, he slid beneath its head.

He used Metal Control to create a thin metal blade.

SLASH!

He struck the fourth glowing channel.

The creature roared.

Kael rolled away.

For a second—

the Blackwater Crocodrake's entire body shook.

The channel flickered.

Its mana flow broke.

Kael's eyes widened.

“It isn't just a channel.”

He understood.

“It's the regulator.”

The fourth dorsal channel controlled the distribution between the creature and the river.

Damage it—

and the creature could no longer absorb water mana efficiently.

The monster charged in rage.

Kael didn't retreat this time.

He ran straight toward it.

Both sides accelerated.

Kael jumped.

The Crocodrake opened its jaws.

Kael landed on the top of its head.

The creature violently shook its body.

Kael almost fell.

He stabbed the katana into the scales to stabilize himself.

The monster rolled.

Kael pulled the katana free.

The fourth channel glowed.

He reached for PR-02.

The rifle appeared.

The barrel touched the channel.

The Crocodrake twisted.

Kael was nearly thrown.

He grabbed one of the dorsal spikes.

The monster thrashed.

Kael gritted his teeth.

“Hold…”

The creature dove.

Water surrounded him.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Kael was underwater.

Pressure crushed around him.

His vision blurred.

The Crocodrake was moving rapidly.

Kael's danger sense screamed.

He couldn't breathe properly.

He needed to get off.

Now.

The monster twisted again.

Kael released the spike.

He sank.

The Crocodrake turned toward him.

Its jaws opened.

Kael activated Metal Control.

The metal fragments around his belt shot outward.

They formed a chain.

Kael anchored the chain around a submerged rock.

The Crocodrake's jaws snapped shut where he had been.

Kael pulled.

The chain tightened.

He used the tension to launch himself sideways.

The creature's head struck the rock.

Kael swam upward.

He broke the surface.

He gasped.

The Crocodrake surfaced behind him.

Kael immediately fired.

BANG!

The round struck the fourth channel.

A crack formed.

The creature roared.

Kael fired again.

BANG!

The channel broke.

The effect was immediate.

The green glow across the Crocodrake's body vanished.

Its regeneration slowed dramatically.

The surrounding water stopped feeding it.

For the first time—

the monster looked vulnerable.

But it was far from defeated.

The Crocodrake's eyes became darker.

Its entire body suddenly began vibrating.

Kael froze.

“What is it doing?”

The System reacted.

[Warning.]

[Abyssal Burst detected.]

[Energy concentration rising rapidly.]

[Estimated output: Extreme.]

Kael's expression changed.

It was preparing something.

Much stronger than the previous water blast.

And without the fourth channel—

the energy wasn't being distributed.

It was gathering directly in the core.

Kael's instincts screamed.

“If that explodes…”

He looked at the surrounding region.

The river.

The forest.

The monster.

Everything within hundreds of meters would be destroyed.

Kael had seconds.

He looked at PR-02.

Then AR-04.

Then the katana.

He needed to interrupt it.

But the creature's hide was too strong.

The core was inaccessible.

Unless—

Kael's eyes moved to the broken fourth channel.

The energy was flowing through it.

The creature was using the broken channel as a desperate emergency route.

Kael smiled.

“So you're forcing everything through the wound.”

He raised AR-04.

He selected a Mana-Breaker round.

Then switched to the katana.

Then back to the rifle.

A combined attack.

Risky.

Extremely risky.

The Crocodrake roared.

The water around it began rising.

Kael ran toward it.

The monster launched the Abyssal Burst.

Kael fired.

BANG!

The Mana-Breaker round struck the broken channel.

At the same instant—

Kael used Metal Control to drive a metal spike directly into the same opening.

CLANG!

The spike penetrated.

The energy flow stopped.

For one second—

everything went silent.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The stored energy erupted upward.

Not toward Kael.

Toward the sky.

A gigantic column of black water shot hundreds of meters into the air.

Kael was thrown backward.

The Crocodrake screamed.

Its body slammed into the river.

The entire Blackwater Expanse shook.

Kael landed hard.

He pushed himself up.

The Crocodrake was still alive.

Barely.

Its body was trembling.

Its territory authority had collapsed.

Its regeneration was almost gone.

But Kael knew better than to assume victory.

The creature slowly raised its head.

Its eyes met his.

It was still capable of fighting.

Kael picked up his katana.

He walked forward.

One step.

Then another.

The Crocodrake lunged.

Kael stepped aside.

The creature's head passed him.

Kael turned.

One clean strike.

SLASH!

The battle ended.

The System appeared.

[Blackwater Abyssal Crocodrake defeated.]

[Territory Lord defeated.]

[Blackwater Territory Core obtained.]

[Abyssal Lord Core obtained.]

[Experience acquired.]

[Level Up.]

[Level 35 reached.]

Kael remained standing for several seconds.

Then his knees finally gave out.

He sat beside the river.

His clothes were soaked.

His breathing was heavy.

His arms trembled from exhaustion.

But he was smiling.

“Level 35.”

Five levels had separated him from the beginning of the hunt.

He looked toward the dark river.

There would be stronger creatures deeper inside.

Much stronger.

Kael opened his attribute window.

Five points.

He thought about the battle.

His biggest weakness had been stamina during prolonged combat.

His durability was improving.

But he still needed more agility to survive attacks from enemies who could control the entire battlefield.

He allocated:

+1 Strength

+2 Agility

+1 Vitality

+1 Intelligence

[Attributes Updated]

Strength: 32

Agility: 42

Vitality: 39

Intelligence: 38

Mana: 39

Kael closed the System.

Then he looked at the Blackwater Territory Core.

A new map appeared in his mind.

The Blackwater Expanse.

Several monster territories.

Several dangerous routes.

And at the very center—

a massive red mark.

Kael stared.

The System identified it.

[Territory Lord]

Level: 47

Grade: Lord

Potential: Overlord

Estimated Threat: Extreme

Name: Blackwater Executioner

Status: Active

Kael was silent.

Level 47.

Only three levels below the threshold where the hunting arc would become truly dangerous.

And judging by the pressure coming from that direction—

it wasn't the strongest monster in the region.

Kael slowly stood.

He looked at his damaged weapons.

PR-02 had survived.

AR-04 had several cracks.

The Darven katana remained intact.

His remaining ammunition was dropping rapidly.

And the new territory core had given him enough information to know that the next enemy would require an entirely different approach.

Kael smiled.

“Three levels.”

He picked up his weapons.

“Let's see what Level 47 feels like.”

Far across the Blackwater Expanse—

something opened its eyes.

The entire river became still.

Then a massive figure rose from beneath the water.

A pair of crimson eyes stared toward Kael's position.

The hunt had been noticed.

And this time—

the prey would be hunting back.