Out of the water, a tentacle rose high into the air, dark and ominous, before crashing down with ferocious intent and about to land atop Aldrich.
Fiona sprinted across the water, her feet skimming the surface as though it were solid ground.
Her sword, unsheathed and held firmly in her right hand, glinted under the sun's harsh light.
With a body enhanced by the coursing power of mana, she intercepted the descending tentacle, meeting its crushing force with the steel of her blade.
The impact sent ripples across the ocean surface, but she stood her ground, struggling to keep the immense pressure at bay.
"Aldrich! Snap out of whatever fantasy you're in!" she shouted, her voice strained as she fought to hold back the tentacle's weight.
The Kraken, frustrated by its failed attempt to crush them with one strike, sent another tentacle lashing towards them from the side.
The air trembled with its approach.
Trevor, noticing the incoming attack, acted without hesitation.
He dashed towards Aldrich and Fiona, grabbing both by the collar from behind.
With a surge of mana-fueled strength, he tossed them—and himself—out of the tentacle's path just in time.
Their bodies soared through the air before landing back on the water, safe for the moment.
"Get your head in the game, Aldrich! What the hell is wrong with you?" Trevor barked, his frustration evident.
Aldrich remained silent, lost in thought, his eyes distant.
Neither Fiona nor Trevor could understand why he seemed so detached, so distracted.
After all, they were stranded in the middle of the ocean, standing atop the water, facing a monstrous creature many times their size.
A Kraken—with eight long, crushing tentacles and predatory eyes fixed on them—loomed like a giant, ready to obliterate them at the first opportunity.
In such a dire predicament, they needed him focused, not lost in his head.
The Kraken withdrew its tentacles, coiling them back and swirling them around its grotesque, oval body.
Its two bulging eyes stayed locked on the trio, calculating, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.
Aldrich shook his head, snapping out of his stupor. "R-Right! This is no time to zone out."
His voice wavered slightly, but he was regaining his composure.
Or at least trying to.
The drastic change in the plot had thrown him off—this wasn't how things were supposed to go.
A Predator Walker appearing at this stage? It was supposed to be a Beta Walker at most.
Something had gone terribly wrong, and now their lives were on the line.
This was evident that his presence here does indeed change the course of the plot as this had happened not once, but twice.
Going forward, the same is only going to happen as long as he lingers around the characters the plot revolves around.
Eldora Institute is the best way to go.
Aldrich could simply put a stop to this, rescind his admission letter if only to preserve the flow of the plot to what he knew of it.
Deep down, however, Aldrich knew there was no avoiding this.
He had chosen this path, chosen to get close to the main cast.
He should have expected setbacks, especially after experiencing deviations from the plot before. If he couldn't handle this, what was the point of getting involved in the first place?
He had to be prepared not just physically, but mentally as well.
"So-sorry about that, guys!" he called, his voice steadier now.
Determination flared in his eyes.
The Kraken roared, sending another tentacle hurtling towards them, its path a chaotic rampage.
The three mystics scattered, each running in a different direction across the water, their movements fluid and precise.
They couldn't afford to stand still; to stop was to die.
As he ran, Aldrich's mind raced, trying to devise a plan.
They couldn't defeat the Kraken outright—not with their current strength.
Their best hope was to stall for time, to hold out until the officials overseeing the test realized their mistake and intervened.
He knew that wasn't going to happen as he kept it in a corner of his mind? The thought that this was intentional, not a mistake.
'Predator-ranked or not, its sheer size and body structure probably make it slow... right?' It was a risky assumption, but one he needed to test.
"I'll create an opening!" Aldrich shouted, not slowing his pace. "You two move in and deal damage when you get the chance!"
He reached over his shoulder, drawing an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back.
With practised speed, he knocked it into his bow, all without breaking stride.
His eyes locked onto the Kraken's forehead, his aim steady despite the chaos around him.
He loosed the arrow.
It soared gracefully through the air, its metal tip gleaming—only to bounce off the Kraken's skin with a metallic clang.
"Tch!" Aldrich clicked his tongue in frustration.
He hadn't expected to deal significant damage.
After all, if a mere arrow could kill a Predator Walker, it wouldn't be worthy of its rank.
No, his goal had been simpler: to draw the Kraken's attention to himself, creating an opportunity for Fiona and Trevor to close in.
But it hadn't worked.
The Kraken's gaze remained divided, each tentacle pursuing one of them relentlessly.
'If there's any hope of winning this, it rests on Fiona or Trevor getting close enough to land a critical strike,' Aldrich thought.
But for that to happen, he needed to keep the Kraken distracted.
Another tentacle lashed out, and Aldrich dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow.
His feet barely touched the water before he was moving again, always one step ahead of the Kraken's attacks.
His mind raced. 'How do I distract something this massive? My usual attacks won't cut it.'
The Kraken roared again, its tentacles thrashing wildly.
Each strike sent waves rippling across the ocean, making the surface unstable.
The three mystics moved in perfect synchronization, each dodging and weaving, but they were running out of time.
Aldrich gritted his teeth.
This wasn't just a test anymore.
It was a battle for survival.
And they couldn't afford to lose... He could not afford to lose.