A Mythical Journey To Remember - Chapter 39

Chapter 39 - Divine?

On the horizon, enormous tentacles, like behemoth serpents of the deep, surged out of the churning waters.

What the fuck is that?!

The source of the tentacles remained veiled beneath the waves, its form shrouded in an enigmatic haze. Yet, even without the sight of its full body, the sheer magnitude of its appendages alone caused the entire sea to quiver in its wake.

Each tentacle stretched forth with a jaw-dropping girth, akin to the width of city buses, dwarfing everything else in its vicinity. As they reached for the heavens, these immense limbs soared to heights rivaling those of towering twenty-story buildings, casting an ominous shadow over our ship.

I couldn't help but imagine the power they possessed. A mere flick or slap from those colossal tentacles would be more than enough to reduce our once-proud ship to mere fragments. My heart started beating faster, I watched, captivated yet fearful.

While we approached, a curious sight unfolded before us. It wasn't just our ship being drawn into this strange current; dozens of other vessels were caught in this strange whirlpool as well.

As we drew closer, another inhuman creature came into view. It possessed the upper body of a muscular man, wielding a two-pronged trident, while its lower body resembled that of a fish—a merman. He stood atop a burst of water, preparing for something.

Interestingly, they weren't working together; quite the opposite, in fact. They were engaged in fierce combat against each other.

Despite the monstrous size of the tentacle creature, it writhed in pain when the merman hurled his trident, piercing one of its limbs. Seizing the opportunity, the merman charged forward ripped off the giant tentacle by pulling on his weapon, and let out a triumphant roar that shook the very sea.

However, the merman's celebration was short-lived, as another tentacle swung down towards him. Even from a distance, I could feel the aftershock of the attack, the strong wind nearly capsizing our ship.

Nonetheless, the merman remained undeterred, skillfully using his trident to block the attack. With a swift movement, he slipped past the tentacle, causing the monster's strike to hit the sea, creating a massive tidal wave.

"We need to get away from here!" yelled the captain, snapping everyone out of their stupor. "Or we will all end up as nothing more than fish food!"

The sailors immediately sprang into action, scrambling to unfurl the sails and distance ourselves from the chaotic scene. The captain, however, appeared unbothered by the incoming tidal wave, his eyes focused on the water's movement around the ship.

While others were consumed by fear, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the godlike battle between the merman and the tentacle monster. The merman even seemed to possess some mysterious energy, sending shivers down my spine.

This was an energy I was familiar with. Could it be Kar?

Before I could dwell on that thought for too long, the trident suddenly increased in size, quadrupling its length. With a powerful throw, the merman launched it into the water, creating a massive splash that turned the sea red. The other monster's tentacles recoiled, seemingly scared off by the display of power.

The spectacle was awe-inspiring, but what intrigued me most was the potential of Kar. It wasn't just some shamanistic and primitive energy as Myrina had described; it could be harnessed in various ways, some possibly more dangerous than my current level of Transmutation.

A part of me was scared. The world had just become a bit bigger and way more dangerous. Yet, another part was excited. What if one day I could do what these people could? Enlarging my spear using Kar and throwing it at monsters – that sounded like a dream come true!

However, the thought of doing something like that felt too risky for me. I had already experienced my fair share of risks, and it wasn't as fun as the stories made it seem.

The ship rocked back into place, and salty waters smashed on my face as the seas settled down. The taste of salt never left my mouth; some even flew up my nostrils, making my nose burn. Thankfully, I managed to shield my eyes from the water.

Despite the commotion, my thoughts remained fixated on that wondrous sight I had seen.

Who was that man with the trident? Was it Poseidon? I didn't remember him ever being described as a half-fish, half-man creature. But I could be wrong.

During times like these, I wished I had access to Wikipedia.

"Hoist the sails!" yelled the captain, noticing that some of the sailors were struggling with the ropes. I snapped out of my daydreaming and rushed to help them.

The rope was surprisingly dry, and with four of us, we managed to pull up the sails. However, the storm brewing in the distance intensified my nervousness with each passing second.

I didn't want to be stranded in the ocean in the middle of nowhere, and the thought of the boat capsizing terrified me. I wasn't a good swimmer, at best only average.

Throughout the voyage, I continued assisting the sailors with various tasks on the ship, mostly involving pulling ropes or raising the anchor. By the end of it, my palms showed signs of rope burns, which, when mixed with salty water, felt like my hands were on fire.

Luckily, my hands were callused from a lifetime of working in the fields; otherwise, the pain could have been worse.

"You did a good job for a newbie!" The large-bodied vice-captain put a hand on my shoulder, revealing a wide smile that displayed his yellowing teeth. "Are you sure you don't want to become a sailor? In your first voyage, you ended up meeting a God. If that isn't a sign telling you to become a sailor, I don't know what is."

Shit, that lie was really coming back to haunt me. I should have just said that my father was a merchant... On second thought, maybe that wouldn't have been smart either, as it could have made me a target for robbery or ransom.

Though these sailors were friendly with me, there was something about them that hinted they wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice someone like me for their own benefit. They seemed like the kind of people who weren't avoidant to engaging in sketchy dealings.

"I made a promise to my father that I wouldn't become a sailor," I insisted. "A man is only as good as his word, and if I broke my promise now, I wouldn't feel confident in being a part of your crew after that. What kind of crew would want a liar who can't keep his word?"

The big man's eyes grew a bit misty as he smiled. "Of course. Also... 'a man is only as good as his word,' is that another one of your father's sayings?"

"Yeah," I lied. "He was always one for sayings like this. Words just flew out of his mouth like water when it came to things like this."

The vice captain laughed and gave me a friendly slap on the back. But he couldn't keep his enthusiasm for long, as the captain called out for him, using some very explicit threats if he didn't show up in a minute.

Suddenly, the sound of someone throwing up rang out. It was Theria, and her pretty visage was broken as she almost threw up her guts overboard. She really didn't do well on ships.

Despite how troublesome she was as a woman, I decided to approach her and held her forehead as she threw up. This was a trick I had learned from some of my relatives in my last life—to hold the forehead of someone who was throwing up as it helped them not lurch forward too much. I wouldn't want Theria to accidentally fall overboard.

"Poseidon appears here, and yet you were too busy throwing up," I joked. "What will your divine mother think about that?"

A moment of clarity appeared in Theira's eyes as she looked at me and wiped the drool off her lips. Despite witnessing the sight of her throwing up, I still couldn't help but be mesmerized by this girl's beauty. It was like a tingle in my heart, as butterflies filled my stomach, and it got harder to take a good breath.

Okay, that was either the teenage body speaking or I was under the effect of some charm ability she had.

"That was not Poseidon," she said before she turned around and started throwing up again. But by now, there was nothing in her stomach to even barf up.

"What?" I asked.

She cleared her throat and used a white napkin to wipe her lips, which she nonchalantly threw overboard after one use. "That wasn't Poseidon, though it technically was a God. It was Triton."

"Triton?" I hadn't heard of that name before.

"Yes, he is the son of Poseidon and his wife, a legitimate child with a divine lineage which makes him a God himself. He is in a whole other league compared to mere Demigods," she shook her head.

Okay, I did not ask for so much information on the matter. But I understood where she was coming from.

"Have you ever seen something like this before?" I asked, stealing a quick glance at the sailors. Theria shook her head, but it was evident that she didn't have much experience with traveling.

The sailors also shook their heads in response, leaving only the captain to reply, his lips curling into a slight chuckle. This piqued my curiosity further.

What could possibly compare to something like this?

I was just about to inquire about it when the captain abruptly shook his head, turning his attention back to commanding his crew. He didn't even give me a chance to ask my question.

Regardless, it might be a while before I venture into the sea again, or perhaps it could be my last time altogether. Initially, I thought traveling by sea would be safer than journeying on land, but inexplicably, the sea felt considerably more perilous.

If that colossal octopus had chosen to attack us, there would have been nothing I or anyone aboard this ship could have done to defend ourselves.