"That's because we're improving, right?" ~Grace Allturia

Shallies did her best not to smile. Channeling her guilt outwards, as true as it may have been, allowed her to mask the bubbling excitement in her chest.

During her entire lecture about engaging an Attribute, there was one thing she had purposefully left out. It was the real reason why she had joined them, and why she was carefully guiding them throughout the entire process during the battle, rather than letting them practice first.

Engaging an Attribute was something that could only be learned in a practical setting in the first place. A normal environment, like their usual training, an area where they only exercised with the desire to improve, would never provide them with the requirements to learn the technique.

But at the same time, Shallies hadn't expected them to learn how to do it on their first try.

Even for people with innate talent, engaging an Attribute was not a feat so easily learned. People like Valor'el, arguably one of Shallies' most talented students, took an entire week as a Hero Class holder to even perform the same feat Grace and her party were now able to do.

Shallies felt the urge to tell Grace of her past life, but she stopped herself. Once the half-orc reached Hero Class, her Echo-State would update, and she would eventually discover the truth on her own, should she seek to pursue it.

For now, the Godkiller appreciated Grace's encouraging effect. Without her trying so hard to become stronger as fast as possible, neither Ren nor Tayin would have improved at the exponential rate that they were reaching now.

Shallies was glad she had found them, and she was glad even more that they had sought her out to be their mentor. It was a disservice that someone had let such gemstones in the rough be left to their own devices for the first two years of their careers.

"We've been trying to do that technique for years!" Ren said, his eyes practically beaming. "We knew engaging an Attribute is an advanced technique, but we didn't expect you to teach us that this early, Shallies."

While they traversed the deep ocean to reach the next pack of kraklings, Shallies made a bubble to let them rest and speak. That was the limit to the support she would be providing to the group. It made things quicker, but not easier.

After all, hiding from creatures who specialized in hiding under the sea was next to impossible.

For now, however, she replied to Ren.

"The technique doesn't require any specific Class Ascension," she started. "You can basically learn it even as a Base Class holder. Instead, what it requires is an absurd amount of physical energy."

"Oh, so we can take advantage of it because we have Mana Energy," Tayin concluded.

"Wait!" Grace interjected, facing Ren. "What do you mean you've been trying to learn the technique for years now?"

"Not in a serious sense," the Shield Knight clarified. "We gave it an actual try once or twice every few months, but we couldn't get anywhere beyond tapping into an Attribute for ten seconds."

"I'm surprised you knew about that technique, even without proper guidance. That's actually pretty impressive," Shallies commented.

"Thanks. We found out about it from other adventurers who visited the town."

"Alright, get ready. There's no absolute optimized way to engage these kraklings, since they'll always see you first, unless you have something that can work from long distance and underwater."

"How far?" Tayin asked, being the only long-range option in the group.

"Twice yours," Shallies said. "Probably thrice if they have bigger ones."

"Oh… Then, we'll just meet them head on, then."

"I have a question, though," Grace asked.

"Go for it," Shallies said.

"If a krakling grows bigger, is it still a krakling?"

The Godkiller turned to the half-orc to make sure if she was receiving a serious question. But with the way Grace was smiling, she was clearly attempting a joke.

"It's going to be a teenage krakling and go on adventures," Shallies said, unamused.

With Shallies guiding the way, their slew of new Skills, and the three dutifully practicing their new technique, clearing the underwater dungeon of enemy kraklings was a breeze. It was probably the fastest clear time they had of any dungeon, as far as Grace was concerned.

"Two hours is pretty fast," the Godkiller said when she was asked while they were in the bubble again.

Grace sensed she was holding back. "But…?"

"Well, for starters, there are no 3-man adventuring parties clearing an Advanced Dungeon in the first place. They're usually obligated to clear the outer areas while mapping out the place as much as they can. If we're just considering Advanced Class holders, that is.

"If we're including my students in consideration, however, the quickest clear time of an Advanced Dungeon with your exact same composition is an hour and five minutes not including the Dungeon Boss. But before you get discouraged, they were able to do that feat because they're ten levels higher than you. In my personal opinion, you three are equal, time-to-level proportion-wise.

"And because we're dealing with the same amount of threat, except you guys are underwater, I'd say you guys are doing better overall. Not to discount my previous students' record, but they never did an underwater dungeon until they were Hero Class holders."

The three smiled at the praise. They were clearly motivated but nervous at the same time.

A kraken, after all, was a well-known beast. It was the sort of monster that crushed unprotected boats in half using its massive tentacles. It was supposed to be so massive that creatures with deep-see gigantism seemed small in comparison. Not only that, but a kraken was supposed to have mana-based attacks.

That part made it click for Grace.

"It's like a six-horned noldzwjak!" she said. "The kraken's like that six-horned noldzwjak!"

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"What level was it again?" Tayin asked. "Forty?"

"It was fifty," Ren corrected. "A six-horned matriarch noldzwjak. I suppose that's an apt comparison."

Regardless of his comment, he still turned to Shallies for clarification. Grace and Tayin did the same.

"I suppose," the Godkiller said. "But it's technically going to be more challenging when compared to a six-horned noldzwjak. You guys just fought it while you were extremely under-leveled."

"So we're at the appropriate level now?" Grace asked.

"Nope," Shallies said, sticking out her tongue. "Well… Sort of yes, and sort of no. Unlike most people, you three have your second Combat Classes. And that alone improves your combat prowess both as a team and as an individual. So I say, you guys have a really good chance.

"And with that said, we've arrived."

The Godkiller pointed towards a large cave tunneling through what was supposed to be the main island. Grace turned towards it and saw…

Nothing.

Even with the underwater vision provided by the Grilled Krakling Eye, the depth of the cave was pure darkness.

"It's the same ink thing the kraklings do," Ren said, ever observant. He turned to Shallies. "If you didn't point it out, we wouldn't even have spotted it."

Grace gulped. If this Dungeon Boss was the size of that cave, they were in for a big trouble. It was at least four times larger than the matriarch noldzwjak. Without hesitation, she engaged her Focus to see within the ink.

The good news was, the monster was there, and not a decoy. But that was already a given, since it was Shallies that brought them to it in the first place. Based on the purple outline she could see from the monster, the half-orc guessed that it was sleeping.

The bad news, however, was that the kraken looked squeezed inside the cave, despite how humongous the place was. It looked like how she would pack her clothes on her backpack, pushed down with the least amount of proper fold.

"It looks like it's sleeping," Grace conveyed, disengaging her Focus. "But it looks way bigger than the cave makes it seem."

"They don't have bones," Shallies explained. "Well, it jaws do, and a bit of its skull, but the tentacles and the rest of its head are just pure muscle and other flexible organs."

"Should we Scan it?" Tayin asked.

"You know," the Godkiller interjected. "I just noticed, but you three seem to always pause and ask if you should Scan a threatening monster. You did it for the noldzwjak, and also to every other Mini-Boss you faced, except maybe that brontrel."

"But it's just proper caution, right?" Ren asked.

"It sure is. But the simple answer to that is just do a subtle Scan."

Grace and the others looked at each other. As far as they knew, as far as she knew, a subtle Scan was something only a Hero Class holder and above could pull off.

"Is it because we can engage our Attributes now?" the half-orc asked, skipping a few steps in the conversation. It was the newest thing that made sense.

"Technically, it also works if you just tap into your Focus. But there are times when you have to Scan for longer, so it's safer to fully engage it, yeah." Shallies motioned to take a sip of coffee or tea, but she realized she wasn't actually holding one. Grace found it cute, but the Godkiller simply shrugged. "That's why I just suggested it now, because it's safer to do so after you're capable of this technique."

"Gotcha," the half-orc said, nodding. "The question is, who's going to do it?"

Despite her own question, the answer immediately dawned on her as three heads turned in unison towards her direction. She tensed up her shoulders and leaned back.

"Why me?"

"You did that weird thing with the arachbat Mini-Boss cocoon," Tayin started. "That was like a super-version of the Scan. I still couldn't forget how you methodically destroyed that monster after you Scanned it."

"Ooh! Valor'el told me about that," Shallies said. "That's a thing you don't see a Base Class holder doing, like, at all."

"I think you have the best chance at this, Grace," Ren said. "You've been practicing with the Skill for quite a while, and Tayin and Shallies are right. You have that promising talent."

Grace didn't want to mention the envy the Shield Knight was trying to hide. Trying, because even the halfling and the Godkiller noticed what he was doing.

"Stop being jealous!" Tayin said, nudging an elbow towards his stomach.

"I'm not, I'm not!" Ren said, shaking his head in full denial. But everyone just smiled at him, causing his sighs to come out. "Yes, fine. A little. Fine! A lot!"

"Okay," Grace said. "I'll try my best then."

The half-orc turned towards the cave and engaged her Focus once again. She took a deep breath and reached out. While it might be possible to get a better Scan off by holding the creature, it would be risky and unwise for her to do so. So she activated the Skill while within Shallies' bubble.

Grace did it in such a slow way, that the action felt like tiptoeing, rather than using a Skill. She was holding back her nervousness, doing her best to force herself to calm down. Whether it was because she was engaging her Focus, or she was getting used to facing the unknown, or both affecting her at the same time, she didn't know. But she found controlling her nerves a little easier this time around.

She felt her mana connect to the Dungeon Boss. For a second, she froze, checking carefully if the kraken changed behaviors. She could only see the purple outline emitted by her Focus, which didn't move at all.

Grace let out a sigh of relief and continued to surround the creature to make her Scan a success.

Slow and steady, pausing for a breath or two whenever she felt the need to do so. She started sweating, her arms feeling tired. Engaging her Focus, alongside the nerves and the patience she needed to exert to make sure she wasn't caught, made her tire even faster when compared to combating the kraklings.

It hasn't even been a minute since she had started using the technique, and now she was gasping for breath.

But she was so close now. She made sure not to lose concentration and kept her pace.

[Scan successful!] Stachie announced.

Letting go of her Scan was easier than applying one. But still, she slowly released her Skill, making sure she didn't accidentally wake up the kraken because of her carelessness.

When Grace was finally done, she fell on her knees and gasped for air.

"Don't forget to release the technique, Grace," Shallies reminded her. "But don't forget to make sure that the kraken's still asleep."

It was a manual thought. After she observed the Dungeon Boss for a few seconds, and made sure it wasn't moving in a strange way, Grace willingly, and almost desperately, disengaged her Focus.

"What the…" she started, unable to finish. She kept taking deep breaths.

[I'll show you the details you acquired while you rest, Grace,] Stachie started. [That okay?]

"Yes," the half-orc said quickly.

[Monster: Great Kraken (Evolved Tier - Level 69, Dungeon Boss: Type-C)]

[Weaknesses: cosmic, lightning, fire (only when not submerged), death]

[Resistances: ice, sharp mana, poison, the Scan for the others was resisted…]

[Immunities: fire (when submerged), water]

[Recommended Class Tier: Advanced or higher with four or more people]

[Traits: Unlike kraklings, the Great Kraken only uses its ink to hide in its lair while sleeping. It will not use it for combat purposes. Depending on the kraken's evolution, they can adapt mana-based properties with their tentacles. Their resistances will give you an idea on what types of properties they can apply. Be aware that they will still try to constrict you when possible.]

[Strategy: The most important part is to lure the Great Kraken out of its lair, to remove the extra layer of protection it has. Be aware of the amount of tentacles it has, as there can be more than 8, and be prepared to act accordingly to the types of mana each tentacle will adapt. If you're unable to defeat the creature outright, consider disarming it of some or all tentacles first. It can regenerate, but depending on the kraken's evolution path, it can range from hours to minutes.]

[The rest of the Scan was resisted…]

"Good," Shallies nodded. "That's a lot of information."

"Thanks," Grace said, no longer tired. Her Mana Energy sped up her recovery. "Now we just need to take advantage of our surprise attack."

"That plan's up to you," the Godkiller said, addressing everyone. "You all suffered through a +100% Experience Gain Food Buff, and got a bunch more levels coming here. If you don't want to trouble yourselves with choosing what Skills to take, you can at least spend your Attributes before going in."

"Yeah," Tayin said. "Let's do the Attributes at least."

"Hang on," Ren interjected. "No, I mean, it's fine. We'll do the Attributes. I just have a question."

"Go ahead," Shallies said.

Grace saw the Shield Knight bring out his new sword. A black double-edged blade that was just almost too long to be considered a shortsword, and almost too short to be considered a long sword. She knew there was a word for that type of sword, but she was missing that piece of information.

"The Great Kraken weakness mentioned something about death," he started. "And this is the sword that the Death Monster Sword and Shield dropped. I don't really have… Wait, I think I'm asking something stupid."

Right away, Grace saw Ren engage his Focus and Scan his new sword. He brightened up.

"It does have death mana!" he almost yelled.

"That's right, Ren," Shallies said.

When Grace saw both the Godkiller and the Shield Knight smile at the same time, she felt the urge to do the same.

"Guys," Tayin began. "I know we like smiling, but we have work to do."

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