Surviving in a World Teeming with Monsters with the Useless Skill 【Everyday Items Master】! I Was Just Hunting Wild Animals with a Crowbar, So Why Is Everyone Screaming It's an S-Rank Monster? - 87

Chapter 87: SS-Rank Water Mage

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

When I lined up in the cafeteria, the person in charge of serving food froze up at the sight of me.

“Hm? Uh, I’d like some rice, please.”

“Eh, ah, a-ah yes! P-please, go ahead!”

With a weird sort of panic, the server loaded my tray with about twice as much food as the others.

“Um, isn’t this a bit too much?”

“N-Next!”

The server clearly looked terrified to talk to me. I gave a crooked smile but I thought to myself. 

Well, as long as I get my food, it’s fine

I moved on the line and as soon as I sat at a random seat, Shachimaru plopped down across from me. Today, instead of coffee, he was holding a bottle of water—just like the first day we met.

“Good mornin’, Aniki. Why the weird look so early in the morning?”

“Good morning, Shachimaru. Nah… It’s just, the server seemed scared of me.”

“Ahh… Can’t really blame ‘em, can you? After seeing how you fought yesterday.”

I tilted my head, and Shachimaru continued.

“You got launched by Inaba, and in mid-air you just chopped off Inago’s leg like it was nothing, remember?”

“Yeah.”

“I saw that too, and that sight really stood out like crazy. I thought it was awesome, but all the guys who picked a fight with you? Their faces went completely pale!”

Shachimaru laughed heartily.

“That lack of presence at first glance, or rather the way you lull people into underestimating you—that’s seriously scary. Like, for real, that’s a trap. Thinking back, I don’t even know why I let my guard down against someone who beat an SSS-rank monster.”

“Hmm. Well, I’ve been that way since birth.”

Being underestimated has brought both good and bad experiences. It’s a mixed bag, really.

“Well, let’s dig into that topic some other time.”

From Shachimaru’s tone, I winced—he was still riding yesterday’s high.

“Let’s keep that momentum going and go take down the Kraken today!”

“I’m wiped out! Let me rest!”

“C’mon, don’t say that! You’re not even that old, right? Perk up a bit!”

“I’m already 27! And how old are you, Shachimaru?”

“Ah, so you’re a bit older, Aniki… I’m 22, by the way.”

“Ahh, dammit, you damn young people…”

“C’mon, it’s not that big of a difference! I’ll do my absolute best to support you when we team up!”

Defeated by Shachimaru clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture, I sighed.

“Fine… Just explain it to me first.”

“That’s my Aniki! Thanks to you, the suffering of the civilians being tormented by Kraken will end today!”!

Hearing that, I thought to myself. 

Yeah, right. The enemy of the Ferocious Shark Gang was the villainous raiders. There were people suffering because of them, and eliminating them would mean saving lives.

…Still, I’m exhausted, so I’d like to go at a pace that won’t kill me.

“Like I mentioned before, Kraken are raiders based along the coastline. They control the entire seaside of the old Mountain King area and several designated evacuation zones.”

Shachimaru displayed a map on a tablet, showing the extent of enemy territory. It was quite large—though I had no baseline for what was “normal.”

“Kraken’s not like Grasshopper; they’re a properly organized raider group. Honestly, probably better managed than we are. I’ve even heard they have a ranking system.”

“So it’s like a small army.”

“Exactly. They’ve got two to three times the number of people we do. Though in terms of individual quality, we’ve got the edge.”

Apparently, they were the kind of enemy that would be a hassle to take on head-on. I wasn’t great against large groups either. If some got away, I couldn’t wipe them all out.

“The leader of Kraken is this guy. He goes by the name ‘Shokkai.’”

The next image showed a group of thuggish men in customized long coats. Shachimaru pointed at a short guy standing at the center.

“He’s the one who managed to tame the Kraken. Word is, when Shokkai gives the order, the Kraken moves.”

“Huh? Tame? Kraken isn’t the name of their group?”

When I asked in confusion, Shachimaru nodded and said.

“That’s the most important part. The biggest defining feature of Kraken is that they control a massive S-rank monster as a group.”

Shachimaru swiped to the next image on the tablet. It looked like an aerial view of the sea. At the center of the image was a mid-sized ship. Beneath it loomed a massive shadow easily ten times the ship’s size, maybe even reaching a hundred meters long.

“That’s the Kraken. A really huge squid-type monster.”

“…It’s huge…”

It seemed like it would be easier to kill than the giant ape, but still a serious threat nonetheless. The fact that I was comparing it to a full-on monster like the giant ape said a lot.

…Wait. Did he just say S-rank monster? No, probably just my imagination. It just looked like an oversized giant squid.

“Kraken uses the Kraken to threaten the people in the evacuation zones. Like, ‘If you don’t obey, we’ll flood the whole area with a tsunami.’ Supposedly, one or two villages have already been wiped out.”

“That’s pretty bad.”

If that was really possible, no one would be able to resist them. One person’s defiance could endanger an entire region.

“But how are we supposed to take that thing down? It seems like a huge pain in the ass.”

“It is a pain. But there’s a way. At the very least, that Kraken is a good matchup for me.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Just watch.”

Shachimaru touched the bottle of water, which was about half full. He removed the cap and dropped a piece of my food into it.

“Now here’s the cool part.”

He let go of the bottle. Without shaking or moving it, the water inside began to spin violently on its own. It wasn’t just a swirl—it was so forceful that “whirlpool” didn’t do it justice. The pressure of the rotating water crushed the piece of food into fragments.

“This is…”

“My skill—water magic. But it’s not like I summon water and go boom! It’s more like I’m good at controlling existing water.”

Shachimaru gave me a sharp grin.

“With this water magic, I’ll turn the Kraken into seafood soup. It’ll take some time, but there’s no need for a big dramatic showdown.”

“Whoa! That’ll actually work? That’s impressive. It really does seem like a good matchup, but still, that thing’s massive…”

“I’m actually pretty good at these solo, steady jobs. I’d rather that than working with people, honestly.”

“Says the guy leading an organization of a hundred.”

But, looking at Shachimaru, I didn’t feel like it was impossible. He could probably pull it off. Then, with a smug look, Shachimaru declared:

“Yep! That’s tier 6 water magic level 5000+! The power of a newly promoted SS-rank adventurer—me!”

“…SS-rank… Adventurer…?”

“…Huh? Aniki? Yoo-hoo?”

Hearing Shachimaru’s ridiculous title made my mind go blank, like I was staring into the cosmos. Then I heard voices behind me.

“Ah—there you are, Onii-sama!”

“Tacchan, don’t leave us behind!”

Luna and Ui secured seats on either side of me. Noticing something was off, Luna said.

“Onii-sama is in a Now Loading state… Shachimaru, no teasing, okay? Onii-sama’s brain short-circuits when people talk about his amazing titles. Angel told me that.”

“Ah, so this is that thing Aniki does, huh! But I kinda like it. It means he’s so shocked by my bragging he can’t even process it, right?”

“That’s true, but he’ll stay like this for another ten seconds, you know?”

“Man, that’s just a pain then…”

Shachimaru grimaced at Luna’s explanation. Then Ui turned to Shachimaru with a curious question.

“Shacchi~ what were you talking about?”

“Oh, I was just saying that I’m actually an SS-rank adventurer~”

“Eh~!? Tacchan, that’s what shocked you so much~!? If that’s a big deal, then Ui-chan too! Look~!”

Ui hugged me as she showed me her adventurer certificate screen on her phone. Just as I was starting to recover a bit, I saw the words “SS-rank Adventurer” on her screen and—

“…SS-rank… Adventurer…”

“Ahahahahaha! Tacchan froze up again~! So cute~!”

“Ui! That’s not okay! Don’t play with Onii-sama!”

“Hehehe. Aniki is a fun guy. But still, he’s really warmed up to Inaba these past few days.”

And so, on the morning of the operation to attack Kraken, I was completely spaced out, surrounded by the noisy voices of those around me.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー