The Price Of A Single Moment

<The Forest outside Nelio>

Noah stared at the four Krakens with a grim expression. Just as he was about to attack again, Hepius spoke, {Which one is the real Kraken, brat?}

A tentacle shot towards Noah.

Noah shouted while jumping out of the way, "There is a real one!?"

{All Krakens have the same abilities and stats, but only the real one can use 'Multiply'. See for yourself.}

Noah used Sage Eyes. He ran across the battlefield while scanning the Krakens for anything peculiar.

"What's that?" muttered Noah.

One of the Kraken had a pitch-black sphere inside its abdomen. The black lines symbolized mana lines so a black sphere had to be…

{Mana Core. It won't die as long as the core is alive.}

"You know an awful lot about Kraken!" Noah jumped into the sky. He held a spear with Psychokinesis and threw it at the real Kraken's mana core.

[ Sea Emperor Kraken has detected danger through 'Sixth Sense' ]

[ Sea Emperor Kraken has activated skill 'Multiply'. ]

The main Kraken split its tentacle and a new Kraken grew out of the broken tentacle.

The black sphere flowed into the newly created Kraken just when the tentacle had split away. At the same time, the spear pierced the previous Kraken.

[ -500 HP ]

BAAAAMMM!!!

Noah was focusing on the mana core when suddenly a tentacle struck him in the back. The force threw him away and he crashed through several trees. He used the tree that broke his fall as a support to stand.

"Sage Heal…!"

Noah jumped away instantly. A second later, a sea breath blasted the barely standing tree.

'I have one use of Resurrection left. But there is a 0.5 second delay in the activation. It's enough time for the Kraken to react and split itself.' thought Noah.

Two tentacles chased behind Noah, forcing him to use Gravity Manipulation. Noah created invisible walls to act as a shield continuously.

[ You have lost 100 HP ]

[ You have lost 100 HP ]

[ You have lost 100 HP ]

[ Activating skill Sage Heal ]

Noah thought, 'That spear pierced the Kraken while my previous ones couldn't. Does Kraken's defenses lower when it's splitting?'

{You are correct. The Kraken is most vulnerable when it's switching its mana core.} Hepius flew beside Noah and spoke.

This was the first time Hepius was actively advising Noah in a battle. It was enough to show Noah the gravity of the situation.

{You need an attack that is strong and fast to pierce Kraken's defenses in one go while it is switching its mana core.}

Just as Noah landed after dodging the onslaught of attacks he was caught in another trap. Six sea breaths attacked him from different directions.

[ Activating skill 'Hypersensitivity' ]

[ Activating skill 'Way of Wind' ]

[ Activating skill 'Instant Acceleration' ]

BAAAAAMMMMM!!!!

Noah dashed towards the eight Krakens. He coated himself with South Magnetic Pole mana and ran over the Krakens, dodging their attacks and transferring the polarized mana into them.

{If you can destroy its core during the switch, it will lose the ability to multiply. But if you miss the chance, Kraken will go berserk.}

"A strong and fast attack. I have something just like that!"

Noah shouted and jumped in the middle of Krakens.

[ Sea Emperor Kraken is activating skill 'Blast Breath' ]

The Krakens created a combined enormous water sphere in the sky.

Noah placed his sword in the scabbard and held it against his waist in an iaido stance.

{Wait! Are you talking about the martial technique you were taught in your world? Your world didn't have mana. Such a low-level technique won't put a scratch on Kraken!}

"I'll improvise!"

Hepius almost cursed realizing that Noah was going for Do or Die.

[ Activating skill 'Gravity Manipulation' ]

[ Activating skill 'Water Manipulation' ]

A thin layer of water plated the blade inside the scabbard. The water was being compressed to its limit and spun along the blade's edge.

'Water for sharpness.'

The scabbard and blade were imbued with the same magnetic pole. The sword and sheath were trying to fly away due to the strong magnetism.

'Magnetism for speed.'

[ Sea Emperor Kraken has activated skill 'Blast Breath' ]

A pillar of water fell from the giant water orb. Noah increased the intensity of South Magnetic Poles on Krakens. The pushing effect threw Krakens slightly off and bought Noah another few seconds.

'And finally…'

Noah exhaled while pulling the blade from the scabbard fluidly.

"Heavenly Demon Technique, First Page: "

The blade stabbed towards the main Kraken's heart. It carried the sharpness to slice through iron, its speed rivalling sound.

[ Sea Emperor Kraken has detected danger through 'Sixth Sense' ]

The Kraken sensed danger to its life. It dodged with a lightning-fast speed.

"Cheongong…!?"

[ Ding! Your blood subordinate Achilles (Frostfire Vampire) has died ]

Noah's eyes moved to read the notification. For a single moment, Noah was distracted.

BOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!

The three Krakens in the blade's path were torn apart. The force behind the blade continued to move and plowed through the forest. However…

[ Sea Emperor Kraken has activated skill 'Multiply' ]

Noah missed his chance due to his negligence. At the same time, the water pillar struck the ground and another enormous explosion shook the forest.

[ Alert! Your HP has reached 0% ]

[ You have died ]

Noah was crushed under the pressure rivaling tsunami. His life fleeted away in a few moments.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Kraken attacked Noah's corpse continuously. He didn't stop until he was completely satisfied.

"Now it's that bitch's turn."

The Krakens huddled together. Their skin fused and they shrunk in size, regaining the human appearance.

Paris landed on the ground on his two feet. After making sure of Noah's death, he moved towards Nelio.

————

Author Note: "Heavenly Demon Technique, First Page: Cheongong"

"Cheongong" means "Sky-Piercing" in Korean. It was the closest word to "Piercing Heaven" that I could find. The technique's actual name is "Heavenly Demon Technique, First Page: Piercing Heaven".

PS: Noah learned this technique on Earth. It was taught to him by the old man(the one who told him that Anna was dead while preparing food for Noah. The same old man who was from Resistance).

The technique was a normal martial art according to Noah so he didn't see the need to use it until now. In this chapter, he combined the technique with other skills to make it lethal.

I tried to make it obvious where he learned this technique and there were hints in the beginning chapters that Noah's old world wasn't simple. So this TLDR was for those who might've missed the hints.