Kazuma is evolving, he became smart

"You are crazier than I thought," Merlot remarked, robotic head shaking in disbelief.

Adam smirked. "And why is that?"

"Do you even have the nerve to ask me that?" Merlot snapped. "You're swimming from one continent to another—with just your body—and you dare ask me why I think you're crazy?"

Merlot's voice crackled through the communicator. His tone, as always, was laced with a mixture of exasperation and bewilderment.

The silver-haired boy could almost picture Merlot's face, contorted in disbelief.

"What's the big deal? I'm just enjoying this trip to the fullest."

He shrugged, knowing Merlot couldn't see the gesture but hoping it conveyed his nonchalance.

The water was cool against his skin, each stroke sending him further into the vast, open ocean.

"You can also enjoy it to the fullest by boarding a bullhead… or a boat," Merlot suggested, exasperated.

"But where's the fun in that?" Adam retorted, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The mad scientist sighed heavily. "Crazy bastard."

'Bring called a crazy bastard by a crazy mad scientist… I wasn't expecting that' he thought, a smirk on his lips

Just then—

Adam's negativity sense picked up something.

… It was coming from deep under the water.

He paused, treading on the water as he focused on the dark, unfathomable depths below him.

There was a pulsating wave of negativity, growing stronger, more insistent.

"Merlot, are you waterproof?" Adam asked, turning to his companion.

"I am not, but the spider robot you have on you is-"

"Great then"

The boy interrupted Merlot, his heart pounding with anticipation over this discovery.

Without hesitation, he dived deep underwater, plunging into the abyss.

The water around him grew colder as he descended, the light from above fading into darkness.

He could feel the pressure building, but his body could even survive in the vacuum of space- compared to that, the soundless depths of the ocean weren't as scary

The spider robot, clinging to his back, whirred softly, its eyes glowing a faint blue, illuminating the way.

As he went deeper, the sense of negativity intensified.

It was almost tangible now, a dark, oppressive force that seemed to seep into his very bones.

The silver-haired boy narrowed his eyes, his speculation was all but confirmed after coming closer

Suddenly, he saw it—a massive, shadowy figure lurking in the depths.

The creature's eyes glowed with an eerie light, its form unclear to the naked eyes

However, his senses were seeing something else

It was…. an Ancient Grimm- one abomination resembling a…. Kraken, out of all things

It was a gigantic inky black creature, with the standard tentacles that Krakens and squids were known for

Adam paused, staring at this creature intently

A thought couldn't help but cross his mind

After thinking that, the silver-haired boy instantly opened up the Chat Room

And…. He sent his first message to his friend after a few days

[Asterios: Hey bro, I found Aqua's pet]

[Asterios: *Grimm Kraken JPEG*]

"Haha"

Adam chuckled. Although it wasn't that humorous, sometimes, even he wanted to mess around

"Let's see what you've got," Adam muttered, a grin spreading across his face.

Though-

The creature moved, fast, as it lunged at him, jaws snapping.

He avoided it with ease, already knowing its trajectory with his senses

Making no effort to conceal himself, Adam was ready for this Kraken's attack

"Adam, what's happening? I'm detecting massive energy spikes!"

The frantic voice of Merlot echoed in his ears. Because of the darkness and the water pressure, along with the obscurity of this Grimm, it seemed that he couldn't see the situation clearly

Though the spider was still protected by the silver-haired boy, its senses were limited

"Just a little company down here"

Adam replied quite casually, no fear prevalent in his heart

[Kazuma: The fuck is this? Walmart Cthulhu?]

His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the quick and humorous message from Scuzuma

"Huh"

The creature was still at it, relentlessly attacking him with growing ferocity

The silver-haired boy didn't really pay much attention to its attack. Instead, he stared at it with intensity

'Yep. Describing it as the Walmart version of Cthulhu is quite accurate'

He sighed in his mind. Kazuma was indeed a true man of culture- coming up with shitty analogies that were accurate

[Asterios: Nah, just a Water/Dark-type Pokemon]

Dodging another tentacle that tried to slap him away like an insect, Adam replied to the gender equality guy

[Asterios: Though this one is quite aggressive. It seems to want to entangle me with its tentacles]

"Haah"

Adam sighed again as he dodged yet another attack, voicing out his frustration at his friend from another world

What was this Grimm doing? Did it really think that he was an insect to be slapped away?

Or did it think that once it caught him, it would be able to crush him with its strength?

[Kazuma: ...]

[Kazuma: Man…. That's some Hentai shit]

The silver-haired boy froze in place, eyebrows twitching-

Because of his sudden befuddled state, a tentacle came in front of him in the blink of an eye-

Adam caught it, grasping it with one of his hands

Thrown a few steps away, his grip still tight around the dark tentacle, he chose to reply to Kuzuma

[Asterios: I mean…. I guess I would be fine with it if it was a beautiful woman…..]

He slapped the tentacle away, moving backward to put some distance between the Grimm and himself

[Kazuma: ...]

[Kazuma: Bastard, how would that even work? You are not a Hentai anime girl, are you?]

'There are plenty of ways' he wanted to reply with, but he suppressed himself

[Asterios: I have a skill called [Degenerate], so you can't regard me by normal standards]

[Asterios: And you know what they say…. If there is a will, there is a way]

Appearing in front of the Grimm in the blink of an eye as if teleporting, Adam raised his hand, palm open-

Slap

And then he slapped its bulbous head

Boom

A faint booming sound echoed in the soundless depths- a muffled shockwave managing to break through the sound isolation of the water

The Ancient Grimm- even in its domain- was thrown backward

[Kazuma: Dude, are you mentally fine?]

[Kazuma: There is no way the guy I know would say something like that]

The boy shook his head at Kazuma's words

To be honest- he was not serious at all.

Even though interacting with Kazuma already lightened his mood and relaxed him-

Adam didn't know why…. But he had this urge- the urge to play, to troll, to mess around and act half his age-

[Asterios: I don't know dude, I just got this sudden urge to troll]

[Asterios: Maybe I miss my two future wives…. But this world is kinda boring]

He honestly told his thoughts to the guy who died by pissing himself to death in front of a tractor

[Kazuma: I am just gonna ignore what you said about future wives, since we both know that is bullshit]

[Asterios: ….]

[Kazuma: But…. well, I kinda get it. In my world, there is no anime or manga- but I still have my party and our antics to entertain me]

[Kazuma: I mean…. It's like I am living through the plot of an anime in real life]

[Asterios: …..]

[Kazuma: But I guess you have to deal with some evil Immortal witch or something, right? You have no time to mess around, so you try to find ways to have fun differently somehow]

Adam paused

Now, it is not that he thinks that Kazuma is stupid

It's just that-

[Asterios: You have perfectly encapsulated the situation that I am going through]

When did Kuzuma get so smart?

[Asterios: But how did you guess? Was it a Wisdom Goddess who suddenly blessed you with enlightenment?]

He couldn't help but have doubts.

[Kazuma: Hey!]

[Kazuma: Although I am not a genius, it doesn't mean that I am a dumbass!]

"..."

That didn't seem to answer his doubts

….Could it be that he still treats Kazuma as the goofy gender equality guy who is the main character of a Comedic Isekai Anime?

"...."

Again, he was not sure. Perhaps he had to reevaluate his fellow Group Members

Nah, that only applied to Kazuma, Jean, and Monika

They are the only ones the silver-haired boy hadn't met up close… And he hadn't interacted with them in real life, so perhaps that is why his expectations differ from reality

So Kazuma is smart…. What would be next?

Jean Grey is not an unstable girl who could blow up at any time?

But instead a calm and collected woman who is in full control of her powers?

Monika is not a hyper-obsessed psychopath who would delete any girl near her 'dear MC'?

But instead a good girl who would find other girls for her dear because she is incapable of satisfying him by herself?

"..... I really need to meet them, though"

He really did-

-After all, they were fellow Group Members- they were his closest friends

...

Without looking away, Adam raised his hand, palm open, facing a certain direction in the water

He unleashed a blast of icy energy, the water around the incoming Grimm solidifying instantly.

The creature thrashed, its massive body struggling against the encroaching ice, but the silver-haired boy's power was too overwhelming.

The ice expanded, encasing the Grimm in a thick, transparent prison.

Intensifying the freezing process, He rolled his eyes at the pointless struggle of the creature.

The ice turned denser, clearer, and the creature's movements slowed until it was completely immobilized.

He watched as the last bubbles of air escaped the Grimm's mouth, the red glow of its eyes dimming as it succumbed to the freezing cold.

With a final burst of energy, Adam sealed the ice cube, ensuring the Grimm was trapped indefinitely.

He floated back, admiring his handiwork—a perfect cube of ice, with the defeated Grimm suspended in the center.

With a thought, he took a picture of it- a memento he could share with his group

"Done"

Indeed, now that this was done and he had his fun… It was time to ascend to the surface and continue on his travels

…

..

.

Adam floated in the water, catching his breath(?).

The sense of negativity faded, replaced by a feeling of normality. He began his ascent, the surface light growing brighter as he swam upwards.

Breaking through the water's surface, he took a deep breath of air. Though it was more reflexive than anything

After all, Herrscher didn't need oxygen…. Neither did MANTISes, and since he is both, it was absolutely certain that oxygen wasn't needed for his body to function

Suddenly, a voice crackled through the communicator, filled with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"Did you just freeze a Grimm in a cubic ice prison?"

Only after coming to the surface did Merlot speak up

"Sure did. It didn't put up much of a fight."

Adam replied dully, not really thinking he did anything special

"I… I don't even know what to say. You realize how powerful you have to be to pull that off, right?"

Adam smirked, despite this battle not being worthy of being called as such, he still liked compliments.

The ocean, vast and dangerous, now felt like his playground.

The silver-haired boy didn't have Thallasophobia in his previous life….

-But he would indeed piss his pants if he ever found himself in a similar situation- looking down on the abyssal depths of the ocean with just his body alone

….. Perhaps the game Subnautica did contribute to this fear-

Of course, now he wasn't really afraid

"...."

Banishing those thoughts, he said nothing else.

Adam tapped the spider, signaling Merlot to track his location and the ice prison.

"I'm sending you the coordinates. Make sure this thing is taken care of properly. Use its DNA with caution"

Although not necessarily needed, he still gave a word of caution to the mad scientist

After all, Merlot wasn't as strong as him. So if the Grimm escaped from the ice, the old man is quite done for

"Understood. You continue your swim, crazy bastard. I'll handle the logistics."

….

…

..

.