I watched with unrestrained schadenfreude as Hektore began to throw up as the ship moved along the waves.
"Is there a game plan or is Hektore hoping his puke will scare off the Sovereign?" I asked. "Because of how bad it smells, I think it might work."
I waved my hand as if to disperse an odor while scrunching my face in disgust. I don't know when it happened but my senses all increased over the two months that Hektore trained me. It was biting me in the behind now, sadly.
"For some reason, that idiot wants to let you get the first crack at it." Fionna said.
I shrugged in confusion. I wasn't sure why he thought I could take on something like that. If you were to rank it by adventurer standards, it would be Apex, the highest ranking.
I still felt that this should be treated seriously, I haven't a clue why Hektore is so adamant. I turned to Klina for advice or at least some form of plan. She was the strategist of the group. She often made plans that I believed only high ranking generals could come up with.
Clapping her hands, Klina directed everyone's attention to the war table that was aboard the ship.
"When we reach the checkpoint, I'll use my freezing invocation to create a stable platform." She began. "I plan to surround the area with an ice wall since I know you're agile enough to use it. Your baselards would be best for this fight."
Klina had over twenty incantations to her name. Her most powerful one was a healing invocation that I've seen revive dead animals. I knew the ice one she was speaking of as well. She had used it to cool our drinks.
'Are you telling me she used a powerful ability like that to cool our drinks…'
I looked on, astonishment visible to all, as she smiled wryly before focusing back on the table before her.
"I know you hate being pressured, Esther, but it would be best for you to use this battle to focus on gaining an invocation. I'm certain the difficulty will push you."
I watched as she moved a white planning piece in front of a blue planning piece. She then grouped up the other six behind the one.
"We'll all be on standby should you need assistance." She finished.
This plan wasn't like the ones she usually made. This was more like a training plan. It was obvious this was supposed to be a way to pressure me into learning my first invocation.
'Just like me, they don't expect a victory.' I realized. 'As long as I can quickly unlock it, I can get out of their way."
I placed a hand under my chin while contemplating if I had any complaints. I couldn't find anything I disagreed with so I nodded my head.
The ship had reached the specified coordinates and everyone was now prepared. I watched in shock, fear, and awe as Klina hopped off of the ship before the entire ocean for many falks.
'That has to be at least ninety falks!'
Thankfully the ice was nowhere close to reaching the port. We were out by at least four hundred falks. I watched as everyone hopped off of the boat before I followed. Thankfully, we had the foresight to get boots made for walking on ice.
I went to ask Klina if I could learn anything like this but I was interrupted by the cracking of ice. Larged tentacles breached through the floor before pulling up a large creature.
'So that must mean these things live in lairs.'
The only way they could have been certain such a creature was in a specific location is if they studied its traveling, hunting, and mating patterns. I didn't know much about Sea Sovereigns but this would be a good lesson.
It had the appearance of a rabbit with two strange tentacles protruding from the top of its head while the head gave off the appearance of a wolf and octopus. The head shape seemed canine like while the beak seemed like something an octopus would have.
I heard myself and one other whistle before looking over to Hektore.
"It's pretty big, like massive." Hektore jested. "Are you sure you got the right equipment for this?"
"We all know size doesn't matter, Hek, it's the motion made in the ocean." I countered. "Some might even say it's overcompensating."
We both smirked at each other before he patted my back.
"Well, let me make it weaker for you at least, I can tell it'll kill you as it is now."
I watched as Hektore drew his greatsword, something I rarely saw him use, and his body became enveloped in a white light. Light began to condense and focus into his blade until it expanded into a larger pillar. It was so tall, I couldn't see the end.
"Lichtsaule!" He roared while swinging his blade downward.
I watched as the Sovereign used all of its tentacles to shield itself fully. Two of those tentacles were cut off while a large gash appeared above its right eye. Hektore smirked in satisfaction before turning back to me.
"Alright, Esther, you're up!" Hektore announced.
I stared at the Sovereign, then at Hektore, and then I sighed. I burst into a sprint as Klina raised walls of ice making the area circular with one falk of space.
"If I live after this, I want some good food!" I shouted back to the group. "And I don't mean the cheap shit!"
I could hear Fidelia and Victoria's chuckles in the distance the further I got away while Hektore decided that he would get the last laugh.
"I don't know, man, it seems like you're just fine with this meaty specimen right here!" He hollered.
I held back the urge to scream at him since the Sovereign's attention was on me now.
Running along the walls of ice conjured by Klina, I avoided the bullets of water sent my way while keeping my eye on the Sea Sovereign's form. This was the infant version of what people called The Alpha of the Sea. It was a descendant of the long extinct Leviathan which went extinct when Nacht saw to the death of the last one hundreds of years ago. Or so the tales say. Now I would be using the descendant of such a fearsome creature to push me further in my development.
'Let's see if those lessons from Klina paid off.'
Pulling out my baselards as a catalyst for my Ikas, I channeled as much I could into them. From what I was taught, invocations needed no instructions. They were your mind conjuring what best suited you to help in your situation. All first time activation required a chant, though.
'A chant is just your heart commanding your soul to achieve this result.'
I remembered her telling me this while demonstrating her ability to heal plants, people, and animals. I needed to reach deep within and demand my power!
For the first ten minutes, nothing happened. It felt like I wasn't trying hard enough. I was making my heart demand it but nothing was happening. I tried to think back to my lessons with Klina.
'What am I missing?'
It was at the fifteen minute mark, I decided to try something Klina said worked for her. I would use my emotions, feed them to my heart, and command my soul. I'd start with the emotions I had been suppressing the most.
'Use my rage, take it all, and give me a damn spell!'
At first there was nothing. I felt annoyed but kept trying until it finally happened around the twenty minute mark. I could see the glow in my blades while a heat enveloped my chest. The blue light blinded me but that didn't deter me one bit. It felt as if my words echoed throughout the world as I continued my rush.
I could tell the Sovereign noticed the change in the air since it started shooting bullets of water towards me when previously it had just been observing. I managed to use the broken fragments of the ice wall to boat myself into the air before sliding down the wall to the ground. I continued my sprint once I landed. Now uninterrupted, I began my chant again.
Oh, salvaged memory, encase mine enemy in a land of eternal torment.
Break these chains so that I may set my rage afire and ruin all
I take all such lives in which misconceptions burn brightly and declare:
Unrein Flammen!
It felt surreal to see my blades igniting before extending into swords of fire. Even with this I doubted I would be able to beat the enemy before me. I could just tell. I could even see steam from the ice.
'Of course it would be flames, huh?'
I dodged another water bullet before slashing at the tentacle coming down towards me. It didn't cut but I managed to deflect it and use it as a platform.
Hopping in the air, I threw one of my baselards at the Sovereigns left eye but it was deflected. I could tell even with this ability, I was still weaker than it.
'I don't care, right now.'
Staring into this beast's eyes, I decided that here and now, with my weak body, I would land at least a scratch on this monster.