“What’s going on?”
“The ship has collided with something!”
“In the middle of the open sea, where there aren’t even any reefs?!”
The teachers and chaperones exchanged flustered words.
Crash!
Even as they spoke, the ship lurched again, drawing screams from the passengers. Everyone on deck grabbed onto railings or whatever they could to steady themselves. The ship kept swaying left and right, as if something was grabbing the entire vessel and shaking it.
As the violently rocking ship caused Sihyeon to stumble, Haru—who had been holding onto the railing—caught him with his free arm. His tilted body was steadied.
“Are you okay?”
At the worried question, Sihyeon didn’t even have the composure to nod. The scene he had seen in his dream flooded his mind. First, the ship tilted—and now—
Sihyeon quickly raised his head and looked up at the sky. The starry sky was being swallowed by dark clouds.
“P-please save us!”
“Help us!”
With one student’s cry as the start, fear began spilling from the others. The students, thrown into chaos by the sudden incident, called out for the teachers, who snapped back to their senses and hurriedly moved around.
“Everyone, calm down! It seems the ship briefly collided—”
“Kyaa!”
The teacher’s words ended in a scream as the ship lurched again. Unable to hold back, the teacher turned toward the navigator with a frustrated expression.
“Why is it shaking like this?!”
“It seems something below is grabbing the ship!”
“A ship with Acceleration applied to it?!”
Shock rippled through the air. Hearing that, Sihyeon frowned. In the middle of the sea, the ship had suddenly stopped—and now something was grabbing it. In his original world, that would’ve been impossible.
His blue eyes shifted downward toward the waters below. The dark sea churned ominously.
Then—
SPLASH!
A massive tentacle burst out from the ocean.
“Kyaaaah!”
“I-it’s a Kraken!”
“Evacuate the students to the cabins!”
That thing was clearly the culprit behind the shaking.
Though shocked by the sudden appearance of the Kraken, the teachers quickly regained their composure and began directing evacuation. Amid the chaos of screams, the enormous tentacle began smashing against the Barrier surrounding the ship. A sharp sound rang in Sihyeon’s ears.
In an instant, the Barrier shattered, and the creature seized the ship. The sight—one he had never even seen in his nightmare—froze Sihyeon in place. Haru, who had been evacuating with the others, grabbed him.
“Let’s go.”
Haru was calmer than expected. As he pulled Sihyeon toward the cabin, Sihyeon recalled what had just happened. He had thought it resembled his nightmare—but what was unfolding was completely different.
Was it really just a nightmare?
As Sihyeon kept glancing back, a pale hand suddenly covered his view.
“A Kraken you meet at sea is quasi-Catastrophe level. There’s nothing we can do.”
“…….”
A composed voice delivered cold words.
“We haven’t even reached Warning level yet.”
At Seowoo’s words, Sihyeon recalled the Monthly Evaluation. The Hazard-level Irregulars they had faced in virtual reality were actually adjusted versions created by the program.
‘“The Hazard-level Irregulars included in this evaluation were designed only to replicate their presence, so you wouldn’t panic when encountering real ones in the future. Although labeled as Hazard level, their actual stats were set below Warning level. Don’t become overconfident and think you can defeat real Hazard-level Irregulars at your current level.”
The Principal’s warning to Class A—who had faced an unusually high number of them—echoed in his mind.
Swallowing hard, Sihyeon grabbed Seowoo’s wrist.
“I know.”
He had never thought he could resolve this situation in the first place. It was just that the differences from his nightmare bothered him. There was no way he was crazy enough to jump into that chaos. This was a Kraken—a Hazard-level Irregular that reached quasi-Catastrophe level in the sea. Even the teachers outside would struggle—there was no way he could do anything.
Sihyeon lowered the hand covering his vision. The moment he turned to look at Seowoo, the ship shook again.
“Ugh!”
As he tilted, Seowoo and Haru caught him from both sides.
“Let’s hurry.”
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Haru spoke in a quiet but firm voice. Sihyeon nodded and quickened his pace.
“We’ve reported to the Association!”
“Reinforcements will arrive soon! Prioritize the students’ safety and hold out!”
The teachers’ urgent voices echoed behind them. Among the teachers on the trip, two were A-rank. Including the three A-rank Awakened sent by the Association, there were five in total.
Normally, it took at least two A-rank Awakened to handle a Hazard-level Irregular—so five should’ve been enough.
But the problem was that this was the sea—and the opponent was a Kraken.
Quasi-Catastrophe.
The gap between Hazard and Catastrophe wasn’t just a single rank difference. Despite only a word changing, the manpower required and the scale of damage multiplied several times over.
Will they be okay…?
Glancing back at the teachers, Sihyeon entered the cabin. Given the situation, Geonwoo and Seowoo—who were in different rooms—joined them as well.
“You’re here.”
Inside, Hamin was standing by the window, gripping the frame. So he’d really been alone in the room this whole time, even during the chaos.
“What the hell is going on?”
Running a hand through his hair, Hamin spoke with a bewildered expression. Looking back at the hellish scene behind him, Sihyeon answered.
“A Kraken appeared in the sea. The teachers and Association members are confronting it.”
“Crazy.”
Hamin gave a short, blunt assessment. But unlike his words, his violet eyes showed clear shock.
Well, what school would ever experience something like this?
No one would expect to encounter a Kraken on their first school trip. Once again wondering what sins he must’ve committed in a past life, Sihyeon closed the door and grabbed onto the bed. With the Kraken rampaging, the ship could tilt again at any moment. He couldn’t sit carelessly.
SMACK!
At that moment, a massive tentacle swept past the window.
“Kyaaaah!”
Students screamed as the Kraken struck the cabin. Thankfully, the window didn’t shatter—but it was drenched with wet seawater. Bang! Bang! At least four tentacles had climbed onto the ship, thrashing wildly.
“Damn it, cut off the tentacles first!”
A teacher shouted.
The creature had already raised its head up high, writhing as if trying to climb onto the ship, while the teachers fought to stop it. Rolling his eyes, Sihyeon saw severed tentacles scattered around. Under the dark, overcast sky, the scene looked like something straight out of the end of the world.
Crash!
—Grrrrrr!
Under the combined assault of the teachers, the Kraken let out a pained cry. As if struggling, its tentacles slammed against the ship repeatedly. Each time, it felt like the vessel might sink.
Amid the violent shaking, Sihyeon struggled to keep his balance.
“Damn it—what about the Association reinforcements?!”
“They say there’s a Rift, so available personnel are limited! They’re asking if we can handle it with just those on board…!”
“It’s a Kraken!”
We have students here! One teacher shouted in frustration as they charged forward.
From what he could tell, this wasn’t the only place in chaos.
The only silver lining was that four of its eight tentacles had already been severed—and the Kraken seemed exhausted. It would take time, but it was a fight they could win.
But Sihyeon… couldn’t relax.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you scared?”
Seeing Sihyeon biting his lip and trembling, the others asked. Thinking he was frightened, Haru tried to reassure him, saying the Kraken would be dealt with soon—but that wasn’t what Sihyeon was worried about.
From the moment he first saw the ship, it had reminded him of his nightmare. He thought it was just paranoia. But once night fell, dark clouds gathered—and the ship began to shake.
Just like in the nightmare.
Of course, there were differences, so he couldn’t be certain. But what if—what if things continued exactly like his dream? What if it was a prophetic dream?
‘That’ hadn’t appeared yet.
Looking at the five boys in his view, Sihyeon suddenly imagined a massive hand overlapping above them.
“…Does anyone know about humanoid Irregulars that live in the sea?”
“What?”
“Out of nowhere?”
“Are you insane? You wanna study even in a situation like this?”
At Hamin’s remark, Sihyeon frowned. Of course he could say that—he didn’t know what Sihyeon was thinking. But Sihyeon couldn’t exactly say, I had a nightmare and this is exactly like it. That would really make him sound crazy.
Thud!
As the ship shook again—now almost familiar—Sihyeon gripped the bed tightly. A crease formed between his brows.
“So no one knows?”
“…….”
No answer. Taking that as confirmation, Sihyeon’s rising anxiety forced his gaze toward the window again.
Whoooosh—the Barrier was gone, and harsh winds battered the ship. Watching the window rattle violently, Sihyeon ran a hand through his hair.
“This is insane.”
Came on a school trip and ended up starring in a disaster movie.
Listening to the sounds of battle outside, it wasn’t until much later that the shaking finally stopped and the tilted ship returned to normal.
—Grrrrr…
Unable to withstand the onslaught, the creature retreated into the sea.
As the Kraken slipped beneath the ship, the teachers lowered their weapons, abandoning pursuit. One of the staff rushed to the control room and reactivated the Barrier. The fierce winds were cut off once more.
Only then did the teachers let out sighs of relief and gather the students.
Answering the call, Sihyeon stepped out of the cabin and looked around at the wreckage. The once-luxurious deck had been completely devastated by the Kraken’s rampage. Many things were broken. From the travel agency’s perspective, it would be enough to make them cry.
Even though it wasn’t his fault, he felt oddly apologetic.
Approaching the teachers carefully, he saw them busily checking attendance. Only after confirming that no students were missing and everyone was safe did they finally relax.
“That was close…”
“Seriously. Thank goodness the Association assigned Awakened to us…”
The teachers talked among themselves, while some students clung to each other and burst into tears. As everything seemed to settle down, Sihyeon parted his lips slightly.
Is it over? Really?
His doubtful eyes slowly shifted. Looking at the broken railing, Sihyeon stared at the dark sea beyond it.
