The trunks of the giant trees were still just as thick and imposing as the two invisible blood clones swam up, with Henry, Stormsong, and Maurice trailing half a mile behind. The light of day was becoming apparent, far above in the distance, which was nerve-wracking but luckily, there were now countless algae-covered branches that helped hide their progress and create cover for them as they grew closer to the surface.

  It was also a prime ambush spot, and unfortunately, Henry’s clones missed a couple of pesky, small opponents. Which might be why he missed them in the first place.

  Henry whirled with a long arm and smacked the purple C-rank crab out of its Skill-empowered leap while Stormsong knocked the second away with her body. From an ink-clone below them, he saw the creature beat its many legs, pumping its purple, scissor-like claws until it touched the trunk again and began scuttling upward to rejoin the fray.

  Its claws were like tailor’s scissors. Long, thin, and with a sharp point. Also venomous. Henry could tell, considering the burning sensation that was trying to crawl up his arm. A third six-foot-wide crab jumped and stabbed, aiming at Henry’s eye while a fourth was swatted away by a giant glowing claw.

  “[Can we pick one of these up? I wanna try them,]” said Maurice while Henry locked up the crab jumping at him with Telekinesis before he brought it within reach.

  [Spiderbark Crab (C) - Lvl 31]

  Henry wrapped his arm around the creature and channeled his electricity into it until he got the death notification. Around five minutes later—after having to stop the blood clones or they’d get out of range—the trio had to make some adjustments to their route as more and more of the crabs were coming out of hiding, alerted to their presence.

  Ten more minutes later, they managed to lose the creatures and continued their progress upward until the surface was once more in Henry’s sight.

  It has been a while.

  Henry yearned to breach the surface and take a look around. How long had it been since he felt air on his skin? It wasn’t uncomfortable being underwater, and thankfully the Current was well-lit, but the caves they had to hide in weren’t. Always being forced to rest in tight, walled crevas was getting old. Even if he could fit just fine.

  As the clones drew close to the surface, Henry began picking up some interesting details.

  The trunks of the giant tree didn’t start branching out just yet, but they were a bit less covered by algae. As if they’d been cleaned up. And then, Henry noticed the ropes.

  His heart-rate picked up as he took in the details of what he was seeing. Braided ropes full of clams. Empty wooden cages covered with algae. And as Henry realized what he was staring at, the surface broke as something fell through. Followed by two more forms a second later.

  [Human (C) - Lvl 33]

  [Human (C) - Lvl 24]

  [Human (C) - Lvl 7]

  Half a mile below, Henry came to a stop as he stared through his clone’s eyes, disbelieving.

  The three men came to a stop near the surface and gestured to each other for a few moments. They wore dark loincloths, and each carried a wooden, bone-tipped spears in hand while a little fiber-made satchel hung around their shoulders. Moments later, two of them kept watch while the third moved between the ropes of clams and cages, inspecting their contents.

  “[Henry, what’s going on? Do you see the A-rank?]” Maurice asked, breaking Henry out of his shock and reminding him of their current situation.

  If there are humans up here, and there’s an A-rank around…

  Henry was curious about what kind of settlement was up there and how they managed to survive in the middle of the ocean, but as he considered it, he realized that it might just be too dangerous to approach.

  It was just a gut feeling. But as he eyed the three humans, he imagined they’d be a lot more dangerous than a instinct-driven beast. Like a triggerfish or squid. After all, he owed his own survival to his adaptability and intellect as much as his Skills.

  “[Humans,]” Henry said. “[I think there’s some sort of village or town above us.]”

  Stormsong and Maurice both looked up, eyes shining, then both spoke out at once.

  “[Are we going to talk to them? Do they look like you? Also, didn’t you say they wouldn’t survive in the Current?]”

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  “[What’s a village?]”

  Maurice peppered him with questions while Stormsong went with the basics. After a quick explanation of what a village was, Henry turned his attention to Maurice.

  “[I’m curious, but no. There’s an A-rank up there, Maurice. Remember what I said about humans? We’re leaving.]”

  Henry expected the crab to complain or say something, but he didn’t. Henry was frankly still shocked. He expected to find people, eventually. But not here. And he hadn’t expected them to be so powerful.

  If it wasn’t for the A-rank, I might have been able to create a human form with Mimicry’s C-rank ability. But it’s just so risky…

  The kraken had been already making sure their retreat was clear as he recalled his blood clones after one last glance at the three humans when he felt a claw tap him on the arm. The crab spoke up again, and there was a note of panic in his voice. “[Henry…]”

  Henry glanced down at the crab in his arm and saw him pointing behind him, and the kraken’s stomach dropped.

  He slowly turned, alarmed but unsure what the crab had seen, only to find a human staring at him from twenty feet away. One that somehow bypassed all of his clones. And hadn’t registered in his telepathic sense.

  [Human (B) - ?]

  The man had long dark hair tied up in a bun. His eyebrows were raised as his eyes moved from Henry to Maurice and Stormsong before they settled back on Henry. He carried a tooth-tipped spear that he used to point at Henry, then pointed up.

  The kraken eyed the newcomer carefully and began activating his defensive abilities. The man wore a loincloth similar to the ones Henry saw above, and there was a clearly Skill-based nimbus of magic around his feet. The stranger repeated the gesture, but this time, he gripped his spear with both hands after making the gesture.

  The signal was clear enough. But Henry wasn’t interested in it. He wasn’t putting himself and his companions in the arms of a human settlement. One that might have a freaking A-rank hanging around.

  “[I’d rather not,]” Henry decided to send the man. At the same time, he was urgently scouting below, confirming the retreat route was safe. Through the closest blood clone below, he activated Blink’s D-rank ability, creating an anchor for Blink. Just so he could get a strong head-start on their retreat. Henry could break away in an instant. He was also ready to send both Maurice and Stormsong into his Maw, of which he informed both as he eyed the man ahead of them.

  The stranger was powerful. He would probably be a pain in the ass to get away from, but that wasn’t the only worry.

  If this guy snuck up on me, there might be more, Henry thought. Eyes flicking toward Maurice, he sent him a message.“[Maurice… try to feel out the area.]”

  The crab gave Henry one tap to confirm, while Henry watched as the man’s eyes widen at his telepathic communication. The man’s lips stretched in a smile, showing bright white teeth. Slowly, he raised a hand and carefully raised his spear before he put it behind his back, where it snapped in place as if caught by a magnet. Then the man raised both arms before he pointed up.

  Less threatening. Still not interested. And I still need to leave.

  But Henry didn’t want to be rude. And he was so damn curious.

  “[If you want to talk, you can talk to my clone near the surface. If you head up in the next ten seconds, we can talk.]”

  Henry was teleporting to his clone and swimming away in five seconds.

  The man blinked at him a couple of times, then nodded. The nimbus of swirling green brightened around his feet, then he surged up, faster than Henry had expected.

  Too easy.

  “[Anything, Maurice?]”

  “[Nothing on telepathy. I’m about to use Find the Path. Give me a second…]”

  Henry sent back one of his blood clones and allowed it to get slightly out of range, just so it would be able to crack the surface. It might take him a bit more effort to hold the link, but it was safer. Seconds later, the man arrived, and his eyes immediately landed on the invisible blood clone, as if the Skill wasn’t even active. Henry considered dispelling the invisibility, but it wasn't worth it. There was no need to attract more attention than necessary.

  “Greetings, kraken,” the man said, after a moment. His tone was polite, and his voice confident, though Henry could sense nothing through his telepathic sense.

  “Hello, Human,” Henry answered simply, hearts pounding. He had decided to use a sonic illusion instead of telepathy, which made the man chuckle. He wanted to look up at the mind-bogglingly huge trees all around, but he thought he needed to focus on the man just in front of him. Still, he noticed the bridges between the gigantic branches. The homes.

  The people.

  “You’re full of surprises,” said the man in a language Henry couldn’t identify but could still understand. “I find myself incredibly curious about how you’ve come to be. You’re well spoken. You have companions. I was not expecting to meet an awakened kraken today. Especially not one that is so… civilized. What brings you to our home?”

  If Henry had a human body, he would be sweating right about now. The man seemed pleasant and all, but this little conversation felt dangerous. What should he do? Be honest? Lie?

  If he could somehow tell I’m lying, I’d be playing into the Trickster’s crappy reputation, Henry quickly thought. No, keep it honest. Have a conversation. It might get me a few useful hints about who these people are.

  “I sensed an A-rank in this area,” Henry said, deciding to keep Maurice and Stormsong’s intelligence to himself. “I wanted to take a look.”

  The man recoiled as if struck, a look of intense surprise on his face. “You sensed our sleeping guardian? From that far below?”

  Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

  Half a mile below, Maurice tapped Henry and spoke up.“[Henry… There's another B-rank behind us. I think it’s invisible.]”

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