The Water Magician

In the sword fight with the dullahan, I gained confidence in my swordsmanship... but still, I've only managed to strike once a day at best.

Even so, my confidence has grown.

I also feel I've significantly improved in magical control... although I still haven't succeeded with [Blood Freezing].

I'm not even sure if it's something that can succeed in the first place.

In any case, Ryo was determined to confirm his growth.

It was a path he could not avoid.

Since that time he had been knocked out, Ryo had not entered the sea.

He had been extracting salt from seawater on land by evaporating the moisture, but he had never entered the water.

Whenever he absolutely wanted to eat fish, he made do with river fish.

Yes, the unavoidable path was combat in the sea.

A struggle for magical control over the bait ball... he needed to win this!

Certainly, back then, he had scattered the bait ball.

However, that was merely an escape from a surprise attack where he had been unable to contend with the magical control.

From now on, to survive with this 'Fai', that wouldn't work.

To gain confidence, ultimately, one must accumulate successful experiences.

Ryo stood on the rocky shore, glaring at the sea.

As before, his only weapon was a bamboo spear with a knife in his right hand.

Along with a loincloth and sandals, the knife... an ice sword received from the dullahan, colloquially named 'Murakumo' (named by Ryo), was set aside.

He insisted on the same equipment as last time.

"Here I go!"

He dove in and immediately pierced a nearby fish with the bamboo spear.

He had no intention of enjoying the same scenery as last time.

Since then, he had further trained, increased his endurance, and accordingly, his lung capacity had also improved, but still, at most, his active time was five minutes.

That was likely the limit for humans...

In that case, it was better to engage in combat as quickly as possible.

The moment he struck the fish, as before, the world changed.

Coming from the front was, just like last time, the bait ball.

It was just as he aimed.

And Ryo confirmed he found himself in a situation where he couldn't grab the water with either his hands or feet.

(Alright, then I'll reclaim control over the seawater around my limbs.)

Simply imagining it caused him to be "repelled."

However, for Ryo, who had acquired magical control power that was extraordinarily different from before, just a bit more magical power added to his imagination allowed him to grab the water with his limbs.

(Alright! I’ll counterattack!)

Now it was Ryo's turn.

He envisioned in his mind the seawater where the bait ball resided, controlling it freely, rendering the monsters that composed the bait ball unable to move.

([World is Mine])

The moment he chanted it in his mind, the bait ball began to distort.

The monsters composing it lost control of their posture and movement.

(Could this possibly freeze as well? [Ice Coffin])

The distorted bait ball froze.

It wasn't the monsters themselves that froze, but the surrounding seawater.

Previously, he couldn't freeze anything within ten centimeters of a monster's body, but now he was able to freeze the surrounding water even against monsters presumed to have high control abilities in water magic.

Ryo was extremely satisfied with this result.

Without even having to wield the bamboo spear, he had successfully neutralized the entire bait ball.

Thanks to the power of the magical control he had trained in so far.

Thus, it was no surprise that he was delayed in noticing the giant squid appearing right in front of him.

Last time, he had let his guard down right after defeating a creature and was knocked out by a shrimp, and this time was just the same pattern.

Yes, there was nothing he could do about it.

The giant squid... perhaps it was the legendary creature called Kraken on Earth.

Its full length was forty meters.

However, his reaction upon noticing it had become faster.

([Ice Wall Level 5])

The moment he summoned it, something collided with the ice wall, shattering it.

(Did the Ice Wall Level 5 just get destroyed in one hit!?)