"Now then... what should I do?"
Hovering in midair, Rest pondered his dilemma.
Beneath him, the azure sea sprawled toward the horizon. The rhythmic roar of the surf drifted up to him, punctuated by the cries of seabirds wheeling overhead.
Though the weather was clear, the season had turned cold. A biting wind whipped at Rest’s clothes; he would have been frozen to the bone if he hadn't maintained a protective layer of air around himself with magic.
"It goes without saying, but the ocean is vast. Trying to pick out a single monster from this expanse is a daunting task."
Enormous as the creature was, the sea was far larger. He had been sweeping the area for over two hours using his Life Search magic, yet he hadn't detected even a trace of a presence that matched his target.
If it’s lurking on the seabed, Life Search might not even be able to reach it, he mused.
He felt like the film crew of one of those nature documentaries from his previous life, the kind where they spent weeks fruitlessly chasing whales just for a few seconds of footage. Since Rest was searching entirely on his own, the effort felt even more taxing.
It would be easy to spot if it breached like a whale... but I don't even know if that thing uses lungs or gills.
If it were a marine mammal like a whale, an orca, or a dolphin, it would eventually have to surface for air. However, if it was a fish that breathed through gills, it might lurk in the depths indefinitely, never once needing to breach.
As for its appearance... it looked like a giant snake. Or perhaps an Eastern dragon.
He recalled the long, scaled body and the prominent fins. While he hadn't seen the creature in its entirety, its form was strikingly similar to the dragons of his old world's myths.
"A Sea Serpent... a Sea Dragon."
Rest searched his memory for information on the species. Alongside the Kraken, the Sea Serpent was considered one of the most powerful monsters in the ocean. Some believed them to be a subspecies of dragon, though the truth remained a mystery.
Sightings were rare, and successful hunts were rarer still. Documentation on how to defeat one was almost nonexistent.
I remember hearing that the oceans back home were full of mysteries, with much of the deep still unexplored. It’s clearly no different in this world.
He still hadn't found the monster, nor did he have a solid plan for how to kill it. He needed a spell that could exterminate the beast without devastating the fishing village or allowing it to slip away like it had before.
Despite possessing infinite mana, he was being forced to confront his own smallness in the face of nature.
Still, I can't just sit here and whine. I have to do whatever I can.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Just as he lowered his altitude toward the surface, a massive shadow erupted from the water.
It wasn't his target. This creature was smaller—roughly the size of an elephant—making it incomparable to the leviathan he sought. The beast, a shark-like creature with a single horn protruding from its head, lunged at Rest as he was floating in the air.
"Wind Cutter."
"Ga..."
Having already detected the creature's approach, Rest easily dodged the One-horned Shark's gnashing teeth and delivered a counterattack. A sharp blade of wind sliced through the shark’s head, and a cloud of crimson bloomed in the water.
"At least I've found a good gift for the villagers. This fish looks like it has plenty of meat."
Rest used his magic to retrieve the shark's carcass. If it was indeed a relative of the shark, it was likely edible. While shark fin was the most famous delicacy, the meat was often used for things like fish cakes. He had never tried it himself, but he’d heard it could be fried, simmered, or even served as sashimi.
"Oh?"
He prepared to return to the fishing village with the shark in tow, but then several more presences pinged his detection. They were various sizes, some as large as the one he had killed, others slightly smaller.
"Gah!"
"Gaaaaaaaaaaah!"
A school of One-horned Sharks emerged. Rest initially wondered if they had come to avenge their kin, but the sharks simply began thrashing at the surface, competing frantically to devour the severed head of the first shark.
"Ugh... they’re cannibals."
Apparently, they had been drawn in by the scent of blood. He had heard that sharks were incredibly sensitive to it, and this certainly proved the point.
"Well, fine. I'll bring back as many as I can carry."
Rest grimaced at the macabre display and unleashed another Wind Cutter, deciding he might as well take one or two more. The blades of wind severed the sharks' necks, and more blood spilled into the water.
The village was struggling with food because the monster had made fishing impossible, but this haul would keep them fed for a while. With Celestine securing relief supplies as well, it seemed no one would have to go hungry.