{Water Drill}

The water around Rey twisted violently. A torrent the size of a person spun into shape, rotating so fast it blurred into a spiraling blur of blue and white light. The pressure it produced cracked the seabed beneath him.

"Nice, that should do it." Jett smirked, confident that the fight was already over.

Rey launched the Water Drill with a forward thrust, and it shot toward the octopus like a torpedo. But the creature's massive body folded and twisted unnaturally, bending away from the attack with fluid precision. The attack missed by inches, bursting against the reef behind it.

'Give me a break!' Rey grit his teeth, bubbles escaping through clenched lips. His patience was wearing thin. He kicked forward, closing the gap fast, but the octopus spewed a thick black substance into the water. The liquid spread in a cloud, blocking all sight.

Jett's expression shifted.

'Not that thing again' He started swimming toward Rey, but stopped when he saw something strange.

The black cloud began to swirl around Rey. Using his control over water, Rey pulled the dark fluid toward himself, shaping currents that isolated the inky substance from the surrounding water. He clenched his fist, forcing the two to separate. The black layer peeled away like oil from water, clearing his view of the creature.

Jett was astonishing, he was curious how he did that and thankfully he could ask with their school ring.

Jett:- The hell was that?

Rey:- Just because you can control your mana doesn't mean it's all over dumbass. Use it creatively.

The octopus lunged. A thick tentacle shot toward him, but Rey twisted his body aside, the attack grazing his arm. He kicked upward, spun once, and landed on the creature's head.

He coated both fists in Aura, the blue glow radiating through the sea, and struck with full strength. The impact sent shockwaves through the water, but the octopus didn't even flinch.

'Right, he did say it absorbs physical damage. We'll need a different approach.' Rey frowned, already preparing his next move, but the octopus reacted first.

A tentacle wrapped around his torso, tightening fast before slamming him hard into the ocean floor. The ground cracked beneath the force, sand and bubbles bursting into the water.

The octopus focused on Rey, forgetting Jett entirely who had managed to get behind it planning his next attack.

'Think, Jett, think.' He clenched his jaw. 'It won't let me get close anymore. It's adapting every second. Those tentacles… if only I could cut them off.'

Then he stopped. His eyes widened as an idea sparked.

He looked at his hand, where small streams of water swirled and spun under his control. Cut them off, huh?

In their previous world, Jett had read about industrial cutters that used compressed water jets to slice through steel, titanium, even diamond. When water moved at extreme pressure and speed, it could pierce anything cleanly, without heat or noise.

He was banking on that principle still holding true here.

'Use it creatively, huh? Well, that, I can do.' Jett smirked. ' lWho do you think I am anyways?'

{Drill}

Water spiraled around both his arms, expanding and tightening into twin rotating drills. They were massive, each as long as his forearm, spinning with enough speed to distort the water around them. The pressure from the rotation made nearby rocks crack.

'Hold it, not yet.' Jett steadied his breathing. The control of mana felt easy now, like an extension of his own muscles. Now compress the drill and flatten it.

He brought both drills together, pressing them until they shrank to the size of his fists. The spin intensified. The water turned almost white, vibrating violently as if ready to burst. The surrounding current trembled from the force.

Nice, this should do it. Jett's gaze shifted to Rey, who was still locked in battle.

The octopus had slammed Rey into the ground again, trying to crush him into the seabed. But Rey didn't resist the force this time. Instead, he used it. He pushed off the floor with a surge of water magic, turning the momentum into a leap.

He twisted midair, grabbed one of the monster's tentacles, and swung it downward with explosive strength, sending it flying straight into the ground and causing a cloud of debris upward.

For a moment, the octopus was stunned. That was all Jett needed.

He shot forward, water bursting from behind him like a jet engine. The octopus noticed something slicing through the water toward it and tried to pull back, but not fast enough.

The first drill tore through two tentacles cleanly. The second pierced one more before losing speed, leaving a hole large enough for Jett to see straight through.

The creature shrieked, a deep vibrating noise that rippled through the water.

Tch, I was aiming for its head so I could break its core. Jett sighed, watching the bubbles rise. Not that I even know where it is.

The octopus shrieked in agony, its tentacles thrashing through the water like whips. Rocks cracked under the force, and sand exploded upward in clouds. Rey swam up beside Jett, both keeping a cautious distance from the rampaging creature.

Rey:- What the hell was that? Wasn't that the {Drill} spell? It felt faster and more dangerous.

Jett smirked:- I used it creatively, dumbass.

Rey sighed:- Yep, I walked right into that one. Touché.

They watched the octopus flail and twist in pain, black clouds seeping from its wounds as it slammed its tentacles into the seabed.

Jett glanced at Rey:- How much longer can you stay underwater?

Rey folded his arms, still tracking the monster:- Probably two hours. I've got multiple blessings keeping me down here. What about you?

Jett shrugged, a small grin tugging at his lips:- I can do this all day."

He wasn't lying this time. He had fixed his skill loadout, streamlined his mana flow, and learned how to maintain his oxygen balance through minor water manipulation. He was ready.

But the octopus was far from done. It was thrashing wildly now, tentacles digging into the ground and stirring up massive whirlpools. The water around them pulsed like a living heartbeat.

Rey narrowed his eyes:- We should probably kill it now that we have the upper hand. Before something unexpected happens.

Jett muttered:- Kill joy.

Cracking his knuckles.

Jett:- That thing made me suffer last time I was here. Would've loved to see it squirm more. It's not like it's one of those boss monsters that have a second transformation.

They both froze. The words took a moment to settle in. Then they looked at the octopus, then at each other.

'Shit'

The creature's scream rose again, but this time it wasn't pain. It was power. The pressure surged so violently that the water itself seemed to explode outward. The shockwave sent Jett and Rey tumbling backward through the current, struggling to steady themselves.

The sea around the octopus turned black. Thick dark matter poured out from its wounds, spreading faster than before. Rey clenched his fist and swept his hand across.

The current roared, pulling the black sludge aside, but even as it cleared, more gushed out from the octopus. Again and again, he pushed it back until the water was clean enough to see.

Then they saw it.

The creature's body looked untouched. Every wound, every cut, every missing tentacle had reformed. The octopus floated calmly, its eyes now glowing crimson.

'It could regenerate?' Rey's jaw tightened. His patience was wearing thin.

Beside him, Jett was already forming another spell, compressing water into a tight drill. He released it toward the octopus, but as it closed the distance, something stopped it the moment it touched the octopus.

A faint orange glowed around the monster's body, distorting the light. Both of them recognized it instantly.

'Aura'

*

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Yes, some monsters can use it.

SOME

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