As Elion began falling from space, his hands slipped off the dead dragon Dred's body. The temperature rose quickly as he entered the atmosphere. His skin started to burn, and even his tongue tasted hot.
Shit, shit, shit... I'm burning!! Elion screamed in his mind.
The fire licking at his skin made him panic, but he kept his thoughts racing, searching for a solution. Right! Creation skill!
He activated his Creation skill, picturing a special heat-resistant suit. He visualized every detail in his mind: the material, the fabric cuts, the perfect fit, and the anti-heat effect that could only be realized using Imagination Points.
Thanks to his skill's recent upgrade to level 3, he could now create slightly more complex things—like clothes with special features for temperature protection.
[You have successfully created a heat-resistant suit!]
As the heat-resistant suit formed around his body, the flames and unbearable heat vanished. But Elion couldn't relax yet; he was still plummeting toward Earth like a rocket.
Ugh, this is fucking scary! he thought. Elion can feel his eyes wet and blurry from the air pressure, his skin fluttering, and his ears ringing.
[Why do you swear so much like a teenager? Where did you even learn that?] the system suddenly asked.
Really? This is not the time for that. Please, just shut up if you don't want to help me.
[Okay, okay. Geez, teenager this day.] The system sighed, then disappeared.
He really can't open his mouth. In fact, he starting to feel his bones can break at any time because of the pressure. But still, he tried to endure it and started to focus his mind, calculating
Okay... I'm falling from 3,260 kilometers. That's 3,260,000 meters. Earth's gravity is about 9.8 meters per second squared.
He knew his falling speed would increase as he got closer to the ground.
So, how long will I fall? Let's see... Time equals the square root of twice the height divided by gravity. It means the square root of twice 3,260,000 divided by 9.8
So, I'll be falling for about 815 seconds—that's roughly 13.6 minutes. Plenty of time to come up with a plan.
Suddenly, the system chimed in his head.
[Careful. You will reach terminal velocity soon.]
Elion clicked his tongue as he fell faster. Thanks, Captain Obvious. I knew that. My speed now is probably around 40.4 meters per second.
[Alright then, Sir Einstein. I won't disturb your brilliant calculations.]
He continued pondering his situation.
Kinetic energy is half times mass times velocity squared. If my mass is around 70 kilograms and my speed is 40,4 m/s, then the kinetic energy must be 112,168 joules.
Elion started thinking about ways to slow his fall. Then it hit him—Wait. Why bother with all these calculations when I could just create a parachute?
[Duh, Tesla. It's you who wants to show off your big brain when you could just use your skill.]
Elion clicked his tongue at the system's words that were dripping with mockery, ignoring it.
He then took a deep breath and concentrated, envisioning the parachute in detail.
He imagined the fabric: a sturdy yet lightweight material that could catch the air perfectly. He pictured the bright colors and the lines connecting to the harness, ensuring it would hold securely.
With each passing moment, he visualized the shape as it opened wide above him, catching the wind and slowing his descent. Finally, he felt the familiar sensation of something forming on his back.
Just like the parachutes used by skydivers, it appeared in a flash, ready to deploy.
[You have successfully created a parachute!]
That's more like it. Now I'm somewhat safe, Elion thought, letting out a long sigh as he wiped the sweat from his eyebrows.
In the distance, Elion saw the dragon Dred's huge body falling much faster than him. It looked like a meteor as it rushed through the sky. Dred's wings flapped wildly, making a loud noise as it fell.
Elion noticed the sword still stuck in the back of Dred's neck, a reminder of their intense fight.
The blade sparkled in the sunlight, making the scene even more surreal. Even in death, Dred was a powerful force, crashing toward the Earth.
Phew… I have no idea how big the explosion will be when that Dred crashes into the ground with a body that size, Elion said in awe.
[It's gonna be hell on Earth. But I know you don't care, so stop thinking about useless stuff and just focus on landing.]
Elion let out a bitter laugh upon hearing the system's words. You're right. I don't care. Besides, there are no humans left on Earth anyway.
He then resumed his calculations for a flawless landing, but all of a sudden, his head began to hurt. Ouch! What the hell? Elion groaned in pain, holding his head. What happened to me?
[You're just tired. Don't stress it. It's not like you have cancer or anything.]
Due to the sudden pain, Elion's thoughts became hazy for a moment, preventing him from calculating a perfect landing. In the end, he gave into the wind's pull and let himself fall.
After a while, Elion saw the big ocean below him, its waves sparkling in the sunlight.
Frustrated with his situation, he pulled the cord to open his parachute, cursing quietly as he felt the sudden pull that slowed him down.
"Amazing. Of all the places on this planet, I had to land in the middle of unknown ocean."
[Well, it's not that bad. At least you won't get hurt when you land.]
"Yeah, right. You say I won't get hurt? I might actually die this time. Look at that," Elion said, pointing down with a flat expression, as if he were used to this situation.
Right below him, on the ocean's surface, Elion spotted something massive—much bigger than the dragon Dred. It was a Dred that had evolved into a Kraken, its skin glistening like slick, dark scales under the sunlight.
The creature was three times the size of a mountain, its enormous tentacles swirling in the water like massive, undulating serpents.
Elion couldn't even begin to count the number of tentacles, as they seemed to stretch endlessly, each covered in a rough, barnacle-encrusted texture that hinted at its age and power.
Elion let out a long sigh, feeling fed up with his situation. "I don't know why I keep running into these monstrous things. It's like the world wants me dead."
Amidst Elion's frustration, the system suggested,
[Why not use your [Creation] skill to make a sword bigger than that Kraken Dred to kill it? Sure, it'll cost over 20,000 imagination points, but you've got plenty anyway.]
[Actually, I wonder why you don't use your Creation skill more often in battle.]
"Creating things from my imagination takes a lot of focus and time. Swinging a sword to kill them is much faster, especially when they don't give me a chance to think." Elion replied, making the system understand.
Suddenly, the Kraken Dred looked up, noticing Elion falling with his parachute from fifty kilometers above.
It let out a terrifying roar that shook the air and vibrated through the water, creating massive waves that crashed against each other like a tsunami.
The force of the sound reached even Elion, making him cover his ears as the ocean trembled beneath him.
"What the hell? Why are they always so loud?" Elion said, rubbing his ear. "Okay, I don't have much time."
Facing unavoidable danger, Elion closed his eyes and focused all his thoughts on creating a sword with his Creation skill.
At first, the sword in his imagination was small, but he made it bigger and bigger. The more he focused, the more his head hurt.
Finally, he succeeded. Atoms began moving rhythmically in the air, creating a giant sword slightly larger than the Kraken Dred, which was already three times the size of a mountain.
The creation of the sword changed the weather around it. Clouds darkened, lightning thundered, and wind swirled fiercely. The shadow of the giant sword darkened Kraken Dred's vision, surprising it.
[Congratulations! You have successfully created a giant sword!]
Then the system's voice echoed in Elion's head, cheering like it was watching an exciting movie.
[That's what I'm talking about, kid!]
Elion shot back with a sharp, "Shut up," then slowly moved his hand toward the Kraken.
The giant sword followed his lead, slicing through the air. It looked slow because it was so big, but it was actually moving fast.
The Kraken Dred glared at the giant sword with fury. It then raised its tentacles into the air.
As its massive tentacles emerged from the depths of the ocean, they created enormous waves reaching heights of one thousand meters, each wave capable of destroying a city.
The Dred then wrapped its tentacles around the giant sword, trying to hold it back. But the sharpness of the sword easily sliced through Kraken Dred's tentacles.
SLASH!
The severed tentacles fell into the sea, creating a loud, thundering sound.
Elion smirked, eyeing the Kraken Dred's mangled form. "Well, that escalated quickly. Guess you won't be winning any arm-wrestling contests now, huh?"
[What do you mean by that?]
Elion sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly uninterested in responding. "Honestly, I don't have time for this."
The Kraken Dred panicked, desperately trying to dodge, but the sword was simply too long. When the massive blade struck, the impact was colossal.
BOOM!
The sound echoed across the ocean as the Kraken's tough skin tore apart like paper, the sword slicing cleanly from its head down to the tips of its writhing tentacles.
As the Kraken split in two, the sea roared in response, parting violently with it and sending towering walls of water crashing upward like a tsunami, stained a deep crimson with the Kraken's blood.
As Elion hovered in his parachute and took in the overwhelming power of his creation, the air was heavy with the smell of salt and iron. He could also feel the force of the waves rushing past him.
As usual, a message from the system appeared in the air, casting light beneath the dark clouds.
[Congratulations! You have successfully killed an evolved dred!]
[You have leveled up! (20x)] [Lv. 88 → Lv. 108]
[Skill: [Endless Tentacles Lv. 1] has been successfully acquired!]
Seeing the message from the system, Elion couldn't help but feel amazed.
"Ah, so I can gain skills by defeating an evolved Dred? I thought I only got skills when fighting the Dred dragon as a reward for the revenge quest."
[Yeah, you're right. I only gave it to you out of pity for always being in situations like this, so be grateful!]
Ignoring the system's voice, Elion finally landed on the head of the Kraken Dred, which was as large as an island. As his feet touched down, he lightly tapped his own head.
The system, confused by his strange behavior, asked, [What are you doing all of a sudden?]
Elion replied briefly, "Trying to get you out of my head."
A moment of silence enveloped the ocean until the system's voice returned, sounding very angry.
[What?! Listen to me, you little shit! I will—]
Elion treated the system's voice in his head like a mosquito, ignoring it. He then looked around.
Aside from the floating corpse of the Kraken Dred scattered on the water, there was nothing but the ocean as far as the eye could see.
"Now, what do I do?" Elion said as he saw the sun start to set.