Adam didn't waste a second. As the Abyssal Kraken thrashed on the rocks, tangled in its own harpoon-lines, Adam drew in a deep, mana-charged breath. The air around his maw shimmered with chaotic energy—the precursor to Stormrend.

But the Dungeon Lord wasn't finished. With a guttural, bubbling shriek, it began to violently contract its body again, not to escape the blades this time, but to snap the taut silk lines by sheer brutal force. The Umbral Silk creaked, and one of the daggers embedded in a tentacle began to tear loose.

«OH NO YOU DON'T!» Ignis yelled, her draconic pride stung. She swooped down, not with a focused beam, but with a continuous, torrential stream of fire from her maw, washing over the Kraken's writhing form. «STAY! STILL! YOU'RE GETTING COOKED ALIVE!» The smell of burnt rubber and seafood filled the cavern.

The Kraken recoiled from the intense heat, its attempt to break free interrupted. Enraged and in agony, the few tentacles not pinned or severed lashed out wildly. One smashed a boulder to dust near Lilith. Another whipped toward Alice, who phased through it with a contemptuous flicker.

«It's still fighting!» Alice hissed, preparing another Void Bind.

"It's desperate," Adam growled, his focus unwavering. "But there's nothing left in its domain to help it now." He was right. The smaller eel-creatures could only writhe at the water's edge, watching helplessly as their master was beaten on land. This was no longer its realm. It was theirs.

Then, in a final, pathetic act of instinct, the Gibbering Abyssal Kraken did something that made the entire chaotic scene pause. Its mottled skin flickered, patterns and colors shifting rapidly. It was trying to use camouflage—blending its form and color into the surrounding grey and violet rocks.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, a snort escaped Adam. It built into a low, rumbling chuckle. A psychic giggle echoed from Lilith. A loud, honking draconic laugh burst from Ignis. Even Alice let out a soft, incredulous «Pfft.»

"You..." Adam managed between breaths, his galactic eyes gleaming with mirth. "You clever and horrifying Dungeon Lord... you're trying to use camouflage... while you're harpooned by three swords and tied down with glowing shadow-rope."

«The panic has overridden its higher cognitive functions,» Lilith observed, her voice dripping with amused pity. «It is literally trying to hide in plain sight while being the most obvious, anchored, and noisy thing in the cavern.»

«HAHA! I CAN STILL SEE YOU, DUMMY!» Ignis howled, rolling in the air with laughter.

The Kraken, seemingly realizing the utter futility, let its camouflage drop. Its multitude of eyes stared at them, not with intelligent malice anymore, but with a kind of dawning, animalistic despair. It had been out-thought, out-maneuvered, and now, it was being mocked.

"Enough," Adam said, the laughter fading from his voice, replaced by cold finality. "This ends now."

He unleashed Stormrend.

The vortex of cutting force, sheathed in paralyzing lightning, didn't just hit the Kraken. It consumed the area where it lay. The howling winds drowned out all other sound. Slashing energy met rubbery flesh, and lightning conducted through the water and ichor covering its body. The Venom of the Void already in its system from the harpoon wounds seemed to ignite, causing necrosis to spread visibly.

When the maelstrom subsided, the Abyssal Kraken, the Many-Armed Darkness, was no more. Only a ravaged, still form remained, the enchanted swords now lying amidst the carnage.

[ Abyssal Kraken Defeated! ]

[ +370 EXP | +433 EP ]

[ Ding! Level Up! ]

[ You are now Level 51! ]

[ Ding! Level Up! ]

[ You are now Level 52! ]

[ Next Level: 12 / 320 ]

A heavy silence returned, broken only by the drip of water and the crackle of Ignis's cooling embers. They had conquered another Dungeon Lord, on its own turf, through adaptation, teamwork, and a brutally clever fishing trip.

Adam slumped slightly, the adrenaline receding. "Alright. Let's claim our prize. And someone get those swords back. They're good swords."

Ignis hovered over the remains of the Kraken, her nose twitching. «Mmm... it smells... good? Like, really good! Like the big bugs that pop when you roast them, but... fancier!»

Alice, having gracefully retrieved her frost daggers and the greatsword with careful, looked at the massive, deflated cephalopod corpse with utter disdain. "You cannot be serious. It smells intriguing because you blasted it with solar fire for a full minute. Look at it. It's a bag of parasites, strange fluids, and despair. Its very existence was an offense to aesthetics."

Lilith skittered closer, her many eyes examining the cooked flesh with curiosity. "I'm... curious to try it too. Will it taste as good as it smells?"

Adam listened to their curiosity, They always ate their prey raw, immediately. It is the most efficient way to absorb essence and skill fragments for adam but their instincts can only eat monsters as energy and it is more efficient to eat it raw.

But the smell was compelling. It triggered a deep, human nostalgia he couldn't quite place for backyard barbecues, for food that was prepared, not just fuel.

'Could cooking affect the absorption of essence or fragments?'

There was only one way to find out. And besides, maybe it was time to add a little civilization to their monstrous lives.

"It can be eaten," Adam declared, his voice decisive. "And yes, it probably tastes good because Ignis cooked it. We've never tried cooking anything before. We just... swallow."

«Pre-digestion is for the weak,» Alice stated primly, but she was watching him, intrigued.

"Ignis," Adam ordered, a plan forming. "Give it another pass. A controlled burn this time, not an inferno. Cook it, don't incinerate it. I'll help." He inhaled and let out a steady, wide cone of Fire Breath, not at combat intensity, but like a colossal chef's blowtorch, sweeping over the Kraken's thickest tentacles. Ignis, delighted to have a designated job, followed suit with careful, focused bursts of flame.

Soon, the air was filled with a truly delicious aroma—a mix of grilled seafood and something earthier, dungeon-grown. The rubbery, translucent flesh firmed up, took on a charred, golden-brown hue, and dripped savory-looking juices.

Cautiously, Adam leaned in and tore off a large chunk of tentacle with his teeth. He chewed thoughtfully.

It was... good. Surprisingly good. The texture was firm yet yielding, like perfectly cooked calamari but denser. The flavor was briny and rich, with a subtle, sweet undertone that the fire had caramelized. It lacked salt or any seasoning, but the natural umami of the monster flesh was profound.

'Seafood platter in the abyss,' he thought with amusement.

[ Essence Absorption detected. Efficiency: 98.7%. Minimal loss due to thermal denaturation. ]

[ Skill Fragment Acquired: Fluid Kinetics - 0.5/1.0 ]

[ Incomplete. Enhances understanding and manipulation of liquids, including water movement, viscosity alteration, and limited hydrokinesis. ]

A wave of relief and triumph washed over him. Not only was it tasty, but the essence and fragments were still there! Cooking was safe, maybe even beneficial if it made stronger monsters more palatable.

He swallowed and turned to his companions, his galactic eyes gleaming. "It's delicious. Seriously. Try it."

Ignis needed no further encouragement. She landed and tore into a cooked section with gusto, letting out a happy, muffled roar. «WOAHH! THIS IS DELICIOUS! CRUNCHY OUTSIDE! CHEWY INSIDE! BEST FOOD EVER!»

Lilith approached with elegant deliberation. Using a sharp leg, she excised a small, perfectly cooked piece, brought it to her mouthparts, and tasted. She went very still for a moment. «...Fascinating. The textural transformation is remarkable. The flavor profile is complex and far superior to the raw biological slurry. This method has merit.»

All eyes fell on Alice. The Umbral Regent Panther looked from the enthusiastic Ignis to the contemplative Lilith, then to Adam. Her nose wrinkled, but it was more performative now. «...Fine. But if I get parasitic worms or my fur smells like seafood for a week, I am holding all of you responsible.» She stalked forward, took a delicate bite from a piece Adam nudged toward her, and chewed slowly. Her eyes widened slightly. She took another, larger bite. «...Hmm. Acceptable. The char is... pleasant. It is less barbaric than I anticipated.»

"Told you," Adam said with a smile on his serpent face.

Soon, the four of them were feasting on the cooked remains of the Abyssal Kraken, They ate the octopus with relish, and seemed to be addicted to its taste.

"From now on," Adam announced, swallowing another delectable chunk, "we cook the big ones. Or at least the ones that look like they'd taste good cooked. Consider it a... quality of life upgrade."

«A culinary evolution to match our biological ones,» Lilith mused. «How delightfully progressive.»

Ignis just belched, a small flame popping out. «Can we fight another one tomorrow? I wanna cook more!»

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