246. Baiting
"I have assigned a ship & its crew to send you to the Leviathan's location, so please wait here for a bit," says Riccardio after they reached the port.
"Was that how the previous Mages went?" asks Ben.
"Yes, a ship took them there and they fought as the ship backed off to a distance. The ship & its crew are always in danger but that's the only way, and the crew members are all ready to die for this mission. 2 ships have been destroyed before and some people died," says Riccardio.
"Hmm, the only way, huh? Surely we'll need guidance to reach the location because we don't know it. But putting people at risk isn't my hobby and I have a better & safer way," says Ben.
"Safer?! How?" asks Riccardio interestedly.
Ben takes out Light Runner, surprising Riccardio who takes some steps back.
"Isn't it a Magic Vehicle? What do you plan to do with this? It is used on land, after all," says Riccardio.
"Well, just see," says Ben while activating Light Runner's mechanism from outside.
The car suddenly starts to transform and becomes a boat. Its wheels become propellers that will push the ship and there are 2 long floats on the sides. This is the boat mode of Light Runner that was last used before the S-Class exam.
"This will be enough to take us there. It can move well on the sea and it's also fast. It is also very safe with many defense mechanisms that can defend against even high-ranking Mages' attacks. But we don't know the location and can't navigate on the sea, so we will need a navigator from your side," says Ben.
"Then I will assign someone to guide you. I am very grateful that I don't need to send many people and put them at high risk," says Riccardio before leaving.
Ben prepares the Light Runner boat while waiting for Riccardio. He teaches Mira the control of the boat mode which she hasn't learned. Mira will control the boat while Ben is fighting the Shark Leviathan.
He actually has taught Mira to drive the car and she learned it fast. It's not too different from the old Magic Vehicle model and she has learned that. So she just needed to adapt a little to all the mechanisms that Ben installed.
His purpose in teaching Mira is because he will need Mira to drive in the future. They can switch when they have a long journey and save their energy. They often travel together, so something like this is necessary.
"Sorry for the wait," says Riccardio from a distance while running.
After some time, Riccardio finally returns with a young man. He will be the one who guides Ben's group to the job location. This young man is the ship's navigator, Ando.
They talk briefly just for the introduction, then they immediately leave the port. Ando sits in the back while Ben sits in the front passenger's seat with Bella. Mira is the one who controls the boat now because Ben asks her to.
The water near the port is calmer than the open sea. So it will be good for Mira to start driving from here. The waves will get bigger the further they go so she can adapt from the calmer water near the land.
They sail smoothly without much problem. Mira gets the grasp of the boat's handling really fast and now can almost control eat perfectly. It's not too different from driving the car mode except for the terrain that they pass.
4 hours later, they finally reach the Shark Leviathan's location. At least that's what Ando tells them but there's no sign of the Leviathan here. Still, Ben & Mira are putting up their guard because something dangerous can happen.
"Mira, take the boat away from here and get ready to run anytime. I will wait here and search the Shark Leviathan," says Ben.
Mira nods but Ando is surprised, "You'll gonna do it alone?!"
"Fufu, don't worry. He won't fail. If even he fails, then you will need the 4 Gods of Ishgar to finish this job," says Mira.
Ando thinks Mira is joking even though she is very serious. But he still knows that Mira said that because Ben is very strong. He just hopes that Ben will succeed and they can return safely.
Ben puts Bella on his seat as he jumps out of the Light Runner boat. Ando gets very surprised when he sees Ben standing on the water. Then he sees steams around Ben so he looks at the water below Ben.
What Ando sees is red bubbling water that releases a lot of steam. It's because Ben uses his heat magic to heat up the water until it boils and releases steam. The force of boiling water will push him and makes him stay on the surface.
Furthermore, he uses reverse gravity to reduce his weight a lot. So with very low weight and a push from below, Ben can stand on the water. He just needs to keep his balance or he will fall because the water is not solid at all, making it hard to stand.
Well, Ben can levitate using his reverse gravity, but he chooses to stand on the water. Standing on the water like this consumes less MP than flying in the air. It's because he doesn't need to reduce his weight too much to stand on the water.
"Hmm, I can't feel the magic power underwater really well. My range becomes shorter but it's not really a problem as long as I can sense it when it gets closer. For now, I should bait it," says Ben as he takes out a big bag.
Ben opens the big bag and throws its content onto the water.
"Fi-Fishbait? Does he really throws fishbait?" asks Ando in disbelief.
"I-I think he is," says Mira, surprised too.
"Yummy?" asks Bella curiously.
"No, Bella, it's only yummy for fish, not for others," says Mira.
Bella gets dejected but Ando is still in disbelief now.
"Why does he uses fishbait? It's a Leviathan, not just some random fish, you know," says Ando.
"Well, I think they aren't that different for Ben," says Mira while scratching her cheek.
"That's-," Ando can't finish his words because suddenly he sees a massive wave from afar.
No, it's not just a massive wave, it's the Shark Leviathan. The monster swims very fast, pushing the water. And its massive body makes the wave becomes massive too.
"N-No way! The fishbait really works," says Ando in shock.
"I guess it's still a fish in the end. Even if it's mutated, it's still a shark," says Mira.
"N-No, wait! The fishbait works on the small fish which then baits the Shark Leviathan," says Ando as he looks at the school of small fish that eat the fishbait.
"But it still works, isn't it?" asks Mira.
"We-Well, it certainly is. But it's strange," says Ando.
"Sigh, is it that unbelievable to you?" asks Mira.
"No, it's not about the fish bait but the Leviathan. Usually, when we came here, the Shark Leviathan was already here like it never leave. But now, we need to use bait because it's not here. This is the first time," says Ando.
"Maybe it looked for food somewhere else," says Mira.
"I hope so," says Ando, still suspicious.
Ben grins seeing the Shark Leviathan finally comes. He can feel this guy's massive magic power even though it's still far and it's underwater too. This Shark Leviathan's magic power is strong even for S-Class creatures.
Also, Ben is excited about another thing, "MIRA! GET AWAY FROM HERE, THERE ARE 2 OF THEM!"
"WHAT?!" says Mira & Ando in surprise.
That's right, Ben sensed 2 Shark Leviathans, and their strength is similar to each other.
Ben grins as he mumbles, "2 high S-Class magical creatures. This job has gotten more interesting."
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