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[Million Volts]
A flash lit the sea like a strobe.
Jack vanished and reappeared across the battlefield in mere blinks, each movement tracing a bolt of blue lightning through the water.
The arcs twisted and flickered.
Then—
Silence.
Tentacles drifted in the current.
Cleanly severed.
In one fluid burst of motion, he had sliced through every attacking limb.
Each tentacle split in two as though carved by an invisible blade.
Severed ends leaked clouds of thick blue blood, dying the water in eerie hues.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then came the scream.
A deep, agonized wail vibrated through the trench as the Octalus finally registered the damage.
The delayed pain rushed in like a tidal wave.
What was once a swirling nightmare of limbs was now a mutilated mass, its remaining tentacles flailing in blind panic.
But it wasn't over.
Jack hadn't even used his full strength.
And yet… the fight hadn't been easy.
If he hadn't reacted in time, if even one of those tentacles had coiled around his throat or spine, things could have ended very differently.
He respected the threat now.
Still, respect didn't mean mercy.
"You lost," Jack muttered.
In a blur, he launched himself upward, the water splitting behind him in a sonic boom.
The octopus was writhing, trying to flee into the dark. Too late.
Jack appeared above its massive head like a phantom—fangs bared, eyes glowing.
"Die."
His jaws clamped down with devastating force, piercing through bone and brain matter.
The dragon's bite shattered the central nervous cluster instantly, half the head vanishing into Jack's maw.
The monster convulsed violently, blood and brain matter leaking into the water.
Then—stillness.
Only the sound of drifting bubbles remained.
"Tasty."
Jack licked the blood from his jaw, electricity still flickering across his teeth.
The Octalus—once a childhood nightmare—was now reduced to nutrients and experience points.
And somewhere, deep in the ocean's black silence...
He could feel something else watching.
Although the Octalus, with half its head missing, was still twitching and spasming in a death throe, Jack paid it no mind.
He dug in, devouring massive chunks of flesh with greedy bites.
The once-terrifying predator was reduced to a feast in no time at all.
[You have hunted an Octalus (Exotic Beast) and obtained Gene Points ×20,000]
Twenty thousand gene points.
"Not bad."
[Ding! Congratulations on clearing "Deep Rising"! You have obtained: Deep Sea Atlantean Potion ×5]
[Deep Sea Atlantean Potion: A deep-sea gene serum developed by the Atlanteans. Grants organisms the ability to survive in extreme deep-sea environments—adaptation to high pressure, low oxygen, freezing temperatures, and pitch darkness.]
Atlanteans? Deep-sea potion?
Jack's golden eyes narrowed slightly as he reviewed the item.
The effect was impressive. According to the description, even land-based lifeforms with no aquatic adaptations could survive in the crushing depths of the ocean after consuming just one dose.
A transformation potion capable of forcing evolution in hostile environments.
"No wonder the Atlanteans were able to build a civilization underwater."
In the Monsterverse, they were a lost race—one that revered Godzilla as a deity, building underwater temples in his honor.
Jack had heard of their legends… but never expected to see remnants of their technology still working.
Still, he didn't need the potion himself. His current body had long since adapted to deep-sea conditions on its own.
But the dinosaurs under his banner—the Jurassic Alliance—might benefit greatly from it.
If humanity ever went too far…
If they did drop nuclear warheads on Nublar Island…
The deep sea could become a sanctuary.
"Not bad. I'll save these for them."
Just as he was about to move on, a flicker of memory sparked.
"Wait... wasn't the Octalus from Skull Island?"
He paused, mind racing back to childhood memories.
In Deep Rising, after the protagonists killed the Octalus, they drifted ashore on a mysterious, uncharted island.
A smoking volcano loomed in the background, and haunting roars echoed from the jungle.
"That island... had to be Skull Island."
Located near Sumatra, Southeast Asia.
And if that was true—if he was near Skull Island now—he was on the edge of a monster goldmine.
Skull Island.
Jack's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
A chaotic ecosystem ruled by brutal survival. Home to bizarre and powerful creatures: skeleton reptiles, leaf-winged pterosaurs, terror vultures, bone-backed jackals, black-horned dinosaurs, reef bull demons…
A genetic treasure trove.
But more importantly...
King Kong.
The ruler of Skull Island.
In Kong: Skull Island (1973), the great ape had only been a juvenile, just 30 meters tall and 158 tons.
But now it was 2013. Forty years had passed.
King Kong was probably fully grown.
Likely around 80 meters tall now, maybe 8,000 tons.
Still below Titan-class monsters in raw scale—lacking energy-based attacks—but a terrifying force of nature nonetheless.
No dorsal fin battle axe yet. No gauntlets.
Just raw power, speed, and primal fury.
Still…
"I probably can't beat him yet," Jack mused.
"But bullying the pretty boy from Skull Island? That sounds fun."
His tail swept through the water as he looked toward the horizon.
He had spent enough time submerged in the crushing silence of the deep.
It was time to return to land. Time to shake the jungle. Time to hunt, evolve, and grow.
Next stop—Skull Island.