Chapter 945: Paddle

Hmm...?" Krune thought for a moment, frowning as he noticed the changes in his mind. Compared to what he was like before entering the Sub-Realm, he felt like he was changing...a lot.

"A mortal...huh?" he muttered, shaking his head as he looked around, picking up the Whale Tooth Sword as he intended to train using it. With his increased strength and larger physique, he felt like he was ready to fully wield it.

Though, a moment later, he sighed as he said, "I guess I'll turn back to normal once I become a cultivator again. As a mortal, I can't help but become vicious."

He didn't bother with the thought after that. After all, there was a stark difference between being a mortal and a cultivator. As a cultivator, even if he didn't eat, he wouldn't die. Instead, Godly Energy was enough to sustain himself.

But as a mortal, eating was a must. If he didn't do it, he would starve himself to death. Just that fact alone meant he had to kill living beings and eat them as a source of nourishment. Not only that, but he had to obtain a lot of Blood Essence Crystals to support him as he hunted for Godly Points, accumulate enough to reach layer 1, and eventually leave the Sub-Realm.

So, whether he liked it or not, if he wished to become a cultivator again, Krune had no other choice but to be brutal. As a mortal, his fate wasn't in his control. So, he had to struggle to survive without any feeling of remorse.

Thinking as such, Krune swung the Whale Tooth Sword, noticing that it was easier to wield now. Moreover, he was able to use it really well since its weight was perfect for the current him. After swinging it for a couple of hours, Krune familiarized himself with its weight and the way his current physique had to wield it.

"Now, I have four passive abilities." Krune clenched his hand into a fist before muttering, "The Ocean Heart will be my most important passive. After that would be the Sonic Radar to scout my surroundings and the Neon Radiance to see whenever I wish. Both are equally important. The final ability, in this case, would be Underwater Breathing. As this layer is full of water, I won't be helpless when in it and would be able to survive. Everything is very useful."

"I would be able to obtain one more passive ability. If I come across something even better, I should replace Underwater Breathing with it." Placing the Whale Tooth Sword aside, Krune relaxed, taking a bath as he refreshed himself.

He noticed that the water level in the pool was only half its normal level, realizing that he had consumed too much recently that its natural rate of replenishment was unable to keep up. "I have to use it more sparingly. Otherwise, I might run out of energy in a serious situation. I still have to live here for around four months, after all."

For the next four days, Krune only checked up on the thirty caves before working on the construct in his cave. He realized that time was running short. So, instead of spending time training, he had to finish the boat first.

Besides, his physique had just become stronger. He was still becoming used to it. So, consuming more Blood Essence Crystals in this period wouldn't be beneficial. Besides, once he completed the boat, he would have enough space to train even after leaving the Primary Landmass.

To the current him, that was more important. As such, Krune set his priorities straight, scouting once per day to see the situation in the villages, observing the growing fruits in the caves before returning to his cave. All he did was practice, getting accustomed to his physique more and more before working on the boat.

The boat could be considered to be an ambitious plan of his as he was putting great efforts into it. Moreover, he used his knowledge as a blacksmith and spiritual chef to design it according to all his needs.

The base was a circle with a radius of three meters. Considering his current physique, it was considerably wide enough for his stay. From time to time, he poured some blood in it to grow the bone tree that acted as its base, layering it with the bones of the Monster Geckos on both sides.

After that, he covered its interior with a thick layer of Monster Gecko skin. On top of that, just to ensure that there wouldn't be any gaps that formed in it, he used the bone powder that came from all the wilting bone trees.

Krune extracted a certain pulp from the Monster Gecko carcasses, working on it for a month before creating an adhesive of sorts. Surprisingly, it worked well with the bone trees, something he derived using his instinct as a spiritual chef.

Even though he was a mortal now, all the experience he had accumulated so far was still in him. Now, they were helping him tremendously. By mixing the adhesive with the bone powder, Krune poured it into the gaps of the construct, firmly attaching the bone tree to the Monster Gecko bones.

This way, it turned into one rigid structure that was capable of self-healing. After all, the bone tree was a tree that would grow when watered. This was the reason Krune was using it to make his boat in the first place.

While adrift on the ocean, there might be cases when fishes would attack him. With every attack, the boat would suffer damage one way or another. Over time, the damage would accumulate and collapse his boat.

After all, even if he repaired it, it would just be patchwork. If the frame itself suffered damage, it would start to collapse from the ocean currents itself. But now, the bone trees would absorb the ocean water and heal the damage, always ensuring his boat was sturdy.

This way, he would never need to repair it. Krune had gone all out in the creation of the boat. Using his experience as a cultivator that had lived for two centuries, a blacksmith that had created countless treasures, and a spiritual chef that had cooked countless delicacies and worked on all sorts of living creatures, Krune was able to create the construct.

When there were only three months left in his stay in the Primary Landmass, Krune finished the boat, a cylindrical-shaped construct spanning a height of three meters and a radius of three meters. It had four pillars hoisting the two surfaces at the top and bottom that conformed to perfect symmetry.

It had walls a meter high on both ends, only keeping a strip open in the middle. The walls had curved slopes that reached both ends, allowing him to drag heavy objects into the boat when it was on the water. On the floor were some boxes attached at the end to each of the four columns.

There were containers to store water and a place on both ends for him to sleep. It was just a platform raised 10 centimeters up from the floor, forming a berth for him to sleep.

Krune had also stitched himself a couple of blankets to cover himself when it became cold and a hand fan to breeze himself when it became hot. There was a compartment lodged into the walls, where he could store all the tools that he was creating. He also created some hooks to hold his weapons in place.

As Krune obtained a lot of fishing rods, he used them to create his tools. Each of them was sturdy, so using the Whale Tooth Dagger, he was able to carve them into the shapes he desired, obtaining a complete arsenal of tools he needed.

Moreover, he had also preserved around ten fishing rods, just in case he needed to fish. He also used the threads of the fishing rods to create a net that he could use to catch fish.

As for the fishing rods of the two Mutant Monster Geckos, since they were thick, he turned them into containers that he could use to store any spices or the lot that he might come across in the future. Krune was thinking long-term, preparing everything that he would need along the journey.

Smirking, he finally opened a box attached to one of the four columns, looking at two fruits that grew within. "Alright, it works as perfectly as I could hope."

Seeing the incredible use of the fruits, Krune had designed the boat in such a way the fruit-bearing branch was integrated into the box. And finally, when it bore a fruit, it was safely within the box, ripe for his picking.

Because the fruits held a lot of energy in them, Krune planned to feed them to some fish that he caught alive. This way, when he ate their flesh, he would recover more energy, allowing him to train more using his Ocean Heart.

The possibilities were endless, so he planned to make use of them to the limit. If he had the smarts to better his survival, it was a sin not to use it. Though, unlike when he was a cultivator, his mortal self switched on certain switches in his mind, forcing him to work desperately for a better life.

Once it was completed, Krune looked at the boat with pride, announcing it with confidence as he carved its name on the side, "From today onwards, you will be called Paddle."

Once he finished inscribing the name, Krune nodded in praise as he said with glee, "Right, that's a wonderful name. Man, my naming sense is great."

Upon noticing that the items on his person were transported with him when he was teleported to the Primary Landmass, Krune intended to do the same to bring the boat, Paddle, with him to the Checkpoint Turtle when he returned.

He did have a certain level of guarantee his plan would work. So, now that he had completed his preparations for his eventual return, Krune picked up his Whale Tooth Sword, the two Whale Tooth Daggers, the assortment of knives he had created, and a yarn of rope as he exited the cave, making a beeline towards the first village.

Now that he had more confidence in himself, Krune was ready to aim at their elites, clutching the pouch on his hip once to feel the Blood Essence Crystals he had brought with him. They were his master plan.

With that, being positioned between the first and second village, Krune raised his hands, facing one towards each village. Taking in a deep breath, he muttered, unleashing the brightest beam of light he had ever emitted.

"It's starting."