Is that a Wisp?

The second row was very small, only consisting of 20 tiny marble-sized spheres. They were the bone tree fragments. Only he had them. As for the Seamstress, she showed no more interest in them, saying she had better methods now. 

On top of that, the third row consisted of Blood Essence Crystals, more than a couple thousand. Even though he had been using them to train daily, their numbers still accumulated a lot, especially since he destroyed all the bone trees in the end. Also, with the bone trees dead, the rope bridges now lost their anchor, collapsing into the cloud layer below one after another. 

After these three items, Krune held a bottle that the Seamstress had created using her expertise, layering its interior with coral while ensuring it retained its flexibility. It had a capacity of five liters and was filled to the brim with his Healing Extract in a concentrated form. 

During emergencies, this would allow him to survive. As it was a concentrated Healing Extract, five liters were enough for him to last almost a year. Instead of carrying the bulky meat, this was hundreds of times better. 

Finally, there was the pair of Whale Tooth knives that he now only used for culinary purposes. There were numerous packets in the backpack consisting of containers made from the Rope Bush wood, containing spices that he had harvested from the abundance of the Secondary Landmass. 

The place with the Great Dipper was rich in all types of flora and mineral resources. So, Krune managed to obtain everything he would ever need from them. Sadly, he only had the guts to do so after obtaining an active ability and managing to kill all the Mutants and the Kings of the place. 

The dishes they had over the past two months were the tastiest, enough for him to become a foodie once again. It ignited his fighting spirit as a spiritual chef once again. There were also some clothes that the Seamstress had stitched for him. 

They were made from the Rope Bush King's rope and were of stellar quality. When she was bored, she made dresses for him, forcing him to try all of them out. Since he dared not leave them behind, Krune stuffed all of them into the bag. 

There were also around ten rods placed at the bottom of the backpack. They were made from coral and contained a tremendous reserve of heat that she had infused into them. All Krune had to do was supply them with a bit of energy for them to release the heat. 

She had gifted him that so that he could start a fire easily while cooking in the future. Krune had similarly infused his cold energy in her corals, following the method she had instructed him with. He had similarly infused them to the brim. 

The Seamstress was planning to use them as air conditioning if she was trapped in any hot places. And, one coral was enough to last a year of continuous use. So, they were a lot. They were preparing in such a manner because they knew very well that they would be separated once they reached Layer 2. 

With that, Krune sheathed his Whale Tooth Sword on his hip and slung around his hip 10 Frozen Cylinders and 10 Exploding Cylinders. He didn't take any more with him since they would just drag him down. 

As for the arrows and bow that they had created before, they no longer used them. Both of them now possessed powerful projectile capabilities thanks to their active abilities, making a bow and arrow almost useless. 

Krune had quite a few long-ranged abilities thanks to his Neon Radiance. So, he only took with him what he felt would help him. 

Now ready, Krune looked at his coral house, the one the three of them had stayed within for almost 18 years. He patted it once, unwilling to destroy it since he shared a lot of memories with it. Finished with his farewell, he boarded their ship, leaving the Secondary Landmass for good. 

Krune and the Seamstress took turns to control the ship, using the remaining time to either rest or teach Solare about things he had to take care of. 

"Here, take this," Krune said, handing over the whistle he had made. "This whistle calls this boat to you whenever you need it. I have trained them quite well. Whatever you wish to do with them next, I won't tell you otherwise."

"Thanks, uncle!" Solare beamed in giddiness as he laughed while looking at the whistle. "Aunty gave me a coral sword while you gave me this. It almost feels like…"

His voice turned slightly hoarse as he continued, "You two are planning to leave me."

"That is true." Krune nodded as he gazed at the ceiling once, explaining, "There are four layers to this world. And, this layer, Double Ocean is Layer 3. The Seamstress and I will be heading over to Layer 2 next. It's just another brutal place filled with slaughter and without any people. You have already lived in solitude for 18 years. So, have some fun now, mingle among your peers, make friends, and live your life to the fullest."

"But, I'll miss you…" Solare said as tears streamed out of his eyes.

"If you wish to see us again, head to Layer 2. Though, there's no guarantee we would still be there," Krune shook his head as he replied. "Unlike you, we aren't part of this world. We belong to what is called the God Realm, an almost infinite landmass in the universe."

"And one of the Gods ruling it had created this Sub-Realm. We have only arrived here with the intention to explore it, not to live here." Krune sighed after that. "After all, we have our families living beyond this world. We've already been away from them for far too long."

"Then…" Solare asked as he looked at Krune, "What about…my family?"

"There's a chance your father is still alive. You might have some siblings as well. Though, I don't know about that. Your mother died when she gave you to me," Krune said.

After some time passed, he took control of steering the ship while the Seamstress seemed to be conversing with Solare. Summoning his tablet, he looked at the map, nodding once. "30,000 more kilometers left. Considering our current speed, we need to travel for another month."

As only two Motor Fish Emperors rowed the ship at a time, the other two rested and recovered enough energy. This way, they traveled nonstop. 

A month later, Krune was able to see numerous boats floating above them as they were traveling eight meters underwater. They seemed to be traveling from one Primary Landmass to another for trade. 

Using his Sonic Radar, Krune was able to listen in on their conversation, quickly obtaining the gist of the situation. It seemed that each Primary Landmass was established as a village. And, thanks to their unique habitat, each village had a specialty of its own.

It was not to mention the native monster species of the Primary Landmass that have been caged and treated like animals bred for meat and other products. These different products formed a chain of supply and demand. 

Moreover, it seemed a currency of sorts had been established. This currency was similar to God Stones in that it had beneficial uses when consumed. Though, they had clear limits. As to what they were, Krune wasn't sure yet since those from the villages hadn't amassed enough currency to determine the limits yet. 

Since a Primary Landmass only had a radius of 5 kilometers, they were tiny. The Secondary Landmasses, on the other hand, each had a radius of 150 kilometers. Thus, they were labeled as Kingdoms. The villages fell under the rule of the respective kingdoms. 

And, there seemed to be four such Kingdoms, as Gehen had only captured four. Rather, there were only four Secondary Landmasses in the place. So, he had only captured that. And finally, situated in the center, surrounded by Secondary Landmasses and Primary Landmasses in two concentric rings, was the Tertiary Landmass, now addressed as an Empire. 

It seemed that Gehen hadn't named any of them yet, since there was only them among the human settlements. But among the populace, some called it the Empire, or the Turtle Empire. Upon realizing that Gehen had the Checkpoint Turtle as his active ability, Krune thought the name Turtle Empire made perfect sense. 

Even though he was curious as to how all the kingdoms had been developed, Krune planned to meet up with Gehen first. So, he directed the ship straight towards the Tertiary Landmass, immediately noticing numerous ships and boats alike patrolling the place.

Upon noticing their ship, they immediately converged over to attack when they abruptly stopped, parting way to allow them entry. Krune was curious for a moment before he understood the reason. 

It was Gehen!

He had commanded the people to allow their entry. There seemed to be a dock of sorts installed in the place where numerous ships alighted and departed in a bustling network. And traversing behind the dock seemed to be a waterfall that headed into the Tertiary Landmass. 

And through his Sonic Radar, Krune noticed a familiar face. It was Strinker, someone he thought had been killed by the bandits before. At present, he was dressed pretty lavishly, sporting a humble demeanor as he looked at their ship as if he was waiting for them all along. 

Krune motioned for the Seamstress and Solare to remain within as he exited, looking at Strinker as he smiled, saying, "Long time no see."

"It's a pleasure to meet you once again, Lord Krune. The Emperor has been waiting for your arrival all this time. Please follow me; you can bring in your ship and enter the Empire through this waterfall," Strinker said while pointing at the waterfall behind the dock.

He got into a boat that allowed them to see his figure, making the boat enter the waterfall first. Having already scouted ahead using his Sonic Radar, Krune smirked, causing his ship to proceed forward as he closed in on the waterfall, soon driving over the edge as he entered the bowl-shaped landmass that spanned a radius of 500 kilometers. 

Tertiary Landmass—Turtle Empire!