Is That A Wisp?

"Hello friend, may I know how you obtained this large boat?"

Upon hearing the man's statement, Krune wasn't even concerned about his motives, rather pleased to strike up a conversation with a fellow human. He smiled in response, stating honestly, "I made this during the year I spent in a Primary Landmass."

"A Primary Landmass…" The man frowned, muttering, "That costs five Godly Points."

Only then did he notice that Krune was actually sitting in the boat. Even then, he possessed a massive frame, causing the man to feel slightly fearful. He then noticed the Whale Tooth Sword hanging on the boat wall, frowning at its sheer size and quality. 

A glance was all he needed to realize that it was way better than the weapon he obtained in the bundle—termed the Bone Arsenal in the Checkpoint Turtle—that cost two Godly Points. So, he could determine that Krune was a tough individual. 

Thus, he immediately changed his stance, no longer intending to kill Krune to obtain his boat. He then cupped his fists as he said, "Boss, my name's Strinker. We're going around as a group to ensure we survive this place."

"My name's Krune." Krune faced a bit of awkwardness in showing formality as he hadn't done that for a year now. Though, the familiarity of the interaction allowed him to continue, making a sweeping glance around the Checkpoint Turtle. "There's a lot of people here this time. There was none when I visited it last year."

"Last year?" Strinker blurted out in shock, muttering, "Sir, were you part of the first batch?"

"The first batch? What do you mean?" Krune frowned when he recalled the scene he had witnessed during his second month of stay in the Primary Landmass.

After a confused look, Strinker thought of the time Krune spent on the Primary Landmass, speaking immediately, "Every month, around 10 million people are dropped in this layer. Eventually, we started to call them as batches."

He pointed at himself and the people behind him, "I'm part of the fifth batch while the rest range from the seventh to the tenth batch."

Krune's eyes widened in surprise as he thought it was time to satiate his curiosity and the feeling of oddity he had sensed long ago. "Then, which continent are you from?"

"I'm from the Zukra Continent," Strinker replied.

'Never heard of it.' Krune frowned before continuing to ask, "Then, how long ago did you arrive in this Sub-Realm? Where was its entrance?"

Hearing the question, Strinker frowned as he responded, "As I said, I was part of the fifth batch. Also, I didn't see any entrance or anything. One day, I was chasing after a group of people when something hit all of us. Before we realized it, we were already in this place and had turned into mortals."

'I see, so they hadn't started from layer 4.' Krune nodded in understanding, 'It seemed he was just forcibly dropped here.'

"Then..." Krune looked at the others behind Strinker, asking once more, "How did the lot of you arrive here? Did everyone appear in this place first?"

"I fell from a cliff. When I thought I would die, I fell into this ocean. By the time I managed to reach the surface, I noticed that my cultivation had disappeared."

"I was just sleeping when I suddenly drowned. Next thing I knew, I was here."

"I was just talking with my family when my surroundings changed all of a sudden. I was here before I noticed it."

Upon hearing all their claims, Krune determined that they were all forcibly dropped in layer 3. Unlike those from the Zamuria Continent, they hadn't voluntarily arrived at the Sub-Realm.

It was Strinker's time to question as he frowned. "You said this was a Sub-Realm? Then, are we no longer in the God Realm? I thought a spatial anomaly had sent us here. At the very least, that's what all of us had been thinking."

"No, this is a Sub-Realm created by a God since he was bored. To entertain himself, he placed a lot of treasures in this place. Upon seeing these treasures, we had entered it through its entrance," Krune replied, noticing the faces of others convulse.

"Fuck! So, we're trapped in a goddamn Sub-Realm!" Strinker cursed, clutching his head in anger. The others also had the same reactions, vexed at the situation. All along, they had been assuming that a spatial anomaly had sent them in this danger zone where they had regressed to their mortal selves. They thought that as long as they traveled in a direction long enough, they would eventually exit the danger zone.

But if it was a Sub-Realm, everything changed. As mortals, they wouldn't be able to leave the Sub-Realm. 

Seeing their reactions, Krune pointed at their foreheads, having noticed the tiny dot on their glabella before saying, "The lot of you have the tablets with you. You can leave this place using them eventually."

"In the end, that seems to be the only option." Strinker sighed. "I thought we would have been able to leave this place as long as we rowed in one direction."

"Even if you reach the boundary, your mortal self wouldn't be able to even scratch the Sub-Realm's barrier," Krune replied, sensing the Checkpoint Turtle flinch once, causing some waves while making the people on its surface groan in response.

Upon seeing the expression of the people in the queue, Krune felt confused as he asked, "What's happening?"

"The items in the Checkpoint Turtle are limited. This reaction would happen the moment at least one item on the list is sold out. From what that damn octopus had said, it would leave the moment this happens." Strinker scowled. Though, it wasn't because the Checkpoint Turtle was leaving, but rather at the fact that the place he assumed as a Danger Zone ended up being a Sub-Realm.

As for the Checkpoint Turtle's items, he had already bought his fair share. He didn't have many Godly Points to begin with, so all he managed to buy was a Bone Arsenal and a Water Essence for emergencies. 

Upon noticing that the Checkpoint Turtle was about to disappear, Strinker spoke in a hurry, "Boss, if you don't mind, can we follow you on our boats?"

"Sure, I don't mind." Krune waved his hand casually, rather pleased at the company. With some people around him, he wouldn't become insane. 

"Then..." Strinker looked at his group and nodded, speaking to Krune, "It's for the best if we leave right now. The moment the Checkpoint Turtle vanishes, this place would become rowdy as everyone would try to steal the treasures of others."

"Hmm, that seems lively." Krune's eyes lit up at the sound of that. Having been along for a year as a mortal, he had only fought against Monster Geckos. Now, it would be a nice change to see a fight between people. 

Then again, he had no intentions of taking part in it. His morality wouldn't allow him to harm another person for no reason. Only if they tried to kill him would he retaliate. As for the rest, he would rather pull his punches or just be content being a spectator. 

It was odd since the moment he began to converse with Strinker and the others, his values as a cultivator began to return as if the mental state he had exhibited for the past year was a lie. Since he didn't wish to become a bloodthirsty individual, Krune welcomed the change, turning more and more into his usual self as time passed. 

Like an island that was sinking, the Checkpoint Turtle retreated deep into the waters, disappearing from view the moment it sunk to a depth beyond 10 meters from the surface. As the light couldn't reach beyond that, its figure had vanished in the darkness. 

In the meantime, all the people on its top scrambled to their respective boats or whatever that floated, alarmed at the chaos that would result. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few people that didn't have anything to rely on to float on the ocean waters. 

As for such people, they sprinted towards any vacant boats they saw to row with it first. After all, they couldn't fight in the presence of the Checkpoint Turtle. If they did, the Checkpoint Turtle would punish them.

Just the sheer presence it exuded was enough to suffocate them, not to mention when it attacked them. So, that was the reason no one tried anything while it was there. But, the moment it vanished, it was a free for all battle.

Krune noticed a group of people jump into a boat and begin fighting with each other as they tried to push others out into the water. Some of them flailed whatever piece of bone they used as a weapon to injure their opponents. 

Among them, quite a few had been eyeing Krune's massive boat. Considering its size, more than ten people could seat themselves on one side. On top of that, there were two sides to take a seat, so it was sizeable property.

Upon seeing a group of people swim towards his boat, Krune glanced at Stinker and the group, noticing that they had three boats. Two people sat on each while the three boats were connected to the carcass of a rather large fish. Seated on the fish were the remaining four people. 

They had used the tough nerves of the fish to create a rope and harnessed its carcass to the three boats. Due to the healing properties in the water, the rope wouldn't even snap from wear and tear as its damage would be healed constantly. Krune noticed that Strinker's group was observing his actions. If he failed to show any strength worthy of his large property, it seemed they also planned to take control of his boat.

Krune then looked back at the group swimming towards his boat, facing his palm towards them as he unleashed his Neon Radiance, causing them to flinch as they shouted.

"Ack!"

"My eyes!"

"It burns!"

They hurriedly opened their eyes while underwater, surfacing after a couple of seconds as they had completely recovered. Though, when they tried to swim towards Krune, the Neon Radiance struck their eyes once again. 

Even though Krune didn't use the Ocean Heart, with the improvement in his physique, the intensity of his Neon Radiance was harmful to the eyes, especially since the surroundings were dimming as the night approached. 

So, the potency of his ability was great. Every time they tried to approach his boat, Krune caused them to flinch and cover their eyes in pain. Even though they weren't injured, they were unable to close in on Krune.

Seeing the scene, and especially the ability Krune displayed, Strinker and his group shuddered. There was slight fear in his eyes as Strinker gazed at Krune, stuttering, "N-Neon Radiance?"