Is That A Wisp?

Two years since he arrived at the Secondary Landmass, Krune arrived at the bottom of the rock pillar, reaching the ground. Creating a hole for his exit, he peeked out, taking a look at his surroundings. 

What he saw through his sight and his Sonic Radar startled him. There was only one monster species in the place, which seemed to go through two stages of life: the pupa and the adult stage. 

An adult laid down eggs at the banks of the river. Upon hatching, the hatchling entered the river water, feeding on the tiny organisms living within the pores of the coral reef at the bottom. This seemed to be their prime mode of food. 

In any case, the coral reef was vast, spanning the banks of the entire river. Since the river was two kilometers wide, it was massive, stretching for the entire length of the meandering river that spanned from one end to the other of the 300-kilometer-long island. 

The depth seemed to average around 300 meters, with some shallow and deeper sections. The larvae were no different from simple worms. After feeding on the organisms in the coral reef, they quickly grew into pupa within a month. 

This was the stage they spent most of their life at. The pupa was almost shaped like a frog, capable of swimming in the river. Sometimes, they would feed on the larvae. But oftentimes, they would leave the river water to hunt for food.

Possessing bodies that were around two meters in height, they possessed strong legs that allowed them to jump to a height of ten meters. Their strongest trait was their tongue, which was able to extend to a length of fifty meters. 

It was such a tremendous distance that they were fearsome opponents. They didn't have any toxin on their skin, but their tongue seemed to contain a certain neurotoxin that caused numbness to the creatures they attacked. 

Then again, there was just one creature on the land, their adult counterpart. Their adult version was bigger, spanning a height of two meters. But, their wingspan was five meters, making them seem bigger than their pupa version. 

They were the target of the pupae. Possessing a stinger on their abdomen, they were hunters of the sky, capable of flying at tremendous speeds using their buzzing wings that resembled a mosquito's. 

Nevertheless, they primarily fed on the nectar produced by the overgrown flowers of the region that spanned a meter in diameter. Once they had their fill, they latched onto the rock pillars to rest, positioned at a height above 60 meters, beyond the reach of the pupae. 

The pupae and the adults often clashed. After all, when they had to feed on the flower nectar, the adult versions had to move within the range of reach of the pupae. So every time this happened, a bloody battle ensued forth. 

As for the adults, they laid eggs every three months. They usually laid enough to completely fill up the banks of the river. During the time they laid their eggs, they weren't attacked by the pupae, nor were the eggs targeted. 

But once the process was done, the pupae and the adults were fair game to one another. In any case, it seemed cannibalism was the most prime means for them to satiate their fill. It may be because the stronger a pupae became, the more powerful it was when turning into an adult. 

Then again, most pupae would begin the evolution process the moment they obtained enough to achieve it. So, the power level difference between a pupa and an adult wasn't too high. 

'There should be 15 Kings and 30 mutated monsters here,' Krune thought, seeing a group of pupae leap around as their tongues shot forth, latching onto the wings of the adults. At least three targeted an adult, preventing it from escaping easily. 

Their tongues had a powerful adhesive that latched onto their targets. On top of that, the tremendous tension and spring-like capabilities it possessed allowed them to recall their targets swiftly. 

This caused a lot of damage to their foes. Though, when a pupa opened its mouth, Krune noticed that in the deeper sections of its throat were multiple rows of teeth that clamped one after another like a meat grinder. 

Just a glance at it was enough to churn his stomach and make him wish to puke. This was already considering he was used to crazy levels of gore by now. 

Krune observed for a long time as he fully understood the dynamics of the place. He also understood the reason they never left the cloud layer in the first place. It was because the cloud layer contained a certain substance that was capable of melting their wings. 

So, if they passed through it, their wings would melt, and they would soon fall to their deaths. With that, they had no way of escaping the place. Though, they didn't have any reason to do so. After all, the place was tremendously huge. 

In any case, they were self-sustained. After all, they never had any lack of food in the place. They had plenty of prey in any direction they turned. So, the thought of leaving the place never hit them. There was an overabundance of resources in the place.

Since they had a cannibalistic nature and a tremendous fertility rate, they never ran out of food. 

"How's the situation?" the Seamstress asked as she slowly descended to the ground, lodging platforms into the inner side of the rock pillar. The hole Krune dug had a radius of three meters, a reason it had taken him a lot of time, even though he was assisted by the Ocean Heart throughout it. 

And among it, the Seamstress had been lodging steps into the inner side so that they could use it to descend and ascend. As she was using her coral to do so, it took some time. But, since it also took time for Krune to dig through it, she was able to keep up the pace. 

Moreover, this was only one method of descending. The second was the pulley mechanism they had installed in the place. It allowed them to descend vertically and ascend accordingly. 

Moreover, on one side of the pulley was a large bucket where they could stand inside. It had enough space for them to haul any carcass of the monster's kills. On the other end of the rope was a heavy piece of coral that weighed the same as the weight of Krune and the bucket combined. 

This way, they wouldn't have to waste too much energy hauling themselves to the top every time. Well, Krune considered it as a form of training for his arms and hips. Not to mention that there was a gear and locking mechanism in the bucket that they could use. 

Its prime mechanism was to allow them a smooth travel up and down, controlling the speed of ascent and descent. It also had a braking mechanism and a locking mechanism. This way, they could take breaks in between while traversing up with prey. 

The space in the ground had also been widened to act as their ground base, allowing them to store some necessities in the area. They hadn't installed any necessities in the place yet, but it would be done soon enough. 

Krune explained everything he had observed for almost half a day to the Seamstress, who nodded in response to everything he said. Then, she proposed a deal as she said, "Let's take turns to hunt. While you hunt, I'll rest here with Solare. This way, I'll be able to hurry to your rescue when necessary. You can do the same while I hunt. And once we finish our hunt, we'll return to the top. Let's spend two days at the top and another two at the bottom."

"Right." Krune nodded."This way, we can keep up with everything in a timely manner."

He then thought something and asked, "So, what's the plan? How do you plan to farm Godly Points?"

"How strong is a mutated monster?" the Seamstress inquired.

"Plenty strong, probably the strongest Mutated species we might ever face," Krune said with a solemn expression, pointing at a certain pupa that had surfaced from the river water, "It seems to be the overlord of this territory. From time to time, it would surface to hunt."

And right as he explained, the mutated pupa leaped out of the water and landed on the ground, showing off its size. It had a height of four meters. From the looks of it, it seemed capable of jumping to a height of 15 meters while its tongue could shoot up to a length of 75 meters. 

Every jump of it was accompanied by a thunderous thump as it landed. And it alone was able to kill an adult with a flick of its tongue. When the tongue of others landed on the adult, it only stuck to their wings. 

But the tongue of the mutated pupa directly pierced their wings, displaying the sheer power it possessed. Upon seeing it, Krune shuddered for a moment as he said, "We'll easily be thrown off from its power. Unlike the Mutated Monster Gecko I faced before, all the mutated pupa's strength is focused on its legs and tongue. So, its attacks are too strong. Even though its weaknesses are equally glaring, the problem is the range."

"Then, hunting these creatures should only be a test of our strength, to see how far we've grown," the Seamstress said after thinking for a long time, gazing out, "Our priority should be obtaining Godly Points, and not risking our lives needlessly. So…"

Krune nodded, gazing at the shore that was situated quite near to them. "We should steal the eggs. Let's experiment with them and produce enough mutated pupae."

"That's my plan as well." The Seamstress nodded, then looked out, asking, "The question is, how do we obtain enough eggs without alerting them? There are too many monsters nearby. It would be pretty risky. And, once they are alerted of our position, they would be focused on our entrance, preventing us from exiting this place ever again."

"If that happens, we would have no choice but to dig another path in a far-away rock pillar. But...." Krune smiled as he said, "I have a plan against that."