Is That A Wisp?

At first, it seemed like a waterfall. But in actuality, it was actually a river traversing a gentle slope. It traversed along the walls of the Tertiary Landmass, making a spiral spanning ten kilometers in diameter until it reached the bottom, connecting to a lake. 

As for the water quantity, there seemed to be an outlet like a selectively permeable membrane similar to the one in his Secondary Landmass that sent out the excess water into the ocean. This way, it prevented the Tertiary Landmass from drowning. 

The water currents were slow. As the slope was gentle, his ship moved at a slow pace. Krune sat on the ship and used the opportunity to look at the Tertiary Landmass, admiring the breath-taking view. 

There was a sea of clouds at the top that were constantly moving, showering rain at times. Then again, not all clouds were rain clouds. There were clouds that simply emitted sunlight, keeping the place bright. 

There were quite a few mountains and mountain ranges. After all, the ground surface was located 10 kilometers from the ocean above. So, it created stellar biodiversity in the place. 

"Gehen really picked one heck of a place." The Seamstress gawked, looking around with widened eyes. As a mortal, something of such a scale was definitely a sight to behold.

As for Solare, he was pretty much overwhelmed by everything. The sheer people and the ships forming a line before and after them already caused him to become super excited. 

"There…are so many humans," Solare exclaimed. 

It took them half a day before they managed to reach the bottom. While a kilometer above the ground, Krune noticed a river traversing over the landmass, possibly heading to another end as he saw how all the docking ships headed in that direction after they were done with their business. 'The way to leave this Landmass is probably there.'

Once their ship reached the lake at the bottom, Strinker brought his boat nearby, speaking, "Please follow me. The Royal Capital is 150 kilometers away."

"Alright." Krune nodded, making a signal for the Motor Fish Emperors to move. Upon seeing that they were able to follow easily, Strinker increased the speed of his boat to the maximum. 

Solare looked at the port city that was bustling with activity as goods of various types were being transported by people. The sheer level of activity made Solare enthusiastic. Upon seeing his reactions, Krune and the Seamstress made eye contact once, feeling that their decision to leave him behind was for the best. 

He had yet to witness anything of human civilization. 

Strinker glanced at Solare once, thinking to himself, 'Is he…that baby the pirates were chasing after back then? To think he has grown to become a young man now. How time flies.'

It was evening by the time they reached the Royal Capital. And when they arrived, a separate channel maintained for the exclusive use of the Emperor was opened, causing the citizens to gaze at the ship in shock, soon gazing at the three individuals seated above it.

"Why are they using the Emperor's personal water channel?"

"Just…who are they?"

As they wondered, Krune's boat traveled through the channel and soon arrived at the side entrance of the castle. A group of people adorned in armor were stationed at the place. They respectfully escorted the three upon arrival. 

Before leaving, Krune shot Strinker a look and told him, "Take care of our ship. It took me a lot of effort to build this one."

"You can bet my life on it," Strinker replied with a subservient bow, causing Krune to stare at him in shock. He realized that Strinker was actually speaking in a humble tone. All traces of his earlier persona had vanished. 

'It seems that Gehen has a tight reign on everyone here.' Krune nodded as the soldiers escorted him through a sprawling hallway where people dressed as dignitaries walked around as their respective servants followed them, carrying around scrolls full of information. 

Everything looked new to the eyes of Krune since he knew this so-called empire had only been recently established. But, judging by the stares of the people, it made everything seem like the empire had already existed for a couple centuries as people were used to the lifestyle. 

Even Krune was unable to determine how something of such a scale had been so seamlessly put together. 'I guess I'll know soon enough.'

While they were walking through the palace, Solare was too overwhelmed by its sheer scale. With that, the Seamstress sighed as she looked at Strinker, pointing at Solare, saying, "I'll meet Gehen later. I'll show around this place to Solare for now."

For a moment, everyone stared at her frightened expression when she uttered Gehen's name. Nevertheless, the Seamstress didn't seem to care, knowing very well what she was and wasn't allowed to say. 

"Please allow me to show you around." A young boy in his seventeen arrived right when Strinker sported a flustered expression, looking at the Seamstress as he performed a gentle bow. 

"Alright." The Seamstress nodded with a cool expression as she and Solare accompanied the boy and looked around the place. 

Krune knew very well that the reason she had done so was to allow him some free time with Gehen. She didn't wish for Solare to learn about anything beyond necessary. As he was immature and had grown alone, he wasn't aware of logic, common sense, and many others along the line. So, her actions were to ensure he would have a good time settling in the place. 

Krune then smiled as he nodded at Strinker, prompting him to show the way to the throne room. Soon, they arrived before a massive double door that spanned 20 meters in height. The path until now spanned the same height, outlining the majestic structure of the palace. 

Strinker immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, signaling Krune's arrival, "Lord Krune is here!"

It did feel weird to see him addressed as such, though Krune didn't nit-pick for the time being, watching the double doors open to reveal a grand throne room. Strinker stood at the entrance, motioning for Krune to head inside. 

It did feel weird to see everyone standing in respectful stances at the entrance. Once he entered the room, the double doors closed with a loud thud, creating a gust of wind. At present, all the seats along the side were vacant. 

Seated on the throne was Gehen, currently the Emperor of the Turtle Empire, the first base of humanity in Layer 3. 

Upon seeing him, Krune raised his hand, speaking with a light tone, "Yo!"

Gehen let out a wry smile, descending down the stairs below the throne, walking towards Krune as he said, "I believe this is the first time we are meeting in person."

"Indeed." Krune nodded, sensing the suffocating pressure from Gehen as he thought, 'He's strong!'

A glance was enough for him to know that Gehen was close to achieving the status as a Supreme Monster. It was a stark contrast to Krune, who had barely entered the realm recently. If they fought right now, Krune would probably lose within a couple of rounds. And, this was in the case he used his Ocean Heart to the limit. 

So, it was apparent how strong Gehen was. He was very well the strongest human in Layer 3 now. 

"I apologize for scheming against you back then. You and the Seamstress were too much of a threat to my plans back then," Gehen expressed his apologies.

Krune waved his hands as he replied, "It's fine, actually. We don't even resent you for that. Rather, it gave us plenty of time to obtain everything we needed from here."

"Are you planning to head to Layer 2 now?" Gehen asked. 

"Yep." Krune nodded. "We'll just wait until a Checkpoint Turtle appears nearby."

"If that's the case, I have a deal to propose," Gehen said, glancing at Krune's expression to see that the other party was interested before continuing. "I am in communication with a city in Layer 2. It works somewhat like an oracle of sorts. But in actuality, we just chat using our tablets. I'll be able to send you to a city of your choice where you'll be treated as a hero that has been sent to rescue them."

"Is that the setting up there?" Krune frowned, feeling that it would be a pain to be treated as a hero. 

"Yes." Gehen nodded as he explained, "The seven kings before you too were also sent as heroes. Those without an active ability won't get this privilege. They would simply be dropped in random dangerous zones. If you don't intend to go as a hero, you would also be dropped in a random dangerous zone."

"Wait, you mentioned about cities…" Krune frowned as he thought about it. "Very few people should have gone up from here. So, how are cities even formed?"

"People have been transported to Layer 3, same as here. Though, the only difference is that they had been transported around a couple thousand years ago," Gehen explained. "So, they have formed their own culture there."

"Are there are perks in being a hero?" Krune asked. 

"There are no immediate perks, to be frank with you," Gehen replied. "But, you'll have better sources for resources. And, let me be brutally honest with you…"

He said with a solemn tone, "Those that went up without becoming heroes have died, all of them. Layer 2 is even more dangerous and resource-scarce compared to Layer 3."

"Is that why you decided to stay behind?" Krune asked.

"Not really. My plan was to remain here from the start. That's why I entered this Sub-Realm in the first place," Gehen answered. "I had to endure too much pressure from my family. Well, you can simply say that I turned tail from my responsibilities."

"Well, being an Emperor should be plenty annoying." Krune laughed. 

"Indeed." Gehen laughed alone. "Nevertheless, I chose this life. Plus, I do like the feeling that I'm shaping a path for humanity here. I'm getting addicted to this sense of purpose."

"Alright." Krune shrugged. "I'll pick being a hero. I'm also quite curious of what I will experience as one anyway."

He then beckoned for Gehen to follow him, "Since I'll be leaving this place, I thought of giving you some gifts as fellow active ability users."

"Gifts? But why, though?" Gehen was surprised. The fact that Krune didn't bear a grudge against him itself was a gift to him. But on top of that, Krune said that he was even giving him a gift. If he said he wasn't curious about it, he would be lying. 

Arriving at the boat, Krune detached the compartment at the back, dragging it back to the throne room as he opened it, showing the four Motor Fishes and four Tongue Fishes within as he explained, "These are my gifts to you. I upgraded the Motor Fishes beyond their natural limits. Now, when they reach adulthood, they would attain the Mutant status."

"Mutant status upon reaching adulthood?" Gehen inhaled a sharp breath of air.

Seeing his reaction, Krune smirked, intending to rile him up even further. "Also, if you keep them alive for long enough, there's a good chance they would become Kings."

"Kings?" Gehen exclaimed as his breathing grew ragged.

"Last but not least, even though it needs numerous conditions to be met, if you grow enough of them, one of them might reach the status of an Emperor, their natural limit," Krune said, watching Gehen pinch himself to see that he wasn't dreaming. 

Laughing, he showed the Tongue Fish as he continued, "They are more or less similar to the Motor Fish. But they can attack using their tongue. A Mutant's tongue reaches 50 meters in length, a King's reaches 75 meters in length, and an Emperor's reaches 100 meters in length. Moreover, this species is also as tamed as a Motor Fish."

After that, he threw a small box to Gehen, watching him catch it and open it to see a couple of seeds within. Krune then explained, "Rope Bush King seeds. These Rope Bushes have strong stems and threads that can be used for everything. They are what the Monster Geckos use in their fishing rods."

"How…do you know about them?" Gehen asked in surprise.

"Well..." Krune laughed awkwardly as he replied, "I was the reason they spilled out of their Primary Landmass in the first place. Anyways, these seeds would create a Rope Bush strong enough to be used in a Monster Gecko King's fishing rod.. Since I was the reason they have become dangerous, I hope you would use these three gifts of mine to protect humanity."