Krune took in a deep breath, feeling the changes in his physique as he noticed the currents that were forming in the water in the tub. As he thought about it more, ripples formed on the water, lifting his body a little.
At the same time, the Seamstress observed the changes, expressing her delight as she said, "This is…stronger. Moving Ripple? Has it changed anyhow?"
"We can only test it to find out." Krune nodded as he jumped into the water, noticing a ripple form the very moment his feet touched the water surface. For a moment, he felt like he could use the propulsion from the water to not enter it.
'This is amazing. I can breathe almost on the same level as Underwater Breathing. If I stay still, I can remain underwater without any difficulties for as long as I want., Krune thought, creating water currents around himself that propelled him forward, immediately expressing his surprise as he muttered inwardly, 'The speed is at least 1.5 times faster than before.'
After swimming through the water for some time, Krune leaped into the air, heading into the ocean above as he swam through it. He leaped like that for some more times before he landed on the ocean water, increasing the propulsion the water generated around his legs, but this time, aiming it towards himself.
"Woah!" Krune exclaimed as he looked around, standing atop the water. Even though the feeling was like he was stuck in wet mud, it was still amazing that he could stand on top of the water. Krune looked below, seeing that he was submerged until his ankle.
He then used his right leg, taking a step forward to find his leg sinking until the knee. But a second later, the water currents pushed his leg upwards, only keeping the part below the ankle underwater.
At present, it wasn't even possible for him to walk properly before he would fall into the water. But, upon seeing the extent where he could train and develop himself, Krune began to get excited. He carefully began to step on the water, getting used to the propulsion his legs were subjected to.
He noticed that when he pressed down on the water surface, a ripple was created to disperse his weight. The water pushed on his feet, using its force to cancel out his weight, thereby keeping him on the surface.
Once he understood the basic concept, Krune continued to train for the entire day, finally calling it a day once he got tired. Only then did he notice the Seamstress jumping to and fro the two ocean layers, using both oceans as a platform of sorts.
Upon noticing his gaze, she smiled, kicking into the water as her body flashed towards Krune, shocking him. But, just when he planned to defend himself, the Seamstress lost her footing, drowning in the water.
She soon surfaced, laughing. "Ahhh, I was close to executing it correctly."
"It's still the first day," Krune said as he helped her get up. "This is better than what I bargained for."
"True." The Seamstress nodded, "It also helps me fight faster. Unlike Moving Water, I can use this ability to accelerate faster. It has great uses in battle."
"I guess we're more or less prepared to face the pirates," Krune said. "Though, it might have been better if we had a couple more allies."
"We can look for more allies as we chase after the pirate ship then," the Seamstress said as she whistled, causing two of the four Motor Fishes to begin propelling the boat forward. All four of the Motor Fishes had reached Mutant status.
Unless they were fed a massive fruit, this was their limit. The only other possibility was to feed them the bone tree fruits daily and hope they would eventually surpass their limits over time.
Nevertheless, their current level was more than enough for Krune. Any stronger, and there was a good chance they could no longer be controlled. Boarding their boat, they gave chase.
Krune took out a bottle containing the healing extract, feeding it to the baby, seeing that it was growing at a steady pace over the past few months. At present, the baby was able to make cute sounds and walk wobbly.
In their free time, the two played with the baby when realization hit them, causing them to look at the faces of one another and say in unison, "The baby has no name!"
"How come I missed such a chance?" Krune patted his forehead, immediately thinking of a great name as he opened his mouth, about to say it when the Seamstress shut him up. Having lived together for almost a year, the two had gotten quite close. "Don't make him hate you for the rest of his life." The Seamstress glared at him as she stared at him with calm composure, "Your naming skills are abysmal."
It felt like Krune had suffered from a heart attack as he sulked in one corner. The Seamstress looked at the baby, observing his bright personality. Having heard of Krune's encounter with him, and having observed him over the months, she knew that the baby had a hardened nature.
Though, despite suffering much as an infant, the baby still had a bright personality, having a smile filled with laughter throughout the day. As she played with him, the Seamstress she spoke after a long time" "Since you're the first ray of life in this sub-realm, I'll call you Solare."
"That's...a name..." Krune looked at the Seamstress for a while before nodding. "Sounds good. We'll call him Solare from now onward."
Krune then played with Solare after that while the Seamstress was resting, seated in a tub of water as she was meditating, observing the ins and outs of her new passive ability. She then frowned all of a sudden, shooting her eyes open as she said, "This is strange."
"What's strange?" Krune frowned.
"We have been traveling for almost a day now, but I can't sense that the distance between us and the pirate ship has reduced. In fact, I feel like the distance between us has increased." She massaged her forehead, feeling irritated.
"Are they moving while making use of a lot of Motor Fishes? The generated currents are immensely powerful with a lot of them, right?" Krune thought as he spoke.
"That is true, but why?" the Seamstress muttered, gazing at Solare as she muttered to herself, "Have they given up entirely on Solare?"
"Fighting the two is too risky for them," Krune said as he frowned. His voice then turned solemn as he continued, "But, it seems they have higher priorities, no?"
"Let's continue giving chase," the Seamstress said as Krune nodded. Among their four Motor Fishes, two took charge of moving the boat in half-day shifts. This way, they kept moving nonstop. Moreover, no matter what, the bone trees continued to supply them with enough fruits for their needs.
As for Krune and the Seamstress, they occasionally stopped in places where a lot of fishes were close to the surface and fished them quickly using the nets. They then proceeded with the chase.
Days passed in such a fashion before Krune muttered, "It has already been a year. I can feel something drawing my focus."
"That should be the Checkpoint Turtle. I can feel it as well." The Seamstress nodded as she sighed" "Until now, we have been unable to close in on the pirate ship."
"There is no other choice, then." Krune nodded as he suggested, "Let's give up on them and focus on heading to the upper layer."
"You're right on that one." The Seamstress nodded before asking him, "Do you have any plans?"
"I've already visited a Primary Landmass before. I am confident of accumulating all 15 Godly Points there now, as long as the place isn't too unsuitable to my abilities" Krune nodded, looking at the Paddle before continuing, "Also, I figured out a method that can be used to take this boat with me while heading there."
"But." He looked at Solare before adding, "We can't leave him behind. No matter what, since his mother handed him to me, he's now part of my responsibilities."
"Alright." The Seamstress nodded, suggesting, "Then, instead of heading to a Primary Landmass, we'll head to a Secondary Landmass together. Three people can head into one at the same time. This way, we can protect one another and harvest points faster."
"But, I only have 7 Godly Points with me right now," Krune said. "I can't buy a ticket to a Secondary Landmass. And besides, one ticket costs 15 Godly Points. Three tickets cost 45 Godly Points. And the total amount of Godly Points you can obtain from it are 45 as well. So, we would only be wasting our time there."
"That is true, but..." The Seamstress smiled as she shot a glance at the cupboard where the bone tree fruits were. "Will it really be a waste of time?"
"Hah!" Krune flashed her a thumbs-up as he agreed. "Indeed. If we do it right, we can profit a lot from the place. Plus, the Secondary Landmass has a radius of 150 kilometers. It's huge."
As the boat headed towards the nearest Checkpoint Turtle, the Seamstress spoke, "I'll buy the three tickets. So, the first 45 Godly Points are mine. We'll split the profits after that."
"Perfectly fine by me." Krune laughed as he looked around, noticing that they were the first to arrive at the Checkpoint Turtle. The Seamstress quickly entered the entrance in the shell, purchased the three tickets and exited.
She then looked at Krune and asked, "Do we have enough Water Essence for emergencies? I think we have enough."
"Yes." Krune nodded, also noting that he had stocked up to the limit on food and water. The three people then hugged each other while holding the boat, ripping apart the three tickets. Not long after, they vanished from the scene.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om