Secrets in the Ocean

Under the call of the Abigail Flower.

Two enormous insects joined the tribe.

At first.

Many people felt extraordinary fear and unease toward such colossal creatures.

"Don't be afraid."

"They too are servants who serve the Messengers of the Gods."

Boer actively stood beneath the giant insect, his expression filled with piety.

But even though people knew they were servants created by the Messenger of the Gods and would not threaten the tribe, just like the Rot Spirit Insects.

The suffocating terror brought on by their overwhelming size was a physiological response difficult to eliminate.

Especially the Bobbit Worm on land, whose massive frame was in no way inferior to the giant Hermit Crab from the sea.

Under the reassurance of Ned and Boer.

The tribe gradually came to accept such enormous insects.

Through Ned's narration, people also learned the names and corresponding powers of these two types of divine servants.

The Shell Insect and the Bobbit Worm.

They corresponded to the ocean and the land respectively.

The Shell Insect could roam freely in the sea, while the Bobbit Worm could easily bore through hard rock.

After much deliberation.

Ned came before the Abigail Flower to seek guidance.

When he saw a group of ants crawl past.

Forming a pattern of characters established by the people, his expression immediately brightened.

After kneeling in worship to the Abigail Flower, Ned gave the brand corresponding to the Bobbit Worm to his younger brother, Boer.

He himself kept the brand symbolizing the Shell Insect of the ocean.

One brand allowed him to control at most one such giant insect.

These two insects soon displayed their unique powers before the people.

On the calm sea surface, ripples surged one after another.

Ned stood on the shore, raised the Rot Spirit Staff under the gaze of his tribesmen.

"Splash!"

White waves erupted.

The Shell Insect, bursting out from the sea surface, briefly formed an arched bridge over the water, stirred up patches of spray, then dove back under the white waves and quickly vanished without a trace.

In the distance, it reappeared on the sea surface.

"It swam over there!"

The people, craning their necks, turned left to look, marveling at its fish-like swimming speed.

But before they could catch sight of it.

The Shell Insect popped up again on the right side of the sea.

"It's over here now!"

Everyone's heads hurriedly turned to the right.

The tribe's men, women, old, and young gathered by the great sea, their heads swaying left and right with the Shell Insect, watching this creature even more agile than a fish.

No matter how many times they saw it.

They were always amazed by this being that could roam the ocean.

Such was the power of the creatures created by the gods.

While Ned controlled his own Shell Insect to roam the sea surface, learning to master it better.

The other two Shell Insects also returned from the ocean.

Breaking through the waves, they spat out treasures from the sea under the sunlight, dumping them onto the sandy beach.

These creatures that shuttled through the sea brought back unexpected surprises to the tribe every time they returned.

Sometimes.

It was a [Sea Clam] containing beautiful pearls.

Other times, it was the hard shell of a dead [Giant Sea Turtle].

Such large and sturdy turtle shells were excellent materials for carving [characters].

They were more durable than ordinary leaves or hemp paper, easier to carve than stone, and possessed a certain hardness for preservation.

"Praise the gods!"

"This pearl is exquisite—it would be perfect for adorning the temple of the gods."

"This tortoise shell is enormous too. How large must the original sea turtle have been?"

"Speaking of which, what do Shell Insects eat? Next time, I'll bring a few Brown Rats as an offering and see."

After the tribesmen departed.

Ned remained alone on the shore.

He stroked the Shell Insect's back shell, gleaming under the sunlight, savoring the lingering sensations of the ocean that remained in the Shell Insect's memories.

"O God, the creatures You have created are so wondrous. Even the great sea can be conquered with ease."

"Will we one day be able to see the outside world with our own eyes?"

Ned murmured to himself.

It wasn't just him.

This creature bestowed by the gods, roaming freely in the ocean, had thoroughly ignited the desire for the sea in many within the tribe.

Especially among the first Artisans who had built boats.

Such scenes filled them with Inspire, reawakening the long-dormant urge to construct vessels and explore the ocean.

In the forest.

The light of the Abigail Flower flickered continuously.

Mona listened quietly as the Abigail Flower recounted what its vassal had discovered in the sea.

Though the Shell Insect was not a purely marine animal.

It needed to surface periodically for oxygen, lay eggs, and bask its shell on dry land.

Still, it had explored a stretch of the nearby sea and reaped some rewards.

Although the Shell Insect had found no islands in the shallower waters, it had discovered two young Hermit Crabs.

Under the Abigail Flower's command.

The Shell Insect had slaughtered the last remnants of the Hermit Crabs in that sea area and, following the trail, located their nest.

It was a coral reef on the seabed.

A massive Nautilus dwelled within.

Inside them lay several Hermit Crab eggs.

Fossils of ancient creatures were buried in that coral reef.

The Abigail Flower controlled the Shell Insect, using its sharp claws to dig out the fossils.

It brought both the fossils and the Hermit Crab eggs back before the god.

Mona's hand gently touched one of the fossils.

From the shape of the fossil's remnants, it was clearly an ancestor of the Hermit Crab.

After savoring the faint fragments of life structure left in a few fossils and comparing them repeatedly, he confirmed some of his earlier conjectures.

This race of Hermit Crabs.

Had undergone a collective, violent mutation a thousand years ago.

It seemed that very mutation had caused their bodies to swell rapidly.

Their life structure and even their instincts had undergone some peculiar transformation, turning them into ferocious monsters exceptionally sensitive to humans and certain stimuli.

Such a mutation.

Had clearly been deliberately influenced by some force.

Mona's gaze turned toward the sea.

He pondered silently.

To this world.

He was always an outsider.

In this world.

Nothing was known for certain.

And precisely because of that, everything was filled with novelty.

It was by slowly savoring this precious novelty that he could resist the eternal loneliness in the river of time.

In this game of civilization.

He spent most of his time playing the role of an observer.

Neither rushing the development of everything.

Nor deliberately obstructing anything.

Only pushing forward or erasing certain factors when appropriate or necessary.

However.

Upon his initial descent, the unknown nature of this world had also led him to ponder a question:

The uniqueness of gods.

As a former materialist.

Mona's definition of gods.

Actually had a rather strict classification.

This also stemmed from his contemplation of "himself."

He divided "divine beings" at their root into three types.

The first type were those that had not transcended the existence of life.

They had not escaped the concept of life.

At best, they were merely a more powerful lifeform.

Like the gods depicted in some myths from his past life.

They aged, and they died.

But in the eyes of ordinary life.

They were still existences too powerful to comprehend, and were worshipped as gods.

The second type.

Had transcended life, but not the concept of matter.

Though already powerful enough to rival myths, they remained confined to matter and rules.

They might indeed be free from aging, but such existences could still possibly die.

Finally.

There were beings like himself.

Who had surpassed the river of time and the existence of matter.

Although this world was unknown.

Mona could be certain.

At the very least, a "god" like him.

Did not currently exist in this ocean.

After all, if one truly did exist.

With such immense power at such a close distance, he would inevitably be able to sense it.

However.

Whether traces of the first two types of existences had ever appeared in this ocean.

All of that remained unknown for now.

But at present, since civilization already possessed a certain level of ability and desire, and the Abigail Flower had begun to grow.

It was time for civilization to go out and take a look at this world.