A Treasure Hill Could Barely Handle

Hill wanted to know what made those silverfish worth so much effort to the narwhal family.

After all, they had to swim half an hour each day to feed in a current far from the iceberg, then return to take turns ramming it. Yet not one whale considered giving up the work.

Hill kept his strength in check and rammed the iceberg now and then alongside his whale friend. He tried to match his friend's force, but still earned praise from the pod's leader.

Apparently, they had expected Hill to come along for a free meal. The leader seemed especially pleased to discover he could work.

After three more days of taking turns at it, a great crack opened at the bottom of the iceberg, and countless silverfish poured out.

Hill swiftly collected over a hundred, then stopped. Among other things, the aquatic ecosystem in his pendant was remarkably complete; Aglaia had refined it when she was bored.

If these silverfish could survive in the sea, they would certainly survive in his pendant.

What surprised him even more was that the water flowing out of the iceberg with the silverfish was fresh.

Hill watched some older silverfish leap desperately to escape. Could these fish live in both fresh and salt water?

Or did they migrate into the iceberg like salmon to lay and hatch their eggs, then wait for the whales to break it open so they could return to the sea?

Did they trade their delicious flesh for the survival of their kind?

Hill could no longer contain his curiosity. He had to see what was inside the iceberg.

The seemingly endless stream of silverfish kept flowing out, but only a few exceptionally agile ones in the first wave escaped. The wily older fish had stayed in the middle