Chapter 544: Sea Bug
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Han Sen had always needed a hyper geno art for underwater fighting. To fight in the water was completely different to fighting on land. The effects of water pressure and resistances were considerable. The shift in the effectiveness of certain land hyper geno arts to how they performed in the water likewise very acute.
Han Sen had many S-Class licenses of the Saint Hall, so spending one more did not concern him much. And now here he was, arriving in the Saint Hall to purchase an additional hyper geno art.
Humans found it hard to hunt creatures in the water, so there were not many underwater-based hyper geno art to select from. Han Sen’s choices were strictly limited.
Out of the eight underwater ones available, he picked one S-Class licensed hyper geno art. He did not dwell on the purchase too much, and quickly bought it outright.
Han Sen had picked the S-Class licensed hyper geno art called "Tide". It was a water-based skill that allowed its user to draw power from the surrounding water itself and so amplify their own powers.
Although it did not sound particularly special, Tide’s amplified power was nothing to be sniffy about.
After he drank the exclusive geno solution for Tide, Han Sen returned to the shelter and drove the Crystal Palace into the sea so he could practice his new ability.
Han Sen spent most of his time practicing Tide, but for the Dongxuan Sutra, he decided to only practice one cycle each day. That practice itself only took two minutes.
This wasn’t because Han Sen did not want to continue - it was because after one cycle, his body was already filled to the brim with power. Practicing further would not deliver any more benefits.
Han Sen guessed it was because his body had not yet reached the status of a Celestial Being. There was a limit to how much his body could take.
There was a further natural benefit from Han Sen practicing Tide. Ordinary evolvers could not breathe underwater, which made it impossible for them to dive and explore the deep sea. Their inability to breathe underwater was an extreme handicap for any of their sea-bound ventures.
But now Han Sen was free to explore and practice within the deep sea as much as he wanted. He was not unlike a yaksha, forming ripples and waves across the sea. His swimming speed had increased a great deal, and he could have been mistaken for a creature that had been born and lived in the sea all its life.
"Not bad. Not bad. Although I can’t yet perform my skills and abilities as well as I do on land, 80% of my power now translates to my talents in the water. I will be able to battle sacred-blood creatures now." Han Sen was tremendously excited about his rising powers.
The rate at which Han Sen could learn and effectively utilize Tide was exponentially faster than he had predicted. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had learnt the Dongxuan Sutra, but whenever he was in the water now, he felt no resistance. He was like a water fairy.
"I need to find a sacred-blood creature out in the sea, so I can test my abilities on it." Han Sen’s exhilaration was unbridled. Recently, he has taken to eating the flesh of various mutant creatures, which led to his mutant geno points increasing a good deal, but his sacred geno points had been at a stand-still.
Han Sen drove the Crystal Palace deep underwater in the hopes of finding a solo sacred-blood creature. He would also have to find one with a head that wasn’t too large, otherwise he would not be able to eat it.
"Why do the creatures beneath the sea have such big heads?" Han Sen caught sight of a sea monster that looked not unlike a dragon, with a body that was over a hundred meters long. It swam dangerously close past the Crystal Palace, which made Han Sen gulp.
The views one could observe down in the deep sea were astoundingly beautiful, fascinating and otherworldly. A large band of sea bugs now caught Han Sen’s attention, and they shone purple as they winded their course across the seabed.
"What are these little creatures?" Han Sen watched the football-sized sea bugs through the windows of the Crystal Palace with great curiosity.
They rather resembled sea urchins. They had circular bodies that had numerous thorny spikes which emitted light. It was quite beautiful to see them shining so.
But after what occurred with the red-demon jellyfish, Han Sen was not willing to underestimate any creature that lived beneath the sea. There were many thousands of those sea bugs, and until he learnt more about the powers each possessed, he wasn’t willing to blindly venture out and start attacking.
He summoned the golden rock worm king and suited it up in armor. The golden rock worm king’s defenses were now almost up to the level of a sacred-blood creature hailing from the Second Shelter. This was the perfect opportunity to test out its abilities and resiliencies.
If they were to meet a sacred-blood creature out there, the golden rock worm king was definitely sturdy enough not to die too quickly. Han Sen could have the golden rock worm king retreat whenever he chose.
The golden rock worm king had its battle mode initiated, and it dove out into the dark waters.
Before it could get close to the sea bugs, the target of its venture had already taken heed of its approach. The spikes that shone purple now discharged a violet solution of some sort. All of a sudden, the water of the area became a thick and murky purple.
When the golden rock worm king touched this purple emulsion, the super pet armor corroded instantly. Understanding what has happening, Han Sen quickly recalled the golden rock worm king.
"Whoa, those are some powerful sea bugs!" Han Sen summoned his own armor and glyph, and then reached out to touch the purple liquid himself. Fortunately, the purple fluids could not corrode his own armor.
Han Sen did not hesitate. He jumped into the water and swam directly through the murky compound. He was almost like a shark, homing in on the urchin-looking sea bugs.
The sea bugs seemed to feel even more threatened, and so they squirted out more of their corrosive purple toxin. The water began turning black and Han Sen struggled to see anything.
Luckily, he could outpace the sea bugs he was after. He sprinted in front of one and quickly waved his ghost-pawed claws to kill it.
"Mutant Creature Hunted: Poison-Spike Sea Bug. The beast soul was not acquired. Consume its flesh to obtain a random amount of mutant geno points, between zero and ten."
Han Sen was shocked. If the sea bugs were mutant creatures, that meant there was a many thousands of them in front of him.
It was rare to see so many mutant creatures together on land. The value of what he had stumbled onto was difficult to comprehend.
Consumed with excitement, Han Sen was overwhelmed at the number of mutant creatures he could now freely hunt. The likelihood of obtaining the beast soul of a sea bug was all but guaranteed, as a beast soul was sure to drop from the thousands of mutant creatures that stretched out before him.
Han Sen immediately swam out to kill as many sea bugs as he could. Like a swarm of angry wasps, they all tried to spray their toxic liquid to deter their attacker. As he came near, they also tried to put their thorns into him directly.
Under the buff provided by the double Berserk sacred blood beast soul, the mutant sea bugs had no chance of piercing his golden armor. Their poison was useless against him. Han Sen casually attacked and slew a fair number of sea bugs.
But the poison-spike sea bugs had their own form of intelligence. After Han Sen had killed a dozen of them, they noticed their inability to compete their hunter, and they all tried to escape. Panicking, they tried to swim as far away from Han Sen as they could.
Han Sen had not yet acquired the beast soul he was looking for, so he was not planning on letting them get away so easily. He fervently chased them, and fiercely swung his ghost-pawed claws. With each swing, the satisfying sound of a fresh kill struck his eardrums.
"Mutant Creature Hunted: Poison-Spike Sea Bug. The beast soul has been acquired. Consume its flesh to obtain a random numeric amount of mutant geno points, between zero and ten."
Han Sen’s heart was delighted at obtaining a new beast soul. He tried to push his luck and kill a few more to collect another, but in the corner of his vision he saw a giant poison-spike sea bug headed in his direction.
This sea bug was like a hot-air balloon, and it shone out of the darkness of the sea like a renegade neutron star. Its brightness made it impossible for Han Sen to open his eyes at all.