Chapter 1494: Fight Between a Fish and a Crab
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It wasn't easy, suffering that first barrage of lightning. It had damaged the Bulwark Umbrella, covering it in cracks. The crab, seeing that Han Sen was not dead, swung its pincers to provoke the eel more.
The eel became even angrier, and it fired an even greater discharge of lightning towards the crab.
Han Sen prepared himself, raising himself up from the crab's back. If he tried to weather the next attack, it wouldn't just be the umbrella that would be burned to cinders—Han Sen would be, too.
Han Sen simply took off from the crab's back. The crab whipped around, following Han Sen with its pincers to finish him off. But Han Sen transformed into the Alien Beast and became a scaleless white snake in the water. He dodged the crab's pincers.
The Alien Beast's body lent itself well to underwater maneuverability. Its speed in the water was far greater than Han Sen's natural body. Unfortunately, it still wasn't as fast as the crab.
Han Sen wasn't in a rush to flee just yet, however. He grabbed Bao'er and went to the side of the eel. The big crab caught up, really wanting to kill Han Sen. The eel thought the crab was actually coming after it, though. The lightning appeared once more, headed for the crab again.
Han Sen kept circling around the eel to stay out of harm's way, but the eel was getting angrier and angrier in its failed attacks against the crab. The lightning it expelled was getting stronger.
In the end, the eel became very infuriated. It spat out a ball of thunder that was as bright as a sun. It landed on the crab, prompting the crab's hair to stand on end. The creature's shell was wholly blackened.
The crab had been provoking the eel to kill Han Sen, but now that the eel had actually wounded the crab, the crab itself lost its temper with the eel. The crab quit chasing Han Sen and went for the eel instead.
Both of them fought there, beneath the sea. The seawater rolled like mad. Han Sen used this opportunity to return to the surface, shoot out of the water, and transform back into a human while airborne.
As Han Sen hung in the air, he saw major waves kicking up from the depths of the sea. The blue lightning in the water was lighting up their entire surroundings for some distance. Han Sen saw some gold light amidst it, too, which was the gold word on the crab's back: overbearing.
The two beasts were fighting like crazy, but Han Sen wasn't in a rush to leave. From his airborne position, he watched the two fight.
"D*mn crab! Don't let me find the opportunity to kill you." Han Sen watched them in the air, planning how he might execute a sneak-attack to kill the crab whenever the time was right.
After a while, Han Sen noticed that while the eel was strong, it still couldn't compete with the gold-patterned crab. It was at a disadvantage, and the situation was slowly getting worse for it.
"It is no wonder he provoked the eel. The creature is weaker than the crab itself." Han Sen was annoyed. He wanted to find the chance for an easy kill, but more than anything, he really just wanted to see the crab dead.
Seeing the cruel crab's face, Han Sen realized that even if the eel died, he wouldn't be able to get anything. If Han Sen didn't run, though, the crab would only return its attention to Han Sen once the battle with the eel was over.
Han Sen felt as if leaving now would be wasting an opportunity. So, he thought it over in his mind and decided to summon his Butterfly geno core and draw Taia. When he found his chance, he swung his red sword towards the crab.
But the red light did nothing to the creature. The water extinguished some of its power, unfortunately, and the attack did not even leave a light scratch on its back.
Han Sen didn't give up, though. He used his sword to attack the crab again, whenever he had the chance. He attacked it in a number of different spots, trying to expose a possible weakspot.
The results were disappointing, ultimately. No matter which region of its shell Han Sen struck, its edges or even its eyes, nothing seemed to deal damage.
"No way there's no weakspot. It there isn't, this thing could very well be invincible!" Han Sen frowned and returned to watch it.
The crab's pincers left a lot of marks and wounds on the eel, but the eel's body was very tough, almost as if it had been made out of diamond. There was no blood, and it was still able to remain upright in its fight against the crab.
The eel was damaged by the crab again. The eel retaliated by suddenly spitting lightning that went through the crab's eye. It pierced directly through its eyeball.
Han Sen was shocked. He looked at where the lightning hit and saw a diamond-tipped arrow that had been carried by electricity. It looked rather beautiful.
The crab, with its eye gouged by the lightning, let out a fierce squeal. Its pincer grabbed the diamond arrow and pulled it out. The pincer had been able to break a king spirit's super geno core, but it couldn't cut the arrow. The crab had no choice but to pull it out and just toss it into the sea.
The diamond arrow then flew back to the eel's mouth by its own volition. Then, then eel fired the same arrow out again, aiming for the crab's other eye.
The crab was visibly afraid of this diamond arrow. It stared at the arrow intently as the weapon flew towards it, then caught the arrow in mid-flight with its pincer. The crab didn't throw it away this time, though. He went to attack the eel with just one pincer, as his other remained occupied with clutching the arrow.
The diamond arrow was unable to get free, putting the eel at a disadvantage once more. The eel hadn't used the diamond arrow earlier because it hadn't thought the arrow would do anything to the crab. It was very difficult finding an opportunity in which it could strike the creature in its eye. But despite that one strike earlier, nothing seemed to change.
Han Sen noticed the crab had been blinded in one eye, though. It was bleeding.
"Strange. The crab should be able to heal rather swiftly. Why has the wound in its eye not healed yet? Is its healing ability simply slow? Or has the arrow stopped that?" Han Sen wondered.
Whatever the reason, Han Sen was given a dash of hope.
Han Sen took a thoughtful breath and dived into the water. He became a white snake before swimming down towards the crab. He watched underwater for a while, then found a chance in which he could land on the crab's back.
After landing down on the crab's back, Han Sen returned to his human form. He drew Taia and carefully crawled down beside the crab's eye.
The crab was fighting the eel, and it hadn't noticed Han Sen there. So, he was able to raise his sword. Taia, covered in the God geno core's red light, was plunged deep into the crab's wounded left eye.
The wounded eye's defense wasn't very strong. The red light pierced through it, and Taia sank almost entirely into the damaged left eye.
The crab was in agony, and it swung its pincers around in a mad bid to get Han Sen. But already, Han Sen had pulled the sword out and retreated to the spot on the creature's back where it was safe, and its claws couldn't get him.
The crab's eye was bleeding like mad, and it looked to be in very bad condition.
Chapter 1495: Berserk Super Beast Soul
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The crab was reeling in agony, and the tension in its pincers relaxed as a result. Because of this, the eel was able to recollect its diamond arrow. The eel had been bullied by the crab the whole time, but now it had an opportunity for retaliation. It fired its arrow at its foe without hesitation.
The crab, in the pain it was suffering, could do little more than flail its pincers. The arrow found its target, plunging itself neatly into the crab's second eye. Both of its eye had been rendered blind, and having lost its vision, the crab had to rely on everything it could feel.
Han Sen used his Dongxuan Aura to hide his movement, meaning the crab couldn't detect him at all.
With red Taia in his hand, Han Sen returned to its other eye and stabbed it to deliver more anguish. The crab, unable to feel its attacker, continued to flail its claws in futile resistance.
The eel's arrow was co-operating with Han Sen to bring an end to the crab. The crab wished to flee now, but it was too late for that. The next time it was loosed, the eel's thunder arrow pierced directly into the crab's body. It made the crab spew blood from its mouth.
Han Sen summoned his strength and ran into the crab's other broken eye. He waved Taia like mad, trying to bring ruin to the insides of the crab.
But the crab's vitality was very good. In the weakest spot Han Sen could find, despite using both Taia and the super geno core, he was only able to deal a minor amount of damage. He couldn't inflict fatal wounds.
Han Sen and the diamond arrow were still free to work, though, and they were slowly able to destroy the inside of the crab's body. The eel itself was continuing to fire geysers of lightning. After half a day of this, the big crab stopped moving.
Han Sen had been slashing non-stop like a madman. He was afraid if the crab's final blow was delivered by the eel, he'd walk away empty-handed.
Seeing that the crab was no longer moving, Han Sen didn't stop, though. He used the power of Super Spank to deliver a firm hit to its brain.
Although he was unable to break the crab's sequence structure, the blow was enough to deal hearty damage to it. And at the same time, the diamond arrow was in the creature's body, controlled telepathically by the eel. It seemed like the eel was eager to slay the crab, too.
After a while, Han Sen heard an announcement play in his head.
"Berserk Super Creature Gold-Patterned Crab King killed. Beast soul gained. Geno Core unobtained. Flesh is edible, and you may harvest its Life Geno Essence."
Han Sen was very happy. This was a very good super creature, and he had actually managed to obtain its beast soul. Even the eel might have been a berserk super creature.
In Han Sen's delight, he suddenly felt lightning course through the crab. Han Sen knew he'd have to get away from its body.
The eel looked at Han Sen, then used its entire body to grab hold of the lifeless crab and pull it deep down into the sea.
Han Sen felt it was a great shame that the crab king's body and Life Geno Essence had been claimed by the eel, but he knew he couldn't fight the creature. So, he had no choice but to let it go. Still, he knew he was lucky enough to obtain a berserk super beast soul.
Han Sen looked into the Sea of Soul, eager to find out what the crab king's beast soul was like.
"It looks like an armor-type beast soul. That'd be great if it was. The defense of a berserk super creature is incredibly strong, and that would mean I wouldn't have to be afraid of super creatures and king spirits anymore," Han Sen thought to himself, as he looked at the Gold-Patterned Crab King beast soul.
Berserk Super Beast Soul Gold-Patterned Crab King: Arm Shield
"Arm Shield?" Han Sen was surprised. A shield beast soul wasn't incredibly rare, but it wasn't common, either. Han Sen used to have a shield super beast soul, but he ended up trading it for weapons.
Arm Shield-type beast souls were rare. This was the first one he had ever received. He had seen other people make use of them, but he always believed ordinary shields to be better.
"It's a berserk super beast soul, though. It has to be something special," Han Sen thought, then he summoned the king crab shield.
Han Sen saw a purple crab appear on his arm, one that was around the size of a plate. Han Sen thought it was a mini king crab, but it was the arm shield.
"It's so small. I can't defend much with this. I wish it was bigger." Han Sen frowned. The defensive properties would be too small. It might be able to block swords, but not AOE-type attacks.
Han Sen thought of that, and then he suddenly saw the shield expand. It became something like a grinding wheel.
Han Sen was so happy. "This thing can grow in size? Can it get even bigger?"
As Han Sen thought of this, the shield grew even bigger. But it also got heavier when this happened, which made it difficult for him to carry.
Not long after, the crab king shield became as big as a house. It was too heavy for Han Sen to lift, so he set it down on the ground to let it grow.
Luckily, the shield's growth limit was not infinite. When it reached the size of the king crab the beast soul belonged to, it stopped growing. With all of Han Sen's power, he was unable to pick it up.
"Why can't I see the gold word overbearing?" Han Sen wondered, seeing the absence of that golden word.
Although the shield looked good, without the word overbearing on the back, it wasn't perfect.
Han Sen reverted it back to its smallest size, and it looked like an ordinary crab had latched onto his arm. As he examined it, he suddenly saw a swordfish approaching him.
The crab had died, and the eel had gone. The creatures that had previously lived here were now on their way back. Thinking Han Sen looked like food, they decided to attack him.
The swordfish was coming at Han Sen like an arrow. He didn't dodge, though. He raised his arm shield and turned it into a grinding wheel before deflecting the swordfish.
"Let's try out the defense of this arm shield," Han Sen was thinking.
The swordfish should have been a sacred-blood creature. At that high speed, it looked like a javelin coming directly towards the arm shield.
Pang!
The moment the swordfish hit the arm shield, Han Sen imbued the shield with power and it flashed gold. And at that point, the word overbearing appeared.
The swordfish's body blew up, following that hit, dying the water around it red.
"Sacred-blood Creature Shockfish killed. No beast soul gained. Geno Core shattered. Eat the flesh to gain zero-to-ten geno points randomly."
Han Sen was frozen. He knew that a sacred-blood creature wouldn't be able to break the shield, but he hadn't expected the fish to explode after just hitting it.
Chapter 1496: It's That Dollar
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Han Sen conducted a few tests. When the arm shield absorbed an impact, the gold word overbearing would show up and the inflicted force would be repelled by the spellwork of that word.
"That's scary. The arm shield has a powerful anti-shock conductivity. This is much stronger than any defensive armor." Han Sen was satisfied with the arm shield. Its only con was its weight. If it reached a certain size, Han Sen would not even be able to move it.
Han Sen brought Bao'er out of the water with him. Then, the two followed the river. They walked all the way to Mask Shelter, and fortunately, they suffered no more trouble in their journey back.
Ling Mei'er seemed to have been fine all along, and she was happy to see Han Sen return.
Moment Queen told Han Sen there had been a commotion in the shelter. Someone held a grudge against Ling Mei'er, but when trouble arose, Moment Queen was able to sort it out and keep things running. For the time being, there was nothing concerning going on.
Han Sen hadn't been home in a while, so he went back to the Alliance with Bao'er. Han Sen couldn't wait to see Littleflower again.
"Littleflower, did you miss Dad?" Han Sen picked up Littleflower and kissed his cheek. He still wasn't able to talk.
"You haven't been back in a long time. It's been so long, Littleflower will have a hard time recognizing you," Ji Yanran complained.
"That's because I had some business to take care of. I can stay with you and Littleflower now, at least for a while." Han Sen made plans to stay in the Alliance for a time. He'd also be able to examine all the fruits of his labor.
"Good. I need to select a school for Littleflower to attend. The Tang family built a kindergarten. I've heard good things about it. Many demi-gods choose to send their kids there, so maybe we should go check it out sometime," Ji Yanran said.
"How old is Littleflower? You're already shipping him off to school?" Han Sen looked at Ji Yanran with mild shock.
"Education is best started young. We'll only go and take a look at first. If the place checks out, we can send him there in a couple of years, when he's three years old." Ji Yanran thought about it some more, and then went on to say, "You and Tang Zhenliu are good friends, aren't you? Maybe you should give him a nudge about this, and the teachers can give a bit more attention and care to Littleflower."
Han Sen told her, "It's still early. Let's cross this bridge when we come to it."
"No! We can't get lazy when it comes to Littleflower. And since you'll now be resting at home, let me conclude some business of my own. When I'm done, we'll take Littleflower to the school and see if he likes it there." Ji Yanran was speaking with a tone of seriousness. She was beginning to sound obsessive.
"But he's still so young. Who knows if he'll like it?" Han Sen wasn't really sure how to respond to her.
"Human instincts are most accurate when we're children. We should go now!"
Han Sen started to say something, but Ji Yanran gave him a painful stare. Han Sen quickly changed what he was going to say and told her, "Okay! We'll go later. Littleflower's education is important."
But Han Sen, inside, was thinking, "Does my son really need to go to school to learn stuff? It would be good enough if he just went there to make friends. With his fitness, even if he entered the sanctuaries at this age, he could crawl around and kill super creatures."
"I wonder if Littleflower can access the sanctuary now? Or does the rule of being a normal human, being of the age of sixteen, still apply? Oh well, maybe it's not necessary just yet. He should enjoy the few short years of his childhood first. He can go there when he's grown up a little." Han Sen didn't plan on making Littleflower a fighter like his father was. It was Littleflower's life, and Han Sen was happy to let him dictate his own course.
Han Sen rested at home for about two days, and when boredom hit, he decided to return to the sanctuary. He didn't go hunting, though. He went into the Geno Core Storage that was in the shelter.
Real Blood, Crystal Core, and Bulwark Umbrella were all silver class geno cores. Only Coin had yet to be reinforced nine times. Han Sen planned on reinforcing it.
As he had come to expect, after testing Coin, it leapfrogged to first place in the Bronze Geno Core Storage's ranking.
By this point, the spirits and creatures were numb to this happening. Too many powerful geno cores had appeared, as of late. Coin's appearance, while it may have been surprising, wasn't as shocking as it had been before.
But the name Coin shocked humans far more than when Bulwark Umbrella, Real Blood, and Crystal Core appeared. Humans thought those names were geno cores for spirits or creatures, but Coin was making people think about the enigmatic Dollar.
"Do you think Coin might be Dollar?"
"I'm pretty sure it's Dollar."
"You guys are naive to think this, just because his title is Dollar and his geno core is called Coin. My title is Lady's Friend, but I don't have a geno core associated with pretty women."
"Your name is Lady's Friend. You should probably summon an old woman with your geno core. Pah! As if you'd ever summon a young, pretty woman."
"I'm pretty sure it is Dollar's geno core. It's a geno core that reached first place in the test, and we know Dollar is simply too strong."
"There is no way this is Dollar! He's strong, but he can't be that strong."
The humans bickered and argued about this. Many claimed it was Dollar, many others claimed it wasn't. It became a hot topic of discussion in the Alliance.
But no one knew who Dollar really was, either. And a human in the Bronze Geno Core Storage had never made it to the top ten before. No one could challenge Coin to find out.
Some spirits and creatures wanted to challenge Coin, of course, but Han Sen did not accept any requests.
If he couldn't get to silver in a month, only then would he consider a battle.
Han Sen exited the Geno Core Storage. Then, he used Crystal Core as his key for re-entry. He let Crystal Core conduct a test to confirm its ranking.
As expected, Crystal Core once again made it to the first place in the silver test. Crystal Core becoming the number one silver geno core was not too surprising. Many people expected this would happen.
Now they were hoping to see Real Blood, Bulwark Umbrella, and Coin make the leap. They had all jumped to the first rank before. So, people were keen to wonder which one of those would become first and maintain the first rank.
Han Sen didn't level up his others yet, though. They could wait, as he didn't want to draw any more unnecessary attention.
The geno core ranking wasn't everything. The strength of a geno core was still dependent on the master that wielded it, as geno cores and their abilities were just tools to be used. Han Sen did not put much stock in the simple rankings, though. Without a proper fight, it wasn't convincing enough.
A few days later, Ji Yanran concluded her business. She brought Bao'er and Littleflower to the kindergarten on Planet Gunat.
Once you were three years old, you could enter the kindergarten proper. Littleflower had a long time to go before then, so for now, he was just visiting.