Krune stared at the throat of the whale-like fish, watching the severed tentacles struggle to move. At the moment, they were bleeding. With that, the whale-like fish didn't open its mouth to bring in another torrent of water.
After all, that would be suicidal. It was because its internal defenders were annihilated. Bringing in more enemies would just further worsen its condition.
Krune could feel the interior become slightly hot as the heat seemed to be congregating around the throat. It seemed like the tentacles were intending to birth more spherical creatures to kill Krune.
They only were severed at their ends. The tentacles hadn't been destroyed yet. Therefore, Krune couldn't approach them carelessly. At present, he had calculated their reach, staying beyond that.
Thankfully, he could use the row of teeth as a defensive line to hide behind. Only when the tentacles had fully recovered from the damage would they be able to reach the row of teeth. Considering how they didn't have any regeneration abilities, it would take them at least a few months to a couple of years to recover completely using the beneficial properties of the ocean water.
"It would be better if I had this to use," Krune muttered as he gazed at the row of teeth. They weren't actually in a neat row, but were instead a cluster forming a row overall. In actuality, there were at least 3-5 teeth in each section, totaling at least a couple hundred teeth that formed the row.
Unsurprisingly, they weren't aligned like human teeth. Each tooth was positioned at various angles. This way, no matter in which direction a fish moved, it would come into contact with the sharp edge of at least a couple of teeth.
After all, the water swirled. So, to use this feature to the utmost level, each tooth had to face different directions and angles. Moreover, now that he wasn't being attacked, Krune could emit a gentle glow of the Neon Radiance and take a closer look at the teeth.
He noticed how the shape of each tooth was different. Some were long, some were short, some were curved, some were thin, some were thick, and so on. It was always varied.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAfter a moment of thought, Krune chuckled as he muttered to himself, "This is great."
He then began to look around, finally noticing a short tooth that was also fairly thin. It was thirty centimeters in length, the perfect item height that Krune desired to obtain at the moment. He then used his knife to carefully cut the gums around the tooth, feeling the floor underneath him shudder.
It seemed that the whale-like fish was feeling pain from his act. He could also feel the heat as the whale-like fish seemed to be accumulating more muscular strength in its tentacles to birth more spherical creatures sooner.
"Let's see how fast you can act." Krune chuckled as his eyes shone with a cunning glint. Living out in the ocean, adrift, and having to eat all his food raw, Krune's mindset was becoming more and more vicious. He didn't even hesitate as he continued to scoop out pieces of the gums around the tooth, eventually severing the dental roots beneath.
He lifted the short tooth, noticing that it was perfect for him. He immediately began to work on it, scraping away the gums on it while grinding the edges. Thankfully for him, the shape of the tooth did have a handle-like protrusion lodged into the flesh.
It seemed that was how their teeth structure was. To Krune, it was all the more convenient. It was already shaped like a knife, handle included. So, all he had to do was trim out the excess and create a curved shape on the handle, making it perfect for him to grip and wield.
Having done the same for a month, Krune could mechanically do it. Intense scraping sounds echoed within the whale-like fish's mouth. The grating sounds were annoying as Krune used the shells of a couple of spherical creatures to cover his ears.
After that, he happily worked on it, finishing the task within a day as he laughed. As he looked at the dagger, he said, "I'll call you the Whale Tooth Dagger."
Just based on its quality alone, the Whale Tooth Dagger was superior to all his knives and the two long weapons he had at the start. After all, he had ground the bones of the worm-like fish into such weapons.
As for the Whale Tooth Dagger, it was already a weapon from the start. Moreover, the bones in the whale-like fish's body were stronger and tougher. With that, the quality of the weapon was inherently superior.
Krune then looked around, noticing another similarly shaped tooth, chuckling as he began to work on extracting it. Whenever he was tired, Krune rested while munching on the flesh of the severed tentacles. Compared to everything, they were the most edible.
Having fed on all sorts of fishes, Krune wasn't opposed to the notion of eating them raw. Besides, it wasn't as if he had any other choice. To survive, he had to eat. And so, he did. Another day later, Krune had crafted himself a second Whale Tooth Dagger.
With these two, he was content. After all, they were perfect in terms of weight and length. Any more, and the weight might drag him down. Krune then thought of leaving when he noticed a certain tooth in the center of the row of teeth, standing upright.
The tooth was perfectly shaped like a blade, spanning 60 centimeters in length. It was tremendously sharp, seemingly like it had grown just recently and hadn't been damaged or worn down yet. Upon seeing it, Krune changed his stance immediately, using a knife to scoop out the gums around it.
The two Whale Tooth Daggers were enough for him, but upon seeing the tooth before him, he felt like it wouldn't be a waste to have a primary weapon. After all, a heavier weapon was able to damage greater.
Considering its sharpness, Krune would be able to use it a lot. Thinking as such, he began to cut into the gums surrounding it, soon picking up the tooth as he began to work on it. It was a new tooth, hence the gums around it weren't as rigid compared to the others.
With such variables into the mix, he was slightly faster this time, marveling at the finished product. He swung it once, feeling a bit of difficulty doing so since it was a bit heavier than what he could wield normally. Nevertheless, Krune intended to train using it a bit until he was accustomed to its weight.
He then pulled some of the tooth roots and used it as a sash to tie up both the Whale Tooth Daggers. As for the longer tooth, he hung it on his back as he said, "I'll call you the Whale Tooth Sword."
After strapping the sword on his back, Krune approached the whale-like fish's mouth, tapping the walls to see that it was tremendously tough. Even if he were to attack it, he wouldn't be able to go through its thick layer and would have to dig as if he was digging through a mountain.
Moreover, if it opened its mouth in such a situation, the force of the water's entry would slam him into the row of teeth and shred him apart. It was too risky. So instead, he looked around, picking up the bodies of some of the spherical creatures that were still lodged on the teeth.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe carried them with himself as Krune walked towards the throat, immediately throwing them towards the tentacles. He then unsheathed both the Whale Tooth Daggers and rushed forward, swiping them whenever a tentacle attacked him.
After resting for two days, Krune was at his maximum strength. As for the tentacles, they were still bleeding and hadn't recovered yet. On top of that, they seemed to be preparing to produce more spherical creatures. In other words, they were tired.
Therefore, it was way easier for Krune now than before. Moreover, the sharpness of the two daggers was far above his previous daggers, so all Krune had to do was defend himself. When the tentacles slammed on the daggers, the force behind the impact severed them.
This way, he simply charged towards the throat and moved with the pair of knives, soon severing their roots. The whale-like fish roared as Krune crouched, protecting himself from the shockwaves.
As he had already covered his ears with the spherical creatures' shells, his ears weren't affected by the sounds. There was a reason Krune went on the offensive now. It wasn't only because he wished to leave it and survive. It was also because he recalled the scene with the Neon Radiance King.
Killing it gave him the passive ability, Neon Radiance. After that, despite him killing numerous fishes, none of them gave him anything. So, Krune determined they had to be different from the norm.
In a school of fishes, it was the one that acted as their leader, one that was a mutant or was incomparably powerful as compared to the rest of its species. Otherwise, it should be a massive lone predator. The whale-like fish fell on the latter.
Even though Krune wasn't sure if it would work, he had to give it a try. After all, if it did work, he would obtain another passive that would help him. He was indeed thankful for obtaining Neon Radiance. It saved him numerous times during the night when some fishes had attacked him.
Thanks to it, he wasn't afraid of the dark and wasn't helpless in it.
Thinking as such, Krune jumped into its throat, descending through it as he felt the convulsions of the surrounding muscles. As he descended, Little Krune pondered through everything he experienced, pointing him in a certain direction.
The best way to kill a behemoth was to attack its heart. And, to follow it, all Krune had to do was follow its pulse towards where it was the loudest. After all, for a creature this massive, its heart had to be enormous. The amount of sound it would produce would be easily audible.
Krune made a cut in a muscle and slipped into it. It seemed to be a place where two different muscles layered over one another. As he proceeded into it, Krune grunted, feeling like the muscular pressure would smash him into pulp. In any case, all he could do in such cases was endure and press forth.