Things like mermaid tears and siphonworm crystals could be purchased if one really wanted to buy them.
But the quantity was too small.
Even though these were only needed for partial nodes of the fortress defense magic arrays, when scaled up to the entire Mycelium Puchi Fortress, the required quantity was considerable.
The core function of this part of the magic array was to slowly absorb free ice elemental energy from the environment during normal times and store it, then release it all at once when needed, forming a large-scale frost impact.
It could be said to be quite suitable for the fortress.
Omitting this structural part wasn't impossible, but as Mycelium Puchi Fortress was the core foundation of Lin Jun's operations, as long as conditions allowed, he still hoped to build it more perfectly.
Originally, if the archipelago were still around, these materials could probably be obtained through trade—it would just cost more gold coins.
But after the mist, the archipelago had lost contact with the continent.
Lin Jun estimated they'd probably been wiped out.
With that being the case, the materials could only be obtained through his own methods.
Regarding siphonworm crystals, according to materials Eding had previously collected and organized, they were indeed produced in the undersea dungeon called "Tidal Sanctuary."
As for mermaid tears, he could only wait until after clearing that dungeon to search for them.
He just hoped these mermaids hadn't all been wiped out by the mist.
After all, the mist wasn't real fog—even underwater, one would be affected by it.
Well then, it was time to bring out his long-sealed diving Puchis!
Soon, several Puchis with mushroom bodies and fish tails dropped onto the fungal mat—or according to this world's naming conventions, they should be called "Puchi fish."
[Underwater Adaptation LV7] + [Tailstream Propulsion LV6] + [Current Perception LV5] + [Sonic Detection LV8] + [Swimming LV5] + [Infrasonic Attack LV9] + [Mana Storage LV10]
After all this time, the underwater skill levels had barely improved, mainly due to lack of suitable sources.
Plus, Puchis themselves had limited adaptability to aquatic environments. These diving Puchis' performance could only be called quite ordinary.
However, this trip was just to scout the situation and find that group of fishmen they'd dealt with years ago.
In the past, the two sides hadn't interacted much, but their relationship had been fairly peaceful.
The only thing that concerned Lin Jun somewhat was that the deity they worshiped was the same one the Hand of Passage cultists prayed to.
Fortunately, these fishmen neither proselytized to the Puchis nor mentioned sacrificing Puchis—they were much more normal than the Hand of Passage.
If he could outsource the material gathering to them, Lin Jun would naturally be happy to do so.
As for trade, Lin Jun wasn't worried.
On the continent now, aside from the Dwarven Ranges, where wasn't a source for Puchis?
For these fishmen trapped in the dungeon, Lin Jun could always find things they needed.
Several cattle and horse Puchis rolled up these Puchi fish that could only splash on land and threw them all into the seventh layer's fissure that led directly to "Tidal Sanctuary."
With several "plop plop" sounds, after entering the water, the Puchi fish immediately became active and quickly began reconnaissance.
However, even before they could start using [Sonic Detection], they made a discovery.
Not far from the fissure in the water, a strange corpse was floating.
It was a creature with a nearly humanoid form, yet covered in heavy gray shell.
It somewhat resembled what Lin Jun's D-grade personnel looked like after adding [Chitin Shell].
However, this skill generated shells on humans that were very inconvenient for joint movement and weren't well-suited.
But this creature didn't have that problem—it was an arthropod.
Its torso and limbs displayed clear arthropod structure, with protruding bone spurs at the joints.
Its left hand had five fingers, but its right hand was a large pincer.
The head had no obvious facial features, only a gill-like slit for breathing and several pairs of compound eyes that had lost their luster.
At this moment, it slowly rotated with the current, dark blue body fluid seeping from between its shell segments.
What killed it was a harpoon that had pierced through its chest armor from the front, penetrating the entire body with half of the bloodied tip protruding from the back.
The force of the harpoon was so great that both shell and spearhead were shattered everywhere, with the seeping body fluid staining the surrounding water a small patch of pale blue turbidity.
It looked like it had died not long ago—at least not more than a day.
And if Lin Jun remembered correctly, this harpoon's style should belong to the fishmen.
Another racial war over survival space?
Regardless, there was no reason to waste it.
The Puchi fish pushed this humanoid crab to the fissure. A plump recluse Puchi on the other side of the fissure extended a tentacle to roll up the corpse and throw it onto the fungal mat.
Mycelial threads immediately wriggled and spread, wrapping up the shell person and beginning efficient decomposition and absorption.
However, the result surprised Lin Jun somewhat.
The decomposition process went smoothly, and the total magic power returned was quite considerable—almost equivalent to the energy a diamond-level expert of the same volume could provide.
But besides that... it was completely empty.
Not a single point of expected skill proficiency!
What the hell?
Switching to [Inspiration] perspective—no soul?!
Lin Jun could only continue exploring.
The Puchi fish left the initial room and passed through a deep, wide corridor.
The corridor walls were built of some kind of smooth dark stone, their surface covered with thick calcified deposits and drifting filamentous seaweed.
On them, some huge but blurred murals could vaguely be seen.
Most patterns were already incomplete and unclear. One could barely make out some humanoid forms that seemed to be worshiping or struggling, along with some symbolic symbols filled with tentacles and holes.
Crack!
Just as Lin Jun was controlling the Puchi fish to slowly advance while being distracted by appreciating the murals on the corridor walls, an accident descended!
It truly was unexpected.
Although the Puchi fish only carried [Sonic Detection LV8] as their active reconnaissance method, Lin Jun had the panel!
Things that could display panels were immediately visible. In this situation, they'd actually encountered a surprise attack at close range!
The ambush came from a humanoid shell creature curled into a ball, disguised as an ordinary rock.
It suddenly kicked out, moving so fast it completely contradicted its bulky appearance. One massive bone pincer like a guillotine blade clamped down and killed the closest Puchi fish!
What shocked Lin Jun most was that it actually had no panel?!
In an instant, Lin Jun thought of the water ghosts he'd encountered in the mist back then—those things also had no panels.
Monsters from the mist?
The shock didn't delay Lin Jun's counterattack.
[Infrasonic Attack LV9]
The shell creature's body shuddered. A few wisps of pale blue blood seeped from between its shell segments, but it merely swayed and didn't fall!
That heavy, tight shell clearly had extremely strong attenuation and defensive effects against infrasonic waves, failing to cause fatal damage.
Damn it.
Should have brought the all-purpose [Self-Destruct]!
Originally thinking this was a contact negotiation mission, he hadn't equipped such large-scale destructive methods, and now he was paying for it.
With the only effective attack method ineffective, Lin Jun lost interest in playing underwater hide-and-seek with this hard-shell monster. He was planning to abandon these few Puchi fish and go back to create some combat-specialized models before returning to get even.
However, at this moment, an inconspicuous stone brick on the corridor's side wall silently slid open, revealing a hidden passage.
A black shadow shot out with fierce momentum—it was a harpoon!
It instantly pierced through the shell creature's head, pinning it to the stone wall!
The shell creature's body convulsed violently a few times, then went completely still.
From the secret door, an ugly but robust fishman slowly swam out.
Its pair of bulging fish eyes carried obvious wariness as they swept across the battlefield, finally settling on the three surviving Puchi fish.
"Glubglub, glubgluglubglub?"
Uh...
"Pop~"
The Puchi fish blew out a bubble.
This probably counted as... a response?
(End of Chapter)
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