35 - We Need More Food

Nexha lazily woke up in his new home. He nudged Lilay, who was sleeping curled up against him like a stuffed animal. It was his first time sleeping underwater, and he still wasn’t used to it. He decided to go to the nest and drink some milk mixed with crab powder.

— I'm almost out of this lucky crab mix… Or rather, out of lucky crabs. I haven’t seen any in a while. My level is stuck because of that too.

He pondered while having breakfast.

— But I think it’s not just them… A lot of fish are disappearing too, especially since Zhaelor arrived. That creature eats more than fifty Lilays.

Remembering how much Krahs had to hunt to feed everyone, a pang of guilt struck his heart. His adoptive father had nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

— I need to fix this… But even if I bought food every day, my money wouldn’t be nearly enough.

He opened the shop and checked how much MD he had left, only to feel his heart sink when he saw it was much less than before.

((Shop)/) (\MD 918/)

Welcome to the shop, user! Here you can buy everything you need for your world conquest. Stop crying and spend that money already! (•^-^•)

* Food/Medicine

* Slaves

* Skills

* Magic Items

* Miners

* Animals/Pets

* Plant Materials

* Accessories

* Clothes/Armor

* Technology

— The message changed? I hadn't noticed that before… Okay, now let's look for something to solve this food problem. Something that can be planted.

Opening the food tab, several options appeared, but rarely anything plant-based. Most of those were classified as medicinal. Sighing, he kept searching until he found a small, glowing yellow ball, looking like a tomato painted the wrong color.

— "Algae Pit"? No doubt a mermaid named this… — he muttered.

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The description said that this small deep-sea algae attracted a lot of fish. Some tribes used it as hunting bait. It was also great for stomach aches.

As he finished reading, an idea sprouted in Nexha’s mind.

— What if I made a plantation of this thing to attract fish and create a fish farm?

Curious, he brought the "tomato" to his mouth and took a bite. Instantly, he spat it out.

— Bitter! Bitter!

Quickly, he stuffed a handful of crab powder in his mouth to get rid of the horrible taste. Only then did he notice several tiny seeds inside, resembling strawberry seeds.

— This will help, but… How am I supposed to plant it? I know nothing about botany… Wait, what if I buy that botany technology I saw earlier?

Without hesitation, he opened the technology tab and went straight for the botany tech. For a moment, he hesitated, but then he pressed the purchase button. The sadness of watching his money disappear was instant.

— 819… My money is vanishing so fast…

A throbbing pain invaded his head as the knowledge was injected into his mind. But nothing compared to the pain of seeing his wallet shrink. If he weren’t having a headache, he could swear he heard Luna laughing in his ear.

— Am I hallucinating…? — he murmured.

He sighed and lay down on the algae bed, hoping the discomfort would pass quickly.

A few minutes later, Krahs entered the nest. Seeing Nexha sleeping, wrapped in several strands of algae, he sighed. The sight warmed his heart. Carefully, he picked up the small boy in his arms and gently rocked him as if he were a baby.

— I searched for you all morning only to find you here… Did you miss the nest?

Nexha, still drowsy, could barely open his eyes. The warmth made him so comfortable that he just nestled further into the shark’s arms and fell back asleep. That’s when Krahs noticed something on the sand: a bitten fruit.

— You got another gift…

Krahs sighed, picked up the fruit, dusted off the sand, and placed it inside the turtle shell where Nexha usually cooked crabs.

— The stars love their descendant so much, always sending him gifts… You shouldn’t attract so much attention, yet you keep doing it without a care…

He looked at Nexha, sleeping peacefully, and murmured with a hint of melancholy.

— My little one still doesn’t know all the dangers that could come after us…

He gently pinched the boy’s cheeks, making him mumble in his sleep.

— Nexha… what if I told you I’m afraid? All these new beings coming into our territory… They keep getting stronger. The stars gifted you a sperm whale, and now… What use am I?

Krahs rocked him softly, as if cradling a baby.

— I also think I was a gift from the stars to you… But now I feel so useless for not being able to protect you.

Even in his sleep, Nexha’s hand weakly grasped Krahs' finger. The shark’s heart, clouded with doubt, seemed to settle a little.

— Little one… have sweet dreams.