Chapter 55 Stealing Your Gains Coincidentally

On the sandy beaches situated adjacent to a steep cliff sat a lady wearing a bikini, treating it as a holiday getaway. There was no one else apart from her in the region, but she didn't seem concerned about that.

The lady leaped into the sea, swimming through the wavy tides until she had her fun. When it was sunset, she returned to the beach, taking a seat on the wooden chair that she had created, slumping on it in exhaustion.

She then noticed a crab wash out of the sea, running across the beach, beginning to dig into the sand as if it wished to lay eggs.

The lady's eyes lit up in excitement as she walked towards it in silence, 'Finally!'

She took out a thumb-sized fruit from a box placed next to the chair, arriving before the digging crab as she extended her hand, "Here, fishy fishy!"

"Come to momma!"

The crab flinched at the sound, running away from the hole it was digging, only to see a wood wall surround it now, tough enough for it to not be able to dig a hole through it.

The crab scurried around the place in fluster but was trapped. The trapped region spanned less than three square metres, with the only possible exit leading to the lady, or at her outstretched hand, to be accurate.

The lady was Yulna, having been camping at this beach for the past few weeks to research and grow stronger.

On her palm was a Devil Fruit, one that she had modified extensively by taking the help of her All-Devouring Whale form. The crab was trapped in this cage, and if it wished to leave, it needed to destroy the one blocking the exit.

And hence, the crab rushed at her, clamping down on her hand before staring in confusion to see that its attacks failed to even scratch her hand. The crab clamped a few dozen times before running away, unable to understand just what was happening anymore.

Its eyes stared at the Devil Fruit but didn't seem willing to eat it. The same had happened a few times already. And every time, the crabs would run away or get killed by her out of anger. But this time, she came prepared.

With the trap, the crab couldn't escape and she wouldn't mistakenly kill it while trying to prevent it from moving.

The sun set soon after as the crab began to dig into the sand, intending to burrow out of the place. Unfortunately, the wood wall extended deep underground too.

After some time passed, the crab simply gave up as it laid its eggs in a hole and then covered overhead with sand, deciding to rest there for the night.

Yulna remained still like a statue, keeping watch on the location where the crab hid within, patiently waiting throughout the night.

Eventually, it dawned as the crab rushed out of the sand, scuttling about as it failed to find any modes of escape. Eventually, its gaze fell on the Devil Fruit as its two eyes focused on it.

The crab slowly approached the Devil Fruit, feeling hungry, touching it before flinching in response, and running away.

A few hours later, it approached again, running immediately after touching the Devil Fruit. All Yulna did during this time was to stare at it in patience, watching the intervals at which the crab approached the Devil Fruit continue to shorten.

Two more days passed in such a fashion as the crab remained in contact with the Devil Fruit for more than a minute. Eventually, it wasn't able to control itself, opening its mouth to clamp upon the Devil Fruit, eating it whole.

'Success!' Yulna smiled in response, sensing a faint stream of corruption coagulate in the crab, forming a solid core that began to subtly affect it.

There wouldn't be any significant changes as the crab would remain the same. But the next batch of eggs it lays down would be different as the next generation would be somewhat evolved.

Yulna planned to take control of the ocean. Even if she fails to kill Rhizen, her goal was to break through the space once again, just like what she had done in the Aberrant World.

She would continue escaping until she came across a System or was able to connect with the Astral Network.

Smiling at the success of her operation, Yulna removed the wood wall, watching the crab make its way into the ocean. She was done with one part of her plan, intending to begin the next one when she became alert, sensing the information in a Mental Energy stream directed at her.

The scene showed a streak in the air that was like a jet, heading straight in her direction.

"He'll be here soon." Frowning in response, Yulna noticed that the crab had already vanished into the sea by now, its aura so weak that even she wasn't able to sense it.

With that affirmation, she transformed into a tiny winged whale and escaped from the place, having no intention of coming within the radar of Rhizen. With his capabilities, he could steal all her corruption and convert it into his Nacre.

If he does that, she would be rendered helpless. So, she had to ensure to not fall within this range.

In the Aberrant World, Rhizen was able to unleash this attack on everything within thirty kilometres of him. This meant that she had to maintain a distance of at least thirty kilometres between her and Rhizen.

Ten minutes later, Rhizen arrived at the scene, staring at the wooden chair that Yulna had created, failing to find any traces of her, "Seems I'm late."

He wasn't angry though but rather smiled in response, landing on the shore as he stared at some crab eggs that were buried in the sand.

Sensing the stream of Coincidental Luck swirling around him—something he harnessed from Xuna—constantly, he understood that he wouldn't be disadvantaged this time.

And just as he expected, when it was dusk, a crab came ashore. This was the same crab that Yulna had modified. It had returned to take care of its eggs that were yet to hatch.

Upon seeing it, Rhizen smiled contently, aiming a finger at it.

Fusion Arts—Devouring Heaven!

All the corruption in the crab was devoured, but the modification resulting from the Devil Fruit still existed.

In response to that, he took out a potted plant that had been grown using a Nacre Ball. So, the plant contained a faint trace of Nacre flowing through it, growing like a vine.

Rhizen plucked out a branch and turned it into dust with the help of his Dust Wave, piling it up before the crab.

He had selected a food product that crabs generally ate, watching the crab only hesitate for a moment before it ate the powder greedily. It had been weakened after Yulna's exploits, and hence wasn't able to hunt properly in the sea.

So, it wasn't able to satiate its hunger. And now that it changed upon food that was to its preference, even though it felt resistance to the Nacre—a foreign substance—in the food, it couldn't be picky due to hunger, devouring it in its entirety.

The trace amount of Nacre flowed through its body and entered the solid core that had formed in its stomach. Upon seeing that it was mildly effective, Rhizen smiled, "I have to thank you for this, Yulna. I was still thinking of a way to integrate the creatures of this world under my power. You just made it easier."

Yulna's power made it easier for her to transform the creatures into her power structure. So, she could quickly figure out the means to do so.

And now, by taking advantage of the fact that Yulna's powers stemmed from her Horned Human self that was corrupted, Rhizen used the similarity to take advantage and steal her gains.

He sat on the shore, not budging an inch as he fed the crab as much food as it needed, gradually raising the Nacre concentration in it, causing the crab to acclimate to it.

It took two weeks before the eggs hatched. And by then, the crab was completely used to consuming the Nacre-rich food, now no longer finding regular food to its taste.

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Moreover, Rhizen had mixed the Beast Fruits into the mix while feeding it. Beast Fruits only turned humans into Horned Humans. They did not affect non-sentient creatures.

But now, his goal was only to convert the core in the crab's body to adapt to Nacre instead of corruption. And the Beast Fruits were the best way to do that, since the cause of the crab's change was a Devil Fruit.

Due to the inherent similarities, Rhizen was able to cause the change successfully, especially since he constantly devoured any corruption that formed in the crab's core, ensuring that it was always free of corruption, this way allowing the Nacre to generate gradually.

And now, it had changed completely. Since it had been fed enough the past two weeks, the crab began to lay down eggs once again by selecting another spot on the beach.

Rhizen noticed a faint layer of Nacre coating the eggs, smiling in response, "Let's see what happens next."