Stage 1—Jaw!
Inala stared at his reflection in a mirror, watching his jaws transform into an Empyrean Zinger's, tremendously tough and sharp enough to casually bite into a Prana Bomb.
Moreover, the structure was that of an Empyrean Zinger, but the material forming it was an Empyrean Tusk's bone powder taken from its tusk, the hardest material in Sumatra. Therefore, his jaws were tougher than an Empyrean Zinger's.
Since he had almost awakened his bloodline before fusing with the Zinger Queen egg, he gained the power to transform into his Pranic Beast form in stages, just like Resha.
Though, while Resha had four stages, Inala only had three: Jaw, Wing, and Empyrean.
At the Jaw Stage, he developed an Empyrean Zinger's jaw, useful for eating Prana Bombs and Life Bombs. His hands and feet too resembled an Empyrean Zinger's, allowing him to perch onto any surface at any angle.
At the Wing Stage, his limbs fully developed into an Empyrean Zinger's, causing a thin membrane to connect the limbs on either side to create a pair of wings that allowed him to glide through the air.
At the Empyrean Stage, he completely transformed into an Empyrean Zinger.
By having three stages, Inala could conserve his Prana and only transform limitedly according to the situation. He didn't have to become an Empyrean Zinger unless necessary. Of course, he couldn't become one at the moment, since he had barely begun developing his body.
At present, he had only built his body enough to activate the Jaw Stage. To activate it, he had first focused on building his body at the jaw, hands, and feet areas.
Staring at the powerful claws that his hands had transformed into, Inala felt strong. It had been two months since he woke up.
In this period, he focused on building his body, barely finishing enough for the Jaw Stage, making an estimation accordingly, 'I should be done in about 40 years. Since I need to understand an Empyrean Zinger's body, the time required is this high. But building my body from the second onwards should only take half the time.'
'That means, I should be reaching the 10-Life Stage in about 220 years.' He thought, 'That's well before my lifespan reaches its end.'
He couldn't hurry anymore. But he trusted the reincarnates, believing that they would buy enough time for the eventual battle between the Empyrean Tusks and the Boar King.
Originally, Sumatra Chronicles ended in a century. From the date in chapter one to the date of the final battle between Resha and the Boar King, a bit more than a century had passed.
If the same were to happen this time, then their death was guaranteed. Even Resha was aware of that. Hence, Inala believed Resha and the remaining reincarnates would do everything in their power to change the herd's route to buy as much time as possible.
As long as they buy two centuries, Inala was confident in reaching the peak of cultivation. When that happens, he would possess enough power to harm the Boar King.
This was why he primarily focused on a Silver Grade Pranic Beast. An Empyrean Zinger's Prana was 1800 after maturing. This meant his reserve of Prana wasn't as high as Asaeya who had a reserve of 3449, not to mention Gold Grade Pranic Beasts like the Empyrean Tusks that had a reserve of 8398 Prana.
Yes, he had a limited reserve, which was a drawback. But from another point of view, it was also a boon. It meant he only had to train to attain 1800 Prana.
To finish building a body, Resha would have to give in approximately five times the effort. Meaning, he would need five times the duration to finish building a single body.
By the time Resha finishes building a second body, Inala will have reached the end of cultivation.
At that point, he would be stacked ten times, resulting in an explosive power that vastly outclasses a 2-Life Stage Resha.
Inala would be able to quickly reach the peak of cultivation as compared to his peers and even his enemy, the Boar King. As a Mystic Grade Pranic Beast, the Boar King would have to train even longer.
The fact that even after two millennia, Brangara only reached the 3-Life Stage was enough proof of his strenuous training requirement.
Of course, a Mystic Grade Pranic Beast lived for ten millennia. So, he had enough time to reach the peak casually.
Since he had the perspective of living on Earth, Inala was more broadminded than the natives of Sumatra. That was because, for any situation, he had two perspectives to tackle from, in contrast to the single perspective of the natives.
Moreover, since he hailed from a technological world centred around information, he knew a lot for someone his age. He had read hundreds, if not thousands of cultivation novels alone. If he were to list the novels from magic, apocalypse, romance, sci-fi, etc. it would be endless.
Even though they were merely fiction, the thought process used in them would serve as a database to draw inspiration from. Information was power after all.
Therefore, if Inala were to encounter a block in cultivation, he could rely upon his vast trove of knowledge to solve it. Maybe some character in some novel was in a similar situation. He only had to apply that knowledge and voila, he would solve the problem.
In contrast, a native would have to break his head and trial and error for a solution.
An Empyrean Zinger's body was small, reaching a few metres. Therefore, its resource requirement was limited, unlike Resha who had to build an Empyrean Tusk body.
With less resources, training, and time, Inala would reach the peak. Had he fused with an Iron Grade Pranic Beast, he would have reached the peak even faster. But that was useless, for an Iron Grade Pranic Beast was too weak.
Only a Silver Grade Pranic Beast was perfect. Its powers were strong while its development needs were conservative. With his ability to recover Prana through Prana Bombs, everything lined up perfectly for Inala.
Moreover, the time period of 220 years was only if Inala were to traditionally cultivate. There were treasures available that could hasten this process.
In Sumatra Chronicles, Resha obtained various treasures, both big and small. Among them existed five major treasures that allowed him to attain a qualitative breakthrough every single time.
Cure! Attribute! Weapon! Pet! Seat of Transcendence!
The first treasure was the Cure to the Fragment Disease. And as explained by the previous Gannala, what Inala obtained wasn't the cure. All he did was get rid of the Fragment Disease plaguing him.
The one written as the cure in Sumatra Chronicles wasn't the actual cure. In the second information cluster he obtained from Gannala, the true cure was detailed. Resha had obtained it.
Once he got to know what the true cure was, Inala sighed, 'The current Resha already has around half his previous life's strength.'
"He's indeed a terrifying rival."