At dawn, right as the Dralh Sea began to turn ink-black, a figure rushed out of Fral Island, accompanied by a cloud that trailed after him.
The cloud spanned a volume of twenty cubic metres, jet-black, resembling a thundercloud. It hovered three metres above sea level, positioned right behind the figure that landed on the Dralh Sea.
Wearing black clothes that matched the Dralh Sea's colour during the day, with black mascara that accentuated his rough countenance and was the only portion of his shiny head that didn't reflect light.
Upon landing on the Dralh Sea, waves churned underneath his feet, generating currents that propelled his body forward, picking up pace in a matter of seconds. A minute since his journey started, his speed reached a frightening seventy kilometres per hour.
His figure blazed through the Dralh Sea's surface, gliding around like a motorboat. And consistently trailing behind him was the jet-black cloud. He had created this cloud as his Spirit Weapon, using it to carry his goods.
This was the most common method used by Cooter Clansmen to carry items with them. By creating a small cloud as a Spirit Weapon, they will dump their luggage into it. As the cloud naturally floats, it would bear most of the weight.
As a result, the Cooter Clansman wouldn't have to exert much strength through psychokinesis to carry all that luggage. And since it hovers in the air, carrying it was easy.
'I have to send the message as soon as possible.' He thought, recalling Wittral's command. He was the second master dispatched as a guard for Wittral, a powerhouse at the 6-Life Stage that went by the name of Zakzak.
Primary Nature—Broiling Mist Dominance!
Activating his power, he glided quickly through the boiling sea, oftentimes generating ripples across the sea that bombarded the local Pranic Beasts.
"Keup!" He leaped forward, using his cloud as a stepping stone to jump far away, evading the jaws of a Silver Grade Pranic Beast.
The cloud increased its altitude to remain beyond the lunge of the Pranic Beasts as Zakzak resumed his motion, not wasting time to fight. Ink-black mist oozed out of his body and condensed into a spherical cloudy barrier, tanking a group of projectiles shot at him.
The cloudy barrier exploded, sending the projectiles reeling into the water. With a kick into the water, Zakzak accelerated, his forehead covered with sweat as more and more attacks came his way.
The strength behind the attacks continued to increase steadily, before soon, even he felt difficulty facing them.
"Argh!" An object resembling shark teeth lodged itself into his thigh, causing him to scream in pain. Trailing from the object was a rope, connecting to a giant entity deeper in the sea. Due to its shape, the object had wedged itself between his thigh bone.
It then turned, tugging the bone. Zakzak knew that the Pranic Beast was about to fish him. It would soon pull him into the water and feast upon him. Even though he was strong, it was risky to be caught up in a battle.
"It's why I wanted to stay in the outer region of the Dralh Sea." He grunted and condensed a cloudy blade, severing his thigh. Blood oozed out of it for an instant before there was a new leg in place.
He had switched bodies to a healthier one. Internally, Prana surged into the body with the severed thigh, beginning to heal it. His Prana emanated radially and sensed powerful Pranic Beasts gradually close in on him.
"I can't go like this for long." He judged upon seeing his dropping Prana levels. After surveying his surroundings, Zakzak noticed a small island in the distance and quickly accelerated towards it. He leaped, severing his limbs as multiple teeth-like objects pierced them.
His limbless body rolled on the shore as Zakzak replaced it with a healthy body, got up, and leaped deeper inland. He released a mist wave to blanket the island, making it hard for the Pranic Beasts to sense his location, even with their Prana detection methods.
One after another, bulgy heads peeked out of the water surface, numbering tens…hundreds…thousands, too numerous to count. Grotesque in appearance, they glared at the tiny island, surrounding it.
Majority of them were Expert Iron Grade Pranic Beasts while a tenth of them were Silver Grade Pranic Beasts. It would be suicidal to face them alone, even if he were at the 6-Life Stage.
"Phew!" Once he had gotten to safety, Zakzak pulled out a vial from the cloud accompanying him and downed its contents. By revving up his Mystic Mist Art, he began to replenish his Prana.
While doing so, he surveyed his surroundings and pulled up a mental map of the Dralh Sea, making a note, "I'm almost at the Dralh Sea's interior."
The Dralh Sea could be divided into three distinct zones—outer, interior, and core. Inala was currently in the outer zone, where the majority of the Pranic Beasts were at the Iron Grade.
Not only was the water shallower, but the danger posed by the Death Hour and Cold Shower was also relatively lower.
At the interior zone, most of the Iron Grade Pranic Beasts were at the Expert Iron Grade. Following that, Silver Grade Pranic Beasts made the majority, with them roaming around in large schools. The water here was deeper, with the Death Hour and Cold Shower being deadlier.
The core zone of the Dralh Sea was the deadliest, with the weakest creature there being a Beginner Silver Grade Pranic Beast. All Silver Grade Pranic Beasts here roamed in schools of at least a hundred.
Due to the horrifying intensity of the environment, with the Death Hour and Cold Shower being absolutely maniacal, there was a sharp increase in mutations.
A good number of Mutated Silver Grade Pranic Beasts roamed around in their schools. There even existed schools of Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
Zakzak began to move once he finished recovering. Upon unleashing waves of attacks into the sea, he created a path to escape from, using his superior mobility to throw off his pursuers. Two days later, having made pitstops at small islands along the way, Zakzak arrived at a large island that was surrounded by four distinct mountains.
"I'm here," He sighed in relief and quickly approached one of the mountains, greeting the Cooter Clansmen posted there as he made his way up the mountain.
It was an Empyrean Snapper. There were four of them surrounding this large island, creating a base for the Cooter Clan to operate in the Dralh Sea's interior zone. These four Empyrean Snappers were in charge of a large segment of the outer sea, including islands such as Leh and Fral.
"Why are you here alone, Zakzak?" A concerned voice resounded right as Zakzak set foot on the mountain.
"I have come here bearing news from Wittral," Zakzak said.
There was an obvious sign of relief from the other side upon realising that Zakzak had just arrived as a messenger, and not as the sole survivor of a disaster. It meant Wittral was safe and had simply sent Zakzak as a means to communicate with them.
The mist covering the mountain parted open to reveal an inclined beaten path. Zakzak traversed it and soon reached a single-room stone hut, kneeling upon entering it, "I have come bearing some news, Settlement Leader."
"What is it?" An old, bald man asked calmly, drinking a diluted Elixir while seated on a grass mat.
"The Boar King died twice," Zakzak said, watching the old man spit out the diluted Elixir in shock.
Wiping his mouth, the old man stared at Zakzak, tilted his head in confusion, and asked in worry, "I told you time and again,"
"Don't do drugs, child."