"Grrr!" The Pranic Beast shaped like a feline creature growled in anger, intending to chomp on the flesh of the humans before it. It had a small body, reaching a metre in length with soft fur that created cascading waves under the wind.
It had sharp fangs capable of easily digging through flesh and a zagged tail meant to puncture through the organs of its targets. It was a sadistic carnivorous creature with a bloodthirsty nature.
Beginner Iron Grade Pranic Beast—Mewcat!
Despite its appearance, it was weak, possessing 140 Prana upon maturity and having a short lifespan of forty years. In the region surrounding the Brimgan Empire, with territories carved by Gold Grade Pranic Beasts, the Mewcat was a weak race.
And as Mewcats weren't a swarm type, they were easy prey for other Pranic Beasts. But to counter their predators, the Mewcats had a very powerful ability, which was honestly one of the strongest in the region.
Primary Nature—Human Appeal!
The Primary Nature made them appealing to the Free Humans of the Brimgan Empire, birthing an urge in the Free Humans to treat them as cute little pets. That was it. The extent of their Primary Nature's effect was just that. But it was enough. For through it, they became pets of powerful Free Human cultivators in the Brimgan Empire, leading lives of abundance following that.
Though they were bloodthirsty creatures, due to the effects of their Primary Nature, Free Humans would consider them to be cute creatures desiring protection.
"Isn't she cute?" The growling Mewcat's owner, a woman in her early sixties smiled cheerfully and rubbed the Mewcat's back, "She has a bad habit of rolling around in mud. I have a party to visit tonight, so I need her cleaned up for that."
She stared at the bald woman before her, "I was afraid no one would accept the request. I don't have enough time to take care of her, you see?"
"Leave it to me, Ma'am." Inala patted his chest, "I'm very good at grooming Pranic Beasts."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you." Saying so, the woman hurried away in her carriage, "My maid will take care of the rest."
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity." Inala performed a curt bow to see the carriage speed past in a hurry, 'It feels nostalgic to see something resemble a car.'
The carriage moved through psychokinesis applied on the wheels. So, technically, it could be considered a car. If one went into detail, they could argue for either case. Anyway, Inala didn't stress about that and simply observed it happily.
He then turned around to stare at the Mewcat that continued to growl at him, tugging its chains with force to break free and gobble him up. Mewcats were selective in their targets, only using their Primary Nature on people they were comfortable around.
If a Mewcat appeared to be cute from your perspective, it meant it saw you in favourable light. This was also the parameter used by the Free Humans in the Brimgan Empire to purchase Mewcats.
Towards anyone it doesn't see in a favourable light, it appeared no different to a bloodthirsty beast. Of course, a single Beginner Iron Grade Pranic Beast wasn't in the least threatening to Inala, considering how he had just recently been with the apex predator of Sumatra Continent.
He casually walked towards the Mewcat and extended his hand, releasing a tinge of his presence. "Good girl."
The Mewcat curled up in fright, its earlier growling now replaced by soft purrs. It instinctively used its Primary Nature at full strength in an effort to appeal to Inala, feeling that it would be devoured by the latter otherwise.
"You should have been obedient from the start," Inala muttered as he spread his attention to his surroundings. The maid in charge of paying him for the job had just gone inside, leaving him alone in the garden with the Mewcat.
Secondary Nature—Subtle Terrain Domination!
Once the coast was clear, Inala used Subtle Terrain Domination to draw in the mist from the surroundings and used it to clean up the Mewcat's fur. He used the same to brush its teeth, trim its nails, and a bunch of other things.
In a mere couple of minutes, the Mewcat became clean and pristine, with its fur glistening under the sun. 'This is fast.'
Inala clumped up all the waste into a sphere and dumped it in the waste bin nearby, patting his hands as he got up and stared down at the Mewcat, "Don't dirty yourself today, got it?"
"Purrr!" The Mewcat responded weakly, not daring to make a mess of itself. For some reason, Inala's presence terrified it to an extent it never felt before, even though it had more Prana than him. Though lacking in intelligence, its instincts were screaming at it to heed his order.
Seeing the Mewcat remain obedient, Inala knocked on the door and spoke once the maid answered it, "I'm done."
"That fast?" The maid exclaimed in shock and rushed to the garden to see the shiny fur of the Mewcat, "How is this possible?"
"I was an expert caretaker back in my place." Inala smiled cheerfully as he received his pay and bode his farewell, "If you ever need my services, please contact me through the Labour Association. I promise to complete any task in a jiffy."
"O-Okay," The maid nodded, a bit stupefied to see Inala whistle and walk away, muttering once he had left, "Who is this woman?"
"She has an air of royalty around her."
Primary Nature—Royalty!
Inala knew what he was doing. By being bald in a region where hair was the beauty standard, he drew attention easily. His work was rapid and the results were spectacular. Atop that, despite being dressed in shabby clothes, his actions were those of royalty. No, the very air around him resembled what emanated from someone with power.
By the time he completed his fifth Pet Care for the day, rumours had already spread around the Labour Association regarding him.
Bald Amita!
That was how they referred to him, since he was the sole bald woman in the city or possibly the entire Empire. Since it was easy to identify him, it was easy to note his actions too.
"How did it go?" Inala asked upon meeting Wittral along the way.
"Perfect," Wittral nodded, "All Mewcats become obedient when I release a tinge of presence. And it takes me less than a minute to clean them up."
Usually, Mewcats were messy, which proved to be very troublesome for the labourers who arrived to take care of them. Even if they manage to clean up the Mewcat, it would dirty itself immediately after, causing the labourers to waste more time repeating the same work.
Moreover, the majority of the time, a Mewcat remained bloodthirsty towards everyone other than its owner. So, it was troublesome to take care of them.
Conversely, it became an easy money-making scheme for Inala and Wittral, allowing them to make a reputation within the day.
"Use your abilities conservatively. Try to hide them within tools and such." Inala offered a word of advice, "Make everything think you're able to do what you're capable of only through Spirit Weapons."
"I know that, obviously." Wittral waved his hand casually and made his way to the Labour Association, "I began applying everything you said from the very beginning."
Seeing a bunch of useless items meant to be Spirit Weapons in his pockets, Inala knew that Wittral listened to everything he said, despite complaining. He followed Wittral into the Labour Association, listening in on the conversations to form a subtle smile, 'It's working as intended.'
'Our reputation is increasing rapidly. It's just a matter of time then.'