?433 Prepare Hard, Wittral
"How's Dhakha adjusting to work there, Hayaya?" Occupying a seat on the third floor while staring at Asaeya was Wittral, asking in concern, "I hope he hasn't caused any trouble."
"Oh, he's a spectacular worker." Asaeya praised, "I'm having an easier time managing my business now. It's all thanks to your recommendation, Wittral. Otherwise, I would have missed out on such a dedicated individual."
"Hahaha, I'm pleased." Wittral smiled in response.
"By the way," Asaeya took out a box and placed it on the table, "Dhakha asked me to give this to you. I don't know what it contains. He simply dodged the question and avoided giving me an answer."
"This is…?" Wittral stared at the box and was unable to recognise it, 'What is it?'
As he observed it, his gaze fell on the lock that had been added to the box. Once Wittral touched the lock and seeped Prana inside, he detected a series of complex moving parts that could only be moved by two Natures—Subtle Terrain Domination or Tangible Psychokinesis.
There was no other way to unlock it.
"Open it, I want to see what's inside." Asaeya expressed her interest and peered forward. "It's kind of frustrating to see it being locked. I tried using my Prana on it, but nothing I tried worked."
"Ah, give me a minute." Wittral smiled wryly, 'Thankfully, she failed. Whatever's inside must be Important if Amita's male form went to such extents to protect it.'
"Seriously, if it was that important, he could have given it to you on his own," Asaeya complained from the side.
'That's not possible.' Wittral knew the truth, for the moment Inala and Amita came within a range of 180 metres from each other, their minds would become connected, causing the influences in each other to pour into the other. Unless they were prepared, they might implode as a result.
"It's alright," Wittral consoled Asaeya as he unlocked the box, opening it to see a scroll and an orb inside. 'What is this?'
Wittral unfurled the scroll, recognising the handwriting inside to be Amita Brimgan's as he read through the contents, instantly closing the box shut as he smiled apologetically towards Asaeya, quickly cooking up a lie on the spot, "It's our hometown's ancestral inheritance. I apologise that I can't show it to you."
"Hmph, fine." Asaeya snorted and huffed as she grumpily returned to her seat. A few seconds later, she got up and approached Amita Brimgan once the latter had finished serving the customers, engaging in a chat with her.
Once Asaeya had gone farther away, Wittral fully unfurled the scroll and took his time reading through it.
[Loot is at Fentan City. The bone-covered entity in the wanted poster spread across the city two days ago is him. Hayaya stumbled upon him and gathered a crowd to fight him. They were unable to even scratch him though. He managed to easily escape the barrage. Well, he probably was focused on something else. Otherwise, given his strength, he could have killed everyone in a matter of seconds. But during the chaos, I managed to steal a few of his treasures. I'm sending this one to you, since it'll be absolutely necessary to protect yourself from his abilities.]
His back was drenched with sweat as Wittral read the scroll further, 'What the fuck is this? Loot's scarier than I imagined!'
[Loot's able to reside in the Nature Slots of others. Moreover, he's able to steal the Natures of others and store them in an orb form. So, the only way to remain safe from him is to have three Natures. Hence, I have sent you one such orb. The moment you touch it, you'll obtain a Nature. Loot can still steal it from you if he manages to touch you, but at least, he wouldn't be able to enter your body without stealing this orb from your Nature slot first. Once you touch it, you'll understand the rest. Prepare hard, Wittral. I'm counting on you.]
"This is too much information." He felt a headache for a moment, becoming paranoid as he hallucinated that the faces of everyone he stared at resembled Loot. He then inhaled and exhaled rhythmically to calm down and touched the orb, watching it merge into his body instantly. "This is…?"
Secondary Nature—Kinesis Deity!
'Isn't this the Nature of the Brimgan Royalty?' Wittral was in a state of shock as he digested the stream of information that poured into his mind from the Nature Weapon equipped in his secondary Nature slot.
'This is the reason behind the Brimgan Empire's strength.' Wittral became aware once he comprehended the Nature of Kinesis Deity. He then perceived Loot's threat, 'He's able to steal the Natures of others and equip it to himself. Now, everything makes sense. It's why he was able to use a plethora of abilities and managed to fool my Cooter Clan.'
"So, that's your true strength." Wittral shuddered in response, 'This means that he already has the Mudropper's Nature in this orb form. It was by using it that he unleashed the Sandy-Grey Void that trapped us all.'
Wittral analysed the information at his disposal, 'Loot's ability should be similar to the Boar King's Voracious Nature. So, he'll only be able to steal the Primary Natures of his target. As long as a target has more than one Nature, he'll be unable to obtain their Nature. That's also why the Boar King doesn't target Mutated Pranic Beasts, since he can't obtain their Natures.'
His gaze shot towards Amita, 'Thankfully, Amita has three Natures. So, she should be safe.'
He then observed Hayaya, 'There's a possibility Loot could enter her. It's a risk keeping Amita's male form with her.'
But upon recalling Inala's intelligence, Wittral understood that Inala might have planned something to ensure Hayaya would be safe and couldn't be compromised by Loot. "I'm simply getting paranoid now."
He laughed awkwardly, 'Loot has already stolen our Spirit Containers. He could have obtained our powers from it. So, he has no incentive to target us ever again. But in any case, I should inform the Boar King about this. Armed with this knowledge, he'll be able to deal with Loot soon enough.'
'He's probably gone out once again. Then, it's for the best to inform Yarsha Zahara first.' Thinking as such, Wittral wrote a letter of invitation for Yarsha Zahara.
"Then, I'll take my leave." Asaeya bode him farewell and left the Misty Flake Tea House.
"Visit anytime." Wittral waved at her and exited the tea house to post the letter. Once he returned, he observed Amita laughing about as she conversed with Maroppa, greeting the latter, "Madam Maroppa, you've arrived."
"Oh, Wittral, I'll be hosting a banquet in a week." Maroppa said after a round of greetings, "Would you take charge of preparing food and drinks for the event?"
"It would be my pleasure." Wittral smiled happily, glad to receive such a large commission, 'I can pay off a decent chunk of the loan through this alone.'
"Will the guests be from your business circle?" Amita Brimgan asked.
"No, there will be businessmen from other sectors too. I've invited a few Royals too." Maroppa said, "I've sent an invitation to Farloon Brimgan. There's a chance he'll use this event to introduce you formally to other Royals. You need to prepare well, Amita."
"Will do," Amita laughed excitedly, chirping in response, "Oh, what dress should I wear? I'm nervous."
"Let's go shopping later." Maroppa became excited too, "It has been a while since I last went on one."
'Compared to Inala, she's easy on the mind.' Maroppa thought as she spoke excitedly, 'I hardly feel any stress while talking to her. How did he manage to split his bodies into two completely different individuals? Inala's an enigma, I must say. He's as impressive as terrifying.'