Boom!
The shuttle crashed into the ground and splattered upon impact. The Imagination Art within broke into a hundred fragments. A shadow loomed over it and calmly passed over. It was the 44th Empyrean Tusk's right hind leg. Gannala continued to walk, and so did the rest of the Empyrean Tusks.
Even if this seemed like a significant event where dozens of elites participated in the rescue operation, there was no ripple from the outcome. The scale was too minor for the herd to bother about.
In Sumatra Chronicles, during one such visit to the 44th Settlement, the shuttle carrying Asaeya fell down. The elites tried to save her but failed. In the end, her body splattered upon impact. A drop from more than a kilometre height was nothing but a death sentence.
The shuttle's fall wasn't of any importance, which was why her death didn't even make it to Sumatra Chronicles.
"Inala! Inala! Get up!" Asaeya sobbed. She didn't have anything on her being to heal him. Prana did have healing properties, but unless she had a Skill or Nature geared towards healing, seeping her Prana into his body would only worsen the situation.
Inala's Prana would reject the foreign Prana. The clash would wound him further.
"Do you have an Elixir?" Asaeya looked at the elites near her, "If you have, please take it out. I'll reimburse you with a brand new Elixir immediately after."
The elites wryly smiled at each other, expressing helplessness. They were merely cultivators without any background that had graduated a few months ago and had only been granted Beginner Iron Grade Pranic Beasts.
They didn't have the resources to afford something on the level of an Elixir.
"We have notified the higher-ups. Help is on the way." One of the elites said and applied pressure on Inala's wounds, massaging the area to ease up the blood circulation, "Let's do everything in our power to prolong his life until then."
"Okay," Asaeya forcibly calmed herself down and looked at Inala's box-shaped bag. He carried his weapons in it, just in case. And they proved useful in saving her life.
Asaeya's goal wasn't his weapons, but Parute Fruit. She paid him 280 Parute Fruits for the Imagination Art. 'That can protect him!'
She grabbed a handful of Parute Fruits and crushed them, dripping their essence into Inala's mouth. The essence quickly made its way to his stomach, activating his Mystic Bone Art in response.
The Parute Fruits transformed into Prana that circulated in his body, beginning to heal the injuries. The consumption of 100 Parute Fruits would generate one unit of Prana. So, 280 Parute Fruits weren't much help.
But three units of Prana would still prolong his life for a bit longer. Thanks to the Mystic Bone Art's activation, the coldness setting in Inala began to wane.
"Does anyone have Parute Fruits?" Asaeya asked once she finished feeding all 280 of them to Inala.
"We have some reserve in our station." One of the elites said and rushed towards a secure safe in a nearby room and grabbed the box of Parute Fruits from within, "There's a thousand of them!"
"Thank you!" Asaeya sighed in relief, "Please be assured that I'll repay the amount immediately after."
1000 Parute Fruits generated 10 units of Prana, barely stabilising Inala's situation.
"What happened to Inala?" Instructor Mandu dropped down with a rope and hung outside the encampment on the Empyrean Tusk's knee. The encampment was shaped no different from a balcony, and placed on the floor there was Inala.
Seeing his condition, Instructor Mandu entered the encampment and inspected Inala's body, "Thankfully, he won't die. Enough Prana is circulating in his body to prevent his condition from worsening."
After completing his duties at the academy, Instructor Mandu was walking toward the guest room when he heard the commotion. And upon inquiring about the details with the elites nearby, he jumped down immediately. He didn't wish to see one of his talented students experience a premature death.
Instructor Mandu transported Inala to the Academy's infirmary, beginning treatment.
"He'll live, don't worry." The healer in the infirmary said after injecting a vial of medicine into Inala's bloodstream, "If nothing unusual happens, he ought to wake up in a day. His legs have been messed up. Due to his Fragment Disease, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to walk for the near future."
"Will he be crippled?" Instructor Mandu felt intense anger surge in him.
"That won't happen, don't worry." The healer commented, "His Prana would eventually heal his legs. With his current Prana reserves, he'll take two years to make a full recovery."
"Two years…" Instructor Mandu muttered, "Two years…! Two…years, huh?"
"Two years to recover naturally." The healer said, "We can use medicine to make the process faster but at the slightest burden, his body will break down further. The bodies of those infected by the Fragment Disease are sensitive and honestly fragile."
"Even at present, the amount of Prana in him has already put his body under strain. So, I wouldn't recommend…"
"That's enough. Notify me once he wakes up." Saying so, Instructor Mandu left the infirmary as he arrived at the academy's training grounds and stared at the sky, seeing hundreds of Zingers.
His legs fused to resemble a tail while his upper body ballooned in size, turning twice as big. Reddish-brown scales covered his body as a pair of horns protruded out of his forehead. His face transformed into that of a crocodile as claws appeared on his hands.
Intermediate Iron Grade Pranic Beast—Shock Lizard!
One of the most common Pranic Beasts that Mammoth Clansmen fuse with upon reaching the Body Stage. For its Grade, it boasted decent power. Its serpentine lower half allowed the cultivators to crawl through the grooves and channels in the settlement faster. Moreover, its ability was perfectly suited for the combat environment on the Empyrean Tusk's body.
Primary Nature—Prana Shock!
Instructor Mandu opened his lizard mouth and spewed forth a bolt of Prana that blasted into the Zingers upon impact. It unleashed a ripple of shockwave, paralysing the Zingers, numbing their bodies.
Without a break, Instructor Mandu unleashed a volley of Prana Shocks, causing Zingers to rain down from the sky. His bone spear flashed about and punctured their heads, "Arghhh!"
Instructor Mandu roared, dissatisfied. He rushed out of the academy and arrived before the guest room, staring at the old man whose slip-up caused everything.
"No, I'm not sure. I suddenly felt sleepy. And before I realised, I was asleep…" The old man was explaining himself to another master when suddenly, a bolt of Prana slammed into his face and exploded. "What the…who dared?"
"Fucker! I do!" Instructor Mandu roared as he rained down punches on the old man, "You had one job, the safest in our Clan. If you can't even do it properly, why the fuck are you alive?"