Inala's fingers danced as he began to sew the threads of wool into various designer styles, expertly interweaving the different shades of wool to form intricate patterns. In a few hours, a pair of clothes were ready.
The style, quality, comfort, and ease of wearing easily exceeded that of the nomadic Kingdom nearby who didn't have the time, energy, and effort to invest in the art of wool weaving. They were more focused on surviving, as all weak Free Human Kingdoms did.
While Inala worked on transforming the acquired wool into clothes, Virala used a bone syringe to extract his blood. Any part of his body could be used as a Spirit Weapon, and the extent of control only increases over time as he gets more used to it.
Similar to how an Empyrean Snapper controls water, Virala can control his blood. But he would have to prepare enough first and seep Prana into it from time to time so that it doesn't degrade.
Once he had collected enough amount, Virala approached the nearby trees and injected small quantities of the blood into the veins on the leaves. From time to time, he made contact with the blood through psychokinesis to keep them operational.
When a Balghat consumes enough quantity of these leaves, Virala uses psychokinesis on the blood within them and moves them into its respiratory tract, thus way suffocating them. This was the most cost-effective method he had figured out over the years.
"Wear this!" Inala threw a woollen suit and said, "It has decent defensive properties against Iron Grade Pranic Beasts. Unless it's something like a Bludder, you won't be dying from a single hit."
Balghats can regrow the layer of wool covering their bodies over the course of a month naturally. Otherwise, they can consume 220 units of Prana to regrow it to full capacity in under an hour.
"Wait…" Virala grabbed the suit and lifted it, noticing that it was a block of wool woven like a suitcase, "How the fuck am I supposed to wear it?"
"Seep your Prana into it and you'll witness the magic." Inala laughed and detailed, "Just one unit will do."
"What are you talking about…" Virala muttered in confusion but did as told, shrieking in surprise when the block of wool expanded around him like when the Balghat activated its Primary Nature and wrapped around him, "Fucker! Are you trying to kill me…wait a second! This feels nice."
Virala observed a stylised woollen suit covering him, wrapping his body perfectly. It was as if it was created just for him, as it outlined his figure to the decimals and depicted his physique in the best way possible.
"Have you been touching me while I was asleep?" Virala stared at Inala in disgust, "I never knew you swung that way."
"Hahaha!" Inala burst into laughter in response, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in touching poop. You're the kind of poop even dung beetles avoid, so don't kid yourself."
"Itching to be beaten up once again?" Inala stared at Virala upon noticing the opponent's anger, "I don't mind using your face to wipe a Balghat's ass."
"Fuck you!" Virala raged and poured Prana into his two puppets that sprung upon Inala, intending to beat him up. But suddenly, small yarns of wool slammed into them and expanded rapidly to constrict their bodies.
Followed by a thud, the two puppets fell on the ground, unable to break free no matter how much Prana Virala poured into them, as they had been expertly targeted at the joints, unable to exercise any muscular strength.
"You were saying?" Inala stared at Virala and raised an eyebrow, "Are you still harbouring delusions of besting me in combat?"
"You might be strong, but I have dozens of methods to neutralise you in any situation," Inala commented and touched the wool cocoon on the two puppets. By expending a unit of Prana per each, he collected them in their cocoon forms.
"Shit!" Virala grumbled in anger and stared at the suit he was wearing, "What the fuck have you done here?"
"And why is the power of a Balghat still present within the wool?" He stared at Inala in disbelief, "Are you able to use its Nature?"
"Its wool is its Nature." Inala said, "As long as Prana is infused into it, the Balghat's wool can express the properties of its Nature. All I'm doing here is adding in an element that can absorb Prana from others and pour it into the wool."
Had Inala had his Tertiary Nature of Prana Stitch, this would have been an extremely simple process. But since he didn't have that, he had to rely on his Skill of Palm Stitch, which was fixed on his palm print.
If one looked at the pattern that the wool had been weaved with, it would resemble Inala's palm print. To the eyes of anyone else, it would only look like one of the patterns of the wool clothes. But this was the imprint that allowed Inala's Palm Stitch to remain in function, as he had laid it on the wool strings forming the pattern.
As long as the pattern wasn't damaged through wear and tear, it'll remain in effect, keeping the Balghat's Primary Nature of Wool Expansion functional. When a unit of Prana is seeped into the suitcase of wool, the pattern absorbs it and distributes the Prana through the wool, which activates it.
The wool latches onto the target that had poured Prana inside it and forms a cocoon, similar to how it works for a Balghat. But Inala had weaved it in such a way that the woollen threads were unable to tighten beyond a certain level.
Thereby, all they did was align themselves closely to the outline of the target body. Inala had weaved a bit of wool in excess for all sections, especially at the stomachs, thighs, and shoulders. This allowed the suit to accommodate itself for varying physical features.
He planned to label them for people with a certain body size, for the suit would be able to accommodate all variations within that range. In his plans, there were six suits for male and female adults respectively, twenty suits for male and female teenagers separately, and finally, more than forty for the children that grew fast.
As the wool was the product of a Nature, it was pretty strong in its defensive capabilities. It was something that regular people could wear even in the Brimgan Empire, not to mention a Free Human Kingdom on a desperate run for survival.
It looks cool, boasts great defensive aspects, can accommodate varying body frames and sizes, and best of all, can be worn and taken off in a second by expending only one unit of Prana each time.
The excess fabric present in the suit would form hats, shoulder pads, and frills along the leg section. There wasn't much variety in terms of colours as Inala was limited to the natural colours.
But for the time being, that wasn't important. Once the duo infiltrate the closest Kingdom and establish themselves as a merchant organisation, they could look for suitable dyeing processes. Their goal was after all to use that as a setup and eventually enter the Varahan Empire.
"Won't your workload become too high in the future?" Virala frowned and stared at Inala, "Though you were fast, it still took you a few hours for a suit. Won't it be impossible to keep up with the pace once we start a business in the Varahan Empire?"
"When the demand increases, we'll label ourselves a luxury brand." Inala grinned, watching Virala's eyes widen in realisation, "Since we can only produce a limited amount, our suits will become a limited-edition luxury good. The people that purchase our suits can brag about it, as it'll become a status symbol."
"Man, you really thought it through completely." Virala nodded in praise before asking, "But we'll definitely become too big. Won't Yamahara investigate us just in case?"
"Can't you change your appearance?" Inala stared at Virala, "You can gradually reshape your entire skeleton, right?"
"Yes, it's possible." Virala nodded, "But my presence won't be changing, since I am still myself."
"What if we cultivate one of the Varahan Empire's cultivation techniques?" Inala asked next and stared at Virala, "Will it still be possible for them to identify us?"
"Even without all that," He eyed Virala, "Do you know that you've grown a bit older as compared to before?"
"I did?" Virala thought for a bit before he observed Inala, "Wait, you look older too. I never noticed since I observed your physical changes daily."
They were currently covered in mud, had unkempt hair, covered by an array of clothes whose materials were sourced from a variety of Pranic Beasts they had come across in the past three years, and had thinned out a lot due to their diet.
Inala and Virala were currently 53 years old. After their Spirit Containers had been sealed and they dropped to the Spirit Stage, their actual age was beginning to show. Thanks to Prana, they were still able to move without much difficulty, but the moment the duo thought in the direction, they tallied the differences.
"We're indeed getting older." Virala grinned as he calculated, "If we remain in this Kingdom for a few years, we'll grow even older. By then, we won't even have to add any disguises."
"Yes," Inala nodded, "A wrinkled skin, a bushy beard, and the exhaustion stemming from old age will modify our presence naturally. Even Brangara won't be able to associate us with the identities of our actual bodies."
Even Inala's Royal Zinger form had a lifespan spanning multiple centuries. His appearance was that of a youth in his early twenties, still in his prime. It was even more exaggerated for Virala, who would remain in his prime after a millennium or two.
Even when disguised, their presence would still contain the confidence stemming from their pinnacle strength. But the current duo of Inala and Virala here had been living as powerless individuals. At the slightest sound, their bodies flinched and reacted.
They had actual trauma due to their survival life, which made them seem like completely different people. Even without any disguise, it would be hard for anyone else to recognise who they were.
"Can you recognise me as Inala if you didn't stare at my mug daily?" Inala asked.
"Fuck no." Virala chuckled and began to prepare food, "How much do you want to stockpile?"
"At least twenty suits, with some age and gender variety." Inala said and stared at Virala, "And a dozen bodyguards from your side. If we go in alone, we'll be murdered."
"I know," Virala huffed in response, "I'll prepare a team of puppets to act as our bodyguards."
Five months later, they were prepared. A wagon carrying suits in the shape of suitcases was escorted by a team of bodyguards, numbering ten in total. There were traces of destruction and repair across the wagon, with blood and flesh smeared across it.
While two of the bodyguards pulled the wagon, the figures of Inala and Virala were seated inside, protecting their goods, their expression tired and distraught, displaying that they had been through a lot to get here in safety, after going through untold sacrifices.
Slowly, they travelled across Petrichor Savannah and were ganged up by a group of predators, right when they were fifteen kilometres from the nomadic Kingdom.
"The timing couldn't have been any better." Inala muttered as he spotted a group of soldiers far away and began to fight, "Let's survive until they get here."
"Should I act like a damsel in distress?" Virala expressed a shy smile, "What if my acting is too good?"
"Oh, shut your stinky trap!" Inala hit Virala in the head and pointed at the group of predators that had surrounded them, "Act?"
"Bastard, we truly must fight for survival. Otherwise, we will become their dinner."