Dieng Canyon!
Kenzar Echo stood atop one of the elevated mountains, leaning his back on a Baobab tree. He sat on his Homing Satellite and caused it to spin its rotors, assuming a state of flight. A few seconds later, the Royal Zinger appeared before him, carrying a large number of Biome Bombs strapped to his waist.
"How's the status here?" Inala asked as he looked around, observing the Zingers jumping from their spots to glide across the canyon airspace. Hung from their necks were items that they were meant to transport to the nearby regions.
"I have installed rock pillars along the route." Kenzar said before asking, his voice almost a whisper as he stared at the Biome Bombs hanging on Inala's hips, "What about the floating platforms?"
"We won't be revealing that," Inala shook his head, "This will remain an absolute secret of the Quip Clan."
The Zingers were experts in climbing and gliding. Their Prana Bombs were also ranged projectiles that they hurled from safety in the air. However, the moment they enter close combat, they'd be destroyed by even Iron Grade Pranic Beasts.
Therefore, to ensure they could travel from the Dieng Canyon to other regions, Kenzar had been actively creating Homing Satellites out of rock and moving them to the spots necessary.
Each of these Homing Satellites was exactly 1152 metres tall, resembling a human at first glance. But upon closer inspection, they'd notice the face sported a protruding jaw while the neck was somewhat elongated. The arms and legs sported claws, menacing to see while a thin membrane trailed from the wrist to the hip before similarly extending to the ankle.
It was Inala's Stage 2 Transformation of Wing!
Kenzar was building Homing Satellites in Inala's image, made out of stone, using them as both a show of force and a mode of assurance to the Pranic Beasts they had formed trade deals with. The image wasn't accurate from a height perspective, since Inala only attained that height at the Mystic Grade in his Pranic Beast form.
However, his Stage 2 Transformation of Wing was something he wielded while as a human. As a result, it could be said to be falsified information. But Kenzar focused on this aspect for a couple of reasons.
The first reason was that these Homing Satellites were the easiest to create and were the most efficient in design from a Quip Clansman's perspective. So, his Prana functioned with this design the best.
The second reason was to keep the Zingers calm as they left the Dieng Canyon and ventured forth into other territories. As long as they saw statues of Inala, they'd feel safe, which allowed them to travel long distances without worries.
Extending from the Dieng Canyon were these Homing Satellites. Currently, followed by thunderous sounds upon each step, these Homing Satellites were walking through one of its neighbouring regions.
After a certain distance, one of the Homing Satellites arrived at a halt, turning still as it assumed Prana saving mode. Unless the Key—which was a specific Zinger Shriek—was used on it, this Homing Satellite would never become active again, even if it was destroyed for unforeseen reasons.
Once it had arrived at a halt, a small cloud formed by gliding Zingers brushed past it, latching Prana Bombs onto its surface. These Prana Bombs were filled with Prana, and placed here to act as a reservoir for the Zingers that would be travelling by this route in the future.
The Prana Bombs were mostly placed on the upper back of the statue, keeping it beyond the reach of local Pranic Beasts. Depending on the type of Pranic Beasts present in the vicinity, the location where they'll latch on their reserve of Prana Bombs would vary.
That wasn't all. In the stomach of Homing Satellite was a safe zone where the Zingers could seek temporary refuge. Currently, the space was empty, but as the years span past, the Zingers frequenting the route could gradually fill up the insides with all necessities.
Every time the Zinger carried the goods to deliver to their location, they'd also carry a few Prana Bombs, some water, and any other item that they intended to place in the safety of the Homing Satellite.
Once the first Homing Satellite stopped moving, and the Zingers had finished decorating it with Prana Bombs, the Zinger Commander in charge of it unleashed a loud shriek.
Moreover, at every moment, at least a hundred Zingers would stay on the head of the Homing Satellite, keeping watch of their surroundings. There would definitely be a Zinger Commander in charge of the group, maintaining a chain of communication.
Once the first Homing Satellite stopped moving, and the Zingers had finished decorating it with Prana Bombs, the Zinger Commander in charge of it unleashed a loud shriek.
Some time later, the second Homing Satellite stopped, at a distance of twenty kilometres from the first Homing Satellite. A group of Zingers reached it by gliding from the first Homing Satellite, beginning to decorate it too.
This route had some tailwind, allowing the Zingers to glide a longer distance by taking advantage of the Homing Satellite's height. Depending on the terrain, the distance between successive Homing Satellites varied.
The number of Homing Satellites decreased steadily as they alighted at their respective spots. Eventually, the final Homing Satellite stopped before a great depression in the ground, one that seemed to have formed from an asteroid strike.
The shortest distance between two of the closest points on the crater reached 400 kilometres, with the longest distance surpassing 600 kilometres. Loose soil covered its rim, akin to a desert while the crater was a murky swamp.
Sunken Basket!
Due to the crater's boundaries that make it hard to move, most Pranic Beasts avoided this region except for a few Gold Grade Pranic Beasts that regularly treated the place as their hunting ground.
Home to a variety of Iron Grade Pranic Beasts, predated by small groups of Silver Grade Pranic Beasts, Sunken Basket was extremely dangerous for the average cultivator. Only someone as strong as a Brimgan Royal could afford to explore the place.
They'll have to be on the level of a Prince or Princess to treat the Sunken Basket as their playground. For the rest of the Free Humans, entering this place spelt their death.
The Homing Satellite slowly walked through the uphill desert and arrived at a stop towards the peak, one from where it could peer into the Sunken Basket without effort. The moment it arrived at a stop, a Silver Grade Pranic Beast exited the swamp and walked towards it, appearing brave.
Its brethren remained within the swamp, hiding right underneath its murky surface, their gazes trained on their brave brethren sent out as a scout.
Previously, Kenzar Echo had arrived at the region to discuss with the dominant Silver Grade Pranic Beast groups. They fought at the start and were forced to listen once Kenzar beat them up. Following that, when he explained the trading system, the Silver Grade Pranic Beasts were startled.
They couldn't understand why such a powerful existence that could easily subdue them bothered with such an elaborate excuse. However, since their lives had been spared, they intended to see how it went.
The Pranic Beast that left the swamp resembled an alligator but sported a dozen tails, the ends of which held pearls, murky green in colour, covered by cloud patterns. Though these pearls appeared beautiful, they had no functionality.
Intermediate Silver Grade Pranic Beast—Ghatyra!
Adult Ghatyra reached a length of thirty metres and had a wide jaw, almost resembling an excavator.
In truth, they were similar to the pearls of clams in that they irritated the appendages of these Silver Grade Pranic Beasts. Their mouths could both dig through the earth and clamp upon their prey to crush it into a paste with one bite.
But as they only have incisors and canines, they were unable to chew on their prey, having to rely on swallowing their prey whole. When they do, most of the unwanted substances that their body is unable to eject through excreta will gradually be concentrated at the end of their tails.
They'll have to regularly remove these pearls, otherwise, their digestive and circulatory system will be bombarded by their immune system until they develop a severe rash and die brutal deaths.
Typically, they'll extract the pearls once they have formed fully and dump them as far away as possible. After all, these pearls were toxic to them, so even consuming them by mistake would lead to a severe rash.
Hence, every single Ghatyra would spend hours every day digging beyond the Sunken Basket, which places their lives at risk. After all, they weren't agile on land and became vulnerable to Pranic Beasts that were mobile on land.
Hence, Kenzar's solution was a welcoming offer to them. Not only did he propose to buy these pearls from them for a price, but he also promised to pay them in Prana Bombs—Prana Bombs filled with Prana.
The Ghatyra approached the Homing Satellite bravely while a clump of sludge hovered above it. This sludge acted as a container, for it was considered its Spirit Weapon. Under control of its psychokinesis, the clump of sludge landed on the desert soil and unfurled to reveal four hundred pearls inside.
Kriek!
Followed by a shriek, a cloud of Zingers arrived and landed on the Homing Satellite, making it their nest. One among them was a tad larger, sporting unique characteristics. It leapt from the Homing Satellite and glided across the air before landing a few metres away from the Ghatyra.
It was a Quip Zinger. Upon landing, it reverted to human form, approached the surprised Ghatyra and picked up one of the pearls. Upon inspection, the Quip Clansman stared at the Ghatyra and nodded, opening his mouth to speak the native language with a somewhat awkward accent.
[As you might have discussed with Sir Kenzar, we'll purchase these Ghatyra Pearls at an exchange rate of one Prana Bomb per every forty Ghatyra Pearls.]
The Ghatyra watched as the Quip Clansman used psychokinesis to bring in ten Prana Bombs filled with a hundred units of Prana each and placed them before it. He then placed the Ghatyra Pearls in a container and handed them to one of the Zingers behind him.
After being in a daze for a few seconds, the Ghatyra approached a Prana Bomb and swallowed it, using its monstrous strength to crush it like it was a brittle egg. As the Prana-rich fluid flowed down its throat, it closed its eyes, relishing the taste.
After all, just by consuming that one Prana Bomb, it could recover 100 units of Prana in a few hours. Considering its stomach capacity, it could ingest enough Prana Bombs to recover its Prana reserves completely in a single sitting, which was extremely advantageous when these groups fought against Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
Seeing that the transaction was conducted fairly, the other Ghatyra hiding in the swamp surfaced, bringing a large batch of Ghatyra Pearls each. Upon seeing them, the Quip Clansman smiled happily and began exchanging the pearls with Prana Bombs.
From a value standpoint, the Ghatyra race was being ripped off. However, the Ghatyra Pearls were toxic to the Ghatyra. So in their minds, not only did they get someone who could safely dispose of this toxic substance but they were also being paid with Prana Bombs for the same. How could one refuse such a lucrative offer?
One after another, the Ghatyra came to exchange their Ghatyra Pearls while a group of them exited the Sunken Basket to head towards their usual dumping spot. Millions of Ghatyra Pearls had been dumped there for thousands of years. That deposit alone would give them incomparable wealth in terms of Prana Bombs, using which they could finally exact revenge on the Gold Grade Pranic Beasts constantly targeting them.
[The Quip Clan offers three services.]
The Quip Clansman said after buying a batch of Ghatyra Pearls, staring at the crowd of Silver Grade Pranic Beasts that had gathered before him.
[First, we'll purchase items such as the Ghatyra Pearls using Prana Bombs. Second, if you wish to stock up on Prana Bombs in times of peace, we'll give you empty Prana Bombs that can be filled up using your Prana. We'll charge a fifteen percent commission for doing so. Third, you can use Prana Bombs or their equivalent to purchase any item from the goods we sell.]
Saying so, he pulled up a long scroll containing a drawing that made sense to the Ghatyra. It contained a large variety of resources, including Elixirs that the young Ghatyra could consume to raise their Prana capacity faster during times of conflict.
They now had the choice. As the Ghatyra stared at the seemingly endless list, their eyes spun before expressions of excitement filled their beings, giving them the ambition of evolution. Upon seeing that the list also contained Free Humans, they began to make plans to form their Ravaged Tribe and expand beyond the Sunken Basket.
'It's going exactly as our Deity predicted.' The Quip Clansman thought in awe as the reaction of the race of Ghatyra was well within expectations, 'With this, the Sunken Basket has become our trading partner.'