Clang!
Standing in a cave built within the Empyrean Colosseum and hammering his left hand nonstop was Inala. He had sprinkled the Celestial Boar's Vara on it and was busy trying to refine his left hand into a Vara Spirit Weapon.
There wasn't anything serious he had to ponder about or experiment with. The Celestial Boar's Vara was something he understood greatly, through experience.
And anyhow, its initial version only had the power of the Nature of Blessed Inheritance. Inala's only intention for the time being was to create some Celestial Boar's Vara Spirit Weapons and store them in his ten-storey Storage Lantern.
He could later experiment with it to and figure out a method to generate a Secondary Nature in it. For the time being, he intended to refine his hands into a Celestial Boar's Vara Spirit Weapon to capitalise on the upcoming fight.
Soon, the left hand turned into a Spirit Weapon in the shape of an Empyrean Boar's tusk. With Inala's current
Size, his left hand alone compromised of more volume than a human body. As a result, he would able to store as many Natures as the Royal Guards creating using the Celestial Boar's Vara.
Clang!
It was finally the day of the Varahan Challenge as Inala exited his private quarters within the Empyrean Colosseum and listened to faint murmurs that were gradually growing in intensity.
One after another, soldiers from both sides were encircling the stands, positioned as teams of three or four from the Wean Clan's side while the Varahan Empire dispatched groups of 20 each. The Varahan Empire's side consisted of Free Humans with Silver Grade strength. Hence, they had been dispatched as a group.
On the other side, the Wean Clansmen had Gold Grade strength. So, small teams were enough to manage a long stretch. And with three or four of them moving together, they wouldn't have to worry about ambushes too much.
They could also distribute Natures among themselves strategically, allowing for better effectiveness from an overall perspective.
"Tch!"
Snort!
Both sides grunted when they brushed past each other. They were controlling themselves to ensure a fight didn't break out in the stands. The battle highlight today would be from their respective Leaders.
As everyone had been given strict orders to remain neutral and prevent any conflicts from arising, they had to hold themselves back. Both sides were confident about their leader being the winner and intended to witness the fight.
They didn't want a minor conflict to erupt in the stands that would disrupt the Varahan Challenge.
"Hey," Inala waved his hand upon spotting DaraBuntara.
"Leukeu!" DaraBuntara's eyes lit up as he rushed towards Inala and exclaimed his surprise, "How…how did you manage to build this place in under a month?"
"I worked nonstop," Inala chuckled casually, "I received plenty of help from both sides, so things wrapped up quicker than my expectations."
His hands currently were normal, in the shape of his standard claws. When necessary, he could change them into tusk form—Vara Spirit Weapon.
'Anyway, I have gained everything I need from the Wean Clan.' Inala thought. He had upgraded his Mystic Sumatra Art to its latest version and had equipped himself with all useful Skills from the Gold Varahan Library.
He had Shuwrak Zahara's method to form a Secondary Nature in a Human Avatar, which he could take advantage of as long as he selects Spirit Weapons that wholly expressed the power of a Nature.
Such Spirit Weapons were just miniature Human Avatars. Even though technically, without the respective Spirit Weapon, Inala wouldn't have their Nature. However, as the Spirit Weapons expressed the power of the Nature, he could unleash the same effect.
It was as if he had the Nature, from a result standpoint. There were pros and cons with this setup.
Cons were the fact that he wasn't as versatile as the original user of the Human Avatar, since they could compliment their build with Skills. That wasn't possible in his case as he could only use Mystic Sumatra Art.
Pros were the influence aspects. Inala had zero worries since no Nature resided in his hands once they assumed Spirit Weapon forms. And thanks to his Secondary Nature, he could unleash the effects of the Spirit Weapons at levels close to the original.
As they were considered a part of his body, he could eventually reach the same output as the Human Avatar accompanied by its cultivation technique, Skills, and Prime Skills. As long as he turned the Spirit Weapon into an Imprint Spirit Weapon, this was possible.
"You've come a long way, Leukeu." DaraBuntara expressed as he observed Inala from top to bottom, "I can clearly feel how different you are from when I first saw you."
"Well, things happened at the Gold Varahan Library." Inala said and then asked, "Where is Shuwrak Zahara?"
"That…" DaraBuntara's eyes turned a tad sullen as he whispered, "…At the Varahan Empire's side."
"Openly?" Inala expressed his surprise.
"Yeah," DaraBuntara nodded, "Since both the Wean Clan and the Varahan Empire's people have gathered here, it's the best time to defect, since…"
"You only need to walk a few steps." Inala said as he eyed the audience stands. One half was occupied by the Wean Clansmen while the other half was occupied by the Varahan Empire's citizens.
There was no clear divide from a structural aspect. It was a divide between the people itself.
The Wean Clan's side was sparsely occupied while the Varahan Empire's side was bustling with activity, mostly filled. The soldiers, however, encircled the stands completely. There was no divide between them, since their task was to prevent external interference, which meant from all sides.
Even though they didn't express it, the Wean Clansmen stationed on the Varahan Empire's sides were nervous, feeling glares from the audience. They had to be the most alert and also resigned to the fact that if something were to happen, they would be attacked, and most probably killed first.
Even if they had Gold Grade strength, if over a hundred Silver Grade Free Humans were to target them at the same time, even they would die, especially if mixed amidst the attacks were those generated by Blessed Influences.
'Oh! He's representing the Brimgan Empire?' Inala stared in surprise to see the figure of Bronsk Brimgan, 'It's the second time he has gained the title of Brimgan Emperor. That must probably be the first time it's happening in the Brimgan Empire.'
Accompanying the Brimgan Empire's group were Mystic Humans, their expressions aloof, uncaring about the situation at hand. They were clearly here to sightsee and maybe broaden their horizons.
'A Spirit Eater and an Ewworm body with its tail made using Tratham.' Inala thought as he eyed the Mystic Human, having an interest in getting some Tratham, since that would give him long-range capabilities.
But that wasn't all. He wanted the Spirit Eater's Spirit Weapon, 'Technically in its current form as part of the Mystic Human build, a Spirit Eater cannot use its original Spirit Weapon, I should still be able to gain one using my power.'
Even if his Secondary Nature fails, the Major Treasure of Weapon was guaranteed to create one.
A Spirit Eater treated the being it revived as a Spirit Weapon. Therefore, Inala was curious about what he would gain from it. 'I've yet to get to Pranic Beast Spirit Weapons.'
He had been focused on mineral-based Spirit Weapons in order to gain his Secondary Nature. After that, he was busy building the Empyrean Colosseum. Therefore, he had yet to gather any Pranic Beast Spirit Weapons.
He was curious about a lot of Spirit Weapons from the Gold Grade Pranic Beasts he had seen in the Gold Varahan Library. Actually, even if he were to leave this place and venture out, he didn't wish to lose his identity as a Librarian.
The benefits were just too alluring to be let go on the long run. Actually, the Gold Varahan Library would only become more and more valuable in the future.
"Are you nervous?" Inala asked as he observed DaraBuntara.
"It'll be a lie if I said otherwise." DaraBuntara sighed, "I hope Dad wins."
KalTara was his father, which was why he was a valuable hostage to the Varahan Empire before. It was the only reason the Wean Clan exposed the existence of their spies in the Varahan Empire. They could let the son of their Leader be captured.
That would be both humiliating and also compromise their Clan's security details.
"Well, instead of worry, you should focus on the fight." Inala said in seriousness, "You'll benefit tremendously from it. Or rather, that is the goal of the Varahan Challenge."
"You mean…?" DaraBuntara's eyes widened as he observed the expressions of the Free Humans, "Those bastards!"
"It just means they have gained an edge over the Wean Clansmen." Inala explained, "They're planning to claim more of your powers through this fight."
"There's a possibility of a few more Free Humans becoming enlightened to achieve a State of Harmony." He concluded.
"Dammit," DaraBuntara became stressed in response. He thought through things and intended to ask for Inala's advice, only to lift his head and see the latter was…in a daze, "Leukeu?"
"…"
"Leukeu?"
"…Yes?" Inala responded, but clearly, his focus wasn't on DaraBuntara.
'Who is he looking at?' DaraBuntara frowned as he followed Leukeu's gaze and noticed the latter was staring at a random Free Human. The Free Human was a young man who had just entered the Body Stage, accompanied by a group of peers.
They all hailed from a prestigious academy in the Varahan Empire, established to nurture future generation of soldiers.
The young man didn't seem anything special among his peers. However, DaraBuntara observed that Inala was in a strange state, 'Is that…longing I sense?'
'I never thought Leukeu could express such an emotion. And that too at a Free Human. What is the cause?' While DaraBuntara pondered fruitlessly while whatever he asked Inala fell on deaf ears, the latter was barely controlling his urges.
'That body language, that gaze, I can never mistake it.' His eyes grew moist as he almost wanted to head to the place, pulling out the Nature Weapon from the young man's Nature slot and hug the entity, 'Gannala!'
Almost as if on cue, a group of Quip Clansmen shrieked as they glided over the skies of the Empyrean Colosseum. Their shrieks were Tangible Piezo Slips, launched radially so that everyone among the stands could listen.
Using their Tangible Piezo shrieks like a megaphone, the Zinger Prince, Kenka Echo landed in the centre of the Empyrean Colosseum and announced, his voice audible to everyone, "Welcome, everyone!"
"Free Humans, Tribesmen, Clansmen, Pranic Beasts! I welcome you all to the Empyrean Colosseum where Sumatra's first historic event is about to take place. Without further ado," Kenka roared in excitement, "Let's applaud for two individuals who stand at the peak of the Gold Grade and are leaders of two of the strongest forces on Sumatra."
"Make some noise!" As he roared, two individuals walked out of the stand and landed on the battle ground, causing a dull thud each.
The Varahan Challenge had begun!