“Seriously? This house?” Grehha panted as he covered his ears due to the slapping of the Empyrean Tusk’s tail and stared into Inala’s new home. He looked around, observing that no one else lived in the vicinity.
This region was uninhabited in the first place. And with the settlement losing half its population recently, the area around the 44th Empyrean Tusk’s buttocks was a ghost town.
“I’m surprised you figured out my address this quickly,” Inala expressed his praise, “You must be desperate for my assistance, huh?”
Grehha didn’t comment about that. Instead, he stared at Inala in all seriousness, asking with a mildly dejected tone, “Are you sure about this?”
“Your goal is the Zinger Queen?”
Inala’s eyes widened subtly at his statement.
Grehha didn’t let it slip past his notice, sighing in disappointment as a result, “So, I guessed it right. Why?”
He focused all his attention on Inala’s face, observing his every minor change in facial expression, “The Zinger Queen is only an Expert Iron Grade Pranic Beast. No Mammoth Clansmen that ever fuses with an Iron Grade Pranic Beast will be allocated enough resources to become a master. You have no future, especially without a cure.” 𝓞𝑽𝗅xt.𝒸𝚘𝔪
He glared at Inala, “You wouldn’t even survive until the Second Major Disaster.”
“What about you, then?” Inala snorted, “Your goal is to become a Mud Viper. That’s merely a Beginner Iron Grade Pranic Beast, the lowest of the low.”
Grehha was stunned by his words, staring at Inala in shock, “How…?”
“Come in first.” Inala motioned to his living room, “We’ll talk inside. Even if this place is a ghost town, there might still be ears around.”
His mood serious, Grehha entered the house and closed the door, taking a seat in the living room. He looked around, unable to notice any of Inala’s belongings there, ‘Everything here’s from the previous owner.’
Inala’s current home was special. During the First Major Disaster, this was where the egg with the Zinger Queen would be laid. The fact that Inala picked it meant he intended to become a Zinger Queen.
“That’s impossible,” Grehha expressed his confusion, “A male Mammoth Clansmen can only fuse with a male Pranic Beast egg. The gender rule cannot be violated. If you still force your way through, you’ll explode.”
“I have plans regarding that.” Inala smiled calmly.
“Do you think it will work?” Grehha snorted, “Stop being delusional. Just because you think it’ll work doesn’t mean…”
“Oh, it’ll work.” Inala patted his chest, “I’m not basing it on some hypothesis. It has been proven in Sumatra Chronicles.”
“Impossible,” Grehha shook his head, “If something like that could be done, I would have noticed…”
“Are you sure about that?” Inala stared at Grehha with a sense of arrogance, “Just like me, you might have read the book multiple times. But, can you recall every single line from it? Moreover, do you understand every single sentence?”
“I don’t,” Inala said, “I only remember the parts that have given me a vivid impression. Only the lines related to it are crystal clear in my memory. As for the rest, I only remember the story, character, and the general meaning and intent behind the dialogues to the scenes.”
“Aren’t you the same?” He continued, “Didn’t you base your plan on certain paragraphs that confirm your theories?”
“I get what you’re saying,” Grehha sighed in defeat and asked, “So, somewhere in Sumatra Chronicles, your method has been confirmed?”
“Yup, it was just a one-liner though.” Inala said, “And it was said in passing. Whether it be the chapter comments or even the paragraph comments to the paragraph with that line, not a single reader commented about it. There was no weight given to it because the event accompanying that statement carried a significant impact. Everyone focused on that.”
Grehha was silent. The moment the creature resembling Cthulhu brought him to that mysterious space, he realised Sumatra Chronicles wasn’t merely a story. It was an account of reality being written by a deity.
That was why the novel was that damn interesting. Moreover, it had so many secrets buried within it.
The entire novel was a treasure trove of secrets. The greater one researched upon it and pondered the various sentences forming it, the more underlying rules of Sumatra Continent would they unearth. “If only I could refer to the book whenever I want…”
“I feel the same,” Inala sighed, “I have the thought almost all the time.”
“So, what’s our plan?” Grehha spoke after a couple of minutes of silence, “Are you giving up on the cure?”
“We realise Empyrean Tusk’s heart is the cure, but in truth, it could also be interpreted otherwise.” Inala said, “Fragment Disease isn’t a disease but a condition due to having a stronger Empyrean Tusk’s characteristic. We’re closer to the Empyrean Tusk in terms of our body’s constitution, a lot more than the other Mammoth Clansmen.”
Grehha’s eyes widened in surprise as realisation finally dawned on him, “I see, so that’s what she meant?”
“She?” Inala caught onto his expression and pressed forth, “What do you mean by that, Grehha?”
“It’s nothing…” Grehha got up, intending to leave.
“Take a seat,” Inala’s voice dropped in tone, expressing killing intent, “Do you think I was sharing information with you for free?”
He calmly patted the sofa, “Sit.”
Grehha glared at Inala while the latter did the same. The two remained in a staring contest for ten whole minutes, allowing him to realise, ‘Inala is serious this time. If I don’t cooperate, I wouldn’t be walking out of this house unscathed.’
There would be a fight to the death. Grehha observed his surroundings with more attention this time, noticing pieces of bone subtly placed all around him, mostly hidden, ‘Spirit Weapons! My goodness! How many has this madman refined?’
The entire house was one major trap, ‘That was why he lured me in by goading me with sensitive information. I walked right into his trap.’
“It’s good that you realised,” Inala spoke calmly, “I purposely left a few in the open to make you aware. Now, take a seat, Grehha.”
“The night’s long, and before we enter Dieng Canyon, I intend to discuss with you, heart to heart.” Inala expressed his resolution, “Believe me when I say I truly intend to exchange information with you.”
“I have observed everyone for the past month. And I can say that you’re also treading a route similar to mine. Our interests are aligned and wouldn’t conflict for at least a year.” He concluded, “Hence, I believe we both can benefit from this deal.”
“We each have valuable information. Let’s exchange it.”
“Fine…” Grehha sighed and took a seat. It was his fault to have let his guard down. Unless Inala was satisfied, he couldn’t leave the house. In his possession was a bucket with the Mud Viper toxin. Other than that, he only had one Spirit Weapon in his pocket.
In contrast, Inala had as many as he wanted, placed strategically throughout the living room. If a fight were to erupt, Grehha would die, irrespective of how much Prana he had. ‘Inala’s fully prepared and enjoys home-ground advantage here. I was too na?ve. Since I had been visiting his house daily over the past month, I forgot that we’re not in the academy anymore. There’s no protection from the Instructors here.’
Grehha stared at Inala, eventually revealing the secret that he had blurted out by mistake before, “I spoke to our Empyrean Tusk today.”
