It was Yuyui's first time entering a Territory, even if it was a dormant one. Because of past experiences, she knew what a Territory projected by a beast would look like, especially in relation to its surroundings, but deliberately trapping herself within it wasn't something she was too happy about.
However, since Replicus nonchalantly followed after Timmit the grumpy stork, she followed suit. Surely, if this bird suddenly went rogue and decided to attack, her master could do something about it, right?
These thoughts turned into fleeting whispers in her brain however, as she saw a large nest masterfully woven from dried grass and twigs that had the subtle misty overlay of sturdy, pure mana.
The round structure of about seven meters in radius stood over the beefy trunk of a severed tree which supported it firmly through the kinds of bird sorcery Replicus wasn't familiar with.
The two eggs within; one the size of a human head, with a grating scaly texture like stone, and a brownish hue, as well as the other which was about four times larger, with a pale turquoise lustre on its smooth shell, were making some ripe movements.
The smaller egg had a shallow crack on its face, and while the other was yet to show signs of a breach, it trembled violently.
The haze of mana around the nest seemed to be propagating the fierce reactions from within the eggs. It wasn't a surprise however, because within this Territory, where lush red vegetation thrived, a staggering volume of pure mana could be seen gathering above in a bland sky, and slowly dripping down like translucent rain.
Seeing the eggs, Replicus' sockets lit up frightfully.
"Look at this. These eggs are moments away from hatching. You weren't trying to bond with them before calling me over, were you?" Replicus asked in an accusing tone.
Timmit took lackadaisical steps into the large nest and settled comfortably. His eyes depicted a human-like lax.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
Replicus shook his head.
Yuyui poked him, garnering his attention for another question as to what they were doing here, but he gestured for her to be patient and to look around if she would.
She didn't like the idea.
Replicus sat down on the oddly coloured grass, and the clouds that clung to him rose to gather above him, leaving his starkly black skeleton on full display.
"Urgh. Vile!" Timmit remarked.
"Right back at you. Try to be more bird-like, will you?" Replicus shot back.
Timmit clapped his beak.
"Making yourself at home, are you? You know how much energy it takes to gather all this pure mana, pfff?"
"The forest is producing it, not you. Besides, you can keep your Territory open almost indefinitely. I'm not about to feel sorry for you, sockethole."
Timmit looked appalled, which, when his beak pried open to properly display how he felt, looked utterly hilarious.
Replicus ignored the stork.
He looked to focus as he sat down, on the mana visible in different shapes around and above.
Through a plethora of experiences, Skullius had discovered that pure mana was different from that which humans expelled from mana cores for their skills – though it was produced from the Centre of the core once a mana core was established, only to be changed by the Refinery.
Pure mana was also different from cumulative mana experience, as it was completely devoid of artificial influence, and at most it carried the aspects of wherever it was situated. Natural concepts and elements for instance.
Humans raised their stats by levelling up, as all creatures did, but to efficiently boost their physical properties, they absorbed the energy from Enriching Gems. As Skullius had discovered months before, his Penetrator form fell under the beast category, and thus while adopting it, he couldn't absorb the gems like humans did.
Because of this, he found this inability of beasts to improve stats with gems to contradict how powerful some of them – those not from Clusters at least – got even when considering that evolving gave them a lot of said stats, but soon, he learned the secret.
Indeed, it was pure mana.
Beasts raised from Sacred Forests and outside special spaces, could refine pure mana through their bodies to enhance their mana cores. They could inflate their mana values to an extreme degree, and by evolving to higher Tiers, they rapidly mastered how to condense their mana cores to the next level – blue, purple and gold – consciously, which in turn bulked up their other stats furiously.
It was a longer process, but it was effective.
Skullius had been told before by Benzard, back in the Tremur Forest, that beasts only became troublesome when they reached the Fourth Tier. This was undoubtedly part of what he meant.
Replicus took a breath, though the sound that occurred was more like that which one would hear when a gust of wind blew into a cave mouth.
The pure mana in Timmit's Territory gushed towards him in droves, entering his body at once.
When it was there, Replicus applied what he had been taught by Timmit some time ago – a secret he had only learned after making an important trade – and then...
[Your mana has increased by 1,500]
[Your mana has increased by 700]
[Your mana has increased by 500]
...
Once again, Replicus' second mana core trembled as a wild gush of mana bellowed within it.
He took another breath.
[Your mana has increased by 2,000]
[Your mana has increased by 1,200]
[Your mana has increased by 850]
"That's enough you bastard pfff! Some of us have to create savings!" Timmit squawked.
Replicus looked exasperated.
"Really? I was just getting started."
"Started?! I have already been hospitable by allowing you to drain my supplies! If you had one mana core, I would have allowed you another minute, but two?!" Timmit flapped his wings violently in rage. "Wait! Was that your play all along for suddenly coming without my call, pfff?! To steal some pure mana from me?!"
"Of course not. I'm just here for the eggs."
Yuyui watched with a dumbfounded visage. Her unwavering attention on the eggs had been drawn away by the tiff here.
What was this?
If it was her from before she got stuck in the Temple of Unlusted Tears, she wouldn't have believed that a bird and a skeleton were having this kind of interaction.
It looked absurd.
A few moments of quarrelling later, Replicus turned to a serious discussion with Timmit.
"So, you heard any news about that quaking?" the Penetrator asked.
The stork settled back down and adopted a complicated look in its eyes.
"Yes. It's bad. I went off to meet a few old friends on the mainland some time ago. Urgh. Everything is going wrong. I barely made it back myself. Giant towers are springing up from the ground and spitting out unbelievably powerful monstrosities. Some guardians have had to intervene to save entire regions. Some powerful humans too."
Replicus' sockets flashed with a deeper light.
"Towers?"
"Yes. It's only happening in Pelian though, but I've seen some of those fiends spotting wings! Wings! One of them even chased after me! Sooner or later, those monstrosities will probably become everyone's problem, pfff."
Replicus pulled his fingers to his chin.
Well, that was unexpected.
No wonder the Factions had been called, and by the mysterious Immortals no less, if they truly existed.
But the way Timmit described...
"What did these towers look like? Did you get a good look?"
The stork looked insulted by the question. His long neck drew back.
"Get a closer look? Get a closer look?!"
Replicus raised his hand, gesturing that he knew how absurd that sounded. But...
"Well, yes I did get a look! More like a glance. Horrible things. I felt like I shouldn't have seen. They looked old. Too old. As if they predate the seas!" Timmit shook his head.
Replicus went deep into thought.
Well, if that was the case.
Perhaps he was right or maybe he wrong, but...
'It's more or less confirmation. I was weary about what he would do in the end. It's probably...'
Suddenly, there was a chipping and cracking noise.
The smaller egg in the nest began to hatch, rather eagerly at that.
Whatever was inside had had enough of a being cramped in the small space all this time. If one could be presumptuous, they'd say whatever it was, was a little claustrophobic.
A moment later, the egg shattered, and a little thing emitted a scream of effort, along with a tongue of furious orange-pink fire that showered Yuyui, melting her in an instant!
...!
"Bright Storm! Bright Storm!" Timmit yapped urgently. He hadn't thought that there'd be such violence with the hatching, or worse, murder.
"Your partner! The stranger! Do something!" Timmit pointed with his wings.
But Replicus was looking at the creature that had just finished coughing out a truly astounding flame, while giving no attention to Yuyui's remains whatsoever.
Timmit stuttered, stammered and stuttermmered.
But then, to his absolute shock...
"Awwwwww! He's so cute!"
The stork found an unharmed lime-haired girl rushing to the little thing that was hiccupping sparks, and kneeling to look at it with unwavering interest.
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