Primary Nature–Gentle Coral Dominance!
This was the Nature Torq obtained after fusing the Gentle Coral Spirit Pool into his Spirit Container. Activating the Primary Nature allowed him to secrete a whitish substance with hints of grey in it, which was fluid for the initial few seconds.
Torq condensed a sphere of the substance on his palm, observing its properties. Through the aid of psychokinesis, he was able to shape it as he pleased. A few seconds later though, he couldn't mould its shape any longer, for it had hardened.
Now, held in his palm was a coral, which was gradually starting to shine shades of green, blue, and red. Gentle Coral was a substance that appeared in liquid state when created and promptly solidified in a matter of seconds.
In terms of hardness, it was no different from regular corals found in sea waters. Moreover, just like any live coral, it had self healing properties, capable of repairing any damage it sustains by gradually absorbing nutrients from the water.
The recovery time was high, however, spanning days or more depending on the sustained damage. It was decently versatile, but didn't give much combat power to a Cooter Clansman.
'I can control it using psychokinesis for around three to four seconds, before it solidifies.' Torq tallied his observation. Once solidified, the Gentle Coral was no longer considered his Spirit Weapon, and hence, couldn't be controlled using his psychokinesis any longer.
The Gentle Coral Spirit Pool was typically selected by Cooter Clansmen who had no hope for a future and barely managed to graduate. Even though this build didn't give them any combat power, they could be actively involved in creating small boats and underwater constructs in terms of fishing and other marine activities.
Though weak, it had plenty of uses. Moreover, just lacing a reef worth of Gentle Coral in the depths of a water body boosted its marine life. The fact that Gentle Coral could sustain and maintain itself in all water bodies made it pretty useful.
It was a Spirit Pool exclusively developed by the Cooter Clan precisely to develop the Tsloch Sea's marine activity.
'It has its uses, but not in the least valuable for me.' Torq threw the piece of Gentle Coral in the sea and walked towards the edge, where a jetty had been constructed. Standing on the other end of the jetty was Runthral, appearing stiff.
"I'm surprised you bothered to stay behind." Torq taunted, "You could have left five days ago."
"Are you afraid you'll miss me?" He purposefully spread his arms wide and grandly behaved like he was about to hug Runthral, "Ohhhh…my sweet child…"
"..." Runthral stepped to the side, expressing zero intent to be touched by Torq. In silence, he stared at the horizon, keeping focus until an annoying head blocked his view.
"Are you enjoying the view?" It was Torq, his facial muscles scrunching up to appear as ugly as possible.
"Used to," Runthral expressed in annoyance, "Until shit blocked my view."
"That's your face." Torq calmly moved to the side and condensed a film of water to resemble a mirror, which now reflected Runthral's face, "See, it's yours."
"..." Runthral wanted to argue, but refrained from doing so, aware he wasn't good enough with his words to make a sound comeback.
'You can't do even this?' Torq looked down on the other party for a second before he stood nearby in silence. A few minutes later, he asked, "Will you be travelling from now on?"
"Yes," Came the reply as Runthral eyed the horizon, noticing a small dot appear there, "I will go on a training journey until I reach a point where I'm ready to assume my Deity form."
"I see," Torq nodded and stared in the same direction as Runthral, "You'll have to train for the rest of your life to…maybe think of reaching that point."
"Fuck you!" Runthral cursed aloud, "You're merely a thief."
"A talented thief," Torq corrected the statement, "Repeat after me."
"A. Talented. Thief."
"I'll be asking for permission to bring you with me." Runthral announced suddenly, sporting a wide grin as he eyed Torq, "Be ready to die."
"If there's something out there that can kill me," Torq chuckled, "It damn well can wipe the floor with you using a fart."
"How are your wounds?" Runthral chuckled in the same tempo as Torq, "Every time you steal my power, I know you have to pay a price."
"The stronger I grow, the greater your price becomes to wield my power for even a second." He harrumped, "Good luck in being a thief after that."
'He's aware?' Torq was genuinely surprised, so much so he patted Runthral on the shoulder, "For a moment, you sounded like an actual Deity."
"I am one." Runthral snorted.
"As if," Torq rolled his eyes, "Even Gentle Coral can be worshiped as one instead of you."
Gong!
Their banter was interrupted by the sound of a ferry that was moving towards the Academy. Spanning a length of twenty metres and split between four storeys, it was meant to transport Cooter Clansmen across various locations at the Tsloch Sea.
A total of ten Iron Grade Cooter Clansmen manned the ferry, with the Captain and Vice Captain being at the Silver Grade and having a 3-Life Stage cultivation and 2-Life Stage cultivation respectively.
"It's an honour to have you on board." The Captain was a middle-aged man with slightly mouldy skin. He had been alive for over two centuries, accompanied by his wife as the Vice Captain, who was similarly aged.
"I am Wudwud," The Captain introduced himself and then pointed to his wife, a rotund woman that stank like fish. "And this is my wife, Soso."
'Their hygiene seems to be on vacation.' Torq promptly stuffed his nose with mist that intended to filter out the smell radiating from the couple before him. 'Why are they like this?'
Mystic Mist Art was one of the most-developed cultivation techniques on Sumatra, second only to Mystic Bone Art used by the Mammoth Clan, which had been developed extensively in the past century.
A century ago, both cultivation techniques were on par with each other and were the only two Mystic Grade cultivation techniques on the Continent.
Even inferior techniques had techniques to clean the body, not to mention a Mystic Grade cultivation technique. With Mystic Mist Art, the technique was so simple, it didn't even consume a unit of Prana.
And typically, Silver Grade Cooter Clansmen and above had a greater authority over Mystic Mist Art, whose influence alone passively cleaned their bodies. The fact that the duo before him were messy despite that puzzled Torq.
"Let's go." Runthral said once he finished the greetings and walked into the topmost room on the ferry, which was luxuriously designed.
'Hmm?' Torq felt a shiver run through his spine the moment he set foot within the ferry, feeling a mild stir from the Pet situated in his real body's Tertiary Nature slot. His expression turned foul as he walked behind Runthral, 'They're already making a move?'
Dramatically, he turned around to stare at the Vice Captain who was accompanying them respectfully, while the Captain signalled the workers to depart from the Academy.
"Please be seated. The journey to headquarters will take a while." Vice Captain Soso announced with a smile, "I'll inform you once we arrive at our destination."
"Thank you…" Runthral smiled in return, puzzled to see Boiboi head to the deck, 'What is up with him now?'
'Dammit, I never noticed it until now, since it was always there.' From the deck, Torq eyed in the direction of the sea where an Empyrean Snapper had always been stationed to protect Runthral. Mist covered the region, but worst of all, 'It's not here!'
'Unless something happens, it is always supposed to accompany Runthral from afar!' His expression paled as he felt the ferry increase its speed. Slowly, he swerved his head to eye the Captain standing not far away, who seemed to be calmly gazing out into the misty surroundings.