The steam exploding out of Captain Trotro condensed upon his body and turned oily. It flowed like a serpent and dug under his skin, before solidifying as a layer. In a matter of seconds, the substance assumed the makeup of his musculature, now actuated using psychokinesis.
Mystic Mist Art–Kinesis Tsloch!
Cooter Clansmen controlled fluids as a Spirit Weapon. It generally was enough to take care of most situations. However, in rare cases where their abilities weren't effective, they resorted to empowering their physique instead.
The Skill of Kinesis Tsloch layered the body's musculature with a uniform layer of Rippling Tsloch, allowing the user to control their body using psychokinesis which allowed them to move at capacities beyond their physical selves.
The layer of Rippling Tsloch under the skin was primarily meant for defence. And any damage sustained by this strenuous Skill was healed by their Prana.
"Come at me," Captain Trotro eyed the Narlakk before him, "You might resist my abilities, but let's see you resist pure, physical bombardment."
"You are strong," Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr grinned upon watching the figure of Captain Trotro skid towards him and deliver a straight right to his stomach.
Bang!
The punch dented through the stomach muscles, producing a ringing sound as the flesh within vibrated nonstop from the shockwaves.
Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr aimed for Captain Trotro's head, watching the other party duck to evade the attack.
Followed by a kick to the elbow, Captain Trotro swung around the Narlakk's thigh to skid to its back, where he ducked to avoid a backhanded sweep. He jumped, curved his body, and lashed out with his leg like a whip, targeting the Narlakk's knees.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each hit was like two metal slabs crashing with tremendous momentum. The two combatants exchanged a series of attacks, all while Captain Trotro scuttled around the Narlakk's larger physique.
Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr observed the attacks calmly, learning the mechanics used by Captain Trotro by experiencing its effects with its body. It was sustaining damage, yes, but nothing its Prana couldn't heal.
It was healing through the damage at the same pace as Captain Trotro's attacks. But that wasn't all. Steadily, invisible to the naked eye and undetectable to Prana detection means, it was releasing pollen constantly.
It had affected Captain Trotro too. However, unlike in the previous cases where the infected turned sluggish and grew fat immediately, the present scenario was like a deathly slow poison.
The pollen spread through Captain Trotro's fat reserves gradually. And most of the spreading pollen escaped through the mouth and nostrils during gasps and respiratory actions.
The trace level of infection prevented Captain Trotro from realising what was happening to his body, since he didn't feel sluggish in the slightest. Secondly, the rate at which the pollen was escaping his body involved faint traces of Prana necessary to regenerate the lost fat.
Unless Captain Trotro was keeping track of his reserves at a micro level, it wasn't possible to detect this. Less than one hundredth of his Prana consumed every second was being used to regenerate the lost fat.
He wasn't alone in this. All the Cooter Clansmen who had been treated by Runthral were similarly affected too. Steadily, they were releasing pollen into the air, which Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr was consuming in real-time to replenish its energy reserves.
That was why it was casual in its approach. For since the very beginning, even after being beaten up by Captain Trotro, its reserve of Prana hadn't changed the least. The recovery was able to keep up with the expenditure.
"My turn," After a few minutes had passed, Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr clapped, generating a powerful gust of mist. And right as Captain Trotro used Mystic Mist Art to condense the mist to water and regain his visibility, its fist loomed over him.
Boom!
The sound of an explosion resounded, as its fist met with a wall of air that remained stubborn. And then, once Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr exercised its ability to control air, the wall of wind shattered like glass.
But by then, Captain Trotro had not only evaded, but also counteracted with a series of punches and kicks.
Primary Nature–Subtle Terrain Domination!
'He's grasping the tempo of this battle.' Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr eyed Runthral, 'As expected of an existence worshipped by countless Races even outside the Cooter Clan. His growth staggers my kind.'
'Exactly why we intend to capture him!' Its jaws parted wide, excited upon sensing that it had grasped the basics of Mystic Mist Art, at least enough to defeat its opponents.
Mist seeped under its skin through the pores and condensed to form a layer of water, increasing its toughness. Moreover, as a Gold Grade Pranic Beast whose body was naturally one of the most robust on the Continent, the sheer pressure of water it could condense within itself trumped whatever Captain Trotro could amass.
"That is…" Captain Trotro grew nervous to see his Skill being used against him. As the Narlakk's heavy fist descended, a wall of earth blocked the attack, shattering promptly after.
Boom!
Captain Trotro barely managed to evade, watching a section of his left side getting reduced to paste. A momentary flicker later, he was in a pristine state once again, having switched the body in his stack.
At the Life Stage, all the cultivated bodies formed a stack in the Spirit Container, with the body placed at the top of the stack being the one that interacted with the rest of the world. Any sustained injuries were to this body.
Typically, when a Life Stage cultivator sustains a grievous injury, they would quickly switch the bodies in the stack, bringing a pristine one to the top. This way, the injured body would be moved down the stack, where its injuries wouldn't worsen, giving enough time for the body's Prana to heal it.
This way, by quickly altering through the stack, a Life Stage cultivator minimised the sustained injuries. Captain Trotro was doing it all along, which was how he prevented the loss of any more lives.
He had been taken off guard by the Narlakk's abilities at the start, which prevented him from countering properly. That's why, despite him trying to switch between the bodies constantly through the stack, the exposed body still sustained enough damage for the head to explode.
Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr hastened its attacks, moving recklessly while relying on its body to tank most attacks without issues. And quickly, in the span of a couple minutes, Captain Trotro was sustaining so much damage that all the bodies in his stack were injured.
"Shit!" He gasped, for his most uninjured body still had a shattered leg. For a few seconds, he appeared helpless.
"You were strong." Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr commented, "However, you're merely at the Silver Grade, which makes your physical strength, recovery, and even your Nature vastly inferior to mine."
"This was inevitable," It chuckled and raised its arms high, intending to pummel Captain Trotro's body into paste.
"Yeah," Captain Trotro burst into laughter, "This was inevitable."
"What?" Only then did it notice the silence in the surroundings, realising what had happened with a couple glances, 'All the Nirclicks are dead?'
It glared at a gasping Runthral and observed a faint barrier of wind, which got revealed only because it was dissipating now, 'He created a bubble around us. That's why I never noticed my subordinates getting wiped out until now.'
'But I was hearing their discussions in large numbers until now…' It quickly understood the cause, "It seems I've severely underestimated you, Runthral."
[Kill them!]
[They're already done for!]
[Easy prey…]
It was Runthral, using Subtle Terrain Domination to manipulate the wind and generate soundwaves closely mimicking the Nirclicks, making the Narlakk believe its subordinates were still holding their ground.
"All the Nirclicks are dead." Runthral grinned while gasping as the surviving Cooter Clansmen gathered around him, "Now, we can focus all our strength on you."
"I don't know how you've come to know my name. However, this is your end." Runthral gradually released his presence and began to dominate the space around him, beginning to suppress the fluids that Narlakk Nirrkarrlarr could control, "I'll now be actively suppressing your boastful abilities."
"Captain," Runthral grinned, "Feel free to blast him with your ability."