Jyorta thought long and hard, gazing at the serpentine being before him that spat three Tier 2 Heart Crystals, coughing once. He looked at its posture, actions, recalling its battle with the three Rigordiles, finally deciding on a name.
"From today onwards, you will be called…" Jyorta pointed at the serpentine being, transmitting the content using his aura, imbuing it in its presence using the tattoo, "Bundle Flea."
The evolved Steel Porcupine curled itself into a ball as the hair on its body moved, bundling itself, even going to the extent of making a gift wrap knot at the top. Jyorta chuckled, watching it return to normal and tilt its head to the side.
Its body was smooth as if sculpted from carbon fibre thanks to the hair fully covering it. Its eyes too weren't the scaly ones serpents possessed, making it look harmless. The Bundle Flea looked the least threatening out of every Frenzy Beast he had witnessed.
Moreover, its tiny body, smooth texture, unthreatening features, and the innocence it displayed with every movement made it seem…cute. The more he thought about it, the more he realised the predator before him took the word 'unassuming' to the next level.
Moreover, unlike the Steel Porcupines, the Bundle Flea possessed a habit of cleaning itself. The moment it killed off the three Rigordiles, it burrowed into their bodies, took their Heart Crystal while having a gulp of their spines, and washed itself of the blood upon exit.
It also seemed to exude an odour that dissipated the scent of blood on it, making it seem like a being that lived on grass and drank water, a perfectly harmless being.
'If I influence its subconsciousness further, will its future generations become unable to harm humans? Can that be made a reality? I should ask Madam Vaika later.' Jyorta thought things through, watching the area before him.
Thanks to the frequent roars and the dense scent of blood, the Frenzy Beasts in the layer were lured over their way. Jyorta spotted 17 River Whales and 48 Rigordiles coming towards him. They formed the total number of Frenzy Beasts—of their respective races—in the layer.
Layer 3 only possessed shallow waters, with seldom few spots that had deep trenches—around 10 metres deep. But, it was insufficient for the large statured beings to seclude themselves. Therefore, everything that happened in the layer could be sensed from anywhere in it.
It was no wonder they were lured over to the potential targets. Jyorta frowned, closing his eyes as he sensed his reserves. 'Can I do it?'
His psychic arm turned blue, healing his condition to the peak, recovering his presence to its maximum. He kept it activated, intending to up its healing ability to the limit when needed. The blue soul extended both its Soul Corneas, inserting them into the soul of the River Whale.
They exerted their influence, vaporising the trace murkiness that had formed. With the hindrance removed, they began to siphon the soul energy from the River Whale's soul. As its soul was connected to all the souls on it, which were further connected to their respective body's Heart Crystals, a steady stream of energy gushed into them.
The energy in the Heart Crystals flowed into the souls, replenishing their expenditure while the Soul Corneas siphoned energy in large volumes. If it was just the River Whale's soul, it would have been expended within 10 seconds.
But after his arrangements, the River Whale had become a giant battery, his trove of energy. There were more than 200 Shoe Fishes attached to its body. After all, it was a being of large stature. And to cover its entire surface, such a large number of Shoe Fishes were required.
That meant he had an energy source consisting of more than 200 Tier 1 Heart Crystals to derive from. It was not to mention the Tier 2 Heart Crystal of the River Whale itself. Based on his estimate, more than half of the Shoe Fishes in layer 2 had been lured over to the River Whale.
'The Rigordiles cannot fly, so I have to target the 17 River Whales first.' Jyorta looked at the flying River Whales, noticing that 5 among them were at the peak of Tier 1 while the rest were at Tier 2. There were two River Whales around the mid of Tier 2 while the one at the lead was a powerful River Whale at the peak of Tier 2.
"Huff…" Jyorta took in a deep breath and forcefully exhaled, repeating the process as he felt his Brain Crystal be replenished with psychic energy at a tremendous pace. Both his psychic arms turned pale blue, shielding him on one hand while healing him on the other.
Unranked Skill—Regen!
Jyorta activated it to the max as he faced his palm forward. The River Whale bent its head, lifting its tail higher, creating an inclined slope that allowed him a clear view of his target. He directed his palm at the strongest River Whale, his eyes turning serious, his breathing stabilised while his presence completely vanished.
The Bundle Flea tilted its head in confusion, unable to notice the presence of the owner that directed it. It shook its tail while swaying its head from one side over to another, trying to grasp the situation.
The hair on its head bulged, creating a wave that coursed throughout its body, ending at the tail the hair of which lashed out like a whip from the effect. The hair trembled, furling and unfurling rhythmically like a static projection of an image.
The film of water surrounding him slowly parted way, unable to endure the formless suppression he exuded. Jyorta's hair trembled, dancing like the wave as it slowly moved up, moving as if he was submerged in water and was proceeding deeper into it.
Ripples formed on his skin, his muscles bulging a little as his hand trembled, facing the direction of the approaching foes. His presence flowed like the wave, thinking of the scene where Vaika had spun her aura around her fingertips, using the references from his practice sessions with her.
His hand trembled further and further as his presence condensed into his palm, bulging it to twice the size. His eyes turned sharp, igniting with fighting spirit as his lips parted, the vocal cords moving to produce the most primal of force exertion, "Hah!"
Aura Beam!
The simplest of aura, without any variation, solely using the brunt of its force. A thunderclap resounded in the area as the air paused, as if it was a puppet whose strings had been severed. A wave, a stream, a flow, a beam, his aura was shaped like a corkscrew, rapidly spinning as it pierced through all.
It was his surging presence, unleashed in all its might. The various aura lingering in the air were annihilated without resistance as an overbearing force passed through. The aura beam spun like a drill, heading towards its targets at a pace faster than the speed of sound. Jyorta had unleashed all his aura in the attack.
Tier 3!
Its might had treaded into the domain of Tier 3, the tremendous force slamming into the River Whales that had been flying towards him. The first to bear the brunt of the impact was the River Whale at the peak of Tier 2.
The attack was too fast that it was unable to react. Its muscles instinctively tried to tighten the film of water around it, but before the water moved to do so, the aura beam struck home. The water vaporised as the aura beam passed through, slamming onto the River Whale's face.
The presence in its body tried to push the aura in the aura beam away, a resultant of the clash sending it back. The cells the presence originated from moved accordingly, soon elevating to the macroscopic level as its flesh, blood, bones, etc. moved back, the abrupt force of movement severing everything the area was attached to.
The area the aura beam slammed into was severed from the rest of the body, creating a perfectly circular hole in the River Whale's head through which the scene on its back could be witnessed. The aura beam branched out into 16 after piercing through the strongest River Whale, slamming into every River Whale.
The thickness of the aura beam varied accordingly to the strength of the River Whale. The stronger it was, the thicker the aura beam it faced. All the River Whales were hit by the aura beam, their defences getting shredded under the process as they were overwhelmed by the force behind it.
The aura beam was expended, its entirety settling within the River Whales it had attacked. The River Whales gazed at Jyorta's direction, their expression aghast, their eyes suffused with the greatest fear they had ever experienced.
There was no other reaction from them, their eyes having lost their lustre. Their skin peeled off as the flesh within melted, falling off as blocks of meat, the binding substance corroded by his attack. The River Whales slowly lost their altitude while all the flesh on their bodies melted and fell off first.
There were only bones, some tendons, and a beating heart left behind, falling to the ground the last. The Rigordiles stood rooted to the spot in shock, watching large pieces of meat fall on them. Fear gripped their hearts, preventing them from moving.
They craned their heads, watching the River Whale hovering a fair distance away in the air, its face gazing at the ground. Air rumbled above it, the volatile substance in it combusting to create a cloud of flames. A lightning bolt fell from the skies, the resounding thunder making the entire shallow water shudder, not just from the sound but also from the exuding presence.
The Rigordiles witnessed a scene beyond what they were qualified to gaze upon, their minds blank, their presence curling in fear. The skeletal frames of the 17 River Whales crashed in on them.