Security around the Settlements was nil. There were three reasons for that.
First, due to the valuable rewards promised by Raaha, with the treasures originating from his personal stash, every Mammoth Clansman at the Body Stage and above participated in the egg hunt.
None wished to miss out on this valuable opportunity that could very well change their lives. Hence, all elites and masters left their Settlements.
They could go without worries because of the second reason, which was the fact that before they camped at the place, the Empyrean Tusk herd eradicated all Pranic Beasts in the region. Therefore, there was no threat to their safety at the moment.
Even while sleeping, as there were more than a hundred Empyrean Tusks gathered in one place, they released a formless suppressive force that caused any Pranic Beast to lose all control over its body if it were to enter within range.
Its muscles would become weak while its bones turned soft. Prana would constantly leak out of its body while in the range of the suppressive force. Therefore, all weak Pranic Beasts avoided the region.
And if any Gold Grade Pranic Beast were to appear, the Empyrean Tusks would sense its existence and wake up to deal with it.
On the off chance the Gold Grade Pranic Beast was a stealth type and could sneak up on the Empyrean Tusks, there was still Raaha keeping watch over the region. He would swiftly deal with any threat that approached, forming the third reason for the lacking defences.
In the 104th Settlement's Academy of Refinement, the kids from all over the Settlement had gathered to obediently stay put for the duration of the hunt. The older students in their final year took charge as soon-to-be adults and kept the children in check.
Seated in an open classroom towards the very back were two eleven-year-old kids, bored.
"Can't we play?" One of them asked the older student who was patrolling the corridor.
"Stay put!" The older student said curtly and continued to patrol, mimicking the elites he witnessed in action daily.
'Boring!' The eleven-year-old student rolled his eyes, mimicked the overly zealous older student, and returned to his seat. But just as he was about to sit, he heard a soft thud, peering out from the window to see a piece of bone fall there.
As it fell on the training ground where grass grew, the impact only produced a soft thud. The eleven-year-old student was curious and leaped out the window, landing on the training ground. He picked up the piece of bone and muttered in surprise, "This is a Bone Slip."
"Hey, didn't I tell you to stay put?" The older student noticed his action and chided him.
"I'm going," The eleven-year-old kid returned to his seat. He wasn't the sole troublemaker as many energetic students messed around from time to time. The adults said they wouldn't be punished as long as they didn't leave the academy premises. So, they messed around when bored.
In his seat, the eleven-year-old kid accessed the Bone Slip, feeling a stream of information imprint itself on his mind. The contents were simple. It talked about a mysterious inheritance that allowed a student to graduate with a Grade S evaluation.
It was a test created by a group of adults for the children, causing the eleven-year-old kid to become excited, 'Only I was smart enough to find this.'
He then turned around to stare at his best friend, 'No, I won't benefit alone. I'll also bring him with me.'
He observed that once the information was imprinted on his mind, the Bone Slip was erased of all information. Moreover, the Bone Slip turned to fine dust, scattering at the mildest breeze.
After some hushed discussions, the two kids sneaked out of the academy and rushed through the vacant Settlement, making their way to the ground. They then sped to the location recorded in the Bone Slip, reaching a cave.
"This is empty." His best friend commented, sullen.
"Yeah…" The eleven-year-old kid felt he had been tricked. But right at this time, the cave's entrance closed up as the nearby boulder rolled over.
"Welcome!" Virala's shout brought their attention to him. They hadn't noticed him standing at the corner before, obscured by a rocky protrusion.
"The test is simple," Saying so, Virala threw a Bone Slip to each kid, telling them to memorise it, "Just follow the instructions blindly while cultivating Mystic Bone Art. You'll get the inheritance immediately."
The two kids followed it and in a matter of minutes, awakened to the Nature of Weaponisation.
"What's next, Sir?" The eleven-year-old kid asked, excited upon obtaining a Nature.
"Take a seat," Virala said and pointed before him, "Close your eyes."
While they did so, he calmly walked to their back and satisfied the necessary conditions, seeping his Prana into their bodies abruptly.
Secondary Nature—Weaponisation!
"Help…" The eleven-year-old kid noticed that something was amiss based on the conditions Virala achieved over him. Since he had the same power, he knew what those conditions were. But it was too late by then as his body began to shrink in response.
In a matter of seconds, the two kids lost their lives as their bodies shrunk into tiny spheres.
In the Bone Slip given to them was all the enlightenment necessary to awaken the Secondary Nature of Weaponisation. It could be said that this was the Nature that could naturally form in a Mammoth Clansman if they were to be considered a Pranic Beast.
It was the most natural power they could wield. Hence, it was damn easy to awaken it. A Mammoth Clansman only had to activate Mystic Bone Art while comprehending the information of the inheritance. The process was no different from sprinkling water on a fish living on land, making it realise that it was a fish.
Gold Nature Weapon—Mammoth!
That was the name Virala gave to Nature Weapons with the Nature of Weaponisation. He equipped one of them in his Tertiary Nature and used it as fuel to feed his Secondary Nature, cultivating it.
There was a mild growth as he made a quick calculation, 'Since it's a Gold Nature from the get-go, I don't need too much as fuel. Eighty should be enough.'
Weaponisation couldn't be used on anyone with more than one Nature. Hence, the optimal targets were children who were in the Spirit Stage.
It would create chaos later once the adults return to realise that a bunch of children had gone missing. They would definitely conduct an investigation. But Virala didn't care about that, as his growth mattered the most.
Besides, he didn't leave behind any clues that would label him the culprit. Since the first batch of success hardly consumed any time, Virala invited more children to the cave, gobbling them up quickly.
Once he used his Secondary Nature of Weaponisation, the entirety of the child's body was condensed into a Nature Weapon. Hence, there was no trace of the child's body left in the cave, a perfect crime if one might ask.
Besides, as a famous gigolo who particularly targeted married women, Virala had a habit of erasing all his traces. It was an ingrained instinct. And since he continued with the same lifestyle here too, nothing changed. He paid heed to not leave behind any traces.
Getting hands on a Gold Grade Nature should have been the most difficult, since hunting a Gold Grade Pranic Beast was a monumental feat. But as this was supposed to be a Mammoth Clansman's Nature, it was easy to awaken one in them and harvest them into a Nature Weapon.
By the evening of the same day, Virala succeeded in cultivating his Secondary Nature of Weaponisation to Mystic Grade, the first in Sumatra Continent's history.
Even the Mammoth Clan Ancestor only had a Gold Grade version of Weaponisation.