Situated on a large island eighty kilometres from Tsloch Vitara was a research institute. The sea region around it was patrolled by dozens of ships, constantly keeping watch against a possible Nirclick invasion.
The entirety of the island had been converted into a research institute, segmented into various regions based on the field of research.
The most common topic of research here, at the moment, was in the creation of better Spirit Pools. Minerals with unique characteristics were shipped to the place and researched upon in hopes of turning it into a useful Spirit Pool.
GRAHHH!
In one of the rooms within an institute, the screams of a man resounded, in pain, but arrogant sounding. His eyes expressed hatred as he glared at the Cooter Clansmen before him, biting through the gag on his mouth, "Fucking trashes!"
"You’ll all die horrible deaths!" Bound to a table, his body was partially golden across sections of the hips, ribs, head, and ankles. The golden sections emitted a suffocating presence, immune to whatever the researchers attempted on him.
Various tubes of all kinds had been stuck in his body, through the spots that weren’t golden. They were pumping a series of viscous fluids through his system, which was then extracted out through the urinary tract.
"Keep it up," One of the researchers commented as a syringe approached the bound man’s left eye and dripped a droplet of something resembling blood.
The moment the droplet touched the eyeball, the bound man’s body spasmed rigorously, causing the golden sections across his body to shine brightly.
"ARGH!" Waves of Prana blasted out, forming waves of psychokinesis that palpitated the hearts of all the researchers at the place.
"It’s working!" One of the researchers commented with a crazed expression, "Drip another droplet."
"Yes," Another researcher nodded and looped the process, watching the waves of released streams of Prana spike by another level.
But after a few seconds of rampant vigour, the bound man’s spasming body turned lethargic. A thin line of gold across his ankle dissipated. And in response, the fluids leaking out of his urinary tract had traces of gold in it.
"We’ve amassed a decent sum." The Head Researcher said while being accompanied by a Settlement Leader.
"Please, inspect it." The Head Researcher used a tiny cloud to pull over a vial of golden fluid and propped it before the Settlement Leader, "It hasn’t been stabilised yet, but we’ve come a long way in its development."
"Hmm..." The Settlement Leader, named Bnapbnap, observed the vial and asked after a few minutes of observation, "This is still far from being classified as a Spirit Pool."
"Most importantly," He eyed the bound man, "Does the Empire know about his capture?"
"No, they don’t." The Head Researcher shook his head, "We ambushed him on his way from a dangerous mission, when he was weak and injured."
"To think that Empire’s Royalty could be captured," The Settlement Leader was actually nervous upon staring at the bound man, asking once again, "Are you damn sure no traces lead to us?"
The bound man was a Free Human with Gold Grade strength hailing from the greatest force on Sumatra, a place that advocated for and preached Human Supremacy. It was a place with roots from the same era that Torq was from, countless eras ago.
The Brimgan Empire!
And the royalty manning this powerhouse were called the Brimgan Royals. Many regions of Sumatra had a saying. If any of them were to notice a golden flash, then they better hope to have bid their farewells, for their head would already be rolling on the ground.
That was how a Brimgan Royal was described. And now, one of them was being held captive in the Cooter Clan’s research institute. If the Brimgan Empire were to ever find out about this, there was a solid chance the Cooter Clan could get annihilated.
"We had once marched to the gates of the Brimgan Empire with our Deities and all we could do was admit defeat and shamefully return." The Settlement Leader glared at the Head Researcher, "You best make sure there are no traces pointing towards us. Otherwise,"
He dare not say, due to his position. However, he made his point clear. Their heads would roll on the floor the moment this gets leaked out.
"Had it been anyone else, I wouldn’t have dared even think of kidnapping a Brimgan Royal, much less experiment on them. However," He snapped his finger, causing a man to walk in, "The one who captured this Brimgan Royal was none other than our most accomplished Raid Captain."
"Huh?" The Settlement Leader, Bnapbnap quickly faced the arriving figure and beamed a smile, "Brother-in-law, so it was you. Then I needn’t worry."
"I apologise if my impulsive action made you paranoid, Settlement Leader." The Raid Captain was none other than Raurau, Runthral’s father. He made a curt bow and explained, "I found the Brimgan Royal weak and injured. And when I judged he could be captured, I took action."
"I wouldn’t have taken such a risk usually, but upon hearing about the Narlakk in our captivity, I changed my mind." Raurau completed his explanation.
"To explain in simple terms," The Head Researcher patted Raurau and approached the bound Brimgan Royal, "Through the Narlakk, we’ve figured out a way to reverse engineer a Brimgan Royal’s Human Avatar and make it assume their characteristics."
"When we succeed, I believe the Narlakk would be able to create the same mineral the Brimgan Royals use to build their Human Avatars, in a form we could easily convert into a Spirit Pool." The Head Researcher grinned savagely, "Once we succeed, it’s only a matter of time before we could steal all of the Brimgan Empire’s enormous accumulations."
"I see, keep up with the good work." The Settlement Leader, Bnapbnap, nodded and pulled Raurau to the side. Upon erecting a thin barrier of wind to prevent details of their conversation from leaking out, he asked in a hurry, "What the heck is that?"
"This isn’t like you, brother-in-law!" Bnapbnap was Eureur’s younger brother, and Settlement Leader of the Cooter Clan’s 11th Settlement. "Targeting a Brimgan Royal is like courting death! Instead of capturing him, we’d have benefitted from saving him instead."
"I know," Raurau gritted his teeth, "I am regretting my decision too. However, the Head Researcher lobbied to capture the Brimgan Royal."
"You mean," Bnapbnap frowned.
"I first brought him to my battleship to stay as a guest, since saving him will allow us to extract many benefits from the Brimgan Empire. But along the way," Raurau shook his head, "I was given orders to capture him instead when I informed headquarters about this."
"Wait," Raurau eyed the Settlement Leader, "Shouldn’t you be aware of this, since you are one of the people who approved this order?"
"In the report, it only mentioned a soldier from the Brimgan Empire..." Bnapbnap expressed his confusion, suddenly shuddering upon realisation, "What if this is a ploy?"
"What is your name?" Bnapbnap rushed towards the bound Brimgan Royal and shattered his gag to ask, "Your real identity! What is it?"
"I am..." The Brimgan Royal paused for a moment before responding, causing Bnapbnap and Raurau’s expression to go pale with fright, "I am a Prince."
"We are...doomed." Raurau felt his knees go weak from the response.