Inala had a few reasons for targeting the Enrinos. First of all, due to their non-aggressive nature, it was easier to harvest Prana from them. His abilities were perfect against them.
Secondly, he desired their data, since it was valuable for his evolution. Simply evolving into a stronger version was useless. He was planning to become an entity that countered the Boar King, hard. That was his goal.
And towards that, the Enrino was one of the countless races whose data would contribute to his success.
In Sumatra Continent, there were two ways to possess a power or ability. First was obviously a Nature. Through it, one was able to unleash a competent ability and live accordingly.
Second was something available only to the human race. And that was a cultivation technique. The abilities granted by a cultivation technique were almost on par with a Nature.
And obviously, Mystic Bone Art and Mystic Mist Art were on a whole other level, the abilities granted by them were powerful enough to be called a Nature. Take Mystic Bone Art for example. Through it, the Mammoth Clansman could mould the bones of himself or others and shape them as necessary.
When taken to the extreme, it allowed them to actively control bones. All Empyrean Tusks performed this. It was why the battle state and the fluidity of control exerted on their exoskeleton was similar to using a Nature.
The functions of Mystic Bone Art weren't limited to that. It was the bridge between an Empyrean Tusk and the Mammoth Clan. It was through this the hive-mind nature of the Empyrean Tusks propagated, allowing them to share a special relationship with their respective Mammoth Clansmen, treating the latter as part of their immune system.
Mystic Grade cultivation techniques were equal to a Nature. Some peak Gold Grade cultivation techniques, such as the Brimgan Empire's Gold Kinesis Art also entered the realm of being called a Nature, since they gave a simple but enormous benefit to the cultivator, which was to refine Spirit Weapons and accumulate strength in them progressively.
Originally, Inala thought these two methods were all one could have in regards to gaining strength. In that regard, he could be considered to have four Natures in either gender—three Natures plus the cultivation technique used by the respective gender.
But once Inala began to investigate his Mystic Path, he observed that it wasn't merely a cluster of data that had been transferred over to Gannala. No, it was an ability on par with a Nature.
It needed to be charged by Prana for a significant duration before it could be activated, with its effects capable of being unleashed once. Basically, once it was ready and activated, Gannala would become a Mystic Grade Empyrean Tusk.
That got Inala thinking. What if he could also use it?
Prana was an energy condensed from the energies of body, mind, and soul. This had been repeated countless times. The energy of the body was the muscular energy, one obtained from combusting carbohydrates and fats.
The energy of the mind could also be quantised. It was a reserve of one's ability to think. Basically, once this energy gets expended, the person would become too tired to think and would be unable to generate thoughts. When they sleep and wake up, they'll feel refreshed enough to think once again.
All the influence a Nature had on the individual's mind was through this aspect, with the medium of influence being the Prana. It was why when Inala lost his Spirit Container, all influences on him vanished, allowing him to freely be himself in the truest sense.
Finally, there was the aspect of the soul. What exactly was it? To date, Inala made countless conclusions regarding the energy of the soul, but none seemed perfect enough. Was it merely his lifeforce? That wasn't the case.
Lifeforce was merely part of the energy of the soul. What was the remainder then?
When he was brought to Earth by Renduldu, it was his soul that had been targeted. Was it merely an energy entity similar to what had been explained about the soul on Earth? There were multiple explanations regarding it.
The Mammoth Clan had one explanation. The Cooter Clan had another. Fhoong Brimgan's memories had another. But none of them were concrete enough to explain the existence of the Mystic Path that seemed to affect the mind particularly.
Since an answer wasn't available from such a direction, Inala began to reverse deduce it. And the way he did that was through influence.
Yes, influence. To his being when he gained consciousness as a fourteen-year-old Mammoth Clansman where the only influence on him was that of Mystic Bone Art, to his being after reaching the Body Stage, to his being at the Dralh Sea without a Spirit Container, and finally, to his current being of existing as two separate genders in a single entity.
In every single state of his being, he was influenced through Prana. Prana encompassed all three aspects of body, mind, and soul. The influence of Mystic Bone Art regarding the body was related to being part of the Empyrean Tusk's immune system.
The influence regarding the mind was in which a Mammoth Clansman happily sacrificed their life for their Deity. This was the same influence unleashed by his male form's Tertiary Nature of Spatial Immune System on the Empyrean Zingers where they happily committed suicide for the success of his plans.
Therefore, the question remained. What aspect of himself was different in such a situation that vanished once he lost all power at the Dralh Sea? The answer came naturally—presence.
In every single situation, every single existence unleashed their presence, one that was an indicator of their strength. At the Dralh Sea, when he didn't have a Spirit Container, he stopped exuding a presence.
His state of being at that moment was the same as what he was on Earth—lacking a presence. Through one's presence, it was possible to gain a clear idea of the target's accumulation.
When he met Maroppa recently, through the presence he exuded through his gaze, she was able to determine that he had more than three Natures. Only someone as perceptive as her was able to glean so much information through a presence.
For an average individual, they'll only know that Inala had more than one Nature through his presence and determine that he had a Silver Grade Human Avatar—depending on their misconception that he's a Free Human.
The Free Humans at Roit Island lacked a presence once their Spirit Containers were extracted. That was why, despite becoming part of the Quip Tribe, they didn't generate the presence of a Tribesman, since they didn't possess a Spirit Container.
It still wasn't possible to perfectly quantise what the energy of the soul was, but its effect was displayed through one's presence.
Presence—Weight of one's Soul!
That was the conclusion Inala had arrived at. And through it, he began to see the Mystic Path. Until Gannala was born, the Mystic Path was in him. There was a subtle change in his presence once she was born, which was when the Mystic Path got transferred to her.
He had obtained the Zinger Queen's power at that time and hence didn't notice the change in his presence. There were too many changes in his being since he got three Natures simultaneously.
But now aware, he focused on that change in presence, having a better idea of what it entails to reach the Mystic Grade and why exactly Mystic Grade Pranic Beasts produced Sumatra Gold in their hearts.
And that, was the secret of the Mystic Grade!
