"Gods?" Inala purposefully expressed cluelessness to the vocabulary used by Rattac.
"It'll be better for me to explain it." A voice of authority resounded as an old man descended through the flight of stairs leading from the second floor. He sported a beard that reached his stomach, shaped like a whisk.
His face was riddled with wrinkles but his hair was an even greater mess, sporting a myriad of colours. Almost every string of hair was a shade of its own, possibly due to the influence stemming from regular consumption of Nectar.
His back had a mild arch but his body was ripped to the extreme, a bulky individual with footsteps loud enough to cause thuds. He stared at Inala and extended his hand for a shake, "I'm Pettenac, Lord of this City."
"I'm Inala," Inala introduced himself and stared expectantly.
"When a cultivator reaches the end of their cultivation path, they'll become a Transcendent, an unfathomable existence with infinite lifespan. The Ravaged Federation has produced twelve such existences, all of whom continue to watch and support us from afar." Pettenac said, observing Inala's confusion to smile, "You're wondering how it's possible, right?"
"Yes," Inala nodded, "The moment a Ravaged Tribesman becomes a Clansman, they'll be attacked by the Phells. So, I'm not sure how it's possible…"
"Oh, it's possible, very much so." Pettenac smirked, "In fact, we have produced plenty of Clansmen. So, it's not a wonder we have Transcendents."
"According to my knowledge, there are only two Clans on Sumatra." Inala frowned. "I find it hard to believe your claims, sir."
"Hohoho," Pettenac wasn't in the least offended by Inala's question. Instead, his smile widened, "When a Ravaged Tribe births a Clansman, the Pranic Beast in charge of them evolves as a result. Post-evolution, they will destroy the Clan. I'm sure you must have heard about it…"
Seeing Inala's confusion, he sighed a little and explained, "Our records state that at one point in time, Sumatra Continent only had Iron Grade Pranic Beasts. Through the infinite variables, some Pranic Beast races created a Ravaged Tribe and ended up developing them into Clans."
"They evolved as a result. It is claimed that only through this process that Silver and Gold Grade Pranic Beasts have come to occupy Sumatra." Pettenac curled his beard and bowed faintly towards the eleven statues, "But after evolution, they came to notice something."
"The Clan possessed the same power as their evolved selves but weren't under their control anymore, unlike their Ravaged Tribe self. Moreover, there was a chance they could birth the Pranic Beasts too. This changed the dynamic." He grinned, "That terrified the Pranic Beasts. A single misstep, and they'll become controlled by the very Clan they created."
"Moreover, if various Clans were to mix and manage to birth a progeny successfully, despite the genetic differences, a superior generation would be created. Upon reaching maturity, this generation would fully control the two parent Pranic Beast races, ensuring the Clans reined supreme in their dynamic." Pettenac shook his head, "No one likes to be subjected to enslavement, especially by those they treated as slaves."
"The Pranic Beasts shared this ideology and hence, the moment they evolve successfully, the first action they take is to annihilate their Clansmen. Through mating, they could elevate the rest of their race to the same Grade." Pettenac smiled, "Throughout history, millions of Clans have appeared. It's just that they had been annihilated after their purpose had been achieved."
"The Mammoth and Cooter Clans exist as their respective Pranic Beasts have already evolved to the natural limit and have entered a symbiotic relationship of sorts with their Clansmen." He pointed at the ground, "When the various Clans formed, it was at most one or two Tribesmen becoming Clansmen by entering the 2-Life Stage. The remainder were still Tribesmen."
"So, some of those Tribesmen were brought here." Inala nodded.
"Yes," Pettenac nodded, "You can even find the ancestors of the Mammoth and Cooter Clans in the Ravaged Federation. Well, their roots point them that way, but their current changes would make them pretty far removed from the Ravaged Tribe versions of the Mammoth Clan and the Cooter Clan."
"But, if Clansmen appeared here too, then who was…" Inala stared at Rattac.
Knowing that he was referring to the incident with Boul Brimgan, Rattac said, "The Phells indeed attack anyone not part of a Ravaged Tribe. But that's not the reason for a lack of Clansmen here."
"In the Comb, we Ravaged Tribesmen can absorb the characteristics of other Ravaged Tribes to mutate without limits. Some of us will evolve and become a Clansman." Pettenac continued the discussion, "But the moment they are at the 2-Life Stage, they're unable to leave the Comb. Instead, they'll be transported into the Sanctuary."
"Sanctuary?" Inala was honestly shocked by this information, 'People are actually living in an Influenced Region? This information isn't present in both Sumatra Chronicles and the Brimgan Founder's data.'
"It's the Influenced Region of the Major Treasure of Pet. The Comb is the outer surface of the Sanctuary itself. The entire Ravaged Federation is built upon the Nectar secreted by the Comb." Pettenac commented.
"Then," Inala stared at the eleven statues, "They reached the 10-Life Stage in the Sanctuary and became Transcendents."
"Yes," Pettenac nodded, "From time to time, the Clansmen living in the Sanctuary are able to send out information through the Nectar. The Tribesman consuming the respective Nectar obtains the information. They'll then inform the City Lords who'll communicate with the other City Lords until the entire Ravaged Federation learns about the message."
"The latest message they sent was to capture the invader named Boul," Rattac said, his tone huffed. "Somehow, this bastard managed to infiltrate the Sanctuary."
'That seems useful.' Inala thought, curious to learn more about the place, 'Even if I were to be trapped in the Sanctuary, it wouldn't be permanent. It will open itself to outsiders once the Fourth Major Disaster starts. So, in the off chance I'm trapped there, I'll be able to break free during then.'
"The Rules of the Ravaged Federation states that all Tribesmen are allowed one free opportunity to enter the Comb every year. Other than that, you can fight for the open free slots." Pettenac brought Inala to the second floor where a monolith stood in the centre, inscribed with the rules.
[Rule 1: All Tribesmen obtain one entry to the Comb every year.]
[Rule 2: Newcomers will be given an extra entry for the first year.]
[Rule 3: Keys allowing entry into the Comb are dispersed among the Phells. Finders keepers.]
[Rule 4: When coming into contact, the Key will fuse with the body. Can be hoarded, no limits.]
[Rule 5: Maximum of one entry per day into the Comb.]
"That's it?" Inala thought for a bit and asked, "Can't the Keys be stolen?"
"Yes," Pettenac nodded, "If you kill someone possessing a Key and consume their body, you'll obtain their Key. But I wouldn't advise going ahead with this method."
Every adult in the Ravaged Federation was uniformly at the Body Stage, which was the ceiling limit of power. Taking the life of a fellow Tribesman would instantly put the culprit on the blacklist and become a target for the entire Ravaged Federation.
Even someone with Gold Grade strength would collapse out of exhaustion eventually. Moreover, that is in the case the City Lord hasn't subdued them yet.
'This guy's strong!' Inala felt Pettenac's strength, judging that the latter had Gold Grade strength. Approximately based on the latter's presence, Inala calculated that this old man before him had already lived over a millennium.
During this entire time, this old monster had consumed a voracious amount of Nectar and devoured the bodies of tens of thousands of Ravaged Tribesmen, obtaining all their characteristics.
'He probably had more than enough time to properly sort through the characteristics and pick out the dominant ones to develop further.' Inala thought, 'I won't be able to win against him without revealing my identity as the Royal Zinger.'
As Inala only wished to accumulate strength, he had no intentions of making any large plans, at least not in the Ravaged Federation. The Lagrange Layer was different though. He could try to trap Brangara there.
As long as Brangara wastes enough time trapped in the Lagrange Layer, Inala would be able to grow even stronger and bridge the gap between the two.
"Besides, if you have enough strength to kill one of us, you're plentiful enough to capture enough Phells and farm for the Keys," Pettenac concluded. "There are plenty of free houses along the edge of the city. Rattac will guide you there. Just pick any house that suits your fancy."
"What about my first Key?" Inala asked, "How will I get it?"
"Capture a random Phell and eat it." Rattac laughed as he slung his arm around Inala's shoulder and said, "There will be a Key in it. That's how the Comb gives you your first Key."
"That's amazing!" Inala nodded, 'Pet has a lot of strange conditions. Unlike Attribute, which was happy to fuse with the first suitable individual that touched it, Pet won't be easy to obtain. Resha indeed obtained it in Sumatra Chronicles, but that was during the Fourth Major Disaster. Too much stuff was happening back there, so I cannot guess which conditions Resha fulfilled and through what means he satisfied them.'
'There's a lot to think about.' Nodding in response, Inala accompanied Rattac and arrived at the edge of the city where he randomly picked a stone house. It didn't matter, since he would only be using the place to sleep.
"Thank you for your help." Inala stared at Rattac, "How do I enter the Comb?"
"The entrance is in the basement of the City Lord's house." Rattac patted Inala on the shoulder, "Since you're new to the place, remember to religiously follow the Ravaged Federation's mantra."
"Eat, Consume, and Spawn!" Rattac gave a knowing smile as he observed the surrounding houses and bode his farewell.
"What does that mean?" Inala frowned at the three words when he noticed figures swarm out of the nearby houses and bombard him with requests. They were all from women with a rather open intention.
"Have a child with me."
"You're a bachelor, right? Since you came from outside, obviously you are. Let's spawn some progeny."
"Hey, what race are you? I'm sure we can birth some competent offspring."
