Above The Sky
Chapter 96 - 96 91 The Indescribable Otter's Shriek

96: Chapter 91 The Indescribable Otter’s Shriek 96: Chapter 91 The Indescribable Otter’s Shriek Having the First Energy Level of Spirit Energy at the age of eight or nine was undoubtedly very painful.

After recovering a bit, Ian spent most of a month in bed.

During that time, kind-hearted fishermen like Senan, the herb gatherer Brin, and Elder Prude all visited him.

Even Viscount Grant entrusted Security Officer Yamm to deliver the exceptionally precious ‘Spirit Focusing Elixir’, which can alleviate Spirit Energy fluctuations.

After all, the reason for Ian’s sudden loss of control over his Spirit Energy was that he had overexerted himself observing the weak points of the Swamp Crocodile Dragon— he had been forcing himself to keep going for the previous week, and the emotional turmoil caused by hearing the Viscount’s announcement of a war omen led to the loss of control.

All of the above were official statements.

In fact, Ian had almost fully recovered from the Spirit Energy loss of control in just one week.

For the remaining two weeks, he had been getting accustomed to his stronger Spirit Energy and was preparing to consume the ‘Sand Armor Apprentice’ Magic Potion under Teacher Hiliad’s guidance.

“Your Spirit Energy is growing much faster than your body…

this is not normal, not even for the Chosen One.

Their Spirit Energy growth is in proportion with their body’s growth, absolutely moderate,”

After a thorough check-up of Ian’s condition, Teacher Hiliad shook his head and remarked, “If this continues, your Illusory Vision symptoms will worsen—this time you managed to consume your Spirit Energy with a ‘Prophecy’, but next time, if you’re not as lucky, you will definitely fall into an uncontrollable frenzy.”

“Now I see why those legendary prophets are such odd fellows; it truly isn’t their fault,”

Speaking thus, the old knight sighed and provided the only solution, “If you don’t want to end up like that, you must consume the Magic Potion as soon as possible to become a true Sublimator, not just an Apprentice.”

“It may be rushed, but it’s the only way that won’t cause lasting consequences.”

Recalling his teacher’s words, Ian couldn’t help but squint his eyes, “Forcing growth…

but there’s no other way.”

The Sand Armor Apprentice Magic Potion could improve overall physical condition, including the brain.

If Ian successfully ingested the Magic Potion, all the aftereffects of the overdeveloped Spirit Energy would disappear.

But having only completed the sublimation of his liver, he couldn’t fully unleash the power of the Magic Potion after ingestion; it would take a considerable amount of time and training to gradually perfect it.

Of course, this was not necessarily a bad thing— for a frontier child like him, who hadn’t been trained from a young age, the process of gradually unleashing the Magic Potion’s power was also solidifying his foundation.

And when Ian would truly be able to wield the power of a First-Level Sublimator, he would officially become a young powerhouse who could be called a Disciple of Hiliad.

This kind of accelerated growth isn’t something just anyone could enjoy.

However, even though Ian had already acquired the ‘Crystallized Thymus of the Swamp Crocodile Dragon’, the prime material of the Magic Potion, he still needed to collect several other supplementary materials to ensure the Magic Potion’s effectiveness.

The easily obtainable herbs had already been acquired through the channels of the herb gatherer Brin, but Demonic Beast Materials like the ‘Crystal Bone of the Reef-Eater Otter’ or the ‘Reef Core of the Fortifying Coral’ were still being prepared.

And of course, there was the most important ‘Pure Water’.

While it might seem an odd material out of step with the rest, in reality, compared to the not-so-scarce auxiliary herbs and the two types of Magical Beasts that were plentiful in the Labyrinth Reefs, Pure Water was the most difficult supplementary ingredient for Ian to obtain.

After all, how could he produce a bottle of truly pure water in this rural area devoid of even a distillation device?

So, while Teacher Hiliad was figuring out a way to get some Pure Water, Ian was sent to collect another ingredient for the Magic Potion.

In a way, it was also a test.

“The Reef Core of the coral is the key to the Reef-eater Otter becoming a Demon Beast of the First Power Level.

Its Crystal Bones are naturally purified reef cores capable of producing a continuous supply of metallic base cells, which is why they can make their bodies as hard as rock,”

“In other words, hunting down a strong enough Reef-eater Otter is tantamount to obtaining the best Magic Potion material.”

With this in mind, Ian had been observing the habitat of the otters for a week, figuring out the movement patterns of the group.

Unfortunately, the strongest leader otter turned out to be incredibly strong, its deep blue mist flowing perfectly without a trace of a dark injury or deformity.

Even if there were any, not being able to see them meant Ian couldn’t take advantage of them.

Since there was no way to easily exploit a weakness, Ian had to resort to cunning.

“Immune to toxins, hard carapace, less destructive power than other Magical Beasts but very difficult to deal with.

Indeed, the Reef-eater Otter fits most of the characteristics of the Earth Element Magical Beasts—hard to bite into and tough,”

“But, no matter how tough a creature is, there’s always a soft spot during mating, right?”

Ian was not concerned about decorum, especially who would need such with magical beasts?

After a week of meticulous record-keeping, he had found the pattern of the magical beast sea otters’ mating habits.

Without delving into other details, every afternoon when the tide went out and the group of sea otters returned from foraging, satiated and warm, their desires awakened.

The leader would then favor his concubines—thankfully, sea otters were in heat all year round, or this could have been really troubling.

The time was almost upon them.

Ian watched as the leader sea otter devoured more than thirty large shells, crushed several Ironstripe Conchs with the shells included, and rested for a while.

Finally, seeming spirited, it let out a sharp howl, summoning his harem.

Magical beasts usually had intense reproductive desires, eager to pass down their special bloodlines, especially those species where only a few individuals were magical beasts.

Ordinary males would lose all rights to mate completely, with everything being done to breed as many magical beasts as possible.

Conversely, if the magical beast were a female, the situation would be the same, only the roles reversed.

The sea otters’ mating process was quite brutal, so it shall not be elaborated on.

In any case, Ian patiently waited until the leader sea otter had favored the seventh female before finally, through Foresight View, he sensed the mist about it dimming slightly.

“Good!” The boy’s eyes lit up, and then he rose from the bushes, “Now’s the time, its weakness has manifested!”

The deep blue Reef-eater Otter, initially without any weakness, now exhibited a faint bluish-white scar on its densely furred back as the fog surrounding it dimmed.

This was the only ‘flaw’ on the leader sea otter’s body.

And the scar that did not exist before had suddenly appeared, indicating only one thing—

—It was vulnerable!

“Hiss…”

The leader sea otter let out a slightly tired sound but did not end today’s mating activities—the females comprising half of the tribe were waiting for him to favor them, and he had only finished two-thirds.

As the leader, he couldn’t rest yet.

It looked quite handsome, with silver-grey fur that shone with a metallic luster, black-brown eyes that were astute and clever, and a height surpassing two meters that didn’t make it seem imposing, but rather adorable like a large plush toy.

However, if someone was tempted by its appearance to stroke its fur, they would be sorely disappointed because the metallic base cells of the Reef-eater Otters made their body temperature extremely high and their fur as sharp as steel needles.

Despite appearing fluffy, it was anything but soft.

The leader sea otter moved sluggishly; in this marine area, they had no natural predators.

Only the Ironclad Sharks that frequented the deep and shallow seas could easily crush their fur and bones for food.

But this was the shallow reef; where would an Ironclad Shark come from?

However, there were no Ironclad Sharks, but there were humans!

Boom!

At that moment, a small figure suddenly burst from the coastal underbrush.

With the circulation of Origin Quality, a mixture of nutrients and oxygen ignited within his body, providing far more energy than usually needed.

While the leader sea otter was lost in the mental void of mating, Ian didn’t hesitate to charge at full speed, like an arrow loosed from a crossbow, clutching a razor-sharp splitting axe in his hand.

In seconds, he crossed the distance of several dozen meters, arriving at the seashore.

Of course, Ian was not a grandmaster who could walk on water, but he had Spirit Energy!

The reef along the Labyrinth shoreline was uneven to begin with, with many seaweeds and rocks jutting out.

He had found a course that could provide leverage and circulation using Foresight View and was now simply following the plan!

Thump thump thump thump—whether it was piles of bones and shells accumulated from the prey the sea otter colony consumed or the protruding rocks and even the oblivious sea otters themselves, as Ian made his approach, they all became stepping stones, letting the boy rapidly cross the sea surface.

Thump!

Then, having reached the vicinity of the leader sea otter, Ian leapt high into the air amidst its surprised and incredulous gaze.

Simultaneously, other than the leader, the other two Demon Beast Sea Otters had already started shrieking—they threw the shells or conchs they held in their hands, and their berserk strength was sufficient to crush the skulls of ordinary humans.

But Ian had already seen through all of this; the thrown shells passed underneath him.

His eyes now saw nothing but the ‘leader’, whose body’s deep blue fog was rapidly recovering but still seemed somewhat frail.

And, the indescribable organ protruding prominently on its lower half!

The silver flash glittered, and without any hesitation, Ian swung his axe down.

Immediately, an indescribable scream from the leader sea otter reverberated through the entire reef along the coast.