Chapter 517 - Translation

Chapter 517 Attributed Creature ?The flight of stairs made out of water reflected the sunlight, emanating a gentle beam of light across the region. The ceiling height was only a hundred metres, so any Gold Grade Pranic Beast intending to enter would have to crouch. Most were smaller than that but there existed massive Gold Grade Pranic Beasts. Even if they weren't as massive as an Empyrean Tusk or Empyrean Snapper, they were still big enough to be barred from entry. But for the humans, this was a massive entrance as Inala and the rest calmly descended through the long stretch of glittering stairs. It was soft to the touch, for it was water. But the stairs were rigid, as if made out of granite due to the sheer density of water present in every cubic centimetre, equal in mass to a mountain range. Inala crouched low and touched the stairs, "I'm able to recognise that it's water, but unable to interact with it." He retracted his hand and observed that it wasn't wet. It was a strange feeling. Even though he was standing on water, could feel that he was standing on water, but was unable to do anything that he could with water. It messed with his common sense. "As expected of the Attributed Region," Rhanalla said as she used Internal Inertial Gravity to reveal the true brunt of her weight, watching the step—she was standing upon—cave in mildly under her weight. The depression spanned a mere millimetre, even though the weight she was unleashing was in the thousands of tonnes. Trulla approached the wall at the side of the flight of stairs and stared at it in interest. She looked to her side and upon noticing that none were staring at her, inched her head forward and extended her tongue to lick the wall. Her face scrunched up for an instant before euphoria burst out of her being, "It's…water!" Even with an Empyrean Tusk's power, it took forever for it to drink enough water from the surroundings. Any lake would be instantly emptied from a single Empyrean Tusk's action, not to mention that of the entire herd. They would have to find a sea to satiate their thirst. But generally speaking, there were too many minerals dissolved in seawater. It mostly consisted of salts. Technically, it was good for the Empyrean Tusk's biome but not for its taste needs, which preferred freshwater instead. The Attributed Region was created using water in its purest form. All dissolved minerals had been extracted out of the water making the place. And hence, when Trulla licked the wall, she was able to taste the water in its purest form. Even though she couldn't lick much, the faint quantities stuck to her tongue were equivalent to a pond. The density didn't bother her, for she had Internal Inertial Gravity. Like a geyser, the particle of water stuck to her tongue expanded to its original volume, causing a geyser to form in her mouth as the water gushed into her stomach. Trulla laughed cheerfully as it was fun. "Cutie Inala!" She roared next and grabbed Inala, "When you obtain the Attribute, can you control this Attributed Region? If you can, bring it with us." "I…don't think that is possible." Inala smiled wryly, "When Resha obtained it in Sumatra Chronicles, he wasn't able to control the Attributed Region. And during my research, I didn't notice the possibility of it happening either." "No!" Trulla pouted as she longingly stared at the wall and licked it once again, appearing heartbroken as she was unwilling to part with it. "Let's not waste time here." Rhanalla dragged Trulla with her and urged the other Empyrean Tusks to follow her lead, "We need to hurry." "Cutie Inala will cry otherwise." In a matter of minutes, the group of eight reached the end of the flight of stairs. They didn't run at their top speed and instead just walked while observing the place. The Attributed Region was no joke as it was capable of killing the current Boar King. So, they had to exercise utmost caution, even if they had a lot of information about the place. A gate appeared before them, spanning a breadth of a hundred metres and a height of two kilometres. The only distinction between it and the rest of the walls forming the Attributed Region was its relatively lower density. Light was refracted at a lower angle through it, the sole indicator of a density difference. Inala approached it and extended his hand nervously, touching the gate with his index finger. When his finger touched it, all he felt was a sensation of coming in contact with a normal waterfall. He could feel the sensation of water cascading over his finger but nothing stuck to it. He neither felt the density nor the momentum behind the water. This was a mechanism present only at gates. Water flowed through the Attributed Region at a speed of two kilometres per second. With every cubic centimetre weighing as much as a mountain range, forgetting getting killed, even the Boar King would be instantly dissolved. The sheer momentum present in it was unfathomable. "It's safe," Inala said and passed through the gate, hearing his thumping heart accelerate in response, nervous to the extreme. When he reached the other side, he sighed in relief, staring to his back to see a nervous Asaeya nod back at him to signal that she was okay. One after another, the six Empyrean Tusks made their way through, mentally stressed through the short encounter. They all could feel that the Attributed Region was manually allowing them entry through the gates. It gave them hydrophobic characteristics to ensure they didn't interact with the water at the gate and avoid experiencing the true momentum behind its moving particles. Fualla was the last to arrive as she looked around, becoming flustered in a matter of seconds, "I…wasn't prepared for this!" She stared at the monolith made out of condensed minerals to the side, reading the information on it to understand that she was currently in compartment 10-K. From the gate she had entered to the gate leading into compartment 9-K was a distance of 16 kilometres. It wasn't much from an Empyrean Tusk's perspective usually. But now, this seemed to stretch forever. Layer 10 Mission—Rainfall! Fualla stared at the ceiling of the Attributed Region which was two kilometres high. From the ceiling dripped droplets of blood, resembling rainfall. But each droplet travelled from the ceiling to the ground in a second. As for their density, it was the same as the rest of the Attributed Region. Basically, if a droplet were to fall on her head, it would pierce through her body without issues. Only if she were to crank up Internal Inertial Gravity to her absolute limit and raise her body's density to the maximum would the droplet fail to easily touch the ground. It would still travel through most of her body, resulting in her death. That was how dangerous the place was, and worst of all, this was merely the Tenth Layer. "Don't lose your cool. Didn't we prepare for this already?" Rhanalla mildly slapped the back of Fualla's head and pointed at the monolith, "The Attributed Region's goal is to find an owner for the Major Treasure of Attribute and not kill us all. So, all regions have a method to clear it." Compartment 10-K was divided into a grid, with each square occupying a square metre in area. The lowermost grid on the left was labelled with the number '1', the one on its right being '2', and so on. The entire grid was numbered. After '9', it started with '1' again and continued to loop as such. The arrangement of numbers was done in such a way that it resembled a completed game of Sudoku. Written on the monolith was a sequence of numbers, signalling when the droplet of rain would fall on a particular grid. There was a one-second interval that popped up in the grids, forming routes leading to the other side. As long as they were to follow it, they would reach the gate leading to 9-K. Of course, it wasn't as simple as that, for reaching the gate did nothing. They would have to find the keys leading into Compartments 9-K, 10-L, and 10-J. Their priority was to find keys leading to 9-K and if possible, hog all the keys leading to 10-L and 10-J. This way, they could reduce the number of competitors. But the problem were the existences guarding the keys. Along one such safe route amidst the rain was a thin, grasshopper-like existence. It was made out of water, covered by minerals at occasional spots like an exoskeleton. When the rain fell on this creature, it bounced over the water portions. The exoskeleton portions shattered at the impact but they were merely mineral segmentations. Upon impact, they dissolved into the grasshopper-like creature's body and were extracted in a matter of seconds to reform the exoskeleton. In the centre of its body remained a key, made out of water but covered by a layer of sedimentation. To obtain it, they would have to defeat the creature. And upon obtaining the key, they'd have to shed its sedimentation. Only then would the key be revealed, displaying the compartment it would lead them to. If they were lucky, they'd quickly find eight keys leading to Compartment 9-K. Otherwise, they'd waste time and energy needlessly. "No matter what, don't get injured by it." Inala said with a solemn tone, "The Attributed Region will use our Prana to construct more of these Attributed Creatures." "Now, let's go!" Once the timing was right, Inala shouted as the team flickered through the safe spots and made a beeline towards the grasshopper-like Attributed Creature, tensing up to see the latter react in response. In silence, it extended its forearms and thrust forward like a whip spear, aiming for Inala's forehead. !

**Chapitre 517 : Créature Attribuée** L’escalier d’eau reflétait la lumière du soleil, irradiant une douce lueur sur toute la région. Son plafond ne dépassait pas cent mètres de haut, forçant même les Bêtes Praniques de Grade Or à se courber pour y pénétrer. La majorité étaient de taille modeste, mais certaines créatures massives existaient. Bien qu’inférieures à une Défense Empyréenne ou une Incisive Empyréenne, leur envergure leur interdisait l’accès. Pour les humains, en revanche, l’entrée était vaste. Inala et ses compagnons descendirent les marches scintillantes sans hâte. La texture, douce comme l’eau, contrastait avec sa rigidité quasi granitique, due à la densité extrême du liquide. Chaque centimètre cube pesait autant qu’une chaîne de montagnes. Inala s’accroupit et effleura une marche. « Je reconnais l’eau, mais je ne peux pas l’influencer. » Il retira sa main, intacte et sèche. Une étrange sensation. Bien qu’il sût marcher sur l’eau, il ne pouvait rien en tirer. Un défi à la logique. « C’est bien une Région Attribuée », commenta Rhanalla, déployant sa Gravité Inertielle Interne pour tester sa résistance. La marche s’enfonça à peine d’un millimètre sous ses milliers de tonnes. Trulla s’approcha du mur latéral, inspectant sa surface avant d’y coller sa langue. Son visage se crispa brièvement, puis s’illumina d’euphorie. « C’est… de l’eau ! » Même pour une Incisive Empyréenne, il fallait une éternité pour étancher sa soif. Un lac entier disparaissait en un instant sous leur gueule, alors qu’une mer entière leur était nécessaire. Mais l’eau salée, chargée en minéraux, ne plaisait qu’à leur biome, jamais à leurs papilles. Ici, l’eau était pure, débarrassée de toute impureté. Le léchage de Trulla lui en révéla l’essence. Bien qu’elle n’en captât qu’une infime portion, celle-ci se dilata en un étang dans sa bouche grâce à sa Gravité Inertielle Interne. L’eau jaillit en geyser, déclenchant son rire joyeux. « Mignon Inala ! » rugit-elle en l’attrapant. « Quand tu auras l’Attribut, tu contrôleras cette région ? Emmène-la avec nous ! » « Je… doute que ce soit possible », répondit-il, gêné. « Les Chroniques de Sumatra ne mentionnent aucun contrôle par Resha. Mes recherches non plus. » « Non ! » Trulla fit la moue, le cœur lourd, et lécha à nouveau le mur, réticente à partir. « Ne traînons pas », gronda Rhanalla en l’entraînant, pressant le groupe. « Dépêchons-nous. » « Sinon, Mignon Inala va chialer. » En quelques minutes, les huit compagnons atteignirent le bas de l’escalier. Ils avaient avancé prudemment, observant chaque détail. Même le Roi Sanglier actuel pouvait succomber ici. La prudence s’imposait. Une porte se dressait devant eux : cent mètres de large, deux kilomètres de haut. Seule sa densité moindre, trahie par une réfraction atténuée, la distinguait des murs. Inala tendit une main nerveuse. Son doigt traversa la surface comme une cascade ordinaire. Aucune densité, aucune pression. Un mécanisme réservé aux portes. Pourtant, l’eau y filait à deux kilomètres par seconde. Une telle énergie cinétique pulvériserait même le Roi Sanglier. « C’est sûr », murmura Inala en traversant, le cœur battant. De l’autre côté, Asaeya lui fit un signe de tête anxieux. Les six Incisives Empyréennes passèrent à leur tour, soulagées mais tendues. La Région leur octroyait une hydrophobie temporaire, protection fragile. Fualla arriva en dernier, paniquée. « Je… n’étais pas prête ! » Un monolithe de minéraux condensés lui apprit sa position : compartiment 10-K. Seize kilomètres la séparaient de la porte menant au 9-K. Une distance dérisoire ailleurs, mais ici, un abîme. **Mission de la Couche 10 — Averse !** Fualla leva les yeux. Des gouttes de sang tombaient en pluie lente, chacune mettant une seconde à atteindre le sol. Leur densité équivalait à celle de la région : une seule suffirait à la transpercer. Même sa Gravité Inertielle Interne au maximum ne bloquerait qu’une partie du choc. Mort certaine. Et ce n’était que la Dixième Couche. « Du calme. Nous sommes préparés », rappela Rhanalla en lui tapant le crâne. « La Région cherche un maître, pas des cadavres. Il y a toujours une issue. » Le compartiment 10-K était quadrillé comme une grille de Sudoku résolue. Le monolithe révélait une séquence chiffrée : les cases épargnées par la pluie, traçant un chemin sûr vers la porte du 9-K. Mais il leur faudrait aussi les clés des compartiments 9-K, 10-L et 10-J. Leur priorité : le 9-K, tout en verrouillant les autres pour éliminer la concurrence. Des gardiens les protégeaient. Sur l’un des chemins sûrs se tenait une créature hybride, mi-sauterelle, mi-eau, dotée d’un exosquelette minéral. La pluie ricochait sur ses parties aqueuses, brisant ses segments minéraux, qui se reformaient aussitôt. En son centre, une clé d’eau ensablée. Pour l’obtenir, il fallait terrasser la bête, puis purifier la clé pour en révéler la destination. Avec de la chance, ils en trouveraient huit pour le 9-K. Sinon, ce serait du temps perdu. « Surtout, évitez les blessures », avertit Inala. « La Région utiliserait notre Prana pour engendrer d’autres Créatures Attribuées. » « Allez, on y va ! » À l’instant propice, l’équipe bondit vers la sauterelle. Celle-ci réagit d’un coup de ses avant-bras-lances, visant le front d’Inala. !