Just as the heart regulated the flow of blood in the body, the Spirit Container regulated the flow of Prana. Similar to oxygen, Prana latches onto the blood and is circulated through the body. However, only trace amounts can circulate at a time.
The only structure within the body capable of storing Prana was the Spirit Container. The presence of Prana, anywhere else in the body at greater concentration, did more harm than good.
As the energy created by the fusion of the energies of the body, mind, and soul, the body aspects pertaining to Prana created physical strain, as if a large mass of fat had accumulated in the respective region.
The higher the concentration of Prana, the greater this strain, which meant a higher Prana consumption to heal through the generated strain.
It was why most Primary Natures consumed as little Prana as possible at a moment. Very few races used a large quantity of Prana in an instant. And these had evolved with means to gather Prana over time to unleash the ability from a region of the body that consumed the least amount of Prana to heal through associated damage.
The Bludder Race was one such example.
The Skill of Prana Blood temporarily treated the heart and Spirit Container as a singular unit. By behaving as one regulatory unit, the heart pumped out all the Prana stored in the Spirit Container.
This caused a volume of Prana to circulate through the body that vastly outscaled the body's circulation capacity. The superpower attained through this Skill allowed faster activation of abilities and a quicker regeneration rate.
Of course, the strain would stack upon the body, until it reaches a certain point where the Spirit Container itself would cut off the Skill's effects. This happened involuntarily, similar to how the heart pumped blood or the lungs inhaled and exhaled air rhythmically.
Once the Skill's effects ended, the strain would pretty much paralyse the user. The greater the Skill's activation duration, the stronger the side effect that followed after.
But as long as the Spirit Container wasn't empty, it would keep circulating Prana through the body, which would gradually heal the strain.
With only 17 units of Prana in his Spirit Container, Torq couldn't sustain his Prana Blood Skill for long, especially since he had already burned through 5 units of Prana when he blocked the water whip and escaped into the sea.
His index finger had fractured, yet to heal since he was conserving Prana. With only 12 units of Prana left, he had at most a minute before he exhausted his reserves.
Running through the relatively empty Academy grounds, Torq observed the students faraway had noticed him and began chasing after him. Through the corner of his eye, he frowned upon seeing a group heading to the Dorm, 'Are they planning to camp at my room's entrance?'
"They are good," The competence displayed by the students excited him, despite the fact they were moving to kill him, 'This is exactly what is necessary for the Cooter Clan to stand their ground in the future.'
In the near future, Pranic Beasts from multiple Continents would invade Sumatra, destroying most of its natives. As a powerhouse of the Continent, the Cooter Clan would especially get targeted the most.
The Cooter Clan's destruction implied a drastic reduction of Sumatra's strength in the aquatic regions. That meant the invaders could use the marine routes to infiltrate deep into the continent.
There were plenty of opportunities regarding marine infiltration. Situated pretty close to the Tsloch Sea and connected by a channel was the Red-Draft River, a marine body so ridiculously huge its breadth could be mistaken for a sea.
Even at its thinnest, the Red-Draft River spanned a breadth of 40 kilometres. At its widest, it encompassed more than 300 kilometres. Most of all, it travelled through a quarter of Sumatra Continent.
If the invaders were to get control over the Red-Draft River, it granted them access to hit anywhere across a quarter of the continent. The Cooter Clan was the only force powerful enough to stop the invaders.
'The present generation isn't yet equipped enough to deal with such relentless war efforts.' Hence, at the grassroots level, Torq hoped to better the Cooter Clan, even if it meant getting attacked with the intent to kill nonstop.
He was confident he wouldn't die from their attacks. Therefore, he was happy to be used as a whetstone to sharpen their abilities.
"Phew!" The Skill of Prana Blood allowed Torq to maintain a sprinting pace of 80 kilometres per hour, which gave him enough of a leeway to circumvent the students. And since the route to his Dorm room had already been compromised, he made a beeline towards the Admin Block.
The Admin Block was where the Instructors stayed, had their respective office rooms, and also stockpiled on all teaching materials. Fighting there was prohibited, since it would disrupt whatever plans the Instructors were formulating to enhance the teaching experience.
Entering the Admin Block was also a punishable offence. That's why no student had gathered before it. They never expected him to head there, since the punishments were severe.
Of course, that fearsome punishment was being whipped until the vertebrae got revealed, which was terrifying for other students. But for Torq, that was Tuesday.
There were five students who had just entered the Academy. They were 10 years in age and were only just adjusting to their lives at the Academy. The attack by the Troitails had overwhelmed them.
They were still gathering their bearings in efforts to come to terms with the reality of their situation. Intending to have counsel with an Instructor, they had come to the Admin Block.
Right as they walked through the entrance, the shouts from many students resounded as they rode their respective waves to the Admin Block.
"Stop him!"
"Attack Boiboi!"
"Don't let him enter that place!"
Their shouts resounded one after another. As for the 10-year-olds in the Admin Block, they didn't have the mental faculty to attack someone at the moment. And during their brief hesitation, they watched Torq make a leap, somersault in the air with poise and cleanly land within the Admin Block's premises.
"Safe!" Torq purposefully exaggerated his landing motion, twirled around and performed a formal bow towards the students who had gathered outside, "And that concluded today's futile chase."
"Better luck next time," He chimed and grandly shook his ass cheeks to taunt the students, spending a whole minute in doing so, stopping only after most of his chasers had gathered at the Admin Block's entrance.
"Boiboi!" Principal Khakha thundered as he sauntered towards Torq, "How dare you enter the Admin Block?"
"Are you tired of living?"
"I've come for counsel." Torq responded without a moment's wait and pointed to the 10-year-olds standing nearby, "My reason's the same as them."
He hugged himself, stating with a trembling voice, "Seeing the Troitails rattled my scary bones. I now need advice to face my fears better."
"Surely," He sported a pitiful expression and inched towards the Principal, "As the Principal, I hope you follow the Clan Rules."
"Here, your word is absolute. But," With innocent eyes that blinked nonstop, as if on purpose to irritate Principal Khakha, Torq pointed at the other Instructors that had gathered, "No matter how much I'm despised here, even the Instructors only follow the Clan rules in their efforts to get rid of me."
"But if the rules are ignored," He tilted his head, expressing horror, "Won't we have no future?"