CH 9 Shiva's Knowledge and Talent

Shiva dragged Rudra to a bunch of stores in Dwarka. Rudra was dazzled with the wide difference he could see between his previous world and here. For the first time he understood what the Administrator god meant by not all Inhumans were humans. The were a variety of mixed breed like races, having variety of unique features. Animal ears, tails, fur and scales were not exactly common but still much more than he expected.

"Ah, yes" Shiva mused while seeing Rudra's gazes on various Mixed type Inhumans "I never told you about this. You see, I already told you about the various influences of Darkside that created us Inhumans. But the same influence often acted more on some than the others. They gave birth to many rare species let's say that only existed in fairy tales and folklore before."

"The most common new species or races that were seen amongst the Inhumans were the beast-folk or often known as the Wild Race. They common is as many instances that you can think of. Just like there are innumerable variations amongst the fauna that exist in this world, the Wild Race individuals each can be uniquely different from each other even if some look similar."

"For example, that old man you saw was of the Ice Wolf race or the Northern Werewolves. That girl over there is obviously of the Cat Sage clan, denoted by their larger than normal cat ears and fluffy yet long tail with golden tip."

"After the Wild Race comes the Mythical races. These are the ones who have very high similarity to the beings mentioned in the myths. Ah, there you see the, the woman in the white robe. Pay close to the eyes, the sides of head and neck. And those gorgeous lips and facial expression while she is talking."

Rudra followed Shiva's instruction and with his highly sensitive perception and senses, had no trouble finding what Shiva hinted at.

"Ah, her ears, tongue, canines and those scales! Am I right?" Rudra asked Shiva.

"Not bad Kid! Not bad at all, I might take you to a few jobs suited to your raw talents once you are trained up a bit. Anyway, back to the point, you spotted correctly, she is of the Naga race. Nagas, especially their females are hard to spot, they were probably also one of the last new races of Inhumans that have been discovered, precisely because of their adaptability and similarity to humans. However, if you know what to look for you can easily identify any race of Inhumans."

"Naga race is pretty much a warrior race with innate affinity to almost any kind of weapons. They have highly flexible and powerful bodies since birth. The Naga race can't be judged based on appearance alone. Infact I have devised a certain theory regarding them. You never be afraid of a bulky Naga, always be wary of those Nagas with calculating mind or sleek and slim bodied appearance."

"Nagas can probably grow their entire lives physically. Hence any Naga that has a slim appearance means either they are young, or starved for a very long time, or third and most terrifying scenario that they have trained hard their whole lives and every muscled in their body is compressed and refined."

"The only rule to dealing most mythical races is two things: power and respect. Never be the one to disrespect them first. Almost every mythical race has been proved to have great might and equal amount of pride in themselves."

"They also won't usually go outright against you if you treat them with the deserving amount of respect as any other inhuman. Don't treat them as something unusual or weird. However, if one of the mythical race members deliberately goes against you for no reason then never back down. That will never solve the issue. Instead chose to retaliate with all your power."

"Anyway, after the Mythical races, there is the rarest for of variations in the Inhumans, the Primal races. They are the rarest and arguably the most powerful of Inhumans. They are so powerful because they don't represent any living being rather, they are incarnations of concept and laws of the world themselves."

"Elementals are the most commonly seen among the Primal races. They are someone who gain immense power in a single element while forgoing the Talent in others. They may still be able to wield other elements but that takes a lot of hard work and diligent practice. Yet in their innate affinity element, they are nearly unparalled."

"The Rakshasa and Daeva clans are two more of the Primals that are less commonly seen. Rakshasas have innate battle god senses. It said that in a war, one Rakshasa is matched only by ten thousand average Inhumans. They also have some form of berserk innates usually, that activate at the time of grievous injuries and multiplicatively boost all of their attributes and senses."

"The Daeva are the opposite of the Rakshasa. They specialise in energy manipulation techniques and are usually pretty good in rapid-fire long-range attacks. Speed and Energy are the specialities of Daevas, but they generally have weaker physical growth."

"By the way, I have some unconfirmed rumors about both these clans. It seems that there is a sub-type amongst these two whose members are much more valued. The reason for that is that the sub-types are born divine innates since birth, making them grow at an unprecedented pace in the clan and have unlimited future prospects. The sub-type of Rakshasa is called Asura and the sub-type of Daeva are called Ishwara."

"So impressed by my extensive knowledge kid? I might only be sixteen years or so, but my information database is more than those with decades of experience!!" Shiva said with her bouncy chest puffed out, drawing random strangers gazes towards it. Rudra was definitely amazed by the amount of knowledge she had, but more than that he was exasperated at something else.

"You definitely know a lot sis, but how the hell are you able to eat all that and still talk so much?" Rudra pointed to a bag of empty snack containers that he was carrying with him. the entire time Shiva had been explaining to him, she had also been going to various street food shops and buying food of all imaginable types and eating them like a never ending blackhole.

There was a popular profession called spirit chef in Dwarka and they specialised in preparing food using Inhuman energies. Even normal ingredients became exquisitely tasty when prepared with these methods, let alone ingredients that are already obtained from those mutated from the leaking energies of Darkside.

There were many species of animals and plants that had grown mutated by the influence of Darkside. Apart from these, there was even meat, plants and herbs brought back from the various hidden dimension the academies controlled. Hence even hurriedly prepared street foods were amazing.

Shiva's eyes suddenly got chilly when Rudra mentioned how much she ate, and Rudra fell cold sweat down his spine. As a result of his excessive mouth, Shiva gave him a nice beating then made him suffer through a torturously long shopping spree.

There was no shortage of innovative products in Dwarka's markets. From exquisite animated toys for kids, to enchanted and inscribed weapons and armors, to various technological marvels such as Runic Suits. The Runic Suits were the thing that attracted Rudra the most. They were extremely similar to various Exo-Suit concepts he had seen in his previous life. They were a men's romance and only Shiva's restrain stopped him from going and buying one for himself.

"You like Runic suits?" Shiva for once asked in a puzzled yet serious tone.

"Of course, I love them. It is a love at first sight." Rudra said excitedly

"You do know that they are mostly targeted at Inhumans with weaker bodies or those who are stuck at low level and have no hope of progress?" Shiva asked "Those good at Physical strengthening can easily surpass most Runic Suits in physical might and speed, and those good in energy manipulation can similarly deal higher damage then Runic Suits. Runic Suits are generally versatile but lack the power-punch in a single area."

"Why then would you want one?" Shiva asked him seriously, as if his answer will determine something.

"Honestly, I don't know" Rudra said "But for some reason they just feel like they call out to me."

"Sigh," Shiva sighed as if she gave up and muttered "I don't know if me picking you up somehow influence you subconsciously or if this is fate."

"Alright then kid" Shiva told him after deciding something "I will make you a deal. You don't need to look at these cheap models. If you do well in the entrance exam and first semester of the academy, I will gift you a highly customized Runic Suit that you will definitely love. After all, my greatest speciality is creation of such Runic Suits."

Under Rudra's shocked gaze Shiva walked ahead with a sway to her hips and a smirk on her lips. Rudra hurriedly followed, now even eager to do well in the exam.