The next elder to get maxed out research on was teostra and alex couldn't help but thinking he was a bit over powered for this point in the story as teostra was helpless against him. the fire that teostra was so well known for simply did nothing to alex since he was immune to that element and strength wise alex outclassed the elder. this meant that the entire fight was basically just alex attacking the elder's throat that was completely unguarded by teostra do to it's high held head. the best teostra had accomplished was making the metal coating on alex melt and fall off when it struck alex.
Like most fire elemental monsters teostra was spicy flavored but had a pork like taste and texture without any of the fat content. it gave alex one point three million points when he ate it which surprised him as it was higher than the equally high rated kushala on the food chain. alex theorized that the elemental affinity and powers of a monster may slightly influence the amount of points he gains form them. kushala could generate wind but that was mostly just an irritation that didn't do any damage but teostra was all about fire which was very destructive in nature.
Perhaps the reason it hadn't shown up earlier was because only at the elder dragons level did it become noticeable. if this theory held true then val hazok in the rotten vale would likely be worth even more points than teostra considering it's creation and control of effluvia. the stuff was a hellish substance that drastically weakened the body of any creature it was stuck to but was thankfully curable with null berries. what was worse was that val hazok could directly kill any being covered in the stuff in a manner alex still couldn't understand.
Alex was admittedly not willing to try and eat this particular elder however as it's favorite thing was covering itself with rotting corpses and it's effluvia like some kind of corpse. the still human part of alex's mind shivered at the thought of eating such a creature even if it would give him a lot of points. in the end alex simply turned a blind eye to the reports of the thing being found in the rotten vale. this was fine though as once the first member of these species show up they start becoming common sights.
Hunting teostras became alex's normal routine and he quickly reached the ten million points he was saving up for to get the ice element and treasure and spines. the integration of the ice element fixed the instability that alex hadn't even realized he had between the types of energy in his body. the stabilizing elements of ice an water were needed to keep the destructive elements of fire and lightning in check at higher levels. for single element monsters this wasn't an issue since they were adapted to these types of energy's inside them but for a creature like alex there needed to be a balance.
Before getting the ice element alex had unknowingly gotten dangerously close to having his energies go out of control and destroy his insides and surroundings. it was only after he got the ice element that his body began to relax. he was till uncomfortably close to going over the edge but as his new element rapidly caught up with the others he would get further from that point. the horns and spines for the ice element were shaped like snowflakes and completed the look he was going for.
Once they grew in alex had a crown-like circle of all of his horns around his red scale birth mark on his head and two rows of two different elemental spines on either side of his back bone. alex was satisfied with finally reaching this point and getting close to his final appearance. there were a few things alex planned to modify over time such as his wings that could use some patterns like rathalos but those were entirely cosmetic. the next week alex mostly lazed about near his treasures enjoying the boulders of energy being added to each of his elements thanks to the cumulative effect they had.
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