Tetsu had to hold himself back. ‘Not yet.’ He kept track and only moved the mold when he was too far away from the targeted section.
A root snoops around Tetsu as he uses Mimic over RJ.
On and on, Tetsu’s eyes flicker in sync with his mind. Right arm and leg, on and on, boulder and tree, on and on. All four off. Back on and boulder on.
Runes activate and deactivate, pulling Tetsu’s body all over the battlefield like a rag doll. He swirls around the tendrils or maintains and slams RJ’s shell over the tendrils, pinning them down.
“Same trick won’t work on me twice, you freak of nature.”
He turns and bites another tendril approaching from his blind spot. The tendril flaps like a fish in a dog’s mouth as Tetsu glares at the Dandralith.
Dandralith ignores Tetsu and focuses on the shield covering RJ. She knew what would hurt the human more and she would make the lowly human crumble before she finished it. ‘How dare a mere human glare at her? It shall pay for its transgressions. This last blow will teach the human its place.’
Tetsu’s eyes zoom in over the tiny cracks forming in RJ’s shell. Then he shifts his magnified vision onto the Dandralith, sending its main tendril to finish the job.
His eyes capture every detail in close proximity and clip by clip.
“Fury drill.” Dandralith activates a spell.
Four tendrils circle toward RJ, overlapping each other, forming a drill the size of Tetsu’s torso. A silver sheen covered the tip, refining its edge and giving it a sharper point. The green blaze propelled the drill forward with furious speeds, while the silver sheen collected and concentrated the energy at a single point.
Tetsu took another guess. Yet another step. A calm, calculated move based on instinct and luck.
Tetsu dashes in front of RJ’s shield, turns his back at the incoming attack, dodges the tendril, and activates every rune over his body while using...
[Ding! Skill upgrade: ‘Mimic on’ to Pave Path. Initiate. Omni.]
... an Omni skill.
Tetsu’s body and skill pulled the tendril toward him and while the tendril had already crossed the target, his body, the tendril was forced to curve to the side.
The drill graces RJ’s shield, shattering the section it graced with ease. The diverted drill still carried a lot of momentum as it borrowed itself deep into the floor beside RJ and Tetsu, creating a huge tunnel.
The upper layers of his skin peeled away, revealing a much softer shade of pink. Losing connection to the sensory nerves that transmitted pain, Tetsu smiled meekly, attempting to comfort RJ.
Her eyes kept moving back and forth between Tetsu’s uneven shoulders and his skin, which went from baby pink to crimson-black. Small patches of hair were visible on his head, saved by the shirt that had turned into a cape.
Tetsu collapsed to his knees and RJ checked his pants and was relieved to find that her artifact successfully withstood every attack and also protected the dumb humans’ precious jewels. This meant he could still survive, all thanks to her creation.
RJ manipulates her shield, making it invisible to scan the battlefield better. With a swift command, she molds her shield into a hook for the very first time and flips the command again to make it visible.
As they were opposite techniques, the invisible shield drained more resources and split her concentration into two different aspects. It was like writing with both hands. She didn’t have the patience or the time, so by focusing solely on power and transformation, RJ molds her shield and slams it over the tendril. With a new skill commending her technique, RJ holds the Dandralith’s drill in a deadlock.
Smooth as water, her gelatinous body flows over the deadlock, passing past Tetsu, and hovering over him, forming a pink shield. On the other side of the deadlock and covering Tetsu, she manipulates her lower half to follow suit.
While her mold moved across Tetsu, it stretched out, dropping a crystal orb at his feet. Tetsu took a step back on his knees and dropped over the orb, face first. The orb and his nose broke on impact, both releasing a crimson liquid, which his tooth happily consumed.
Tetsu’s nose clicked back into place as he regained movements in his limbs with a jolt. The excessive vital energy in the mysterious orb not only zapped away his injuries but also wiped out every backlash he created during the fight.
His fatigue levels first fell and then utterly faded away, leaving Tetsu refreshed and energized, as though he had enjoyed a good night’s sleep, eaten a hearty breakfast, and was now ready to burn healthy fat.
While the healing was spontaneous and rapid, it carried its own set of flaws. The booger meat Tetsu tied over his shoulder to feel whole, now melded into his flesh along with the cloth, becoming his new shoulder.
“Note to self.” Test nods a thanks to RJ. “She’s crafty… and healing is tricky.”
Tetsu regained his health pool and lost all of his accumulating fatigue, but he still required mana. The last suicidal theory drained him dry and without mana, which helped him dodge the Dandralith’s attacks, he would be dead soon.
With no other choice but to pull a risky move. Tetsu used RJ as cover and dug deeper, using nothing but physical strength, hoping to find a connecting tunnel that could lead him to the other side of the veil. Once he escapes to the other side, he can gain more vital energy and mana from the resource bubble placed earlier.
The Dandralith noticed Tetsu escape like the worm he was, but still couldn’t place all the pieces of the puzzle together. A worm acting in its nature can not expel an intricate web of deceit, after all.
RJ gulped in amusement. “He sure has many ways to run. Look at him go... even a petrified worm won’t be able to match his speed.” She chuckles as tiny bubbles tingle below her belly.
“Worm...” She shifts her gaze toward the Dandralith. “You better not push me there… it will force me to squash you like a worm.” She warns the Dandralith.
“What the Dande are you talking about?” Dandralith frowns at RJ.
On the other side, Tetsu consumes a massive health-bubble and rips into a handful of meat.
More than anyone else, Tetsu fought against his threatening eyes that gave up a long time ago and demanded to shut down. Fatigue wasn’t made to calculate his mental strain. It raised a point now and then, but if it knew how much Tetsu used and stressed his mind, eternal slumber would have claimed him already. Now all that kept his eyes open were guilt and willpower.
“Five more minutes.” He lied to himself. “Then you can sleep for however long you want... just get up in a day or two.” He forces out a chuckle.
Using another tunnel, he pops back into the battlefield and throws a charcoal shard at the Dandralith.
The sudden smoke startled her as she retrieved the tendril about to impale RJ and concentrated over the smoke from which the deceitful human would appear. She uses more mana than required to drive the smoke away. To her surprise, the human didn’t pop beside her or from within the smoke but emerged beside the quater:node. Both of its hands moved in a blur, faster than her tendrils. It drew some weird symbols over the quater:node. Some of its mana remained over the quater:node, while it moved farther away as if predicting her attack.
Dandralith willed more power into every tendril she commanded and used a skill in succession to increase their speed and destructive power. If the quater:node protected her pet, she would die, and once the quater:node fell, the human would let its guard down. In that split second, she will claim the victory.
“Fortified thrust.” Dandralith chants and unleashes her tendrils.
RJ ignored Tetsu as she had five tendrils heading her way. Be it cruel or calculated, only if she survived, can she help the human survive. Also, her gift should protect the human's jewels long enough for her to secure a victory.
While both the females fought to win, the only male on the battlefield planned to run and call it a victory.
A simple doubt turned to fury and pride. Just as Tetsu pushed the Dandralith, clouding her judgment. By pride and overflowing with fury, the Dandralith went with power instead of speed and control. She still considered RJ as her equal and detested the idea of a mere human planning ahead of her. Between her doubt and confusion laid Tetsu’s victory.
This is a game of wits, and so far, Tetsu had the upper hand. ‘One more minute.’ He kept consoling his eyes. ‘It will be out of mana soon...’
Tetsu dodged the tendril, trying to flank him with ease, then manipulated RJ with runes, helping her dodge her tendrils.
Quater:nodes have ridiculous amounts of points in their defenses. The mold has been made from the toughest material they consume, while their actual bodies can’t even handle a strong breeze.
“How a jelly joined forces with an inanimate object to become one being is a story for another time, her mom told RJ.
But that wasn’t why RJ wanted to know that story. Mom didn’t understand RJ. She wanted the information to rectify the grave mistake her ancestors made. How long can a Gemhide keep tanking attacks? They had to fight back or at least move while fighting. Only if she understood the bond, can she change it better to protect and bring her clan back into power, away from hiding and being hunted like some darn resource.
She didn’t want speed to run, but to fight. There are a billion attacks that can get past their shields and they require speed or a skill to threaten their opponent to give up.
For how long can they tank?
Tetsu understood this flaw right away, hence the runes to help her move and move so fast that even she didn’t comprehend the full extent of her newfound speed.
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═
Tetsu had to hold himself back. ‘Not yet.’ He kept track and only moved the mold when he was too far away from the targeted section.
A root snoops around Tetsu as he uses Mimic over RJ.
On and on, Tetsu’s eyes flicker in sync with his mind. Right arm and leg, on and on, boulder and tree, on and on. All four off. Back on and boulder on.
Runes activate and deactivate, pulling Tetsu’s body all over the battlefield like a rag doll. He swirls around the tendrils or maintains and slams RJ’s shell over the tendrils, pinning them down.
“Same trick won’t work on me twice, you freak of nature.”
He turns and bites another tendril approaching from his blind spot. The tendril flaps like a fish in a dog’s mouth as Tetsu glares at the Dandralith.
Dandralith ignores Tetsu and focuses on the shield covering RJ. She knew what would hurt the human more and she would make the lowly human crumble before she finished it. ‘How dare a mere human glare at her? It shall pay for its transgressions. This last blow will teach the human its place.’
Tetsu’s eyes zoom in over the tiny cracks forming in RJ’s shell. Then he shifts his magnified vision onto the Dandralith, sending its main tendril to finish the job.
His eyes capture every detail in close proximity and clip by clip.
“Fury drill.” Dandralith activates a spell.
Four tendrils circle toward RJ, overlapping each other, forming a drill the size of Tetsu’s torso. A silver sheen covered the tip, refining its edge and giving it a sharper point. The green blaze propelled the drill forward with furious speeds, while the silver sheen collected and concentrated the energy at a single point.
Tetsu took another guess. Yet another step. A calm, calculated move based on instinct and luck.
Tetsu dashes in front of RJ’s shield, turns his back at the incoming attack, dodges the tendril, and activates every rune over his body while using...
[Ding! Skill upgrade: ‘Mimic on’ to Pave Path. Initiate. Omni.]
... an Omni skill.
Tetsu’s body and skill pulled the tendril toward him and while the tendril had already crossed the target, his body, the tendril was forced to curve to the side.
The drill graces RJ’s shield, shattering the section it graced with ease. The diverted drill still carried a lot of momentum as it borrowed itself deep into the floor beside RJ and Tetsu, creating a huge tunnel.
The upper layers of his skin peeled away, revealing a much softer shade of pink. Losing connection to the sensory nerves that transmitted pain, Tetsu smiled meekly, attempting to comfort RJ.
Her eyes kept moving back and forth between Tetsu’s uneven shoulders and his skin, which went from baby pink to crimson-black. Small patches of hair were visible on his head, saved by the shirt that had turned into a cape.
Tetsu collapsed to his knees and RJ checked his pants and was relieved to find that her artifact successfully withstood every attack and also protected the dumb humans’ precious jewels. This meant he could still survive, all thanks to her creation.
RJ manipulates her shield, making it invisible to scan the battlefield better. With a swift command, she molds her shield into a hook for the very first time and flips the command again to make it visible.
As they were opposite techniques, the invisible shield drained more resources and split her concentration into two different aspects. It was like writing with both hands. She didn’t have the patience or the time, so by focusing solely on power and transformation, RJ molds her shield and slams it over the tendril. With a new skill commending her technique, RJ holds the Dandralith’s drill in a deadlock.
Smooth as water, her gelatinous body flows over the deadlock, passing past Tetsu, and hovering over him, forming a pink shield. On the other side of the deadlock and covering Tetsu, she manipulates her lower half to follow suit.
While her mold moved across Tetsu, it stretched out, dropping a crystal orb at his feet. Tetsu took a step back on his knees and dropped over the orb, face first. The orb and his nose broke on impact, both releasing a crimson liquid, which his tooth happily consumed.
Tetsu’s nose clicked back into place as he regained movements in his limbs with a jolt. The excessive vital energy in the mysterious orb not only zapped away his injuries but also wiped out every backlash he created during the fight.
His fatigue levels first fell and then utterly faded away, leaving Tetsu refreshed and energized, as though he had enjoyed a good night’s sleep, eaten a hearty breakfast, and was now ready to burn healthy fat.
While the healing was spontaneous and rapid, it carried its own set of flaws. The booger meat Tetsu tied over his shoulder to feel whole, now melded into his flesh along with the cloth, becoming his new shoulder.
“Note to self.” Test nods a thanks to RJ. “She’s crafty… and healing is tricky.”
Tetsu regained his health pool and lost all of his accumulating fatigue, but he still required mana. The last suicidal theory drained him dry and without mana, which helped him dodge the Dandralith’s attacks, he would be dead soon.
With no other choice but to pull a risky move. Tetsu used RJ as cover and dug deeper, using nothing but physical strength, hoping to find a connecting tunnel that could lead him to the other side of the veil. Once he escapes to the other side, he can gain more vital energy and mana from the resource bubble placed earlier.
The Dandralith noticed Tetsu escape like the worm he was, but still couldn’t place all the pieces of the puzzle together. A worm acting in its nature can not expel an intricate web of deceit, after all.
RJ gulped in amusement. “He sure has many ways to run. Look at him go... even a petrified worm won’t be able to match his speed.” She chuckles as tiny bubbles tingle below her belly.
“Worm...” She shifts her gaze toward the Dandralith. “You better not push me there… it will force me to squash you like a worm.” She warns the Dandralith.
“What the Dande are you talking about?” Dandralith frowns at RJ.
On the other side, Tetsu consumes a massive health-bubble and rips into a handful of meat.
More than anyone else, Tetsu fought against his threatening eyes that gave up a long time ago and demanded to shut down. Fatigue wasn’t made to calculate his mental strain. It raised a point now and then, but if it knew how much Tetsu used and stressed his mind, eternal slumber would have claimed him already. Now all that kept his eyes open were guilt and willpower.
“Five more minutes.” He lied to himself. “Then you can sleep for however long you want... just get up in a day or two.” He forces out a chuckle.
Using another tunnel, he pops back into the battlefield and throws a charcoal shard at the Dandralith.
The sudden smoke startled her as she retrieved the tendril about to impale RJ and concentrated over the smoke from which the deceitful human would appear. She uses more mana than required to drive the smoke away. To her surprise, the human didn’t pop beside her or from within the smoke but emerged beside the quater:node. Both of its hands moved in a blur, faster than her tendrils. It drew some weird symbols over the quater:node. Some of its mana remained over the quater:node, while it moved farther away as if predicting her attack.
Dandralith willed more power into every tendril she commanded and used a skill in succession to increase their speed and destructive power. If the quater:node protected her pet, she would die, and once the quater:node fell, the human would let its guard down. In that split second, she will claim the victory.
“Fortified thrust.” Dandralith chants and unleashes her tendrils.
RJ ignored Tetsu as she had five tendrils heading her way. Be it cruel or calculated, only if she survived, can she help the human survive. Also, her gift should protect the human's jewels long enough for her to secure a victory.
While both the females fought to win, the only male on the battlefield planned to run and call it a victory.
A simple doubt turned to fury and pride. Just as Tetsu pushed the Dandralith, clouding her judgment. By pride and overflowing with fury, the Dandralith went with power instead of speed and control. She still considered RJ as her equal and detested the idea of a mere human planning ahead of her. Between her doubt and confusion laid Tetsu’s victory.
This is a game of wits, and so far, Tetsu had the upper hand. ‘One more minute.’ He kept consoling his eyes. ‘It will be out of mana soon...’
Tetsu dodged the tendril, trying to flank him with ease, then manipulated RJ with runes, helping her dodge her tendrils.
Quater:nodes have ridiculous amounts of points in their defenses. The mold has been made from the toughest material they consume, while their actual bodies can’t even handle a strong breeze.
“How a jelly joined forces with an inanimate object to become one being is a story for another time, her mom told RJ.
But that wasn’t why RJ wanted to know that story. Mom didn’t understand RJ. She wanted the information to rectify the grave mistake her ancestors made. How long can a Gemhide keep tanking attacks? They had to fight back or at least move while fighting. Only if she understood the bond, can she change it better to protect and bring her clan back into power, away from hiding and being hunted like some darn resource.
She didn’t want speed to run, but to fight. There are a billion attacks that can get past their shields and they require speed or a skill to threaten their opponent to give up.
For how long can they tank?
Tetsu understood this flaw right away, hence the runes to help her move and move so fast that even she didn’t comprehend the full extent of her newfound speed.
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═
