Leaders fell.
Quests changed hands.
Yet they prioritized their predecessor's animosity over some system quest as their second-in-command took charge, gearing up for round two.
“You're mine.” Tetsu thrusts the Apexian leader into a lighting orb and breaks free mid-flight.
Another zap later he brings a companion along to confront the formidable ape. “No need for introductions I am guessing," Tetsu bowed, introducing the leader of the Sonic Tweed.
The Tweed emitted a piercing scream alongside a powerful sonic wave. The Apexian responded by pounding his chest, nullifying the sound.
Tetsu, having already punctured his eardrums, moved unimpeded, and the ape’s bleeding ears only bolstered his confidence to take another risk.
The Ape widened its stance, its muscles shifting to form three flailing tails. Tetsu skidded to a stop, detecting an ambush below him. With a swift punch to the ground, he yanked a Quaketail along with a chunk of earth and hurled it at the ape. Before the ape’s subordinates could react, one of its three tails lashed out, obliterating the mole.
“Stay away… duh!”
Several Quaketail hands emerged, dragging unsuspecting creatures into the earth. Tweeds orchestrated their own trap, resonating in a unique frequency that immobilized everyone in its grasp. The conflict intensified as more Tweeds joined the fray, locking down larger sections of the battlefield.
The metallic and plant-based creatures capitalized on this advantage, decimating opposing groups. Tetsu drew the attention of the Tweeds as the lone flesh-based creature, thrashing about in his typical fashion. Runes activated around the forest as the Apexian leader dropped to his knees, aligning himself with Tetsu’s trajectory.
Tetsu’s knee connected with the Apexian’s face, a wicked grin spreading across his own. “So kind of you... Still, consider this your last warning,” he cautioned before the runes whisked him away.
The Tweeds moved in sync with Tetsu, their disbelief evident in the resonating sound that surrounded them.
“A human... no movement,” they conveyed to each other through sound waves.
Two runes ignited on the leader’s chest of the Sonic Tweeds, and two on Tetsu’s buttocks as his rear met the Tweed’s face. “Quantum harvest,” Tetsu swore and turned the untouchable Tweed into the primary target on the battlefield.
Runes latched onto targets and more bubbles formed around the Tweeds, siphoning out their energy while making them easy targets and with more benefits.
[Ding! Mana: 210/610. Health: 340/398. Fatigue: 67.]
One hour elapsed, and Tetsu’s mana had already dwindled to less than half, with fatigue gnawing at his health pool.
Tetsu nodded to dismiss the screen, zapping closer to the elemental swarm and diving between the water elementals, anticipating the impending onslaught.
Stripes of lightning sliced through the battlefield, weaving an intricate mesh of lines that transported the entire conflict into the sky. The colossal Electric Snowman plummeted into a ditch excavated by the Quaketail leader, triggering a chain reaction that caused every snowman to detonate in a cacophony of explosions.
The explosive cascade didn’t conclude there; multiple zaps altered the terrain of the battlefield with each occurrence, relocating it to different areas within the tutorial zone with a velocity imperceptible to the naked eye.
Wildcard entries were thrust into the battle royale at every location, with the final setting putting the Quaketail at a significant disadvantage.
Various birds swooped in, snatching up the falling combatants as prey. Tetsu used the earth elements as the initial layer of insulation, followed by water for additional cushioning, his primary concern was to survive the impact of the fall or next transportation.
The first line of rock elementals dispersed like sand upon impact, and the subsequent ones followed suit. Tetsu collided with the water elementals before crashing into the viscous mud below. Though the friction and water softened the otherwise harsh landing, the impact almost shattered Tetsu’s bones. Activating his earth affinity, he attempted to harmonize with the environment, allowing himself to be carried along with the flow, digging deeper into the earth.
Just as Tetsu braced for the fall that threatened to plunge him into the underworld, another flash of light engulfed the battlefield, resetting it to its previous location—or so Tetsu thought, as the entire terrain moved with him. The erratic jumps only ceased once the other armies targeted and detonated the remaining snowmen.
“Fuck!” Tetsu exclaimed, taking a deep breath as he pressed into the ground. Moments later a massive hammer, twice his size, thundered down at the spot he had just vacated.
{Wakem’all. Attributes: Stamina, Fort, Flex, Dex... Weakness: Rex, Flex, Flash…}
The peculiar name resonated like the game “Whack 'em all,” and the creatures themselves were equally bizarre. Tetsu struggled to discern which was the creature’s main body; all he could perceive was a massive hammer connected to a fist-size mouse's tail. He surmised the mouse to be the creature's true body, further adding to the surreal nature of the encounter.
Tetsu was yanked out by a massive fist of mud, an elemental born from the amalgamation of water and mud.
“It was a good idea back then,” Tetsu mused, tilting his head as shards of metal erupted through the elemental’s eye, creating a gaping hole in its face.
The Elemental emitted a piercing shriek and attempted to hurl Tetsu away, but he dug into its muddy body, employing a combination of techniques—Pave Path, Move Terrain, Razor Edge—and his Earth affinity in a desperate bid to stay on the elemental.
A radiant light descended upon the elemental, and it vanished without a sound, only a small crater left as its remembrance.
Tetsu angled his dig to lessen the force of the throw while also avoiding both the full impact of the Elemental’s assault and the frenzied attack launched by the charging Tweed in the air. His calculated maneuver enabled him to tunnel out of the elemental’s grasp and dive into the ground before the dissipating strike of the Tweed approached.
A Moon moves above the Tweed, taking advantage of its weakened state, while Tetsu sneaks to a different battlefront.
“Who’s next?” Apexian bellowed, hurling a boulder that careened toward Tetsu, its path clearing trees as if they were mere bowling pins.
*!Blink!*
Tetsu shook off the disorienting vision before refocusing on his immediate surroundings. “I better stay away from him.” He notes and slips closer to the [Alloyhide Horror] group.
With the Snowmen gone, Tetsu relied on more conventional tactics. To sow further chaos and create opportunities for escape, he made sure that the [Quantum Harvest] bubbles continued to proliferate across the battlefield.
Those with the talent for multitasking or the luxury of pausing for a moment had access to valuable resources. While the others succumbed either to exhaustion or the onslaught of new adversaries.
Tetsu shifts course as a horn erupts from the ground, sending several Quaketail body parts scattering in all directions.
{Armament Ants. Attributes: Hive mind, Fort, Stamina, Durability... Weakness: Won’t attack unless instructed.}
A small mound of mud gradually rises at the side, ants pouring out in an unending stream.
“Now, that’s an army,” Tetsu remarks, whistling at the sight.
He turns to flee as usual, unaware of the other hives that have encircled the system-sanctioned area of the trail.
The individual groups, which Tetsu had considered armies, abandoned all other concerns and formed tighter formations to evade the real threats.
On reflex, Tetsu accessed the system and claimed a free point, but hesitated before allocating it to luck. “The big guy should be on his way,” he chuckled, dismissing the screen with a smirk.
With every step, Tetsu anchored himself deeper into the ground, conducting a quick scan of the terrain before advancing. In a surge of inspiration, he attempted to manipulate the land, drawing it towards him as he moved forward, aiming to cover more ground.
[Ding! Move Terrain upgraded to Terrafarer. Each step takes you two meters ahead. Better sense of the terrain. Level: Warrior. Rarity: Epic.]
“About fucking time,” Tetsu muttered, his steps now propelling him further than before. As he advanced, the land shifted behind him, amplifying the distance covered with each stride.
A simple step now carried him half a meter farther than intended, while his best jog propelled him a meter ahead, and a full sprint covered two meters.
“Two meters is the maximum range?” Tetsu frowns over the misleading description.
As Tetsu played with the upgraded skill, the pursuing ants collided with trees, fellow ants, and those insignificant smaller groups.
The ants paid no heed and were not designed to fathom the ways of other species or their choices. But what baffled them was the relentless child who never ceased smiling—a devilish grin, perhaps, but a smile nonetheless.
“There,” Tetsu exclaimed as he descended into a tunnel used by the ants to enter the battle, his enhanced earth-scanning range aiding his navigation.
The ants’ controlled charge devolved into an all-out death charge as anger and duty consumed their bodies. The human had discovered their tunnel, and the mere thought of harm to their queen sent them into a frenzied madness.
The army split and split again as Tetsu introduced the underground pathways to every party he came across. With his tunneling expertise, the once straightforward ant tunnels transformed into a maze. Quaketail enhanced it further in its quest for revenge, while smaller groups used it to hunker down, and some blindly followed, drawn toward the queen’s chamber, never to return.
“Target. Human,” the Ant Queen commanded, tearing apart yet another group that dared to stumble into her chambers.
“There’s still time,” Tetsu muttered with a furrowed brow, preparing to initiate round two for real.
{Claytron. Attributes: Hive-mind.... Weakness: Hive-mind, water…}
Claytron’s were a species of elementals constructed from clay and fused with various materials, ranging from twigs and rocks to metals and elements, excluding water.
Tetsu swung past a group of apes and landed on a Claytron. A surge of energy coursed through it, transforming it into solid rock—a consequence of super-heating clay constructs with a touch of magic, of course.
A puff of brown steam billowed into the atmosphere, signaling the demise of yet another comrade.
Tetsu’s hope to hop away waned as his legs got ensnared inside the clay construct. Another Claytron seized the opportunity, manipulating splintered wood within its clay body to form a club, which it used to strike the now rock-solid surface Tetsu had stood on moments before.
The clay golem aimed for Tetsu, yet the club swung lower and shattered its comrade into a million pieces while Tetsu leaped into the sky, reaching heights he had never achieved before.
[Ding! Skill upgraded: Vertical jump to Leap Up. Level: Initiate. Rarity: Rare.]
The Claytron was less astonished by the height of the human’s jump and more so by the simple swing it had missed. Even the debris of its fallen comrade circled away, unable to so much as graze the target.
“Human. Trouble.” The Claytron created a clay orb, encapsulating the urgent message to warn the Prime Ele’mentor, their leader.
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═
Leaders fell.
Quests changed hands.
Yet they prioritized their predecessor's animosity over some system quest as their second-in-command took charge, gearing up for round two.
“You're mine.” Tetsu thrusts the Apexian leader into a lighting orb and breaks free mid-flight.
Another zap later he brings a companion along to confront the formidable ape. “No need for introductions I am guessing," Tetsu bowed, introducing the leader of the Sonic Tweed.
The Tweed emitted a piercing scream alongside a powerful sonic wave. The Apexian responded by pounding his chest, nullifying the sound.
Tetsu, having already punctured his eardrums, moved unimpeded, and the ape’s bleeding ears only bolstered his confidence to take another risk.
The Ape widened its stance, its muscles shifting to form three flailing tails. Tetsu skidded to a stop, detecting an ambush below him. With a swift punch to the ground, he yanked a Quaketail along with a chunk of earth and hurled it at the ape. Before the ape’s subordinates could react, one of its three tails lashed out, obliterating the mole.
“Stay away… duh!”
Several Quaketail hands emerged, dragging unsuspecting creatures into the earth. Tweeds orchestrated their own trap, resonating in a unique frequency that immobilized everyone in its grasp. The conflict intensified as more Tweeds joined the fray, locking down larger sections of the battlefield.
The metallic and plant-based creatures capitalized on this advantage, decimating opposing groups. Tetsu drew the attention of the Tweeds as the lone flesh-based creature, thrashing about in his typical fashion. Runes activated around the forest as the Apexian leader dropped to his knees, aligning himself with Tetsu’s trajectory.
Tetsu’s knee connected with the Apexian’s face, a wicked grin spreading across his own. “So kind of you... Still, consider this your last warning,” he cautioned before the runes whisked him away.
The Tweeds moved in sync with Tetsu, their disbelief evident in the resonating sound that surrounded them.
“A human... no movement,” they conveyed to each other through sound waves.
Two runes ignited on the leader’s chest of the Sonic Tweeds, and two on Tetsu’s buttocks as his rear met the Tweed’s face. “Quantum harvest,” Tetsu swore and turned the untouchable Tweed into the primary target on the battlefield.
Runes latched onto targets and more bubbles formed around the Tweeds, siphoning out their energy while making them easy targets and with more benefits.
[Ding! Mana: 210/610. Health: 340/398. Fatigue: 67.]
One hour elapsed, and Tetsu’s mana had already dwindled to less than half, with fatigue gnawing at his health pool.
Tetsu nodded to dismiss the screen, zapping closer to the elemental swarm and diving between the water elementals, anticipating the impending onslaught.
Stripes of lightning sliced through the battlefield, weaving an intricate mesh of lines that transported the entire conflict into the sky. The colossal Electric Snowman plummeted into a ditch excavated by the Quaketail leader, triggering a chain reaction that caused every snowman to detonate in a cacophony of explosions.
The explosive cascade didn’t conclude there; multiple zaps altered the terrain of the battlefield with each occurrence, relocating it to different areas within the tutorial zone with a velocity imperceptible to the naked eye.
Wildcard entries were thrust into the battle royale at every location, with the final setting putting the Quaketail at a significant disadvantage.
Various birds swooped in, snatching up the falling combatants as prey. Tetsu used the earth elements as the initial layer of insulation, followed by water for additional cushioning, his primary concern was to survive the impact of the fall or next transportation.
The first line of rock elementals dispersed like sand upon impact, and the subsequent ones followed suit. Tetsu collided with the water elementals before crashing into the viscous mud below. Though the friction and water softened the otherwise harsh landing, the impact almost shattered Tetsu’s bones. Activating his earth affinity, he attempted to harmonize with the environment, allowing himself to be carried along with the flow, digging deeper into the earth.
Just as Tetsu braced for the fall that threatened to plunge him into the underworld, another flash of light engulfed the battlefield, resetting it to its previous location—or so Tetsu thought, as the entire terrain moved with him. The erratic jumps only ceased once the other armies targeted and detonated the remaining snowmen.
“Fuck!” Tetsu exclaimed, taking a deep breath as he pressed into the ground. Moments later a massive hammer, twice his size, thundered down at the spot he had just vacated.
{Wakem’all. Attributes: Stamina, Fort, Flex, Dex... Weakness: Rex, Flex, Flash…}
The peculiar name resonated like the game “Whack 'em all,” and the creatures themselves were equally bizarre. Tetsu struggled to discern which was the creature’s main body; all he could perceive was a massive hammer connected to a fist-size mouse's tail. He surmised the mouse to be the creature's true body, further adding to the surreal nature of the encounter.
Tetsu was yanked out by a massive fist of mud, an elemental born from the amalgamation of water and mud.
“It was a good idea back then,” Tetsu mused, tilting his head as shards of metal erupted through the elemental’s eye, creating a gaping hole in its face.
The Elemental emitted a piercing shriek and attempted to hurl Tetsu away, but he dug into its muddy body, employing a combination of techniques—Pave Path, Move Terrain, Razor Edge—and his Earth affinity in a desperate bid to stay on the elemental.
A radiant light descended upon the elemental, and it vanished without a sound, only a small crater left as its remembrance.
Tetsu angled his dig to lessen the force of the throw while also avoiding both the full impact of the Elemental’s assault and the frenzied attack launched by the charging Tweed in the air. His calculated maneuver enabled him to tunnel out of the elemental’s grasp and dive into the ground before the dissipating strike of the Tweed approached.
A Moon moves above the Tweed, taking advantage of its weakened state, while Tetsu sneaks to a different battlefront.
“Who’s next?” Apexian bellowed, hurling a boulder that careened toward Tetsu, its path clearing trees as if they were mere bowling pins.
*!Blink!*
Tetsu shook off the disorienting vision before refocusing on his immediate surroundings. “I better stay away from him.” He notes and slips closer to the [Alloyhide Horror] group.
With the Snowmen gone, Tetsu relied on more conventional tactics. To sow further chaos and create opportunities for escape, he made sure that the [Quantum Harvest] bubbles continued to proliferate across the battlefield.
Those with the talent for multitasking or the luxury of pausing for a moment had access to valuable resources. While the others succumbed either to exhaustion or the onslaught of new adversaries.
Tetsu shifts course as a horn erupts from the ground, sending several Quaketail body parts scattering in all directions.
{Armament Ants. Attributes: Hive mind, Fort, Stamina, Durability... Weakness: Won’t attack unless instructed.}
A small mound of mud gradually rises at the side, ants pouring out in an unending stream.
“Now, that’s an army,” Tetsu remarks, whistling at the sight.
He turns to flee as usual, unaware of the other hives that have encircled the system-sanctioned area of the trail.
The individual groups, which Tetsu had considered armies, abandoned all other concerns and formed tighter formations to evade the real threats.
On reflex, Tetsu accessed the system and claimed a free point, but hesitated before allocating it to luck. “The big guy should be on his way,” he chuckled, dismissing the screen with a smirk.
With every step, Tetsu anchored himself deeper into the ground, conducting a quick scan of the terrain before advancing. In a surge of inspiration, he attempted to manipulate the land, drawing it towards him as he moved forward, aiming to cover more ground.
[Ding! Move Terrain upgraded to Terrafarer. Each step takes you two meters ahead. Better sense of the terrain. Level: Warrior. Rarity: Epic.]
“About fucking time,” Tetsu muttered, his steps now propelling him further than before. As he advanced, the land shifted behind him, amplifying the distance covered with each stride.
A simple step now carried him half a meter farther than intended, while his best jog propelled him a meter ahead, and a full sprint covered two meters.
“Two meters is the maximum range?” Tetsu frowns over the misleading description.
As Tetsu played with the upgraded skill, the pursuing ants collided with trees, fellow ants, and those insignificant smaller groups.
The ants paid no heed and were not designed to fathom the ways of other species or their choices. But what baffled them was the relentless child who never ceased smiling—a devilish grin, perhaps, but a smile nonetheless.
“There,” Tetsu exclaimed as he descended into a tunnel used by the ants to enter the battle, his enhanced earth-scanning range aiding his navigation.
The ants’ controlled charge devolved into an all-out death charge as anger and duty consumed their bodies. The human had discovered their tunnel, and the mere thought of harm to their queen sent them into a frenzied madness.
The army split and split again as Tetsu introduced the underground pathways to every party he came across. With his tunneling expertise, the once straightforward ant tunnels transformed into a maze. Quaketail enhanced it further in its quest for revenge, while smaller groups used it to hunker down, and some blindly followed, drawn toward the queen’s chamber, never to return.
“Target. Human,” the Ant Queen commanded, tearing apart yet another group that dared to stumble into her chambers.
“There’s still time,” Tetsu muttered with a furrowed brow, preparing to initiate round two for real.
{Claytron. Attributes: Hive-mind.... Weakness: Hive-mind, water…}
Claytron’s were a species of elementals constructed from clay and fused with various materials, ranging from twigs and rocks to metals and elements, excluding water.
Tetsu swung past a group of apes and landed on a Claytron. A surge of energy coursed through it, transforming it into solid rock—a consequence of super-heating clay constructs with a touch of magic, of course.
A puff of brown steam billowed into the atmosphere, signaling the demise of yet another comrade.
Tetsu’s hope to hop away waned as his legs got ensnared inside the clay construct. Another Claytron seized the opportunity, manipulating splintered wood within its clay body to form a club, which it used to strike the now rock-solid surface Tetsu had stood on moments before.
The clay golem aimed for Tetsu, yet the club swung lower and shattered its comrade into a million pieces while Tetsu leaped into the sky, reaching heights he had never achieved before.
[Ding! Skill upgraded: Vertical jump to Leap Up. Level: Initiate. Rarity: Rare.]
The Claytron was less astonished by the height of the human’s jump and more so by the simple swing it had missed. Even the debris of its fallen comrade circled away, unable to so much as graze the target.
“Human. Trouble.” The Claytron created a clay orb, encapsulating the urgent message to warn the Prime Ele’mentor, their leader.
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═
