The Claytron appeared invincible, save for one vulnerability for their adversaries to exploit. It reminded Tetsu of the game “Spot thy weakness,” invented by Kile to alleviate the monotony of lunch breaks. They started by trapping bullies and teachers alike, anyone daring to cross Kile’s path. However, they soon outgrew mundane targets and challenged each other by concocting scenarios featuring unique lifeforms.
Before entering the tunnel from which the ant emerged, Tetsu tripped the Drill-ant into the path of a Claytron’s body slam attack, ensuring it wouldn’t be able to disclose his whereabouts to the other ants.
The Claytron retaliates for its fallen kin, seizing the ant in a vengeful chokehold, while Tetsu marks another Claytron he knows he can’t best. He allocates one free point to luck and bolts like the wind, abandoning any semblance of loyalty to the promise in favor of self-preservation.
From the clutches of one army, he dashes into smaller groups, evading pursuit through many dives. Yet, instead of finding an exit from the battlefield, he blunders into an even more formidable opposing force.
“This isn’t luck. This is the epitome of bad luck. What kind of deranged stat am I squandering my precious free points on?” Tetsu’s soul wailed while his nonchalant smile incited two hives to alter their objectives and focus on him.
———|*|———
“Quill spin!” A Quillspire morphed into a spherical form, its elongated quills rotating in various directions.
“Thrust!” An Ant shifts stance, spear aimed toward the human’s torso.
“Claymore!” The Claytron expands like a geyser, consuming everything in its path.
“Fuck you all!” Tetsu muttered as he slid beneath the Claytron.
Having already identified the weaknesses of such attacks during his regular observations, he knew the safest position was beneath the Claytron’s onslaught. The Claytron transforms into a massive sphere, absorbing the Ant’s spear and the rapid spin of the quills. Their ultimate attacks were nothing but needles attempting to pierce a mountain.
On the opposite end, a hammer-wielding ant expected and aimed for Tetsu’s exit point but found itself redirected, launching its attack against the Claytron that also intended to obstruct the human’s escape by hunkering down.
Another eye winked out of existence, and Tetsu’s perspective shifted, providing a new vantage point of the battlefield.
The golem exploded into fragments, halted mid-transformation by a sudden electric zap, rendering it solid.
After a rapid succession of blinks, Tetsu veered to the right, evading a Spencer attack by digging in and out of the floor. He tripped several Claytrons, triggering a domino effect to consume another health bubble and slam butt first into an ant’s face, further distorting its already grotesque visage.
“Sneaky,” Tetsu snickers and avoids another shadow.
The mysterious creatures leaped from one shadow to another, sometimes even using the shadows of other creatures to move in the shadows.
Despite the chaos of the battlefield, Tetsu noted the absence of clay carcasses or the remnants left behind when Claytrons were destroyed, as well as other minor details. While others might overlook such trivialities, Tetsu inspected his surroundings by default and formulated plans based on subtle changes.
How can anyone elude his domain?
[Ding! Sense: +1]
“See...” Tetsu chuckled, his confidence growing.
An ant charged towards Tetsu with a club, only to be intercepted by its brethren and a Claytron. With a quick gesture of Tetsu’s hands, a narrow path cleared as one warrior got drawn into the grasp of another creature, and whatever a large mound of clay might be called.
Tetsu seized the opportunity to slip away, hoping his luck would guide him to a safer zone. Just as he took two steps into the clearing, he opted for another battlefield instead of a secure path.
“Damn you, consciousness,” he cursed, then collided butt-first into a Claytron.
Rather than shattering and being absorbed by the other golems, these clay cubes sped up mid-flight, ramming into every creature in their path except for the Quillspire, which drilled through the suicide attack, and Tetsu, who carved a new path before the projectiles angled themselves.
Tetsu noticed the Quillspire leader, teetering on the brink of collapse, with only the healers left attending to him amidst the chaos. Their unconventional acupuncture-style healing left them vulnerable to attacks. Tetsu never found them using offensive skills, rendering them easy targets for some free and despicable XP points.
“It’s rude to attack healers, even if it’s a tactically sound move,” Tetsu sighed, manipulating the clay cubes to stack them on both sides of the quill group.
“Step on it,” he commanded the Quillspire. “Pave the path.”
Tagging the four healers and their leader, Tetsu dashed between the makeshift wall. Halfway through, he dug a pit and motioned for the others to follow. Meanwhile, the wall continued extending, more clay cubes joining as if programmed for the task.
The quill group’s initial hesitation dissolved when the ants attacked from the right, colliding with the Claytron that broke through from the left.
“Do I need to pull off a Hail Mary before you listen to me?” scoffed Tetsu.
They moved at decent speeds because the leader and healers did not resist. The healers remained focused on their task, while the leader kept a watchful eye on Tetsu, but refrained from acting.
Under normal circumstances, the Quillspire moved faster than Tetsu, but for now, they relied on his speed and cunning escape tactics. Tetsu gestured before every turn, and after the initial doubt, they complied without hesitation.
After the initial hesitation, whether it was their luck or his own, that clicked into place, the rest of their encounters were too close for comfort but never fatal. If the Quillspire failed to heed Tetsu’s signals, a spear or lump of clay awaited, ready to end their lives at a moment’s notice.
Tetsu never moved in a straight line; sometimes, he circled the same path for reasons the Quills couldn’t comprehend. Yet the group realized these peculiar delays benefited them and stayed silent without protesting.
A random turn to the right led them to resource bubbles, while a foolish left took them away from a potential ambush. They never quite grasped why the human circled back to their initial point, and neither did Tetsu himself.
He intended to deceive and keep the enemies guessing, so the best strategy he could devise in the heat of battle was to circle back to their current location. With no other viable options presenting themselves, he shrugged and continued in circles to buy more time, create a better opening, or sow confusion among the enemy troops, hoping they might create one for him.
The strategy paid off as more Quillspire caught up with the group. Following Tetsu’s orders, they maintained defensive positions rather than planning any reckless suicide attacks. While they might be equipped to dodge friendly fire, Tetsu had his hands full with their boss, and with foresight, he preferred not to deal with unnecessary additional complications.
As the armies closed in, Tetsu executed a maneuver he called [Raptor], pulling those pesky Sun affinity birds to the ground. To the onlookers, it appeared as though he summoned a rain of fireballs, but in reality, he was leveraging the aerial beasts to target the creatures on the ground.
Once they descended, the aerial beasts targeted the creatures on the land, assuming they had something to do with the fallen kin, adding more chaos to the mix and creating additional escape options.
The beasts focused on the larger ground targets out of habit, allowing smaller groups to evade and focus on fleeing.
“Over there,” Tetsu pointed at a pit to the side.
Although the group marked the pit, they followed Tetsu, who circled it before leaping inside. What appeared to be a small pit expanded into a vast tunnel, spacious enough to accommodate their entire group and then some.
“Found another ant hole,” Tetsu grinned and threw the leader forward, while he stayed behind, gesturing for the Quillspires at the end to expand their spikes and form a shield.
A thorny shield covered their entrance, as quills interlocked to create a net of spikes. Within moments, several ants plunged into the pit in a frantic dash.
Tetsu never quite understood what made them so enraged when he or others used their tunnels, and he dismissed the matter when no reasonable explanation came to mind. “Ants do-be doing crazy shit.”
For now, he exploited their anger, turning it against them by creating a trap at the entrance, which they rushed into with all their might, impaling themselves before they had a chance to showcase their skills.
Simultaneously, four Quillspires denoted themselves above ground and around the pit, forcing the other grounds to retreat. They were new recruits since... Well, since Tetsu took charge of the battalion, and acted on their own fruition to protect the group.
“Dumb Quill,” Tetsu cursed under his breath, adjusting his plans to accommodate the unexpected interference. The pre-planned fireballs were directed elsewhere, to create an opening for his improvised plan.
With a heavy sigh, he turned to the healers. “No offense,” he added with a wave, signaling them to move toward the tunnel on the right while he moved in the opposite direction, made a sharp turn, and burrowed up into the battlefield.
Tetsu’s eyes darted across the area, assessing the developing situation. Rune swept the four unconscious Quillspires into the tunnel, and those attempting to finish the critical Quillspires stumbled and missed their mark.
A smaller group of ants disregarded Tetsu’s escape above ground and instead burrowed into the tunnel. Mistaking the human’s passage for the Quillspires’ escape route, they followed it, unwittingly moving in the opposite direction.
The healers watched in awe as Tetsu diverted the army above and below, executing a simple move that sent the ants on a wild goose chase.
“Happy?” Tetsu yelled at his conscience.
“Kud ki tho ganta chances he, lekin dusaro ki badi padi he,” he taunted himself in Hindi. “The rest is up to you guys.” He waved farewell to a different pit as another group of ants set off to pursue the second wild goose.
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═
NOTE- The Hindi saying means- “Kud ki tho ganta chances he, lekin dusaro ki badi padi he,” :-- Can’t help yourself but worried about others. Its cool in Hindi...!
The Claytron appeared invincible, save for one vulnerability for their adversaries to exploit. It reminded Tetsu of the game “Spot thy weakness,” invented by Kile to alleviate the monotony of lunch breaks. They started by trapping bullies and teachers alike, anyone daring to cross Kile’s path. However, they soon outgrew mundane targets and challenged each other by concocting scenarios featuring unique lifeforms.
Before entering the tunnel from which the ant emerged, Tetsu tripped the Drill-ant into the path of a Claytron’s body slam attack, ensuring it wouldn’t be able to disclose his whereabouts to the other ants.
The Claytron retaliates for its fallen kin, seizing the ant in a vengeful chokehold, while Tetsu marks another Claytron he knows he can’t best. He allocates one free point to luck and bolts like the wind, abandoning any semblance of loyalty to the promise in favor of self-preservation.
From the clutches of one army, he dashes into smaller groups, evading pursuit through many dives. Yet, instead of finding an exit from the battlefield, he blunders into an even more formidable opposing force.
“This isn’t luck. This is the epitome of bad luck. What kind of deranged stat am I squandering my precious free points on?” Tetsu’s soul wailed while his nonchalant smile incited two hives to alter their objectives and focus on him.
———|*|———
“Quill spin!” A Quillspire morphed into a spherical form, its elongated quills rotating in various directions.
“Thrust!” An Ant shifts stance, spear aimed toward the human’s torso.
“Claymore!” The Claytron expands like a geyser, consuming everything in its path.
“Fuck you all!” Tetsu muttered as he slid beneath the Claytron.
Having already identified the weaknesses of such attacks during his regular observations, he knew the safest position was beneath the Claytron’s onslaught. The Claytron transforms into a massive sphere, absorbing the Ant’s spear and the rapid spin of the quills. Their ultimate attacks were nothing but needles attempting to pierce a mountain.
On the opposite end, a hammer-wielding ant expected and aimed for Tetsu’s exit point but found itself redirected, launching its attack against the Claytron that also intended to obstruct the human’s escape by hunkering down.
Another eye winked out of existence, and Tetsu’s perspective shifted, providing a new vantage point of the battlefield.
The golem exploded into fragments, halted mid-transformation by a sudden electric zap, rendering it solid.
After a rapid succession of blinks, Tetsu veered to the right, evading a Spencer attack by digging in and out of the floor. He tripped several Claytrons, triggering a domino effect to consume another health bubble and slam butt first into an ant’s face, further distorting its already grotesque visage.
“Sneaky,” Tetsu snickers and avoids another shadow.
The mysterious creatures leaped from one shadow to another, sometimes even using the shadows of other creatures to move in the shadows.
Despite the chaos of the battlefield, Tetsu noted the absence of clay carcasses or the remnants left behind when Claytrons were destroyed, as well as other minor details. While others might overlook such trivialities, Tetsu inspected his surroundings by default and formulated plans based on subtle changes.
How can anyone elude his domain?
[Ding! Sense: +1]
“See...” Tetsu chuckled, his confidence growing.
An ant charged towards Tetsu with a club, only to be intercepted by its brethren and a Claytron. With a quick gesture of Tetsu’s hands, a narrow path cleared as one warrior got drawn into the grasp of another creature, and whatever a large mound of clay might be called.
Tetsu seized the opportunity to slip away, hoping his luck would guide him to a safer zone. Just as he took two steps into the clearing, he opted for another battlefield instead of a secure path.
“Damn you, consciousness,” he cursed, then collided butt-first into a Claytron.
Rather than shattering and being absorbed by the other golems, these clay cubes sped up mid-flight, ramming into every creature in their path except for the Quillspire, which drilled through the suicide attack, and Tetsu, who carved a new path before the projectiles angled themselves.
Tetsu noticed the Quillspire leader, teetering on the brink of collapse, with only the healers left attending to him amidst the chaos. Their unconventional acupuncture-style healing left them vulnerable to attacks. Tetsu never found them using offensive skills, rendering them easy targets for some free and despicable XP points.
“It’s rude to attack healers, even if it’s a tactically sound move,” Tetsu sighed, manipulating the clay cubes to stack them on both sides of the quill group.
“Step on it,” he commanded the Quillspire. “Pave the path.”
Tagging the four healers and their leader, Tetsu dashed between the makeshift wall. Halfway through, he dug a pit and motioned for the others to follow. Meanwhile, the wall continued extending, more clay cubes joining as if programmed for the task.
The quill group’s initial hesitation dissolved when the ants attacked from the right, colliding with the Claytron that broke through from the left.
“Do I need to pull off a Hail Mary before you listen to me?” scoffed Tetsu.
They moved at decent speeds because the leader and healers did not resist. The healers remained focused on their task, while the leader kept a watchful eye on Tetsu, but refrained from acting.
Under normal circumstances, the Quillspire moved faster than Tetsu, but for now, they relied on his speed and cunning escape tactics. Tetsu gestured before every turn, and after the initial doubt, they complied without hesitation.
After the initial hesitation, whether it was their luck or his own, that clicked into place, the rest of their encounters were too close for comfort but never fatal. If the Quillspire failed to heed Tetsu’s signals, a spear or lump of clay awaited, ready to end their lives at a moment’s notice.
Tetsu never moved in a straight line; sometimes, he circled the same path for reasons the Quills couldn’t comprehend. Yet the group realized these peculiar delays benefited them and stayed silent without protesting.
A random turn to the right led them to resource bubbles, while a foolish left took them away from a potential ambush. They never quite grasped why the human circled back to their initial point, and neither did Tetsu himself.
He intended to deceive and keep the enemies guessing, so the best strategy he could devise in the heat of battle was to circle back to their current location. With no other viable options presenting themselves, he shrugged and continued in circles to buy more time, create a better opening, or sow confusion among the enemy troops, hoping they might create one for him.
The strategy paid off as more Quillspire caught up with the group. Following Tetsu’s orders, they maintained defensive positions rather than planning any reckless suicide attacks. While they might be equipped to dodge friendly fire, Tetsu had his hands full with their boss, and with foresight, he preferred not to deal with unnecessary additional complications.
As the armies closed in, Tetsu executed a maneuver he called [Raptor], pulling those pesky Sun affinity birds to the ground. To the onlookers, it appeared as though he summoned a rain of fireballs, but in reality, he was leveraging the aerial beasts to target the creatures on the ground.
Once they descended, the aerial beasts targeted the creatures on the land, assuming they had something to do with the fallen kin, adding more chaos to the mix and creating additional escape options.
The beasts focused on the larger ground targets out of habit, allowing smaller groups to evade and focus on fleeing.
“Over there,” Tetsu pointed at a pit to the side.
Although the group marked the pit, they followed Tetsu, who circled it before leaping inside. What appeared to be a small pit expanded into a vast tunnel, spacious enough to accommodate their entire group and then some.
“Found another ant hole,” Tetsu grinned and threw the leader forward, while he stayed behind, gesturing for the Quillspires at the end to expand their spikes and form a shield.
A thorny shield covered their entrance, as quills interlocked to create a net of spikes. Within moments, several ants plunged into the pit in a frantic dash.
Tetsu never quite understood what made them so enraged when he or others used their tunnels, and he dismissed the matter when no reasonable explanation came to mind. “Ants do-be doing crazy shit.”
For now, he exploited their anger, turning it against them by creating a trap at the entrance, which they rushed into with all their might, impaling themselves before they had a chance to showcase their skills.
Simultaneously, four Quillspires denoted themselves above ground and around the pit, forcing the other grounds to retreat. They were new recruits since... Well, since Tetsu took charge of the battalion, and acted on their own fruition to protect the group.
“Dumb Quill,” Tetsu cursed under his breath, adjusting his plans to accommodate the unexpected interference. The pre-planned fireballs were directed elsewhere, to create an opening for his improvised plan.
With a heavy sigh, he turned to the healers. “No offense,” he added with a wave, signaling them to move toward the tunnel on the right while he moved in the opposite direction, made a sharp turn, and burrowed up into the battlefield.
Tetsu’s eyes darted across the area, assessing the developing situation. Rune swept the four unconscious Quillspires into the tunnel, and those attempting to finish the critical Quillspires stumbled and missed their mark.
A smaller group of ants disregarded Tetsu’s escape above ground and instead burrowed into the tunnel. Mistaking the human’s passage for the Quillspires’ escape route, they followed it, unwittingly moving in the opposite direction.
The healers watched in awe as Tetsu diverted the army above and below, executing a simple move that sent the ants on a wild goose chase.
“Happy?” Tetsu yelled at his conscience.
“Kud ki tho ganta chances he, lekin dusaro ki badi padi he,” he taunted himself in Hindi. “The rest is up to you guys.” He waved farewell to a different pit as another group of ants set off to pursue the second wild goose.
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═
NOTE- The Hindi saying means- “Kud ki tho ganta chances he, lekin dusaro ki badi padi he,” :-- Can’t help yourself but worried about others. Its cool in Hindi...!
