Feeling a little groggy and exhausted, Alex walks through the dark forest, aiming for the red sparks in the air he saw before his fight with the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Should be this direction... or not? Surely... that way...
Alex, still pondering about the way towards the others, takes out his [Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2] and slowly walks in the direction he thinks he saw the red sparks.
This seems right... I hope? The Destiny Watch is awesome, but I'd prefer Jack Sparrow's compass right now... or wait, maybe not. It would be awkward if we use it together and it points towards Benezia's tits by accident... argh, I'd better forget that thought, this isn't the time. I'd better not let her catch me staring at her boob window, but it's just so lewd! I can't help it.
As Alex walks, his thoughts growing more and more inappropriate, he senses a hint of rustling in the brushes behind him.
En!
Alex spots three medium-sized tigers following him.
Is it the blood? I butchered that Matriarch, I must smell like a top-grade vampire bait... I'd better hurry up before these fucking tigers get the drop on me! I need to get out of these fucking brushes. Open terrain favours me!
Alex, now dropping his caution, rushes forward.
In the distance, he sees a small clearing with next to no vegetation and trees around. He speeds up even more and rushes there, then turns around.
The tigers, now aware that their ambush has failed, also slowly walk into the clearing, circling slowly around Alex.
With the moonlight shining into the clearing, Alex clearly sees his pursuers.
Three tigers, but not Sabertooth tigers; these are just normal-looking ones. They are weaker and less dangerous, and also slightly smaller. I can easily take them.
Alex draws his [Executioner's Blade R2] and rushes towards one.
The tiger, surprised by Alex's decisive action, reacts by sprinting towards him, aiming for a direct confrontation.
Seeing a direct path, Alex stretches out his left hand and uses Pull, creating a small biotic field that crashes into the tiger, rapidly pulling it towards him like a surge, completely robbing it of its bodily control.
Alex, who orchestrated this state, instantly reacts by activating Ren and focusing his Aura onto his blade, aiming directly at the head of the tiger flying straight at him. As the beast is about to hit him, he performs a basic two-handed overhead slash—the simple but deadly move once taught to him by Steiner. A move he endlessly practiced.
The attack lands perfectly. The helpless tiger crashes straight into the trajectory of Alex's massive blade, which comes down with brutal force, cutting the animal clean in half.
You have dealt 167 x 9 = 1503 damage to Tiger
You have killed Tiger
Shit! I need the corpse intact! It's directly cut into two halves. I can't mangle the other corpses as well.
Alex immediately rushes towards another tiger, which stares at him in confusion, unable to comprehend what just happened.
This time the tiger, frightened by its companion's sudden death, jumps back, refusing to engage in a head-on confrontation.
Alex reacts by unleashing Flying Blizzara Blade, sending a giant, blue, frost-imbued blade beam slicing through the air. It crashes into the tiger, tearing into its body and freezing its flesh.
You have dealt 167 damage to Tiger
You have slowed Tiger
Alex then stretches out his hand and casts Warp, launching a biotic orb of destruction straight at its head. The tiger, slowed by the icy blast, cannot dodge. The orb slams into it before it can even react, sealing its fate in an instant.
You have dealt 161 damage to Tiger
You have killed Tiger
Better! The head is mangled, but the rest is fine! I can't let the last one escape.
The last tiger turns around, fleeing, but Alex gives chase, his speed boosted by Basic Footwork lvl 5 and the additional speed buffs provided by [Nimbus Cloak] and [Sabatons of Pluto], boosting his total speed by 55%, which scales with his AGI, sitting at a respectable 25.
Still, despite Alex's immense speed, he is unable to fully catch up, the tiger displaying extreme agility and far better control as it maneuvers through the jungle.
Once my speed bonus from my Nimbus Cloak vanishes, I'll lose it! I need to try to hit it. I only get one shot.
Alex carefully predicts the tiger's movement and unleashes one more Pull, throwing a bolt of biotic energy in a slightly curved arc.
His aim is off by a little, and the bolt misses the tiger, but it still explodes on the ground right next to it, clipping its back leg and causing it to stumble before crashing into a tree.
Nice!
Not hesitating, Alex follows up with a Blizzara, his hands glowing, unleashing a huge frozen crystal that materializes around the tiger before exploding in a frozen explosion, hitting the tiger dead-on, the full brunt of his spell crashing into it.
You have dealt 106 damage to Tiger
You have frozen Tiger
With his foe frozen, Alex sprints toward it and drives his blade into the frozen tiger's neck, killing it.
You have dealt 141 x 3 = 483 damage to Tiger
You have killed Tiger
Alex Kerber: Lvl 7
HP: 424/424, MP: 308/414 AURA: 194/304, BP: 76/123
STR: 21 (+18), AGI: 21 (+4), PHY: 21 (+9), SNS: 21 (+2), CHA: 21 (+7), MNA: 21 (+10), INT: 21, SPR: 21 (+7), LUK: 21 (+8), NEN: 21 (+2)
Huffing, Alex quickly collects the tiger corpse, which is small enough to fit into his inventory.
White Quality, huh? This is trash... whatever.
He rushes back to the clearing, collects the other tiger corpses as well, and continues his way.
Despite not using up too much Aura, he feels a little drained. His BP recovers quickly, but his stamina is not endless, clearly unable to keep up with his immense BP regeneration.
My resources are barely used up, and BP recovers so fast that it's really only a temporary limitation, but I feel like I've already used up almost a quarter of my stamina. It's only been thirty minutes, and both of my fights lasted less than five. Biotics are incredible, but they can't be used endlessly. I need to find something that boosts stamina later down the road. Thankfully, my Basic Endurance skill increases my total stamina regeneration by 10%. This proves that there are not only items, but also skills that boost it. Perhaps I should consider investing in a passive skill.
I remember that Rishi has two items related to it, but this isn't a good solution. They were too weak for me to consider using. I'd rather equip powerful Purple and Gold-quality items instead of raising my stamina by a measly 5 or 10%. The only way for me to use items to overcome stamina issues would be if I found a Gold-quality item focused on it. Alternatively, I need to invest even more in PHY. Carrying Zabuza's sword around and swinging it like a madman is also draining! In Mass Effect, it was so easy thanks to my Armor, but without it, it's clearly different.
Alex shakes his head, ignoring his doubts and focusing on the situation.
As he runs forward, he sees one more set of red sparks in the distance, this time closer.
He quickly changes his direction and presses on.
Just a few minutes later, he sees Tereza flying next to a Pterodactylus.
"Stupefy!" she screams, an invisible air-bullet slamming into it. She waves her wand and casts another, "Stupefy!" The Pterodactylus, losing control over its wing, begins to descend toward the ground.
She does not let up and flies after it, yelling, "Diffindo!" as a flying blade of air cuts off parts of its wings.
The Pterodactylus screams in pain and regains partial control of its wings, but suddenly struggles in the air as it crashes into a web spun between two trees.
As the confused flying dinosaur thrashes around, a small purple, metallic-looking object suddenly jumps onto it from a nearby tree, landing on its back and quickly piercing its many glowing, magic-empowered legs directly into its neck, riddling it with holes.
Jewel has dealt 71 x 3 = 213 damage to Pterodactylus
...
Jewel has dealt 62 x 3 = 186 damage to Pterodactylus
Jewel has killed Pterodactylus
Poor flying dino.
Tereza approaches Alex, landing next to him.
"It took a while, and I called for help, but I finally caught something decent. Thanks to Jewel, it didn't escape!" she says with a smile.
Meanwhile, Jewel cuts off her own web with her sharp legs, the corpse slowly falling toward the ground.
"Well... good job, you two," Alex says, slightly worried. "We are creating a lot of ruckus... I suggest heading back towards the center. The prey here refuses to go into open areas, so we should be safe there."
No! Princess Jewel hasn't caught any prey yet. Aside from helping Tereza with this giant bird.
"It's not a bird, Jewel," Alex notes. "Dinosaurs predated birds. Eventually, small flying dinosaurs slowly evolved into birds over an endless amount of time. Also, this dinosaur does not have feathers—this is the easiest way to differentiate the two!"
Princess Jewel knows, but she doesn't understand the importance of discussing this now. Soulmate should focus on the important part, specifically the fact that Princess Jewel needs to win the contest!
"Fine," Alex says. "Anyway, we're heading back. Tereza, you flew in the air. Can you lead the way? You must have a better idea of our surroundings than us."
"Hehe, no problem!" she says with a grin, lifting back off.
Princess Jewel is not satisfied, but she reluctantly obeys.
As Tereza flies toward the center, Jewel jumps onto Alex's head while he follows closely behind.
In less than ten minutes, they make it back to their starting location, near the center of the island.
They sit down behind a tree at the very edge of the open center, the giant Sea King skulls visible in the distance, the moonlight making them shine in a pale white glow.
"Well... it's been one hour, but it's too dangerous to hunt in the dark. Also, we need to be ready to fight the giants. We are not here for small fish!"
Yes Soulmate! Jewel wants to fish!
"No," Alex says, rubbing his head. "I was speaking metaphorically."
Jewel likes bigger fish. She agrees with Soulmate. Small fish are not worthy of her attention.
"..."
Alex stares at Tereza and asks, "Is she serious, or is she trolling me? I am not too sure. Jewel can be deceptively smart. Her IQ is insanely high."
"I really don't know," Tereza responds. "I also think she likes messing with us. From time to time, I am not too sure what she's thinking."
Jewel does not say anything—she just silently stares at Alex and Tereza with her many red eyes, rubbing her body on Alex's head in satisfaction.
As Alex and Tereza still think about Jewel, they suddenly turn around.
Benezia approaches, looking exhausted and frustrated.
"My clothes... are not suitable for this environment," she says, her robe torn, revealing more parts of her curvy blue body, looking extremely embarrassed.
Do not stare... do not stare...
... fuck she's so thick!