“Hey… uh… Grasshopper. Are you okay?” I asked as I ran up to the fallen creature. It didn’t look great. One of it’s wings seemed to have broken and was bent at an odd angle. I could see a yellow-greenish liquid pooling at the corner of its mouth. It still grossed me out to be near such a large grasshopper, but my fear had diminished somewhat after seeing it fight. This Essemon that I just met was already willing to sacrifice its life to save another. Something I was too cowardly to do myself.

“I’ve felt better,” It chided with it’s bruised mandibles. It looked up at me with large round eyes and gave me a weak smile. “I think I was too eager to charge off into danger.”

“Hey for what its worth I thought you were doing great.” I reached out with a shaky hand and gently touched its broken wing. It winced for a moment but then calmed down. “Are you going to be able to keep fighting?”

A howling hiss echoed behind me and both my Essemon and I turned to look at the Pondfang. The wild Essemon’s eyes were wide in rage and weaving back and forth.

“Looks like we don’t have any other choice.” With a wince of pain, the Essemon stood up, fluttered its wings as best it could and turned to face its opponent. I planted my feet firmly next to the grasshopper, still holding my hurting shoulder and prepared for the worst.

“Any other ideas?” My Essemon asked. “I don’t think I’m going to be as fast as I was before.”

The grasshopper was right. Looking at my ARC Band its SPD stat had a negative modifier next to it along with the word Hindered.

SPD 5 (-3) [Hindered]

So whatever kind of attack the Pondfang dealt to my Essemon it also applied a negative effect or perhaps the Hindered status came about because it took a large amount of damage? That was something I was going to have to look into later.

With the negative modifier it made the grasshoppers SPD stat effectively 2. It was still faster than the Pondfang but not by much. If we could just figure out a way to get an advantage. Something that didn’t require SPD. I set my ARC Band to the side and looked at our surroundings. Maybe there was a weapon of some kind like a rock I could throw at it to distract it or even a big stick so I could try and deal my own damage. The battlefield was fairly empty compared to the surrounded forest. The ground was wide and flat and there were no obstructions I could see like rocks or branches. Besides the flat arena there was the tall tree, but that was on the other side of the field and the water the Pondfang had emerged from.

Wait… Something is different. I thought to myself. What’s going on?

Both my Essemon and I hadn’t moved from where we stood, both of us breathing heavily. We had been there for a while and the Pondfang hadn’t attacked us like it did before. There was plenty of time for it to rush over to us and try to end the fight, but it wasn’t moving from its spot. Why? Was it waiting for something? Did it need to recharge after its attack. No that can’t be it. It had to be something else.

“Think Ben. Think.” I thought about pulling up my Survey Screen and inspecting the Pondfang’s stats again when something caught my attention. The snake was keeping its tail in the water. Since the battle first began the Pondfang had kept itself close to the water. That’s when it struck me. His ability wasn’t only his strength but also his weakness. If we could get it away from the water, then perhaps its Aqua Scales would become ineffective.

“Hey grasshopper.” I said looking down at the Essemon.

“Yeah?” Its segmented face looked up at me and I shuddered.

“If we can get it away from the water then I think its ability will fail. What do you think?”

“I say we go for it.”

“Great. I want you to jump near it like your about to attack it again. Stay out of its range and bait it as far away as you can get it. When its ability drops, I’ll let you know if there is an opening. Got it?” I can’t believe how quickly my mind was working out this plan. It was great!

“Got it.”

“On the count of three. One… Two… Three… Go!” My Essemon jumped forward quicker than I thought it would. It was a tough bug and it kind of reminded me of Locke. I hope him and Sam were doing okay. I wonder if they ended up in this forest with me and if so, could I find them?

The grasshopper leapt in close, taunted the snake and jumped back dodging another attack. It did this a few more times but the Pondfang was stubborn and kept itself close to the safety of the pond. I could also tell that the damage from the Pondfang’s attack had taken its toll on my Essemon. The Hindered status was a serious problem for this plan. If only there was a way we could apply our own status effect. I got another idea and went to check on my Essemon’s status page. Besides the decreased SPD I didn’t notice anything else. I was hoping that there would be an ability unlocked but each of the three slots still said [Unspecified] [Unbonded] ☆☆☆☆☆.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Did I have anything useful to contribute to this fight. I swiped at the hologram to my own status page and there was something new flashing there. I had my own ability unlocked.

Name Ben Hunting Level 1 ARC Rank 1 Title [Bug Catcher] Bonder Ability [Swarm] ★☆☆☆☆ XP Total 0

Bonder Stats Stamina 3 Logic 7 Heart 5

Essemon Designs Slot 1 [Insect] [Bonded] Slot 2 Locked Slot 3 Locked Slot 4 Locked Slot 5 Locked Slot 6 Locked

I quickly touched on the [Swarm] Ability and a new article popped up on the screen.

[Swarm]

An offensive ability only usable by Bonders with the title [Bug Catcher] equipped.

The Bonder summons a swarm of insects to attack an enemy Essemon.

Effect: Deals weak physical damage. Chance to Paralyze 15%.

Cost: 2 Stamina Points

[Activate]

I didn’t know if the damage I could deal was going to make a difference but that chance to Paralyze it may just be our savings grace. I assumed that by a cost of 2 Stamina Points that my stats on this screen were more a resource than my overall capabilities. What would happen if I hit zero on any of my stats. Does spending stamina drain my overall energy afterwards. Guess we were about to find out.

I tapped on the [Activate] button and immediately felt a strange energy flow through my body, coursing from the tips of my fingers and the bottom of my feet till the energy was absorbed by the ARC Band. In an instant a swarm of flying insects came bursting out of the band and directly at the Pondfang.

In a moment of pure chaos, the giant snake Essemon thrashed and curled itself against the damage of the flying insects. I watched in bated breath to see if we were lucky enough to get the Paralyze status inflicted.

Come on. Come on. Cooommmeee oooonnn!

I watched the enemies HP drop by a single bar. Another single point of damage.

Name Pondfang HP: 9/12 【▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯】

Don’t fail! I can’t fail… We can’t fail!

A sudden blip of light popped up on the Pondfang’s stats window next to its SPD.

SPD 1 [Paralyzed]

“Yes!” I exclaimed. I watched as the mass of biting and buzzing insects simply faded away and left curled up on the ground was the Pondfang. Its body had contorted around itself like a series of concentric circles. That’s when I noticed that there was no longer a swirl of water around the Pondfang. Its ability had ended. Its body was no longer touching the water.

“This is our chance.” I called out clenching my fists. “Attack!”

The grasshopper jumped back and forth raking its claws against the snake's body. Bit by bit I watched as the Pondfang’s health dropped until finally the last attack marked it down to zero.

Name Pondfang HP: 0/12 【▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯】Fainted

VICTORY!

XP Gained: 150

Bonder Gained a Level!

Bonder Gained a Level!

Bonder Level 3 Obtained!