Why am I so weak?! There’s no way that’s right! I fumed as I studied what the blue box was showing me. I clacked my beak at it. Four strength? Two wisdom?! Who made this thing? I continued to grumble even as my stomach added to it with its rumbling. At least it seems I’m lucky and smart. Nimble, too. Hm. I scratched at the dirt absently as I read over the rest of the box.
My attention was drawn back to the pain in my stomach. I should find something to eat… but is it safe..? I warily made my way the edge of the bush opposite where the raccoon was dragged away. I poked my fluffy, yellow head out of the leaves and surveyed around my bush. Not much around. Just trees, bushes and weeds. No grass, even. I looked up towards the canopy and thankfully found nothing. Stepping out of the bush, I walked slowly away from it. I took one more look around before I bolted towards the next bush. I dove under the leaves, skidding to a halt beneath it. I coughed up the dirt that got in my beak from sliding. That’s what you get for leaving your beak open, stupid. Bleh. I stood up and shook off what dust I could. I once again moved to the other side of the bush and repeated my survey before dashing to the next. I did this a few more times before I ended up in a bush at the base of a tree with white bark.
The tree was very tall. Maybe… like a million times my size? Yeah. I approached the tree and poked it with my beak. The bark gave way, leaving a small hole in the bar. I peered into the hole… and it peered back. Many, many tiny black dots. I shrieked and jumped back as the dots swarmed out of the hole. There were so many! I scrambled back more away from the tiny things. They swarmed all around the hole. Some of them even made it to the ground as if searching for something. Me. They’re looking for me. I tipped my head as I watched them. They didn’t seem be able to see me from where they were. Bad eyesight? I took a step forward and concentrated on one of the dots that had stopped moving.
-Used [Identify]
[Common Bark Ant] - Lvl. 0
Level zero? Does that mean… they aren’t very strong? I lifted myself and confidently took a step forward. Some of the ants close to my feet turned and tried to swarm me. I lifted my foot and set it down away from the ants.
Defeated [Common Bark Ant] - Lvl. 0 x4
Huh? I lifted my foot and found a few ants crawling away from it. A few - four to be exact- were unmoving and crushed. My eyes widened as I looked between my foot and the ants. Ooh. Hm… I scratched at the dirt and moved the ants into a better position. I lowered my head to the ants and inspected them. Yep, dead as a raccoon. The rumbling in my stomach got worse as I inspected them. I clacked my beak in thought. Do I? I mean… I don’t really have any other options. I screwed my eyes shut and picked up one of the ants in my beak. It squished in my beak as I swallowed. I braced myself for something bad to happen. After nothing happened when the moment passed, I opened one eye. I sighed in relief. Okay, I can eat ants. They’re… not bad, actually. They squish really nice. Compelled by my hunger, I started to pick off the ants that came near me. A few minutes passed before I stopped.
Defeated [Common Bark Ant] - Lvl. 0 x43
That’s a lot of ants… I let out a hic and rubbed my beak on a nearby twig. They’re good… but not that filling. At least I’m not starving anymore. I looked back at the hole I made with my beak. The tiny ants were still swarming it, but now there were some larger ants mixed in. They were twice, three times the size of the tiny ones. Ooh. Those ones look even better. I hopped closer, crushing more ants underfoot. I swiftly snatched up one of the big ones.
Defeated [Common Bark Ant] - Lvl. 0 x7
Defeated [Common Bark Ant Soldier] - Lvl. 0
Ooh, crunchy. I happily munched on the soldier ant. I fluffed up in appreciation. I hummed as I watched the ants swarm over the tree… and my feet. I tipped my head as I scratched my left foot with my right, knocking some ants off. That itches. I kicked at the ants, sending some on my foot flying. Get off.
I started to stamp my feet as I tried to shake the ants off. I hissed as the tiny dots refused to leave my feet alone, now climbing up my legs. I hopped away in panic, but it was too late. From the hole in the tree, a surge of the soldier ants rushed out and followed the tide of tiny ones to my feet. The soldiers bit at my toes, feet and legs. Get off! I shrieked in pain.
Defeated [Common Bark Ant] - Lvl. 0 x12 You were bitten by a swarm. -1 HP
Ow! Owowowow! I hopped away from the tree as I kicked my little legs. The small ants fell off, but the soldiers that manged to bite me hung on with their massive pinchers.
You were bitten by a swarm. -1 HP
You are at half health.
Half health?! I hissed at the ants. Get off! That hurts! I ran in circles, flapping my wings in panic. What do I do? What do I do?!
You were bitten by a swarm. -1 HP
I continued running in circles like a… well, like a headless chicken, I guess. That is a… morbid thought. I shook my head to rid myself of that comparison only to loose track of where I was going. I squawked in surprise as I fell beak-first into a puddle of muddy water. I thrashed around, throwing ants and water everywhere, shrieking. Get off! Get off! Wet! Help! I continued to panic. Fluff, water and ants flew everywhere. I only stopped when I no longer felt anything biting my legs. Huh?
I flapped my wings and managed to stand. I looked around and saw the ants still swarming, but they didn’t approach. I tipped my head and looked down. Water? Oh. It’s a puddle. Wait… I looked up at the angry ants. They can’t swim? Good. I tried to puff up, but the water held my fluff down. Gross… I kicked some water at the ants. Come get me now, you mobile buffet! I took a long breath to calm myself down.
Okay, now what? I’m stuck in this puddle and they don’t look like they’re about to give up the chase. I watched the ants mill around the puddle. They poked and prodded the edge of the water, sure that they would find me. I clacked my beak. Hm. They seem different now. I focused my attention on the ants again. This time, I couldn’t focus on just one, but instead…
-Used [Identify]
[Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 2
What? They’re level two now?! My beak dropped. How? They couldn’t have leveled up that fast! They didn’t even defeat anything! I kicked more water at them. I watched as they moved around my puddle. It was actually… kinda cool how they all moved in sync. I couldn’t tell where the swarm began or ended. Huh..? I clacked my beak in thought. They really are moving as one… I glanced back at my [Identify].
Their name changed… They’re no longer just ‘ant’ or ‘soldier’… They’re a swarm now. Does that mean they got stronger when they gathered? It seems like it. Well… If they have a proper level now… I clacked my beak with a glint in my eye. They give exp! I adjusted my stance, lowered my head and held out my wings. C’mon, you little toe biters! Eat this! Chicken peck! I thrust my head out and my beak snapped up a few of the ants from the swarm. I pulled my head back before any other ants could latch on. Heh… Again! Chicken peck! Chicken peck! Chicken peck!
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You deal 3 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 2
With each peck, I grabbed and ate dozens of ants at a time. I continued for a minute before I had to stop and catch my breath. How’s that, huh? I tried to fluff up again, but I was still wet. I gotta fix that soon… I watched the ants, tipping my head. I… It doesn’t seem to care it lost some ants… In fact… I can’t even see a dent in their numbers. I hissed at them in anger. Once again kicked more water at them. I needed to find a way to take out more than just a beakful. I stamped my foot in the water, splashing my underside. Wait a moment… I dipped my head and lifted a foot to look at it. Didn’t I get something when I leveled up? I lifted my head and looked around. Um… How do I…?
Species: [Mythical Bird]
Subspecies: [Magic Chicken] - Lvl. 3
Age: >1 day
HP: 5/12
MP: 3/3
STR: 4
DEX: 6
END: 3
INT: 5
WIS: 2
LCK: 6
(Available Stat Points: 4)
Skills: (Available Skill Points: 2)
General: [Identify] - Lvl. 1
Race: [Choco Kick] - Lvl. 1
Class:
“Eep!”
I jumped when the blue box appeared. Stop doing that! I lifted my head in indignation. Well, at least it seems I just need to think about it. I turned my attention to the box. I tipped my head and clacked my beak as I studied the words. Subspecies… Age… Less than a day? Yeah, that’s right. HP… 5/12?! No wonder I hurt! I hissed in anger. Hmph. I can deal with that later… hopefully. Now… MP… 3/3. That’s… low. I skimmed over my stats as I already knew them. Okay… Hm? Available stat points? Four of them? Does that mean I can… put them where ever I want? I clacked my beak in thought. Well, doesn’t hurt to try. Um… 1 into strength and wisdom. Then the last two into intelligence.
STR: 4 -> 5
INT: 5 -> 7
WIS: 2 - 3
MP: 3/3 -> 5/5
Okay… So raising wisdom raised my mp. I can work with that… though I don’t feel any wiser. Oh well… Next! I scrolled down the list until I got to my skills. Available points… Here too? Don’t mind if I do! One into [Identify] please!
I waited for a moment, but nothing happened. Eh? Why didn’t [Identify] go up? I looked back at my remaining points. Still two out of two. Again! I thought really hard about putting a point in [Identify], but I only ended up giving myself a headache. Okay? Why not? I grumbled to myself. Fine. I’ll just put both points into [Choco Kick]! I scoffed at the blue box.
[Choco Kick] - Lvl. 1 -> Lvl. 3
I huffed indignantly. At least that works… I’ll have to figure out how to level [Identify] up later. In the mean time… I turned to the ant swarm. Let’s see how this skill works. Um…
I kicked out with my foot towards the ants, but nothing happened besides killing a few ants like normal. Okay… That’s not it. Maybe thinking really hard? I glared at the swarm, willing my foot to kick them.
“Hss…”
All that escaped me was a weak hiss that sounded like air escaping a leak. Okay. I should stop before I give myself another headache. I huffed again. There was only one other thing I could think of. I reset my stance and lifted my wings.
[Choco Kick]!
“Chicheeep!” I let out a little warcry as I kicked at the ants. This time a purple energy burst from my ankle and wreathed my claws while purple ‘flames’ licked up my legs. My kick landed right in the center of the ants swarming on the puddle shore. The muddy ground around my kick burst away from the impact, scattering water, mud and ants.
Used [Choco Kick] -1 MP
You deal 7 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 2
Yeeeeeeeeees! Hahahaha! I hopped on the spot in the puddle in excitement. I did it! I used a skill. I knew I was strong! I hopped a few more times before I calmed down. Okay, okay. Calm down. Celebrate when you’re no longer stuck in a puddle. I clacked my beak as I inspected the swarm. This time I did notice the swarm was smaller. Not by much -maybe a fifth- but it was something. So… reducing their numbers reduce their health… or the other way around. I’m not too sure yet.
I looked over the swarm towards their hive. There were a clawful of black lines connecting the swarm around me to the one on the tree, though that one didn’t look like an actual swarm. I tipped my head in thought. Let’s see what another two [Choco Kicks] do…
Used [Choco Kick] - 1 MP
You deal 6 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 2 Used [Choco Kick] - 1 MP
You deal 9 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 2 The [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 2 becomes
[Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 1 due to the loss
of over half of its health.
Huh. Killing, or rather, damaging the swarm below half health lowers its level? Because there are less ants to contribute to the overall level? I clacked my beak in a chirpy laugh. Also… those [Choco Kicks] were amazing!
I had leaped out of the puddle while activating the first kick. My leg landed square in the center of the swarm with a satisfying squish. The skill seemed to use the purple energy to ‘stretch’ my leg to hit slightly farther than I should have been able to, though I didn’t notice or feel my legs doing anything funny. I then used the impact of the second kick to direct me back into the puddle where landed with a plop and a splash in the brown water. The swarm seemed to be reeling from the attacks, if their disorganization was any indication.
I surveyed the area once again and saw that the lines of ants that once connected the swarm to the hive were broken. The ants at the end of the broken lines seemed to be scouring the area for the others, but a new puddle blocked their way. My kicks had made another depression in the ground and it had quickly filled with dirty water from the overly moist dirt.
Now’s my chance! Once more! I leaped once more into the air and lashed out with my last two [Choco Kicks]. The two kicks landed on either side of the center of the swarm.
Used [Choco Kick] - 1 MP
You deal 6 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 1 Used [Choco Kick] - 1 MP
You deal 10 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 1
Event: Lucky
When I landed, I threw up my wings in a (near) perfect landing. I let out a victory chirp. I started to do a small dance in celebration, but I stopped when I noticed the swarm was still there. Though… Well, I didn’t mean to do that, but I’ll take it! My kicks had scattered the swarm somewhat and what remained was on a muddy island. They landed in such a way to connect the new puddle with my old one, which I realized I was no longer standing in. Not that it mattered with the swarm trapped.
Did the Lucky event do that? I mean… I sure wasn’t meaning to do that. I tipped my head as I thought. Well… Anyways! I did the bird equivalent of shrugging my shoulders before I started to attack what was left of the swarm with normal kicks and pecks.
…
You deal 2 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 1
You deal 1 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 1
Critical! You deal 5 damage to [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 1
You defeated [Common Bark Ant Swarm] - Lvl. 1
By the time I was finished, I was exhausted. I lost track of how many attacks it took by the time I had counted to six. Oh well, numbers suck anyways. I hopped around to finish my victory dance from before. I did it! I beat those stupid bugs! I cheeped a cheer before my legs gave out. I sucked in as much air as I could while I recovered. That… was something. I’m really glad for that puddle. I don’t think I would have won if I didn’t land in it.
After resting for a minute, I got to my feet. I shook as much mud as I could off before I turned back to the hive. All the ants were withdrawing. I walked closer, careful not to step on too many ants, but that was near impossible. I ignored the pop-ups and looked into the widened hole I had made. The hive was a… hive of activity. The remaining ants, maybe a third of all the ants I had seen. I watched them swarm across the hollowed-out inside of the tree. It was strangely mesmerizing. I cheeped to myself as I watched. I tipped my head again when they stopped as one. My skin started to crawl when all the ones I could see turned and looked at me. Uh… Nope.
I backed up from the hole while keeping my eyes on it. A dim light shone out of the hole before it flashed. I screwed my eyes shut with a squawk. After some time, the light seemed to dim and I warily opened one eye. The light had not only dimmed, but went out. There was no longer a hole in the white bark of the tree; instead, a dark blue, almost purple conical hat sat on the ground surrounded by small metal circles. I clacked my beak and slowly approached. I poked the conical hat, thankful that nothing happened.
-Used [Identify]
Wizard’s Hat (magical, common)
-Used [Identify]
Copper coin (1c)
Ooh! Loot!