It is a beautiful day outside. Wasps are buzzing, honey is oozing.
The workers were at full capacity, as the soldiers guarded their golden kingdom. A land blessed with sunrays of harth and the honey of our struggles.
However, on a beautiful day such as this, all was not perfect in paradise. In the outer rims of our expanding domain, a stir began to develop. Apparently, our scouts had come into conflict with an unknown enemy. One dead, seven injured.
This was not unusual in itself. In fact, one would not be blamed for expecting it. On the path to glory, I myself have slain a multitude of such unknowns. The scouts being new recruits made their losses even more common. What raised a few eyebrows however were the type of damages they sustained. Their carapace armor, our race's pride and symbol of strength, had been etched with acid-like damages. And within those crevices, we were able to find faint traces of holy energy. Based on this we could only conclude that they were assailed by a holy attack, and what's more, threatened by it. It was utterly befuddling. A fact that I and my equals agreed could only mean one thing. This wasn't the type of mindless monster that we are used to dealing with, nor was it a weak one.
We concluded that we must prepare to deal with it. For the glory of our kin; for our glorious purpose.
---
“Just to confirm, did you really choose the warrior class?”
I nodded curtly.
For some reason she had an awkward look on her face, stealing glances at me as she contemplated an answer. Her thoughts seemed to drown for a while, mind escaping elsewhere. Seconds passed, as did the wind, making the leaves salutat in song.
“Give up, it's impossible,”
She faintly responded, eyes direct and cold.
…..
Apparently, I had fucked up. No, I had definitely fucked up.
After my companion gave her cold-eyed response, she went into further detail. While her explanation went at a snail's pace, she tackled the subject directly, leaving no space for further awkwardness or misunderstanding. It was welcomed on my part as it gave me ample time to digest what she said. That is not to say the message was inextricably complicated, as the contents of our talks could be summarized in a singular sentence.
“Warriors needs weapons to fight, huh?”
I looked down at my clawed appendages, who, despite their proven effectiveness, were not classified as weapons. At least that was what I was told. Personally, I found it quite ridiculous and maybe even a bit hurtful and insulting. My claws had an undisputable kill count. While I recognized it to be unusual, I prided myself in that. These obsidian blades were a crystallisation of my strength. Yet the world found that strength laughable, again refusing to recognize me. A somewhat familiar spark began to linger in my stomach.
I entertained a possibility as I walked. That maybe my companion was wrong. However, as that sentiment took root, it was drowned before it got the chance to sprout. By a cold rainshower known as firsthand experience.
In the fight that had taken place very recently, yet seemed far away in memory, I was forced to come to terms with the ever-present truth. I had attempted to use the skill I had gotten with my class. It had failed. What was even more upsetting was the fact that, going by the information I had been told, my rival(prison) had met the qualifications before. With it, I had slain a beast by the use of a skill. It was something I was seemingly incapable of on my own. I had gone unrecognized where my rival had succeeded. For some reason, I did not want to accept that.
The epiphany made me pause, pitting my mind against the now lifeless and desolate land. Despair began to form where sprouts once where, but it too was soon washed away by another sensation, an idea.
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Can’t I just get a weapon?
If my claws did not fit the weapon criteria, then I just had to get something that did, It was a simple yet unquestionable answer to my predicament. Perfect one might say.
I felt my downtrodden spirit surge at the proposition. Quickly I moved, having decided to further the weaponstest program.
After a bit of internal back and forth, I now stood before a tree. There was nothing special about it, being neither larger nor smaller than its contemporaries. Its fruits were also the same blinding red. Not to say they did not look delicious of course. In fact, just looking at them made my stomach growl. As much as I wanted to appease it, I decided against it. After all, I was not here for the fruits but rather what they were attached to.
Raising my sharp and weaponly claws in the air, I struck down on the branch that those fruit were attached to. They collided where the branch started and cut cleanly through it in the next instance. The branch fell to the ground, its leaves rustling as they dampened the fall. I stepped on the thickest part of it, holding in in place, while I extended the innermost claw on my free forelimb. The black obsidian blade again met no resistance as it severed the smaller branches from the main body, reducing them to mere twigs, leaving the main body bare of its previous green and red luster. What was left appeared lifeless, a sharp contrast to its previous appearance. A feeling of elation awoke as I went through the process.
The branch, now devoid of lifelike colour, was reduced to its main feature, or at least the form which I desired; a long stick.
Looking over its grey and warped features, I lowered my head to pick it up, all the while noting how its lacking appearance in itself was unusual. I took it in my maw and moved on with the project, noting a surprising heaviness of it.
Walking a few paces towards the north, away from the outer area where I had found the branch, I now stood back on the testing grounds.
Feeling a bit nervous I started a breathing exercise. Breathing in through my nostrils and out from my jagged maw. An earthly smell began to fill my mind in combination with the sweet smell of the fruits. I also noted another similarly sweet smell mixed in. It appeared to be of a non-fruity variety yet similar enough to compare. It had a relaxing feeling to it too, making my muscles melt and pulse heighten. It bled and gave of allure.
After my mind returned from its sweetsmelling venture I readied myself for what came next.
[Dandelion Sweep]
Stick in mouth I swung with all my might, feeling my essence beginning to collect. However what I felt in that paused second was not elation at it working, but rather confusion at where it was working. No essence collected in my maw, in fact, it might even be less than what I started with. Instead, the flow of essence streamed in the opposite direction, to my furthest appendage, overflowing it to the point of permeating into the air.
Even as time had grounded to a halt, and as I tried to comprehend what was going on, my body was already in motion. It was too late to make any sudden changes in direction, too late to change the course of attack. Therefore, in a combination of both fast reactions and a gut feeling, I decided to go with the flow.
As my head swung and missed its mark, my body continued to turn, as if that disappointing display was but the prelude of a grander tale. Using my right forelimb as the turning point, the momentum flowed vertically through my scales, ultimately ending where they ended. At the tip of my tail, a colorless crystal shone, having become the apex where essence and momentum centered. It took on an azure hue as it sang through the air, billowing up a dust cloud in its wake before its light extended into the vicinity.
Experience is rewarded for defeating Wasp(Scout) of the Golden Devil.
Extra experience is awarded due to growth skills present.
As I came to a halt, surrounded by a vortex of sand and white dandelion fluff, a familiar announcement rang in my mind.
I did it
I could not help but exclaim in response to the unexpected success, releasing the lifeless branch to the ground. I did not attempt this expecting failure, but the odds were certainly stacked against me. It was only natural that I felt relief.
Still, how I went about it was admittedly quite unusual.
How did my tail qualify as a weapon, but not my claws? Weird, just weird.
Not wanting to take victory for granted, I decided to ignore it for now. Notably, something I began to find quite useful.
As my mind came to a conclusion I noticed something unusual. In the corner of my vision lay a yellowish figure. It had a rotund body, broken wings and black stripes... or was it the stripes that were yellow?
Well if anything the colour was closer to gold.
All that mattered was the fact that it was dead, and based on the voice that rang in my head, I was the one who had killed it. It gave a feeling of excitement. An addictive and familiar feel, one I wanted more of. Thusly my body decided to fulfill its cravings. So it went to hunt for seconds, its eyes a mad glitster reminiscent of its prey.