Now Armadillos aren't known for their intelligence, and the same could be said for this particular one. Suffice to say, suddenly finding itself 17km above the quickly approaching surface didn't give the creature much time to contemplate the nature of its new reality. At most, it had a few minutes to try and turn its situation around or make peace with the Maker.
6 minutes, to be precise.
What kind of thoughts would a giant, magical Armadillo have as it fell at 48m/s towards its impending doom? Very little, surprisingly. Alpha had half expected the creature to grow wings or something, but all it had done was curl up into a ball and deploy its spikes, quickly rotating in the air as if it thought it could run away from the approaching ground. Every so often, there would be a small flash of light along the edges of the spikes, but as far as Alpha could tell, they didn't seem to have any effect.
He was really starting to miss his more advanced equipment and sensors.
Alpha had been following the creature's descent the entire time, making sure to watch and record as much as he could for future reference. Without his walk, talking reference library named Jīshí around, there was no telling what piece of information might be useful to him. Hell, there could be dozens of valuable and rare resources 10 feet away from his base, and he'd never even know without the appropriate information. As an AI, if there was one thing Alpha was, it was meticulous and thorough (most of the time).
As the minutes ticked by and the ground drew closer, the frantic flashes of light on the spinning spines became more common and brighter. 5 seconds before impact, the traction spines flared brighter than before, and the rolled-up Armadillo began to spin at high speeds, creating the illusion of a spinning saw blade of light. Then the Armadillo hit the ground...
... and vanished.
Alpha didn't have time to process his shock, as at that moment, a massive sonic boom resounded, nearly throwing him from the sky. Beginning at the Armadillo's landing point, a large trench seemed to pop into existence. The trench was almost 3 meters wide and 2 meters deep, its sides lightly glowing as the slagged earth slowly cooled, leaving behind a glassy, red-brown surface. It stretched for roughly 2 km, in a straight line, finally ending in a large, gaping hole in the Cliffside on the other side of the valley.
Alpha stared in shock at the large gapping, newly formed cavern for a long moment before swooping in to investigate. The "cavern" stretched for another half kilometer and glowed an eerie orange-red, just like the trench, as the melted and wrapped stone slowly cooled. The whole scene vaguely reminded Alpha of a battle wound caused by a large caliber, Battle-ship Railgun.
What the heck had happened?
Alpha navigated deeper into the "cavern," careful to avoid the dripping, molten rock from above, and finally reached the back wall. There, embedded into the wall, was a perfectly round ball of something, glowing a bright white. Alpha would have hidden if there was anything to hide behind, but the glassed cavern and radiant glow offered little cover. Instead, the AI quickly shifted into a more amorphous form, changing the outer layer of nanobots so that they blended into the red-brown glassy rock and softly glowing slag.
Newly camouflaged, Alpha slowly approached the glowing object, running as many scans as possible and the surrounding cavern. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the large glowing (though slowly dimming) ball was Alpha's little Armadillo friend. But that didn't answer WHAT had actually happened. After taking a look at his video's time-lapse, though, Alpha started to form a Hypothesis.
When he first went over the footage, Alpha started to seriously consider if he was more broken than he initially thought, but the evidence around him told Alpha that it was very, very real. After slowing down the video to an extreme, the AI watched as the spinning Armadillo contacted the ground. The moment it did so, its vector instantly changed by 90 degrees, and its total velocity increased by a factor of 116.
The creature had gone from falling at 48 m/s to shooting across the valley at roughly Mach 16.2 in less than a second. That was the same speed as a Federation Low Orbit transport shuttle. How the heck had a living organism been able to reach those speeds so quickly under its own power? More importantly, how the hell would something survive that kind of acceleration, let alone the impact of hitting something at those speeds? A quick biometrics scan of the glowing ball soon answered that question, however.
They didn't.
[Alpha] - ".... That's one well-done Armadillo..."
Well, maybe "well-done" wasn't the appropriate term to use here, though Alpha assumed that "Armadillo" might not be anymore, either.
The scans of the glowing ball's insides that Alpha assumed were the remnants of its Biometal shell gave back some strange readings. Let alone "remains," his scanners were barely picking up anything organic to start with. It seemed that the extreme pressure and energy released by whatever the creature had done proved more than fatal. Everything but the Biometal had been crushed and carbonized, leaving behind a dense chunk of carbon and various other materials. In fact, the heat and pressure had been so great, his scans even detected the beginnings of microscopic proto-diamonds.
Still, this was strange. What exactly had happened? The Armadillo was definitely trying to do 'something,' but whatever it was, it hadn't quite worked out as it expected. Unless suicidal tendencies were a common theme in this world (given the Nitropots, that couldn't be ruled out just yet). More importantly...
... could he Weaponize it?
More questions to add to an ever-growing list. For now, though, Alpha looked towards the red, glowing ball sticking out of the wall of the slowly dimming cavern.
Weaponizing small (?) animals, as much as Alpha enjoyed it, could wait for another time. The AI had Biometal to harvest.
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[Lin Weiyua] - "... and that is what makes the Feathers and Bones of the Windrider Hawk so valuable. Sadly, their overhunting has led to a steep decline in their population. Other than a few nature reserves controlled by our Origin Sect, they only rarely are found in the wild. Mostly around large mountains, full of other dangerous and terrible creatures that normal cultivators dare not tread. This gives them the chance to repopulate and thrive outside of Cultivator influence."
Lin Weiyua stood in the middle of a small, grassy field, a large chalkboard behind him, densely packed with formulas, notes, and other information. In front of him sat a group of roughly 15 children of various ages. One incredibly excited young girl with long brown hair raised her hand in the air and waved it around.
[Lin Weiyua] - "Yes, Madelyn?"
[Madelyn] - "Oh! Oh! like the Bloodriver Mountain?!"
Lin Weiyua gave an awkward laugh and nodded,
[Lin Weiyua] - "Haha, correct. Thought that is a bit of an... extreme example, they can indeed be found there, along with a wide variety of dangerous species. Battlefield Wraiths, Darcipedes, Three-horned Swordbreaker Rams, Metal-Eater Armsadillos, Toruks, and various ty..."
[Bored-looking Boy] - "Wait, Armsadillo? Aren't those things just pests? Momma has to clear out the nests near the Training Hall every spring. Ya, they're only a bit smaller than a dog, but it's not like they're very dangerous."
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Lin Weiyua gave the boy a patient smile and responded.
[Lin Weiyua] - "Yes, I am quite familiar with Mrs. Luó's work for the Academy. However, the Armsadillos that plague our crystal and ore stores are of the smaller, Stone-Eater variety. The Bloodriver Mountains are known to house a sizable population of the much more dangerous 'Metal-Eaters.'"
A much younger girl, only 6 or 7, asked from the crowd.
[Cute little Girl] - "But they're fluffy and cute! Why are the Metal-Eaters badder?"
[Lin Weiyua] - "Why are they 'worse'? an excellent question, little Reiko. Look here".
With a wave of his hand, the chalkboard was wiped clean, then grew several sizes (much to the oohs and awws of the children present.). Then, flourishing his robes' arm, Lin Weiyua sketched a picture of two similar but distinctly different creatures. While only chalk drawings, they appeared lifelike, and the detail put into each would make a trained artiest go green with envy at the young man's speed.
The first creature was a bit smaller than a medium-sized dog. Its body was stubby and built low to the ground, and its back was covered in a variety of stones and crystals as if they grew out of it. If it rolled up, it would appear to be nothing more than a decently sized rock. In contrast to its rocky back, its cute face and fluffy, furry underbelly made several female Students awww.
The second creature, in contrast, was massive, easily 10 times the smaller one's size. The heavy metal plates and spikes make it appear more like a walking tank than a rock. It still retained the cute face. However, it was the addition of several long claws on its front legs that could easily pass as daggers gave it an air of menace.
Lin Weiyua pointed to the first drawing.
[Lin Weiyua] - "This is the common Rock-Eater Armsadillo. They can be found in large numbers in this part of the continent. They burrow deep into the ground, feeding on various rocks, minerals, and crystals to build their hard outer-shell. They are mostly considered pests since they have a taste for anything Spiritual and will often break into material storage buildings to get at their prizes. However, their docile nature and cute face also make them somewhat popular pets in other lands. There are even those who have trained them to help with mining and ore processing, as they have a nose for rarer materials and anything they eat and add to their shell, gain some varying amounts of Spirituality."
The young man then walked to the other side of the board, pointing his hand at the much larger creature.
[Lin Weiyua] - "THIS is the Metal-Eater Armsadillo. As you might tell, they are related. However, the Metal-Eater is MUCH Larger. The largest specimens can grow to sizes rivaling a large boat, but most are around the carriage size. It's not just their size that makes Metal-Eater's more dangerous, however. These creatures are much more picky eaters than their smaller Cousins. They will only eat much more refined and processed metals. How exactly they developed these tastes, no one knows, but suffices to say, makes their armor much more durable. In fact, an Adult Metal-Eater's armor is said to be able to withstand attacks from even a {Mountain Breaker}."
The excitable girl's arm went up once more. Lin Weiyua paused and nodded to the girl with a smile.
[Madelyn] - "But Teacher, if they are that strong, why don't you see people walking around with Metal-Eater armor, all over the place. Uncle Frans has a shield, but he treats that thing like a treasure. Are they too rare?"
Lin Weiyua laughed and shook his head.
[Lin Weiyua] - "No, no. While Metal-Eaters aren't the most common of beasts, they can be found in decent sized numbers in various places. No, the issue comes with the Metal-Eaters... nature. Despite their size and power, Metal-Eaters are extraordinarily skittish and fearful creatures. Most of the time, they bury themselves deep into mountains, where the heat and pressure have caused purer, more refined ore veins to form. When they DO emerge, they can be found gathered in places with high quantities of processed metals, such as abandoned battlefields or ancient ruins.
When they sense danger, instead of attacking, Metal-Eaters will roll up into a defensive ball, relying on their natural armor, much like Rock-Eaters. What they do next, though, sets them apart. Natural Earth Cultivators, the Metal-Eater, will use its abilities to roll away from the dangerous area."
The bored-looking boy just snorted and shook his head.
[Bored-looking Boy] - "So it just runs away? I still don't see how it's dangerous. What's it going to do? Run you over?"
Lin Weiyua coughed and continued.
[Lin Weiyua] - "If for some reason, the Metal-Eater is unable to escape, say for instance the pursuer is much faster than itself, it will pull out the next trick. It will activate a Spirit Skill common to several armored Spirit Beasts called "Rebounding Force." When used typically, this Spirit Skill will return the force of an attack by a variable multitude. The stronger the attack, the more powerful the counter. The Metal-Eater, though, uses it in a very special way. Instead of using the emery of an attack to hurt the attacker, they redirect the energy to propel themselves even faster. In theory, the stronger the attack, the faster they can getaway.
With their Spiritual Power, coupled with their high speed and agility, this means capturing an extreme challenge, and that's even before trying to force it out of its defensive armor. There are even reports of older, smarter Metal-Eaters using this to charge into their pursuers, possibly even injuring {Pure Body} Cultivators in the process."
At those words, the gathered class began to murmur and stir. Lin Weiyua raised his hand to silence them before continuing.
[Lin Weiyua] - "As for why we don't see many tools or equipment made of Metal-Eaters, I hope you more aware now. Simply put, it's not worth the effort. To capture a Metal-Eater Armsadillo requires a coordinated effort from several people of very high levels and specialized tools. There are simply much better, more valuable, and much easier to obtain options for people with those means and abilities. Of those pieces of Metal-Eater, we do see Elder Frans's Shield, for example? They are either acquired at great expense, or from wounded, sick, or old Metal-Eaters."
The class nodded in understanding, and they whispered to the ones next to them about their own ideas and theories, while one particular boy daydreamed about running into battle in a full set of Metal-Eater Armor.
At that moment, Lin Weiyua noticed the form of a Head, popping up halfway from the ground behind the children. It gazed at the group with an amused expression. Lin Weiyua's face flushed red for a moment before returning to the calm expression he was known for. He then clapped his hands and addressed the group.
[Lin Weiyua] - "That's it for today. Same place and time tomorrow, and be sure to bring your homework!"
Lin Weiyua made sure to glare at several of the more troublesome students as he watched the group disperse. After a long moment, the field had emptied, and Lin Weiyua was alone.
Or so, one would think.
Lin Weiyua looked down a few feet away, just as the head of a beautiful woman popped out of the ground, her hair the green grass carpet of the field.
[Jīshí] - "Lin Weiyua. That was cute. Yeom Ki always spoke of how he wished to start up a school for the Sect's orphans. Give them the chance to make something more of themselves. It's good to see someone take up that mantel. I can respect that."
[Lin Weiyua] - "You flatter me, my Lady. I only do what I can. What comes after is up to them. Now, was there something I help your Ladyship with?"
Jīshí grinned ear to ear in a way that sent a cold sweat down Lin Weiyua's neck.
[Jīshí] - "... Yes... I believe there is. And enough with the Lady talk. You can call me Jīshí."
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[Alpha] - "WHY?!"
'Clank'
[Alpha] - "WON'T!"
'Clank' 'Clank'
[Alpha] - "YOU!"
'BANG'
[Alpha] - "BREAK?!"
Alpha heaved the large metal ball that was one an Armadillo into the air with a nanobot tentacle once more and brought it down on the edge of the large, Iron sword in front of him.
The AI had spent the last hour trying his hardest to break off a small chunk of the strange metal that had survived so much punishment. He just needed a small amount to both analyze its make up and determine the best way to process it and make a small cutting tool to break the rest down.
So far, though, he'd not had much luck. Hell, he didn't even have slivers. Whatever this Biometal was, it was stupidly resistant, to the point even the (admittedly crude and straightforward) plasma-cutter hadn't gotten him anywhere. Eventually, he'd resorted to the tried and true method of "hitting it with something till it breaks."
He figured since the Armadillos had gathered this metal from around here anyway, if he hit enough stuff with it, he might find something hard enough to make a dent. It was slow going, though, and after crushing and dulling the blades of six large swords sharp enough to cut mundane stone like it was butter (Alpha knew, he'd tried), the AI decided it was time to try something a little... different.