Situated deep in a cave under the cliff, Ryu took ragged breaths. His heart was beating fast, partly in excitement and partly in dread. A Dodoma was a scary opponent to challenge. It's nothing like anything the young boy had ever faced in this short new life. Yet the thought of adventure was almost making him squirm in pleasure.
“Heh.. Heh..” Ryu laughed sheepishly. “This better work.. dammit... I don’t want my butt to be set on fire.” Having had some experience fighting against Jim who was a skilled fire user, he was at least a little confident in facing the beast.
Going through all the steps of his plan rigorously, Ryu took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The seed he had planted into the damp soil of the cave sprouted to life at his beckoning. Shoots burst out from the ground and attached themselves to the young boy, first curling around his legs then slowly covering the rest of his body.
Although he must venture out of this rat hole to face the fire-breathing monster, who told he can’t prepare himself with all the amenities he possibly could. The green-brow shoot formed a thick mesh around Ryu’s body. Hopefully, this protection will help him evade the secondary shrapnel generated by the powerful blasts.
He had to strike a perfect balance between the protection level and the maneuverability. Simply speaking the armour should not hinder his movements while stopping the sharp rocks from puncturing his muscles.
“Deep breaths...!” Motivating himself, Ryu double-checked the level of his mana reserves then stepped out of his burrow. Taking a peek outside, he found the sky was clear. Sun was standing right atop his head now, in contrast with the early morning when he jumped down into this valley.
***
At a height of 300 meters, the fire breather that recently attacked Ryu rested in its nest. Dodoma was a sturdy creature with skin made up of dried-up igneous rock. This creature possessed a special ability in the form of a large pouch in its neck that acted as a furnace.
Dodomas will swallow small rocks that will be stored in their neck pouch. In there, the rocks will be transformed into live grenades which explode on impact. Obviously, the creature relied on mana to prepare live ammunition for itself.
The ravine below was the hunting ground of this Dodoma. It will sit in its nest and inspect the flat land from its vantage point. Whenever an unsuspecting prey was unfortunate enough to venture into these lands, the apex predator will launch itself into the air without making a single sound.
How such a massive beast, with a body made up of coarse rocky skin, managed to glide so noiselessly was still a mystery to many.
Owing to the creature hunting its prey in this area, it had over the years eroded the land, leaving behind only a hefty layer of ash and sand. This meant any prey who descends in this area will not find any vegetation cover to hide itself.
*Flutter* Right now the Dodoma suddenly opened one of its eyelids to scan the area below. *Grrr* The sentient being was miffed when its gaze stopped on a person making its way towards it. It growled and revealed its sharp knife-like teeth which were used to tear apart even some of the most dangerous herbivores like a Kilur.
Although it was a beast, the Dodoma revealed some sense of intelligence when it did not grow impatient at the sight of the intruder. Probably it knew the human had an option to run away and hide in the crevice once again. It waited and waited.
Ten minutes passed like this and the Dodoma had made itself into a stone statue, hidden from the sight of its prey below. Once it was sure of its ability to ambush, the hunter jumped. Its wings unfolded and riding on the high-speed winds that blew through the valley, it quickly gained height.
Below, how can Ryu be caught by surprise a second time? His meticulously devised plan was already set into motion. Armed with experience this time, he waited for the Dodoma to make the first move.
*BUK* A dunking noise was followed by a shrill sound of a projectile picking up speed. Not panicking even in the slightest, Ryu baited his time and jumped away at the most opportune moment. *Bang* Encased in the armour he only had to avoid being at the epicenter of the blast. The flexible fiber mesh on his body proved too hard for the resulting stone to penetrate.
*Buk* Not long after that another flaming projectile was dropped straight on his head. *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* One after the other, Ryu easily evaded the rock grenades. Needless to say, the Dodoma was vexed.
It noticed the sharp response from the human below and out of instinct swooped down. Its plan was simple. Reduce the distance between itself and its prey such that it doesn’t get ample time to evade the attacks. *Buk* Right when the fiery beast launched the next projectile, something hit it.
*BAM* With his attention diverted by Ryu, the Dodoma failed to notice the giant arrow heading for it in midair. The harsh impact hit the creature squarely on its right wing, damaging it. *Rurrrrr* Enraged, the beast rolled its head to shake away the senselessness.
Its sharp eyes quickly scanned the terrain. On the opposite cliff, it noticed movement. *Roar* Without a second thought the beast abandoned its previous target and glided towards its new and more dangerous enemies.
**Ten minutes back**
Two wood clones finished the tedious climb. Both of them required no conventional communication between them. Used to working in tandem, they were like arms of a single unit.
With no sense of tiredness out of the long climb, the two of them inspected a flat area that was closest to the ravine. Without a second thought, both of them fished out a seed given to them by Ryu and threw it on the ground.
The wood clone clasped their hands together and closed their eyes much as a human would. In a matter of minutes, the seeds sprouted into giant vines. Not much different than a sentient being, the clones urged their vines to join together and turn into a gigantic bow.
Sure, Ryu would have achieved the same feat in less than ten seconds but then again, the clones had all the time in the world. Their only requirement was to be accurate in their shot because the creature they were supposed to hunt was not going to give them too many chances.
The first clone jumped onto the helm of their beast-hunting bow. It commanded the one on the ground who adjusted the height and orientation of the vine machine. Once getting a perfect view, the clone raised its hand, signaling its buddy to stop. The crossbow was ready. All they had to do was wait to get a perfect shot.
**At present**
The fearless clones watched the fire beast charge them. Taking the first shot was the hardest. Now that the Dodoma has taken a hit, both its speed and stability of flight have taken a dive for the worse.
Standing calm and collected atop the crossbow, the first clone once again guided its buddy to the ground. With every passing second, the beast closed the distance. *Roar* It roared aggressively and that’s exactly when the next arrow flew from the bow. *Shang*
The spike weapon ripped the air and darted straight for its target. *Bam* Bull’s eye. Under the bright day, the clones shaded their eyes to closely watch the spike get destroyed at the impact. Even so, they had successfully disoriented the beast and rendered it ineligible for powered flight.
The Dodoma roared in frustration as it tumbled through the air, rapidly losing height. Right before hitting the ground, it shielded its head.
Ryu had been keenly observing the aerial encounter. He had kept the Dodoma distracted, allowing his wood clones to take the first successful shot. After the first hit, he was sure those guys could manage the second shot.
Right after the first arrow hit the beast and it changed the clone, Ryu had begun to follow its trail. This meant when it took the fall, the boy was already waiting for it on the ground.
*BANG* The earth beneath his feet shook as a massive plume of ash covered the impact location. Ryu had expected the Dodoma to take a lot more damage from the fall. Too bad, the sentient being was able to break a lot of momentum before its touchdown.
*ROARRRR* Orange-red illumination can be witnessed behind the wall of ash and smoke. "Time to roll.." Ryu charged and so did the infuriated fiery beast.
"Pincer Vines..!! Emerge..!!" A handful of seeds were thrown in the path of the madly dashing hulk creature. Now that he was face to face with the beast, Ryu can appreciate its true magnificence.
Thick vines with a foot-long diameter broke the earth. The Dodoma was caught unprepared at this sudden change in the terrain, giving the vines the opportunity to tie it down.
Aware the vines could not hold the beast down for long, Ryu manipulated another plant and used it to create a lance for himself. His heart beating crazily in his chest, the boy jumped.
His body almost disappeared from the restrained vision of the Dodoma. Unable to see its opponent, the beast panicked, thrashing its limbs all over, breaking up the vegetation around it.
However, Ryu only needed that split second to land right on top of the Dodoma's back. *Grrrwww* The beast winced in pain because Ryu's heavy lance had punctured a hole into its thick hide.
Although his weapon was totally charred as well, Ryu could not care less. Before the beast could free itself, he was already off its back. *ROARR*
Ryu can see murder in the creature's yellow eyes, it's pupils contracted as if it was enraged beyond anything. This was a good sign for him though, as this meant the Dodoma was not invulnerable.
Black blood can be seen seeping out of its wound on the back. Ryu grinned and stepped back, rather it can be said that he ran back. Needless to say, the beast gave the chase.
Ryu pulled his hands from his pocket, this was the last remaining tranche. Either he will win with this or he must run away with his tail between his legs.
While being followed, Ryu made sure to run in converging circles. Every ten meters he deliberately dropped a seed, that emerged and slowed the beast albeit for a second.
*Bang* Much to the boy's dismay, the Dodoma can see through his tactics. As a result, the beast resorted to lopping the rock grenades contained in the burning pouch in his neck.
Ryu can only hope his vines were resistant enough to soak some damage. He wasn't aware of the mechanism that allowed this overpowered beast to use rocks to generate blasts. But whatever it can be, the supply can't be endless.
Running in circles, Ryu had weaved a large part of the ground with his vines. And this is when he made another discovery that raised his morale.
The rocks the Dodoma used to lop. It no longer carried the same devastating energy. Ryu quickly figured out the reason. "It must be the height from which they are thrown.. yes..!!"
The blasts were deadlier because the Dodoma leveraged its flight to drop the rocks from high up in the air. Now that Ryu had eliminated that advantage, the blasts were no longer life-threatening.
