Network Hike

With his main quarry in sight, Delta was the first to act, taking two quick shots at the swarm of buzzing skeeters that had started to cluster around the Mushy's head – seemingly much to its increased agitation. One shot connected but the other didn't seem to hit the swarm entity cleanly, leaving the remainder to buzz and shift with an increased whining.

From one of the bushes, a sudden burst of thin, wooded flechette rounds fired out directly towards delta; they made a broad spray as the Needler appeared to be having some slight issue aiming from inside its hide-away, but there were enough of the tiny darts that a few still managed to connect with the navi. Barely a scratch.

Delta had a far more powerful wood attack to launch of his own, but it proved unwieldy for him to get a handle on. The wooden towers erupting in their line certainly looked impressively dangerous, but a lack of control meant they couldn't seem to connect with his intended target, or anything else. Still, it was his first time using the chip; maybe it would get easier with practice.

The remainder of the skeeter swarm choose the wake of this destructive, yet derailed attack to fly in and attempt to drain some of Delta's delicious navi data, but the navi was able to raise his shield in time and, by the wonder of net physics, fend of the insect swarm with it well enough. He barely had a moment to manage this, however, before the sneaky Mushy Virus was suddenly in front of him, teleporting across the field in a blink. Its eyes glinted with, before its whole body compressed, expelling a noxious cloud of dizzying spores around itself. Delta got his shield up to this attack as well, but despite the defence holding off the damage of the attack, the synapse-scrambling, confusing sensation of the mushroom spores still managed to infiltrate his body.

A moment alter, the Mushy was gone again, teleporting back to its original position, but on the bright side, Delta could notice that the virus seemed to spare no love for the nearby skeeter swarm in the process of its attack on Delta; the remaining mozzies had dropped out of the air as the spore cloud engulfed them as well, and were giving their last dying twitches now. Something in the Mushy's expression carried a note of 'good riddance' to it.

The momogra that had been watching this all unfold from the safety of its burrow took this particular opportunity to find an even safer vantage point, and burrowed away quickly to hid in another one of the bushes dotting the field while Delta turned his attention on the Needler virus, and the bush it was hiding in. Two quick shots deprived the turret of its leafy protection, and though it fired back rapidly Delta was ready this time, and successfully dodged the entire spray of wooden darts that came his way.

Progress was being made, but as Delta tried to assess his next move, the creeping, crackling dizzy feeling from the mushroom cloud's spores was growing bad enough to make his vision swim, and simple tasks like even aiming his buster were swiftly becoming an uncoordinated fight against twitching limbs that didn't feel like they were responding quite right. The Mushy watched for a moment, then teleported again, this time to a comfy hiding place inside the other remaining bush.

-=Viruses=-
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: DELETED (By friendly mushroom fire, no less)
MomograMomogra (Momogra)

Momogras move by tunneling through the ground. They poke their heads up just far enough from time to time to see where the enemy is, but they are still protected from most forms of attack. Drop attacks, Bomb attacks (which fall out of the air after being thrown), and Ground attacks damage them in this state. Other attacks executed from a high angle/altitude also work. All movements performed by a Momogra are considered a dodge, as they occur underground, and out of sight. Momogras only attack in response to having an attack launched in their direction, and only if they have an action remaining for that turn. Momogras attack by instantly tunneling to the panel behind the enemy, popping out of the ground, and striking with a shovel. A Momogra is completely vulnerable to any form of attack during its own atack, and until it moves again following that attack. The movement prior to the attack does not require an action, but movement afterwards does. The attack cannot execute if the panel behind the target is a liquid terrain type, Metal, Broken, or Missing. The attack also will not execute if there is something currently occupying the panel they would be attacking from. If the attack cannot execute, the Momogra will not move. In the case of Glass and Cracked terrain, the Momogras will still attempt to attack, but suffer the consequences of doing do as those panels will break and damage the Momogra, also causing the attack to fail. Momogra get 1 free movement per turn at the start of the turn before their first action.

Area: Okuden Valley, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Backstab
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Hits enemy with shovel.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Mole1, Zenny
Special: Always attacks if it is targeted, though it can attack otherwise. Only overhead-striking attacks can hit these viruses while they are not attacking (bombs, etc.): 60Hp (Burrowed) (Hidden in Bush B) (Soil)
NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny: 90Hp (Northwest) (Soil)
MushyMushy (Mushy)

Mushies only appear in battle if 15% or more of the terrain is Grass. Mushies can only move across Grass, Mud, and Soil terrain types. If, for any reason, none of these terrain types exist on the field, these viruses will be unable to move until the end of the turn. Mushies will then attempt to change the terrain to Grass, or flee if they cannot. Mushies move by teleporting.

Area: Okuden Valley, Dentech, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: (Teleport) then (15 Wood + Confusion + Nova2)
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Teleports close to an enemy, and releases a cloud of spores in all directions. When attacking, the space it teleports to does not have to be on Grass, but the panel it teleports from and returns to after the attack must be Grass.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Spice1, BadSpice1, Zenny
Special: This virus may only move on Wood Element panels.
Special: When no Grass terrain exists on the field, this virus may throw a Grass Seed once as a Standard Action.
Special: If no Grass terrain exists, and this virus has already used Grass Seed, it will flee the battle.: 80Hp (Hidden in Bush A, east of Delta) (Grass)

-=Navis=-
Delta.EXE: 176Hp [Confused (1 turn)! All actions have a high chance of failing, or not working as intended (with the exception of Status Cure, which will work if used to remove the effect)] (In the eastern area of the field) (Grass)

-=Terrain=- (Terrain is a checkerboard pattern, 50/50 shot of being on one or the other unless specified by a movement, feint or dodge within reasonable distance)
50% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

50% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=- (Bushes can be passed through without consequence, but still block attacks. Can also be hidden in as a pseudo dodge, but if hit by a fire attack while "hidden" in them will cause double damage, triple on Grass panels)
Bush A: 40 HP (To Delta's side in the East) (Woodbody) (Grass)
Bush B: 40 HP (In the centre of the area) (Woodbody) (Soil)
Bush C: DESTROYED

Delta's arm shook as he raised his buster, the navi attempting to steady his shot with his other hand after a moment. With his vision shaking as much as it was, he couldn't be sure that taking aim was doing much good, but he didn't have a way of more effectively fighting the spores.

His head swam as he fired on the now exposed needler. As irritating as it was to be chipping away at his foes with his buster, the netnavi wasn't sure that he could afford to risk wasting battlechips while he was so discombobulated. Ste...well, okay, stumbling to the side might maybe help avoid an attack, but it could just as well send the navi in to one.

As he mostly regained his balance, Delta attempted to activate the shield program again, hoping that the defensive option would help him to avoid an attack or two even while he was unsteady on his feet. Shifting his right arm to more firmly plant the barrier between himself and the viruses, the netnavi raised his buster and opened fire on the needler with a barrage of shots, hoping to make up for inaccuracy with volume of fire.

With his senses scrambled from the mushy's befuddling spore cloud, Delta opted to stick to his buster for the time being, and not risk worse malfunctions with other chips. There was the sense that what he was seeing as he aimed his buster carefully might not be exactly accurate to what was actually in front of him, with occasionally fuzzing shifts in the terrain and the surrounding viruses.

A brief salvo of wood shots came at him suddenly; some missed and some landed, and though they were barely enough o cause a scratch, they a least confirmed for Delta where the actual needle turret was and he took a couple of quick shots – or tried to; a crackle of uncomfortable sensation accompanied his buster firing and it only released one burst of energy, rather than two, though the shot itself clearly connected and let Delta know that he'd found his mark amidst swimming vision.

His further attempts at evading the surprisingly hostile mushy didn't mount to much more than an ungainly stumble, but it seemed that in this particular moment, Delta's luck was in; his movements were perhaps a bit more erratic than anticipated and when the mushroom virus teleported close to release another blast of spores around itself, it misjudged where Delta had stumbled to, and its dangerous cloud missed him.

The needler was not dissuaded, however, and tried to capitalise on the navi's temporary vulnerability; it rushed forward in a sudden charge just as Delta raised his shield, which to good fortune, actually worked properly. The impact was solid but the shield held as the force of the collision shoved Delta back several feet. The needler completed its charge and took a couple of quick shots, trying to pin down its target now that it had him in sights, but only one of them was on target; it struck the shield, knocking it out of commission once more, though it had done its job all the same.

In the close-quarters face-off, Delta raised his buster to take another series of shots at the needler; more trouble with the weapon prevented one of the first pair from firing, but both shots in his second salvo went off without trouble; the debilitating status ailment was finally clearing from his system, it seemed.

The mushy was having none of this, and warped in close, right in front of Delta again as his vision finally cleared. He got a look at the vindictive malice glinting in its eyes as it readied another spore cloud – seemingly with complete disregard for the other virus that was also right by it, once again. By some fluke of fortune, Delta had enough time in the moment to stumble back from the cloud of spores just as it rolled outward, managing to cover himself from it and stop any of the nasty attack infiltrating his systems, just barely... The needler, unfortunately for it, was not so lucky. Already badly damaged by Delta's successive shots, the mushroom fumes wafted over it and settled with a vaguely glitchy crackle. Sparks jumped, gears ground, and with a couple of brief sputters and whirrs the needle turret went still. A small plume of grey smoke began to rise from it as the rest of its form began to crumble into data. The Mushy seemed to shrug, if a virus with no real shoulders could be said to do so, and teleported back to the hiding spot of its grassy bush, watching Delta with calculating malice. It really seemed to think the other viruses here were just so much dead weight.

While the exchange was going on, it seemed like the momogra virus was, for the most part, staying well clear of the altercation – it watched and waited from the safety of its burrow, but didn't seem to want to risk an attack without prior aggression directed at it first, especially with the Mushy acting as unilaterally violent as it was.

-=Viruses=-
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: DELETED (By friendly mushroom fire, no less)
MomograMomogra (Momogra)

Momogras move by tunneling through the ground. They poke their heads up just far enough from time to time to see where the enemy is, but they are still protected from most forms of attack. Drop attacks, Bomb attacks (which fall out of the air after being thrown), and Ground attacks damage them in this state. Other attacks executed from a high angle/altitude also work. All movements performed by a Momogra are considered a dodge, as they occur underground, and out of sight. Momogras only attack in response to having an attack launched in their direction, and only if they have an action remaining for that turn. Momogras attack by instantly tunneling to the panel behind the enemy, popping out of the ground, and striking with a shovel. A Momogra is completely vulnerable to any form of attack during its own atack, and until it moves again following that attack. The movement prior to the attack does not require an action, but movement afterwards does. The attack cannot execute if the panel behind the target is a liquid terrain type, Metal, Broken, or Missing. The attack also will not execute if there is something currently occupying the panel they would be attacking from. If the attack cannot execute, the Momogra will not move. In the case of Glass and Cracked terrain, the Momogras will still attempt to attack, but suffer the consequences of doing do as those panels will break and damage the Momogra, also causing the attack to fail. Momogra get 1 free movement per turn at the start of the turn before their first action.

Area: Okuden Valley, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Backstab
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Hits enemy with shovel.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Mole1, Zenny
Special: Always attacks if it is targeted, though it can attack otherwise. Only overhead-striking attacks can hit these viruses while they are not attacking (bombs, etc.): 60Hp (Burrowed) (Hidden in Bush B) (Soil)
NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny: DELETED (By callously unfriendly mushroom fire...)
MushyMushy (Mushy)

Mushies only appear in battle if 15% or more of the terrain is Grass. Mushies can only move across Grass, Mud, and Soil terrain types. If, for any reason, none of these terrain types exist on the field, these viruses will be unable to move until the end of the turn. Mushies will then attempt to change the terrain to Grass, or flee if they cannot. Mushies move by teleporting.

Area: Okuden Valley, Dentech, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: (Teleport) then (15 Wood + Confusion + Nova2)
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Teleports close to an enemy, and releases a cloud of spores in all directions. When attacking, the space it teleports to does not have to be on Grass, but the panel it teleports from and returns to after the attack must be Grass.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Spice1, BadSpice1, Zenny
Special: This virus may only move on Wood Element panels.
Special: When no Grass terrain exists on the field, this virus may throw a Grass Seed once as a Standard Action.
Special: If no Grass terrain exists, and this virus has already used Grass Seed, it will flee the battle.: 80Hp (Hidden in Bush A, east of Delta) (Grass)

-=Navis=-
Delta.EXE: 170Hp (In the eastern area of the field) (Grass)

-=Terrain=- (Terrain is a checkerboard pattern, 50/50 shot of being on one or the other unless specified by a movement, feint or dodge within reasonable distance)
50% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

50% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=- (Bushes can be passed through without consequence, but still block attacks. Can also be hidden in as a pseudo dodge, but if hit by a fire attack while "hidden" in them will cause double damage, triple on Grass panels)
Bush A: 40 HP (To Delta's side in the East) (Woodbody) (Grass)
Bush B: 40 HP (In the centre of the area) (Woodbody) (Soil)
Bush C: DESTROYED

Delta hadn't really taken notice when the Mushy had fragged the Skeeter swarm, given that he had been hit with the same cloud of spores, but he noticed the Needler go down to another cloud...and picked up on the pattern. "That Mushy is killing the other viruses?"

Henry slotted in a FireHit as he responded, "Yeah, I was vaguely aware that something like that could happen, but this is definitely the first time that I've seen it. FireHit one incoming."

Delta didn't wait for Henry to finish speaking, shifting his footing even as he threw a punch, sending a flaming fist hurtling towards the offending virus. Unfortunately for it, the Mushy's own aggression had left Delta with only it and the Momogra for targets...the Momogra which had yet to so much as fire upon the navi, and was burrowed deep enough that most attacks would miss anyway.

Delta followed up by dancing to the side, hopefully avoiding any more confusion inducing spores from what was seemingly the only hostile virus remaining.

((Turn Splice))

((Sorry for the delay! The prose of your post seemed to pretty firmly direct the attack towards the Mushy, so I assumed that was what you intended and the summary denoting the Momo instead was a typo. Sorry if I've misinterpreted))

With his senses properly clear Delta was ready when the indiscriminately spore-clouding mushroom warped close to him again; it seemed single-minded in its malice, uncaring about the friendly fire it had been dishing out as it tried to attack him, but as Delta dodged back and away before the cloud could could reach him, and retaliated with a scorching fist of fire, it turned out that, like many aggressive bullies, the mushy was not at all able to take the level of heat it had been pushing; all it took was the one solid strike from Delta's burning attack to obliterate the mushroom virus in an amplified inferno while the grass beneath it burned up and added to the blaze.

When the fire died down, Delta could still see the remaining momogra peeking up from the edge of its burrow, but after another moment it seemed to glance around the field and decide that this wasn't a battlefield it wanted to continue inhabiting. With a small squeak, it didn't push its luck any further and burrowed down again, out of sight and away.

This left Delta alone on the field, and the final victor of the fight.

-=Viruses=-
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: DELETED (By friendly mushroom fire, no less)
MomograMomogra (Momogra)

Momogras move by tunneling through the ground. They poke their heads up just far enough from time to time to see where the enemy is, but they are still protected from most forms of attack. Drop attacks, Bomb attacks (which fall out of the air after being thrown), and Ground attacks damage them in this state. Other attacks executed from a high angle/altitude also work. All movements performed by a Momogra are considered a dodge, as they occur underground, and out of sight. Momogras only attack in response to having an attack launched in their direction, and only if they have an action remaining for that turn. Momogras attack by instantly tunneling to the panel behind the enemy, popping out of the ground, and striking with a shovel. A Momogra is completely vulnerable to any form of attack during its own atack, and until it moves again following that attack. The movement prior to the attack does not require an action, but movement afterwards does. The attack cannot execute if the panel behind the target is a liquid terrain type, Metal, Broken, or Missing. The attack also will not execute if there is something currently occupying the panel they would be attacking from. If the attack cannot execute, the Momogra will not move. In the case of Glass and Cracked terrain, the Momogras will still attempt to attack, but suffer the consequences of doing do as those panels will break and damage the Momogra, also causing the attack to fail. Momogra get 1 free movement per turn at the start of the turn before their first action.

Area: Okuden Valley, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Backstab
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Hits enemy with shovel.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Mole1, Zenny
Special: Always attacks if it is targeted, though it can attack otherwise. Only overhead-striking attacks can hit these viruses while they are not attacking (bombs, etc.): FLED
NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny: DELETED (By callously unfriendly mushroom fire...)
MushyMushy (Mushy)

Mushies only appear in battle if 15% or more of the terrain is Grass. Mushies can only move across Grass, Mud, and Soil terrain types. If, for any reason, none of these terrain types exist on the field, these viruses will be unable to move until the end of the turn. Mushies will then attempt to change the terrain to Grass, or flee if they cannot. Mushies move by teleporting.

Area: Okuden Valley, Dentech, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: (Teleport) then (15 Wood + Confusion + Nova2)
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Teleports close to an enemy, and releases a cloud of spores in all directions. When attacking, the space it teleports to does not have to be on Grass, but the panel it teleports from and returns to after the attack must be Grass.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Spice1, BadSpice1, Zenny
Special: This virus may only move on Wood Element panels.
Special: When no Grass terrain exists on the field, this virus may throw a Grass Seed once as a Standard Action.
Special: If no Grass terrain exists, and this virus has already used Grass Seed, it will flee the battle.: DELETED

-=Navis=-
Delta.EXE: 170Hp (In the eastern area of the field) (Grass)

-=Terrain=- (Terrain is a checkerboard pattern, 50/50 shot of being on one or the other unless specified by a movement, feint or dodge within reasonable distance)
55% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

45% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Battle 4, Victory!=-
Spoils: 600z, 12 BugFrags, Spice1Damage: 80 + Confusion + Ground Attack + To-All (Others) (Grass)
Accuracy: A
Description: Hazardous powder rolls over all grass terrain on the battlefield. Damages and confuses anyone on contact, except the user. This includes allies.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Only affects targets on Grass Terrain, excluding the User.
Trader Rank: D, Skeeter Bounty +1

With no remaining hostiles, Delta scooped up the reward data, then turned his attention towards navigating the terrain once more.

1350 Z -> 1850 Z
171 BugFrags -> 183 BugFrags
Get Chip Spice1Damage: 80 + Confusion + Ground Attack + To-All (Others) (Grass)
Accuracy: A
Description: Hazardous powder rolls over all grass terrain on the battlefield. Damages and confuses anyone on contact, except the user. This includes allies.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Only affects targets on Grass Terrain, excluding the User.
Trader Rank: D: 80 + Confusion + Ground Attack + To-All (Others) (Grass) (Acc: A)!
Skeeter Bounty 4 -> Skeeter Bounty 5

((Ready for battle 5))

((Bump))

Pressing further into the Okuden woods in search of challenges and more bounty targets, Delta found a section of the wood that seemed to grow gloomier and more shaded the deeper he went. The air was still and grew humid and stick, with a scent like sap filtering through the woods. At the edge of hearing, the irksome sound of skeeters buzzing scratched at his senses; it sounded like there were swarms of the things throughout the area, just loud enough for their buzzing to be annoying.

With no sight of identifiable hostiles, however, the navi had little option but to press deeper into the darkening wood. It wasn't much longer, making his way through the unpleasant warmth and cloying scent, that Delta emerged into something that looked and felt like a modest clearing between the trees. The buzzing had grown loud now, but the light had fallen to gloom by equal measure, making it all too easy to imagine seeing malignant shapes in the shadows of the trees.

A creak of ancient wood and a groan that sounded like the death rattle of some ancient beast rasped behind him, blowing a gust of hot, sickly sweet air across his back, before a pair of razor-sharp scythes swung around from either side, attempting to bisect the navi. Delta was able to avoid this initial surprise attack, but a glance back revealed an ancient, twisted and decrepit-seeming tree twisting in place and writhing as its trunk creaked and its branches rustled. All around, the other trees in the clearing seemed to shudder and sigh; the gloom made it hard to see where the branches of one ended and another began, but as the hideously scarred tree pulled itself back up, Delta could at least tell that the swinging scythe blades were only two of its many blackened branches, cracked and twisted along their gnarled lengths, but honed to lethal blades and stabbing points.

The buzzing grew more agitated, and above, dimly visible through the darkness, a series of ancient hives nestled amongst the old tree's grasping branches swayed and swarmed with insects. One hive dropped heavily to the ground beside the tree and began to spill forth a swarm of angry skeeters as the tree itself seemed to pull the dark shadows round itself and prepare to strike again.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: 300Hp (Directly South of Delta, at the edge of the clearing)(Soil)
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: 30Hp (Swarming above the beehive)(Grass)

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 170Hp (In the middle of the clearing)(Grass)

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree North-East: 60Hp (Woodbody)](Soil)
Twisted Tree East: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree South-West: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree West: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Ancient Beehive A: 30Hp (Woodbody)(Grass)

-=Battle 5, Start!=-

Delta opened fire on the Skeeter and scythe-bearing tree, sweeping his buster fire across the two. Even as he did, his netop was slotting in two battlechips, "FireHit in, Fire plus thirty in."

Delta's buster was replaced with a flaming aura around his fist as he drew his arm back, before punching forward at the scythe tree, sending a fist shaped flaming aura towards the metavirus. Moments later, he punched forward with his other arm, sending a second fireball at the same target. "I don't think that I'm seeing all of the enemies yet. I definitely hear more than one swarm..."

Activating his shield navicust and placing the defensive program between himself and the moving tree, he took a moment to examine some of the other trees in the area. "Yeah, it looks like there are more hives still up in the trees." Falling silent, Delta pondered the situation. On the one hand, more viruses coming from the hives would mean dealing with more incoming attacks. On the other... "Those hives likely contain additional Skeeters. We could get a better bounty if we knock some down."

Delta's quick sweep of testing shots probed the defences of the hostile programs and found purchase. The skeeter swarm, just about to make its play was handily shot from the air by a pair of blasts while the twisted tree itself was winged by one. Despite the gloom, it seemed tangible enough, though the relatively meagre buster shot didn't seem to give the tree itself any pause.

It continued its aggressive motion despite the warning shot, swinging both of its scythe-like limbs in a pair of arcs aimed at cleaving its latest victim in two. Delta was able to avoid one side of the pincer attack but the other made a razor sharp graze across chest as he couldn't quite get out of the way in time.

As the tree lurched and recovered from its extended swing, its scarred and warped trunk seemed almost to rear back like an animal, to a sound of creaking and protesting wood that could almost be taken for a roar. A second beehive dislodged from its branches, dropping to the ground a short way from the first and immediately began to swarm with insects of its own.

Delta switched to the age old nemesis of trees everywhere, launching a burning fist of fire at his target and was rewarded with a much more visceral reaction. The ball of fire slammed against the trunk, splashing fire up and down its length and causing the dark tree to flail with a sound of shrieking timber as it was illuminated by the sudden conflagration. The Navi struck again, aiming to en the threat with an even more enhanced flame strike and was rewarded by an almighty pillar of fire that seemed to utterly consume the warped wood.

For a moment, it seemed as though the fight might be over, but instinct saw Delta ready his shield, just as a heavy, crushing bough of wood slammed down towards him from a different direction. His shield immediately shattered, but thankfully saved him from the brunt of a blow that might have cracked stone. To the west now, the gloom-wreathed tree rustled its branches and gave rise to an ominous, whispering wind that moaned and wailed through the circle of trees. Where it had been, Delta could see the now smouldering ruins of one of the other trees – had it perhaps swapped places with one of them somehow? Either way, it didn't seem like it was going down quite that easily.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: 160Hp (Directly West of Delta, at the edge of the clearing)(Soil)

SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B: 30Hp (Swarming above Beehive B)(Grass)

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 155Hp (In the middle of the clearing)(Grass) [2-Hit Shield: Broken!]

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree North-East: 60Hp (Woodbody)](Soil)
Twisted Tree East: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree South: IMMOLATED
Twisted Tree South-West: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp (Woodbody)(Soil)

Ancient Beehive A: 30Hp (Woodbody)(Grass)
Ancient Beehive B: 30Hp (Woodbody)(Grass)

Delta was quick, bringing the rocket launcher up on his left shoulder and firing at the monstrous tree, the rocket screaming downrange even as the netnavi who had fired it rebooted his shield program. The rocket launcher disappeared as Delta dropped the forward grip to bring his buster to bear on the swarm of insects that had just emerged from the dropped hive. "Send me the WoodTower and the Candle, I think that I might have this thing's measure."

"Can do. Two chips, coming right up."

Ducking to avoid potential attacks, Delta hurled the seed that had manifested in his hand to the ground in front of him, an enormous wooden spike emerging a moment later...and then another, and another, slowly moving towards the monster as the spikes at the back of the line began to retract. Delta used the cover of the wooden towers to set up a candle, which quickly grew to enormous proportions as it ignited itself.

As the wind rustled and groaned through the twisted branches it send an unnatural shudder through Delta's systems setting his senses on edge and giving a sense of creeping movement at the edges of his peripheral through the darkness. He adjusted quickly and fired a powerful rocket at his target and raised his shield again as it exploded but a further glance showed that he'd managed to hit another tree instead – it was hard to tell whether he had jumped at shadows, or whether the moaning wind had simply hampered his aim or blown the rocket off course. Either way he had to turn in place again to locate his target amongst the remaining ancient twisted trees surrounding him. Which one was it now?

The first hive began to swarm again, emitting another cloud of skeeters just as a flash of scything movement struck out from the edge of the clearing towards Delta again. He reacted just fast enough to avoid the first while the second scraped along his newly reformed shield and the warped wood itself seemed to tremble in rage at his refusal to die.

The other skeeter swarm moved to assault Delta but the navi was faster, taking the irksome insects down before they could reach him then dodging quickly to weave around two more furious scythe swipes untouched. He aimed a bursting wood tower in the tree's direction, using the chip as cover to plant his candle; the tower veered poorly, failing to connect with the tree, but as the candle grew and ignited, Delta felt the warming glow flow from it, ready to start patching up his injuries bit by bit. As the light from the candle swelled, the shadows in the clearing grew long and deeper, flickering and twisting at the edge of the candle's glow. Gloomscythe itself seemed almost to grow in the remaining dark, looming over the clearing with a sinister creaking sown as the reach of its branches almost seemed to encompass the space and its form darkened further and further to meld into the gloom.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: 160Hp [Directly East of Delta, at the edge of the clearing][Shadow: 1 Round][Strengthen: 10][Soil]

SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A2: 30Hp (Swarming above Beehive A)(Grass)

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 155Hp [In the middle of the clearing][Grass][Regen: 5Hp per action while Candle lasts] [2-Hit Shield: 1/2]

Candle: 100Hp [Behind Delta][Grass] [Regen: 5Hp per action (it counts as taking a single action each round, refreshing the regen)][3 Rounds]

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree North-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree South: IMMOLATED
Twisted Tree South-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree West: DESTROYED
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]

Ancient Beehive A: 30Hp [Woodbody][Grass]
Ancient Beehive B: 30Hp [Woodbody][Grass]

Feeling the soothing glow of the candle he had just put down, Delta nevertheless frowned as he spotted more Skeeters emerging from the hives. "It looks like those hives aren't empty just yet..." With that, the netnavi returned his attention to the massive, monstrous tree. "Shadow effect, send me a sword."

Henry's response was immediate, "Sword, battlechip in."

As the weapon materialized, Delta raised his shield and charged his scythe-wielding foe, bringing the blade around to slash at the metavirus as he approached. Hopping back in an evasive maneuver, Delta examined his opponent for a moment before stepping back in to bring the blade down in the an overhead cut aimed at the creature, before slashing a third time at his foe. Finally, the netnavi backed away and prepared himself to avoid any further attacks from either enemy.

The shadows lengthened, coiling around the glowing candle in the middle of the gloomy clearing as the wavering image of the dark tree stretched its branches impossibly across the space. A heavy thud and the buzz of irate insects announced it dropping yet another of its hives onto the battlefield, the white noise of the skeeter swarms becoming an unnerving static in the back of delta's senses. Even so, the navi responded with the right weapon for the job, drawing his blade and slashing at the the shadows.

He was rewarded with a rending of the darkness as his sword cut through the murky defence and drew a brutal gash across the trunk of the tree, revealing it. With a shriek like tearing wood, the dark tree recoiled from the strike, bending back from the edge of the clearing and gnashing at Delta with the jagged split in its trunk as though it were a wood-toothed maw. One of its thick boughs responded almost instantly, slamming down at Delta with horrendous retaliatory force, but the navi dodged aside, ready for the attack and the limb slammed into the grass with enough force to leave a small crater.

As Delta made his next strike, hoping to end the fight before his foe could recover, the wooden grove before his vision seemed to blur again for an instant and he found his blade brutally bisecting another one of the inert trees instead of his target – it had swapped itself again, but it had to run out of other trees sooner or later. Turning to locate the tree again, Delta managed to duck away from the swarming dash on the skeeter swarm as they buzzed in his direction, but he was able to see in that moment that the other two hives, new and old, had both ejected fresh swarms of their own into the air; the new swarms were still getting their bearings and turning their focus towards Delta, but they would no doubt begin harassing him soon enough.

Delta had enough on his hands, however, dodging a flurry of furious scythe swings from the tree as it lashed out at him from its new location. It was all he could do for the moment to keep himself safe from its swings, his own sword stroke going wide in the effort of juggling offence and defence together. As the tree bore down on him, scything in a frenzy now, Delta noticed a glint in the light of his candle glow – the tree, no longer hiding in shadow, now swelled in presence and assaulted him directly, and its bark had taken on a metallic black sheen that reflected the light. He continued to evade the majority of its attacks, though the pace and amount of sweeps overwhelmed him for a moment; one blade caught on his shield, piercing it, and another grazed across his midsection before he managed to get clear and catch a breath. It was only a small scratch, fortunately – the healing energy from his candle more than outweighed it.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: 80Hp [Directly North of Delta, at the edge of the clearing][IronBody][Soil]

SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A2: 30Hp (Swarming above Beehive A)(Grass)
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B2: 30Hp (Swarming above Beehive B)(Grass)
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes C: 30Hp (Swarming above Beehive C)(Grass)

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 170Hp [In the middle of the clearing][Grass][Regen: 5Hp per action while Candle lasts] [Shield Broken!][Sword: 3/6]

Candle: 100Hp [Behind Delta][Grass] [Regen: 5Hp per action (it counts as taking a single action each round, refreshing the regen)][2 Rounds]

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree East: DELETED
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree South: IMMOLATED
Twisted Tree South-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree West: DESTROYED
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]

Ancient Beehive A: 30Hp [Woodbody][Grass]
Ancient Beehive B: 30Hp [Woodbody][Grass]
Ancient Beehive C: 30Hp [Woodbody][Grass]

Delta was concerned when the metavirus activated what appeared to be ironbody - he didn't have any break chips, and his rocket was on cooldown - but that was shortly replaced with the realization that the monsterous tree couldn't ATTACK in such a state. And there was more than one target he could take down while it was out stuck.

Turning on his heel, the navi sprinted towards one of the remaining trees, slashing at it with his sword as he reached it. Cutting down the trees would limit the monster's abilty to use them to avoid hits...at least, Delta hoped that that was the case.

The warrior had more pressing concerns than the trees though. The hives were not limited to a single swarm of skeeters like he had thought, and three of them could easily overwhelm him if he didn't keep on top of them. So he formed his buster over his other arm, holding his sword arm underneath the weapon to stabilize it, and opened fire on the swarms.

The swarms were not the only target of this barrage, however. A keen observer would notice some shots going lower, aimed not towards the bloodsucking insect viruses but towards the hives they had spawned from.

With the dark tree no longer clinging to the shadows, Delta was increasingly hemmed in by foes – though it seemed as though the collection of ancient beehives remained inert for now, each with a swarm of skeeters already buzzing above them. The tree itself rattled its branches and the moaning wind through the wood became a roaring wail of sound amidst the rustle of boughs and the fiercely whipping winds. Exposed to it a second time, Delta might notice that the blast of air that rushed through the clearing crackled with viral code, enough to interfere with any fields or barriers he might be using – fortunate for Delta then, that he wasn't in the habit of utilising that sort of defence.

He struck out with his blade, removing another of the dark tree's possible duplicates then turned his attention on the skeeters and their hives... but a grave miscalculation of past experiences seemed to have led the navi astray at a tactical moment. Even as he began making his flurry of swift buster shots at the smaller targets the tree's long scything branches continued to lash out at him, largely unhindered by its iron-bark defence. The tree certainly seemed to be rooted to the spot and immobile, but perhaps this wasn't a condition too unfamiliar to trees in general. It definitely didn't seem to be inhibiting it from attacking him and its branches had Delta well within reach. A storm of rapid shots and swings ensued from both sides of the battle as each tried to assail the other.

Delta's first two shots swiftly eliminated one of the skeeter swarms before it could react, but in turn GloomScythe swung two strikes in his direction, landing one scoring blow on the navi in the process. Amidst the rapid movements the long shadows played in the candle's flickering light and the dark tree seemed to take note of the way the flame was healing its prey and its attention began to split between delta and his summon. It aimed one scythe at each the navi and the candle, but was clearly becoming more focused on the troublesome light – the scythe aimed at Delta missed, while the other bit into the wax and made the flame waver for a moment.

Delta, meanwhile took another pair of shots at one of the hives, destroying it and preventing any further summons from that particular source, while the second swarm of skeeters rushed him, missing by a hair. Not far away, the third skeeter swarm followed suit, this group succeeding at finding exposed points on Delta's body and hungrily draining data from him. Fully distracted for the moment, the tree continued to slash at the cursed light, sending globs of wax flying left and right across the clearing and making the shadows warp and twist while Delta handily eliminated another swarm of insects with another pair of quick shots. If nothing else he was getting good bounty credit here...

The light from the candle continued to flow, healing both Delta and the candle itself, and as the navi continued to destroy bugs and hives, the tree's attention seemed to begin turning back towards the more obvious threat. It struck the candle one more time, but still failed to destroy it, before sweeping its scythes back in Delta's direction – another half-distracted miss, fortunately.

Harried by the attacks, Delta's next target only received one of his buster shots, the other going slightly wide, and so the second beehive remained; damaged and dripping from its ancient combs, but still intact. A final pair of strikes from both the navi and the tree saw Delta take a last pair of slicing blade strikes even as he successfully destroyed the third skeeter swarm.

The deluge of rapid assaults seemed to let up for a moment as the tree's hardened defence faded and the darkness drew in around it again. It was still looking worse for wear and that aggressive assault seemed to have taken some energy for the twisted entity to exert in is damaged condition. Maybe now Delta would have an opportunity to finish it off.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: 80Hp [Directly North of Delta, at the edge of the clearing][Soil]

SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes C: DELETED

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 125Hp [In the middle of the clearing][Grass][Regen: 5Hp per action while Candle lasts][Sword: 2/6]

Candle: 60Hp [Behind Delta][Grass][Regen: 5Hp per action (it counts as taking a single action each round, refreshing the regen)][1 Round]

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North-East: DELETED
Twisted Tree East: DELETED
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree South: IMMOLATED
Twisted Tree South-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree West: DESTROYED
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]

Ancient Beehive A: DELETED
Ancient Beehive B: 10Hp [Woodbody][Grass]
Ancient Beehive C: 30Hp [Woodbody][Grass]

"Oof...okay, note to self: IronBody does NOT prevent one from attacking." Still, despite the miscalculation, Delta's barrage had mostly had the intended effect, deleting the mosquitoes and damaging the hives. Now though? It was time to see if the netnavi could end this fight. He gauged the distance to his foe, carefully planning his next strike.

Then, he charged. Delta swung as he approached, aiming to cut down the tree. However...just in case the tree were to switch itself with one of the remaining inanimate trees, Delta prepared himself to charge in with his blade a second time. Bringing the shield navicust back into operation as his sword vanished, spent, against the possibility of the tree having survived.

Finally, Delta raised his buster and fired twice at each of the remaining hives. More Skeeters might mean more of a bounty, but the navi wanted to be done with this fight.

All around him, the incessant buzzing of the hives grated as the two on the ground gave rise to fresh swarms of bugs, but Delta was ready to be done with this encounter and focused his attention solely on the shadow-cloaked tree. North of him, the tree seemed to loom tall and foreboding, despite its torn and rent trunk, sinking into the depths of the gloom once more, but Delta was ready for its trickery this time. His first lunging slash cleaved through to shadows of the corrupted entity, revealing yet another inert tree in its place, but Delta was already moving with his follow up. He turned and struck a second time, this time connecting with the tree itself before it could strike at him.

His blade dug into the already damaged trunk of the tree and cleaved the wood apart, drawing a last howling shriek of tearing timer from the virus, caught out at last and its tricks spent. It seemed to rear up, only tenuously connected to the baste of its trunk, then fell towards Delta in its death throes in a last attempt to crush the navi with its final fall. Even this Delta was prepared for, however - his freshly reformed shield caught the weight of the dying virus and let him shove its bulk to the side even as the force of its fall shattered his shield again.

With the tree fallen, a quick salvo of shots swiftly deleted the loose hives as well, and the still-forming swarms of skeeters above them dissipated into the surrounding forest, fleeing the scene. With a last pulse of glowing energy, his candle healed its last and faded away, leaving Delta standing in the dark again, but the victor of the clearing all the same.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: DELETED

SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes C: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B3: ESCAPED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes C2: ESCAPED

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 155Hp [In the middle of the clearing][Grass]
Candle: EXPIRED

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North: SLICED
Twisted Tree North-East: DELETED
Twisted Tree East: DELETED
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree South: IMMOLATED
Twisted Tree West: DESTROYED
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]

Ancient Beehive A: DELETED
Ancient Beehive B: DELETED
Ancient Beehive C: DELETED

-=Battle 5, Victory!=-
Spoils: 1100z, 15 BugFrags, Shadow1Effect: Shadow
Accuracy: S
Description: Grants the user Shadow. This reduces all incoming non-Slashing attacks to 0 damage, and reduces accuracy on ranged attacks by 20%.
Duration: One turn
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D, Skeeter Bounty +5

((As an aside, for clarity - Many viruses do have a behaviour pattern that involves putting up an iron- or metal- body defence and not attacking, but it's not a feature of the defence, just the pattern for those viruses. If there was anything on the site that led you, as a player, to believing that the defence worked that way, let me know, and I can check it out and see if we need to clarify something))

((Not gonna lie, I tried double-checking in the Rules Section, but I was mostly going with my experience with IronBody viruses in the games. And yeah, this was as much a gamble that I lost as anything else. So no, nothing on the site specifically. In any case, I'm going to say that Delta made a similar mistake - one that won't be made again.))

Looking around in the silence of the forest after the battle, Delta took a moment to stretch, before collecting the spoils of war from where they lay.

((1850z -> 2950z))
((183BF -> 198BF))
(( Shadow1Effect: Shadow
Accuracy: S
Description: Grants the user Shadow. This reduces all incoming non-Slashing attacks to 0 damage, and reduces accuracy on ranged attacks by 20%.
Duration: One turn
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D: Shadow + 1-Turn (Acc: S) GET!))
((Skeeter Bounty: 5 -> 10))

As he was examining the bounty of data that he had collected, Henry spoke up, "Delta, do you mind cutting this short?"

"You should be able to see that I'm still good to go Henry."

"It's not that. I was doing some research into the bugfrags that you've been collecting, and there's actually something that we can do with them. We'll need to take on a mission from GNA first though."

Delta pondered his netop's words before replying, "Alright...why don't you explain while I'm running around for these errands?"

"I'll do you one better: we have enough zenny that we could grab an upgrade or chip before setting out."

Delta nodded, turning to head toward the Okuden net's exit to NetFrica, then he paused. "Actually, we should probably detour through internet city. If it involves a mission, we can post the request on the BBS, THEN visit the various shops, and any response should be waiting when we get back." With that said, the navi instead set off for the connection to Internet City.

((Leaving Okuden for Internet City, then heading to the Bounty Shop: Delta.exe Bounties))
((Yeah, I've decided to grab a support program on this character.))