[It has a Tama to shrink its body, which makes it maintain a stable breathing pattern. Also, its speed increases at such a moment.]
This set of words made Ten think: 'When it's small, it's like a bug, anything can kill it.'
It was a hypothesis at first. However, when his lucky shots damaged the beast's legs, he confirmed his hunch. Although he was running around most of the time, Lucien's barrage of attacks gave him ample time to make preparation, for whenever anything goes west
By preparation, we mean, running over to the side, and avoid getting struck by the ostuchi.
When things went west, however, Ten proved himself.
***
Hearing Lucien's compliment, the young man feels his heart move. His brother insults him on everything he does; such is his way of complimenting him.
However, Lucien is an honest man in his eyes: he says what he means, and what he will do.
Ten raises his head slightly, and he stares at Lucien, in his indifference countenance.
—It won't hurt to smile while complimenting someone.
Breaking him from his thoughts is Lucy's voice.
"I'll give you time to rest."
Ten blinks a few times, watching the red-hair walk over to a tree.
—He isn't tired after that?!
—Wait!
"Aren't you going to take the Tama?"
"I'm not a Tama-Artist, yet."
Ten wants to slap himself for his schmuckiness, but the A.I. voice disrupts him.
[Go get the Tama! If not collected after an hour, they will direct themselves to the nearest beast for protection, or sink into the ground. Also, don't forget about the heart.]
Ten stands up, looking at Lucy, who is crossing his arms under a tree. His expression is peaceful; if not for the blood stains on his body, one wouldn't say such a man fought toe to toe with a stage 3 profound beast.
The reverence in Ten's eyes deepens, muttering:
"He is cool."
[Your brother is cooler!]
"As if."
Tento scoffed. His brother is a junk-boy, someone whose best friend is dirt. He can imagine him covered in paper and ink, drawing blueprints.
[Get a move on! Take the Tama! Remember, I have a recipe for the King Cat in my database.]
Hearing the A.I. voice, Ten asks Lucien, "Do you mind if we eat?"
"My clothes are dirty. I don't eat in dirty clothes."
Ten gives a perfect look at Lucy: his hakama is spotless; only his face and red coat have blood.
A small mutter escapes Ten's lips, his shock palpable.
"How does he do it?"
[He wasn't giving it his all; only a small amount of that energy was used.]
Tento nods: understanding freaks of nature like Lucy would take him eons.
He has to focus on him.
"I have water."
Lucy nods and starts to look for an area to prepare a bathing place. Meanwhile, Ten looks at himself, forming tree barks on his forehead.
"How do I remove this?"
[Clap your hands five times.]
Doing so, the suit went back to the watch, as small mechanical hands took their time to remove some edits. Tento didn't ask what is happening because his brother's creations are beyond logic.
Walking over to the dead King Cat, he stares at his watch for instructions. However, with each step, a chapfallen shadow looms on his face.
—When am I going to defeat such a beast on my own?
Shaking his head, he puts on his nonaligned look, stepping on the beast's blood.
A small groan escapes his lips; since the stench is unbearable. Attempting to hold his nose, he notices a text on his watch.
[The Tama, unfortunately, are inside the body.]
Ten face contorts slightly.
"Tell me how to cut it, I have tantos with me."
As he gets instructions, Tento makes a lot of mistakes because he doesn't know the Cat King's anatomy. At one point, he got the feces dripping over his face. However, he found two thumb sized jewels near the beast's heart.
They have articulate shapes, separating them from ordinary jewels. Additionally, all are emerald; one is shaped like a finger sized sock with holes, and the other like a half-mouse.
Ten doesn't stress himself with figuring which is which; after all, he is still a mortal. Placing the Tama on the front of the screen, they fall inside.
When he places the heart, the screen stretches to a small midnight-blue portal, about 30 inches. A second later, the same mechanical hands from before come and take the heart.
***
Night has arrived, and the two decided to camp. Lucy didn't want to sleep dirty, so he made a pool to bathe; Tento joined, since he had a horrible stench.
Finishing the meal, which is average in cooking style, Lucy's amber eyes are fixed on the burning fire. In his mind, he pictures the dancing flames as his movements of his last fight.
'I'm still weak.'
He takes a small sigh.
—There is no need to pressure myself. If my aunt kills me on the blutbadspiel, then that's my fate.
'Compared to Lilachan, she is an ant.'
Lucien knows better not to judge a person, but what Lila showed him before was an eye-opener to a Tama-Artist's strength.
"Do you know how Tama is made?"
Pulling him from his thoughts is Tento's curious voice. Removing his expressionless gaze from the flames, he lands it straight at the pink-hair, who trembles a bit.
—Sometimes he is scary, even without doing much. I wonder when I can have such an aura?
Oblivious, Lucy explains:
"When a person is born, their Tama does so in the universe, in a place called the primordial space. On earth, Tama are brought by Rei; most of the time, they get stored in the ground. To Tama-Artist, however, when they unlock a primordial space, they get their initial Tama. This is why I didn't take the cat's Tama. After all, the initial Tama directs the path a Tama-Artist should take; the ones from the cat might not work well with the one I awaken."
Tento nods, recalling in his mind.
'When the initial Tama shatters, the life of a Tama-Artist ends. If it's the supplementary Tama, the user will suffer a backlash.'
—I should stop reading the [Journey of the First Tama-Artist] for fun. Maybe, I'll be lucky like Scholar-san, and meet someone who makes me a Tama-Artist.
Ten holds his mouth, as he hides his grisly smile. Where would he get such a person?!
"Do you know anything about them?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ten jags up straight, and turns his gaze toward his watch for answers.
"Each Tama has a pseudo-consciousness; when you were fighting the King Cat, they were the ones controlling part of its movements. Also, according to the Ethical Union, they're grouped into Tiers"
"Tier 1 can only person one function. The best example would be that regeneration Tama."
"Likewise, Tier 2 can perform 2 specific abilities, like the King Cat's Tama to change its size.
"Tier 3: can perform 3 specific abilities."
"Next, is Tier 4, which lets one shape the ability released to whatever they want, as long as they think of the right input that makes sense. However, it takes a lot of mental strength, and one might be killed when they are thinking of how to design the attack."
"Although not much is known, there is another Tier called Wisdom. Despite them acting like Tier 4, one doesn't have to think much about the design, and with a single thought, the Tama can produce the intented design, if not something better. In retrospect, Wisdom Tier Tama are like Tama which brings a person's thought to reality. Also, when using this, more mysteries and functions of such a Tama are reviewed to the user."
Lucy nods. The information is valuable, yet useless, most of it. He just wished that on the day he starts working to be a Tama-Artist, he would awaken a Wisdom Tier Tama.
Seeing something coming toward them, Lucien gently grabs his silver hammer, before flicking it in the air.
A bang sound is released, as the weapon rotates, before it comes clashing to the ground.
Boom!
Ten is stiff in turning his head around, consciously telling himself to not look.
Behind: trees are scattered about, and Lucien's hammer is landing perfectly on top of a Queen Cat with all its heads destroyed into a bloody pulp.
—Just how much was he holding back? Was he testing me?
Tento can't come to a conclusion, gulping his saliva down his throat.
—I feel pity for his enemies.
"Go get my hammer."
"Yes!"
Tento stands up, and he tumbles on his way to the hammer.
Seeing this, Lucy smiles lightly.
'It's heavy for someone thin as a rack.'