Chapter 47: Flame Impact + Whirlwind Kick = ?
Grrrrowl.
The sound from somewhere below his sternum issued its reminder again. Time to take in some fuel.
Which confirmed it. That earlier feeling of "getting hungry suspiciously fast" had not been his imagination.
After this stretch of training, Ross had established with reasonable certainty that the Sonic Secret Realm's experience boost -- roughly seven times the outside rate -- applied specifically to abilities tied to the protagonist he was mapped to, meaning Sonic's ability set. At the same time, his personal energy consumption had spiked at an equivalent rate.
As if his body, in order to sustain the state of being the Secret Realm's protagonist while simultaneously training those abilities, was burning through fuel at an accelerated rate to maintain the whole arrangement.
His working theory: this was a hidden tax imposed by a physical constitution too underpowered to comfortably carry a game protagonist's ability set. Once his body was strong enough to handle the protagonist's abilities without straining, the accelerated hunger would probably stop.
The situation also drew his attention, earlier than he would have otherwise noticed it, to a specific limitation of the Sonic Secret Realm -- or more precisely, of the Angel Island Zone's surface terrain.
The only edible thing here was coconut.
Coconuts, to be fair, were not bad. Natural water reserves. Coconut water was rich in electrolytes and potassium; the meat provided solid energy and reasonable satiation. And the coconut palms along Angel Island's beaches and through its jungle were beyond counting.
The problem was that coconuts were not suited for heavy consumption, especially the water. Coconut water was, to a non-trivial degree, a natural laxative that actively promoted intestinal movement.
Fine as an occasional variety. Used as a primary food source, that was a recipe for disaster. Ross had no confidence in his intestinal fortitude being specifically immune to coconut. And however fierce a warrior might be, zero combat effectiveness was the universal outcome when the rear was breached.
Additionally, the Sonic Secret Realm's faithful recreation of the game meant it did not generate an independent ecosystem separate from the original. The only animals here were the ones Dr. Eggman had caught and repurposed. And those animals were, by default, on Sonic's side.
The Palworld approach -- eating your own allies -- might fly in that particular universe. Ross felt the Sonic universe deserved to keep a little bit of innocence.
He pushed the food problem aside for now and checked his status.
He still had a complete shield active around his body. Unlike the previous Electromagnetic Shield, this one was throwing off heat. A fire-attribute quality, burning in the air around him.
The Flame Shield.
Of the three shields in the Sonic Secret Realm, the Flame Shield was the most aggressively offensive, so its carry-out condition was correspondingly aggressive.
[Kill 3 enemy units using "Flame Impact" while maintaining the Flame Shield. (Condition met.)]
Condition already met, which meant when he exited the Secret Realm, the Flame Shield state would come with him.
The shield absorbed one hit, same as the others. Its distinctive feature, though, was the "Flame Impact" ability -- active and available as long as the shield was on.
[Flame Impact: additional ability of the "Flame Shield." When the player is airborne, launch a fire-attribute charged impact directly forward, simultaneously entering full speed. Can only be used once per airborne window.
Inside a Secret Realm Stage: no aura cost. Outside a Secret Realm Stage: costs 1 aura unit. (Controller: none. Items carried out from the Secret Realm may be used directly without a controller.)]
As long as this was on him, outrunning any pursuit was guaranteed. Assuming it didn't suddenly start raining outside.
"Access used. Temporary exit from Secret Realm."
At Ross's command, his form dissolved out of the Sonic Secret Realm.
Simultaneously, the Little Tyrant's Endless Amusement -- floating in midair where the tree used to be -- gave a slight shudder, and then the spatial transfer aura wrapped itself around Ross as he materialized.
And they both immediately began to fall.
"Huh?"
He had anticipated that his landing coordinates on exit might not perfectly match where he had entered. He had not expected the bird's nest and the upper half of the tree supporting it to be gone entirely.
His reaction was fast regardless. In the instant gravity registered, he did two things.
First: he dismissed the Little Tyrant console with a hand gesture. It dematerialized in mid-fall, leaving nothing but the controller gripped in his left hand.
Second: immediately on completing the recall, he activated Flame Impact.
His body converted entirely into a fireball, like a cannon shot that ignored the relevant gravity laws, and blasted horizontally through the air into the forest.
"...What the -- "
Kazemaru, who had been keeping watch from a concealed position not far away, stared.
He only had time to register that the thing that had appeared was roughly humanoid. He hadn't determined whether it was Badge 406 or not before the humanoid became a fireball and departed.
Professional bodyguard reflexes: pursue.
Whatever it was, confirm in person.
Following the trail brought him to scorch marks on the ground -- partially charred, but retaining the same general tread-groove pattern he had been tracking earlier. Kazemaru's probability estimate that this fireball was Badge 406, Ross, went up slightly.
His expression, however, had worsened noticeably.
His prior assessment of Badge 406 had been: fast, somewhat unusual ability, essentially no combat capability. But what had just emerged from that fireball indicated considerable Transmutation proficiency and Enhancement proficiency both. In Kazemaru's experience, generating fire at that scale, and wrapping your entire body in it without sustaining burns, was something only a high-level specialist in Transmutation or Enhancement could pull off.
...Had Badge 406 been playing dumb this entire time?
Kazemaru didn't have an answer, but his body continued following without reservation. The three-point badge was still the most efficient path to points. Taking down one target beat taking down three.
He had, however, become noticeably more cautious than before. The ground markings told him something about the ability's mechanics.
The scorch pattern was intermittent, not continuous. Which meant the fireball wasn't actual flight -- it was more like an extreme boosted jump, a massive horizontal launch carrying him through the air until inertia ran out and gravity reasserted itself.
That meant repeated use drained aura. Which meant there was a ceiling.
The thought was still forming in Kazemaru's head when the tree trunk directly in his line of sight ahead of him shattered.
Ross came through it, Flame Shield still burning across his entire body, spinning into the Whirlwind Kick and driving it full-force into Kazemaru's arms -- raised at the absolute limit of his reaction time into a defensive cross.
Flame Impact + Whirlwind Kick = Flame Whirlwind Kick.