39 Turning Gears
[Choose which Dimensional Clone will you control]
[Switching is impossible once chosen]
Compared to what he experienced the first time he chose to manually control the Dimensional Clone, Aldrin's darkened consciousness awakened with the two system messages floating in front of him along with the three choices namely; Striker, Tank and Hitter.
His previous theory of controlling all three at the same time was debunked. No matter how mysterious, the IDLE Database still had its limits.
As soon as he picked 'Striker', the same feeling of getting pulled down by the whirlpool returned and followed by the return of all of his five senses before finding himself descending towards the ground.
He had expected for it to happen so instead of panicking, he used his eyes to not waste the chance of getting an eagle's eye view.
It was still the same area with tall grasses around. But what ended up becoming eye-catching was the hill in the middle of the tall grasses.
At first, he thought it was a volcano given that there was a hole at its peak.
But something with a huge head appeared from it. A Giant-headed Ant.
It was unlike any of the ants he encountered or his Dimensional Clones encountered before.
Even from afar, he could see its sharp pincers that could definitely cut him in half once he got caught by it.
The hill wasn't a volcano or something, it was an Anthill and just the main entrance for their colony.
Moreover, within the short time that he was in the air, he noticed a procession of Worker Ants carrying insect corpses. Spiders, Bugs, Caterpillars, Butterflies and any other insects that could be found here.
The Ant Colony was already stirred too much that they began looking for food outside their territory.
And the prime culprit for that was none other than Aldrin and his Dimensional Clones.
"This Lower Dimension Conquest progress is at 15%. Even with that low percentage, the difficulty of hunting for IDLE Points had gone up a few notches in difficulty." Aldrin analyzed the information he had at hand. "There's still the Normal Difficulty Soldier Ants. However, they're always accompanied by one or more Elite Soldier Ants."
Aldrin looked behind him and eyed Tank and Hitter seemingly waiting for his order.
Compared to before where they're just naked dark figures, the pieces of equipment he was leveling up through that tab could properly be seen on their body.
They're now covered in leather armors and their weapons, although sharp, appear too poor.
The dual sabers he picked for striker were made of stone. Sharpened stone. Nonetheless, even if it was stone, it's still better than the sharpened wooden sticks he was using before.
Tank's hammer was also made from a chunk of stone tied by leather with its handle. Its shield was made from a dry-looking wooden plank. Although it's sturdy enough to block most of the ant's weapons, Aldrin was worried that it would be cracked during an important moment.
However, given that he could only upgrade it through the Equipment and Skills Tab, there's no other solution for that worry except upgrading its level.
Hitter's bow and dagger were also of poor quality. Or at least, in the modern world's standard. A stone dagger and a short bow that also felt like it would snap easily if the Dimensional Clone pulled at it forcefully.
"There's no use thinking about our equipment. They're proven strong enough to kill these ants anyway."
Before moving out to hunt, Aldrin accessed the 1st tab and used the stored IDLE Points to buy the multipliers. This time he didn't hold back by buying the 2nd multiplier upgrade for armor and defense, costing him 660 in total.
And that's not the end, using 750 points, he leveled up one of Striker's sabers, Hitter's bow and Tank's shield to 3.
Even though the saber, bow and shield's visual appearance only showed minute changes, Aldrin could feel how different it was from before.
"I splurged on my stored IDLE Points this time... There's still more than 4 hours before midnight so... I have to make sure to make sure that what I just spent will return... or I will really cry for this decision."
After making sure that everything's in order, Aldrin and his two Dimensional Clones moved out and began their hunt.
A minute later, Aldrin instantly spotted a squad of Soldier Ants led by one Elite Soldier Ant.
Compared to when he was only watching them through the screen of his phone or his PC, his Dimensional Clones this time could be commanded by him mentally.
After telling the two to hold their position and hide to lay an ambush, Aldrin copied the strategy he watched before.
With his speed multiplier purchased twice, Aldrin felt like he's walking on air as he instantly dashed from his position into the middle of the squad's formation, surprising the ants.
"If only I could move like this yesterday, that Rift Monster wouldn't pose us any threat," Aldrin commented as he spun while his arms were outstretched, slashing his saber in a circle.
Along with the screeches of those hit by him, their insect juices splattered over his person.
However, having achieved his goal of getting their attention, Aldrin moved out of the circle and began running towards his previous position.
The Elite Soldier Ant that managed to dodge his saber was the first one who took off after him, its spear aimed at his back.
Fwooosh!
Before the Elite Soldier Ant could throw it like a javelin, an arrow whistled as it accurately hit its arm, resulting in its weapon being dropped.
And before it could make sense of what hit him, Aldrin who was just running away earlier turned around and jumped up high and above the Elite Soldier Ant's head.
With Striker's two sabers at his hands, Aldrin slashed down, cleanly cutting the Elite Soldier Ant into three pieces.
[You killed Elite Soldier Ant]
{You gained 10 IDLE Points]
Ignoring that status log, Aldrin took a step back and from behind him, Tank came charging in towards the 8 Soldier Ants that were trying to swarm him in different directions.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Thud!! Thud! Thud!
Along with the three arrows hitting those behind the formation, Tank slugged it out with its hammer and shield, stunning three spear-wielding Soldier Ants at the front.
And like earlier, Aldrin suddenly jumped overhead instantly decapitating the two Soldier Ants that still had their wits in them.
Following that, Aldrin danced around with his sabers, ending this first encounter in less than a minute.
"Like this, huh? As long as they come in these numbers... it won't be long before I recover what I spent."
Eyeing his acquired IDLE Points that went up from 0 to 50, Aldrin nodded before moving out to look for another squad.
At the moment, he's only moving along the periphery of the Ant Colony. Even if he easily dispatched a squad of them, Aldrin wouldn't recklessly enter their territory wherein they could be surrounded on all sides.
Compared to the first time where he's alone, Aldrin was thoroughly pleased with the timely assistance of Tank and Hitter. Without them, he was positive that he might do the same thing he did in the Combat Assessment.
Janet told him to go back in 3 days. Most likely that would be the time wherein he would be recruited or sent to training by any of the Energy Refiner organizations in this City.
That's why before that... Aldrin would make use of these three days to train himself by manually controlling his Dimensional Clone once a day.
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"Mr. Mayor, the Overseer of Planet Dualmoon has replied to your inquiry. Should I send it over?"
"You don't need to ask. Hurry!" In a hurried tone, the Mayor of Lonewind City stood up from his seat to hear from the Federation's Overseer.
After letting the four strongest organizations in the city listen to the audio file earlier, although some of them cast doubts about its origin and authenticity, they all expressed their intention to also report the incident to their higher-ups.
Bypassing the Dimensional Disruptor to open a Dimensional Rift inside the heart of a city is a large enough issue for them to move and investigate it.
At the moment, Lonewind City became a trial ground. But what if they opened it in Primary and Core cities where populations were tens and hundreds of times larger than a Secondary City?
That would be absolute chaos. Even if the number of Energy Refiners and Soldiers there was higher than what a Secondary City possessed, it would still be a disaster.
After a while, a holographic screen appeared in front of the Mayor and the video message of the Overseer of Planet Dualmoon played.
"I received similar reports of the unusual opening of the Rifts inside the cities. What you sent couldn't be verified as authentic yet. However, that was the best intel we received regarding these incidents. Locate the individual who sent that audio file and interrogate him, it's possible that he possessed more information about it. For example... the identity of the voice's owner. Moreover, if this was proven to be true... We're in for a dark time."
By the end of that message, the Overseer of the Planet Dualmoon under the Aldea Federation took on a grim tone in her voice.
And upon hearing that, the Lonewind City Mayor gulped down his saliva. "... If proven to be true. My clean record will not be tarnished, right?"
In the end, that's still the most important thing for him, his reputation. He did what he could as the Mayor anyway. As someone in the political career in the Federation, clean records were always the easiest way to get higher positions.
