A quiet clatter was audible from a single lane, barely used road on the outskirts of Vegas. Solus and Cionus quickly and quietly slipped out from a sewer ladder, and quickly replaced the lid.
"My hair! Oh my god, my clothes!" Cionus was spinning around, sending muck everywhere. The grime from the sewer was something that Cionus was not happy with.
"The first thing I am getting when this is all done is a nice hot bath. Even then, I still doubt the smell will come out!"
Solus acted as if he didn't hear her. "See? It was a good idea to memorize the sewer system of Vegas before we started out on our mission. Good forethought on my part, right?"
Cionus gave him a look of disdain. "Maybe this time, but I still don't see us memorizing the airplane traffic over Vegas being helpful. Anyways, we need to get to the target."
Cionus looked up toward the sky, to see the glowing orb, with a childish figure standing right next to it.
Solus face-palmed in despair. "Only two possible explanations remain. Either that is an Asylum that has beaten us, unlikely considering that the game is still active, or-"
"Lets see how strong you Asylums really are!
Solus and Cionus received the message loud and clear.
"...or it's one of the Gemellie. Either way, we have no chance." Solus finished his sentence.
Solus kneeled for a moment, closing his eyes. He recalled his training with the veteran A.M.R.O who took him in after his incident.
"Solus. 90% of battles can be won using the information you already know. You can combine many mathematical concepts to the battle in order to get both the information you need to proceed and use the information you've learned efficiently and accordingly.
Statistics; you can predict accuracy of your alchemy, the approximate damage that would occur, and overall, percentage of winning. Especially with your alchemy, you can evenly attack from all sides of an alchemist, and analyze the damage to find both weak points, and how much damage you need to inflict. Being wasteful will get you killed.
Geometry and calculus; You can determine the distance from yourself to any target using both of these in conjunction. Determining this helps you conserve energy in attacks, and using your weapons to their best potential. Your needles are absolutely useless if you don't know how far to throw.
Finally, timing. This is one of the most crucial parts of battle, hunting down an alchemist, and just alchemy in general. Prepare everything in advance. Know how long it takes to do everything, in case you have to do it in the future. Find the variables beforehand, and determine all the information necessary. This will save your ass in the long run. However, even the best tacticians cannot predict battle. You can learn everything about your own alchemy, but you can never be prepared for your enemy's. Even in battle, you need to keep track of the timing it takes for them to attack. This is where you'll find their weaknesses. Use your timing cautiously and attack them when they are at their weakest. Like when they are listening to my monologue!" The stoic old man used his magnetic pull to launch a metal bar to his hands, only to spin around and hit Solus by surprise.
Computers had always been Solus' strong area in the new technologies. He imagined the information as a computer screen
[Targets: 2]
[Target information:
Orb: Ultimate goal of game. Touching it spells victory
The Prodigy: Defending Orb. Attacking Players aiming for Orb]
[Approximate Distance:
Orb: 356.3 feet
The Prodigy: 355.6 feet]
[Approximate damage of soundwaves if all hit accurately:
Little to none.]
[Will soundwaves accurately reach The Prodigy and all hit? If yes, then use alchemy. If no, then use alchemy to decrease distance from self and retry program. Return.
No. 7/26 shots will miss if launched from current location.
Decreasing distance]
Solus launched himself from his kneeling position, and spun his body. Platforms created in a matter of milliseconds formed under his feet, and he launched himself from his hands, pulling into what looked similar to a gymnastic's backflip. A volley of sound thrusted from behind Solus, launching him toward his target.
[Distance from target: 200 feet]
...
[Distance from target: 100 feet]
...
[Distance from target: 50 feet
Activating attack sequence]
Suddenly, Solus stopped mid-air, and started creating movement with his hand and lips, combining Motem and Vocem.
"Ferrium Spatias. Sound slicers."
A level 3 alchemy, it uses the ambient sound of the wind surrounding the target, and the sound waves approach the target at a high speed, having the sharpness of a dagger and able to pierce skin up to two inches deep. It is not designed to damage the target much, but if all attacks land can be quite painful, and stun the target long enough for more powerful attacks to land. 26 attacks are made from points surrounding the target, attacking from each third-dimensional cardinal and secondary direction (ie. attacking from front, back, above and below. Diagonals are included in areas of attack).
After launching his alchemy, he throws himself backwards, falling to about 20 feet under The Prodigy, and 70 feet away from her. He looks closely to see the effect on her.