[HDN] Some More Monsters

More monster madness. These were taken a little less seriously than the earlier ones, however. Except for the scraplings. They demanded a little more thinking. =w=

Striped Starbreast
Leanbox
<sub>Back when people were ruled by fat monarchs, the worst prankst- I mean criminals had the chance of bailing their penniless asses outta jail if they got to kill one of these things in arenas. 'Cause apparently people who could pay back then found no better amusement than seeing someone get shoved down a dragon's throat. Might have to blame a certain bespectacled CPU for that. Who'd want to watch a match of Pong these days? There isn't even any BGMs. Seriously.

Of course, the practice was soon stopped when people started messing shit up just to get the chance to get executed via lizard breath, 'cause Gamindustri's peeps were way stupider back then and thought that getting killed by a dragon was cool. Also, living conditions were an absolute bitch for commoners, it being Gamindustri's version of our Middle Ages and all. Might as well go for dragon torture if you're suicidal. I know I would.</sub>

Snow Stalker
Lowee; Leanbox; Planeptune
<sub>Snow Stalkers are often found in heavily forested and/or agricultural regions in Lowee. When hunting, they can quietly slip through their intended targets, and can instantly render themselves immobile in order to blend in with the environment; their limbs possess an appearance all too similar to dead trees, and their thick coat is almost indistinguishable from Lowee's powdery snow. Others who dwell in areas where greenery thrives during springtime grow algae on their fur, making it just as effective at hiding in green forests as in snowy woodlands.

These things are like giant-ass rats that do nothing better with their lives than to troll farmers. Also, they find some amusement in pumping a live victim full of potent neurotoxins with those fangs of theirs and playing with 'em like rag dolls. They're grade-A assholes. Apparently they sometimes sneak into settlements, but a couple of logs would stick out like a sore thumb amongst Lowee's bundles of mushroom houses. They've got long-running blood feuds with the local trash disposal guys, truth be told. Let's hope Lady White Heart finds out that these things are solely responsible for the occasional drop in citrus harvests--tangerines in particular.</sub>

Scraplings _{illustrated by . Thanks for the help, bud. C:}
Planeptune; Lastation
<sub>The N-Gear was developed not only as a portable gaming console, but also as a medium for storing items and equipment within what most individuals have referred to as a 'hammerspace'. Its function is fairly simple: the N-Gear converts a solid, tangible object into data and stores it within its internal memory banks. Because of its handy size and incredibly convenient utility, it has become a popular tool for adventurers and civilians alike.

Scraplings are an unintentional byproduct of the early development stages of the N-Gear. The console's early prototypes served the same function, though they had the added inconvenience of possessing only a meager amount of internal memory and thus were unable to store multiple items. Several of these prototypes were deemed impractical, and were consequently scrapped.

While no one had been around to observe how the first scrapling literally built itself, the monsters' behavioral patterns today may explain how they first came to be. Just as it was meant to function, the meager parts of the scrapped N-Gear prototypes that still functioned on their own began to store and collect external materials, and in every observed account, they would absorb informative data as well. Even though their internal memory has been filled to the brim, the devices continued to collect and encase itself in various materials until its own covering grows too thick for its seemingly gravitational force to attract more. The external shell it has made, along with the information it has collected that was easily comparable to a primitive, animalistic intellect, made them able to behave like any other normal monster. Unless its internal memory core is destroyed the scrapling can rebuild itself once again with the parts it has already used; it is hypothesized that the almost-sentient devices 'recognize' the objects they have used to build their bodies and simply seek them out if disassembled. This trait has proven itself convenient, as scraplings are very curious creatures and often get themselves harmed by larger monsters.

In recent times, scraplings have been reported to assault adventurers for any medium they use for internal memory storage. They manage to disassemble these captured devices and somehow recreate the conditions that would potentially craft another scrapling, and since devices like the N-Gear possess much larger internal space than its predecessors, this has resulted in the creation of much larger scraplings.

A scrapling's behavior varies depending on the digital information it has obtained. Most are seen behaving like regular monsters, most likely by observing the other monsters that inhabit the abandoned facilities where scraplings often spawn. Others who spent their early stages near human-inhabited areas often obtain more advanced skills like dancing or fighting, or, on rare occassions, become able to speak comprehensible language.

One particular (and amusing) occurrence was when our CPU Purple heart's personal N-Gear was taken by a small pack of the creatures, and less than a week later reports surfaced about a humanoid scrapling standing in customer lines at pastry shops, assaulting eggplant vendors, and scaling a ferris wheel. Although a group of Planeptune's researchers had wanted to safely capture the specimen for scientific study, the CPU spoke about the risks of having a robot twin around, and it was hunted down by a few Guild agents. It had escaped, however, but was eventually disassembled by CPU Nepgear after it was said to have been seen staring into CPU Black Heart's room window and coerced into capture. How it ended up in Lastation is mostly unknown, though the subsequent report of a mechanical figure similar to CPU Purple Heart requesting a free ride on a civilian transport might have been related to the matter.</sub>