@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Tatsu@CriticalHit@ReusableSword

---

Turning her attention back to the acid, it was evident that while it was corrosive, it wasn't very long lasting. The liquids bubbling and hissing quickly grew quieter until it was rendered mostly inert. Whatever chemicals causing it to become caustic upon oxidation quickly running out. Unfortunate. She'd need a lot more, then - it seemed to barely make a dent in the floor. Before she could do it again though - Rain added her own venom to the pool creating quite a little surprise. A screen popped up - giving her all the information on the poisonous liquid. Liquid. Exothermic. Poisonous. Acidic. As well...adding it with her own seemed to make it stronger? The liquid sizzled and bubbled more vigorously it seemed, melting a deeper hole into the floor however small.

"Curious." She mused quietly to herself. So their venom could be fired together and made stronger...which offered some opportunities if she could get them all to help her and work together. "Doesn't everyone have their plans? Well regardless, thank you Rain, that certainly expedited the process a bit..." She glanced over to Ryuu. "You, my dear scaly friends may call me Ash." Ryuu then went on to make a rather interesting suggestion. Goblin hunting? Now she didn't consider herself a fighter, but with how things were, the goblins likely were going to be a nuisance if they didn't get rid of them.

"You want to attack the goblins...hmm..." She glanced over to the bubbling pool of venom. "Now there's an idea I can get behind. But attacking them now while they are so riled up would be suicide-Gah!" Ash shouted in surprise as the small crystal came tumbling down from above, crashing into the pool of hopefully inert venom. While she was curious to see how these crystals and lizard venom worked, this was interrupting something else.

Hmm, perhaps having a Pixie help them could be useful.

"...You there, Pixie." She hissed up at the small creature. "No need to be shy, I won't bite...come here. I have a...proposition of sorts for you."

---

Rain hissed with pleasure at the suggestion of a plan of attack, and at the apparent help the extra venom was. She was amused at the mentions of her attack, her eyes lighting up, and she stood a little straighter.... Or, well, as straight as a lizard could.

Before she could add her two cents on the matter, however, a crystal fell into the hole they had started making, causing her to back up several steps. The things weren't hard, she'd tried eating one once, but they thrummed with power that she didn't really understand.

A Pixie flew above them, and Ash wanted to reason with it. She'd seen Pixies using some form of healing magic, and could rally behind bringing one on board if possible. But if it wasn't like the four of them... Well, Target practice was always useful.

"About the goblins... That one calling himself Crispy seemed not much affected by my venom earlier. But if this hole is anything to judge, I bet if all four of us got him at the same time in the same spot we could kill him. I remember before all this that thugs would kinda scatter for a while if they lost their boss, right? Well, maybe we can break up the goblins some with his death, yeah? Just gotta watch, he got fireball hands." It was a simple bit of information, but every bit helped. "We'll have to wait a bit first though. Try and get him alone."

---

@Guy0fV4lor@Kazemitsu
Jason and Asura made a curious sight as they “trained” together near the pool, with the green slime testing out his rock shooting and the red merely tanking the hits, healing himself with the Healing Herbs he picked up after he had begun carrying as many as he could hold, constantly cycling them out as he used them.

You have 10 Healing Herbs in your Inventory. You cannot carry any more.

And then, as Jason prepared to let fly with one more stone, he felt something. The suction, the way his body rippled as goo filled with air, the flexing of whatever membranous tissue counted as his “muscles,” the weight of the stone...He had tried doing it several different ways, and now one of them just seemed to click. He focused, he took aim, he fired!

For the first time, the rock actually hurt Asura, at least compared to every other hit he’d taken today! What was more, it had glowed ever so slightly with a deep, metallic gold light as it left Jason’s body--and Jason himself felt a new and unusual feeling, similar to being tired, but as if his energy had simply been drained without doing much physical work.

You have learned the Skill: Stone Shot I!
You have learned to charge a piece of stone with your energy before hurling it at your opponent. This attack does blunt, piercing, and Earth-elemental magic damage. It consumes less MP than most spells, but requires ammunition.

---

---

@Renny@Lucius Cypher@Knox
“Hmm...still a bit til you breeds, then.” Crispy said thoughtfully as Orchid told him how old she was. He shook his head in what seemed like disappointment. Then as the she-gob threatened to stab Yoda he laughed with a grin of approval. Not long after that two more goblins arrived with Eric in tow.

“Where’s dat one who digs all the time?” Crispy demanded. The other goblins shrugged, but then one of them pointed.

“Look! Here comes da Boss!”

Indeed, there he was, the father of Yoda and Eric and possibly some of the others too--not that he had ever acted fatherly towards any of them. Like the Goblins he had green skin and a bulbous nose, but that skin was only evident upon his face, chest, and extremities somewhat like a gorilla. Everywhere else on his body was covered with thick, coarse black fur that probably could have used a wash three months ago. He stood a full foot taller than the tallest goblin, and had about twice as much muscle mass, mostly concentrated in his upper body. He was wearing a bunch of what looked to be firewood, split multiple times until it became flat planks, which had then been bound with vines around his chest. He also had on a belt of vines and leaves, and straw sandals--all of it looked to be handmade with all the precision of a caveman. And in one hand he carried the most sophisticated weapon of any of the goblins seen thus far--a wooden handle with a fire-hardened slot, into which was bound a rock that had been sharpened smooth. A type of stone axe--or more properly, a celt, if they were up to date on their primitive technology.

“Crispy! Is dis all da younglings?!” the leader barked, snorting before hacking a ball of phlegm onto the cave floor, then wiping the remaining string from his chin with the back of his hand. “Hmph. Scrawny bunch dis time around! When da womens gonna be ready again?”

“Ah, sure it won’t be much longer!” Crispy said as he wrung his hands. “But dey all ready to hunt, boss!”

“Dey betta be!” responded the big creature. Then he looked down at the three goblins assembled before him. “Listen up, yous! We gonna hunt Dire Rats! Which one of ya knows where t’find ‘em!?”

---

---

@Tatsu@Old Amsterdam@Rune_Alchemist@CriticalHit@ReusableSword
As the lizards held their meeting, one more adding his poison to the pool, Ardur dropped a mana crystal into their concoction. Upon contact with the sizzling puddle, it seemed all that would happen is that the crystal would be eaten away…

Used Skill: Alchemy I
---Potent Fanged Lizard Venom + Fanged Lizard Venom---
Compatibility: 100%
Reaction: Toxic Fanged Lizard Venom
Properties: Liquid. Exothermic. Highly Poisonous. Highly Acidic.
This amount of Fanged Lizard Venom in a single dose is highly effective and may even overcome lower levels of poison resistance.
---Toxic Fanged Lizard Venom + Mana Crystal---
Compatibility: 25% - The Toxic Fanged Lizard Venom lost 75% of its potency.
Reaction: Poison Tainted Mana Crystal
Properties: Solid. Crystalline. Brittle. Low Hardness. Very Low Sharpness. Magical. Volatile.
This Mana Crystal has been tainted with a poisonous substance. If it is ground into powder, broken, or otherwise forcibly used on another creature, the tainted energies will deplete their Mana rather than restoring it. This crystal is unstable, if it is destroyed it may release poisonous fumes.
--Alchemy Complete--

With a sound like wet suction, the poison seemed to be absorbed into the crystal like water into a sponge. The Mana Crystal gave off an eerie tone when it next pulsed, like an out of tune tuning fork, and its color changed from bright blue to deep purple. The light it gave off now seemed like a black-light one would use to investigate a crime scene, and it had an inherent sense of danger about it.

Without the poison puddle, it was clear to see now that the hole Ash had been trying to melt into the stone floor was now deep enough that it could probably be used for storing small items, or a small amount of liquid.

---

---

@King Cosmos@Gardevoiran@Legion02@UltraCraftGames@floodtalon
As Peter circled around the Dire Rat, he managed to hit it with both shots--once while it was in midair, which caused it to hit the ground on its side, and a second time before it could get back on its feet. The rodent whirled on him with a snarl as the wisp raced to the nearest crystal and absorbed it to refill his MP. By the time he turned back, however, the rat had closed in and its teeth were fractions of a second from latching onto him--!

Skill Rank Up: Mana Orb II.

• Magic damage increased.
• MP cost increased.

The Dire Rat got a mouthful of crackling magic energy, and was thrown backwards head over heels from Peter, who now felt as if he had just run a six-minute mile. And once again, the System notified him that he was completely out of MP--but he had only cast that one spell? It had told him that the MP cost of the skill had increased, though. And if he could use the first rank Mana Orb twice, maybe it made sense that he could only use the second rank of it once.

The Dire Rat’s corpse lay on the ground, slightly smoking.
***
Jacob’s attempt to draw the slime’s attention worked--Digbie had been pushed further away by its attack, and the pixie had made himself the closest target. He shielded himself just in time as the slime gave an angry squelch and surged forward, its full weight slamming into him as it bounced like a pinball between the walls of the crevice. The Pixie was knocked head over heels backwards--but aside from a slight daze he seemed okay.

The slime’s distraction gave Digbie enough time to pelt it with another rock, drawing its attention to the goblin once more. Again, it left a darker spot, but the slime didn’t seem at all deterred--until a whizzing bolt of light zoomed past them, and Mourningstar announced her arrival! The slime suddenly squealed, in quite obvious pain, before it instinctively lunged at the Wisp. Its body split into two wriggling halves like the jaws of a bear trap as it sought to devour her…

Ardur The Pixie

Experiments with Lizards >>> No one told me they can talk /// week 2 // Daylight?

Ardur watched carefully as the crystal dropped ever so silently through the air. The shimmer suddenly faded as it vanished into the small pool that the lizards had created down below. He was honestly quite surprised with his accuracy, something he had gotten progressively better at over the last few days. It was after all the only thing he could do to annoy the creatures down below.

The pixie often found it strange that he was drawn to annoying or sometimes hurting others with small stones. He did understand that he wasn't all that physically able compared to the others but he did know that if you dropped something from high enough it was bound to do damage to someone. Truly he never meant them any harm, but it was funny to see the creatures scatter from the hidden attacker. Honestly, he simply figured it was a few of his new personality quirks from becoming a pixie.

For a little while longer the crystal didn't seem to do anything. He thought for sure it would at least have a volatile reaction due to what he proceeded to be the nature of manna so far in this world. And yet, he was proven wrong. The viscous liquid that churned and sizzled in the small hole soon began to disappear. At first, he thought it was evaporating but soon he could see the purple glow of the small crystal. How strange. It seemed to absorb the liquid and turned to a beautiful purple. However, somehow the Pixie suspected that this was a beautifully dangerous purple.

The lizards did seem to notice him now and one did something extremely unlikely. They talked. Not only did they talk, they spoke English. Or at least he understood them in English. One of the lizards who the others seemed to be there for called out to him. Something about coming down to visit and a proposition. “Sounds like a trap!” he called down towards them. “Besides how am I supposed to know that you won't just swat me out of the sky and into that bowl of stew you had brewing down there?”

A good question from his point of view, but he still wasn't to sure about this place still. “I mean if I was getting a dinner invite from Gordon Ramsey I'd be down there in a heart beat, but by the looks of it you're wanting to turn me into dinner.” he grimaced slightly at his use of pop culture in the last sentence but what would you expect from someone who just kind of appeared here. At least he was trying, but he figured the most it would do was make him seem crazy.

@Zeroth@Rune_Alchemist@Tatsu@Old Amsterdam@CriticalHit

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Tatsu@CriticalHit@ReusableSword

---

Well...this Pixie was odd to say the least. If only for that last sentence of his. Gordon Ramsey? Wasn't he some big time chef or something back on earth? She hadn't a clue - she wasn't very up on the current events of earth at the time of her death. She hardly watched TV or did anything aside from eat, sleep, or work...sometimes her co-worked referred to her as a robot, hah. Well, no matter. She wasn't going to bring it up - that wasn't an issue at the moment. She wanted this Pixie to trust them, or at least her.

"Aha, I can't blame you for thinking something is a trap," Ash shouted back up at the Pixie. She'd have given him her best friendly smile, had her lizard mouth been capable of it. "But I am simply a humble Alchemist...and us Lizards would perhaps like to have your assistance with a little...endeavor of ours in taking out a few of the goblins. You will get a cut of the rewards, should you help." Speaking of that plan, something extremely interesting had just happened.

The crystal that the Pixie had dropped into the pool of venom made a noise like water being sucked down a drain, the venom seeming to seep into the once radiant blue crystal as it chimed eerily. The color changed to one of deep purple as Ash walked over to it, resting a claw on top of it gently. She'd be grinning like a mad woman had her lips been capable of it. "As a show of good faith," She cast one more glance up to the Pixie, voice as honest and trustworthy as she could make it sound. She wouldn't spare much time trying to convince him - this was the best she had, and if she didn't reel him in now she doubted she'd get him at all. "I shall introduce myself, Pixie. I am Ash...now won't you help a poor lizard make her way in this world?" Her voice had a mildly pleading undertone to it, but not a comically overbearing or showy one. Just the subtle tone of her voice. She turned her attention back to Ryuu and Rain.

"Well, my friends," She hissed in pleasure. "I have some enlightening information for our little lizard committee here...and I think I have a solid idea of how we can kill that idiotic goblin. As evident by this hole here - when Lizards combine their venom it becomes far more volatile and toxic for a short time." She lightly tapped the poison crystal with her claws. "And when this mana crystal reacts with toxic levels of fanged lizard venom...it acts as a poison that can reduce one's total mana. See where I'm going with this?"

Asura was surprised his slime body could carry so many herbs. His memory of various games always had healing items set to either nine hundred ninety nine, or simply nine. Ten was a good number and since it was held within him and not some backpack or belt pouch he could attack or dodge and eat one when necessary. But since they were plants he knew they wouldn't last forever and it'd take time for them to regrow, so he shouldn't just eat them all willy nilly.

That's why he took as many hits from the rock projectiles as he could before eating how many were necessary to return to full hp. "Can carry ten herbs." He burbled out to the other slime. Unsure if he discovered their carry limit on the plants. A brief blink and he was struck by an empowered shot from the other slime. That one actually hurt a bit, not the typical stinging or dull presence of getting hit. His 'arm' came to rub at the spot where he was struck but he was okay.

"That one hurt..." Asura gargled out. He was kind of curious how a being with no nerves actually felt things. Maybe that was just the magic of this world? If he ever got to the Demon King he'd have to ask. For now though he braced himself to be shot some more.

First of all he uses some crystals to regenerate mana then Peter flies to the dire rats corpse. He goes very close to it and lets out little bursts of mana on it to combine the mana bit with the flammable fur. To maybe make a little bit of fiery mana. He then tries to absorb this power and release it in a very small spark of fire.

---

The crystal dropped from the Pixie created an interesting reaction when combined with the obviously potent venom pool. It apparently had absorbed the venom and turned a shade of purple. Pretty purple, really.

Speaking of the flying bugger, he didn't seem all that inclined to join them despite Ash attempting to convince him before... Whatever had just happened had happened. Afraid of them hurting him?

As Ash tried to convince him forget, Rain decided on the intimidation route instead. "You do realize we could just venom you from here, right? With all of us, we'd surely hit you sooner than later. And we haven't. So, yeah, take that or leave it. We're going to better the cave."

Ash went on to explain reaction that had occurred, and Rain's tongue flicked out excitedly.

"That means if we could hit him with this he'll lose his magic fire, and even likely be stunned by the fumes! We could all hit him with our venom together and that Crispy will die!" she said excitedly.

There was a sound of a commotion outside of her sight, but did it suddenly seem a little darker in the cave? That don't make any sense.... Must be her imagination.

"Are you all up for it? Especially if the Pixie helps, there's no way we could lose. We've got the distance advantage, and I'm real good at being unnoticed!" The excitement in her voice was palpable.

---

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Kazemitsu@Rune_Alchemist@ReusableSword@Tatsu@CriticalHit
During his training, Jason noticed that the other slime would occasionally lean in front of the shot, why would it do this? Before Jason's curiosity could grow any further, his form trembled, suddenly, if felt as if something clicked;

You have learned the Skill: Stone Shot I!
You have learned to charge a piece of stone with your energy before hurling it at your opponent. This attack does blunt, piercing, and Earth-elemental magic damage. It consumes less MP than most spells, but requires ammunition.

As the rock left his body, Jason noticed the rock slightly glowed with a dark gold light, seemingly fatiguing him. Unlike the rocks he had thrown before, this one made the red slime visibly wince, "That one hurt..." it gurgled, "Good, that means we can kill goblins now," Jason bubbled in response, practicing [Stone shot I] on the rock until he was exhausted.

You have no MP remaining.

Remembering that the crystals inside him were called 'mana crystals' Jason wondered if there was a connection, and began to digest one of the crystals within his body.

Your MP is full.

Feeling very refreshed, Jason moved over to the pond and refilled his water supply. Looking at the other slime, Jason decided it was time to gather intel, "Come, we should spy on the goblins." he gurgled, creeping stealthily toward the bonfire. As he was making his way towards the bonfire, he noticed a group of lizards; one of which he had assisted earlier, seemingly... talking to a Pixie?

Deeply intrigued, Jason moved towards this.... "Lizard tribunal" "Greetings" he cautiously gurgled, hoping he didn't just make a massive mistake.

Orchid didn't like the idea of being a "breeder" for these filthy creatures. She was not some animal who raises livestocks! But before she could threaten anyone else a huge creature arrived. He was only ugly goblin, but much bigger in both height and girth, looking more like an ape than a goblin. He wore wooden armor which, while crude, certainly looked intimidating. It made Orchid feel downright weak just being here (Didn't help that she was naked). Apparently he was the father of the most recent brood of goblins and he intended to take them out hunting. This made Orchid feel slightly hopeful; she hasn't had any luck finding any meat, not even bugs, and had been subsidizing on herbs and water for this past few days.

But where were they suppose to find Dire Rats? Orchid barely knew her way around the water holes, let alone wherever giant rats were. Then again, this talk of rats brought up old memories of Orchid hunting in the barn. Her father had taught her how to use the airgun to shoot rats so they didn't bother the chickens and eat their grains. Made Orchid wish she had an airgun right now. Or maybe just a real gun. In any case Orchid just stayed quiet and clutched her stick close to her. She didn't trust any of these goblins but for now they seem to be on her side.

@Zeroth

---

Digbie looked on as a new person, Mourn In Star, arrived on the scene and delivered a nasty magic spell onto the slime. It clearly did a lot more damage than Digbie was doing to the slime, which was greatly appreciated in the long run considering this thing was quite the damage sponge indeed. Digbie grabbed another stone and prepared to throw it, but decided against it. In case the slime came closer to him, he needed to defend himself from it in case he had to shank a slime if it came to that.

Digbie put his hand on the ground and began to utilize the ability that the supposed Demon King had granted to him, Tremor Sense I. If a cave in could be caused, it might not be a terrible idea to do it provided the other members of his little group of strangers could get away from the affected area at the time. It would be risky, but it would be invaluable if he could successfully predict any sudden quakes or sensations in the terrain to use advantageously.

"I'm not an idiot,I know that it would be suicide to try and attack them now. All we have to do is wait for the Gobs to calm do- What the?!". Ryuu jumped back in surprise as a crystal fell mere inches away from him, instinctually baring fangs and looking around for the punk who thought they were funny. Quickly, his gaze settled on the pixie hovering above the lizards gathering, Oh of course it's a pixie's doing... He thought to himself as he internally groaned. Pixies have been known as pranksters basically as long as the fantasy genre has existed, it would be no surprise to Ryuu if the little winged creature was responsible for suddenly dropping crystals on anyone he chose.

Ash however, seemed less than annoyed. In fact, it seemed like she was attempting to reason with the diminutive joker. Ryuu believed that he knew what her aim was... If they were going to follow through on his idea of Goblin hunting, having someone to help patch their wounds could be quite useful... so long as the pixie didn't try to pull anything that is.

"Just so you know, if you tried that shit with any other lizards you'd likely be receiving an unwanted venom shower right now. Lucky for you though, we're not as... base as some of our kin. Come, stay a little while." Ryuu said as he gazed at the pixie.

Breaking eye contact and looking back to the other lizards, Ryuu got a look at the results of the pixie's mischief. He was pretty sure that the crystal wasn't purple when it dropped, and curiously enough it was... humming? Utterly confused, Ryuu looked to Ash for any kind of explanation.

Well then, it seemed that the pixie had given them quite the boon unintentionally. With the power of this fell crystal they could strip Crispy of what made him dangerous in the first place. "Precisely what I was thinking Rain. Without his fire I doubt he'll pose much of a threat to us. Of course I'm in! I suggested this in the first place didn't I? Though we should wait and think this through a touch more. Remember the Gobs are fuming right now. We'll get skinned if we rush this." Ryuu warned.

Out of the corner of his crimson eye, Ryuu noticed what looked like a blob of green approaching them. He preemptively turned to advance upon the interloper and bared his fangs, until he realized that the slime had spoke. With haste he dropped the aggressive demeanor and responded. "My apologies, I thought you were going to try and sneak up on us."

@Zeroth@Rune_Alchemist@Old Amsterdam@Tatsu@ReusableSword@Guy0fV4lor

The Slime moved a lot quicker than Jacob expected and hit a lot harder than he anticipated. How a creature with the consistency of a marshmallow could pack that much of a punch was a mystery to him, but luckily his Shield spell was pretty effective at what it did; although he was sent spiralling through the air and left his head ringing, but there was no actual pain so to speak.

That didn’t mean he was willing to take any more hits however, which meant that his ‘distraction’ plan was temporarily put on hold while he tried to think of something else. The Slime seemed pretty much impervious to the rocks the Goblin was throwing at it, the gelatinous body acting like a shock absorber, and he doubted his little Pixie punches would fare much better. It looked like they really would just have to run away from the Slime and hope that the thing wasn’t so invested in this that it would try and squeeze its way down the narrow tunnel the Goblin had dug.

Jacob was just about to call out to the Goblin to tell him to run away when a ball of light struck the Slime suddenly, causing the creature to actually let out a pained noise. Looking around for the source of the attack Jacob couldn’t see anything at first, but once the laughter started he was able to trace it to the shadows above their heads. A little mote of light, similar to ones he had seen flying around the cave this past week, was hovering near the ceiling of the crevice. What’s more, it was speaking English.

Was it, she, here to help them? From the sounds of it she was, but it was hard to tell if he should trust this creature; from what he had seen so far there was very little interaction between the various species in this cave that wasn’t aggressive or predatory in some way or another. That being said, that magic ball did seem to actually hurt the Slime, so possibly this was their only chance of winning this fight.

Besides… something about what the Wisp just said struck Jacob as important.

As the Slime dove for the Wisp Jacob was forced to make a quick decision and made the choice to focus on the current threat before he worried about future ones. He cast yet another Shield spell at the Wisp before the Slime could close its body around her, hoping it would continue to prove as effective as it had been so far.

“If you’re here to help then keep firing at the Slime. I’ll protect you as best I can.”

@Gardevoiran@Zeroth@floodtalon

Asura simply shook his head when the other slime talked about killing goblins with the new move. "Most likely not. Unless you get help." He stated, knowing they could actually use items which probably boosted their 'stats' beyond typical monster capabilities. When Green went to start shooting again Asura leaned into the flight path of the empowered stones. Taking as many hits as he felt he could before retreating out of the way.

A quick shift and a Healing Herb was devoured. Leaving him with eight herbs from his original ten. He wanted to see if one herb would fill his hit points completely when near death. If he wasn't healed to full he'd munch another herb before following after the Green slime. Neither slimes had introduced themselves, but maybe that was to prevent any emotion if one died? For some reason the other slime approached a group of fanged lizards that were doing...something.

The red and orange slime stayed back a bit, keeping a safe distance between himself and the lizards despite one of them acting amiable. It could be a trick, although Asura couldn't really do support given his lack of ranged capabilities.

Ardur The Pixie

No one told me they can talk >>>> A Lizard Attack Plan /// week 2 // Daylight?

Ardur watched the lizards intently, watching every muscle movement and flick of their tails. Caution must be taken when dealing with creatures who lived on the bottom floor. Standing for a moment on his perch above them he sighed as the one lizard introduced itself. “Ash” a strange name for a lizard but alas he wasn't one. He chose pixie but was quite aware of what the others could do.

Glaring at the Lizard who called up to him with threats and intimidation he spoke once more. “I doubt you have the accuracy for it friend. I'm faster than you know and would easily be able to dodge whatever attack you used on me from this distance.” Ardur continued to think and weigh his options before finally deciding on what to do. The pale Pixie cast shield on himself, took a step forward, and fell.

It wasn't too long before he reached terminal velocity with his weight and small frame. He did enjoy the feeling and rush of falling and enjoyed gliding as well when he needed too. It was only until about half-way down that he spread his wings and began to slow his fall until he landed gently on the back of the lizard who called itself Ash. “Names Trav-err Ardur. Pleasure to meet all of you.” he spoke while still standing on the back of Ash.

“If you need a heal or a shield I'm sure that I can help out. However, I do need mana crystals occasionally, so if we had some time to prepare and plan for this onslaught. I would like it if you could help me hide and or find a few crystals nearby for quicker access.” He figured he would put in his input into the situation. Ardur was quite confident that if things got too hairy he could escape back into the stalagmite ceiling. The pixie was also quite bored and figured he could use some entertainment and maybe a few friends. “As for loot, I don't really care. I'm not all that greedy but I would like first dibs on anything related to my species or magic's. If that is alright with the rest of you?” He asked as he looked over the other lizards.

A slight flinch could be noticed as the other lizard moved from its position towards a slime. The hiss and movement caught him off guard for a moment, but he was glad the lizard was more aware of its surroundings than he was. It was always good to have a few extra eyes out and about to watch for danger. Another unexpected thing happened, the slime spoke or gurgled really. “What now those things can talk too? This place is weirder than Portland and that's saying something.” Ardur didn't really pick up on what he said, but was still a bit curious of the Green and bluish slime.

@Zeroth@Rune_Alchemist@Tatsu@Old Amsterdam@CriticalHit@Kazemitsu@Guy0fV4lor

The slime squealed in pain as Mourningstar let out a haughty laugh, one could feel the condescension rolling off of her despite the lack of a definable body. "How pathetic! Defeated by one measly bolt of magic! I can't believe you two were even having tro- GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY!" She screamed girlishly as the slime leapt at her, scrambling to the side as she fired off another two shots of magic. She also noticed the goblin child just staring at the ground like an idiot and the pixie casting a shield spell on her. At least one of them was being useful.

“If you’re here to help then keep firing at the Slime. I’ll protect you as best I can.” When the pixie said that she got a little annoyed admittedly, doing her best to try and puff up to show how annoyed she was.

"Of course I'm here to help you fools! You obviously need it to if you're trying to take on a slime with basic physical attacks, haven't you ever played an RPG before!? Meanwhile the dirty sprout of broccoli is just staring at the ground like an idiot while I nearly get eaten by a gross slime!" That last bit almost sounded like a scared whine, not that she would ever admit it.

"So yes, I am here to assist you! Be very grateful a mighty general of the Demon King would deign to help some low level monster brats such as yourself. In return you will be my new vassals as we leave this filthy cave. Not just anyone gets to be the minions of such a high level boss such as myself. You were lucky to have been chosen." Of course none of this was true in the slightest, well, maybe she was a general of the Demon King. Who knows honestly. But as the old saying on Earth goes, fake it until you make it. And Mourningstar was going to be very good at faking it, she had a whole lifetime to practice from now on. Maybe she would get so good she could actually make it.

The Bonfire

---

@Renny@Lucius Cypher@Knox
“Oi!” Crispy yelled as Yoda began throwing firewood. “Dat be for my fire!” The flame touched goblin snarled and brandished his torch.

“He can take just one, Crispy.” The boss snorted as Yoda picked up a rounded stick about two feet long, with one knotted end where it had once been attached to a trunk.

1 Gnarled Branch added to inventory.
Would you like to exchange Hard Rock for Gnarled Branch (Attack power ^ / Weapon durability v)?

“Okay squirt, dat’s enuff!” The boss picked up Yoda by the scruff of the neck and set him down away from the wood. “Ya can’t have stuff like me til ya can go outside by yerself, and ya can’t do dat cause you a weakling snot! Now come on!”

“Rattleskull, none of em knows where da rats are.” Crispy pointed out. “The last times I saws—“

“Nah, I changed my mind.” Boss Rattleskull smirked, one fang poking out under his top lip. “Look over dere.”

Further off from the bonfire, the goblins could barely make out several shapes through the gloom. But they were clearly several creatures grouped together, and most of them seemed like the sleek, dark colored bodies of lizards crouched low to the ground. One was flying, but it wasn’t glowing, so it was probably a Pixie. And as the gobs watched, two differently colored slimes were joining the bunch.

“Even yous wimps can catch one outta a big bunch like dat, right?” He gestured at Yoda, Eric, and Orchid before crouching low himself, his long arms nearly dragging the ground. “Let’s go!” he whispered, at least compared to his usual volume of speech.

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The Mook Alliance

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@Tatsu@Old Amsterdam@Rune_Alchemist@CriticalHit@ReusableSword@Guy0fV4lor@Kazemitsu
As Jason and Asura practiced a little bit more before they left the pool, the red slime would find that if he let himself get low enough on HP for the System Warning to trigger—which took about three of the Stone Shots but significantly more of any non magical attack—that it took three whole Healing Herbs before his HP was full again. But once he had fully recovered, in about the time it took him to refill his inventory another message appeared.

You have learned the skill Blunt Resistance I!
You already possess the skill Physical Damage Resistance I. Damage Calculation Overlap will follow an order of priority: Any blunt-category attack will have its damage subtracted from Blunt Resistance I first, and any leftover damage will be subtracted from Physical Damage Resistance I’s threshold. However, if a single blunt-category attack consumes the Resistance threshold for both skills, Physical Damage Resistance I will NOT trigger on attacks from other categories. If ONLY Blunt Resistance I’s threshold is consumed, Physical Damage Resistance I will trigger against a second blunt attack, or other physical attacks. Acquiring Pierce Resistance and Slash Resistance will automatically cause Skill Synergy and raise Physical Damage Resistance by one rank regardless of Skill Progression.

It was probably just as well that the slimes stopped their training when they did, though—whether they noticed or not, the number of monsters harvesting larger amounts than usual of the Healing Herbs was starting to leave the green patches around the pool a little sparse…

As they joined the four Fanged Lizards and the one pixie, this little alliance seemed like it might be a real force to be reckoned with. Would any of them realize that despite their differences, they all had one big thing in common…?

Perhaps. But that realization might need to wait until after they resolved another issue coming from the direction of the bonfire...

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The Exit

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@Gobby@Duoya
As Puck fell, he managed to cast Shield three times before his MP ran out. And three times before he hit the ground, a falling rock struck him. Luckily it seemed they didn’t have enough momentum yet to do more than jarringly shake and toss him about through the defensive spell, but they interfered with his ability to right himself and get his wings moving. The ground rushed up at him—and a split second later he managed to fly, slowing down hard enough for a landing that only numbed his legs and seemed to reverberate through every hollow bone in his body.

Then the last rock to fall clonked him over the head.

WARNING! Your HP is low!

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Elsewhere

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@King Cosmos@Gardevoiran@Legion02@UltraCraftGames@floodtalon

As Jacob cast a Shield spell on their new ally, a worrying thing happened.

((Is he calling himself Oberon yet?))
You have no MP remaining.

Luckily, the shield wouldn’t be immediately used up like it was the last two times, as Mourningstar managed to dodge the purple slime and hit it with another salvo of magic. But while she intended to use two shots of Mana Orb, she only got one.

You have no MP remaining.

Still the slime let out a warbling yelp as a chunk of its body splattered on the wall from the magic bolt. It seemed to quiver and tremble now, and began to head back towards the crack in the wall it had oozed out of…

As Digbie felt the vibrations passing through the earth around him, the sensation was very similar to a certain animated character associated with being blind and manipulating earth with supernatural martial arts. Only his senses weren’t quite that detailed—yet he could feel, as they all moved around and yelled and water flowed somewhere underground, that one of the stalagmites on the ground near his hole had been loosened around its base thanks to his digging, and it was wobbling it’s way a little looser every time something shook it. It had a very sharp tip and was narrow despite being about a foot long…
***
As Peter conducted another set of experiments, he found that he couldn’t really “burn” anything with his Mana Orb, though it must have been putting out some kind of heat because it was clear that the Dire Rat’s fur was singed at the tips. But keeping the magical light orb in contact with the fur did not create a spark or light a fire. It sometimes gave off a crackling sound like electricity, but it certainly wasn’t a form of that type of energy either. And with Peter’s past life being one unfamiliar with technology and education, even his abnormally crystal clear memories couldn’t provide him with much information that might help him out. To find an answer to his desires, it soon became clear he would either need to try a whole host of creative experiments, or seek outside help somehow.

But would he get the opportunity to do that?

“Oi, it’s dat Wisp again!”

Four goblins began to approach, and two of them were some of the ones that Peter had attacked earlier. All of them were carrying wooden pickaxes now.

“Ya still after dese crystals, huh!?” one snarled. “Ya betta git if’n ya don’t wants us to kills ya!” The others sneered and laughed. If Peter looked beyond them he might see that a large section of the cave wall in the direction they had come from was picked clean. And though Peter might not know it, several other monsters had been using the crystals more than usual. Between the Goblins mining for Crispy, Peter himself, and who knew who else, it seemed the caves might not have enough crystals to go around...

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Digbie looked straight at the stalagmite that was wobbling, and ran over to it. As he ran, he tossed his rock at the spike's base to try and break it loose. Though his aim was off, he managed to clip the side of the rock and broke the spike free, the rock falling to the side and laying on the ground just in time for Digbie to grab it as he ran towards the slime.

Yelling out a mighty roar, Digbie took the new and mighty spike in both of his hands and shoved it directly towards the slime as it began to squirm back up into the hole Digbie assumed it came from. "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE!" Unfortunately, the goblin tripped before he made it to the slime, but the momentum he had still sent the stalagmite flying towards the slime with a very similar amount of force, even if it was decreasing as it flew. He lifted his torso off the ground as he watched the spike fly. "O-oops."