@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Guy0fV4lor@CriticalHit@ReusableSword@Kazemitsu - Mook Alliance
@Renny@Lucius Cypher@Knox - The Goblins

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Ah, Ash really wished her companions didn't act so hostile. You attracted more flies with honey as they say. Being threatening would only get you so far - the best way to get people to do what you wanted was to be nice to them and make them think its what they wanted. No matter though. The Pixie seemed convinced enough to join them anyways, taking a leap off the stalactite and falling towards them. Satisfied, she turned to face Ash and Ryuu.

"Well, I'm glad we're all on the same page-!?" She hissed as the Pixie landed on her back. "Do I look like A horse to you!?" She shouted rather irritably. At least he didn't seem concerned with loot or some such if they could kill Crispy, but before she could further argue with the impish fey creature, Ryuu had a brief altercation with a slime that seemed ready to approach them...it was the same one that she interacted with earlier, and apparently it could speak too. Well how quaint.

"Well...hello again, green slime." She greeted. "Thank you earlier for your amicability. I didn't think you could speak and I was eager to start my experiments." She mused, tapping her claws lightly. "Perhaps this could be a great opportunity for us all. I am Ash - Alchemist...and we're discussing a potential plan to deal with the goblins. Care to join us? A slime would be a welcome asset." She tilted her head to look up at the Pixie on top of her. "And you, pixie, get off me."

Despite his battered, bruised, and fatigued state along with the dizziness and splitting headache he was experiencing, Puck couldn't help but remain smiling. It was perfectly clear that he was an innately cheerful person, but this was getting weird. He was a fighter, at least metaphorically. We get that, but it was as if he was enjoying the struggle he was going through way more than he should have.

Picking himself up, with one hand cupping his head around the area he caught the falling rock with, Puck continued to move forward. Giggling as his wings began to flutter, lifting him off the ground for a few seconds before being forced back down.

This cycle of flying and walking continued, all the while as he was attempting to cast some of his healing magic.

With the cloud of dust gradually dissipating, Puck moved forward, hoping to find out what had happened to the exit he had hoped to cross. And I guess the goblins too; hopefully they're both dead or something.

@Zeroth

Asura watched the lizards interact with the still unnamed green slime. They weren't hostile but were in fact welcoming. This didn't make him lower his guard at all, this was how sales people got you before they robbed you of as much as they could. He stayed nearby but he didn't actively move towards the lizards, sole pixie, and the other slime. If he was needed the green one could yell for him. For now he examined himself. He got a new skill, Blunt Resistance 1! Considering most of the enemies in the cave were probably unarmed he imagined not much slashing or piercing being done.

Still as much of a tank as he could be it didn't hurt to get a higher attack capability. He had already attacked before, all he had was his body. He didn't want to copy the green slime, never mind the fact he never was one for ranged combat. Moving over to a rock he thought to himself for a minute. All he could do was shoot out a pseudopod or shift himself in such a way that he used his full mass. He tried going with the second bit. Shifting his liquid self back and keeping an 'anchor' to pull himself forward into the harder hit. This would be so much easier if he had picked goblin, at least they had arms and legs damn it...still maybe he could get something out of this.

"NO! Don't let it get away, we need the XP!" She cried out as she attempted to fire off another Mana Orb to stop the Slime. She was met by what appeared to be a system message telling her she was out of MP, meaning she was going to need to delay the Slime for a moment while she made a dash for a nearby crystal. She wouldn't be able to lift the Goblin and throw him unfortunately, her Lesser Force wasn't strong enough to do so. This left her with one option left, luckily she had a shield up. After these thoughts ran through her head, she raced towards the Slime and charged directly into it, slamming into it with all of her weight in an attempt to kill the thing. Hopefully this happened after the javelin collided with the slime, otherwise she was going to find out just how much it hurt to be impaled.

Ardur The Pixie

A Lizard Attack Plan >>>> Danger Abound /// week 2 // Daylight?

Ardur listened and watched carefully at what was happening around them. The lizard that called itself Ash seemed rather intelligent and possibly just a bit manipulative compared to the others. The others were either silent or aggressive but still didn’t outright attack anyone, new friends then. For now with the absence of anything better to do he will continue to play along with this little game.

Ash didn’t seem to like him being on her. The pixie could feel the lizard’s muscles tense under his feet and her voice sounded rather annoyed. “But I’m sure you would be a mighty steed.” He said with a smile, her comment about a horse took him a moment to register. “How do you know what a horse is?” the wheels in his head were turning as he tried to figure out what just happened until his instincts started to kick in.

The cave was actually quiet for once, a strange occurrence normally the goblins were making all kinds of noise and ruckus. It was strange. So strange that for a moment he wasn’t even paying attention to the lizards or what Ash was talking about or the fact that she had addressed him again. Carefully the Pixie moved off of Ash and made his way towards the side of the little gathering away from the middle of the group but away from the direction of the bonfire. Honestly he figured the goblins were like toddlers, if they were being quiet they must be up to something.

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

The longer Orchid was here, the more uncertain and uneasy she got. While she was considering joining these goblins for her own well-being, it was fairly obvious these guys were primitive at best. She didn't know much about goblins even in her regular life, aside that they're fantasy creatures, short, and typically butt ugly. So far that seems spot on. But the way some were looking at her, and their general attitude... Frankly, Orchid didn't see a good future with them. At best she'll just be a hunter or something and have to just follow orders until she dies. Worse, she'll be made into some sort of sex slave. It wasn't a thought she wanted to dwell on, but ever since they talked about breeding it was a big concern.

And then they found prey. A mishmash of other creatures, lizards, flying things, and other stuff that Orchid wasn't able to identify. Bot her instincts were against her; part of her wanted to just abandon these goblins and try to survive on her own. Another part of her was thinking that maybe if she plays her cards right, she can make the best of this crazy situation. Once more Orchid felt herself stuck in a video game simulation. This was obviously the part of the game where she has to learn how to fight, the tutorial mode of sorts. She was suppose to fight these things so she learns how to survive.

But Orchid was never actually good at video games. And frankly, something else was awakening within her. Something dark and selfish. Treachery. "Goddamn. Why am I still naked? I'm not going to fucking fight anyone with just this stick." And frankly, this boss goblin had some interesting stuff. One of the other goblins, the one who wanted her stick the first time, he made a good point; they needed better equipment. And that boss goblin had good equipment. She had no love for the stranger and frankly this entire group disgusted her. So she was going to try and steal something from him and escape as soon as she can. As orchid crept alongside the other goblins she looked for a nice rock she could throw. Just in case she needed a range option, and more importantly, if she can device some way or trap to incapacitate the goblin boss. Maybe some loose stones or making him fall off a cliff or into a deep pool of water.

@Renny@Zeroth

It looked like that was going to be his last Shield for now, at least until he found another mana crystal; hopefully it would be enough to let the Wisp finish off the Slime. It certainly looked like the fight was in their favour, the next blast of magic sending chunks of slime spraying all over the wall and stopping the creature in its tracks. The Slime began to quiver and seemed to be second guessing getting involved in this fight, as a one-sided hunt suddenly turned into a 3-on-1 battle. Or at least 2-on-1 with Jacob cheering from the side-lines.

The Slime turned and retreated deeper into the crevice, climbing the wall towards a crack in the rock that it must have used to ambush him in the first place. Jacob was perfectly fine with letting the thing go; after all, all three of them had been smacked around by the Slime and now that he was out of MP for healing and shielding he wasn’t exactly eager to keep fighting.

The Wisp, however, had other ideas and raced off after the Slime while shouting about lost XP. And suddenly, it occurred to Jacob what it was that had been bothering him about what the Wisp was saying. XP, RPG’s, low level monsters; he was so used to hearing that kind of talk from his gaming group that it never struck him as odd, but the monsters here shouldn’t know anything about that sort of thing. What’s more, she had described herself as a ‘Mighty General of the Demon King’.

Could there be others like him in this world? Was it possible other people from his world had been chosen after death to be resurrected as monsters? Or rather, did he really think that the Demon King had chosen him and him alone?

“W-wait. Are you from Earth? Hey!”

Jacob flew after the Wisp, suddenly forgetting about the Slime altogether as he sought answers. If there was another person, if someone else had been brought here, then there must be more, maybe dozens. They could be in this cave as well.

@floodtalon@Gardevoiran@Zeroth

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So, the Pixie was staying, a slime seemed helpful while the other seemed a little odd, and they had the lizards. This could really -

Movement from the corner of her vision, and a barely noticeable, insidious smell, made her turn. Was that... They were near the bonfire, but one was rather large. And... Were they moving in this direction?

One thing she had learned in the streets is to never assume coincidence. If it seemed like it was, then it fucking was.

"Big guy and some small ones seem like they're heading this way. He look big. Really big. Problem?" Her speech was broken from nerves, her tongue flitting in and out, as she began backing away slowly. "I'm sneaky. Can try to distract?"

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Guy0fV4lor@CriticalHit@ReusableSword@Kazemitsu - Mook Alliance
@Renny@Lucius Cypher - The Goblins

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"I've seen one before, obviously." Ash sighed at the Pixie who had asked a really stupid question...wait, actually, how would it know what a horse is?...He couldn't be much older than her current incarnation. That was odd. Really odd. In fact, the Pixie had been making some rather odd statements since he had showed up. For now she'd write it off as coincidence - they had more trouble incoming. Ash's eyes narrowed, emerald green slits gazing into the darkness where Rain was looking. Studying the scene for a few seconds, she came to a single conclusion - they were gonna have bad times.

"Slimes. Ardur." She hissed quietly over to her new compatriots, skittering closer to them so they could hear her but still keep her voice low. She wasn't confident that they could fight a big goblin by themselves even with numbers. Maybe if they could have some clever tactics, but as it stood they weren't going to be having a fun time. "You three get out of here. Fighting that big Goblin is going to be suicide." She turned her head quickly to Rain and Ryuu. "The three of us will distract them for only a few moments. We'll meet up again later, further from the bonfire. I have things I'd like to discuss about all of us." Whether they accepted that plan of action of course, was all on them, but it seemed to be the best course of action for now. She was confident in their ability to distract while the others escaped and flee soon after.

No response? Perhaps it's not the talkative sort... I guess I did just kind of threaten it though... Ryuu thought to himself as he turned away from the slimes and paced back to his former position.

Starngely enough, one of their number seemed to know the green slime he'd so brazenly antagonized. It seemed that the pixie was not finished toying with the group as it had taken up a position upon Ash's back, something that elicited a glare from Ryuu but nothing more. Ardur, or whatever the sprite's name was seemed to be more than happy in assisting the cabal of lizards in their plot to extinguish Crispy. Despite his own internal doubts of the winged trickster's intent, allies were allies in a place such as this.

Besides, with four of them, the pixie would not stand a chance should he choose to betray. Let's hope it doesn't need to come to that.

Rain's warning caught the attention of Ryuu and he too saw what the other lizard had noticed. At least two silhouettes with one being drastically larger than the other were on approach, the sight of the large one bringing a sense of tension to the green scaled reptile. He could feel every muscle he possessed grow yet tenser as the Goblins continued their dreaded advance towards their gathering. He didn't know why, but Ryuu found it very difficult to so much as move in this situation. Was this it? The end of his second chance at life? Panic threatened to tear through him and reduce him to base instinct, fight and flight impulses raging against one another for dominance. Then Ash's voice broke through the chaos, restoring the fear-paralyzed Lizard to his senses.

She wanted him to help Rain in distracting the Greenskins long enough so that the slimes could make a hasty retreat. It was true that they were much slower, likely make for easier prey. Where as the lizards had an advantage in speed and their small, concealable frames. If he were to get the attention of some of the hunting party, there was a chance they could all make it out! Taking a deep breath, Ryuu looked to his scaled brethren and spoke.

" Alright then... I'll get their attention. I'm trusting that i won't be alone in this though. Once we've shook the Gobs I'll start looking for you two. See you then I guess."

Quickly, he skulked his way to the edge of the gathering, and found a spot that provided him with decent cover thanks to a nearby rock. From this angle he could see the Goblins getting ever closer, and Ryuu knew he needed to grab their attention quickly. Steeling his courage and calming his nerves he prepared to strike. Filling his gullet with venom once more he launched the caustic blob towards one of the smaller greenskins, even if he'd miss they'd be sure to notice that! Channeling whatever primal territorial instincts he could manage, Ryuu leapt from his hiding place and hissed as loudly as he could possibly manage at the group of hunters. Giving them a chance to realize what had just attempted to attack them, before running as fast as his scaly legs could carry him away from the rest of the gathered monsters.

@Zeroth@Rune_Alchemist@Old Amsterdam@ReusableSword@Kazemitsu@Guy0fV4lor@Renny@Lucius Cypher

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@Lucius Cypher

1 Sharp Rock added to Inventory.
Would you like to exchange Sharp Stick with Sharp Rock? (Attack power =, Weapon Durability ^)

Orchid did indeed find a nice rock she could throw--it was a bit rounded on one side, but had been worn down on the other until it almost had an edge like a axe head or something. She could either throw it, or hold it in her hand as a weapon.

It seemed this other youngling, Yoda, was offering to protect and work together with her. Was he just being nice, or trying to woo her? And would Orchid notice that his speech was very well put together for a goblin? They certainly didn’t seem intelligent thus far, and Yoda was as “young” as she was...Could he be…?

But as she, Yoda, Eric, and Rattleskull approached the little group it looked like at least one of the Fanged Lizards had noticed them, and the others were starting to get tense. If the goblins didn’t act soon, their prey might scatter…!

“Go already!” hissed Rattleskull--just as a glob of poison arced through the air at them! One of the lizards jumped up on a rock, bearing those razor sharp fangs and hissing its battlecry...

@Renny
As Yoda offered to protect Orchid and encouraged them to work together, Rattleskull made a “tch” sound.

“Dun worry bout protectin’ nobody.” the boss growled out of the corner of his mouth in a low voice. “Focus on gettin’ yer kill. If’n some other gob dies it’s they own faults.” With one big, rough hand, he shoved Yoda further forward in front of the group. It looked like some of the Fanged Lizards had noticed them, and the others were getting tense. If the goblins didn’t act soon, their prey might scatter…!

“Go already!” hissed Rattleskull--just as a glob of poison arced through the air at them! One of the lizards jumped up on a rock, bearing those razor sharp fangs and hissing its battlecry…

@Knox
After pushing Yoda to the forefront of the group, Rattleskull hissed for them to go and attack already before the prey could scatter----just as a glob of poison arced through the air at them! One of the lizards jumped up on a rock, bearing those razor sharp fangs and hissing its battlecry. Then the boss turned around and looked at the other two. Noticing that Eric had been hanging back this whole time, the furry monster took a long stride around the edge of the group before booting the unfortunate goblin right in his backside.

“Quitcher lazin’ about! Hunt!”

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@CriticalHit
As Ryuu got closer, he heard the goblins seemingly bickering amongst themselves. Just as he climbed up on the rock to attack them, he would see the big one shoving one of the others forward, and as he lobbed his Poison Spit the boss kicked another one. Time seemed to slow down immensely as the glob of venom arced through the air. Would it hit? If it did, would it do anything? Would they pay any attention to him? If not, what would happen to his newfound friends…?

@ReusableSword
As the Pixie moved to a better vantage point, he could see that Crispy had not left his bonfire, but that four figures were moving towards the collection of monsters. One of them was far bigger, and hairier, than anything he had seen in the cave--and it was wearing armor and carrying a more sophisticated looking weapon than just sticks or rocks. The other three were all armed in various degrees, but they looked young and inexperienced. As the pixie watched, he would see one of them hold back--a female, from the looks of it--while the big hairy one roughly shoved and kicked the two young males forward. The most active of the males looked like he was carrying a big stick with a knot on the end of it in both hands, while the other either didn’t have anything, or his weapon was something small and not easy to see. Maybe a stone blade of some sort, or just his bare fists.

One of the lizards took up the attack at Ash’s urging for them to serve as a distraction. But it didn’t seem likely it would intimidate all of the goblins, especially not that big one. And they would be coming any minute…!

@Old Amsterdam
Rain was apparently the most alert of the lizards, as she immediately reacted to the shadows in her peripheral and the musky smell drifting over the air. As she looked, four figures were moving towards the collection of monsters. One of them was far bigger, and hairier, than anything she had seen in the cave--and it was wearing armor and carrying a more sophisticated looking weapon than just sticks or rocks. The other three were all armed in various degrees, but they looked young and inexperienced. As the lizard watched, she would see one of them hold back--a female, from the looks of it--while the big hairy one roughly shoved and kicked the two young males forward. The most active of the males looked like he was carrying a big stick with a knot on the end of it in both hands, while the other either didn’t have anything, or his weapon was something small and not easy to see. Maybe a stone blade of some sort, or just his bare fists.
As Ash formulated a strategy, Ryuu was the first to act on it. But just one Poison Spit probably wouldn’t stop all of them, especially not that big one. And they would be coming any minute…!

But that meant that the one called Crispy might be alone, next to the bonfire…

@Rune_Alchemist
Ash only became aware of the enemies approaching when Ardur began to move further away from the group and Rain suddenly began peering into the growing darkness of the cave.

Four figures were moving towards the collection of monsters. One of them was far bigger, and hairier, than anything she had seen in the cave--and it was wearing armor and carrying a more sophisticated looking weapon than just sticks or rocks. The other three were all armed in various degrees, but they looked young and inexperienced. As the lizard watched, she would see one of them hold back--a female, from the looks of it--while the big hairy one roughly shoved and kicked the two young males forward. The most active of the males looked like he was carrying a big stick with a knot on the end of it in both hands, while the other either didn’t have anything, or his weapon was something small and not easy to see. Maybe a stone blade of some sort, or just his bare fists.

The product of all her hard work at Alchemy still sat at the bottom of the stone bowl, a single Poison Tainted Mana Crystal. If these goblins were approaching them, that might mean Crispy was all alone at the bonfire--but she chose to prioritize her new allies first, quickly coming up with a plan of action. But if they were going to execute it, they needed to do so soon--Ryuu was the first to take off, launching an attack all by himself. But it didn’t seem likely the Poison Spit would slow all of them down, especially not that big one. And they would be coming any minute…!

@Kazemitsu
While practicing his abilities was all well and good, would Asura notice the creatures getting closer to their little gathering? And could he hear Ash’s plan?

"Slimes. Ardur." She hissed quietly over to her new compatriots, skittering closer to them so they could hear her but still keep her voice low. "You three get out of here. Fighting that big Goblin is going to be suicide." She turned her head quickly to the other lizards. "The three of us will distract them for only a few moments. We'll meet up again later, further from the bonfire. I have things I'd like to discuss about all of us."

With that said, it was now up to Asura to decide what he would do, but he had better make that decision quick, as one of the lizards had already chosen to engage…!

@Guy0fV4lor
"Slimes. Ardur." One of the lizards was hissing at him and Asura, skittering closer to them so they could hear her but still keep her voice low. "You three get out of here. Fighting that big Goblin is going to be suicide." She turned her head quickly to the other lizards. "The three of us will distract them for only a few moments. We'll meet up again later, further from the bonfire. I have things I'd like to discuss about all of us."

His fellow slime--his brother actually, though whether or not he had realized they had both split from the same motherly mass had yet to be seen--was apparently practicing some kind of attack on a rock. Had he even noticed yet that they were apparently being hunted?

Whatever they were going to do about this situation, it would need to be done fast…!

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@Duoya

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@Gobby
It turned out, in fact, that both of the goblins were dead, either crushed under the weight of the rocks or impaled by the sharp points of falling stalactites.

The bodies are carrying the following loot:
1 Sharp Stick (Unequippable)
1 Sharp Stick (Unequippable)
1 Healing Herb (Half-eaten)
1 ??? Hide

However, though the guards were taken care of, there was now another obstacle in Puck’s way.

The cave’s exit had not been entirely blocked off, but it had been made much less stable. There were still holes here and there, near the top, betwixt the rubble that a small creature might be able to fit through. But the rocks didn’t look at all settled--just one wrong move, one slip up, might cause them to fall on him again, or close up around him. In addition to this, the light from outside was starting to disappear, making it even harder to see and even riskier to try and navigate the pile of stones.

As Puck waited, it felt like his MP was slowly going back up...but it was very slow. If he couldn’t find a crystal, he might need to take an extended rest of some sort. Keeping himself moving was a good way to keep himself from falling asleep, since he might possibly have a concussion, but he certainly couldn’t take a breather while doing that…

As the red rays of what must have been sunset bled through the rocks, one of the newly revealed rock layers nearby glimmered with something new...

---

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@Gardevoiran
By the grace of the Demon King, or just pure dumb luck, Digbie’s throw hit home! The stone spike speared the slime all the way through! It gave a loud squeal mixed with the sound of a balloon that has been let go as its flight came to halt. When the Wisp crashed into it, she “popped” it, and now found herself covered in rapidly melting goo as the creature lost whatever consistency usually held it together.

They had done it! Working together, this unlikely party had defeated their opponent--and although they were all beginner monsters, this seemed like a rather notable feat. Slimes, after all, had been the “toughest” of the monsters according to the information the Demon King had given them. It probably wasn’t easy to take them down. So with his newfound experiences, and possibly allies, what would Digbie do next?

@King Cosmos
For the first time, Jacob realized he might not be alone in his predicament. Could this Wisp be like him? Born on Earth, dead, and then reborn in this new world with all its odd creatures and strange rules? Could she tell him any way to get by, or any new information that might help him towards his goals? Were they the only two? What were the chances of the others all being in this same cave?

The only way to find out would be to ask Mourningstar, who conveniently hadn’t flown away yet as she was covered in goop from the Slime they had just killed.

Had it been a former human as well?

@floodtalon
Luckily, the stone spike killed the slime before she ever made contact with it. Unluckily, dead slimes apparently could not retain their shape. As the Wisp crashed into it, she found herself covered in quickly melting goop that dripped all over her body and soaked through the odd, filament-like fur she was covered in under the glowing lights.

And now the Pixie was speaking to her.

“W-wait. Are you from Earth? Hey!” he called, as he zoomed up to her in the puddle of slime.

Asura continued to try and make his only attack more powerful. The anchor worked but he had to figure out how to move his liquid form to make the impact hit at maximum velocity. It was like winding up for a haymaker but also not quite. Humans are roughly seventy-three percent water but they're stupidly solid. This jelly body is hard to work with... He thought as he 'splatted' against the rock again with a liquid thump.

One of the lizards from the mook council approached and gave the slower two a warning that goblins and something bigger was coming. "Stay out of melee range, you lot are squishy." He replied before things got started with the lizards. He looked to the other slime who was still just a blob. "Sink or swim, time to get rolling." He stated before he lost his slime-man form and seemed to turn into blob.

He was already getting good at changing and morphing his body. He wasn't an expert but making and maintaining his blob-man form was good training. Now in blob form he was able to firm up a smidgen but not enough to actually keep a sphere. He's more like a flat tire but still he was able to start rolling away. Just not as fast as he wished but it was faster than the pseudopods and his undulating motions earlier. Despite fleeing he kept an 'eye' on the lizards behind him in case one of them needed assistance from a tank.

Ardur The Pixie

Danger Abound >>>> Targets incoming /// week 2 // Dusk?

It would seem that gathering together like this was quite dangerous. At least his instincts held true for the most part about moving to the other side of the group. Ash did reply to his question but did it in a way that seemed rather rude and sarcastic. The pixie didn’t waste too much more time on the subject as they were being hunted. Instead, he continued to fly up higher and get a better view of what approached.

He could see them now from his higher vantage. They didn’t seem to bother with hiding, a trait commonly shared with beings who believed that they were at the top of the food chain. He could make out 5 distinct figures, 4 smaller child sized creatures, and one big one who seemed to be either wearing black fur or had black fur as well as clothes, armor maybe, and a few primitive weapons. If he knew anything about video games and fantasy adventures he was fairly certain that this guy would be a boss of some kind.

“Be advised!” Ardur shouted out. “Looks like one big bad boss monster and maybe four minions!” again the pixie shouted as he began to make his way toward the relative safety of the ceiling. He normally didn’t talk like this, but he did play some tactical computer games in his down time. “I do recommend we make like hockey sticks and get the puck out of here!” Another shout as he was almost at a safe place. A small target moving rapidly towards the ceiling would be a hard shot for anyone of those goblins below him.

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

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Rune_Alchemist@CriticalHit@ReusableSword@Kazemitsu - Mook Alliance
@Renny@Lucius Cypher - The Goblins

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Though he had just barely joined this 'alliance' of sorts, it would appear that this was not to last, as goblins were heading in their direction. Seeing some sort of purple crystal in the middle of the group, he quickly, (and carefully) picked it up. "I trust you all can fend for yourselves, Godspeed my new allies, I will await the regroup near the pool!" Jason quietly hissed to the group before rushing into the darkness, making his way to the pool.

Once he reached the pool, Jason had a revelation, could the others perhaps be fellow 'heroes'? If so, such an alliance would be invaluable to future survival, but first, they needed a secluded space to converge; away from the prying eyes of goblins. Finding a fair sized crack in the wall, Jason picked up a stone and began chiseling away into the rock.

As time passed, chiseling away at the rock, Jason's mind began to wander, eventually settling on his strange new power. Since his new magic was in attunement with the earth, could he perhaps learn to control earth through similar magics?

Perhaps...

Taking a break from chiseling, Jason took the chance to meditate, preparing to use [Stone Shot]. However, rather than firing, he was focusing on how his 'MP' interacted with the rock; how it ebbed, and flowed. Getting a feel for this flow of energy, Jason began to reach into the the earth and stone around him, searching for a similar resonance. If he wanted to stand a chance in this world, Jason needed to expand his newfound power, and come hell or high water, he would do exactly that.

---

Digbie fist-pumped as the slime was defeated, but his spirits were quickly redirected as he heard the familiar sound of one certain place. One place he was sure he wasn't on anymore. Earth. How did the Pixie know about Earth? Digbie could ask the same with how the Wisp knew about simple D&D Mechanics. Digbie knew stats and XP, because he played it once for character creation and he wanted to learn about the game and play it, but he could never actually play it because of Dad. Maybe they're both like him, people hired by a Demon King to achieve some goal? There was only one way to find out, and this time it didn't involve digging.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Earth? I'm from Earth!" Digbie said happily. "I don't suppose you two are as well? It'd be kind of crazy if you guys were."

“W-wait. Are you from Earth? Hey!” Oh hey, he's from Earth too. Those were the thoughts that ran through Mourningstar's brain just as she collided into the already dead slime. The next thoughts as she she was covered in the slime were very vulgar and angry as she tried to wipe herself off with Lesser Force. She got as much off as she could before gathering her thoughts and getting ready to speak before the dumb goblin also spoke up with an interesting tidbit of information.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Earth? I'm from Earth! I don't suppose you two are as well? It'd be kind of crazy if you guys were." Alright, looks like she wasn't the only one contracted by the Goblin King. So the original Earth is a war torn land speech wasn't going to work most likely. Okay, let's just go with the flow in that case.

"Yes, I am from Earth. I was someone very important, but that doesn't really matter anymore because that person is... well. You probably know since you guys are here too." It was a sobering thought and you could hear it in her voice. Admitting she was dead was a bit of a hard pill to swallow, but it was just a fact. A very depressing fact that made her want to cry, but crying in front of others was going to make her look bad. "A-anyways. I'm here now, so past lives mean nothing. All that matters here is power, I was called upon by the Demon King so I need to grow strong. Strong enough to leave this damned cave and make my way to the Demon King's castle or wherever he resides. You two are lucky, for I have decided you will accompany in my rise. Be grateful, it's not every day you get to see a Ruler's beginning!" She injected as much confidence into her speech as she could, hoping to inspire these people to follow her and protect her. As Mourningstar finished she turned to the Goblin and Pixie, hoping she looked regal and intimidating despite the fact that she was covered in slime. God this is gross.

"So to start, we need to clear out this cave. All the monsters in here are easy experience for us, if we're lucky we can get strong enough to leave the cave with confidence in two, maybe three days." With that Mourningstar began to float to a nearby crystal to recharge her mana, still trying to get as much slime off of her as possible. At one point she tasted some on the off chance that maybe it could be used as a food source. That would be nice. Oh fuck that's disgusting, but she swallowed it anyways. Hopefully it wouldn't kill her.

"Oh yeah. You should probably tell me your names now so I don't have to continue calling you Pixie and Goblin. As you know, I am Mourningstar. The light that all see before as they breathe- wait, no. Shit, I fucked up the speech. I need to work on that."

@Renny@Lucius Cypher - The Goblins

---

It seemed they were in agreement then.

Ash hurried after Ryuu, taking a different approach to the goblins. Slinking along the ground, she quietly made her way across the ground until she found a nice stalagmite to climb onto. Scaling up the stone structure slightly, she had a good vantage point of the gathered goblins. Well, as good of a vantage point a small lizard like her could possibly have over something twice her size. She watched the scene quietly from her hopefully hidden position. Ryuu did an admirable job, and if that didn't get his attention nothing would.

As soon as Ryuu dashed off to hopeful safety, Ash made her move and targeted the smaller goblins. Filling her mouth with venom, she lobbed a ball right when they would hopefully be chasing after Ryuu. Deciding not to be done, she filled her mouth a second time in as quick of succession as she could manage before firing a second. Her aim here wasn't to directly damage, but poison, but two shots were all she was going to go for.

She hopped off the stalagmite, hitting the ground and scurrying away hopefully before even being seen. If the goblins did get poisoned, it would definitely hinder how far they could search and move.

---

Rain nodded in satisfaction as the group mobilized, recognizing the incoming threat for what it was.

Ryuu made the first move, with Ash following up quickly with multiple volleys herself.

Rain, however, knew there needed to be the third advance.

Taking advantage of her natural ability to remain unseen, she scurried as quickly as she could around the goblins and the massive thing with them. Up close it was similar to a goblin, but it very obvious wasn't an actual goblin.

Once she was behind them, uncomfortably close to remain further from Crispy and the camp, she struck.

Coming in hot she bit down upon the back of the big thing's left ankle, hopefully sinking fangs into flesh, before she took off. With any luck she could remain undetected through it all, but she wasn't about to stick around if anyone gave her any notice.

One thing was for certain, though. She needed to become stronger. If she wanted to take out Crispy, and eventually that big thing, she needed to be more.

But first thing first... She needed to survive long enough to get away from that thing!

“You’re both from Earth as well?” Jacob caught up with the Wisp after it had crashed into the Slime, though luckily was far back enough to avoid the cascading wave of fluids that it expelled on death. He fluttered down until he landed on the floor of the crevice, standing between the flying Wisp and the Goblin. “That’s amazing. I guess that means we’re all in the same boat.”

So he really wasn’t the only person who had been brought here; the Demon King had summoned at least two other people, and likely many more than that, to this world. And from the sounds of it they had received from the same speech that he did in that empty white void, head to the Demon King’s castle, and the same set of choices as well judging by their appearances.

So he wasn’t the only one. He’d kind of expected to be the only one. Though he still wasn’t convinced this whole situation was real, the way the Demon King sold it, it sounded like a one person kind of deal; a nobody dies in one world and is given a second chance at greatness in a world straight out of a fantasy novel or anime. He was pretty sure he remembered the phrase ‘chosen one’ being thrown around in there. Typical nerd fantasy and typically a solo venture, at least until the hero starts making friends with the locals anyway, then the motley crew could be assembled.

What did this mean then? Why did the Demon King summon all of them here? Or to be more precise, why summon more than one person and for that matter why place them all so close together at the start? It couldn’t just be coincidence that they all met each other like this. Did he intend for them to all work together?

A sudden curse snapped Jacob out of his reverie and he realised that the Wisp had been talking this whole time and he had missed all but the last part of it. “Wait, what was that? You want us to clear out this cave?” That seemed like a terrible idea for some reason, probably starting with the fact that the three of them had barely just managed to defeat one Slime and leading up to the fact that trying to approach this situation like it was a video game seemed like an easy way to get themselves killed.

“We can’t just go around killing everything; these aren’t just monsters from a video game, they’re living creatures... even if one did just try to eat me. I mean, what if there are more people like us here? For that matter, how do you even know experience works like that here? I know we keep getting these notifications but that’s not proof that this world works exactly like the games back home.”

Well, actually, it kind of was. But it wasn’t the kind of conclusive proof that would make Jacob comfortable with treating a bunch of living creatures as walking piles of experience. Although, it did give him kind of a dumb idea that he wanted to try out.

“Ok, can you guys just bear with me while I try something stupid? Urm, open menu… open start menu. Open… inventory?” Jacob felt like a fool, standing there saying these things like game commands trying to open some imaginary video game style status screen just based off of the notifications he had been seeing so far. “Open status menu? Open… character screen?” If on the off chance if did work however, it could provide a huge amount of useful information.

@floodtalon@Gardevoiran@Zeroth