Mourningstar sighed and did the closest thing she could to a headshake as she could, why did he have to be so right and so wrong at the same time? "You're wrong on two accounts. One, these are just monsters from a video game. Monsters who want to kill and eat us. Two, these notifications are complete proof that this world works like games and you know it." Yeah it's a shitty thing to say, but she isn't going to waste her second chance at life just because someone was a little squeamish. "Listen, I know this sounds horrible. But this is just how life is now. Survival of the fittest, we need to get stronger if we want to live. Same with every other monster here, except we're smarter than they are. And in case you've forgotten, these monsters have no problem with ending my second chance at life!" She sounded a little peeved as she said that last bit, visibly shaking. Whether it was fear or anger, not even she really knew.

Then Jacob started trying to open up menus. Mourningstar did her best eyeroll impression that she could, which was really hard honestly. She wanted a body, she was definitely going to have to try and evolve towards getting a body. "You know what's up right Goblin? It's kill or be killed around here and I don't want to die again. The first time sucked."

---

"Clearing out this cave?" Digbie started as he put his hand against the ground again, trying to use Tremor Sense I once again to see if there was any more movement around this cave the group was in. Hopefully they could use that to get with others like them (if there were any). "Two things, Mourningstar..." Digbie started before he went back over to the wall where his stalagmite was lodged in, attempting to get it back out of the wall in case he needed a weapon.

"Who made you leader of us? I'm not sayin' I wanna lead us forward through this cave, but I'm also not sayin' I want someone who talks me down as a leader." Digbie was blunt. Mourningstar was a competent Wisp for a beginning one, but she didn't seem all that kind in the grand scheme of things. Respect is one thing that a leader and their subordinates needs, and Digbie wasn't about to take orders from someone who treated him like dirty goblin, even if he was.

The Pixie began to speak about how there might be others in the cave similar to the group. "Pixie guy stole what I was gonna say. I don't doubt that we're the only people like us in this cave. The Demon King gave a lot of options for our starts, so maybe the other roles are being filled right now? What were they...?" Ah yes, Digbie forgot what the other starting spots were. This is why he had a bad grade in history. "That might've jus' been a random slime. I doubt that someone'd be that powerful if we're all just startin' out."

Digbie rubbed his hands together before he clenched the stalagmite with both hands. "Digbie's what I go by here. Don't gotta call me Goblin anymore, friends!" After speaking, Digbie gave the stalagmite one great tug as he tried to dislodge it for good. If it worked, he got a good melee weapon. If it didn't... maybe it'd shut up Mourningstar.

Orchid grunted as the other goblin had tried to convince her into some sort of partnership. She didn't care; in a few minutes she was going to betray all of them. She just kept focused on the dangers ahead. And sure enough danger came. Two lizards jumped towards them spitting some sort of sickening glob from their mouths. Orchid didn't need to know much about them to know she didn't want to get hit by them, so she jumped out of the way. More globs were launched at them so now Orchid knew these lizards could spit some sort of acid or poison. Definitely not good for her health.

"Maybe if I can capture one, I can tame it somehow." Orchid saw two of them running away so she decided to chase the last one. Hopefully she doesn't run into any more trouble, otherwise she'll have to try and talk her way out of it. Assuming these things could even understand her. Either way Orchid gave chase though she had already lost the little lizard. She kept looking though; either she'll find the lizard or the lizard would find her.

@Rune_Alchemist

Most of the first week of Danny's second life was spent in autopilot and thanks to the Wisp's instincts that meant hanging out near the mana crystals. During the moments he was able to concentrate he wondered how the nearby plants got enough sun to grow, but his curiosity never got strong enough to actually investigate.

Eventually though thanks to his brain fully developing and the obvious fact that that the number of crystals was rapidly decreasing he realized he needed to learn more about his new surroundings and abilities. He made a mental list of what he wanted to know, based on what he felt necessary and what was just curiosity. Did his new body have predators or natural enemies? From what he could tell it seemed unlikely, though both variations of humanoids he had seen were also using the crystals for something. Speaking of which what was so important about the glowing stones anyway? The other Wisps and the tiny winged humanoids seemed to drain something out of them, but it never happened when he touched one.

Despite his lack of fantasy knowledge his best guess was that somehow the crystals restored some kind of energy, and if true that would answer his question about the plants. Deciding to try it out he tired himself out by rising high as he could and then touching a crystal.

@Duthguy
Upon expending his MP through his spells--though it seemed Levitation used so little that it was barely noticeable--and touching one of the Mana Crystals, Danny instantly felt his energy return and received a System message (see other players for details) informing him that he had used a Mana Crystal and completely refilled his MP. So his guess had been correct!

But suddenly, a curved stick--not quite a boomerang, but certainly a good shape for throwing--whizzed past him to strike another crystal, causing it and the stick both to fall to the ground. A Goblin down below caught them, and drew the stick back with a cackling laugh as it took aim at the Wisp!

“I’mma getcha, shiny thing!” said the green urchin, before letting its weapon fly once more, this time directly at Danny.

@Old Amsterdam
“YEOWCH!”

Rattleskull had been extremely disappointed in his two sons. The girl, however--who he was pretty sure was not one of his offspring--actually showed moxie with a little encouragment, and had taken off after the prey. When she got a little rounder in the hips, he’d have to make sure she bore him some worthy sons for next time. But as he was distracted watching the younglings, he didn’t notice one of the lizards until its fangs were sinking into his achilles tendon.

His foot jerked away, but by that point Rain was already running. He turned and saw the tail end of the lizard disappearing, and pondered picking up a rock to chuck at it...but no. He checked his foot--it was bleeding, but he didn’t see the telltale signs of lizard poison he’d learned to look for in his years growing up in the cave. His resistance must have fought off the paralysis, then. He nodded to himself, then turned back to see if Orchid would have any luck of her own.

“Hmph. After I teach this youngling how to do things, I’mma kill two or three little scalies...” he growled to himself, using his other furry foot to rub the one that had been bitten. “Teach them to mess with me…”

Meanwhile, Rain could taste the blood on her fangs. She had definitely pierced the skin, and though that fur and flesh tasted terrible and smelled worse, she had felt her teeth go fairly deep. So she could at least hurt the boss, it wouldn’t be like one of those games where you level up enough and the enemy goes “tink” against your armor (even if the animation shows them slamming a lance through your chest).

@Kazemitsu

You have learned a new Skill!
Skill Gain: Limited Shapeshift I
By practicing the manipulation of your body, which Slimes are naturally predisposed for, you gained this skill. You cannot alter the total size, texture, or consistency of your body. You also cannot alter your body’s primary qualities--you cannot become “sharp” or “hard,” for example. At this level, complex structures are too difficult. But making yourself into a rolling sphere, a flat puddle, or shaping your pseudopods would all be possibilities, plus more. This skill consumes Stamina, not MP.

He wasn’t much faster than an average human’s jogging speed, but Asura suddenly found his tire-like shape becoming much more stable. He soon left the scuffle between Goblins and Lizards behind, but now where was he headed inside the cave…?

@Guy0fV4lor

1 Poison Tainted Mana Crystal added to Inventory
((From here on, feel free to use a system message yourself for adding inventory (or for other players, changing equipment) so long as the items you’re picking up/using have already been established as actually being available.))

After escaping the skirmish himself, our other resident slime began to practice with his newly acquired earthen magic. As Jason first practiced with simply picking up and moving rocks, he found that he could make virtually no use of any “tool” the way the goblins did--all his “chiseling” accomplished was making a repetitive clinking sound against the wall. He would probably need some way to manipulate his pseudopods for a better grip, if he wanted to see any results through this method.

Practicing and analyzing the process of his Stone Shot skill, however, provided much more useful insight. Jason learned that his MP was not “created” with the golden glow he had come to recognize as Earth-elemental power, but rather the raw energy he focused on the rock seemed to enter it, suffuse it, and then “become” Earth aligned. The further mechanics of this phenomenon eluded him at the moment, as he hadn’t done near enough experimentation yet and of course, had no real idea how magic actually worked in this world since it clearly didn’t obey physics like the Old World he had come from.

When Jason began sending his energy into the soil and stone directly underneath him, rather than a rock stored in his inventory, that too gave him a deeper insight. The energy seemed to work like a radar or sonar, traveling a certain distance and bouncing back to the slime, now filled with Earth affinity. It was a faint sensation, and he didn’t have any skill at reading it, but it seemed like these tremors were a little different depending on what they passed through--loose dirt, for instance, felt differently than solid rock. But would this help him with his magical goal? It was still too soon to tell.

You are experiencing a fast rate of Skill Progression.

At one point, however, one of his pulses of energy went deeper into the earth--not the ground, but into the walls alongside him. And when it came back, it still had that Earthy feeling to it, but there was something else too. It was like a mana crystal, but different…

@Gardevoiran

1 Stone Spike added to Inventory.
Stone Spike Equipped.

The stalagmite--or at least about a foot of it, fairly heavy but not too much so that it couldn’t be used to stab or bludgeon something--broke off in Digbie’s hands with a crunch. As he used his Tremor Sense, once again the world seemed to go black and white as vibrations came to him from different directions…

On the wall nearby, a random creature of some sort--from its size it might be a pixie, lizard, or rat, but Digbie couldn’t tell through the tremors yet--seemed to be resting on a ledge. It wasn’t producing many vibrations, so it wasn’t moving a whole lot.

But further away from there, Digbie picked up another signal seemingly at random--and this one was much stronger than the pixie even though the distance to it was greater. That was probably because there were three creatures creating vibrations that overlapped with each other and resonated as a stronger tremor--but they still had a light, wispy feel to them, like they were just barely brushing the ground in some sort of dance over and over.

As Mourningstar berated Jacob for his experiments and Digbie performed an experiment of his own, however, would any of the three see the lone Wisp slowly climbing to a higher altitude above them, almost near the ceiling of the cave? Like a hunter getting ready to take his shot (for that was exactly what the Wisp was doing) it took aim at the distracted pixie before letting out a crackling Mana Orb…!

@King Cosmos
“Urm, open menu…”

N̸̢̳͉͖͓̼̮̰͕̝̪͇̠̬̲͈͖̣̐͋̉ͅͅǪ̵̸̺͕͖͎̮̅ͦ̇ͯ̃̓̎͒̏̀̕ ̴̵̢̥̫̤̙̝̠̞̻͉̦̫̗́̅ͭͨ͟A̸̖̼̖̯͉͎̖̞̳̟̮͕̘͙͓͕ͤͦͫ̐͛̇̉̋̏̍́̀͘͜C̶͖̜̭̤̲̦͕͙͓̺͉̦͉̩̝͔̃͑͑̈́̓̚͞C̸̢̠̞̞̖͚̠͈͖͚͎̪͎̥̘̟̥̘͗ͦ̋͋͊̒̑͆ͭ͗͑̆́͑̆̕ͅẸ̵̢̛̹̻̯̺̮̼̬͍̻̙͙̩̟̠̩̝̑ͨͮ̌ͫ̉̂͒̾̊͛̚S̶͍̮̼̼̫͇͔͈̝̦̳̦̻̦͒ͩͨ̓͗ͭ̅̓̈̐̒̇ͪ͒͒̀̈͆͌͠͝S̴̴̛͈͉̬̜͓̬̫͇̟̳̜̔̀̂ͨ̓̄͛̒ͦ̓̋̔̃̚̕

“Open start menu.”

N̸̢̳͉͖͓̼̮̰͕̝̪͇̠̬̲͈͖̣̐͋̉ͅͅǪ̵̸̺͕͖͎̮̅ͦ̇ͯ̃̓̎͒̏̀̕ ̴̵̢̥̫̤̙̝̠̞̻͉̦̫̗́̅ͭͨ͟A̸̖̼̖̯͉͎̖̞̳̟̮͕̘͙͓͕ͤͦͫ̐͛̇̉̋̏̍́̀͘͜C̶͖̜̭̤̲̦͕͙͓̺͉̦͉̩̝͔̃͑͑̈́̓̚͞C̸̢̠̞̞̖͚̠͈͖͚͎̪͎̥̘̟̥̘͗ͦ̋͋͊̒̑͆ͭ͗͑̆́͑̆̕ͅẸ̵̢̛̹̻̯̺̮̼̬͍̻̙͙̩̟̠̩̝̑ͨͮ̌ͫ̉̂͒̾̊͛̚S̶͍̮̼̼̫͇͔͈̝̦̳̦̻̦͒ͩͨ̓͗ͭ̅̓̈̐̒̇ͪ͒͒̀̈͆͌͠͝S̴̴̛͈͉̬̜͓̬̫͇̟̳̜̔̀̂ͨ̓̄͛̒ͦ̓̋̔̃̚̕

These two attempts caused a sudden screeching, like static on a TV turned up too loud combined with feedback on a microphone combined with dial-up internet, and a rippling pain throughout Jacob’s skull.

“Open...inventory?”

This time, a sort of jingle.

You currently have no items in your Inventory.

“Open status menu?”

You are Fine.

“Open...character screen?”

As soon as he said it, the screeching started up again. But at the same time Jacob experienced a sudden flashback:

You died.

The crystal clear memory, the moment of your death, burns at the back of your vision in exquisite detail. In this image, time freezes and every minutia stands out for you to ponder at your leisure. Behind it, the rest of your memories stretch into infinity like an endless hall of mirrors. Somehow you know you will never forget any of it. Moments of bliss and despair, weakness and triumph alike, engraved into eternity.

It would seem that you are alone, in this “eternity.” Endless white stretches out in every direction. Yet you feel claustrophobic, as if sealed in a box waiting to be opened. You stand upon a floor, but to look down reveals no shadow nor footprint. You are not sure if the pristine, featureless expanse is light, or void. You have a body, but your eyes, nose, and every nerve may as well be nonexistent for all the perception they provide.

But your ears hear a voice.

“This one’ll do, too.”

Then the jingle.

Jacob "Oberon" Leach [+]

Name: Jacob “Oh, do I need a new name? How about Oberon?” Leach

Theme: N/A

Gender: Male

Species: Pixie

Appearance:


Goals: In the long term Jacob hopes to return home, even though his life wasn’t perfect back there. In the short term he will settle for simply surviving this nightmarish world he has found himself in.

Past Life: Jacob’s life was fairly average and therefore quite boring. A single child of an upper lower class family in an average American city, Jacob lived a simple life that most people would envy. He went to school, he had friends, he got good grades; his hobbies leaned more towards the nerdy side of things and he was kind of a geek, so there was some bullying but nothing too extreme.

Upon graduating Jacob was accepted to a decent university, the first person in his family to go, where he decided to try and turn his minor programming hobby into a computer science degree. He devoted himself to his studies and mostly avoided the kind of wild social life most students strive for; he was more likely to spend his Saturdays playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends than go to parties.

Four years later he left University, Bachelor’s degree in hand, and moved back home. He managed to get a job with relative ease, thanks to some connections his father had, though it was just a simple entry level gig at a large corporation. He spent the next couple of years in a cubical, an anonymous code monkey in a room full of many others, working away on various projects.

It was not a glamorous job, but he enjoyed it and at the same time knew it was only temporary. In another year or two he would either get a promotion or look for another job somewhere else, then start the process all over again as he slowly made his way up the corporate ladder. Eventually he’d get to the point where he had some control over what he worked on, maybe get himself promoted to technical lead at some big company or maybe even create his own start-up venture if he could get the funds and had a project he was passionate about.

It might not be the most exciting life, but Jacob was at least content with where he was, where he was going and felt he had a good grasp of what the future held for him.

Then he got hit by a car.

Abilities:
• Minor Heal I – Heals minor wounds, such as cuts, bruises and scrapes
• Lesser Flight I – Allows for flight over short distances at a walking pace
• Shield I – Creates a barrier around the target which offers minimal protection from damage. Breaks over time
• Magic Analysis I - After seeing a spell used you can only gain generalized information about it

Transformations: N/A

Inventory: None

You are experiencing a fast rate of Skill Progression.
You have an extreme migraine.

As Jacob was distracted with all of this, however, would he notice the lone Wisp slowly climbing to a higher altitude above them, almost near the ceiling of the cave? Like a hunter getting ready to take his shot (for that was exactly what the Wisp was doing) it took aim at the distracted pixie before letting out a crackling Mana Orb…!

@floodtalon
Even though she chewed them out a little for not going along with her plan, these so-called party members of hers seemed to stop paying attention to her entirely! What kind of insubordinate minions did the Demon King’s army keep these days? But, as she was the only one not focusing on some kind of skill or experiement, Mourningstar had the best chance of seeing what was about to occur.

The lone Wisp slowly climbed to a higher altitude above them, almost near the ceiling of the cave. Like a hunter getting ready to take his shot (for that was exactly what the Wisp was doing) it took aim at the distracted pixie before letting out a crackling Mana Orb…!

@UltraCraftGames
“Well!? Say somefin!” snarled one of the four goblins currently still staring Peter down near the mana crystal mining project.

“Look at ‘im, he’s prolly pissin hisself! He runned like a sissy earlier, when Crispy was bout to fry him!”

All the goblins pointed and laughed, but then began to tighten their grips on their pickaxes. Peter would need to shake himself out of it soon...

Asura was surprised when another system message came up about him doing another skill! His body got more stable as he rolled deeper into the cave away from the cave boss and the goblins bonfire. He rolled around until he was on the other side of the main water source in the cave. His red and orange body was easily seen by anyone looking for him but given he was a slime, could they take him head on?

Once he figured he was safe Asura reverted to his man-blob form, it was much faster and easier now given his new skill. He'd have to try more complex shapes later on when he was actually completely safe. That means the goblins had to go since they were clearly the 'predators' of the cave. But he needed to get something to give him an edge. He couldn't use equipment like goblins could. So he shifted over to a large rock to practice using more force in his attacks.

Asura's mostly liquid body wasn't exactly ideal to use as a weapon. Again he tried to anchor himself with his pseudopods to pull himself into an attack while simultaneously lurching the rest of himself forward. He'd class himself as a warrior tank and all warriors in the video games tended to learn some sort of power attack fairly early on.

@Zeroth

With her body lacking in strength, vision blurred, and hearing dampened, Mei was left with no choice but to rely solely on her instincts to get her through the first few days of life. As much as she wanted to focus and figure out the intricacies of the predicament she had found herself in, thoughts of sleep, hunger, and anxiety continued to cycle through her head. What kept her sane throughout this initial ordeal were a soothing warmth and a pungent yet calming scent. As the days passed, Mei's senses began to sharpen, and soon she realized that what she repeatedly sought and fled to was - at least she assumes to be - her birth mother in this strange world.

Whenever she could, Mei would follow and observe her mother; where she went, how she moved, and the way she hunted were things Mei wanted to pick up for herself. Those were the bare essentials if she needed to survive. But with each day, their gap in ability was always made apparent as Mei was always left behind.

Today though, was going to be different. Lifting her head, Mei turned to her nose to sniff out her mother's scent. Given all the time she had spent with her, Mei eventually grew accustomed to her odor. With her heightened sense of smell, this was certainly possible.

As soon as she caught the scent, Mei began to search. Tracking her mother would be a challenge, but with the help of lingering strands of her pitch black fur, large prints and deformities left along the cavern walls and floor, and the occasional traces of excreta that she was somewhat familiar with, Mei knew that she'd be able to locate her.

@Lucius Cypher - Orchid

---

Well, for the most part it looked like she escaped.

Ash moved swiftly as she could along the floor, hoping quietly that her comrades had gotten some distance between themselves and the goblins. As soon as she had gotten far enough away, she took cover behind some rock formations and quietly watched from the sidelines. It wasn't long before she heard the footfalls of one of the goblins chase after here. A bit better at tracking than she had hoped. The goblin didn't seem too bothered by anything either so she had missed or the poison simply didn't take effect. She narrowed her eyes at the goblin from the shadows, considering her options.

Attack and have some free food...or perhaps converse? Well, if there was one thing she loathed in her former life it was senseless violence. She just never spoke up about it. She didn't intend to have the same attitude this time.

Climbing atop a rock to put herself at more even level with the goblin, she made her presence known.

"...Not as stupid as I thought, if you can follow after me." She hissed quietly. "Seems I either missed or you're tougher than you look, too." She chuckled narrowing her eyes at the goblin female and observing her for any signs of hostility as she spoke. "...but instead of trying to kill each other, perhaps we can converse instead?"

Orchid was nervous at first. While she was full of piss and vinegar when this hunt started, now that she's gotten some time alone she was back to being scared. She was alone, weak, naked, hunting monsters. Sure they might've been the weaker ones, but they were still monsters, and Orchid wasn't exactly the biggest fish in the pond either. All she had was her sharpen stick and a rock, compared to these poison spitting lizards. If Orchid didn't play her cards right she was going to die fast and ugly. Worse of all, she lost track of the lizard. She had hoped that maybe there was lizard tracks or something but she didn't know what they'd look like. All she could do was keep herself ready for a sneak attack and slowly walk forward.

Soon a voice spoke out. Almost on reflex Orchid would've hurled her rock, but instead she just gripped it more tightly and looked to the lizard. The lizard spoke some more, which really surprised Orchid. She wasn't too confused about goblins talking, but lizards? She supposed that she had no way of knowing what can or can't speak here. It's all magic to her. And even more surprising, the lizard wanted to work together. This smelled of a trap, but it was also what Orchid wanted. She kept her guard up and looked at the lizard. "Don't... Don't think I'll be so easily distracted! If you think you can catch me off guard, you'll be in for a nasty surprise." And yet Orchid didn't attack. She did converse though. "... I'll keep this short. I don't want to work for those goblins. They have bad things planned for me... Also I want to kill the big goblin and take his stuff. So... We could work together to do that." Orchid gulped. She couldn't believe she actually said that. And so casually too! This world was changing her fast.

"I even have a plan, sort of, on how we can kill him. But the other goblins I'm not sure. But if we can take out the boss, I'm sure the others won't be a problem either."

@Rune_Alchemist

@Zeroth

Danny didn't have as much time to contemplate his new discovery as he had hoped. One of the green humanoids, presumably a Goblin, was collecting crystals and decided to attack him. The Wisp's first thought was to run after all he had no idea if he could win and he had no intention to die again so soon. Still without the crystals he would have no known way of restoring his magic and he didn't doubt that was a guaranteed death sentence.

As the stick flew towards him again Danny planned to stop it using his telekinetic skill, but due to either it's speed or weight failed and got hit.

Your MP is low.
WARNING! You are low on HP!

He quickly touched one of the mana crystals to top his mp off and wondered what to about the stick. He didn't get long to think before the weapon came flying at him once more and he quickly used his only attack. The magic blast was strong enough to stop the piece of wood and cause it to fall. He realized this was his best chance to go on the offensive and that wasting time to grab a crystal would allow his opponent to re-arm themselves, but there was also the fact that his attack wasn't even strong enough to break a stick.

Suddenly he got a potentially stupid idea, but deciding to fight despite his low health was already idiotic anyway. He stopped levitating hoping the momentum from falling would increase the speed and damage from his last remaining mana orb and scare the Goblin off.

Mourningstar growled as the newly named Digbie also spoke out against her, she was quickly beginning to wonder if these people were even worth continued conversation if they were going to be this obstinate. "I'm not talking you down, I'm being honest! In a situation where my life is on the line, I refuse to mince my words just so everyone can feel good! And secondly, yes! There are others like us, but guess what? They're not us! If we run into someone who seems like they're from Earth, then we'll talk to them. But I'm not going to try and make peace with every monster we see, because then they're going to kill us!" She was getting pretty angry now, so she started taking some deep breaths to try and calm down.

As she did so she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Shit. She immediately began calculating trajectories as the Wisp fired on them from above, doing her best to try and figure out which one the enemy was targeting. Her best guess was the Pixie who still hadn't given his name, so she did something crazy. Her Shield was still intact, so she tackled the Pixie aside to take the blow for him. "And finally. I'm not going to forgive someone who tries to kill my underlings. Earthling or not." With that she began to hover as high as she could in an attempt to reach the same height as the other Wisp, moving in evasive patterns to try and make herself less hittable.

---

Rain spat out the blood lingering inside her mouth, the foul taste and smell truly was repulsive.

But... She got away, and she learned something from it. He was immune, mostly or entirely, from the paralysis caused by her venom being injected directly. She'd also not bit deep enough, judging by his continued mobility without any trouble.

Her eyes narrowed as her tongue flitted in and out, not tasting anything that seemed to be fear. Lizards could do that, right?

If only she had more heads, then she could've attacked both ankles and ripped into him good. Getting him down could expose his throat, and she'd seen what happened when you had your throat messed with. Ol' Dawg didn't last even 5 minutes, she'd seen.

Surely that applied here, with everything she'd seen.

Speaking of things seen... She hadn't noticed anything but Goblins talking in the first week. Well, technically the occasional Pixie but it wasn't the same.

Did that mean her little crew with Ash and Ryuu were.... Like her? It hardly seemed unlikely, really it made sense if she looked at it right.

She'd need to ask them about it.... Assuming they lived.

And, actually, assuming she lived. There was a choice to be made now. She was undetected, though she didn't think she could pull off the same trick twice on this guy. He seemed smarter, besides being harder. Big jackass.

The light was leaving en mass now, though, signaling the approach of the night cycle. She had to decide quickly. Irritated, she lobbed a single Poison Shot at the injury she had created on the big guy, scurrying away completely before it could land - or miss!

She took the longest, widest berth of the Goblins (and the Bonfire) as she could, heading back towards the lake. Pond? She wasn't actually sure what it was.

Slipping beneath the water near the edge she glided around until she happened to notice one of the Slimes from earlier.... At least, she was pretty sure it was him.

[@GuyOfV4lor]

Returning entirely to land, she moved closer quietly.

"Do you know if the others escaped?"

---

@Zeroth@Old Amsterdam@Duthguy
After spending so much time mining in vain, Jason had decided to find other means through which to use his newfound power, an attempt that had Bourne rather valuable fruit.

Through his attempts, Jason learned that his MP was not “created” with the golden glow he had come to recognize as Earth-elemental power, but rather the raw energy he focused on the rock seemed to enter it, suffuse it, and then “become” Earth aligned. Even more intriguing, the energy Jason sent into the ground returned to him like sonar, or echolocation.

You are experiencing a fast rate of Skill Progression.

With a bit of time, the readings began to make more and more sense... until finally, he felt something... New... Somewhat like a mana crystal, but different…

Before Jason could ponder this new development any further, he saw a scaly shape slinking out of the pond. Could this be one of the lizards from the 'Alliance'? He wasn't sure, but he didn't intend to take any chances.

His slimy form aggressively shuddering, readying himself to use [Stone Shot I] "Friend or Foe?" he hissed at the newcomer.

"Do you know if the others escaped?"

Jason breathed a sigh of relief, this was one of the lizards from the gathering near the bonfire. "I believe all of us made it away safely, however, since our sudden diffusion, you are the first to rondevous." he replied, "I am Jason. I intend to create a conclave for our conglomerate here in this wall, but just recently, it has also come to my attention that there is some sort of... Object, in this wall, one of curious power. So far, my efforts to mine my way to it have been unsuccessful, but, with the acidic power of your venom, I believe we can reach it... Now, if you would be so kind as to fire some here..." he proclaimed as he marked the point on the wall nearest to his new discovery.

After Rain shot a glob of acid onto the marked point, Jason would continue practicing sending his energy into the earth (particularly trying to target the newly discovered object) while he waited for the acid to settle. Once the acid subsided, Jason would experiment with using the his stone to mine into the now weakened section of wall, trying to manipulate his pseudopods for a better grip on his makeshift tool, as well as trying to throw his full weight into swinging his stone. After spending a short bit of time practicing, Jason would instruct Rain to fire again; repeating the process.

Continuing to repeat this process until the duo reached about the halfway point, Jason recommended that they take a break and make sure that the area was still clear of goblin activity. Looking up at the ceiling, he noticed a small cluster of mana crystals, using [Stone Shot I], he brought the cluster to the ground and proceeded to pick them up, a hallucination once again appearing.

3 Mana Crystals added to inventory

Beginning to patrol the area, Jason notice a lone goblin fighting a wisp.... This was the perfect opportunity to kill a goblin, without backup, it stood no chance.

Right now, it appeared as if the wisp had just run out of mana, meaning that it was virtually dead already. Moving closer, Jason gurgled out a [Warcry I] to grab the goblin's attention, before launching a [Stone Shot I] at this new foe, consuming a mana crystal, then following up with [Stone Shot I] two more times, consuming yet another mana crystal before racing in to finish the unfortunate goblin off.

@Lucius Cypher - Orchid

---

"Huh..." Ash would have smiled if her lizard mug was capable of it. "Well, it seems our goals are the same." She was fairly certain this goblin was trustworthy. The Goblin chief likely wasn't the cleverest of creatures, plus it wasn't like he had any idea about what they were actually doing. This Goblin could be of use, then. "I too, desire that goblin killed. He stands in the way of the freedom of my friends." Ash took a quick glance around the immediate area, tasting the air with her tongue as she was certain lizards could do. It was getting late, and she hadn't eaten much that day. Perhaps she could use this goblin to bring some food back for everyone. "I could introduce you, if you'd want. If we have a goblin on our side it would be a great asset, and if you have some strategy, we could work together surely."

If the goblin agreed, that meant their own plans could be so much easier done. Have her be an inside agent, as they say. She could easily gain the goblins trust and then stab them in the back when they needed her the most. A little work, but it would make their jobs easier in the long run once they decided to take care of the cave boss.

"If you want, perhaps you can help me with some hunting. I've not eaten much today, too focused on work and other things."

Orchid lowered her stick. She was still suspicious of the lizard, but it seems like they e come to an agreement at least for now. ”Fine. I need to hunt too. I certainly can’t go back emptyhanded.” Thiugh Orchid wasn’t sure what they could hunt. She really opened not everything in this cave could talk back; if he very awkward to kill someone Orchid could understand.

”As for my plan, I figured we could pull it off soon. The hard part would be separating the boss from his minions. But I’m guessing you have friends for that. Either ya let’s continue our hunt.”

@Rune_Alchemist

@Zeroth @Jobst

The beginning was very fuzzy. The most important thing was the Milk, which was associated with Mother and Warmth. As her perceptions developed alongside the size of her body, she took note of the loud squeaking, the crowded squirming heat and company of siblings, the steadily sharper vision of various coloured coats of fur, the strange and pungent but also familiar smell of Family and Mother, and the somewhat sweeter smell of her milk, which provided them all with nutrition. Though they were all well provided for, instinct drove them to struggle to be the one to feed first, the longest and from the best spot. Mother often had to prevent them from biting and scratching at each other too much, for they were vicious and base in their competition for survival, and perhaps just as importantly, to be the top of the pecking order among the brood of dire rat younglings.

The regaining of her memories and intelligence seemed sudden, though it most likely happened gradually and there simply existed a threshold when she became aware of the process. She knew she used to be Simone. She knew she died, and seemed to have existed in an eternity of confined whiteness. She remembered the self-proclaimed Demon King and his offer. And being here, being alive…well, apparently, he and his offer were the real deal. As she proceeded with her eating, sleeping and a more purposeful observation of her new environment, she pondered what to be called. Even if it ended being for her own sake only, she preferred to be Named. Eventually, she settled Asteria. Something from Earth’s mythology, something to serve as a keepsake alongside her soul if that’s what she could call it.

With her new awareness, she spent a day or so learning to better operate her body. Basic movements and perceptions. Walking, crawling, crouching. She examined her front paws and wondered if they would be sophisticated enough for any sort of tool use. She smelled the near and far away scents. From farther in the cave she sensed Strange, Foreign and something she just knew to be Predator. She did not appreciate the idea of being Prey for anyone, but if she wanted to change that, it would probably have to be on her own power.

All in all, if it weren’t for a rather peculiar sibling, who seemed to have already tried following Mother at least twice, Asteria might not have paid much attention to her fellow rat younglings whom she presumed to be lower life forms. However, she did have a building desire to explore and the idea of following their mother, obviously a competent Dire rat, was probably the better choice for now than striking it out on her own. And so, one day, when her female sibling somehow seemed more purposeful in tracking down their parent, Asteria followed after her. Ria’s seemingly greater innate speed allowed her to catch up to her sibling easily enough, and whether the latter would mind or not, she intended to get in on this expedition. If Mother allowed the pursuit and showed them around her hunting grounds, or whatever it was that she had, this could certainly prove to be a valuable experience.

---

"This ain't no shovel, but it'll have to do." Digbie commented to himself as he turned to face his allies, only to see Mourningstar tackling the pixie aside in an attempt to save his life, only to follow up by rising into the air to assault the assailant that had engaged with the Earthy Trio. Digbie ran over to the Pixie's side and grabbed hold of his arm as he carefully pulled him into the cave where Digbie had emerged to meet the group. Once the pixie was far enough in, Digbie ran back out into the fight attempting to call out to Mourningstar to provide her with support.

"Mourningstar! Bring that Wisp lower if you can!" Digbie said as he lifted up his spike like a rather decently-sized club, having to crouch to do so due to it's weight. "I need to hit it!"

On the ground, Digbie's free hand took its own measures as Digbie tried to use Tremor Sense 1 yet again, but he focused his energy into it as best as he could, not to manipulate the earth around him to his will, but merely to make a sound nearby. Hopefully, he could call for help to anyone that could arrive on the scene. Digbie didn't doubt Mourningstar's ability to fight, but he wasn't about to let his friends die this early on in a new life. Hell, he was willing to make the noise himself if he had to, he just needed to know where to hit in this cave to properly make that noise.

@Lucius Cypher@Zeroth- Hunting with Orchid

---

Satisfied with her answer, Ash hopped off her perch and onto the ground. What could they hunt, she wondered? Hm. Well, she hoped they could find a few lizards. If Orchid could take them back, it could raise her standing with the Goblins and make them trust her more. A thought for later, though. For now she just needed to bring back some food for everyone. That would at least make them trust her more than they already did. Hopefully. Perhaps she was being too optimistic.

"Two slimes, a Pixie, and two other lizards such as myself." Ash replied, walking along the ground. "We had to split up when we saw the big goblin coming...but we were in the middle of hatching a plan ourselves. To deal with all of them, even that fire wielding goblin." Ash paused, sniffing the air again. "They couldn't have gone too far, but for now lets find ourselves some food. I'd suggest finding ourselves a few lizards, Dire Rat, or a Wisp." She started walking again. Hopefully finding something to eat wouldn't be too difficult.

Why the hell did I think that would be a good idea? The lizard thought as he darted away from his newfound allies. Not only had he gone and isolated himself from the other seemingly friendly monsters. He'd also got the attention of a herd of goblins, albeit relatively young looking ones as well as whatever that thing was. He'd made himself known to them now, they would be certain to be on alert next time they even thought they saw him. So Ryuu ran, and ran. Far away from the pond as he could manage, if he could lead even one of the Goblins away his distraction would be a success.

Eventually his panicked sprinting turned to stealthy skittering once more, as Ryuu found himself stumbling onto quite the scene. From a relatively concealed position, he watched as a Goblin, a Pixie, and a Wisp interacted. Strangely enough they did not attempt to shed each other's blood, not unlike the gathering he'd fled from moments before. Even moreso interesting was that they were speaking to one another, about a number of things that made Ryuu's reptilian jaw hit the stony floor.

They also knew of the Demon King. Not only that, but one of them had remarked about death being a rather unpleasant experience. Perchance they had all experienced a similar ordeal? He had to know for certain, so he'd have to establish himself as a friendly face and quickly before this lot disbanded.

Though before hew could move out of the brush, an opportunistic Wisp took a shot at the distracted Pixie. That couldn't be allowed. After all, how could he ask if these monsters were like him if they were naught but sizzling corpses? Ryuu prepared to launch a ball of venom at the aggressor as he creeped out of his cover, taking a few moments to line up his shot. Satisfied with his aim, the lizard let loose his acidic fury upon the arcane assassin! The lizard swiftly scurried over towards the others as he spoke.

" Couldn't help but overhear you lot talking about Earth, care to chat after we get rid of this glorified spark?"

@Zeroth@Gardevoiran@floodtalon@King Cosmos

@Jobst
As one of Xiao’s sister rats joined her, catching up unnaturally quick, they tracked Mother over the stony paths, under the rocky crags, and through dirty tunnels and crevices. Eventually, they found an overhang of rock jutting up from the ground, and in the shadows under this stony shelf they found a burrow. Entering this burrow took them down, then up again, and they now found themselves in an open chamber--or rather, a hollow gap under the ground. To the rats it was a chamber, but to the larger or taller creatures like Goblins it would have been a cramped hidey hole.

In this chamber, their mother crouched over what looked like a nest, but not a rat nest. A sort of pit had been scraped out of the earth, and in it a clutch of leathery looking eggs sat patiently. Mother had begun nibbling a hole in the shell of one of these eggs, but as her children entered she turned towards them with a surprised hiss. Her fur, so dark and black it almost seemed blue, rose upon her hackles until she recognized their scents--then she merely turned back to her meal.

Yet while she had been distracted with the appearance of her offspring, she had not noticed another returning mother.

The Fanged Lizard lunged out of the shadows of another tunnel on the opposite side of the chamber, snapping at Mother with those huge teeth. The Dire Rat squealed in pain as the lizard caught one of her legs in its jaws, but as she bit down with her own fangs the lizard thrashed its body and released. Mother limped backwards, but her body began to seize up from the lizard’s poison…

@SilverPaw
As Asteria joined her sister, they tracked Mother over the stony paths, under the rocky crags, and through dirty tunnels and crevices. Eventually, they found an overhang of rock jutting up from the ground, and in the shadows under this stony shelf they found a burrow. Entering this burrow took them down, then up again, and they now found themselves in an open chamber--or rather, a hollow gap under the ground. To the rats it was a chamber, but to the larger or taller creatures like Goblins it would have been a cramped hidey hole.

In this chamber, their mother crouched over what looked like a nest, but not a rat nest. A sort of pit had been scraped out of the earth, and in it a clutch of leathery looking eggs sat patiently. Mother had begun nibbling a hole in the shell of one of these eggs, but as her children entered she turned towards them with a surprised hiss. Her fur, so dark and black it almost seemed blue, rose upon her hackles until she recognized their scents--then she merely turned back to her meal.

Yet while she had been distracted with the appearance of her offspring, she had not noticed another returning mother.

The Fanged Lizard lunged out of the shadows of another tunnel on the opposite side of the chamber, snapping at Mother with those huge teeth. The Dire Rat squealed in pain as the lizard caught one of her legs in its jaws, but as she bit down with her own fangs the lizard thrashed its body and released. Mother limped backwards, but her body began to seize up from the lizard’s poison…

@Lucius Cypher
As Orchid and Ash moved along in search of prey, the taller goblin could see more of what flitted through the air above them. In the darkness of the cave--almost pitch black now with the falling of night, save for the flickering of Mana Crystals--there were always a few Wisps and Pixies floating about. But soon one of the latter, a pink skinned one with wings like a dragonfly, came close enough that Orchid might possibly be able to hit it if she threw something…

Then again, her companion might have need of her soon…

@Duthguy
When Danny tried to stop the stick with his Lesser Force and failed, the sight caused the goblin below him to burst out laughing--which in turn caused him to miss the stick as it fell. The weapon came back down on its own user with a crack, drawing a yelp from the greenskin and leaving a bruise on his bald head. The other monster angrily grabbed the stick up from the ground and hurled it at Danny again--only to have it thrown back at him by the Wisp’s Mana Orb. This time the goblin took the hit on the other side of his head. His rump met the rough stone floor comically as he squealed once again.

Then, Danny did something unusual for a Wisp. As he dropped from the sky, simultaneously using his Mana Orb, he was trying to use the momentum from falling to increase the speed and damage from his last remaining spell. Given that Mana Orb was a projectile that didn’t make a lot of sense at first--but because he was falling at the same rate of speed as the spell would have been fired, something interesting happened.

The magical sparks raced along his body like electricity conducted along a sheet of metal. His physical strength and weight weren’t much, but he carried the charge of the spell along with him. This feeling, channeling Mana through his physical body rather than projecting it outward, was unusual...but not entirely unpleasant.

Just as the goblin was getting up, Danny struck it--once again, head on. The Goblin’s already wounded skull gave way with a meaty crunch, and it dropped to the ground! Danny too, however, hit the dirt immediately afterwards. The warning bells about low HP were still going off, and now he had no MP remaining either...and the Mana Crystals around him had either been used up or scattered--and to make matters worse, suddenly another voice rang out!

“Oi! Dat was my brudder, you dumb shiny thing!” A second goblin, this one holding what looked like a wooden pickaxe, came running up towards Danny--only to suddenly be startled by a loud sound of some kind. An instant afterward, a glowing rock pelted it in the belly, knocking the air out of the creature. Before it could regain its feet, more rocks began to viciously pelt it--one of them lodged itself in an eye socket, and the greeny weenie let out a shriek before it too, fell dead to the earth. Nearby, Danny would see a green Slime, with what looked like several objects floating inside it…

You are experiencing a fast rate of Skill Progression.

These bodies are carrying loot:
1 Curved Stick (unequippable)
1 Wooden Pickaxe (unequippable)
1 Vine Belt (unequippable)
1 Mana Crystal
1 Healing Herb

@CriticalHit
Ryuu was able to make his journey through the cave relatively unseen--it seemed like two of those young goblins weren’t going to be successful hunters after all, and the boss had been distracted by something. Maybe one of his allies had gotten a shot in? That female one still managed to go after the others--it might have been Ash, judging from the distinctive coloring. But no one came after Ryuu, and he managed to clear the scene without incident.

A short time later, he came to the timely assistance of a quite unlikely trio.

The glob of poison sailed through the air like a picture perfect slowmo baseball pitch, completely enveloping the Wisp. It screeched in agony as the acid sizzled all over it, then found out why that was a bad idea as the venom immediately coursed through its tiny body. Now soaked with poison and too heavy to hold up its own levitation without more MP, it hit the ground heavily. It twitched once, then went still as the poison’s lingering damage drained away the last of its HP.

@Old Amsterdam
After helping Jason with his task, Rain departed on a hunt. She hadn’t eaten anything all day, so she would soon be feeling an intense pang of hunger along with general fatigue. But now, as she stalked the cave in search of prey, another message appeared.

Your use of stealth tactics has increased a skill!

Skill Rank Up: Muffle II
You are now even more effective at remaining unseen passively. Activating this skill by using Stamina will noticeably reduce, but not eliminate, the sounds of your movement.

And not long after that, she came across an unaware Dire Rat nibbling on some already-slain creature’s corpse...

@Rune_Alchemist
As Ash and Orchid searched for prey, during their conversation Ash received an interesting message from the system.

Your negotiations have earned a skill!

Skill Gain: Charisma I
Like other charismatic skills, your personality is almost a magical charm unto itself. You’ll have greater luck convincing others to go along with your suggestions, but only within their own natural reasoning. This skill may not work on those with stronger Wills.

As the Fanged Lizard crawled on the ground, she had a different perspective from her green companion. So it was easy for her to see the Dire Rat as it darted between rocks nearby, watching the pair in a way that suggested it, too, was on the hunt…

@Kazemitsu
As Asura continued to doggedly practice his attacks, tiny paws pitter pattered imperceptibly upon the stones behind him. Beady red eyes blinked once, then powerful muscles underneath thick fur pushed off the ground.

The Dire Rat landed on Asura’s “head,” and began trying to rip chunks out of him with its teeth…!

@Guy0fV4lor

You are experiencing a fast rate of Skill Progression.
Your Inventory is full: 1 Poison Tainted Mana Crystal, 1 Mana Crystal, 8 Small Stones.

As Jason watched, the Wisp actually managed to somehow kill the first goblin attacking it--but then another joined the fray. Wanting to help, he charged in with an absolute onslaught. As he unleashed his Warcry, a “mouth” much like what Asura was fond of using opened up and he found himself unleashing a loud, echoing roar--though it had a phlegmy gargle to it. The Goblin turned towards him immediately with a look of absolute shock. After all, slimes couldn’t normally do such a thing…

An instant afterward, a glowing rock pelted the gobbo in the belly, knocking the air out of the creature. Before it could regain its feet, Jason began to viciously pelt it--one of the Stone Shots lodged itself in an eye socket, and the greeny weenie let out a shriek before it too, fell dead to the earth.

And then something REALLY interesting happened.

LEVEL UP!

Your experiences have culminated into new power. You have earned Skill Points to be distributed as you please.

Unspent Skill Points:
5

Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.0)
Warcry I (1.2)
Stone Shot I (1.7)
<UNUSABLE> Swift Swimmer (0.1) <UNUSABLE>
<UNUSABLE> Aqua Sphere (0.5) <UNUSABLE>
<UNUSABLE> Rock Spire (0.7) <UNUSABLE>
<UNUSABLE> Tremor Sense (0.5) <UNUSABLE>
<UNUSABLE> Alert (0.1) <UNUSABLE>
<UNUSABLE> Limited Shapeshift (0.3) <UNUSABLE>
<UNUSABLE> Smash (0.3) <UNUSABLE>

@Gardevoiran
As Digbie refocused his power in a new, never-before-tried way, he found that while he could create Tremors and project them with his MP, they weren’t strong enough to really make noise or move anything--if some other creature were sensitive to vibrations like he was he might have alerted them, but in his week and a day of life he hadn’t seen anyone else as capable with digging as he was. But maybe all it would take was some more practice, and some more oomph…

But as for where in the cave he could HIT to make a noise, he would find that the expanded crevice/tunnel entrance/hole in the wall where they had just fought the purple slime would probably produce excellent echoes if someone were to pound on the walls with a hard, heavy object...

@floodtalon
Mourningstar’s Shield was used up as the Wisp’s Mana Orb crackled over it like dispersing flames, but she was left unharmed. As she moved up at the Wisp, the creature tittered in a shrill voice before it turned and started to flee--after all, if her own experiences were any indication, it would only have one Mana Orb left before it ran out of MP. But maybe if their group worked together, they could catch it.

Yes, run it down. Drag it to the earth, kicking and screaming. Kill it.

Or wait for a Fanged Lizard to gank it out of nowhere.

The glob of poison sailed through the air like a picture perfect slowmo baseball pitch, completely enveloping the Wisp. It screeched in agony as the acid sizzled all over it, then found out why that was a bad idea as the venom immediately coursed through its tiny body. Now too heavy to hold up its own levitation without more MP, it hit the ground heavily. It twitched once, then went still.