With a grunt, Jason absorbed his herbs, returning him to full HP- just in time for Asura to come down on him with full strength, causing the rat to get shot out of the slime mage's body. Activating [Bounce I], he threw the full power of Asura's smash right back into his foe, launching the red slime back. Quickly scampering out of the divot, he caught the three crystals dropped by Danny, instantly absorbing them. "Kill the red one." he coldly commanded the lizards. With increadible speed Jason scoured the area for a sharp rock, managing to find one within mere moments.
He immediately went to work- with a squealch and a wet rip the slime mage did something. Before continuing to dart about, avoiding taking hits. Jason needed to end this. It was clear that Ardur never intended for a peaceful solution, but was instead trying to buy time for Mama Slime's surprise attack. The conniving fuck would have to pay for that later. However, with a healer, and two increadibly high-HP mobs against him, he couldn't involve his allies, or they'd die too. He was going to make his biggest gamble yet, because like hell would he let those two walk away from here victorious.... And if their victory meant killing him, he would simply steal it from their grasp. "DANNY, ASTERIA, RETURN TO BASE-- I'LL BE THERE SOON!" he shouted to his allies, before beginning his final chant, enhancing [Spell Chant I] with [War Cry I] once more, as he attempted to channel his very HP into the spell, as well as using the source crystal as a focus for his magic, "I cast this spell, with dying breath.-" above Jason's two rings of violet; perched almost like a halo took shape. The runic lettering within scrambled, and flickering "Giving my life, to escape true death. I hereby abandon this mortal shell, to keep at bay, the clutches of hell..... A DECLARATION TO ALL, THIS IS NOT MY END!-" a bisecting line began to from within the circle, "THROUGH MIND AND SOUL, I SHALL ASCEND!!!" a second line, splitting the circle into quadrants took form, "THE REAPER'S GRASP, IT'S BITTER COLD.-" the formation grew bright, illuminating the arena around them, "I FEAR NO MORE! IT HAS NO HOLD!" for a moment, the light grew blinding, as the projection began to warp, wildly fluctuating into a mesmerizing display reminiscent of an arctic arora. The pseudopod wielding the sharp rock extend out, before being bent to reach the top corner of the slime mage's body. "TELEPATHY ASCENSION ART-- WILL BEYOND DEATH!!!" as he spoke the final line, Jason tore through the front side of his body with the sharp stone. Any within range of Jason's telepathy would hear the rather loud sound of microphone feedback as the circle shattered into fading sparkles......
Danny had been planning to use chanting in combination with Aqua Sphere to hopefully scare Asura off, assuming he had the MP to stay levitating and bluff that he could cast it again. His plan however became meaningless when Jason seemingly committed suicide, sure his speech implied he was planning something but there was no way for the Wisp to know if it worked.
Danny briefly wondered what to do, taking revenge on Asura was an option even though he wasn't technically directly responsible for his death and anyway fighting a fellow reincarnator didn't sit right with him. Suddenly he realized that the crystal he seemed to be using during his last chant might be important, even if the spell didn't work.
Deciding to at least make sure Asura or Ardur wouldn't get it he levitated closer to Jason ready to use Lesser Force to pull the crystal out of his body if the Slime didn't show any signs of life.
As Ash and Torrent reintroduced themselves to each other and talked, Reoth felt his stomach growling and the pains of hunger starting to get to him. And as Ash spoke of examining plants he found his mind wandering towards the idea of trying to find something small to eat at least. So it was with that in mind that he decided to split off as they walked and go for a quick search for food by himself, but remain within shouting distance in case anything happened to him or the others.
Really, he probably could have let Ash know what he was doing before disappearing on her, but the need to fill his stomach was enough for it to slip his mind at the time. However, his search did end well. What he found on the forest floor was a plant that resembles a spring onion, or leek, or other similar plants put together. He tested the plant with a nibble, and while it really didn't taste very good at all, it was edible. And so to sate his hunger he managed to choke it down. It was right as he finished that he heard a loud boom in the direction that the group had gone.
Stomach filled and now masked with worry, Reoth set off towards the noise as quickly and sneakily as he could, only slowing the closer he got to where he guessed the source was. Right as they came into view he could see that there had been a fiery explosion, judging the the scorch marks on the ground and trees. It looks like it was taken care of as Torrent, who looked to be the most damaged by whatever happened, was being healed by a pixie and goblin he didn't know. There was also the fact that Ash and the wisp were threatening the group of goblins as they had come investigate. From what they said, the goblins wanted to finish off his fellow reptile.
As he decides to join the group, a goblin Reoth recognized, Orchid, charged at the goblins and issued a challenge to Crispy, whom was the apparent leader of the goblin group. there encirclement, sort of, manage to cut him off from the others as they made their escape. Left without much choice, he opted to hunker down and remain hidden until the goblins were thoroughly distracted by the duel. Once they were he retreated back into the brush and circled around until he found the tracks made by the others leading from the explosion.
Now he had a choice to make, go back around and head back into the cave, or follow the tracks and catch up with Ash and the others. Well, as he wasn't aware if anyone he knew was back in the cave, he chose to go forward and follow the tracks, remaining cautious and stealthy in an attempt to not get caught by anything. To help with this he covered himself in dirt in an attempt to at least dull or breack up the white and light gray of his scales, with his movement being quick darts from cover to cover, but altogether being slow in catching up with the others.
It was during one such movement that something pounced at him from out of a tree, feline from immediate glance. Rather than continue being slow, Reoth immediately darts forward and dodges out of the way of of his attacker, stopping a short distance to turn around and look at the creature. It was a black feline, looking to have the same proportions of a house cat but it was the size of a linx. One odd thing, though, was the spiky hair on its head that made it look like a witch's hat with its ears poking through. The other odd trait being its eyes, one colored red while the other is orange. Eye that were suddenly locked onto him.
Immediately realizing that he wouldn't be able to outrun it, and with nothing around that he could duck under to trip it up, he had to fight. And the first thing he did was use Poison Spit, aimed straight at the thing's face, quickly and without warning in an attempt to catch it off guard. This turned out to be a good first move, as a black mist seemed to be gathering within the red eye's pupil right before the attack landed, poison splattering over both its eyes. The reaction was immediate as it reared back and threw its head back and forth before proceeding to rub its head in the dirt to get the poison off.
Deciding to take advantage of the moment Reoth charges forward and leaps onto its back, latching on with his claws and biting hard into the back of the neck. It started jerking and jumping around, heading towards a tree as though intending to slam him. Using this, Reoth waits until its too late for it to stop itself and throws himself off, making it slam itself into the hard trunk while he tumbles down to the ground. However the feline had managed to get the poison out of its eyes now and was turning to face him, sounding rather angry. So to avoid an immediate attack Reoth dashed behind the tree, readying a poison spit for whichever side it chose to come around.
It didn't follow, rather, its angry growl slowly faded away until silence. Remaining cautious, he backs away from the tree while remaining alert of his surrounding, including above him after what happened. He found himself almost lost in the bushes, and since he didn't want to lose the tracks, he approached the tree, keeping ready to fire a poison spit again. With nothing happening immediately as he reaches the tree, he cautiously looks around it for the feline creature.
Reoth came face to face with it again, and just as an odd black smoke envelopes him he unleashes his poison and once again hits the cat in the eyes. This time a change came over the feline's face and body language, and it turned and headed for the brush, coughing and sputtering. He fires another poison spit at it, barely getting so poison on the fur of its flank before it plunges into the bushes with a yowl of pain, the noise of its running away gone after a few moments.
With that close encounter over, Reoth backtracks until he finds the tracks from the others once more, and continues following them until he reaches a clearing that they passed through. Still trying to maintain his stealth, and straining his ears and eyes, he catches the sound of a branch creaking above him. He looked up just in time to see the same cat creature from before jumping down to pounce at him again.
Whether out of annoyance, or in an attempt to catch it off guard, Reoth takes a risk and feigns backing up, only to jump up and clamp onto his teeth to both do damage and give his stun fang a chance to work. The hope was to stun it if he couldn't crush its throat. As he leapt its claws brushed his side, opening a decent bloody cut, his bite making it twist in the air but it still managed to land on its feet, thankfully keeping Reoth from getting crushed on the ground under its weight. But it then rears up and reaches for him with its forelimbs in an attempt to claw him off.
Reoth was forced to tear his mouth away and let go, creating a small wound as he did, and lets go. While he got free, he was still hit. It wasn't a direct blow on him with its claws it still managed to bat him to the ground. That said, damage was down to it, and it was now bleeding from the neck and the poison seemed to be taking its toll.
WARNING: YOU'RE HP IS LOW!
Not good, he needed to end this quickly. He readied another poison spit and right as he did its yellow eye started to glow. Upon seeing the eye, Reoth immediately fired in order to stop it. He missed, but was successful as it had to dodged, jumping out of the way, therefore cancelling whatever it was going to do. Its weakened state became even more apparent as it stumbled somewhat on its landing, and even though he couldn't tell through its fur, its face seemed to be pale.
The end was near, he knew it. Steeling himself before charging forward, Reoth feints the charge and successful tricks the creature into moving. And when he stops it decides to lunge at him. He spits once more as it lunges, hitting it in the chest and making it pull up short as well. Reoth took a few steps back and prepares to shoot again but as he sucks in breath the feline chokes, hacks, collapses, rolls over, convulses, and lies still, dead.
Reoth could swear he heard an angelic choir of sorts in the back of his mind.
LEVEL UP! Level 2 > 3. You can spend 5 Skill Points.
Stun Fang I (1.0) Poison Spit I (1.8) Crafting I (1.4) Charisma I (1.0) Muffle I (1.4) <UNUSABLE> Faster I (0.3) Mental resistance I (0.1) Counter I (0.1) Monster Analysis I (0.4) Suppress Presence I (0.9) Magic Analysis I (0.2) Fortify I (0.2) Scale Shift I (0.7) Plant Analysis I (0.3) Keen Ear I (0.3) Keen Eye I (0.3) Alert I (0.2)
As happy as he was to get the level up, he could only think to assign the points int three skills, "One point to Suppress Presence. Three into Scale Shift. And one to Muffle." He let out a breath of relief at the fight being over, and approached the body of the feline to look it over more. Patches of missing fur marked where his poison struck before, with its face being pretty messed up as well. The eyes... despite being frozen in death and glazed over, still seemed to have some glow to them. As gruesome as it might've been to do so, Reoth thought it a good idea to take out one of the eyes. And since one of them was too damaged, he managed to take out the red one.
Before heading off, he eats part of a leg to fill himself up. Once sated, he decides to put his new skill to use, activating Scale Shift to change his color into the abundant brown of the forest floor. Now blending in more and with more stealth skills, he sets off along the tracks once more. Shortly thereafter he came upon a stream that the tracks follow along. This was good, as the message from when he awoke told him that he was dehydrated, and he took the opportunity to drink the cold water and quench his thirst.
While he is drinking he hears the sounds of grunting and shuffling from close by on the other side of the stream, and he glances up to see a small mound from which dirt was being thrown. Cautious but still drinking he watched as something like a badger with an armadillo's hide, with spikes growing from its forearms, emerged from a burrow. Paying Reoth little mind as it stomped around, kicking away the freshly dug dirt before it turned in a circle and marched back into its hole.
As curious as he was of the seemingly passive creature, he didn't want to stay, even if he could, and observe, instead opting to take note of this spot for later. Once he was no longer thirsty he finished drinking and continued to stealthily follow the tracks along the stream, listening to the sound of frogs croaking in the distance. The forest floor had started to slope, as though nearing mountains or foothills.
And so it was that Reoth--beaten, battered, and bloody-- finally caught up to Ash and the others at their new base in the making. Still colored brown, bloody, wounded, dirty, and with a red eyeball gently held by his teeth, appeared before the others from the trees. Setting down the eye he says in a tired, wounded tone, "Finally found you guys... So how you been?" Yep... about all he could get himself to say at the moment.
While Asura responded to Ardur's words, Jason scarfed down his last Healing Herb and was restored to full HP. Seeing this Asura immediately shoved past the Pixie, his rage and his stamina both reaching a breaking point as his gooey body tensed for a blow--!
Skill Gain: Rabit Fit I! Fly into a mindless rage, and destroy the enemy! A sudden burst of fury grants you increased strength and damage, but you’ll become more vulnerable to damage yourself.
Skill Rank Up: Smash I > Smash II! Damage buff increased. Stamina drain increased. Using a non-blunt type attack can now trigger this skill, but its power will be halved.
Skill Synergy: Rabit Fit I, Overwork I, Smash II. Your attack's power is vastly increased!
Jason barely had time to activate his Bounce skill, but activate it he did. It could not, however, stop him from taking the damage--merely allow him to return it in equal measure. And that was only after the damage he received had been taken into account--ironically, his Physical Damage Resistance and higher defensive stats meant that this output was lower than normal for a slime.
From full health, Jason went right back into the Warning zone--and it seemed he was even worse off this time than before. But Asura also took the blow, being bowled back so far he almost went out of the little arena. Thanks to having Blunt Resistance on top of Physical Damage Resistance, he didn't take it quite as hard as Jason did--but given his current condition that wasn't much of an advantage...
WARNING! YOUR HP IS LOW! YOU ARE EXPERIENCING HP DRAIN! YOU HAVE ONE HIT POINT REMAINING, YOU ARE DYING!
WARNING! YOUR HP IS LOW! You are experiencing HP Drain, you must rest to recover Stamina.
When she saw Asura fly backwards, Mother Slime gurgled something high pitched and rolled towards him, and under her membrane one of the Healing Herbs he had given her started to float up. Meanwhile, Jason "chugged" the Mana Crystals Danny had thrown him, and began his most ambitious chant yet...but something was wrong. Those runic letters, all scrambled and flickering, did not seem right. The sigils weren't forming in the different quadrants of the diagram, and the lines bisecting it weren't the right length or angles compared to his past performances...
Ardur flew up to the ceiling, finding two clusters of Crystals that would let him gather about four of them total. But before he could refill himself to cast a healing spell--on one or the other--Jason plunged a sharp stone into his own body.
YOU HAVE NO HP REMAINING.
YOU ARE DEAD.
The spell exploded in a bright, violet flash of light that crackled with static and sounded like a warped and distorted dial tone.
Jason's body, pierced and slowly losing its color, deflated. As his membrane gave way, his acidic innards spread over the rocks, seeping down between the cracks. As Danny drifted down in stunned silence, he saw for certain that the Slime Mage was dead. He picked up the Source Crystal, still as green and bright as ever.
But the Fanged Lizards remained. Eyes set on the weakened Asura, they launched two more globs of Poison Spit at him while he was down...
Jason, ???
Ooooh, and we have the first one to bite the dust. But honestly, kind of impressed. I thought like five of you would've bitten it by now, and only two have even come close. Well. One came close. You went all the way.
Time seemed frozen, and all the color had drained from the world. Jason was still "lying" there on the cave floor, seeing everyone around him frozen as they had been at the moment of hid demise. When he rolled upward, he felt the coldest blast of wind he had ever felt, and saw thin streamers of something misty white. It was him. As if it were blowing away the last vestiges of his form.
Something darker than black crouched over his shoulder. He could hear the grin in its voice.
Lucky for you, despite not having a stupid fucking cheat like Save Point or Time Rewind or Revival Mode, this world is still quite generous if you meet the right conditions. But just keep in mind...Coming back to life doesn't always mean, well, coming back to life...
The presence was gone. All that was left, in the distance, was a glowing red light...No, not quite true. Jason could hear them now.
The screams.
The howls and roars of things all around him. In every direction, white mist the surged and roiled as if on the crests of stormy waves. Every so often, out of that mist, he thought he could pick out a shape. Shapes much like the various creatures he had already seen in the cave.
"So ya weren't no Slime afta all, eh "Boss?" Keeheehee." laughed a mocking voice. Something tapped the gray stone floor, and the echo spread as if they were in the greatest ampitheater. "Tell me now...what cola be ya world?"
Walking towards Jason, from the direction of the entrance, was a misty white figure. As he looked at it, it became more solid. It was Y'tahl--no, this skeleton still had all of her flesh. Her very, very old flesh. And despite the white mist, it did seem there was a tinge of green to it--the only color Jason had seen thus far in this grayscale world.
The female goblin wore a toga of sorts that looked to have been made from Dire Rat pelts. She held a staff of gnarled wood, with disassembled Pixie bones tied to the end of it that jangled like bell chimes. Painted marks, glowing bright white as if under some kind of luminescent scanner, marked her face and arms. Her ears were pierced with the fangs from a Lizard, and only one hand, the one not holding her staff, had long disgustingly sharp fingernails.
"Surely ya not so weak in da head ya cannot hear." She repeated herself, tapping the staff again. "Tell Bonie Bitz, WHAT COLAS DO YA SEE?"
The red light in the distance beckoned to Jason like a lighthouse.
Ash, Digbie, Mourningstar, Oberon, Reoth, Torrent
As the group discussed their goals and then set about their various tasks, the morning sun had risen fully and its bright rays were warm and cheery. They seemed to have been considerably lucky thus far...or perhaps the cave really was just an awful environment to be reborn in. As they went their separate ways however, they would be taking significantly more risks that a monster in the forest might see them as vulnerable enough to prey upon...
About midmorning (if any of them could tell time solely by the sun, they might judge it to be around 10 AM or so), they got started in earnest. Ash, Oberon, and Mourningstar left to forage in different directions. The construction of their base in the side of the hill would be left to Digbie and Torrent. The Lesserwurm could dig much more quickly through loose soil, but unless she took the time to properly pack the tunnel along her sides as she went it would very easily collapse behind her, like a mole run rather than a true burrow. Digbie could move harder soils, easily scooping out bits of rock or root, and his digging didn't seem to collapse quite so readily, but in terms of distance he couldn't go quite so far so fast. Together, however, the two of them were eventually able to work out a rhythm and a method, and set to work.
The plan was to create a central room and entrance with a fire pit, and then make smaller tunnels branching off from that like spokes on a wheel. At the ends of these tunnels they would enlarge them into rooms, smaller than the central chamber but enough that each member of the party would have a comfortable place to store their own things, have some privacy, and so forth. The cave would need to be at least three and a half feet high, by a (granted, very inexperienced) reckoning. Digbie would have to hunch somewhat to get in, but trying to make the cave match his own height would be more work and probably would need more support for the ceilings and walls. It would also need to be at least two and a half feet wide, so that they could comfortably move in the tunnels without having to go everywhere single-file. As for the length, they only had so much hill to work with, and the further they went again the more supports they would need.
While they were digging, Ash stayed relatively close to the construction site. Ranging in a circle around the area, she searched for various edibles and used all of her skills to analyze whatever she found--one part scientific investigation, one part ensuring nothing her party ate would kill them. The first thing she found, just across the creek and to the south of the tunnel--near the top of the other hill--was a bush full of Argeps, however these were Green and not yet the ripe, tasty blues. She could see 15 bunches of the berries growing on the bush, however, and some of them were beginning to turn the deeper color of ripeness around their bottoms. In a day or so there might be some ready to pick and eat, but for now it might be better to leave them behind unless she wanted some solely for experimentation. Next she headed up the slopes of the mountains to the west, and as the trees began to thin out and the path became rockier, she found a patch of green shoots. If she dug into the ground, which was beginning to slant much more sharply, she would find a patch of Wild Kele--certainly edible, but much like eating a raw onion in terms of flavor. There were 23 shoots available in this patch, but considering the sizes of everyone in the party and how powerful the smell of the root bulbs were, they would probably only need two or three per person if they wanted to make some kind of dish with them. Torrent could create fire to cook with, after all.
As she headed to the north, further upstream, Ash suddenly felt her Alert skill kick in. Using her own stealth skills, she carefully crept between the trees until she saw two Monsters fighting--a black cat with stiff, spiky fur on its head that made it look as if it were wearing a witch's hat, with its ears poking through the false brim, and a Rubber Frog. The cat had two differently colored eyes, one red and one orange, and looked to be stalking the unaware frog. When the cat had gotten quite close the frog seemed to pick up on its presence, but only turned to face it. Now that it knew the jig was up, the cat's red eye seemed to burst into black smoke--which then, without traveling between them, enveloped the frog as well! The frog immediately croaked and sucked in air. Its rubbery body expanded, from the size of a watermelon to the size of a monster truck's tire! The cat took a step back at this, hissing and yowling, then focused the other eye upon it. Ash had to fight back the urge to yawn all of a sudden, but the frog suddenly shook itself, then--while still inflated--turned and leaped an incredible distance. It almost seemed to fly up the mountainous slopes, heading for the edge of the trees at breakneck speed, with the cat in hot pursuit. The frog deflated a bit with each jump, but soon both forms grew smaller as they headed up into the rocks. Soon they were gone from sight.
Continuing around, Ash came to the rear of their "base hill," and found another patch of Kele growing about 15 shoots. The trip around the eastern side of the hill was simply another pass through the area from which they'd already come, and she made it back to the dig site to check in on Digbie and Torrent before again heading out, this time deciding what to gather and bring back with her--honestly, not many options at this point.
You used Alchemy II! You used Magic Analysis I! You used Monster Analysis I! This is a plant. You have analyzed this plant before. This item has no magical properties. This item is not a monster. Combined Skill Effectiveness at 60%. ---Green Argep--- Plant, Unripe, Berry. Crunchy Exterior, Low Hardness, Brittle. Low Sweetness. Acidic Juice, Tangy. Negligible Toxicity, Non-Harmful. Soft, Weak, Pulpy. No Magical Effects. Negligible Nature Mana. ---Analysis Complete!---
Skill Gain: Material Analysis I! You have developed an eye for determining the qualities of inorganic or non-living objects. At this rank, you will only be able to gain surface information about an object. When used in conjunction with a crafting skill, it may help discover more compatible items.
You used Alchemy II! You used Magic Analysis I! You used Monster Analysis I! You used Material Analysis I! These targets have not been harvested, dissected, or otherwise broken down into useful components. One of these targets is magical in nature. Both of these targets are monsters. These targets have not been slain in order to convert them into Materials. You have analyzed a Material from one of these creatures before. You have analyzed one of these creatures before. Combined Skill Effectiveness is 90%. ---Hex Cat--- A cat of dark hues, with stiff fur atop its head that comes to a point. This fur, and the shape of its ears, give it the impression of wearing a witch's hat. While not highly intelligent, this feline has some native talent with magic. It's known as an unlucky omen among most races, and some say a Hex Cat looking through one's window can curse a child in the cradle with heterochromia. You saw it use a skill that seems to weaken an enemy, and attempt some sort of sedation or hypnosis skill. Both required eye contact but did not seem to cause direct damage. You suspect at least one of these skills was a Curse spell.
The Hex Cat's fur is Fibrous, Organic, Flammable, Insulating, Fragile, Water Absorbant, and Waxy. Magic energy radiates from its body, especially its eyes. It seems like its fur might be highly reactive with other materials. Its flesh and bones don't seem different from other animals and thus might be useful as materials. ---Rubber Frog--- This frog's magical evolution certainly took an odd turn somewhere. The elasticity of its form, from its skin to its bones, is ridiculous. With a tongue that will stretch it has no trouble snagging flies, and it can expand its mouth wide enough to swallow many things whole. To intimidate predators it sometimes puffs itself up to enormous size. It has no magical abilities that you can tell.
The Rubber Frog's hide retains its elasticity even after its death and after the hide dries. It is Extremely Elastic, Organic, Flame-resistant, Very Insulating, Slightly Durable, Water Repellant, Slippery, and Thick. It might be suitable for crafting. Its flesh and bones, aside from being rubbery, don't seem that different from other amphibians and thus might be useful as materials. ---Analysis Complete!---
Oberon and Mourningstar had gone further afield, sweeping only a long arc back and forth in one direction of the camp. When they had gone out far enough they could no longer hear and see the construction going on back at the hill, they were suddenly forced to take cover--ahead of them, two other monsters were wandering. Mourningstar, of course, wanted to try and take out whoever won this fight in their weakened state. Oberon advised against such a course, as even with their analysis it wasn't quite clear how strong these monsters were or what abilities they might have, even if they didn't have magic. For the moment they waited to see what the outcome would be.
A large badger, with thick armored plating over its hide and rough looking, spiky spurs growing from the shell around its forearms, seemed to be rooting around in the dirt without paying any attention to what was around it. A Rubber Frog, much like those they had seen out by the creek, simply sat on an old, rotten log, occaisonally ribbiting. Their observation skills told them the badger was a type of monster known as an Armored Badger, but its personality only became clear while they sat and watched.
The badger blundered about, and finally bumped into the Rubber Frog's log. Sniffing at its bottom, it must have deduced that some grubs or mushroom it wanted grew under the dead wood, so with one claw it pushed at the thing. The frog, croaking in alarm, suddenly puffed up to the size of a monster truck tire! It almost seemed like it could eat the badger whole--
Armored Badger didn't care.
With one bite the badger seized the frog's elastic hide, and the two observers could already see that they had pierced it deeply enough to draw blood. The frog squealed but the badger gave a violent heave and twist, dragging it off the log, then began to viciously shake the creature until--
The Rubber Frog "popped."
Covered in gore, the badger nonchalantly held the frog's deflated remains between its claws and began to rip off strips of its hide to get at the flesh underneath. Mourningstar offered the idea of a tactical retreat, to bring back information to the others before dealing with this opponent at a later date, and Oberon agreed wholeheartedly.
Further to the east of the hill, far enough out that the creek couldn't be seen anymore, they found two bushes laden with ripe Blue Argep berrries. It might be risky to come out this far in order to gather food, but as long as they were careful it would be a good resource for their little group. A quick count would show 38 bunches of berries--so if a bunch by itself would make for a handful of berries, probably that many "servings"--and Oberon decided to grab as many as he could carry and immediately take them back to the shelter. Though the Sprite was a little larger than he had been as a Pixie, he still couldn't carry all that much, so he delivered 10 bunches of Blue Argeps. Mourningstar joined him, though she was only able to carry 5 bunches. By the time they returned they had also found a large Topapo plant and some of the purplish-red ferns. There were 6 tubers that looked big enough to eat, and 5 of the ferns growing in a bunch. Since they had gone further out than Ash had, by this point they decided they had been away long enough and gathered up what they could before heading back. Oberon was able to carry 2 Topapos under each arm, and with her Lesser Force Mourningstar could grab the other 2 and 3 of the ferns.
Oberon used Monster Analysis II! Oberon used Magic Analysis IV!
Mourningstar used Monster Analysis II! Mourningstar used Magic Analysis II!
---Armored Badger--- A regular sized badger, but ambient magic in its environment and a few quirks of evolution have caused it to sprout armored plates and spikes along its forearms, hindquarters, forehead, and the middle of its back. It can use its forearms and head armor, especially, as weaponry. Its body armor is quite tough, rendering it invincible to the fangs and claws of most other creatures around its level. Not normally overaggressive, but like regular badgers is known to have a mean streak. Is highly reactive to perceived threats and will often chase a fleeing offender, but in reality would rather avoid an equally strong opponent. It has no magical abilities as far as you can tell. ---Rubber Frog--- This frog's magical evolution certainly took an odd turn somewhere. The elasticity of its form, from its skin to its bones, is ridiculous. With a tongue that will stretch over twenty feet it has no trouble snagging flies, and it can expand its mouth wide enough to swallow anything up to twice its own size whole. To intimidate predators it sometimes puffs itself up to enormous size. It has no magical abilities that you can tell. The Rubber Frog's hide retains its elasticity even after its death and after the hide dries.
You have analyzed this creature before. Though it doesn't have any magical spells or affinities, this creature has a weakness to Fire, Ice, and Metal. It is immune to Lightning. It is resistant to Earth and Water.
---Analysis Complete!---
Oberon used Monster Analysis II! Oberon used Magic Analysis IV!
Mourningstar used Monster Analysis II! Mourningstar used Magic Analysis II!
This is not a monster and it does not have any magical qualities as far as you can tell. Combined Skill Effectiveness at 40%. ---Blue Argep--- An edible berry, fresh and ripe. Its leaves have culinary use as well. It's quite sweet. ---Analysis Complete!---
Oberon used Monster Analysis II! Oberon used Magic Analysis IV!
Mourningstar used Monster Analysis II! Mourningstar used Magic Analysis II!
This is not a monster and its magical qualities are low. Combined Skill Effectiveness at 45%. ---Wild Topapo--- A hearty, starchy root that can be prepared in a variety of ways. This plant has no magic qualities. This plant is partially toxic or otherwise harmful in its current state. This plant can be eaten. ---Antidote Fern--- This purple fern has healing properties of some sort. You can feel a small amount of Nature magic from it. It may have other uses as well. ---Analysis Complete!---
Once they had all returned and taken stock of their discoveries, as well as compiling information so that they would have a rough mental map of the area, the sun had risen somewhat. It was probably around noon or so, and the digging team had managed to create a rough, domed in area for their central chamber after digging into the hill for a few feet. At the tallest point it was probably just enough for Digbie to stand up straight if he didn't mind his head rubbing the ceiling, but closer to the edges it was barely big enough for him to crouch down and get in. Oberon, being a foot and a half tall, walked in and out easily as if it were a great cavern instead of a burrow. Ash and the others had it even easier. Right now the shelter didn't need any reinforcements, but as they expanded on it they would either need to gather materials, or do some fancy digging. The Lesserwurm came up with an idea of digging around in a circle to leave an earthen support pillar, while Digbie thought he might be able to use chants or circles to improve his Rock Spires. For the moment, though, after digging a firepit in the center of the chamber, the group took a break.
Now the group decided to consolidate their knowledge of skills. First of all, everyone wanted to try and learn how to Meditate from Oberon. The Sprite's explanation was rather simple, and surely most of them had known by simple osmosis about meditation being used in things like Yoga and religious practices in their old world. Those who had Magic Analysis were able to glean more information, and soon they were all sitting around the firepit and trying their best to feel at one with the universe. First came the feeling of actual calm, of clearing one's mind--not to reach emptiness, but to focus only on the moment, and the feelings within the body. Next they would feel the Mana within them. For Ash especially this was much like her struggles to learn magic from the Pixies back in the cave, and as she related this experience to the others to help them they too soon understood. Those who could already use some magic had a much easier time of it. Once they could feel the flow of their mana, they soon began to perceive the mana that existed outside of their bodies. From the ground underneath them, the air around them, and in Oberon's case even the sunlight. There seemed to be energy within everything in this world, but it could only be found if one ignored all other senses and focused their new, supernatural sense. It hadn't even existed until they came to this world, so it was little wonder they hadn't grown used to it yet.
Once they could feel the Mana, all that was left was to sit and practice it--Oms and Kumbayas optional--until the System informed them of their success. But that wasn't all. Oberon, who would likely take the opportunity to sit out in the sun, also activated the Gather Light skill he had been developing, and felt a surge in the mana he was able to intake. Digbie, perhaps due to his Earth Affinity, also quickly gained a new skill after Meditate triggered--Earth Vein. It seemed as long as he was in contact with the ground and wasn't rapidly moving, he could also replenish his mana more quickly. Even Mourningstar activated a different skill--perhaps she had been doing it unconsciously without realizing it, given that everyone around her was gathering mana and generating a sort of "magically thick" area, or maybe Meditating was a bit like draining the environment of its magic. Her Mana Drain skill activated, allowing her to actively steal energy from something else so long as it was magically charged. She learned that she could even temporarily boost her maximum MP beyond its normal limit, but if she tried to do too much of this it seemed like it could be harmful...
By the time everyone had learned how to meditate, about an hour and a half had passed. Ash then decided to ask Torrent about her various related poison skills, Torrent wanted to learn Tremor Sense from Digbie, who in turn wanted to learn the Analysis Skills. Oberon wanted to learn Fireball from Torrent, and Mourningstar wanted to learn Mana Dart from him. Torrent would first have to explain how to use each of her different poison skills, along with providing a demonstration, then Ash was able to begin working on them on her own for a few moments. Digbie did the same to teach Torrent the Tremor Sense, which she had already gotten a head start on when they were working together in order to dig the cavern. And though she might not have realized it, ever since she began tunneling on her own after her evolution, she had accrued a small number of points towards the skill. Thus she quickly achieved this first goal, and then had to spend time with Oberon demonstrating and trying to explain the basics of her Fireball spell. Unlike Crispy she hadn't been using it for very long...but then again, she might recall that time she had witnessed him using it in the cave, and what he had said to Orchid about it. Maybe she could combine that with her new experiences in order to not only improve her own understanding, but pass it on to Oberon as well.
Oberon had quite a bit of practice with Mana Orb at this point, using it as the basis for his Mana Dart, Light Ring, and Mana Shape. Using what Torrent had taught him, and given Oberon's tendency to really analyze his magic and think himself through each step of developing it, he would likely realize that perhaps emulating the burning effect of Light Ring might aid in the formation of a Fireball. He was able to practice much more freely at this point, as his Meditation skill combined with Gather Light allowed him to recover his Mana very quickly, although still not quite as fast as using a Mana Crystal. Since Mourningstar already had Mana Orb and Mana Shape for herself, Oberon was able to easily explain how to perform the Mana Dart to her during his Fireball training.
By the time Torrent learned her Tremor Sense, Ash had paused to take a break from practicing the various poison techniques. She had been having some difficulty with Poison Breath, as it seemed like her poison glands were no longer in her fangs, but sometimes the best way to combat a problem was to stop and do something else for a while. So she began teaching Digbie the basis of her Analysis skills, Monster Analysis, Magic Analysis, and Material Analysis. Digbie didn't really have the background for it, but given how it seemed to synergize with the other skills Ash may have also taught him a little bit about Alchemy. There was also the Plant Analysis skill, though Ash hadn't activated that one yet. Judging from the others, however, it was a good guess that one only needed practice to perfect it, and various plants and trees were all around them.
In the time it took Ash to finish her lecture (she had, at one point, been a leading researcher and professor of her field after all) and absolutely boggle poor Digbie, the others had achieved their next set of goals as well. Oberon was able to help the Demiblin with his own explanations of Magic Analysis and Monster Analysis, and Mourningstar could add her two cents as well. With all these explanations something was bound to click--and the others would find their own abilities improving from all the tests and demonstrations it took. There was a saying, after all, that the best way to learn something was to teach it. Digbie, and Torrent as well, soon found themselves capable of various analytical skills--and the overflow of information gave them quite the headache temporarily.
Another two hours had gone by and the afternoon was well upon them. And at this point, as they were outside Analyzing the different vegetables they had collected, the trees, and so on in order to practice with Digbie, a Fanged Lizard of all things came upon them! They never saw it until it spoke, as its body was the same shade of brown as the leaf-covered forest floor, and its steps were quiet...even just looking at it, it almost seemed like the creature would go out of focus if you diverted your attention even for a moment.
"Finally found you guys...so how you been?" asked Reoth, as he laid down the Hex Cat's Eye he had been carrying. By now the thing had dried somewhat, and taken on a texture akin to that of a plastic bead--but that red iris still felt as if some sort of power were contained within.
After some healing from Oberon and a short explanation of his adventures, Reoth retired into the chamber to get some well deserved rest. The others took a short break as well, then set about training their next set of skills. They were starting to tire, however, and it might prove to be too much for one day to accomplish everything they were aiming for...
Ash also wanted to learn Tremor Sense, and while Torrent had learned everything she wanted at the moment plus some more, Mourningstar still wanted to learn Fireball from the Lesserwurm. Digbie and Oberon decided to trade spellcraft, Sacred Ground for Mana Orb. With Oberon able to assist Mourningstar and Digbie able to assist Ash, both Tremor Sense and Fireball were learned quite quickly.
Mourningstar now joined Oberon in teaching Mana Orb to Digbie, and also to Ash. Since Ash already had some of the basics thanks to her evolution, it was much easier for her--however, Digbie discovered that not only did his variance improve his ability with magic, but it seemed that Mana Orb was a skill that his Job would boost, if only slightly. Both of them were quickly adept with the spell, and Mourningstar and Oberon had improved their understanding of it as well thanks to the practice and feeding off of each other's explanations.
Another two hours gone, and the sun was starting to get low. By an estimate, it had to be at least half past five. They still had perhaps 3 or 4 hours until nightfall, and they had a good store of food saved up. With the creek nearby they had plenty of water. Despite being thoroughly exhausted thus far, they still wanted to continue expanding their skills--after all, they had made incredible progress thus far all things considered. Compared to living in the cave, struggling to survive, and constantly fighting for their lives, it seemed like working together, sharing their knowledge, and practicing in a secure environment was just as effective at leveling up.
However, how long could such a golden opportunity last?
Ash still wanted to learn Mana Slice and Shield. Torrent had taken to talking to Reoth in the tunnel in hopes of learning his Scale Shift ability. Oberon was still working on Sacred Ground--it seemed it was actually a fairly complex spell, as despite doing everything exactly as Digbie had it didn't seem to want to trigger. He drew the circles, he chanted, he tried to focus his Mana into the earth first by will alone, then by focusing on the flow going through his feet, then by placing both hands on the ground and trying to drive the Mana in. Digbie's natural affinity towards the earth--even before he had earned that Affinity skill--and his desperation to save Torrent in that terrible accident before, seemed to have greatly affected the skill's formation. Nonetheless, after much work Oberon DID get it to activate. Digbie also wanted to learn the Shield spell, and Mourningstar wanted the Demiblin's Stone Shot and Rock Spire. As Oberon was the only one who could use the Shield spell--like Ash he also wanted to learn Mana Slice--he was stuck as the only teacher this time around. Luckily, Digbie found that Shield was another boosted spell for him. And like Sacred Ground, it seemed it was especially well suited to the Skirmisher, which made sense if the Job was supposed to defend oneself and others.
Now Mourningstar took over as the only one of the group who had access to Mana Slice. She had been trying to make a proper sword using Mana Shape quite some time ago in the cave, and that experience had helped make the actual spell somewhat more concrete. Oberon, as usual, picked up the new spell quickly once he knew how Mana Shape played a part in its formation, and while Mana Dart didn't have an "edge" it still followed a similar principle of making a Mana Orb "sharp." Ash wasn't as experienced with Magic, but after what she had learned so far combined with her own analytic tendencies, she picked this up in due time. It wasn't as fast as Mana Orb, but it wasn't nearly as excruciating as learning Lesser Force had been either.
All that was left now was for Digbie to teach Mourningstar his two earthen spells. However, at this point the sun had set and the stars were beginning to come out. The group was absolutely exhausted--and had the System notices to prove it, unfortunately. But with their food and water supplies, and with a safe place to sleep during the night, surely it wouldn't hurt to keep going just a little longer. After all, all Digbie really had to do was teach Mourningstar how to channel her Mana into a rock, which Oberon could help with after his experiences with Sacred Ground. Once Earth Mana had been attained by infusing the stone, all you had to do was envision the use of Mana Orb, or just throw it as hard as possible. Eventually the skill would trigger. Using Rock Spire required a more fine-tuned manipulation of Earth Mana, sending it into the ground towards an opponent. Mourningstar was the only user of this technique so far who didn't also have the Tremor Sense skill, and as a result it took longer for her to get the hang of it. If it weren't for the Meditate skill, she likely wouldn't have been able to do it at all, as she had to take frequent breaks to recoup some of her MP.
While Mourningstar worked on these last two spells, despite being quite ready to get a good night's rest the others had some last minute things they wanted to attent to. Reoth, now feeling much better, wanted to learn Fire Breath from Torrent. Having no experience with magic, however, he had quite a bit of trouble with it--the best he seemed to be able to manage was getting a feel for his own mana flow, and forcing his breathing hard enough to make his throat slightly sore. Ash gathered wood, both for the firepit and for her own crafting efforts. Oberon attempted to achieve Lesser Force using Danny's advice from what seemed like quite long ago now, but with the sun having gone down his Mana recovery was much slower. Digbie began trying to use his new Mana Orb and Shield spells in conjunction with his Soil Manipulation, making various attempts to create some form of construct with Earth Mana for defensive purposes.
Now that Torrent had gained Scale Shift, she began practicing simply sneaking around the camp, occaisonally calling out to the others to see if they could find her. While doing so she also practiced using her Muffle skill in conjuction with the new technique. The already ninja-like lizard would soon be quite the shadow operative to reckon with.
As the moon now rose towards the middle of the night sky, however, the group could no longer push themselves. They had quite literally Overworked themselves to the point that, despite having available food and water and being able to recharge their Magic, they were simply too physically exhausted to continue. With their HP threatening to drain, they relieved themselves and filled their bellies one last time and went inside the shelter. It was a little bit packed--Digbie and Torrent hadn't had time to finish anything besides the first chamber--but thanks to the small fire Ash built and Torrent started, they were quite warm and able to lay down on beds of leaves and straw gathered from the forest.
They slept like the dead, completely unaware of anything outside their dreams.
When they awakened the next morning, they were well rested, but hunger and thirst again showed their heads. Out of their 15 Blue Argeps, 6 Topapos, however many Kele shoots Ash had brought back, they had (assumedly) made three meals yesterday. That meant 5 portions, then 6 after Reoth arrived, so this morning they had only 4 portions remaining not counting the Kele. ((You guys decide what combination/ratios of food you have left.)) They would need much more food if they were to keep working as hard as they did yesterday--and potentially, something more filling that might prevent their Stamina dropping as quickly. As Oberon and Mourningstar hadn't been able to procure any animal samples for yesterday either, it seemed they and the Pygmy Drake would likely resume their foraging duties...
But as everyone went out to the creek for water, they would hear a sudden rustling. Up near the top of the hill, barely silouhetted against the deep blue morning sky, was a Goblin! But it didn't look like any of the ones they had seen at the cave--not that they had looked very closely, but especially for Digbie its face didn't ring any bells at all--!
The lone Goblin took off, scrambling in a mad rush through the forest.
((The following System update is in no particular order, so they would have gotten the skills whenever the timing was appropriate.))
Skill Rank Up: Poison Spray I > II! Initial Damage increased. Chance to Poison increased. Stamina Cost increased.
Skill Rank Up: Overwork II > Overwork III! Stamina consumption remains the same. Self-Buff increased. When Stamina is fully consumed, this Skill will remain active by sacrificing HP automatically. It will replace HP Drain, but its HP consumption is higher than a normal HP Drain. It will automatically deactivate if the user has only 1 HP remaining.
Skill Rank Up: Magic Analysis I > Magic Analysis II! Gain more detail about Magic oriented Skills and Spells. Lose less effectiveness when analyzing Monsters, Materials, etc so long as they are magically inclined.
Skill Rank Up: Monster Analysis I > II! Gain more information about Monsters. Other analysis skills will further boost the information this skill provides, such as a creature’s capability with magic or its equipment.
Skill Gain: Meditate I! By concentrating and calming oneself, increase the regeneration of Magic Power and Stamina. This skill cannot be used in battle. Any distractions in the environment will drastically decrease the effectiveness of this skill. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills.
Skill Gain: Poison Glob I! Compare to Poison Spit/Spray: Projectile speed decreased. Projectile range slightly decreased. Acid Damage increased. Stamina consumption equal. Chance to inflict Poison equal.
Skill Gain: Poison Breath I! -Though your poison gland is now located in your tail, your draconic physiology is specifically suited for breath weapons. This has also increased your Dragon Affinity.- Whether by magic or biology, produce fumes projected from the mouth. This skill deals very low acidic damage and has a lower chance to poison an enemy than most other poison-type skills due to its lower density, but is ranged and covers a small area of effect. The fumes have a small chance to linger in the effected area for a short time.
Skill Gain: Plant Analysis I! Basic field knowledge of botany. At this rank, using this skill only grants you “generalized” information.
Skill Gain: Tremor Sense I! You can feel vibrations through the earth within a 30 foot radius or so around you, whether they be footsteps, tunneling creatures, etc. You have already learned through your previous experimentation that you can also produce these vibrations to a very limited degree. This skill has to be Activated at this rank.
Skill Gain: Mana Orb I! A simple blast of Energy elemental magic with a range of 30 feet. At the moment it only does as much damage as a strong punch on average, unless the enemy is weak to magic. As it gets stronger it becomes a generic, non-elemental energy blast. Due to its simple nature and lack of elemental properties the Mana Orb spell is easily malleable into other spell forms.
Skill Gain: Shield I! The most basic of defensive support spells. An aura effect reduces incoming damage, but no physical barrier or counteractive forces are generated. Only natural resistances to damage are reinforced. Can be cast on objects.
Skill Gain: Mana Slice I! A blade of magical energy made by shaping a normal Mana Orb to have an edge. It uses more MP but does Slashing damage and is generally faster.
Skill Gain: Mana Shape I! You can shape your raw Mana into the appearance of something. At this rank, your Mana does not have weight, force, or other physical qualities. Your Mana cannot produce sounds. Your Mana cannot move freely. Your mana can have its color changed. Your shapes must be relatively simple with no moving parts. The shape cannot be held for long without more MP.
Skill Gain: Fusion Skill [Analysis]! A Fusion Skill is not a true skill by itself, but a sort of shortcut. You have acquired Monster, Magic, Plant, and Material Analysis skills. By activating [Analysis] you will use all of these skills at once without as much mental effort. [Analysis] will not go up in Rank, but its effectiveness will increase if the Skills used for Fusion are increased. However, if only Analysis is used, the growth of the individual skills will not be as fast.
LEVEL UP! Your learning experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 6! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your Max Stamina has Increased!
LEVEL UP! Your learning experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 7! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your Max HP and MP have Increased!
Unspent Skill Points: 14
Current Skills: Stun Stinger II (2.0) Poison Spray II (2.0) Alchemy II (2.5) Overwork III (3.25) Charisma I (1.6) Venom Shot I (1.8) Crafting I (1.25) Lesser Force I (1.5) Magic Analysis II (2.5) Alert I (1.3) Lesser Flight I (1.2) Muffle I (1.5) Monster Analysis II (2.0) Material Analysis I (1.5) Meditate I (1.7) Poison Glob I (1.0) Poison Breath I (1.0) Plant Analysis I (1.0) Tremor Sense I (1.0) Mana Orb I (1.5) Shield I (1.0) Mana Slice I (1.5) Mana Shape I (1.0) Analysis (--) <UNUSABLE> Blunt Resistance (0.2) Scribe (0.6) Minor Heal (0.725) Faster (0.1) Intimidate (0.4) Acid Volley (0.1) Venom Claw (0.1) Dragon Affinity (0.45) <CANNOT BE INCREASED WITH SKILL POINTS> Rabid Fit (0.1)
Skill Rank Up: Tremor Sense II > Tremor Sense III! Range has increased from 40 feet to 50 feet. When Passive, you will have a much more detailed perception of incoming vibrations. When used Actively, your Tremors cannot cause damage but can sometimes resonate with certain objects or other spells depending on various factors--for instance, setting off some sort of trap in your path. The Active use has an increased MP cost.
Skill Rank Up: Stone Shot I > Stone Shot II! Earth Magic Damage Increased. Casting Speed Increased. Piercing Damage Increased. MP Consumption Increased.
Skill Gain: Meditate I! By concentrating and calming oneself, increase the regeneration of Magic Power and Stamina. This skill cannot be used in battle. Any distractions in the environment will drastically decrease the effectiveness of this skill. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills.
Skill Gain: Earth Vein I! By remaining still and in contact with the earth by at least two solid points of your body for a short amount of time, you can begin passively drawing Mana from the Earth to refill your MP. Moving other parts of your body can drastically decrease the effectiveness of this skill. This skill cannot be used in conjuction with other Active skills.
Skill Gain: Spell Chant I! Magic is the unison of Nature, Spirit, and Will. Language is the expression of Will. Using personalized language as an aid in manipulating one's energy is the first step to conceptualization and understanding of what Magic truly is. Using a previously existing Spell Skill as the Base, you may enact one (1) alteration of the spell's typical qualities. You possess the skill Focus, which allows a spell to increase either its power or range in return for increased MP cost of 50% of its initial value and delayed casting time of 30 seconds. Spell Chants will also delay casting time by a default of 10 seconds, as any chant shorter than this will be ineffective. Skill Synergy between this skill and Focus will allow you to alter Power/Range + One (1) other spell quality, which may include Power or Range a second time. The more complex the chant, the greater the alteration, but also the greater the increase to MP cost; by default the spell's cost is increased by a further 50% of its initial value.
Skill Gain: Monster Analysis I! Gain basic biological information about a Monster.
Skill Gain: Magic Analysis I! You may now analyze magical energies or objects to learn their most basic magical characteristics. Less effective on Materials and Monsters unless they are magical in nature.
Skill Gain: Material Analysis I! You have developed an eye for determining the qualities of inorganic or non-living objects. At this rank, you will only be able to gain surface information about an object. When used in conjunction with a crafting skill, it may help discover more compatible items.
Skill Gain: Plant Analysis I! Basic field knowledge of botany. At this rank, using this skill only grants you “generalized” information.
Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I! Take less damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have a better chance of resisting mind-altering effects such as Confusion or Hypnosis. This counts as an Elemental resistance for the purposes of Magic Resistance.
Skill Gain: Fortify I! When creating something, especially a Structure of some type, you are able to imbue it with your own magic in order to strengthen its resilience. A piece of wood will not break so easily, a piece of stone will withstand weathering longer. With a better understanding of the Materials, or higher Crafting skills, this skill's effect is boosted.
Skill Gain: Mana Orb I! A simple blast of Energy elemental magic with a range of 30 feet. At the moment it only does as much damage as a strong punch on average, unless the enemy is weak to magic. As it gets stronger it becomes a generic, non-elemental energy blast. Due to its simple nature and lack of elemental properties the Mana Orb spell is easily malleable into other spell forms.
Skill Gain: Shield I! Skill Rank Up: Shield I > Shield II! The most basic of defensive support spells. An aura effect reduces incoming damage, but no physical barrier or counteractive forces are generated. Only natural resistances to damage are reinforced. Can be cast on objects. >>> This defensive spell increases the target’s natural defenses through supernatural means. Skin and bone are not hardened, resistances are not increased, but they will take less damage. At Rank II, this spell will last for 1 minute if it is not broken by a stronger attack.
Skill Gain: Overwork I! Push through, break the limit, and--probably need a nap later. When you really need it, you’re able to summon up just that little extra bit of power, at the cost of slowly stressing yourself to death. This skill will deactivate when Stamina runs out.
Skill Gain: Fusion Skill [Analysis]! A Fusion Skill is not a true skill by itself, but a sort of shortcut. You have acquired Monster, Magic, Plant, and Material Analysis skills. By activating [Analysis] you will use all of these skills at once without as much mental effort. [Analysis] will not go up in Rank, but its effectiveness will increase if the Skills used for Fusion are increased. However, if only Analysis is used, the growth of the individual skills will not be as fast.
Skill Gain: Mana Affinity I! You have developed a bond with Magic itself. At this rank, your Max MP is increased. Magic-related skills will develop more quickly. Increase the rank of your affinity by deepening your understanding of Magic.
LEVEL UP! Your learning experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 6! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your Max Stamina has Increased! NOTE: You are very close to your next Level!
Unspent Skill Points: 5
Current Skills: Job - Skirmisher **Use Light Equipment (--) **Use Medium Equipment (0.1) Tremor Sense III (3.2) -Soil Manipulation II (2.8) Stone Shot II (2.0) Taboo I (1.0) *Stronger I (1.5) **Sacred Ground I (1.5) Rock Spire I (1.5) Earth Affinity I (1.15) Meditate I (1.5) Earth Vein I (1.7) -Spell Chant I (1.0) Monster Analysis I (1.0) Material Analysis I (1.0) Plant Analysis I (1.0) *Mental Resistance I (1.0) Fortify I (1.0) *Mana Orb (1.5) **Shield II (2.0) Overwork I (1.75) Mana Affinity I (1.0) Analysis (--) <UNUSABLE> Quake (0.5) Crafting (0.2) *Point Strike (0.6) *Smash (0.6) Throw Item (0.2) Charisma (0.1) Guidance (0.1) *Mana Strike (0.3) Focus (0.1) Stone Fist (0.6) *Stone Breaker (0.2) Intimidate (0.2) -Scribe (0.2) *Fire Resistance (0.3) Demon Affinity (0.25) Underground Movement (0.5) **Earth Wall (0.8)
Skill Rank Up: Mana Orb II > Mana Orb III! Magic damage further increased. Range Increased. MP Cost slightly increased.
Skill Rank Up: Magic Analysis II > Magic Analysis III! Gain more detail about observed magic skills, objects, etc. Lose less effectiveness when using this skill on other things, even if they aren’t magically inclined. When analyzing a spell you have seen at least one time before, you may learn information such as its element or function depending on various factors.
Skill Rank Up: Mana Shape I > Mana Shape II! You may now produce more than one shape at a time (interlocking or separate), and these shapes may move. More complicated movement and higher numbers of shapes causes higher MP Drain. At this rank, your Mana still does not have weight, force, or other physical qualities. Your Mana cannot produce sounds. Your Mana cannot move freely. Your mana can have its color changed and can now be more than one solid color.
Skill Rank Up: Mana Slice I > Mana Slice II! For the same MP cost, the crescent shaped magic blade now covers a larger 180 degree arc in front of you and can strike multiple targets as it surges forward. It still does the same damage and moves at the same speed.
Skill Gain: Meditate I! Skill Rank Up: Meditate I > Meditate II! By concentrating and calming oneself, increase the regeneration of Magic Power and Stamina. This skill cannot be used in battle. Any distractions in the environment will drastically decrease the effectiveness of this skill. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills. >>> Increase the amount of Mana recovered. Low background noises, movements, etc (comparable to the common room of an Inn, a busy street at the market, etc) will no longer decrease the effectiveness of this skill so long as the user maintains stillness and a calm state of mind. This skill still cannot be used while moving or in the midst of battle. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills.
Skill Gain: Mana Drain I! You have experienced the flow of mana inside your own body, and felt the energy of other creatures being used upon you. Like siphoning water through a tube, this ability allows the user to draw the energies of others into themselves. By using Stamina, you will drain MP from an opponent and add it to your own. However, certain factors may come into play--you are not guaranteed to restore the exact same amount of MP that you drain. At this rank, in order to use this skill you must be touching the creature or object to be drained. While you are using this skill you cannot use any other spell or skill that is offensive in nature or requires complex movements.
Skill Gain: Mana Dart I! A focused magic projectile that deals non-elemental Magic damage and Piercing Damage. Higher cost than Mana Orb but increased range, speed, and damage. However, its smaller size makes it less accurate.
Skill Gain: Fireball I! The fire-themed version of a basic magical attack. With roughly the same power, range, and MP consumption as a Mana Orb, it has the unique property of being able to inflict a burn on the target. However, as an elemental spell, these same properties render it harder to use in certain circumstances. Non-flammable or elementally opposed targets, for example, will be much less effected.
Skill Gain: Shield I! The most basic of defensive support spells. An aura effect reduces incoming damage, but no physical barrier or counteractive forces are generated. Only natural resistances to damage are reinforced. Can be cast on objects.
Skill Gain: Overwork I! Skill Rank Up: Overwork I > Overwork II! Push through, break the limit, and--probably need a nap later. When you really need it, you’re able to summon up just that little extra bit of power, at the cost of slowly stressing yourself to death. This skill will deactivate when Stamina runs out. >>> Stamina consumption increased. Self-Buff increased. When Stamina is fully consumed, this Skill can be kept active by sacrificing HP. This skill will automatically deactivate when HP reaches dangerously low levels.
LEVEL UP! Your combined experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 6! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your Max Stamina has Increased!
LEVEL UP! Your learning experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 7! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your Max HP and MP have increased!
Unspent Skill Points: 14
Current Skills: Mana Orb III (3.0) Lesser Force III (3.0125) Levitation (--) Magic Analysis III (3.0) Mana Shape II (2.5) Mana Slice II (2.0) Monster Analysis II (2.5) Focus I (1.1) Taboo I (1.3) Meditate II (2.0) Mana Drain (1.0) Mana Dart (1.0) Fireball (1.0) Shield I (1.0) Overwork II (2.0) <UNUSABLE> Muffle (0.5) Smash (0.2) Defender (0.2) Deception (0.3) Charisma (0.35) Blunt Resistance (0.2) Mental Resistance (0.5) Point Strike (0.1) Fire Resistance (0.2) Rabid Fit (0.1) Dextrous (0.3) Suppress Presence (0.6) Crafting (0.1) Blood Drain (0.9) Intimidate (0.2) Alert (0.5) Keen Sight (0.2) Plant Analysis (0.6) Material Analysis (0.6)
Skill Rank Up: Minor Heal II > Minor Heal III! MP Cost increased. HP Heal increased. Healing can now be used on deeper wounds, but is still less effective on bones. As an Active Spell Skill, you may use any rank of this spell you are capable of within the limits of your MP.
Skill Rank Up: Shield III > Shield IV! MP Cost slightly increased. The aura effect encompasses the target's entire body and what they have on their person, possibly increasing the ability of shields or armor, unless otherwise shaped. Shaping the aura no longer applies the Shield spell on that one part--rather, the effect of the Shield that would normally be spread across the body is now concentrated, greatly increasing the effect applied on that shape. Defenses are further increased. Lasts for 2 minutes or until broken by significant damage.
Skill Rank Up: Mana Orb I > Mana Orb II! Magic Damage Increased. MP Cost Increased.
Skill Rank Up: Mana Shape I > Mana Shape II! You may now produce more than one shape at a time (interlocking or separate), and these shapes may move. More complicated movement and higher numbers of shapes causes higher MP Drain. At this rank, your Mana still does not have weight, force, or other physical qualities. Your Mana cannot produce sounds. Your Mana cannot move freely. Your mana can have its color changed and can now be more than one solid color.
Skill Rank Up: Meditate I > Meditate II! Skill Rank Up: Meditate II > Meditate III! Increase the amount of Mana recovered. Low background noises, movements, etc (comparable to the common room of an Inn, a busy street at the market, etc) will no longer decrease the effectiveness of this skill so long as the user maintains stillness and a calm state of mind. This skill still cannot be used while moving or in the midst of battle. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills. >>> Increase the amount of Mana recovered. The decrease suffered from distraction remains the same as Rank II. This skill may be used while moving in a slow, relaxed fashion, such as while walking or bathing. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills.
Skill Gain: Gather Light I! Under full sunlight, convert solar energy to Mana. You may move at a slow, relaxed pace while using this skill. Any blockage of sunlight will immediately cancel this skill, and it may not be used in conjunction with Active skills. Its Mana Recovery is slightly slower than Meditate.
Skill Gain: Fireball I! The fire-themed version of a basic magical attack. With roughly the same power, range, and MP consumption as a Mana Orb, it has the unique property of being able to inflict a burn on the target. However, as an elemental spell, these same properties render it harder to use in certain circumstances. Non-flammable or elementally opposed targets, for example, will be much less effected.
Skill Gain: Plant Analysis I! Basic field knowledge of botany. At this rank, using this skill only grants you “generalized” information.
Skill Gain: Material Analysis I! You have developed an eye for determining the qualities of inorganic or non-living objects. At this rank, you will only be able to gain surface information about an object. When used in conjunction with a crafting skill, it may help discover more compatible items.
Skill Gain: Sacred Ground I! By marking an area on the ground, you channel your Mana to boost the natural properties of the earth and create a safe zone for anyone who enters it. At this rank, HP will recover slowly for those you deem allies, and damage taken from enemies outside the zone will slightly decrease. This Spell consumes MP for as long as it is active. The larger the created zone, the more MP required.
Skill Gain: Mana Slice I! A slashing wave of projected mana--essentially, a Mana Orb that has gained the Slashing property. It consumes the same amount of MP as a Mana Orb spell of equal rank, and moves faster, but its damage is split between Slash and Non-Elemental Magic. Resistances and Defenses of the target will apply for each type.
Skill Gain: Overwork I! Push through, break the limit, and--probably need a nap later. When you really need it, you’re able to summon up just that little extra bit of power, at the cost of slowly stressing yourself to death. This skill will deactivate when Stamina runs out.
Skill Gain: Fusion Skill [Analysis]! A Fusion Skill is not a true skill by itself, but a sort of shortcut. You have acquired Monster, Magic, Plant, and Material Analysis skills. By activating [Analysis] you will use all of these skills at once without as much mental effort. [Analysis] will not go up in Rank, but its effectiveness will increase if the Skills used for Fusion are increased. However, if only Analysis is used, the growth of the individual skills will not be as fast.
LEVEL UP! Your combined experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 6! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your Max Stamina has Increased!
LEVEL UP! Your learning experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 7! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your Max HP and MP have increased!
Unspent Skill Points: 17
Current Skills: Minor Heal III (3.0) Lesser Flight II (2.55) Shield IV (4.0) Magic Analysis IV (4.15) Mana Orb II (2.5) Mana Shape II (2.5) Lesser Status Heal (1.2) Mana Dart I (1.5) Alert I (1.2) Monster Analysis II (2.4) Meditation III (3.0) Light Ring I (1.2) Gather Light I (1.6) Fireball I (1.5) Plant Analysis I (1.0) Material Analysis I (1.0) Sacred Ground I (1.0) Mana Slice I (1.0) Overwork I (1.75) <UNUSABLE> Focus (0.8) Mental Resistance (0.9) Wall (0.1) Faster (0.4) Minor Regeneration (0.6) Charisma (0.9) Keen Sight (0.6) Spiritual Awareness (0.4) Minor Heal All (0.5) Light Affinity (0.75) Fire Resistance (0.2) Spell Chant (0.5)
((Assuming someone may teach Reoth how to check his Skill List, just so you know progress is being made)) Skill Gain: Suppress Presence I! While Muffle and some other skills physically reduce one's conspicuousness with physical attributes, Suppress Presence uses MP to "hide" one's self. The closest comparison to this phenomenon is how a meek or shy person can seemingly disappear in a crowd. You become less noticeable--if they aren't looking directly at you, others may feel that you are blurry and out of focus, or you may disappear from their peripheral vision. While moving this effect is noticeably decreased, unless one has other Stealth skills that can synergize with it.
Skill Gain: Scale Shift I! A unique skill learned by many Reptile-class monsters. Using their Stamina to create structural changes that affect how light reflects off their scales, they are able to change the color of their bodies to either blend into the environment, or intimidate opponents. Other skills related to either of these things will synergize. At this rank, you may only change into one solid color based on something you are touching.
Current Skills: Stun Fang I (1.2) Poison Spit I (1.8) Crafting I (1.4) Charisma I (1.0) Muffle I (1.6) Suppress Presence I (1.1) Scale Shift I (1.6)
<UNUSABLE> Faster I (0.3) Mental Resistance I (0.1) Counter I (0.1) Monster Analysis I (0.4) Magic Analysis I (0.2) Fortify I (0.2) Plant Analysis I (0.3) Keen Ear I (0.3) Keen Eye I (0.3) Alert I (0.2) Slash Resistance (0.3) Fire Breath (0.5)
Skill Rank Up: Poison Spit I > Poison Spit II! Initial Damage increased. Chance to Poison increased. Stamina Cost increased.
Skill Rank Up: Muffle II > Muffle III! The sounds of your movements are completely silent so long as you are moving slowly or at walking pace. At running speed, the sounds are noticeably reduced. When using Skills or Spells, any sounds created are slightly reduced.
Skill Rank Up: Posion Breath I > Poison Breath II! Instead of only covering an area immediately around you, the fumes can now be focused into a cone in front of you. Your range is roughly 10 feet. This skill has roughly the same Stamina Cost as Poison Glob, but its damage depends on the target's range. A target at the edges of the cone will take the same damage they would from Poison Spit I, whereas one that is in the center and close to you will take a fair amount more. The fumes now linger for a full minute.
Skill Rank Up: Fireball I > Fireball II! MP Cost slightly increased. Fire Damage increased. The spell now explodes on contact, dealing slight Area of Effect damage to targets immediately next to the origin. The chance to inflict a burn remains the same as Rank I.
Skill Gain: Meditate I! By concentrating and calming oneself, increase the regeneration of Magic Power and Stamina. This skill cannot be used in battle. Any distractions in the environment will drastically decrease the effectiveness of this skill. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills.
Skill Gain: Tremor Sense I! You can feel vibrations through the earth within a 30 foot radius or so around you, whether they be footsteps, tunneling creatures, etc. You have already learned through your previous experimentation that you can also produce these vibrations to a very limited degree. This skill has to be Activated at this rank.
Skill Gain: Soil Manipulation I! An Earth Elemental Magic Spell. At this Rank, you may move up to 5 pounds of loose soil (sand, dirt, and powdered minerals, but not gravel, pebbles, or anything made of larger fragments) freely within a 10 foot radius around your body. Using this soil to create a shape or exert a larger amount of force consumes more MP, and takes 30 seconds at minimum. At this rank, created shapes cannot consist of more than one part, or be more complex than quadrilateral structures. At this rank, created shapes cannot change the quality of the soil (sharper, harder, etc) nor its color or texture.
Skill Gain: Underground Movement I! A skill gained by becoming strong or skilled enough to rapidly tunnel through the earth. You may now move underground at the same speed as you could walk above it. The speed of a brisk pace makes the earth more likely to collapse around you, and the deeper you go the slower your movements will become. At a range of about 1-3 feet below the earth, your movements will still be visible to those on the surface much like a mole's run.
Skill Gain: Monster Analysis I! Gain basic biological information about a Monster.
Skill Gain: Magic Analysis I! You may now analyze magical energies or objects to learn their most basic magical characteristics. Less effective on Materials and Monsters unless they are magical in nature.
Skill Gain: Material Analysis I! You have developed an eye for determining the qualities of inorganic or non-living objects. At this rank, you will only be able to gain surface information about an object. When used in conjunction with a crafting skill, it may help discover more compatible items.
Skill Gain: Plant Analysis I! Basic field knowledge of botany. At this rank, using this skill only grants you “generalized” information.
Skill Gain: Scale Shift I! Skill Gain: Scale Shift I! A unique skill learned by many Reptile-class monsters. Using their Stamina to create structural changes that affect how light reflects off their scales, they are able to change the color of their bodies to either blend into the environment, or intimidate opponents. Other skills related to either of these things will synergize. At this rank, you may only change into one solid color based on something you are touching.
Skill Gain: Overwork I! Push through, break the limit, and--probably need a nap later. When you really need it, you’re able to summon up just that little extra bit of power, at the cost of slowly stressing yourself to death. This skill will deactivate when Stamina runs out.
Skill Gain: Fusion Skill [Analysis]! A Fusion Skill is not a true skill by itself, but a sort of shortcut. You have acquired Monster, Magic, Plant, and Material Analysis skills. By activating [Analysis] you will use all of these skills at once without as much mental effort. [Analysis] will not go up in Rank, but its effectiveness will increase if the Skills used for Fusion are increased. However, if only Analysis is used, the growth of the individual skills will not be as fast.
Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I! Take less damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have a better chance of resisting mind-altering effects such as Confusion or Hypnosis. This counts as an Elemental resistance for the purposes of Magic Resistance.
LEVEL UP! Your learning experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 7! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please! Your Stamina has increased!
Unspent Skill Points: 9
Current Skills: Stun Fang II (2.3) Muffle III (3.0) Poison Spit II (2.0) Poison Glob I (1.75) Poison Breath II (2.0) Fireball II (2.0) Stealth Kill I (1.0) Minor Recovery I (1.0) Fire Resistance I (1.0) Fire Breath I (1.5) Rabid Fit I (1.0) Meditate I (1.25) Tremor Sense I (1.7) Soil Manipulation I (1.0) Underground Movement I (1.5) Monster Analysis I (1.0) Magic Analysis I (1.0) Material Analysis I (1.0) Plant Analysis I (1.0) Scale Shift I (1.25) Overwork I (1.0) Analysis (--) Mental Resistance I (1.2) <UNUSABLE> Crafting (0.2) Alchemy (0.4) Alert (0.4) Warcry (0.3) Poison Fang (0.3) Blunt Resistance (0.5) Smash (0.2) Magic Break (0.1) Suppress Presence (0.2) Spiritual Awareness (0.4) Prehensile Tail (0.1) Spell Cancel (0.1) Fortify (0.5)
Asura was surprise Jason was able to get off anything after being pancaked by Mother Slime. But he was bounced back with a grunt. He was thankful he had his resistances and Harder to mitigate a good bit of the damage. He popped the herb he stole, restoring himself to full or close enough and started to move back. Mother Slime was rolling towards him with worried sounds which earned her a light touch. Don't worry, I'm doing alright. He thought to her but did accept one of the herbs she was offering.
Asura was moving towards Jason who was chanting now. He just kept on coming, like a juggernaut. He was still pissed but a body only had so much adrenaline and he was completely out of Stamina so any attack he did would probably take away from his Hit Points. But Jason did something dumb, he stabbed himself and killed himself. Fucking suiciders.
Still that sound agitated him, like really loud and really bad dial-tone from the human world. Why did this world keep around such sounds when they didn't fuckin have the tech to produce them?! Whatever, Jason was dead and spreading across the floor. Anything he was holding was left on the dirt floor, which seemed to be a single rather large and green crystal. Asura was drawing close to it when a damned wisp came down and started to lift it with their magic.
"I'd advise you to drop that, boy. You didn't earn it." He growled, despite the pain he sent a Slime Whip out as fast as he possibly could to hold onto the Source Crystal. While he was preoccupied he could see the lizards gearing up for more. "Ardur! Mother! Get rid of those Lizards please and thank you!" He called out. He hauled himself up by the Source Crystal, letting Danny's magic fully support his weight and away from where the Lizards had initially aimed. Their Poison Spit wasn't like a bullet, faster than reaction time. But he still didn't feel like getting hit by them right now.
It seemed that Jason was indeed death, Danny ha no idea if his plan worked or not but at the moment he had more pressing concerns. Whatever that stone he used as a focus it must have been somewhat important and definitely useful for a magic user like him. It seemed Asura felt the same way cause he grabbed the Crystal and was pulling Danny down.
He had no idea how much mana he had and wanted to just run but it seemed that in this case he had no choice. He was still planning to scare the Amorphous Slime off and then use that trick from before to make himself more aerodynamic, and hopefully make it to the camping spot before the use of Lesser Force II required to carry the Source Crystal cost him all of his MP.
" Sorry but I won't let you take it. Increasing the power of my magic to its maximum. Wash away my enemies, Boosted Aqua Sphere!" Danny's chant was significantly less elaborate than the ones Jason used but it was all he could think off and would have to be enough, after all he still didn't want to kill any fellow reincarnators.
As Jason rose from his body, his form now some form of mist, he felt no fear. He was no stranger to screams of agony, in fact, this strange, supernatural, plane quite nearly resembled the nightmares he once had as a child.
In other words; something he had conquered long ago.
In the distance, a red light beckoned the warlord, a light he KNEW was the core. However, before he could proceed towards it, he was met with something he hadn't expected at all-- another fully aware spirit. What's more; it retained it's living shape, and all it's likeness albeit now whispy and supernatural. Despite this "Bonie's" mocking laughter, the mists of death that made Jason's otherworldly form began to twist and warp as he concentrated. Slowly, a dark, humanoid figure took shape; towering over the weathered goblin, however, it's size was it's only notable feature, as it was naught but a shadow; a mere echo, of the man that once was.
"Tell Bonie Bitz, WHAT COLAS DO YA SEE?" the dead shaman croned at the warlord. Pausing for a moment, Jason scanned the area before responding to Bonie, using [Magic Analysis I] on the crone. Oddly enough, Jason realized he couldn't feel mana nearly as strongly as he could before. "I see a colorless world-" Jason responded coldly as he placed a misty hand on Asteria, about to send a message through [Telepathy I], when a thought struck him, causing him to decide against sending the message. "The only colors here, is the green from you, and the red glow of the core; the very thing that may be my salvation- or demise." he solemnly finished as he rose to his feet, pointing at the distant beacon. After seeing how the ghost wisp seemed to nearly phase in and out of reality when it ran out of mana, it seemed obvious that mana would be the key to manifesting himself in the living world, meaning he'd need to absorb what ambient mana he could. Unfortunately, it seemed that this particular location wasn't very rich in such a valuable resource. However, the area near the core would no doubt be thoroughly saturated, the core's constant pull acting as a funnel.
With a deep breath, and heavy exhale, Jason slowly approached the red glow, concentrating on the mana in the air around him; trying to draw it in as he trudged forth. Even in death, Jason's will was resolute. Unlike the wailing specters that littered the mist, lost in the darkness, Jason KNEW who he was. He REFUSED to lose himself to this damnable realm, and he WOULD return to the world of the living.
Digbie awoke with a small groan before he stretched out his limbs and checked everything going on. The system finally updated Digbie's current list of skills and his recent level up, which was definitely nice. What made it better was the note that he was close to leveling up again! Seems like he finally caught up to the rest of his party in terms of leveling, which was super nice on top of the already nice level up. That was besides the point though, he had five new points to allocate to his skills.
Looking at his list of unusables, he didn't have much he necessarily thought he needed to invest into. Earth Wall was simple enough, he supposed, but in case it was a bit more complex than using Rock Spire multiple times to create a wall, Digbie decided to allocate 2 points and get Earth Wall as a skill already. Might as well.
Next, he wanted to try and do something else for the party that might be nice. The lizards of the party all had roles, and the magical monsters had roles, but Digbie still felt incomplete with his supposed class. He was the main defense of the party through magically oriented methods, which wasn't bad, but he knew that when his magic ran out he'd be in a tough spot. He needed armor, and decided to spend his last three points into Crafting in order to get it.
Immediately afterwards, Digbie smiled as he headed outside, slinging his Ratskin Pack over his shoulder to bring his items with him. Once outside, Digbie fished out Torrent's Burnt Skin and placed it next to the stream. He took a quick drink from the cool water and splashed a little on his face before sitting down and staring at the dried and charred husk, using Material Analysis and Magic Analysis to see how suitable this skin may be for armor material.
Once the random goblin showed up, though, Digbie immediately changed directions to face the goblin, being able to get a good look at it's face before it managed to scamper off into the forested area. He was a bit alarmed at the new goblin, since he didn't recognize them at all. He turned to his crew and stuttered nervously. "Guys... that, uh, didn't look like a cave goblin. I don't recognize them at all..."
Got rid of the four rocks he had at night, opening up room in the Ratskin Pack. Allocating points. 3 into Crafting and 2 into Earth Wall. Analyzing Torrent's burnt skin with {Material Analysis} and {Magical Analysis}.
Sometimes your best isn't enough > A death in the family /// Adventuring day 4 // Morning > Afternoon / Location - Cave
All the pixie could do was watch the two slimes continue their assault while he went for more mana. The crystals were abundant now and it was something he would attempt to make the most of while he could. Consuming two of the four immediately to refill his reserves he looked back to the fight at hand only to see Jason speed off. Ardur did flinch for a moment at the sudden static but then began to fly back towards the duo. “Was the bastard trying to run again?” he thought to himself, “No, he’s trying to cast another spell.”
Or at least he thought, the runes and sigils forming over the slime was certainly something to admire and at the very least try and acquire or figure out while they were there. However, unlike the first time he saw them. These runes seemed fuzzy and flickered, the sigil didn’t seem to be working as well as he had intended and within a moment they fizzled out just as the slime ruptured and tore itself apart with a sharp stone.
The green insides and acids of the former Reborn where strewn across the rock face and soaked into the dirt. Ardur paused and watched, expecting some monster to be summoned in his place. Yet nothing happened. Danny seemed interested in getting to the corpse or mound of goo but the lizards still posed a threat. That and Ardur did want one of them for his own experiments.
Seeing the opportunity to strike as one of the lizards was distracted by firing a glob at Asura. The buff pixie flew down towards the Lizard, but just before he reached it and he was sure he wouldn’t miss the creature’s spine. Ardur put his feet out in front of him together and with his heels first landed on the lizard. He just hoped he did as much damage as he would have liked too.
Feeling like the monster was dead or at the very least demobilized. Ardur continued towards Asura and Danny who seemed to be fighting over something the pulled out of Jason’s body. The pixie landed lightly next to the other two looking to what was left of the green slime and sighed. Bringing his hands together his right hand in a fist with his other clasping over his fist he bowed his head and spoke a simple and quiet prayer.
“O merciful Sky Father, bringer of light in our darkest days, bringer of warmth in our coldest nights. I pray that you may guide this one on his journey. To watch over him and grant him the peace he deserves, the peace he was unable to find in life. He was a worthy adversary and a good fighter, he fought for what he believed in even to his dying breath. Watch over him Lord of fire and might, this one deserved that much.” A brief pause while the pixie found the words for what he had to say next.
“Ancient vows, to order kneel A warden's call to blood and steel Legion lines to shield the frail Behind the plate and mail
Cast from our place Now further from grace We fall.”
Some lyrics from one of the many songs he still remembered. He didn’t sing them this time; this time they were there to finish his prayer. Turning to the other two Ardur looked them over. “Danny, Jason is gone. I’m not sure if your safe here by yourself now. Just give the crystal to Asura and maybe come along with us? Safety in numbers.” Ardur didn’t want Jason to die, hell he didn’t want anyone to die. Not again anyways. He hoped that maybe, just maybe in this world things would be different, maybe death here wasn’t the end. As far as he could tell so far, it wasn’t different. he hardly noticed through his prayer that the wisp was trying to cast a spell.
Clothes: Spider silk belt and leaf loin cloth, mud coating.
Weapons: N/A
Magic/Skills: Shield II, Lesser Flight III, Minor Heal III, Physical Conditioning I, Fire Resistance I, Taming I, Fireball I, Stronger I, Crafting I, Muffle I,
Kills for current level: 1x skelebin / 1x undead wisp
Oberon roused slowly, coming back to consciousness gradually before standing up and stretching his aching body; even though the bed of leaves and straw was easily the most comfortable sleeping arrangement he’d had since being reborn spending the night on the hard-packed dirt was a far cry from his comfortable existence back home and it showed. Although, working himself to exhaustion last night probably played a part in his current discomfort as well, even if the results showed that it was more than worth it in the long run.
He was actually surprised by how much progress they had made last night; in some ways he had not been able to achieve everything he had wanted to but in others he had achieved much, much more. He now had every analysis skill he could think of, apparently every analysis skill he could get based on the fusion skill had also gotten. Several of his existing skills had also levelled up as he taught them to the others or used them naturally while learning other skills; the fact that his meditation could now be used on the move, along with his new Gather Light skill, to restore his mana on the move was a huge benefit. The real boon from last night however, were the two new levels he had acquired and the huge number of skill points that came with them.
Even so there was a still a lot he wanted to do today as well. A few things he had not accomplished last night, a few things that he had wanted to try for a while but were not possible until now, and a few ideas he hadn’t had until last night.
He started by assigning his skill points into various skills. “4 points into Keen Sight.” That would be useful now that he was out of the cave; he could see further the next time he went to the treetops t scout the area and since his Alert skill was based on his senses it would also become more useful. “5 points into Minor Heal All.” A spell that could affect multiple targets was something that could act as a basis for a number of other spells; once he had an understanding of how it was done he could work on applying the same principle to his Shield spell, as well as any buffs or de-buffs he learned in the future. “And 6 points into Spiritual Awareness.” He wasn’t sure what this skill would do exactly, but he was curious enough to spend the points to acquire it. Part of him hoped it would help him with something he had been thinking about trying for a while.
Following the others to the creek, Oberon heard the rustling and turned to see the Goblin at the top of the hill. With his newly enhanced sight he probably saw the Goblin more clearly than any of them, but it didn’t help him to recognise the creature. He didn’t think it was one of the Goblin’s that had been with Crispy before, but then he hadn’t paid enough attention to the group to really know. Besides, being this far away from the cave it was more likely to be a different Goblin than one they knew, unless Crispy or Orchid had tried to follow them. “There’s probably another cave around here. We should expect a visit from them sometime soon now that they know we’re here.” It never occurred to him to try and stop the Goblin from making it back to his tribe.
Once the Goblin had disappeared from view the Sprite turned away from the hill back to the creek and drank the cool water until his thirst was quenched. The first thing they should do this morning was find some more food to fill their already dwindling supplies; six creatures went through quite a lot of food as it turned out and it wouldn’t hurt to build up a stockpile. Maybe they could extend their search up into the foothills as well and see if there were any other kinds of plants or creatures they hadn’t found yet in the slightly different environment.
Turning back to the others, Oberon looked over the five other creatures that he had allied himself with and decided to try something that would in all honesty probably fail. “Form Party: Oberon, Mourningstar, Digbie, Torrent, Ash and Reoth.”
Spending 4 skill points on 'Keen Sight' Spending 5 skill points on 'Minor Heal All' Spending 6 skill points on 'Spiritual Awareness' Attempting to form a party
A good amount of the pain dissipated after a few deep breaths. The young ratman then felt the adult dire rat scamper off his head and stay in front of him before tilting her head, sniffed at him, and then squeaked. Ed nodded slowly as his body was still in a great amount of soreness. "Yes, I'm feeling better. Thanks for asking." The young ratman smiled to the adult dire rat to convey that he really was feeling better. Seemingly satisfied with his response, she then looks to the cave mouth and to the duel between the female goblin and Crispy. Majority of the goblins present were still transfixed on the fight and paid little attention to anything else. He could feel that the battle was coming to an end, but the soreness of his body restricted his movements severely. With little choice on the matter, Ed focused on his breathing. If it universally helped pregnant women relieve pain and stress while giving birth, why wouldn't it work for a young reincarnated man in a monster's body?
The pain did dissipate after a while, but the duel between the two goblins was also over; with the female goblin winning the fight. Ed couldn't help but smile as Crispy was brought low by one of his lackeys. From what he could surmise from the duel, it was something of a contest of who becomes the new leader. And it seems that now the female was the new leader of the goblin group. Though he would have loved to see what they would do to Crispy, this was his chance to return to the safety of the cave. Scooping up the adult dire rat with one arm, he hops down the tree and instantly regrets the decision as spikes of pain raced up from his legs to punish him for not thinking this thoroughly. Gritting his teeth and grasping the tree trunk to the point that his claws dug deep into the bark, the young ratman's body shivered in excursion just to refuse letting out a groan of pain. The seconds felt like hours as he could feel a tear roll down his furry cheek, but it was done. He had prevented compromising his position to the goblins. He looks down to the dire rat he held and used his free hand to gesture shushing to her before he lets her go. He was unsure if she understood what it meant but she was quite intelligent and understood Asteria's commands with her intuition and instinct. He could only hope she also understood that they needed to sneak past the goblins. Ed then goes into a prone crawling position and begin moving up and into the cave, slowly but surely.
LVL: 5 HP: Healthy SP: Rested MP: Full
Effect/s:
SKILLS:
Unspent Skill Points: 12 Current Skills: Beast Sense II (1.4) Rabid Fit I (1.2) Stronger I (1.05) ACTIVE Muffle I (1.0) ACTIVE __________________________________ <UNUSABLE SKILLS> SKILL PROGRESS: Material Analysis (0.2) Magic Analysis (0.6) Monster Analysis (0.6) Faster (0.4) Warcry (0.1) Alert (0.3) Dexterous (0.8) Tremor Sense (0.025) Mental Resistance (0.9) Telepathy (0.075) Mana Shape (0.6) Focus (0.6) Shield (0.5) Mana Shell (0.3) Soil Manipulation (0.45) Overwork (0.5) Harder (0.2) Crafting (0.25) First Aid (0.1) Meditate (0.3) <UNUSABLE SKILLS>
Inventory: -none
Did some breathing exercises to lessen the pain some more. Duel between goblins was over and utilized the distraction. Jumped down from the tree with Asteria's mum. Wills a way the urge to groan in pain. Lets her go and sneaks past the gobbos back into the cave.
Asteria was glad Ardur and Danny were willing to try and help with the mess, she really was, but the problem was, the warring slimes weren’t interested in listening, exactly as she’d feared might happen. Asura used the slime’s advantages to spread out in a multi-directional blade attack, and soon after Jason had been pierced, Mother Slime finally made her contribution in a doubtlessly painful flattening jump. Really shouldn’t have made an enemy of her, was one the many fleeting thoughts she had. Cautiously, the dire rat slunk into the shadows, observing from a bit of a distance. If there were an opportunity to do something meaningful…But there wasn’t any.
Asura raged against being controlled and restricted in any way, and as much as Asteria detested it, he was completely right. (Though his attitude was so very grating. It almost pissed her off, and caused her to do something stupid. Almost.) They were in another world, with different laws, and most likely, as monsters, they weren’t beholden by any. As the water spirit had suggested, no-one would care what happened between beings such as them. In fact, if any native humans would see them, they’d probably just want to get rid of them as the pests they’d be seen as. Man’s the worst of all animals when separated from laws and justice, wasn’t it? A good thing I always found Machiavelli more sensible…though, really, the one with the advantage of force is Asura...Not Jason, the suiciding necromantic maniac. Jason’s suicide spell didn’t seem to do much besides kill him, Danny and Asura were soon after bickering over the piece of green source crystals as common mutts might over a piece of meat, and Ardur was preoccupied with…praying? Yes, very efficient that, act after he’s dead already, she almost scoffed loudly, but was perfectly aware she was the last person to criticize Ardur for a lack of action.
But the opportunity was perfect to unobtrusively slink away, and that’s exactly Asteria did. She made a bit of a looping path towards the lakeside and chamber-core, warily checking for followers or any other potential danger. Once she was out of sight of the trio she’d left behind, however, she sped towards the core-chamber. She stopped at the lakeside, taking note of any changes. The sword and the water spirit had apparently submerged once again, and she wondered if they were making any sort of progress towards destroying the core. Carefully, she made her way to where the dungeon core was, checking around the chamber for signs of…anything, really. Had Jason believed he could resurrect here? There were still a few of herbs left over in his garden, and a small nook that was hiding two of those flame crystals that could be used as bombs, and another altered mana crystal. Carefully, she nestled the three crystals amongst the herbs she’d already stashed under her vine-belt, making certain they were tightly fastened, and separate from each other. Her vest was getting a bit bulky, but it would do for now. Besides the ominous dungeon core itself, there wasn’t much for Asteria to do in Jason’s tunnels, so she high-tailed her way out of the cave.
Her way to the entrance was uninterrupted, if somewhat slowed down by carrying the additional weight, and the care she took not to be ambushed by anything potentially dangerous. Asteria also found Mother Rat’s incredibly thoughtful trail mark, and noticed the smell led out of the cave. Just as she was about to exit, Ed and Mother Rat appeared, apparently back from wherever they had been “Oh, hey,” she greeted, slightly winded. “Ed, you evolved?” She observed his new bipedal form, and came to a decision. “Good, you can hold onto these better than I then.” Thus, she handed her items to him one by one, careful not to drop or damage any. “DO NOT drop the crystals, two of them are those flame-variant bomb-esque items."
"Now, let me tell you all that happened,” she began recounting the story in hushed whispers while warily keeping an eye on the happenings outside of the cave, summarizing the recent events as best as she could, adding opinions and comments as was appropriate. “So, we best avoid Asura and co. Jason is dead, unless there actually is a way to resurrect. There are still undead in the cave, I don’t know how many, or whether they're aggressive or not. By the way, do you know anything about the goblins out there?” she asked, suddenly changing the topic entirely as she pointed at the group outside.
Using muffle sneaky sneaks her way away from the Asura vs Dead-Jason’s confrontation. Uses Beast Senses to avoid stalkers, ambushes, traps, and whatever dangers there are in the cave. Takes note of changes around lake-side and within the core-chamber. Gets the remaining crystals from the core-stash (I believe that consists of two flame-touched crystals and one tainted crystals). Speeds her way towards the exit, still doing her best to avoid potential dangers. Picks up on the trail of Mother Rat. Happens upon Ed and Mother rat. Passes her items to Ed carefully. Recounts the recent events to him, asks about the goblins. Uses Beast Senses II – Sight to keep an eye on the goblin group outside.
Slowly, Ash roused herself from sleep, stretching her body and yawning tiredly as she heard the others around her doing the same. Urrgh, she wanted to sleep a bit more, honestly. Curl up under a blanket and do absolutely nothing. Ugh, she missed her human life slightly. She was not suited towards roughing it, as they say, but oh well. She'd slowly gotten used to it over the past week. Stretching her neck and working walking out of the temporary burrow, Ash quietly observed her surroundings, taking note of the others and making sure they were mostly alone.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for now.
Walking over to the creek, Ash took a big mouthful of water. Now all they'd really need is food, and they could spend the rest of the training and practicing. Oberon and Mourn were likely a good fit for that. Keep Digbie around to help fend of anything that might attack them, and send Torrent and Reoth out scouting around for trouble.
That aside - they had made some extremely good progress last night. She did, at any rate. Taking a look at her skills she made progress on a good number of things she wanted too in the magical department, and her Analysis skills seemed to have synergized into something new as well. Good - she could spend less time actively thinking about doing both in that case, and likely gain just as much, if not more information.
Which skills to use though...she had 14 to spend, but if she was to be completely honest. Nothing stood out a whole lot to her. She could more or less eventually train everything she had so far, so spending skill points felt somewhat pointless. All except that one at the very bottom of her list...Rabid Fit. Something similar to Rabies then? Increased attack strength at the cost of something else? Perhaps that could synergize well with her Overwork skill. Hm.
"Nine points into Rabid Fit...and three points into Meditate." That would leave her with two left over for later. No need to use all resources right now, and she was curious as to this Rabid Fit and what the next level of Meditate could do. Now what to do next...before she could tell, there was the feeling of someone watching, just barely, and she could barely make out the sight of the goblin from the hill. Ash tensed her body, making a move to chase after, but he was gone before she even had a chance too.
"Ugh, damn it..." She held a claw to her nose. "Why is it always something with these interruptions..." The Pygmy drake ground her teeth together, obviously not quite happy at the prospect of potentially being interrupted by some nobody goblins.
"I agree with Oberon. That didn't seem to be any goblin from the cave. There's likely another tribe around here." Ash said in a matter of fact tone. "All we can do is either move out again, or prepare for the worst. Hm, I doubt we'd have time to construct fortifications. We lack the materials and we could expect something in the next day or two." Ash sat up straight, thinking about their situation. She had hoped now that they were out of the range of the cave goblins, she could finally have some measure of peace to study without worry, but of course nothing could ever be that simple.
"So I think our best course of action would be to continue as we were. Training our skills, sharing knowledge, and working on our teamwork. If we must use force to overcome our obstacles until we can finally be settled in some place safely, then that's simply how it must be." Turning her head to the others, she began handing out instructions. "Oberon, Mourn, you did an amazing job yesterday with the hunting. If possible, head back out and see if you can hunt some rubber frogs for food and their skin. Their skin is highly flexible and durable. Might make for some good armor. They don't seem to have any magical abilities other than trying to swallow things whole so I doubt you'd have trouble."
Flapping her wings and hovering lightly off the ground, Ash continued.
"Meanwhile the others and I can see about foraging, scouting, and perhaps practicing some." She did want to learn that Scale Shift move from Reoth. That would be incredibly helpful - and well, also her vanity was getting the best of her. Being able to be whatever color she wanted to be would be absolutely amazing. Now if only she could work on this ugly lizard face of hers. "I, have a few things I'd like to do with this mana crystal."
Torrent awoke peacefully, slowly chimming to consciousness. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a fairly easy rest like that. She observed the little base they had made, a twinge of pride stirring in her, as she uncurled herself and exited their little base.
Drinking from the stream she listened to the others, thinking on all the progress they had made the day before, when the mention of the rogue goblin came up. She'd thought she had been imagining it with her groggy mind, but the confirmation made her awaken properly with a jolt. Her instincts told her to go after it, scout out the enemy like she'd done in the cave, but she quelled the thought in favor of Obeeom's suggestions. The fact that Ash was in agreement solidified the choice even more as she considered her options.
"9 points into Spell Cancel," she muttered. That was another new ability that might become useful. She wanted to learn Magic Break as well, though she didn't have enough skill points. Maybe Oberon would be willing to help her, since she was fairly confident that breaking his shield back before the goblins had advanced the other day was what had started that.
On the other hand she really wanted Suppress Presence. It would really help her stealth capabilities. Not that she needed much help there at this point.
Idly she wondered about the color shift ability. It was going to be useful, but she wanted to test something. Stepping into the stream carefully, she tried to activate the ability with the focus on the water around her. It would be interesting to see what happened.
Regardless of the results, she stepped back onto dry land and looked at Ash.
"I've got a lot of stealth abilities going on. I'll hunt. Maybe bring back meat. I'm good at being unnoticed, even before all this." She nodded slightly to herself before noticing that her skin was here. "And Ash? I want you to have my skin there. You like to test and experiment, right? Maybe it'll be useful to you."
Ed didn't expect to bump into Asteria when he and her mother tried to re-enter the cave proper. "Yeah. This body is nice. It feels like a cross between a chimp and a dire rat but I do love the fact that I have my arms back to a more familiar shape." The female dire rat then gave him the items. He remembered the crystals and was reminded on how dangerous one of these things could be to someone, if used carelessly. Like that time one exploded in Jason. Speaking of Jason, Ed was about to ask what had happened to their stone slime mage. His heart sank and an uneasy feeling sank to the pit of his stomach. Jason was dead and it seemed that Asura and the others had apparently helped in the demise of the slime. He had thought the fight was bad but he had never expected it to escalate to the point that one of them would have died. He would have wanted to stay in the cave. It was safe. He just had to totally avoid the undead as much as he could..but from what Asteria had told Ed, the cave was no longer a viable place to rest.
Placing his free hand to his forehead he tries to remember how many goblins were near the cave entrance. "Yeah. Uhh...about six or seven goblins. There were no more than ten but still something that we should avoid completely. I think they are still deciding what to do with Crispy, so if we move now. We would have an easier time getting past them unnoticed." Ed told Asteria.
LVL: 5 HP: Healthy SP: Rested MP: Full
Effect/s:
SKILLS:
Unspent Skill Points: 12 Current Skills: Beast Sense II (1.4) Rabid Fit I (1.2) Stronger I (1.05) ACTIVE Muffle I (1.0) ACTIVE __________________________________ <UNUSABLE SKILLS> SKILL PROGRESS: Material Analysis (0.2) Magic Analysis (0.6) Monster Analysis (0.6) Faster (0.4) Warcry (0.1) Alert (0.3) Dexterous (0.8) Tremor Sense (0.025) Mental Resistance (0.9) Telepathy (0.075) Mana Shape (0.6) Focus (0.6) Shield (0.5) Mana Shell (0.3) Soil Manipulation (0.45) Overwork (0.5) Harder (0.2) Crafting (0.25) First Aid (0.1) Meditate (0.3) <UNUSABLE SKILLS>
Inventory: - Vine Belt (Shoddy Quality) [NEW] - Healing Herbs x 5 [NEW] - Flame touched crystals x 2 [NEW] - Tainted Crystal x 1 [NEW]
Met Asteria. Was given the things. Was informed of the events. No longer wants to stay in the cave. Told Asteria of the goblins actions.
Mourningstar drank plenty from the stream, having found a nice spot where the shade touched the water, meaning she didn't have to stick around in the sunlight. As she finished swallowing another gulp, she opened up her Skill List and let loose a sigh of contentment. "Nine points to Demon King. Sacrifice, offering, whatever you want to call it." She looked at her reflection, staring at the monster that stared at her, smiling at how far she's come already. "Demon King, I don't know if you're listening, I don't expect you to. But if you do get this message, just know that I'm looking for you. You gave me a new life and while I could never hope to repay you in full, I hope that this offering is a good start."
Mourningstar returned to the group shortly afterwards, Torrent was just mentioning how she wanted to go hunting for food, real meat rather than the berries and stalks they had been living off of for the past day. "I think we should go after those frogs too, would be nice to stretch my magical muscles." She also wanted to practice her stealth skills, she was close to activating Suppress Presence and she had a few ideas on how to synergize it with Mana Shape to blend in with the environment. Kind of a bootleg Scale Shift, but with a lot more uses.
Asura's leap at the Source Crystal caused one of the Lizard's spit to miss him, but the second one still managed to splat against his side. Again he felt the burn, and a slight sense of nasuea...but once again the poison affect failed to trigger, and from Full HP he wouldn't take enough damage from it to worry about...just yet.
The red slime's mass, though much more liquid in nature after his evolution, still weighed around 50 pounds. Danny's Lesser Force, even at the second Rank, couldn't lift that much--but the weight wasn't all on him. Asura's Slime Whip wrapped around the Source Crystal, and a tug-of-war battle ensued. To try and get the Slime off, Danny imitated one of Jason's chants and used his Aqua Sphere spell. The watery orb took shape in front of him like condensing droplets on a car's windshield, but it glowed a brighter blue than usual and grew larger than it had during his practice. When it hit Asura, the Slime felt a powerful pressure almost like getting hit with blunt objects before he had gained a resistance to that. Yet something about this was different, and the blast pushed Asura to the point that his Slime Whip couldn't hold on to the Crystal anymore...
Yet with this much weight on it from both directions, the green mineral couldn't hold up. With a loud crack it broke into two shards, one held by Danny as he rocked back from the recoil, the other enveloped by Asura as he hit the ground. For a few moments he couldn't seem to muster the strength to pull his body back to a central form--that magic spell had hurt, too.
Meanwhile, Ardur had divekicked a Lizard right on top of its spine. With his stat increase from Physical Conditioning and Stronger, and the greater speed his Lesser Flight allowed him to combine with the momentum of gravity, it was a truly crushing blow no normal Pixie could have produced. The Fanged Lizard's backbone gave way with a terrible crunch, leaving the creature to thrash momentarily in agony with loud hisses. It tried to turn and snap at the pixie, but this only aggravated its condition and it rolled itself over limply. Its back legs and tail hadn't moved at all, and its forearms only twitched uselessly as its mouth opened and closed. Ardur's strike had not only rendered it quadropelegic, but it seemed he had also caused respiratory paralysis--the creature died slowly, trying to gasp for breath, and in its last moments the purple glow faded from its eyes to leave behind wide, terrified, confused expressions. Then it went still.
The remaining Fanged Lizard, now free of Jason's previous orders, turned to engage this next threat--only to be blindsided by a rolling Momma Slime. It stuck to her gelatinous form for several rotations, crunching meatily each time, before she stopped and gave a springy lunge. The Lizard was thrown violently against a wall of the cave, and its mangled corpse slumped to the ground. She then began to enjoy her meal.
"Ahsoowa! Eet hurr!" she called, seeing that the red slime seemed to be done with the floaty light creature.
LEVEL UP! Your combined experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 5! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please!
Unspent Skill Points: 9
Current Skills: Shield II (2.175) Lesser Flight III (2.24) Minor Heal III (3.6) Physical Conditioning I (1.0) <CANNOT INCREASE WITH SKILL POINTS> Fire Resistance I (1.3) Taming I (1.3) Fireball I (1.5) Stronger I (1.1) Crafting I (1.0) Muffle I (1.1) <UNUSABLE> Keen Sight (0.6) Keen Ear (0.2) Alchemy (0.5) Faster (0.5) Magic Analysis (0.55) Mana Orb (0.15) Focus (0.6) Throw Voice (0.1) Mana Strike (0.7) Point Strike (0.7) Charisma (0.2) Soothe Song (0.6) Harder (0.1) Alert (0.4) Reinforce (0.2) Throw Item (0.5) Meditate (0.1) Stone Shot (0.5) Inspire (0.6) Guidance (0.8) Iron Gullet (0.2) Soil Manipulation (0.2) Material Analysis (0.2) Spell Chant (0.9) Rabid Fit (0.5) Lesser Cleanse (0.3) Fire Fist (0.2) Magic Resistance (0.2) Minor Regeneration (0.1) Flame Aura (0.1) Warcry (0.1) Immolation (0.05)
YOUR BODY IS BEGINNING TO CHANGE! You are undergoing Transformation! Based on your life experiences, your ability to survive, and the strength of your will, new paths have appeared! Choose carefully--there is no going back! WARNING. THIS PROCESS WILL LEAVE YOU TEMPORARILY VULNERABLE.
OPTIONS (* Indicates Suitability): **(Adult) Pixie (Low Variant Chance/Low Variant Chance/Very Low Variant Chance) - A tiny humanoid Fey-type Monster. While somewhat intelligent, they lack empathy towards one another even compared to beasts like Goblins. Capable of flight and healing magic, but not physically strong or skilled enough to fight or use weapons well.
Slightly increase all base stats
Increase HP
Increase Potential
(Immature) Imp (Variant Chance/Low Variant Chance) - The smallest and most pitiful of Demon-type monsters. Though relatively strong for their size, they are still mostly specialized in magic. However they lack the finesse and technique of other Demons, using plain and often brute-force style spells. Their cunning and absolute refusal to ever admit that they are lesser to any other being, however, can make them dastardly plotters.
Increase base power-stats
Increase Rank: Mana Orb
Increase Lesser Force (reduced)
Increase Demon Affinity (reduced)
(Immature) Sprite (Low Variant Chance/Very Low Variant Chance) - A highly territorial, but otherwise relatively friendly type of creature. Quite similar to Pixies at first glance, they are much more empathetic and even altruistic than other types of Fey. Unless an enemy presents a threat to their homes and families, they often prefer to flee rather than fight, but if something enters their nesting area they are known to swarm much like wasps.
Increase Max MP
Increase Rank: Minor Heal
Increase Minor Heal All (reduced)
Increase Light Affinity (reduced)
**(Immature) Hipixie (Low Variant Chance/Low Variant Chance/Very Low Variant Chance) - A larger, stronger, and more sophisticated variety of Pixie, very similar to the commonly known relationship between a Goblin and a Hobgoblin. Growing almost as large as a goblin themselves, their ability to fly becomes more difficult to use but their size now allows them to use many forms of lightweight tools and weapons. Considered to be some of the first True Fey, species of Fey-type monsters capable of forming societies and cultures rather than simply flitting about on any whim or reacting to any emotion that comes into their tiny heads.
Increase all base stats
Increase Use Light Equipment (reduced)
Slightly increase HP
*(Immature) Bauchan (Low Variant Chance/Low Variant Chance) - An odd little fairy said to make a decent neighbor. Though often belligerent and argumentive seemingly just for the sake of it, Bauchans are more intelligent and sociable than pixies but not quite as civilized as Hipixies. They have lost their wings, but gained sturdier bodies, and are hard workers. Some childrens' tales present a Bauchan as a metaphor for learning to get along in one's community, and say that although they sometimes bring mischief, in times of need they are very helpful.
Increase base defensive stats (reduced)
Increase HP
Increase Use Light Equipment (heavily reduced)
Lose Wings
**(Immature) Brownie (Low Variant Chance) - A Fey that has no wings, but is roughly the size of a goblin and much stronger than a pixie. Its magical powers do not increase as fast as those of other fairy monsters, but its greater size and strength enable it to fight much better physically. Its emotional maturity could be said to be more "down to earth" than that of Pixies, but it may simply be more neutral - Pixies lack empathy, so what they see as "fun" may be cruel to other creatures. Brownies, however, don't seem to go out of their way to harm or help much at all. One might call them stoic or calm, perhaps even laid back, but they are also easily offended and hold long grudges.
Increase base strength stats
Increase Use Light Equipment (reduced)
Increase Night Vision (reduced)
Lose Wings
***(Immature) Lampad - A fairy associated with the element of fire. Their hair, which only grows from the crown of their heads, seems to spontaneously combust for some reason, hence their nickname of "livin' torch" among country folk. Their skin ranges from coal black to ash gray and various hues of red and orange. Their wings produce a type of powder that causes a "burning" sensation, although this is just itching somewhat like various plant allergens. They are incredibly dangerous, as like pixies they lack any concept of responsibility and find fire to be pretty to look at. Luckily they often stick to caves or other shelters, because strong winds and rains can douse the flames on their heads. This seems to make them extremely lethargic much like a cold-blooded animal in winter, until they can re-ignite themselves.
Increase Fireball (reduced)
Increase Fire Affinity (reduced)
Slight increase to speed stats
Obtained Item: Source Crystal Shard x1
LEVEL UP! Your combined experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 6! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please! Your Max HP has increased! Your Max Stamina has increased! (Your HP and Stamina are not recovered from their current levels)
Unspent Skill Points: 9
Current Skills: Physical Damage Resistance I (1.86) <CANNOT INCREASE WITH POINTS> Overwork I (1.6) Blunt Resistance I (1.6) Limited Shapeshift III (3.7) Smash II (2.025) Pierce Resistance I (1.25) Faster I (1.5) Magic Resistance I (1.1) Harder I (1.05) Counter I (1.2) Cling I (1.0) Slime Whip I (1.25) Throw Item I (1.0) Rabid Fit I (1.0) <UNUSABLE> Earth Resist (0.7) Mental Resistance (0.8) Monster Analysis (0.7) Slime Shell (0.5) Charisma (0.5) Dextrous (0.2) Soil Manipulation (0.3) Stone Shot (0.5) Slime Coil (0.2) Iron Gullet (0.8) Magic Analysis (0.3) Bounce (0.5) Muffle (0.1) Poison Resistance (0.2) Dash Attack (0.4) Spiritual Awareness (0.2) Intimidate (0.3) Stronger (0.8) Blood Drain (0.3) First Aid (0.1) Acid Spit (0.2) Skewer (0.4) Slash (0.1) Fire Resistance (0.2) Water Resistance (0.0125)
Obtained Item: Source Crystal Shard x1
Jason
As Jason rose from his body, his form now composed of mist, he felt no fear. Or did he? He was no stranger to screams of agony, in fact, this strange, supernatural, plane quite nearly resembled the nightmares he once had as a child. In other words; something he had conquered long ago. Or at least, he had managed to convince himself of that.
The Core shone like a beacon. Surely that would be the place the most Mana would gather. Surely that was his way out. He needed to reconnect with it and master this place once more. Despite this "Bonie's" mocking laughter, the mists of death that made Jason's otherworldly form began to twist and warp as he concentrated. Slowly, a dark, humanoid figure took shape; towering over the weathered goblin, however, it's size was it's only notable feature, as it was naught but a shadow; a mere echo, of the man that once was. Right, he was a man. Now he was a Slime Mage. He was dead. No, he was alive--he had been reborn, right? But he had died again.
Pausing for a moment, Jason scanned the area before responding to Bonie, using [Magic Analysis I] on the crone.
The Skill [Magic Analysis] is currently Disabled.
"I see a colorless world-" Jason responded coldly as he placed a misty hand on Asteria, about to send a message through [Telepathy I], when a thought struck him, causing him to decide against sending the message. "The only colors here, is the green from you, and the red glow of the core; the very thing that may be my salvation- or demise." With a deep breath, and heavy exhale, Jason slowly approached the red glow, concentrating on the mana in the air around him; trying to draw it in as he trudged forth. Even in death, Jason's will was resolute. Unlike the wailing specters that littered the mist, lost in the darkness, Jason KNEW who he was. He REFUSED to lose himself to this damnable realm, and he WOULD return to the world of the living.
"If ya know who ya be," Bonie called out after him, "then tell Bonie ya name. Ya history!"
The wailing voices from the darkness grew louder. The shapes in the mist were coming closer from every direction except that of the core. Some of them were starting to look...familiar. Especially one that seemed larger and angrier and...hairier, than the others.
Asteria, Ed, Mother Rat
As Asteria gathered materials from the Core Cave and ran by the pool, she was in too much of a hurry to really focus on the environment. Her enhanced senses still helped her pick up some changes going on, but she didn't see Undine at the moment and it was still unclear just what the sword might be trying to accomplish. Plus, she had more pressing concerns at the moment.
Nonetheless, that creek had widened again, to the point that the pool's water level had slightly lowered another scant partial inch. Asteria's bigger body could have waded in it up to her chest almost all the way to the Dungeon Core. That dam she had built was still blocking it, for now...
Asteria reunited with Ed and Mother Rat just inside of the cave from the entrance, near several rocks that blocked a direct line of sight from them to the Goblins now that the duel was over. Ed had managed to sneak by unseen despite his blue color and larger body, and of course it wasn't very hard for Mother Rat to do the same compared to him. She squeaked happily when Asteria re-appeared, and began circling and sniffing her offspring to see what had happened in her absence. Something in Asteria's scent made her fur bristle, but it was unclear what it was and moments later the elder rat seemed fine.
As they conversed, however, it seemed whatever was happening with Crispy must have ended--they could soon hear two Goblins approaching!
It was a male and a female, and they looked a little older than most of the others. Around the same age as Crispy, perhaps, or just a little younger. They were both carrying wooden clubs, and one of them had a keen looking stone knife while the other had a torch, though it was currently unlit.
"Needs to find dose herbs or else Crispy prolly gonna die. Broked bones like dat don't heal right." the female was saying.
"Ya sure da Boss gonna like dat?"
"Don't matter. I dun care if she Boss, cause she smart and strong. But if I gots to I'll run wif Crispy, cause he can make new tribe. Da Boss can't do dat yet, and if she do she be weak da whole time til she done."
They were getting closer to the entrance...they might soon see the three rats, regardless of the cover from the rocks...
Ash, Digbie, Mourningstar, Oberon, Reoth, Torrent
Digbie decided to allocate 2 points and get Earth Wall as a skill, and to spend his last three points on Crafting.
“4 points into Keen Sight. 5 points into Minor Heal All. And 6 points into Spiritual Awareness." Oberon determined.
"Nine points into Rabid Fit...and three points into Meditate." murmured Ash as she pondered her experiments.
"9 points into Spell Cancel," Torrent muttered.
And as Mourningstar finished swallowing another gulp of water, she opened up her Skill List and let loose a sigh of contentment.
"Nine points to Demon King. Sacrifice, offering, whatever you want to call it."
Skill Gain: Rabid Fit I! Fly into a mindless rage, and destroy the enemy! A sudden burst of fury grants you increased strength and damage, but you’ll become more vulnerable to damage yourself. This skill has not been activated yet.
Skill Rank Up: Meditate I > Meditate II! Increase the amount of Mana recovered. Low background noises, movements, etc (comparable to the common room of an Inn, a busy street at the market, etc) will no longer decrease the effectiveness of this skill so long as the user maintains stillness and a calm state of mind. This skill still cannot be used while moving or in the midst of battle. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills.
WARNING! YOUR ALERT SKILL IS REACTING STRONGLY! RUN!
Skill Gain: Earth Wall I! Unlike the Shield spells, a Wall spell creates a "physical" barrier of magic between you and an oncoming enemy or attack. Earth Wall must have solid earthen material in the surrounding environment to work. At this rank, one wall of earth can be raised within a 5 foot radius around you. Its shape is limited to a square that is as tall as you are, with its width being the same. At this rank it has a maximum thickness of 6 inches. Altering the size, but not the shape, is possible and making a smaller or thinner wall will use less MP. Casting this spell a second time will destroy the first rock wall in order to create the second.
You used Magic Analysis I! You used Material Analysis I! ---Severely Burnt Lessurwurm Hide--- An entire shedded skin and scales left by a Lesserwurm, but burned beyond recognition. This skin is [Worthless] Quality. Only the most skilled of crafters, or someone with an ability that could somehow restore already dead and greatly damaged materials, could make any use of this. It had a faint magical energy, but now that has gone away. ---Analysis Complete!---
Yo! You have reached the Demon King's Prayer Hotline. Please hold, your prayers are NOT important to me.
I kindly request that you STOP IMMEDIATELY. Do not EVER pray to me again. Prayers are for deities and I don't want that kinda fuckin' responsibility. This is an automated response system, do not reply to it or I'll send somebody to fuck you up.
--Beep--
Update: If you're one of my Damned Heroes, this is for you. If you can prove your strength to me and survive, find my Palace. Protip--it ain't in that shitty cave. Try the Dungeons.
--Beep-- The Prayer Hotline has detected the prayers of at least three souls in your immediate vicinity. If you are one of these souls, it is recommended that you pray to another deity for mercy. The Demon King will have none. Please hold, one of our agents will be with you shortly...
Skill Gain: Keen Sight I! Expend stamina to increase the range and clarity of physical sight.
Skill Gain: Minor Heal All I! Cast the equivalent of Minor Heal I on up to three targets simultaneously. One of the three targets can be yourself. This spell uses roughly three times the MP of Minor Heal I. All other parameters are as specified in Minor Heal I.
Skill Gain: Spiritual Awareness I! You have become more aware of the spiritual side of the world. This will affect your interactions with certain types of spiritual monsters such as non-corporeal Undead. At this rank, you can only detect a hint of the spiritual world. There may also be other affects of this ability...
Command [Form Party] acknowledged. You are already in a Party with Mourningstar, Digbie, Torrent, Ash, and Reoth. You have not established a special connection with your party members; their Status (such as HP Warning) cannot be shared at this time. Some forms of Experience are being shared.
WARNING! YOUR ALERT SKILL IS REACTING STRONGLY! RUN!
Skill Gain: Spell Cancel (--)! Spell Cancel is the ability to interrupt your own flow of magic without causing yourself backlash or wasting MP. You may now essentially "feint" with spells without losing the MP that would be required to cast them. However, not all spells can be interrupted this way, and some spells must be canceled with different timing.
The wind suddenly picked up, and it picked up hard. A chill blew down every spine in the group. Overhead, black clouds seemed to be coming in from nowhere, and swirling directly overhead the camp. A red light flashed within that center--Oberon, with his new Keen Sight skill, would be able to see that this light was in fact some sort of diagram--
Like lightning, something fell from the clouds. It struck in the center of their camp, and the force of its landing shattered the rocks all around with a crash like rolling thunder. Slowly, as dust cleared and wind swirled, the figure stood.
"HEAR YE, HEAR YE, AND TREMBLE ALL!" The powerful male voice boomed.
"The DEMON KING has declared a blight upon this place! Destruction and terror shall crash upon you like the waves of the sea! Know thy folly and despair, for the King of Demons shall bring oblivion to all who defy his will! I, BLACK KNIGHT ZAWISZA, lay waste to this land in his name!"
Each member of the party saw the same message at the moment Zawisza raised his blade.
The enemy's Terrifying Aura is being Suppressed. Your stats are too low to resist the Suppressed Terrifying Aura. Your stats are too low to withstand the Suppressed Terrifying Aura. The Suppressed Terrifying Aura is too powerful; your Stamina is draining. Your Stamina is draining quickly! Your Stamina is Low!
The enemy's Bloodlust is being Suppressed. The Suppressed Bloodlust is too powerful; your senses are being overwhelmed! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE DEATH DESTRUCTION OBLIVION NOTHINGNESS HELL TORMENT PAIN MISERY FOREVER--
The air turned black, or was that their vision constricting as a pressure like the bottom of the ocean threatened to crush them from every direction? Beneath the visor Zawisza's golden eyes were opening, wider and wider, those eyes were the pits of the sun and they were all going to be tossed into them and burned to ash! The pressure was too much, their lungs were collapsing, their bones were breaking, their muscles were tearing, their hearts were stopping! His sword was cutting them, cutting their bodies, cutting their souls, cutting through their thoughts! No more, no more, they couldn't take any more, they were going to BE no more, NO MORE--!
Zawisza's arm came down in slow motion. His body turned. The blade of his sword gleamed. The water in the creek evaporated around his feet. The rocks he had crushed to dust floated in the air around him as if lifted by a breeze. His body was consumed by black fire tinged with blue lightning, an aura of power so dense it felt as if it would draw their souls to it and crush them like a black hole.
In an instant the world rushed back to focus as Zawisza intentionally swept his sword, almost casually, off to the side. Rather than directly at the party, he swung--almost lackadasically--at the mountains in the distance. Those distant peaks, snowy and distorted by the atmosphere, atop mountains that could easily have outmatched the Rockies or the Andes, glimmered in the sunlight.
This time the noise was thunder, thunder going off right in front of their faces, a sonic boom that surged through the air and tore branches from the trees. There was an instant, a mere split second, of a blue flash from Zawisza's blade.
They could see it, in the distance. Snow, and rock, and earth, and fire--an avalanche, a landslide, a roar that shook the ground beneath their feet as it grew ever closer and closer. Zawisza turned his head slightly, as if giving them only the barest of glances.
"If next you pray...pray for swift death."
He dropped something that glittered like a crystal to the ground, and where it landed another red diagram of magical light sprang into existence. With a snap and crackle, the Black Knight shot up into the sky, piercing those dark clouds like a stone through muddied water...and then he was gone.
Torrent looked at the water, thinking. Trying to use her Scale Shift with water had turned her mildly... Transparent? It made her a lighter color, at any rate. Maybe she could work with that later to become invisible proper...
And then everything changed. She was terrified, she was going to die, and this was —
It was over. As quickly as it had came it was over. And one word stuck in her mind, even over the exploded mountain and the intimidation presence of the... Thing.
Someone had prayed.
"WHO. DID. IT?" Her voice was clear, but full of danger. "I told you not to pray. I TOLD YOU THE DEMON KING WARNED ME. Now who just tried to kill us all?"
She activated her Scale Shift on the ground beneath her feet instinctively, blending herself as her blood thundered through her as the flight response turned to fight.
Asura gave off a barely audible grunt when he got hit by a Poison Spit. He'd have to deal with those later if Ardur and Mother Slime didn't take care of them now. But currently a tug of war was happening. He didn't have any Stamina and the Wisp didn't have the magical strength to pull the Source Crystal free from him. But like every fucking magic user he used a spell and chant and hit Asura with a water orb. That was the only way to describe the spell. And it hurt a good bit too.
He landed with a splat, hoarding his half of the Source Crystal. He'd mess with it later, if it was even useful when it was broken like this. "Try to steal loot from someones kill again and you'll follow this bastard." Asura growled as multiple cracks and thumps rang out around him. Ardur had taken out a Lizard in a rather cruel fashion and Mother Slime pummeled the remaining one. Pulling himself together he shifted in the semblance of rolling his shoulders.
"Ardur, could you give me a heal?" He request as he moved to the remains of the Dire Rat Jason had killed and tried to eat. It looked unappetizing but it was food. He sucked the remains in, purposefully draining its blood first to quench his thirst. Then he started to digest it meticulously. Examining its anatomy while he did so.
Asura's sluggish brain brightened up momentarily. "You mentioned a core, and corruption, Ardur. Where is this thing?" He asked, his raging voice once more that monotone. He was fully back under control at this point, his target killed. For now anyway. This was a fantasy world and he wasn't going to think Jason was fully dead yet. Mother Slime called for him to eat herr, was that here or was that her?
"We'll bring the other Lizard with us, Mother Slime. No point eating it just yet since we both have a good meal. I'm...not sure what Ardur eats." He called back before waving for her to come over. While he spoke he was looking over the Skills he could put points into. Most of which he knew how to build up himself so there was no point to making them tick over into use just yet. He also didn't want to waste any points to level up things he could do himself rather quickly. So he'd save them for now. System, how much experience do I have? Show me Status Screen. He thought and brace himself mentally for another oncoming headache in case it did that static shit again.
Craning her neck Orchid waited for the other goblins and monsters to clear out. Originally she wanted to try and save as many goblins as she could to her side just to have the numbers. But seeing how quickly everything went to hell, such idealism wouldn’t be possible. No doubt if Orchid wins, many of these goblins would either flee or try and challenge her. She’d have to make a spectacle of killing Crispy while not being too wounded herself. If nothing else, this would make sure to cement herself as the new boss.
Once the arena was clear Orchid struck first. Crispy’s fireball was deadly and wide range, and no doubt he wouldn’t be afraid to catch himself in the blast. Orchid would only have one good shot at him and she would lose if she lets him keep a distance from her. So Orchid charged forward, her shield raised to block as much damage as possible. If Crispy aimed right at her Orchid would dodge, but if he aims at her feet Orchid was also ready to aim her shield down and try to absorb as much damage with her shield. As long as she got close, she could finish him.
From behind her shield's rim, Orchid would see Crispy bend his knees as if to brace himself for their collision. Then the flame touched goblin pushed off--to make a light hop backwards as he thrust his torch out. Crispy, being older and more mature than Orchid, had just a few more inches of reach. With his torch in hand, it allowed him to slam the burning head into the center of Orchid's shield and still leave him space to stay away from that sharp club of hers. Orchid dodged to one side, letting the torch roll off her shield, but now Crispy had once again hopped away. The distance between them was reset--and her shield had several glowing embers on it. The thin wicker strips and sticks she made it from had long dried by now, and they might catch fire easily. Crispy continued to circle, his torch extended in front of him and his knife hand making slow figure-eights, keeping the weapon's tip moving unpredictably...
"Younglin' too big for britches!" he cawed at her, as the others looked on.
Orchid reset her position towards Crispy, casting a flew glances down at her shield. It was only singed but she knew that if she kept fighting so roughly with her shield, it would easily be destroyed. She needed to be decisive. So once more Orchid charged at Crispy, but right before she’d run into him or his torch she’d take a step back, so that he would have to reach even further to try and hit her. A feint so she could smash her shield right onto Crispy’s arm to disarm him of his torch. While this might give him a chance to retaliate with a fireball, Orchid intended to remain nimble to do her best and avoid the flames.
Or at least, that was what she had planned. As Orchid prepared to charge again just like she had before, Crispy did something different.
"Already--"
He lunged forward before she had gotten her own dash underway, again thrusting with his torch while she was still shifting her balance. Just as Orchid got her shield up the burning stick collided with it again.
"Seen dat!"
But despite not being quite as tall, Orchid was [Stronger]. She was still able to push forward with her shield, hoping to put enough pressure on the limb to force Crispy to drop it. She heard the beginning of a crackle from the wicker, however, and although she managed to press the torch back against him Crispy didn't seem harmed by its heat. Yet they only stayed in contact for an instant, as Crispy physically felt he would lose the contest of strength and again hopped away. Once again they were circling each other, each looking for openings. Crispy held the torch at roughly eye level out in front of him, glaring at Orchid with narrowed eyes as he waved it back and forth, back and forth...
Orchid didn’t give Crispy a moment to rest. Third time's the charm. She charged forward once more, her shield up as she went low. Either Crispy planned to break her shield or just wanted Orchid to tire herself out. But this time Orchid wasn’t planning on hitting Crispy directly. No, instead she used her sharp club like a shovel and tossed up a large cloud of dirt towards Crispy. It was a thin smoke shield but enough for Orchid’s form to be hidden for a precious few seconds.
The torch followed Orchid's shield, staying at intercepting level even as the female goblin lowered her stance. When she charged in low, however, Crispy didn't thrust this time. As she shoved her weapon into the ground he was already moving at an angle, and though she would no doubt turn to try and scatter the dirt at him he put on a burst of speed and kept the dust from blinding him. Before Orchid could straighten her stance he closed the distance again, torch still held low towards her shield--
Then she felt his knife bite into her shoulder.
He had drawn her focus to the torch, and when she lowered herself she had sacrificed the amount of coverage her shield gave her. While the flaming brand stood out in her eyes the knife had come overhand from a blind angle, above the rim of the shield to find her upper arm.
The wound wasn't deep--Crispy didn't seem to want to have an extended tangle up-close, and his knife wasn't long enough. But it hurt and it bled, and now he was sneering at her.
"Crispy gots blood first, youngling!" he cackled, shifting lightly on the balls of his feet as he backed up.
“You talk too much!”
It hurt. It hurt so much. But not as bad as getting hit by a truck. And frankly, this stabbing pain was familiar, just like the first time she fought a goblin. She got stabbed right into the shoulder. It hurt so much, but it was a hurt that Orchid was now used to.
With both of Crispy’s arms occupied, one covering her shield and another stabbing her shoulder, this was Orchid’s moment to strike. She raised her club up to her shoulder height ready to smash into Crispy’s head. But what she did first was turn her head towards the knife in her shoulder. Through gritted teeth she shouted out “SMASH!”
Orchids attack was two fold; her strike, instead of going high, was aimed low to strike Crispy’s forward leg. She swung her arm down onto his leg the same way she chop through meat, using a flicking motion so that all the force was concentrated on the tip, and the momentum and weight of her weapon behind it. But that was merely an off hand attack, as her primary one which she channeled her smash was meant to go into Orchid’s bite as she chomped onto Crispy’s wrist, aiming to break the fragile bones keeping his hand attached to his arm.
Crispy was already in the process of withdrawing his knife and backing up, but was still caught off guard by Orchid's more ferocious assault after she'd been so careful thus far. Her teeth snapped shut--quite hard, enough that she gave herself an uncomfortable jolt--on empty air as Crispy jerked his knife hand away. Her swinging club, on the other hand, met his torch in a half-readied block. Crispy didn't have a solid enough stance yet and hadn't been expecting to defend himself, and as a result the blow was a heavy one that knocked a chunk out of the torch's wooden shaft. The ashes and sparks that it carried with it drifted dangerously on the breeze from the attack--if it got into Orchid's eyes she might be as blind as she had tried to get Crispy a moment ago. The burned goblin escaped her attack with a shaky hand, but no wound, and once again had returned to his favored distance.
This time, however, he didn't let Orchid re-initiate. Instead he circled towards her shield arm, away from the club, and swung with his torch directly at the Wicker Shield. It was a swift fronthand-backhand motion, and as the flames passed through the air they surged brighter...
A miss. Crispy was a wriggly foe. But then again if she could get a solid blow onto him it would be over in an instance. He moved quickly to get behind her; was he trying to flank her and stab her in the back? Or strike her over the head? Either way Orchid needed to act quickly. Stronger made her physically more powerful but there was more to strength than just how much she could carry or how hard she could push something. If she was stronger than she braced her legs into the ground and jumped back; right into Crispy. She was easily able to shift her shield behind her to cushion the impact as the torch would strike the outer rim of the shield; the flames she could feel as embers flicked onto her body, but it was a relatively minor pain. Crispy’s advantage over Orchid is his speed, but speed won’t mean much when you’re flat on your back.
As the torch struck Orchid's shield once again, this time she heard the wicker crack and felt heat on her arm. But her backwards lunge put her strength and weight against Crispy's, and she knocked him backwards powerfully. True, if he were flat on his back she could easily seize the advantage.
But Goblins were brutal creatures. How many times now had she seen Rattleskull or Crispy, either one, kick or slap or otherwise buffet another greenskin? How many times had they literally knocked on sprawling or caused them to fall? Being a goblin meant clawing your way up from the bottom, and that meant a lot of abuse from those higher on the chain. As Orchid turned to try and pursue the falling Crispy, the tattooed goblin was already rolling on the ground. At the moment he had seen he would lose this direct struggle once more, Crispy had jumped back. Orchid's slam had thus thrown him farther. As a goblin who had been around for much longer, he knew how to, quite literally, roll with the punches. With all the grace of a drunken, half-trained gymnast the Goblin had rolled, and thus he not only came up on his feet as Orchid was preparing to follow up, he was further away from her.
The distance had increased.
"FIREBALL!" Crispy's torch almost seemed to shoot the spell from its tip like a wand. It shot towards Orchid's torso at an angle--she might be able to defend with her shield, but it was already blackened around its center and starting to unravel--!
Orchid dropped. It was just the most immediate reaction for her, more so than freezing up or trying to defend with her shield. She wasn’t sure why but maybe it had to do with her death; she could have easily avoided it if she had simply got low to the ground and avoided that bus. And this time Orchid hit the ground before that fireball could hit her square in the chest. It helped that after her push, she was slightly off balanced; falling was just a matter of not catching herself.
Just as quick as she fell Orchid was back onto her feet. She could feel her shield breaking and knew it was no longer useful. She ran towards Crispy to close the distance, her club poised to strike and this time ready for another attack.
The fireball arced over Orchid's head, landing somewhere in the already burned and upturned earth behind her. Luckily that kept it from spreading into the forest, but that would probably be the least of her concerns at the moment. Crispy had been on his feet when he launched that spell and was already breaking into a run as Orchid dropped to the ground. She immediately pushed back up onto her feet, but not fast enough to avoid an attempt by Crispy to keep her down. The torch struck her head with a solid thump, the impact throwing her to one side even as she felt her hair singe and the heat threatened to sear her face. But with her club at the ready she charged right back, only for Crispy to leap aside from her strike. The club almost caught him, cutting a section of leaves from his woven vine belt, but he aimed for the moment when she had to pull the weapon back to either block or try another swing. In that lull Crispy lunged forward, thrusting his knife several times in quick succession at Orchid's upper torso.
Crispy wasn't turning out to be nearly the fool she had thought him up until now--everything he had done so far showed what it took to survive in this world and rule an unruly bunch of goblins. He had adapted quickly to repeated attacks, had baited her into focusing on one weapon while he attacked with the other, had been hit enough times over the years to know how to take them and get back up, hadn't hesitated at all to use his spell the moment it was advantageous, and he reacted to every opening she gave him. There was no way Crispy was a trained fighter, or that any of his skills gave him some kind of foresight--it was one thing, and one thing only. Experience. Experience living as a goblin, living in a world that seemed to be nothing but violence and struggle every single day.
Heart racing, blood pumping, body bleeding. Orchid was never a fighter in her past life, and being one in this new life was much harder than it seemed. All the more reason it was such a surprise that everyone was so quick to start killing each other. Just what sort of people did she end up with that they could easily take a life at a drop of a hat? Just what had she done in her past life that she deserved to be thrown into this one? Questions she’ll have to find answer to if she survives today. The pain in her head from the torch, the wounds on her chest from the knife, it all screamed to Orchid to tell her to stop, to just give up to stop the pain. It made Orchid wondered how many of these goblins went through the same thing.
The easy thing to do was just shut up and do what you’re told. That’s what she’s always done. The one moment she stepped out of line and she died for it. Would it happen again? More questions, more missing answers. There were more important things to do right now. As Crispy retracted his blade Orchid went to swing at his face with a quick swipe of her club. Another feint; while it could certainly hit his face Orchid wanted him to try to focus on it as she used some quick footwork to stomp him in the shin, specifically on the wound she had caused him earlier before. She would use her shield to cover her movements, almost as if she had intended to merely smash her shield into his body, but instead was meant to hide her short, low blow to his ankles. Crispy wasn’t the only one who knew to fight dirty; he might be more experienced but that doesn’t mean he was guaranteed to win.
As Orchid lashed out with her sharp club Crispy was surprised by the speed of the weapon; Orchid's Crafting skill earlier had told her that this weapon was faster than the normal clubs, and Crispy had never seen such a weapon before much less fought one. Though he jerked his head back, one of the sharpened stone shards drew a painful red line across his cheek. As he screeched he swung frantically with his torch, slamming Orchid's club away from him but failing to disarm her.
Just like the female planned his focus was diverted, and she quickly kicked him hard in the shin. Crispy lost his balance, and went down to one knee with gritted teeth. He looked up at Orchid now, looming over him--for the first time she could see a flash of panic in his eyes. But with a snarl he swung upwards with his knife, aiming a powerful slash at her closest thigh.
Crispy’s knife would find no mark as the stone blade was caught between the weaves and fibers of her shield; even as it was mostly damaged from the constant torch beat downs, it was still whole enough to tangle a blade firmly within its folds. And with the blade stuck in her shield Orchid stabbed the pointy end of her shield into Crispy’s wounded leg once more, with enough force for her shield to get lodged there. With his knife caught and his leg continuously damaged Orchid let go of her shield to grip her Sharp Club with both hands, ready to deal the final blow.
She struck with no mercy nor hesitation. While she may have had a million of thoughts flash in her mind she only had one thing she needed to do at this very moment. Holding her weapon with both hands she cleaved her blade down onto Crispy’s shoulder, to cleave and crush through his clavicle and somewhere into his lungs. It was a well-practiced swing; the execution blow of many of boars, chickens, and cows back home. Had she an axe and her normal body, she could have cleaved Crispy from shoulder to hip.
As Crispy's knife slashed into the burned and weakened Wicker Shield, Orchid heard and felt its weave being cracked apart. The circular shield soon split into pieces, crumbling inward, but there was still enough of it left--and her splintery spokes running through it--to slam down hard on Crispy's foot. The flaming goblin howled as the spike pierced him. He couldn't put weight on the injured foot to stand up from his kneeling position. He watched with panicked eyes as she raised her club, raising an outstretched hand--
"FIRE--"
She swung down just as the flames burst from Crispy's palm. The spell didn't have time to complete, but the jet of flame would still throw off Orchid's balance and aim. Crispy's reaching arm was in the way of her strike. The blades of her club sank into the meat of his forearm and kept going thanks to her strength--she heard bone snap and crack. The weapon kept going, though much of its force was reduced, and sliced open Crispy's chest diagonally across the sternum. The wound wasn't deep, but the multiple, jagged stone blades created a messy lattice of lacerations instead of one clean wound.
The heat of the flames seared across Orchid's ribs and up across one shoulder. She had already taken a stab wound to that same shoulder and felt the blood boiling. She had been struck over the head by Crispy's torch, leaving burning embers in her hair. She had been stabbed, though lightly, several times around her torso, leaving a half dozen rivulets of blood running down her chest and waist.
WARNING! YOUR HP IS LOW!
Crispy collapsed to the ground, holding his broken arm--it had been cut down to the bone, but not all the way through, yet the weighty club held so much impact it had snapped one of the two smaller bones in the forearm, the ulna specifically. Blood poured from it, and from the wound on his chest where ragged little bits of flesh made it look like someone had been peeling him apart layer by layer. He screamed and writhed in agony, which only made the pain worse.
"CRISPY GIVE! CRISPY GIVES! YOU BOSS NOW, YOU BOSS!" he pleaded, kicking away her Wicker Shield--now broken beyond repair--and thus opening up a new wound on his foot.
Burns. Blood. Pain. It was agonizing. She thought she knew pain but this was on a whole other level. She wanted to cry, to curl up somewhere cold and dark and just hope for a quick death. But as per usual, her work is never done. She stood up, still lightly on fire but she patted the flames down as she walked towards Crispy. He had surrendered and now she was the boss. He was at her mercy.
”Get out of here. I don’t care where you go. But if I see you again you’ll die. That’s the only kindness you’ll get from me.” She stood over him, knowing that he was far too wounded to get moving far or any time soon, but her grip on her club was still strong enough to finish the job. If he had any intentions of betraying her mercy, he’d find a sharp club towards his neck before he could even scream fire.
"W-wait! W-wait, Boss!" Crispy used his one good elbow to back himself up along the ground, away from Orchid and her club. "Ah, me, me used to dis! Rattleskull, me n' him scrap too! But you, you different!" Still bleeding everywhere, still clearly in agony as he cradled his arm, he managed to stand up somewhat in a hunched bow. "You sm-smarter den Rattleskull! B-but, Crispy da oldest Gob left in da tribe! Can tells ya all da stuff da Old Gobs told me!" He gestured towards the others. Bigs, Wej, Clod, and one of Crispy's minions were older than Orchid, but the others were much closer to her age and aside from Crispy, it was very likely none of them even knew who these Old Gobs before Rattleskull had been. "Da farm! And da Ventures, an' udda Humans! Uh, uh, even da Orcs! Ya dun know nuthin' bout 'em, but Crispy does! Can be yore, yore uh, advertiser!"
"Crispy makes fire, Boss." spoke up the female member of Crispy's minion duo. "Can't cook food wit no fire. And is strong weapon."
"Ain't but, uh..." Bigs counted the goblins on his fingers, then held out his hands. He was still off by two. "Dis many of us left, Boss. We needs more Gobs, don't we?"
Orchid sighed. ”Well, suppose now is a good time as any to enact some new policies.” Orchid remained stoic and uncharged as she was poised to smackdown Crispy, but she did raise a hand up to get everyone to quiet down. “We’re going to do things differently from now on. We Goblins gotta stick together after all… But the only way we can do that is if we want to work together.” She have everyone a quick glance as if she suspected then if deceit and treachery. Which she honestly did. “We gunna do something called voting.” Orchid went to pick up her shield and tossed it off a bit away, where it broke some more into a tough line. She pointed towards the shield with her sharp club.
“If you want Crispy to stay, stand on that side.” Orchid pointed towards the left side of the shield. Then she pointed towards the right side. “If you want him to leave, stand on that side. We gunna do big decisions like this from now on so we know where we all stand. Or at least, whenever someone’s got ideas that sound better than mines and wants to fight about it without dying like today.” And just so no one gets the wrong impression that Orchid is doing this to be nice, she gave them a vicious snarl.
“We only gunna do this for as long as I think it’ll work. If I don’t like it I’m going to stop it.”
The Goblins seemed confused by Orchid's words and actions, as always, but after seeing her handle Crispy the way she had they certainly weren't going to say anything against her. Crispy quickly hobbled over to the left side of the shield. Both of his former minions followed him. Bigs and Wej looked at each other, then turned away from the group and began to whisper back and forth with various gestures. Clod stopped to observe them for a moment, then turned to look at Orchid. He looked over at Crispy. Then he looked back over his shoulder towards the rock blades he'd been working on. Then down at the Wicker Shield Orchid had made for him. Finally, he walked over to the left side.
Jezee creeped up behind Orchid on the right side slowly. Sqwal stood on the middle for a moment, scowling at both sides...then stepped over to the right. Bigs and Wej finished their discussion, played a quick game of what looked like rock-paper-scissors, then split. Bigs stood on Crispy's side, Wej stood on Orchid's.
Counting Orchid and Crispy themselves, it was 5 to 4 in favor of letting the flame-touched Goblin stay. That injured arm of his was beginning to look like a swollen, bruised monstrosity and he seemed to be silently crying, though he stood behind one of his minions so the others wouldn't see the tears.
”Five-to-four huh. Joining my side will obviously make it five-to-five, and yet another deadlock. Greeeeeaaaat.”
Orchid bemoaned in her head. Democracy was never easy. But then again, being a leader isn’t easy. If everyone just did what they were told without any choice for their own, a lot more people would be successful. But a lot more people would also likely end up dead, so as always there were two-sides to every coin. No matter, evidently it was down to Orchid once more. She walked over and picked up what remained of her ruined shield; no chance to repair it now. But she could at least break it down into some usable parts or, failing that, tinder. Now it was time to establish some ground rules and her verdict.
”Crispy stays. For now. Just know this… You lost.” Orchid looked at Crispy directly in his eyes so he knows that Orchid knows he’s crying. Even though she hurt, she didn't shed a single tear. She hadn’t even yelled too loudly when she got hurt. ”You do what I say and you live. You start trying to boss me or the others around when I don’t tell you to, you’ll die. Don’t care how many of the others want you around; defying me means death. As for the rest of you,” Orchid turned to look to the others. While she wants to make sure they’re more cooperative by giving them some semblance of freedom and equality, she doesn’t want them to think they could just go and challenge her for leadership whenever they feel like being pissy.
”You got a problem with something I do, you tell me. We work it out. Only reason I could challenge Crispy to be the boss is because before, none ya were brave enough to wanna fight or speak up. Make no mistake, you piss me off and I’ll hurt you. But if you got a problem and you do want some help, even if that problem is me, than I won’t get angry. We can work together. But if you don’t talk to me and just start doing stuff yourself, that’ll piss me off. Now onto some other stuff.” Orchid put her ruined shield away onto a small loop on her backpack, wiping the blood off her body as best as she could. It mostly ended up just staining her and making the little green goblin look red.
”We’re still going to go after that farm, but only after we get more weapons and armor. If there’s adventurers there, sticks and stones won’t beat em. So we’re going to need all the help we can get! So we’re going to go look for those other monsters that left the cave. They helped me survive and they’re smart enough to know that if they want to survive, they’ll want to work with us. That means no attacking them if they don’t attack you first. You ain’t their boss, so if you try to start ordering them around I won’t save you if you get eaten by them. Let me do the talking, work together, and you’ll be better for it. If they’re bossing you around or trying to hurt you, you tell me and I’ll deal with em.”
Though while Orchid wanted to start working as soon as possible, she was dead tired. That fight nearly killed her, and chances are Crispy won’t survive either with his injury. As much as she hated to be idle, she needed to rest. She felt like she spoke enough so she pointed back towards their camp. ”Alright, that’s enough talking. I’m tired. Going to deal with these wounds, maybe take a little nap. Get your things, make stuff, eat, whatever. We leave when I’m ready to go.”
As Orchid turned to head back towards the camp, there was the sound of hushed whispering behind her. She had probably guessed by this point that, until she knew Crispy wouldn't try anything, she would have to be on her guard against treachery--but by the time she turned back, Crispy was still cradling his arm and trying to make wiping his face look casual. Instead, the female member of the minion duo approached Orchid. She looked to be in the same age range as Bigs and Clod, so she was slightly taller than Orchid and more filled out in a "mature" way.
"Boss, me and Yoona gonna go back in da cave to get Healy Herbs." she pointed at the male. "We be back as soon as we can."
Provided there were no problems with that, the two set off--leaving Crispy to skulk about, alone and unnoticed by the other goblins, even the ones who had voted to let him stay. He sat on a rock away from the fire, turned his back to everyone else, and every so often merely sniveled or whined as he held his arm.
"Oi, Boss! Is Crispy Mid-Boss again?" called Wej as he approached Orchid, wiping his nose with a snort. "Cause if'n he ain't, I wanna be Mid-Boss!"
"You ain't big enough to be Mid-Boss!" Bigs challenged, running up and shoving Wej out of the way. "Boss, pick me, pick me!"
Clod looked over at them and started to open his mouth like he wanted to join the squabble too...then he went back to stripping bark off a tree branch he found. Soon he was trying to wind it to make fiber chord.
"B-Boss, I been tryin' to make rope like youse showed us..." Jezee tried to approach from behind, but seemed intimidated by the row from the others. She bashfully held out a thin length of fiber chord that was frayed and loose at several points along its weave. "Is dis right?"
Being a Boss, especially one that encouraged her subjects to approach her, seemed like it was going to be a big responsibility...
