Danny was relieved to see that while his boosted spell seemed to really hurt Asura it did not kill him. Normally he would have agreed with Ardur but if Jason did succeed with his spell and the stone was connected to his return, he couldn't let Asura have it. If the Stone-Hardened Slime Mage hadn't calmed down before seeing Asura again there was no doubt there would be another fight to the death and he wanted to prevent that. The fact that was quite possibly a powerful magic item was just a bonus.

As soon the Wisp no longer felt the weight of the Slime pulling him down he took off unaware of the fact that the crystal had broken despite the loud crack. He also missed Asteria sneak off though he no doubt wasn't alone on that.

He wondered what to do, going to the cavern would make sense but would also no doubt be the first place Asura would look for him. So instead he went to only other relatively safe spot he could think off. He wanted to use the same trick to boost his aerodynamics but didn't know if he had enough MP to do that and carry the crystal, so instead he just flew as fast as he could to the campingsite he had shared with Ash's group.

Only after he had to land either because he was out of MP or reached his destination did he notice that he had a shard and not the whole crystal. Curious if it worked he tried to analyze it, it was neither a monster nor a spell but he hoped it was magical enough to be affected by Magic Analysis I!. Afterwards he meditated in order to recover his MP.

---

@Zeroth

"If ya know who ya be," Bonie called out after Jason, "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.

The warlord's pace slowed to that of a crawl, as he bent down and scooped blackened dirt into his hands. "I am Ja-soon Maag, of the Oorwin tribe. Leader of the band of the Valk, and Champion of my people-" he loudly answered with a voice full of pride as he began adorning himself with the markings of his peoples' spirit walkers; shamans that were known to commune directly with spirits both good and evil. It was clear that the goblin elder intended to test him, to make him prove himself worthy for yet another chance in this world.

He would accept this challenge.

"My entire life," he continued after a brief pause, "I lived as a warrior; fighting for my people. But, I did not die as one. I died in chains. Tortured... Betrayed... Cursing my captors that did nothing but tear down everything I had spent my entire life building, protecting, and improving. I watched helplessly; unable to do a thing, as the people I had fought to free from tyranny were burned alive before my very eyes... And when the sick bastard were through with their fun-- they had me killed. Like livestock..." his voice began to trail off, almost heavy with sadness, before it picked back up, in grim tone. "Yet, for some reason, a monster such as myself was chosen. Chosen to have a second chance at live. To live as a TRUE monster... And rather than join the spirits of my ancestors, was shoved into a strange new world- as a slime. With this new life I fought, survived, met others like me, learned the secrets of magic, and became the ruler of a dungeon. And as Boss, I had found a new people to protect; to raise and train as my own, yet, it seems that others; in their arrogance, could not embrace my vision- and seek only to slaughter everything in this world, regardless of consequence. I tried to stop the others, I didn't want to lose any more of my new people. Yet, again I failed to do so; and instead took the instrument of my end into my own hands."

The wailing spirits were getting close now, and it seemed that none of them were moving for the core, but rather to reach Jason instead. "I AM JASON," he loudly declared as he pounded his fist against his painted chest, "I AM THE SAVIOR OF HUNDREDS, AND THE KILLER OF HUNDREDS MORE. I AM THE CHAMPION OF MY PEOPLE! I AM A MAN! THOUGH MY FORM MAY CHANGE A THOUSAND TIMES OVER-- THIS IS WHAT I AM, THIS IS MY HISTORY! NO DEMON, GOD, NOR CORE CAN TAKE THAT FROM ME!!!!" he roared with fervor, at this point, if it was possible, Jason would have unknowingly activated [War Cry II] for this proclamation.

---

---

“Crispy? The goblin Jason and some others had some sort of a meeting with? I still know nothing about that, but I doubt it’s relevant now…” Asteria trailed off in thought, considering the possibility that whomever fought him could be another Reincarnator. Even if she was certain that they were, however, making contact was not necessarily advisable, especially given that the trio of Dire rats were outnumbered.

Just as she was about to agree to sneak out of the cave, Mother Rat practically tackled her, circling and sniffing at her. A hint of some scent apparently offended her, but only for a short while. Surely it’s not because of the undead…is it? Giving none of her concerns away, Asteria returned the other’s greeting, nuzzling at the Mother briefly. “Hey, hey, I’m alright,” she reassured. Then, she peeked back towards the entrance, narrowing her gaze to asses the situation. Only to find a pair of goblins approaching. It was too late to sneak by! The goblin duo was speaking of helping Crispy and possibly opposing the new female goblin Boss, and they were getting closer and closer to discovering them. Not wanting to chance anything, Asteria backed away silently, nudging Mother Rat and Ed into doing the same, taking special care that the other female Dire rat wouldn’t attack and give them away.

She slowly and cautiously led them back a bit into the cave, then whispered to Ed. “Let them pass. When they’re gone, let’s make a break for it, either out the main entrance or that side tunnel by it, the one Jason and others partially dug out.” She kept an eye on the goblin duo as well as the now somewhat more distant entrance. Worst case scenario, now that they were farther from the larger group of goblins, they could take out the duo without causing much of a commotion. She also relayed this thought of hers “If we have to take them out, quick and silent is the way to go,” the mutter was barely audible even to her own ears, so the preoccupied goblin duo would hopefully not hear it.


@Searat

Ardur The Pixie

A death in the family > To become Stronger /// Adventuring day 4 // Afternoon / Location - Cave

Ardur couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden spray of water from the wisps spell. The small clash between the two made the crystal they had split in two. Danny fluttered away from both of them while Asura slowly regained his form. At the slimes request Ardur reached out and used Minor Healing II on him but sighed. He was beginning to get tired, not physically but mentally. All this senseless fighting for what? To protect a strange and dangerous crystal?

As the red slime began to ask of the core and something about moving out Ardur got an interesting system update. A new level? And something called transformation with a list? So this was how some of the others changed. “I wonder if that means im lagging behind the others?” he thought to himself. He was quiet for some time as he pondered his choices quietly to himself. It almost seemed that he was ignoring the slime next to him all together.

“Hmm.” He whispered to himself, “how about 4 points in Inspire, 2 points in Guidance, 1 point to Spell Chant, and put the last two in mana strike and point strike respectively.” He muttered to himself before looking back to his friend. “Not so fast Asura. By the way you were moving back there I can only assume you used more than a little stamina. Not only that but there is still a skeleton and wisp that are unaccounted for. More than likely once Jason fell the core would go into a defensive mode and I can only guess that it has gathered the rest of the monsters in this cave to protect it.” He glanced to the lizard he killed earlier.

“That monster was being controlled even after Jason died so it’s safe to assume we are in for a fight.” He began to walk back toward the lizard he killed. “There’s something else as well, I will be doing something called transforming. It says I will be vulnerable for a little while so watch my back while you eat and rest. But I call dibs on this lizard.” Opening the warm mouth of the dead creature he reached in and grasped its tongue. Ripping it out with one hand while the other kept its mouth open.

Turning back to the red slime he smiled, “After im done I’ll show you were the core is. However, there is one condition. That being that we are there to destroy it. If you try to take it for yourself, I will do everything in my power to destroy it and you.” he took a bite of the lizards flesh and swallowed. “And by the way I can eat anything.”

Tossing the rest of the flesh to the ground with a sigh, “whatever it takes Sara.” Ardur took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he was done. Done being weak, done being selfish, done being a pixie. This is the path he would choose no going back, to be stronger so that he may be able to save others not destroy them. To protect the others, his friends, “System, I choose Hipixie!” Ardur felt light headed, almost like his Mana and Stamina were drained from him nearly instantly. With a shaky wobble the pixies knees gave out and he fell to the ground motionless.

@Zeroth
@Kazemitsu

---

As soon as Digbie heard the roars of Zawisza in the distance, he immediately went into panic. The system message appeared and certainly didn't help anything at all, either. He felt the staunch scent of fear tickle his senses as he immediately cowered in the presence of the beast. Within his panic, Digbie stomped the ground as he used {Earth Wall} several times, conjuring up a small box of 2-inch walls around him in the dirt, walls slanting around and creating a rough tipi tent, coating himself in nigh-total darkness.

He felt his head spiral out of pure craziness and disaster. He was scared, startled, and overwhelmed by the noises in his head. Even with the Mental Resistance he had, it was still far too much for Digbie to handle sitting down. It was absolutely bonkers that he could still hear anything at this point.

He couldn't see anything outside of the darkness, and all he could do was shake in fear.

A loud crash happened outside the tipi, but it hadn't prompted Digbie to come out. The voice of Zawisza boomed in the distance, and then everything was almost calm again. It was quite tame for the situation for about four seconds before Torrent shouted at the party, asking who just prayed. Only then, did a wall lower in front of Digbie to reveal his cowering frame. "I prayed a while ago! Back when we were fighting Rattleskull! I was afraid at the time and didn't know what was going on!" A few tears were forming from his eyes as he laid in the dirt. "I-I didn't pray just then! I'm sorry if it was me by accident!"

While speaking, and halfway in the dirt, Digbie activated {Earth Vein}, trying to recover some of the lost MP he had as he waited for what to happen to happen.

---

Ed was confused at first to why Asteria was nudging them but soon he heard voices as well as footsteps from the entrance of the cave and saw the duo of goblins entering. For now they seemed that they had not seen or detected them yet. Keeping a low, crouched position he whispers his reply to her suggested course of action. "Noted. Sneak by when possible but if all else fails, kill them as quickly as possible." The element of surprise was enough to gain the upper hand against the goblins, but now that he had evolved into a more familiar bipedal form. He could probably dispatch a goblin with a single forceful swipe of his claws even before it realized it had been attacked.

The raw strength of his evolution path alone is superior to any other species present in the cave, but when combined with the [Stronger I] passive. His power could rival an elite mook's...perhaps even a mini-boss'. Ed then smirks and flexes both arms, one curved upward and the other downward, and turns his head to look at both Asteria and her mum. "If ever we lose the element of surprise. Leave the guy to me. My limbs may look kinda lanky, but I assure you I can easily overpower him." To reaffirm his statement further, he flexes them harder. So hard to the point that his muscles could be easily defined even from underneath his fur. Hell, he even flexes his tail for good measure.




@SilverPaw

---

"Oh, thank you Torrent." Ash replied to the other reptiles offer. "Perhaps I might be able to use it as a rope or...snakeskin armor or clothes." She really couldn't think of an immediate use for it, but she could test such things later.

Meditate was definitely going to be a useful skill, that much was quickly becoming apparent. Just a bit of time and exercise and it could be one of the best long term investments she could make. Rabid Fit was...slightly less useful. Similar to Overwork, like she had hoped. Increase to strength and damage dealt, except this one didn't drain your HP. Instead it seemed you took more damage from attacks. Seems as though she couldn't activate it manually yet, though.

Hm.

"Anyways," Turning back to Mourn. "Going after those - "

WARNING! YOUR ALERT SKILL IS REACTING STRONGLY! RUN!

"-huh?"

She felt it before she saw it. A cold, baleful wind swept through the forest, Ash sat straight up. The system told her to run, but running without knowing what she was running from would be folly. Black clouds started gathering overhead, swirling around the camp in quite the unnatural weather pattern. A flash of red light exploded from the center, and like bolt of fury something fell from the clouds, slamming into the camp.

A figure stood, in black armor among the debris of the rock and earth that they had just made their home. She didn't move a muscle, merely stood there, muscles taut as the creatures overwhelming Aura ate away at her stamina. As the fight or flight response kicked in, Ash made a move to resist it. She wouldn't be intimidated so easily! Not by something like this! Besides, running? Ha! Ha, no, there would be no running from this if it decided to attack them.

But it didn't seem to be intent on doing that.

Ash's mind caught up with her faster than her body did. At his parting words, Ash relaxed as he dropped something to the ground, body threatening to simply go limp, but she forced herself to stay on her feet. Almost instinctively, Ash used her [Fusion Analysis] skill on the magic circle, and on Zawisza himself as he left. She would at least get something from this.

Now that the fear and fight or flight response was quickly wearing off however, only a bubbling, burning anger was starting to creep into her veins.

Who indeed, Torrent.

Ash held a claw to her muzzle. Calm. Calm. She was most certainly not calm. Why, why did these things always happen?

"Whichever imbecile just did that after being advised not too," Ash's voice was cold, void of emotion as she suppressed the desire to simply find something and squeeze it to death like a stress ball. "I suggest you come clean and I won't skin you alive and drown you in a vat of acid."

It was difficult to tell if that was a sarcasm or not.

As soon as he had spoken the words to spend his skill points, three new messages appeared in front of the Sprite to inform him of his new skills. Keen Sight and Minor Heal All were more or less exactly what he expected them to be, though he had thought the former would simply improve his vision rather than require activation. The ability he was most interest in was Spiritual Awareness; the description seemed reasonable enough in theory, though what it meant in practise would remain to be seen.

Would he be able to see ghosts and the spirits of the departed that no-one else could? Did ‘spiritual’ in this case have something to do with the afterlife and the other side of the veil? Or were there spirits of nature, spirits of things most would consider inanimate, a hidden lifeforce that he would now be able to interact with? He had been hoping for the latter, to become more in tune with nature rather than to become a medium, but either represented interesting opportunities even if communing with the dead likely wouldn’t help with what he had planned.

After the skill messages however was another message; or an alert. His Alert skill was being triggered by something, and sure enough as he read it he could feel a chill run down his spine and goose bumps spread across his skin as some deep, instinctual part of his mind told him to run and cower and hide from what was coming.

The wind picked up around them, a sudden and powerful gale nearly knocking him flag as violent black clouds formed over their heads. Directly over their heads in fact. A red light flashed at its centre and unconsciously he activated Keen Sight to get a close look, revealing it to be a diagram or sigil of some kind. He used Magic Analysis on it, assuming it to be the beginnings of some kind of spell.

Before he could read the results however something fell from out of that light and crashed down in the centre of their camp, shattering rocks and deafening him with the sound of its arrival. The dust cleared slowly and in time Oberon began to make out the figure at its centre. It looked like a knight, clad all in black armour and carrying a huge sword. It looked a lot like a Final Fantasy boss. He activated his Analysis Fusion Skill as the knight began to speak.

Zawisza raised his sword, and the world became fear. The Sprite felt himself wasting away just under the pressure of the knight’s presence, felt himself growing weaker as the blood pounded in his ears, the light dimmed in his vision and his breathing grew laboured. And all the while he couldn’t look away from those golden eyes.

The sword came down, their death coming with it, only for nothing to happen. The pressure disappeared, everything returned to normal minus one mountain top, and Zawisza gave them one final glance and some parting words before preparing to leave. Before he vanished, Oberon pulled himself together enough to notice the red crystal that was used to summon the diagram and managed to activate his Magic Analysis just before the knight shot upwards.

For the next few seconds everyone was silent, until Torrent turned on them. Someone had prayed to the Demon King, multiple people apparently, and he had sent that knight after them to send a message. Torrent was shifting colours, looking like she was ready to attack the first person who admitted fault as Ash threatened to torture the person responsible.

Well, if it isn’t either of them, it isn’t me and it isn’t Digbie, then that really narrows down the list of suspects.

“This isn’t helping. We shouldn’t turn on each other like this. No-one died. No-ones hurt, yet, and after what just happened NO ONE is going to try that again. Let’s just move on; we shouldn’t be trying to kill each other when there are enough things trying to kill us already.”



@Gardevoiran@Kangutso@Old Amsterdam@Rune_Alchemist@floodtalon@Zeroth

You used Analysis!
Your mental state has lessened the effectiveness of this skill.
---??? Diagram---
This circle is charged with an intensely powerful magic energy. Its source was some kind of object, rather than a cast spell from a creature. You can only partially see some of the sigils within it due to their movement and complexity. They read: "Center On Aedven > Vertical Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil] + Horizontal Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil > Select Target [Unseen/Unread Sigil] > Complete. Running Return > Center on Aedven..." You cannot see the rest from this angle or while the diagram is moving.

---Black Knight ???: Zawisza ???---
This Target is aware of your skill usage. Analysis's effects are lessened by an Unknown Skill.
This Target is shielded from Analysis Skills, Analysis's effects are lessened.
This Target is shielded from Magic Effects, Magic Analysis is negated.
Black Knights are a highly evolved type of Monster. They are masters of tactics, arms, and all things related to combat. They are immune to most Magics. A single Black Knight can turn the tide of a battlefield.
---Analysis Complete!---

Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.5)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- 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: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-

Skill Rank Up: Mental Resistance I > Mental Resistance II! (1.0 > 2.0 with Job Boost)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- Further decrease damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have an even better chance of resisting mind-altering effects. At this rank even if you take no damage or are unaffected, you will have a general idea about the skill used on you, like guessing where a thrown rock came from.

Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.25 with Job Boost)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-

Your MP is rapidly being refilled, though it is not Full yet.

Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I! (0.5 > 1.5)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- 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: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-

You used Keen Sight I!
You used Magic Analysis IV!
---??? Diagram---
This Target is too high up for you to see even with Keen Sight I. You can only make out that it is a large circle with many complex sigils, but you cannot read them from here. It radiates a powerful magic that somehow reminds you of standing in a vast, empty room, or seeing the sky for the first time after leaving a cave.

You used Analysis!
Your mental state has lessened the effect of this skill.
---Black Knight ???: Zawisza ???---
This Target is aware of your skill usage. Analysis's effects are lessened by an Unknown Skill.
This Target is shielded from Analysis Skills, Analysis's effects are lessened.
This Target is shielded from Magic Effects, Magic Analysis is negated.
Black Knights are a highly evolved type of Monster. They are masters of tactics, arms, and all things related to combat. They are immune to most Magics. A single Black Knight can turn the tide of a battlefield.

You used Magic Analysis IV!
Your mental state has lessened the effect of this skill.
---??? Diagram---
This circle is charged with an intensely powerful magic energy of the Spatial Element. Its source was some kind of gemstone object, rather than a cast spell from a creature or by Zawisza. You can only partially see some of the sigils within it due to their movement and complexity. They read: "Center On Aedven > Vertical Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil] + Horizontal Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil > Select Target [Unseen/Unread Sigil] > Complete. Running Return > Center on Aedven..." You cannot see the rest from this angle or while the diagram is moving. There is more Mana concentrated here than anything you have seen thus far--this unknown gemstone feels as if it contained more than five times your Maximum MP total.

Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I!
Skill Rank Up: Mental Resistance II! (0.9 > 2.25)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- 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. >>> Further decrease damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have an even better chance of resisting mind-altering effects. At this rank even if you take no damage or are unaffected, you will have a general idea about the skill used on you, like guessing where a thrown rock came from.

Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-

SOMETHING EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IS NEARBY!

Skill Gain: Alert I! (0.2 > 1.2)!
Though this skill is limited by the strength of your senses, and does not sharpen your senses on its own, it allows you to become more aware of your surroundings. Without conscious effort, you will pick up on signs in your environment more easily, especially if they present some form of danger to you. Essentially this is an anti-ambush skill.

WARNING! YOUR ALERT SKILL IS REACTING STRONGLY! RUN!

Skill Rank Up: Mental Resistance I > Mental Resistance II! (1.2 > 2.05)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- Further decrease damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have an even better chance of resisting mind-altering effects. At this rank even if you take no damage or are unaffected, you will have a general idea about the skill used on you, like guessing where a thrown rock came from.

Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-

In the aftermath of Zawisza's arrival, the group could still feel their limbs trembling and their breath catching even as their senses came back to them. In the distance the rumble of that avalanche grew louder, and they could see it cascading down the side of the mountain far more rapidly than one would expect of multiple tons of rubble. A massive cloud of smoke rising from the crater left in the wake of that attack made the mountain look like an erupted volcano. All around them, birds and other flying creatures were fleeing from the treetops and heading into the distance. Beyond their line of sight, back into the trees and bushes, they could hear several creatures crashing around in their haste to escape.

But the clouds were clearing away, and the sun was soon bright once again. The landslide in the distance was still concerning, but would it reach this far? Aside from that, the only permanent change in the camp itself brought about by Zawisza was that a crater had formed in the middle of their creek, causing the water to pool up before it continued flowing down hill.

Further to the north, something that sounded like a horn let out a series of powerful bleats--though rather than a trained signal, it just sounded like someone was taking deep but fast, panicked breaths, then forcing them through the instrument. If indeed it was an instrument.

What would they do now? Zawisza had caused quite the disturbance, but at the same time he had left them relatively unharmed. Would they simply...continue as they were? Even if something--or someone--came along, there was no real indication that any of this was their fault to an outside observer. Maybe they could hide in their shelter, or leave temporarily until they were more certain they were in the clear. Or would they stay and try to get on with their lives, now that they had worked so hard to reach this place in whatever passed for "safety" in this crazy world?

---

As Ardur cast Minor Heal to fully restore Asura's body, the red slime started to devour the deceased Dire Rat. As he sucked out all of its blood his body turned an even deeper shade of crimson, but as Asura examined the creature's insides while digesting it he found that a Dire Rat was, quite simply, just a bigger rat. Its muscles might be a little denser, but other than that everything was the same...well, there might be one thing. It seemed like the creature's skeleton was...rough. Of course, bones being bleached white and smooth all the time was just movie magic. Real skeletons, especially fresh out of a corpse, would be covered in all kinds of gunk and would bare the marks of any fractures, breaks, callouses, and so on they had gathered over the creature's hard life. However, the Dire Rat's bones almost seemed like they had little bumps on them here and there. Bone spurs? Maybe the creature was old and developing arthritis or something. It seemed like an Adult Rat, not quite unlike the one that followed Asteria and Ed around. Maybe it had some kind of cancer. But nonetheless, Asura was able to digest it without much of a problem.

Ardur decided where to allot his skill points, he and Asura discussed the Dungeon Core, and Danny made good on his escape from all of them. Mother Slime finished eating her lizard, but by the time she looked over at the other one Ardur had called dibs. She wobbled. What were "dibs?"

But then Ardur passed out. Mother Slime decided that since he wasn't looking anymore she would take the Lizard corpse anyway, and slyly reached out with one pseudopod while "facing" the other direction before slurping the reptile up and storing it for later like Asura said.

As Ardur decided on his evolution and fell to the ground unconscious, his body instinctively curled into a tight fetal position. His shimmering wings wrapped around him, swelled as if pumping with blood...then turned gray and began to harden. He almost looked like an egg, or a flower bud.

Suddenly Ardur could see EVERYTHING.

Not in crystal clarity of course. And only within the cave itself. It felt like he should have kept going higher, as he floated out of his own body, but for some reason he didn't. He hit the ceiling of the cave and just hovered there, looking out across what had been his home for the past week and a half. But he could see out across the rocks and through the walls, through the odd dark violet haze that seemed to suffuse everything...

He could see A Dire Rat, its torn guts trailing behind it, walking toward the Nesting Area from the Pool. Inside it, he could see a dull purple light, almost like a wisp, bouncing around even though the rib cage was open to the air. The light seemed like a jumping bean trapped in a soda can, violently hurling itself against its fleshy prison. Two other Dire Rats, living ones, were sleeping in a Dark Corner of the cave, but they too had lights inside them. The two Fanged Lizards he and Momma Slime had slain--one of whom she had stolen after he called dibs, by the way--had released their own purple lights, which were heading towards Jason's Cave...and the beckoning, red light that shone there like an open doorway. Ardur could feel it pulling at him...

Ghost Wisps fluttered about near Jason's Cave, as did two living Pixies. Under all those various lumps of earth around the cave, Ardur could see three more pixies that looked to be in various states of injury and decay. There were also five skeleblins among them, though several of these seemed to be stirring. A trio of Slimes were heading through the large space between Digbie's Dugout and the Bonfire site.

Every one of them had an odd purple light inside them.

Ardur could still feel that red light calling to him, but it was surprisingly easy to ignore it at the moment. He was much more drawn to something else--a single ray of sunlight breaking through one of the small holes in the cavern's ceiling. It happened to come down near the edge of the Nesting Area, turning motes of dust into glittering sparkles that slowly spiraled down to settle on top of Asura, Momma Slime, and his oddly coccooned body...

His body! He had to get back to that, didn't he? If he wanted to complete this...transformation?

Your HP is now Full.

Skill Gain: Iron Gullet I!
You gain the ability to eat the majority of "normal (relative)" foodstuffs even if your size, teeth, or other factors would have made this difficult. You also don't suffer nausea or other side effects of bad tastes. You have a lower chance of being damaged or placed under status effects when eating tainted foods. You may swallow small non-edibles without issue, but you gain no nutritional value.

Status: You are Fine.

EXP: 38%

Meanwhile, Asura finally found a question the System seemed willing to answer for him. While he pondered this, Momma Slime approached and reached out to touch his red membrane.

"Ahsoowah, moar skeelz. Wut do?" she asked, before showing him her own System note.

LEVEL UP!
Your battle experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 8! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please! Max Stamina has increased!

Unspent Skill Points:9

Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.0) <CANNOT BE INCREASED WITH SKILL POINTS>
Limited Shapeshift I (1.525)
Blunt Resistance IV (4.3)
Smash I (1.0125)
<UNUSABLE SKILLS>
Pierce Resistance I (0.4)
Slash Resistance I (0.15)
Magic Resistance I (0.2)
Poison Resistance I (0.225)
Mental Resistance I (0.5)
Bounce I (0.3125)
Cling I (0.125)
Faster I (0.4)
Iron Gullet I (0.875)
DEVIATION (0.7) <CANNOT BE INCREASED WITH SKILL POINTS>

But as Asura read over the list, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head. When he turned to see what it was, he would feel...something...back towards Jason's cave. Like someone was calling his name. Like they wanted him to come to them.

---

The two Goblins approaching them seemed to have other things on their mind--they weren't looking for Rats or for enemies to fight, just for the Healing Herbs they needed. Though they remained on their guard, no doubt because of the oppressive feeling in the Dungeon, they hurried along and soon were well away from the three rats' hiding place none the wiser of their presence.

But now, the rats themselves became aware of an odd "presence." Or at least, Ed and Asteria did. Both of them could feel...something...coming from Jason's Cave. It was very faint, barely even there, but still it tickled the back of their skulls. Like someone calling their names.

Yet, it seemed more commotion was going on outside. They could hear two goblins, males by the sound of it, arguing with each other over...bricks? Walls? If they peeked out of the entrance again, they would see Crispy and a fat, squat goblin squabbling over something. The one with little blonde tufts of hair was sitting off by himself working on something, and looking very focused. Another seemed to be slinging stones at a target near the trees. The little female and male were nowhere to be seen. And that other Reincarnator was...sleeping.

This group of greenskins didn't seem to be the most self-aware lot. Once again, it looked like a good opportunity to sneak away, if the trio so desired...

---

You used Magic Analysis I!
---Source Crystal Shard---
Mysterious forms of Mana Crystals. This one has been broken into pieces. The ore veins of the crystals can be traced back to a root system. These Crystals are closer to the Source of the World…

Your MP is now Full.

As he sat and meditated, trying to analyze the crystal shard--though admittedly not learning much--Danny's fatigue was soon recovered. Out here in the remains of Ash's camp, it seemed like there wasn't much to bother him...

Until he heard the bubbling sound up above him. Two slimes, one green and one yellow, dropped down in an attempt to land on the Wisp--!

---

The warlord's pace slowed to that of a crawl, as he bent down and scooped blackened dirt into his hands. "I am Ja-soon Maag, of the Oorwin tribe. Leader of the band of the Valk, and Champion of my people-" he loudly answered with a voice full of pride as he began adorning himself with the markings of his peoples' spirit walkers; shamans that were known to commune directly with spirits both good and evil.

The rest of the misty figures howled. Jason was surrounded now. Their figures were becoming more clear--he immediately recognized Rattleskull, and the form of Gawain. The Skeleblin's flesh was reforming over him, though it wasn't clear if this was how he had looked in life or if the "recovery" was only partial here in the spirit realm for some reason--the goblin had an eye and one ear missing, with scars to match, and his body was riddled with wounds. Two sharp stones flickered in and out of his hands like misty breath carried away by the wind.

"My entire life," he continued after a brief pause, "I lived as a warrior; fighting for my people. But, I did not die as one. I died in chains. Tortured... Betrayed... Cursing my captors that did nothing but tear down everything I had spent my entire life building, protecting, and improving..."

"Why!?" interrupted Bonie. "Why ya do dese tings? Why dis who ya be?! Thinks fast if'n ya wants to stay Boss!"

"I watched helplessly; unable to do a thing, as the people I had fought to free from tyranny were burned alive before my very eyes... And when the sick bastard were through with their fun-- they had me killed. Like livestock..." his voice began to trail off, almost heavy with sadness, before it picked back up, in grim tone. "Yet, for some reason, a monster such as myself was chosen. Chosen to have a second chance at live. To live as a TRUE monster..."

The other spirits gathered themselves up, swirling together into one mass of white and gray, becoming more solid...

"And rather than join the spirits of my ancestors, was shoved into a strange new world- as a slime. With this new life I fought, survived, met others like me, learned the secrets of magic, and became the ruler of a dungeon."

The mass rose up above him, and came slamming back down. Bonie shook her head with a ghostly sigh.

"And as Boss, I had found a new people to protect; to raise and train as my own, yet, it seems that others; in their arrogance, could not embrace my vision- and seek only to slaughter everything in this world, regardless of consequence. I tried to stop the others, I didn't want to lose any more of my new people. Yet, again I failed to do so; and instead took the instrument of my end into my own hands."

"If it dat easy for ya to give up, ya gonna have bad time!" said the elderly goblin. Still tapping her staff against the ground, she turned and began to walk away...

"I AM JASON," he loudly declared as he pounded his fist against his painted chest, "I AM THE SAVIOR OF HUNDREDS, AND THE KILLER OF HUNDREDS MORE."

The spirits collided with him, swept him up, pulled at him from every direction. He was angry. They were angry. He had been killed unfairly. So had all of they. He had killed. So had they. He had saved. Some of them thought they had too.

"I AM THE CHAMPION OF MY PEOPLE! I AM A MAN! THOUGH MY FORM MAY CHANGE A THOUSAND TIMES OVER-- THIS IS WHAT I AM, THIS IS MY HISTORY! NO DEMON, GOD, NOR CORE CAN TAKE THAT FROM ME!!!!" he roared with fervor, at this point, if it was possible, Jason would have unknowingly activated [War Cry II] for this proclamation.

The skill [Warcry] is currently Disabled.

Everything went white.

Just like before, the moment he had met the Demon King--the moment he had chosen his new life--he floated in a void. Before him, images began to appear.

A Wisp. A Goblin. A Slime. A Pixie. A black screen split by a line of undulating static, like a clip of sound waves. A screen filled with a warm, comforting red glow that made him feel sleepy.

He felt that he had to make a choice. Was this like before? Was he choosing yet another new life?

He could no longer feel his hands. Or his membrane. Or his fur. Or his magic. Or his wings. Or his skin. Or his scars.

Who was he?

Ardur The ?????

To become Stronger > Pretty lights /// Adventuring day 4 // Afternoon / Location - Cave

Weightlessness and light. The first few feelings he could make out as he seemed to formlessly raise from his body. The purple haze of the cave was all he could make out of the edges of his surroundings. He could see many other things around Jason’s cave. That core had summoned many others.

Many of these things that he could clearly tell were undead had small purple wisps inside them. Souls perhaps? Looking back to the cocoon that was his body he witnessed Mother slime come over and take the lizard he had claimed and frowned, “what a bitch move.” Was all he could think to say about the situation.

A small red light in the distance beckoned to him. Two other small lights drifted toward it from the direction that they had just killed the two lizards. He wondered if he was seeing this because of his guidance perk. His thoughts bled away to nothing as something caught his eye.

A beam of light shined down from the ceiling and into the nesting area. It was warm and inviting, it almost looked like it was snowing with the motes of light that drifted from it. It seemed to bacon to him and he just couldn’t help but indulge the feeling to bask in the sunlight. Surely after he was done enjoying the ray of light he would try to return to his body.

@Zeroth
@Kazemitsu

Danny didn't learn as much about the crystal as he had hoped. In his opinion both Slimes needed someone to keep them from making rash decisions and he hoped that if Jason would resurrect or whatever near the crystal he would be able to keep him in check somewhat, though with the Core around that might be hard.

Th Wisp wondered what he should do at the moment, he knew he eventually had to return to Jason's Cavern in case the Slime Mage came back to life there. On the other hand it was the first place where Asura would look for him and even if the Wisp did believe he could survive he had no desire to start another fight.

Eventually he decided to keep practicing Mana Dart and if he succeed learning, it maybe some other skills as well. He put the Crystal Shard down to make sure he wouldn't accidentally absorb it like regular Mana Crystals. Before he could start though he heard some strange noise coming from the ceiling, Looking up he noticed two Slimes, wondering if their colors meant something he used Monster Analysis II on both of them.Having thought it over he decided to use this to test his incomplete Mana Dart in combat and hopefully master it.

Unlike before he started with a level 2 Mana Orb before using Mana Shape to force it into the form of a dart and Lesser Force II to try and make sure it kept the shape, hoping that the extra Mana would make a difference somehow.

---

---

Asteria barely muffled the snort as Ed flexed his scrawny bipedal form, and quickly glanced at the passing goblin duo to check whether they had noticed anything. They hadn’t, and the group outside was preoccupied with their own tasks. As she stared towards the cave’s exit, she felt a disturbing sensation of being called from the direction of the dungeon core that rose her hackles. Whatever it was, she didn’t care for it. “Now’s the chance!” she urged quietly, and sneaked out with near-silent footsteps, her pace as swift as she could afford it without risking discovery. Assuming Ed and Mother Rat were following, she made a wide berth around the goblin group, heading southwards alongside the forest line until the cave entrance was out of her sight, ears perked for any signs of danger, gaze flicking left and right for any sights of interest on the way.

She stopped once the goblin group was well out of immediate range of contact, peering around. Asteria peered at the surroundings, but being so near the ground didn’t tell her much beyond the fact that she seemed to be heading in the direction of a grassy clearing, and that the cave they had left was only a part of the hilly, possibly mountainous northern landscape. If she wanted a better idea of the surroundings, she’d need a higher vantage point. She looked up and up the nearest tree. Well, better get started. This might even be a good way to train. She rose up on her hind feet, hugged the tree with her front paws, and wrapped her tail around it for good measure, then pulled herself up. She then dug her hind claws into the tree trunk, moved a paw forwards, inserted her front claws into the tree as best as she could, did the same with the other paw, slid her tail up, and moved her hind limbs and claws once again. Every push and pull on the way up strained every single muscle, but she aimed to make it to the nearest tree branch at the very least. If she did, she’d rest there, look around to ascertain her safety, then move up again, to the next branch. If her attempt at scaling the tree was wholly successful, she’d eventually get to the top (or to the top most branch that was still able to support her weight), and get a good look around.

Asura was making short work of the Dire Rat within his body. Pulling it apart easily and examining it thoroughly. It was essentially just a bigger rat, but its skeleton spoke a little of its health. Unfortunately he was no doctor or vet so he was largely clueless as to why its skeleton was so rough. While he concentrated he was watching for any danger around him and caught sight of Mother Slime trying to be sneaky and stealing Ardur's Fanged Lizard.

"Mother, spit out that Lizard. The pixie needs it. We'll find you more food after I rest." He said sternly, like a father sternly talking to his child. She came over and showed him that she had leveled up and was asking what she should build into. At least that's what he figured since she was showing and asking him things. While he looked he felt a mental tingle, trying to draw his attention elsewhere. He snorted mentally and shoved that aside to focus on the task at hand.

"You don't have anything really close to being active. So we'll work on that." He said, explaining by showing her that once something hit 1.0 it became 'active'. He also gave simple examples by showing her memories of what each of his skills did. "You should put three points into Faster. Four points into Magic Resistance. Lastly put the last two points into Mental Resistance. We'll work on your other Resistances when Ardur finishes evolving and I get my Stamina back" He stated as he actively Rested.

While he relaxed he was concentrating on trying to regain his Stamina faster. Like Resting in various video games that made pretty much every resource come back at an increased rate. At this point it was the only thing he could try to do considering he had no Stamina and he was essentially 'full' of food despite already devouring and digesting it all. A body could only work with so much after all.

Ed smiles briefly as Asteria finds humor in such a tense situation. The goblin duo was too focused on their task looking for the herbs they needed, they didn't even cast the general area where the rats hid a second glance. If Ed, Asteria, and her mother had chosen to fight, surely they would have had the upper hand without a doubt. The other goblins outside were still preoccupied with their own things when he felt something strange gnawing at the back of his mind. Not the kind of gnawing that the madness had whenever he went berserk. It was something more subtle, like a whispered name you can barely hear amidst a noisy crowd; you hear it somewhat, but you cannot confirm whether or not it was real or merely a trick of the mind. 'Its...its coming from Jason's cave? What is this feeling? Is it the dungeon cor-' Ed's train of thought was derailed as the female dire rat alerted the young ratman that the opportunity to escape was at hand.

He gestures to Asteria's mother to keep low on the ground and hopes that she understands the non-verbal command as he too takes a low stance as they snuck past the goblins. There was a small chance that the goblins would detect their presence but Ed was confident in his ability to sneak despite his grey-blue fur and larger than normal form. Sure enough, they moved past the possibly hostile group of goblins and moved deep into the forest to the point that he couldn't see the cave entrance; even with his sharpened vision and higher line of sight. He had never been so far from the cave. Though he could not complain, the surroundings were gorgeous. The views and sights he saw during the few times he had went camping when he was still in the old world were incomparable to seeing this landscape. Once he had his fill of the view, he looks to what Asteria making her way up a tree.

He was sure that she could have scaled up the tree trunk easily, as she had better control of her fore paws when they were both rats, but just to be sure he was ready to catch her if she makes a mistake and falls. He sits down with his legs crossed on the grass near where Asteria began her tree climb. "Don't worry, Asteria. If you fall, I will catch you. I'll just be waiting down here." He says to her reassuringly as he passively sniffs the air for berries or anything really. Days of eating only raw and bloody meat has left a bad taste in his mouth, literally. Something other than meat would be a great change of pace in regards to his current diet.




@SilverPaw

---

No one was saying anything. Of course. Of course they wouldn't. Didn't have the reproduction parts to own up to their mistake. Disgusting, but so utterly human like of the people back on earth. Would rather bring everyone else down than just slowly sink by themselves. Ash took a few, long, silent seconds to calm herself, slowly lowering her claw back to the ground as she turned to look at Oberon.

"You see, Oberon, that is not the point." Ash began coolly. "We were all advised to not do something like this by Torrent...yet someone obviously just did. I have a reasonable guess as to who." She sat up straight, no emotion betrayed in her voice. "This person is also not speaking up. This person could reasonably do something else they are advised against doing, at detriment to everyone else in the group. Now I am angry, but I am reasonable. They come clean, I shall have no problems as long as they do not do such a thing in the future...but if they stay silent and something else is their fault, and I find proof of it, well..." Her eyes narrowed at the pixie in front of her. "...I have no desire to stay in a group where the mistake of a single person could cause misfortune for everyone else."

Flapping her wings, Ash took quick note of the resistances she had gained from that. Well, something useful at least.

"But I can see that is not happening, so if you'll excuse me I have things I am going to do that do not involve trying to kill everyone else here. I would suggest resting and then finding some food. I would save hunting for later, the animals have likely run off." With that, Ash gave her wings a flap and headed to the treetops. She had things she needed to do and see if she could accomplish.

So heading to the nearest tree top, Ash perched herself on a sturdy looking branch, before gathering her mana and using Mana Slice to cut through it.

---

@Zeroth

Jason roared with fervor as the wave crashed down on him, biting, kicking and punching everything he could, violently fighting against the tide pulling at him from every angle. And then, there was nothing. He had been here before. Here in the endless void, he could see, hear, and feel nothing. It was enough to nearly dive a man mad.

He could no longer feel his hands. Or his membrane. Or his fur. Or his magic. Or his wings. Or his skin. Or his scars.

Who was he?

He had been a man, yet was no longer.

He had been a slime, yet was no more.

He had lived and died twice now.

And now, he was here again....

Just like before, a screen appeared, but it wasn't quite the same... Some things were missing, and new choices were there. A Wisp. A Goblin. A Slime. A Pixie. A black screen split by a line of undulating static, like a clip of sound waves. A screen filled with a warm, comforting red glow that made him feel sleepy.

As he was about to select slime, he hesitated, could he go back? Or.... Was it a trick? As his gaze drifted across the other choices, the red light beckoned, trying to pull him in. Like a moth he began to be drawn into its hypnotic light, pulling himself away at the last moment. Finally, he made his choice, a blank slate; the box with a staticy line. He was Jason, and he was going to change this world.

Well, it wasn’t like Oberon could complain about any of the points Ash brought up since she was pretty much correct. If whoever did this, and he too had a fairly good suspicion who it was, did this knowingly after the warning they had all been given, then that person had put them all at risk; Ash was right to be angry about that and she was right to not want to be around someone who would put her at risk. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be frustrated with the current dynamic though.

As the Pygmy Drake left to pursue her own objectives, the Sprite turned away from the group with a sigh and flew back in the direction of their shelter. He felt drained by everything that had just happened; probably because, based on the system messages, his stamina had been sapped by the Black Knight’s appearance. Whether that was due to the power difference or some specific effect of Zawisza he didn’t know, and he supposed it made no difference at the moment.

By the time he made it back to their little cave, sitting down just to the side of the entrance, Oberon already felt like he could go no further; his entire nights rest had been wasted in an instant and now he didn’t think he would be able to do much other than sit here until he had recovered. Maybe he should try and develop a spell that would allow him to restore a person’s stamina quickly; he could recover health and even mana at an accelerated rate, so surely it was possible to do the same for a creature’s physical reserves as well.

If it did exist it was probably similar in nature to the healing spells he already possessed or the Minor Regeneration skill he had been working on earlier; an ability that didn’t just repair damage to the body but also reduced fatigue or restored vigour in some way. Since there was nothing much else he could do at the moment he might as well try it.

Sitting upright and clearing his mind of distractions, Oberon settled his breathing before placing a hand on his chest and attempting to gather nature mana into the palm of his hand. Like with his prior attempts he attempted to cast a Shield spell on himself but using the nature mana he had gathered rather than the energy mana he normally used. This had seemed to be working before and he had gained a fair amount of progress towards his skill, but he wondered if like with his Mana Dart and Light Ring spells he might not need something else to push the skill towards completion.

When he had tried to cast Mana Orb with the light he had gathered the spell had simply formed itself into the shape it needed to be, but that wasn’t happening here. Probably this was because this was a spell that didn’t exactly have a ‘shape’ to begin with or because the shape wasn’t any different despite the new type of mana being used. Maybe his methods were too imprecise; all he was really doing was throwing nature mana into a spell and hoping it worked out what it needed to do. Perhaps he should try giving his casting attempts more focus. If he gave the spell some more direction he might have more success getting the spell to do what he wanted it to do.

He remembered seeing the Slime back in the cave using chants to change the effects of his spells; whether it was the incantation of just the intent behind it that changed it he didn’t know but he could perhaps do the same here. He placed his hand on his chest again, gathered the nature mana like before, but this time began to intone a chant before he cast the spell. “Nurture and protect. The power of the world, the power of nature, which all living things carry. Nurture and protect. Restore my strength, restore my vigour, restore my body to what it was. Nurture and protect.”



@Zeroth

"But hungree!" Momma Slime protested. She didn't spit the lizard out, but it didn't look like it was being digested yet either. As Asura tried to mentally pass images to her, demonstrating his advice on her skills, she wobbled with confusion. "Wut three? Fastah? Fow? Mageek...Weesistese?" She grumbled and used a pseudopod to "kick" at a loose pebble on the ground. "Not kno dat. Not like dese skeelz."

As Asura tried to focus on resting, contemplating how much he had been eating lately, he could feel the weight of the food sitting in his "stomach." Lying here and resting, however, was no different than sleep. It would recover his stamina, but he wanted it to come back faster...it was the only "resource" he couldn't immediately recover, like Healing Herbs did for HP and Mana Crystals did for magic. Although, thinking about magic...

As Asura continued to make an "effort" to "rest" in a paradoxical fashion...slowly, he began to feel a burning sensation in his deepest gut. Not a literal feeling, or a painful one...simply the feeling of something inside him "sizzling..."

---

Ardur ignored the call coming from that red beacon, and even his own body. Instead he pushed towards the ray of sunlight. But his astral form somehow felt heavy, and slow. It was like swimming through pudding...

But the light pulled at him. It wanted to see him as much as he wanted to touch it. He reached the singular shaft of gold shining in this odd dark realm--and was jerked into it.

In an instant he was drawn up, up, up. A vast forest, mountains, a distant body of water, a far away city, an island cloaked in clouds and lightning--it all moved past him in a blur too indistinct to matter. In mere seconds he was miles above the world, above a planet that spun at thousands of miles per hour. But what was below him did not matter. What drew his attention was above.

The sun. In the Old World, hydrogen fused into helium billions of times within this star in an instant, producing seemingly infinite energy. Light, heat, flame, wave upon wave of unfathomable energy. If not for this, this nuclear engine placed hanging in an empty void, the Old World would have no life. But in this world...

Ardur felt as if he were being watched. As if he were being prodded. As if he were being...considered.

"What is the Sun? Why praise the Sun? Why seek its glorious incandescence?"

Ardur felt as if a stone were sinking in his belly, drawing him back down, down, down to the dark cave...

---

Mother Rat pressed her belly to the ground as the other two gestured for her to follow, wriggling her hindquarters as she sneaked with the expertise only a natural rodent could sneak. As they left the cave, they could still see Crispy arguing with the fatter goblin. By the time they reached the treeline, however, it seemed they were finished with whatever discussion they had. Crispy slapped the fatter one, who bumbled towards the woods--but by the time he crashed through the bushes, the rats were further along, and he was too focused on doing whatever Crispy had ordered him to do to be looking for any rats.

Using several abilities together Asteria was able to scale the tree slowly but steadily, and its thick foilage gave her plenty of hiding places as she scurried along the branches. Mother Rat followed her up, leaving Ed to watch their rear below, but the older rat stopped after only a few branches and seemed nervous about Asteria going up higher. They were Dire Rats, after all, not squirrels.

As Asteria reached the top of the trees, poking her head out with a tuft of leaves, she could now see further than ever before, especially thanks to her enhanced senses. The two rats had headed southward, so they were now among a small grouping of trees that seemed more like an offshoot of the forest rather than being part of it. This line grew thinner and thinner the further south one went, and soon turned from proper woods to a copse or two scattered among thick brush along the ground. Back behind them of course, the forest grew thicker and thicker to the north. To the east the trees expanded as well, but there also looked to be something out there--a large clearing that had smoke coming up from it. It had to be coming from a chimney of some kind, as it was too large to come from a regular campfire. To the west, the enormous mountains loomed in the distance.

But further beyond that southern treeline, Asteria could see gently rolling hills give way to flat country, and then long grass as far as her eyes could see. The sky met the edge of her sight, and the horizon drew the curvature of the earth along the grassland. The closer to the mountains one stayed the more hilly the area became, but out there in the plains it seemed...completely empty. Though, one bit of the distant vanishing line was a little darker than the rest...

Down below, Ed caught a whiff of something fruity from deeper within the forest...and also the smell of something smoky. It wasn't a fire, but perhaps something that had been in a fire, or near it, often enough to take on some of the smell. There was also the slightest scent of dirt, earthen soils and vegetation--but was that coming from some creature that was dirty, or simply from the environment all around them?

Something rustled in the brush further into the forest...

---

As Danny used three of his skills in concert, focusing his Mana Orb into a sharper, sturdier, denser shape, he felt a tingle of magic flowing through him. Upon firing the projectile, the arrow-head shape held strong. Moving significantly faster than before, it struck the yellow slime with a squelching sound--the projectile pierced easily through the gelatinous membrane, prompting a high pitched, phlegmy screech from the creature as it tumbled to the ground. The hole the magic attack left behind began to close up, but the creature still moved as if it were hurt--it hadn't truly "regenerated," but its fluid body simply filled in the gaps.

However, it wasn't dead, and its partner hadn't been damaged at all. Danny hadn't moved either, and now the green slime landed on him heavily as it dropped from the ceiling. The Wisp felt an intense pain as the breath was driven from him and he was crushed against the ground. The green slime was still on top of him--and he could feel its membrane against him, oozing over his body! If he didn't do something soon, it would envelop him!

You used Monster Analysis II!
---Slime---
A monster made of living bioplasm, able to adjust its shape and membranous forms at will to a limited extent. Slimes are amorphous creatures more similar to undeveloped egg yolks, yet they are able to move on their own and digest prey. Their bodies are highly resistant to physical damage and malleable.
---Analysis Complete!---

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.

WARNING! YOUR HP IS LOW!

---

Jason reached out to tap the box filled with undulating static. He noticed as he did so that he touched it with a green pseudopod.

"Your only goal was to kick ass and take names. To be stronger than before." The voice was...monotonous? Female? Distorted. Robotic? Masculine. Powerful? Faint. A whisper. A recording? "You assumed to be like the apex predator. To find water, to find prey. But your rashness showed you your limits." Jason would remember in a flash of insight how he paddled helplessly in the water after assuming he could swim like a crocodile. Had it not been for some quick and creative thinking, would he have ended up food for...whatever was in the pool?

"You witnessed the nature of this world, survival of the strong. You saw an opportunity to make an ally. You withdrew from a threat you knew you could not handle...and immediately began plotting their future demise. You trained to become stronger. Joined forces with a brother. Your first thought upon finding other "heroes" such as yourself was to secure alliances for survival. You wanted power. To survive? To rule?"

The memories of his previous life played out somewhat distantly. It had been only days, yet somehow felt like months had passed.

"Eliminate the threats. Your first and only plans for those who oppose you. Betrayal, your greatest fear and unavoidable fate. You had to be the first one to set the terms for an alliance. They owed you the Mana Crystals, and the other resources. You had to be the one in control. You had magic. You had power. Why did Asteria have to skew everything to her twisted point of view? They should have had faith in you. You didn't know them, so you had to be in charge to make sure they could be trusted. They just had to have faith in you, because you can be trusted. You're in control."

Jason couldn't figure out, from the distorted, digitized tone of voice, whether it was just stating his thoughts or mocking him. After all, it felt like...a really long time...since some of those things had happened. This new world had changed him, hadn't it?

"You knew you had to go. Something was happening. You had to be part of it. It can't happen without you. It won't be right. You have to be there to guide it. They found the cache, they drove the Goblins from the Bonfire. Now it was your time. Your time to swoop in and turn this rabble into a real army. The goblins were going to come back. You could protect them all. You were the seasoned commander. They needed to be good soldiers."

"Mourningstar. She didn't want to listen from the start, did she? No wonder she betrayed you later. How furious did that make you? Why? Why didn't she listen? But you protected them. You kept the filth away from your comrades.

You proved that you were strong. You transformed, became greater. This was only the beginning. You could grow stronger, be better...better than before. Stronger than the Old Life. You defeated Rattleskull--you were the one to end his wretched life.

And you were chosen.

You became the boss because no one else could. It had to be you, of course. The core picked you. All you wanted was to learn, to understand, and to become stronger. To do that you had to use the core. To do that you had to protect the cave. You had to protect your soldiers. But the core was trying to influence you. You didn't want it to, you knew it was trying to subvert your will. You had to be in control. You had to be the strong one. But you wanted some of the same things the core wanted. That was okay, wasn't it? Gathering the undead, that was okay. You were putting them to a purpose. You were going to free their souls. Using them as labor and as soldiers was just part of the process. A means to an end. They were yours to do with as you pleased anyway, weren't they? It was only right. You were the Boss. You had the power. You had control.

But the others didn't understand. They were fools! They were traitors! They were sickening! Destroying what you created! Destroying what you built! The Core wanted them gone--but you weren't being controlled by the core! You wanted them gone! Because you were in control. Not the core. Right?"

All these images playing through his head, Jason could see them from a completely different perspective. Right now he was outside looking in. Right now he was completely tranquil and clear. Right now he was uninfluenced, he was pure, he was truly in control of himself.

Did everything still look right to him?

"You did not and would not negotiate. You did not and would not retreat. You fought to the end and sought to deny the foe the victory. You died. What should you have done? It does not matter. Were you right or wrong? It does not matter. Actions were taken, consequences happened. Your life, up til now, led to your death."

The white void around Jason was becoming darker. Those images, his "choices," were beginning to flicker. A new picture appeared--a Skeleblin.

"How much of the Core was in you, Jason? How much of Jason was in the Core? Do you submit to death? Is this the end of your story? Are there no more chapters?" The voice asked one last question.

"Who and What are You?"

Ardur The ?????

Pretty lights > towards the heavens /// Adventuring day 4 // Afternoon / Location - ????

The air was heavy, his form didn’t move like his last one did. More of a blob trying to push its way through a thicker blob. All to reach one shimmering ray of light. One hand finally reached it, and he was suddenly sucked up into the light and out of the cave.

The view was spectacular and vast. A few glimpses of far off places and an island covered in lightning and storm clouds. A vast sea and many other things that soon disappeared in a blur as he was taken higher and higher. Soon even the planet spun away with colors of blue, green, and brown. Before long, he was basking in the light of the sun.

He seemed to stop near it, all he could do was examine the object of his worship before him. Yet somehow, he felt like something was observing him as well. The silence of the vacuum could very well have been over bearing if not for the bright globe in front of him. Then he heard it, almost a whisper but not quite a scream, a question.

“What is the Sun? Why praise the Sun? Why seek its glorious incandescence?”

Hesitating for only a moment he spoke up or at least spoke how he thought. “The sun is a constant in this unknowing world. Something to depend on when it is needed, something to be praised when it is not. A symbol of hope and promise of a better tomorrow.” He felt something in what he could only describe is his stomach. Something heavy that threatened to pull him down.

“I seek its light, so that I may become stronger with the suns help. So that I may be able to protect those that I surround myself with as friends and family. To be their light on the darkest of days. Because she….” He trailed off again and looked away. “Because when I see the love of my past life and this life again. I don’t want her to see me as a monster. I want her to see me as I was. A good man that cared about others and their well being. A man that defended others from the monsters.” Looking back to the burning sphere with the same determination he had felt before he entered his rage towards the skeletons. “Whatever the cost, whatever it takes.”

It was all he could say, all he could muster in the presence before him. Something about it slowly became overwhelming. And the stone in his stomach seemed to be pulling him slowly back down towards his body no matter how much he struggled to keep aloft.

@Zeroth

---

Digbie sighed when he got the analysis of the skin, pushing it outside of the shelter he made before standing upright once again, stepping out of his earthen shelter with his knees shaking, his eyes quickly shifting around between various clouds in the sky and the cut mountain. He was incredibly worried about things, what with the mountain LITERALLY EXPLODING BEHIND THEM! Heck! He felt like he heard an avalanche or rock-slide coming down towards them! Thank God when he looked he was pretty certain that the avalanche wasn't coming towards them.

The demiblin finally worked up the courage to speak to the group, shyly looking down. "Err... the skin is useless. I checked it already, and it's literally Worthless quality." Digbie scratched his arm, waiting for {Earth Vein} to give him the full restore he was looking for. "If you still wanna try using it, you can. I-I think I'm gonna go and... uh... try to make friends with one of those Rubber Frogs."

The demiblin shuffled over to the stream and sat down, looking at one of the only remaining Rubber Frogs in the area and using {Analysis} to get an overall check on the Rubber Frog. Simultaneously, he decided to continue filling up his MP with Earth Vein, wanting to get topped off.

Then, a very risky idea came upon him. If he couldn't pray to a certain person... could he seek wisdom and guidance from someone else?

"U-uh... is there an Earth God I can look to? I-I'd like to ask for guidance from them." Digbie poked his fingers together in anticipation, a little scared of what might happen. "... o-or a Magical Aspect of Earth or something... anyone... just something to help guide me...?"

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