As Ash attempted to examine the Mana Crystal, this time she could see a dim glow within the blue crystal's depths. Back in the cave she had been able to see the glow with her own eyes, but this light seemed to be deeper within the crystal, rather than emitted from its facets. When her concentration was broken, however, her vision returned to normal after a blink. The crystal's blue color was now much lighter, and the glow was only slight within the less-dark setting of their shelter.

You used Analysis!
---Rags Nar---
This is an Elite Adult Goblin. You have learned his name is Rags Nar. Goblins stand between three and three-and-a-half feet tall on average, and while their physical strength isn't to be underestimated, they are much like human children. However, their natural cunning and viciousness is far more vile, and while they can use tools they have a limited intelligence. They tend to form savage tribes with little in common save for the constant drive to survive, and a lack of emotional control that causes them to do whatever they feel necessary to satisfy any primal craving they happen to feel at any given moment. They aren't typically capable of long-term planning and have difficulty with abstract concepts. They don't possess a great deal of magical power, but are sometimes capable of learning it. A goblin's bones aren't that different from any other creature of its size, and are thus suitable for certain types of crafting. Its hide can be tanned into leather, but it does not produce an especially durable product.

However, an Adult Goblin typically grows towards the taller side of average. Under normal circumstances, a goblin will reach puberty between 3 to 4 weeks after birth, and will finish their maturation entirely within 3 months or so. The accumulation of power due to high levels of ambient magic or unusual experiences, however, may accelerate this growth.

An Elite Goblin is a fully mature Goblin that has overcome the challenges of survival, or lived long enough, and developed into an outstanding example of the species.

Rags Nar has a higher than usual MP pool for a Goblin, but as far as you can tell he has no Magical properties. He is wearing a Broken Haubergeon (Below Average), Filthy Underwear (Bad), Vine Greaves (Good), Treebark Bracers (Good) x2, Scrap Leather Boot (Below Average), Iron Dagger (Well-Made), and a Wooden Pot Lid (Above Average). He is not quite as strong or durable as you are, but is equally as fast. You have the impression that he may possess several combat skills.
---Analysis Complete!---

You used Magic Analysis IV! You used Monster Analysis II!
---Adult Four Horned Goat---
A goat with, well, four horns. Magical mutations have made this herbivore's temper extremely volatile, however, and given it the nasty benefit of a natural poison in those horns. They have been observed to eat grasses and other plants that are poisonous, and it is thought the food it has access to will affect the strength of its venom. Every so often a normal goat will give birth to this creature, but most shepherds would rather slaughter them or toss them into the wilds than try to tame them. They are extremely hard to domesticate, and seem to be dominate breeders if left in contact with normal goats. It has much lower MP than you do. As far as you can tell it has no magical properties. It is somewhat more vulnerable to Fire and Water elements, and somewhat less vulnerable to Wind and Ice elements.
---Rags Nar---
This is an Elite Adult Goblin. You have learned his name is Rags Nar. Goblins stand between three and three-and-a-half feet tall on average, and while their physical strength isn't to be underestimated, they are much like human children. However, their natural cunning and viciousness is far more vile, and while they can use tools they have a limited intelligence. They tend to form savage tribes with little in common save for the constant drive to survive, and a lack of emotional control that causes them to do whatever they feel necessary to satisfy any primal craving they happen to feel at any given moment. They aren't typically capable of long-term planning and have difficulty with abstract concepts. They don't possess a great deal of magical power, but are sometimes capable of learning it.

However, an Adult Goblin typically grows towards the taller side of average. Under normal circumstances, a goblin will reach puberty between 3 to 4 weeks after birth, and will finish their maturation entirely within 3 months or so. The accumulation of power due to high levels of ambient magic or unusual experiences, however, may accelerate this growth. Goblins are one of a small number of monsters who can reproduce with multiple species without hybridization. A female goblin will always give birth to a goblin even if coupled with a male of another species, and a female of another species will almost always give birth to a goblin if coupled with a male goblin. However, some species may still pass traits on to goblin children. An example you would be familiar with: Rattleskull, as a Bugbear, had goblin children who will likely be more predisposed to developing greater physical strength and endurance, and may grow more body hair.

An Elite Goblin is a fully mature Goblin that has overcome the challenges of survival, or lived long enough, and developed into an outstanding example of the species. Their bodies will be further developed, though no pure Goblin four feet tall or taller has ever been observed. Their experiences have often granted them greater intelligence than their brethren, so their plans are much more complex and they are always high in the tribe's command structure.

Rags Nar has a higher than usual MP pool for a Goblin, but as far as you can tell he has no Magical properties. He is somewhat more vulnerable to Fire, Ice, and Lightning elements, and somewhat less vulnerable to Water and Wind elements.
---Analysis Complete!---

You used Analysis!
---Rags Nar---
This is an Elite Adult Goblin. You have learned his name is Rags Nar. Goblins stand between three and three-and-a-half feet tall on average, and while their physical strength isn't to be underestimated, they are much like human children. However, their natural cunning and viciousness is far more vile, and while they can use tools they have a limited intelligence. They tend to form savage tribes with little in common save for the constant drive to survive, and a lack of emotional control that causes them to do whatever they feel necessary to satisfy any primal craving they happen to feel at any given moment. They aren't typically capable of long-term planning and have difficulty with abstract concepts. They don't possess a great deal of magical power, but are sometimes capable of learning it. A goblin's bones aren't that different from any other creature of its size, and are thus suitable for certain types of crafting. Its hide can be tanned into leather, but it does not produce an especially durable product.

However, an Adult Goblin typically grows towards the taller side of average. Under normal circumstances, a goblin will reach puberty between 3 to 4 weeks after birth, and will finish their maturation entirely within 3 months or so. The accumulation of power due to high levels of ambient magic or unusual experiences, however, may accelerate this growth.

An Elite Goblin is a fully mature Goblin that has overcome the challenges of survival, or lived long enough, and developed into an outstanding example of the species.

Rags Nar has a higher than usual MP pool for a Goblin, but as far as you can tell he has no Magical properties. He is wearing a Broken Haubergeon (Below Average), Filthy Underwear (Bad), Vine Greaves (Good), Treebark Bracers (Good) x2, Scrap Leather Boot (Below Average), Iron Dagger (Well-Made), and a Wooden Pot Lid (Above Average). He is not quite as strong or durable as you are, but is equally as fast. You have the impression that he may possess several combat skills.
---Adult Goblin x4---
Goblins stand between three and three-and-a-half feet tall on average, and while their physical strength isn't to be underestimated, they are much like human children. However, their natural cunning and viciousness is far more vile, and while they can use tools they have a limited intelligence. They tend to form savage tribes with little in common save for the constant drive to survive, and a lack of emotional control that causes them to do whatever they feel necessary to satisfy any primal craving they happen to feel at any given moment. They aren't typically capable of long-term planning and have difficulty with abstract concepts. They don't possess a great deal of magical power, but are sometimes capable of learning it. A goblin's bones aren't that different from any other creature of its size, and are thus suitable for certain types of crafting. Its hide can be tanned into leather, but it does not produce an especially durable product.

However, an Adult Goblin typically grows towards the taller side of average. Under normal circumstances, a goblin will reach puberty between 3 to 4 weeks after birth, and will finish their maturation entirely within 3 months or so. The accumulation of power due to high levels of ambient magic or unusual experiences, however, may accelerate this growth.
---Adult Four Horned Goat---
A goat with, well, four horns. Magical mutations have made this herbivore's temper extremely volatile, however, and given it the nasty benefit of a natural poison in those horns. Every so often a normal goat will give birth to this creature, but most shepherds would rather slaughter them or toss them into the wilds than try to tame them. It has much lower MP than you do. As far as you can tell it has no magical properties. Its fur is quite thick and its hide can be tanned into good quality leather. Its bones and hooves are especially sturdy. Its horns are fairly hard, but hollow, and of course poisonous. It is stronger and more durable than you are, and slightly faster.
---Analysis Complete!---

Ash barely poked her head out of the cave, while Torrent stealthily made her way to a better vantage point. None of the goblins seemed to notice her. Oberon started to prepare for a fight, but stopped to see how things would play out. He felt his Mana Orb drain his MP like it normally would, but instead of firing it, it fizzled out with a display somelike like a sparkler firework. Rags Nar and the other goblins who hadn't gone up to Digbie glanced towards the Sprite with trepidation, but the leader at least seemed to be brave enough to keep his hand on his weapon. Before things could escalate any further, Digbie gave them his response.

"Rags Nar," Digbie began. To clear some things up, those 'pets' are my friends, and you guys gots some nerve, showin' up here without so much as an offerin' for my friendship!" Digbie's voice shifted to a more barbaric style. He didn't want to confuse these goblins with his big words., plus he needed to make himself sound convincing. "Still, you guys have my attention! If you want me to come and help, you'll abide by MY two demands! First, you tell me why you have come to receive my aid, and second, you come back here tomorrow, and bring one of these 'perty wimmin' with you, so I may have someone to raise under my wing!"

"Do these two things, and I'll come and see if you truly need my aid tomorrow!"

"Great Demi-Gob, youse is big brained!" Rags Nar said with a grin. "We comes to ya, cause we gonna be da biggest and bestest gobs all roun' here! Dere is udda tribes, ya see--but ain't none of 'em good as us! But, on udda side of da forest, dere's a bunch of dum gobs what listens to a dum Bugbear, named Rattleskull! He think he tuff, but since da last time we fights I went and got more gobs! And dey ain't da only ones!" The two warrior goblins returned to Rags's side, and though all of his gesturing made his goat try to rear up, the goblin holding it by a rope gave a desperate tug. "Wif yore help, wes can rule all da udda gobs! Cave Gobs, Riva Valley Gobs, Deep Wood Gobs, Big Riva Gobs, Mountain Gobs--maybe even da Orcs, way up in da mountains! We saw youse try to blows 'em up!"

With the goat finally calmed down (though it had swung its head around and clonked skull-to-skull with the horn-blower, nearly knocking him out), Rags Nar crossed his arms and nodded.

"Okay, Demi-Gob! We brings ya our perty-est guhl-gob tomorrer, den we shows ya our hideout! Is big old tower, dat-away!" he gestured to the north east with his thumb, which kind of defeated the point of not showing them, "Is kinda crumbly, but lets us sees far away, and even has bit underground! Make good cassle, for Gob king!"

With that, he leaned off his mount to kick the rope-holder in the head, and the nearly naked goblin began tugging the Four Horned Goat until it finally turned around. With the others falling in around him, the goblins began to leave the campsite...

---

As Asura explained things to Momma Slime again, she continued to pout. Since she hadn't been allowed to eat the Lizard, she instead munched on one of the two Healing Herbs Asura had left for her...then suddenly, she perked up.

"Ahsoowah! Mageek Wesesitese!" she blurbled, bouncing up and down. If Asura remembered correctly, the Resistance Skills did require someone to heal completely before they triggered--likely because if the body was "adapting" to damage, it had to rebuild itself, like a muscle that got stronger after working out. So Momma Slime must have had some form of leftover damage, and now that she had healed the skill had triggered.

Ī̝̹͐̂̆̈͋̿̚͞N̨͇̰̗͓̑̉̓͐̐ͧ͌̌ͪ͜͠V̬̦̰̥͙̬̹͕̞ͩ̃́̏͠A̯̮̱̘̲̜̯̠̐̈͒̃̿͢Ļ̷͔͙̝̻̝͓ͣ͐ͭ̀̆́I̧ͫ̅͏͉̹̭̭̺̻D̟̠͈̙͍̬̊̋ͯ̓̄ͯ́̀͟ ̰̝̰͍͔̖̤̟̑͒C̸̛̣̠̪̎̒̉̏̎̓ͧ̃ͣ͘O̳̺̮̫͐̊͗̓̇͝M̨͑̀̋͌ͦ҉͍̺Ṁ̨̞̗͍̥̲͖͔̊͊͒͒̉̒̚͠A̶̳̦̺̹̳̦̔̈́͌̇͑ͨ̅N̮̬͛͛̂ͨD͉͙̻̓ͨ͗̈̋̉

As Asura focused more intently on that sizzling sensation, and even tried to access his Mana for the first time ever in the attempt to convert it into stamina, the feeling grew stronger. And although he began moving towards the strange call he was feeling across the pool...the notice for HP Drain actually triggering didn't pop up again. That meant that his stamina had to be increasing...but how long could he actually stave it off?

Now that Ardur was out and about in the world again, he intended to "put an end" to all of this. As he seemed to be thinking out loud, he headed towards Jason's Cave in the distance along with Asura and Momma Slime. He used his new Inspire skill, and could practically feel the tingle traveling up his vocal cords as he spoke loudly and proudly. But, as he went on, he could feel his Mana rapidly draining as well...

“This is a call to action, this is a call to arms, all lives for one, together, there are no false alarms.” This alone felt just as draining as the chant he had used for his Fireball right before Jason's attack. Yet energy surged through his body. Much like "hyping" oneself up before a big game or some form of competition, he felt a rush. The magic, too, seemed to buzz in his head. “I have the will, to protect, to lead, to nurture. I have the will of the sun to bring balance to the cycle and release these undead from their earthly bonds." He envisioned what he wanted to happen, he called upon the sun's power. He felt as if those few rays he could see coming from the cavern's ceiling were just a little bit brighter, but was he really seeing that or was it just his imagination? He visualized an orb, light and fire, and the freedom of these seemingly trapped souls within the cavern.

“The sun takes and gives power. These souls are the power I give to it so that I may will its power here and now.”

His intent was to "release" the souls. But now he declared them an "offering?" He envisioned an orb--but also a bright, penetrating flash?

Spell Casting has been interrupted by ERROR.
It is likely you do not possess the Skill you are attempting to use.
Attempted Skill unclear.
You have not specified an alteration of the attempted Skill.
Possible Alterations Attempted: Magic Break? Fire Enchantment? Light Enchantment? Cleansing? Please Insert Alteration.
Your Spell Chant consumed too much Mana.
You have no MP remaining.
You have overdrawn your MP.
You are experiencing Mana Burn. Natural MP Recovery slowed by 50%.

As this notice popped into Ardur's head, his body let out a sudden flash--it was like that final burst given by a lightbulb before it's filament burned out. Like the neon red-green-blue or other colored flash that stayed in your eyes for a moment even after you closed them. And, as far as he could tell, nothing else about the cavern had changed...

Except for the fact that there were no Mana Crystals left.

They had all been crushed to powder, and that powder too had begun to dissipate. As the two slimes and Ardur got closer to Jason's cave, they would also see that many of the Healing Herbs growing around the Pool were now beginning to suddenly wither...

And coming directly at the trio, from the direction of the cave, were now 3 Skeleblins--different from the ones they had fought before. And, flying drunkenly up above the yellowed bones, there were 2 Pixies. One of them seemed to have had its entire body crushed at some point, and one of its arms was dangling from a wound that had almost blown it off at the shoulder--yet still it moved. The other was also clearly not healthy, having a few joints out of place and several wounds that looked like bite marks. Coming from around the edge of the pool, seemingly to join up with the rest of the undead, was a Dire Rat trailing its own intestines...

"Ahsoowah, not liek dem..." Mother Slime said, quivering even as she followed the Amorphous Slime and Hipixie.

---

Just before Mother Rat could pounce, Asteria took the initiative. As she brought the goblin girl down, the greenskin started to let out a cry--until she felt Asteria's claw on her throat.

“Stay still and silent, and you live. Try anything, you die. Understand?”

"H-how---mmh, mhm!" She had started to say something, but shut up as soon as Asteria threatened her. Eyes wide and lips trembling, she looked towards the pile of sticks, and her hand twitched towards her belt...but she dared not do anything that might be construed as a threat. Mother Rat jumped down from the tree, landing hard on the goblin's back and prompting another muffled squeak of pain from the girl--but Asteria stopped her with quiet chatters. The adult dire rat tilted her head, not quite understanding.

“Goblin? I don’t know what your name is, but you’re coming with us for a bit. We’ll let you go once we get far enough that your group won’t catch us even if you tell them all about us. So, just cooperate, would you? Refuse, get dead. Simple, right?”

"O-oh, okays..." Asteria roughly shoved at the green monster, and with her mass and beastly strength it was easier to roll the goblin over than one might think. The girl whimpered and gathered her limbs close to her body, holding herself. When Asteria gagged her, the girl started to cry. But as Asteria started to try and get the goblin on her back, she found that there was too much weight and not enough leverage. The goblin stood up, but Mother Rat was instantly at her legs, growling and hissing, and the goblin made no attempt to run away.

"Mmfh, mmhmmfh!" The goblin pointed at herself, then at Asteria, while hopping from one foot to the other as Mother Rat ran around her legs and menaced her. She seemed to be indicating that she would follow without trying to run.

When Asteria nosed the ground, she would find that it was still slightly wet from the light rain of the previous night--but that water was either sinking deeper into the ground or drying up by this point of the day. She could smell, however, that the fresh grass out on the plains to the south was lush and healthy--maybe the rain had been heavier out that way, or maybe the plants held a lot of water. She could also smell the scents of the goblin, the same ones Ed had picked up.

Ed had to carry the sticks, as Mother Rat didn't understand what he was trying to get her to do. When he stopped her from menacing the goblin girl, she reared up on her hind legs and rubbed her face with her forepaws again. Why was this Pack so strange?

When the Goblin girl saw the Rat Man for the first time, she gasped through her gag and trembled even harder, shrinking in on herself. She kept glancing between Asteria and Ed as she was forced to go along with them, and she sniffled and cried the whole time while darting her eyes around like a terrified animal.

“When I was up on that tree, I saw a bit of the surroundings. The forest stretches far into the north-east. Straight to the east is a human house, maybe a forester’s hut. There was just one smoke trail I saw, but who knows if there are more or not? South, there are plains, weirdly empty. May be some swamp, lake, or something a shade darker than grass way southwards. Westwards are mountains. Wherever we go, we need to secure a water and food source. Warmth too, depending on where we head to. I’d suggest staying away from the cave, the humans, and the mountains. So, either the forest, or better yet in my opinion, the plains. But if you’d rather elsewhere, just say. The goblin girl stays with us until her group won’t be able to chase us down even after we release her. It’s inconvenient, I know, but if she reports back to the whole goblin group about us, we’re dead meat in any case. I should have just tried to get Mother Rat to stop somehow,”

"If you are angry at me, I understand completely. It was a lapse of logic and judgement and I'm sure it would have been safer, perhaps even better, if I hadn't displayed mercy and just took her life outright...but I just couldn't do it. No. I wouldn't do it. Hell, I don't know why. I mean I've been killing out of necessity or self defense for the past few days, what's one more life taken to guarantee we make a safe escape? But When I looked at her, she seemed different from the other goblins we encountered in the cave. For what malicious cruelty you would see in a normally in a goblin's eyes, she only has a timid curiosity a child would. And I, for one, know that Edward Marsh is the kind of person that would never harm innocent people and even a lesser chance to harm children...but after recent events, I'm not too sure myself."

When they finally stopped for a moment, the girl sat down--or rather, collapsed on her knees and then fell back on her butt--and tried to breathe deeply through her nose. The constant tension of fear had probably tired her out much quicker than normal. Asteria offered her a Healing Herb, but she couldn't take it unless they removed the gag. When Asteria did, the goblin turned her head and coughed and spluttered until all the wood chips were out. She wiped at her tongue--that taste had probably been quite unpleasant.

"I, I not hurts t-too bads..." she said, "B-but I's hungry..." She accepted the herb hesistantly and munched on it while the other two examined their surroundings and debated the next course of action.

"I agree that we should definitely avoid the mountains and cave right now. We should check the hut out later, maybe in the middle of the night, but yeah. As of now, we ought to avoid people. I'm sure they won't take too kindly to our current forms. The plains is our best bet, but we can be easily seen there and there is no guarantee we can find a stable water and food source. But I will keep my promise and will find them as long as we still agree not to eat her. None the less you need to take a break from carrying her, just wait and rest here for a bit and I'll get us something to eat. Maybe even some spare herbs if I find some."

Ed could smell several new scents of plantlife now that they were further out in the plains. The tall grass was more than high enough to completely hide Asteria and Mother Rat if they were so inclined, and came up to Ed's chest even if he stood at his full height. He and the Goblin both had trouble walking in it, and had to push the grass in front of them over to one side. If they did this too much, however, it seemed they would leave an easily seen trail...

Aside from plain old regular looking tall, green, thin stalks of grass that made up the majority of the plains coverage, Ed also saw several new things. The one that had the closest scent to Healing Herbs was a tall flower patch of some kind. On long stalks, between 4 and 30 inches in length, big flowers with hairy leaves bloomed. The flowers were a light, almost neon blue at their tips and darkened from gray to black towards their centers--their petals were long and ray-like, growing from the center in clusters of at least a hundred petals or more. There was also a type of grass with green and red pellets of some kind growing in clusters along its length, the heaviest of these causing it to hang over like a fox's tail. The pellets were hard, like kernels of corn, and the reddest ones seemed the hardest while the green were softer.

Then there was a plant with blue and yellow blossoms, less than an inch across. Their stems were rather woody, and they were between 2 and 3 and a half feet tall, some growing even taller than Ed and the goblin. A few of them had a green, sticky substance leaking out...it didn't smell too pleasant to Ed, kind of a soured milk scent. However, every once in a while he also caught a whiff of something minty, kind of like the flavor of Healing Herbs. Butterflies seemed to flock towards these plants. And near these same plants, another set of flowers grew. The same height as the others, these stems ended in pinecone-like protrusions, and had long, drooping purple petals. The cones were almost as large as Ed's fist, and the petals twice as long as his fingers.

But every so often there were also what looked like thorny weeds among the grasses and plants. If they wanted to harvest anything, they might need to be careful so as not to cut themselves. The thorns looked like small sewing needles, rather tiny but very sharp at their tips.

"U-um, can Jezee g-go now?" asked the Goblin, looking pleadingly at Asteria.

---

You used Magic Analysis I! This is a Monster, effectiveness reduced to 35%.
---Slime---
This Slime possesses no magical qualities that you can detect. Its MP is lower than your own.
---Analysis Complete!---

As Danny floated further away, out of the little nook in the wall, the Slimes were unable to follow him. Now he was completely out of their range. The one with the rock made a sound like a wet fart and popped the stone back out--it only arced a few inches into the air, and landed a foot away from the slime on the ground, harmlessly.

But even though Danny had a good distance head start on his adversaries, he decided to go for one more attack--a Rank II Mana Orb, which used more MP than the Mana Dart he had already used and the Lesser Force II he had been using.

The crackling energy blast tore through the slime, causing it to squeal in a loud, watery pitch as it shrank back. The green slime didn't seem to want any more of this, and began to huddle against the back of the wall. The yellow slime, however, saw the Wisp begin to fall.

Danny was out of MP!

And, as he managed to levitate just enough to soften his landing on the ground, he could no longer see any Mana Crystals around...The yellow slime began to lurch towards the edge of the rocky crevice, slowly dripping down the side of the wall...

---

You don't know everything...yet you will continue? You will make something, for yourself?

Jason went down the right passage, feeling as if he were on the world's longest rollercoaster. Lights and sounds were beginning to dim all around him...had he chosen wrong? He could barely hear the voice...

You were a Slime Mage. You were a warlord. You wanted power. You wanted to be born anew. You wanted to make something for yourself. You ARE Jason.

Suddenly Jason burst out of a white, misty cloud. He was back in the monochrome world, back in this empty, frozen space. The red light from the core had grown much brighter, much larger--it was like looking at the sun in the clear blue sky, except it was right here down on the earth, not up in the air.

He had freed himself of the mass of souls--he saw Rattleskull reaching for him with a roar, but the Bugbear, too, was drawn back into the writhing mass. They were beginning to lose cohesion, losing themselves, and they were being drawn towards the core like dust towards a vacuum...

"You make it out after all, Ja-Soon. Maybe ya not so dum afta all." Bonie Bitz had appeared again, sitting on top of a grayscaled rock and watching him with a smirk. She pointed--though time was still frozen, it seemed everything around them had moved somehow. Jason could now see Asura, and Momma Slime, and...was that Ardur? Why was he so much bigger than before? They were heading for the Dungeon Core...and a large number of Undead were heading for them.

"Da Core don't need ya no moar. Ya spirit free...if ya got da strength to BE free." She looked out towards the cave entrance, and sighed. "Ya lucky, Ja-Soon. Ya only had to hold yaself for a short bit. Bonie die long time ago. All da Old Gobs dies, too. Udda gobs too busy fightin' and not dyin' to tell da old stories. And now dey leavin'. And Bonie can't go wif 'em. Not strong enuff no more."

She pointed again. Back in the Nesting Area, there was...a tiny, golden glimmer?

"Betta hurry. Won't stay lucky foreva."

But behind Jason, the Dungeon Core was still pulling at him. And he had said himself that it needed to be dealt with. Something was different about this place, wasn't it? Didn't he want to see the Core, see how it was different in this place? Didn't he want to know what was happening to Rattleskull and the others? Maybe he could fix it. Bonie had just said she didn't have much strength anymore--HE had the power. Only he could do it. Only him...

---

You crafted an Item!
Fiber Cord (Average) + [Crafting Method]
Your Crafting IV skill prevents the degradation of your item!
Your crafting method is more efficient.
Your Crafting IV skill boosted the quality of your item!

Obtained Item: Vine Bracer (Above Average)!
A simple bracer made by wrapping vines in a compact manner. You have used a particular pattern to double up the layers of cordage. It is very vulnerable to Fire and Slashing damage. It provides only a small boost to your defenses.

None of the other goblins knew where Sqwal and Jezee had gone, although a few had seen them wander off into the woods at different times. Bigs jumped at the chance to follow Orchid, probably because he wanted to find something to fight and use his sling on. Crispy was more hesitant, as even though he had a green bandage wrapped around his arm now and the swelling had gone down significantly, he still couldn't use his fingers much at all and it hurt if anything even brushed it. He kept it tucked close to his body and carried a torch in his hand, and his stone knife in his teeth in case he needed to switch fast.

As the other goblins obeyed her orders--without as much sass as she had been used to before her evolution--Orchid and her little party headed into the forest. They searched in a wide arc, and after several minutes came across some trees to the south where it looked like something had been clipping the smaller branches off, and there was a brief sign of some kind of struggle.

They all immediately jumped on guard as something came rustling through the tall, thick grass up ahead--but it was soon revealed to be Sqwal, practically crawling out on his hands and knees.

"I sawed dems! Da big blue rat thing! Didn't look like a rat, looked like a gob wif rat fur and a rat head, but I sawed it! It and two udda rats, normal ones, dey took Jezee! And dey could talk!"

At this revelation, Crispy looked to Orchid.

"Yoona wuz right, Boss, can't trust dem udda monstas even if dey speak gob! We needs ta get Jezee back, kill dese ones, and den leave dem uddas alone til later!"

---

@Zeroth

"Da Core don't need ya no moar. Ya spirit free...if ya got da strength to BE free." She looked out towards the cave entrance, and sighed. "Ya lucky, Ja-Soon. Ya only had to hold yaself for a short bit. Bonie die long time ago. All da Old Gobs dies, too. Udda gobs too busy fightin' and not dyin' to tell da old stories. And now dey leavin'. And Bonie can't go wif 'em. Not strong enuff no more."

She pointed again. Back in the Nesting Area, there was...a tiny, golden glimmer?

"Betta hurry. Won't stay lucky foreva."

But behind Jason, the Dungeon Core was still pulling at him. And he had said himself that it needed to be dealt with. Something was different about this place, wasn't it? Didn't he want to see the Core, see how it was different in this place? Didn't he want to know what was happening to Rattleskull and the others? Maybe he could fix it. Bonie had just said she didn't have much strength anymore--HE had the power. Only he could do it. Only him...

Glancing back at the mass of souls, as they were slowly pulled toward the core, Jason knew that despite what the core wanted him to think, he couldnt save their souls. They had already been lost. He just wasnt strong enough to save them all. He looked forward once more, at Bonie. Maybe, just maybe, he had the strength to save at least one. "I do have the strength to be free... You may not be strong enough, but I am... Maybe even strong enough for both of us. You're coming with me." Before the elderly goblin had a chance to protest, the warlord's misty form quickly swept her up, and threw her into his shoulder, holding her tightly in place. Without a moment's hesitation, Jason charged for the nesting area, determined to reach the glimmering exit as he fought against the dungeon's pull. Drawing nearer and nearer to the exit; which was only about the size of a rock, he pushed harder, attempting to charge both him and Bonie through the small breach, and back into the world of the living.

---

Torrent was mildly confused by the entire exchange before she became rather irritated with these goblins. And, of course, there were goblins everywhere. And they just wanted to use her and her friends for some kind of goblin war.

Fucking goblins.

As they prepared to leave, however, she spoke up, maintaining her stealth.

"Rattleskull is dead. We killed him. He was weak and didn't know his place."

Her piece said, she watched them leave, keeping herself alert for any sign of changed behavior.

Once they were out of earshot, she spoke to her friends.

"Either we go with them tomorrow, or we leave. This place isn't safe anymore if we're not going with them." Her tone displayed her irritation at the situation. Between the mountain exploding bastard and these goblins, this was no longer a safe haven like she had wanted it to be. "I'll defer to you all in what we do. But I don't want to be used by people who aren't my friends."

She scooped at some dirt in front of their little hideout, making a small trench of sorts to vent some of her frustrations.

"I need more heads," she grumbled to herself, reflecting on her experiment before she was rudely interrupted by the goblins.

---

---

Asteria stared at the crying, no longer damaged, but sure as hell traumatized goblin girl. Huh. I haven’t felt guilty in a while. Never so much in this life-time, yet. She cocked her head slightly, seeming to consider the kid’s request. “Fine. Just go. Leave, and make it fast,” Asteria dismissed her, the turned to both restrain and calm Mother rat. Mother hadn’t reacted well to keeping the goblin alive and nearby, so she might protest at her escaping, and Asteria would do her best to prevent that. Then, she considered the dilemma of getting farther without leaving an obvious, easily followed trace. But there was grass all around…

“Ed, get on all fours. Let’s weave around carefully,” she proceeded, demonstrating how she chose the largest gaps to pass trough and, if there weren’t any, the way she gently pushed a whole bunch of grass just a bit to one side, passed by it, and then righted it back, so as to disturb the grass the least she possibly could. All the while, she stayed crouched low, avoided stepping on any of the thorny weeds, mindful to not destroy, damage, or otherwise mark the flowers for now, though they were intriguing. Despite zig-zagging and looping around a lot, she still kept heading to the south.

Awhile after, she stopped again, straining her ears to discern whether they were being followed or not. “I don’t know if we’ve shaken them off or not, but we should either continue escaping southwards, or try and make something to deter the goblins, traps, maybe even a tunnel that we close the entrance to or something,” she whispered. Asteria didn’t want to admit it, but she was rather apprehensive about the idea of still being followed. My own damned fault, that.

She closed her eyes, just for a bit, not focusing on sound so much anymore, but just on pure feeling. She calmed her breathing, her racing heart, and soon became aware that her mana was still depleted. Where the usual energy would thrum alongside the blood flowing through her veins, there was a strange emptiness. She imagined she could feel it eager to be filled. Asteria attempted extending her senses outwards, trying to get a feel for the mana that she knew should be all around her. If she could sense it…or even if she simply thought she did, she could attempt to draw the surrounding mana in, filling her. It would be useful if she succeeded, but even otherwise, this was a calming exercise on its own. She opened her eyes once the needles tension dissipated from her body, her muscles less tense, but her mind now cleared, her whole being perhaps even a tad more energized, now. Asteria looked around curiously. Since they were resting, she stretched her neck to the nearest plant and licked off whatever water left on it from the latest rainfall.

Disappointed as Danny was that he didn't learn anything useful form Stone shot by trying to analyze it, it seemed that simply was because the Slime hadn't mastered it itself. Still seeing a failed attempt to use it in action was better than nothing. After a while the Wisp noticed he wasn't staying up in the air. With there being one only reason as to why he was slowly falling he regretted using a level II spell and not at least taking out one of his opponents.

Still this wasn't that bad, much as he hated wasting mana crystals he just needed to spot one nearby and touch it. As he looked around he realized there were no crystals nearby. When he noticed the yellow Slime approaching him he briefly wondered if he should try to absorb the source crystal shard, only to decide against it.

Not only did Danny have no idea what would happen if he successfully manage to drain it's power, and that was a big if, but he might destroy Jason's only hope of coming back. And as long as he had other options he refused to do that.

Hoping that since he wasn't being attacked at the moment that would count as him not being in battle, and that he had enough time to at least partially recharge the Wisp did his best to calm down and Meditate. If that for some reason failed then and only then would he try to use the source crystal to restore his MP.

"Rattleskull is dead. We killed him. He was weak and didn't know his place."

The goblins froze so fast you could almost hear a record scratch.

"DA BIG DEMONS SPEAK!" yelled Rags Nar, as all five of them turned back to Digbie. They looked around, some of them clearly very frightened, but as they saw nothing they too began to look to the Demiblin.

"W-well uh, if'n ya dun killed Rattleskull...Dat's even better!" The leader of the pack wiped his brow, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. "But I hope ya left da udda gobs alive--if dey all wiped out, we can't add 'em to our tribe! And we's gonna need all da gobs we can get. B-but, uh, we's very uh, in-grated to yas, Demi-gob!"

"Yeah, we's ingrated!"

"Many thankees, Demi-gob!"

"We uh, we makes extra special foods for ya tomorrow too, den! Since yas already done it!"

The goat, obviously irked at being turned around yet again, gave a snort and bucked lightly, kicking the goblin holding its rope down the other side of the hill. Rags Nar grabbed two handfuls of the creature's fur as it turned and charged after the unfortunate goblin.

"We's be gooooooiiiiinnn!" came his voice, trailing off as his other goblins sprinted after him.

---

As Jason's form collided with that of Bonie's, the mists swirled together around them. Jason felt confusion sweep through him--all he had wanted was to see just what kind of creature the Boss was, why it was so different from the other monsters. Well, there was also a want to see the rest of them, to know that they would continue their destiny. But Jason knew that wasn't possible for her--she had been gone too long, she hadn't had the strength to go back from the beginning, only the strength to hold on. And without them, now that they had forgotten, she would probably never get that strength...

Jason and Bonie, Bonie and Jason, he, she, they, we, I, tumbled through darkness. The golden glow was the anchor, the end, the exit. The Dungeon Core pulled, harder and harder. This world, this black and white world separate from everything else, was a wall boxing him in...

He, she, he, you, he was Ja-Soon Mag, he WAS Jason, he knew who he was!

When Jason had done his suicidal stunt, he had hidden a part of his body within the hollowed out ground under the nesting area--a chunk of his green, slimy membrane, nestled under the edge of the collapsed tunnel Momma Slime had crushed him into. It had, of course, lost all cohesion. It was little more than a puddle. The digestive fluids within the membrane had mostly been absorbed by the dirt.

Mana suffused it, and the lime "flesh" dissolved further--from dough, to putty, to goo, to plasm. And this ectoplasm, spiritually charged, evaporated into a vapor that began to take shape.

YOU HAVE RISEN FROM DEATH!
Undead Transformation: Earth-Hardened Slime Mage > Ecto Slime!
Ecto Slime: An extremely rare undead monster. Spirit-class Undead are formed when a soul is unable to leave the corpse or reenter the natural cycle of life and death; composed entirely of the energies left within the body at the time of death, Spirits without Will cannot maintain a form for long. When they lose cohesion, they are returned to the world in another way that cannot be undone. Slimes do not normally have enough intelligence or magic power to revive as undead, and even when affected by outside sources they are usually extremely unstable. Like all undead, they seem to harbor an instinctive need to consume the living. Like many Spirit-class Undead, they are driven to feast on other souls even to the point of losing themselves.

You are Undead.
You have lost your physical body; Stats and Skills have been negatively affected.
All base Stats have decreased.
All former Skills have been Locked.
WARNING! YOU ARE LOW ON MP!
You are still experiencing Mana Disorder. Natural MP Recovery has stopped. External MP Recovery is still reduced by 50%. This may prove fatal in your current condition.

Skill Gain: Transparency I!
Cannot be used with a physical body. Expend MP to generate clip effect through physical environments. The entire body cannot overlap objects. Canceling clip effect while partially overlapping object will cause damage and magic backlash to yourself and the object.

Skill Gain: Spiritual Awareness I!
--Being Undead has affected this skill.-- You have become more aware of the spiritual and living sides of the world. This will affect your interactions with certain types of spiritual living monsters. At this rank, you can only detect interact with a hint of the spiritual world. There may also be other affects of this ability...

Skill Gain: Taboo I!
You have gained a "cursed skill." Those with sharp senses may detect your true nature...Even now, the evil seed of what you've done germinates within you...

Skill Gain: Levitate (--)!
Your body floats by expending a very small amount of MP. Without other skills or greater magical power, you can only float about 3 feet off the ground at a slow walking speed. Moving faster, or rising much higher, consumes MP proportional to the physical effort required for such things.

LEVEL UP!
You have overcome a harrowing trial. Your combined experiences culminate in new power. You are now Level 7! You gain Skill Points to use as you please! Your max MP has increased (this will not restore your current MP)!

Unspent Skill Points: 9

Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.0)
Warcry II (2.175)
Stone Shot II (2.6625)
Rock Spire II (2.075)
Tremor Sense II (2.425)
Soil Manipulation I (1.15)
Telepathy II (2.725)
Material Analysis I (1.2)
Magic Analysis I (1.55)
Monster Analysis I (1.55)
Mental Resistance I (1.55)
Charisma I (1.15)
Focus I (1.3)
Limited Shapeshift I (1.6)
Mind Wave I (1.2)
Spell Chant I (1.3)
Bounce I (1.15)
Faster I (1.05)
Blunt Resistance I (1.0)
Spiritual Awareness I (1.0)
Transparency I (1.0)
Taboo I (1.9)
Levitate (--)
<UNUSABLE SKILLS>
Earth Affinity (0.6) <CANNOT BE INCREASED BY SKILL POINTS>
Wave Shock (0.1)
Swift Swimmer (0.1) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Aqua Sphere (0.7)
Alert (0.1)
Smash (0.5) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Cleave (0.3) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Blood Drain (0.7)
Muffle (0.1)
Crafting (0.3) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Magic Resistance (0.5)
Agriculture (0.3)
Plant Analysis (0.3)
Acid Spit (0.5) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Fire Resistance (0.4)
Fortify (0.2)
Sensory Resistance (0.3)
Mana Orb (0.5)
Shield (0.5)
Alchemy (0.4)
Meditate (0.8)
Air Read (0.4)
Keen Sight (0.2)
Point Strike (0.2) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Doze (0.1)
Blunt Resistance (0.9)
Acid Resistance (0.1)
Rabid Fit (0.1)
Pierce Resistance (0.8)
Lesser Cleanse (0.2)
Dextrous (0.2)
Quicken (0.3)
Earth Wall (0.1)
Guidance (0.1)
Stone Breaker (0.1) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Iron Gullet 0.1 <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Slash Resistance 0.2
Earth Vein 0.1 <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Mana Sense 0.1

The world was suddenly so full of color and vibrancy again, it made Jason practically want to leap for joy. And leap he did, as he floated up towards the ceiling...only, he couldn't seem to come back down. And the closer he got to that shaft of sunlight coming through the ceiling, the more he could feel every inch of him recoiling from it the way you can feel that the heat coming off the stovetop will scald and scar you with its painful flames.

What was more, as he looked around, even though he had finally returned to the correct world...it still looked different. There was a dark haze around everything, as if his eyes were bleary and unadjusted to the world. That sunlight, or any light really, was far too bright...but other than that, there were other pinpoints of light in this world. Purple lights, bouncing around inside cages...and other lights, lights of many colors, that settled peacefully in their shells.

One of these purple lights, as a matter of fact, was down below Jason. A lone Dire Rat, scurrying along the tunnels of the nesting area, was made visible to him by the violet light within its body even though there was a layer of dirt between him and its physical body. It was...searching, for something, it seemed. It stopped near where the battle of the slimes had taken place, then scurried over to where those two assimilated Fanged Lizards had been killed.

Eat it! yelled a sudden, urgent voice inside Jason. He suddenly became aware that there were no Mana Crystals anywhere around him...and he could feel his MP depleting like a clock ticking down...

---

As Danny tried to calm himself and Meditate, it was extremely difficult...after all, he had so many things running through his head. Fear. Was he about to die? Could he do this in time? Would he recover enough? Would the Slime reach him first? How long could he last? He was already low on HP. Would one more hit kill him?

Slowly, the yellow slime inched closer.

Danny took a deep breath. He could only use the Source Crystal as a last resort. He had to Meditate. Could he do this? Did this count as being in battle? He himself wasn't actually fighting or moving right now. He was IN a battle...but he wasn't battling...

He felt a trickle of energy. He could Levitate again! He couldn't feel enough for any other attacks, but as the Wisp lifted into the air the Slime blurbled and angrily leaped at him once more--!

Asura turned some of his attention to Mother Slime when she started burbling and bouncing with excitement. "Figured you were healed. You need to be full health to gain resistances from skill points." He explained, he'd share the pictures with her later when they had all rested. Her mind probably couldn't handle much more and he wasn't going to push it. The system sending him 'Invalid Command' annoyed him a good deal.

System, list controls, help, and prompts. He demanded, he was growing tired of trying to get the System to give him some information. It was probably being an ass because he wasn't a human character. But still, that sizzling was getting more worked up since he was concentrating and trying to force his Mana to become Stamina. Maybe that was something that was building up now? A Mana to Stamina skill? It wasn't an unfeasible thing. System, bring up new currently building Skills. He thought to see if he could specify what would be building.

While the group moved he took note that all the mana crystals were poofing into powder, and now Healing Herbs were starting to wither. A small detour and he was sucking up the Herbs to try and preserve what he could. Use himself as some sort of biological shield. While he tried to preserve, and fill his 'inventory' and his health, he saw the undead shambling their way in their general direction. Mother Slime voiced her concern and dislike of them.

"We need to get rid of them, because I don't feel like getting attacked from behind. Ardur, you can fly, get those pixies. You're obviously stronger and bigger than them." He said while eying the skeletons and then the dire rat. "Mother, we'll take the Skeletons. They're unarmed so they'll be bludgeoning, maybe even Slashing since finger bones are pointed." Asura said, as he used the Source Crystal Fragment he had to try and observe them. He had seen Jason do this, except with a whole Crystal. He'd approach the undead normally, conserving what Stamina he might have generated.

As he neared he geared up a Smash, but he held it and built up liquid pressure within the pseudopod. He was attempting to Charge his Smash for a point blank attack that would be very difficult to dodge.

---

Digbie walked back to his friends, now a bit more confident in himself after the Goblins showed signs of being fearful of the group. Okay, so maybe it was them being fearful of Digbie, but Digbie was the representation of the group at that point to the goblins, so it kind of worked? Regardless of anything, when the goblins were out of earshot, Digbie first double checked with {Tremor Sense II} to see if they were actually gone. When he was absolutely sure, he looked at the rest of his group and spoke.

"We have a day to decide what to do," Digbie said, looking back towards the path the mole tunnels made towards the mountains. "I think we really need to see what they're offerin' before we push them away. If we don't like it, we don't help them. If we like their jib, let's help them take over some other goblins. That way, we can ask them for help later if we need to." Digbie shrugged as he began walking back towards where he was before, using {Rock Spire} to leave small spikes in the ground behind him every couple of steps. "Something big happened back where I was, and I'm gonna check it out. I'll be back by nightfall, hopefully. If not, these spikes should be a good way to find me."

With that, Digbie returned to where the "moles" were, and followed their path, leaving breadcrumbs of {Rock Spire}s behind him so he didn't lose his way back.

---

---

Well that was...enlightening. Surprisingly, Digbie was able to handle the goblins fairly well. A welcome change of pace from their previous...problems with her companions. They had for now, avoided a fight at least. She did thing perhaps, Torrent was a bit too soon to spill the beans about rattles death, but it didn't seem to have too much of a difference, so for now, they were safe. For the rest of the evening, at least. Digbie chimed in on the matter before running off somewhere.

"...Hm, I'd rather not get involved with something like a goblin tribe." Ash replied with a sigh. "But Digbie has a point. Resources would be useful. And if they prove somewhat competent, they may be useful themselves. I'll be fine with going with them at least to see what they are up too. Now..." Turning her head to Oberon, Ash walked over towards the Pixie. "Oberon, think you could cast some magic for me? I'm currently working on something and I'd like your help with it."

Ardur The Mighty Hipixie

On wards to victory > Lets see what this new form can do. /// Adventuring day 4 // Afternoon / Location - cave

It seemed through all of that he still had to work with things inside his own power level. Apparently what he was attempting to cast hadn’t been understood by the system. And here he was just trying to cleanse the area. Now he was out of mana and experiencing something called mana burn? Good, now he knew what consequences awaited him for over drafting his mana.

It also seemed that Inspire I and Spell chant I seemed to work together regardless. To him it made sense that in most instances where he would use inspire it would require words or chants like that. It would probably get leveled up quicker that way though. But he would have to be careful with spell chant. The last prayer or chant he used wasn't meant for the spell more for the gods that were listening. Maybe he would have to adapt some way of triggering spell chant before using it again.

The scene around them looked bleak, the ambient light of the mana crystals around them seem to be fading with the crystals themselves. A shame really, now he would have to learn that meditate skill he was shown earlier for sure. That and now that the healing herbs seem to be withering away he would be needed more than ever. Then to top it all off multiple undead creatures where heading their way.

Asura and mother slime seemed to notice the change in the environment as well. Asura didn’t waste anytime to make his point clear on what he planned to do. Ardur needed to give him the best sit rep he could of his current conditions. “Yes I am larger now and my health pool has grown. Im stronger now and I feel like im a better flier. However be advised, I currently have no mana left and im starting to get hungry. I advise we take care of these ones then make a break for the entrance to regroup and rest. Hell we could even persuade a few of the goblins to help out with this as well, I think orchid might have more sway with the goblins now that rattle skull is dead.”

He knew what he had to do and as the slimes charged toward this new danger he wouldn’t turn and run. The flighty impulsive instincts he once had faded with this change of his. They were replaced with instincts he understood. Running forward briefly, the Hipixie jumped into the air and took off at speed toward the nearest flying pixie. while being mindful of the reach of the other undead below him. His plan was to try and grab one of the pixies by the leg and swing it around to hit the other pixie. If nothing else he would at least try to break its wings or its ability to fly.

"for the sun and the cycle of life." he whispered to himself.

@Zeroth
@Kazemitsu

---

@Zeroth

Jason was in shock, where was Bonie? Had he absorbed her??? His spiritual body quivered as he was branded with the Taboo, marking him with his crime. Yet, for some reason, her sacrifice still wasnt enough, as some voice in the back of his mind spurred him to devour more souls.

NO.

He was stronger than this. His will was unyielding. He would return Bonie's soul, and he would take no more souls to maintain his existence. He was better than that. Deactivating [Levitate], he floated down to the ground, quickly putting a point into [Meditation], and eight into [Guidance], he knew he needed help, there had to be another way. Focusing with all his might, and "shutting off" his sight, Jason pulled at the mana around him, trying to draw it into himself. With what little mana he could gather, he sent a plea into the earth calling for it's aid, "Spirits of the earth... I ask for your guidance, must I truly subsist off souls in this form? Or is there another way? Please, help me.... I beg you!"

Honestly Danny was surprised that meditating worked in his condition, but it was a welcome surprise. He had been hoping he would have the time to at least recharge a Mana Orb, but a quick look at his surroundings made it clear the Slime wasn't let get that happen.

He quickly changed directions to the left in an attempt to dodge the attack, still not sure if he could survive another hit. Assuming dodging worked the Wisp went for his usual hiding spot, the cave ceiling and did his best to conceal his presence. He wanted to at least finish of the Yellow Slime, but the exp wasn't worth the risk.

As Ed was about to explain his discovery of new plants, he turned back to see that Asteria had chosen to release their captive. The significant burden on his heart lifted as he saw the event unfold. He spoke nothing at the time but it was apparent that the blue furred ratman had appreciated what Asteria did. She then told him to go onto all fours and tread carefully. "Understood. Just gimme a second or two, Asteria. I found some real interesting plants that could be useful to us in the future. I just need to memorize their scents so I'll know which is which when we encounter them again." Ed first focused on the smell of each flower and took note of their distinct aromas. After memorizing the scents the flowers, Ed grasps his bludgeon in his mouth before lowering himself onto all fours.

Using only the ball of the foot and the sides of his hands, to minimize the number of blades of grass he tramples over; thus minimizing the tracks he leaves behind. He follows Asteria close behind, mimicking her actions to use her tail to realign the grass she had trampled over. Hitting a number of the thorny weeds in the process as he was not as used to maneuvering his tail as Asteria was. The needle like thorns hurt as much as one could expect them to hurt and it would be a tedious task to remove each thorn out of his tail. Though after a number of minutes after, the trio stopped and Asteria spoke to Ed again. Using a free hand he removes the stick from his mouth and lays it in front of him before giving her a reply. "Perhaps, but we did pretty good in covering our trail back there. Unless they have an exceptional perception, sense of smell, or investigative ability I don't think they can track us that well. As for traps, I don't think we have enough material to make any complex traps, but maybe we can set up a simple one." Ed says while bending his tail in between his legs and begins to tend to the minor injury his tail had sustained, using his hand to pluck the needles that had embedded themselves into his tail. "But I think we should find a quiet and hidden spot further south and just lay low there for a while."

As he finished speaking his mind, Asteria entered a short trance. Perhaps trying to calm herself and relieve stress she received from the whole situation they were in. Ed tries to distract himself as the female dire rat meditated, inspecting the humble cudgel nature had provided him and focused on his vision to observe and see every part of the stick in detail.

Oberon watched carefully as the Goblin tribe left the area, arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. It wasn’t until they had been completely out of sight for a while that he turned to fact the others; Torrent suggested either going with the or leaving immediately, but didn’t have a preference for either, while both Digbie and Ash were in favour of hearing what the Goblins had to say before making their decision.

As for himself, Oberon didn’t like the idea of getting involved in a war between the different tribes, of which there were apparently many in the surrounding area, if they could avoid it. He was all for the group defending themselves if need be, even if it was against Goblins, but picking another fight like the one back in the cave with Rattleskull and his tribe was not something he was eager to do again. It was far too risky and he wasn’t sure how it would benefit them other than to make them stronger.

He did, however, agree that they should at least hear Rags Nar out and find out exactly what his offer was. If nothing else it would give them a chance to see this broken tower they had made their base, the first signs of humanity in this world that they would have seen, other than the smoke trail, and presumably the place those Goblins had found some of their equipment. Goblins were… moderately smart creatures, at least compared to the wild animals they had seen otherwise, and even if they didn’t take Rags Nar’s offer they could still potentially get something out of forming an amicable relationship with them. Rags Nar seemed to know a little bit about the surrounding area which could be of use to them, maybe there was even a map in this old tower; finding out where the other tribes were located, even vaguely, would be of use to them if and when they decided to leave this area.

The Sprite was broken out of his thoughts as Ash came over to him and asked him to cast some magic for her. “Oh, err… you mean any magic? Does this work?” Raising a hand out before him and holding it palm up, Oberon summoned a ball of mana into existence; he didn’t do anything with it at first, not casting any spell in particular but just using his Mana Shape to hold the mana in the form of a ball. After a while he began to experiment with it, using Mana Shape to change the orb into a cube, giving it more sharply defined edges and sides, then collapsed it back into a ball. He did this a few more times, changing it back into a cube, a sphere, a pyramid and a few other simple, three dimensional shapes. It was slow at first, each transformation taking time and the resulting shape being kind of uneven until he refined it more, but he improved a little with each change. Up until now he’d never used Mana Shape just for the sake of using it, it had always been for the purpose of creating a new spell, moulding the mana into the right form for the job at hand; it wouldn’t hurt to become more proficient at it.

When Ash looked like she had seen enough he dispersed the mana and lowered his hand, feeling a little drained now that he was done. “For what it’s worth I agree with you and Digbie; we should at least hear what the Goblins have to say, but I’m not getting involved in any fight of theirs if I can help it. We should talk about it more when Digbie comes back and agree on something together.” Oberon turned his head upwards, towards the leafy boughs above him and the dappled sunlight pouring through them. “For now I need to get my mana back, and there’s something else I want to try as well. Call if you need me.”

By now the process of flying up to the tree tops was fairly familiar to the Sprite, though this time he made sure to stop more often to rest to account for the fact that he was still missing a lot of stamina from Zawisza’s surprise visit. Once he was at the top, the pure and unfiltered sunlight bathing his entire body, the Sprite took a moment to look in the direction that Rags Nar had pointed earlier, using his enhanced vision to try and see any sign of the tower he had mentioned.

Regardless of if he saw anything or not he would then settle down on the highest branch that would hold his weight and still let him bask in the sun and closed his eyes. He slowed his breathing down and entered a meditative state, using both Meditation and Gather Light to restore his mana to full and continuing to meditate even after that to recover his stamina as well.

When he felt he was ready Oberon opened his eyes and thought about what he wanted to do next. It was an idea he’d had back in the cave, not long after he had seen Jason using chanting to enhance his magic to try and purify the fallen Skelebin; a combination of a few different spells and concepts that had randomly appeared in his head and wouldn’t leave until he at least tried it. He didn’t know if it would work, he didn’t even know if this was safe to attempt at his current level; likely it wasn’t.

Raising his hand again, palm facing up like before, Oberon summoned a ball of light into existence. He placed his other hand above the orb but not touching it, using Mana Shape to keep the mana in a spherical shape and not the ring it wanted to become. Once the mana felt like it was stable, like he could control its shape, he began to cast Minor Heal on the light itself and he began to chant.

“Form, Life and Will. I give you form, freely given, a vessel of light to be your body as you walk by my side.” He used Minor Heal again, sending another pulse of nature mana into the light. “Form, Life and Will. I give you life, freely given, to become your own, so you may live.” Another spell, another pulse. “Form, Life and Will. I give you my will, freely given, so that you’ll have a mind of your own and the ability to think for yourself.” Another spell, another pulse. Another spell, another pulse. Another spell, another pulse…



@Rune_Alchemist@Zeroth

The trio of goblins soon came across a scene of a struggle, likely where Jeeze was. First thing Orchid did was look for any blood or remains. If animals got to her, there had to be some bloodshed. But no, Orchid didn’t see much. Perhaps she didn’t look hard enough. But as she was looking at the scene she figured it out somewhat quickly that Jeeze didn’t put up much of a fight. Orchcid could see where Jeeze was and where she was knocked down. No blood near that spot, so whatever beast or monster got to her didn’t just immediately tear into her. But soon she saw Jeeze’s little goblin foot prints walking farther away. She had lived, somehow. But there were more tracks also going the same direction Jeeze was. Rat tracks. Orchid would recognize them easily, even upscale as they were right now.

When Orchid heard rustling she readied her sharp club for combat, but it turned out to be Sqwal. The little twerp saw Jeeze get taken. Orchid was angry at first but calmed herself before she did anything; Sqwal wasn’t that big of a fighter either. Even if he was there at best he might’ve been able to wound them, but likely couldn’t kill them. He wasn’t wntirely useless though as he gave Orchcid valuable intel. It was strange rat creatures, including one that walked on two legs.

Crispy and Orchid would reach the same conclusion though Crispy was more vocal about it. The other monsters from the cave, reincarnated like Orchid, had taken Jeeze. But why? They obviously attacked her here. Jeeze was hardly a threat to them. She didn’t even have a weapon. If they had killed her to eat her Orchid wouldn’t been furious, but frankly that’s just how life is out here. But Jeeze was alive. They took Jeeze alive. Why? As a Slave? To eat later? Surely those rats don’t know Orchid, not would they have bothered to keep her hostage to asway Orchid’s wrath.

A little thought came up in the back of Orchid’s mind. A thought that she’s been harbouring for a while, but one that now has resurfaced with more strength. ”I cant trust them. Not the humans.” Once more it appeared that the selfish acts of other reincarnated humans continued to inconvience Orchid. First was the attack on the goblin camp, and now one of them have taken Jeeze. Orchid couldn’t claim any innocence, but neither could they. All of her problems have literally started because of something they did.

”We get Jeeze back, and if those rats are still here we’ll kill em. We still need better gear before we start any fights with those weird monsters.” Orchid didn’t have a spear or anything for Sqwal, so she simply took out her spare club and handed it to Sqwal. ”Sqwal you’re with us now. Stay near Biggs and watch his back. Crispy, you and me take the lead. If we find those rats and they have Jeeze we’ll distract them while the other two save her. Once she’s safe then we’ll burn them all nice and crunchy.” Orchid was certain that those monsters still remember Crispy, so he’ll make for a good distraction. With their literal firepower up front that ought to keep the rat’s attention while the other two went to save Jeeze. Orchid only hoped she won’t be too late. Once everyone formed up

CURRENT PERMISSIONS:
+Character Sheet
--Skill List, Equipment, Status, And Related Tabs
+Group Status
--Party, Analysis Skills, And Related Tabs

<UNUSABLE SKILLS>
Earth Resist (0.7)
Mental Resistance (0.9)
Monster Analysis (0.95)
Slime Shell (0.5)
Charisma (0.5)
Dextrous (0.2)
Soil Manipulation (0.3)
Stone Shot (0.5)
Slime Coil (0.2)
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 (0.5)
First Aid (0.1)
Acid Spit (0.2)
Skewer (0.4)
Slash (0.1)
Fire Resistance (0.2)
Water Resistance (0.0125)
Stamina Furnace (0.3)
Focus (0.1)

You Used Source Crystal Shard!
---Skeleblin---
Skeleblin, a Skeleton-type Undead-class Monster. Undead will single-mindedly pursue living creatures with hostility. There is something unusual about it.
---Analysis Complete!---

The Source Crystal Shard needs to be recharged!

Asura managed to get 3 Herbs before the field had almost completely withered--all that were left were those oily black ones, and even they were starting to shrivel.

As the undead attacked, Asura braced himself and seemed to be building up power for an attack. Ardur lunged into the air, grabbing the most mangled of the Zombie Pixies by the leg. As he swung the creature with his enhanced strength, he slammed it into its fellow before it could sink its own claws into him. The impact shattered what few brittle, hollow bones remained in the first zombie's body, and both of the undead fey crashed to the ground. But while the one Ardur had grabbed seemed as if it could no longer move its body--being little more than a fleshy sack filled with shattered bone bits--it still turned its head this way and that like a decapitated rattle snake, snapping its tiny jaws. The other Zombie Pixie managed to pull itself off the ground, and held out its hands towards Ardur. It garbled something, blood vomiting from its mouth--and black smoke suddenly enveloped Ardur.

You have been Cursed! The next attack against you will be more effective!

Momma Slime rolled forward between Asura and the oncoming Skeleblins, just as one of them lumbered forward and swung a bony fist. It practically spun on the hinge of its hip and spine as its jawbones clattered. The impact struck the blue slime's body--

And made a sound like thumping your finger against a rubber dodgeball. The skeleton paused for a moment. It slowly turned its skull upward to "look" at Momma Slime.

"'MASH!"

The Skeleblin's bottom jaw snapped off as Momma Slime's pseudopod sent it bowling back into its compatriates.

A second Skeleblin jumped to swing at Ardur with a Gnarled Stick, and two more began picking up throwing-sized rocks off the ground...

---

The Yellow slime flopped through the air in frustration as Danny dodged it. With his levitation ability restored, he floated back up to a rocky ledge near the top of the cave to conceal himself. The two slimes down below gurgled angrily, then went their separate ways--no doubt to find a less troublesome meal.

Danny could see from up here that it looked like several monsters--most of whom had glowing purple eyes--seemed to be headed in the direction of Jason's cave, as did the remainder of any Mana Crystal dust floating on an unfelt wind. What was going on? The aura of the cave seemed to be growing more oppressive by the moment...

By contrast, it had to be somewhere around noon outside--the bright daytime sun seemed to be coming in strong through the entrance far away, and through a few shafts here and there in the ceiling...

---

The Meditate Skill is currently disabled due to Mana Burn.

Skill Gain: Guidance I!
Your pleas have been heard. Offer up a portion of your MP in prayer, and gain a chance to receive supernatural guidance. The effectiveness of the teachings depends on your faith--and your ability to read the signs. Does rustling grass along the path show your way, or reveal danger? Was that a whispered voice, or just the wind? Your faith will shape your journey. The better your relation with a particular deity, the more likely you are to receive their guidance.

WARNING! YOUR MP IS VERY LOW!

Jason could feel no Mana entering his "body," if this wispy, almost soap-bubble-esque form could count as such. The world seemed to be getting darker all the time, as if that monochrome place he had come from was pulling him back.

As he floated down to the ground, he could not feel any contact with the earth. The Dire Rat was coming closer, but seemingly unaware of his presence. As it sniffed around the place where the two assimilated Fanged Lizards--and Jason himself--had been killed, it pawed at the ground. Jason wouldn't see this, however, as he was caught up in his prayer.

"Spirits of the earth... I ask for your guidance, must I truly subsist off souls in this form? Or is there another way? Please, help me.... I beg you!"

And he received an answer...though not from any god.

"Stupid! Eat it! Wolves eat sheep! Baboons eat apples! Humans eat cluckees and hogs! Everything eat!"

When Jason opened his eyes, he would see the Dire Rat turn--but as it did so, the place where it had been digging suddenly gave way. The Rat gave a surprised squeak and leaped onto a nearby rock, before turning to stare at the spot that had caved in.

The loose earth had fallen in right over a clutch of Fanged Lizard eggs. Inside each of them, Jason could see a tiny mote of gray light--about ten of them, although each was less than a fifth the size of the large purple light inside the Dire Rat. And that creature was now turning away, seemingly following the scent trail left behind by Asura and Ardur...

---

"Any will do, yes." As Oberon began casting his magic, Ash did what she had before, watching Oberon play with his magic. After the experiment with the Mana crystal, she was almost certain there was something to this but she still didn't exactly know what. What was she even looking for? She really didn't know herself. Just some way to physically interact with Mana in order to see its chemical makeup, so to speak. She watched the magic flow from his body towards his hand. Making a simple ball, Oberon then began to change and experiment with it. Turning it into a cube, then back into a ball, then into a pyramid. He continue to make simple, small three dimensional shapes. He seemed to be getting fairly adept with Mana Shape. She should practice too, but always getting interrupted was making slow progress.

Ugh, she needed a lab.

"I see, thank you Oberon." Ash replied closing her eyes. She should probably meditate somewhat and get her Mana back as well. Argh, so much to do so little time. "I would suggest one of us goes gathering or hunting soon as well, but for now I'll be back in the shelter if anyone has need of me."

Danny was relieved to see the Slimes give up and leave, though part of him still wanted to get both his exp and his revenge. He wondered how close he was to his next level and since he had already learned that just wondering didn't reveal anything he had to try something new. " System, how close am I to leveling?" He felt stupid asking and honestly didn't expect any reaction.

As he prepared to leave his hiding spot and look for a safe place to finish meditating he noticed both monsters and what looked pulverized mana crystal heading in the direction of the core. Wondering if he could somehow use the dust to replenish his Mp he flew straight into it and focused on absorbing as much mana as he could.

If it worked he would head straight for the patch of healing herbs near the pond, otherwise he would look for an empty hole in a cave wall first, to meditate in.

---

@Zeroth

Despite Bonie's less than helpful input, the old goblin did have a point... Was it wrong for a creature to eat? Perhaps. But perhaps not... Despite his reservations about devouring souls, it appeared as if Jason didn't have a choice, as any other means of mana regeneration was unavailable to him.

However, just as Jason was about to give up on hope, the spirits seemingly answered his plea, and revealed to him a buried nest of unhatched fanged lizard eggs, each housing the bud of a soul. Swallowing, Jason reached forward to consume the tiny motes of light, for him to eat these blank slates was mercy compared to the fate that would await them in the dungeon.

Pulling back from his small meal, thoroughly disgusted with himself, Jason turned his attention to the dire rat, the one that was starting to follow the scent trail of Ardur and Asura. Strangely enough, the rat had yet to notice his presence as he crept up behind it.

Without warning he launched himself into the rat with [Levitate]! With all his might, he focused on the assimilated dire rat's mana, trying to pull it into himself without fully consuming its soul, similar to what he had seen Asteria use on Ardur earlier.

Asura took note of the permissions he seemed to have and the two skills he now knew of but hadn't activated yet. Stamina Furnace? That was new. The Analysis probably came with a boost from the source shard. A shame all the mana crystals seem to have vanished, it was clearly a magical item. But that could wait for now, now it was time to fight since more undead seemed to be showing up.
"We might have to retreat early, but lets take care of what we can. I seem to have regained some stamina and I have three herbs." Asura called over to Mother Slime and Ardur. Both of which were doing their own thing and doing it well.

Ardur was about to be flanked by a skeleton goblin who had a stick. So Asura rolled over and unleashed what he hoped was a Charged Smash. But he held back some energy, trying to get the same effect but using less Stamina. System, keep update of newly found skills. He requested, seeing if that would help him learn what the fuck he was doing half the time. The Slime Shell still eluded him, but he'd figure it out eventually.

As he pulled back from the skeleton, hoping it was blown back a bit, Asura 'tilted' his head. "System, form party with Ardur and Mother Slime." He stated out loud so they wouldn't be surprised if something popped up. No need to break concentration within combat. The System had mentioned party stuff, so maybe it'd give him a little status bar of his allies so he can tell how they're doing. Speaking of how things are. System, stamina update. He thought while circling around Mother Slime to intervene with Dire Rat undead. Gearing up another Smash for its face to prevent its more damaging attacks.