---

Well, that answered one pressing question. Pixies did not talk. Which meant that he was an oddity. The man indicated the goblin he was with, saying that she could speak too. That was enough to give him pause. Ash had mentioned meeting a female goblin unlike the others… was this her? Was she like him?

“I… well, I think a b-better word for it would be ‘remembered’.” he said to the man. “I… remembered a lot of things. I came from a cave, somewhere over that way.” He gestured in a direction that probably wasn’t right, given the times he’d gotten turned around. “Please, I just want to get out of this forest. If you take me somewhere safe, I… I’ll try and explain. I can help! I can heal, and - and…”

The pixie visibly deflated, and his chin lowered to his chest. He kicked at the dirt.

“Well… not much else, I guess. Can’t even fly.”

That was a lie. But it was also partially true. It didn't matter.

Asura mentally growled. System, tell me what skill gets progression. He thought before turning his attention to Mother Slime as she started asking questions back to back. "Get hurt, build against it." He said before going over to her while she chewed. "Blunt Resistance. Get hurt by blunt, get more resistance to it." He stated, making a pseudopod into a hammer-like head and reminding her of the Blunt Resistance she nearly maxed out the day before. He didn't feel like hitting her to remind her a bludgeon wouldn't do much damage to her anymore.

He made his pseudopod take on the shape of another blade. This one curved, much like a karambit from his previous life, and dragged the blade along himself. Causing as much damage as he could stand, waiting for the HP is Low message to pop up. He was ignoring the screams from his body, pushing himself to his insane limit.

"Alright...gonna need a heal." He ground out, which Ardur complied with since it seemed he was done making himself armor. When he was fully healed his Earth Resistance clicked over finally, that was good. Another resistance under his gelatinous belt. Huffing he gave himself a shake. "I'd like to continue training like this, but I don't want to exhaust your mana..." Asura said to Ardur. He'd have to train other less Stamina or Mana intensive skills.

For now though he decided to see how 'human' he could make himself look. He started to change his shape, giving himself a torso and arms. Basic joints, extremely basic facial features, and fingers on the ends of his basic arms. He had done three clawed fingers before, but he did eight rounded fingers and two rounded thumbs. He should look very generic at this point, like a crash test dummies upper body.

@Stabby @Zeroth

Your MP is Full.

Femus had refilled his mana far faster than he expected and he did seem to have had some success in altering the mana levels around him. However, at that point, he was interrupted by what was almost certainly a wild pixie. This… was not good. Those creatures were the living embodiment of distraction. One of getting interested was bad enough but they liked to play in groups too. It would be reckless to assume that that one would not want to have more fun with other pixies.

He thought briefly of warning Nira but remembered that she had not stayed close and instead gone elsewhere to practice her meditation. He didn't dare rush out at present. He had to deal with the issue at hand first.

There was little time to waste. He had to prepare to defend this place… or provide the pixie with enough of a distraction to forget him and this place. But, first… It reminded him of something. Pixies could shield themselves. He decided to try and replicate that spell, surrounding himself with mana and trying to infuse it into either his body or the glow that surrounded him.

He had seen that the spell didn’t create a barrier. It seemed to be more like a resistance spell, something to provide additional toughness. So, he kept that in mind and sought to shape the nature of his mana so that it would linger in his body as a kind of hindering force, pushing back against anything that approached and diminishing its force. He would practice this until he achieved success, was interrupted, or felt that he only had enough mana for one mana orb left. At that point, he would meditate back to full mana, still trying to enrich his surroundings with mana. He would repeat this in cycles, barring interruption.

Hopefully, he could encourage some of the local blue flowers to form seeds before he had to abandon this tree. That would be a treasure beyond measure for a developing magic user… and he didn’t want to let his efforts in adjusting the environment here go to waste. The enhanced mana density in the hollow should have some effect on the flowers growing on the outside of the hollow tree.

Then again, maybe it was the enhanced density of mana that attracted the pixie. They relied on mana to live as well. Maybe he hadn’t been cautious enough. While he had been trying to develop a strong foundation patiently and safely, it wouldn’t help him at all if he couldn’t survive the whims of pixies. He would need to enhance his lethality.

As soon as he was able to shield himself, unless he was interrupted, he would begin a similar cycle of training attempting to condense a mana orb into a smaller, faster, and more penetrating form. In effect, he wasn’t looking for a piercing tip but rather a more focused shaped charge. If all the orb’s power was released in the direction of the surface it impacted then the damage it did should increase as well. Yet, as he focused his mind on that aspect, he found himself repeatedly thinking of flames and lightning.

Both would burn through objects and he remembered everything about them that he had ever experienced or learned. He remembered the times he burned himself when he was trying to help in the kitchen, times he was shown pictures of lightning strikes, explosions in action movies that seemed to fill the target and reduce it to rubble and ash from within, being shocked by static, overheating a knife accidentally by leaving it on the stove too close to the flame, seeing jumper cables melt as sparks and arcing electricity overwhelmed it.

Burning from within, arcing instantly over vast distances and piercing any defense. These were the thoughts that came to mind as he sought to compress and focus his mana orbs.

As soon as the three strange Goblins revealed themselves Danny used Monster Analysis II on each of them. He was about try combining Mana Vision I and Magic Analysis I! to see what told him but when they proved to be hostile he canned that idea.

Since they all charged him at once he didn't think a singe target attack would be smart here, especially since he wanted to add that multi pronged spear to his arsenal. Copying the mountain destroying attack would take too much given his lack of practice with it but it did give him an idea.

Using Mana Shape he tried to transform a level 2 mana orb into a simple stick form long enough to hit all three goblins. He knew he wouldn't be able to launch it but with any luck they would just run into it or at least be distracted enough for Jason to drain the soul of one of them.

Speaking of Jason Danny wondered if he would be able to activate the newly establish telepathy connection. Now was not the time to try it though cause he needed to be ready to block or dodge attacks. Since the beetle mandible and armor were harder to replace he focused on using his curved stick to block whenever possible.

---

@Zeroth@Duthguy

As the three goblins closed in, Jason noticed their souls to be even larger than that of the goat he and Danny had killed that meant they wouldnt be easy to kill. Out of the three, Jason knew that the one carrying the net would likely be the greatest threat; since Danny would be unable to dodge or escape if caught by it. Therefore, Jason's first target would be the net carrying goblin. His magic power surged within his ethereal form as he charged at the goblin. As he came into contact with the goblin, Jason did three things, nigh simultaneously, he used [Transparency] to clip inside its fleshy form, reaching as close as he could to it's spiritual core attempting to [Mana Drain] as much power as he could in a single moment. Using [Telepathy] he let out a single, massive roar into its mind, akin to his former [Warcry] before releasing [Transparency] attempting to drag the goblin's soul out with him!

The nascent Wall between Oberon’s hands slowly compressed, growing denser and more opaque with each passing moment as the Mana gathered together in a smaller area, yet there was no sign that anything special was happening. No message appeared to tell him it had worked and nothing about the spell itself seemed to indicate that it had changed form or purpose in any way, so he had to assume it hadn’t worked.

Was he even on the right track? He must have been, to an extent, since he had gained some experience towards the Wall spell doing this exact thing not too long ago, but something about this didn’t seem right. How was what he was doing now any different from when he had compressed a Mana Orb into a Mana Dart, or shaped an Orb into Mana Slice? All he had done was change the shape, but nothing said it was no longer an offensive spell or a projectile anymore other than it’s clearly unsuitably aerodynamic shape. What made the thing between his hands a Wall more than anything else? If he let it go would it just fly towards a target like an unmodified Mana Orb would?

The main different was that he had cast Shield on it, a spell designed to toughen the target by boosting its natural defences, which would perhaps make the Mana more durable if it did anything at all; that was it though. Was mixing an offensive spell with a support spell enough to change the spell type from ‘Attack’ to ‘Defence’? Did mixing not just the spells but the intent behind them make a difference? One was meant to deal damage and the other to protect, did mixing them create a conflicting idea as to what he wanted the spell to become?

It was possible he was overthinking things.

Intent, however, was important. He had seen this before, or at least believed he had. Perhaps all he needed to do to complete the spell was to use it as he intended it to be used? If nothing else it would be useful to see how well his creation stood up to damage.

Looking around him he spotted Torrent further down the stream, still practising her breath skills like before, and began to fly in her direction while carefully holding the Wall between his hands steady. As he grew closer he saw the ice crystals, slush and powdered snow atop the water and momentarily lost his train of thought; had she created an ice element spell? “Oh, right. Torrent? Can you do me a favour and attack this thing with a spell and see if it blocks it?”



@Old Amsterdam

---

'Huh...I expected as much.' Ed comments to himself as he dismisses the error message the System had given him after a short while after asking it to analyze his dream and define what a Nullven Cone was. The System at least told him that his skills were still developing though, which was good cause the skills would be quite useful in identifying things that would be safe to consume as well as see how good an item is. 'Speaking of developing skills, System, please display current skill progressions.' He asked while carrying the bundle of items in his hand made grass mat under one arm.

It wasn't the best grass mat ever, but it was something.

As they walked further away from the village and its increasingly active inhabitants, it occurred to Ed that they had no idea where they should go. The Den was supposed to be their new place of rest, but the bugs, the villagers, and the mountain peak exploding made sure that the Den would be completely unsafe now. To their South and East was even more plains and to the west was the Mountains. 'Mountains?' He thought about it. The place would have an abundance of plant life, fauna, and water but seeing the very peak practically erased from existence, the ratman quickly decided that it was in their best interest to completely avoid the mountains if they valued their lives. That left the trio of further South or East plains. "The mountains are a definite no after that huge explosion. That leaves us with grassy plains to the East and even more grassy plains further South." His stomach grumbled slightly and his throat felt quite dry. "Which ever direction we go to, its preferable that we find a place with or near a stable and clean body of water." Ed then focused his [Beast Sense II] to his hearing first, then his smell, and finally his sight. All to see if he could pick up any signs of water. May it be the sound, the smell, or even a simple glimpse.

---

Ash hissed loudly, raking her claws against the ground as her MP once more, ran out. Damn it, how was she supposed to work like this?! Her MP pool seemed almost entirely too small. Perhaps there was some way to have a deeper pool of it? It would certainly be most helpful if there was some way to do such a thing. Agh, damn...if she had that tainted Mana Crystal she had earlier, perhaps she could use that as some sort of...experimental base, but that would mean she still couldn't do it without relying on a secondary substance.

hm...

For now Ash meditated, refilling her MP. She only got one fast skill progression now. Did that mean shaving off the 'atoms' from the Mana Orb mean she was working on another skill as well? That would be useful, but not entirely helpful right now. Maybe she could somehow change the coloring of the other particles? But how could she do that? Use an outside source? Unhelpful for her current goal. She thought back to the first time her Poison interacted with her Mana. It had been mostly unhelpful. She missed one of the more important processes...but perhaps she was wrong to consider it as such? She did see how the particles moved when naturally introduced to Poison. Perhaps if she could duplicate that...

Exhaling, Ash formed another Mana Orb and activated Mana Vision. Once more she began shaving off the uneeded particles - but this time kept Green, Blue, and Purple. She began forcing several Green and Blue particles into the nucleus, followed by the few gold and red until there were none left. Next she began forcing the remaining Green and Blue particles together, merging and forcing them together as she had observed in her first attempt.

You used Monster Analysis II!
---Goblin---
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.
---Analysis Complete!---

As Danny's Mana Orb formed, growing brighter and denser as he activated its second rank, the goblins began to hesitate. They couldn't see Jason as he floated towards them, full of malice, but watched with wide eyes as Danny stretched the Mana Orb out between his hands. The magic felt surprisingly malleable in the Poltergeist's hands--but keeping it in the shape he had chosen felt like holding a rubber band at full extension. He had to constantly exert an effort to make it keep this form, and the simple cylinder he had created felt as fragile as a flourescent light tube.

But the goblins didn't balk for long. The one holding the spear rushed forward with a cry and tried to stab the small, pale creature before him. Danny swung the "mana stick" to try and block whatever he could, and when the two clashed there was a slight smell of burning wood and an electrical crackle in the air. Danny's shaped spell shattered like glass in his hands, tiny particles of light scattering all around him and quickly dissipating. But it had still knocked the goblin backwards, and he examined his spear for a moment to see that it had been slightly damaged by the exchange. The goblin holding the net began to twirl it, ready for a throw.

Cold like ice passed through its body, and its breath caught in its lungs. The goblin let out a choked gasp. The world went black and white, and Jason once more stood face to face with a goblin in the misty world in-between. As Jason's form shifted between man and slime, an unstable hand clenched towards the goblin. A sparkling trail was drawn from the monster to the ectoslime as Mana Drain activated. The goblin screamed; in the real world, it shook its head and began backing away as it jerked and thrashed.

"Sumpin's got me, sumpin's got me!" it began to cry, distracting its bretheren for a moment. Danny might have a chance to get off an attack if he was quick...

Jason's telepathy sent a loud, echoing wail through the monochrome void, and outside the goblin screamed too and began flailing in the area where Jason floated, even though he couldn't see the spirit. Like pushing away a leaf floating on the water, the contact between them was broken. Jason felt almost as if he were knocked off balance, and would have to pull his ethereal form together again before he could make another assault.

The distraction lasted only a moment. Whatever Danny had done in that short time, now the goblin with a cudgel charged forward and swung hard at the Poltergeist. That thick tree limb looked like it would hurt at least as much as being hit with a baseball bat, if not more...

Ardur The Mighty Hipixie

more crafting > All the armor /// Adventuring day 5 // Morning > Afternoon / Location - Forest

Ardur was working hard at what he was doing trying to be careful and pay attention to what he was doing and making. Trying to get the skill for material analysis while using his crafting I skill. At one point even using Keen Sight I to try to get the skill a little faster. At least the sun was keeping him warm through his prayers.

Occasionally he would glance over at the others still, Asura seemed to be pretty determined to get the skills necessary to be a good tank. Something told him that it would be useful in the time to come. He only stopped working once to heal his slime friend and pet Steve for a moment before continuing.

Once he was finished and looking himself over he smiled, the gear he had now would hopefully keep both of them alive and well for some time now. Putting the bracer over his left arm and the chest piece over his shoulders, he stood there briefly with his hands on his hips. Now all he needed was a good weapon and a helmet.

However before any of that, Asura seemed to want to talk to him or at least mention him. “Hmm? Oh, do not worry about me I was going to meditate for a little while now anyways. If you want to work on more resistances Steve just got Poison Fang I if you want to work on that.” A thought occurred in his head just then and he looked at Steve, “Steve if you can hear this attempt at telepathic communication turn in a circle three times.” He wondered why he had never attempted this before but o well.

“Steve, do what the nice slime asks of you as long as it looks like the other one is okay with it.” It was the last thing he would remark about before leaning against the tree he had been working next to. Slowly he began to work on his breathing, slow and steady, drowning out the sounds around him for a moment. Concentrating only on his breathing while he used Meditate I, sensing all the abundant mana around them and subsequently pulling it into himself.

@Zeroth
@Kazemitsu

---

Miiba, while still hiding behind Lear, peeked around him enough to see the pixie, especially since it was talking to them."Miiba no remember this one. Pixie that Miiba met in cave attack Miiba, but that pixie no talk. This pixie says remembers language....maybe...um." Miiba was a bit perplexed as well, so far, she had thought that she was the only person that was different in this world, but this was odd, and in the same way she was odd to the farmer's family as well. " Um... maybe pixie was person too? Like Miiba?" she said in a questioning tone, a look of confusion as well. "Pixie thing! Remember things from before cave? Like, um, where from? What do?" All the while, Miiba was still too afraid of him to come out from behind Lear.

You used Monster Analysis II!
---Goblin---
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.
---Analysis Complete!---

Okay, so despite their appearances these seemed to be normal Goblins. Honestly that was almost as odd as how easy it felt the get mana into the shape he wanted while also being difficult to keep in that shape. Danny wondered if that meant that mana shape was about to level or if crafting had anything to do with it. He was snapped out of this by his "mana stick" though he did notice the elemental energy escaping from it.

Judging by the net Goblin's reaction Jason probably went after him. Danny used the time to get out the curved stick form his inventory and wondered if this was the same situation as with the frog where Jason seemed to have issue killing his victim. Holding the curved stick in both hand he took a swing at the net wielding goblin, however he just barely noticed that another goblin was coming at him with a cudgel. He quickly moved his wooden stick to intercept the cudgel hoping that by holding it with two hands he was strong enough to at least partially deflect the attack.

---

---

“Oh, no, no, sorry for the confusion, I meant for you to carry the plants, because my jar is full,” Asteria commented, waddling to the Healing Herb and Nullven Cone and stashing it into the mat he’d created. “Also, Nullven is this purple plant that is the key component to creating an anti-venom,” she added, clarifying. She went back to teaching Mother rat to balance and carry her part, and then, they were finally ready to depart. The humans in the village were all gathered together, and their leader (or leaders, if the old woman counted) was present. “Wonder what they’re chatting about,” she muttered out loud. She was almost certain they hadn’t gathered simply to accomplish a ritual, despite them being around the shrine. They just seemed a tad too agitated – perhaps they were simply discussing the mountain explosion. Or perhaps they were as concerned about more Myrmidors arriving as Asteria herself was? Well, if they stayed near enough, she could probably gather enough data by observing them and the goings on to confirm or deny that. The question was if she wanted to. On the one hand, it was technically their fault if the ants attacked, but on the other…the rat trio would be endangered as well, and not just by the insects.

“Yes, water is certainly a priority. The humans, if nothing else, must surely have a source of it. Remember seeing any sort of well? If not, there may be a stream or river nearby. As for the mountains…If nothing more happens to them in a day, I suppose we could assume it was a one-off thing for now and head there if we get fed up with these plains too much.” After that discussion, the conversation died down, and Ed seemed to concentrate on something. They had to go somewhere, but in their situation, both staying too near the humans and straying too far away from the only settlement they’ve encountered so far could present a risk. Most of all, they needed to scout for water. For now, Asteria lead them vaguely toward the east, on the lookout for signs that the villagers might have left of travelling in their direction. If the humans did have to go elsewhere for their water (or whatever other resource), they would have left tracks, perhaps even a visible road if they walked a certain direction often. Though time was not their ally in the search for water (and shelter), splitting up would be just asking for death with how often they were attacked by things. So, they could only rely on their senses to try to smell or hear or see some hints of water. Asteria, however, chose to also use Mana Sense every now and then, because if it had been able to detect wind mana before, then surely there was such a thing as water mana.

---

Torrent stared out at the lingering ice effects on the water before she spun in a circle excitedly. Her celebration was interrupted by the sudden ding and following system message, which caused her to let out a sound of glee.

"System, put two points into Blunt Resistance and the last three into Poison Glob, please and thank you!" she said breathlessly. This was great! Level nine and -

A thought rammed its way into her mind at the thought of numbers. She'd evolved at level five, right? What if she evolved again at level ten? Didn't the system say something before about evolutions down the line?

"System, please display the next evolution level. And evolution options?" she asked tentatively. She'd never tried to use the system before, but it responded when she allocated skill points. So didn't that mean that it could take orders? Or something like that?

What even was this System thing anyways, now that she thought about it? It really was weird, she hadn't had a thing in her head before she died the first time.

Shaking herself as Oberon called out to her, Torrent walked over happily and looked at the thing he had created. He wanted her to hit it? So, maybe some kind of portable shield? Whatever. She tilted her head as she considered what skill would work best for this, and chose to not use a breath attack. Even the ones that were like a stream would be too dangerous.

"Okay, I'm going to use a Glob since I just got it to a new level with that level up. Please make sure to not let it hit you..." she said hesitantly. Moving so that she would fire at an angle, she didn't want to risk the Glob going right through the thing and hitting Oberon (she remembered what a level one version of it had done to a Pixie back in the cave), before she spat out a level 2 Glob at the mana shield.

Out of curiosity, she went ahead and use her magic analysis on the shield before the Glob left her mouth.

As she sat there and watched the results, she thought about what she wanted to learn next. Her thoughts were on the fact that she'd seen Oberon develop some interesting things between this shield thing and that air thing a moment ago. She really should have analyzed that.

"Hey, Obe? I've been doing all these element breath things because it seems useful and it's fun and I was just thinking...Well, I've got water and fog and fire and ice and a mixed poison and fire and air and....What if I could make light but from my mouth? It sounds cool, but I don't know where to start with that. I don't know what Light feels like, exactly, so I don't know how to change the energy. Would you be willing to help? I'd teach you something I know in return if you wanted! Just like the training day!" Her voice lifted slowly as she talked as her excitement started filling over again.

---

@Zeroth@Duthguy

Just as Jason had come to theorize, this strange, colorless, void; the same he had seen when he had consumed Teef, was in reality an 'inner world' of sorts. One that likely existed at the spiritual center of every corporeal being, just outside of whatever was serving as the vessel containing the soul itself. To further note, perhaps a vessel's 'compatibility' with him, was directly related to how easily he could phase into it with [Transparency]. As the violent rejection effect of [Transparency] ejected him back into the real world, Jason was rather unimpressed by the amount of damage it seemed to deal. Quickly the regathering his faculties with a hard shake of his 'head', he charged right back into the goblin's chest! Just like he had previously, Jason used [Transparency] to re-enter that misty world in-between, immediately making a charge for the goblin's spiritual body. As he did so, Jason's form solidified into that of a man as [Mana Drain] activated once more.

Large misty hands reached out to crush the goblin's scrawny throat....

As Ash attempted once more to change the nature of her Mana Orb, she repeated the same process from before. The Mana Orb was created, excess elements she did not want were discarded, she created a nucleus from the purple particles, and tried to find as many of that same type as she could. However, she had left behind other elements this time. Greens, blues, golds, and reds. The first two were in more abundance--there were many golds too, but something told her she didn't need quite so many of these.

The Mana Orb's color became a deeper purple. The green and blue orbs seemed to naturally be drawn towards each other...the gold and red, as well, but their attraction didn't seem as strong.

She began forcing the green and blue squares together in the nucleus. Once she had several of them crammed together, it got hard to pick out specific ones in order to count just how many she had, or how many pairs she could make...then, the particles began merging together! Oscillating lines began to form in the nucleus! But, how many did it take? What order did they merge in? What were the ratios!? How many blues to a green did it take to make purple, or vice versa?!

It began happening too fast for Ash to keep track of, given that she was already splitting her attention between the Mana Orb spell and the Mana Vision spell and this process of shaping and holding her magic in the way that she wanted it. She did know for sure, however, that the blue and green particles were merging to make purple. The purple became more concentrated around the nucleus. The gold and red floated in closer, but were not drawn all the way in, as if they were heavier...or perhaps they had less of a "charge"?

The orb became a deeper purple--but it also stopped glowing so brightly. Instead, the orb seemed to become denser, more solid, more opaque...

A hissing sound emanated from the sphere, followed by fumes that swirled around it. The way it "sat" in Ash's paw suddenly changed--it had shifted from a state close to that of plasma or pure energy, and now seemed like she was holding a bead of liquid of mercury! She couldn't adjust in time, and it fell out of her hand to splash on the floor--!

Splash?

The orb landed, and indeed splashed in a small puddle on the shelter's floor. And it sizzled as it began to eat the layer of dirt over the rocks...

Skill Gain: Poison Splash I (1.0)!
Much like other elemental spells collecting trace elements, surrounding impurities and toxins are synthesized with Mana as a catalyst to produce this sphere of liquid poison. Upon impact, it splashes for a small Area of Effect. It may poison an organic target, and deals corrosive damage to most objects.

Outside, Ash's companions were playing with poison as well. At Oberon's request, Torrent launched a Poison Glob at his still-incomplete Wall. The Lesser Wurm used her Magic Analysis to detect what was going on.

Skill Gain: Blunt Resistance I!
Take less damage from Blunt types of attacks. If you gain the skills for Slash and Pierce Resistance, skill synergy will produce Physical Damage Resistance.

Skill Rank Up: Poison Glob I > Poison Glob II (1.75 > 2.05)!
Stamina Cost increased. Chance to Poison Increased. Damage Increased.

You used Magic Analysis I!
---Wall (Incomplete)---
Oberon is developing the Wall spell. It seems to be focused on creating a wall with Mana for defensive purposes...

TRANSFORMATION STATUS:
Fanged Lizard > Immature Lesserwurm
Known Currently Possible Transformations: 3
1. Adult Lesserwurm**
2. Adolescent Pygmy Drake**
3. Adolescent Kobold <THIS TRANSFORMATION HAS BEEN ALTERED>

Unknown Currently Possible Transformations: 4

As the Glob hit Oberon's Wall, it clearly wasn't big enough to cover all of the poison. What was left dripped over it and hit the ground--hissing loudly as foul smelling fumes spread all around. Oberon could feel the wall rapidly burning away. Not only was Torrent's attack more powerful, it was also a constantly applied form of damage, as the acidic liquid seemed to stick where it had struck on the magically charged structure. But this was too fast, would he really learn anything if the Wall burned away so quickly?!

To make it resist an attack better...the only thing that immediately, instinctively, came to mind in the few seconds he had was just to push harder, to recreate the Wall with more Mana before it could be completely overrun...With one last burst, Oberon focused his energies.

Skill Gain: Wall I (0.9 > 1.0)!
Use a dense field of Mana to create a barrier and repel attacks. This spell requires significantly more MP than many first-rank abilities. But as a result, the Mana is sturdy and can repel or reduce most spells of the same rank to some degree. At this rank, the Wall may only be created within two feet of the caster's body. It may be only created in two dimensional, simple geometric shapes of roughly 1-inch thickness. It cannot cover a total area larger than the caster's body--thus, at this rank it can only defend in one direction at a time. Attempting to cast a second Wall spell will remove the first Wall.

The blue-white square, with gold at its very edges, grew in size! It hardened with a sound like frosting ice, even though it soon began to hiss. It flickered like a hologram as the Poison Glob ate through it--but, in the end, none of the poison got on Oberon himself and a great deal of it had evaporated before the Wall was finally eaten all the way through. Nonetheless, he had done it!

---

All Skills are Progressing. Skill Progression is based on life experiences, environmental adaptation, natural consequence, and higher interventions.

Skill Rank Up: Limited Shapeshift III > Limited Shapeshift IV (3.9 > 4.0)!
Two properties of your body, not including color, temperature, or base material, can now be altered in the same manner outlined at Rank III. Unlike Rank III, these properties can be maintained simultaneously. Your body, or an extension, could become Sharp AND Hard, or gain a Texture while maintaining another property. Your ability to shift fine details with your base form is increased. The ability to shift fine details with extended forms, such as pseudopods, is now the same as the details on the base form from Rank III. If you alter only one property of a form, such as Sharpness, that property is greater than it was at Rank III. Your maximum reach with extensions remains the same. Forms that are most commonly used or associated with earlier Ranks now cost less Stamina to maintain.

Skill Gain: Skewer I (0.9 > 1.0)!
Using Stamina, a single Piercing type attack becomes more powerful!

Skill Gain: Slash I (0.8 > 1.0)!
Using Stamina, a single Slashing type attack becomes more powerful!

LEVEL UP! Your combined experiences have culminated into new power! You are now Level 8! Your Max HP has increased (this will not heal current damage)! Your Max Stamina has increased (this will not restore current stamina)! You gain skill points to distribute as you please!

Unspent Skill Points: 7

Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.86) <CANNOT INCREASE WITH POINTS>
Overwork II (2.0)
Blunt Resistance I (1.95)
Limited Shapeshift IV (4.0)
Smash II (2.25)
Pierce Resistance I (1.5)
Faster I (1.8)
Magic Resistance I (1.1)
Harder I (1.35)
Counter I (1.25)
Cling I (1.2)
Slime Whip I (1.4)
Throw Item I (1.0)
Rabid Fit I (1.0)
Iron Gullet I (1.5)
Monster Analysis I (1.35)
Stamina Furnace I (1.15)
Mental Resistance I (1.0)
Stronger I (1.1)
Slime Shell I (1.25)
Blood Drain I (1.0)
Earth Resistance I (1.05)
Skewer I (1.0)
Slash I (1.0)
<UNUSABLE>
Charisma (0.5)
Dextrous (0.7)
Soil Manipulation (0.6)
Stone Shot (0.55)
Slime Coil (0.4)
Magic Analysis (0.6)
Bounce (0.6)
Muffle (0.3)
Poison Resistance (0.2)
Dash Attack (0.4)
Spiritual Awareness (0.2)
Intimidate (0.3)
First Aid (0.2)
Acid Spit (0.2)
Fire Resistance (0.3)
Water Resistance (0.0125)
Focus (0.4)
Alert (0.3)
Fortify (0.1)
Point Strike (0.3)
Cleave (0.2)
Crafting (0.3)
Acid Spit (0.2)
Material Analysis (0.1)
Telepathy (0.1)
Slash Resistance (0.8)
Defender (0.1)

As Asura's self-made Karambit pierced his slimy flesh, then cut deep, he felt the blade's path suddenly become more smooth. Two more skills appeared, although the System still didn't seem to understand what he was asking it. After Ardur's healing, he was back to full HP again. While practicing his shapeshifting, his torso looked flabby and didn't seem to stand up properly without putting a lot of effort into it--had he fully formed each different piece correctly? The human body was a conglomeration of so many working parts, did he have the anatomical knowledge to mentally envision, and then recreate, each specific part?

Nonetheless, however, as he formed the last finger of the last hand he suddenly felt as if something clicked. He looked like a crash dummy...but a properly made crash dummy, at the very lesat. He still wouldn't pass for human to anything with eyes, not even in baggy clothes or a cloak, but...it was more than good enough that he could, perhaps with practice, use a weapon or tool...

Then, the System informed him of another Level Up!

Meanwhile, with his items completed, Ardur attempted to communicate with Steve telepathically. As he thought intensely at her, the spider turned and tilted her head as if listening for something. She did not, however, turn three times in a circle. But whenever he spoke to her verbally, she seemed to understand. And she seemed to be able to get some kind of general "feeling" of what he wanted sometimes--she would often help in battle without being told, she had followed him about during that whole debacle in the cave with Jason, and so on. So did the Taming Bond have to get to a higher Rank in order for them to communicate mind-to-mind? Or would the Hipixie need to forge himself a new skill?

As he meditated, the southern winds died down. Clouds passed overhead, obscuring the sun for just a few moments. It didn't seem like it was going to rain or anything--the wind had just picked up, for whatever reason. The weather was pleasant, for now anyway. The group still hadn't moved much...would they return to the hole they had enlarged once night came upon the land?

It would take several minutes for Ardur's mana to be fully restored. As of yet, no other creature had approached the four of them. Momma Slime still seemed deep in thought about something...and while Asura was still pondering his latest level up, Steve once again walloped him with her stone flail.

---

Current Skills:
Beast Sense II (2.75)
Rabid Fit I (1.9)
Stronger I (1.65)
Muffle II (2.275)
Use Light Equipment (--)
Alert I (1.15)
Faster I (1.05)
Harder I (1.0)
Dynamic Eye I (1.1)
Smash I (1.3)
Dextrous I (1.1)
Monster Analysis I (1.25)
Overwork I (1.3)
<UNUSABLE>
Material Analysis (0.5)
Magic Analysis (0.9)
Warcry (0.7)
Tremor Sense (0.05)
Mental Resistance (0.9)
Telepathy (0.1)
Mana Shape (0.7)
Focus (0.8)
Shield (0.5)
Mana Shell (0.4)
Soil Manipulation (0.7)
Crafting (0.6)
First Aid (0.1)
Meditate (0.4)
People Sense (0.3)
Plant Analysis (0.2)
Swift Swimmer (0.4)
Charm (0.025)
Repel (0.025)
Stealth Kill (0.3)
Blunt Resistance (0.1)
Prehensile Tail (0.5)
Mana Strike (0.6)
Minor Heal (0.05)
Iron Gullet (0.4)
Taming (0.1)
Suppress Presence (0.5)
Use Medium Equipment (0.4)
Inspire (0.2)
Point Strike (0.3)
Strengthen (0.3)
Pierce Resistance (0.2)
Double Skill (0.1)
Deception (0.2)
Lucid Dream (0.2)

For now, it seemed that while giving the village a wide berth, the rats would move to the East. Ed sniffed for water, and Asteria did the same but also used her Mana Sense in the hopes that perhaps a large body of water would produce similarly charged magical energy.

Water itself did not truly have a "sense." What even a human nose could detect, however, was the amount of moisture in the air. Perhaps the sea would have the smell of salt and fish, or a stagnant pond could carry the scent of algae and decay, but most of the time the first indicator of significant amounts of water was the increase in moisture and, perhaps, a change in barometric pressure. The rats' noses, being much more sensitive than that of a human, were thus much more capable of detecting even slight changes...

There was definitely water somewhere in the village, but it would very likely be too close to where the people were gathered. Nonetheless, simple tribal peoples like this had to have a well of some sort if they had permanent houses. None of the structures they had built looked nomadic in nature.

There was...just the faintest hint of water. They could only detect it when the breeze blew a certain way, or if they poked their head much higher than was probably safe above the grass stalks. It was coming from the south. However, there was also something else in the air...dust? Sand? Whatever it was, it made one sneeze.

Towards the east, away from the village, they caught a much stronger scent. Yes, this was definitely water. And they couldn't see it even with their enhanced senses, so it had to be far away, a few miles at the least. Yet for it to be this strong...did that mean it was a significantly large body of water, like a lake? Surely they weren't close to the edge of whatever continent they were on already...?

They were also on the lookout for a road, or a path. And as they continued east, they soon found such--an actual dirt road! It had proper ditches dug on either side of it, and looked well worn. There were even ruts from the passage of carts, and hoofprints from livestock or horses of some sort! All the tracks were dry and shallow, so whatever had passed here hadn't done so recently...the path headed further to the east, but also had just the slightest gradation towards the north...

---

As Danny clashed with the cudgel wielding goblin, he found that despite being the shorter of the two, he was actually ever-so-slightly stronger than the Goblin! However, Danny's chubby body did not have any of the coordination of the greenskin, nor was he faster. This greater speed and...somewhat better technique, allowed the impish savage to clash evenly with the Poltergeist. They were both forced a step back.

But now the spear wielding Goblin was coming in hard and fast to stab at Danny, and he was still off balance--an attempt to strike back again would be too awkward and slow! What else could he do!?

Meanwhile, Jason continued to harass the net-toting Goblin. As he once again slammed his spiritual form into its physical one, their wrestling match moved into Limbo. Jason's misty hands wrapped around the goblins' throat--

"Yore name gonna be Kakky Oin." He had lived long enough to get a name! The tribe elder handed him a net and a fishing spear. "Youse big 'nuff now ta catch fish--so gets out dere!" The bearded goblin--Jason couldn't help but think of it as peach fuzz, from his perspective--kicked him into the water, and he spluttered as he went down. But Jason remembered this, he had been taught to swim just last week! He struggled to paddle, but when he felt the soft mud under his toes he managed to kick off the ground. He emerged from the water, gasping for breath--

A birth, many others, lots of brothers and sisters. A tribe by a river. Fish, fish, more fish, all there was to eat was fish, but there was a lot of fish. Had to get bigger, stronger, bigger! Jason remembered all of it, it was all flashing through his mind...because he was dying, right? This thing had him and it was killing him, he had to summon up all his will and fight back before his enemy killed him! He needed to push the thing away, not keep squeezing--!

---

You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.
You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.
You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.

Skill Gain: Magic Analysis I (1.0)!
You may now analyze magical energies or objects to learn their most basic magical characteristics. Less effective on Materials and Monsters unless they are magical in nature.

You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.

As Femus tried to replicate the Shield spell, he first simply tried to spread his Mana around himself. When the spherical aura that formed failed to trigger anything as a clear effect, he thought more deeply about what he was trying to emulate. As he shaped the energy again, he tried to make it push outward, to resist any incoming force. However, it seemed that maintaining an aura like this was quite draining. When he felt his MP had dropped significantly he returned to meditating.

For now, it seemed the Wisp was actually going to just ignore the wild pixie that had showed up...Instead, he became caught up in his thoughts and theories on magic. Another attempt to produce a Shield was followed by an experiment with his Mana Orbs. Could he produce some kind of charge, that would explode on impact? Could he change the elemental nature of the Orb solely by his will? He used his memories, his imagination, and his will as the fuel to visualize heat, burning, speed and more. He tried to compress the orbs, tried to imagine them doing as he wished.

The change was so subtle, Femus might not have even noticed. The white glow of the Mana Orb took on a slightly yellow hue. And a warm tingle prickled his body, causing the tiny, filament like hairs all over him to stand up and wave, like he had been rubbed with a rubber balloon...

As he pondered the nature of Magic, however, the System suddenly announced that he had gained a new Skill! It had only done this a few times since he woke up in this world...and until now, he hadn't yet gained one of these "Fast Skill Progress" notices. What could that mean?

Meanwhile, Nira practiced Meditation the exact way that Femus had told her--and even strove to improve on it. She could actually feel her mana as it increased, much more rapidly than it had in the past save for the times when she used the Blue Yill flowers. But she hadn't been casting that many spells today--her MP was soon full all the way to the top! She began to try and draw more Mana into her body...then, she noticed the giggling visitor.

Flying after the wild pixie as it flitted about, she attempted to communicate. A meaningless chitter, meant only as a sound that might come across as happy or non-hostile, caused the other fairy to turn and look at her curiously. Then it laughed, putting its tiny hands over its mouth. Flitting over towards Nira, the other pixie pointed at the hollow in the tree--or more accurately, at Femus inside it. Then the tiny fey flew in several loops around Nira, before gesturing towards Femus again and then waving its fist aggressively with a maniacal grin...

---

"Hmm..." Lear seemed to believe Miiba, but rubbed his chin thoughtfully for several moments. Finally he crossed his arms and sighed.

"Alright, Pixie. I'll help you--but before I bring you into my home, you'll answer her questions." He pointed to Miiba. "And one more of mine. If your story is like Miiba's...then, do you know why you two are like this?"

In the skies behind them, a white hawk appeared in the sky and began to circle. It was heading for the farmhouse, weaving in and out of the smoke column slowly rising from the chimney. For now, the rest of the forest had calmed--Scott must have lost those goblins, and no other creatures had emerged from the wilderness.

---

"Okay... time to put the book down for just a moment." Digbie said to himself, doing exactly what he just thought. It was time for him to make a decision regarding what to do. He didn't really mind possibly crossing paths with the creature in the cave, as he felt now more than ever that he could reliably defend himself alone if threatened. That being said, possibly avoiding a tangle would be a good idea, just so he could conserve his energy for the time being, if only for a little bit.

With that, Digbie put his book back in his bag, reached down to pull off his sandals (just temporarily) and he looked at the stream. He waded across it once before, and he felt confident he could do it again with little problem. That being said, while he was in the stream there'd be no doubt that his Tremor Sense probably would pick up on the current, so turning it off for the moment wasn't a terrible idea for Mana Conservation, though he kept it on in case there was a new sudden dip in the stream as he walked. He'd hopefully be able to see it if he did.

With everything set, Digbie stepped forward and began to wade through the stream. Just in case, the Demiblin used Earth Wall to block himself from feeling the full blast of the current. With every step he took, he stayed vigilant and careful. He really didn't want to have to sling a Mana Orb at something before he got back.

If he got to the other side safely, he'd put his sandals back on, pull his book back out, and keep reading it for all the knowledge he could.

---

---

"Ah..." Ash watched the ball of liquid poison fall to the ground, sizzling into nothing against the rocky floor. Had she...succeeded? The Pygmy drake held her claws to her muzzle, giggling like a child at Christmas, unable to contain her excitement. Oh how wonderful! So That was it. Blue and Green made purple. That is, Blue and Green made poison type magic. From what she could already surmise, it was made of Water and Earth-type magic? Curious. Maybe she should mess with non composite types before trying anything else. See what exactly each type of mana was before creating more 'new' types.

But for now, Ash held out her claw again, forming another ball of liquid venom. Focusing on it, she used Mana Sense, Mana Vision, and Magic Analysis on her newly made Poison Splash spell to more thoroughly analyze it, to get as much information about it she could possibly use. The more information she had, the better.

Now then...

She should likely regain her mana before doing anything else, but first, there was something she was curious about she hadn't experimented too much with.

"...System, show EXP, Status, Skill List, and Evolution paths." If this whole system thing was like a computer, it should reasonably work just like one. She wasn't quite so well versed in them, but she was used to working with systems of operation and such, so it shouldn't be too farfetched to assume this system behaved similarly. There should be a way to view the lists separately outside of simply Leveling up and Evolution.

Once she received her information, Ash considered Meditating to regain her mana. It was well and good to be able to use it to regain her Mana, but the stipulation it can't be used during strenuous activity was still a bit of a concern. Maybe there was some other way to strengthen it? In some cultures in her old world, meditation could mean a number of different things, and covered a wide range of dissimilar practices. Ugh, she should have paid more attention in her history classes. Perhaps...Yoga of some sort could help the meditation with some small exercises?

As Ash meditated, she focused on making small movements. A Stretching her body, much like a cat and holding the pose for a few seconds. Stretching her forearms back so they were straining against their natural positions, holding it a few seconds before releasing, and repeating with her hind legs. She would do this small practice until her MP was full. It wasn't likely she'd see any effects for now, but it may prove useful later.

Once her MP had returned to full, Ash reformed her Mana Orb. During her previous experimentation, something curious happened while she shaved the particles away from her Mana Orb, making certain to use Mana Vision to get a clear picture. Then began fusing with the ambient mana around her, as best she could assume for now. So why not see what that did? Particle by particle, Ash began removing the mana particles from the Mana Orb she had formed, discarding them into the environment around her.