// a quiet stroll through the forest >> Scouting and new faces //
Agar stopped dead in his tracks at the notification he received. It looked oddly familiar to what he had seen when he first came here but didn’t quite understand what he was seeing, ingest skill or continue biomass accumulation. Strange options in a strange world. He thought about what it said about skills and wondered what exactly would be the best option. Ultimately, he decided to keep eating the rubbery exterior of the slime with the expectation that he would likely get the opportunity to find more slimes in the future for his tool ideas.
He continued to walk and think; his steps were slow and precise. Each step just on the ball of his feet, minimizing surface area and occasionally glancing down to map out his path through the forest. This was how he would stalk prey in Montana while hunting. Not slow enough so that he was tip toeing but definitely not rushing through the forest either. His eyes darted around his surroundings while he kept himself deliberately a little lower to minimize his presence the best he could. He knew this bodies reflexes and muscles were not ready for this but practice makes perfect. Occasionally still eating the slime to see if the assimilation rate rose with it.
Then he suddenly started to hear and see another smaller group of Runts patrolling the forest as well. They seemed a little beat up but determined to keep pressing further uphill from the direction he was going. He didn’t hide himself but he did observe them and what they had, noticing the leaves meant for a simple bandage and the smell of ash and barbeque. He waved to them and a sudden realization occurred to him, he wasn’t too sure who else may be came from the same world he did but he could always try to nonchalantly do something that would or could show them that he was reborn.
This idea was not something he intended to do towards the adults but figured he could brush off the attempt to just being weird towards the other runts. He decided on using a reference from his kids favorite animated movies. Looking at them with a slight glare as he chewed on the last bits of slime in his hand.
“any of ya seen Shrek or donkey around?”
Taking another bite of his slime and looking towards them inquisitively, a pang of sadness crossed his mind for a moment with the thought of his children but he couldn't linger on it. He honestly didn’t want to join the other runts he wanted to continue to scout the area. He wanted to bring back more than one kill hoping that the head warrior would see that although he was selfish for eating for himself first but still had enough smarts to look out for the tribe and its wellbeing. He doubted it for some reason but for now he would wait to see how this group reacted.
<< Current Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole. Hunt Selected: Random Inventory: Slime membrane, loincloth, stick, sharp rock Location: Into the forest <<
You’ve Attempted to Craft! Tools Used: Charcoal, Sharp Rock Process: Curing, Tanning Material: Rough Tatzelwurm Hide, Tatzelwurm Fang
… Result: You’ve Crafted: Tatzel Sash! The quality of this item is undetermined.
Consumed: Cooked Tatzelwurm Meat You are Well Fed. Your HP and SP recovery rate is temporarily boosted. Activate [Ingestion: Tatzelwurm] (Y/N)? Approximate Ingestion: 0 > 20% Current Ingestion: Tatzelwurm - 20% Ingestible Skills [Tatzelwurm]:
[Slash]
[???] - Further Progress Required.
[???] - Further Progress Required.
Ingest Skill? OR Continue Biomass Accumulation?
Though the Runts weren’t familiar with all the faces of the Orc tribe, they would know the big players from simple observation during their time as babies—even if those memories now seemed subordinate to those from their human lives. Thus, Ushnekh was able to find his way to the Shaman’s home after his satisfying meal.
The orc camp, nestled between the mountains and cliffs, had a few dwellings in the form of natural caves carved into the rocky walls by time and elements. Usually only the stronger or more renown monsters lived in these, with the rest being forced to make do with tents and teepees—in the case of some poor Grunts, it was the best they could do to make an A-frame shelter with a bed of leaves. But the Shaman enjoyed a rather cozy home by comparison: the cave itself was set at an angle to a curved rock face, and the lean-to had been built as an extension of sorts. It was similar, perhaps, to a covered patio or porch built as an add-on to a human house. A few of the Shaman’s personal belongings and knicknacks could be seen around the corner of the stone entry, but the outer area seemed to serve as her “workshop,” or ritual area…maybe even a lab? It was hard to peg exactly what she was doing here at the moment.
Under the shade of several stretched out pelts between the support posts, Yambagorn stood in front of a small table made from stacking a long, flat rock on top of some timber sections. On this table, a small brazier full of fresh red coals seemed to be roasting a batch of nuts. And below the small, black-iron pot that held the nuts, a blackened wooden tube collected some kind of oil dripping out of the shells and through a series of small holes in the pot. A wooden cutting board held the finely-chopped remains of red-and-green capped mushrooms, and the shaman had just finished cleaning her knife as Ushnekh approached. Without looking at the Runt, she slammed it into one of the nearby wooden posts and let it hang there, quivering.
The female orc turned and retrieved a bowl of something from on top of a wooden barrel with her thin, leather-skinned arms. The wooden bowl seemed to hold some kind of grass or herb, which she began smashing to paste with a stone pestle between her gnarled fingers. Then she looked up at the approaching Ushnekh, her rheumy eyes taking his figure in before she snorted with what might have been amusement.
“So, ya furst hunt be goin’ well, den? Good, good.” She sat down on a seat made from a tree stump, and continued to grind the herbs. “Good ting ya ain’t be hurt, too. Medicine ain’t ready yet.” She gestured with her weak chin and wobbling neck towards another stump. “But ya lookin’ like ya got tings ta ask. Dat’s good, Runt.” She gave Ushnekh a gummy smile, before she snorted and hacked a big loogi between her feet.
Fully Consumed: Slime Membrane Current Ingestion: Slime - 75% All Ingested Skills have been detected! Choose ONE:
[Blunt Damage Resistance]
[Danger Scan]
[Scavenge]
As he chewed, Agar quietly moved through the forest while trying to acclimate his new body to the same stealthy movements he had once been used to. As he left behind the other group of Runts, he now found himself alone…and as he pressed deeper into the trees, the sounds of the forest began to reach him. Indeed, if so many Runts had been stomping around until now, the local wildlife had probably been pretty wary. But now, since he was by himself and making far less noise, he could pick up the ambient signals all around him.
Leaves rustled. Birds called in the distance. Every so often, the trees groaned and sighed under the wind.
And then, something ahead and above of Agar made a sound. He probably wouldn’t have picked up on it if he hadn’t been walking so quietly himself—it was as subtle as a squirrel moving in the branches. But it wasn’t a squirrel. He only caught a glimpse of it, as it passed between a gap in the canopy, but it was enough that he could follow its movement further across two trees.
It was the same kind of snake-cat creature that the other Runt had been carrying, right after they made that big cracking noise in the other part of the forest. So that meant it was what they called a Tatzelwurm. However, this one had its back to Agar even as it lowered itself down from branch to branch. Its gaze was intensely focused on something in front of it…and soon, Agar could see exactly what the Tatzelwurm saw.
A corpse of some unlucky animal lay on the ground, already half consumed by whatever had killed it and now in the stages of decomposition. But right next to that corpse, another creature was hunched, tearing off strips of the rotted flesh with clawed limbs and bringing them to a gobbling mouth. It had leathery, batlike wings folded close to its body, and only two legs/arms/whatever one might call them. Maybe this was what some of the older Orcs had called…A Harpy?
Whatever it was, the Tatzelwurm was intensely focused on the creature. The harpy, for its part, was unaware it was being stalked. The tatzelwurm moved much like Agar now, slow and silent, its coils gripping the lowest branch that hung not too far over the harpy’s backside.
A scavenger, being ambushed, by an ambusher that was being tracked by an orc runt. Now, would Agar try to take his rightful place in the food chain, or…?
You’ve Attempted to Craft! Tools: Sharp Stone Process: Knapping Materials: Tiny Tatzelwurm Bones
…Result: You’ve crafted: Bone Shards x3! Small bones splintered into sharp pieces. Though there’s no hole for a needle or threat, they could be used for sewing. They could also serve as a fragile arrowhead or fishhook, or be thrown like small darts.
Acquired Materials: Petrified Fragment Rotleaves x3 Rotleaf Seedpods x2
…Result: Your attempt failed. Some materials were damaged in the attempt: Cracked Tatzelwum Coilbone x1
As Vola munched on the leftovers of her shared kill with Gren, she also looked around the clearing for anything useful and tried to make use of the materials they already had. Before the group departed for the North Caves, she was able to find the same foul smelling, black colored plant that Esfir had and gather a few of the nasty looking leaves and seedpods from it. But she also found something else:
One particular tree at the edge of the clearing didn’t stand out much from the others, save for one thing. A branch had been broken off its trunk at some point, and seemed to have further broken down into multiple pieces on the ground where it landed. But something about these fragments of wood caught her eye, and when she picked it up, she found it was more like a piece of petrified wood than anything green or dried. Upon looking at the place where the wood had fallen off the original tree, she found that rather than splinters or peeling bark, the place where the branch had broken was also slightly petrified…as if rather than growing new bark over the wound, the parent tree had instead been covered with a layer of rock. The rock also blended almost imperceptibly with the still-growing trunk, its bark the same beige and gray mix of colors and of a similar roughness to plain stone.
But before she could investigate further, one of the other Runts called her. It was time to go.
Gren’s last crafting experiment, making a sling, didn’t work out quite as planned—though the Coilbone was quite flexible, it still had sections of harder bone or cartilage, whatever the stuff was made of, and thus it didn’t quite flex the way a normal rope would. He was able to get it into the shape of a sling well enough, and it even released his first test rock with some decent force. But the knots didn’t hold, and the whipping motion caused something in the fatty joints to pop loudly. The spinal cord might’ve worked better as a sort of chain, only moving along one axis of flexion, rather than a freely twisting rope. Or maybe it was just his clumsy knot tying. Given the damage he’d already incurred, though, it might be risky to try re-tying it. Besides, they had to go… On their way, the group passed another Runt, who seemed to be chewing on something. So far, it looked like very few of them had managed to resist the urge to go ahead and eat their first kills, despite what the Head Warrior had told them about bringing their prey back in one piece. Then again, by the standards of Orc society, they were all still foolhardy youngsters, after all.
Or…if other Runts were like them, reincarnated humans, maybe everyone had the same idea about experimenting to find out what skills they could get?
In any case, though the other Runt had something unusual to say, he didn’t seem intent on joining their group and soon disappeared back into the brush. So they continued to the North Caves. Once they had arrived in the valley, and taken in all its sights, the “leader” of their little group suddenly spoke up.
“There are many of us now. Split into teams, and search thoroughly.” Esfir said in that no-nonsense way of hers. “Remember, we fight from ambush. Retreat if outmatched; if you’re in danger…” She thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Scream loud.” Then, she pointed—not towards the incredibly obvious cave, but towards the rocky walls on the other side of the valley. “I’ll go this way. Don’t want something following behind us as soon as we enter that.”
And then suddenly, each of them received a message.
Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole
Kill a Creature
Ingested New Creature: Elwet
Learned Skill: Fire Bolt
Explored Areas: Orc Camp, Forest, North Caves
LEVEL UP! Choose ONE:
Increase HP (Health)
Increase MP (Magic)
Increase SP (Stamina)
Gain 1 Skill Rank Point
Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole
Kill a Creature
Ingested New Creature: Elwet
Learned Skill: Fire Bolt
Explored Areas: Orc Camp, Forest, North Caves
LEVEL UP! Choose ONE:
Increase HP (Health)
Increase MP (Magic)
Increase SP (Stamina)
Gain 1 Skill Rank Point
Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole
Kill a Creature
Ingested New Creature: Elwet
Learned Skill: Murderous Intent
Explored Areas: Orc Camp, Forest, North Caves
LEVEL UP! Choose ONE:
Increase HP (Health)
Increase MP (Magic)
Increase SP (Stamina)
Gain 1 Skill Rank Point
Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole
Kill a Creature
Ingested New Creature: Tatzelwurm
Crafted New Items: Short Spear, Spear Thrower
Explored Areas: Orc Camp, Forest, North Caves
LEVEL UP! Choose ONE:
Increase HP (Health)
Increase MP (Magic)
Increase SP (Stamina)
Gain 1 Skill Rank Point
Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole
Sometimes you could look at something and it would just scream ‘danger’ to you. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was just plain common sense, as much as people seemed to lack the latter at times; you would just look at something and that little lizard part of your brain at the base of your skull would tell you to stay away.
That’s how Akeno felt looking at the entrance to the cave.
And as much as she wanted to claim it was due to some special instinct of her part, she was pretty sure this was one of those times when it was just common sense.
Why they were walking all this way to try and hunt something they knew nothing about besides a cryptic warning when there were plenty of easier things to hunt closer to camp she didn’t know. It hadn’t been her choice to do so and she had long passed over any chance to voice a proper opposition to the idea by now. Esfir was leading this party and the old Orc had decided they were going to do this, so Akeno had to abide by that for now. They were going to split their group of five into teams, search the area and ambush anything they found; meanwhile, Esfir was going to cover their backs?
Sure.
Akeno looked towards the cave again, the very ominous, dark and imposing cave, and let out a sigh. “Okay. If we’re really doing this and if there really is something in there for us to fight, then I can only see two ways of going about this. Either we go into the dark were it is…” She raised a hand and extended a finger to point directly at the mouth of the cave. “… or we lure it out to where we are.” The Orc jabbed her finger towards the ground in front of her. “I vote for the second one.”
Lowering her hand, Akeno looked around at the others to gauge their reactions. “Even if it’s asleep right now we still need to light torches so we can see and if that doesn’t wake them then the five of us stumbling around will.” Her old body had been athletic and with that she supposed came a certain amount of coordination, but that didn’t mean she trusted herself to be able sneak around in the dark without making a sound. Her new body was not athletic and she was sure she would make some noise if she tried.
She didn’t even bother to ask if the others thought they could.
“Even if we could sneak up on it, we don’t know what it is, how many there are or if we could kill it before it wakes up. If things go bad, there’s only one way out and we’d have to hope it isn’t faster than us. But if we can set up an ambush out here and then lure it out into the open, we can at least see what we’re fighting and it’ll be up to us where and when we fight. And we’ll have an easier time escaping if we need to run.”
Somewhere in the middle of her proposal a new message appeared in whatever video game-esque system they were working with. They’d levelled up; some combination of the fight, learning a new skill and maybe exploring new areas had given them enough experience to hit a new milestone. Looking over the options presented, Akeno weighed her choice before committing to one.
I’ll take the stamina upgrade. It’ll let me use my skills for longer and maybe it’ll help me run away when this mess goes bad.
“Okay. If we’re really doing this and if there really is something in there for us to fight, then I can only see two ways of going about this. Either we go into the dark were it is…” She raised a hand and extended a finger to point directly at the mouth of the cave. “… or we lure it out to where we are.” The Orc jabbed her finger towards the ground in front of her. “I vote for the second one.”
“Even if it’s asleep right now we still need to light torches so we can see and if that doesn’t wake them then the five of us stumbling around will.”
“Even if we could sneak up on it, we don’t know what it is, how many there are or if we could kill it before it wakes up. If things go bad, there’s only one way out and we’d have to hope it isn’t faster than us. But if we can set up an ambush out here and then lure it out into the open, we can at least see what we’re fighting and it’ll be up to us where and when we fight. And we’ll have an easier time escaping if we need to run.”
Ah.
Before she could respond with any sort of comment or thoughts of her own, Lazash got another message from this "SYSTEM" that was keeping up with them. Like it was some kind of video game they were living in, as it were, or some kind of digital simulation. Yet it was and felt and had been real enough for them as it was thus far.
Hmm. Curious. Whatever the case, she had to choose something for an upgrade before they did anything else. Esfir was striking it out off on her own, and the rest of them were left to deal with the cave and their quarry. They needed to get moving.
Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole
Kill a Creature
Ingested New Creature: Elwet
Learned Skill: Fire Bolt
Explored Areas: Orc Camp, Forest, North Caves
LEVEL UP! Choose ONE:
Increase HP (Health)
Increase MP (Magic)
Increase SP (Stamina)
Gain 1 Skill Rank Point
She would choose Increase MP (Magic) in this case. No use ranking up a skill if it cost too much to use potentially, in the case of her Fire Bolt at least, and next level she could see if a skill rank point might empower her analysis skill to boot. Well, such felt like a good plan for now unless the situation changed and she had to adapt with it. It paid to be....flexible, as it were. Yet now she felt she had a chance to speak, and would pipe up finally after her own bit of silence.
"I agree, Akeno, it would be far more advantageous to bring whatever is in there to us. Torches are also a wise decision if we head inside. However, I propose an idea for how we lure out whatever lies inside since we've no idea if it eats meat or not.
I suggest one or two of us go in and lure it out. Make noise, throw rocks from the ground, roar, seem like predators entering the cave, and even in my case fling out a Fire Bolt to try to disturb whatever is in there. Make whatever is in there panic and flee out of the cave or make it angry enough to pursue us to where the ambush await just outside of the cave."
Akeno's plan was agreeable and sound, but she felt that the method of bringing out whatever was in there would be the key then. And that hadn't been addressed as of yet either. Yet they had no idea if these creatures were carnivorous or hebivorous, ate insects or were willing to devour Orc runts like themselves, etc. In that vein, something like a bat might spook and try to fly out whilst something like a bear....well, that would be a far different story maybe.
"In that vein I volunteer myself for heading inside to draw attention or stir things up or lure them out. Well, unless just one other individual here would wbe willing to come inside with me to do this."
Groggy panic, if such a thing was viable, felt like a good state to impair a prey animal's senses and mental faculties. Or even just making it groggy and angry and suddenly awoken from its slumber. Either way make it act on instinct and have to do so fast. Not the safest plan, but it felt reliable enough. The female Orc Runt also had faith in being able to make a mess and ruckus going in there, draw attention or cause a panic or such, and at that be able to analyze whatever was living in there if she got the chance. Another individual would make the ruckus they could stir up that much louder and potentially more effective as well, but reallly wasn't nessecary since she could do it alone if needed.
The sooner they got started, though, the sooner they could have their kill and bring it back to complete the quest. If it was multiple smaller creatures, then, it would perhaps be optimal for them all in such a case. One big kill from a group might not fulfill the quest, for all she knew, but it would be worth a shot if thhey managed it before it got late enough in the day that whatever was in there woke up properly.
Current Location: North Caves Current Activity: Strategizing with Akeno @King Cosmos, Helping Gren @Lucius Cypher, Grunthor @Kazemitsu, and Lazash @Crusader Lord and searching the surroundings for vines. Mentioned Agar @ReusableSword As the notification popped up infront of Vola’s eyes she gave a considering hum. So that’s how the skill accumulation works. Interesting. There are other skills available as well, however they would require eating more and she was unsure of how long they had to continue lingering here.…Sighing slightly, she decided to put off choosing ‘Slash’ for now. Firstly because she was curious about what the other options were, but also because she was unsure whether or not there’s a limit to the amount of skills they can get and if there was, she’d like to try and get some that will work well with Rune Scribe. In other news, while not exactly what she had in mind, the Bone Shards that she made turned out pretty well!
She’s also sure that the Rotleaves and Seedpods will come in handy! What really caught her attention though, was the Petrified Fragment…what could possibly cause this kind of phenomenon? Magic? A skill? Another creature? Nature? None of the books she read in her past life offers an explanation unless she’s willing to consider a basilisk/medusa who affects plants, but she hasn’t reached that point yet. She desperately wanted to investigate further, but the group was moving on, so it was with a mournful heart that she simply pocketed a piece and followed, promising herself that she’d try to ask some of the older orcs about this back at camp. There should at least be one who’d be willing to show off their vast knowledge to a starry-eyed runt?
Meeting the lone Runt on the way to the North Caves was unexpected, but not nearly as much as the words that came out of his mouth. Unless she was mistaken, he had just made a legitimate Shrek reference! Does this mean that he was reborn as well? Were there others? Were any of the Runts she was currently with reborn as well? Was Gren reborn as well? WHY DIDN’T SHE CONSDER THIS POSSIBILITY EARLIER???!!!! Unfortunately, the lone runt didn’t seem to be all that eager to join them and her current group was already moving out, so there wasn’t a lot of time for her internal debates. At the very least she should say something so that he’d know that he wasn’t alone. Giving him a slight smile she responded quietly “They’re probably at the swamp, though I also heard them talking about onions and layers the other day.” That said she gave a friendly nod before following after the others once more.
The North Caves were suitably impressive and Vola took a second to take in its appearance as the leader of the group that she and Gren joined departed. A little strange, but understandable, Vola was feeling a little apprehensive herself just looking at the cave’s dark looming mouth. Thankfully, she was swiftly distracted by a notification telling her that she gained a level and after a few minutes of deliberation, she decided to increase her MP since she might have to use it when utilising her skill later on. That done, she placed her full attention on the others as they started strategizing the best way to approach the cave.
Akeno and Lazash both raised good points and had some solid ideas for the cave that Vola readily agreed with. The only problem came with who would go with Lazash to draw the creatures out. Gren’s arm was still injured and the other male orc – Grunthor, had suffered a head injury earlier as evidenced by all the blood, so she didn’t feel right making them go in and she had a feeling that Akeno would have more of an impact out here during a fight than she would, which only left Vola herself. That honestly scared her a little, but she can’t just mooch off of the others. Vola needs to earn her keep! Taking a subtle breath to compose herself, she gave a bright smile and raised her hand.
“I’ll go with you! I can whistle really loudly, which should travel nicely in the cave, and maybe we can use some of the Rotleaves and their seedpods to also mess with their sense of smell to disorient them further?” Giving a considering look at the size of the cave opening, Vola gave a quick scan of the clearing for anything that resembles a vine. “Do you think there are any vines nearby? If we find any you guys could stretch it in front of the cave and we can use it to trip or tangle up whatever heads outside?”
Current Skills:
Ingestion - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.
Rune Scribe - Rank I - Isekai Skill. Normally, this Skill requires the User to be capable of at least one other Magic Skill. Use a personal writing system to imbue magical effects. At Rank I, the scribed Rune has only half the effectiveness of the original Spell and fades after 1 day. (For example, one could use this with a piece of parchment to produce a consumable Scroll of Fire Bolt--or place the Rune somewhere in the environment with certain spells to create a sort of booby-trap.)
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Equipment and Inventory:
Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.
Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown.
Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.
Stone Hatchet - Equip, Weapon/Tool - Gren has it.
Tungem Leaf x4 – Material – Can be used to make a Leaf Compress
Bone Shards x3 - Equip, Weapon/Tool – Small bones splintered into sharp pieces. Though there’s no hole for a needle or threat, they could be used for sewing. They could also serve as a fragile arrowhead or fishhook, or be thrown like small darts.
// Scouting and new faces >>> The Stalking Stalker Stalked the Stalker as it Stalked //
Agar thought about the options given to him for a moment and picked one that he thought would benefit his survival the best in the long run knowing he could probably get the others later. Agar chose [Blunt Damage Resistance] figuring that it would most likely give him the best chances for survival especially with his current crazy idea. Watching the cat snake thing slowly advance on its prey he too watched and mimicked some of its movements. He took careful consideration as to what branches and plants it skipped over as he looked to improve his own abilities while watching the worm.
Slowly he balanced the sick in his right hand using his left arm to help him maintain his balance but held in a way that he could grip his stick with both hands for a powerful blow. Every step was carful, slow, and calculated. Eyes glimpsing down to find the best foot holds while also maintaining a visual on the two creatures. He wanted to get within striking distance even if he had to take a few steps first, but more importantly he wanted to see how this Tatzelwurm hunted and attacked its prey.
If he was lucky he was sure that he would be able to take both of these beasts back with him. His heart seemed like it was pounding in his chest but he knew it was just the ever-encroaching feeling of adrenaline. Even with this he pushed away his brute orcish instincts to wait and learn what he could from this predator of the forest so that he may learn and possibly not fall victim to it as well. With this in mind Agar activated his skill [Field Scan I], it didn’t make any sound before so if it did make them aware of his presence he would know for the next time.
At the very least he knew that there was possibly more than a few other reincarnated here with him that he could try to talk to later about there experiences.
<< Current Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole. Hunt Selected: Random Inventory: Slime membrane, loincloth, stick, sharp rock Location: Into the forest <<
Gren managed to get a good collection of weapons going, though he failed to do much with that tazelwurm spine. Maybe he ought to use a proper piece of rope or something. What he got left is rather... Questionable now, so he'll just stow it for later. He was especially proud of his spear thrower, he's seen this in a TV show once and he's always wanted to use one himself. But that would have to take a back seat for now, as he ran to catch up with the other group.
But what made Gren more curious was some sort of... Video Game prompt. He could get some new abilities, or something? Two our of three of them were shown, one called Slash and another called Poison Attack. If he had to guess, it must've been abilities that the tatzelwurm had. But what was the third ability? Curious, Gren decides that he'll wait until he saw all three options, selecting "Continue Biomass Accumulation". Maybe he'll be lucky and find more Tatzelwurm to eat.
Going up to the northern cave was fortunately uneventful. Even if they were all runts, Gren was sure that most monsters wouldn't want to risk taking on all of them. They did run into a few more orc runts, but they seemed more interested in their own thing than working together. No skin off Gren's nose, their group was getting pretty big anyways. When they arrived to the north cave Gren was going to get ready to fight when suddenly he received another game prompt. Apparently he leveled up, and can now gain some new stats. He wasn't really sure what to choose but picked "Increase HP". He considered himself a tough guy, and tough guys can take a hit.
Shortly after, the assumed leader of the group who Gren doesn't quite recall her name, said they should split up. Gren wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but at the same time, he supposed that as long as they aren't alone this shouldn't be too big of an issue. That being said, some of the other orcs in the first group had some tactical plans to make. Gren listened and took their thoughts into account.
The idea is basically to lure the monster out here, where they'll all dogpile em. Right now Vola and the other orc girl, who Gren wasn't sure if she introduced herself yet either, would go inside. "Oi now, if you're going in, you better go geared up! Here Lola, take my spear thrower. Practice with it for a moment, if you gotta pester whatever's in there, just chuck a spear at em. That ought to piss it off and get it to chase ya. If any of y'all need a weapon, I got this spiky club you can use. Better than trying to bash em in the head with a regular stick at any rate. I got me axe, so I'll be ready to hack em down as soon as I see em."
Looking at the cave, Gren wonders if he could somehow position himself above the entrance. "If we're going to draw em out, we ought to rig the entrance as a trap. A trip wire like what Lola says could be good, but even some big, heavy rocks to drop on em could work too. Plus, if we're going to kill it out here, we gotta make sure it don't run back inside when things look bad. So I'll volunteer to block the cave when we draw it out, that way it can't run away without going through me. And if it's paying attention to me, it ain't paying attention to you all, so you can go crazy on it."
Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.
Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.
Stone Hatchet - Equip, Weapon/Tool - An axe with a blade made of stone.
Fire Harden Short Spear x3 - Equip, Weapon [Fire Hardened, Tungem Wood] - A haft roughly three to four feet long topped by a sharp point. Though lacking the range advantage inherent to most spears, it's easier to use in one hand and light enough to throw.
Spear Thrower - Equip, Weapon [Fire Hardened, Tungem Wood] - A stick with a carved notch and handle. By placing a spear in the notch, it can be used as a lever to multiply the power of a throw. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, it may be as much as three times the force.
Spiked Club - Equip, Weapon [Horn/Bone, Wood] - A club that's had spikes of some kind embedded into it. Basic, but gets the job done.
Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown.
The burning. Searing pain. Her flesh melting from her bones from the heat and that child throwing petrol over her. She knew she was dead in that moment, but in such a moment she committed likely the only thing she could say in her life was something she judged to be a questionable act. It was a metal crucifix with a depiction of Jesus engraved upon it. It was something that was supposed to be hanging on a wall, but in the flames the hot, searing metal had fallen to the ground revealing the sharp point that formed the base of it.
Her hands were already gone, so she simply picked it up...
Well, he didn't need his eyes any more.
She had been ready to accept death. To meet God. To stand before the almighty and be judged, but no. It seemed by some trick of devil or angel she was still alive. And looked like some horrible goblin demon creature thing. She had a knew name, had been born with others that looked like her and in such a disgusting living conditions. If she had a mind of less fortitude she might have even been a little sick at the thought. No matter how much she didn't understand or didn't like the thought of it though, it seemed as though she was indeed alive again but not in heavens paradise as she had expected. No, instead it felt like something much closer akin to the Buddhist beliefs of reincarnation.
That unsettled her greatly.
And so far, as usual, her prayer had been met with silence from the almighty.
"...amen."
Svarok lifted her head from where she had been kneeling. She had almost hoped that because of the odd situation she would receive a reply. She couldn't keep thinking about this. If nothing else, prayer had helped ease her mind for now. She had a course of action and she just now had to follow through with it.
The first was simple in theory, much harder in scope.
Learn everything about where she was. Specifically their religion. Perhaps God sent her here to be a missionary? Useless thought. For now though, she needed to earn her keep. If she came back empty handed, it was likely she was not going to get to eat. So it was simple. She didn't know what these orcs did or what they really wanted, but they would nothing else, respect strength from hunting it seemed. But she'd need a weapon. A stick could only get her so far. Unfortunately, she had no survival skills to speak of. Only some vague ideas of what should maybe work.
"O', Almighty God. Watch over my path forward as I step into the unknown..."
She didn't quite know why she made such a prayer, but it felt appropriate as she moved, away from her quiet prayer spot and deeper into the forest. If she could find a good size rock, or a stick or log that was of larger size she could easily make some sort of club or something. Maybe there were some vines or something that were sturdy she could use as makeshift rope?
Hopefully no fell creatures would find their way into her path.
Actually, no. She almost hoped they did. She wanted to test what this 'holy bolt' she apparently could do test...and also whatever this 'ingestion' skill was.
Current Stats: Level: 1 | Form: Orc Runt | Tier: 2
Current Skills: Ingestion - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank. Holy Bolt - Rank I - A basic elemental bolt of holy magic. Hurl or shoot a magical projectile roughly 30 feet in a straight line. It travels at roughly the same speed you could physically propel a small rock. If the target is undead, aligned with the Curse element, or a member of a True Demon species, it will take increased damage. This spell cannot harm Holy aligned creatures of a higher level than the caster. Empty Skill Slot Empty Skill Slot
Equipment and Inventory: Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering. Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown. Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.
Kai was just wandering about a little ways outside the camp after being turned loose.
"I could easily just hunt some creature on my own, then i'd be pretty much first to return with a prize... but the animals around here arnt much like the ones back home... they're probably more dangerous than a buck. I should really look for help..." he thought.
He couldnt hear the noises of other Runtz. Though his nose picked something up. On the wind there was a slight smell of charcoal. He looked into the sky and saw a smoke trail.
"Somethins' cooking? If i meander around i might get to ask them what they hunted and what the dangers are"
He languidly walked around to the campsite but it was already empty. So instead he decided to inspect the entrails of what had been caught. Which was completely useless as you cant determine much from entrails, apart from what the animal ate. But he did decide to look for any tendons that were long enough. There were about 3 'piles'. He decided that if he found the tendons he would break off a branch from a nearby tree that was fairly club shaped or staff shaped and try to stretch them along the shaft by meticulously wrapping them around at the top if atall possible. If not, well atleast he had a club, which was better than this old stick. Which he tossed.
"Eyz, anyone elz 'round 'ere?" oh, that was odd... he had an accent... aside from his usual one. He might have to learn to live with it.
He saw the system notification of the "Skill" he had. Had he picked it or had it been pressed upon him?? I think i picked it... he'd noticed that it was a level 1 skill. Wonder what level 3 was...
He readied the skill should it be that whoever heard him call out was not friendly. He dug into his mind and thoughts where he thought it was located and tried to prepare it for immediate use.
Could really use a friend right about now. Hunting alone was not what hed been taught anyway... when... where was he from again?? Well! From 'ere! Aedven! No... nono... from America. How can someone be from two places? Whatwasit the goddess had said? Then he remembered.
"Jeezaloo... better than being dead..." Heh! Thats my normal voice!
Current Stats: Level: 1 | Form: Orc Runt | Tier: 2
Current Skills:
- Ingestion - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank. - Isekai Skill - Bramble Wall - Rank I - A basic defensive magic of the Wood Element. Thorny brambles rise up in front of the caster, defending them from attacks. Enemies may suffer weak damage from the "Thorn" effect. The brambles wither away after 30 seconds. - Empty Skill Slot - Empty Skill Slot
Equipment and Inventory:
- Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering. - Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown. - Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.
Music. Lights. Smoke. Excitement. Hatred. Rhyme after rhyme.
“I spit venomous lines, leaving you in dismay, You're out of your league, time to get the fuck out of my way.”
Cutting deeper than any sword and deeper than any bullet.
The crowd roared. Jeers and laughter all over and then, in the moment Carmina won…it happened. Sharp, strong, all consuming. Amidst the chaotic celebration, a gunshot echoed through the parking lot turned rap arena. Carmina's body jerked as searing pain ripped through her.
She staggered, clutching her side, her eyes widening in disbelief. Blood seeped from the wound. Gasps and screams drowned out the deafening cheers as the crowd recoiled in horror.
Carmina collapsed to her knees, the pain threatening to consume her. Her vision blurred, and the sounds around her became muffled. The world seemed to fade away as darkness closed in. Time stood still, and it felt like an eternity had passed.
Then eternity actually passed from her point of view at least. Opening her eyes, someone talked to her. A Goddess. Words were exchanged, a new chance at life. Why not? It wasn’t as if her first one was good. Maybe the next will be and if not, she’ll make it so. No one will stop her anymore.
Time passes. Images, forms, orcs. Understanding slowly comes. As the other Runts ran together, Carmina left the village on her own. She had to first understand her situation before proceeding forward, after all, only fools jump in without thinking. That’s what kept her alive in her first years of life and that’s what will keep her alive in this new life.
Carmina eventually found a small clearing in the forest and sat on the ground. She took account of her “weapons” if one could call them as such, her surroundings and her new skill. “Sing”. Her mind was still making lyrics on the spot. It wasn't hard for her to breathe deeply and start singing, even if her voice wasn’t her previous voice.
“In this forest clearing, a runt I stand alone, Young and small, in a body not my own. But fire burns within me, an orc's heart beats strong, I'll prove my worth, in battles yet unknown.”
Her voice resonated around and some birds stopped and listened closely to her voice. One could say that it was enchanting even for an orc. She would’ve continued singing if not for a loud shout.
"Eyz, anyone elz 'round 'ere?"
Carmina stood up from her place she chose that was next to a tree and looked around. Weapon ready, she silently approached the area where the voice came from. It seems that she found another runt which she briefly remembers seeing when they were sent on the hunt. Coming out from the bushes in which she chose to hide in and waved with her stick in what she wanted to be a friendly way but seemed more threatening than anything.
“Heya! ‘You here for the hunt too? ”
Current Stats: Level: 1 | Form: Orc Runt | Tier: 2
Current Skills:
Ingestion - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.
Isekai Skill - Sing - Rank I - Your voice possesses a magical quality. Channelling power to your voice and Singing within earshot of a chosen target allows you to attempt to induce one of the following effects: Soothe, Encourage, or Irritate.
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Equipment and Inventory:
Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.
Small Sharp Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick sharpened by how it broke. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown.
Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.
Kai turned to face as the female ork appeared in the clearing.
Dont you mean, you'z herez for the huntz?... he thought to himself. Could it be she's also from America?
"Yeaz, im lookin' for a partner or two to help me catch some of dem Jakalope..." Apart from the fact that he didn't really want to eat a snake right now. He couldn't really believe Jackalopes actually were real. This was something he'd gotta see.
"If wez getz ones we'll getz extra speed for sure, that'd be swell...z."
"I can sprout brambles to keep it boxed in. But we'll have to be fast with the ol'e bonk" Did orcs say bonk? He meant that he wanted to cause minimal distress to the animal.
Kai tried to retrieve a club from a few thick branches of a nearby tree. He was starting to enjoy this hunt.
Carmina looked at the runt, studying the way he was breathing and holding himself and was more than a bit confused by how he talked. Could it be that there were others that were reincarnated or was she alone?
Not that she minded being alone. Better in the long run that way but still, setting up a crew of reincarnees would give them some advantage over others.
"If wez getz ones we'll getz extra speed for sure, that'd be swell...z."
“’Got no clue what a Jakamole thing is but that ain’t what I’m looking for. I’m hunting for birds, anything that’s big and has a beautiful voice. ” replied Carmina before stepping forward and putting her hand out, for Kai to shake it.
A human gesture that she hasn’t seen orcs do. If he’d take her hand and shake it, he was human if not…she’d just make something up.
“I’m Carmina, you can make brambles come from the ground, I can sing to them and keep them calm…or encourage them to go into a trap. We’ll make a good team, eh?” she continued with a chuckle.
Current Stats: Level: 1 | Form: Orc Runt | Tier: 2
Current Skills:
Ingestion - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.
Isekai Skill - Sing - Rank I - Your voice possesses a magical quality. Channelling power to your voice and Singing within earshot of a chosen target allows you to attempt to induce one of the following effects: Soothe, Encourage, or Irritate.
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Equipment and Inventory:
Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.
Small Sharp Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick sharpened by how it broke. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown.
Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.
@Rune_Alchemist Reviewing the memories of pre-"awakening," Sarvok would know there had to be some evidence of at least a semi-religious behavior among a group of creatures like the Orcs. They seemed, after all, to be roughly equivalent to primitive humans in their social norms, and all human cultures across Earth had come up with some kind of religion--usually some form of polytheism.
Deep within those memories, from a period of time before she could walk (which granted, had only been maybe a month ago), there had been...a festival? A ceremony? There had been a lot of bonfires, enough so that many of the babies in the Brood Pits had cried because the heat and the lights kept them from sleeping that night. The warchief had done some kind of dance with a costume of some kind. There was some kind of chant...something about a "Rogyam."
Who, or what, was a Rogyam?
In any case, as she searched for materials, the Runt came across a particular patch of something that appeared to be no more than scrubby grass at first. But the blades of grass were oddly twisted, like something had taken a curling iron to them. Then, at the brush's base, were several hard, brown, conical growths that looked like woody drills of some kind. Even lower to the roots than these were other drill-like buds, still green but quite hard.
There was also a blackened, twisted bush that had many seedpods hanging from it. The pods looked like the kind of thing uncouth men often bragged to their friends about before flushing it down...and smelled quite similarly. The wood from the bush looked like it might break off easily, but the branches weren't straight enough, thick enough, or strong enough to make something like a club or spear. The black leaves, too, carried a foul odor.
But, as she searched for materials, Sarvok would hear a sudden rustling near a tree not too far away from her. A change in the wind seemed to prompt it, but at that moment she just happened to be in a position to catch the movement. When she looked, she found herself locking eyes with...another Orc Runt?
No.
Its limbs weren't quite so filled out, but its face and proportions looked more mature. Its ears were longer, its jawline weaker. It held a hatchet made from nothing more than a thick piece of wood and a sharp stone in one hand and a bag made from an animal pelt in the other. It wore a grass skirt and nothing else.
That had to be a Goblin.
And as soon as it met Sarvok's eyes it turned and bolted! It ran haphazardly, desperately, and thus made a great deal of noise as it crashed through the underbrush. It might be easy to follow, but she also felt instinctively confident that she could outrun it as well, and it was obviously afraid of a confrontation with her... @Steel Legion@Timemaster As Kai and Carmina decided to join forces in their search for materials and prey, it wouldn't take long for them to scour the remains of the little campsite---whoever had been here must've left in a hurry.
And possibly not too long ago, judging from the state of the coals in the fire.
Kai came across a short, leafy tree no higher than six or seven feet, but its trunk had many smaller branches that reached up to nine or ten feet. The larger branches, near the bottom or middle of the tree, had round green nuts with thick, woody shells. If he had some way to cut off a branch or two, they looked like they'd make solid materials for clubs, spears, and so forth. He also saw a particular patch of something that appeared to be no more than scrubby grass at first. But the blades of grass were oddly twisted, like something had taken a curling iron to them. Then, at the brush's base, were several hard, brown, conical growths that looked like woody drills of some kind. Even lower to the roots than these were other drill-like buds, still green but quite hard.
Carmina passed by a particular tree at the edge of the clearing didn’t stand out much from the others, save for one thing. A branch had been broken off its trunk at some point, and seemed to have further broken down into multiple pieces on the ground where it landed. But something about these fragments of wood caught her eye, and when she picked it up, she found it was more like a piece of petrified wood than anything green or dried. Upon looking at the place where the wood had fallen off the original tree, she found that rather than splinters or peeling bark, the place where the branch had broken was also slightly petrified…as if rather than growing new bark over the wound, the parent tree had instead been covered with a layer of rock. The rock also blended almost imperceptibly with the still-growing trunk, its bark the same beige and gray mix of colors and of a similar roughness to plain stone. There were some fragments of the petrified branch left on the ground if she chose to gather them, but the tree had a few branches within reach that she might try to chop off as well.
Carmina's nose wrinkled, too, as she also saw a blackened, twisted bush that had many seedpods hanging from it. The pods looked like the kind of thing uncouth men often bragged to their friends about before flushing it down...and smelled quite similarly. The wood from the bush looked like it might break off easily, but the branches weren't straight enough, thick enough, or strong enough to make something like a club or spear. The black leaves, too, carried a foul odor.
Once the two had decided to hunt something (Kai had an interest in the Jackalope, it seemed) and decided to use their unique abilities to team up, then all that was left to do with the materials they'd gathered and the tactics they'd come up with was to put it all to the test.
After leaving the camp, they didn't have to go far before they heard a new noise in the forest. It sounded like...something gurgling? Or a partially clogged sink drain. A careful peek through the bushes revealed not one, but two creatures!
A flowering bush was crushed under a blue, slimy creature about the size of a large dodgeball. Its gelatinous form seemed to be sucking up the flowers, where they wilted and dissolved inside its body. But the creature also had two...eyespots?...of some kind, which were fixated on another creature eating another of the same type of flowers nearby.
The large bodied, brown and dappled-white rabbit lifted its head, along with the impressive rack of six-point antlers atop its skull. It looked at the Slime with a passive sort of focus---the other monster seemed like it might be in an aggressive mood, but the rabbit chewed calmly. It probably knew it was more than fast enough to dodge any attempt to attack by the slime, but wasn't going to take its eyes off a potential threat. One of its large ears flicked in Carmina and Kai's direction, but it hadn't reacted to them yet, if it had actually noticed them. Which it might not have, yet, if they were careful with their next move... @ReusableSword
Skill Gain: [Blunt Damage Resistance] - Rank I - Passive Resistance against Blunt Damage is increased. Blunt Damage at this rank includes force-trauma by relatively flat physical objects with non-sharpened edges, carrying kinetic momentum.
Agar's Field Scan had the same effect as before, revealing two glowing, indeterminable blobs that he could easily see were the Tatzelwurm and the Harpy---although, aside from their general size, he wouldn't have been able to differentiate them if he weren't already looking directly at them. However, a third signal responded to his scan. It was further away, towards the edge of the skill's range and getting less distinct. It seemed to be moving away from him at this moment, but at a leisurely pace. It was smaller than the harpy, but of a similar size to the Tatzelwurm.
Whatever it was, it didn't seem like a threat. And still, neither of the two monsters he was watching had noticed him---or if they had, they didn't react in a way that would reveal what they knew to him.
Then, so fast he almost missed it, the Tatzelwurm leaped! Fangs and claws bared, it came down on top of the Harpy from its tree branch! The winged monster didn't react until the Tatzelwurm's former perch rustled and shivered with the release of the snake-monster's weight---and that was almost a full half-second from the time the Tatzelwurm jumped.
The Harpy turned. The Tatzelwurm landed and sank its claws into the harpy's back, its fangs into the bird-like creature's shoulder! The harpy's wings unfurled and it leaped across the ground on those strange, spindly limbs, shaking its body madly the whole time. It let out an ear piercing screech, like a woman being stabbed or a baby screaming from some sudden pinch or discomfort.
The tatzelwurm let go with its fangs, but tried to move around on the harpy's body with its claws. Its tail wrapped around one of the monster's legs as it tried to get into position to bite the harpy's side. The winged beast took to the air---but it wasn't trying to fly away. Instead, it propelled itself backward into a tree, slamming its weight and the sturdy wood down on the tatzelwurm from both sides! The cat-snake let out a pained yowl, and its claws lost their purchase on the leathery hide. But its tail was still bound around one of the harpy's legs, and quick as a wink it lurched and lunged to try and get another rattlesnake-like bite at the harpy.
The harpy raised one claw, which suddenly seemed to crackle with a red light from within. It slashed at the tatzelwurm, deeply cutting into its snake-like body, and finally the predator was forced to let go. The tatzelwurm coiled itself together in front of the harpy, hissing loudly as it once again brandished its fangs and long, sharp nails. The harpy spread its wings wide and let out a loud, intimidating howl, this one sounding like an angry woman.
The bite on the harpy's shoulder had turned an odd purplish color, even though it shouldn't have left much of a bruise...The two monsters remained squared off now, even though both of them could've made a run for it. Did that mean each one saw the other as nearly done for? Worth finishing off for the sake of a meal? Worth taking the damage they'd accumulated?
What mattered more, perhaps, was what this moment might mean for Agar...
SP Increased! Stamina Points are expended when you exert physical effort beyond basal metabolic requirements, beyond the range of standard resting heart rate, and to fuel certain Skills. When Stamina Points are spent, you will suffer from the Exhausted condition.
MP Increased! Mental Points are expended when you manipulate and release Mana, when the ratio of cognitive load to stress hormone production rises above the basal rate, or when emotional and/or sensory information input surpasses processing ability. When Mental Points are spent, you will suffer from the Mental Breakdown condition.
HP Increased! Healing Points are expended when you are injured, and when you suffer infection, illness, or certain status effects. When Healing Points are spent, your body will not be able to tolerate further expenditures. If Healing Points experience a sudden, severe drop, you may enter the Shock condition. When Healing Points are fully expended, you will enter the Unconscious condition. Further damage taken while in the Unconscious condition is highly likely to cause DEATH.
HP Increased! Healing Points are expended when you are injured, and when you suffer infection, illness, or certain status effects. When Healing Points are spent, your body will not be able to tolerate further expenditures. If Healing Points experience a sudden, severe drop, you may enter the Shock condition. When Healing Points are fully expended, you will enter the Unconscious condition. Further damage taken while in the Unconscious condition is highly likely to cause DEATH.
MP Increased! Mental Points are expended when you manipulate and release Mana, when the ratio of cognitive load to stress hormone production rises above the basal rate, or when emotional and/or sensory information input surpasses processing ability. When Mental Points are spent, you will suffer from the Mental Breakdown condition.
Once the group of Runts had decided who would go into the cave and search for...whatever they could find, it didn't take long for the rest of their preparations. Then, with the daylight still full and strong, the first team took their first, tentative steps into the darkness...
A short climb would allow one to see over the lip of the ground and down into a slanted, slippery passage...but this open chamber of the cave was still somewhat cramped, and a much narrower passageway further into the depths sat at its back. At the entrance to that passageway, it seemed a clump of mushrooms had taken root in the dank darkness.
As the runts explored further, however, a sudden scuttling alerted them to movement on the roof of the cave above their heads! As they watched, something hidden in the dark moved towards the narrow open chamber, then creepy-crawled down just above the mushroom. It looked like a gigantic beetle of some sort. It didn't make any aggressive gestures...
The moment was a lot like an experience most of the reincarnates could probably relate to: Right after you turn on the light, you see the cockroach scurry up the wall or along the floor. You both freeze as if aware of each other's presence. The cockroach's antennae twitch. In that same fashion, the beetle and the runts froze.
The beetle's back end twitched. There was a blip of light in its thorax, like that of a lightning bug. Aside from this indicator, it looked like any regular, solid black pine beetle...save for the fact that it was also longer than a human man's arm and easily as big around as a watermelon.
It sounded like some primitive false god that one would find in uncivilized countries.
As Svarok took her time exploring the immediate area, she'd come across some odd looking plants. SHe was certain these weren't any particular plants she'd be familiar with back on earth. They well, looked too alien. She'd run her hand along the length. They seemed hard. Quite so, all things considered. Perhaps she could make use of them? Svarok set about plucking a few plants. They were hard, a bit like bamboo shoots she remembered back on earth. Not particularly useful otherwise, though...but perhaps they were edible? She'd end up plucking a few and taking them with her, stuffing them into her pelts.
She grimaced at the rather...obscene looking plants with the foul odor. Doubtful that they were edible, but perhaps they might be useful in deterring animals from bothering her from the smell alone? She frowned, taking just one with her. Hm, perhaps she should just try and make an axe or something out of the stone and wood-
Her eyes met the goblins only briefly.
"...hello-"
The creature bolted before she could say anything else.
Svarok briefly ran through her options. Chase? Avoid? Perhaps it might know something useful? She had no desire to hurt it...and information would be useful. Perhaps she could get something out of it, or if nothing else test out this 'Ingestion' skill on it.
So Svarok took off after the goblin, running full sprint after it.
"Stop! I wish to speak with you!" She'd shout after it.
MP Increased! Mental Points are expended when you manipulate and release Mana, when the ratio of cognitive load to stress hormone production rises above the basal rate, or when emotional and/or sensory information input surpasses processing ability. When Mental Points are spent, you will suffer from the Mental Breakdown condition.
Hmm. Mental Breakdown condition? That did not sound good, but it made sense that using magic put some kind of strain on the individual when using it. In this case the strain was mental, though this also meant that using magic could also not be so good if one was left in a highly stressed out or mentally-ill type of status at the time to boot. Concerning, but it was something to take note of moving forward on her part as she examined the phenomenon of 'magic' and how it worked and the like in this world. It made her almost wish she had been living in some city where a university or the like was located, to see if she could glean some knowledge about things, but then again she hadn't chosen what to become in this new world either.
“I’ll go with you! I can whistle really loudly, which should travel nicely in the cave, and maybe we can use some of the Rotleaves and their seedpods to also mess with their sense of smell to disorient them further?”
Hmm? The female orc runt looked over at the one who spoke to her.
A volunteer from among the two other Orc Runts who had wanted to join them on their hunt? That worked just fine in Lazash's youthful-looking eyes, as they needed to get the job done before it got too late in the day. On top of that, secure enough foodstuffs or kills to bring back for the quest of the Head Warrior at that. Likewise two of them would be as large of a group as she wanted to bring inside of the cave if they wanted to be able to scramble out without making a mess and getting killed or eaten or worse for all she knew....because these caves were basically and unknown to them, and as the Head Warrior had hinted could be dangerous during the day for a 'good reason' as it were.
Acknowledging Vola's offer to help with a quiet nod, Lazash simpply took out her sharp poking stick in her right hand in preparation.
"Sounds good, but let's be careful heading inside and get an eye on things before we start making noises or the like. I'll motion with my hands to communicate."
Never knew what could be living in there in general outside of the aforementioned creatures they were trying to hunt here. Especially if anything was a bear or bear-like in this world to boot, as such a thing would seem to fit this sort of terrain and location suitably well in her opinion. Then again, she had her identification skill to use as well to help them to boot.
Once the group of Runts had decided who would go into the cave and search for...whatever they could find, it didn't take long for the rest of their preparations. Then, with the daylight still full and strong, the first team took their first, tentative steps into the darkness...
A short climb would allow one to see over the lip of the ground and down into a slanted, slippery passage...but this open chamber of the cave was still somewhat cramped, and a much narrower passageway further into the depths sat at its back. At the entrance to that passageway, it seemed a clump of mushrooms had taken root in the dank darkness.
It was a certainly large cave by their general size standards currently, at least among Orc Runts, though with the slanted slippery passage of the cave she made sure to take distinct time and care to traverse it all as safely and quietly as she could. Space was cramped as it was as well in the general sense, which was to be expected, though their shorter stature was a boon in this sense as well, but it also made any sort of mad scramble for the exit that much more dangerous and difficult to imagine as well in the worst of cases. At least the open part of the cave felt as if it offered them some kind of movement room, but the far more narrow passage at the back was perhaps their one way deeper into all of this mess.
Oh?
As they got near the entrance to the smaller passageway, the presence of some strange fungal growths seemed to lurk around the entrance to the passage. Purple by nature, and likely were toxic or hallucinogenic unless she could prove or learn otherwise about them. Potentially useful for poisons, perhaps, or something else entirely. Either way the young female Orc Runt would try to grab about four to six of them to store away in her things while trying to be careful to not damage them or such in the process. Something like these could be potentially useful in some capacity, or perhaps might spore and grow in the dank and dark back places if she could find a spot back in the caves back 'home' as it were. Hmm.
From there, whenever Vola would be ready to do so, they would head deeper into the cave through the narrowed passage.
As they delved further and further, Lazash kept a quiet eye and ear out for anything that might be out of place. Animal noises, scratching, something knocking smaller loose rocks over, anything that might-
As the runts explored further, however, a sudden scuttling alerted them to movement on the roof of the cave above their heads! As they watched, something hidden in the dark moved towards the narrow open chamber, then creepy-crawled down just above the mushroom. It looked like a gigantic beetle of some sort. It didn't make any aggressive gestures...
The moment was a lot like an experience most of the reincarnates could probably relate to: Right after you turn on the light, you see the cockroach scurry up the wall or along the floor. You both freeze as if aware of each other's presence. The cockroach's antennae twitch. In that same fashion, the beetle and the runts froze.
The beetle's back end twitched. There was a blip of light in its thorax, like that of a lightning bug. Aside from this indicator, it looked like any regular, solid black pine beetle...save for the fact that it was also longer than a human man's arm and easily as big around as a watermelon.
In her frozen stance, Lazash would look back at the beetle and try to silently to use her [Creature Analysis] skill on it. In that vein she could hopefully identify the beetle and see if it was one of the creatures they had heard lived in these caves, or if it was something else altogether that also happened to live back in here.
She then very slowly moved her left arm, nothing sudden or fast or the like that would panic the animal she hoped, and held up a hand to where Vola could see. This to signal to her to 'hold' or at least not do anything. Lazash then just as very slowly, if she got the chance, would move her arm up to point it at the beetle.
It would be at this point that, unless interrupted, Lazash would take an action depending on what she learned. If it was one of the so-called "Camazots", she would try to observe it for a second and then attempt to fire off a [Fire Bolt] spell at it to hopefully catch it off guard without moving her body further. But if it was just something else altogether and NOT a Camazot, she would NOT try to cast a spell and would instead very slowly lower her left arm back down again to her side. Whatever the case would end up being, the female Orc Runt was trying to be somewhat tact about it all. If it was their prey, a swift strike of sudden light and fire might help against it. If it wasn't their prey, then it was either optional as a kill or potentialy a prey item of something else down here for all she currently knew.
Spying? Did she find a troublemaker? Svarok frowned, a bit of anger welling up in her chest as she'd reach for the stone in her pockets...then stopped. Well, wouldn't this be a good time to try out this new holy bolt thing? The goblin likely could take it...probably. She wasn't super sure but if he had the audacity to 'spy' on people, then he should easily be able to handle this.
"I said, STOP." She'd shout, digging her feet into the ground and stopping just long enough to wind back her arm, and giving the Holy Bolt ability a go, lobbing the bolt towards the goblin much like one might throw a baseball. Hopefully it'd be fine. Mostly. She didn't really care if he was or not. She'd get something out of it either way.
Current Stats: Level: 1 | Form: Orc Runt | Tier: 2
Current Skills: Ingestion - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank. Holy Bolt - Rank I - A basic elemental bolt of holy magic. Hurl or shoot a magical projectile roughly 30 feet in a straight line. It travels at roughly the same speed you could physically propel a small rock. If the target is undead, aligned with the Curse element, or a member of a True Demon species, it will take increased damage. This spell cannot harm Holy aligned creatures of a higher level than the caster. Empty Skill Slot Empty Skill Slot
Equipment and Inventory: Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering. Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown. Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown. Hornweeds - 3 Rotleaf Seedpod - 1
// The Stalking Stalker Stalked the Stalker as it Stalked >> Cage Match //
Agar noticed the small indication of his new skill for a moment, it was a nice bonus and base to start out with. Still he had a task to complete and now he was almost within striking distance of what could very well be three sources of food. Yet it would seem that he would still have to hold his actions for now the fight was still going strong and he had to pay attention and learn all he could of what was going on in front of him.
Maintaining his stealth, the mohawk grunt continued to watch them fight. Clearly the cat was a stealth ambusher likely relying on the venom it had if the growing bruise on the harpy was anything to go by. The scavenger wasn’t a push over either, the scream that it let out was likely a skill as it bothered him more than it should have even from this distance and there was a strange color that formed when the creature struck at its foe with its claws. Those things might make a good weapon if he was able to kill it.
By the rules of the animal kingdom even with their injuries these two still seemed to judge that they could easily take the other creature which would explain their behavior or that the harpy wasn’t fast enough to take off without the snake grabbing it first. The snake seemed to have the same basic instincts as snakes back home with the capability to wrap its opponent’s, that was something he would have to watch out for.
With his field scan he stayed behind the nearest tree watching them without giving away his position. The faint glow of some other creature caught his attention for a moment but it did not seem to be too concerned with them and slowly left the area. Agar figured his chances of taking the creatures at the same time was still a little low without significant injurie. He also had to judge to see if every fight he got himself into was worth it or not. Even with that thought he knew that he wanted to keep watching the two too see how they fought and all of their strategies before just blindly rushing in.
He kept himself behind the tree concentrating on the field scan to try and make it clearer but not to the point where he thought he might lose focus on anything that may have been attracted by the scream. Waiting as a patient hunter for the best opportunity to fight, for now he would leave these two to tire themselves just a bit longer before making his move.
<< Current Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole. Hunt Selected: Random Inventory: loincloth, stick, sharp rock Skills: Ingestion, Field Scan I, Blunt Resistance I Location: Into the forest <<
Grunthor had meandered along with the group, listening and observing them as they traveled and came upon the northern caves. They talked amongst themselves, trying to make a plan to lure whatever a camazot or whatever out into the open instead of in a cramped cave. Honestly if he were in his old body he could have just gone in by himself, possibly, they didn't know what one of these things were. Was it like the other creatures on their hitlist? Smallish and capable of being killed by orclings?
The creating orc, Gren, offered up a spiked club to whoever wanted it. While he preferred his hands, that was only for later. He didn't have the strength or speed to take something down by punching it yet. So he quietly accepted the club with a respectful nod, he really wasn't one for too many words unless he discovered something useful. But....they still had to do something while the two in the cave did their thing.
"Do we have a plan beyond bait and pummel?" He questioned as he looked around. Sure a threat was in the cave, that didn't stop the threats outside from being a thing.
Current Location: North Caves Current Activity: Acting as bait for Akeno @King Cosmos, Gren @Lucius Cypher and Grunthor @Kazemitsu by exploring the caves with Lazash @Crusader Lord while keeping an eye out for anything useful. Vola smiled gratefully at Gren as she accepted the Spear Thrower. “Thank you, Gren, I appreciate this.” Testing the weight, Vola gave a few experimental swings to get used to the movement while listening attentively and contributing to the planning where she could. The cave was a huge unknown at this point, and she was really nervous about going in there, but once she commits to something, she follows through, so she tried to channel all of her nervous energy more productively, by practicing a little with the Spear-Thrower, as well as helping the others make preparations for the exterior where they needed it. When it was finally time for her and Lazash to enter the cave, Vola had managed to more or less get rid of the nerves and turn it into something more akin to…a grim determination? Eh. Something along those lines anyway.
Entering the darkness, Vola was on high alert, scanning the surroundings closely for any signs of movement, danger or other signs of anything living here, while simultaneously keeping an eye out for anything useful like special plants, or the ore that she and Gren had originally planned to collect. Spotting some mushrooms growing by the cave entrance, Vola followed Lazash’s example and collected a few. They might end up coming in handy and even if they don’t, it’s always handy to learn more about the flora in your world.
It didn’t take long before they were moving once more, heading ever deeper into the cave. The journey uninterrupted so far. Vola wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, still being alive and uneaten by cave-critters was amazing, but on the other hand, the longer they go without encountering danger, the more that the suspense she’s currently feeling seems to grow as well. Like as if whatever’s in here will become more dangerous the longer they go with encountering it. The calm before the storm. Encountering the bug was almost a relief, for all that it almost made her gag as well. While it was much bigger than any bug ever had any right being, it didn’t seem outright hostile, so Vola didn’t make the first move either, following Lazash’s lead and holding. That doesn’t mean that she is at all relaxed. Oh no. The Spear-Thrower was loaded and ready in her hand, ready to fire the second either Lazash gives the signal or that that thing makes a move to attack them.
Current Skills:
Ingestion - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.
Rune Scribe - Rank I - Isekai Skill. Normally, this Skill requires the User to be capable of at least one other Magic Skill. Use a personal writing system to imbue magical effects. At Rank I, the scribed Rune has only half the effectiveness of the original Spell and fades after 1 day. (For example, one could use this with a piece of parchment to produce a consumable Scroll of Fire Bolt--or place the Rune somewhere in the environment with certain spells to create a sort of booby-trap.)
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Equipment and Inventory:
Swaddling Pelts - Equip, Clothes - Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.
Wooden Stick - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A wooden stick. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown.
Sharp Rock - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.
Stone Hatchet - Equip, Weapon/Tool - Gren has it.
Tungem Leaf x4 – Material – Can be used to make a Leaf Compress
Bone Shards x3 - Equip, Weapon/Tool – Small bones splintered into sharp pieces. Though there’s no hole for a needle or threat, they could be used for sewing. They could also serve as a fragile arrowhead or fishhook, or be thrown like small darts.
Rotleaves x3
Rotleaf Seedpods
Petrified Fragment
Gren’s Spear Thrower - Equip, Weapon [Fire Hardened, Tungem Wood] - A stick with a carved notch and handle. By placing a spear in the notch, it can be used as a lever to multiply the power of a throw. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, it may be as much as three times the force.
Waiting had always been a difficult task for Akeno.
Well, not ‘waiting’ exactly, but the ‘doing nothing’ that came with waiting around was something that she just couldn’t stand. So whenever she had to wait for something, whether it was waiting for a friend to show up or waiting a class to start or waiting between rounds of a tournament, Akeno would always try to find something to occupy her time. She would do her homework in the hallway outside the classroom or she would practice katas even though she should be conserving her energy and if she couldn’t do anything productive, then she would read; there was always a book in her bag, even though reading usually bored her, because reading a boring book was better than doing absolutely nothing.
And because she got in trouble for doing katas in school once, so she had to find something else.
She supposed that made her an impatient person, but doing nothing just… bothered her in a way she couldn’t articulate. But as everyone else either prepared to head into the cave or readied their weapons or set up traps, Akeno found herself with nothing to really do. Her weapon, as dumb as it probably was, was her body and she had no idea how to go about making a trap; even though baiting the thing in the cave outside the cave so they could fight it, she really didn’t have anything more to contribute beyond that initial idea. Not until the fighting started anyway.
So she filled the time in by stretching; limbering up the arms and legs of a body not used to hard labour or physical effort; a body that hadn’t seen bruises or cuts; hadn’t bloodied its knuckles or sprained its ankles or exerted itself to the point that every muscle hurt the next day. Not yet anyway.
She wasn’t looking forward to the aches tomorrow would bring.
As she was trying and failing to bend forward and touch her toes, the orc who had been punching the tree, the boxer, spoke up and asked about the plan. It was a fair question to ask, but unfortunately all Akeno could do in response was to straighten up and shrug.
“I’ll probably throw a fireball or two but… no, that’s pretty much as far as I got. I don’t think any of us really have the skills or material to do anything more than what we are right now and the person who’s idea it was to come here in the first place disappeared, so…” Another shrug. “We bait. We pummel. And if it’s too tough, we run.”
