Ash, Digbie, Mourningstar, Oberon, Reoth, Torrent
You used Analysis!
Your mental state has lessened the effectiveness of this skill.
---??? Diagram---
This circle is charged with an intensely powerful magic energy. Its source was some kind of object, rather than a cast spell from a creature. You can only partially see some of the sigils within it due to their movement and complexity. They read: "Center On Aedven > Vertical Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil] + Horizontal Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil > Select Target [Unseen/Unread Sigil] > Complete. Running Return > Center on Aedven..." You cannot see the rest from this angle or while the diagram is moving.
---Black Knight ???: Zawisza ???---
This Target is aware of your skill usage. Analysis's effects are lessened by an Unknown Skill.
This Target is shielded from Analysis Skills, Analysis's effects are lessened.
This Target is shielded from Magic Effects, Magic Analysis is negated.
Black Knights are a highly evolved type of Monster. They are masters of tactics, arms, and all things related to combat. They are immune to most Magics. A single Black Knight can turn the tide of a battlefield.
---Analysis Complete!---
Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.5)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- Take less damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have a better chance of resisting mind-altering effects such as Confusion or Hypnosis. This counts as an Elemental resistance for the purposes of Magic Resistance.
Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-
Skill Rank Up: Mental Resistance I > Mental Resistance II! (1.0 > 2.0 with Job Boost)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- Further decrease damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have an even better chance of resisting mind-altering effects. At this rank even if you take no damage or are unaffected, you will have a general idea about the skill used on you, like guessing where a thrown rock came from.
Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.25 with Job Boost)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-
Your MP is rapidly being refilled, though it is not Full yet.
Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I! (0.5 > 1.5)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- Take less damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have a better chance of resisting mind-altering effects such as Confusion or Hypnosis. This counts as an Elemental resistance for the purposes of Magic Resistance.
Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-
You used Keen Sight I!
You used Magic Analysis IV!
---??? Diagram---
This Target is too high up for you to see even with Keen Sight I. You can only make out that it is a large circle with many complex sigils, but you cannot read them from here. It radiates a powerful magic that somehow reminds you of standing in a vast, empty room, or seeing the sky for the first time after leaving a cave.
You used Analysis!
Your mental state has lessened the effect of this skill.
---Black Knight ???: Zawisza ???---
This Target is aware of your skill usage. Analysis's effects are lessened by an Unknown Skill.
This Target is shielded from Analysis Skills, Analysis's effects are lessened.
This Target is shielded from Magic Effects, Magic Analysis is negated.
Black Knights are a highly evolved type of Monster. They are masters of tactics, arms, and all things related to combat. They are immune to most Magics. A single Black Knight can turn the tide of a battlefield.
You used Magic Analysis IV!
Your mental state has lessened the effect of this skill.
---??? Diagram---
This circle is charged with an intensely powerful magic energy of the Spatial Element. Its source was some kind of gemstone object, rather than a cast spell from a creature or by Zawisza. You can only partially see some of the sigils within it due to their movement and complexity. They read: "Center On Aedven > Vertical Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil] + Horizontal Axis [Unseen/Unread Sigil > Select Target [Unseen/Unread Sigil] > Complete. Running Return > Center on Aedven..." You cannot see the rest from this angle or while the diagram is moving. There is more Mana concentrated here than anything you have seen thus far--this unknown gemstone feels as if it contained more than five times your Maximum MP total.
Skill Gain: Mental Resistance I!
Skill Rank Up: Mental Resistance II! (0.9 > 2.25)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- Take less damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have a better chance of resisting mind-altering effects such as Confusion or Hypnosis. This counts as an Elemental resistance for the purposes of Magic Resistance. >>> Further decrease damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have an even better chance of resisting mind-altering effects. At this rank even if you take no damage or are unaffected, you will have a general idea about the skill used on you, like guessing where a thrown rock came from.
Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-
SOMETHING EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IS NEARBY!
Skill Gain: Alert I! (0.2 > 1.2)!
Though this skill is limited by the strength of your senses, and does not sharpen your senses on its own, it allows you to become more aware of your surroundings. Without conscious effort, you will pick up on signs in your environment more easily, especially if they present some form of danger to you. Essentially this is an anti-ambush skill.
WARNING! YOUR ALERT SKILL IS REACTING STRONGLY! RUN!
Skill Rank Up: Mental Resistance I > Mental Resistance II! (1.2 > 2.05)
-This skill will not undo your current status from mental effects- Further decrease damage from Psychic-type spells or skills, and have an even better chance of resisting mind-altering effects. At this rank even if you take no damage or are unaffected, you will have a general idea about the skill used on you, like guessing where a thrown rock came from.
Skill Gain: Sensory Resistance I! (0.0 > 1.0)
-This skill will not undo your current status from sensory effects- You have a lower chance to be afflicted by status effects that distort the senses such as Blindness or Deafness. -Under some circumstances this ability may synergize with other resistances-
In the aftermath of Zawisza's arrival, the group could still feel their limbs trembling and their breath catching even as their senses came back to them. In the distance the rumble of that avalanche grew louder, and they could see it cascading down the side of the mountain far more rapidly than one would expect of multiple tons of rubble. A massive cloud of smoke rising from the crater left in the wake of that attack made the mountain look like an erupted volcano. All around them, birds and other flying creatures were fleeing from the treetops and heading into the distance. Beyond their line of sight, back into the trees and bushes, they could hear several creatures crashing around in their haste to escape.
But the clouds were clearing away, and the sun was soon bright once again. The landslide in the distance was still concerning, but would it reach this far? Aside from that, the only permanent change in the camp itself brought about by Zawisza was that a crater had formed in the middle of their creek, causing the water to pool up before it continued flowing down hill.
Further to the north, something that sounded like a horn let out a series of powerful bleats--though rather than a trained signal, it just sounded like someone was taking deep but fast, panicked breaths, then forcing them through the instrument. If indeed it
was an instrument.
What would they do now? Zawisza had caused quite the disturbance, but at the same time he had left them relatively unharmed. Would they simply...continue as they were? Even if something--or someone--came along, there was no real indication that any of this was their fault to an outside observer. Maybe they could hide in their shelter, or leave temporarily until they were more certain they were in the clear. Or would they stay and try to get on with their lives, now that they had worked so hard to reach this place in whatever passed for "safety" in this crazy world?
Ardur, Asura, Momma Slime
As Ardur cast Minor Heal to fully restore Asura's body, the red slime started to devour the deceased Dire Rat. As he sucked out all of its blood his body turned an even deeper shade of crimson, but as Asura examined the creature's insides while digesting it he found that a Dire Rat was, quite simply, just a bigger rat. Its muscles might be a little denser, but other than that everything was the same...well, there might be one thing. It seemed like the creature's skeleton was...rough. Of course, bones being bleached white and smooth all the time was just movie magic. Real skeletons, especially fresh out of a corpse, would be covered in all kinds of gunk and would bare the marks of any fractures, breaks, callouses, and so on they had gathered over the creature's hard life. However, the Dire Rat's bones almost seemed like they had little bumps on them here and there. Bone spurs? Maybe the creature was old and developing arthritis or something. It seemed like an Adult Rat, not quite unlike the one that followed Asteria and Ed around. Maybe it had some kind of cancer. But nonetheless, Asura was able to digest it without much of a problem.
Ardur decided where to allot his skill points, he and Asura discussed the Dungeon Core, and Danny made good on his escape from all of them. Mother Slime finished eating her lizard, but by the time she looked over at the other one Ardur had called dibs. She wobbled. What were "dibs?"
But then Ardur passed out. Mother Slime decided that since he wasn't looking anymore she would take the Lizard corpse anyway, and slyly reached out with one pseudopod while "facing" the other direction before slurping the reptile up and storing it for later like Asura said.
As Ardur decided on his evolution and fell to the ground unconscious, his body instinctively curled into a tight fetal position. His shimmering wings wrapped around him, swelled as if pumping with blood...then turned gray and began to harden. He almost looked like an egg, or a flower bud.
Suddenly Ardur could see EVERYTHING.
Not in crystal clarity of course. And only within the cave itself. It
felt like he should have kept going higher, as he floated out of his own body, but for some reason he didn't. He hit the ceiling of the cave and just hovered there, looking out across what had been his home for the past week and a half. But he could see out across the rocks and through the walls, through the odd dark violet haze that seemed to suffuse everything...
He could see A Dire Rat, its torn guts trailing behind it, walking toward the Nesting Area from the Pool. Inside it, he could see a dull purple light, almost like a wisp, bouncing around even though the rib cage was open to the air. The light seemed like a jumping bean trapped in a soda can, violently hurling itself against its fleshy prison. Two other Dire Rats, living ones, were sleeping in a Dark Corner of the cave, but they too had lights inside them. The two Fanged Lizards he and Momma Slime had slain--one of whom she had stolen after he called dibs, by the way--had released their own purple lights, which were heading towards Jason's Cave...and the beckoning, red light that shone there like an open doorway. Ardur could feel it pulling at him...
Ghost Wisps fluttered about near Jason's Cave, as did two living Pixies. Under all those various lumps of earth around the cave, Ardur could see three more pixies that looked to be in various states of injury and decay. There were also five skeleblins among them, though several of these seemed to be stirring. A trio of Slimes were heading through the large space between Digbie's Dugout and the Bonfire site.
Every one of them had an odd purple light inside them.
Ardur could still feel that red light calling to him, but it was surprisingly easy to ignore it at the moment. He was much more drawn to something else--a single ray of sunlight breaking through one of the small holes in the cavern's ceiling. It happened to come down near the edge of the Nesting Area, turning motes of dust into glittering sparkles that slowly spiraled down to settle on top of Asura, Momma Slime, and his oddly coccooned body...
His body! He had to get back to that, didn't he? If he wanted to complete this...transformation?
Your HP is now Full.
Skill Gain: Iron Gullet I!
You gain the ability to eat the majority of "normal (relative)" foodstuffs even if your size, teeth, or other factors would have made this difficult. You also don't suffer nausea or other side effects of bad tastes. You have a lower chance of being damaged or placed under status effects when eating tainted foods. You may swallow small non-edibles without issue, but you gain no nutritional value.
Status: You are Fine.
EXP: 38%
Meanwhile, Asura finally found a question the System seemed willing to answer for him. While he pondered this, Momma Slime approached and reached out to touch his red membrane.
"Ahsoowah, moar skeelz. Wut do?" she asked, before showing him her own System note.
LEVEL UP!
Your battle experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 8! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please! Max Stamina has increased!
Unspent Skill Points:9
Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.0) <CANNOT BE INCREASED WITH SKILL POINTS>
Limited Shapeshift I (1.525)
Blunt Resistance IV (4.3)
Smash I (1.0125)
<UNUSABLE SKILLS>
Pierce Resistance I (0.4)
Slash Resistance I (0.15)
Magic Resistance I (0.2)
Poison Resistance I (0.225)
Mental Resistance I (0.5)
Bounce I (0.3125)
Cling I (0.125)
Faster I (0.4)
Iron Gullet I (0.875)
DEVIATION (0.7) <CANNOT BE INCREASED WITH SKILL POINTS>
But as Asura read over the list, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head. When he turned to see what it was, he would feel...something...back towards Jason's cave. Like someone was calling his name. Like they wanted him to come to them.
Asteria, Ed, Mother Rat
The two Goblins approaching them seemed to have other things on their mind--they weren't looking for Rats or for enemies to fight, just for the Healing Herbs they needed. Though they remained on their guard, no doubt because of the oppressive feeling in the Dungeon, they hurried along and soon were well away from the three rats' hiding place none the wiser of their presence.
But now, the rats themselves became aware of an odd "presence." Or at least, Ed and Asteria did. Both of them could feel...something...coming from Jason's Cave. It was very faint, barely even there, but still it tickled the back of their skulls. Like someone calling their names.
Yet, it seemed more commotion was going on outside. They could hear two goblins, males by the sound of it, arguing with each other over...bricks? Walls? If they peeked out of the entrance again, they would see Crispy and a fat, squat goblin squabbling over something. The one with little blonde tufts of hair was sitting off by himself working on something, and looking very focused. Another seemed to be slinging stones at a target near the trees. The little female and male were nowhere to be seen. And that other Reincarnator was...sleeping.
This group of greenskins didn't seem to be the most self-aware lot. Once again, it looked like a good opportunity to sneak away, if the trio so desired...
Danny
You used Magic Analysis I!
---Source Crystal Shard---
Mysterious forms of Mana Crystals. This one has been broken into pieces. The ore veins of the crystals can be traced back to a root system. These Crystals are closer to the Source of the World…
Your MP is now Full.
As he sat and meditated, trying to analyze the crystal shard--though admittedly not learning much--Danny's fatigue was soon recovered. Out here in the remains of Ash's camp, it seemed like there wasn't much to bother him...
Until he heard the bubbling sound up above him. Two slimes, one green and one yellow, dropped down in an attempt to land on the Wisp--!
??? Jason ???
The warlord's pace slowed to that of a crawl, as he bent down and scooped blackened dirt into his hands. "I am Ja-soon Maag, of the Oorwin tribe. Leader of the band of the Valk, and Champion of my people-" he loudly answered with a voice full of pride as he began adorning himself with the markings of his peoples' spirit walkers; shamans that were known to commune directly with spirits both good and evil.
The rest of the misty figures howled. Jason was surrounded now. Their figures were becoming more clear--he immediately recognized Rattleskull, and the form of Gawain. The Skeleblin's flesh was reforming over him, though it wasn't clear if this was how he had looked in life or if the "recovery" was only partial here in the spirit realm for some reason--the goblin had an eye and one ear missing, with scars to match, and his body was riddled with wounds. Two sharp stones flickered in and out of his hands like misty breath carried away by the wind.
"My entire life," he continued after a brief pause, "I lived as a warrior; fighting for my people. But, I did not die as one. I died in chains. Tortured... Betrayed... Cursing my captors that did nothing but tear down everything I had spent my entire life building, protecting, and improving..."
"Why!?" interrupted Bonie. "Why ya do dese tings? Why dis who ya be?! Thinks fast if'n ya wants to stay Boss!"
"I watched helplessly; unable to do a thing, as the people I had fought to free from tyranny were burned alive before my very eyes... And when the sick bastard were through with their fun-- they had me killed. Like livestock..." his voice began to trail off, almost heavy with sadness, before it picked back up, in grim tone. "Yet, for some reason, a monster such as myself was chosen. Chosen to have a second chance at live. To live as a TRUE monster..."
The other spirits gathered themselves up, swirling together into one mass of white and gray, becoming more solid...
"And rather than join the spirits of my ancestors, was shoved into a strange new world- as a slime. With this new life I fought, survived, met others like me, learned the secrets of magic, and became the ruler of a dungeon."
The mass rose up above him, and came slamming back down. Bonie shook her head with a ghostly sigh.
"And as Boss, I had found a new people to protect; to raise and train as my own, yet, it seems that others; in their arrogance, could not embrace my vision- and seek only to slaughter everything in this world, regardless of consequence. I tried to stop the others, I didn't want to lose any more of my new people. Yet, again I failed to do so; and instead took the instrument of my end into my own hands."
"If it dat easy for ya to give up, ya gonna have bad time!" said the elderly goblin. Still tapping her staff against the ground, she turned and began to walk away...
"I AM JASON," he loudly declared as he pounded his fist against his painted chest, "I AM THE SAVIOR OF HUNDREDS, AND THE KILLER OF HUNDREDS MORE."
The spirits collided with him, swept him up, pulled at him from every direction. He was angry. They were angry. He had been killed unfairly. So had all of they. He had killed. So had they. He had saved. Some of them thought they had too.
"I AM THE CHAMPION OF MY PEOPLE! I AM A MAN! THOUGH MY FORM MAY CHANGE A THOUSAND TIMES OVER-- THIS IS WHAT I AM, THIS IS MY HISTORY! NO DEMON, GOD, NOR CORE CAN TAKE THAT FROM ME!!!!" he roared with fervor, at this point, if it was possible, Jason would have unknowingly activated [War Cry II] for this proclamation.
The skill [Warcry] is currently Disabled.
Everything went white.
Just like before, the moment he had met the Demon King--the moment he had chosen his new life--he floated in a void. Before him, images began to appear.
A Wisp. A Goblin. A Slime. A Pixie. A black screen split by a line of undulating static, like a clip of sound waves. A screen filled with a warm, comforting red glow that made him feel sleepy.
He felt that he had to make a choice. Was this like before? Was he choosing yet another new life?
He could no longer feel his hands. Or his membrane. Or his fur. Or his magic. Or his wings. Or his skin. Or his scars.
Who was he?
