Asura, Momma Slime, Ardur, Steve
You used Monster Analysis I!
---Flak Beetle---
An aggressive insectoid known for the glowing sac hidden under its shell. The shell hides a gland in the bug's thorax that, similar to a firefly, contains a substance that produces light. Unlike the firefly, the Flak Beetle can use this substance as a weapon, firing it with explosive force from either end of its body. It also has strong jaws, capable of cutting through leather given enough time. Despite its tendency to viciously attack almost anything, it only eats plants.
---Analysis Completed!---
Despite such limited confines, Asura’s pseudopods shot out and wrapped around the enemy’s segmented feet. His amorphous body and shapeshifting skills were coming in handy, giving him an almost 2-dimensional ability to move despite the ultra cramped quarters. The bug, on the other hand, had been trying to dig its way out--but now it was trapped. Though he didn’t have much room to draw back, like a boxer firing a punch from the elbow without being able to use their shoulders or hips, he risked using the Smash skill in the hope that he had enough Stamina recovered. And the red energy answered him with a crackle.
Momma Slime’s body lurched momentarily, her membrane rippling as the impact underneath her let out a dull thud. Ardur was already trying to dig through the edge of the burrow around her, and when Asura’s attack shifted her weight the buff Hipixie was able to thrust his arms deep into the ground. Grasping fingers latched onto the first thing they felt, despite not being able to see...and with a grunt he hauled the Flak Beetle out! Asura trailed behind it, still holding onto its legs, and they “popped” out from under Momma Slime before coming down in an entangled heap.
The beetle landed on its back, its soft and pale underside showing a crack in the exoskeleton where Asura struck it. With a shrill creen its legs lashed back and forth, struggling to tear off the remnants of Steve’s web as its mandibles clicked frantically. The Oculus Spider in question pounced at this moment, using several of her own legs to pin the creature before it could roll over. With a crunch she sank her fangs into the beetle’s abdomen--before recoiling suddenly. A small spark of flame singed the hairs around her head and caused her to close half of her eyes as she withdrew. From the wounds her teeth left the Flak Beetle was bleeding something that looked blue at first, before turning clear in the air almost like gasoline--and in small flashes that only lasted a moment, this substance was igniting!
“SAID, MASH, DUM BUG!”
When Momma Slime’s pseudopod--roughly the size and shape of a small sack of topapoes--came down on the beetle this time, it once again crackled with the light of power. But there was something else different too. When she had figured it out was anyone’s guess, but the swollen end of that extended tendril also contained a membrane pouch--which tightly held five slender, brittle needles made of bone, their tips poking out of her “fist” like a morning star.
Watching an insect be crushed to death through the lense of a blue, cloudy semi-fluid was quite an interesting experience, if one could separate their frame of mind from the adrenaline fueled rush of a battle for pure survival to enjoy it.
The following WOOSH of flames rapidly igniting, however, was less interesting and far more worrisome.
The spilling fluid of the bug was now all over Momma Slime, and as soon as she had lifted her pseudopod it had come into contact with oxygen. It burst into bright red and orange flame, and the heat all around the party soon grew palpable.
“Ahsoowa, hewwp!” Momma Slime began flailing wildly, still stuck in the hole and unable to stop the flames from spreading over her body. At the moment it seemed the beetle’s bodily fluid was still burning, like coating one’s hand in alcohol, but soon it would be covering most of the big slime, and they could already see her membrane starting to redden...
Danny and Jason
Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.0)(0.1)
Warcry II (2.175)(0.1)
Stone Shot II (2.6625)(0.1)
Rock Spire II (2.075)(0.1)
Tremor Sense II (2.425)(0.2)
Soil Manipulation I (1.15)(0.2)
Telepathy II (2.725)(0.3)
Material Analysis I (1.2)(0.1)
Magic Analysis I (1.55)(0.2)
Monster Analysis I (1.55)(0.2)
Mental Resistance I (1.55)(0.2)
Charisma I (1.15)(0.1)
Focus I (1.3) 0.5
Limited Shapeshift I (1.6) 0.3
Mind Wave I (1.2)(0.1)
Spell Chant I (1.3)0.3
Bounce I (1.15)(0.1)
Faster I (1.05)(0.1)
Blunt Resistance I (1.0)(0.1)
Spiritual Awareness I (1.55)
Transparency I (1.2)
Taboo I (1.9)
Levitate (--)
Guidance I (1.1)
Mana Drain I (1.15)
<UNUSABLE>
Earth Affinity (0.7) <CANNOT BE INCREASED BY SKILL POINTS>
Wave Shock (0.1)
Swift Swimmer (0.1) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Aqua Sphere (0.7)
Alert (0.1)
Smash (0.5) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Cleave (0.3) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Blood Drain (0.7)
Muffle (0.1)
Crafting (0.3) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Magic Resistance (0.6)
Agriculture (0.3)
Plant Analysis (0.3)
Acid Spit (0.5) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Fire Resistance (0.4)
Fortify (0.2)
Sensory Resistance (0.4)
Mana Orb (0.5)
Shield (0.5)
Alchemy (0.4)
Meditate (1.05)<UNUSABLE IN CURRENT STATE>
Air Read (0.4)
Keen Sight (0.2)
Point Strike (0.2) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Doze (0.1)
Acid Resistance (0.1)
Rabid Fit (0.1)
Pierce Resistance (0.8)
Lesser Cleanse (0.2)
Dextrous (0.2)
Quicken (0.3)
Earth Wall (0.1)
Stone Breaker (0.1) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Iron Gullet (0.1) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Slash Resistance (0.2)
Earth Vein (0.3) <UNUSABLE WITH CURRENT ABILITIES>
Mana Sense (0.75)
Mana Shape (0.1)
Possession (0.35)
Lesser Force (0.1)
---End Skill List---
MP is temporarily Overfull…
Your Mana Disorder is subsiding.
You still have Mana Burn. Natural Mana Recovery is no longer disabled, but is still reduced by 50%.
”Slime IS dum! Humans dum too! You double dum! Not fair, how you get so many things?!”
“Ja-Soon, are all dese...Skeelz? Like, da spells, and da speshul attacks strong monstahs got? Why DO yas got so many…?”When Jason brought up his System window, it overlapped the other windows that had started to pop up--and several of these began to close by themselves as Bonie and Teef questioned him. But now, the System started to do something it had never done before...the mental “window” began to…”move.” To continue describing it in the terms of a computer...it was if a mouse cursor had taken hold of it, and was dragging it around the screen…
”Bah! I bets I gots more den dum slime! Sees-Tim, show Skeelz list!””Sis-tem, show Skeel list!”Two of the windows floated closer in Jason’s consciousness...and by this point those strange symbols had begun to shift into letters he knew...
Elder Goblin
Job System 0th Tier: Voodooist
Unspent Skill Points: 90
Current Skills:
Use Light Equipment (--)
Smash II (2.025)
Skewer III (3.00375)
Crafting IV (4.025125)
First Aid IV (4.0525)
Alchemy I (1.0525)
Blunt Resistance II (2.00375)
Pierce Resistance I (1.075)
Magic Resistance I (1.5125)
Poison Resistance III (3.4125)
*Lucid Dream I (1.3375)
*(Better) Spiritual Awareness V (MAX)
Guidance II (2.625)
Mana Orb II (2.075)
Transparency I (1.2)
Levitate (--)
*Mana Drain I (1.15)
<UNUSABLE>
Slash Resistance (0.800625)
Faster (0.501125)
Mana Shape (0.0125)
Meditate (0.15)
Focus (0.7625)
Charisma (0.8965)
Intimidate (0.025625)
Deception (0.99925)
Charm (0.00525)
Material Analysis (0.5625)
Plant Analysis (0.725)
Immature Goblin
Unspent Skill Points: 5
Current Skills:
Use Light Equipment (--)
Skewer I (1.00125)
Crafting I (1.0)
<UNUSABLE>
Blunt Resistance (0.05)
Pierce Resistance (0.025)
”NO FAIR! Youse guys lemme have summa yer skeelz!”
“Don’t tink it be workin’ like dat, youngling...Ja-Soon, what do it say?”Jason’s own System window wasn’t being tugged around anymore, but the other two were still moving here and there in the back of his mind...But now, he felt the sensation of eyes on him, as Danny peered at him through a shard of a Source Crystal.
You used Source Crystal Shard!
---Ecto Slime ?V50Z---
You are slightly stronger and faster than this creature. It has slightly more MP than you. You currently cannot physically interact with it. You feel uneasy around it. It seems familiar…? It is unusual.
Possesses Spell Skill: Mana Drain
Possesses Other Skills: Spiritual Awareness, Transparency, Levitate, Guidance…
The uneasy feeling is caused by Other Skill: Taboo
---Charge Empty---
You have no MP remaining with which to charge the Source Crystal Shard.
Like looking at a powdery substance dropped into a glass of water, Danny could just barely make out Jason’s form through the green-hued, uncut lens he held to his eye. To him it seemed like a misshapen, cloudy gray blob...though occasionally, it seemed to spin in place like a globe suspended in space. Instead of seeing the shapes of continents or countries, however, Danny could occasionally make out “faces.” One of them seemed almost human. Two were small, one wrinkled and one not, but both much more pointed and vicious than a human face. And the last wasn’t really a face so much as a shape--a circle and a triangle, like a pointed hat.
They could hear the sounds of chopping behind them, and further to the south they saw another brief flash of light and heard a less ominous rumble. If they kept going east, they would soon leave the humans behind...but the goblins had gone this way as well, hadn’t they…?
Orchid
You have Processed an Item: Dead Hex Cat + Sharp Stone
Obtained Items by Carving: Hex Cat Pelt (Average), Raw Hex Cat Meat (12 pounds), Hex Cat Bones (Varying Quality), Hex Cat Organs (Varying Quality), Raw Oily Fat (Below Average)
You used Crafting IV!
You Processed an Item: Hex Cat Pelt (Average) + Sharp Stone
Hex Cat Pelt (Average) > (Good)
You Created an Item!
Hex Cat Pelt (Good) + Hex Cat Fang x2 (Above Average) + Raw Tendon Cord (Below Average)
Your Crafting level has prevented your item from deteriorating.
Your item’s quality has been boosted.
You created: Hex Fur Shirt (Good)!
You feel tougher wearing this equipment. Though the Hex Cat is a Cursed and Dark creature, you somehow feel less threatened by these elements.
Skill Rank Up: Crafting IV (4.735) > Crafting V (MAX)!
Stamina Depletion Decreased. Sub-Stat Enhancements Increased. Whether it be the limitation of your species in physical body, mind, or some other factor, you have reached the limit of this Skill. Some Skills may further develop into more specialized Skills...or, through surpassing other limitations, you may find a way to make this skill even Better...
With basic raw materials found in your environment, your ability to process and create items is now limited only by your imagination and the surroundings! A historian might say, you are at the peak of your personal Stone Age...but now what will you build?
Within the materials the other Goblins brought her, Orchid found a sharp stone with which to begin her gristly work. This was, of course, before the badger showed up, during a short rest. Crispy had been steadily munching on the Healing Herbs wrapping his injured arm, then rubbing the paste into his skin. The swelling had gone down tremendously, and he was even beginning to get some mobility back in his fingers and wrist. He still had quite the scabs and bruises to go with it, however, and it looked like it might leave a pretty nasty scar. He watched Orchid closely as she worked, while the others either dug some grubs or munched on Argeps. Several of them stayed alert, however, and Bigs traded Clod the Sharp Stone he had found for the Small Stones he could use in his sling. Though he had to run and find his ammunition every time he used it, his practice on a large tree nearby was starting to show some results. Jezee and Sqwal seemed almost too tired to go on, as the evening deepened and the red light filtered down through the canopy.
Cutting the cat open from its...well, rearmost opening, and traveling up through the belly all the way to the chest and under the neck on both sides, Orchid was able to start peeling away the hide. She had to slice through bits of fat and skin and the thin membrane holding it to the red, raw, bloody muscle underneath in a process that took a little time. Once this was done she still had to work the hide off of the body, making slits and holes here and there with careful strokes so as not to ruin the whole thing. Once the hide was off she threw it over a tree branch while she cut the rest of the beast up, mostly to get at the meat and bones. Its innards, too, could be removed, but to figure out what she could do with this, as well as some of the other less obvious parts of the beast, she would have to take a closer look at it and do some more thinking. When this was done, she went back to the hide and once again began the slow scraping and rubbing process, using a piece of curved tree bark as a temporary bowl to hold the growing wad of fatty, waxy substances coming off of it.
By the time she was finished the hide stank to high heaven, and it wasn’t
quite dry of blood or anything else, but it was usable. Wrapping it diagonally around herself, she draped the head over one shoulder. The main body went over one shoulder and across her back, then wrapped under her arm to cross her chest, for the first time giving her a proper sense of modesty unlike that strip of Dire Rat fur. A little bit of the body section was left to go to the middle of her back in a second wrap, and past that she had to stretch the rear legs around, tying them with the tail to make a sort of triple belt around her midriff. The forelegs came down diagonally across her chest to tie into this belt, giving her a place to possibly hang more pouches or help support the weight of any weapons hung at her hips. Despite the gamey smell and a few wet, clingy spots here and there...it actually felt fairly cozy.
“Oi! Lotsa berries ovah here!” shouted Wej, and the other goblins hurried to grab some of the Blue Argeps he pointed out. But as they gathered around the bushes, a deep growl came from the shadows of another tree…
“ARMOR BADGER!” yelled Bigs, pointing frantically.
Naturally of course, peaceful times would not come so easily. This was a forest after all. One of the goblins alerted her of the presence of an old adversary. Orchid grumbled and stood up, heading over to the growling beast while growling herself. ”Back off everyone! Might be more around here. Watch my back and more importantly watch your ass!” Armed with her Sharp Club and a torch Orchid squared off against the badger. She roared at the beast as she shook her Sharp Club wildly, trying to intimidate it with her animal pacification. And just to make a point she casually set a bush on fire, just to show the extent of her destruction. ”Bring it, bitch! I’m hungry and I’ll eat your face!”
This time, Orchid didn’t cower behind a shield to make herself look smaller. She roared, she waved her weapon, she stared the beast down. She even moved closer to it, a clear sign of threat. The Armored Badger actually backed up a few steps, baring its teeth and snarling. When the Demiblin lit the bush on fire, the creature circled away from the blaze, but kept its beady, glittering eyes on her at all times. It wasn’t quite what one would call “pacified,” but it couldn’t seem to decide whether or not to actually fight…
“It’s scared, kills it!” Bigs crowed, whirling his sling and letting fly. The stone pinged the badger right on top of the armored plate on its head--and actually made the creature yelp in pain! The multiplicative force of such a weapon, even when made from plain braided grass fibers, was not to be underestimated.
Neither was an angry badger. The creature let out a roar and charged Bigs, who immediately let out a high pitched scream and ran behind Wej as the stouter goblin raised his shield--revealing his knees as they knocked together and he, too, screamed.
“Fireball!”
Crispy had a good shot at the creature, and not only was it too heavy to dodge like the Hex Cats, it was also too focused on eviscerating the minions to even think of such a thing. But the bright flare made it clear that this was Crispy’s trump card, Fireball II. As did the explosion on impact, which caught Wej and Bigs in its crossfire. Both of them yelped and threw themselves to the ground, rolling to put out what few flames had caught their hides. The Armored Badger had been knocked to one side, and shook its head with a low groan as it blinked its eyes against the intense light.
“Yaaaagh!”
Clod came down on the creature from a blindspot at its flank, swinging his Stone Sword with both hands. The heavy blades had been sharpened to an especially keen edge--Clod had spent most of the day working on it before they left the clearing, after all. The weight of the weapon, and all Clod’s scrawny strength, focused into such a blade was surprisingly effective, actually cutting through the scaly hide that armored the monstrous beast’s tail-end! It stumbled forward with the force of the blow, towards Orchid. It roared in fury, and raised one broad paw tipped with hard black claws--!
Monster Party
By taking to the air, Oberon would quickly find Torrent and Digbie as the latter crossed the stream. After all, down the stream bed and along its banks, the landscape was fairly clear save for the intertwining treetops overhead. With his Keen Sight, despite the two being a few minutes’ walk away he immediately spotted them. Slightly glowing with the aura of his Shield, his wings fluttered and he took off. By the time he got to them, much faster than if he had walked, Digbie had completely healed Torrent with his Sacred Ground spell, though it had drained a good chunk of his MP. Torrent’s Meditation had recovered a good chunk of her own magical power, but not all of it quite yet.
As the three got each other caught up on what they had been doing, they soon felt a rumbling in the earth. Digbie, being the most sensitive to vibrations within the ground, would be able to tell that someone--probably Ash, since she also had the skill--was causing these tremors. And by simply following these for a short while, this hypothesis proved correct. Ash’s Tremor Sense was easily picked up on, and once they found her the situation was rather self explanatory. Or rather, it explained
one of the tremors, from a particular direction. Because from another direction, there was another set of tremors. These, however, were not like radar waves or a magical pulse.
From over a hill, and now rumbling down towards the monsters, came an autumn-orange Slime! But...Slimes weren’t supposed to be that big, were they? Even that blue one back in the cave had only been half this size! This one was a Giant...and it was headed right for them!
