It happened so quickly. They were about to exchange pleasantries when the fire mage was blasted by an attack that he couldn't even perceive. The next thing he knew saw some pretty boy hurtling towards the ground with a god damn rapier.
"The hell?!" Where in the world did that guy even come from?! He was literally looking up two seconds ago! Ludo watched as the two nobles descended at a rapid pace towards the ground while it turned into a match to retrieve the sphere that blue haired fancy fuck. However, that one moment of distraction would prove to be fatal for him.
He heard the mage cast his spell before he saw it. Translucent green tendrils wrapped around his body and pinned his arms to his side and a second ensnared the hand holding the Angel Sphere. And the one responsible for it? When people talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater, his parents really should have done exactly that. Of all people he had to be caught by, it had to be a guy who looked like the leftover pooled grease from an on old griddle given flesh.
The grip on him tightened, but he refused to make a sound. On a quick glance down, he could see that the poison around his hand was floating like ink in the slime. The magic was still there, so the slime wasn't absorbing his mana. So why was it that he could feel not only a powerful well of mana flowing from this slimeball, but it was growing stronger? Now, Ludo had no knowledge about the Heart Kingdom's Mana Method, but generally he understood that as a rule of thumb that people cannot use more mana than they have. Of course, he had no way of being certain what this guy's upper limit was, but it was if he was pushing past it every second. It was almost as if...
Ludo remembered something, something that he saw earlier that day. It was when he was walking along the festive streets, littered with stalls. Some stalls sold trinkets, some sold food, and then there were peddlers pushing for a certain miracle in a bottle.
The tendrils tightened their squeeze to the delighted perverted glee of his captor. Ludo let out a blood curdling scream of pain like a wild animal being tortured. One would think that he was about to throw in the towel, except the corners of his mouth curved upwards. His animalistic scream turned into mischievous cackling. "Did you seriously think I was going to give you the satisfaction, you fraud?" He asked with the widest grin, but Edward could see it Ludo's eyes; the Poison Mage saw through him, and he was livid.
"Death's Touch," He intoned. The tentacles suddenly started having trouble squeezing his body; that same poison that was on his hand had begun to grow from all over his body, shimmering with a strange aura.
He chuckled with that wild grin and a violent glint in his eyes. "You wanted to play with the big boys, right? You've got your power. Let's play you rat." While maintaining Death's Touch, Ludo drew from the deep well in his body, but here was the part that would throw most for a loop. Instead of trying to break it out, he casted his magic through the slime that ensnared him. Like he had noted before, the magic in the poison had not been absorbed by the slime so he decided to overflow it with as much of his own Poison Magic as possible.
Magic was not just about having the most amount of power, it was also about control. The question was how well Edward could control a large amount of a mana that he was not used to when Ludo was pumping his slime construct full of poison. It wasn't just random magic either, there were serpents swimming in his smile, writhing and pushing against the blob's form in an effort to make Edward concentrate on maintaining the slime and its tendril's shape and size. If Edward could not maintain it, well, hopefully he liked snakes.
@Zeroth I mean, I'm asking because that's what he's gonna try to do. Figured that's what he would do and suffer the consequences before he rips him a new one. Would it be easier to collab this or is that unnecessary?
<Snipped quote by Remram> Uh, hmm...I guess it'd be from his mana, but the spell itself is manifested from his mana, so it's probably not evident to someone without a well-developed mana sensory skill? Ludo would probably just be able to feel that he's getting unusually stronger than a normal commoner would be.
Fair enough. Ludo wouldn't be able to tell since he doesn't have a well-developed mana sensory skill. I guess it was more of a question if that pulsation was a separate spell from the slime holding onto Ludo or was more like his mana like a core, but Ludo probably wouldn't be able to know that.
Hey sorry to ask, but I just need some clarification on the pulsing thing. When you mean it's coming from his magic, do you mean the spell itself or his mana?
Once again, Jason would take the cable car up to the Entertainment District. The cart shook slowly against the breeze as it ascended higher and higher, pass the canopies. Once it came to a halt, the sliding doors opened, and people rushed out to the wooden streets.
Starbor Village
Entertainment District
Upon the very top of the canopy of Starbor Village was its Entertainment District, a vast playground where anyone can find something that they would like to do. There was a festive energy in the air no matter the time of day and really, who could blame them? One would get the best view of the region up there though the best time every be up here is when the sun is setting and when it is rising. A place filled to the brim with just about anything to keep your interest with both villagers and tourists going about their own business though many would try their best to get the best view on top of the Elder Tree, the tallest tree in the village where people go to its observational deck to get a view of East Evig.
Beyond beautiful views, there were also any number of restaurants, theatres, and other means of entertainment that one would find here though there were no gambling institutions as the village's traditions forbit it. There was also the Battle Square where trainers test their might against one another for bragging rights and reputation. If that does not tickle one's fancy, one could go to the ornate Contest Hall for any aspiring Coordinators. Oh yeah, the gym is here too as gyms are actually public spectacles in Evig for the general public to watch, an influence from the Galar Region.
Given how high up the district is, it is a decent place to find some Pokemon flying about and of course there were still some that made their homes in the trees where the buildings rested on.
Starly, the Starling Pokemon. They flock in great numbers. Though small, they flap their wings with great power. Usually with a large flock, it is barely noticeable when alone. Its cries are very strident.
Pikipek, the Woodpecker Pokemon. It pecks at trees with its hard beak. You can get some idea of its mood or condition from the rhythm of its pecking. It may look spindly, but its neck muscles are heavy-duty. It can peck at a tree 16 times per second!
Seedot, the Acorn Pokemon. If it remains still, it looks just like a real nut. It delights in surprising foraging Pokémon. It attaches itself to a tree branch using the top of its head. Strong winds can sometimes make it fall.
Now Jason would walk along the busy streets bustling with the life of those lived in what can only be called a village in name only. Not someone who wasted time, he rushed towards the stadium that he had seen before when he briefly was in the district when he caught his Hawlucha. He approached its entrance, and it was... closed?
Some random guy passing by called out. "Hey, if you're looking for the gym leader then she's out. She's investigating with what's going on in the Corrupted Marsh. If you're that desperate, you're gonna need a gas mask." He paused in thought before he continued. "Actually, she should be back by now. She had a match arranged with some hotshot trainer from another region. I wonder what's going on?"
Well, that was that. What was Jason going to do?
Connected Areas Starbor Forest. A forest filled with ungodly huge trees and many secrets. Lake Charity. A massive body of water. Used to travel between Starbor Village, Valstille City, and Florasong Town. Blue Lichen Cave. South of Starbor Village.
1. Find Pokémon. Can still search for Pokémon in towns and cities. 2. Talk. In cities, there are considerably more people one can talk to. Specify what kind you’re looking for. 3. Exit. Exit the town to any of the connected areas. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Notable Buildings. Visit any of the facilities of the city! 6.1. Pokémon Center. Heal all your Pokémon. 6.2. PokéMart. Go to a store and buy things. 6.3. Gym ??? 6.4. Kiosk. Great place to ask for directions. 6.5. Battle Square A place for trainers to battle to win bragging rights and be crowned King of the Battle Square. Good place for gossip too. 6.6. Elder Tree The tallest and largest tree in the village. Has a look out at the top where you can see a large portion of Eastern Evig. 6.7. General Places Theatres, restaurants, bars, and whatever else you feel like wasting your money on! 6.8. Contests For when you want to show off how good you and your Pokemon look. Popular all over Evig. 7. Rail Carts. Take a cart to help you get around the village. Agriculture District, the Scholar District, the Market District, and the Entertainment District
The tall behemoth of a woman stared in silence; her face completely unreadable. She turned to look at Freya and said, "What the fuck did this gremlin just say?" She pointed at Steph like she was referring to some ill-begotten beast that had lurked out of its hole, speaking in tongues to drive those who listened to it mad like some being foreign to their sense of reality. She wasn't that far off.
"Uh... she said her name is Steph and she asked if you're going to kill us." Freya said, her eyes not pulling away from that suspiciously red covered knife.
The woman arched a stern, yet confused brow at the strange, very unreasonable "Why in the world would I want to murder two teens who wander to my cabin in the middle of the woods?" Clearly, she was not an expert in horror movie tropes. Freya hesitantly pointed towards the knife and the apron covered in the red stains. The woman glanced down and then squinted at them. "It's tomato soup. I'm doing my dishes. I just had another kid here like five minutes ago and I made him food."
Her eyes fell upon another figure that hung further back on her property. "Did you seriously bring a kid here?"
Meanwhile...
In response to her proposition the pumpkin ghosts huddled each other and whispered, glancing back to look at Amelia. Eventually, they broke up and a representative came forward to her.
It said to her with a surprisingly formal tone, "Pumpka, pumpka pump. Pumpka pump pump pumpka. Pumpka pump pumpka!" ... That would have actually meant something to her if she could actually understand what these haunted gourds were saying. However, her ghost-type Pokemon caught the gist. Amelia needed to play hide and seek with them. She needed to five representatives in the woods and then she could be able to choose a partner.
Rosa looked at Faye as if she had Claunchers crawling out of her ears. "I'm sorry, but did you say the Illusive Woods? The woods where people go in and are never seen again? Those same woods? Are you high?" Her reaction was understandable. She lived in close proximity to those woods for her entire life. She knew the stories, heck, she knew people that entered those woods and never came out. However, she seemed to relax when Faye brought up the incident with the Tinkatink.
"Well, you're not wrong. We know that they live there because they sometimes wander out of the forest, but I've never heard of them trying to turn an engine into clubs," she conceded. That was definitely out of the ordinary. That thought had to be put on hold when they saw Tristan's Pokemon throwing hands with a gardener's own in battle. "Huh, you know I know he battles but it's actually weird to see him do it."
The farmgirl shrugged and turned her attention to her companion. "Just the two. I think I'll take a page out of your book and find a new team member."
With that, the hunt was on. However, finding a Rare Pokemon was not something someone could do by walking around. A Rare Pokemon could only be found if you either were specifically looking for it after obtaining the correct information, delving deep into territories, or sometimes blind luck. Faye however had no such luck, but she did find some uncommon Pokemon while wandering around. She found some plucky blue birds in the trees and at first she though she saw a piece of fruit on the ground, except it started to walk on its stubby legs.
Pokedex Entry #276-Tailow, the Tiny Swallow Pokemon. Taillow courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be. This gutsy Pokémon will remain defiant even after a loss. On the other hand, it cries loudly if it becomes hungry.
Pokedex Entry #761-Bounsweet, the Tiny Swallow Pokemon. Because of its sweet, delicious aroma, bird Pokémon are always after it, but it's not intelligent enough to care. Its sweat is sweet, like syrup made from boiled-down fruit. Because of this, Bounsweet was highly valued in the past, when sweeteners were scarce.
Ludo's mana isn't being absorbed--rather, the pulsation is coming from Edward's magic itself. And the poison pretty much just mixed with the slime, yes, it's not being dissolved or anything. It's just like something being mixed into water, it's sort of "breaking up" but it's just diluted, not being "eaten" or "absorbed" or anything of that nature.