The Bonfire [hr] [@Renny][@Lucius Cypher][@Knox] “Oi!” Crispy yelled as Yoda began throwing firewood. “Dat be for my fire!” The flame touched goblin snarled and brandished his torch. “He can take just one, Crispy.” The boss snorted as Yoda picked up a rounded stick about two feet long, with one knotted end where it had once been attached to a trunk. [quote=System:Yoda] 1 Gnarled Branch added to inventory. Would you like to exchange Hard Rock for Gnarled Branch (Attack power ^ / Weapon durability v)? [/quote] “Okay squirt, dat’s enuff!” The boss picked up Yoda by the scruff of the neck and set him down away from the wood. “Ya can’t have stuff like me til ya can go outside by yerself, and ya can’t do dat cause you a weakling snot! Now come on!” “Rattleskull, none of em knows where da rats are.” Crispy pointed out. “The last times I saws—“ “Nah, I changed my mind.” Boss Rattleskull smirked, one fang poking out under his top lip. “Look over dere.” Further off from the bonfire, the goblins could barely make out several shapes through the gloom. But they were clearly several creatures grouped together, and most of them seemed like the sleek, dark colored bodies of lizards crouched low to the ground. One was flying, but it wasn’t glowing, so it was probably a Pixie. And as the gobs watched, two differently colored slimes were joining the bunch. “Even yous wimps can catch one outta a big bunch like dat, right?” He gestured at Yoda, Eric, and Orchid before crouching low himself, his long arms nearly dragging the ground. “Let’s go!” he whispered, at least compared to his usual volume of speech. [hr] The Mook Alliance [hr] [@Tatsu][@Old Amsterdam][@Rune_Alchemist][@CriticalHit][@ReusableSword][@Guy0fV4lor][@Kazemitsu] As Jason and Asura practiced a little bit more before they left the pool, the red slime would find that if he let himself get low enough on HP for the System Warning to trigger—which took about three of the Stone Shots but significantly more of any non magical attack—that it took three whole Healing Herbs before his HP was full again. But once he had fully recovered, in about the time it took him to refill his inventory another message appeared. [quote=System:Asura] You have learned the skill Blunt Resistance I! You already possess the skill Physical Damage Resistance I. Damage Calculation Overlap will follow an order of priority: Any blunt-category attack will have its damage subtracted from Blunt Resistance I first, and any leftover damage will be subtracted from Physical Damage Resistance I’s threshold. However, if a single blunt-category attack consumes the Resistance threshold for both skills, Physical Damage Resistance I will NOT trigger on attacks from other categories. If ONLY Blunt Resistance I’s threshold is consumed, Physical Damage Resistance I will trigger against a second blunt attack, or other physical attacks. Acquiring Pierce Resistance and Slash Resistance will automatically cause Skill Synergy and raise Physical Damage Resistance by one rank regardless of Skill Progression.[/quote] It was probably just as well that the slimes stopped their training when they did, though—whether they noticed or not, the number of monsters harvesting larger amounts than usual of the Healing Herbs was starting to leave the green patches around the pool a little sparse… As they joined the four Fanged Lizards and the one pixie, this little alliance seemed like it might be a real force to be reckoned with. Would any of them realize that despite their differences, they all had one big thing in common…? Perhaps. But that realization might need to wait until after they resolved another issue coming from the direction of the bonfire... [hr] The Exit [hr] [@Gobby][@Duoya] As Puck fell, he managed to cast Shield three times before his MP ran out. And three times before he hit the ground, a falling rock struck him. Luckily it seemed they didn’t have enough momentum yet to do more than jarringly shake and toss him about through the defensive spell, but they interfered with his ability to right himself and get his wings moving. The ground rushed up at him—and a split second later he managed to fly, slowing down hard enough for a landing that only numbed his legs and seemed to reverberate through every hollow bone in his body. Then the last rock to fall clonked him over the head. [quote=System:Puck] WARNING! Your HP is low! [/quote] [hr] Elsewhere [hr] [@King Cosmos][@Gardevoiran][@Legion02][@UltraCraftGames][@floodtalon] As Jacob cast a Shield spell on their new ally, a worrying thing happened. [quote=System:Jacob] ((Is he calling himself Oberon yet?)) You have no MP remaining. [/quote] Luckily, the shield wouldn’t be immediately used up like it was the last two times, as Mourningstar managed to dodge the purple slime and hit it with another salvo of magic. But while she intended to use two shots of Mana Orb, she only got one. [quote=System:Mourningstar] You have no MP remaining. [/quote] Still the slime let out a warbling yelp as a chunk of its body splattered on the wall from the magic bolt. It seemed to quiver and tremble now, and began to head back towards the crack in the wall it had oozed out of… As Digbie felt the vibrations passing through the earth around him, the sensation was very similar to a certain animated character associated with being blind and manipulating earth with supernatural martial arts. Only his senses weren’t quite that detailed—yet he could feel, as they all moved around and yelled and water flowed somewhere underground, that one of the stalagmites on the ground near his hole had been loosened around its base thanks to his digging, and it was wobbling it’s way a little looser every time something shook it. It had a very sharp tip and was narrow despite being about a foot long… *** As Peter conducted another set of experiments, he found that he couldn’t really “burn” anything with his Mana Orb, though it must have been putting out some kind of heat because it was clear that the Dire Rat’s fur was singed at the tips. But keeping the magical light orb in contact with the fur did not create a spark or light a fire. It sometimes gave off a crackling sound like electricity, but it certainly wasn’t a form of that type of energy either. And with Peter’s past life being one unfamiliar with technology and education, even his abnormally crystal clear memories couldn’t provide him with much information that might help him out. To find an answer to his desires, it soon became clear he would either need to try a whole host of creative experiments, or seek outside help somehow. But would he get the opportunity to do that? “Oi, it’s dat Wisp again!” Four goblins began to approach, and two of them were some of the ones that Peter had attacked earlier. All of them were carrying wooden pickaxes now. “Ya still after dese crystals, huh!?” one snarled. “Ya betta git if’n ya don’t wants us to kills ya!” The others sneered and laughed. If Peter looked beyond them he might see that a large section of the cave wall in the direction they had come from was picked clean. And though Peter might not know it, several other monsters had been using the crystals more than usual. Between the Goblins mining for Crispy, Peter himself, and who knew who else, it seemed the caves might not have enough crystals to go around...