[h3]Xiao Mei, Asteria, Edward, Lorek, Danny[/h3] [i][b]Exploring Near Crystals and Cave Walls[/b][/i] [@SilverPaw][@Jobst][@Bishop][@Searat][@Duthguy] [hr] Mother Rat watched these going-ons with a wary curiosity. The male rat being submissive was not surprising to the mother--this one was still small, no older than her own offspring. When he rolled over to show them his belly she leaned in for a cursory sniff, then turned away. So long as he was no threat, there was no reason to fight. He had submitted, so his territory could be safely passed through. When the Wisps showed up, however, she raised her hackles and the hair on her back with a hiss. But the Wisps didn't attack...and then, they began to make some strange noise! Her offspring even answered in kind! Mother Rat's head turned this way and that in confusion. Were they not going to fight these other creatures that had entered their territory? Or hunt them? Hunting the Wisps was dangerous, though--they could fly above where the rats could jump, and they could shoot painful orbs of magic from far away. Mother Rat knew this from long years in the cave. Were her children distracting the Wisps, keeping them low to the ground so they could hunt them more easily? Mother Rat reared up onto her hind legs, and looked about their surroundings. She didn't see any other Wisps approaching, so it didn't seem like these ones were with a pack. She also didn't see any other monsters, aside from those in the distance near the hurt-lights or hiding among the rocks. It was night time, now--prime hunting time, but she and her offspring had already hunted and eaten their fill. It might be better to go to ground until morning, to conserve their energy. She turned and squeaked at the three rats, once for each of them. [b][[Past this point, you're free to interact on your own until you're ready for time skip or unless you're looking for more random encounters.]][/b] [hr] [h3]Asura, Edith[/h3] [b][i]Unknown Location[/i][/b] [@Kazemitsu][@ShwiggityShwah] Asura was able to force himself into the rat's body, but his shapeshifting skill wasn't quite so good yet at the precision work required to fit into articulate spaces like joints and organs, nor was he able to [i]condense[/i] himself as well; that is, he could not "squeeze" himself tighter past a certain point. A metaphor would be that, no matter how much a fat man sucks in his guts, he cannot give himself a six pack. The red slime would need more control before he could achieve his dream of a meat puppet, but at least he had pulled a Ton-Ton on Hoth maneuver and found himself a relatively safe place to sleep. At least until someone tried to eat the body he was in. [b][[Past this point, you're free to interact on your own until you're ready for time skip or unless you're looking for more random encounters.]][/b] [hr] [h3]Jason, Rain[/h3] [i][b]The Hole in the Wall[/b][/i] [hr] Upon using Tremor Sense on the odd green crystal, Jason received a sharp, high pitched ringing like a tuning fork in return. It wasn't quite enough to be painful, but it didn't relay any immediately useful information either. By touching it, however, he could feel that it was virtually the same kind of crystal as the Mana Crystals--the only difference was how much bigger, and therefore thicker and sturdier, it was. It could probably still be broken into smaller pieces, but it would require significantly more force. Pulling the whole thing out of the ground was definitely a no-go, it had to weigh at least a hundred pounds. It also felt similar to a Mana Crystal, in terms of its aura and the pulsating energies within it, but it also felt...different. Less...refined, perhaps? But soon he, and Rain as well, were fast asleep... [hr] [h3]Orchid, Ash[/h3] [i][b]On the Hunt[/b][/i] [@Rune_Alchemist][@Lucius Cypher] [hr] As Ash and Orchid collapsed, both exhausted, they might have begun to wonder idly why the System hadn't seemed to respond yet. Could it be that there was some sort of timer in place, or that it wouldn't trigger in mid-battle? Or maybe they just hadn't garnered any results yet? Or, could it possibly be the other way around--what if it were possible to outpace the system, to accomplish things at such a rate that the notifications effectively "lagged?" But if there was lagging...what other implications did that have for this world? Or maybe they didn't wonder any of that, and simply slept like logs. Regardless, they certainly had plenty of messages in the morning. [quote=System:Ash] You have gained a Crafted Item: Rawhide Pack! This item may rot or tear if not preserved correctly. This object can hold 5 Small Items; in total with your Throat Pouch, you may now hold 10 Small Items! LEVEL UP! Your experiences have culminated into new power! You are now Level 3. You gain Skill Points to spend as you please! Unspent Skill Points: 10 Current Skills: Stun Fang I (1.4) Poison Spit I (1.8) Alchemy I (1.6) Overwork I (1.3) Charisma I (1.0) Muffle (0.8) Crafting (0.5) Alert (0.5) Venom Shot (0.4) Blunt Resistance (0.2) Monster Analysis (0.3) You have eaten well and gotten a good night's sleep. HP Fully Restored. MP Fully Restored. SP Fully Restored. Your venom sacs were Very Low. They are now Full. [/quote] [quote=System:Orchid] You have learned a new skill! Skill Gain: Crafting I. Your knowledge and understanding of mechanics, workmanship, and other such things enable you to craft better items. The process of creating many items is still an unknown to you, but if you ever succeed in such a creation its Sub-Stat Enhancements will be higher than normal. You have learned a new skill! Skill Gain: Material Analysis I. You have developed an eye for determining the qualities of inorganic or non-living objects. At this level, you will only be able to gain surface information about an object. When used in conjunction with a crafting skill, it may help discover more compatible items. You have gained a Title! New Title: Cannibal. You have eaten a member of your own species. The effects of this Title aren't yet clear. Current Title Rank: I You have gained a Crafted Item: Rawhide Pack! This item may rot or tear if not preserved correctly. This object can hold 5 Small Items. In addition to your limbs, you can now hold up to 12 Small Items! Skill Rank Up: Crafting II! Crafting Complexity Increased. Stamina Requirement Decreased. You have gained a Crafted Item: Fanged Sword! This weapon makes you feel slightly [b]stronger[/b] and allows you to attack slightly [b]faster[/b]! Deals Slashing and Piercing Damage. Requires two hands. LEVEL UP! Your experiences have culminated into new power. You have gained Skill Points to spend as you please. Unspent Skill Points: 5 Current Skills: Use Light Equipment (--) Pacify Animal I (1.0) Stronger I (1.3) Crafting II (2.7) Material Analysis I (1.15) Muffle (0.5) Deception (0.4) Charm (0.1) Monster Analysis (0.9) Alert (0.2) Stone Shot (0.3) Shred (0.3) Warcry (0.1) Pierce Resistance (0.4) Blunt Resistance (0.1) Blood Drain (0.3) Taboo (0.5) Smash (0.5) Skewer (0.2) Mental Resistance (0.1) You have eaten something and have gotten a full night's sleep. HP is mostly restored. MP is Fully restored. SP is Fully restored. [/quote] And soon, the pair would awaken to a new day... [hr] [h3]Digbie, Mourningstar, Oberon, Orochi[/h3] The First True Party!? [@King Cosmos][@CriticalHit][@Gardevoiran][@floodtalon] [hr] [quote=System:Mourningstar] You used Magic Analysis I! Effectiveness reduced to 75%. This is a Monster using Magic. Pixies are a magically oriented monster. This pixie has three spells and one magically oriented skill. This pixie is using the skill Magical Analysis, which you also have. You used Magic Analysis I! Effectiveness reduced to 25%. This is a Monster. Goblins are capable of magic. This Goblin is unusual; it possesses one magically oriented skill. You used Magic Analysis I! Effectiveness reduced to 25%. This is a Monster. Fanged Lizards are capable of magic. This Fanged Lizard is unusual; it possesses one spell.[/quote] [b][[Past this point, you're free to interact on your own until you're ready for time skip or unless you're looking for more random encounters.]][/b] [hr] [h3]Ardur[/h3] [i][b]A Pixie to the Bonfire[/b][/i] [@ReusableSword] [hr] [quote=System:Ardur] Your practice has increased one of your skills! Skill Rank Up: Lesser Flight II! Flight speed slightly increased. MP Consumption slightly decreased. Maximum height slightly increased. Maximum distance slightly increased. [/quote] Ardur slept peacefully, and his spiderbro faithfully defended him from all manner of bedbugs, flies, or other such things that might dare threaten his roommate. And when the first rays of light began to creep through the cave, the pixie would awaken to find... [hr] [h3]Scott[/h3] [i][b]A Short Search[/b][/i] [b][[If you'd like you can join up with any other Day 1 groups. You could also skip ahead fairly easily since you aren't interacting yet.]][/b] [@CollectorOfMyst] [hr] As Scott searched, he would be able to find the easier food--the small insects and the moss--without much trouble. However, the green herbs that grew in abundance near the pool had begun to thin out considerably. It looked like many other creatures had been searching for resources too. The same was true of the blue, glowing crystals along the walls. There might be enough left to find one or two, but unless he wanted to venture into other creatures' territories it was unlikely he would be able to find more than that, or any cluster big enough to scavenge enough shards from to make up for it. As for weapons...no matter what he tried, the pixie would soon find that it just didn't seem like any of the materials available to him would work. Rocks were either too big, too heavy, too awkward to fly with, or some combination of all three. Sticks could only be found among the Goblins, who certainly couldn't be messed with at the moment as they were gathered up in bunches around that bonfire. Even then, in order for the foot-tall pixie to use one it would have to be practically a toothpick or drumstick sized. Although his form was vaguely humanoid and, like the goblins, he actually did have opposable thumbs, he was simply too physically small and frail to make any use of even the lightest of weapons. Maybe there was a way to get around this, but he would have to put some effort into it, it seemed... [hr] [h2][u][b]DAWN OF THE SECOND DAY[/b][/u][/h2] [b][[Skip this if you are still interacting.]][/b] [hr] The rest of the night inside the cave was relatively uneventful. A few monsters chose to hunt nocturnally, but more often than not they ran into each other rather than the other sleeping species. Being a lone wanderer in the cave environment didn't seem to pay off as much for the normal monsters as it had for some of the Damned Heroes. The goblins took turns sleeping in shifts around the bonfire; Crispy and Rattleskull, however, likely by virtue of being the biggest and meanest, did not have to do such menial tasks as keeping watch. They slept soundly throughout the night, but they were each guarded by a handful of goblins who seemed just a little bit meaner or more experienced than the others, likely older specimens. But as those few shafts of sunlight changed to moonlight, and as the environment calmed down, the Mana Crystals began to glow a little bit brighter. With sounds like quietly tinkling glass, a shard that had been broken off by some adventurous Wisp pushed up from the ground a full inch. A cluster that had been reduced by one head brought forth another, though it was quite tiny. The remaining crystals in the bunch also grew another inch each. The veins of deeper blue minerals glowed like circuitry in a machine, in rhythmic, silent pulses here and there. Something that seemed like a charge ran through them, traversing the entire maze of the cave. Another hour, another partial inch. And as the crystals seemed to increase, ambient mana building inside the cave, the Healing Herbs seemed to shiver. A handful of seeds, dropped by some curious creature, sprouted roots. A tiny leaf emerged from each one. Herbs that had been picked off, but hadn't had their roots damaged, sprouted new buds. A few that had been snipped at the leaves grew thicker in their stems and their remaining leaves grew broader. By the time morning came, and the first few rays of the sun began to creep through cracks and crevices, the cave's resources were probably about half-way recovered from the previous day's harvest. Save for a few parts of the walls where the goblins had completely mined away every last crystal, at least. Rattleskull awakened the earliest of the goblins, and was the most alert upon first rising. He kicked the rest of them into awareness, quite literally, and gathered up some of the meaner looking ones. Once he had a band of about half a dozen, plus himself, they headed towards the entrance of the cave--only to find it blocked off. Soon a commotion of confusion--about the cave-in, about the dead guards, about their next course of action--began to echo around the area. Crispy, along with another handful of goblins, began poking at the burned down embers of his bonfire. It had burned well throughout the night, but now was merely the size of a small cookfire. He began adding wood to it, but his pile was growing low. He barked at the mining parties he had been about to send out; today they would join Rattleskull in gathering wood. The crystals still needed time to regrow, after all. As the miners-now-lumberjacks grumbled about their fates and were helped along by a series of angry kicks in the rear, Crispy was soon left with only three guards, whom he seemed to be giving a different kind of instructions... All around the cave, other monsters began to stir. Because most of them had not hunted during the night, they were hungry. And because they were fresh from sleep, these first few hours would be a time in which they had the most energy. Now, then, would begin a feeding frenzy as they all sought to take advantage of their own healthy state and the still-groggy condition of any late dozers...