[center][h1][color=darkred]Jason[/color], [color=F0E68C]Asteria[/color] & [color=chocolate]Edward[/color][/h1][/center]
[hr][@Zeroth][@SilverPaw][@Guy0fV4lor][@Kazemitsu]

[quote=System:Ed]
You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.
[/quote]
The sudden 'System' notification that popped in his head, startled him slightly from his concentrated state. Though he didn't feel any significantly any different from before, there was now a warm pulse like tingling flowing through his body. Ed wasn't an expert on magic, but he was quite sure this was something of a result of his experiment and the notification was solid proof of that. [color=chocolate]'Wow...something really did happen. Maybe if I try a little harder imagining that-'[/color] It was then the sudden [color=Maroon]"Test!"[/color] that popped in his head that caused his eyes to go wide in shock and his jaw to drop. Jason had really been able to create something of a psychic link to him and he could clearly hear his voice. [color=chocolate]"Holy shit, Jason. It worked. It actually worked!"[/color] He almost yelled at his slime ally out of sheer excitement and shock. Never had psychic ability been present when he was alive as a human, this was an absolute groundbreaking scientific breakthrough and he was part of it. Scientists more deserving than he was would kill to experience this, but here he was. It caused a slight feeling of pride to swell within him.

Using his newfound [b][Telepathy I][/b] Jason responded directly into Ed's mind with a psychic chuckle, [color=darkred][i]'I told you I was close! Now, how to build off of this? There are so many possibilities.... I'm going to try them all!'[/i][/color]
Retracting his pseudopods from the sides of Ed's head, Jason slowly approached Asteria, extending his pseudopods invitingly before her.

Ed offered Jason a quick nod of affirmation after he had retracted his pseudopods from him. 
With the little experiment of Jason finally yielding a good result, it was time he focused on the reaction he had when he imagined the invisible mana layer hardening and form a protective sheen on his body. Focusing significantly harder now, he begins by retaining the image of the mana layer surrounding him. Then once the image was clear in his mind, he begins to imagine another layer of mana appearing and settling atop the first layer and also hardening. It was getting more and more difficult to focus and retain the image. Maybe he was running low on mana?

Asteria was briefly distracted by Mother rat who was either curious or disconcerted about what Ed and Jason were doing. [color=F0E68C]"It's alright, Mother,"[/color] Asteria said to her softly, brushing against her. [color=F0E68C]"They're just trying some things out,"[/color] she said despite being certain that the Dire rat wouldn't understand. But perhaps she would be reassured. 

Ed's sudden shout alerted her to Jason's success. [color=F0E68C]"You got the telepathy? That's amazing!"[/color] She was definitely excited about this. Who wouldn't be about magic, something impossible in their previous world? And telepathy, if they could get it working long range, would be dead useful. With some strange mix of wariness and eagerness, she approached Jason. [color=F0E68C]"C'mmon, do the thing. I'll try and see if I can feel the magic, so just chat for a while, alright?"[/color] she proposed, then closed her eyes and focused on her remaining senses. She could hear her own breath, the pitter-patter of her faster-than-human heartbeat and even what might have been the sound of her blood flowing trough her. She felt the ground beneath her, soft yet sturdy, warming where she had been standing from absorbing part of her body heat. Whenever Jason touched her - was that gelatinous extension a limb? - she intended to focus intensely on the point of connection and concentrate on [i]feeling[/i] what he was doing in the hopes that that was a way to either make her sensitive to magical forces or a way to develop reciprocal telepathy.

Jason found Asteria's sudden change of heart quite funny. Touching his pseudopods to the sides of the dire rat's fuzzy head as he activated his [b][Telepathy I][/b]. [Color=darkred][i]'I told you have a little faith... Now, since you want to try making this method of communication a two way street, I'd like to try another experiment. I'm going to try reading your mind. Now, to test this, I'm going to need a little help from you, I want you to clear your mind, and focus on a singular thought, let me know when you're ready'[/i][/color] he thought, awaiting her reply.

Asteria kept focusing on the magical connection Jason was creating, but only felt the strange but physical jelly-like substance that was touching her fur and skin. She slowed her breathing, doing her best to achieve a state similar to the one just before falling asleep. She relaxed the tension in her muscles and tried to forget or at least temporarily ignore her worries, specifically those relating to Jason. For all that she knew, a basic level of trust might help in this experiment, though having any kind of 'faith' in him as he consistently requested wasn't really something she could just decide and do. But for now, she tried to let those concerns lie silent and still. What she was attempting to do was most likely akin to meditation, not something she had ever practiced, so it took a while for her to get anywhere close to serene or clear-of-thought. Then, trying to find some kind of inner force, if such a thing existed inside of her body, she strongly directed a thought of [color=F0E68C][i]Hey.[/i][/color] towards the connection she imagined to be between them. She repeated that thought until it practically echoed inside of her mind, concentrating on wanting Jason to hear it and imagined sending it from inside of her brain towards Jason via his viscous tendril that he kept connected to her head.

After waiting awhile for a confirmation that never came, Jason eventually just assumed she forgot and activated his [b][Telepathy I][/b], [color=darkred][i]'Now you may feel a slight tugging on your thought... Don't fight it, just let it float away.'[/i][/color] the slime communicated as he cleared his own mind. 

Focusing as hard as he could, Jason pushed mana through the 'invisible connection' gently ebbing his mana onward until it reached the point where the message would normally be delivered. Upon his mana reaching what he assumed was Asteria's mind, Jason pushed his mana into whatever thought it could reach before immediately pulling it back, the thought hopefully in tow.