[h3]Asura, Momma Slime[/h3] As Asura led Momma Slime towards the entrance of the cave, they soon came close enough to see Ardur standing just outside with his hand outstretched. So it looked like the disturbingly muscular pixie was testing out his own magic. However, they could also see three skeleton goblins--now armed with weapons--heading their way, and they looked none too happy. Before Asura had made a decision on what to do, however, another fireball appeared--this time, more like the kind one saw back in his old world on a daily basis in the Middle East. He couldn't see clearly due to the flames and smoke, but it looked like some of those other monsters had been caught in some kind of blast... And now, from behind Ardur instead of in front, several Goblins were approaching. That female former-human was armed with a vicious looking bladed club alongside her shield, and appeared to be giving it a few test swings... [hr] [h3]Ardur, Ash, Bigs, Digbie, Jezee, Mourningstar, Oberon, Reoth, Steve, Torrent[/h3] As Ash wandered deeper into the forest, she would find that the light rain from the night before seemed to have pacified the forest somewhat. Most creatures would no doubt take shelter to avoid getting wet, and in this early morning hour as the sun was just beginning to shine few things had stirred--at least, above ground. It seemed that several critters beneath the earth, like worms and grubs and tiny insects, were scurrying about to find a dry place or push wet dirt out of their holes. And of course there was that nasty beetle she had left Torrent and the others to contend with. She soon came upon a couple of bushes, their leaves glimmering with the sheen of misty droplets. The bright green leaves of one bush concealed lumpy roots much like those Torrent and Oberon had been digging for when that beetle attacked, and the other plant's branches hung low with round, swollen bunches of blue colored berries. [quote=System:Ash] You used Alchemy II! You used Magic Analysis I! ---Blackworm--- This target has not been harvested, dissected, or otherwise broken down into useful components. Without more Analysis Skills, at its current rank the Alchemy Skill is unable to analyze the traits of this target or its reactivity. This Creature has no Magical Properties whatsoever, not even MP. ---Lampworm--- This target has not been harvested, dissected, or otherwise broken down into useful components. Without more Analysis Skills, at its current rank the Alchemy Skill is unable to analyze the traits of this target or its reactivity. This Monstrous Creature has few Magical Properties, and barely any MP. ---Common Spider Species--- This target has not been harvested, dissected, or otherwise broken down into useful components. Without more Analysis Skills, at its current rank the Alchemy Skill is unable to analyze the traits of this target or its reactivity. This Creature has no Magical Properties whatsoever, not even MP. ---Wild Topapo--- Plant, Root. Firm exterior. Low taste value. High in carbohydrates. Slight toxicity in the skin and leaves. Soft, slightly crunchy interior. Relatively non-reactive. Very low magical properties. ---Blue Argep--- Plant, Berry. Firm exterior. High sweetness. Very High Vitamin Content. Slightly acidic juice. Negligible toxicity in seed pits. Soft, weak, pulpy, juicy. Slightly reactive. No magical properties. ---Alchemy and Analysis Complete!--- [/quote] Then, from behind her, something roared and a hot wind rustled the trees... [quote=System:Oberon] You used Monster Analysis I! You used Magic Analysis III! Effectiveness boosted! ---Mourningstar--- This is a new monster to you! Corpselight - This monster came to be by feeding on the ambient regrets, negative energy, and stagnant mana in environments suffused by the essence of death. It often hovers above such places, sucking out what little of the souls remain from corpses littering the ground. It prefers dark places and moonless nights, so that its glow can lure more unwary victims. You know this one as Mourningstar, a fellow Reincarnator. [color=red]There's something you just can't place about her, but oh well.[/color] You know she has the Spell skills Mana Orb II, Lesser Force III, Levitation, Magic Analysis II, Mana Shape I, and Mana Slice I. It seems she has gained a rank in some kind of concentration skill, and she is developing several other magical abilities. Some of them feel...predatory. ---Flak Beetle--- An aggressive insectoid monster 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 equivalent to a Fireball spell--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. Its MP is much lower than your own. It has no magically oriented skills, though it is developing a few elemental resistances. ---Analysis Complete!--- [/quote] As Mourningstar tackled the beetle, she displaced its charge at Torrent and allowed the Lesserwurm to move away. When she opened her mouth, her orb-like body almost split completely in half! Unlike the weak jaws of the Wisp, for some reason the Corpselight had a full set of teeth--most of which seemed to be canine in nature, instead of a mix of types like a normal human mouth. Indeed, her jaw seemed more like a trap made from sharpened bone shards than a true mouth. But despite her slight stat increase, it seemed like her bite strength still left something to be desired. Though she bit down hard on the beetle's carapace, her fangs barely left a scratch on its hard carapace. It felt like biting down on hard, smooth plastic. Still, her teeth were sharp enough that even this smooth surface could be gripped, and with her newly enlarged size she was able to push the beetle somewhat--until it got its six spiny legs underneath it. It gave a single buck and hurled the Corpselight off with ease--insects were always proportionally super strong, and it seemed even as a monster that case would hold true. But now that it had been pushed away from Torrent and thrown Mourningstar off, it was wide open. Oberon's Mana Dart flew slightly over its head and struck its back at an angle. This time the hard shell cracked, and the creature gave a hissing squeal of pain--but there was no blood, despite a view of an odd blue glow from within a small break in the chitin. Oberon had done enough damage to break through its defense, but even with Mana Dart hadn't penetrated all the way to the flesh! The beetle's four mandibles opened wide again, and the interlocking plates around the mouth parted to reveal a drooling maw--from within which, the blue light began to glow even brighter. At the same time the insect's back shell parted--shedding another broken piece--to reveal a pair of translucent wings that flared out and glimmered slightly in the sun. This also revealed the creature's thorax. The exposed part looked somewhat like a wasp's stinger, with an opening instead of a barbed tip, but the upper half was covered with a pulsating sack inside which something akin to the fluid in a lava lamp began to boil angrily. After it had braced itself for recoil, the beetle-- Was hit by Torrent's Fireball. Attempting to contain the spell within her mouth worked--the fireball was much more contained and focused, easier to cast with accuracy. However, there was one problem. The inside of her mouth now felt like she had taken a big gulp of coffee straight from the pot. Nonetheless, Torrent's Fireball spell went off without a hitch, striking her target's exposed rear end. The flames spread with a whoosh, and the beetle-- Exploded. The flames struck its side and washed over it, hitting the thoracic opening and the glowing sac. According to Oberon's earlier analysis, it could fire the chemical in its body as a weapon. This was somewhat similar to a bombardier beetle, back on Earth. But the bombardier beetle and the Flak Beetle used these natural weapons in a very particular way--that is to say, not all at once. They only had a limited amount of the chemicals needed for this defense mechanism, and using it presented a danger of burning themselves as well. In the bombardier beetle's case, it used its weapon like a machine gun, in short bursts with cooldown in-between. And though Oberon's analysis hadn't mentioned it, the Flak Beetle used its own body somewhat like a rocket launcher--whichever end it wasn't firing from would release a sort of back-blast, venting the excess force and heat. So Torrent's Fireball had inadvertently set off the entire ammo depot at once, as a manner of speaking. Oberon was the furthest away from the battle. Mourningstar was slightly closer, but had also had the sprite's Shield spell cast on her. Torrent, however, had planned to attack at close range after her spell. The blast went off with a sound so loud, Torrent never heard it as the wave slammed into her like a double helping of Rattleskulls. The flames came an instant after that, searing her scales so fast she barely had time to register it before the nerve endings in her outer skin were completely fried. The senses of hearing, sight, and smell were obliterated, feeling consisted of only agony, and taste was sulfur and blood and hot. Oberon was bowled over by the shockwave, and though the flames went up and out before they reached him the sheer heat scalded his sensitive skin. Mourningstar was knocked away like a pinball, her Shield shattering the first time she bounced against the ground. She could feel the uncomfortable heat as she struggled to regain control of her levitation, but it seemed she hadn't taken quite as much damage as Oberon--and certainly not as much as Torrent. [quote=System:Oberon] [color=red]WARNING: YOUR HP IS LOW![/color] [/quote] [quote=System:Torrent] [color=red]WARNING: YOUR HP IS LOW! YOU ARE BURNING SEVERELY! YOU HAVE ONE HEALTH POINT REMAINING! YOU ARE DYING--[/color] Obtained Item: Baked Topapo x2 [/quote] The flames were catching on the grass and the side of the nearby trees--anyone trying to get close enough to touch Torrent would have to either be brave enough or tough enough to get through them. The Lesserwurm had literal seconds as her ears and nose streamed blood and her body burned-- [hr] [h3]Orchid and the Goblins[/h3] As Orchid ignored Crispy and Wej's questions and Clod's mixed looks of both irritation and disappointment, she headed for the place where the sound of that Fireball going off had come. Crispy shouted at his two minions, who quickly hopped to, and Wej precariously followed Orchid while hiding behind his shield. Clod hung back, instead taking the two blades of rock he had created and beginning to work on his remaining Wooden Club the way he had seen Orchid do, first smoothing off its bark and ridges and then hardening it in the fire. Sqwal was still up in the tree, sawing away at a large branch--until he saw something else, and immediately began pointing and shouting. But Orchid didn't need his signals, as she was close enough to see it happen. The other monsters were struggling with something as they tried to gather food--something to take note of in the background, but not what she was after. She wanted to know what that buff pixie had done to cause that explosion-- Then another explosion went off in the background, making her ears ring... [hr] [h3]Jason, Asteria, Mother Rat, Danny[/h3] As Jason literally sprung into action, he managed to grab Dire Rat A tightly around the neck. As Mother Rat bristled next to Asteria, her hair going up much like a cat's and her hackles snarling like a dog's, Jason ordered the assimilated monster to stand down. He then started to explain why Asteria and Mother Rat were not to be considered acceptable targets-- And while he was doing that Mother Rat leaped on the Dire Rat, who had been ordered to stop fighting. With no resistance, she bit deep into its side and began to savagely twist and shake before Jason could stop her, opening the other rat's belly to the air. [quote=Dungeon:Jason] [color=purple]COMMAND INVALID. DUNGEON CANNOT REGISTER A MID-BOSS AT CURRENT LEVEL. DIRE_RAT_A WAS KILLED BY ADULT_DIRE_RAT_123! REGISTER ADULT_DIRE_RAT_123 AS AN INTRUDER?[/color] [/quote] Emptying out the last of Ed's sack of Mana Crystals--which by this point had pretty much degraded and could no longer be used--Jason urged his followers to high-tail it to the cavern. Maybe he hadn't even noticed his subordinate's death. It was hard to pay attention to things like that when one was so busy. Even though his Limited Shapeshift improved his ability to travel, granting him more control which in turn gave his rolling more speed, the fiasco with Dire Rat A took some time. Add that to the travel time towards the cave's entrance, and Jason might just miss whatever was going on... Yes, he might not get there in time to stop the Skeleblins from attacking the intruder. The intruder that was shooting Fireballs into his dungeon. His dungeon, that the Skeleblins protected. What was this idiot thinking--because there were only a handful of creatures Jason knew could create a Fireball, and to him they were all probably idiots. They almost deserved to get attacked by the Skeleblins. After all, he was working so hard on this dungeon, trying to fix it, trying to make it better, and what did he get for his efforts? How dare they do this to him? How dare they BETRAY him? This...this...intruder! Intruder! [color=mediumvioletred]Intruder![/color] Meanwhile, as Danny repeated the process of trying to Mana Shape a Mana Orb, then used Lesser Force to try and hold the shape together, he [i]did[/i] feel a shift in the Mana. Not a large one, but noticeable. The shaped Mana, under pressure from Lesser Force, began to distort somewhat. The flat faces of that triangular prism began to bend and flex as he tightened his grip on them--the end shape was somewhat like a broad-headed arrow. But it still felt...hollow. And too big. Even though it held its shape until it hit the target, the tip immediately seemed to "bend" and the Mana now exploded in the same fashion as a normal Mana Orb. It was almost like the shape was a paper plane--it didn't have enough weight or density, or even speed, to "pierce" an object. [quote=System:Danny] You have no MP remaining. [/quote] And then just as he decided to go look for Ed, he ran out of MP. Slowly floating down to the ground as his levitation died off--at least he hadn't plummeted this time, maybe it spoke to the increased control he had been practicing--he now found himself immobile for the moment. Unless he wanted to mimic Jason and try rolling around, anyway. [hr] [h3]Ed[/h3] Ed stealthily pounced on his unwary target, taking the Fanged Lizard's rear flank completely by surprise. Before the creature even finished jolting upward, he sank his fangs into the base of its neck. As the Rat began to savagely tear at his opponent, the Lizard couldn't turn its head enough to use its own fangs or spit its poison. All it could do was buck back and forth, which didn't stop Ed for a second. Finally the lizard desperately flopped over off the rock it had been laying on, sending itself and Ed tumbling down the slope. By the time they hit the bottom, however, it was dead--Ed could feel the bones of its spinal column under his teeth, and its head was hanging by ragged flaps of flesh. And Rabid Fit hadn't even triggered.