[h3]Ash, Danny, Digbie, Mourningstar, Oberon, Reoth, Torrent, Orchid, and the Goblins[/h3] [quote=System:Danny] You used Monster Analysis II! 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. [color=red]This one is unusual. There's something uncomfortable you just can't place about her, but oh well.[/color] ---Analysis Complete!--- [/quote] As Mourningstar used Mana Shape to change the color of the mana, her black aura caused the goblins to shrink back in surprise. Crispy, especially, seemed shocked--but there was another look in his eyes, one of...recognition? Ash and Digbie added their own contributions, while Danny sneaked up behind the goblins so far unnoticed. Digbie's MP was restored to full by the Mana Crystal--even if he had increased his Max MP, compared to Wisps and Pixies it seemed a Goblin's natural mana pool wasn't large. As his spike of compressed soil formed, the normally kind and gentle goblin gave off a menacing air almost as effective as Mourningstar's, despite the lack of visual flair. The goblins began to look uneasy--Bigs and Wej readied their shields and stepped in front of Jezee. Crispy's minions glanced at their leader. The female hadn't drawn her knife yet, but the male who had kept his in a tight and wary grip. Crispy's eyes narrowed, and the fingers of one hand near his belt flexed. Then Orchid interrupted the tense moment with an even more shocking action. Her thrown stone struck Crispy's unnamed minion on the side of the head, dropping him to one knee with a cry of pain. The others stared wide eyed, and now Crispy looked [i]truly[/i] surprised. "Crispy! I challenge you to being the boss of the goblins! Just you and me, whoever wins leads the goblins! And if anyone else wants to get involved, than we can all fight. You will all die. So stay out of it... This is between me and him." From up on his perch, Oberon could see the fiasco down below--and he could also feel that his Mana was recovering faster than it normally did when he meditated. Again, as his pale skin reflected the sunlight, his Sprite sparkles intensified. There was probably no way he could do anything stealthily in the daylight now, but what was this? The Sprite information he had seen when he first transformed had implied a connection to the Light element, so maybe that was it. At this point his MP wasn't full, but he might have enough for a single Rank III or II spell, or maybe two of his Rank I abilities at most... While all of this was happening, Torrent tried to escape the pain suffusing her entire body. Her scales peeled, her skin split open, she pushed herself forward...Her head split in half, and then a new head forced its way out. The rest of her followed, as she escaped her shell, and the dead skin quickly began to lose its color and sheen. She was coated in something like sweat, her skin itched, and she could feel herself growing light headed from exertion--but aside from a few black splotches where it seemed the burns had gone past the surface layers of skin, her wounds were almost gone! [Quote=System:Torrent] Skill Gain: Minor Recovery I (Lesserwurm)! A unique version of the Minor Recovery skill. Minor Recovery is normally a passive HP recovery ability. The Lesserwurm species possesses a variant in which their recovery is triggered all at once by shedding their skin. As a result, the healing-over-time effect is accomplished all at once, giving it the superficial appearance of being more powerful. Unlike other forms of Healing Spells, only wounds are addressed and the natural healing/immunity of the body is not boosted. However, all wounds, no matter how deep or severe, can be healed with multiple uses or higher ranks of this ability. If the damage is significant, this rank of the skill will not be able to heal them with one usage. A drawback of this version is that shedding the skin and healing the body requires the Lesserwurm to use a great deal of its body's nutrients. You are Starving. You are Parched. Your HP is not quite full. [/quote] "Orchid da Youngling!" Crispy shouted, pulling his Stone Knife out of his belt with one hand and his torch with the other. With a small Fireball--likely his first rank--Crispy engulfed the torch and held it aloft. "I, Crispy Bitz, accepts yore challenge!" It was well known by this point that Crispy was cruel. He was mean, he was powerhungry, he was a bully, he had some modicum of intelligence, he had lived longer than the other goblins, he had a fair bit of experience, he wasn't a great leader. However, by this point many of the others had likely written him off. He was a goofy, pyromaniac, tribal dancing, tantrum throwing, pesky little goblin, right? If the look on Digbie's face could have given Crispy a heart attack before Orchid challenged him... The look on Crispy's face as he stepped an equal distance from Orchid could remind Digbie of his father. Not Rattleskull. The other one. The Flame Touched Goblin was, perhaps for the first time since the group had seen him strutting around his bonfire and bossing younger goblins around, coldly, completely, [i]deadly[/i] serious. The other goblins immediately moved away, in a semi-circle around the combatants. Their eyes were locked onto Orchid and Crispy. It might occur to Ash, Mourningstar, Torrent, and the others that now could be a good time to skidaddle... [hr] [h3]Ardur, Asteria, Asura, Ed, Jason, Mother Rat, Momma Slime, Skelebois[/h3] [quote=System:Ardur] Skill Gain: Muffle I! This skill grants you the ability to be just a little bit better at being stealthy, with a focus on reducing the sound of your movements. [/quote] [quote=System:Asura] Skill Gain: Slime Whip I! A unique ability for slimes. Create a sturdy tendril from a pseudopod and lash out at the enemy. At this rank, your range of reach is 5 feet. -Skill Synergy- You possess Limited Shapeshift III. Range is increased to 10 feet and adding a shifted blade, bludgeon, etc to your Whip is more effective. [/quote] [quote=System:Asteria] Skill Gain: Magic Analysis I! You may now analyze magical energies or objects to learn their most basic magical characteristics. Less effective on Materials and Monsters unless they are magical in nature. [/quote] [quote=System:Jason] Skill Gain: Bounce I! A unique skill to Slimes and certain other monsters. Upon taking an impact, the user’s natural elasticity allows them to compress their body further and bounce back. This will even work if an attack slams the user against a wall or other object. The bounce can be used evasively or to return the attack. However, the damage dealt will only be equal to the original attack. Using this skill without being attacked first renders it largely ineffective. [/quote] "Undead don't work for anyone but whoever raised em. I know for a fact you don't have necromancy, boy." Asura yelled as Jason, before forcing some his attention back on the skeletons in front of him. Leonidas had half stepped back to put more weight into a spear thrust while Gawain was going for a home run swing. Focusing on the pair, Asura's pseudopods snaked out and he tried to Counter their attacks. "Leonidas! Gawain! Get out of his attack range! Focus only on dodging and defense!" Jason called to his remaining soldiers as he summoned a [Rock Spire I] in front of Asura, aimed not to pierce his gelatinous form, but to block his attempted attack. However, things weren't happening so slowly. Gawain swung. Leonidas thrust. "Leonidas--" The spearpoint and the club struck Asura, and his slimy tendrils lashed out. "Gawain--" The skeleblins had been addressed, they paused to receive orders, Asura's Counter struck. "Get out of his--" Gawain was knocked down, rolling over, and Leonidas's cracked sternum broke in half. "--attack range! Focus only--" The ground began to glow as Jason collected power. "--on dodging and defense!" The Skeleblins stood up--Gawain walked with a limp, as falling seemed to have dislocated one of his ankles, and Leonidas was still functioning, albeit his arms didn't move with quite as much coordination. Jason's Rock Spire sprang up in front of Asura, blocking his vision and entangling his tendrils as they started to draw back and found a new stone in their way. The two skeletons clattered angrily, but only began to circle Asura from further away as they followed Jason's orders. Up in the air above the group, something flickered. A green light appeared, first somewhat transparent, then becoming brighter by the moment until it could be clearly identified as a wisp--though not a normal one. A crackling Mana Orb shot down at Asura! And immediately after launching the rock spire, Jason would notice Momma Slime bearing down on him. "Mother Slime ignore it, come over here!" Asura hollered. Jason compressed his body, and popped one of the remaining Mana Crystals, bringing his stash down to 4 as he used up the last of Ed's gatherings. Momma Slime barely slowed, already having too much momentum to stop. Jason tried to launch himself into the air with a chant. "Let this--" Not enough time to chant a full spell in the midst of battle. Momma Slime hit him just as he came off the ground. As they bounced together like two gooey pinballs, Jason was sent flying with a distinctive [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXjj7Jz1bKE]sproing[/url]. It felt like getting walloped with one of those dodgeballs that make that ever-so-memoriable THWUNK sound in middle school--it wouldn't kill him, but it definitely hurt. Perhaps of more concern, however, was how high he had bounced thanks to Momma Slime's contribution to his momentum. He hit the ground and bounced again, unable to stop himself just yet, and by the time he did so he was much further from the entrance. Even with his maximum speed it would take several seconds to get back to the battlefield... As Ardur sought out a nearby cluster of Mana Crystals, he found three of them growing close together and then another not too far off. As he gathered them, he would soon notice Steve making her way along the ceiling towards him at a hurried pace. Perhaps she had been drawn by the sounds of battle? He would find that it only took two of the four Mana Crystals to bring him back to full MP. Although his Max MP had increased some due to levelling up, it didn't seem like he had a huge pool just yet. However, just as he plucked the last crystal, a green light came flying towards him! As the Ghost Wisp neared, it fired a Mana Orb at the buff pixie! Asteria immediately saw Mother Rat catching up to them, and the other Adult Dire Rat immediately sniffed and squeaked around Asteria and Ed, especially the smaller male who seemed absolutely terrified. Putting one paw protectively on his head--and practically standing on him in the process--Mother Rat raised her hackles and growled at the other monsters in the distance.