[H3]Danny[/h3] [Quote=System:Danny] TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE! Wisp > (Immature) Poltergeist You have Transformed! Base power stats have increased! You have not reached your full Potential. Stat increase is reduced. Lesser Force has been increased! You have not reached your full Potential. Skill increase is reduced. Current total of Lesser Force is (2.75). You have gained New Limbs! Readjusting may take some time… Skill Gain: Blunt Resistance I! (1.0) Reduce Blunt physical damage by a small amount; a Rank I attack skill would be reduced almost completely, depending on your own base defensive stats. Skill Gain: Focus I! (1.0) By spending at least 30 seconds focusing before using an offensive Skill or Spell, you can increase its damage or range. At this rank it is comparable to increasing the power by one rank (eg Mana Orb I to Mana Orb II) while also increasing the MP cost by half again (spend 1.5x Mana Orb I's cost). Skill Gain: Faster I! (1.0) Your base physical speed is increased! By gaining the skills Harder, Better, and Stronger, Skill Synergy will occur and you will gain one rank of Physical Conditioning. [/quote] Upon examining himself, Danny would now find that the pale, fleshy sphere-shaped body he had possessed as a Wisp had grown and changed. In fact, it was almost like he had simply...sprouted a body from the neck down. The Wisp’s filament-like hairs that conducted magical power, giving them their glow, were still present but were much shorter all over his new body. He looked like a pale, chubby, alien infant...His new hands and feet barely feet the criteria as such. He had no toes, no nails or claws, and his hands seemed more like mittens than anything with only a thumb as a definite digit. He was only about a foot tall in total, though still much heftier in weight than a Pixie. Toddling out of the cave’s exit, he found keeping his balance and moving with any kind of speed quite difficult. He hadn’t actually walked anywhere in over a week, after all, and compared to his Old World the proportions of this body weren’t right at all. Still, now he didn’t have to spend any of his MP on Levitation. Every little bit he could conserve would help. As he searched for plants he soon saw a bush near the treeline, bearing a few bunches of round, green berries. Though he didn’t have the proper Plant Analysis skill yet, by looking carefully at it he could tell that the berries didn’t seem quite ripe, but might still be edible. Nothing about it stood out as being poisonous or dangerous, as it had no thorns and no strange colors. The shape of the berries, and the way they grew in bunches, reminded him of grapes. But a commotion would soon draw his attention--and luckily it seemed the same events were distracting the other creatures around the Poltergeist from paying any attention to [i]him[/i]. The remaining Goblins of the cave were jumping about and pointing, rapidly chattering among themselves. They seemed to have seen something just over the top of the cave… “I’m tellin’ yas, it was jus’ one of ‘ems! A little one!” a shorter, squatter goblin was saying. He had a shield that looked like it was on the verge of being nothing more than a pile of splinters, and a crudely fashioned spear of wood with a stone tip. “I saws ‘im too, but he had shiny sharpstuff!” a taller and more mature looking male was saying. “Might be little, but prolly still a Venture! We needs ta tell da Boss!” He looked over towards another goblin, a female who also seemed a bit more mature than most of the others. “Right, Tiddies?!” “If it’s just one by hisself…” broke in another, this one holding a rather vicious looking weapon made by lashing two blades of stone to a stick--almost like a sword. “We’s could prolly kill ‘ims.” “Yoona gots a point.” the female, apparently Tiddies, said, waving the squat one down as he started to agree with the one holding a sword. “But so’s Clod. An’ Ventures likes to sneak rounds, put an arrer in yer neck then hide til ya gets comfy again.” “Humies dun like to leave da little ‘uns by dereselves tho!” The other older male, apparently Yoona, “What if’n he ain’ts by hisself?” “Dat’s two pointies.” The sword user, Clod, adjusted his grip on his weapon. “I dun care if we kills it or not, I just dun wanna let it get us firsts. I guess if Boss ain’t here, it’s up to da Midbosses…” “Oi! I’s a Midboss!” broke in the fatter one. The one with the sword growled at him. “Maybe not no mores, Wej. Crispy wuz tellin’ da Boss you wuz too dumb to be Midboss, he prolly gonna steal yer jerb. Dat means [i]I’M[/i] da only Midboss aroun’, and I sez…” Clod stopped for a moment, looking around at the rest of them. Then he looked back up at the top of the cave, where it seemed the humans might be hiding… “Hmm...lemme tinks about it fer a minnit…” They still hadn’t noticed Danny yet. Nor had they paid any attention to the three creatures now approaching the exit of the cave behind the Poltergeist--the red slime Asura, the blue Momma Slime, and the now even bigger and buffer Ardur, along with the tamed Oculus Spider running along behind him like a dog… [hr] [h3]Asura, Momma Slime, Ardur, Steve[/h3] With the sword having denied Ardur, and the group turning their focus to getting the hell out of Dodge, the trio soon made their escape from the poolside battlefield. As they headed for the entrance, Asura was a bit slow because he was trying to restore his stamina--but that was exactly why the sword was buying them time. So far it seemed to be working. No more enemies had appeared… During their race for the exit, Ardur would have time to eat the Herb Asura had given him, which would restore him to Full HP and stop the bleeding from his forehead. He would also soon see a dark shape darting amongst the stalactites on the ceiling--Steve! The spider soon dropped down on a strand of web, chittering and hissing in an inquisitive manner. She seemed to understand that something dangerous was happening, but until now Ardur had pretty much told her to stay back and hunt on her own. Upon dropping down to the floor, she scuttled after the Hipixie’s heels. [quote=System:Asura] You are experiencing a Fast rate of Skill Progression. You are still experiencing HP Drain. Developing Skill: Focus Focus is a skill that seems to have triggered when you concentrated on the performance of another skill, taking time to perform it which rendered it slower but more effective. [/quote] Asura didn’t seem to be on “low” HP yet, but he could still feel it much like feeling down after a rough bout of sickness, or being exhausted after a tough sparring session at his old boxing gym. But now the light from outside was shining on all of them...once they were outside, as long as those stupid goblins didn’t bother them, maybe he could finally and safely recover… As the four monsters now headed outside, they soon saw...a glowing baby of some kind? Was this some mutated form of Wisp? Or maybe an evolution of such a creature? Its coloration and mannerisms seemed kind of familiar… But perhaps more importantly, something had the Goblins all riled up… [[You guys will overhear the same conversation Danny does.]] [hr] [h3]Digbie[/h3] Tentatively, the Demiblin asked the powers that be if this was still the right way. He could still see the mole hill running into the cavern...but his own fear kept him back. A fear of the unknown. A reliance on his own knowledge, his own eyes. A lack of faith. He sent a Tremor Sense of the third rank into the darkness. In a rush the vibrations came back to him, traveling up his arm, and for a moment he “felt,” rather than saw, everything they had passed through. Solid rock, packed earth. The winding, labyrinthine tunnels beneath filled with wriggling, digging grubs and little bugs. An empty space that echoed between the walls, descending along a gentle slope...deeper into the mountains. It went beyond the range of his tunnelling senses, but it seemed no creature larger than a mole had been through here recently… When Digbie attempted to channel the Mana Orb through the White Yill flower, with no real goal in mind save experimentation, there was a crackling sound. The magic ran up the stem of the plant like electricity--and moments later, the green stem, the roots, and the leaves of the flower fell away from his hair in little flakes of ash. Only the head of the flower remained, with its white petals fluttering...though without a stem it would likely begin to wither soon… There weren’t any threats that Digbie could detect, and it seems the mole’s tunnel led deeper into the cavern...so Digbie would likely proceed into the darkness… The floor was smooth, or at least as smooth as a natural slope of dirt and stone could be. Digbie’s footsteps echoed...but he heard nothing else in response. As he got further away from the entrance, pushing his larger body through the narrow spaces, scraping here and there, the path opened up...and the light started to fade. But there were only two directions to go here, deeper in, or back out. With his Tremor Sense being more powerful in its passive form, he didn’t have much of an issue with his sense of direction. So, with no danger thus far, it seemed Digbie’s only real choice was to go deeper… Walking in darkness, he soon saw nothing. Walking in emptiness, he soon heard nothing but his own footsteps. Walking into the earth, he soon smelled nothing save damp soil. Walking with baited breath, he could taste nothing. And without his senses, he soon began to experience an odd disconnect...or perhaps a harmony...with the world around him…There was nothing on any side of him but stone. In the Old World, tourists who visited grand natural caverns were often told the dangers of lone spelunking by their guides. The explorers who discovered many of these same caves often lost their lives or suffered damage in the depths of the earth--one could go blind from lack of light, or lose their sense of time, or go insane from isolation… So, alone in the depths of the mountain as he now found himself, it wasn’t quite clear to Digbie when he started hearing things. Or if he heard anything at all. Or if it was really all in his head, a paranoid over-imagination... [color=darkgoldenrod] “What is the Earth? Why pray to an Earth god? Why seek its stalwart strength?”[/color] [hr] [h3]Ash[/h3] As Ash formed a Mana Orb and concentrated her still-developing magical sight ability, once again she found herself staring at what seemed to be nothing but a pulsating mass of static. Upon looking more closely, her brain was eventually able to tune out the static--much like the way you can’t see your own nose--and then she saw… Nothing? No, not exactly nothing. She just didn’t see any of the odd squares that she had seen in Oberon’s spell. She could still see some kind of movement, though...staring harder, she began to see the lines. In Oberon’s different Mana Shapes, she had seen lines connecting the squares at the vertices of his geometric forms. These lines had moved like EKG graphs or a sinusoidal chart, constantly shifting. Now in her Mana Sphere, the lines merely formed circles...they still fluctuated, but unlike Oberon’s more defined shapes the ones making up her sphere were overlapping from a variety of angles, almost like a 3D depiction of the old Rutherford model of atomic structure… Where were the squares? What were they? Straining further than she had with Oberon, Ash finally saw the first square. It seemed...flat. Like a flake or tile...But now the vertices became clear--it wasn’t that this circle didn’t have them, it was that this wasn’t a circle at all, it was a constantly fluctuation stellation of...a hectodron? A chilliagon? Was it a-- She had to blink again. The Mana Orb in her palm/paw fizzled out as well...how long had she been maintaining the magic for…? [quote=System:Ash] You have no MP remaining. Your Stamina is low again. You are Peckish from lack of food. Your throat is dry from lack of water. [/quote] That damned Zawisza had really thrown off her day, and it was barely noon now… [hr] [h3]Asteria, Ed, Mother Rat[/h3] Asteria collided hard with the large ant as it lunged at Mother Rat. Though hitting its carapace felt like hitting a hard sheet of wood, her mass and leverage rolled the two monsters over. Asteria flipped over to the other side of the ant, and now faced its back as it tried to get up off its side. Mother Rat tried to dart in and bite the insect, but the ant’s mandibles snapped at her and she pulled up short with a squeak. The ant saw Ed coming with its compound, multi-faceted eyes, and started to push itself up and reposition its stinger--only to have three of its legs lashed out from under it. The limbs were hard-armored, but splindly, and by attacking the joints with her muscular tail Asteria could at least make the enemy stumble. As Ed charged forward, swinging his stick, he felt the bloody fury coming over him once more. His muscles bulged as his vision went red. The last few coherent thoughts he had focused on trying to find his Mana, trying to put it, and everything else, into his blow. A single red, crackling spark jumped from his hands to his club. When Ed had chosen the Dire Rat for his new vessel, so long ago, the limited information the Demon King gave him identified it as a beast type monster. Beast types were particularly suited to physical strength and speed, and had naturally sharp senses as well. Though Goblins could use tools and had more dextrous limbs, no doubt Ed had seen that pound for pound Dire Rats had much greater muscular strength, especially in their jaws. If slimes were tanks, wisps were mages, and so on, then Dire Rats were the brawny fighters. And since his rebirth, Ed had gained the Stronger skill, increasing his already naturally greater strength. His evolution into a Rat Man had pushed it even further, as did the Rabid Fit skill even if it was at the cost of his defenses. And now, just like the Goblins, he had a weapon in hand… With a loud crack and crunch, Ed’s blow struck the ant’s thorax. A large piece of its chitinous hide shattered and the creature let loose a shrill, creening screech as green blood and a chunk of flesh spattered the ground. Ed’s pulverizing attack knocked the creature backwards, rolling it over away from Asteria and Mother Rat. Its legs spasmed as its head thrashed, mandibles snapping the air. It was swiftly on its feet but moving with what might be called a limp, and immediately began digging its way back into the ground. Would the rats let it escape, or finish the job here…? [hr] [h3]Jason[/h3] Jason heard the world growing muffled, then silent. He hadn’t even tried to taste anything in this body yet, but even the vaguest awareness of his own tongue--did he even have a tongue?--left him. His vision began to shrink down to a tunnel ringed by darkness. He suddenly felt a cold wind pulling at him as even the world within his pinpoint vision became shades of black and white. He felt as if he were suspended in water, swimming rather than levitating. But he could see it. The Dire Rat, and the soul inside its body, up ahead. Somehow moving faster, he caught up with it. The color came back to the world as the two of them collided--and then it was gone again. Jason found himself within a monochrome void, tumbling upon a floor that didn’t exist. As he stood, his gelatinous form wobbling, and clenched his fists, feeling his knuckles pop, then braced his pseudopods as physical sensations began returning to his senses, the dire rat--no, the bitchy goblin--turned to face him and charged, screaming incoherently. “Is battle of wills now!” Bonie faded in and out behind him, whispering into his ear. “Fight!” [hr] [h3]Orchid[/h3] Orchid leaped onto the cat’s back and got her choking vine around its neck in a beautifully executed maneuver. So focused was the animal on tearing out Sqwal’s throat that it never saw her coming, and with her weight she was able to roll it like an alligator grabbing onto prey. Sqwal, freed from under its weight, gave the cat’s belly a hefty kick before Orchid screamed at him. Eyes wide in shock, the smaller goblin ran towards the others. Orchid was under the cat now, but in a reverse position--the cat’s legs were flailing up at the sky and its stomach was exposed, while she was clinging tightly to her garrote with her arms and had her legs wrapped around the cat’s middle. With her considerable physical strength, the blood vine drew tighter and tighter. The cat’s eyes were bugging out of its head as it thrashed, but it couldn’t get to her. Without oxygen, it was less than thirty seconds before the cat’s movements grew sluggish… But then, something else came charging out of the grass. Another ambush?! How would Orchid defend herself from another opponent without letting go of the cat-- “Yaaaaaaagh!” Jezee fell on the Hex Cat with a fury Orchid had never seen in the younger female. There were tears in her eyes, and her lips were bleeding lightly for some reason, and her legs had what looked like little nip marks on them here and there. Her expression was wrinkled up in some kind of mix of helplessness and anger, like something had frustrated her to the point of breaking. She dug her Sharp Stone right into the Hex Cat’s eye, drawing a gurgling yowl from it as it choked out the last of its air. When she pulled the stone back for another go, the blood spilled like a waterfall over the creature’s snout, drenching Orchid’s hands--and her garrote. It suddenly drew even tighter in her grip, almost to the point of bruising her fingers. The cat jerked once and went still. “YAAAAAAAAGH!” Jezee practically dove onto the animal as Orchid worked her way out from under it, and began stabbing it repeatedly everywhere she could reach with her stone… The cat that was trying to put out the flames spreading over its fur was suddenly stabbed hard in the side by Bigs’ spear, and when it whirled with a hiss to swipe at him its claws dug into his shield and stuck there. It was still strong enough to pull the goblin off balance--but in so doing he almost fell on top of it, and gave Crispy an opening to run foward and slash the creature’s side with his knife. The cat yowled and yanked its paw out of the shield, and tried to back up--only to find its retreat cut off by the wall of fire now beginning to encircle the three combatants. “Yaaaaagh!” Sqwal jumped through a place where the fire wasn’t too hot yet, catching the cat by surprise as he swung his club at its rump. It quickly leaped aside, using the fallen Bigs as a stepping stone before he could get up, and leaped. With agility befitting its species it sailed over the ring of flames, landing and rolling through the dirt. Still smoking, still singed, and still bleeding, it looked back over its shoulder to give the goblins one last disdainful hiss before it darted off, back towards the woods. But the crackling fire continued to spread, whipping up a draft of hot air in its wake...