[center][h1][color=chocolate]Edward Marsh[/color][/h1][/center] [hr] [quote=System:Ed]Skill Gain: Alert I! (0.9 > 1.0)! Though this skill is limited by the strength of your senses, and does not sharpen your senses on its own, it allows you to become more aware of your surroundings. Without conscious effort, you will pick up on signs in your environment more easily, especially if they present some form of danger to you. Essentially this is an anti-ambush skill.[/quote] The notification that popped up in his mind alerted the young ratman that he had gained a new skill, but he could not celebrate it freely as of now. If he could sweat, he was sure that he would have been sweating bullets at the time. Slowly but surely he grasped his trusty cudgel once again and just at the right time. Ed was about to look to Asteria and see if she had taken notice of their vespid like foe and was ready to fight but, before he could even look, she launched the preemptive strike against the dark purple demon bug. It seemed that she already knew what they were supposed to do. Like an unconscious synergy that they had developed from the times they had fought alongside one another. Though they had the advantage of the first strike, the sound was enough to alert their foe of the danger and it dodged nimbly even before the stone had reached it. Ed's eyes widened in surprise as the flying bug made a beeline for them and he instinctively ducked down as it buzzed past their heads. It then circled around and began to dive, like a kamikaze pilot would do to when going in for the kill. Ed steeled himself for what he needed to do. Ed focused everything on his sight, or as much as [b][Beast Sense II][/b] could give him and glared daggers at the diving bug. Getting himself in the mindset that he was venting in the batting cages again on a particularly bad day. He gripped the gnarled stick with both of his hands tightly. He solely focused on the rapidly approaching bug to the point that it felt like his brain perceived time had slightly slowed down. The sounds of its droning wing beats and the winds blowing across the plains had turned into faint and muffled whispers in his ears. The images around the bug blurred to the point that the bug was the only thing that was clear in his vision. He let out a steady breath and positioned his body in a manner a batter would when winding up for the swing of his career. He wouldn't swing until the bug committed to the attack and inadvertently rob it the chance of dodging or escaping. But once he felt that it was safe to swing, he would be digging deep and putting his whole weight behind the swing. One way or another he was going to hurt this bug. [hider=Stats] LVL: 5 HP: [color=yellow]Injured[/color] SP: [color=yellow]Winded[/color] MP: [color=orangered]Near Empty[/color] Effect/s: [b]SKILLS:[/b] Unspent Skill Points: [color=red]12[/color] Current Skills: Alert I (1.0) [color=green](PASSIVE)[/color] Beast Sense II (2.4) [color=green](ACTIVE)[/color] Rabid Fit I (1.2) Stronger I (1.05) [color=green](PASSIVE)[/color] Muffle II (2.0) [color=green](PASSIVE)[/color] Use Light Equipment (--) __________________________________ SKILL PROGRESS: Material Analysis (0.2) Magic Analysis (0.6) Monster Analysis (0.6) Faster (0.4) Warcry (0.1) Dexterous (0.8) Tremor Sense (0.025) Mental Resistance (0.9) Telepathy (0.075) Mana Shape (0.6) Focus (0.6) Shield (0.5) Mana Shell (0.3) [b]Inventory:[/b] - Vine Belt (Shoddy Quality) - Healing Herbs x 4 - Bundle of Sticks - Flame touched crystals x 2 - Tainted Crystal x 1 - Gnarled Stick (Unknown Quality) - Giant Ant (Dead) [DROPPED] [/hider] [hider=Action Summary] -Picks up and re equips his gnarled stick from its temporary resting place. -Was about to tell Asteria to be ready to attack, but she already understood what needed to be done. -Bug dodged and caused him to flinch when it flew over them but circled around for a dive bomb. -Focused [Beast Sense II] to focus solely on vision to keep up with it's speed and reflexes. -Psyched himself up for the swing and impending attack. -Waiting to swing at the last moment to prevent the bug from dodging and ensure a hit. [/hider]