[h3]Ardur, Asura, Momma Slime, Steve[/h3] [quote=System:Ardur] Current Status: Level 5 HP: 100% MP: 0% Stamina: 50% Mana Burn - Natural MP Recovery slowed by 50%. Mana Burn Mana Burn is a condition caused from the backlash of overusing magic. Entering a state of deficit, the body's recovery of Magical Power is slowed as the over taxed Meridians recover. Continuing to use magic in such a state can cause even greater damage over time, prolonging the recovery. [/quote] Despite Asura's lack of focus on stealth skills, like Muffle, given the distribution of his weight, his amorphous form, and his Limited Shapeshift ability, he was actually able to move without making much noise at all. Slimes don't have foot steps, after all. Going downhill helped his speed somewhat, but regardless it didn't seem like the bug was going to notice him immediately. It was still scraping around inside its burrow, wriggling its back end from side to side and occasionally kicking out its back legs... Ardur, meanwhile, used his own stealth skill--low as it was--to creep around and down the slope from a different angle. Closer, closer...as his body tensed and a single bead of sweat dripped down his brow, he watched the insect's every movement. With baited breath he saw Asura slither down towards the opening of the burrow, almost under the creature's belly... With a sudden charge, propelled by his unreasonably toned calves and thighs, the Hipixie lunged forward. The beetle seemed to notice something was happening, as it froze, but before it could turn he had grabbed it by two of its segmented legs. As he leaped across the creature's low body and dragged it, the bug pulled back surprisingly hard--Ardur wasn't able to flip it over, but he did expose its underside. There was a sharp snapping sound towards the insect's head, and its wings began to buzz--there was something that glowed a luminescent blue underneath them-- A gob of Steve's webbing struck the beetle from behind, gluing its wings shut and sticking one of its other legs to the ground. Asura's crimson body shot up, delivering a blow to its underside that lifted the creature up out of the burrow, but thanks to Ardur and the webs holding it down it soon returned to earth with a crash. This crash was followed by a rumble--and then a rubbery thump, from the direction of the hillside. A large shadow appeared over the burrow. "MASH!" Momma Slime's bulk came down hard enough to actually sink her into the hole the creature had been digging. Now apparently stuck half in the ground, her upper body slightly puffed out along the edges like the top of a cupcake, she slowly "turned" towards Ardur, then Steve, then... "Ahsoowah?" If Ardur looked into Momma Slime's cloudy body, past the membrane pockets holding what was left of the Fanged Lizard and the Poison Bone Needles, he would see--pressed flat against the dark earth--both the beetle, and a red splat that could only be Asura. Asura hadn't taken a direct hit, as the beetle had absorbed the majority of the impact. In terms of damage he was fine. However, he was now pinned on Momma Slime's underside, as was his opponent. It couldn't open up its wings, but it [i]could[/i] wriggle its legs, and as it did so it began digging out more room to move. Asura himself, being mostly liquid in this form, might be able to do something as well, but could it do it faster than the bug? And how were they going to get Momma Slime out of the hole? [hr] [h3]Asteria, Ed, Mother Rat[/h3] [quote=System:Asteria] You used Monster Analysis II! ---Bloodingfly--- An insect monster often mistaken for a butterfly from a distance. Rather than pollinating flowers and drinking nectar, however, this predatory creature specifically targets others doing the same. Preying on herbivores drawn to strong smelling or colorful plants, the Bloodingfly swoops down at great speed to pierce a target with its probiscus. It can also draw blood with its claws, enabling it to track prey for miles with a sharp sense of smell. Its multiple compound eyes allow it a very wide field of vision, making it hard to sneak up on. Finding a shrunken or mummified corpse near flowers is a good sign that a nest of these creatures may be about. ---Analysis Complete!--- [/quote] As the strange bug headed towards them with ever increasing speed, that needle-like probiscus glinted in the fading light of the setting sun. Ed stared it down like the barrel of a gun, hefting his weapon as he sharpened his vision...The Beast Sense seemed more like it was supposed to sharpen one's vision in terms of distance, or of detail, but maybe he was unlocking something else...or just hyping up his own adrenaline...Like a major league player with his eye on the fastball pitch, he "felt" more than predicted the bug's speed and its trajectory...time seemed to slow... The bug picked up on what Ed was doing as he drew back his club, however, and made to adjust its trajectory--only for Asteria to peg it with a rock this time. It tried to dodge out of the way again, but its own speed allowed her projectile to at least clip it--which distorted its flight path. It couldn't pull up in time! CRUNCH! Ed's attack slammed into the bug's thorax, eliciting an odd buzzing screech from the creature as it was knocked to the ground. Mother Rat immediately leaped on it, biting and tearing--but when its stinger jabbed at her, she was force to back off. The creature pumped its legs like hydraulic pistons as it rolled over. It launched back into the air, its fuzzy body darkened in places with oozing blue fluid, and circled around the rats again. This time, it dove down directly at Ed but from above. He might be able to thrust up with his club, but without the kind of baseball style swing he did before he might not be able to generate enough power to stop the creature--launching a vertical attack would be hard in his position. On the other hand, with both its wings and momentum behind it as well as gravity, that bug was coming down like a missle tipped with a razor sharp spear... [hr] [h3]Jason and Danny[/h3] [quote=System:Jason] ERROR. Invalid Command. [/quote] [i]"Sees-tim? What...waitaminute, I seen dis afore..." "Teef seen it too! How dumb Slime see what Teef see?!" "And...Ja-Soon...ah! Ja-Soon knows what it say, cause he can do what Ventures call, "reading!" [/i] Jason had only given the system one command--but suddenly his mind began to crackle with an odd static, and he was mentally "seeing" several System windows start popping up. But they weren't readable to him, not at first...just like those windows that had shown him each species the Demon King allowed him to choose from. And like those sigils he had seen in his magic spells when he chanted. But before he could give these other windows a closer look, another one of his own popped up: [quote=System:Jason] Your MP is Overfull. Your Mana Disorder is beginning to fade, but recovery is not complete... [/quote] Meanwhile, as Danny left young Trent behind, he could still feel some of his Mana seeping away. Using what was left of it to recharge the Source Crystal Shard, he got a message of his own. [quote=System:Danny] You have no MP remaining. [/quote] Assuming Jason would follow Danny, given the confusion jumble going on in his head, the two would soon disappear into the forest. Trent watched them go...and only once they were completely out of sight, did he turn to the nearest tree. He sheathed his sword and picked up the hand axe, before beginning to chop. Behind him, the cave lay ominously silent, and dark... And past that treeline towards the south, in the direction of that fire the goblins had apparently caused, there was a bright flash of white light, followed by a deep rumble like low rolling thunder and a tremor in the earth. The smoke lessened somewhat...