Poison magic did exist. The fact that Ash was able to confirm its existence, or the fact that she already had skills that used it, wasn’t particularly ground breaking, but it was another piece of information to add to what he had already learned today; it also allowed him to confirm a few other pieces of information pertaining to the different elemental types that existed in this world. The list of elements that were mentioned in his analysis of the Giant Rat was the most comprehensive yet and gave him a better indication of what magic was capable of and therefore what he was capable of.

Of the elements listed he already had spells that used the elements of Fire and Water, alongside spells using Air and Light; the fact that these last two weren’t mentioned in his analysis meant it wasn’t a complete list, which was also useful to know. Of the remaining elements he was already working on Ice and at least one of his party members had spells of Ice, Earth and Poison, meaning he had the ability to learn them via observation rather than blind experimentation. The remaining elements were then Metal, Lightning, Shadow and Curse; these were the elements he had neither knowledge of nor an immediate source of knowledge and were therefore going to be the hardest to learn. He also had no easily accessible source of metal or electricity to use as a base for spells of those elements and who even knew where he would find an inroad for Curse magic.

Ash brought him out of his thoughts, stating that she had some training she wanted help with at some point. [color=f49ac2]“Oh, yeah, I’d be glad to help; I have some things I want to try as well. Thanks for the information.”[/color]

Moving away from the Pygmy Drake to stand by himself, Oberon looked around the camp to see what others were up to. Digbie had said something about a book earlier, but Oberon had been too distracted by his own thoughts after the fight and the fire to pay much attention, and right now seemed to be trying to use both Mana Orb and some kind of Earth spell at the same time; he seemed to be struggling to manage both at the same time, the orb flickering fitfully and the soil under his hand barely moving, but in practice it seemed to be possible, if difficult, to use two spells simultaneously. The Sprite mentally added it to the growing list of things to look into.

Torrent meanwhile was doing… something. Given her pose and what he had seen of her spell casting so far, she was probably trying to use or develop a breath-based spell, but Oberon couldn’t see anything that hinted at what the spell was for or using. Likewise, Ash was also practising a new spell, first firing a Mana Slice before summoning a caustic looking orb and trying to reshape it to match the crescent-shaped projectile; Oberon used Magic Analysis on the Poison magic, also inadvertently using it on Ash at the same time, whose eyes seemed to have a strange glint to them even in the waning light of dusk.

Everyone else seemed busy with their own tasks, which left the question of what Oberon was going to do with his time. Sleep seemed like a good option, it had been a long and tiring day after all, but now that the sun was setting he was finally in a good position to try and see what Shadow magic was all about. Then again, maybe he wasn’t. Unlike the other elements he had experimented with so far, Shadow was something that he had no frame of reference for; water existed, fire existed, air existed, even light was a thing that he could think of in terms of existing in the form of photons and energy. Shadow didn’t exist, it was the absence of something that existed, it was a lack of light, not a thing in and of itself; Shadow as an element, which existed separately and independently, wasn’t something he could really wrap his head around.

He flew over to the edge of the clearing, to the base of the trees where the darkness was deepest, and stood in the darkest part of the shadows he found there. Was this Shadow? Or was it just a shadow? Would he find traces of elements here that he could use to imbue his Mana Orb was Shadow magic, elements that only sprang into existence in places where the light didn’t touch and which was banished when light reached it, or was Shadow something else entirely? Was Shadow a kind of naturally forming substance that had nothing to do with the mere absence of light?

There was really only one way to find out. The Sprite raised his hand and formed a Mana Orb, in the same way he had every other time he began one of these experiments, and closed his eyes. He let his mind clear until he found himself falling into the kind of half-trance state he had used earlier when trying to draw water into his Mana, and then later on when trying to sense and pull air into it as well. If he reached out with his senses in this state would he be able to sense the shadows that he and the orb were bathed in, or would he just find more air? If he found Shadow he would attempt to draw it into the Mana Orb and then he would let it take whatever shape it wanted to, keeping just enough of a hold over the Mana that it wouldn’t break apart. He used Magic Analysis on himself to help guide the process using whatever information he gleaned from the results, including the spells name if it had one and was indicative of its intended use or shape.

He would continue this, moving to darker shadows as the sun continued to set if need be, until he felt he could go no longer. When he was done he would meditate to restore his Mana reserves before retreating to the cave and going to sleep. During the night he would find him sleep interrupted by something, awaking to the sensation of eyes on him only to see nothing of the sort; his companions slept peacefully and easily each time he awoke, and each time he used Magic and Monster Analysis on them to see if anything was wrong with them. Each time he eventually managed to relax enough to fall back to sleep, only to wake up again later on and repeat the cycle.

In the morning he awoke again, this time to dim sunlight at the entrance to the cave and the distant sound of a horn being blown. The air was damp and chilly as he exited, hands rubbing along his biceps as his lack of clothing made itself known. [color=f49ac2]“I don’t think Sprite’s are built for this kind of climate.”[/color] He drank some water from the stream and ate breakfast from any remaining, unspoilt fruit they had gather the day before, still wary about eating raw meat. [color=f49ac2]“System request: show Skill Tabs and Current Experience. Show Party Information as well.”[/color]

[hider=Action Report]
Used "Magic Analysis" on "Poison Splash"
Used "Magic Analysis" on "Mana Vision"
Used "Mana Orb"
Attempting to draw "Shadow Mana" into "Mana Orb"
Used "Magic Analysis" on "Shadow Mana Orb"
Used "Meditation" to restore Mana
Went to sleep
Awoke in the night and used "Magic Analysis" and "Monster Analysis" on Digbie, Torrent and Ash each time
Drank water and ate breakfast
Requested "Skills Tab", "Current Experience" and "Party Information" from System
[/hider]

[@Rune_Alchemist][@Zeroth]