[h3]Ghost Party[/h3] Though it seemed no crafting or potion mixing skill had activated for Jason yet, mixing the strange buds from the sour-smelling plant with the water turned it a slight shade of minty green, diluting the smell until it was almost pleasant. Trying to infuse it with his own Mana caused the water to sparkle ever so slightly, but maybe that was just it reflecting the light of his aura. It soon stopped when he handed the gourd to Danny. When the Ecto Slime buried himself in the ground--an easy task considering how seemingly intangible he was, although he couldn't use Transparency to fade all the way--he began to meditate. But he had already drained bits of Mana from Danny repeatedly, and drained the goblins, and filled his "stores" up multiple times to the point of receiving that Extra MP notice from the System. He was almost starting to feel "full," although being low on Mana wasn't anything like that ravenous hunger he had experienced before... [quote=System:Jason] Mana Density increased. [/quote] He grasped at the earth, briefly activating ghost touch before resuming his meditation. He wanted to remember, to visualize, to imagine the feelings of touching the dirt once more. The sensation of soil on skin--or slime--and the vibrations passing through solid rock and loose dirt. Down here under the ground, it was dark save for his soul sight. And even that could be forgotten if he wasn't thinking about it. As he meditated, calm and quiet, the darkness seemed to grow deeper. He was going...deeper...down...Like drifting off into sleep without realizing you were nodding off... So, alone in the depths of the earth as he now found himself, it wasn’t quite clear to Jason 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] Meanwhile, Danny formed himself a Mana Orb and began thinking of a way to transform the raw magic into a fire ball. When Jason healed him before digging himself into a hole, the Poltergeist felt some of his HP trickle back. He examined the strange mixture of flowerbuds and water with a curious eye. [quote=System:Danny] Current Status: You are Hungry. Your thirst is Quenched. You are Somewhat Tired. Your HP is around half. Your MP is Full. Your Stamina is getting lower. You are Fine. You used Plant Analysis I! You used Magic Analysis I! ---Kilm Tea--- Made from mixing Kilm Blossoms with regular water, this tea inherits pain killing and anti-inflammatory properties from the plant. This particular dose wasn't made with any particular skill and hasn't been heated, so it's rather thick and has a very bitter flavor. [/quote] And once again, Jason stole some of his mana. He had to meditate to restore it, and then returned to his experiments. He concentrated, and cast his mind back to more peaceful days--hotdogs over an open fire, on a sunny afternoon... "Raising the heat of the flames..." The Mana Orb began to crackle as if it were a flame already, but its color and texture did not change, nor did its size. "...so that I can burn the target of this attack to cinders." Danny could feel heat beginning to rise between his palms. The Mana Orb began to lose cohesion, but it wasn't getting weaker. It was becoming more...energetic. "Ignite, Fireball!" The Mana Orb suddenly turned red. There was a sharp snap, and the orb burst apart with a cloud of embers. The spell wasn't quite complete, but Danny could feel it--he was close to a breakthrough! The embers landed on his little pile of wood and grass, and there were enough of them that soon smoke began to curl up from the kindling. But if Danny didn't do something to help the smoldering flames along, they might soon go out... [hr] [h3]Deep Forest[/h3] Nira floated to one side, allowing the unfortunate other Pixie to tumble past her. As Femus shrank back into the leaves up above, his attacker was stunned for several moments...and by the time it recovered, it was falling fast enough that it couldn't get its wings turned the right way...and it tried to twist its body but didn't have the time--! The crunch on the forest floor signaled the end of the thieving Pixie's life, and its mangled body twitched only once before going still. [quote=System:Femus] LEVEL UP! Your combined experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 5! Your Max MP has increased! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please! Unspent Skill Points: 5 Current Skills: Monster Analysis I (1.3) Mana Orb II (2.325) Lesser Force I (1.3) Levitation (--) Meditate I (1.6) Magic Analysis I (1.55) Shield (0.6) Suppress Presence (0.7) Alert (0.6) Faster (0.3) Harder (0.1) Soil Manipulation(0.1) Mana Shape (0.8) Mana Control (0.6) Muffle (0.3) Stealth Kill (0.1) Charisma (0.3) Mana Drain (0.5) Iron Gullet (0.1) Mana Sense (0.4) Keen Smell (0.1) Mana Dart (0.1) Mana Burst (0.1) Shock Round (0.5) Fireball (0.1) Plant Analysis (0.2) Crafting (0.2) Keen Sight (0.1) Wisp Flash (0.1) YOUR BODY IS BEGINNING TO CHANGE! You are undergoing Transformation! Based on your life experiences, your ability to survive, and the strength of your will, new paths have appeared! Choose carefully--there is no going back! [color=red]WARNING. THIS PROCESS WILL LEAVE YOU TEMPORARILY VULNERABLE.[/color] OPTIONS (* Indicates Suitability): ***(Adult) Wisp - More magical manifestation than biological creatures, Wisps nonetheless possess physical bodies. Their ability to cast spells from range makes them a foe that should not be underestimated by the novice. Wisps are magically oriented monsters, normally possessing two spells.[list] [*]Slight increase to all Base Stats [*]Increase HP [*]Increase Potential[/list] *(Immature) Poltergeist - This monster is still fueled by Magic, but its hold on the physical world has become stronger. Though its chubby, infantile body isn't particularly large, its grasping limbs, levitation ability, and its manipulation magic make it quite the prankster. However, its defensive abilities don't grow as fast as some other species. For the already physically frail mage-types, this can be a dangerous weakness.[list] [*][color=blue]Gain Arms w/Hands, Legs w/Feet, Head w/Eyes and Mouth[/color] [*]Increase base power-stats (reduced) [*]Increase Lesser Force (reduced)[/list] ***(Immature) Mana Spirit - A straightforward transformation for the Wisp, increasing their mastery over the fundamental spells that they use for their base interactions. At the same time, their physical body becomes more unstable. Rather than saying the body is weaker, it is more like...the fundamental self becomes more subject to change. Many mistake these creatures for true Spirit-type Undead, or Ghosts, due to their appearance.[list] [*]Increase base Magic stats. [*]Increase Lesser Force (reduced) [*]Increase Mana Orb (reduced)[/list] (Immature) Slime Mage - An unusual transformation for a Wisp. Their spherical body swells almost grotesquely, and they develop a slimy membrane as their former body dissolves. Slimes are normally of limited intelligence, but every so often one somehow learns magic. With its poor magic stats its casts are limited in number, but few expect a Slime to have such abilities. Having transformed from a Wisp instead, however, a Slime Mage's magic might be much more effective.[list] [*]Increase all base Defense Stats [*]Increase Mana Orb (reduced) [*]Increase Shield (reduced)[/list] [/quote] Meanwhile, Nira slowly approached the other wild Pixie, which peered at her from behind a leaf. Why had it become suddenly shy? "Can you understand what I'm saying?" The Pixie tilted its head at her with wide eyes. Slowly, it opened its mouth. "Caaaaahnyeeew? Kahn yeew?" It worked its lips several times, making gibberish sounds, then clapped its hands over its cheeks and laughed. It fluttered out towards Nira again and gestured at her, apparently listening intently for other words she might say. It seemed highly unlikely it had ever seen a fellow Pixie speak any kind of language before. Even if it couldn't understand, though, it recognized these sounds as some form of communication--maybe because it had seen or heard Goblins talking in their raucous voices. So now what would Nira do? Could she possibly teach this Pixie to talk, so that they could finally communicate? Did she [i]want[/i] to do that, considering how mischievous the creature seemed to be?