Guy0fV4lor

From the weakest goblin to the Strongest god

@kuroku it's under imgs

From the weakest goblin to the Strongest god

@Jangel13 don't forget that one has pledged himself to the god of steel!

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Jason, Asteria & Edward

---

@Zeroth@SilverPaw@Searat@Kazemitsu
“Oh, I understand perfectly well what your motivation as well as reasoning behind such an arrangement would be,” Asteria stated rather business-like though also with a hint of sarcasm in answer to Jason’s attempt to persuade her to get her to accept his last term of their alliance.

Deciding to be open about her hesitation, she continued. “However, what we have agreed on so far for this group is sharing information and protecting each other. There was no mention of sharing resources whatsoever with the exception of you pretty much wanting those crystals for yourself. And no offense, but even if they are renewable, they are still a precious resource as far as I can tell, and as such technically beneficial for anyone to have even if they can’t use them,” she took a moment to pause in what has come across as a slightly aggressive diatribe, which wasn’t exactly what she’d been going for. Asteria sighed and modulated her tone back to neutrality.

“Whether you mean well with that clause or not I simply have several concerns. For one, I don’t fancy spending my time mining those crystals for your benefit. Even if you make a case that we as a group should stockpile as many of those as we can, we can’t disregard the possibility of other former humans being around, which I am fairly certain is the case. And personally, carelessly depleting resources and then getting blamed and resented by the other magically inclined human-souled monsters is not my idea of fun. Not to mention we all know back from Earth what the costs of trying to create a monopoly are, don’t we?” She finished, a hint of challenge in her tone.

Asteria shook her head slightly, thinking on what she’d said. “I apologize if I came across as weirdly hostile. Nonetheless, the point still stands. And we haven’t even had time yet to discuss whether we have any short-term or long-term common goals beyond survival,” she sighed, hoping to get some of these issues resolved. There were so many things to consider with a potential alliance. Though if they managed to get these things sorted out and organized themselves, they could surely reap benefits worthy of the effort it took.

Ed gave the slime a very perplexed and slightly afraid look as the two pseudopods on each side of his head vibrated thrice as intense as before. The vibrations were strong enough to vibrate the young dire rat's head with significant force. If Ed had describe the feeling, it would be having two electric massagers pushed together with his head in the middle of the two...minus the pain the hard plastic would have done to his skull. "I don't think your experiment is working, Jason." The experiment itself may have been a unsuccessful one but if Jason was correct, even failed attempts would help improve the skill none the less.

Ed then tries to speak with Asteria. "Don't worry about it. All your concerns are really good points to be discussed if we are going to be something of a party." Ed was not sure but by the way she spoke and reasoned out the possible flaws in the alliance even before the cases arose, he could easily guess that Asteria was a very intelligent individual and quite possibly going to be the brains of the party.

You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.
You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.

System:Jason

"Oh, to the contrary my dear friend" Jason chuckled, "I've just received two system messages saying quite the opposite... As for you Asteria, I believe you mistake my intentions with that request. I have no wish to deplete the crystals, and I am not asking that you mine the crystals for my benefit. The reason I ask for them; in the event you happen across some, is that I may better protect my allies and friends. For you see, once my mana is depleted, I lose access to nearly half of my abilities, and will become a burden upon the group. However, if you do not wish to accept such a request, I shall not forcefully hold you to it." he stated before focusing his mind once more on the 'invisible connection', allowing mana to pool once more, and shoving the thought 'test' into the mana, through the 'connection and completely out of Jason's mind.

"If you still have more than half of your abilities even without mana I wouldn't worry about it too much. I might occasionally bring you one but honestly you are probably much better suited to getting them yourself when you need them. It's not like I can carry more than one what with being a rat, and even if I tried doing so I might put myself in harm's way. So I'll just be using my own judgement on that," she shrugged, kind of brushing him off - partly because she wasn't impressed at the way he either actively avoided discussing her worries or was too involved in his current experiments to do so.

"Another thing. Mother Rat just brought to my attention the fact that those other monsters, presumably not human," she nodded towards the lake "are avoiding us. So they do recognize our numerical advantage and do not wish to attack us. If we happen to want to hone our combat capabilities we might have to split up. That would have its own risks however." She paused, taking some time to think about Jason's magical attempts as well as to observe the Monsters among their group, who were strangely but thankfully peaceful - and did that monster slime just try to speak?! Shaking her head, Asteria decided to ignore them for now and addressed Jason again.

"By the way, if you are attempting telepathy magically, we might actually need to develop some kind of magical abilities ourselves first. Though..." she trailed off, wondering if there was a way to find out what someone's skill did. A higher level of the Monster Analysis skill or a different kind of analysis skill could do something for them, but she didn't think anyone here had that. There was also the fact that this world kind of worked like a game, and system messages tended to appear in reaction to doing something significant - as Jason had just confirmed - but she hadn't a clue if there was a way to access more information of that nature the way one would if they were actually playing a game. If there was, that would have more worrying implications which Asteria honestly didn't want to contemplate too closely.

Slightly annoyed with Asteria's seemingly constant attempts to skew the portrayal of his intentions, Jason let out a heavy sigh, "Look Asteria, I can already tell that you don't trust me, or want to. Y'know what? Just scratch the whole fuckin mana crystal clause, because even when I say it's not an absolute priority, you seem to want to portray it as one..."

"Just have a little faith in me, that's all I ask. I know I might not be the best communicator, but I'm a lot smarter than you'd think. Though you seem to think I'm purposely not telling you things, It's just me assuming you already know or understand what I'm talking about or trying to say... he explained, pausing for a few moments, "Now, in terms of training our combat abilities, that may be a time we need to split up. However, once the goblins come back to the cave, being in a group such as how we are now would be vital for overthrowing Rattleskull, the 'Boss Monster' of the cave. As for telapathic communication, most slimes can communicate between each other naturally with a weak form of it. Also, knowing slimes, it is unlikely that normal slimes wield magic abilities, but until I can figure out how the mechanics of this telepathy work, we won't know for sure. All I know is that I'm close to gaining a new skill, if you wait just a bit longer, I promise it will be worth the wait, and afterward, I can show all of you our base of operations."

Turning his attention back to Ed, and clearing his mind once more, Jason deeply focused on the 'invisible connection'. As mana built up, he held it back, not allowing it through until five times the normal mana had built up. Picturing The sound of someone saying 'Test', Jason pushed the thought into the mana amassed, and drove both as far as he could through the 'invisible connection' until he could feel the presence of the thought no more.

"Fair enough," she blinked at his outburst. "I don't actually have that much info on this world, so I assume a lot. And from what you've said, mana or rather those crystals are one of the things that could be construed as the equivalent of oil, so..." She didn't think further elaboration was necessary. "And the trust will come as we work together," she shrugged again. When she spoke again it was in reference to what Jason's current experiment. "So, once you are close to a skill, you just try doing the same thing until it succeeds? With added variation I guess. Is your telepathy also a proper skill then? And maybe not even magical, that's interesting." For now, she decided to wait until whatever it was he was attempting to do succeeded. Though now that she had the time to do so, she used Monster Analysis on Edward, Mother Rat and even tried to do it on herself to see if she'd get any notion of whether a Dire rat could learn magic if it turned out that's what they needed or wanted to do.

The time Jason had finished his discussion with Aesteria, He had already seemingly amplified the vibrations five fold. Initially there was only slight tingles, but now there was a static like sound in his head. Was this the end goal of Jason's experiment?

Ed couldn't be sure and chose to stay silent. Though Jason said something about 'System messages.' Was that random thought in my head about that 'level up' not a delusion of his? Was it something part of the world they were in or maybe we are all just delusional and slowly sinking deeper into the proverbial rabbit hole? Ed then stared at the slime as it focused intensely at him. 'He's really focusing hard trying to do that telepathy thing...' Ed thought While Jason tried to make results, Ed had began reasoning on how the mana and magic thing worked. 'Maybe that's how you use magic in this world? You just focus really hard on something.'

Ed then tried to relax and imagined the mana as an invisible force. Ed then imagines the force surrounding his body to create something of a cover around his body, nothing too complex. Only a cover surrounding his body. Once he finished visualizing it, Ed then imagines the mana surrounding his body go rigid and hard, like a protective layer of armor of some sort. He didn't know if it would work, but at least he was trying.

"That is correct Asteria! Now be quiet for a moment, I think I've nearly got it!" Jason said as he focused his mind once more.

You have no MP remaining.

System:Jason

Grumbling, Jason begrudgingly used another mana crystal.

Used a Mana Crystal.
MP is fully restored.

System:Jason

With his mana now restored, Jason once again deeply focused on the 'invisible connection'. Letting his mana build up, he held it back, not allowing it through until three times the normal mana had built up again. Picturing both the sound of someone saying 'Test', as well as the word itself, Jason pushed the thoughts into the mana amassed, and drove it all as far as he could through the 'invisible connection'.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Jason & Edward

---

@Zeroth@SilverPaw@Searat@Kazemitsu
Though seemingly skeptical of Jason's intentions, Asteria, like Edward, agreed to the terms of the alliance. Well most of the terms anyway, yet was seemingly taken aback by the clause regarding mana crystals.

"I understand why you may be offput about having to cede any mana crystals you come across to another alliance member. The reason for such a tenant is that magic uses up a great deal of mana, there are two ways that you can regain said mana, at least, as far as I know. The fist method is sleep, the second, by using mana crystals. Therefore, in order to be able to consistently use magic skills in battle, they require mana crystals. The reason I ask that those who have no magical skills give their mana crystals to those with magic based skills is solely on the grounds that mana crystals are essentially useless to those without magic abilities, again, as far as I know." he exlained before stopping to listen to Asteria's next statement.

"Yes, that is exactly what I planned to test!" Jason explained with a chuckle, "I apologise for the oversight in my explanation, but yes, I am going to try using my telepathy on you both. Also, I am trying to gain the skill monster analysis, which I think I can work on by using my [Tremor Sense I] skill to non-invasively view the inside of your bodies, similar to an x-ray. Now Ed, would you be so kind as to be my first volunteer?" he finished, once again slowly moving towards Edward.

Ed listened and understood what Jason and Asteria told him. There was a great possibility that other creatures had a knack for certain kinds of magic and skills restricted to some species. Though what confused him was that Asteria 'obtained' a skill called [Monster Analysis I] and Jason claimed that one of his skills was 'labeled' [CURRENTLY INCOMPATIBLE] What did they mean by that? Are there ranks and degrees of skills that are usable? And what did Jason mean 'labeled?' Did that mean there was a means to check if skills you have are usable or something?

Ed was snapped back to reality when he had heard Jason asking him to be the first volunteer to this [Tremor Sense I]. Truth be told, Ed was not very excited to be the guinea pig of this experiment but he too was rather curious what the skill do if it were some impromptu version of an X-ray or FMRI scan. "I'm not too sure about this Jason, but I cannot deny my scientific curiosity to what would happen." He walks closer to the slime. "I do hope you know what you are doing..."

"Please Edward," Jason jokingly retorted,Of course I know what I'm doing..... Mostly.

As Edward moved close to Jason, the slime extended several pseudopods, firmly pressing them into multiple spots around the dire rat's body, before channeling [Tremor Sense I]. Once Jason had seen the full layout of his comrade's body, he drew back all but two of the pseudopods, and touched the two sides of the rat's head. Centering his mind on the 'focus' hard, Jason pushed mana into the 'invisible connection' between himself and Ed, sending forward the thought, "Can. You. Hear. Me?"

Pulling away, Jason awaited Ed's response.

Ed simply looks at the slime as its pseudopods vibrate as if sounds were being produced from within them. It was a rather strange but not unwelcomed experience to the young dire rat. Ed simply stares at the slime as it pulled away and offered him a expectant look. "Uhh..." Ed rubs the back of his head awkwardly as he tries to formulate a response. He wasn't too sure what was supposed to happen. "Thanks for the...massage?"

Frowning, Jason looked about the ceiling for a cluster of mana crystals. Spying some, he used the last of his mana to cast [Stone Shot I], knocking the cluster down before flopping over and snatching up the crystals.

3x Mana Crystal added to inventory

System:Jason

Absorbing one of the crystals, Jason sighed with relief as he felt his mana replenish. Extending two pseudopods, and touching one to each side of Edward's head once more, the slimy mage cleared his mind and focused deeply on the 'invisible connection'. This time, as mana built up, Jason held onto it, not allowing it through thrice the amount of mana had built up. This time, he was going to try something small, picturing the word 'Test', Jason pushed the thought into the mana amassed, and drove both through the 'invible connection' to the point that he finally felt the thought completely exit his mind.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

---

@Zeroth@SilverPaw@Searat@Kazemitsu
"I thank you for your generous offer Mr. Jason. I would take your offer in a heart beat but I am unsure if I even have the skill or talent to harness magic." Ed responded, "Is there a way for me to check if I have any skill or talent in harnessing magic?"

'What an interesting thought' Jason mused. He hadn't considered whether or not certain races were completely unable to use magic. However, the fact that as a slime; a creature meant specifically for tanking damage, could learn magic, likely meant that it could be learned by anyone.

After pondering this for a few moments, Jason finally reached his conclusion."Seeing as how I learned magic by literally just spitting rocks at Asura, I'd imagine anyone can learn it. Besides, one of my currently unusable skills is labeled as [CURRENTLY INCOMPATIBLE], so I'd imagine that one can LEARN any skill, but whether or not you can USE it is what varies depending on your species, race, or perhaps other skills. But I do believe that you should be able to both learn and use magic."

Just as he finished explaining his thoughts to Edward, another idea came to mind,"Also, would you mind if I tested something on you real quick? It's completely harmless, and is only so I can try to further develop my skills."

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

---

@Zeroth@SilverPaw@Searat@Kazemitsu

"I agree to the terms you have mentioned and I am willing to join your alliance." Ed replied, "I apologize if I seem ignorant or foolish, but did you just say 'mana'? Like the magical kind of mana?"

Glad that he had already scored another new ally, Jason gladly responded to Edward's question. "It is not foolish at all my friend! But yes, I did mean the magical sort of mana. As of right now, I have already developed several magic-based skill, and am currently working on several more including a sort of lesser telepathy naturally possessed by slimes." he explained to his new comrade before pausing for a moment.

"If you would like, I could even try to teach you some of it later. Would that interest you?"

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

---

@Zeroth@SilverPaw@Searat@Kazemitsu
After the two rats made up over a seemingly very sensitive event, the newcomer finally introduced them self. “I’m Asteria,” she began, “And this here is Mother Rat,” nodding to the large rat beside her. “She’s native to this world so she can’t exactly understand human speech, but I hope we can get along nonetheless. She’s useful in a fight. Oh, and I would like to know what exactly you had in mind for an alliance, sure,”

Pleased to hear that the rats were at least somewhat interested in forming an alliance, something similar to a smile formed across Jason's slimy face. However, now that they had gotten past formalities, it was time to discuss business. "So," he began, now taking a serious tone, "Terms of the alliance would be as follows. First, all members will protect each other to the best of their ability. Second, I am sure that you have noticed the strange crystals that grow about the cave, any found are to be given to an alliance member with mana reliant skills such as myself. Third, any new information is to be passed to all other members." Jason said before pausing.

"Do you all agree to these terms?"

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

---

@Zeroth@SilverPaw@Searat@Kazemitsu
Elated that he had found another potential ally, but disappointed at the immediate defensive reaction of Edward, Jason internally frowned.
Just as he was about to reply with an attempt to ease Ed's concerns, two new dire rats approached, one of which was rather large in size.

“Edward,” the smaller of the two began, “I’m glad I finally found you. I wanted to apologize for how things yesterday went down.” pausing for a moment before finishing with “I understand if you can’t forgive it though,”

Cautiously, Jason turned to face the speaking newcomer. Could this perhaps be the traitorous individual Ed had spoken of? "Greetings!" he beckoned, "Friends of Ed I assume? Come, join us! We were just discussing an alliance!

Hoping to portray himself in a non-threatening fashion he introduced himself, "My name is Jason, who might you be?" he finished, in the most charming voice he could muster.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

---

@Zeroth@Searat@Kazemitsu
The feedback from [Tremor Sense I] wasn't much, but it was still somewhat interesting nonetheless. However, Jason's attempt at telepathy yielded much more incredible results.

The feeling that Jason could detect was somewhat similar to how his Mana behaved when he used Earth elemental spells. It was not so much that he controlled a flow of energy, or generated a certain type of power, but that whatever Mana he was putting into this--this “focus” of his own mind, this “invisible connection” between himself and another being--the Mana he put into it would pool up, and then “suffuse” the subject.

Wanting to immediately test his theory, Jason once again centered his mind on the 'focus', feeling the Mana pool up before relaying each piece "Can. You. Hear. Me?" he tried to say, being careful not to speak out loud.

Pulling away from Asura, Jason awaited his comrade's response. Suddenly, slow movement at the edge of the pool caught Jason's attention. Turning to face it, he saw a dire rat.... listening to them? Could this be another reincarnated human? "Hello" he said in a soft voice, slowly moving toward the newcomer, "Can you speak too? If so, we mean you no harm. My name is Jason, what's yours?"

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

Mason Drake

---

@Rai
Mason sighed, his palm firmly planted against his face as the bandit girl made her request. Did she really have no other wish? If so, why that, OF ALL THINGS, WHY THAT??? Even more surprising, was the fact that the king even bothered to answer her seriously.

"I said I would aid you. So if a dick.. is what you want. All things related to the sexual is Lord Eros's realm of knowledge. So wait, like the others, and I will send for you to have a meeting with him. Now. Go."

The crowds whispers of disapproval ricocheted and echoed through Mason's mind. Weren't they all heroes? Why were they all being treated like..... a... a.... joke??? Painful memories began to rush through Mason's head, only for the King's voice to break through the room's hushed whispers.

"If these warriors are not your desired representatives then I extend membership into these united ranks to anyone willing to step fourth. I warn you. The perilous duty of protecting all descendants is not for the meek."

Only a single, very large man stepped forward. "King Vrondi," his voice boomed with a large grin on his face, "I have no quarrel with these people, though I do find a number of your company ta be quite lacking in bravery an' honor. All drawing their swords on one injured person, even if they do have an interestin' view on humor, all the while shiverin' in their boots at tha very prospect o' dirtyin' them up. Let me volunteer in their stead. I pray I don't disappoint you even half as much as these pompous men who owe their title merely ta their father's pastime in bed."

Mason was at least happy to see the King's pleasantly surprised smile. "Ah. A fine introduction. Yet we have enough of those who can speak, and much more elegantly. Lets see if your proclaimed talent is better coordinated than your speech. Choose your blade warrior and step forward." Vrondi offered, from the weapons that sat on the walls. All of various types and sizes, mostly symbolic and large. He then looked to Blight. "I have a better task for you Blight. Please demonstrate a knights proper form and test his mettle a bit."

With the 'Blighted Knight' now occupied with testing this new individual, a young Sol, clad in a long white tunic led the group toward their rooms. As he was led out of the hall by the servant, Mason heard other knights murmuring about how joining such a group could 'tarnish their reputation'. The young seraph sneered in disgust. Reputation? Reputation is mere vanity. A TRUE knight's only concern should be fighting in pursuit of justice.

The knights' cowardice filled Mason with fuming anger, such that he barely noticed that he had already arrived in his room. When suddenly, a low, wispy voice, barely loud enough to even be a whisper spoke from behind Mason.

_{"Why fight for such insects?"}

Turning to face the voice, Mason was confused to find that he was alone. Was he hearing things? Assuming it was just an odd thought caused by frustration, Mason left his room and made his way to the Guest Library. Perhaps reading would calm his mind.

Scouring the Library, Mason grabbed every book he could find regarding the Gaian Dragon Temple that King Vrondi spoke of. Gathering his collection on a vacant table, he began to eagerly read book, after book, after book, learning all he could of the temple. Nearly half the pile had been completed before fatigue got the better of Mason, as he eventually passed out atop the collection he had gathered.