Zeroth

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

Farmstead

"State-us..." Miiba sounded out quietly after the farmer had spoken. Suddenly--

You are Well Rested.
You are Peckish.
Your throat is Dry.
Your HP is full.
Your MP is full.
Your SP is full.
You are fine.

System:Miiba

Before Lear could answer her question about going to the temple if she didn't look like a goblin anymore, the Pixie that had run out in front of them opened its mouth. Showing the most emotion that he had since Miiba had met him, the burly country man's eyes bugged to the point it seemed they might burst out of his head. He suddenly turned to Miiba in shock, raising one eyebrow before he looked back at the fae creature.

"My name's Scott." the Pixie offered, looking between the two. "I, uh, don't know where exactly I am... b-but anything you could tell me would be a great help!" And then his stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl. "Or if you've some food to spare. Or water. Water would be better. I haven't really drank anything for... several days?"

"Uh!" Lear shook himself, slapping one of his own cheeks lightly. Then he looked down at Scott. His large, fuzzy eyebrows furrowed.

"Hold on there, Pixie--if that's really what you are!" He gestured to Miiba. "It's one thing for Goblins to talk! They can speak, even if it's not usually Human language! But I've never heard one of you little pests do more than laugh and screech! Where did you come from, and how'd you learn our language!?"

While the pixie answered, presumably, Lear glanced back at Miiba and leaned towards her, whispering out of the corner of his mouth. "You know this Pixie, Miiba? Was he back in your cave with you?"

---

Nira and Femus

It seemed obvious that Femus had put a great deal of thought into his methods of Meditation. If Nira listened and practiced well, would it possibly accelerate her own development of the skill? As the two settled down, with the one blue flower Nira had remaining nearby, the goblins outside could be heard starting to celebrate. Aside from that, the rest of the forest had calmed down considerably.

The hollow tree they had taken residence in wasn't quite as old, or as large, as that great old tree near the center of the forest, but it was plenty big enough to provide shelter and sustenance for the single Wisp that had secured himself a space here, and the pixie girl to boot. Though Femus had been trying to intentionally create an area of denser mana, so that he could recover more easily, it also seemed that this environment in general was a good place to soak in the ambience of energy.

Your MP is Full.

System:Femus

It only took a few minutes of meditating, after he explained things to Nira, and he was back to a hundred percent. However, before the fight with the rat, he had gained "temporary extra MP." Could he possibly do this again--and could he make it denser, like those Qi manipulators in the Wuxia novels he used to read? How much of this world would be like those places, places where someone could be reincarnated in order to become a cultivation master? Or, was it just more like a video game? They had both already leveled up several times, after all.

But as they sat there, their meditation session was suddenly interrupted by a shrill giggle. If they looked up, they would see that somewhere above them, through another crack in the hollowed tree's bark, a different Pixie was peeking in on them. The creature's huge eyes glimmered as it watched them, but when it saw that it had been noticed it fluttered away...however, they could still hear it outside, laughing. It didn't seem to speak, especially not in a proper language like Nira--more than likely it was one of the "wild" Pixies. But...was it a threat?

---

PixieSlime Party

ERROR. Skill Progression is already enabled.

System:Asura

Momma Slime recoiled from the memories Asura passed on to her. She rolled a few feet away, and wobbled back and forth with a low gurgling sound.

"But...hurt bad. Not like. How hurt make hurt not hurt? Make bad not bad? Not like how hurt...feel. Not like see Ahsoowa hurt. Make feel...bad? Like me hurt when me not hurt?" The big slime seemed oddly contemplative. She continued to burble and mumble to herself as she brought up the bowhorn deer's remains, semi-regurgitating part of them onto the ground so that she could "chew" the smaller pieces.

Meanwhile, Ardur began work on his project. The first task he took on was coating the rest of his tendons in the sap from the tree, and finding a sharp rock if necessary to cut a wider gash in the bark.

Your Tamed Creature has learned the Skill: Poison Fang I!
Inject venom through a bite. May poison the target, causing damage over time.

You are using Crafting I to process several items...

System:Ardur

Each time Ardur completed a stage in his task, the System kept track. Coating the tendons in sap counted as "processing" them, and seemed to make them more durable. Stripping the tree bark into rough fibers was a little difficult, as the Kao Tree's bark didn't grow in parchment thin layers like some other species' of trees back in the Old World. Once he had the fibers, he was able to wind them together into rough rope...but this process took a little while to get the hang of, and the less successful attempts left him with little more than frayed string. What was more, it was hard to get longer fibers or sheets of bark. The Kao Tree's bark grew in rough layers almost like scales, but each individual piece was quite small. It would take several bark pieces' worth of fiber to make a cord, and then multiple cords twined together to make something long enough to be useful.

Using the Flak Beetle's thorax and abdominal shell, the Hipixie was able to make a sort of bracer around his forearm. The two plates that had once covered the beetle's wings now covered each side of his arm below the elbow, leaving only a thin strip exposed on either side. A third plate covered the back of his hand, leaving his fingers free but remaining flexible enough that he could move his wrist. The sharp rock could, if he applied a generous amount of force, eventually drill holes in the plate and then the coated tendons could be used to fasten it around his limb.

A similar process was done with the flat bone plates, and Ardur was able to hang the primitive armor over his shoulders by the tendons like a sort of spaghetti-strap breastplate. The plates covered his pectorals and solar plexus, and part of his collar bone.

Making enough of the cordage to go around his own thin waist was a weary process, much less if he wanted to make something long enough to serve as rope. Coating it with sap helped the fibers stick together better and reduced fraying at the ends, though, so maybe it would last long enough to serve his purpose. Threading it through leaves and grass, he was able to fashion himself a skirt like some kind of hula dancer. It was a little bit itchy, but at least it gave him some form of coverage and perhaps some camoflauge in the woods.

The Rubber Frog, having been hollowed out by Asura...could pretty much be used as a bag already, it seemed. It was rather gooey and still sort of bloody on the inside, but by letting the frog's mouth serve as the "flap" on top and tying its boneless arms and leg together the Hipixie was able to create a gristly, but functional, backpack.

Without the Material Analysis skill, which still hadn't triggered for him, Ardur couldn't tell exactly what quality his created items were simply by looking at them. Only by carefully observing would he notice things like frayed fibers in the cord, bits of gristle in the tendons, cracks in the beetle's shell, and so on. Still, he was much better covered and armed than he had been before, and that was something to be thankful for. As the pixie began to pray, the area was quiet save for the sounds of Asura attempting to eviscerate himself and the occaisonal thump as Steve hit him with her improvised flail.

The weather was nice, despite the explosion that had rocked the surrounding lands only about an hour ago. A light breeze began to blow, rustling the trees. Clouds overhead raced through a bright blue sky, and the sun beamed down. As Ardur offered his own Mana to pray for guidance, he could feel the warmth of the sun through his translucent wings and on his delicate skin. At one point, the clouds covered the sun and cut off this warmth...but in only a few moments, as he started his next prayer, it once again peeked out. This time it felt even brighter.

When he opened his eyes again, they had to readjust for several seconds due to just how brightly the sun beamed. He felt the wind rustle his hair, as it blew towards the south along the mountain range's side.

By this point, Asura would be in need of a good healing. The pain he had caused himself, and that Steve inflicted at his own urging, had grown more intense. To the point that any sane person would likely question just why they were doing this to themselves. But, as the Hipixie cast Minor Heal and the Amorphous's slime's body began to glow slightly, it paid off.

Skill Gain: Earth Resistance I! (0.9 > 1.0)
Take less damage from Earth and Earth Elemental Magic. If all other Elemental Resistances are acquired, this will also increase the rank of Magic Resistance.

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

Your HP is full.

System:Asura

Obtained Items:
+Beetle Bracer - This item for your Arm makes you feel slightly tougher.
+Bone Breastplate - This item for your Torso makes you feel slightly tougher.
+Grass Skirt - This item is fragile and flammable, but serves as decent clothing.
+Rubber Frogskin Backpack - This item is more elastic than it looks. Can hold 15 Small Items. The number of items held may be affected by larger items that take up more space. It is more durable than most raw materials due to its rubbery composition, but without proper care it may degrade over time.
+Sharp Stone
+Beetle Mandible - Rather hard and sharp on its own, it might be sturdy enough to refine...

System:Ardur

---

Rat Party

Asteria was able to drill a hole into the plate from the insect's shell with its own mandible--like steel on steel, it seemed the sharp mandible was just as strong as the chitin that made up the shell. This proved that she would be able to craft something with these various items. Retrieving the Bloodingfly Needle, she shoved as much as she could into her stolen clay jar. After hastily weaving some cordage out of the long grasses on the plains, she lashed the rest of the items into a bundle. While she was teaching Mother Rat how to carry this bundle, Ed wove himself a crude mat to wrap around his own loot. He also questioned the System about his dream, and about the purplish plant Asteria handed him.

ERROR. You do not possess the requisite skill to perform the requested task:
"System, would you kindly perform an analysis on the most recent dream I experienced."

ERROR. You have not yet activated the Developing Skill Plant Analysis.

You have crafted an item! Without activating the Developing Skill, Material Analysis, you cannot be sure of the item's quality.

Obtained Item: Grass Mat

System:Ed

It took several tries to teach Mother Rat how to balance the load on her back. At first she didn't want to carry it at all, until Asteria reassured her via telepathy. Then it took her some time to get it properly balanced, and to understand what Asteria was trying to teach her about using her tail for leverage. However, eventually the rats were all packed up, and they began to take a roundabout path, sweeping in a great arc as they headed around the village and headed further towards the south.

The village now seemed to be bustling, several figures were moving around. They all seemed to be gathering in the center of the little hamlet, around the four shrines the old woman had been tending to. The two with spears that had approached Ed while he played dead were now speaking to the rest from inside the large circle of packed earth. The old woman, as well as another elder wearing a headdress with many bird feathers placed in it to form a sort of mane that spilled down his back, also stepped up every so often to say something. But the rats' senses could only see enough to make out the large number of humans and hear the general volume of their conversation--while they maintained a safe distance they couldn't make out any specifics.

Soon they had left their den, and the numerous Myrminor bodies, behind...Were they going to try and observe the village from a distance, or keep heading to the south, further into the plains? Or, might they try and go in another direction--West towards the mountains perhaps, or east off into...more plains, but possibly also other things?

---

Ghost Party

As Danny practiced shadowboxing, he soon began to feel more comfortable in his new body. He wasn't very strong or fast in the grand scheme of things, but he soon grew more coordinated. And despite a general lack of strength, with proper form he could still deliver a decent wallop to something around the same size as himself. If they had still been back in the cave, he would have been in a much better position now that he had both magic and physical abilities to rely on.

Suddenly, he felt something cold touching him. His hazy Spiritual Awareness would allow him to see the ripples in the air where Jason seemed to be--and then, he heard an eerie voice echoing within his own mind...

"That's excellent news, Danny! Can you hear me now?"

Skill Unlocked! Telepathy II (2.725) is now functioning again!
You remember how to use a skill you possessed in life. The difference in your present form has been overcome; the trauma to your magical powers has healed. So long as you do not experience a similarly violent shift in your existence, this skill will remain functional if you take on a new form.

System:Jason

However, as the two pressed through the woods, something soon came to their attention. There were several sets of goblin-sized footprints on the ground, as well as a few dropped or squished berries here and there. Perhaps it was those goblins from the cave--if it was, they had gone further on to the east, changing their course only a little. With so many of them present, it wasn't hard to find further evidence of their trail.

But before Jason and Danny could decide what they wanted to do--

"Why yas blamin' me!? Youse da one dat didn't grab 'im fast enuff!"

"Ya, but youse didn't see da dum pixie ta start wiff! Now we gots to go even deepa inta da woods--can't go back home wiff nuttin'!"

Three Goblins came out of the bushes. They stopped and did a double set of double takes--the first time, they were looking at the same tracks Danny and Jason had found. They seemed confused, but also slightly afraid of the goblin tracks despite being the same type of creature. Then they seemed even more confused--and slightly bloodthirsty--at the sight of a seemingly lone Poltergeist.

These goblins looked slightly different than the ones Jason and Danny were used to seeing. Their nostrils were thinner--almost slit-like--and at first glance it seemed like they had shorter fingers and toes, but in reality...it almost looked like they had thinner membranes of skin going almost up to the second knuckle. Yet they were still green, they were still about three and a half feet tall, and they were still armed and mean. One carried a pointy stick--its end had been split and wedged apart with a small rock, making it into a multi pronged spear like one might used for fishing. Another carried a sturdy piece of branch as a cudgel. The last had a sharp rock, and a few lengths of vine that had been made into a crude net.

"Dat ting looks weak! Get it!"

They charged forward...

---

Monster Party

Despite the purple particles being rarer than others, Ash had gathered them together and discarded the rest. Now she placed a single iota of purple mana into the center of the diminished orb, to give the rest of them something to orbit...

Her Mana Orb shrank significantly. It turned a deeper, more solid shade of her chosen color. She could hear a slight...hissing sound. Just like the Fanged Lizard's venom upon making contact with the air. But a great deal of Mana had been discarded. And she had to expend more every moment. The orb still seemed...cloudy. Like vapor fogging over a bathroom mirror. And now--

You have no MP remaining.

You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.

System:Ash

As her Mana Vision faded and the Mana Orb dissipated, Ash was left to ponder the results of her experiment. So, clearly, manipulating the squares, or pixels, particles, whatever they were, changed the nature of her spell. But it seemed she needed a larger amount of her chosen color or type to complete the change from a normal Mana Orb to a poison-themed one, or else needed more Mana to maintain it. Twice now, she had simply run out of fuel for the attempt. Yet if purple was a rarer color, was there a way to create more of it? She had seen her venom cause a reaction, and had been able to cause a similar reaction on her own. Maybe she could just stack or combine the effects. But would that defeat her purpose, creating poison solely by means of magic? How else might she gain a higher number or concentration of the specific particle she wanted?

Outside, Torrent also had to take a different route towards her goal. She couldn't hold enough air in her lungs--she wasn't a living pressure tank, after all--to generate her desired breath attack. But...what if she used the air she was blowing, as well as her Mana, to move the air in front of her? Using her previous experiences with the Fireball spell as a base, she made one more attempt...

She gathered air, she focused, she visualized, she felt her Mana surge. More practice, more effort, more power. Just like her previous attempt had pushed those leaves across the water like tiny sailboats, she now used her breath to try and push the air itself.

Skill Gain: Wind Breath I (0.8 > 1.0)!
A Wind-aligned breath skill. The breath itself is used as a medium to channel Mana, though some creatures may have the ability to generate forces of extreme air pressure. At this rank, the Skill deals very little damage to most targets but can push an object or enemy away with great force. It is released as a cone in front of the user and remains effective at a range up to ten feet, growing more intense the closer the target is to the user.

You used Magic Analysis I!
---Wind Breath---
This is your own skill. You can feel the Mana concentrate in your lungs after inhaling to infuse the air. This Wind Mana is then released by blowing, and spreads in a ripple effect to the atmosphere. The increase in pressure causes movement away from you, towards lower pressures--in essence, wind.

System:Torrent

She exhaled hard, blowing until her cheeks were sore, and the wind seemed to ripple with the lightest of sparkles. A faint, light green haze rippled on the breeze as it increased in intensity with a shrill whistle. Her newborn breath skill traveled across the stream, strong enough now to actually whip up waves and spray from the water and send it splashing across the opposite bank.

Once she had recovered and processed this, she made ready to finish off her ice breath as well. For Wind Breath, it had taken that last little tidbit about the mechanics of the technique--pushing the air outside her body, not just blowing from the inside--to solve the puzzle. For this, however, it seemed like she already had a grasp of everything needed to make it work--it just took more Mana, more power.

She visualized. Not just memory, not just imagination, but feeling. Touch, pain, cold, the sound of snow crunching under moving vehicles, packing down into ice. Solid ice. Frozen ice. She blew, harder, she forced her Mana into the frosty chill she felt in her throat...

The air crackled as Torrent released a blue-white fog, but unlike her wet Fog Breath this was more concentrated and faster. Much like her Wind Breath it whipped over the stream--and where it touched the water, again the cracking sound rang out. Crystals, star-like and hard enough to have a glinting edge, filled the icy cloud. A layer of slush and powder began to form over the stream, before Torrent could no longer hold the exhalation.

Skill Gain: Frost Breath I (0.8 > 1.0)!
An Ice-aligned Breath skill. Mana is used to lower the temperature of a volume of air within the body; often, any present moisture is condensed into the breath as well. At this rank, the skill deals smaller amounts of damage maintained over time, as ice builds up on the target. At this rank the breath must be concentrated into a line, though its effectiveness holds out up to a range of ten feet. Has a possibility of slowing down an effected target's movement. May be less effective in hot or dry environments.

LEVEL UP!
Your learning experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 9! Your Max MP has increased! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please!

Unspent Skill Points: 5

Current Skills:
Stun Fang II (2.3)
Muffle III (3.025)
Poison Spit II (2.0)
Poison Glob I (1.75)
Fireball II (2.025)
Stealth Kill I (1.05)
Minor Recovery I (1.0)
Fire Resistance I (1.2)
Rabid Fit I (1.0)
Meditate I (1.65)
Tremor Sense I (1.7)
Soil Manipulation I (1.1)
Underground Movement I (1.55)
Monster Analysis I (1.225)
Magic Analysis I (1.9)
Material Analysis I (1.175)
Plant Analysis I (1.175)
Scale Shift I (1.55)
Overwork I (1.0)
Analysis (--)
Mental Resistance I (1.2)
Spell Cancel I (1.05)
Sensory Resistance I (1.0)
Dual Cast (--)
Guidance I (1.0)
Wurm Breath I (1.25)
Aqua Stream I (1.1)
Fog Breath I (1.05)
Wind Breath I (1.0)
Frost Breath I (1.0)
<UNUSABLE>
Crafting (0.2)
Alchemy (0.4)
Alert (0.4)
Warcry (0.3)
Poison Fang (0.3)
Blunt Resistance (0.8)
Smash (0.2)
Magic Break (0.1)
Suppress Presence (0.3)
Spiritual Awareness (0.4)
Prehensile Tail (0.1)
Fortify (0.5)
Spell Chant (0.4)
Focus (0.6)
Flame Burst (0.3)
Slash (0.2)
Curse Word (0.3)
Stronger (0.1)
Dragon Affinity (0.4)
Air Read (0.1)

System:Torrent

Oberon, too, had another experiment to conduct. This time, he would make another attempt at the Wall spell. As he created a Mana Orb, then cast Shield on it, he allowed it to take its desired shape. When the sphere became a plane, he began to compress it. It took on the color of the Shield spell's aura, but maintained the Mana Orb's density, then began to shrink. It became translucent, then finally opaque, and its light became contained as if it were caught within a jar. Yet the Sprite received no acknowledgement from the System. What else did he need? What else could he do? He had already spent the MP required for both a Mana Orb and a Shield...could the Wall spell require more Mana than that? Shield seemed to use the Mana spent to bolster a target's defenses, entering or at least conducting itself through their body. Mana Orb, Mana Dart, and the like were just buzzing lights, pure magic, but they were short lived attacks that lasted only as long as it took to reach their target. If Wall was a construct of some type, Mana given and maintaining a physical shape...maybe that meant it simply had a much higher cost? Or was there still something missing in his method...?

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

@Vinsmoke Goji Sure, just make sure the CS is posted in this thread for approval first.

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

Farmstead

"Hmm...that might be difficult for you, right now." Lear said as he and the goblin girl walked around the farm. The explosion had been far, far away--what the farmer seemed concerned about wasn't any damage it had caused, but whether the sound had caused his animals to panic or try and escape their cages. Though feathers and fur were ruffled, ultimately it seemed none of the livestock had harmed themselves or their enclosures. Still, they continued to check the defenses--they could see various creatures running or flying through the trees at the edges of the farmstead, no doubt terrified by the explosion. "When we Level Up, it's the Maker's recognition of our efforts and the skills or knowledge we've accumulated. But if you don't have a good understanding of Order and the Laws--the things that the Maker created to make the world run the way it's supposed to--then you have to go to someone who does. A lot of novice adventurers, or citizens with jobs that require them to develop a certain level of expertise, have to go to the Maker's Temple regularly to get a special thing called a Status Tablet." He said the word Status like "state-us," not "stat-iss." "It shows you your Skills, Level, and lots of other stuff. But...hmmm..." Lear stopped and thought for a moment. They came to the gate of the farm, and he opened it before gesturing to Miiba to exit first. He followed her, closing the gate behind him and latching it with a big padlock--he slipped the key onto a cord around his neck and patted it underneath his shirt.

"Actually, if you saw it in the first place...I didn't know Monsters could see the Maker's Vision. But you said as much yesterday, didn't you? You asked about the Defender and Smash skills. Huh..." The farmer rubbed his head. All this thinking seemed to make him uncomfortable. "In any case, I'm sure you understand why taking you to the Maker's Temple wouldn't be possible right now. But, maybe for Monsters it's different. You might be able to find another way." They walked around the wall from the outside now. It was Miiba's first time being back out in the wilderness since she had been "captured" almost two days ago now. But Lear didn't seem concerned that she would run away--or maybe he just wouldn't care if she did.

Suddenly, out of the treeline, something rushed towards them! By the time Miiba even registered the sound, Lear had already turned and taken three steps towards the thing--but now he relaxed with a relieved sigh.

"Oi, Pixie, this place ain't for you. G'on now, shoo." The farmer waved his hand like one might ward off a mosquito, as he turned back to Miiba. "Haha, did that scare ya? I bet a bunch of critters are running around after that blast. But they probably won't attack us--they're just trying to get to safety."

Meanwhile, Scott--at a whopping one foot tall--looked up at the three foot goblin girl and the enormous bear of a man. He had just come across his first Human in this world--and it was one that looked like they could crush him with just a finger, much less their humongous boot.

---

Monster Party

Torrent's first step in modifying her method was to breathe in more air than before. She visualized compressing the air inside her mouth as she held her breath tight. As she felt her Mana shifting, the idea of a solid ball of air changed to one of a lance, a sharp-tipped, pressurized stream. Forcing Mana into the breath once more, she exhaled in a tight stream, and tried to pay special attention to the result.

You used Magic Analysis I!
---??? Breath---
You are developing a breath related skill using the Wind element. It is not yet fully formed. It seems that filling the lungs to full capacity and using Mana to pressurize and project the air has helped develop this skill. As your current species, however, your lungs can only hold so much. Moving larger quantities of air will likely require using Mana on external quantities.

System:Torrent

This time her attempt rippled in the air, like heatwaves rising from asphalt only turned in a different direction. From her mouth outward the stream pressed forward, and expanded rapidly. She felt the Mana leaving her body along with it, in a similar pulsation. But the skill still had not triggered yet...the "waves" of air didn't stay in their pressurized stream for long, especially once they hit the "still" air outside of Torrent's body. The clash of air currents created a small dustup, or sent eddies lapping along the stream, and a few fallen leaves were pushed by the breeze. They landed on the surface of the water, and were pushed like sailboats to its other side.

Torrent could feel she was on the verge of another breakthrough, but just what was missing this time...?

She decided to turn her attention to the attempts at an icy breath. Combining water with air, she added the mental component to physical materials. Once again she visualized the cold she felt, in that old world. When she felt her scales shiver, when the mixture in her mouth began to chill like mint, she put more force into her exhalation.

Another fog rolled out of her mouth, but it wasn't the damp, watery vapor she had learned minutes ago. This was light, airy, more like an aerosol spray than a rolling bank of mist...and tiny, icy crystals shimmered within it. It traveled only a short distance across the stream, quickly falling across the water's surface like fine powder. Where it landed, microscopic veins of snowflake patterns began to form--but the stream was a much higher temperature, and these crystals soon melted away.

You used Magic Analysis I!
---??? Breath---
You are developing a breath related skill using the Ice element. It is not yet fully formed. It seems that combining Wind and Water and viusalizing extreme cold has helped to develop this skill. Unlike your other Breath skills, however, your primary focus has been to lower the temperature. More force, both physically and magically, may be required to complete it.

System:Torrent

So one Breath skill had as much force as she could put behind it, given her species' physical limitation, while the other seemed to have developed as much as it needed to magically but needed more oomph to get past this last hurdle. What should she try now?

Meanwhile, Oberon healed himself from the results of his last experiment and took further precautions for the future. The Sprite had to think deeply on what to do next, given what he had discovered so far. In his next attempt, he pushed his Mana Orb away from himself before he tried to have the whirling wind currents orbit a central concentration of power. When he felt the wind growing in power, he gave a sudden shove towards his target.

The modified mana orb didn't get very far from the Sprite, but the results this time were far more pronounced. Roughly five feet away from Oberon, before it actually made impact with the tree, the air roared as what seemed like invisible blades clashed. They were only visible thanks to a vague haze of magic and the dust they kicked up, but it was like someone had taken multiple Mana Slice spells and overlapped them until they formed a vague sphere. Still spinning with their own momentum, they converged towards the center--the "boom" was caused by this rush into the center and the subsequent backlash after the vacuum was filled. Despite this dramatic display, however, it seemed the ultimate result wasn't all that damaging. The "explosion" hadn't covered a large area at all, not even touching the ground despite hovering over it at roughly the same level as Oberon's gaze.

Skill Gain: Wind Break I (0.7 > 1.0)!
A basic level Wind spell. Charge air currents with Mana to increase their speed and change their direction. The overlapping winds create different areas of pressure, and when they collide the target is sliced by the vacuums as the atmosphere restores equilibrium. Deals Slashing and Wind Magic damage. This spell is ranged, but does not travel like a projectile. Rather, it is cast on a point within the range equivalent to something like a Mana Orb.

System:Oberon

Back in the shelter, Ash conducted a few more minor experiments of her own. After testing out her newly crafted spear, she formed a new Mana Orb. She searched for the pixel-like particles that were the same purple color she had seen before...however, among the rainbow of particles radiating from the Orb, purple seemed extremely rare for some reason. There were reds, blues, lighter blues, greens, lighter greens, a more neon violet, deeper golds and lighter yellows, off-whites that were almost pink, silver, black, purple, darker purple, and maybe others that she just couldn't pick out yet...

As she removed the colors she didn't want, pushing them to one side, she felt her Mana being strained. She had to exert more power to keep the Mana Orb from fading away, affecting her concentration--and bringing with it a whole new number of all the differently colored particles.

And at the corner of her vision, something else was happening. Inside this hastily constructed, earthen shelter, there seemed to be a higher number of the golden particles in what little ambient Mana Ash could sense around her. The gold, silver, and green particles she cast off from her Mana Orb seemed to fall towards the ground once they broke free, and they collected with the clusters of ambient mana. They seemed to be combining, though they didn't always change their colors like those particles Ash had seen earlier when she added poison to her orb.

But now, her Mana Orb was beginning to change as well! It had become a very light shade of purple, not the neon violet color but nonetheless quite faded and transparent. But it was also getting smaller, and beginning to fade...

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

Your MP is rapidly depleting!
You used Mana Vision and Mana Sense!
---??? ???---
You sense your own Mana, altered to a state that feels tainted and harmful to a potential target.
STRUCTURE: ERROR, NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION

System:Ash

---

Digbie

When Digbie cast Minor Heal, the Lizard twitched. Its large eyes flickered towards him as the glow spread over its body, and the Demiblin could feel its rapid heart beat calming down. He also felt his Minor Heal traveling underneath it--it must have been wounded on its belly or the underside of a leg. The creature seemed confused and tense now, just from its body language. After all, its prey had just discovered it. Normally it would attempt to flee before the predator became the prey, but it was being healed and while it had clearly been discovered, the leaves it was under hadn't been moved. Its tiny lizard brain was very confused, but since it had been seen it didn't risk attacking Digbie once he finally decided to move on.

Continuing the read as he walked, he passed the area where Torrent had fought the Blood Snare and headed back up the stream. He still had a ways to go to get back to the shelter, and the afternoon was growing on. He finally found another page that was still legible...

Confession of Evil
_{The Avatar says to the people:}
Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of the Maker who keeps all Order, to render thanks for the great benefits we have received, to set forth praise, to hear the Laws, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things that are necessary for our life's Guidance. And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship, let us kneel in silence, and with heavy hearts confess the evils we have done, that we may obtain forgiveness by the Maiden given us by the Maker. Her goodness and mercy is infinite.

_{Or this}
Let us humbly confess our evil unto Lady Jehanne

<sub>Silence may be kept. Effigies may be presented. Candles or other sources of light may be present.

Avatar and people together, all kneeling:</sub>

Kind and most merciful Lady,
we have erred and strayed from the ways of Good and Order like lost sheep
we have followed too much the Demons and desires of our own hearts,
we have offended against the Maker's holy Laws,
we have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.
But thou, O Maiden, have mercy upon us,
spare thou those who confess their faults,
restore thou those who are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto Mankind
upon the Pyre that ye laid upon;
and grant, O most merciful Lady, for our sakes,
that we may hereafter live a goodly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of the Maker and thy holy name. So it be.

_{The Avatar alone sta--}

And here again the page was smeared with blood...

So far, nothing else had jumped out at Digbie. He was coming up on the place where they had first discovered the stream...his Tremor Sense wasn't picking up anything that seemed out of the norm yet. But, he could probably remember the creature that had been denned up nearby, and how it had growled and snarled at the group when they came here before. He was on the same side of the stream as that creature's abode. Would he wade across to avoid the possibility of coming across it, even though his Tremor Sense didn't seem to indicate it was around? Would he continue to read, taking advantage of this more peaceful leg of the stroll? Or, with the sun's journey across the sky almost complete, would he close the book and focus on getting back to the shelter at a quicker pace?

---

PixieSlime Party

---Tamed Creature Status---
Oculus Spider [Steve], Level 4
Steve's Unspent Skill Points: 5
Steve's Current Skills:
Web Spit II (2.05)
Doze I (1.025)
Thread Control I (1.025)
<UNUSABLE>
Muffle (0.5)
Poison Fang (0.5)
Blunt Resistance (0.1)
Alert (0.3)
Fire Resistance (0.1)

Steve's intelligence, ability, and physical stats are not high enough to enable Skill Teaching. Do you wish to distribute your Tamed Creature's Skill Points?
---Status Complete---

Obtained Item: Kao Tree Sap!
A sticky sap from the Kao Tree. It produces a scent that is slightly repellant to some types of insects and other creatures that might prey on the tree.

You have processed an item!
You possess the Crafting I skill. Item degradation is decreased.
Raw Tendon + Kao Tree Sap
Processing completed. The Skill Material Analysis is not complete, you cannot determine the quality of your item.

Obtained Item: Resin-coated Rawhide Cordage!

System:Ardur

Skill Gain: Blood Drain I (0.9 > 1.0)!
Through physical contact with whatever body part or orifice the user needs to eat and drink, drain the target's blood through an already open wound. In addition to dealing damage, this skill also restores the user's HP. The amount of HP restored will not be the same as the amount of damage dealt or the same as the amount of blood consumed. Any disease, poison, or other danger contained within the target's blood may also present a threat to this skill's user. At this rank the user is limited in how much blood they can drain and how quickly, as well as the target's defense, healing factor, and other circumstances.

Your HP is Full.

System:Asura

It seemed that, for the moment, Asura and Ardur would remain here. They had moved a short distance away from the den they dug into the ground, but they were still relatively West of the Cave. Among the thinner trees, not quite rising onto the slopes going into the mountains, they didn't have a lot of cover but they also didn't have to deal with thick foilage moving around. They weren't quite in a clearing, but the canopy wasn't overly shady overhead. Exposed, but not entirely vulnerable.

When the Amorphous Slime ate the Rubber Frog's insides, he gained a new skill. Ardur, using the clever idea of coating the tendons with tree sap--was he aware that, in the old world, something similar had led to the discovery of rubber?--had gained a new item. Momma Slime seemed pensive after Asura instructed her, through images and memory, how to spend her Skill Points. Had she felt his slight annoyance through their link?

Steve looked up when Asura said her name, then turned to Ardur and tilted her head. Her mandibles clicked lightly as her many eyes blinked.

When Asura turned two of his tendrils into knives and stabbed himself, he felt the pain much more sharply than usual. He had actually gone through with the act of cutting himself, something that even back in his old world had been a sign of a terrible mental state. Even through the high HP and defensive abilities of a Slime, he felt the cutting and tearing of each blade. It hurt worse than most of the attacks he had taken from enemy monsters, save those that had blasted him with more powerful magic. When Ardur commanded Steve to go along with this crazy scheme, the Oculus Spider stood in contemplation for a moment. Then she shot a strand of her web to the side of a nearby stone. With four of her legs she tugged it out of the ground and reeled it in, attaching a few more threads as she did so. With enough leverage, she began to manipulate it with her Thread Control skill--despite the limited proportional strength of her limbs, she was able to twirl the web and the rock around her head like a flail. With an audible click from her limbs as she put in more effort, she slammed it down against Asura's body. It made a rubbery thump and bounced off--it hadn't hurt nearly as bad as Jason's Stone Shot, but it was something. Steve began reeling it back in for another go-round, but Momma Slime didn't seem so eager.

"Ahsoowah! Bad!" The blue slime moved closer and wobbled from side to side. "You, not hurt you!"

Meanwhile, how would Ardur decide to go about building his armor given his materials? His crafting skill wasn't very high level yet, so would using more complex or efficient methods help increase it faster so he could make better gear? And what purpose, exactly, would he use each piece for? What kind of armor did he have in mind, and how would he make it?

---

Rat Party

When Ed wrapped Mother Rat in a cuddle hug, the adult Dire Rat wriggled for a few moments. Her pudgy rear end wobbled from side to side while the rest of her was caught under Ed's arms, but after her tail whipped back and forth a few times she settled down. Her nose poked out over the Ratman's forearms, and she let out a defeated chuff as Ed snored away.

Meanwhile, Asteria took this time to take inventory. The ratpack had gathered several useful items, though some of them might be somewhat volatile or perishable.

You used Magic Analysis I!
---Tainted Mana Crystal---
This Mana Crystal has been tainted with a poisonous substance. If it is ground into powder, broken, or otherwise forcibly used on another creature, the tainted energies will deplete their mana rather than restoring it. This crystal is Unstable, it may break if tampered with...
---Flame Touched Mana Crystal---
Mana Crystals that have been exposed to a large amount of elemental Mana associated with Fire. Forcibly breaking this crystal produces a small-scale, fiery blast similar to many low-rank Fire Spells.
You used Monster Analysis II!
---Four Horned Goat Horn---
Magical mutations have made this herbivore's temper extremely volatile and given it the nasty benefit of a natural poison in its horns. They have been observed to eat grasses and other plants that are poisonous, and it is thought the food it has access to will affect the strength of its venom.
---Hex Cat Eye---
While not highly intelligent, this feline has some native talent with magic. It's known as an unlucky omen among most races, and some say a Hex Cat looking through one's window can curse a child in the cradle with heterochromia. A dark, unpleasant aura radiates from this object when looked at for too long...
---Tanned Leather (Goat Hide?)---
A piece of processed and tanned leather made from the skin of some animal. Relatively tough, somewhat rough to the touch. The Skill Material Analysis has not activated, so you cannot determine its quality. Its dimensions appear to be about one square foot.
---Analysis Complete!---

System:Asteria

As she worked to refill her mana, sate her hunger, and dissect the Myrminor Scout, Asteria left Ed to sleep off their hard fought battle...though, using her Telepathy, she tried to help her fellow rat along somewhat. It was hard to tell if anything was really happening...when she connected to his sleeping mind, it was like sticking one's head underwater and listening to a TV full of static. She soon returned to her crafting.

She was able to pry off parts of the Scout's exoskeleton with just her claws if she found the places where it had been cracked by the fighting, but for unharmed areas and to get the limbs off or actually split open the body, she had to use the tiny hatchet she had taken from the shed. Nonetheless, she was able to cut off 3 plates of the exoskeleton, the mandibles, and two of the legs without those parts breaking or chipping. Upon opening the creature, she found that its anatomy resembled that of a regular ant (if she even knew what the interior of a normal ant looked like) save that everything was quite enlarged. Drinking the equivalent of the insect's blood helped somewhat to quench her thirst, but it had a bitter, unpleasant taste and she got the feeling it likely wouldn't keep her from getting dehydrated much like sodas didn't really help in that regard. However, she was also able to cut off the stinger entirely from the body--she hadn't found a poison gland, but maybe she could just remove the barbed tip itself? Doing so without protection for her hands might prove dangerous, however.

As Ed slept, deep and restfully, he also began to dream...

Foggy memories. Trees, earthy soil. Darkness. Grass. Footprints. The smell of metal, and leather. Hints of smoke on the air, but not from the fire in the plains. Not from what he had seen up in the tree, back in the forest. Humans, but not the villagers. Was he floating? Was this a memory? He could see so much from up here. Lights in the darkness, but not stars. A campfire near a hillside, among the trees. Figures sat around it. He didn't go so high this time. Back to his body. He couldn't remember the last time, before he changed. The things that were outside of his mind but in his senses, they started to fade.

And the dream ended.

---

Ghost Party

As Jason expanded his senses throughout himself, he tried to follow the flow of his Mana. He expected to find a hole or breakage of some sort, expected a trail of magical energy that he could grab hold of and pull back. But this he did not find. When he focused inward, he felt a sort of burning sensation. It wasn't painful, but it tingled in a way not unlike...scratching an itch? Pineapples on the tongue? Whatever it was, this burning sensation was constant and ever present. His MP continued to passively decrease as he and Danny wandered the forest, but he couldn't find any kind of trail, no cloud of loose Mana drifting away from his body. He seemed to simply be in a state of constant consumption--every effort he undertook just to exist required some form of energy, much less what he expended to do magic or use other skills. Oddly enough he was more aware of it now than the first time he had been a spirit. Perhaps it was because he had just vacated a physical body, and while in that body this sensation had ceased whereas before it was something he had gone "sense blind" to, like spending a lot of time around unpleasant smells or sounds and learning to tune them out.

But, he had another problem besides just the leaking MP. They were properly into the afternoon now, and though there were plenty of shadows under the forest canopy, they were not solid black shadows nor were they especially plentiful. Jason's MP drained just that little bit faster, and every time he passed a shaft of sunlight through the branches or glanced up at that great big ball of light in the sky, he felt a burn that was painful, painful like a constant sunburn...and in fact, it seemed it might be growing even more intense over time. His efforts to "hold himself together" did seem to slow the process somewhat...but only in the same way that slowing down from a jog to a walk lessens the pain of a cramped muscle. The "injury" was still there, after all. Even as a Necroslime, he had felt some of this pain from the daylight. Why? Whatever the reason, it seemed the Undead reincarnator still had many inconveniences to deal with...

When Danny used his Mana Vision, the Poltergeist began to see the world in a whole new light. Not only did Jason's foggy, unstable form reappear, but every so often he would catch a glimpse of other things as well. It was as if everything around him, or at least most things, took on just the faintest glow. And like dust motes in a bright ray of light, every so often he caught specks of color drifting lazily through the air. Some seemed carried by the wind. Others orbited him, or Jason, or other things. Still others seemed to be flowing in some current all their own with little indication as to whether they followed gravity or some other natural law. Trying to look at everything at once made his head hurt, but looking at just one thing at a time wasn't so bad unless it was Jason.

Despite already struggling to make out the Ectoslime's foggy shape, Danny locked his eyes with a squint and began to slowly cut off the flow of his own Mana. Soon all those little particles had disappeared entirely, and Jason became even more indistinct. If the Poltergeist was trying to acclimate himself to using less magic for the same effect, it seemed he had at least reduced the strain on his eyes...but, ultimately, he had to blink.

Skill Gain: Spiritual Awareness I (0.9 > 1.0)!
You have become more aware of the spiritual side of the world. This will affect your interactions with certain types of spiritual monsters such as non-corporeal Undead. At this rank, you can only detect a hint of the spiritual world. There may also be other affects of this ability...

System:Danny

Danny's Mana Vision had deactivated...but he could actually still see the foggy image of Jason! Well, Jason wasn't really foggy anymore--he was just the barest wisp in the air, more like a thin, watery film over one's glasses, or the little floater in the corner of their eye. If Danny didn't absolutely focus, he would lose sight of the Ectoslime, especially any time they came to an area where the sunlight was bright. If he were to use Mana Vision again, however, Jason's form would become much sharper than it had been before when he had solely been using the magic detection skill.

Did this new awareness skill mean he might be able to hear or touch Jason as well? What were the limits of the "interaction" the skill mentioned?

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

Monster Party

You are Crafting an Item!
You've Processed an Item: Rubber Frog Bone + Pygmy Drake Claws
Your material is brittle, it may degrade during Processing.
Your Crafting I skill prevented item degradation!
Processed Bone Spearhead.
You've Processed an Item: Rubber Frog Intestine + Water
Processed Rubber Frog Intestine.
You've Processed an Item: Fresh Tree Branch + Pygmy Drake Claws
Your methods are advanced compared to your materials, effectiveness boosted.
Processed Carved Tree Branch.

Bone Spearhead + Carved Tree Branch + Mana Crystal + Rubber Frog Intestine + Rubber Frog Tongue

Your methods are advanced compared to your materials, effectiveness boosted.
You are missing certain skills required for some components, effectiveness greatly decreased.
Your Crafting I skill prevented some item degradation.
Some materials have not been thoroughly processed, they may degrade over time.

Crafting complete!
Obtained Item: Mana Bone Spear!

You used Magic Analysis II! You used Material Analysis II! You used Mana Sense I! You used Mana Vision I!
---Mana Bone Spear (Average)---
This weapon features a Mana Crystal in its construction. The Mana Crystal has not been truly incorporated into the item, and it has no proper enchantments. Only the Energy element is present, though in a slightly larger quantity. The weapons' components were an Above Average wooden shaft, an Average blade made from bone, and Below Average cordage made from organic tissues that had not been dried or treated with preservatives. The craftsmanship is above average, however, given the quality and type of these materials. This weapon is stronger than its base components, and its reach and leverage allow for faster strikes. The Mana Crystal will be consumed upon usage, but could restore the User's magical power, or increase a spell's effectiveness when used as a focus. Once consumed, the Mana Crystal will not recharge. The weapon can still be enchanted, but an enchantment charge will not restore the use of the Mana Crystal.
STRUCTURE:
UNABLE TO ANALYZE STRUCTURE. ERROR: LOW RANK. ERROR: LACK OF DATA.

System:Ash

Ash's newly created staff-slash-spear looked about as one might imagine it to look, save that the organic cordage she had used--while wrapped and tied tightly--was still a little, so to say, drippy. Maybe once it dried it wouldn't look that much different from leather, but at the moment it was still very fresh. In any case, however, given what the system told her it seemed that adding some kind of enchantment to an object or turning it into a magical conduit was a little more complex than this. Still, at the least she had a pointy object to stab things with now...though she still lacked opposable thumbs. She could hold it with Lesser Force, but fighting with it seemed it would require too much fine manipulation for an object of this weight. Maybe if Lesser Force were stronger she could manage it, or maybe if she only used large, sweeping motions that didn't require a lot of precision. She could put her new Prehensile Tail skill to use, but even so she couldn't manipulate it like she could with five separate fingers.

Outside the shelter, Torrent could feel her mana moving when she tried to use the air and ice breath attacks, but so far the skills weren't triggering a lot of visible indicators. Her forceful breath rippled the waters of the little stream, but despite puffing up her lungs to full capacity and then some it didn't seem like she could produce anything more than a hard gasp. Still, she could feel her magical power flowing through the breath just like it did with the gaseous poison, and with the flames. But it was too light, it seemed like. Air was...well, airy. As much of it as she tried to draw in, it was still just air. Unless you were made of paper, someone blowing really hard wasn't going to do much to you. So...what solution was there? To just keep trying it out, maybe develop whatever magical "muscles" were needed for these things? Or was there another method she could use?

For her attempt at making an icy skill, she found that her inner visualization brought on an almost palpable chill. The numbness of her past, the prick of icy needles on her skin, the dark nights speckled with floating white powder...When she breathed out, her breath took on a fog. But it wasn't her fog breath--it floated up and away, dissolving so quick as to be instant in the light and heat of the sun. Her body shivered, an instinctual reaction to bringing up all those memories. When she made another attempt, remembering her poison breath, again she produced a cold fog, like the vapor from her breath when she used to puff on her trembling, frost-bitten hands in front of a rusted out barrel full of burning junk.

Despite this stronger response, however, this skill too hadn't yet triggered.

Downstream, Oberon continued his own practice. After much thought, he came to the conclusion of allowing the Mana Orb to break apart, but then seize each piece and try to hold them together. Mentally he pictured it like a fluttering cloud of flower petals. So after his internal analysis, he created another Mana Orb and began to infuse it with the magic in the surrounding air. As it began to spin, he kept track of one particular "petal," and when it began to drift away he tried to redirect it with his will. Another piece broke away and he did the same, then another. Again the processes repeated, but as Oberon tried to redirect each of these pieces he found that each one had deviated from its original spin just a bit--the direction, or the speed, or the angle, something was different each time, and as he tried to keep them centered in his palm--

There was a sudden snap and whistle, like a gale through the trees, and Oberon lost concentration as pain lanced his hand. A small wound, no worse than a papercut, had formed on his palm. A single drop of blood oozed to the surface of his skin. The Mana Orb, of course, had dispersed--and in doing so, those "petals" he imagined had broken free and gone their separate ways. What had happened? Had he intensified the power too much? Or was it something to do with trying to hold the petals in while they tried to escape? Maybe, when they were trying to go in those different directions, it was like...a miniature tornado? Weren't those formed when two different currents of air collided? Of course, the Sprite wasn't moving nearly that much air in terms of quantity, nor was he moving it anywhere near that speed. But, each of those petals had been moving in a different direction...focused around a singular "focus point," and then the air pressure had just...snapped? What could all of this mean?

---

Digbie

NOTE: INFORMATION OVERLOAD, INFORMATION OUT OF DATE

Name:
Digbie Yondir

Gender:
Male

Species:
Goblin > Mystic Stone-Hardened Demigoblin

Appearance:
It's your standard goblin, though he has a far weaker chin than most goblins. Honestly, he just looks like a really short human with green skin, a long and pointy nose, and pointed ears. He has hair, but it's only growing right above the middle of his head like a mohawk, and it refuses to spread anywhere else on his head. It's actually kinda long.

Goals:
Help whoever needs help (namely the Demon King), and find a legendary shovel to help people with.

Past Life:
Digbie didn't really have a life. It was more or less just a collection of him existing and being somebody that he couldn't tell people about. His dad said something about how his mom was still around and he loved her, but Digbie never saw her. He suspected that she was in the back room of his old house, where it smelled, was obnoxiously cold from an under-draft, and always buzzed like flies, but he wasn't ever allowed in there.

Early on in his life, Digbie liked to play around in the backyard with his trusty shovel, digging around everywhere and getting into gardening (though he was never any good at the latter.) When he wasn't at school, he was probably digging a hole in his backyard. It helped him cope with the skulls of people in his room when his dad was apparently 'done' with them. Digbie couldn't understand, and he didn't understand why he came home sometimes to find his holes covered up. At first it scared him, but he grew out of it.

He was around 14 or so, making somewhat respectable grades at his school and a pretty smart fellow at face value, when his dad got mad at him. He made a low grade in his history class. His dad yelled at him and cast him to the bathroom while he thought about how to punish his bastard of a son. Digbie was scared, but Digbie was also smart and didn't break the bathroom to worsen the punishment. His dad settled on turning his hobby into a punishment, and after feeding him a good meal, sent Digbie to the backyard to dig a hole and find a bone in the backyard, but he had to find a bone in a spot of the yard where he had never dug before.

Digbie began to dig a hole on Sunday.

The authorities found his body in the hole two Saturdays later.

He actually got pretty far.

Abilities:
**Use Light Equipment (--)
Tremor Sense III (3.225)
-Soil Manipulation II (2.825)
Stone Shot II (2.0)
Taboo I (1.0)
*Stronger I (1.5)
**Sacred Ground II (2.1)
Rock Spire II (2.2)
Earth Affinity I (1.3)
Meditate I (1.5)
Earth Vein II (2.325)
-Spell Chant I (1.025)
Monster Analysis I (1.175)
Material Analysis I (1.725)
Plant Analysis I (1.2525)
*Mental Resistance I (1.1)
Fortify I (1.1)
*Mana Orb (1.7)
**Shield II (2.25)
Overwork I (1.75)
Mana Affinity I (1.0)
Magic Analysis I (1.675)
Analysis (--)
**Earth Wall I (1.8)
*Minor Heal I (1.15)
Guidance I (1.3)
<UNUSABLE>
Quake (0.5)
Crafting (0.8)
*Point Strike (0.6)
*Smash (0.6)
Throw Item (0.2)
Charisma (0.1)
*Mana Strike (0.3)
Focus (0.1)
Stone Fist (0.6)
*Stone Breaker (0.2)
Intimidate (0.2)
-Scribe (0.2)
*Fire Resistance (0.3)
Demon Affinity (0.25)
Underground Movement (0.5)
**Use Medium Equipment (0.2)
Faster (0.1)
Alert (0.1)
Dual Cast (0.5)
Pacify Animal (0.1)

Transformations:
Goblin > Demigoblin

Inventory:
The Windy Shovel - A shovel made out of pure air.
<EQUIPPED - HEAD> Blessed White Yill Flower
<EQUIPPED - BACK> Makeshift Robe <Below Average>
<EQUIPPED - REAR> Grass Skirt <Poor>
<EQUIPPED - HAND> Curved RockTM
<EQUIPPED - ARMS> Battle-Scarred Shield <Average - BROKEN>
<EQUIPPED - FEET> Woven Sandals <Above Average - Slightly Broken>

[+] <Ratskin PackTM> and <Discarded Satchel> (TOTAL INVENTORY SLOTS - 12 / 17)
- <Woodland PickTM>
- <Common Prayers to Jehanne> {Poor - Heavily Damaged}
- <Cushiwog Mushrooms> x5
- <Blue Yill> x3
- <Tomahawk Head>
- <Maiden Effigy>
- <Scattered Coins>
- 3 Gol, 2 Sil, 8 Copp, (so basically 3.28)
- <Chipped Shank> {Well Made - BROKEN}

Your HP is Full.
Your MP is Depleting Slowly due to Passive Skill Use.
Your MP is Recovering Slowly due to Frequent use of Skill: Earth Vein.
Your Stamina is high.
You are Fine.

TRANSFORMATION STATUS:
Goblin > Demigoblin
Known Currently Possible Transformations: 6
1. Adult Demigoblin
2. Adolescent Svartblin****
3. Adolescent Hobgoblin**
4. Adolescent Bluecap**
5. Adolescent Gremlin
6. Adolescent Bugbear---

Unknown Currently Possible Transformations: 3

System:Digbie

As Digbie walked back from the scene of carnage, the flood of information produced a ringing sound inside his skull that made reading the prayer book impossible. Once it had subsided, however, he rose from where he had fallen to his knees. He turned each page to see the strange words written within. Or, what pages were left. It looked like part of the table of contents had been ripped out, along with other pages towards the middle and back of the book. Blood spattered a large portion of the later half, and smudges of dirt disoriented the words here and there. This alphabet didn't look familiar at all, yet somehow after a few moments of staring at them Digbie could read them just as plainly...

_{The Avatar begins the service with one or more of these sentences of Jehanne's Scripture, or with the phrase "O Lady, open thou our hearts" on page 42.}

During the Week of Kindling:
Watch thyself, for ye know not when the Demons of thine own house shall entreat thee, at even, or at midnight, or at the cluckel's caw, or in the morning; lest appearing by surprise they find thine heart unguarded. Prepare ye the way of Our Maiden, make straight upon thy path a bricked road for Her. Then the glory of Jehanne shalt be revealed to thee, and all eyes upon ye shall see it together.

On Maiden's Day:
Behold, She brought us tidings of a great joy, which shall be unto all that hear them. For unto us she swore upon the Pyre to love and to cherish, despite the evils placed against her. Behold, her compassion is with our plight, and she comforts us. If ye wouldst cling unto the Maiden, then so ye must be with her upon that flame.

Feast of Five Lords:
The Demons shall come to Maiden's light, and the Five Lords to the brightness of her rising. She was given by the Maker as a light to the damned, that she mightest be thine encouragement to atone by all thine wickedness. From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, the Maker's Order shall fall upon the world, and in every place let incense be offered by Her memory, and a pure offering to the pyre; for her name is great among the damned, saith the Maker.

Great Fast:
If we say we have done no evil, we deceive ourselves, and the Demons begin to take hold of us; but if we confess our crimes, Jehanne is faithful and just to forgive us what we have done, and to embrace us that we may be turned upon a new path. Cleave thy stubborn, wooden heart, and turn unto her and the Maker, for she is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and shalt show ye the safe road. Ye shall arise and go to her, and will say unto her, "Maiden, I have committed this taboo, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy child. To the Maker belongs all the Making, though Humanity hath rebelled against the Order; neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lady our Maiden, to walk in the roads which were set before us. Jehanne said, "Whosoever will cometh after me, let him deny his own wrath, take up his bundles, and follow me in loving thine fellows."

Spirits' Time:
All we--

The next few pages of the book had been torn, or otherwise rendered illegible. The pages before that had just been what seemed to be legal or literary jargon, things like copyrights and proof of authenticity by the Temple and Order that must have produced this book. But in conclusion, Digbie had thus far learned a few things. Jehanne was some kind of atonement figure, perhaps a deity that only corresponded to justice or mercy. No real instructions had been given to the reader on how to actually pray to her yet, but these different holidays and rituals mentioned thus far might provide some clue. Burning incense? Pyres? Gathered bundles--bundles of wood, maybe? So did she require a ritual involving burnt offerings of some kind?

Just then, Digbie's Tremor Sense picked up something. A shape, low to the ground, hidden under a pile of brush up ahead. If Digbie hadn't been somehow aware of his surroundings, he would have nearly stepped on it! But the creature seemed to be waiting on that very thing--now that he knew where to look for it, Digbie would be able to make out just the barest glint of scales under the leaves. A Fanged Lizard, probably waiting to try and paralyze him with its bite or hit and run until its poison killed the prey. His tremor sense picked up a rapid heartbeat, or maybe something with the rhythm of its breathing...was this creature injured too, like the deer he had seen or the odd monkey in the trees?

---

PixieSlime Party

Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.86) <CANNOT INCREASE WITH POINTS>
Overwork I (1.8) > II (2.0) <REQUIRES TRIGGER>
Blunt Resistance I (1.85)
Limited Shapeshift III (3.875)
Smash II (2.225)
Pierce Resistance I (1.3)
Faster I (1.8)
Magic Resistance I (1.1)
Harder I (1.15)
Counter I (1.25)
Cling I (1.2)
Slime Whip I (1.3)
Throw Item I (1.0)
Rabid Fit I (1.0)
Iron Gullet I (1.45)
Monster Analysis I (1.35)
Stamina Furnace I (1.15)
Mental Resistance I (1.0)
Stronger I (1.05)
Slime Shell I (1.2)
<UNUSABLE>
Earth Resist (0.7)
Charisma (0.5)
Dextrous (0.4)
Soil Manipulation (0.6)
Stone Shot (0.55)
Slime Coil (0.4)
Magic Analysis (0.5)
Bounce (0.5)
Muffle (0.3)
Poison Resistance (0.2)
Dash Attack (0.4)
Spiritual Awareness (0.2)
Intimidate (0.3)
Blood Drain (0.9)
First Aid (0.2)
Acid Spit (0.2)
Skewer (0.7)
Slash (0.4)
Fire Resistance (0.3)
Water Resistance (0.0125)
Focus (0.4)
Alert (0.3)
Fortify (0.1)
Point Strike (0.3)
Cleave (0.2)
Crafting (0.3)
Acid Spit (0.2)
Material Analysis (0.1)

System:Asura

The frog Asura had run through didn't look like it was going to make it, as it dragged itself along the ground in a trail of blood. Ardur managed to hold his ground long enough for the red slime to create a large blade, though using so much of his mass left him little leverage to swing the weapon. Still, gravity did most of the work, and the impromptu weapon came down on the tautly drawn tongue with a snicker-snack. Like a popped rubber band, the frog's stretchy flesh snapped back, slapping it in the face and spraying blood everywhere. The creature croaked in pain, but couldn't draw its tongue back in lest it choke on its own blood. Even though the flesh was more elastic, the tongue was still an organ that bled profusely. The frog began to gather up its pink, rope-like muscle in its webbed forefeet as Ardur struggled out of the other end.

Momma Slime mimicked Asura by repeating the attack she had used against the Flak Beetle, forming a large ball-and-tendril weapon with the Bone Needles to serve as spikes. Her Smash attack reduced what was left of the fragments to dust, but also bludgeoned the unconscious frog to death as Steve leaped off of its head.

With a furious cry, Ardur freed himself and leaped at the last bloodied amphibian. Grabbing both sides of its head, he leaped up and used his wings and his entire body to drive his knee into the creature's snout. With a meaty crunch, the rubbery toad's skull gave way and its neck twisted.

With the last of their foes defeated, the group was left in the quiet of the forest once more.

"Asura, why don't we," Ardur panted, "find somewhere safer? It seems like whatever happened has made things chaotic around here...and I still need to work on my ideas for those bug parts." He glanced over at the frogs. "Hmm...I wonder if we could use these things as well?" He picked up the one Asura had punctured, which by this point had flattened out quite severely. Its leathery hide stretched easily, but also snapped back to form once released.

Momma Slime was still digesting the majority of the Bowhorn Deer's body, but it didn't stop her from trying to fit parts of her slain enemy into her gullet anyway. The frog's eyeballs had popped out when she crushed it, and as she slurped them up they floated like bobbers on the water. It gave her a rather unsettling "look" when she turned back to Asura, the eyeballs floating and turning over on top of her "head".

"Ahsoowah! I ding!"

"Oh, look at that. The system says Steve leveled up again too." Ardur grabbed up his various things, plus any of the frog parts they decided to take with them. "But that can wait for now--any ideas where we should go?"

---

Rat Party

"By the Maker!"

"What in Hellfire was that?!"

Rustling, heavy footsteps, loud voices.

"I saw something flash, had to be magic!"

"The World's Spine only has the one volcano, right!?"

Ed felt cloth--a pantsleg, or the tassel of a boot--brush his body. The human stopped right beside him, he could feel their weight settling on the ground.

"I...I think we're okay, it was too far away..."

"We gotta go, maybe the Shaman knows what happened!"

"Right, right..." The footsteps were moving away again. "But, heh, ya gotta admit that was kind of funny...it scared the shit outta you, huh?"

"Scared me? I ain't gonna lie, that's terrifying, but you're the one screamin' his head off."

"Sure, it got me too, but you were like "HOLY FUCK!" I don't think I've even heard it said like that before."

"...What? That wasn't me, that was you!"

An uncomfortable silence. The rustling stopped. The wind whistled through the grass all around. In the distance, the smoke rose into the clouds.

"...You're hearin' things, man."

"The hell I am! Ain't nothin' around to hear, cept that dead rat and all this grass!"

The bickering continued until the voices were out of earshot...

You used Magic Analysis I!
---???---
Even with your enhanced Beast Senses, you are too far to analyze this magic. All you can tell is that it is extremely powerful and destructive, but it doesn't seem to carry a specific element or be very complex...

System:Asteria

Asteria was able to sneak back to the den just in time to see the human figures moving away from the area, their backs to the rats. They had both been fairly strong and tough looking males armed with spears, and one also had a hatchet of some kind. They appeared to be wearing hides and furs rather than proper armor, but their bare arms were fairly well toned.

With the Nullven in hand, she was able to make another Antidotal Salve. Mother Rat had stopped moving again, but was still breathing raggedly. After her daughter's treatment, however, the elder rodent shivered and seemed to come out of it. The salve soaked into her fur and skin quickly, and soon the bleeding had stopped completely. Mother Rat slowly crawled to her feet, then began turning in circles as she inspected her own fur and wounds. After giving herself a thorough licking and brushing with her mousy paws, she shook like a wet dog from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail. With cheery squeaks she nudged Asteria, then ran towards Ed. She sniffed and circled him in concern as he continued not to move, putting her tiny paws on his body and rearing up to get a closer look at him.

---

Ghost Party

As Jason sucked out all of the goat's blood and mana, his Starvation regressed to "Famished," and his HP drain stopped. With a beetle mandible, some clever application of Acid and Lesser Force, and a great deal of work, he and Danny managed to skin the Four Horned Goat. While Danny washed the hide using Aqua Spheres, Jason began eating the rest of its flesh. His Famished status changed to Very Hungry, and he tried to use a combination of meditation and his own willpower to try and digest the food as quickly as possible in the hopes it would help stave off this unholy appetite. Danny found a thick piece of vine nearby, and while he began splitting it into fibers Jason beat the goat's hide with a curved stick he found. Once the vine was woven into a crude rope, they used Jason's Acid Spit and another Sharp Rock Danny managed to find to drill holes into the Flak Beetle's hard exoskeleton. Jason began working on the Four Horned Goat's bones, separating and then hollowing out one of its vertebrae. While Danny separated the Beetle's head from its body, leaving as much of the shell intact as possible while scooping out its innards, Jason then began twisting and tying bits of the goat hide.

Using a Shield to help protect the different areas of each item from acid spills, Jason was able to make the holes needed to loop the vine rope through the various pieces. The goat's hide was wrapped around Danny from hip to shoulder like a sash, and then around his waist and abdomen before it was tied off. Using the hollowed bone as a ring buckle, part of the vine rope was threaded through the beetle's head, which was mounted onto Danny's shoulder as a pauldron. Its thorax shell was split apart, and then the two halves were tied with the rest of the rope around Danny's forearm. There was just enough of the exoskeleton left, a little bit that formed a V joint in the wing covers, to go over Danny's palm and be attached to the bracer. The end product was a sort of gauntlet without the covering for fingers and palm, but shielding the back of the hand as well as the lower arm.

With their project completed, Danny and Jason took turns resting and regaining their strength. Jason used his Mana Drain on the restored Poltergeist, with permission of course, to make sure he was at full capacity and then some. The system notified him of a Temporary Extra amount of magic, and at this point the two turned to their next task. They dug a hole and buried what was left of the bodies, then despite not having his Spell Chant unlocked or the Lesser Cleanse skill developed, the Necroslime said a prayer to the spirits of the earth asking for safe and expedient travel.

With his MP filled to the brim, Jason decided to risk leaving the body of the black slime, and canceled his Possession. Once again, he was an Ectoslime--and once again, his physical stats decreased significantly. His Extra MP disappeared almost immediately, but he was still full and would be able to regain what he had used up in binding the body quickly.

As the sun moved through the sky, into the middle of the afternoon, he and Danny headed east...

Skill Rank Up: Mana Drain I > Mana Drain II (1.75 > 2.0)
Increased Ratio of MP Drained to MP Recovered. Stamina Cost is the same as Rank I.

Skill Gain: Acid Spit I (0.9 > 1.1)!
Lob a small amount of acid through an appropriate orifice at the target. Works better on inorganic materials. The acid consumes Stamina to produce. Range of roughly 10 feet.

Skill Rank Up: Meditate I > Meditate II (1.75 > 2.0)!
Increase the amount of Mana recovered. Low background noises, movements, etc (comparable to the common room of an Inn, a busy street at the market, etc) will no longer decrease the effectiveness of this skill so long as the user maintains stillness and a calm state of mind. This skill still cannot be used while moving or in the midst of battle. This skill cannot be used in conjunction with other Active skills.

You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.

LEVEL UP!
Your learning experiences have culminated in a new power! You are now Level 9! Your Max MP has increased! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please!

Unspent Skill Points: 5
Current Skills:
Physical Damage Resistance I (1.0)(0.5)
Warcry II (2.175)(0.4)
Stone Shot II (2.6625)(0.3)
Rock Spire II (2.075)(0.3)
Tremor Sense II (2.425)(0.6)
Soil Manipulation I (1.15)(0.6)
Telepathy II (2.725)(0.8)
Material Analysis I (1.2)(0.3)
Magic Analysis I (1.55)(0.8)
Monster Analysis I (1.55)(0.5)
Mental Resistance I (1.55)(0.7)
Charisma I (1.15)(0.3)
Focus I (1.3)(0.7)
Limited Shapeshift I (1.6)(0.6)
Mind Wave I (1.2)(0.5)
Spell Chant I (1.3)(0.6)
Bounce I (1.15)(0.4)
Faster I (1.05)(0.4)
Blunt Resistance I (1.0)(0.4)
Spiritual Awareness II (2.275)
Transparency I (1.55)
Taboo II (2.0)
Levitate (--)
Guidance I (1.15)
Mana Drain II (2.0)
Meditate II (2.0)
Mana Sense I (1.25)
Shield I (1.2)
Possession I (1.05)
Blood Drain I (1.1)
Acid Spit I (1.1)
<UNUSABLE>
Earth Affinity (0.75) <CANNOT BE INCREASED BY SKILL POINTS>
Wave Shock (0.2)
Swift Swimmer (0.1)
Aqua Sphere (0.7)
Alert (0.2)
Smash (0.5)
Cleave (0.3)
Muffle (0.1)
Crafting (0.8)
Magic Resistance (0.75)
Agriculture (0.3)
Plant Analysis (0.3)
Fire Resistance (0.4)
Fortify (0.2)
Sensory Resistance (0.6)
Mana Orb (0.7)
Alchemy (0.4)
Air Read (0.5)
Keen Sight (0.2)
Point Strike (0.2)
Doze (0.1)
Acid Resistance (0.1)
Rabid Fit (0.4)
Pierce Resistance (0.8)
Lesser Cleanse (0.3)
Dextrous (0.5)
Quicken (0.3)
Earth Wall (0.1)
Stone Breaker (0.1)
Iron Gullet (0.3)
Slash Resistance (0.2)
Earth Vein (0.7)
Mana Shape (0.4)
Lesser Force (0.3)
Spell Cancel (0.1)
Curse Word (0.1)
Light Resistance (0.0125)
Ghost Touch (0.5)
Slime Coil (0.2)
Stronger (0.1)
Stamina Furnace (0.2)
Acid Spray (0.3)
Guidance (0.2)

YOU HAVE TRANSFORMED!
Necroslime > Ectoslime
All physical stats have decreased.
MP is no longer locked.
Certain Skills are still locked.
Certain Skills have become unusable in this form.

System:Jason

Skill Gain: Crafting I (0.8 > 1.0 > 1.25)!
Your knowledge and understanding of mechanics, workmanship, and other such things enable you to craft better items. The process of creating many items is still an unknown to you, but if you ever succeed in such a creation its Sub-Stat Enhancements will be higher than normal.

Obtained Items:
Goat Hide Robe
Flak Pauldron
Flak Gauntlet
Sharp Stone
Curved Stick

You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.

System:Danny

---

Nira and Femus

You used Monster Analysis I!
---Pixie---
Pixies are a tiny humanoid Fey-type Monster. While somewhat intelligent, they lack empathy towards one another even compared to beasts like Goblins. Capable of flight and healing magic, but not physically strong or skilled enough to fight or use weapons well. Their Wings are membranous structures interlaced with hair-thin blood vessels. They are fragile, but hold semi-magical properties.This one is unusual.

System:Femus

After a few moments, Femus was able to gather enough MP that he could levitate again. Levitation didn't seem to use a great deal of MP, though sometimes it also seemed like it used Stamina in combination. In any case, with a few minutes of Meditation he was able to move again, and as long as he didn't exert himself too much it seemed like he wouldn't drain himself again until he actively used a spell. This made using Lesser Force a little harder, though once he levitated close enough he would be able to take little nibbles with the small, bony-ridged mouth Wisps possessed. Too bad neither he nor the Pixie knew any fire spells at the moment--even after plucking off the Dire Rat's fur, eating it raw left one's tastebuds feeling rather unclean.

As the two sat talking, for the first time to another former human, the sounds of chanting and crackling flames would reach them along with the smell of cooking meat and vegetables. The goblin tribe seemed to be having a feast of some sort--when the animal stampede came through, perhaps the mean green weenies had caught themselves a nice haul. It might be tempting to sneak over there and grab some for themselves...then again, there were a lot of goblins...

---

Sato

"Start wif whateva makes ya stronkest da fastest." said Lansa. He looked down at Sato's hand for a moment, before grabbing it. But rather than a handshake, it was more like an arm wrestling grip--Lansa seemed to be gauging Sato's strength. Then he let go and nodded. "Yah, like dat. But dem udda tings, like...why ya pulls up and down on da trees? Or curls da sticks and rocks in ya arm? Wat it do, how it werk?"

Needless to say, the complexities of something like body building would be a bit much for savages like these to take in. But Lansa would listen intently to whatever explanation Sato offered, and then ask about something else. Whatever exercises Sato had been doing since his awakening in this new world, Lansa would want a thorough demonstration of all of them, though not where any other goblins could see and hear. Once this was done, however, the boss again took Sato to one side. The smell of cooking meat was getting strong by this point--a few goblins in the tribe were old enough or skilled enough to know how to make fire by rubbing two sticks together.

"Okay, Sore-Toe, now I gives ya sumtin' gud! Lissen up!" The Hobgoblin leaned in as he let Sato in on his conspiracy. "Li'l ways dattaway--" he pointed in what seemed a vaguely northern direction, "--dere used to be a humin town! Long time ago, Orcs and Gobbos werks togedda and smashes it, killed all da humins! But da Orcs big and dum, dey run da Gobbos out and taked it for demselves, til da Ventures come and kills dem too. So now, ain't nobody out dere...well, cept uddah Mobs." He sniffed and turned his head, as if this point wasn't really worth acknowledging. "But, humins gots dis stuff, ya see! Dey uses it, makes sharps and shinies and tings to build deir town! Is called metal!" Lansa grinned and tossed his spear back and forth in his hands, making the bone ornaments on his arms clatter. "I keeps it seekret, but I lets youse know now! So youse can go gets all da metal, and udda gud stuff, ya wants! Jus' so long as yas dun tell nobody else! Got it!?" Here the Boss bared his fangs, getting right into Sato's face. If the blank-eyed goblin agreed, then Lansa would suddenly turn on his heel and stride away.

"Gud, den let's go back! Is time fer big foods!"

There were over eighty members of the Deep Forest tribe. Goblins of all kinds--elderly, young, female, male, big, weak, the captains and the fodder--were tearing into barely-cooked chunks of Pixie flesh, Dire Rat tails, and strips of the big deer, along with anything else they could find. Like those sharp tasting plants that looked a little bit like spring onions, or those big fat roots Sato had probably heard other goblins call topapos. There were juicy blue berries as well, and some goblins had just thrown in whatever random leaves or grass they could find just to have something they could call their own speared on a stick over the fire. Here and there fights would break out when some gob tried to steal another's food, or when a successful thief framed someone else. The captains were all given a wide berth, especially Ballz, who roared loud enough to shake the treetops if anyone even dared to come near him. He hunched over like an ape, devouring an entire leg of the deer by himself.

Now that Sato had been given a treasure hunt, would he depart immediately? What supplies would he take with him? Lansa had warned him not to tell anyone else of this secret place...but could he do it alone? Did he even want the metals, or whatever else might be left in the ruined town? All this thinking...and here he was on an empty stomach.

---

Farmstead

"It, it sounded like it was far away..." Gwen said breathlessly as she rushed to a window. Flinging open the wooden shutters, she leaned out and yelled for the others to come in. It seemed Lear already had them headed in that direction, though--soon, everyone had stormed back into the house. Geir and Mirabelle were the last ones through the door, and as the redheaded boy kicked it shut with a hard slam he pulled the handaxe from the back of his belt and took up a ready stance in front of the door as if he expected something to come crashing through. Mirabelle got into position near a window, one hand pointed like a gun towards the outdoors. Gwen ran to her husband, who enveloped her in a big bear hug.

"Is everyone alright!?"

"Y-yes, Daddy!" Clarice shouted, holding the baby in one arm and keeping a firm grip on Alice's arm with the other. Reuben ran to cling to his father's leg.

"Mira, did you pick up any of that?!" Geir shouted as the baby started to cry.

"No, it was too far! But a blast like that, Maker's Word, what in the--"

"I don't think we have anything to worry about right now." Lear spoke in a loud and commanding voice, one that made everyone stop and turn towards him. He put one hand on Reuben's head as he broke away from Gwen, and with the other held his tiny son's hand. As the infant quieted, he looked around at each of them, including Miiba.

"I'd wager that was on the other side of the forest, and that flash was moving towards the mountains, not us. Did either of you see anything afterwards, a followup or a counterattack?"

"If there was anything, it wasn't on the same level." Geir growled. He stepped away from the door to look out the window, at the column of smoke many miles away. "Who the hell--sorry, ma'am--who could've done something like that?!"

Lear had moved to comforting his daughters now, but it seemed like the initial panic was wearing off. Gwen took the baby, and she and the rest of the children retreated to the living room to sit for a moment around the hearth.

"If Nick was back in the area, it could've been him...and if Li'l Zieg has earned his scapular since the last time I saw 'im, he might have the kind of spiritual clout to call something like that down. But there shouldn't be anything around here that could provoke either of them to that level..."

"Li'l Zieg?" Mirabelle tilted her head. "Wait, are you talking about...Sir Zeiglar?! The Guardian Templar?"

"Oh, so he's only made Templar, then? Figured he'd at least be a Holy Knight by now. Wasn't him then." Lear shook his head absentmindedly. He was staring intently at the armor in the corner, chewing the inside of his cheek.

"If Sir Zeiglar is 'Li'l Zieg' to you..." Now Geir looked thoughtful, rubbing his chin with one gloved hand. "Then Nick...shit, are you serious--"

"Geir! Language!" Gwen snapped. The boy gave a start and flushed red.

"Sorry, ma'am! But, Boss, are you talking about--" Geir almost looked like Reuben did, whenever they had their sparring sessions or when Lear read to them from that book last night, "--the Nikolas Artur!? The King of S--"

"Yeah." Lear slowly walked to the mace and picked it up off the wall. "Him and Zeig were both in the Guild Auxiliary with me back in the war, the runts. After all that time they spent bustin' their rears, I should've known better than to retire. Nick's way beyond me by now, and Zeig won't be long catching up to me either. But in any case..."

He put the mace back on the wall.

"Mira, start writing up a report to the Guild. Geir, go to the barn loft and put the signal up for the Guild-Hawk again." The farmer turned, and locked eyes with Miiba. "Miiba. Come with me--I want you to help me check the perimeter."

"Boss, wait! You can't trust her! For all we know, she's in on this!" Geir seemed to remember for the first time that morning that Miiba existed. He glared at her with his usual intensity.

"Geir, I've seen a lot more of the world than you, and even I think that's silly." Lear said. He motioned for Miiba to come along. "But, don't you worry. Even if I sucked at sensory stuff, I'm not that easy to fool."

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

Nira and Femus

Nira's wings fluttered as she dashed through the air to try and cut the Dire Rat off. The creature's ears twitched as she approached, and it turned around with a hiss. She darted about it, staying out of reach as it snapped at her. With the rodent pulled up short, Femus took his chance and charged up his Mana Orb's second rank version. With a brighter flash than before, the magical blast took shape in front of the Wisp--it almost looked like he had duplicated himself. Then the spell took off, just as the Rat prepared to spring at Nira when she came just a bit too close.

The Mana Orb collided with its side, trailing the smell of ozone and burning fur. The Rat squealed as it was bowled over...then hit the ground and went still.

Femus, however, felt a sudden exhaustion settle over him, and he began drifting down to the ground...

You have no MP remaining.

System:Femus

He had already fired a first-rank Mana Orb, and in his training experience he could usually get three of them off before he ran out of power. The second rank, however, cost a good bit more--he could usually only fire one, then he would have to Meditate to recover enough MP to cast either version of the spell. So using both of them back to back, even though he had a little extra MP thanks to his earlier meditation, had completely drained him.

He had extended a hand to someone else, but now the talking Wisp was incredibly vulnerable...what would the strange Pixie do now...?

---

Sato

When Sato explained his reason for training, Lansa tilted his head. It seemed Sato knew something these goblins didn't, and the idea made him grin. The Boss narrowed his eyes at this and loomed a little more forcefully over the younger goblin.

"So youse be sayin', doin' all dat stuff makes ya stronker?" Lansa glanced around. Say-Bah was a fair distance away, having delivered the bowhorn carcass and now off to do something else. Ass Slashin was nowhere to be seen. Ballz was sitting on a bundle of tree roots, just...staring angrily into the distance. Ahcha was over near the lean-tos, ordering a bunch of the younger goblins around for something or other. The Hobgoblin returned his icy gaze to Sato. "Alright, Sore-Toe. If yas tell me how dat stuff work, den I gives ya sumtin' good. But ya don't tells nobody else, got it?!"

---

Farmstead

"Ah, so you've...I think Adventurers usually call it Leveling Up?" The farmer's wife nodded as Miiba took the cup. "I was always told that they were messages from the Maker, and the Spirits." As the little goblin explained her circumstances, the woman's expression changed to one of curiosity, then one of surprise, then suspicion, then concern...fear flashed over her face when Miiba yelled. But she stood her ground, and even knelt down to be closer to Miiba's level. The green girl curled up, and stared into her water. Gwen bit her lip...then she reached out and drew Miiba into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Miiba." she said softly. "I don't know who you are, or where you're from. I don't know if you're telling the truth, but I want to believe you are. And I do know, you're different from any Goblin I've ever seen or heard of, and I want to give you a chance. And I wish I could comfort you more." Slowly, the mother and housewife pulled away, but she held Miiba gently by the shoulders. "As long as you can convince my husband that you can earn your keep, I don't have any problem letting you stay here for a little while longer. I'll see what I can do to help you, and I'll try to make everyone else be nice, okay?" Taking her hands away from the goblin girl, Gwen stood and brushed off her apron. When Miiba told the story of the bird, her face lit up with realization.

"Ah, that's a Guildhawk! They're specially bred messenger birds, used by Adventurers and the Guild to send information and keep track of Quests!" She seemed proud of herself for remembering that, and explained it like a teacher with her pointer finger extended. "My Lear used to be a hot-shot Adventurer, you know! And he helps novices, like Geir and Mirabelle, get work experience and training. I bet with some of his Guild contacts, he could find out more that would help you!"

Just then, outside the window, a mountain exploded.

From this far away they could barely see the blue flash in the sky, and the actual mountaintop was hidden from view by the thick trees of the forest. But they definitely heard and felt the blast, and saw the massive column of smoke rise into the air. Gwen screamed and jumped in surprise, and from outside there were shouts from the others. The children, still in the house, came running to their mother with wide eyes. The eldest girl, Clarice, was holding the baby who had begun crying for all he was worth.

What had happened?!

---

PixieSlime Party

As Asura surged forward, he transformed an extended limb into a needle-like point. The leaping frog lost sight of the red slime under its own inflated bulk, but it felt exactly where he stabbed it. His attack went in deep--and the frog screeched in agony as its body began to deflate, the rapidly escaping air making a sound like a wet fart as split flesh flapped rapidly back and forth. It fell to the ground on its side, bleeding heavily from the wound and kicking its feet.

It was just one thing after another this morning, wasn't it!? Ardur had barely put his stuff down when the frogs came hurtling out of the woods, and while Asura rushed to attack the Hipixie put his hands out in front of himself and began to take aim.

"Feel the Sun King's wrath, and burn to ash!" he chanted, and this time instead of the glowing veins spreading up his forearms, a red ring began to form in the air in front of his hands. Before he could question what had caused that difference, he had to finish the spell. "Fireball!"

The Fireball formed within the circle, which had formed a secondary ring as well and now looked like some kind of planetary model. Then it blasted forward, flaring brightly as it impacted one of the other frogs just as it began to inflate. It let out the air it had been sucking in surprise, and the flames spread hungrily over its body. The creature began to flop back and forth with panicked screams.

Momma Slime rolled and bounced along, and her massive bulk crashed into the equally-sized third frog head-on. She had actual mass behind her size, however, and the inflated amphibian merely bounced off with a distinctive sproing sound straight out of a videogame. It hit a tree and ricocheted back, crashing into Momma again with enough force to budge her backwards just slightly. But Steve scuttled over the blue slime's membrane, then jumped off her "head" to land on the frog's snout and sink both fangs into it. The animal croaked and shook to try and get the spider off, but Steve's large eye on her abdomen flashed. From her position on its flat nose, she was eye-to-eye with the frog. It suddenly stopped moving, and the two seemed to be in some kind of staring contest...then it tipped over, in slow motion, while still inflated. It had completely lost consciousness, despite not really being wounded...

It looked like they would be able to make short work of these creatures--but then, the frog Ardur had cast his spell on managed to right itself. It was still burning. As it opened its mouth, a long tongue shot out, and though Ardur tried to block it the massive muscle seemed to be coated with a sticky slime. Unable to free himself, the Hipixie planted his feet and pulled with his considerable muscle--but it seemed like he might still get pulled in! Would Asura finish off his current target, or help his allies? And which of the other two battles would he assist with?

---

Rat Party

Ed and Asteria dashed around in a panic. Mother Rat instinctively understood the need to hide; she couldn't understand the humans' speech, but her ears were sharp enough to pick it up. Limping, she had almost made it back to the den even before Asteria shoved her inside along with all of their loot. By this time Ed had hidden or given Asteria most of his own belongings, along with the stolen items, and flopped over the ground in what he desperately hoped was a convincing imitation of death.

As the female Dire Rat sneaked away through the grass, Ed could hear larger footsteps coming close.

"Describe it again?"

"It was like...I dunno, I could just barely see a piece of wood or something sticking up out of the grass, moving around like something carrying it. When we checked the shed I thought some stuff was out of place, but I don't know what all was in there."

"You think it had anything to do with whatever that was, jumping out of the grass?"

"I think that was...a bug monster of some kind. But that's Oldstone's shed, him or his boy can tell us if anything was taken. What could've gotten that close without us spotting it?"

"I don't think a monster bug would've taken wood, if it took anything. Wasn't any food in there as far as I know. But Goblins can be pretty sneaky."

"We'd have seen Goblins coming, they'd never get near the village without a big raiding party. They're cowardly, but as dumb as they are they know it takes at least three of 'em to bring down a proper warrior."

The footsteps stopped.

"Hey, look at that!"

Ed dared to barely breathe. One of the voices whistled.

"Myrminors. Shit. If they're sending Scouts this close to the village, then we'll start seeing them in a couple days."

"That's a Ratman, ain't it? Eugh." Something stiff, probably the end of a wooden weapon, poked Ed's leg. He couldn't even risk opening his eyes. "I think that answers your question of what was in the shed."

"Ratmen. Double shit. But there must have been more than one of them, if they killed three of these bugs. Where do you think they headed?" Rustling in the grass--were the humans looking for the missing items? Would they find Mother Rat in the den? What if they found the Greatclub, and just for funsies decided to make Ed's skull go splat...

"Look, out that way. Wasn't that where that fire was last night?"

"Sure was. Think the Ratmen caused it?"

"They might have, or whatever caused it might have chased them out of the forest. Maybe they headed back there with their loot...Do Goblins and Ratmen trade?"

"I don't know." More rustling...in the opposite direction! One of the humans was leaving! "But whatever it was, it's driven Monsters towards us. We need to report the Myrminors for sure, we'll need to put out some poison or do something to keep them from digging tunnels under the village. Then--"

The mountain exploded.

Asteria had just found two Nullven plants, but just as she plucked them she saw the blue light flash through the sky. It looked like a shooting star, only it traveled in the wrong direction, up towards the heavens...then it struck the distant mountain's peak. The explosion sent billowing smoke, still flashing with the aftershock of that blast's blue flames and black lightning, high into the air. Ed could hear it, could feel it making the earth tremble, but he couldn't see...whatever that was. Was it coming towards him? What had caused it? Where were the humans!?

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

Nira and Femus

When Femus spoke to Nira, he revealed himself as something more than a Wisp. No other creatures Nira had seen thus far besides the Goblins could speak--and calling the sounds they made "proper" speech was a bit of a stretch. What would they do? Would they form an alliance, or become enemies? Competition to be outdone...or a possible ally to be made, in this new and savage world?

The Dire Rat shook its head, and snarled at both of them. Not willing to fight a battle on two fronts, it turned to run--would they let the kill get away from them? They might not get another chance for a while, as it seemed the majority of the stampede was over. If they let the Rat get away, they would have to hunt in a more typical manner--a lot of tracking, hiding, waiting, ambushing--to get another meal, or more battle experience. That was another question: would this Rat possibly be the source of their next level up?

[[Feel free to post back and forth without an update from me if you're primarily interacting with one another.]]

---

Sato

”Watcha need, boss?” Sato grinned while both his hands rested atop his waist as he awaited the goblin boss’ reply.

"Youse's borned..." Lansa counted out ten days on his fingers, then held up two of his toes. "Dis many days ago. Not long time." He put his hands back on his spear, holding it casually...but nonetheless, the weapon still made one feel uncomfortable just by the sight of it. "But I seen yas, youse growin' fast." The Hobgoblin peered at him suspiciously. "And ya does dem funny tings, erry day. Climbin' on trees. Pickin' up heavy tings and puttin' 'em down agin." He looked over towards Ballz Acker, who was now working with Say-Bah to pile up the corpses of all the slain prey. "An' ya da only Gob dum enuff to keep tryin' to arm wrassle Ballz."

As the Hobgoblin turned back towards Sato, it was clear that gears were turning in his head. He looked at the youngling with suspicion...but also curiosity.

"Youse one o' Granpy Kiri's younglings. Dunno which one was yore muddah, but dey both Gobs. Not Hobs like mines, or Bugbear like Ballz's faddah." He tapped Sato's leg with the butt of his spear. "So how's you gettin' stronk so fast?"

---

Farmstead

Miiba, the little girl goblin, had been having quite the busy few days. Ever since she had escaped from that godawful cave, it had been one disaster after another. Everywhere she went, there had been some creature ready to gobble her up, and all she wanted was to make friends. She had thought she would finally be able to do that, once she came upon a farmstead some miles east of the cave...only to be captured by the humans there and subjected to a terrifying night of interrogation in the woodshed. However, the next morning, she had met Mr. Lear, the farmer--and possibly a former soldier or adventurer of some sort, if the armor hanging in his house was any indication.

To say Lear had accepted her wouldn't be correct. Rather, it seemed Lear had simply been observing her, and giving her a chance to prove that she really wasn't like the other goblins, who did NOT have a good reputation in this world. She still caught distrusting glances and heard disparaging words from the rest of the family, but so far she had only been given orders to do chores and answer questions...Yet at the same time, she had been invited to share their table, and had been given a small place to sleep by the fire. And now she had grown another level.

Lear had told her that it might be possible for her to Transform into something better than a Goblin...maybe not something Humans would be real "friends" with, but at least something they didn't hate so much? It was the only hope she had thus far. The only hope this former 8-year-old little girl, taken from her old world before she had ever really experienced it, could ever have to be a "person" again.

"M-...Mrs. Gwen?" The sound of a spoon tapping the edge of a pot came from the kitchen. The farmer's beautiful wife adjusted the blue apron over her modest, cream-colored dress as she leaned around the corner. "Miiba thank for sleep spot. Miiba sleep good! But...where Mr. Lear? Miiba sleep too long? Does Miiba need to get water from the w-" DING! "WHA!"

Gwen jumped as well at Miiba's surprise, and approached the little goblin warily.

"Dinged? What does that mean?" she asked gently, but Miiba seemed just as confused. When the goblin asked for water, Gwen motioned for her to wait a moment, and returned to the kitchen, her long braid of blonde hair trailing behind her. Soon she came back with a wooden cup of water, and handed it to the goblin.

"Lear said to let you sleep until time for breakfast. But after that you'll have to work again." The woman of the house watched Miiba for a moment. "Miiba. What are you? Where did you come from?"

---

Rat Party

As Ed delivered that earth shaking blow, Asteria fed Mother Rat the other half of the Healing Herb. She would have to hope that would hold the elder rat over until after this could be finished. As the Worker miraculously rose and Ed sank down, her tail wrapped around one of the last herbs and she dashed towards the battle. As the Myrminor raised its clawed forelimbs, the swift Dire Rat charged it down and leaped! Asteria's spring-loaded, furry body collided with the chitinous monster with enough force to push it back, and while its legs braced its weight its claws couldn't reach her. She scrambled onto its back, and repeated her newfound telepathic attack. Just like before, the Myrminor's movements slowed and became jerky, like a remote controlled toy with weak batteries. Biting at the already cracked shell where Ed had struck it, she tore off another piece. The second Healing Herb fluttered down by Ed's feet.

Ed could barely see through the haze covering him, as his muscles cramped and spasmed. But, through sheer force of will, he drove himself to stand, to keep fighting. He grabbed the Herb and barely chewed it on the way down, yet almost immediately felt its healing powers knitting his flesh. From inside his body the healing herb accelerated the regeneration of all his strained organs and muscles, and with the barest hint of renewed vigor he rose and took his cudgel in hand. Though his legs were still heavy and his arms still stiff, he lumbered forward to join his packmate.

The Worker bucked, and began to recover from Asteria's telepathic attack. She bit off another piece of its armored hide, spilling its blood onto the grass below. It tilted itself to one side and shook, trying to scrape her off against the ground. Its antennae twitched and it jerked towards Ed, just as he brought the cudgel down on its maimed head. Once, twice, thrice, and Asteria's claws were still digging at its wounds--

The Myrminor dropped to the ground, and just its back legs twitched as the last vestiges of life bled out.

For several moments, there was nothing but heavy breathing and the rush of adrenaline. Mother Rat pushed herself up on wobbling legs. She still didn't look too good, but she limped her way over to the others. The three dead insects lay there, simply twitching...

The first time the rats had been attacked by a Scout, it had come at them out of the ground. There didn't seem to be any openings or mounds of dirt for these three to have come from--where had they exited their tunnels at? Were there more nearby? If they had come out of their tunnel network somewhere closer to the place Ed and Asteria killed the first scout, then traveled overland, other Myrminor might be further away than they thought. But, these three had obviously tracked down the body of their slain bretheren, and this would be four ants out of...how many? How numerous would these monstrous hives be, and what other subtypes might there be?

The group's sharp ears picked up a new sound.

"--ver there, you think?"

"Might be. Saw it out this direction, but just a glimpse."

Humans! The figures were distant, but stood out over the tops of the grass due to their height. There were two of them, and they were moving in a wide arc--they might miss the rats entirely, or pass far to one side of them, but they also might find a trail of some sort, or the signs of battle...What would the rat pack do!?

---

Ghost Party

Skill Gain: Blood Drain I (0.9 > 1.0)!
Through physical contact with whatever body part or orifice the user needs to eat and drink, drain the target's blood through an already open wound. In addition to dealing damage, this skill also restores the user's HP. The amount of HP restored will not be the same as the amount of damage dealt or the same as the amount of blood consumed. Any disease, poison, or other danger contained within the target's blood may also present a threat to this skill's user. At this rank the user is limited in how much blood they can drain and how quickly, as well as the target's defense, healing factor, and other circumstances.

System:Jason

When Jason activated the second rank of Spiritual Awareness, he found its function changed somewhat. Unlike before when he could naturally see other creature's souls, now it took a noticeable effort and the images were not as clear. In addition, the world around himself and the creature he was looking at turned into the monochrome, icy cold, howling Limbo he had seen before. He felt almost as exposed as the creature's spirit he was looking at.

The Four Horned Goat dislodged its horns, but heard Danny begin his chanting above them. It looked up--just in time to get an eyefull of Jason's spit. It reared and kicked its hooves in panic, doing more damage to the tree they were sheltering within. Jason practically fell out of the hollow, crashing into the goat and wrapping around it. It managed to bite him, tearing out a chunk of his membrane that it immediately spat out onto the ground, then began to buck wildly. As Jason tried to wrap himself more tightly, it kicked all the harder.

The Skill [Transparency I] requires increased MP to function due to having a physical body. Your MP is getting Low.

System:Jason

Jason was only able to make the very tip of a pseudopod transparent, but reaching into the goat and deactivating it triggered the same violent rejection effect, creating an area that looked like it had suffered internal trauma on the animal's side in the form of a nasty bruise. Jason began to Mana Drain the creature, while holding on for dear life. The goat bleated and slammed the Necroslime into the tree, hard enough that the already damaged wood began to crack.

But from the moment they had seen the monster mammal, Danny had been Focusing and Chanting with a Mana Dart forming between his hands.

"A simple variant of Mana Orb--" His Mana surged, and the Mana Dart glowed brighter. "but holding the promise of more to come." A ring appeared within Danny's hands, like the barrel of a cannon that the Mana Dart was loaded inside. Crackling sparks of energy jumped between the edges of the ring and the Dart like arcs of electricity. "Superior Mana Dart!"

As the goat pulled back to slam Jason again, Danny let loose.

Focus: Increased Power of Mana Dart I. Casting time increased, Mana Cost increased.
The Skill [Spell Chant] is incomplete. Casting time increased, Mana Cost increased, Power Boost Effectiveness decreased by 60%.

You have no MP remaining.

System:Danny

The Mana Dart lunged out of the Poltergeist's hands like a bolt from a crossbow, and struck the goat in the side of the head. Like putting a hammer to a nail, it punched through flesh and bone, and the animal reared up on its hind legs with a scream. Then it fell to the ground, dead, with an open hole revealing its bloodied brain matter. One of its horns had been broken off by the impact, and fell to the ground.

LEVEL UP! Your combat experiences have culminated in new power! You are now Level 7! Your Max MP has increased! You gain Skill Points to distribute as you please!

Unspent Skill Points: 5

Current Skills:
Mana Orb II (2.525)
Lesser Force II (2.9)
Levitation (--)
Monster Analysis II (2.85)
Meditate I (1.45)
Mana Shape I (1.35)
Aqua Sphere I (1.25)
Magic Analysis I (1.75)
Mana Dart I (1.1)
Blunt Resistance I (1.05)
Focus I (1.05)
Faster I (1.1)
Plant Analysis I (1.05)
Mana Vision I (1.1)
Point Strike I (1.05)
Muffle I (1.0)
<UNUSABLE>
Mana Strike (0.5)
Mana Shell (0.1)
Suppress Presence (0.8)
Spell Cancel (0.1)
Aqua Stream (0.2)
Magic Dash (0.2)
Spell Chant (0.4)
Material Analysis (0.6)
Mana Drain (0.1)
Alert (0.2)
Fire Resistance (0.1)
Charisma (0.2)
Spiritual Awareness (0.9)
Stronger (0.1)
Crafting (0.3)
Dextrous (0.2)
Dash Attack (0.1)
Skewer (0.1)
Tremor Sense (0.1)

System:Danny

---

Monster Party

As Ash let a drop of venom fall from her tail into the Mana Orb, it sizzled and turned to a wispy poisonous fume once it made contact with the magical orb. The next drop was much the same, but now the fume cloud became slightly heavier. In the still air of the small, man(monster)-made cavern, it didn't blow away. The Mana Orb began to sizzle. The third drop finally brought with it a change, and it sank through the fumes and the surface of the blue-white light...

Ash saw the outer particles of magic, those squared pseudo-atoms, change color as the drop of venom "bled" into the sphere. Vivid green, golden yellow, light blue, blood red. She could Sense the Mana changing--a sensation like sitting peacefully in the forest, a sensation like firm ground under her feet, the cooling touch of dipping her claw in the stream, the heat of holding her palms to an open flame. From the orbiting cloud, Green and Blue sank first, trickling down towards the nucleus. Gold and red were next--there were significantly fewer particles taking those colors. Then another batch of green, by far the most widespread color...but now it darkened. Gold and Red disappeared, Blue and Green latched onto one another. The lines oscillating around the Mana Orb's core shrank inward, and a new shape appeared more and more often in the rapidly shifting pattern...

Ash's eyes hurt and she had to blink, before she could get an accurate count of the particles or what shape they took. Her Mana Orb had taken on a deep purple hue, the same color as the poison she produced...but when she opened her eyes, before she would likely activate Mana Vision again, she could already see that the Orb was losing cohesion. It was cloudy, almost gaseous, and losing its substance. It lacked the "heft" she needed to "throw" it, she could tell that trying to project it like a normal Mana Orb would likely just see it dissipate in the air. What could she do to make it denser or more compressed? Or did she need to? What was the purpose of this spell she was trying to create, after all? What would--

The orb began to fade away on its own, and the System informed her that she was out of MP. By this point it was nothing a few minutes of Meditation couldn't fix, but maintaining the Mana Orb for so long seemed a bit burdensome.

Now there was also another question--did her Poison, physically produced by her body, also possess these "particles?" She had just seen it seemingly split into its structural components when exposed to magic--was that the magic taking on aspects of the poison, each particle taking on a different composition, or was that the poison itself being broken down by the magic and then reassembled by her will? If the magic could reproduce the poison...could the poison, vice versa, be altered by the magic? And would that mean...?

Skill Rank Up: Venom Shot I > Venom Shot II (1.95 > 2.0)!
Damage increased! Penetration increased!

System:Ash

Meanwhile, Oberon lifted his hand to the sky. As the Mana Orb formed and Oberon extended his senses to the air around him, it seemed that easterly breeze that almost carried Digbie's Yill away was still present at this point. He tried to feel it, to hear it, to draw it in. Catching the wind as it moved past him was easier than trying to do this in still air, although getting it to move another direction was harder. His Mana Orb slowly began to spin, towards the East. If Oberon himself turned, it acted like a sort of gyroscope, always rotating in an easterly direction. As Oberon drew more Mana into the Orb from the environment, the spinning got faster, and the magic started to "inflate." Like the Light Ring it seemed to naturally expand...but also, like the Aqua Sphere, he was losing some of his energy as it spun faster and began to "separate," like...like shreds of paper or something. It seemed like some other force would be necessary to counteract the spin and keep the Orb from tearing itself apart, but how could he apply it? Or...did he need to? The eastern wind began to die down, but the Mana Orb was still spinning. Could he change the direction of the spin? Did he need to find more wind? What needed to happen for this spell to work...and how would Oberon go about doing it?

"System: Show current HP and MP status."

Your HP is Full.
Your MP is Depleting. MP will be empty shortly.

System:Oberon

"System: Show current experience or level progress. And show...show my evolution tree."

EXP: 40%

TRANSFORMATION STATUS:
Immature Pixie > Immature Sprite
Known Currently Possible Transformations: 3

1. Adult Sprite*
2. Adolescent Hipixie*
3. Adolescent Imp-

Unknown Currently Possible Transformations: 4

System:Oberon

Reading the name of each creature brought back to mind the information and images he had seen when he...when he what? There was a vague memory of...floating? And...Meeting someone? A ring like microphone feedback went through Oberon's head for an instant.

Skill Gain: Aqua Stream I (0.8 > 1.0)!
A low-level Water spell that concentrates water into a pressurized stream. Many basic elements take the form of an orb or bolt to be fired at an opponent, and Aqua Stream does not have as much range as these. Speed and power, however, are both increased, for slightly more Mana. While it does not require ammunition so to speak, this spell works better if there is water in the environment or in heavy humidity. Its nature as a Water spell varies its power based on elemental properties of the target.

Skill Gain: Fog Breath I (0.8 > 1.0)!
A lesser breath power of the Water element. Thickening the vapor one exhales in the breath, the user creates a dense fog. This breath has a much shorter range than others--only 5 feet at the current rank--but can either cover a wide area directly in front of the user, or can create a closer fog cloud 360 degrees around them. It deals no damage, but an enemy entering the fog may suffer decreased visibility equivalent to a Blind status effect. It stays in place for roughly one minute.

System:Torrent

Torrent felt her Mana surging during her last attempts, and though Aqua Stream felt more like when she had formed the Fireball inside her mouth instead of a true Breath Skill, it was functionally the same as spitting water like a kid in the pool--except that water carved out the ground like a high grade power washer. And Fog Breath produced a cloud so thick even the sun became frosty and indistinct when one looked through it.

---

Digbie

You used Monster Analysis I!
---Bowhorn Deer---
This species of deer has absorbed magical energy from the forest and the plants, causing its horns to become more like saplings than bone. They're still plenty sharp and tough, but have an added flexibility that makes them valuable to bowyers and other craftsmen. As it grows older, sometimes the horns even sprout blooms or fruit of some sort, varying based on the creature's diet and habitat.

System:Digbie

When Digbie extended his hand and began to use his magic, the deer suddenly jerked its head up from the water. It prepared to leap over the stream--then stopped as the light green, sparkling energy spread over its wound. It turned its head curiously as the bleeding stopped, and shook its formerly injured leg. With a tilt of its head, it scratched itself with its horn until it managed to dislodge the projectile. The wound hadn't healed completely, but was much smaller than before, and the deer licked at the new, pink skin under the fur. It looked at Digbie for a few moments, twitching its ears...but the next time he moved, it jumped over the stream and went off into the forest.

As Digbie prepared to head back home, he opened the book as he walked along. Its first page read:

The Book of Common Prayers to Jehanne
And Administration of the Maiden's Sacraments
and Other Rites
and Ceremonies of Her Temples
Together with the World Maker's Laws

According to the use of:
The Order of Jehanne and Her Martyrs

The Spirit Literature Association of the Royal Scrivener's Guild, Viskados

Several pages still seemed to be intact, and those that were ripped out weren't all completely destroyed, but between the sticky blood and the beating the book had taken, Digbie might need to be careful while examining it lest he tear a page or get a smudge on it that might make it illegible.

"H-hey... Jehanne? Are we able to hear eachother...?"

He continued to walk along in silence. The only sounds, aside from his feet crunching on the forest floor, were those of the various items he had picked up in his two packs. The clink of the stone axe head, the jingle of the loose coins, and the distinct wooden click of the Maiden's Effigy. It had a solid sound for such a little thing, almost like a knock at one's door.

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

@DuthguyYeah I used SMT as the example because getting the Ally NPCs, or really any creature you encounter that you can figure out a way to communicate with, all depends on negotiation. I'm honestly surprised more people besides Ardur haven't tried monster taming.

Not that I'd make it easy of course. >:)

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

Monster Party

Skill Rank Up: Mana Orb I > Mana Orb II (1.9 > 2.05)!
Magic Damage Increased. MP Cost Increased.

Your Skill Progression is slightly faster than normal.

System:Ash

The "dense" Mana Orb as Ash had designated it, shot into the wall with about the same amount of speed and the same pseudo-lightning glow. But it seemed to dig just a little deeper than usual, and left a more concentrated char mark.

When she attempted the same process a second time, there was a slight change. The System had informed her that her Mana Orb had ranked up, and before she even had to alter it, when the new Mana Orb took shape it already had the single nucleus. This time, the other square particles had stopped their expansion on their own, and none of them had taken on any colors at all. So a second ranked Mana Orb seemed to naturally have more energy, and concentrated that energy in a denser fashion? And once it had a nucleus, these other...magic atoms? Whatever they where, they formed a cloud of sorts like electrons. So what caused the color changes? Was it related to the colored particles she had seen when scanning other spells?

Meanwhile, Torrent continued to practice her new project. Compared to the grinding she had done to get Poison Breath and how long it had taken, she took this much more slowly and tried to actively think about each step and visualize the results she wanted.

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

You used Magic Analysis I!
---???---
You seem to be developing a water spell that concentrates water into a pressurized stream...
---??? Breath---
You seem to be developing a breath skill that disperses the element of water in a cloud of vapor...
---Analysis Complete!---

System:Torrent

Her first attempt in this second set seemed like a...mana charged spit? A stream of water simply arced out of her mouth about five feet across the stream. The second time, when she pushed harder and swirled water and air, it all came out at once. Like filling your cheeks, then slapping both hands over them. The spray came out in a thick cloud, though it only traveled a short distance.

But she could feel the different ways in which Mana flowed, and combined with her Analysis it gave her an idea of what was happening. The next question would be, how could she use it, and how much more would it take to fully activate these abilities? It seemed like Oberon was doing a Water-related spell as well, could she learn anything from him or mimic it?

Oberon concentrated, and condensed the Mana as water was drawn around it. The water followed the flow that was created, the space left by the shrinking Mana Orb was rapidly filled, and once Oberon had it within his "grasp" he applied even more pressure. When he pulled it from the water, it maintained its shape--a glowing ball of blue, like a bubble that had solidified, a snowglobe without any scenery inside it. He hurled it at a tree...and was rewarded with an explosive splash that tore off a chunk of the trunk's bark covering.

You used Magic Analysis IV!
---???---
Torrent seems to be developing a water spell that concentrates water into a pressurized stream. It actually seems like a variant of the Aqua Sphere spell you're trying to use. Her Mana serves to pressurize and propel the water, but the level of control is more important than the power output. It also requires a larger amount of water.
---??? Breath---
Torrent seems to be developing a breath skill that disperses the element of water in a cloud of vapor. Mana is solely used to propel the moisture, with hardly any condensation. It doesn't seem to have enough charge to do damage, so its purpose at this point is unclear.
---Analysis Complete!---

Skill Gain: Aqua Sphere I (0.8 > 1.0)!
By charging a small amount of water with mana, create a sphere of pressurized liquid to be launched at the target. While it does not require ammunition so to speak, this spell works better if there is water in the environment or in heavy humidity. Its range, damage, and MP cost are virtually identical to Mana Orb, but its nature as a Water spell varies its power based on elemental properties of the target.

System:Oberon

---

Digbie

Obtained Item: Leather Satchel (Average, Slightly Damaged)
Can contain 10 Small Items, or Medium/Large Items equating that capacity.
-Organic, Processed, Hydroproof, Durable, Inedible

Obtained Item: Common Prayers to Jehanne (Poor, Heavily Damaged)
A book containing standardized prayers and some liturgy as relates to the Forgiving Maiden...
-Organic, Processed, Absorbant, Fragile, Bloodstained, Enchanted
--This is a religious text, soaked in the unique magic of faith yet tempered in fire.

Obtained Item: ??? Mushroom x5
-Organic, Fungi, Sporific, Nutrient Rich, Edible, Partially Toxic, Toxin level High.
--Cushiwog Mushroom. This mushroom grows in areas with many impurities or toxins, but has adapted to use them for nourishment. In the process, it "sweats" a slime-like substance that collects into the green spots on its red cap. This gel is an effective pain inhibitor and very nutritious to most other creatures that don't share the Cushiwog's unique ability to thrive off poison. It is often combined with other plants to produce medicines. The lower end of the stalk, where toxins are still being refined, is highly poisonous.

Obtained Item: ??? Flower x3
-Organic, Flowering Plant, Seed Bearing, Magically Charged, Restorative, Reactive
--Blue Yill Flower. The Yill species of flowering plants are adaptable and conducive to magic, so depending on where they grow and what kind of ambient energy is present they often change forms. The Blue Yill has absorbed a great deal of raw mana, and thus is an excellent restorative source. It is often combined with other plants to magically enhance their properties, or to make mixtures that restore Magic Power.
---This plant is filled with magic, rather than nutrients made through photosynthesis. It could even thrive without light if there were enough Mana in the surroundings. The Magic is non-elemental in nature.

Obtained Item: Woven Sandals (Above Average, Slightly Damaged)
-Organic, Fibrous, Slightly Durable, Water Absorbant, Flammable
--These sandals were woven from straw and plant fibers wound together and threaded in a pattern. They're a little coarse on bare feet, but with their protection one can walk freely over rough ground. They will fray fairly easily, however, and don't provide much in the way of armor or environmental resistance. They also burn quickly. You feel you can move faster now that you have something protecting your feet.

You Crafted an Item!
Your lack of Crafting Skill has degraded your Item.
Obtained Item: Makeshift Robe (Below Average)
-Fibrous, Processed, Slightly Durable, Water Absorbant, Flammable, Insulating
--This scrap of cloth is big enough to make a shoddy robe for your scrawny gobbo frame. It doesn't provide much padding against blades and isn't particularly magic resistant, but it'll hold up well enough against the weather. Just not feeling naked makes you feel a little tougher.

Obtained Item: Wooden Shield (Average, BROKEN)
-Organic, Processed, Durability Reduced, Fragile, Flammable
--This shield has basically been shattered by repeated impact, it's little good for anything but scrap and kindling. Maybe it makes you feel just a smidgeon tougher?

Obtained Item: Stone Axe Head (Below Average, Dull)
-Inorganic, Mineral, High Hardness, Low Brittleness, Durable, Earthen, Heavy
--This stone has been chiseled and knapped into a shape that can hold a decent edge. It's been broken away from its wooden handle, but was clearly used as a tool or weapon.

Obtained Item: Maiden's Effigy
-Organic, Semi-Fibrous, Flammable, Blessed, Enchanted, Restorative
--A wooden carving in the image of the Maiden Jehanne, the Spirit Saint of Forgiveness. It is blessed to act as a ward against misfortune, and often used in rituals and prayers to Jehanne. The effigies are always made of wood, as one common method of using them is to burn them in an act representative of sacrificial renewal related to Jehanne's history. It is plain and unpainted, untouched by other influences...

Obtained Item: Assorted Coins.
Copp x8, Sil x2, Gol x3
-Inorganic, Mineral, High Hardness, Very Low Brittleness, Malleable (Heat, Pressure), Alloyed, Durable, Heavy, Semi-toxic (Ingestion), Inedible, Varied Mana Conductivity
--Coins used as currency across Viskard, commonly accepted in other nations. Viskard stamps them with distinctive processes that aren't easily emulated, and in treaty with other kingdoms uses this to trade back for their own currency so as to prevent the flow of their own wealth.

Obtained Item: Iron Shortsword (Well-Made, BROKEN)
-Inorganic, Mineral, High Hardness, Low Brittleness (Increased), Low Malleability (Heat, Pressure), Below Average Flexibility, Alloyed, Durable (Decreased), Very Low Mana Conductivity
--A Type XIV model sword, originating smith currently unknown. Seems to be wrought iron mixed with lower quantities of low-carbon steel to form a serviceable alloy, thus likely of low monetary value relative to other swords. This one's edge has been chipped in several places and the blade has bent and warped badly. It is very Fragile and will likely not hold up in battle. Its guard seems to be of hardened brass and its grip is hardwood with a leather wrap. Due to its materials, it has a very low level of Mana Conductivity. Unless it is in direct contact with a caster, enchantments on this weapon will be reduced in effectiveness and require more Magic Power to charge. The only Element it synergizes easily with is Metal.

Non-Equipped Items: 12
Storage: Ratskin Pack 7/7 FULL, Leather Satchel 7/10

System:Digbie

As Digbie gathered the different things, the wind suddenly died down. The sun seemed to shine a little brighter through the canopy of the trees. In the quiet left behind by the breeze's departure, the Demiblin heard another noise--something big, coming through the bushes.

Into the peaceful clearing on either side of the eastward stream, a large creature stepped out. It was the same kind of deer Digbie and the rest of his party had seen, the one whose ass-hair Mourningstar had made a temporary hat out of. This one was obviously a different specimen, however, as it was larger and thicker of body. An older male, it would seem. Its horns, reminescent of bow limbs, still didn't have many points but were much thicker and darker in color. It saw Digbie, and stopped dead in its tracks...but did not immediately turn and run. It eyed him with a gaze that was not afraid. One of its forelegs shivered. Embedded in its shoulder was a dart--a stone arrowhead set into a small wooden shaft, and fletched with a few brightly colored red and black feathers. The creature's broad chest rose and fell for several breaths...then, slowly, it put its head down and started to walk towards the stream, keeping one eye on Digbie the whole time...

---

PixieSlime Party

Asura did not have the Material Analysis skill, so his observation of his own work on the bones was limited solely to what his physical senses and his active mind could deduce. Obviously, bone was a little harder to work with when it came to building weapons or armor due to its brittle nature and its inability to hold an edge on impact. Primitive cultures didn't use the best material available, they used what was most convenient. Any ancient society that made tools out of bone and stone never had truly "good" weaponry, just the best they could manage with what they had. However, if the bones were breaking down when he held and worked on them inside his body...maybe it would be better to hold them "with" his body? What if he were to use Limited Shapeshift to create a limb of some sort, and try to manipulate the tools that way?

When the mountain exploded, he and Ardur bolted for the treeline, somewhat to the north and east of their current location. The direction didn't matter, only that they had some tree cover from flying rocks. Before the Hipixie ran, he looked out over the distance and tried to take it all in, figure out just what was happening. The thunder, the dark clouds, the tension in the air, the blue light...and the blast itself. What in the name of any gods was that!?

Skill Gain: Keen Sight I (0.9 > 1.0)!
Expend stamina to increase the range and clarity of physical sight. At this rank it is only barely superhuman but not above that of say, an animal. If all Keen Senses are acquired, they raise the rank of Beast Senses.

System:Ardur

Asura rolled into the woods at top speed, his new shell throwing him off course slightly as he hadn't adjusted to spinning around with it attached to him yet. There were a few rough bounces before he came to a stop in the shelter of a tree with a thick canopy. Ardur trailed behind, carrying the meat he had harvested from the Bowhorn Deer, and Steve seemed to sense his distress at leaving the rest behind. Sticking a bundle of web to the bones and tendons, she scuttled after her master with the objects trailing in tow--though it seemed quite hard on her to drag all of that.

Momma Slime lumbered behind, even more slowly due to dragging the corpse of the deer. For now, however, it seemed Asura's fear of shrapnel wouldn't be so urgent as he thought--they could hear dust and small pieces of rock settling all over the forest around them, but so far no huge, meteor-esque chunks had threatened to fall on their head. They could, however, hear the distant rumble of the avalanche...and the chaotic stampede erupting from deeper in the forest.

All around them and even above, shadows and sounds moved through the trees and brush. Twigs underfoot snapped, leaves rustled, creatures squealed or cried out. Such a huge event had stirred the whole woodland into a frenzy.

Your Stamina is Full.

System:Asura

Just as the Hipixie, Amorphous Slime, and their partymates had settled into the roots around their shelter, three creatures emerged from a bush and began hopping straight towards them. It was three large, green and melon-sized frogs with bulbous eyes. They croaked loudly, and upon seeing the group they opened their mouths wide. As they sucked in air, they began to inflate over ten times their normal size! They continued to charge forward in this threatening display--were they going to attack, or just barrel through the group?

---

Rat Party

Asteria rushed to help Mother Rat, using half of a Healing Herb. Ed rushed after the Myrminor Worker, eyes blazing as froth began to drip from his snout. Mother Rat's breathing was shallow and rapid as Asteria force fed her the medicinal plant, but she seemed to understand the other Dire Rat's Telepathy and chewed without protest. As Asteria dashed away to try and find the necessary plants for a cure, Ed met the charge of the Worker head on--!

Ed's Dynamic Eye sharpened his pupils to arrow-head slits, and time seemed to slow around him. He could see the creature in front of him raising its head, mandibles ready to snap. The System's warning blared in his head. His Stamina was Low. Overwork had stopped working. He felt his muscle straining, screaming.

He forced himself to go on, demanded that his Overwork Skill keep going. At three-quarters the normal speed, he saw himself use that extra bit of time to get out of the way of the Worker's snapping jaws by the barest of margins--the mandibles actually snipped off the tips of fur along his arm. His HP was Draining. His other arm swelled, veins and sinew standing out beneath his pelt. He felt his knuckles pop as he clenched his fist. He felt his Mana flowing. He felt his blood pumping. He felt his rage boiling over. All of it, into this blow.

Before its head could withdraw from the piston motion, before it had recovered from its attempt to bite the Rat Man, like a boxer who couldn't pull his right straight back fast enough, the Worker was left wide open. Ed had already clocked it in the head once, and now a second impact struck directly under its chin.

With a force that almost lifted his own body off the ground, Ed's blazing red Smash drove the insect into the air. One of its mandibles snapped in half. Its neck stretched out with a pop. The exoskeleton helm cracked and split. Dark blood issued from its mouth. Compound eyes bulged. It flipped once in the air, then came down on the flat of its back with a heavy thud.

Ed suddenly felt very weak. His Rabid Fit, his Dynamic Eye, his Overwork, everything seemed to shut down at once. He no longer had any Stamina at all to keep it going, and his HP Drain was progressing faster than usual due to how far he had pushed himself. Even if he tried to force it now, he couldn't--and the blood pouring from his wounded haunch was making him lightheaded.

The Worker kicked its legs, rocking back and forth before it righted itself. It was clearly on its last legs, but still in the fight--and without his boosts, could Ed get through its armor again? The creature rushed him again, this time raising those barbed claws--!

Meanwhile, Asteria had searched for three of the various flowers she found earlier. She soon spotted two of the bright colored Bugward flowers, and three of the sour-smelling Kilm blossoms...but she couldn't find any Nullven! Those huge cones would have stood out easily among the grasses, but she couldn't see any in the immediate surroundings. There wasn't time to go further! With one of each plant she had found thus far she was able to create the Medicinal Salve, and applying it to Mother Rat's wound added onto the Healing Herb. The elder rat's breathing had calmed somewhat, and her bleeding didn't seem so bad anymore--but she still looked sickly and in pain, and was having trouble moving. Was that an effect of the poison, or the injury to her leg? Or maybe she was running low on Stamina too?

There were two and a half Healing Herbs left, one Bugward flower, and two Kilm blossoms. At this point, could Asteria be sure that she had restored enough of Mother Rat's HP to hold the elder over until Nullven could be found? Should she just use the Herbs to buy more time and hope the poison ran its course, or that she could make more of the Salve? And what about Ed and the Worker?

---

Ghost Party

---Ghost Touch---
This skill seems to be an attack of some sort. It began to develop in your recent battles, and has some relationship to Transparency.
---Wave Shock---
This skill may be a spell of some sort. It has been a long time since it began developing, when you were near the pool in the cave. It is likely related to water.

EXP: 85%

System:Jason

Jason quickly began to devour the Tailed Frog, dragging its large corpse back to the hollow of the tree. Getting it inside was difficult, and only managed after he had already eaten a large chunk of it and spent a great deal of stamina hauling it up. Only after he had consumed the entire body, holding it inside his acidic membrane and breaking down skin, flesh, and even bone, did he get another message from the system. His "Ravenous" state had now been replaced by "Starving," but his HP Drain had only slowed--it hadn't completely stopped! The frog corpse would be digested down to the bone soon, he would need more food as soon as he could find it. Danny had cut several pieces of shell off that Beetle, maybe he could eat it too? Or maybe Danny could cut off just a piece of himself, or let Jason drink some of his blood...

Speaking of Danny, the Poltergeist put his butchering aside for the moment and focused on listening to what was going on. It seemed like that explosion had set off a flurry of activity around the forest, as various animals and monsters ran from the source of the noise and light. The black slime Danny and Jason had killed before now seemed to have revived somehow.

You used Monster Analysis II!
---Necroslime:Jason---
Roughly the same in all categories as a normal slime, a Necroslime is a rare form of Undead. It does not usually form naturally because of a Slime's lack of intelligence and will. It is of limited use to any intelligent necromancer, save perhaps as a trap on the ceiling or fodder. Its body swells with the gases of decay and its internal acids become even stronger as bacteria and rot fester inside it. Like other Corporeal-class Undead, they require enormous amounts of food or life force to sustain themselves. Combined with a slime's normal level of appetite, they are quite resource consuming. You have analyzed Jason before, his spirit seems to have possessed this body. It does not feel safe around him.

System:Danny

Just then, something slammed into the tree from outside. Something fairly big, compared to most of the other monsters they had seen. If either of the two looked, they would see a large goat with grayish fur covered in purple splotches. It had apparently been running, like many other creatures in the forest, but had either been too panicked to see or in too much of a rush to care about the tree. Its purple horns, branching out into four vicious points, had left large scratches across the dry rotted bark that dripped something purple...

---

DEEP FOREST

As @StabbyNira stealthily positioned herself above the Dire Rat and then dove down, she put all of her negligible weight behind a punch. Thanks to gravity and momentum, as well as the element of surprise, despite the Pixie's lack of physical prowess she was able to drive a heavy impact into the creature's spine. The rat let out a shrill squeak as it was knocked over, but before it could kick back to its feet and snarl at her Nira had risen up again. She cast her Shield spell, and was immediately covered in its glittering aura.

And as she cast that spell, the blue flower she had grabbed suddenly began to wilt. Its petals lost their luster and had soon grown dull and lifeless.

Your MP is Full.

System:Nira

But though she had flown up in the air, she wasn't quite out of danger--with rodent agility, the Dire Rat leaped up the side of the tree! In just a step, it bounded off at an angle, and now soared at the Pixie with its jaws opened wide--!

Your MP is Full. You have Temporary Extra MP.

---

You used Monster Analysis I!
---Pixie---
Pixies are a tiny humanoid Fey-type Monster. While somewhat intelligent, they lack empathy towards one another even compared to beasts like Goblins. Capable of flight and healing magic, but not physically strong or skilled enough to fight or use weapons well. This one is unusual.

System:Femus

Before the Dire Rat could clamp down on Nira, a crackling orb of energy slammed into its side! The varmint was blasted back into the tree, and tumbled down the ground with a squeak. It seemed somewhat dazed, but was still alive and in the fight...but now, Nira seemed to have a competitor. Who was that @HaeoWisp that had attacked the Dire Rat? Was it just trying to steal her kill?

Meanwhile, @RC3Sato was one of the first goblins to react as the various monsters charged through the area. Despite the fact that the Bowhorn Deer was clearly much larger than him, and in fact he had probably never seen that type of monster before, he immediately seized the opportunity where he saw it. It had charged through the brush and simply leaped over the Boss, but Sato immediately grabbed up his club and swung for the fences. A crackling red light erupted from his weapon--and as the deer came down, unable to change course in mid-air, he landed a powerful blow on one of its front legs! He heard a bone pop, but it didn't sound quite like a break. Still, the creature bellowed in pain, and the impact kept it from making a clean landing. It stumbled and fell--right on top of Sato. Its huge bulk drove him to the ground, knocking the air from his lungs.

As it struggled to get up, the deer kicked wildly. The Boss and the Redcap were already busy with their own kills. A sharp hoof barely missed Sato's face--

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Goblins normally stood at about three and a half feet, or shorter. The Boss and Redcap were both bigger than that, at about four and a half feet and about four feet and three inches, respectively. This goblin, however, was at least three-foot-eight, and even more brawnily built than Sato. On his chest and forearms, bristly black fur stood out against the green skin. And unlike the vast majority of goblins, he had a full head of black hair like stiff, spiky dreadlocks cascading down to his shoulders. He also had a large chunk of tree bark strapped around his chest with vines, and a loincloth made of ragged Dire Rat hide. This was the one goblin that, despite all his training to become stronger, Sato had never been able to defeat in a contest of brute strength. Sato had nicknamed him Burley-kun, since he wasn't really familiar with the thick and unintelligent accent the goblins used yet, but that wasn't his name.

"BALLZ SMASH!"

The brawny greenskin swung a two handed club over his head, but even calling it that was a bit of a misnomer. It wasn't just a tree branch broken off the trunk or picked up from the ground. This huge, dried out, gnarled and knotted piece of wood was at least two feet long and had a tapering width. It was skinny enough to grip at the bottom, but its top was almost a foot in diameter. And like Sato's earlier blow, it crackled with red energy--only much brighter.

This time Sato did hear a bone break, as one of the Bowhorn Deer's ribs gave way. The creature thrashed with a agonized bleat, but Ballz began to froth at the mouth as his eyes went so bloodshot it was like his sclera had turned red. Unheeding of Sato's position under the herbivore, he continued to Smash it while screaming a bloody rampage.

A hand suddenly gripped Sato's shoulder, and he was yanked out from under the deer just as another goblin joined Ballz in trying to end the creature. The other two captains had joined the fray! Sato's savior was a normal sized, and almost slender goblin with what could almost be called handsome features...if one were to lower their standards from 7s and 8s to, like, 3s and 4s. Like Ballz he actually had a full head of hair, though his was more maintained and tied back in a pony tail. He held a carved piece of wood in one hand--Sato actually recognized its shape immediately, given his country of origin. Of all things, this goblin seemed to be holding a bokken, a wooden sword used in martial arts practice. It was roughly shaped and splintered in places, and didn't have quite the right curve, but that was clearly what it was, and the thing actually had a decent edge.

The other captain that had joined Ballz took a direct hit from the Bowhorn Deer's swinging horns--but the goblin didn't instantly die. Like the burlier goblin, this one had some kind of hastily cobbled together armor made from tree bark and vines. Three pieces of bark had been threaded into a kind of loop, with another piece on top, and a fourth piece cut in half to create a sort of bucket shaped helmet that covered the captain's upper facial features. A piece of armor for the torso had been created in much the same way as one of those advertising signs employees had to wear while they stood out on a street corner. Even a pair of bracers had been crafted by wrapping bark and vines around the goblin's arms. Like Sato's rescuer, they also had a wooden sword, but it had been made in the typical double edged fashion. Somehow, it too had been sanded smooth enough to have an actual edge, and even seemed to have been polished.

Shrugging off the blow that cracked against its armor, the third captain raised its sword and let out a gutteral cry before thrusting the weapon straight down. Its tapered point staked the Bowhorn Deer right in the eyesocket, and drove in deep. Ballz gave another roar of his own and slammed his club into its ribs a few more times with heavy, meaty crunches.

"Did gud, Sore-Toe." With just that whisper, Sato's rescuer moved silently behind a tree--for a goblin, he was quite sneaky it seemed.

"Oi, Lansa!"

The Redcap called out to the Hobgoblin as they piled up more kills. The original Pixie and Dire Rat had now been joined by a Fanged Lizard, and a second Pixie that the Redcap had killed. But by this point the stampede was starting to die down, and any creatures still running were giving the obviously bloodthirsty goblin tribe a wide berth. A few of the other goblins, those who served as soldiers under the command of the higher ranks, had managed to bring down a few prey. One unlucky fool had been trampled to death.

"Make 'im stop afore he ruins da meat! Can't eat it wid all da little bone chunks errywhar!"

The Hobgoblin--Lansa--walked right up to the snarling, rabid mass of muscle and poked the goblin in the forehead with his spear-butt.

"Ballz! Ballz Acker!" The brute stopped, but was still breathing so hard it was like steam came out of his nostrils. He slowly turned to the Boss. As the two stared each other down for several moments, the armored captain looked around to find Sato.

"Oi! Help me drag dis overe dere!"

"Get da cooks to cut it up, Say-Bah." Lansa didn't take his eyes off of the raging goblin, but slowly Ballz began to back off.

"Ya Boss." The other goblin's armor clanked, and though Sato couldn't see any eyes through the helmet he would probably feel like the captain was giving him a good look-over. "Hmph. Ass Slashin done poofed ag'in. He never round when we does heavy werk."

"ERRYGOB, C'MERE!" The Redcap left the Boss staring down the madgob, while he jumped on top of the pile of monster corpses. "TONITE, WE'S GONNA HAVE FEAST! EAT UP BIG, SO'S TOMORRER WE GONNA GO GET DOSE BROKED TOWER GOBS--"

"Ahcha! Shut it!" The Hobgoblin shoved his rival off the hill, and Ballz grabbed the second-in-command by both shoulders before another fight could break out--though the thuggish goblin and the Redcap engaged in another staring contest of their own.

"LISTEN GUD, GOBBOS!" Lansa raised his spear to a scattering of cheers. "DIS, DIS A SIGN FROM DA BIG DEMONS! DEY SENDS US ALL DA FUDS, SO WE'S GET STRONG! SO CUTS IT UP, COOKS IT GOOD! BUT NOBODY EATS TIL I SAYS SO--OR ELSE!"

While the rest of the tribe erupted into commotion, Sato and Say-Bah finished hauling the Bowhorn to the elders in charge of dressing and cooking the animals. Before the reborn Goblin could do anything else, he found himself approached by none other than the boss.

"Oi. You's Sore-Toe, right?" Lansa asked. He had his arms crossed, and though he was still cradling the spear in the crook of his elbow he didn't seem like he was going to use it. His eyes were sharp as he looked Sato up and down.

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

I love how giving people a possible Shin Megami Tensei style recruit for the tutorial level turned into love and friendship.

And gives me an instant character development button ;)

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

@RC3 That's why the Demon King said "you didn't die the way they told me you're supposed to" XD