Lull in the Storm

Everything seemed in order. Murdock and Tina would assist Sonya and Heather in defending the villagers in the event more goblins arrived to attack while Jonas and his group would go to eliminate the source of the goblins.

The people in the village who had complained about having to move everyone into the cellar of the general store in the village had stopped complaining when they first saw the bodies of the goblins. Then there was the matter of the boy who'd been killed while on watch and the number of goblins who had been killed in the other parts of the village.

Jonas was confident that they weren't going to be any trouble. At least not until the threat was eliminated. Of course as soon as that was done and there wasn't anything else for those people to worry about, Jonas was confident that they'd either start complaining against those who had pushed them into an uncomfortable situation, as in staying in the cellar, or they would begin harassing those they felt were responsible. If they didn't do both, that is.

Which meant that as soon as they eliminated the goblins, Jonas and his group would need to be ready to leave. It wasn't that ideal of a situation, especially with how he was still waiting on information that he'd need to work with to stop the assassination of the king. Well, unless he wanted to stop the attempt during the attempt, which would ultimate fall back plan.

The biggest problem with that plan lay in the fact that it had so many ways it could go wrong. All it would take was one blade to get through their defenses and the king would be dead. Or for them to make a mistake in another way. Such as if it was a poisoning attempt. Too many variables to make that a fully viable option.

As it is, Jonas had let the group get some sleep, since they were going to need their stamina going back to the dungeon they'd arrived in this world in. However, while he knew he was fully rested, he couldn't say for sure if the others were as rested. Especially since Elmo in particular seemed like he was going to drop at any moment. While it could be emotional fatigue from all that had happened since the announcement of the goblins being able to leave the dungeon occurred, Jonas couldn't rule out the possibility that it was because of the fight during the night.

Regardless, he knew he should get his status updated. If he'd gained a level from the fighting, then he should get the points allocated, if only to make sure that he was able to be at the most optimal position he could be at when they went to destroy the portal.

Hp 53/64

Mp 1/36

Stamina 48/48

Level 10

EXP 235/5500

Str 16

Dex 20

Con 16

Int 17

Wis 17

Cha 12

Agi 16

Vit 22

Endurance 22

Physical Resistance 10%

Magical Resistance 10%

Skills:

Appraisal II 20/150

Disabling/Enabling devices 0/100

Keen Eyes V 282/500

Keen Ears IIII 332/350

Unnatural Reflexes III 4/200

Stealth IIII 84/425

Shadow Sight

Magic Sense II 125/150

Abilities:

Shadow Merge II – 4 MP initial, 1 MP each minute 101/200

Crippling Strike II – 6 stamina 3/150

Boomerang Blade II – 2 stamina, 1 MP 65/150

You have 7 attribute points to allocate. Would you like to place them?

While he had gained a level, he couldn't be sure how much more he'd need to do in order to continue rising in levels. Especially since if they went through another night like they just had, he could tell that he wouldn't get another level, despite how draining it would be in general.

However, he was appalled that he'd forgotten to allocate 2 points from his last status check. While it had been over two weeks since they'd last fought, he couldn't help but feel that she should have reviewed it multiple times since then. Though, despite that he still quickly added 2 to his Dex, 1 to his Int and Wis, 2 to his Str and 1 to his Con, bringing his MP to 41 and his HP to 77.

As soon as he'd selected to allocate his points, he closed his status screen. There were too many things on his mind and he couldn't help but wonder if that might have been part of why he'd missed allocating the remaining attribute points.

He was starting to think that his Dex might be the better stat for him to focus primarily on, as it would help him keep from getting hit by any enemies. It was a little bit of a gamble, but if his hunch paid off, then he'd be able to not worry so much about how much HP he had.

As they moved along the path through the forest, he hoped that they wouldn't encounter another giant spider. Especially with having to deal with a spider's curse. They had enough problems without having to deal with headaches and pains like that again.

+++

Elmo couldn't help but shake the feeling that Jonas wasn't happy with him for some reason. He'd noticed glances Jonas kept throwing his way and worried that something he had gotten Jonas' ire. It wasn't a position he wanted to be in. Especially since he wasn't sure when the the next chance for him to see if Jonas might return his interest.

Sighing, he realized that he should check his status to see if he had gotten a level or not. Especially with how many goblins they'd taken out.

"Status," Elmo said.

HP 45/50

MP 3/44

Level 10

XP 73/5500

Stamina 25/25

Str 9

Dex 14

Mag 21

Con 11

Int 22

Wis 21

Cha 14

Agi 12

Physical Resistance 0%

Magical Resistance 25%

Skills:

Magic Identification

Fire Boost

Earth Boost

Magical Surge

Enhance Mastery

MP Charge – 2 Stamina

Black Magic Spells:

Fire Attribute II – Scorch 3mp 24/150

Earth Attribute II – Rock Spray 4mp 18/150

Water Attribute – Water Shot 3mp 72/100

Wind Attribute – Wind Shield 4mp initial, 1mp each minute 0/100

Unaligned Attribute – Magic Burst II 5mp 47/150

Unaligned Attribute – Absorb II 4 MP 15/150

Fire Attribute – Brimstone Fire 8 MP 47/100

Green Magic Spells:

Unaligned Attribute – Identify II 2mp 45/150

Unaligned Attribute – View Stats 2mp 60/100

Force Attribute – Remove enhancement 4mp 0/100

You have 5 attribute points to allocate. Would you like to place them?

Elmo smiled at that. While he wanted to raise his MP, he was starting to think that his Mag might need to be higher. That way he'd be able to reduce the amount of times he'd need to cast his spells. While it could lower his MP, he couldn't help but wonder if now would be the time to boost his firepower.

So, he quickly added 3 to his Mag and 1 to his Int and Wis. Changing his MP to 42. Not ideal for him, but it wasn't like 2 points lower was that bad. While he couldn't say how much power his spells now had, he at least knew that he'd be able to hit harder, even if only a small fraction harder.

He was about to close his status screen when he noticed another message appear: You can learn a new skill. Would you like to choose or see the options?

Elmo unconsciously nodded as he read that. Of course he wanted to select one, but first, just to make sure no new options had come up, he checked the list of available skill and spells for him to learn.

With what he saw, he quickly selected Frozen Missile. Partly because he didn't have any ice attribute spells, but also because of the part he remembered about it being able to pierce through an enemy's magic defenses. He couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling that he'd need something like that at some point.

He wasn't sure what it meant by magic defenses, but wondered if it was in regards to magic resistance. Yet, even that sounded like it didn't fit as he thought about it. Almost like he was close to the answer, but it would slip to the side of his finger, each time he tried to pin it down.

As Elmo closed his status screen, he looked at the others he was following through the woods. No one was talking, and he couldn't blame them. Even though goblins weren't active at night, that didn't mean they wouldn't come out into the daylight if they sensed potential prey nearby. Then there was the possibility that they could be hiding somewhere nearby. Not to mention that it still technically wasn't daylight yet. Just false dawn.

He wished he could talk, if only so that he wouldn't feel so alone in the group. It wasn't like he thought he didn't have a place among them, but more that he didn't quite fit in with them. One of the big problems he'd have before he was pulled into this competition. Even with his family, he never really felt like he belonged there. No matter how much his siblings tried to create a place hor him.

So lost in his thoughts, Elmo couldn't help but jump in fright as the announcer's voice boomed out in his head and all around him. He was sure that scare had cut off part of his own life.

"Welcome to another morning, participants! Nothing truly significant has occurred through the night. Merely a battle in a village with some contestants. However, no participant deaths occurred nor challenges were completed, so we'll have to see what might occur today!"

Elmo couldn't help but wonder if the announcer has a script he reads that announcement off of, but at the same time, as far as he knew, that could just be the way whoever announces things just was.

Elmo rubbed his eyes. He knew he needed more sleep. The lack of sleep was really affecting even how he thought. As he was sure his thoughts were getting less and less coherent.