This certainly was a promising find. Already, I got a nice boost to my Attunement, and perhaps with just a level up and another achievement, I’ll have everything I need to unlock that stage 4 Path.
I led the way—two Hell Hound sisters stalking through this magical cavern in search of our next hunt. There were many heartbeats to choose from, and as we approached the stream in the middle, I decided to hunker down and watch.
There was another of those frogs sitting on a rock by the riverside, except he was a little bigger, and he had a blue tint to him. I watched as one of those glowing bugs hovered too close, and his tongue lashed out to snatch it up.
Lily prowled a few inches forward to get a better look, her tail wagging in anticipation. However, I gave her a nudge to signal her to just watch for now. Not only was I curious about this evolution of the Cave Frogs, but I also wanted to become a little more familiar with what other creatures existed in this cavern before we got too reckless with our hunting. The last thing I wanted was to encounter something that might be dangerous for us.
I saw something jump out of the water and flop back in with a splash. It was a fish. But I wasn’t the only one who noticed it as the frog hopped down from its rock and seemed to be watching the water.
Then, another splash as a fish came flailing up out of the water, and suddenly, the frog did something incredible.
Faint white lines appeared on its body, and it opened its mouth as a bolt of lightning shot out, striking the fish mid-air. Then its tongue extended, far longer than I would have imagined it could, and the long fleshy muscle followed the fish into the water. When it came back out, it was wrapped around a limp fish that it then deposited into the frog’s wide mouth, swallowing it whole.
Hmmmmm, a magic frog, huh? I wonder if they unlock their magic Path through eating those glowing bugs? Well, I didn’t plan on eating any bugs myself, even if I were able to catch any, but perhaps eating the frogs that eat the bugs would have a similar effect? The circle of life is great, isn’t it?
I signaled Lily to take a position a little further down the riverbank in case it tried to flee. I then prowled a little closer myself, watching patiently as it retook its position on top of a rock. Luckily, its focus was on the river, probably waiting for the next fish to claim as its own prey.
Sorry, froggy, but today you are the prey!
I hope Genzo wouldn’t mind that I was potentially killing his kin.
I took one last look around as my Pulse Sense faded, making sure that there would be nothing else that would interrupt my fight.
It was too bright in this cavern and particularly around the stream to make use of Veil of Shadows, but that was okay.
Though this frog was bigger and might take more than a single bite to defeat, I had no reason to fear it.
Once I was in range, I pounced.
I brought it down from the rock, my teeth sinking in, drawing blood, and I began to shake and tear until—
That shocking feeling of electricity coursed through my body, very similar to the red mask’s electrified pole.
I let out a yelp and let the frog go. It began hopping away, though it was injured. And though it took me a moment to shake off the pain, I was rewarded for my efforts.
New passive skill obtained!
Electricity Resistance lvl 1
+3 Attunement
+3 Vigor
Yes! I almost forgot that new skills usually came with stat bonuses as well! This one would also be useful against the red masks!
I shook off the last of the electrified feeling in my body and followed the frog that was still frantically hopping away. However, I didn’t have to chase it far as Lily was right in position, ready to pounce.
I winced, hoping she realized what she was getting into. She slid into the frog path and chomped it, though it instantly had the lines along its body light up and Lily was thrown away as it shocked her. However, it wasn’t done with her yet and opened its mouth. A lightning bolt struck Lily’s side, throwing her further away as she let out a loud yelp.
I felt guilty letting her get into danger like this, but I also wasn’t going to let it get away with hurting my sister like that!
I pounced on the frog once again, sinking my teeth in, then instantly letting go and chomping down again.
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It shocked me again, and though it wasn’t quite as painful as last time, thanks to the resistance, it still did a number on me.
But I didn’t stop there. When it tried to flee, I pounced again, giving it a big chomp and tossing it to flip it over. As it rolled, its belly exposed, and I dove right in, this time clenched down and pushing with my paws to rip it apart.
Prey Eliminated! Lightning Cave Toad, Level 7!
Experience gained!
I pranced over to Lily to check on her. She stood on shaky legs, and her ears were folded back, but she wagged her tail anyway. I licked her face, asking if she was alright, and she gave me an affirmative yip.
Still, I could tell she was hurt, and there were plenty of glowing mushrooms around. So, I doubled back to grab our kill, then held it in my mouth as I led Lily towards a wall where I saw a nice thick patch of mushrooms growing. I dropped the frog and ate a mushroom to show her, though I couldn’t help grimacing at the chalky taste.
I hoped I gained some kind of cooking skill eventually so I could turn these into a smoothie or something… I know that was probably unlikely as a Hell Hound, however. That was definitely more of a human thing.
Though I could still consider that Genzo was probably once not too unlike that frog that I had just killed. If all creatures could make such drastic evolutions, then why not Hell Hounds? Well, I’m not sure I’d want to give up on this body for a human one anyway. Playing with my brothers and sisters would not be the same if I were in a human body, and I did fully plan on reuniting with the rest of my family eventually.
I cleansed the chalky taste from my mouth by taking some more bites of the frog, digging into its belly, and getting some interesting tastes from different organs. It definitely tasted different than most other things I’ve eaten. I think I preferred beefy-tasting things like the Felsnar Grazers.
Actually, I think Leaf Crawlers were one of the tastiest despite their small amount of meat and… um… Well, the bite of the mouse thing that the Shadowmartin had killed was pretty tasty as well. Though my bad memory of digging up the nest of babies made me feel a little queasy thinking about it.
Lily wined anxiously as I ate, and I looked up to see her staring at me with her ears folded back and tail wagging.
Oops! I almost forgot to let her have some.
I pushed it over to her with my paw, and she began tearing off what scraps remained. There would be plenty more for us to hunt later, after all.
For the time being, I figured I should check my vitals.
Vitals
Health: 260 / 260
Mana: 280 / 280
Stamina: 215 / 236
Man, just a couple Attunement bonuses really went a long way alre—
Wait a second! My mana was full as if I hadn’t spent any! But I had already used several Pulse Senses today!
It made sense that my health was full since I ate one of those healing mushrooms. Healing Shrooms? I’ll start calling them “Healing Shrooms.”
But why would my mana be full?
I watched my sister pick clean one of the frog legs, not wasting a single scrap, and I realized I might have a theory.
Perhaps eating things that were magical themselves restored mana? It was certainly a possibility that was worth looking into.
Man, that would be such a HUGE game changer!
If I could go out into the cave system, find and kill a red mask with the full arsenal of my abilities available to me, then come back and eat a few frogs to recharge my mana and do it all again?
Oh—this changed EVERYTHING!
I was too excited to sit around and wanted to get right to my next hunt. This time I would use more skills to drain my mana and really test it!
We traveled along the river until I spotted another of those frogs with a blue tint, once again sitting atop a rock and watching the water. This one was a little bigger than the last, so likely a higher level, but that was perfectly fine.
I used {Marrow Sense} to check for weak points.
Pretty much all of its bones were yellow, which I supposed meant he was generally vulnerable to me. However, the back of its neck, which was usually my go-to for killing prey, was green. I supposed it made sense, after all, its neck was quite thick and just kind of melded with its body. It didn’t seem to be quite as weak there as most mammals.
Hmmmm… so do I do this quickly? I suppose more damage to me means more chances to level up my Electricity Resistance, but I’m not exactly a masochist here and did not plan on purposely leveling skills through pain!
Anyway, I’d pounce its back since it’s an open target, toss it to hopefully expose its belly and limbs, and try a crippling bite.
Yup, that’s the plan!
And it went off flawlessly.
I latched on, feeling the beginnings of its electricity tickle my teeth down to their roots, but I quickly tossed it. It rolled and tumbled along the ground, but I chanced after it, and as soon as its belly was exposed, I dove in with a crippling bite.
My teeth sank right through, and any bone they connected with snapped immediately. I gave it a good shake and another toss, but I already felt its second attack fizzling out before it even left my mouth.
It plopped limply on the ground, completely dead, with a single broken leg twitching.
Prey Eliminated! Lightning Cave Toad, Level 8!
Experience gained!
Lily yipped and wagged her tail, standing over it panting. I hoped she didn’t feel left out since she wasn’t really involved in this kill. I’d try to include her more on the next one.
But for now, I checked my vitals. Between Pulse Sense, Marrow Sense, and Crippling Bite, I should be down 50 mana.
Vitals
Health: 240 / 260
Mana: 230 / 280
Stamina: 195 / 236
Yup! Just as I thought.
I pushed Lily out of the way as she went to snack on the frog.
Sorry, Lily! But this is for science! Besides, it’s my kill, so I get first dibs! Uh… You can take the lead on the next one!
She was a good girl and sat on her haunches, waiting patiently as she watched me eat.
When I was done, there were still some nice scraps left for Lily, and she went right for it—holding the frog down and using her front teeth to tear off whatever I had missed.
Checking my vitals again, I saw my experiment had worked. I was back to 260 mana!
That means eating that frog restored 30 of the 50 mana I used!
My teeth bared in a big puppy smile as my eyes scanned across our new hunting ground.
I finally had a way to restore mana…
Oh yes… this was a HUGE game changer! HUGE!
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