《Silver Dragon Evolution System》


 Prologue

    Tara closed her eyes and brushed her hair to the side as she turned towards the window. The slightly chilled breeze refreshed her jumbled mind as she was left in her thoughts.


    ¡°Unfortunately, summer is coming to an end.¡± She mumbled whilst a sigh escaped her lips.


    Trying to break out of the depressive atmosphere she found herself in, she decided it was time to stop moping about indoors


    Peeking outside her bedroom door to check if the coast was clear, a large grin suddenly appeared.


    ¡°Maybe today will be a good day after all,¡± Tara said with a victorious grin as she hurriedly moved toward the empty bathroom.


    However, right when she was about to take her last step of triumph a blur suddenly squeezed past her.


    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Tara screeched as she reached out for the little she-devil.


    ¡°Oh yes, I do!¡± A mocking voice sounded as the door slammed shut on her face.


    ¡°Ugh! You waited until I¡­¡± Tara yelled in frustration.


    ¡°Tara you''re going to be late for college!¡± A voice yelled from downstairs.


    ¡°No shower it is then. Again.¡± Tara said with a despondent look on her face before hurriedly getting ready.


    Soon trudging downstairs after doing her best to get prepared, she found her Mother bouncing around the kitchen with a pan in hand.


    Upon her arrival, her Mother''s face lit up as a gentle smile graced her lips, ¡°I¡¯ve made pancakes for you this morning sweetie, your favourite.¡±


    Tara tried her best to have a grateful smile as she sat at the table.


    She knew her Mother was trying to cheer her up, however she was not feeling it today.


    Tara despised cold with a passion and today was positively freezing.


    Shortly, her Mother placed the fresh pancakes in front of her.


    ¡°Thanks, Mum,¡± Tara said digging into the hot pancakes.


    It was unusual for her health-focused mother to take the initiative to offer such a treat, and Tara was planning on taking full advantage.


    Dousing her pancakes with a generous heaping of syrup, Tara also made sure to take some spoonfuls of blueberries.


    Though her Mum didn¡¯t explicitly say what to put on her pancake, she knew missing the blueberries would be a mistake.


    Judging from how her Mum¡¯s frown turned into a smile when she went for the blueberries, she knew that she had made the right call.


    ¡®Mission accomplished¡¯. Tara thought inwardly with a big smile. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Feeling her mood improved she greedily scoffed down her breakfast.


    ¡°Now Tara, I might need a favour of you later.¡± Her Mum said.


    ¡°Better not be for me to look after the little rascal again,¡± Tara said miserably.


    ¡°Come on Tara she is your little sister. She will be very happy her older sister is there to look out for her.¡± Her Mother said with a face reeking of positivity.


    Scoffing at the thought of the little devil even knowing the meaning of gratefulness, she scooped the remaining dregs of her pancake and gulped it down before standing up to leave.


    ¡°Fine, I will pick her up again, happy?¡± Tara said with an accepting expression.


    ¡°Thank you so much, sweetie.¡± Her Mum said wrapping around her in a bear hug.


    ¡°Jeez Mum, let me breathe.¡± Tara wheezed futilely trying to escape her mother¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°Come on sweetie, you will never be too old for your Mother¡¯s hugs.¡± Her Mum replied.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Can you let me go now? I¡¯m seriously going to be late.¡± Tara said.


    ¡°Fine. Now I packed your lunch, have a lovely day sweetie and thanks for looking after your sister, I know I¡¯ve not been around lately.¡± Her Mum said her voice growing unsteady.


    Knowing she needed this, Tara embraced her mother saying, ¡°It will all be fine. I¡¯m old enough to look after myself now, and Kacey is doing fantastic in school, you¡¯re an amazing Mother, trust me I have firsthand experience.¡±


    Her Mother nodded wiping her puffy eyes, before she helped her out.


    Now finding herself on the sidewalk. She started making her way to college, shivering slightly from the frigid air.


    Cursing under her breath at the cold she continued to plod down the path.


    Since it was early in the morning the street was quiet with the odd car in sight.


    She lived a fair distance from the college with it taking a while on foot.


    Likely it was unwise for a person who despises the cold to walk so much, yet with her mother nagging for exercise she was a regular walker.


    After a short period of walking, she suddenly saw a familiar face walking across the street.


    It was a friend of Kacey, her little sister, though she had no idea why she was by herself crossing the road.


    The little girl had a bright smile on her face waving at her as she spotted her in recognition.


    However, this happy smile soon turned to one of shock when she heard a loud honking.


    A truck came roaring in heading straight towards her.


    Without thinking she rushed towards the little girl, yet knew she was agonisingly too far away to do anything.


    Nonetheless, the driver who was doing everything he could to avoid the collision pulled the wheel, attempting to angle away from the girl.


    In doing so the tyres from the cold weather seemed to slip on the pavement, turning the direction of the vehicle directly towards her.


    Ironically if she had just remained still the vehicle would have missed both her and the girl, but her attempted intervention just had to put her in the crosshairs.


    ¡°Well, F¡­¡± Tara didn¡¯t even manage to finish her sentence before she was struck violently by the truck.


    As the world went black she couldn¡¯t help but curse the injustice of it all. She died an absurd, pointless death and wasn¡¯t even a hero.


    Though at least she can say she tried. Maybe her mother would not be so disappointed in her after all.


    At that moment Tara didn¡¯t even realise that as the flickers of her soul seemed to fade, a bizarre mechanical voice sounded.


    [Successor found, compatibility high, integrating...]


    ¡®Huh¡­ what is going on? Where am I? Why is everything black?¡¯ Tara said puzzled.


    [You are the designated host. You are lucky to be the one chosen to inherit the Progenitor of Evolutions gift. Error¡­ soul too weak, foundation weak. Searching suitable hosts¡­ Human detected, removing as default option. Searching races. Iron Salamander selected.]


    The notifications filled her mind in a blur as she suddenly heard the words selected.


    ¡®What the¡­¡¯ Tara thought before once again the world went black.

 Chapter 1 - Reborn

    Tara found herself in complete and utter darkness.


    Trying to yell she found she couldn¡¯t even manage a groan.


    Was her body that messed up or something? The last thing she remembered was the incoming truck slamming into her body, and then she blacked out before she heard a strange mechanical voice.


    Wait, voice? Her memories were jumbled. She was unable to recall the words.


    Trying to calm down, she reasoned she blacked out and went into a coma from the collision.


    She was likely badly injured, though she had no idea why everything was pitch-black.


    The strange thing was she still had control over her limbs, though she could barely move.


    It felt as if something was wrapped around her body as if she was bound.


    She knew this was not hypothetical either. Tara could tell that she was restrained by something, by a material that¡¯s hard but has a little give to it.


    Hearing a rustle outside made her feel even more paranoid.


    What gives? This wasn''t some absurd prank pulled by her devilish little sister, was it?


    Instinctively feeling the need to yell out her name only to fail again.


    Once again she was reminded of her inability to speak by the strange muffled noise.


    Tara was left to ponder again as an absurd thought came to her.


    What if she had been kidnapped?


    Though she had no exact idea of the reason since her family was poor, she was not going to pretend she understood criminals.


    Well, regardless of the situation, she only needed to escape.


    After all, she felt no pain and found she could move her body.


    Ignoring the strangeness that she could move fine after such a horrific accident, she found the restraints were flimsy at best.


    Pushing hard she heard a loud CRACK.


    Encouraged by the thing breaking, she pushed even harder against the thing covering her.


    That was it she could tell it was on the verge of breaking now.


    She just needed to put a bit more oomph into it.


    Putting more power into it, she soon burst right through, scrambling out headfirst.


    Ahhh! The warm sunlight and fresh air. It looked like summer hadn''t left after all.


    She was so lost in her reverie that when she finally opened her eyes, she immediately saw a horde of scampering critters making her let out a screech.


    However, instead of her usual high-pitched scream the sound that escaped her mouth was a deep hissing sound. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Letting out such an un-ladylike sound would usually make her embarrassed, yet that seemed to attract the attention of the bugs.


    She did not take notice of it before, but these bugs were ridiculously huge.


    The bugs busily chomped on these large, round balls encased in a thick-jelly like substance.


    If Tara were to describe them, she would say they looked like super-sized dragonflies.


    Gaining their attention did not seem a good thing either, as the things turned their gaze on her the hunger in their insectoid eyes evident.


    It was at that moment there was movement from the jelly-like balls. Strange creatures began to force their way out as the buzzing of the insects increased.


    Despite these creatures being smaller than the bugs it was not by much.


    Appearance-wise they resembled an odd cross between a lizard and a tad-pole, though they did not appear like vulnerable newborns as she saw sharp claws and teeth.


    Inspecting the creature''s features further she saw they had a weird blend of traits belonging to both amphibians and lizards.


    Instead of running away like she thought the newborns would, these lizard-like creatures began charging at the dragonflies maniacally.


    And despite the insectoids'' menacing appearance, they seemed unable to cope.


    It was then she noticed that compared to the insectoids who struggled to eat through the thick-jelly material, the lizard-like creatures had no such problem.


    The thick-jelly like material gleamed like metal, despite appearing like a sack of fluid it had a solid, hard quality to it.


    With the chaos of the bugs and lizard-like creatures suddenly fighting, she steadily tried to make a getaway from these monstrosities.


    Has someone kidnapped me and thrown me in the middle of Australia?


    It couldn''t be, even Australia doesn¡¯t have such large bugs.


    Convinced she must be hallucinating, she decided this must all be some elaborate dream.


    However, upon moving her front limb forward she was met with an unmistakable, webbed-like foot with sharp lizard-like claws.


    Wait... Is that a lizard leg?


    No, this can''t possibly be hers.


    Alright, Tara no panicking. There must surely be a rational explanation for this.


    This can''t seriously be happening. Yet, despite repeating these words repeatedly, she was perfectly able to move the strange lizard-like appendages perfectly.


    It seems she has to face the facts.


    Either she has been reborn as a lizard or she¡¯s having the most lucid dream of her life.


    However, despite almost breaking down the disturbing sounds of crunching took her out of her stupor.


    Remembering the insects and other lizards, she realised it wouldn''t do her any good to ignore reality.


    Turning around she saw the disturbing sight of a group of bugs tearing apart one of the lizards.


    Now that''s disgusting.


    However, she came to the sudden realisation when she saw its beady eyes searching for a new target, wait don''t those lizards resemble me?


    At that moment one of the bugs had already taken notice of her, flying towards her rapidly its jaws moving threateningly as its legs twitched.


    She had only mere moments to think before its jaws were attempting to clamp around her, using its legs to immobilize her.


    Noticing the threatening gleam of her claws, she did what any human instinctively does when their life is threatened, she frantically fought back using every means at her disposal.


    Tara was never a fighter, the insect on the other hand was an experienced hunter, yet her weapons were better than the insects evening the odds.


    So not only was she able to fight back, she was able to tear the thing apart.


    Feeling the adrenaline wear off, she saw the scattered goop of what was left of the insect making her feel the urge to barth.


    If was then a notification suddenly filled her mind.


    [You have defeated Winged Nymph gaining 1 EXP. You are now 1/10 into progressing to Level 2.]


    What was that? The sudden mechanical voice filling her mind sounded eerily similar, was it real?


    Rationalizing that suspending her disbelief further shouldn''t be too difficult with the whole reborn as a lizard thing, she decided to investigate this further, but not before solving her current insect problem.


    Speaking of the insects she had caught the attention of another one, as the sounds of the rapid beating of wings grew closer.

 Chapter 2 - Escape

    Another insect was soon upon her, the {Winged Nymph} similarly attempted to crush her with its mandibles.


    The insect was swift with her unable to prevent it from clamping down.


    Though similar to the last insect, by doing so left it immobile.


    Its front legs felt like barbed wire as they grasped her, with it continuing to try and push her down.


    Swiping at it with her claws, she found the creature was fragile compared to her.


    Every slash of her claws sent splashes of green blood and insect bits flying.


    Though the insect gave her injuries, it seemed weak in a frontal battle.


    Shortly covered in disgusting insect bits another notification sounded.


    [You have defeated Winged Nymph gaining 1 EXP. You are now 2/10 into progressing to Level 2.]


    She felt relieved she was capable of handling these insects, though that thought turned into horror as the sounds of buzzing wings grew louder.


    More and more {Winged Nymphs} were approaching. And though individually weaker than the lizards, they seemed to be endless.


    Searching her surroundings, she found most of the jelly sacks opened.


    Lizards ran amuck everywhere yet there was over quadruple the number of insects.


    The lizards seemed to realise despite their superiority one-on-one, the {Winged Nymphs} were too numerous.


    Instincts driving them the lizards began to flee, diving into the water below.


    The other lizards began following, their tail-like appendage and prominent gills on display.


    Tara felt the need to follow them having few options with the alternative of being overwhelmed by insects.


    Though now taking proper note of her surroundings, she realised the jelly sacks she and the lizards came from hid beneath a rock surface.


    Below the rock surface sat a pool of clear, bright water.


    The area seemed well-hidden, though now the insects had discovered a crack leading them inside, there was no end to them.


    Knowing she needed to move urgently, she began her crawl only to meet another one of those insects.


    Having dealt with two of them now, she was familiar with their attack methods.


    Knowing the insect seemed to find it difficult to latch onto her slippery skin, she charged towards it finding its mandibles clicking in response.


    She swiped at it, finding the insect''s delicate body give way to her sharp claws.


    Though the creature was fragile, it was incredibly swift and managed to nick her, yet it was unable to latch onto her properly, which allowed her to finish it with little damage.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    [You have defeated Winged Nymph gaining 1 EXP. You are now 3/10 into progressing to Level 2.]


    Getting used to the notifications, she ignored it quickly moving towards the water.


    However, it could not be that easy, more and more insects arrived overcrowding the small space.


    Two more of the insects beset her before she could reach the water. This time was far more challenging, as the two raked their barbed, spiked legs to latch onto her separately.


    She frantically clawed at the one in front of her, sending even more insect pieces and green blood splattering over the place, yet not before she suffered her first serious wound.


    The insect behind her had completely clamped down on her back leg, showing no signs of letting up no matter how urgently she kicked.


    For the first time, deep rivets of pain coursed through her as a deep hiss emerged from her throat.


    Tara felt enraged at the thing but the other insect who she was tearing to bits, stubbornly remained alive.


    Finally, she managed to end the thing, the sound of the notification being the music to her ears.


    [You have defeated Winged Nymph gaining 1 EXP. You are now 4/10 into progressing to Level 2.]


    Yet she was far too late to stop the thing chomping on her leg managing to tear it off.


    Gwahhhh! Now that seriously hurt.


    She would be screaming her eyes out if she remained human, but unfortunately for the dirty bug behind her, it only made lizard Tara enraged.


    Twisting her body around she tore into the insect in a frenzy, the insect having a freshly torn lizard leg clutched tightly in its mandibles, was unable to even mount a defence as the claws of said lizard left rapid swipes into its body tearing the insect into bits.


    Another notification sounded.


    [You have defeated Winged Nymph gaining 1 EXP. You are now 5/10 into progressing to Level 2.]


    Feeling sore and in pain from the insect bites, she just about trudged her way to the ledge before more of the things attempted to latch onto her.


    Good riddance. She thought as she leapt into the water, completely ignoring caution since staying in an area infested full of killer insects was not a good idea.


    The water felt cool and smooth on her skin. Her body already intuitively knew how to move in water, so she just followed those instincts and managed to somewhat imitate the other lizards who were natural-born swimmers.


    She enjoyed the feeling of the water so much that she almost forgot that danger was everywhere, feeling the vibration in the water of something large she dove down narrowly avoiding a ginormous fish that tried to swallow her whole.


    What is that thing? She thought seeing a shark-like fish that was over three times her size.


    Its red eyes turned towards her as it attempted to lunge for her again, but her lizard body was remarkably nimble and she was able to just about escape for the second time.


    Knowing she needed to find a safe place away from predators, she began to swim away from the large fish, who was notably slower than her even when she was not quite as adept as the other lizards at swimming.


    Soon enough she found a small cave, that was hidden by some cattails and other aquatic plants.


    Recognising the cave was not large enough to fit anything much bigger than her, she confidently squeezed her way in and found it empty.


    Now able to finally gather her thoughts, and review her situation she inspected her missing leg with a sigh.


    She hoped that was not permanent, but it was likely she was now crippled.


    Setting these thoughts aside she decided to turn her thoughts to the strange system.


    Thinking of the phrase that was usually used in novels to interact with the system she thought, ¡®Status¡¯.


    It was then a screen popped up showing her current information.


    [Name: Unselected.


    Species: Iron Salamander


    Level: 1 {5/10 EXP to Lvl 2}


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 1


    Species Traits: Regeneration {1}, Iron Bones {1}, Skin Secretion {1}


    Mutations: None. ]


    That''s interesting, now where is the instruction manual for this thing?


    It was then she received a prompt saying if she would like an introduction left by the great Progenitor of Evolutions himself.


    This better be useful. Tara thought irritated, she woke up in the body of a lizard, or should she now say salamander without as much as an explanation and still had no idea what was happening.


    Now hopefully she will be able to gain some answers.

 Chapter 3 - Evolution System

    Soon after accepting the prompt, a display with information appeared.


    Though Tara was by no means an avid videogame player, she found the system bore a resemblance to those games her sister loved.


    And the design was intentional, shortly being revealed by the so-called Progenitor of Evolutions.


    [Greetings Earthling, as you have been told I am the great Progenitor of Evolution, an immortal that has whisked you away from death.]


    Not lacking in having a god-complex, Tara thought.


    Deciding to skip the lines of text of the immortal praising himself, she finally reached what she was searching for.


    [Now, seeing you are reading this, you have passed the first test. Congratulations on not having an untimely death. You already passed many of your predecessors. Yet I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already thinking, what is this Magnificent Immortal¡¯s goal?]


    Well yes, hit the nail on the head there genius though more like ¡®Magnificent Arsehole¡¯.


    [Haha. I''m sure you¡¯re already thinking how can someone as imperfect as me, help someone so darn perfect like you? Well, that''s simple, the problem is despite my glorious power I am at a point of stagnation. Millions of years have gone by since I last progressed. I have been spending most of that time in search of solutions, it was all for nought until I stumbled on your primitive planet.]


    Less of the origin story, can you move into why this is relevant to me? Tara thought.


    [Now to see a world utterly devoid of Qi was something. Your world is by no means unique, there are more ¡®null worlds¡¯ as we call them, though yours was by far the most successful. Humans are not an uncommon species in the universe, your kind is plentiful, yet the innovations and creativity of Earth opened my eyes. A digital platform where mortals try to explain immortality, it was the most hilarious sight I witnessed. At first, I just read through your ¡®cultivation stories¡¯ and experienced your games, merely for my amusement. Yet the more I browsed these tales I saw ingenuity. Of course, there was plenty of stupidity as well, but focusing on your good points, you mere mortals influenced my domain.]


    Reading the last line of text she found a pause that the Progenitor of Evolutions likely intended to use for dramatic effect.


    [Now your primitive brains likely do not understand the gravity of this, but for a mortal to influence a progenitor domain is viewed as a myth. I have been alive for billions of years, and as an immortal that is a progenitor of my domain, every innovation, every spark of creation that another has through this domain I grasp instantly. The reason I have never gained insight from your world before was since you belong to a null world you are cut off from domains and cultivation entirely.]If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Already beginning to grasp where this was going she continued.


    [I first attempted to terraform your world into one that held Qi, yet this soon failed. I realised a formation sapping the Qi from your world was present, and despite my power, it was beyond me. I knew another progenitor must be involved, so I went and found the strongest one. At first, he dismissed me doubting my greatness, but eventually, he was interested when I described your world. With him present to officiate it, he went and saw your world for himself yet in his great wisdom he changed his mind on terraforming your planet. Yet, the solution he came up with was one you''re all familiar with. Now, you''re probably thinking why am I telling you all this?]


    Tara who had long grown bored of the monologue nodded her lizard-like head.


    [Well, in the stupidly low chance you become an immortal. Let it be known that the extraction of your souls against your will was all done ethically by the accords.]


    Even as an {Iron Salamander} now, she found herself rolling her eyes.


    Now discovering the ridiculous reason she was reborn as a salamander, she moved into an explanation of the system.


    [You are probably by now aware of the interface in your mind. In a moment of brilliance, I have taken inspiration from your world, it turns out that throwing a bunch of humans without any context into a magical beast body is a disaster. Of course, some managed to make something of themselves but this was short-lived, that was when after a flash of insight, I came up with the idea to integrate a levelling system focused on innovating for my domain. I call it the ¡®Evolution System¡¯ since a seed of my domain has been planted into your souls, none of you candidates are unique and each one has a similar system once born.]


    Realising there were others such as her in this mess, she shook her head in annoyance at this egomaniac immortal.


    However, she still read further to get a better understanding.


    [Now, this ¡®system¡¯ is a mere construct of my own making. To be selected your soul is special and suited to my domain, it means you have the potential to have a talent in the domain of evolution as only mortals with an affinity could a seed of mine be transplanted. Think of this ¡®system¡¯ like an AI with programmed responses, it only has specific functions and once this message ends don''t expect to be able to ask for more answers. The ¡®system¡¯ will enable you to influence your race traits, and cultivation, with it also being able to cause mutations hidden away in your genomes. This is all under my domain, though early on you may get used to the system''s ability to ¡®power level¡¯ yet this is a path doomed to fail. The ¡®system¡¯ is constantly evolving with you, at the moment it has opened up the domain of evolution to you, very early as most cultivators don''t unlock a domain until later on, yet progressing to later stages and improving yourself will eventually requires your insight, and this is where you will be most valuable.]


    It was when she noticed there was a final last paragraph at the end of the introduction.


    [And remember remain stagnant at your peril. You can despise me, be filled with hatred for me grabbing you out of your peaceful little world, but you''re not on Earth anymore. Failing to progress means you will be constantly surviving against those who want to crush you. Only strength can give you the life you desire, as there is no such thing as peace in this world. There have been many like you who have failed to adapt, believing their so-called fellow ¡®humans¡¯ would emphasise. Not one is still alive, the system has dulled these stupid emotions of yours, but this will wear off eventually, so remember the world doesn''t stay still for you.]


    With the system message ending with such an excerpt, only one thought filled Tara¡¯s mind.


    What an absolute dick.

 Chapter 4 - Razor-tooth Eel

    With the introduction out of the way, she feels none too happy with the situation.


    Tara always has been a pragmatic person, though even she felt it odd how quickly she adapted.


    Though it all made sense when that wack-job immortal admitted to influencing her.


    Judging by the introduction the immortal has been adapting based on trial and error, using ¡®candidates¡¯ like her to change their methods.


    They even made it clear the only way to escape their influence was to grow stronger.


    However, if you persist down that route you indirectly benefit them by doing exactly what the immortal intended.


    It superbly targeted a human desire to rebel against authority.


    Tara thought it described the immortal character perfectly being ruthless and callous. The immortal only cared about results, likely having plenty of ¡®candidates¡¯ like her by the way they were utilising them.


    Even knowing she was playing into the immortal''s hands, she still wanted to progress even if it meant utilising the tools they gave her.


    It''s not like she has many other options, though the immortal is not the most trustworthy, she knew they were likely telling the truth about humans in this world''s attitude towards magical beasts.


    That meant she had to be solitary and not trust anyone until she was sufficiently strong.


    With the immortal as an example, she still had hope of returning to Earth since it showed it was possible if you had sufficient strength.


    Deciding to look back at the interface, she realised it had changed.


    With the introduction complete, she was able to select and view a description of her species and traits.


    Having her name remain as ¡®Unselected¡¯ bothered her, so she rectified this by selecting Tara.


    Satisfied with her current information she brought up the tab.


    [Name: Tara


    Species: Iron Salamander


    Level: 1 {5/10 EXP to Lvl 2}


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 1


    Species Traits: Regeneration {1}, Iron Bones {1}, Skin Secretion {1}


    Mutations: None.]


    Finding she could select a description for species, she brought up the information.


    [Iron Salamander: A mutated variation of the Salamander species, it has developed claws, teeth and bones with the strength of iron. Influenced by a high concentration of draconic and saturated Qi they are larger, more territorial and stronger. Genuine magical beasts when fully grown an adult typically reaches a limit of Qi Gathering 6. Usually preferring an aquatic-based environment, they live in swamps usually near the territory of a draconic species.]


    Did that say dragon? Feeling a bit perturbed at the thought of a dragon moving about, she moved on to the trait section.


    [Regeneration {1}: You can regenerate complex limb structures such as your limbs, and tail over time with recovery time increasing based on consuming Qi-saturated items.]


    Feeling relief that the problem of her missing limb would be resolved eventually having such a skill, she moved on.


    [Iron Bones {1}: The durability of your bones has increased. You have developed claws and teeth with the strength of iron. Your bone structure increases your bodily attributes.]


    Finding this trait was likely the one that gave her the edge against the bugs, she continued.


    [Skin Secretion {1}: You can secrete a slimy mucus, membrane keeping your skin moist and more slippery, making it more difficult to be grabbed and grasped by attackers.]


    Feeling the trait was more in line with the Salamanders she knew of on Earth, she tried to see what else she could view, finding mutations currently locked and that cultivation saying it offered a general increase in base attributes, with it being able to be increased with level.


    However, something new to the system was that it offered a feature called {Insight} where she could view basic information, about useful, known spirit fruits that were implanted by the immortal. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    It seemed she could gain improvements to her traits not only from the system but also from actively hunting for resources.


    She could also use {Insight} to peer at the strength of other beings, but it warned that she should avoid using it on more, intelligent stronger beings since it was a form of divination.


    And since it was using her soul she would receive the backlash if she failed to identify them, as all beings can actively resist such a scrying if stronger than the scryer.


    Taking that into account, she decided to vacate her little cave in search of some EXP.


    Though whilst she was at it, she seriously needed to consider something she could eat.


    She had not eaten anything since awakening as a salamander and felt like she was starving.


    Instinctively she also felt going by the itching where her missing limb was, that the skill {Regeneration} likely required fuel from somewhere.


    Moving out of the cave she again followed her instincts, moving her tail side to side as she gently paddled with her webbed feet.


    {Iron Salamanders} were clear natural swimmers in the water, perfectly adapted to such an environment. She had no idea if it was an illusion, but she even felt she was moving far faster than she ever could do as a human on Earth.


    She was unable to grasp the size of her body yet since she lacked a point of reference to compare to, but she instinctively felt that an {Iron Salamander} despite being the clear hatchling she was, was likely far bigger than full-grown Salamanders on Earth.


    She could only imagine how big they got fully grown, not that she would have to since she would have first-hand experience of that.


    Searching around the water whilst not forgetting to keep an eye out for predators, that large predatory fish being a big reminder she was relieved to find she was not the smallest creature in the water.


    Now having the time to admire it, she found the sight was beautiful.


    She always enjoyed diving as a human since being that close to nature was thrilling, though from the perspective of an underwater creature it was something else.


    The sights were amplified to the extreme where she could make out everything, and the view was magnificent.


    Assortments of fish, amphibians a myriad of colours littered her surroundings. She knew this was a world of pure fantasy, one that had creatures beyond Earth but the sight was magnificent.


    She was so lost in the picturesque view that she almost failed to notice the snake-like fish that approached with bad intentions.


    Staring at the thing she found it was twice her length, yet despite this she felt no sense of crushing danger similar to what she felt from the large fish that tried to eat her previously.


    Feeling it was a good time to try {Insight} a description of the fish came up.


    [Species: Razor-tooth Eel


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 2]


    The eel gave her a strange look after she used {Insight}, it felt an uncomfortable, irritating feeling from her but it did not have the intelligence to think further.


    Not dissuaded at all the {Razor-tooth Eel} continued its swift approach, a hungry, predatory glint in its eye.


    Going by the eel''s speed she was never going to outrun it, therefore instead of fleeing she decided to meet the eel head-on.


    Having {Regeneration} made her bold, she would use the eel as fuel to recover from the wounds, however, she found her thoughts naive when the eel attacked.


    The {Razor-tooth Eel} was far stronger than the {Winged Nymph} and contrary to where she outclassed the insect, the eel did to her.


    It was far more cunning than the insect, knowing the danger of her claws and teeth it used its speed to dart in and out.


    Before she knew it the eel clamped its powerful jaws around her body, perfectly evading the swipe of her claws using its sleek body to abruptly change direction.


    The amount of pain she felt at that moment was indescribable, yet the adrenaline allowed her to bite down and ignore it.


    Rapidly thinking of a solution the eel started dragging her, trying to initiate its ¡®death-roll¡¯.


    At that time she started instinctively secreting thick mucus from her skin in an attempt to dislodge it.


    It was at that moment the eel made a mistake and adventured too close towards her claws as it was partially dislodged allowing her to take a swipe.


    Catching the Eel she felt its flesh give away as rivets of blood erupted from it.


    Eeeekh. The eel made a horrifying sound not before ripping a good deal of flesh from her, its ¡®death roll¡¯ a partial success.


    However, despite her losing a great deal of more flesh from the exchange the eel seemed the worse for wear.


    The eel was primarily an ambush predator, excelling in killing its prey in one bite, the only reason it ventured out for her was because it sensed her weaker cultivation and was starving.


    Magical beasts like the eel were always desperate to consume fellow magical beasts since it was one of the means to improve their strength.


    The {Razor-tooth Eel} gave her a hate-filled glare as if it debated if it was worth the risk to finish her off.


    Yet Tara already made up her mind, as completely bloodied and appearing half-dead she charged at the thing with murder in her eyes.


    She had no idea if it was from the innate aggressiveness of {Iron Salamanders} but she became crazed at that moment in time.


    And despite the {Razor-tooth Eel} having higher cultivation, it all proved no use as they erupted into a tangle of limbs exchanging bites, with her digging her claws along its body.


    The eel was agile and its bite was stronger than hers, yet her pride and stubbornness refused her to give in, and in the end, despite the eel''s superiority, she was the victor.


    And she was soon met with a notification to announce that victory.


    [You have defeated {Razor-tooth Eel} gaining 5 EXP. You are now 10/10 into progressing to Level 2.]


    The notification was then quickly followed by.


    [Congratulations you currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to progress to level 2?]


    Ignoring the prompt for now, she decided to drag the eel carcass hurriedly back to the cave, deciding to reach the safety of her den before levelling up.

 Chapter 5 - Levelling up

    The way back to the cave felt long, and full of aphrension with her constantly looking around for danger.


    She was severely injured, fatigued and wanted nothing more than to rest.


    Though until arriving at the relative safety of the cave, that would be suicidal.


    Eventually, she returned safely.


    Relieved to have not been beset by any more magical beasts, she secured the eel corpse in the cave.


    Despite the eel being twice her length it was slim, allowing her to fit it within the cave.


    Tara felt extremely weak and lethargic.


    Staring at the eel corpse with hunger, Tara knew she needed to consume it for energy to heal.


    Hesitating briefly at the thought of consuming a raw eel, she ignored her human impulses, knowing it was impractical to apply human constraints to a salamander.


    Well, here it goes. Tara thought before taking a tentative bite.


    Hmm, not bad. Her first perception was the meat was very plain, likely due to the lack of seasoning. The texture of the eel was chewy, but her teeth made short work of any resistance.


    It was after that she felt a burst of energy feeling reinvigorated.


    Her wounds began to itch, likely the {Regeneration} trait in action.


    Deciding to continue, before long she had eaten over half the eel.


    With her cravings now satisfied. It was time to address the notification she had put aside.


    [Congratulations you currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to progress to level 2?]


    Viewing the notification she decisively selected ¡®Yes¡¯.


    [Your cultivation level has increased Qi Gathering 1 > Qi Gathering 2. All basic attributes increased. Qi capacity enhanced. Select two existing traits to improve. Then select your mutation.]


    Tara felt a warmth suddenly wash over her body, briefly glancing around she found everything felt clearer. It was as if all of her bodily functions had improved.


    The itching of her flesh intensified further, making her feel the need to close her eyes even more, yet she still had to look over the traits she wanted to improve.


    [Regeneration {1}: You can regenerate complex limb structures...]


    Seeing the familiar description, she moved on to the upgrade aspect.


    [*NEW* Regeneration is more efficient, less energy costing. Every aspect is improved.


    Trait level: {1} > {2}]


    Tara found it was a more general upgrade to the trait but with the importance of the trait on display against the eel, she was in favour of improving it.


    The next one was {Iron Bones}.


    [Iron Bones {1}: The durability of your bones has increased¡­]


    Viewing the familiar description, she moved on to the improvements. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    [*NEW* The strength of your bones is enhanced further. Your claws and teeth'' sharpness and hardiness increased. Your improved bone structure further improves your bodily attributes.


    Trait level: {1} > {2}]


    Another trait of high importance, Tara knew she had been relying on the trait since she arrived.


    Lastly, she looked at the final trait listed.


    [Skin Secretion {1}: You can secrete a slimy mucus¡­]


    Skipping past the familiar description, she saw the potential enhancement.


    [*NEW* Skin secretion is more efficient, and requires less energy. The fluid secreted is thicker and more slippery, making it harder to grasp by attackers. It slightly improves damage resistance.


    Trait level: {1} > {2}]


    Although the trait sounded the most lacklustre of the three, it already demonstrated its effectiveness against the eel, possibly saving her life even and giving her the edge she needed.


    Though she already had a plan with the trait and thought there might be some interesting mutations, after all on Earth some Salamanders secreted poison from their skin.


    Therefore, she decided to enhance the {Regeneration} and {Iron Bone} traits to the second level.


    Confirming her two trait enhancements allowed her to move on to the mutations.


    Moving onto the screen for selecting mutations, Tara found she could evolve an existing trait, or create an entirely new mutation with no base.


    The advantage of this is developing a new species trait that will be unique among her current species or expanding upon an already existing trait.


    Despite not providing her with an additional trait, it expands upon an existing trait to create something stronger.


    Looking through the mutations she found {Iron Scales} that would remain working in tandem with {Skin Secretion}.


    {Iron Scales} would provide her skin with increased durability and resistance against physical and elemental-based attacks whilst also maintaining its smooth and moist texture.


    However, the mutation that caught her eye was one she was hoping for.


    [Poison Secretion {1}]: An evolution of {Skin Secretion} it maintains creating a slippery substance on the skin, yet this substance is now toxic and poisonous. The poison can be discharged at will but can be energy-intensive depending on toxicity and volume.


    Despite the other mutations that will make her stronger, more durable and even offer the creation of wings. She found this one to be the most attractive.


    After all, she found upon killing the Eel the best means of levelling was to defeat enemies above her level.


    And there are few better ways to beat a superior opponent than utilising poison.


    According to the mutation, though more energy-intensive the poison she can create can become so toxic it can transmit from skin-to-skin contact, and it will prove even more effective in water.


    In the future, she may diverge and go another route but at the moment when she was both smaller and weaker than many things here, she decided she would utilise poison.


    Selecting {Poison Secretion} as her mutation, she found that the sleepiness suddenly became even more overwhelming and unwittingly she closed her eyes letting the darkness take over.


    Upon awakening, she felt strange. Remembering she seemed to fall asleep? Seriously, out of all the places. However, it was unusual as if her consciousness slipped away for a moment before she came back with it.


    Must be a mixture of my heavy injuries and my upgrades Tara figured.


    After all, she had no idea if it was a figment of her imagination, though she felt the cave seemed more cramped than before.


    Instinctively she felt her body size had grown noticeably since her perspective seemed different.


    Not only that though but she discovered that the lost appendage bitten off by the insect had seemingly reappeared as if nothing had happened.


    She wanted to find somewhere she could have a good look at her appearance, but with there being nothing around to do such a thing that would have to wait for now.


    It was then she heard a weird scuttling sound.


    Searching around she found a large crab that appeared menacingly at the entrance of the cave, its dark beady eyes searching for something until they landed on the carcass of the eel.


    Eeek. The crab did a little jig as it excitedly approached the half-eaten body.


    Almost lazily Tara instinctively pounced on the crab that seemed to be only a bit smaller than her.


    Surprisingly she found its seemingly hard shell give way to her claws almost instantly, her claws piercing into the soft flesh underneath ending its life swiftly.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Crab} gaining 2 EXP. You are now 2/100 into progressing to Level 3.]


    Huh. Tara thought surprised at the lack of resistance.


    It was only then she realised cultivation level may have more significance than she believed, or perhaps was it the enhancements?


    Looking at the EXP counter she realised the next level may take a while, so now levelled up and healed she decided to venture out and begin to hunt.

 Chapter 6 - First Hunt

    Emboldened and motivated by the notable increase in strength, Tara left the cave searching for new opponents.


    As she continued to swim, Tara noted she was acclimatising to her new form well.


    Figuring it was likely another intention brought about by the immortal, or she was just more adaptable than she believed, she soon came upon suitable targets.


    At the bottom of the water on the swamp floor, sat a muddy and uneven surface filled with turtles eating the algae, plants, and small insects that skittered around.


    Despite their large size, they did not seem dangerous on the surface.


    She was even starting to wonder how such a slow, cumbersome being could survive such a dangerous place.


    That was until she saw a familiar creature near them.


    A {Razor-tooth Eel} of similar size to the one she met before was floating around some rocks near the turtles.


    The eel was swimming intent on hunting the fish, with it being a distance away from the turtles not seeming to view them as a threat.


    Though the turtle''s eyes creepily never left the eel as soon as they noticed its presence.


    And Tara saw clear hunger in those eyes as the turtles synchronously fixated on the eel.


    Tara was puzzled about how they intended to catch the Eel.


    The turtles were ridiculously slow and with the Eel''s speed, it could easily evade if they approached.


    That was until she saw the largest of the turtles stare at it with a crafty gleam.


    Instinctively using {Insight} she viewed its information.


    [Species: Snapping-Turtrake


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


    The {Snapping-Turtrake} who was about to make its move suddenly felt an uncomfortable feeling.


    Its gigantic head began to search looking around suspiciously.


    Tara remained low profile hoping the {Snapping-Turtrake} would continue its focus on the eel, which after a short while it did since it could detect nothing amiss.


    Realising it seemed to have noticed her meddling she paused. Need to be careful about relying on {Insight} too much, Tara thought.


    The largest turtle continued to gaze at the Eel for a while, Tara figured the staring contest would continue until the thing finally moved.


    If Tara were to describe a {Snapping-Turtrake} they were similar to snapping turtles in appearance, though super-sized with a gigantic head, a long tail, and covered in an extremely thick shell that was a mix of dark green and brown.


    It had bony ridges of scales along its head, that seemed drake-like differing from the dark green they were an azure blue.


    The largest {Snapping-Turtrake} movement was a blur, its neck abruptly elongated an absurd distance crossing over 5 metres, with it latching onto the eel with its maw so fast it barely had the time to react.


    Tara then saw the Eel get crushed in the turtle''s eager maw, as the others seemed to watch with envy as the large {Snapping-Turtrake} ate it up with a few gulps.


    Nope, not going anywhere near those things. Tara thought, turning around and running away without shame. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Previously, she had the idea of slowly poisoning the large, slow and seemingly immobile turtles but seeing an Eel that was more agile than her get crushed in one bite, she realised her previous thoughts were extremely naive.


    Not to mention a snapping turtle on earth usually can extend its neck to a similar length to that of its body, demonstrating the sheer size of those turtles.


    Her poison was also of no use if she were to die from the first attack the turtle made with intent.


    She did not plan on dying a mutual death with the turtle, having to make the thing swallow her to poison it.


    Though this did not mean she gave up on the large turtles, she just decided to wait until she was stronger before acting against them.


    Marking this area in her mind, she continued to search for suitable targets.


    Eventually, she found just the type she was looking for, as a small swarm of around nine fish with large red eyes were moving around rapidly.


    The fish had jagged, sharp teeth that appeared threatening but were notably smaller than her.


    They had a mixture of darkish green, brown-coloured scales with eerie crimson stripes that resembled blood.


    Using {Insight} she brought up their information.


    [Species: Blood-striped Piranha


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 2]


    Unlike the first few times she utilised {Insight} the {Blood-stiped Piranha} seemed none the wiser she utilised it on them.


    She was unsure if this was because she now shared a similar cultivation to the target, or if the Piranha intelligence was too low and it did not pick up anything.


    Deciding this was the perfect opportunity to utilise her new skill {Poison Secretion}, she approached the group of fish whose eyes lit up with hunger as their gaze laid upon her.


    Magical beasts always hungered for Qi-rich flesh and these piranhas were no different.


    Approaching her rapidly. The piranhas seemed mindless, only intent on filling their hunger.


    Quicker than she could blink the first {Blood-striped Piranha} was upon her, narrowly missing it with her claws the fish tore through her flesh with ease as its razor-sharp teeth ripped off a large chunk before swallowing it.


    Before she knew it the other Piranhas had surrounded her, each rapidly taking chunks of flesh out of her as they moved impossibly fast to track, the nimble fish seemed to be set off in a frenzy by a mixture of her blood and the Qi it contained.


    Eventually, she managed to catch one, skewering a too-eager Piranha who strayed too near out of greed, yet by this point she was left extremely bloodied and in a terrible state.


    The notification came by immediately.


    [You have defeated {Blood-striped Piranha} gaining 5 EXP. You are now 7/100 into progressing to Level 3.]


    Similar to defeating the Eel she gained five EXP. However, she wouldn''t live long enough to benefit from it if the poison did not take out these Piranhas soon.


    Eventually, after she lost a great deal of blood and flesh to the small swarm of Piranhas they one by one began to slow, before they finally stilled, dead.


    The notifications went off again and again before stopping.


    [You have defeated {Blood-striped Piranha} gaining 5 EXP. You are now 42/100 into progressing to Level 3.]


    Finally. Tara thought, relieved. She had no idea how long she was going to last.


    Those piranha teeth were absurdly sharp and torn through her flesh like butter making her consider investing in {Iron Scales} for her next mutation.


    It was only the poison that drastically slowed them down from their first bite and the {Regeneration} trait that kept her alive that she could now reap the rewards.


    Knowing she required the energy to improve the effectiveness of the trait, and that magical beast bodies that possessed Qi improved its effectiveness going by from when she ate the eel, she was going to have to eat those Piranhas to help her recovery.


    Moving over to the carcasses, she began digging into the piranha carcasses, which despite being at a similar stage in cultivation to her were each a fair bit smaller in size compared to her.


    It demonstrated cultivation stage did not seem to be completely everything.


    There was a difference in strength in each magical beast, with the Piranha being weak individually for their cultivation with them being a swarm-based creature.


    It was the reason she was consuming them now instead of dragging them back to the cave, she knew the blood may attract predators but the Piranha were small enough to eat within a few bites filling her up quickly.


    Now full she decided to recuperate safely in the cave, before returning outside to hunt again. She did not want to get killed stupidly by being ill-prepared after all.


    Her encounter with the Piranhas demonstrated the effectiveness of {Poison Secretion} in dealing with numerous, but weak enemies, however, she still did not know how it would work towards a very large and strong magical beast like the {Snapping-Turtrake}.


    Tara felt satisfied with her first real hunt, deciding she would expand on this after she fully healed. Maybe a few upgrades would come along, then she could make short work of those turtles.

 Chapter 7 - Iron Dragon Fruit

    Upon returning to the cave, Tara once again entered a light slumber.


    The way she processed sleep was far different than when she was human.


    She found she slept with her eyes opened. It was the reason she awoke as soon as the crab neared her.


    It made her discover that a part of her brain is constantly alert, even when sleeping, so she is never defenceless.


    It was something she knew that some animals on earth adapted to have.


    It is so they can remain constantly perceptive of threats, and is an instinct that an {Iron Salamander} similarly possesses.


    During rest, her trait {Regeneration} again allowed her to recover fully.


    Satisfied with the trait''s effectiveness, she knew she would likely upgrade it again since she would have long perished without it.


    Knowing she needed to continue to hunt more magical beasts, she had little option but to seek danger as it was her only means to grow stronger.


    The immortal has given her little opportunity but to seek further strength.


    Doing so would open doors for her, including returning to earth and her family.


    She had no hope of the immortal offering to do so, so she just had to do it herself.


    It didn¡¯t bother her since Tara never enjoyed relying on others. Of course, not everything is achievable by yourself, but right now she had a path forward.


    And that path was the only one she could cross. It meant entirely relying on herself and not moping around, hoping for the immortal to have a change of heart.


    Tara was a college student recently, but now she has become a salamander constantly struggling for survival.


    It made utterly no sense.


    She should be panicking, begging to return to her comfortable suburban life.


    Yet even now, she was already lurking out of the cave, searching for more dangerous monstrosities to slaughter.


    The giant murder turtles were not enough to deter her; instead, the thought of bringing down such a fearsome opponent sent anticipation throughout her body.


    Then, a delectable smell appeared. Tara had no words to describe it.


    The smell just sent waves of excitement and need through her body. Each whiff seemed to reinvigorate her.


    Tara had already gotten used to the potency of her senses as a salamander. Even underwater, her senses were far better than when she was a human.


    Though Tara was used to the increased sensitivity, she had yet to master it fully. Now, she knew she had detected something good.


    Her instincts screamed at there being a big opportunity on the horizon.


    Without hesitation, she bolted towards the smell, tailing like a dog caught onto a scent.


    It took her a while to navigate past numerous creatures, some of which she was already familiar with and some that she steered clear of.


    One was a giant crocodile creature whose scales gleamed a beautiful silver, known as a {Steel Dracrocodile}.


    The magical beast was the strongest being she had ever seen in this world.


    Tara did not even dare to use {Insight}. She just knew it felt strong.


    Luckily, she seemed too weak for the beast to notice. It did not even gaze in her direction once, and she was not foolish enough to believe she could escape if it did.


    Feeling relieved, she continued following the smell and eventually found the source.


    Sitting there was the most expansive, lush area of swamp she had seen so far.


    She long ago judged that the system''s numerous hints pointed at her being in a swamp.


    It was evident with the large number of plants commonly found in swamps, though these seemed supersized and were bursting with much more vitality than their earth counterparts.


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    There were other plants she did not recognise. Yet, one among those was not even the most exotic plant she had seen present.


    However, this plant was the apparent source of the tantalising scent.


    Her eyes could not leave the plant as soon as she laid eyes on it. It was extremely strange and glowing with beautiful silver.


    The plant was like an underwater apple tree. It had strange glowing, transparent branches with strangely shaped fruits.


    As soon as she laid her eyes on the fruit, a ravenous look appeared in her eyes.


    Tara felt as if she was possessed. A powerful urge and need to consume the fruits overcome her.


    She snapped out of it, deciding it was best to put {Insight} to use.


    After all, it promised to provide descriptions of helpful materials like this could be.


    As soon as she used insight, a description popped up.


    [Iron Dragon Fruit: Known for creating an ¡®iron body,¡¯ it is a low-level body refinement natural treasure that will increase the strength of your bone and musculoskeletal structure. The compatibility between host current traits is high and is an item that can improve the trait strength.]


    Reading the description, she knew the fruit was now a must-have.


    She was sure there must be some limit. Otherwise, it would not be considered a ¡®low-level¡¯ natural treasure.


    However, Tara knew that it would prove invaluable.


    Anything that could enhance her trait strength without requiring a valuable point was incredible.


    Approaching the strange tree, she found it weird everything was so quiet.


    She thought something that appeared so valuable would attract other magical beasts.


    After all, it is not only her who can detect the fruits.


    Then she noticed numerous discarded bones around the tree and soon realised she had unknowingly approached nearby.


    Instinctively looking up, she saw nothing above.


    It was then that she heard a rustle below. Before she could move her sight down, the floor, which appeared as a large patch of grass, opened as a large maw appeared, attempting to swallow her in one gulp.


    Instinctively putting all her might in {Poison Secretion} whilst she narrowly evaded, the gigantic maw still managed to tear off her tail and a good portion of her lower leg region.


    Aghhh. The pain was agonising. Tara couldn''t help but let out what sounded like a high-pitched hiss.


    Managing to get a good look at the creature with her {Regeneration} working overdrive, preventing her from dying from blood loss, she saw a gigantic stingray-looking creature with an earthy green colour that allowed it to blend perfectly with its surroundings.


    ¡®Damn it, Tara, how could you forget the treasure always has a guardian!¡¯ Tara lamented, irritated at herself.


    Yet the thing ate a good dose of poison since it swallowed such a large chunk of her whole.


    After examining it, Tara noticed that the creature was massive.


    Using {Insight}, she saw its information.


    [Species: Swamp Earthray


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 5]


    The creature was many times above her in cultivation. And it was way bigger than her, too; she felt it was three times her length and width at the least.


    And looking at the {Swamp Earthray}, it did not seem sated by the bite of all, as a ravenous look of hunger appeared in its gaze. The bite it swallowed in one gulp was far from enough to leave it satisfied. Tara managed to escape its trap.


    It was about to chase her before it suddenly felt a deep pain rack its body, causing it to screech.


    Tara, who was about to flee, saw the creature howl in pain, which made her realise that the poison was far more effective than she had thought.


    Yet the poison was not enough to down such a large beast as the {Swamp Earthray} still moved towards her, though with evident lethargy.


    The Earthray launched its barbed tail towards her. It came at her like a large whip, moving exceptionally fast.


    Barely getting out of the way again, the {Swamp Earthray} was relentless as it became enraged at this point.


    It had no idea where this pain originated, yet the only possible cause was the strange salamander before it.


    The Earthray has eaten many similar-looking salamanders before and has never had any issues, so when such a scrumptious meal came along, it had no hesitation in taking a big bite.


    Now it was regretting it as it laboured to chase the smaller irritating salamander whilst it felt the pain grow more and more intense.


    Eventually, the Earthray paused as it felt the pain become unbearable, and that was when the damnable salamander started slashing at it with its claws and teeth.


    Typically, it would have no problem dealing with such a weakling, but it is now vulnerable and has lost much strength.


    Tara, who had been running around like a maniac for an eternity, smelt blood when she saw the {Swamp Earthray} in such a depleted state.


    The Earthray was many times stronger than her, but it couldn''t even stand still and let her strike it with no abandon like this.


    Taking advantage of its weakened state, she started tearing into it, laboriously ripping it apart with her teeth and claws.


    It felt like forever until the Earthray finally stilled. Its flesh was incredibly tough and ridiculously durable.


    She would¡¯ve stood no chance if not for it, swallowing a hefty dose of her poison beforehand.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Earthray}, gaining 40 EXP. You are now 82/100 into progressing to Level 3.]


    Finding a notification, she couldn''t help but feel amazing, but now was the time to retrieve her prize, as she stared at the fruit not far away in the distance.


    Licking her mouth, she couldn''t wait to sink her teeth into that delicious fruit.


    Now, let''s retrieve it before anything else nears.


    She did not fancy facing anything on the Earthray level again since she had only won this time through sheer luck.

 Chapter 8 - New Trait, Improvements

    Approaching the fruit, she detected an irresistible aroma.


    Tara knew it would be impossible to bring back to the cave.


    The fruit carried a lure that showed its value, and she knew magical beasts must feel the urge to consume it.


    Likely, it was worthless to a magical beast on the level of a {Steel Dracrocodile}.


    However, plenty of magical beasts like the Earthray were strong enough to pose a significant threat.


    She felt it was best to have the fruit now.


    The territory seemed marked by the Qi Gathering five Earthray.


    It was a good deterrent since she knew magical beasts usually attacked her due to her weak cultivation.


    Therefore, hiding and using the former Earthray presence as a safety net would be best.


    She approached the tree and used her clawed-webbed limbs to clutch a fruit and detach it.


    The fruit seemed even more appetising up close, and she did everything she could to show restraint.


    Observing the tree, she found four more strange fruits on its branches.


    Deciding to take them all, she retrieved each piece of fruit, leaving it in a bundle on the floor.


    Taking the fruit in her claws, she did not understand how you usually consume a natural treasure.


    Despite the name, the fruits were strangely pear-shaped and transparent, with a silver-grey-like glow.


    They looked mystical, and she was eager to taste them.


    Deciding her best option would be to consume them individually, she grasped one of the fruit and brought it towards her mouth.


    Swallowing it in one big gulp, she felt the energy of the fruit raging through her instantly.


    However, she instinctively knew that one fruit was insufficient to bring about the change she wanted, so she started gulping down each one until none was left.


    That was when she felt the change occurring, as the energy started to wash throughout her body. Tara began to feel its nourishing effects, and a newfound strength filled her.


    The change the fruit brought was evident even before the notification.


    [Iron Dragon Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Trait: Iron Bones trait level forcibly increased {2} > {3} *NEW* Your bones have advanced once again, enhancing them further. Your teeth and claws are sharper and more durable as a result. Bodily attributes are naturally improved to support your growth. You are one step further to bringing the trait to its natural limit and forcing an evolution beyond your species.]


    The system''s notification surprised Tara. It made her realise that the levels of her traits may serve another purpose, as if to indicate that, similar to games in her previous world, a trait can be improved to a brand new and improved trait when it reaches its limit.


    It made her conclude that perhaps a mutation is not the only way to improve upon existing traits.


    She was interested to see {Iron Bones} ''s limit and what would become of it when she could force an evolution.


    However, surprisingly, this was not the only notification she received.


    [*New Trait generated* Your skin and tendons were considerably toughened and strengthened from the nourishment brought by the Iron Dragon Fruits. It has brought about a natural change in your body.


    Iron Skin and Tendons {1} > {2}: Your flesh and tendons have the durability of iron. Your skin is more resistant to slashing, piercing and blunt trauma. Stronger tendons allow you to generate more force through your limbs, becoming more agile and explosive. Your movements will be more efficient.]


    The new trait was good and paired well with {Iron Bones}. It seemed probable both benefited from something considered a body-refining treasure.


    Though {Iron Skin and Tendons} was different to the {Iron Scales} mutation offered, seeming to be more focused on toughening her skin against physical attacks, whereas the {Iron Scales} seemed to protect against elemental damage, something she had yet to see meaning she had no idea of its usefulness.


    It also didn''t offer an all-around body enhancement like this one, focusing solely on improving her resistance.


    Stronger tendons have obvious benefits, as they enhance the whole body.


    Satisfied with the improved trait and new one, she thought that was all until another notification sounded.


    [Excess vitality from fruit transformed into EXP. Calculating: You have received 25 EXP.


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    You are now 107/100 EXP into progressing to Level 3.]


    Now, that was not something she expected. Though she figured the EXP must be coming from somewhere.


    And with that as a hint, she thought it must have to do with maybe the Qi or vitality in the magical beast or, in this case, the fruit she consumed.


    Most of the Qi contained in the fruit seemed to be naturally absorbed by her body to enhance her trait and form a new one, yet there was still excess that she could not fully absorb, and the system seemed to suggest it converted this to EXP.


    Curiously, she decided to ask the system, and surprisingly, it explained.


    [EXP is formed from the absorption of soul, bloodline and vital energy. The immortal has graciously provided a more efficient means to improve yourself.]


    Although she received only that brief description, it was enough to show Tara that she was on the right track in her thinking.


    She assumed this was all planned by the immortal since he intentionally left it to them to plough their way along.


    The system provided little information, leaving her to make most of her decisions without mentorship.


    The immortal did not want anything to influence their decisions, so they removed any pre-set paths, giving them little guidance.


    She predicted most magical beasts lacked the foundation of humans formed from having a society that shared information, meaning they must rely on themselves.


    The immortal desired them to create unique paths, making it redundant if they intervened too much; at the same time, doing something like this meant many would suffer greatly.


    Yet the immortal seemed to care little about this, having ample ¡®willing¡¯ candidates to send until one of them achieves something. Helping them too much would hinder their plans of creating new paths without their influence.


    Moving on, she decided to level up here since her surroundings seemed clear. After the levelling process, she knew it was uncomplicated and would not take too long.


    Tara knew the more she progressed, the safer she would be out there, so it was best to take the opportunity to improve.


    Therefore, she brought up the notification she expected.


    [Congratulations, you currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to progress to level 3?]


    Decisively, she selected ¡®Yes¡¯.


    The menu again revealed a similar message.


    [Your cultivation level has increased Qi Gathering 2 > Qi Gathering 3. All essential attributes increased. Qi capacity enhanced. Select two existing traits to improve. Then select your mutation.]


    Tara again felt that familiar warmth brought about by the increase in her cultivation level. All aspects of her seemed to improve; it was as if the quality of her lifeform had improved as a whole.


    The itching of her flesh came abruptly, and she once again felt a need to slumber as her body wanted to undergo some changes and growth.


    Her earlier injuries were already rapidly healing from the influx of energy brought about by the fruits, but she felt even more charged with her improved cultivation level.


    She had no idea about using Qi capacity yet but realised it had some influence on utilising her traits such as {Regeneration}. She assumed she may discover its full use later, when she developed further.


    Moving on she decided to ignore her freshly enhanced trait {Iron Bones} and newly formed trait {Iron Skin and Tendons} since from consuming a body refining fruit, she realised there may be more of them around here and did not want to waste her valuable point on something she can improve this way.


    The upgrade was similar to the general ones she previously received anyway.


    Additionally, since it did not offer a limit that could force evolution, she decided to enhance the traits for which she had no idea if there was a natural treasure similar to an {Iron Dragon Fruit}.


    Therefore, she decided to enhance {Regeneration} and her reliable {Poison Secretion} traits that had improved their usefulness repeatedly.


    [Regeneration {2}: You can regenerate complex limb structures...


    *NEW* Regeneration improves further, becoming more efficient and less energy-consuming.


    You heal even faster and improve immunity to toxins.


    Trait level: {2} > {3}]


    Considering the amount of poison she''s been utilising lately, the next level seems ironic. Still, again, that highlights how necessary an upgrade is with the effect her poison has on far stronger creatures.


    Satisfied with upgrading her most utilised trait, she moved on to {Poison Secretion}.


    [Poison Secretion {1}]: An evolution of {Skin Secretion}¡­


    *NEW* Your poison becomes even deadlier and more toxic; it gains the additional effect of slightly absorbing an opponent''s Qi to strengthen and propagate itself. This effect will grow more potent the further the trait improves.


    Trait level: {2} > {3}]


    The new effect on the trait seemed ridiculous. Yet Tara noticed the impact mentioned was slight, which meant it must not be too overpowered. However, it was a good change, and her poison was already strong, and now it would be even stronger.


    After finalising both upgrades, she moved on to the mutation.


    She found the mutation more tricky this time, with her plan of upgrading her defence changed since the {Iron Dragon Fruit} brought about this naturally. However, she saw an interesting trait that may have finally led her to utilise Qi.


    [Metal Manipulation {1}: You gain a rudimentary control of metal, developing unique pathways in your body. Rare among Qi-gathering beasts, you form a foundation of a bloodline ability that may evolve and grow with you as this trait levels and will continue to go beyond your species'' constraints.]


    Tara found the mutation extremely interesting. In the first mutation, it was not on offer, though maybe this was because of her limitations regarding Qi. However, the rudimentary description suggested it would not be too powerful, yet its potential seemed limitless.


    It seemed the very mutation allowed her to do what a usual {Iron Salamander} would likely never be able to. However, based on her traits, her species likely possessed a natural affinity with metal; only the mutation finally allowed her to harness it.


    Eager to imagine what she could do if she could manipulate metal, Tara selected the mutation. Her mind went blank for a period before she once again underwent tremendous growth.


    When she awoke, the area was still clear, and the Earthray''s carcass remained untouched.


    Instantly, she felt the differences brought upon by the enhancements and mutation; she found she had a new instinctive understanding of metal and could now feel the Qi that roamed her body.


    The biggest change, however, was that the Earthray carcass felt many times smaller than before¡ªeven the large tree did. She knew that meant once again she had undergone a growth spurt.


    A few Iron Dragon Fruits invigorated her thoughts of exploring. She now has a new goal: to find as many of these treasures as possible while continuously improving herself.


    Suddenly, everything did not seem so bleak; she would carve a place for herself in this world and eventually find her way home.

 Chapter 9 - Metal Manipulation

    Tara found herself full of ambition to progress further now.


    She had increased her level, improving her cultivation and traits, and now she felt more confident handling more dangerous opponents.


    Though she was still wary of those turtles, she might have tried something if they had not been in a group. Yet they showed intelligence, and if she revealed her poison, her chance of beating the others would be slim.


    She was not foolish enough not to realise that she could only fight above her current level by using underhanded means such as poison.


    Perhaps when she enhanced her traits further, this would be different, yet she knew that Iron Salamanders were by no means considered a strong species based on what she had seen.


    Therefore, in a fair fight against magical beasts that are many times stronger than her, there would be no fighting on even grounds with her crossing cultivation levels anytime soon.


    Only through trickery and adaptability would she be able to defeat them, as the physical gap between them would be massive unless she had weakened them beforehand.


    Perhaps she can achieve such things when she evolves her species or something. Still, right now, she knows just how close she came to being killed, even with the advantages she had over the Earthray utilising her poison.


    She did not enjoy the close brush with death and would prefer a more stable means of taking down magical beasts. That would mean the use of poison in a way that does not require her to get a large portion of her body bitten off, yet maybe with {Metal Manipulation}, she can try a more direct means.


    When she tried to use the trait, she closed her eyes, feeling an instinctive urge to use it like her other traits.


    {Metal Manipulation} seemed to allow her to control her own Qi that until now was unattuned, but now the pathways the mutation introduced seemed to attune it to metal. It also allowed her to manipulate metals in general, yet this was far more taxing than using her own Qi. Through the adapted pathways in her body, she can now form metal blades and reinforce all areas of her body with Metal Qi.


    She figured the mutation might have come about through her evolving related traits such as {Iron Bones}; perhaps Iron Salamanders always had an affinity for Metal Qi, but the newly formed mutation has allowed her to harness it.


    However, she quickly realised that the comment from the system about it being rare for Qi gathering beasts for a reason, since {Metal Manipulation} exerted much Qi and seemed to be usual for beasts of a much higher rank than her, which is why it seemed so costly to her.


    She seemed too weak in cultivation to exploit its potential fully. Yet, she was still satisfied because it would allow her to invest early in an evident ability that would follow her through her ascending ranks.


    Feeling reinvigorated by the increase in level and all its benefits, she decided to continue exploring and finding more magical beasts to hunt.


    Giving the carcass of the Earthray a fleeting glance, she felt full from the influx of energy from the fruits, so she decided to ignore the corpse, already fully healed from the ordeal with the Earthray.


    ¡®Thanks for guarding the fruits, big guy.¡¯ Tara thought, still a bit shaken by the ordeal from the thing almost killing her in one bite.


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    Still, the Earthray guarded and protected the fruits that gave her so many benefits, so she had mixed feelings towards the beast.


    Deciding to leave before any scavengers, who will sooner or later detect the death of the previous guardian, show up, she left the area after searching around thoroughly, discovering nothing of value other than the fruit she already consumed.


    After leaving the area, she soon encountered an oddly familiar target.


    ¡®You again. Or one of you.¡¯ She thought, seeing the same shark-like fish that tried to swallow her in one gulp when she was recently born.


    Deciding to identify it, she saw its information.


    [Species: Swamp Pikeake


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 4]


    ¡®Not as strong as I figured you would be,¡¯ She thought, seeing the large fish snap its head around to her shortly after that.


    The fish seemed far smaller than before, or perhaps that just demonstrated her growth; it seemed insurmountable when she first saw it, well over three times her size, yet now it was barely larger than her current form.


    Its red eyes looked at her dangerously, revealing sharp, dagger-like teeth. Its large, long, torpedo-shaped body tensed, and its large fins started to build momentum.


    Now that she was on a far more even footing with the fish, with it barely having the edge in size, she would not run away scared for her life like last time.


    She would not be the same confused, terrified girl; it was time to show this fish who the true predator was; she was not prey, and it would learn from its mistake.


    The fish seemed unperturbed by her bravado as it continued to make its way to her, its speed astonishing as it stalked towards her.


    It suddenly changed direction as it swerved to go under her before its large mouth opened impossibly wide. Its sharp teeth gleamed with it, trying to bite through her torso.


    Though Tara wanted to experiment with {Metal Manipulation} and seemed to sense the perfect opportunity, she waited for the fish to swerve under as she directed her claws towards it and, pumped all her Qi into her claws. Suddenly, they elongated into large spikes of metal. They did this so abruptly appearing right in the fishes path, that it had no time even to change direction as it slammed head first into two large spikes of metal that skewered through its head with no resistance. The momentum from the fish¡¯s charge halted as it became motionless.


    On the other hand, Tara felt ridiculously empty as she bottomed out her Qi for such an attack, though at least it succeeded, with the notification soon sounding.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 27/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    ¡®Glad that worked. Maybe that can be a solution for attacking from range.¡¯ Tara thought, relieved she pulled that off.


    She knew she could create spikes of metal from her Qi, so she used her claws to direct them in the fish''s path, which remained unprepared for such an attack.


    Though she still needed to refine her use of the trait, since the impact was mainly caused by the fish''s momentum from charging her, resulting in it skewering itself, she could not expect all opponents to attack in such a way. It also wholly drained her Qi, showing its impracticality, but she could still work on adding it to her means of attack.


    Looking at the spears of metal formed from her claws, she found that she could detach the lumps of metal as she willed. Knowing she would need to recover from the exertion of using her Qi to form them, she knew she needed to consume the fish to speed up her recovery.


    Though the system seems to strip most of its Qi and vitality as fuel for her upgrades, the remnants of the corpse still proved helpful in fuelling her body.


    Detaching the metal spears from her claws, she approached the fish and started taking bites to recover her energy.


    As she continued her meal, Tara decided she needed some practice with {Metal Manipulation} on magical beasts and also wanted to find more fruits that could enhance her traits whilst she was at it.


    With much to do, she could not afford to be idle and wished her Qi would recover fast.


    After a while, her Qi recovered to a suitable standard, and she felt prepared to move out again.


    ¡®Now let¡¯s find some more targets; I¡¯m curious how much adaptability this has¡­¡¯ Tara thought as she went off looking for more targets.

 Chapter 10 - Swamp Pikeake

    After encountering the fish, she soon came upon a new target, and surprisingly, it was another {Swamp Pikeake}.


    Realising it was the first time since the insects she would be up against the same opponent twice; she found this one was identical in cultivation and size to the previous.


    Upon seeing her, the fish-red eyes fixed upon her dangerously as it began to charge towards her in the same way as its predecessor.


    Realising the opportunity to practice her utilisation of {Metal Manipulation}.


    She began to form those metal spikes as the fish again descended to swim below her to attack her on its ascent.


    Unlike the last time she took the initiative, instead of waiting for the fish to appear in range like the first time, she focused entirely on her Qi, which rapidly solidified as it exited through the pathways in her body to form metal-like spears condensed from her Metal Qi.


    Focusing intently on the trait, she willed with all her strength to fling these metal spears like a harpoon towards the rapidly approaching fish, who seemed startled by the unexpected objects.


    Despite being taken by surprise, the fish was swift and an experienced hunter; it knew danger when it saw it and could escape from being thoroughly skewered like the last, having time to evade one of the flung spears. However, it still was unable to entirely avoid the other as the remaining spear seemed to pierce through its flesh like a harpoon, not killing but gravely crippling it.


    Though it survived, the fish barely lived. After the attack, it was now a sitting duck. Tara decided to end its misery, as the thing could barely move.


    After finishing the fish, Tara received a notification similar to her first one.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 47/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    She hoped the experience required to level up would not continue to increase in multiples of ten as she progressed.


    Though she assumed each stage required even more energy, Tara knew she received an even bigger boost than the last each time she progressed, even if it was just a single stage, making her realise the advantages a higher cultivation level brings.


    Deciding to continue practising {Metal Manipulation}, she ate some fish as she recovered her Qi.


    She did not even have long to wait as another Pikeake appeared, seemingly attracted by the blood making her realise she might have stumbled upon their hunting grounds.


    Tara had not fully recovered her Qi and found herself in a brief moment of panic as the fish charged at the first sight of her again, as if in a frenzy due to the fresh blood.


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    ¡®These things are a nightmare.¡¯ Tara mumbled as she could not muster a defence to the swift fish this time, which used the same tactics, yet unlike the other time, she had nothing to impede it. She found the thing''s powerful jaws biting into her body as the thing began shaking her around like a doll.


    She swiped at the fish with her claws, leaving deep scratch wounds along its soft flesh, but the thing''s red eyes did not waver as it continued to hold onto her body with all its might, shaking her around erratically.


    Tara, who began to grow arrogant at how quickly she was finishing off the Pikeakes, began to realise the sheer danger of them if you allowed them to close in. It was then she had to once again rely on the trait that had been saving her since its first mutation as the poison began to secret from her skin; though not as strong with the low Qi reserves, it was still more than enough to slow down the rampant fish who had yet to realise it was rapidly losing strength.


    Eventually, the fish wore out, and with her increased resilience due to her new trait, she survived until it weakened enough for her to begin her offensive. Sharper and deadlier, her teeth and claws could damage the fish, which seemed unused to its prey surviving its absurd bite.


    Finally, she was able to reach its vital organs as she put a swift end to the creature, not before once again being on the brink of death.


    Finding the notification, as always, indicating the moment it drew its last breath.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 67/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    ¡®Right when I was getting used to not being a meat shield.¡¯ Tara thought, despondent at once again relying on the Iron Salamander cockroach-like survival ability.


    She did not enjoy the constant mauling she received; it was painful and angered her to no end to be tossed about by her opponent yet again!


    Though now learning from her mistakes, she hurriedly bit a few chunks from the fish to assist her healing and descended to the bottom of the floor, finding an area to recover.


    The bottom of the floor was devoid of threatening predators; she gave it a thorough look, wary after experiencing firsthand the superb camouflage from the Earthray, which blended in perfectly with the murky bottom of the swamp but found nothing out of the ordinary, realising the Pikakes must have claimed this area as their hunting ground, intimidating any would-be predators away.


    Finding a neat location among the plants and algae, she sat among the small fish and insects that skittered around, feeding on the small chunks of fish that had found their way to the bottom.


    She found her caution rewarded as another of the Pikakes soon appeared, and another after that; she became nervous at the thought of the duo attacking her, yet they seemed reluctant to approach her, with her realising they did not want to expose themselves leaving them at risk from a potential ambush from below.


    Instead, they seemed content to circle her, waiting for her to ascend eventually.


    If she were a normal Iron Salamander, this would be the perfect strategy, as there was a lack of prey to feed from at the depths, and her potential food sources were too small. Yet she was not a typical Iron Salamander, and instead, she found a plan forming to deal with the Pikakes who remained circling from above.


    ¡®This could seriously work¡¯, Tara thought, as the equivalent of a sly grin somehow filled her salamander-like features.


    As her Qi recovered, the thought of downing more stupid Pikakes fueled her.


    The things hounded her as a hatchling and continued to do so even now. She wouldn¡¯t be satisfied until she killed every last one of them.


    She would do it to honour her fallen Iron Salamanders. Not because of something ridiculous such as her pride being repeatedly trodded on over and over by the damn things.


    ¡®No way I¡¯m that petty.¡¯ Tara thought, but even she didn¡¯t sound that convincing to herself.

 Chapter 11 - Pikeake Massacre

    Upon recovering her Qi, Tara decided to put her plan into motion.


    The Pikeakes attempted to force her into a disadvantageous position, with them seeming to realise the danger of leaving themselves vulnerable if they made a frontal attack.


    She realised as magical beasts, the fish were likely far more intelligent than they appeared to be, and she assumed they had experience coming up against Iron Salamanders and knew they were at their most dangerous when you allowed them to trade blow for blow with their sharp claws and teeth alongside their regeneration.


    The Pikeakes lacked the confidence to avoid injury with just the two of them, so they waited either expecting reinforcements or until they eventually forced her to move into a more unfavourable position.


    Either of these options would be a rational decision for any intelligent being; after all, the Pikeakes must have encountered plenty of Iron Salamanders, and they would know all about their strengths and weaknesses.


    Unfortunately, Tara was not your typical Iron Salamander, and the Pikeakes will soon find this out.


    It would not be advisable for her to wait for even more of the Pikeakes to appear, so she decides to act first since, with two, it would be a difficult battle but winnable if she utilised her skill set correctly.


    Luring the Pikeakes, Tara wanted to use {Metal Manipulation} to attempt to defeat them from a safe distance.


    To the Pikeakes, she would be unable to reach them unless she was close since your average Iron Salamander never attacks from range, even the stronger ones, and the Pikeakes have likely never encountered anything but a typical member of her species.


    Though she gleaned this from the description of her species by the immortal and the way other magical beasts treated her, she was confident her assessment was correct with the way the Pikeakes circled at what they assumed to be a safe distance. However, they remained perfectly in range for {Metal Manipulation}.


    She began preparing the trait covertly, using a particular murky and covered area at the bottom of the swamp that still provided a clear path for her to launch a projectile yet did not leave her exposed.


    The Pikeakes seemed to notice something was amiss slightly, yet they remained so assured from their dealings with her species they did not react until it was too late.


    Two sharp, gleaming metal spears shot towards them from out of nowhere. The Pikeakes were swift and agile, sensing the danger from detecting the movements in the water. They mustered an effort to evade, but this was not enough.


    The overpowering Metal Qi that flowed from the metal spears made them travel like they were almost weightless in the water. Tara does not know this, but any Qi Gathering beast able to utilise Qi like this is the most feared and unpredictable in the Qi gathering stage.


    Even the strongest Iron Salamanders cannot usually utilise their Qi externally like this, with them only boasting their traits passively or using their Qi to strengthen their bodies and attacks.


    Magical beasts use Qi instinctively and channel it to supplement their species'' advantages. Humans are experts at utilising Qi externally in ways similar to skills and techniques. With most magical beasts lacking a foundation, society, they mostly get by with their instincts alone. Still, even this is dangerous enough for most human cultivators to deal with.


    Tara has no idea, but she would be considered a nightmare for newbie human cultivators already, from being unpredictable and having a variety of traits; Qi gathering cultivators are amateurs with little experience, so an opponent like her may be worrisome, yet too true geniuses she would still be very weak after all, many beasts with mighty bloodlines exist and Tara at the moment is far beneath them. Some human cultivators can match them, so currently, Tara would be nothing to them.


    Yet, for a magical beast with a reputation for being simple, straightforward, and weak, she would be dangerous just based on the assumptions made about her by her species; underestimation is the biggest downfall for many, and the Pikeakes currently bear the brunt of this.


    One of them got hooked up by the surprisingly swift and accurate spear; the other seemed wounded but had managed to just about escape the worst of it.


    A bloodthirsty glean abruptly appeared in Tara''s eyes, as now she had gone from being the hunted to being the hunter.


    One of the fish was practically crippled, and the other was injured, and with her injuries mostly healed with how swift her {Regeneration} acted, she was confident to deal with them.


    Rapidly approaching them, the Pikeakes seemed to panic. They looked at Tara like she was a monster. She thought she saw some fear and confusion in their red eyes for the first time.


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    ¡®These fish are bright. Well, intelligent for fish,¡¯ Tara thought. Unlike the very few, most fish don¡¯t show intelligence like this on Earth. Yet, Tara felt this type of intelligence was the norm for beasts with a similar cultivation level, making the thought of a world filled with intelligent murder machines a chilling thought.


    It made her think just how deadly the humans had to be to adapt themselves to fight monstrous beasts that were not only unusually large but far smarter, too.


    The Pikeake caught by the spear was injured so severely that it could not resist, but the one who managed to get away with slight injuries remained dangerous. Yet Tara felt too determined to fail.


    She instinctively felt it would be bad news if she let one of them get away, so she attacked the one who could still escape in a frenzy, who, luckily for her, was reluctant to leave its friend to the point it tried to fight her off fiercely.


    By doing so, this only played in Tara¡¯s favour; despite the valiant effort, the Pikake fought a losing battle. Yet, the look of sadness and defiance never faded from its strangely expressive eyes.


    Tara had never paid much attention to the Pikeakes before, yet she realised she had been looking past that they weren¡¯t just simple predatory fish.


    She had no idea if it was the lizard or, should she say, salamander blood, but she found this did little to change her cold, apathetic attitude toward the fish; in fact, the desire to slaughter them remained as strong as ever.


    ¡®They dare to trample on my dignity? To treat me as their prey.¡¯ Tara thought, a raging hot rage filling her bones as she began hacking into the fish at an even angrier, frantic pace.


    The Pikeake shrieked even louder as it seemed to gaze reluctantly at the other before trying to escape, but Tara refused to let it leave. Digging her claws deeply into the Pikeake, she began ripping into its soft innards. The fish shook in even more agony as it attempted to dissuade her by biting her back fiercely.


    Yet Tara seemed to be under a haze of bloodlust at the moment and did not respond to the damaging, hurtful bite of the Pikeake at all as the fish put up its final futile resistance. With it finally breathing its last, the other fish, watching with a look of sadness, similarly soon met its end as a bloodied but triumphant Tara enjoyed the sound of the notifications.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 67/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    And the quick following of another.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 87/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    Tara felt extremely satisfied, but given how sensitive these fish were, she knew more would be coming and needed to act fast.


    She had an idea after eating as much of the carcasses as possible.


    Tara knew she could not remain still since, with the Pikeakes'' intelligence, they would eventually recognise something was up. Yet, using this strategy, couldn¡¯t she effectively use the popular strategy in role-playing games of ¡®kiting¡¯ the fish using their weakness of long-range combat?


    There seemed plenty of them around here, and as long as she did not get too greedy, the Pikeakes were a treasure trove of EXP.


    With her {Metal Manipulation} and mobility, she could move around constantly, waiting for her Qi to recover before picking them off.


    ¡®It¡¯s not just because you want to commit a Pikeake massacre.¡¯ Tara mumbled, not entirely convinced in her thoughts.


    She had no idea why she hated the things so much, yet the thought of them constantly threatening her seemed to hurt something deeper within her ¡ªher pride.


    Feeling hot-tempered and needing to vent, she decided to commit to her plan. As such, she heard another notification after what felt like endless hours and dozens of dead Pikeakes later as she tore another Pikeake into pieces.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 627/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    After this, the Pikeake began to act strangely, as if they were responding to something and making odd movements.


    ¡®I should have known I would set off something eventually, with their obvious intelligence and apparent kinship¡­¡¯ Tara thought; however, even she did not realise the magnitude of what she set off in motion.


    Instead of Tara, the real culprit, the Pikeakes, the undisputed rulers of this section of the swamp, had identified the group responsible: Iron Salamanders.


    None dared to attack them in droves for a reason, as they would group on whichever species did so, and magical beasts were intelligent enough to back down against a superior force.


    There was a fragile balance between the magical beasts here, with the Pikeake¡¯s extensive territory and aggressiveness towards the other species a significant cause of conflict, yet Tara¡¯s onesided massacre had provoked a response.


    The Pikeakes needed to set an example for the daring magical beasts who had killed them in droves.


    They have already been targeting Iron Salamander clutches to reduce the population of the highly territorial and aggressive species.


    Pikeake considered Iron Salamanders weak, though they were numerous. Additionally, they showed a lack of submission and were irritatingly complex to kill. Thus, their hatchlings were frequent targets to keep their numbers in check.


    Yet it was clear that the elder Iron Salamanders had made a move against them.


    It was time to move out in force to remove them from their territory once and for all.


    With the Pikeake horde moving towards the Iron Salamanders'' den, Tara unwittingly drew closer to the location.


    She does not realise that she will be reuniting with not only her kin but also a bunch of angry fish who are thinking of extermination.


    Tara had already seen plenty of carcasses of Iron Salamanders half eaten by the Pikeakes, so her motion of Pikeake slaughter was already embedded in her mind, though maybe she did not realise the sheer scale of what she had unintentionally caused.

 Chapter 12 - Iron Salamanders vs Pikeake

    In her search for more Pikeakes, she stumbled on a Pikeake that was so determined to continue its movement towards somewhere it was the first Pikeake she had seen that didn¡¯t attack her on sight.


    Sensing an opportunity, she decided to pursue it, curious about its destination.


    Tara was a bit slower than the fish but could keep the fish in her sight long enough that she stumbled upon where it was going.


    ¡®I¡¯m fortunate it didn¡¯t go far; those Pikeake are swift when they want to be.¡¯ Tara thought it was only then that she realised the gap in speed between her and a Pikeake and that she was fortunate that they seemed so aggressive towards other species.


    Otherwise, her hunting of them wouldn¡¯t have gone down as favourably. Many of the kills she made were significantly enhanced by the momentum of their charge, with the Pikeake assuming she did not have the type of means of attack that {Metal Manipulation} provides her.


    Now, being able to observe her surroundings properly, she saw a shocking sight.


    Tara found what appeared to be sizeable rocky terrain that had countless caves, forming an underwater cave system.


    Bioluminescent mushrooms lit up the area with an eerie blue glow as she saw what appeared to be countless familiar-looking salamanders'' eyes twinkling.


    ¡®Is that a load of Iron Salamanders?¡¯ Tara thought, realising she saw a massive group of more prominent, larger versions of the salamander hatchlings she saw upon birth.


    ¡®Is that what I look like?¡¯ She thought, recognising a few Salamanders with a similar cultivation to her.


    Yet despite the familiarities, she recognised that she was slightly bigger than her counterparts and that her smooth, moist, tough skin was darker and more metallic grey than the other salamanders''.


    Tara realised that only the real large ones of the group, who were of significantly higher cultivation stage than the others, had a skin tone similar to hers; she thought this must be related to her advanced traits, with her likely being advantaged compared to an Iron Salamander on a similar cultivation level and comparable if not better than Iron Salamanders who are multiple cultivation stages higher in regards to her traits development.


    Tara also noticed that the Salamanders grew out of their tadpole features as they matured, with the older ones with higher cultivation appearing like another species.


    Though retaining their gills and the mechanics that made them excellent swimmers, they seemed far more lizard and amphibian-like. They were thicker and far bulkier, appearing more like a strange version of a Komodo dragon rather than Salamanders.


    The skin on these Salamanders was as smooth as the others, but the tone of grey was far darker, gleaming like shiny metal.


    ¡®The strongest of the Salamanders, ¡¯ Tara thought, unconsciously utilising {Insight}.


    [Species: Elder Iron Salamander


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


    Then she felt a sudden sharp pain in her mind as the information disappeared.


    The Elder Salamander fixed its large head on her and stared at her intensely.


    Even from the fair distance between them, she felt pressure from a being many times stronger.


    ¡®Dangerous,¡¯ Tara thought. Fortunately, the Elder Salamander''s fixated gaze seemed to soften as it recognised her as one of its kind, yet its eyes widened as she felt fear from it.


    ¡®Fear? What can make something that strong scared?¡¯ Tara thought, suddenly remembering why she had even gotten here.


    ¡®The Pikeakes.¡¯ She thought as she saw a large horde beginning to gather; the Pikake she was initially following had already joined up with them as more and more began to gather, surrounding the Salamander''s habitat with clear, hostile intent.


    However, even with the legion of Pikeakes, that wasn¡¯t enough to make a creature of the Elder Salamander''s strength shudder; it was the thing leading them.


    She saw a creature resembling a giant shark, over four times bigger than the typical Pikeake. Though retaining its torpedo-shaped body, it had an enormous head different from the other Pikeakes. Looking like a hammerhead shark, it had a thick, rigged, bone-like structure like a cephalofoil with its beady red eyes spaced out on either end.


    On the centre of that hammer-like head sat a large, beautiful, glimmering cerulean gemstone, which mesmerised her.


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    Though she was wary after what occurred with the Elder Iron Salamander, she was still too curious about the thing to resist utilising {Insight}.


    [Species: Sphyrna Swamp Pikeake


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


    Unlike the Elder Iron Salamander, the Sphyrna Swamp Pikeake looked at her loftily with an arrogant, prideful gaze.


    It didn¡¯t even bother to rebuke her, which she felt it could do. It was as if it was staring right through her like she was nothing.


    Feeling her pride yet again trodded on, she felt strangely defensive; that familiar hot-bloodedness began to pour through her body as the stupidly suicidal thought of charging straight at the thing came across her mind.


    ¡®Seriously, what is happening to me?¡¯ Tara thought she knew she was pretty reckless as a human at times, though Tara always thought she was practical and pragmatic regarding essential life decisions.


    Charging at a colossal shark monster was neither rational nor wise, though, and she needed to snap out of this hot-blooded attitude she had going before it ended her new life prematurely.


    Tara had no intention of dying and giving that smug Immortal the satisfaction of seeing her as some forgotten failed upstart.


    She will not pathetically throw her life away when she eventually has the means to return to Earth.


    All she had to do was grow strong enough, and this dumb, arrogant shark would not be the one to take that from her.


    Cooling down, she rationalised that fighting an upfront battle with such a superior opponent was not the best idea.


    However, that did not mean she could not find a means to intervene somehow; looking at the Elder Iron Salamander, she knew despite the similarities in cultivation level, the Sphyrna Pikeake was a superior magical beast.


    Tara felt that the aura radiating out of the Sphyrna Pikeake was denser, stronger, and more intimidating than that of the Elder Iron Salamander.


    Tara did not realise that what she felt was a difference in bloodlines; not all species are born equal, especially magical beasts.


    A bloodline was essential to a magical beast and could determine your limit and strength in stages. If humans had a difference in their Qi quality due to talent and techniques, then beasts with a more potent bloodline have more substantial, pure Qi, strengthening their traits. The likelihood of them having abilities that enable them to utilise Qi externally increases, and their all-around bodily attributes are enhanced.


    The Sphyrna Pikeake was superior to the Elder Iron Salamanders, and both knew it. Even if they were similar in cultivation, the Sphyrna Pikeake outclassed them, similar to how not all dragon species possessed identical strength, with some having a superior bloodline.


    As tension increased between both sides, the Pikeake finally initiated the clash, and the tense face-off filled with killing intent began to overflow across the rocky terrain.


    Tara noticed among the Salamanders, most were similar in cultivation to her, with a fair amount in the fourth and fifth Qi gathering stages and three other Elder Iron Salamanders alongside the one she utilised {Insight} on.


    The Pikeakes, on the other hand, were far superior in cultivation on average, most being in the fourth like the opponents she had been dealing with, a great deal more in the fifth, and the Sphyrna Pikeake was not alone in the sixth either, with their being two more alongside it. These were also no ordinary Pikeakes, being another version of the species.


    [Species: Greater Swamp Pikeake


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


    At least these seemed far weaker than the Sphyrna Pikeake, with their aura feeling more or less similar to the Elder Iron Salamanders. They didn¡¯t even notice her checking their cultivation levels, being too intent on the Elder Iron Salamanders in front.


    Yet despite the Pikeake horde being superior in cultivation level, surprisingly, the Iron Salamanders had the numbers.


    There was an absurd amount of Salamanders travelling through the cave system in preparation to battle the Pikeakes, with them pouring out in droves.


    She thought the Salamanders would flee at the sight of the bloodthirsty shark-like fish that came to storm their territory. Yet, the Iron Salamanders seemed more eager for a fight than the Pikeakes and stared back in complete defiance and unwillingness to lose any ground in their territory.


    She knew this was the Salamander''s territory, but it made her realise they were not as disadvantaged in the clash as she had initially assumed.


    The Iron Salamanders were crazy creatures who constantly fought with their lives on the line, refusing to back down against anything; this absurd recklessness almost made them as admirable as they were foolish.


    Yet the Sphyrna Pikeake regarded their bravado and aggression completely and utterly indifferently.


    It was then it began to make its move. Before the Elder Iron Salamander could react, a glow came from the gemstone on its forehead. Its glow brightened even further, and wondering what it planned on doing, Tara was flabbergasted as she saw a storm of ice begin to erupt; sections of the water in the surroundings started to freeze as spears of ice began rapidly forming firing like a rapid-fire machine gun towards the salamanders.


    The attack did not last long, with even a beast with a reasonably strong bloodline like the Sphyrna Pikeake limited at the Qi Gathering stage; however, even this was enough to end the lives of countless Iron Salamanders who were stages below it.


    Thus began the stage that set the start of the battle, with the Pikeake and Iron Salamanders beginning to throw themselves at each other in a fury of teeth and claws.


    Tara stared on in shock, close enough that Pikeakes took notice and began to approach her.


    ¡®Looks like I can¡¯t stay uninvolved even if I wanted to¡­¡¯ Tara thought, yet deep down, she felt she could not abandon the Iron Salamanders even if they shared no sense of kinship as Tara had no interaction with the Salamanders since she was reborn.


    Tara couldn¡¯t hide the bloodthirsty gleam as the Pikeake approached her after all the things were disadvantaged against her in an upfront fight; they were nowhere near as durable but packed a strong bite.


    Despite the situation, she also saw it as a big opportunity. There was more Pikeake here than the eyes could see, and Tara''s eyes just saw fish-shaped bags of EXP.


    ¡®A girl will go far just to keep up the grind.¡¯ Tara thought again as she tangled with the Pikeake in a mess of tangled limbs and gore.

 Chapter 13 - Overwhelming Odds

    Enraged, the Pikeake charged at Tara, showing none of the cunning demonstrated in their earlier confrontations.


    She had no idea if it underestimated her cultivation level. Nonetheless, it made a grave error trying to attack her head-on.


    Despite packing a mighty bite, it sacrificed its superior movement to make a damaging attack that she could deal with, but it could not boast near her resilience.


    Lost in its bloodlust, the Pikeake made a grave error and paid for it; as soon as the thing charged into her, biting into her flesh, she began tearing into it in a fury. The fish was vulnerable as it locked its jaws around her body. The fish shrieked, trying to shake and tear at her flesh, yet her skin was far more durable than a regular Iron Salamander.


    It underestimated the toughness of her physique, which, combined with her regeneration, made her a terrible match for a Pikeake that boasted a vicious attack and excellent manoeuvrability yet had fragile natural defences.


    And with the Pikeake being so aggressive, it had left itself in a vulnerable position, leading to a counter-attack, allowing her to bite, claw at it nastily with it unable to gain the leverage to deal further damage to her as she latched onto the fish with her sharp claws digging them across its soft flesh ferociously as the fish soon stilled. Dead.


    A notification soon followed.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 647/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    After the swift confrontation, Tara tore a quick chunk out of the Pikeakes'' flesh to fuel her regeneration and continued into the chaotic battle.


    Pikeake and Iron Salamanders fought everywhere the eye could see in a mess of blood and gore.


    Despite the Iron Salamanders'' generally weaker cultivation, they held their own, fighting savagely.


    Some of the battles ended up like hers, with the Pikeake sacrificing too much of their superior speed by acting too aggressively with the resilient and rugged Salamanders, which ended up with them getting overwhelmed by the Salamander''s frantic, do-or-die tactics.


    However, she found that not all Iron Salalanders were as durable as her or regenerated as fast. Her upgrades showed their worth, as she saw many Iron Salamanders being torn to shreds by the superior bite of the Pikeake before they could tire them with their durability.


    Many Pikeake continued to make that mistake with her, treating her lower cultivation identically to the same ordinary Iron Salamanders they usually had no trouble tearing apart with their bite. However, they soon discovered she was not the easy prey they envisioned and, like the previous, found themselves torn to shreds.


    The notifications went off one by one.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 707/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    Tara soon discovered that her straightforward dealing with the Pikakes attracted dangerous attention.


    Looking over, she witnessed a terrifying sight. At the most extensive, widest section of the underwater cave formation, a region sizable enough to fit the bulk of the hulking Elder Iron Salamanders. Now, one of the four lay dead, its enormous body torn into large chunks partly covered with frost, the water murky with fluorescent grey blood.


    The other three were also under serious threat, with two barely holding back the Sphyrna Pikeake, who seemed to be toying with them as an arrogant, carefree glint emerged in its red eyes.


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    The final Elder Iron Salamander was currently being ganged up on by the Greater Swamp Pikeakes, barely holding on due to its resilience as it desperately fought them both to avoid the two other Elder Iron Salamanders having to face the monstrous Sphyrna Pikeake in a one-on-one.


    She realised there must have been a three-vs-one at the start against the Sphyrna Pikeake, with them attempting to deal with the most significant threat instantly. Yet, despite that advantageous position, the Sphyrna Pikeake was winning overwhelmingly.


    The problem came when one of the Greater Pikeakes spotted her dealing with the regular Pikeakes efficiently and, confident that its companion could finish off the gravely injured Elder Iron Salamander, decided to join the battle heading directly for her.


    A terrifyingly sizeable shark-like fish swiftly approaching her made it difficult to keep a calm mind, yet the advantage came from the thing completely disregarding her.


    It saw her as nothing but a troublesome weakling that was a problem to the regular Pikeakes, so it wanted to make a quick, brutal example out of her.


    Yet, she had one card she had not utilised so far, an ability stronger than anything she had demonstrated.


    Preparing {Metal Manipulation}, she did everything she could to hold off as long as possible until the gigantic shark opened its absurd maw, intending to swallow the puny salamander in one bite.


    However, she was waiting for that as she prepared the metal spike formed of her Qi as quickly as she could, barely forming it to its usual size. She just about fired it directly towards the giant Pikeake, eager gaping maw.


    No matter the size of the Greater Pikeake, even with the toughness from its far superior cultivation, its insides were far weaker, and the spear pierced the perfect spot that directly reached its brain.


    It was as some may describe as an absurd level of fortune, from the events leading to the Greater Pikeake in treating her so lightly that it would make a grand show to open its maw so widely way before it even reached her to the fact that its swift momentum and large size gave the metallic spike all the force it needed to pierce right through its flesh to the most vulnerable area of its body.


    Either way, it led to a complete and utter miracle as a Salamander less than three times its size and half its cultivation had sent an attack powerful enough to fall the horrid Greater Pikeake that tormented this swamp region in a single blow.


    And despite its vitality, the death of the beast occurred quickly as Tara¡¯s attack utterly destroyed the brain.


    [You have defeated {Greater Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 150 EXP. You are now 857/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    Tara froze in shock at the notification; not even in her wildest imagination did she think it would end so simply; she had almost resigned herself to death seeing the monstrosity approaching her so fast.


    However, she was quickly awoken from her stupor as the shark''s large body abruptly stilled. Its momentum stopped.


    A blank look filled its eyes as it did not even seem to realise its death right until the moment it died.


    It was as if its body had stopped, becoming completely limp as it began to still before slowly drifting down to the bottom of the water as the Iron Salamanders and Pikeakes looked on.


    For the Pikeakes, who were advantageous in the all-out territory war of beasts, it was a disaster, a blow to their ego and dominance. To the crazed Salamanders, it ignited their battle fervour even more as they began to push back the Pikeakes for the first time slightly.


    The momentum of the battle completely changed, and the Iron Salamanders began to look like they had a chance to change the status quo among beasts in this region.


    The fight between both sides was always inevitable. The clashing of magical beasts was constant; they always fought for territory dominance and resources.


    Yet, though they gained a slight advantage among the bulk of the species, they remained at a significant disadvantage in the battle of the alphas among the species.


    The one Elder Salamander facing even odds was doing better against the Greater Pikeake, its regeneration helping to keep it in the fight. Yet, the two against the Sphyrna Pikeake looked on the brink of falling.


    Tara knew she had to do something, or the Iron Salamanders were doomed. She was not disillusioned by what would happen if the Pikeakes won, and they decided to hunt down all the Salamanders, including her.


    It was then she had a crazy idea.


    One that could prove her death sentence; however, the rewards would be gigantic, and she couldn¡¯t help but harness the craziness of the Iron Salamanders as a dangerous thought filled her mind.


    ¡®Here it goes,¡¯ Tara thought, promising to try to return to her rational self if she survived this.


    Oh, who was she kidding? Tara never lived like a daredevil, but she was strangely liberated and felt that constantly doing absurd things kept her sane despite being reborn as a Salamander.

 Chapter 14 - Ending

    Rushing through the battle, Tara ignored the Pikeake and Iron Salamanders, who remained locked in fierce confrontation, knowing she needed to get to the Elder Iron Salamanders fast.


    Fortunately, her defeating the Greater Pikeake in one blow intimidated the other Pikeakes, so they steered clear of her on their initiative.


    Most of them cowed at her presence; none of the Pikeake''s previous aggression was present since all magical beats responded to strength.


    The Pikeakes were pleased to see her rush towards the aid of the Elder Iron Salamanders, full of the belief their leader, the Sphyrna Pikeake, would be the one to deal with her.


    With the Pikeakes mostly giving way, she was able to navigate her way through the chaotic clash swiftly.


    Reaching the second Greater Pikeake, the gigantic fish immediately responded to her presence.


    Fear and suspicion filled its red, bloodthirsty eyes as it looked at her warily, and the Elder Iron Salamander took full advantage of its opponent, making a surprising leap of motion; the large-clunky-looking Salamander moved at speed through the water that seemed far too agile for its appearance.


    The Greater Pikeake was taken by surprise, underestimating the Elder Salamander, who had been on the defensive since the start to occupy it and its companion.


    All four Elder Salamanders knew the Sphyrna Pikeake wanted minimal involvement from the Greater Pikeakes, so it had sent them to deal with only one of the four Elder Salamanders, and that one was downplaying itself from the start to wait for an opportunity to strike.


    The Elder Salamander had lost all hope and was going to go all out not too long ago. Yet, even then, the two Greater Pikeakes were too strong as a duo to take down by itself, yet with one remaining and Tara distracting it from the front, it had allowed this gambit to pay off.


    Finally reaching the Greater Pikeake, the Elder Iron Salamander''s brute strength can now be utilised to latch onto the thing with its claws, causing the large fish to struggle as it swings its large maw from side to side, trying to bite the Elder Iron Salamander.


    However, despite its thrashing, the Elder Iron Salamander could hold on. Tara, who was taking a ridiculous risk by trusting the Elder Salamander to continue its hold on the large fish, approached the head of the Greater Pikeakes, which began to become even more aggressive, making the Elder Salamander struggle to contain it.


    Nonetheless, that was all Tara needed as she bottomed out her Qi to generate a final metallic spike, causing the Greater Pikeakes to screech in desperation.


    Yet, that didn¡¯t stop Tara from firing at point-blank range towards its eye socket.


    Even though she was often inferior to it in cultivation, the attack was damaging; the Greater Pikeake was held firmly by the Elder Iron Salamander and could not evade the metallic spike that punctured right into its eye.


    The Greater Pikeake yelled an enormous shriek, causing a piercing sound to echo through the water. The thrashing became so intense that the Elder Iron Salamander was finally dislodged.


    Near its gaping maw, Tara found herself in grave danger, as the thing remained alive despite having a large spear deep into its eye socket.


    Tara''s fortune downing the first Greater Pikeake was not present this time, as she realised despite the Pikeake boasting weak natural defences, the thickness of their flesh that was bolstered many times by their superior cultivation made them extremely difficult to kill in usual circumstances.


    The Greater Pikeake''s remaining eye appeared enraged as it looked at her. The thing opened its maw as it tried to repeat the actions of its predecessor, but this time, she had no preemptive means to stop it.


    Tara was only saved by the swift recovery of the Elder Iron Salamander, whom she had assisted. Using the spear as leverage, the Elder Iron Salamander gripped it with its powerful jaws, and with the fish who was trying to travel forward to attack her, its momentum only allowed the spear to dig even deeper into its eye socket, making it freeze as it shuddered.


    Tara thought the thing would never die as its other eye moved to acknowledge the Elder Iron Salamander as it attempted to swing its mouth towards its aggressor.


    Yet the Elder Iron Salamander was determined as it pushed the spear even deeper. Despite the Greater Pikeake''s high vitality, Qi Gathering beasts are still mortal, and the final crunch from the spear digging through the skull to its brain was finally enough to end the Greater Pikeake.


    And despite the Elder Iron Salamander carrying her in this encounter, either her contribution, her closeness to the Pikeake as it breathed its last or the fact it used the metal spear she generated from her Qi, for whatever one of those reasons caused her to receive credit for the kill according to the notification she had received.


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    [You have defeated {Greater Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 150 EXP. You are now 1007/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]


    And with it, she had enough EXP to level up. Yet despite that, this was neither the time nor place to do so, so she had to decline the pressing notification indicating if she wanted to level up.


    [Congratulations, you currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to progress to level 4?]


    Hurriedly selecting ¡®No¡¯, the Elder Iron Salamander, who had just downed the remaining Greater Pikeake alongside her, wasted no time as it rushed to aid its comrades looking worse for wear.


    The Sphyrna Pikeake, though, was enraged at this point and seemed done playing with its prey; the intense light from the crystal on its gigantic head seemed to glow even brighter as Tara witnessed the horrifying sight of the Elder Iron Salamander that had just downed the Greater Pikeake by her side get sliced into two, its thick flesh unable to put up the slightest resistance as a blade of ice split it open in a flash, the surrounding water around its carcass freezing slightly.


    Tara felt hopeless seeing her powerful ally wiped out like that. Yet, she noticed that instead of pressing its advantage, Sphyrna Pikeake''s eyes betrayed its true feelings as exhaustion filled its eyes.


    It made Tara realise the Qi expenditure on its ice abilities must be ridiculous. Tara knew firsthand the expense, and even with the Sphyrna Pikeake being double her cultivation, it had been utilising its skills many times during the battle. Even with its more advanced cultivation, it was still only a Qi Gathering beast and did not possess endless Qi.


    It was the first time the Sphyrna Pikeake had shown any vulnerabilities during the conflict. It was one magical beast of the age and experience that the two remaining Elder Iron Salamanders would never let such an opportunity pass.


    Charging toward the Sphyrna Pikeake, which seemed more lethargic, slowed in its movement after utilising its Qi.


    The Elder Iron Salamanders duo began to land repeated hits on the gigantic shark, causing light injuries to appear on the ginormous Pikeake.


    Such a sudden shift in momentum was alarming. One moment, the Sphyrna Pikeake tore apart a strong enemy in one blow. The next, it seemed to be pushed back by the aggressive attacks from the remaining two Elder Iron Salamanders, not allowing the Sphyrna Pikeake any recovery time.


    Despite this, the Sphyrna Pikeake''s sheer power and size made it seem invincible. Even with its Qi exhausted, the Sphyrna Pikeake proved a mighty beast with a superior bloodline to Elder Iron Salamanders.


    Tara became desperate to think of what she could do, and her thoughts drifted to the Earthray, how her poison allowed her to slow down and defeat a far superior opponent.


    She had no idea the effectiveness of her poison towards the stronger Sphyrna Pikeake, yet she had to try.


    The only thing is {Poison Secretion} only worked if she was close. The Sphyrna Pikeake''s thicker flesh and more substantial cultivation made her need to target a wound to get her poison in its bloodstream.


    Approaching the Sphyrna Pikeake, the large fish briefly gazed at her with a chilling look that screamed death. Recognising her contributions to the battle, the Sphyrna Pikeake loathed her and wanted to tear her limb from limb.


    Yet, it had seen her capabilities and did not feel threatened by the metal spikes, which seemed her most deadly weapon. The Sphyrna Pikeake was far more durable than its Pikeake counterparts, so Tara was not worth noting. Being only in the third stage of Qi Gathering, it dismissed Tara as the lesser threat, with the two Elder Iron Salamanders occupying its attention.


    The two Elder Iron Salamanders similarly did not believe Tara could do anything. They seemed to look at her pleadingly to back off, as if they wanted her to maintain her safety, thinking she was throwing her life away.


    However, Tara was determined. She knew that if she didn¡¯t do anything, the two Elder Iron Salamanders were guaranteed to lose eventually, and for some reason, the thought of this irked her greatly.


    Getting close to the Sphyrna Pikeake, she saw the fresh wounds caused by the two Elder Iron Salamanders. Despite the frantic movements from the three, they seemed ridiculously fast and swift compared to her, who, despite seeming smaller and more agile in appearance, was noticeably slower than the three, whose bulkier frames moved scarily fast. Nonetheless, she still achieved her goal of barely feeling poison dripping from her body as she managed just about to throw herself to climb all over the large fish wounds.


    The Sphyrna Pikeake strangely invited her to do so, allowing her to crawl on its back as she pretended to make attempts to attack it to hide her true intentions of releasing her poison into its wounds.


    She soon discovered why, seeing that her claws and teeth seemed harmless to the gigantic fish; they were not even sharp enough to pierce deep into its skin. With the cunning glint in its eye, she soon discovered exactly why it took the initiative to encourage her to crawl on its back.


    The two Elder Iron Salamanders seemed to screech in annoyance at her to flee as she soon discovered their warnings held meaning as the gemstone on the giant fish head seemed to glow again.


    She realised the Elder Iron Salamanders'' warnings, but they were too late, and she suddenly found her consciousness frozen.


    ¡®Haha. At least I got my poison into its wounds, I tried.¡¯ Tara thought as she found her movements seemed to slow. Her mind began to grow hazier before her vision started to become black. She recalled something.


    ¡®Wait, don¡¯t I still have a level available?¡¯ Tara thought, knowing she had a chance. She brought up the system, trying to push her to the next level, hoping it would be the thing that saved her.


    She had a weird determination that didn¡¯t allow her to back down.


    Tara could be stubborn sometimes, and it may have cost her life this time.


    Yet, if she still could make it out of this one, Tara promised to grow strong to the point where she never found herself in such a situation again.

 Chapter 15 - Pyrrhic Victory

    Tara felt her mind slowing as her vision became even hazier.


    She knew she did not have much time, so instead of her usual contemplation for her levelling process, she had to be swift on this occasion.


    Bringing up the notification, she saw the information she had earlier dismissed.


    [Congratulations, you currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to progress to level 4?]


    Hurriedly, she selected ¡®Yes¡¯, feeling her cultivation level increase, providing the familiar warmth and vigour that filled her body from its increase.


    [Your cultivation level has increased Qi Gathering 3 > Qi Gathering 4. All essential attributes increased. Qi capacity enhanced. Select two existing traits to improve. Then select your mutation.]


    Instantly, she felt her mind grow sharper, and a newfound strength filled her body.


    Knowing she needed to continue the process quickly.


    She selected the two traits quickly and feeling the most useful in her current situation, she selected {Regeneration} and {Poison Secretion} with regeneration to help her recover towards whatever the Sphyrna Pikeake did to her, and hopefully, the increase in the poison lethality will give her the edge to finish off the creature.


    She felt a pang of annoyance, with her previous plan of wanting to focus on {Metal Manipulation} since she already saw the benefits of the trait, yet with her both being desperate and rushed for time, she had to make the choices quickly.


    She mostly had to skim-read the new benefits with the following notification descriptions.


    [Regeneration {3}: You can regenerate complex limb structures...


    *NEW* Regeneration improves further, becoming more efficient and less energy-consuming.


    Your healing grows even more enhanced, and you are one step closer to reaching the peak of the Iron Salamander''s bloodline inherent trait regeneration limit at the Qi gathering. Your immunity to toxins has enhanced further.


    Trait level: {3} > {4}]


    The trait described what Tara needed in her current situation; to date, it has remained her most consistently used trait.


    She would have long died if it wasn¡¯t for her regenerative capabilities, allowing her to beat enemies that were superior in all aspects apart from resilience.


    And the next one was {Poison Secretion}.


    [Poison Secretion {2}]: An evolution of {Skin Secretion}¡­


    *NEW* Your poison becomes even deadlier and more toxic; its additional effect has improved, making it more efficient at draining Qi. This effect will grow more potent the further the trait improves. Your mutation has further influenced your biology, and you are now naturally more resistant to friendly and foreign poisons and toxins.


    Trait level: {2} > {3}]


    ¡®Friendly?¡¯ Tara thought. The added poison and toxins resistance alongside her regeneration was a helpful enhancement, but it made her realise she was not immune to her poisons.


    Tara thought that the fact that she never once felt the effects of the poison showed her regeneration''s effectiveness at purging poisons.


    Or maybe she just avoided the poison entering her bloodstream.


    Either way, she was already rushing through the mutations until she found one that was most appropriate for her situation.


    There were general mutations that offered slight resistance to elemental damage. Yet, she needed something more against the Sphyrna Pikeake, and a specialised trait that gave her resistance against its most lethal means of attack seemed too perfect to pass up.


    [Ice Qi Resistance {1}]: Your body has formed a resistance to Ice Qi. You are better adapted to survive the cold. Your adaptability and survivability in cold environments have increased. Your body breaks down invading Ice Qi more efficiently, and your flesh has grown more resistant to its general effects.]


    Decisively selecting that as her mutation, her mind went blank.


    Meanwhile, the Elder Iron Salamanders and the Sphyrna Pikeake continued their clash.


    The Elder Iron Salamanders felt enraged as they witnessed Tara¡¯s still body drifting away, frozen like an ice sculptor. Her grip on the Sphyrna Pikeake ceased as it froze her body with its Ice Qi.


    On the other hand, the Sphyrna Pikeake was pleased that it had effortlessly removed the troublesome little lizard.


    Having a weak fledgling Iron Salamander hindering its efforts has made it furious.


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    The conflict with the Iron Salamanders has been developing for some time; it was intentional and long coming. The small slaughter of a number of its kind has only accelerated the inevitable.


    It has always been full of desire to attack the Elder Iron Salamanders, its ideal targets from the beginning, as they are the weakest but most numerical of the beasts around its territory at the sixth stage of Qi Gathering.


    It needed their rich flesh brimming with Qi to finally reach the seventh stage of the Qi Gathering.


    The Sphyrna Pikeake thought there should be no problems with accomplishing its plans.


    Not only will it be able to remove a potentially troublesome rival that was growing far too swiftly for its liking, but it will also be able to feast upon their carcasses to bring about an all-about improvement in its kind.


    However, the simple slaughtering of the Iron Salamanders was awry from the start, yet it has finally accomplished its goals.


    Though the loss of the two Greater Pikakes was somewhat painful, it will credit their sacrifice as it sunk its teeth into their flesh to add their strength to itself and its kind.


    It may even have to pay homage to the bothersome little Salamander; maybe it will take its frozen carcass to serve as a trophy to its lair, as it allowed it to conveniently kill two of its kind that would greatly assist its cultivation.


    Its gaping maw began to drool as its urge to consume became ravenous, yet it found something irritating.


    ¡®What is this annoying thing?¡¯ The Sphyrna Pikeake thought. A hostile foreign substance has entered its body out of nowhere.


    Although it recognised it as poison from its encounters with the poisonous toads north of its territory, it did not recognise how such a poison appeared from nowhere.


    Suddenly, its red eyes flickered to the small, bothersome, frozen Iron Salamander as it thought, ¡®You? How? Iron Salamanders do not have poison¡­¡¯


    The Sphyrna Pikeake has lorded over this territory for an incredibly long time.


    Herds of Iron Salamanders like this one have come and gone with time, either from being wiped out or migrating. Iron Salamanders are a populous species that ran amok in these swamps.


    Although it has encountered them frequently, it has never seen a poisonous Iron Salamander in its long life.


    It was something that the Sphyrna Pikeake never associated with its species.


    Investigating the poison, it found it was growing and a big annoyance.


    Though reasonably weak, and it could get rid of it eventually in normal circumstances, the presence of the Elder Iron Salamanders gave it no time to recuperate, and it also utilised much of its Qi during the earlier battle.


    It also found whenever it took its mind off the poison to concentrate on defeating the two Elder Iron Salamanders, the poison would sneakily steal slivers of its Qi to empower itself.


    ¡®Truly an annoying, unique poison.¡¯ The Sphyrna Pikeake thought, though it did not believe, that it would affect the overall outcome of the battle.


    It felt itself trying to press down the two Elder Iron Salamanders, believing it would take them down eventually, though at some cost now due to the irritating poison.


    The Sphyrna Pikeake was used to battling for its life as a magical beast and would never shy away from doing so.


    However, the next scene shocked it. Looking up, it saw that the previously frozen, still body of the believed dead Iron Salamander began to glow brightly as it suddenly felt the aura on it increase, signifying a cultivation increase.


    That was not all; the Iron Salamander''s body size began to increase as it witnessed its body''s maturity rise rapidly.


    The changes seemed to speed up, and suddenly, the Sphyrna Pikeake found its powerful Ice Qi wrapped tightly around the salamander''s body, which began to crack off harmlessly.


    For the first time, it made the Sphyrna Pikeake feel doubt, and with it being a powerful magical beast that lived countless years, the sudden feeling of the poison flaring up with its effects seemed to become even more potent was the last straw.


    ¡®This has been a part of success. Retreat now, recuperate; I will finish these pests when I¡¯m at my strongest; no need to risk myself at my weakest against them. With the two Greater Pikeakes dead, I can consider my goal fulfilled. I will return when my cultivation increases; no matter how strange that puny Salamander is, it will be no match against absolute power.¡¯ Thought the Sphyrna Pikeake.


    Believing it had enough carcasses for its cultivation, it decided not to risk itself when it was this vulnerable.


    Now that the Sphyrna Pikeake knows about the unique Salamander tricks, the subsequent encounter will not be dangerous.


    It even tried to finish off the annoying Salamanders unconscious body a few times, but the Elder Iron Salamanders were too fiercely protective, so it just shrieked, using the unique Salamander as a distraction; it allowed its kind to gather the bodies of the fallen, the most important being the ones at the sixth Qi gathering stage.


    Ordering a retreat, the exhausted and depleted Iron Salamanders could do nothing but watch the Pikeakes flee.


    They have earned a hard fought victory with the rulers of the territories retreat, but at what cost?


    On the other hand, Tara did not know anything about this, as her last thoughts were when she found her vision going black and waking up to two ginormous salamander heads looking at her curiously.


    She did not think she could be shocked any more until she heard a wise-matronly-like voice enter her mind.


    ¡®You have awoken my child. Now we have much to discuss.¡¯ The voice seemed to come from the more sizable Salamander of the pair, who was female, with her also noticing it had a more rounded head than the Salamander by its side.


    Tara''s mind froze, and she did not know what to do when she saw a massive talking Salamander in front of her.


    The large Elder Iron Salamander seemed to quickly notice as it continued, ¡®You need to have no worries, my child. We only seek to talk as equals. In a herd, we must delegate with the strongest, and you, with that display, are worthy.¡¯


    Tara wanted to reply but found she had no idea how, and it was something the large Elder Iron Salamander seemed to notice.


    ¡®Oh, you have no idea how to transmit thoughts through Qi? Where have your elders been? You poor, poor child.¡¯ The large Elder Iron Salamander seemed to become all motherly for a moment, starting to fuss around her. Tara had no idea why, but she suddenly felt absurdly emotional.


    She weirdly began making a strange noise that sounded like a bizarre cry.


    ¡®Seriously, a giant Salamander had to be the one to make you cry because she reminded you of your Mother?¡¯ Tara thought, feeling annoyance at the show of emotions.


    She had managed to keep a tight lid on such thoughts so far, so suddenly breaking down like this was strange. Despite the human in her trying to tell her that a salamander cannot fill her need for companionship, she felt warm and accepted by a group of Salamanders that were strangers not long ago.


    It was then time for her to open up about herself, though if you had told her she would be telling her life story to a bunch of Salamanders on Earth, she would have broken down in hysterics.

 Chapter 16 - Proposal

    The two Elder Iron Salamanders soon directed her to enter their spacious cave.


    It seemed the Pikeakes retreated a while ago while the Iron Salamanders took significant damage. The loss of the two other Elder Iron Salamanders was especially catastrophic, but it was still considered a victory.


    Both of the remaining Elder Iron Salamanders were remarkably intelligent, incredibly so being comparable to most humans.


    The Elder Iron Salamanders shared the technique of transmitting her thoughts through Qi, which was far more straightforward than she imagined.


    It was incredibly easy for anyone superior in cultivation to do so, and the Elder Iron Salamanders could guide her on how to project her thoughts back to them.


    They took the lead and showed her the technique slowly so she grasped it quickly.


    It was also incredibly easy to block out such transmissions, with the two Elder Iron Salamanders explaining she was subconsciously allowing them to transmit their thoughts to her since they were similar. For instance, if she were to meet a Pikeake with whom she shares a hostile association, she would be far more guarded, thus subconsciously preventing the transmission.


    The technique could also be transmitted in three ways. They could connect their thoughts, allowing them to share information. It was rather interesting, yet Tara knew the Elders were doing most of the work in utilising the technique.


    The two Elder Iron Salamanders explained that she would improve with the technique through practice and gain far more control with time. However, the method was relatively simple, and many magical beasts developed similar means of communication. Most even have traits that allow communication among their kind anyway, not requiring the technique, yet as they grow in intelligence, they appreciate the advantages that quick, silent communication brings.


    The two Elder Iron Salamanders explained that not all magical beasts shared their intellect; they were very surprised by her.


    The two explained that they were hundreds of years old and that it took them many years to develop their spiritual intelligence.


    Most Iron Salamanders present in this herd at a similar cultivation stage to her possessed the intelligence of very clever dogs, with them able to communicate with short, simple answers; it made the Salamander duo even more shocked she did not know how to transmit Qi through her thoughts since most elders such as them can impart the technique rather simply especially to one as sharp as her.


    Tara knew she would have to discuss that eventually. After all, this was a pair of very experienced magical beasts, and they instantly knew she was highly unique.


    Soon, she discovered they had names themselves.


    ¡®My name is Lady.¡¯ The female Elder Iron Salamander declared rather proudly, and Tara knew there was a story behind that one.


    The other male, Elder Iron Salamander, said his name was ¡®Claw¡¯ with a gruff, dismissive tone, no doubt not nearly finding his name as sentimental as the female.


    After she explained, she said her name was Tara when asked by the female. She almost cringed at how she tried the pronunciation, yet she was too worried about offending the female who was earnestly trying her absolute best.


    ¡®T-A-L-Z-A¡¯, the salamander Lady said as slowly as possible, utmost concentration on her salamander-like head.


    Tara would find it cute if not for the fact that she was a truck-sized murder machine.


    Yet the bright curiosity and pure kindness that radiated from her eyes made it easy for Tara to grow fond of her, even with the short meeting between them.


    That meant even when she butchered her name continuously; Tara could not find it in her to even have the slightest bit of annoyance.


    She would have long lost her calm and begun raging if that were her little sister.


    ¡®Your name sounds very weird, like a human. I love humans. Especially Lady Humans.¡¯ Lady said with eyes filled with fondness.


    Claw seemed to let out a deep snort at that response. He didn¡¯t share the same fondness, though even she was intrigued by Lady¡¯s apparent liking of humans.


    The pair explained magical beasts like them usually come up with names to demonstrate their spiritual intelligence, reaching a certain threshold.


    Lady explained, ¡®My name came about in a unique encounter with a human.¡¯


    It turned out that when Lady was a very young Iron Salamander, she was curious and went alone to explore things outside her herd despite being warned that it was unsafe outside their community.


    Deciding to ignore the dangers, she went out wanting to see what the world was like outside her little herd, and it was there that she ended up in trouble with hunters.


    The hunters were human cultivators; this was her first encounter with them. Tara was surprised and wondered why she would have a favourable view of them if humans had attacked her.


    That was until Lady said, ¡®The human cultivators were far beyond my level. I tried to defend myself, but they played with me, knowing I was outmatched. I thought I was going to die; the warnings of my clutch mates were to come true. Yet, that was when I saw her. A human cultivator, a female, she was far stronger than the previous two. I did not understand their conversation exactly, but I knew she was the most noble, generous being I had ever seen. The other cultivators referred to her as ¡®Lady Qin¡¯, and I decided that from then on, I would be a ¡®Lady¡¯ and follow after her.¡¯


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    Claw scoffed at her comments, ¡®Humans noble? They''re more savage than the Pikeakes.¡¯


    Lady''s eyes grew angry with the seemingly gentle Elder Iron Salamander suddenly showing her horns, ¡®I know not all humans are like Lady Qin! But have you met other magical beasts other than our clutch mates who would save another not of their kind as Lady Qin looked out for me? We live in hostility and have to look out for ourselves and the survival of our herd constantly, whereas humans like Lady Qin are willing to look out for others. They protect the weak. Do you see the humans having their young fight like ours are forced to do?¡¯


    Claw''s giant head seemed to lower at her comment, which appeared to show his acceptance. He did not continue to deny Lady¡¯s remarks, though he still harboured distrust towards humans.


    Tara seemed to realise that Lady was the thinker of the two and was emotionally intelligent in how she viewed the world.


    Lady had the mindset of a magical beast who grew up developing insight. She did not like the way things were. Lady saw human society as idealistic, seeing the good in humans and ignoring their imperfections. She liked the idea of human society and became fixated on the image of a female cultivator whom she idolised.


    She wanted to share the civility of human society with magical beasts, creating a structured environment where they all looked out for one another.


    On the other hand, Claw has chosen to embrace his magical beast nature. He is rigid and firm in his views and likes how things are.


    He also had far more bad experiences with humans. Tara knew Claw was right about many things regarding humans and their capabilities. She also knew Lady wasn¡¯t wrong about things as well. There is good and evil in any society.


    Nonetheless, she did have to consider that both developed their intelligence over a long period, and neither would have had the formal education offered to humans. They had learned from others or themselves, so it was no wonder their views significantly differed based on their experiences.


    It was similar to those on Earth who were every bit as intelligent as others but maybe less fortunate not having the opportunities to have an education like someone else. It may mean the one who is educated speech sounds more refined and knowledgable, but that does not make the other less capable.


    It was also undeniable that Claw was far too fond of Lady to argue too much with her. He tried to act casual, yet his big eyes seemed to light up whenever she went into a monologue showing her ideals.


    Seeing the relationship between the two made her think of how she would have treated them if she had been born human.


    It even made her self-conscious about the treatment of animals on Earth in general; the thought of inflicting pain on something that feels this much sounded horrifying.


    Either way, she was grateful she had no such conundrum with the whole reborn Salalander as a thing and all.


    Claw described the origins of his name, which had far less thought behind it than Lady''s.


    Claw just decided on the name ¡®Claw¡¯.


    When he decided he wanted a name for himself, as most magical beasts do when their intelligence grows to the point they desire one, though not wanting to waste much thought on his name, he picked out the first thing he saw, which happened to be his claws.


    The origin of his name fits him well in that way, perfectly describing his character as the simple, straightforward individual he seemed to be.


    He may not be a dreamer like Lady, but he has his way about him.


    All this talk made Tara curious about one thing: ¡®Are the Pikeakes just as smart as the both of you?¡¯


    Lady chuckled in response, replying, ¡®You show wisdom that hints at the age then speak things even most of our young know the next.¡¯


    Though Lady said playfully, she continued answering her question, ¡®The Pikeake are brutes; they are pure creatures made for killing, yet they do not lack intelligence, making them dangerous. The big two-headed one is a magical beast far younger than us, yet he is more vigorous and cunning. We tried to be peaceful with them before, but the damn brute tricked us into thinking we could live here and have our herd live in peace, but I admit I was wrong in trusting it. It has been its plan at the start to fatten us up before it sends its horde to feast on us. It had rebutted our attempts to leave, and it left us no choice but to grow our herd as much as possible, laying our eggs at great risk to our hatchlings so we could form the numbers we needed to defeat a stronger foe. Yet the beast was riled up by that, despite its best efforts to kill off our hatchlings to control our numbers, it could not keep an eye on all the areas we were laying our clutch.¡¯


    Tara couldn¡¯t help but share her thoughts; the complications of her birth explained, ¡®Oh, so that¡¯s why my birth was so¡­ complicated.¡¯


    Claw and Lady''s large eyes widened in response, and even with their salamander-like features, Tara could tell their look was akin to one of shock.


    ¡®You can¡¯t be one of our clutches¡­ if that is so that makes you¡­ weeks old at most, but your intelligence and¡­ development.¡¯ Lady''s voice filled her mind, muttering with disbelief.


    Tara knew she had some explanation to do with the confusion of the two Salamanders.


    ¡®I have a unique ability. Let¡¯s say I¡¯m efficient regarding the absorption of resources¡­¡¯ Tara decided to use this as an explanation; after all, the system seemed to make her absorb resources like the Iron Body Fruit more efficiently.


    Afterwards, Lady seemed filled with happiness and trust as she said, ¡®That¡¯s wonderful. Maybe you could be the solution to our problem.¡¯


    However, Claw seemed highly sceptical about how he looked her over suspiciously. He seemed to know their situation was dire even after Pikeake''s retreat.


    ¡®I think I can get rid of that Pikeake problem once and for all. I developed a poison in my time in the wild; I found a strange fruit that had a strange effect on my body. I wonder if you know the location of other fruits like it? Anything that can improve a magical beast''s utilisation of poison. If so, I believe I can take down the big brute.¡¯ Tara said she knew her only means of downing the large two-headed Pikeake was poison, yet her current poison did not have the lethality she required. Looking at her new level requirement, she knew it would take a while for her next level.


    Being pressed for time, she had to find other means other than level, and her acquiring similar fruits, such as the Iron Dragon Fruit, provided a means to enhance her abilities in the short term.


    Lady seemed ready to reply, yet Claw took this time to step in.


    ¡®I know a place. But first, I want to test you; we have some natural treasures here, so why don¡¯t we put this to the test? You must have consumed resources such as the Iron Dragon Fruit, judging by the gleam of your skin. Most Salamanders take many years and are above you in cultivation before they develop, so I mostly believe you, but don¡¯t take offence when I want to see it for myself; the place I¡¯d have to take you is hazardous to the point even the two-headed brute is wary about going there.¡¯ Claw said firmly.


    Tara couldn¡¯t find any reason to refuse. It also allowed her to develop new or improved existing traits for whatever resources they planned to give her, so she saw no problems doing it, even without the incentive.


    Lady seemed ready to lecture Claw on his strict tone toward her but decided to follow similarly interested in seeing her utilise this ability.


    Therefore, Tara followed the two large Salamanders deeper into the cave, towards the location of the den where they stored any treasures; it was there that Tara would demonstrate the effectiveness of the system for the Elder Iron Salamanders to see and hopefully gain their complete allegiance.

 Chapter 17 - Maxing Traits

    As they reached deeper into the cavernous den, Tara saw a shocking sight.


    Inside the spacious cavern that glowed a beautiful light from the bioluminescent mushrooms, a large tree sat in the middle of the underwater cavern.


    She supposed it was not surprising; the tree was even larger than the one she saw when she encountered the Earthray, and there were many more of the same beautiful glowing fruits.


    Tara long ago knew the trees here were nothing like the ones found on Earth. After all, no trees or fruit could usually survive deep underwater, never mind a submerged cavern, without access to sunlight.


    The tree seemed to have entirely different needs compared to its Earth counterparts, and judging by the notes of Qi that it was absorbing from the mushrooms, she assumed the tree gathered its essential resources to survive in an entirely different way.


    Tara even noticed the carcasses of the fallen Pikeakes from the earlier battle present, thrown around the tree haphazardly.


    Claw and Lady noticed her look of curiosity, with Claw deciding to take the initiative to explain, ¡®Spiritual plants like the Iron Dragon Fruit Tree absorb Qi to utilise as nutrition, to grow, allowing them to become stronger naturally with age and maturity, which in doing so means they provide more fruit. It is also helpful to leave carcasses packed full of Qi like these Pikeake, and the tree will naturally break these down as the bodies'' nutrients get broken down and utilised by the tree.¡¯


    Tara thought it made sense, knowing that the Earthray likely also did this, judging by the discarded bones it left behind to support the tree''s growth.


    Either way, this tree was older and stronger than the previous one, so she hoped it would provide better benefits.


    Staring at the fruits on the tree, Tara found they looked just as lush and appetising as the last, causing her to stare at them in ravenous hunger.


    Looking over at the two elders, she noticed a complete disinterest in their gaze, one she could tell they were not faking either.


    Tara must have shown her confusion in an obvious manner since Claw soon chuckled lightly in her mind as he said, ¡®We can tell you are surprised we do not desire them as you do. Youngling, we have been around for centuries. We have long ago extracted the maximum benefits a low-body refining treasure like this can provide, and our bodies have reached the maximum amount of saturation and tempering possible from the fruit. Usually, Iron Salamanders like us will reach our limit at a much later point in our lives from such treasures, as it takes a while to break down from each use until finally, we reach a limit where the fruit no longer has an effect. It was why we struggled to grasp your age, thinking your cultivation must have stunted for whatever reason since you have attained a high level of acclimation with the use of a body refining treasure, with the gleam of your flesh showing the initial metallic lustre present, usually we have such a skin tone once we are close to reaching the maximum attainment the fruit provides.¡¯


    Pausing for a period to let her take in the information, Claw continued, ¡®However, once you mentioned your true age, we realised there must be some truth in what you said. Your body shows it has completely acclimated to the medical effects of the fruit already. How it can break down the fruit as efficiently as that is usually a sign of a very powerful bloodline, yet we don¡¯t get a feeling you possess one, as it would be obvious from your aura alone, which is why we are puzzled about your explanation. Thus, though your explanation must be right from the adaptation your body has shown, please mind that we would like to see this for ourselves if we were to commit our hopes on survival to you whilst our herd is on the brink of extinction.¡¯


    Tara nodded in understanding and said, ¡®From what you said, I can understand why I must sound highly unusual, so I understand the need for a demonstration. And it¡¯s not like this doesn¡¯t benefit me either; how many fruits are you willing to provide?¡¯


    ¡®As many as it takes until you reach your limit, much of our kin will now miss out and will have to wait for the next growth cycle, yet if you can do what you say you can, it gives us hope of not having to leave this region. We have been around the swamp many times in our lives, exploring much of the territory, and though the Pikeakes are dangerous, they are nothing compared to the rulers of the other sections of the swamp. And if you can remove the big one, it will give us a chance to attempt a takeover; doing so will provide territory for our kind to establish ourselves where we are finally not lorded over. Lady and I can even call in much of our kin to flock here; the Sphyrna Pikeake drove most of them away in fear, and with it gone, many Iron Salamanders will find themselves returning.¡¯ Claw said, indicating that much of the fruits growing on the tree were now hers.


    Looking at the fruits on the tree, she found herself resisting the urge to drool; though she held back, turning towards Claw, Tara gave him one last look as she said, ¡®Are you sure it will be fine to eat all these fruits?¡¯


    Claw''s large head looked back in amusement as he replied, ¡®If you can handle that many go ahead, a typical member of our kin of your size usually is filled to bursting from three of those. Just consume them till you reach your limit. These fruits will soon grow back with the amount of Qi the tree will gather from the Pikeake carcasses.¡¯


    Tara''s eyes returned to the tree filled to the brim with tantalising fruit; the tree held over twenty times the amount of fruit the last one had, and she felt her instinct filled with sheer desire just by looking at it.


    ¡®Well, I don¡¯t need to be told more than twice.¡¯ Tara thought before finally deciding to stop holding herself back; she began to use her claws to rip off the fruits one by one before stuffing them into her eager maw.


    Like the last section of fruits, consuming just one of them was not enough to bring about a change, yet she had an abundance of fruit available, with Claw and Lady saying to eat until she reached her absolute limit.


    The energy of the fruit coursed through her as it grew more and more intense by the minute, with her devouring the fruits from the tree one by one.


    Claw and Lady stared at with their mouths gaping wide, as they saw her gulp down the fruits rampantly. The amount of energy coursing in her body was enough to make a typical member of their kind explode many times over from the intensity.


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    Though Tara told them beforehand, allowing them to know what to expect, now seeing it was another thing entirely.


    Tara did not notice their reaction, though. She was too lost in the sensation of her body rapidly growing more potent from ingesting so many fruits. Soon enough, a notification sounded.


    [Iron Dragon Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Trait: Iron Bones trait level forcibly increased {3} > {4} *NEW* Your bones have advanced once again¡­]


    The notification went away extremely quickly and was replaced by another.


    [Iron Dragon Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Iron Skin and Tendons level forcibly increased {2} > {3}: *NEW* Your flesh and tendons have the durability of iron...]


    This notification was soon gone as well, as the influx of energy from the fruits continued to downpour into her body as she feasted on the plentiful amount the large tree provided.


    [Iron Dragon Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Trait: Iron Bones trait level forcibly increased {4} > {5} *MAX* Your bones have advanced once again, reaching the absolute limit of your species. Your teeth and claws are at the peak of your kind, with each cultivation advancement in Qi Gathering enhancing this further, making you the elite of your species. You have reached the enhancement limit at your cultivation realm, species; it will take exceptional circumstances or if you break through into the Foundation Establishment realm to evolve this trait further.]


    Tara saw that the trait was finally maxed out from the many fruits she had consumed.


    She felt gladdened that Elder Iron Salamanders provided her with this many; otherwise, reaching this stage would have taken her a while. It also meant her bones, claws, and teeth were as durable and sharp as they¡¯d ever be in the Qi Gathering realm, not including the general increment in all-around strength that advancing her cultivation provides.


    It was not the only trait she maxed out, as soon enough, just before Tara was worried she would run out of fruit before receiving the final two notifications she wanted.


    [Iron Dragon Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Iron Skin and Tendons level forcibly increased {3} > {4}: *NEW* Your flesh and tendons have the durability of iron...]


    And then the next followed.


    [Iron Dragon Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Iron Skin and Tendons level forcibly increased {4 > {5}: *MAX* Your flesh and tendons have the durability of iron. Your skin has achieved the maximum potential of resistance for your species. Your tendons have reached their limit in potential elasticity and strength. You have reached the limit of this trait for your cultivation realm and species; it will take exceptional circumstances or for you to break into the Foundation Establishment Realm to break this limit.]


    Reading the notification, she discovered that reaching the trait limits and maximising them gave her a requirement to enhance the traits further, hinting at perhaps a superior body refinement treasure compared to the low one she had been utilising from the term ¡®exceptional circumstance¡¯ or breaking through in cultivation realm, that she assumed would increase the limit of her species potential allowing her to strengthen the trait further.


    Either way, she received the final notification she had been awaiting.


    [Excess vitality from fruit transformed into EXP. Calculating: You have received 500 EXP.


    You are now 507/5000 EXP into progressing to Level 5.]


    The EXP requirements are becoming even steeper per level, and she knew they would grow astronomical. However, she had made a significant step toward levelling further just by eating an abundance of fruit, so she supposed she had plenty of means to gather it.


    After the influx of levels, she reviewed her stat sheet, knowing she had not viewed them for a while.


    [Name: Tara


    Species: Iron Salamander


    Level: 4 {507/5000 EXP to Lvl 5}


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 4


    Species Traits: Regeneration {4}, Iron Bones {5}, Iron Skin and Tendons {5}


    Mutations: Poison Secretion {3}, Metal Manipulation {1}, Ice Qi Resistance {1}]


    Feeling satisfied with the changes and the vast improvement from when she was reborn and utterly clueless about everything motivated her to improve even further.


    ¡®One step closer to returning home.¡¯ Tara thought, talking to Claw and Lady only reinforced her desires since she missed her Mother dearly and even her little brat of a sister; she didn¡¯t mind giving her shower priority for eternity if she could go back.


    Being reborn here was a novelty and felt surreal, yet she found it difficult to discard and throw away her attachments from her previous life, not when there was hope to return.


    However, she knew it had only been a short time. The concern of forgetting her family''s faces appeared in her mind. After all, Claw and Lady talked about living centuries, demonstrating that she was a long-lived species currently. What if hundreds or thousands of years had passed before she had the strength to return? Would she even have a family to return to?


    This thought startled her, yet she held onto that hope of returning since it gave her strength to push forward, and in this chaotic, lawless world, that was what she needed.


    Turning to Claw and Lady, Tara left most of the tree vacant of fruit. The duo stared at her with awe; she left an impression.


    Reaching their minds, she felt the feeling of sending her thoughts, ¡®Well, have I passed?¡¯


    Claw and Lady turned their large heads, looking at each other before they returned to facing her; Claw said, ¡®Yes. I have no explanation of what you are. You are not of an exalted bloodline or a human who can utilise their techniques to handle the energies of the spiritual plant better, yet you defy sense. I¡¯m not sure if you are some strange creature in disguise; I don¡¯t know if I would even care about that because you came with an assurance to deal with our rival, so I will do what I promised and show you exactly where you can push your poisons to the limit.¡¯


    The way Claw spoke to her was now different; it was as if he did not view her as the same naive young hatchling that he assumed she was before.


    ¡®Was what I did that unnatural?¡¯ Tara thought, deciding she would be careful in the future who to reveal this to; if the Elder Iron Salamanders had bad intentions, this could have gone badly.


    However, she did not show any of these thoughts outwardly, as she projected a different message she wanted to give to Claw, ¡®When do you plan to take me? I¡¯m as ready as I will ever be.¡¯


    Claw seemed to like this response as he replied, ¡®Me also, we must go quickly. I know that big brute will be trying to progress its cultivation. If it does, it will come back far too powerful for us to deal with, no matter how strong your poison will be; a Qi Gathering seven magical beast is an extreme threat, never mind one on the calibre of that brute.¡¯


    With that, Claw directed her to leave with him; Lady would be staying behind to look over the rest of their kin, and with that, Claw directed her to one of the most dangerous parts of this section of the swamp.


    The only area of its territory that even Sphyrna Pikeake was wary of was the poisonous bogs. These bogs were separate from the other regions of the swamp and home to some incredibly toxic creatures.


    And Tara was heading right towards it.

 Chapter 18 - Poisonous Bog

    The poisonous bog was a region in the swamp that was so toxic that the water held a mild toxin.


    It was a closed-off area, and a supernatural barrier prevented it from interacting with the other regions.


    Tara found it as if a new world opened up the moment she entered the region; despite its connection to the swamp, the bog didn¡¯t seem to interfere with the rest of the areas, with the toxic substances that made up the poisonous bog limited to its surroundings.


    The trip here was uneventful; with Claw by her side, most magical beasts would steer clear of them, with Claw¡¯s cultivation at the sixth stage of Qi Gathering considered a peak force in this region.


    Only a few foolish territorial Pikeakes attacked them and were dealt with quickly.


    [You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 527/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    Claw dealt with the other one. It took the powerful Salamander a single swipe of its giant claws to tear the Pikeake into two, with her not knowing why the predatory Pikeakes would throw away their lives so futilely.


    She also did not receive a single amount of EXP for Claw''s kill, demonstrating that being within the vicinity did not seem enough for the system to acknowledge it.


    Either way, when Claw said he was taking her to the most toxic area of the swamp, she did not take it well until Claw said that Iron Salamanders, in general, could survive there with no issues.


    The poisonous creatures were still a threat, but the murky toxins that travelled through the waters were of no danger to them. However, their bodies constantly purge these toxins, weakening their regeneration slightly.


    When they entered the bog, she instantly felt the difference. It was strange how an area could be so different from the rest of the swamp.


    The world''s laws seemed to operate in unlogical ways, with the environment of the poisonous bog entirely different from that of the swamp nearby.


    Claw told her the humans referred to the swamp as the Labyrinth Marshes of Emerling, referring to its many denizens, assortments of magical beasts, and environmental variation, with irregular swamp regions.


    Tara found it a fitting name, and the poisonous bog was a great example, as it bore no resemblance to the swamp waters she had lived in since her rebirth.


    Navigating their way through the poisonous bog, she was already beginning to feel the effects of the toxic water; it was subtle, but she felt the familiar feeling of using her regeneration trait, so she knew she was being slowly poisoned.


    ¡®This place is ridiculously deadly¡¯, Tara thought, thinking of the magical beasts or other beings unknowingly poisoned the moment they entered this region; they may not realise until it was too late, letting whatever predators lived down here feast on their flesh.


    Further exploring the bog, she found the water far murkier than in the region she came from, though her eyes were still well adapted to see beyond what a human could see down here.


    Another was the sheer amount of vegetation, which made it feel like an underwater Greenland forest.


    She saw plants entirely foreign to her and others that seemed familiar, including marigolds and flowers resembling an Iris, full of bright purple, yellow, and even more exotic-looking colours.


    She thought the poisonous bog was eerily beautiful, and the amount of life on display was astounding. It was far different from the toxic, poisonous wasteland she expected.


    Yet Tara soon found this beauty was an illusion, hiding the true darkness of this place.


    She soon saw a large fish moving near one of the beautiful flowers where the fish was suddenly eaten whole, with a ridiculously large Venus flytrap abruptly appearing from the swamp floor.


    The flytrap snapped around the fish in its entirety before abruptly disappearing, leaving the space vacant as if nothing had happened.


    Tara fixed her eyes and looked at the spot from which it had disappeared. The camouflage on the thing was so good that she could not see it correctly even when she concentrated.


    Feeling a shiver at the thought of such murderous large carnivorous plants hidden everywhere, she found Claw looking at her, intent on talking with her again.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t want to go up against them, but to find what you''re looking for quickly, we got to find a magical beast around mine and Lady¡¯s level. As you can see from the tree we were protecting, a strong magical beast would guard most natural treasures; before we arrived, there was a magical beast around our level that we had to beat to claim the area and spiritual tree. Usually, the older and stronger the spiritual plant, the more resources it can provide to a strong magical beast like I and Lady who have a herd to raise; it is of utmost importance to give them the means to grow as a stronger herd will benefit us too, the Sphyrna Pikeake has benefited immensely from lording this region. The Pikeake provided him with many resources, bringing him to the brink of reaching Qi Gathering seven, a stage from which many of us are held back.¡¯ Claw explained to her. He seemed sombre all of a sudden as he realised something.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡®Whatever we have to go up against for what I need can¡¯t be worse than the Sphyrna Pikeake, right?¡¯ Tara said almost jokingly, yet judging by Claw''s deafening silence, she felt concerned.


    ¡®No, it is weaker than that brute. And stupid, too, ridiculously so. Like Lady and I told you before, not all magical beasts are intelligent; we happen to live long lives and are fortunate. Our two companions you could not meet did not converse much with us and wouldn¡¯t have minded this description, but they were relatively simple. Not all magical beasts have much aspiration outside of their base instincts, and usually, they direct their intelligence to supplement this. Like the Sphyrna Pikeake, it is very cunning as a predator but does not think much about eating outside, expanding its territory, and improving its cultivation. Let¡¯s say Lady was the more unique one of us, and she rubbed off on me over the years; I started thinking more of other things because of her. And I think I kinda like it. You are odd, though; I have never met a magical beast that talks so human, yet not in my lifetime. You are weirdly ignorant but show signs of such thought that it is strange to view you as a young one. I don¡¯t know what you may be, I don¡¯t care, just as long as you don¡¯t ever think of harming Lady¡¯. Claw said that last thought with such murderous intent Tara knew he wanted an answer.


    ¡®I promise. Just to let you know, I haven¡¯t met you two for that long, so it may not be the most trustworthy promise, but I would never even think of hurting Lady; I know she¡¯s a kind soul.¡¯ Tara said that though she might have spoken too much rather than the simple one-word answer, she felt the need to make such a promise.


    Claw seemed surprised before he chuckled in her mind and replied, ¡®You are right. She is. A good word to describe her. Sometimes, I wonder how she ended up like that in a place such as this, how she maintains such thoughts with the suffering she went through. It¡¯s beyond me. I hate them; I don¡¯t know how she can forgive them just because of one human¡­¡¯


    Claw paused after he said that, seeming to snap his mind out of it before he went into a rant. There he spoke again, though this time, he moved on to the matter, ¡®Forgive me, we need to focus on the magical beast. As I said previously, the magical beast is not the brightest; what we need to deal with is a large poisonous toad. Its main danger is its ridiculous poison; it¡¯s so absurdly poisonous that the Sphyrna Pikeake was wary of it, but other than that, it isn''t imposing for our level. I know it guards a type of spiritual plant that produces fruits that enhance its poison; it¡¯s one of the reasons why its poison became so potent.¡¯


    After that, they moved further into the bog, with Claw instructing her to be careful of the murderous plants whenever she got too close to the beautiful plant life.


    It was easy to drop your guard here; everything was so eerily beautiful, yet they soon came across a target that Claw wanted her to face.


    Claw turned toward her as he pointed its large claw toward a mix of dark green shrubs at the bottom of the swamp.


    She wondered what he wanted her to look towards until she noticed it.


    ¡®Is that a giant frog?¡¯ Tara thought, or should she say toad, as she utilised {Insight}.


    [Species: Toxic Bog Toad


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 5]


    Claw noticed her eyes lit up as she spotted it and replied, ¡®That¡¯s one of its kind. It would be good practice for you to fight the thing before we come up against the big dumb one.¡¯


    Tara nodded, deciding to utilise her {Metal Manipulation}.


    As she formed a metal spike, she noticed Claw looked at her aptly as if observing her skill closely.


    ¡®Here it goes,¡¯ Tara thought before swiftly launching the spear at the toad; however, to her shock, the toad could react.


    Despite the swift, unexpected attack, the toad could move, letting out wicked poisonous fumes that created a sickly dark green gas-like substance in the water near it.


    Her metal spear didn¡¯t prove invulnerable for the first time as she saw it enter the cloud of gas and corrode into nothingness before her eyes.


    ¡®Just how toxic is that thing.¡¯ Tara thought, though her trait was only at the first level, the metal produced was still ridiculously sturdy and strong; no wonder the Sphyrna Pikeake was wary of the bigger, deadlier version of this thing.


    After the spear dissolved, the toxic cloud soon seemed to vanish, and the toad looked around warily, exhausted.


    ¡®So not without vulnerabilities,¡¯ Tara thought. Though she decided not to approach the thing closely, she started to create another spear, yet the Toad seemed to spot her and shot her an angry glance filled with killing intent.


    The Toxic Bog Toad soon demonstrated it did not just have a close-range means of attack, as its tongue came at her like a whip from a considerable distance, coated on the tongue was full of that sickly dark green poison, though this time it was in liquid form.


    ¡®So it has full control of its poison, whether liquid or gas form,¡¯ Tara noted. Disrupted from creating her spear, she wasted her Qi entirely as the disruption from the toad caused a disturbance in her mind, shattering the process of making the metal spike.


    Hastily moving out of the way of the tongue, she tried to swipe it with her claw, finding the lack of resistance surprising as she ripped it off.


    Yet her victory celebration ended up short as the vicious poison ended up on the right of her forelimbs, and it was as ridiculously toxic as it looked.


    ¡®Damn, that hurts,¡¯ Tara thought, as the poison made short work of her claws, webbed-like appendage.


    Despite the damage, the Toad was similarly reeling from losing its tongue, and Tara decided to take the initiative to finish it off for good this time.


    Approaching the Toad drained of Qi, she found the Toad again attempting to create a gas-like poison, yet she was well prepared, managing to get out of its way as it sprang towards her.


    With the Toad leaving itself open, she gritted her teeth as she swung her other claw into the soft neck, tearing it open. She finally killed the Toad, but she smeared herself in poison again.


    Feeling the agony of her flesh burning, not feeling the notification from the system could cheer her up.


    [You have defeated {Toxic Bog Toad}, gaining 70 EXP. You are now 597/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    She couldn¡¯t be satisfied by the kill, as the Toad did more damage to her than anything had done for a while. Though the Sphyrna Pikeake was close to killing her, she did not experience the after-effects due to her level-up.


    This time, she was in misery from the poison.


    Claw took this time to approach her and said, ¡®You will be fine. Your regeneration is strong, which is a good lesson for you. If the big one catches you like this, let¡¯s say we would not have this conversation.¡¯


    ¡®You have a way to make one feel confident.¡¯ Tara couldn¡¯t help but reply snarkily.


    ¡®It is one of my better qualities.¡¯ Claw said in a way that made her unable to tell if the Salamander was serious.


    Either way, she knew Claw was right, and it was time to continue traversing their way through the bog; it was time for more Toad hunting.

 Chapter 19 - Bog Divyth Anaconda

    Before leaving, Claw abruptly stopped and requested something.


    ¡®Now I want to try something. The way you consume those fruits. Usually, we as a species are incredibly compatible with the Iron Dragon Fruit. However, you are on another level. And seeing you can utilise poison, I would like to see the possibilities if you did something. Those Toad carcasses are usually an excellent tonic to build up Poison Qi resistance for creatures in the bog, and a large anaconda known for its poison resistance feasts upon them regularly. Usually, Iron Salamanders are not the most compatible when building up Poison Qi resistance in such a way, yet you are not exactly normal as Iron Salamanders do not usually utilise poisons.¡¯ Claw said, making Tara''s eyes turn toward the ugly Toad carcass.


    She wanted to immediately ignore Claw''s suggestion, even if she likely gained a helpful trait.


    Raking her eyes over the deceased Toad, she saw that it was super-sized compared to its Earth counterpart, and its skin was a dark green, making it extremely hard to see among the shrubs.


    Its warty, bumpy skin had a slimy, sickly texture, making Tara''s human side of her want to barf.


    The toad appeared extremely unappetising, and knowing how deadly the poison was, she looked back to Claw and replied, ¡®Are you seriously suggesting what I think? Did you see how poisonous that thing was? Do you want to get me killed? I just saw the poison from that thing''s body dissolve metal.¡¯


    Claw looked at her uncompromisingly as he said, ¡®The Toad is dead. Its poison by now is many times weaker than when it was alive; without the Toad Qi to empower it, you will be fine; with your natural regeneration and the fact you have the bodily strength of a century old Iron Salamander, from those fruits, I can tell you confidently that you can handle it. And besides, you will appreciate this when you come up against the big Toad if you think the poison from that one is deadly¡­¡¯


    Though Tara wanted to make a counterargument, she was primarily logic-driven. Therefore, when it came to her survival, she needed to do whatever she could to improve herself when she had the chance.


    Therefore, with reluctance, she approached the Toad carcass and took a big bite, finding her strengthened teeth ripping through the flesh quickly. The Toad became weaker upon death.


    Tara found that your cultivation stage worked similarly to a multiplier.


    It doubled or even quadrupled your base strength; therefore, the more substantial your natural bodily strength is, the bigger the boost, which is why a huge Dragon, already born many times stronger than any human would be, is usually mighty for its cultivation stage.


    Though there are other factors, such as the purity of your Qi, technique, and bloodline, all these things will determine how big a boost your cultivation provides you for that stage. It is how humans are so deceptively strong despite being born fragile compared to magical beasts.


    Tara felt a slight burn as she consumed the Toad. Though her body was strong and possessed heightened regeneration and prior resistance to toxins, the Toad''s body still proved incredibly toxic.


    However, she still forced herself to continue to finish off the corpse, hoping to gain something from it.


    Tara began to curse Claw with every mouthful in her mind, yet she managed to finish the Toad''s corpse in the end.


    For a moment, she thought she would gain nothing from it, but then the familiar notification sounded.


    [Toxic Bog Toad consumed. Compatible with the host¡¯s existing traits. Generating trait.


    *New Trait generated*: Consuming a highly poisonous creature has pushed you to build resistance; Poison Qi Resistance {1} From interacting with poisons and consuming a relevant catalyst, you have developed a resistance to Poison Qi. You have become better adapted to resisting attacks involving toxins and poisons. Your body breaks down and defends against poison Qi more efficiently.]


    ¡®Now that will be useful.¡¯ Tara thought.


    After reading the description, she discarded her prior views on the reluctance to eat a Toad as the benefits of the new trait were perfect for her current location.


    Claw seemed to pick up on this when he said, ¡®I presume you got something? You would be angry if you didn¡¯t; let¡¯s take down more toads and build up your tolerance. Though your flesh and bones are every bit as strong as mine from the fruit, you''re lacking in cultivation and maturity, making you far more vulnerable; against a normal one of the big Toads kind, you are fine, but I want to be cautious when it comes to the big one. For the Pikeake to be wary of the Toad, it must be strong.¡¯


    Tara nodded in agreement, finding Claw''s plan wise.


    Continuing to make their way through the bog, Tara began fighting more of the Toads, and though they proved deadly each time, Tara found her {Poison Qi Resistance} in conjunction with her powerful physique and regeneration made her a nightmare match-up for the Toads.


    The Toads were even weaker than the Pikeake when it came to resilience, and they lacked the Pikeake''s powerful bite and speed to make up for it.


    Their biggest weapon was their poison, which, though it dealt nasty wounds to her each time, was not enough to keep her at bay, as her incredibly sharp claws were able to deal lethal damage as soon as she was able to get close.


    Though she continuously found it difficult to pin the toads down with {Metal Manipulation} no matter how subtle and clever she tried to launch her projectiles, the Toads were hard to pin down; the poisonous clouds they released on instinct when threatened were an ample barrier to protect them, though she did manage to catch a few eventually, Tara found far less success than compared to the more agile Pikeake which she found pretty surprising.


    It showed her that being too reliant on a singular trait may prove costly, so she should continue diversifying her weapons to keep her prepared against differing enemies.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Dodging out the way of another attack from the toad''s whip-like tongue, she was surprised to find it curl around to strike her as she felt that sticky blob of poison strike at her flesh.


    Ignoring the painful burn brought by the poison, she outmuscles the Toad, who tries to use its tongue to ensnare her, believing its poison would be enough to weaken her enough for it to drag her within a suitable distance to release its poisonous cloud.


    The toad found it dragged forward in a motion as it found itself within striking distance of Tara, yet instead of the Toad releasing its fatal poison, it was Tara who impaled the Toad on her claws and emerged victorious as she felled another one of the Toads.


    [You have defeated {Toxic Bog Toad}, gaining 70 EXP. You are now 1997/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    That was now the twentieth toad she had fallen since defeating her first Toad, and the Toads remained a challenging opponent each time.


    They were perfectly adapted to the poisonous bog, which made her wariness of the so-called big one grow from each encounter.


    ¡®If these are a small, far weaker version of the one I would face, then how dangerous would the big one be?¡¯ Tara thought, almost becoming lost in her musings until she found the waiting Claw indicating for her to claim her prize.


    Even though it was her twenty-first victim, she still found herself revolted each time she ate one of these toads.


    Yet, at least this time, she would be rewarded. There had been no such change for her last twenty, so she began to feel that no change would ever come.


    [Toxic Bog Toad consumed. Limit reached, enhancing trait.


    Poison Qi Resistance trait forcibly increased {1} > {2}: *NEW* From interacting with poisons¡­ This trait is further enhanced; you are more resistant to Poisonous Qi, and your body better breaks down poisonous substances.]


    The enhancement was relatively straightforward, though she still appreciated it. The better protection against Poisonous Qi, the better.


    She was knocked out of her reverie when Claw suddenly spoke in her mind, ¡®Tara, we¡¯re being tracked. Something has been following the scent of death from the Toads, and I believe it¡¯s coming right below you¡­¡¯


    It was then Tara looked down, and believe it or not, she struggled to see it at first, but when she did, she felt a wave of terror.


    Similar to the Toads, it was dark green, blending in almost perfectly with the shrubs and greenery in the poisonous bog; the murkier water made it even harder to notice, yet the thing was huge.


    A sizeable serpentine head slowly moved towards them; Tara had no idea how something so big could move so silently and stealthily since it almost got the jump on Claw.


    Claw''s voice sounded again in her mind, ¡®Now I need you to focus. The Anaconda is a big one, but they are ambush predators first and foremost; we spotted it before it came within striking distance. Now though I need you to do something¡­¡¯


    It turned out Claw wanted to use himself as bait. He knew the Anaconda would target him first and foremost; it saw him as the threat and her as an immature whelp who could not even threaten the snake.


    She would teach it not to underestimate her. Moving slowly at an angle behind Claw, she formed thick metal spikes, bottoming out her Qi as she generated two of them.


    With how huge Claw''s body was and the fact that the Anaconda was below, fixated entirely on Claw, it did not even notice the spikes that were rapidly forming.


    Claw gave her an opening to attack the snake as he gave the Anaconda the exact opening it was waiting for, the gigantic Anaconda moved in such a rapid, fast blur that Tara felt as if, should it have chosen to target her instead, she would not even be able to move before it swallowed her whole.


    Claw, on the other hand, was two full cultivation stages above and far more experienced; he moved in a way that exposed the rushing Anaconda to meet two thick metal spikes that headed directly for it, with the snake fangs not sinking into the flesh it desired but instead having one its eyes impaled by a metal spike, with the other leaving a deep gash as it scraped past its head.


    Screeching in agony, the massive Anaconda felt such a sudden wave of pain it almost failed to respond.


    Claw, who did not slow down one bit, sunk his large jaws into its flesh as he began shaking with his large maw.


    Despite the disadvantageous position, the Anaconda was no weakling as it attempted to use its massive bulk to coil around the salamander.


    For the first time, Tara inspected the Anaconda, finding it was as strong as it looked.


    [Species: Bog Divyth Anaconda


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


    The Anaconda was at a similar cultivation stage to Claw, showing exactly why it was not intimidated in the slightest. Tara found its confidence was not unfounded, as despite Claw having such a high amount of momentum at the start, the Anaconda was managing to put up a fight, slowly reversing its unfavourable position.


    Tara intervened as the Anaconda, trying to suffocate Claw, had left itself vulnerable to the smaller, pesky Salamander.


    The Anaconda at first did not view her as a threat but then felt a strange feeling as Tara''s claws managed to inflict minor wounds; though she was far weaker in cultivation, her maxed-out {Iron Bones} proved its use.


    Yet the Anaconda still viewed Claw as the more significant threat of the two and focused on keeping the enormous Salamander contained.


    Despite the devastating eye injury caused by the metal spike, the Anaconda was ridiculously big.


    It was so big that, despite Claw''s bulk, it made Claw look small, allowing it to escape this precarious position.


    Claw was still far from out, though, and the Anaconda was struggling with him greatly to the point it ignored Tara, who was more of an annoyance as she slowly worked her poison into the large snake''s bloodstream.


    The Anaconda began to realise something when it started to weaken; despite its poison resistance, it found the poison introduced to its bloodstream surprisingly strong and it was already weak from its failed ambush attempt going awry.


    Trying to manoeuvre itself to where it could get a better angle to sink its teeth, Claw, wrestling against it, finally raked its thick claws into its vulnerable underbelly, causing it to shriek out.


    The large Anaconda was in serious trouble, and it began to regret attacking the Salamanders; with it feeling slighted, they targeted its favoured prey.


    It was far too late for regrets, though, as Claw found the Snake was too weak to maintain the constriction that limited his options before.


    Now, he had more free reign, and the damage added up as the large Anaconda was torn to pieces by the rampant Salamander.


    Tara, who was involved in the battle from the start, was the first to notice its death after she received the notification.


    [You have defeated {Bog Divyth Anaconda}, gaining 200 EXP. You are now 2197/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    ¡®Now that went even better than expected,¡¯ Claw said, disturbing Tara''s train of thought.


    Tara thought she misheard, responding, ¡®We had the best-case scenario to start that battle with and still almost died to it; how was that better?¡¯


    Claw chuckled in her mind as he said, ¡®To be honest, those things usually take four Elders like myself to take down, usually with casualties. You have no idea just how well that went.¡¯


    With that, Tara realised just how close they had a brush with death.


    It seemed that the Anaconda was a monstrous magical beast, and now they would go against something even it was afraid of, the large Toad that pushed down the Anaconda from being the most dominant creature in the poisonous bogs.

 Chapter 20 - Wait there鈥檚 two of them?

    After encountering the Anaconda, Tara became far more cautious of her surroundings.


    She had no idea the Anaconda was there until Claw pointed it out.


    The thought of something so massive being able to sneak up on her like that was terrifying.


    With her recent growth in power, Tara had to admit she was beginning to grow complacent; after all, she was a human before this and had grown up in an environment where you do not need to be constantly on guard with the concern of being the target of a fearsome predator''s next meal.


    Despite surviving so far, Tara knew there were some things you could not make up for in a short time, and she would never match Claw''s hundreds of years of experience in survival in a brief period.


    Tara even wondered if she would have died in this place if she had never encountered Claw and Lady.


    She was beginning to grow bold in her hunt for the Pikeakes, and seeing that Anaconda strike, she knew it would have been able to gobble her up in one mouthful before she could even blink.


    It would have been suicidal to come here alone, not before she had an appropriate level of strength; Claw navigated the poisonous bogs well because he had to survive here before.


    Iron Salalamanders seemed to be one of the most adaptable species in the Swamp, and you could likely find them in every section.


    According to Claw, though they were a popular hunting target for both Magical Beasts and Humans, Humans harvested them for materials helpful in healing elixirs. Magical Beasts targeted them for their relative weakness in their cultivation stage.


    It made sense that Claw was incredibly wary in general, given what he had endured living that long; after the encounter with the Anaconda, he began to open up more and provide knowledge like any Elder of their species does for the younger ones.


    Tara was especially curious about the humans of this world. As it turned out, Claw told her to be prudent against them the most since, according to Claw, humans never enter the Swamp to encounter Magical beasts for a good reason.


    Claw said most Humans consider Magical Beasts bestial savages, even though it is common knowledge that the older ones among their kind have sentience comparable to that of many humans.


    He said their intentions towards Iron Salamanders were usually to hunt them since, to Human standards, they were always more valuable dead than alive, as one could harvest a dead salamander for materials.


    Human Beast Tamers don¡¯t see them as valuable companions, though he did credit his and Lady¡¯s intelligence for being one for a period in their lives.


    Claw did say this was irregular, though, because their species is usually not viewed as favourable for tamers, and the Human who was their tamer was considered a laughing stock among their flock even if the individual tamed them not for their strength in the first place.


    Tara thought his description was somewhat accurate. After all, she possessed the insight of a human but from well in another world and knew about the treatment of Whales despite their intelligence for mere profit.


    It was probably easier to harvest a species for materials if you viewed them as mindless beasts rather than something that was an intelligent species.


    You could also argue that Magical Beasts treated each other just as savagely; this was no peaceful world, and Magical Beasts constantly hunted and consumed each other to progress. Humans had to rationalise it instead of the directness of Magical Beasts, but both species practically did the same thing.


    It turned out Claw only warned her in the first place, not because he had particular contempt for Humans, but because humans often came to hunt them and were one of the biggest threats against them in the Swamp. He found that many of their kind seemed disillusioned about them from some of their Elders, so he always warned them to treat them like any other hostile Magical Beast.


    Either way, as they continued to make their way further into the Toad''s territory, Tara noticed the surrounding waters'' toxicity was growing even further.


    She might have even struggled to bring out her full combat strength here if not for her {Poison Qi Resistance} trait that enabled her to have no issues, with her regeneration breaking down the weakened toxins easily.


    Claw also showed no issues, and his more substantial cultivation and powerful regenerative capabilities ensured his survivability.


    The toxicity wasn¡¯t the only change; Tara noticed the plant life here reflected the environment.


    Tara noticed plenty that resembled similarly toxic plants on Earth, such as giant hogweeds, nightshade, sumac, and other plants that, though they bore no resemblance to any she knew of, were no doubt poisonous with the way most things steered clear of them.


    To some creatures, however, these poisonous plants were an apparent delicacy; Tara knew the Toads on Earth were carnivorous, yet these were not.


    Tara assumed the toxic plants were a tonic to them and helped them take down prey.


    Another surprise was the appearance of frogs, which she was sure did not usually coexist with Toads in a way such as these do. The difference in appearance was apparent, with the Frogs being leaner than the stout Toads and the Frogs having moister, smoother skin that seemed to match the aquatic environment more.


    These Frogs were just as predatory as the Toads. The moment the Frogs caught sight of Tara and Claw, their attack was swift.


    The frogs were far faster than the Toads, allowing them to close the distance rapidly. The frogs then attempted to ensnare Tara and Claw with their tongues, using them like lassos to coil around them. The tongues had a sticky, poisonous substance that burned into their skins.


    However, the Frogs were not alone; it seemed they worked with the Toads to ensnare and trap prey. The Toads, the heavier hitters of the two, would then target their target with far more lethal poisonous attacks while they were distracted by the frogs.


    Utilising {Insight} on the Frogs, she found them similar in cultivation to the Toads.


    [Species: Toxic Bog Frog Wrangler


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 5]


    The duo''s partnership made the fight more difficult many times. Tara was beginning to find fighting the Toads predictable and handled them quickly, but the same could not be said for this situation.


    She had Claw involved this time, though, and the brute of a Salamander was far too large and powerful for these tricks to work.


    The Toads and Frogs seemed relatively weak physically for Magical Beasts of their level, and targeting a more enormous, stronger Magical Beast at higher cultivation proved too much for them.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Claw shrugged off the frog snares and began dismantling them with powerful swipes and bites from his sturdy claws and teeth.


    Tara was not so lucky. The frogs still boasted a cultivation stage above her, and their tongues were strangely elastic and highly sticky, emitting a poisonous fluid that constantly harmed her.


    It allowed the Toads to cover her with their highly corrosive and toxic poison all over, and the pain was horrific.


    Tara became convinced if she didn¡¯t have {Poison Qi Resistance}, that attack would have been the end of her, yet she managed just about to get her claws to start ripping apart the entrapment from the Frogs, and then the carnage began to start.


    Tara was more enraged and hurt than she had been in a while, and this caused her instincts to take over as she began ripping into the frogs and toads with absolute fury.


    She cut through Toad after Frog to more toad appendages one after the other, and she found history began to repeat itself.


    Instead of the Pikeakes experiencing a massacre, it was the Frogs and Toads this time.


    The Frogs and Toads found their poison could not do enough damage to put her down for good, and she was regenerating from the damage far too fast for what they could deal.


    It made the Frogs and Toads, who were not super formidable without their poison, get torn apart by the more ferocious, stronger Tara, whose claws and teeth were at the peak of what they could be for any Iron Salamander at her level.


    The number of notifications was ridiculous, yet Tara was far too occupied with her killings to notice.


    [You have defeated {Toxic Bog Toad}, gaining 70 EXP. You are now 2267/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    [You have defeated {Toxic Bog Frog Wrangler}, gaining 70 EXP. You are now 2337/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    [You have defeated {Toxic Bog Toad}, gaining 70 EXP. You are now 2407/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    The notifications continued to come in one after the other until Tara was left surrounded by an unrecognisable mess of Toad and Frog bodies.


    Tara was far from unhurt either; she had wounds everywhere; the only thing keeping her alive was the resilience of her flesh from the fruit and the power of her regeneration that would allow her to recover from almost anything that was not a quick instant death.


    The final notification was shocking: She had killed more Toads and Frogs than in her previous hunts combined.


    [You have defeated {Toxic Bog Frog Wrangler}, gaining 70 EXP. You are now 3877/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    The next level, which initially seemed to have an EXP requirement that would take her a long time to achieve, was approaching.


    Tara might be able to get to level 5 before her enviable confrontation with the Sphyrna Pikeake after all.


    Not until she sorted out this mess, though.


    Claw, who similarly dispatched many Frogs and Toads, approached her with a look of awe.


    ¡®In all my years, I¡¯ve never seen such a vicious youngling like you; if you were common among the hatchlings, we¡¯d be the dominant species in this Swamp.¡¯ Claw said with great pride in his voice.


    Her viciously tearing apart the frogs and toads seemed to leave quite the impression on the old big Salamander; it was the closest thing to a compliment he ever gave her, well, if ¡®vicious¡¯ was meant to be one.


    ¡®Though you got some work to do.¡¯ Claw said as he looked at the bodies that were torn apart gruesomely.


    Knowing what Claw meant, she felt nauseous at the thought of eating that many bodies in one go, but as her mind drifted to the fact that a far more significant, potent version of these things was awaiting her, she steeled her mind on what was to come.


    Tara had never eaten so much in her life.


    She kept thinking her stomach would eventually be filled after the Toad and Frogs went down her gullet one by one, but it seemed her unique physiology disagreed with her as her stomach seemed endless.


    Her body broke down the Toads and Frogs quicker than she could think, and each one of them sent a strange tingling feeling in her body as if all the energy from the corpses was going somewhere.


    By the time she ate the last corpse, her injuries had healed entirely, and she was just in time for a new notification.


    The combination of both hers and Claws killed allowed her to eat enough of them to improve her trait further, and just in time, too.


    [Toxic Bog Frog Wrangler consumed. Limit reached, enhancing trait.


    Poison Qi Resistance trait forcibly increased {2} > {3}: *NEW* From interacting with poisons¡­ This trait is further enhanced; you are more resistant to Poisonous Qi, and your body better breaks down poisonous substances. With the conjunction of the trait {Poison Secretion}, you can stack up your enemies'' poisons to release a stronger, more potent version of your poison. This new skill has a limit.]


    With the trait improving, Tara¡¯s resistance to poisons was again boosted and seemed to have formed a beneficial relationship with her {Poison Secretion} trait.


    It seemed Tara would have to find more similar traits that may benefit in conjunction similarly if paired. Maybe there would be interesting changes in the future if she improved them both together.


    Either way, Tara knew she and Claw needed to progress further despite the danger of confronting this species'' alpha.


    They needed to find the fruits to beat the Pikeake, which meant confronting the most dangerous Magical Beast in the poisonous bog.


    Claw approached her and said, ¡®It¡¯s not much farther now. I have to admit this may be even harder than I thought. Are you sure you want to go through this? With your potential, I must say this risk is unnecessary, and we can always move the herd.¡¯


    Tara shook her head and said, ¡®Maybe I would have considered it if you didn¡¯t mention the Sphyrna Pikeake¡¯s intelligence. Do you think something extremely aggressive, prideful and predatory will let go of a target it set its sights on? It''s not an if type of thing; it¡¯s a when it will eventually come after your herd. It will come to eradicate you all. And I don¡¯t think I can leave and abandon you to that.¡¯


    Claw once again had that same look of surprise, an impressed look in his eyes, though this time for a different reason. She replied, ¡®You are the most unusual Magical Beast I have encountered, and I have seen some weird things. I find it hard to believe you survived living in the swamp; you are far too sentimental. We are a community-driven species, but you are something else. Many Salamanders group up in herds because they rely on each other. We are weak alone but strong in groups; it¡¯s how we survive in the swamp. Most of us, however, when we reach a certain level of intelligence, lack such protectiveness of our kin; we are willing to abandon them if it means surviving themselves; after all, they are strong and don¡¯t see it worth losing themselves over younglings when they can produce more elsewhere. An Elder is necessary to grow a herd, as we protect the group from the more significant threats that would eradicate them all; you are unusual in that you would think the way you do. Lady does, too, but a Human practically raised her at one point, yet you claim to have not interacted with them.¡¯


    If Tara remained a human, she would be sweating at how astute Claw turned out to be based on just a few comments she gave him.


    Tara was saved, though, when Claw shook his head as if in deep thought and replied, ¡®We will discuss this another time. One more minute of leaving Lady alone with the herd runs the risk of her being attacked alone; we must move.¡¯


    Moving further into the territory, Tara realised they must have wiped out many of this place''s inhabitants.


    They found numerous remains of bones from all sorts of species at the bottom of the bog''s floor, yet there were no more Frogs and Toads to be seen.


    She grew suspicious of everything until they finally found what they were looking for.


    A gigantic spiritual plant sat in a large clearing filled with poisonous plants.


    She found this was not all, as this area seemed remarkably close to the swamp''s surface, with the spiritual plant itself even leading above water.


    Bright rays of sunlight shone brightly on them through the water; she could even see the surface from there. Large lily pads were everywhere, and practically everywhere on those pads was filled with Toads and Frogs.


    The worst thing was that a gigantic Toad, many times bigger than any toad she had seen, sat menacingly in front of them.


    Resembling a more significant, bigger version of the Toads she saw, its skin had a dark green tone and seemed far thicker and more durable than its kin. Sitting atop its ugly head was a crown-shaped appendage with a green-beautiful gemstone sitting on top.


    A disgusting, foul substance is constantly emitted from the Toad''s presence, showing how absurdly toxic it is.


    And even more foreboding was that was not even the most threatening sight. Sitting beside it was a smaller, far leaner frog that emitted a no less dangerous aura.


    It similarly had a crown-shaped appendage but appeared more elegant than its large, misshapen companion, and it similarly had a gemstone on the crown of its head.


    Yet if the Toad''s gemstone was more of a dark, toxic green, the Frog seemed more like an emerald-like sickly green.


    Tara''s first thoughts were, ¡®Wait. There¡¯s two of them?¡¯


    Judging by the crafty, cunning gleam in the frog''s eyes, this was no mere coincidence either; they were dealing with something entirely different from the big dumb brute image she had in mind, and Tara didn¡¯t know if they would survive the miscalculation.

 Chapter 21 - Wait there鈥檚 two of them? [2]

    Tara would be lying if she didn¡¯t admit she felt they were hopeless at the moment.


    They were currently in the middle of a den of murderous Toads and well Frogs, with the Frog being the apparent mastermind of the two.


    Tara would have found the idea of a massive Toad and a far smaller Frog a comical partnership back on Earth, yet the reality was that this strange duo was now the biggest threat to her life.


    Claw seemed just as taken aback by the situation despite likely seeing many oddities in his long lifespan.


    It was probable that the partnership of Toads and Frogs, who decided to settle aside their differences to work together, seemed a strange sight even in this world.


    Tara looked around, finding that the number of Frogs and Toads far outnumbered the ones they had dealt with previously; a horde of them surrounded them, which would have been a nightmare match-up even without the two menacing alphas in front of them.


    She felt on edge, and her body tensed in anticipation as she found her flight or fight response activating from the visible threat.


    Tara thought bloody violence would be the only way to escape this situation, yet strangely, she felt the sudden familiar feeling she got when sharing her thoughts with Claw.


    She realised it was a probing invite from a foreign, alien-type Qi and noticed the Frog was staring at her with an impatient gleam in its eyes.


    She wondered what to do until Claw''s reassuring presence filled her mind and said, ¡®I think you will want to listen to what the Frog has to say. It would be fine to accept her invitation.¡¯


    Tara understood from Claw''s description that communicating through Qi like this worked similarly to echolocation.


    The users emit their Qi in a specific way to transmit messages to each other, and this poses no risk to the users since any foreign type of Qi with the intent of harm would be easily detectable.


    For example, the technique is similar to how some animals communicate by utilising sound waves and will not be able to affect the mind unless it is targeted at the soul.


    Techniques that can influence the mind or other harmful methods are usually soul-based.


    The main risk was that the frog was trying to distract them so it could ambush them since magical beasts are not the most trustworthy when meeting rival species.


    Yet this seemed pretty pointless with the massive advantage the Frog currently possesses.


    Utilising the technique Claw and Lady taught her, it was simple to allow the foreign Qi to take the initiative to set up a barrier of communication between them.


    It was her first time speaking to a Magical Beast outside the Iron Salamanders.


    She could not say she was not curious, especially since she had had a rather unpeaceful, hostile experience with its species.


    Hearing the Frog''s voice projection for the first time felt strange. It was a sickeningly sweet female voice that felt overly cordial: ¡®You enter here uninvited. Kill my kin in droves. Usually, this would be unacceptable. Yet you cannot argue we are unwilling to compromise regarding a similar goal. Now we have a common enemy, and we need each other not as enemies but as friends.¡¯


    The Frog talked weirdly. She spoke with an authoritative tone that screamed she was used to being the decision-maker, yet somehow similarly seemed to defer, making you feel in control.


    Tara felt she was a backstabber through and through and did not trust her one bit but allowed Claw to do the talking.


    ¡®Similar enemy? Friends? Mind me for being ignorant, but can you explain your intentions better.¡¯ Claw replied.


    Tara took this time to utilise {Insight} on the Frog and Toad duo.


    The Toad did not move, not reacting in the slightest. From the moment they arrived, the Toad had a relatively blank, dumb look, which gladdened Tara. Claw seemed to get that part about right. Though shame, he forgot to include the Toad¡¯s more petite but not-so-dumb friend.


    [Species: Toxic Bog Toad King


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


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    Though the Toad was somewhat lacking in the brains department, it was as formidable as Claw thought it was.


    The Frog, on the other hand, did not react as calmly.


    [Species: Toxic Bog Frog Queen


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


    The Frog Queen regarded her with a rather cold yet cordial look.


    ¡®Now, that was rather rude. Though, an interesting skill you have there, little lizard. Where was I? I think my more than generous proposal is relatively simple. That Big Fish has been a problem of mine for a long time, though I never had the motivation to even think of leaving my lair and forsake the advantages that it brings. However, now the Big Fish is becoming a problem; the only thing that held the greedy Big Fish back was its instinct to only go for the attack when it was sure it had an absolute advantage. It did not feel worth meddling with us when this place did not benefit it or its kin that much; it did, however, have a problem with us because it viewed us as competition. We are not fools. We know the Big Fish is close to breaking through, and when it does, we are not ready to abandon what we have worked hard to build, so it needs to die.¡¯ The Frog Queen said, and Tara found herself shocked by the implication.


    It seemed they wanted an allegiance.


    When she thought about it closely, she realised it would be an excellent partnership for the toads and frogs, who seemed to lack durability yet were potent in attack.


    Nonetheless, she was not naive enough to the extent that she did not realise that this so-called alliance would be ridiculously fragile, with the likelihood of betrayal not happening practically non-existent.


    After all, it is formed around the foundation of the existence of Pikeake. Without them, the Salamanders would likely follow close behind if that cunning Frog had anything to do with it.


    Claw, however, was diplomatic and quickly accepted their stance, even if the frogs and toads did not make the most truth-worthy of allies to deal with the Pikeake alone was suicidal since they almost wiped out the Salamanders without even utilising their full strength.


    Claw did not show he was close to readily agreeing, though, and replied, ¡®And? Now, how do you propose that? The Sphyrna Pikeake will not leave its lair''s safety until it has broken through. The only way we can get to it is too well¡­¡¯


    The Frog Queen grinned like a Cheshire Cat, or what seemed like it, as the Frog opened her mouth in a way that resembled one.


    It did little to see Tara at ease as the Frog Queen said, ¡®So we will go to it. We have been waiting. We are at our strongest now; the bog has been ours for a long time, and now we are ready to reveal our strength. You can be a part of this, and we offer you a place, an equal one of partners, where we will remove the stranglehold that Big Fish has on the territory and no longer pay pointless tributes to its kin. We no longer ignore the privilege they have to hunt us. We take what¡¯s ours.¡¯


    The Frog Queen''s speech about some grand partnership sounded sweet and glamorous, but she was convinced the Frog was plotting something.


    She had no idea if it was just a hidden hatred of Frogs, but she thought the Frog Queen sounded like a snake as soon as she began speaking. Yet she couldn¡¯t deny the value of a partnership between them, especially since the Frog Queen made it pretty clear the Pikeake was a target of theirs regardless of whether they were with them or without.


    Claw had little option, though, but to consider it. After all, the Frog Queen was right about taking the fight to the Sphyrna Pikeake, and if he was being honest, the Salamanders had little chance if they went alone.


    He couldn¡¯t forget why they came here in the first place, though.


    ¡®I have a compromise with your proposition. We accept this proposal, yet I need some fruits from your spiritual tree.¡¯ Claw said, announcing his terms.


    The Frog Queen paused before lightly laughing, ¡®You seem to believe you are in a position to be asking? I think you have an overinflated sense of worth, PARTNER.¡¯


    Frog Queen''s sweet tone seemed to turn to absolute venom as she muttered the last words and stared at Claw with murderous intent. It was the first time the frog revealed the vicious side of her in the conversation.


    Claw eyes firmed as he stood straight, unwavering, ¡®Correct, you may be in the position of strength here. However, do you believe you can handle the Pikeake without us? They ruled this region long before you came and are not going down easy. It is also clear who the Pikeake will view as the most prominent immediate threat around here. I¡¯m sure you are at the top of its priorities the way you leave an impression, PARTNER.¡¯


    There, the Frog Queen looked back angrily, which seemed to unsettle the large Toad King beside her, who began to show its aggression similarly.


    Tara thought things were about to erupt into a full-on conflict until the Frog Queen paused before returning to that strange cordial tone she put on.


    ¡®Deal. Though we attack soon, we meet soon. And we will go out in our entirety, and you will fight on the front lines.¡¯ The Frog Queen agreed so readily and could maintain her composure so easily that Tara knew it was wise to be wary of her.


    ¡®I feel we are just trading one big problem for another.¡¯ Tara inwardly thought, though at least their goal coming here was accomplished without coming to blows with a force overwhelmingly stronger than them.


    Claw replied, ¡®Good. Now, let us talk about this in detail.¡¯


    The two then had further discussions, during which Claw wanted to extract as much fruit as possible for her.


    The far older spiritual plant the Frogs and Toads protected holds much more fruit than the one the Salamanders guarded.


    It gave them leeway to ask for a large amount of fruit despite the oddity of an Iron Salamander asking for them.


    Tara felt that if the negotiations ended well, they could return to Lady and see what the fruits would do before they saw how reliable this so-called alliance was when they challenged the most dangerous creature in this region.


    Yet even Tara felt their options were rather limited, so maybe having a talking Frog as a partner is not the worst-case scenario.


    She would have to see if they would live to regret this. But that was for another time.


    Right now, it was the only decision they could make, and she hoped it would be worthwhile.

 Chapter 22 - Return

    Returning to Lady and the herd of Iron Salamanders with a Toad and Frog escort in tow was not what she had in mind when they set out towards the poisonous bog.


    However, they agreed the fruits would be secured and escorted back alongside the Frog''s minions.


    It also allowed them to get the other Salamanders used to the newly formed allegiance. Tara had no idea how long it would even last.


    According to Claw, magical beasts rarely work together like this.


    It was somewhat sporadic for wildly conflicting species such as Iron Salamanders and the Frog and Toad duo to even process working together.


    Magical Beasts'' lives revolved around constant conflict with the thought of compromise fleeting.


    Setting up an alliance like this never happens because Magical Beasts have trouble deciding over conceding any dominance to another.


    For instance, the Pikeake are considered the dominant species in this region. Yet, none of the magical beasts subservient to them have ever considered allying together because they are roughly equal in strength with no dominant alpha among them.


    Or it was before the Pikeake attack on the Iron Salamanders, which weakened them considerably.


    The Frogs and Toads were also far more powerful than anticipated and were stronger than the Iron Salamanders.


    Yet the Toad Queen offered a partnership of equals, which was strange since Magical Beasts never usually concede to other species, even on equal terms.


    It created the dilemma of who would take the lead if the Sphyrna Pikeake was dealt with since each region in the Swamp was ruled by a Magical Beast King.


    Claw mentioned that the Sphyrna Pikeake was the weakest.


    However, this may be due to change if the Sphyrna Pikeake advanced to the Seventh stage of Qi gathering as expected.


    Either way, they had to hurriedly go ahead of the group and inform the more over-eager, battle-hungry Iron Salamanders that the Toads and Frogs are neither enemies nor a quick meal.


    It seemed hardly any Iron Salamanders here had even met the Frogs and Toads since most Iron Salamanders in the herd are hatchlings, and the Toads and Frogs rarely ever left the poisonous bog.


    Therefore, to Iron Salamanders, who viewed everything as a meal, they resembled a tasty exotic treat.


    Tara was glad they could discourage the suicidal Iron Salamanders before they did anything foolish. She may have been able to consume and handle the Toads and Frogs'' insane toxicity, but any other young Iron Salamanders would likely face severe consequences.


    Ignoring the pleading gazes that resembled puppy dog eyes from the murderous Iron Salamanders, she had to dissuade them repeatedly from attacking the Toads and Frogs.


    It seemed the Salamanders struggled to identify another species as anything but food.


    The accusatory looks she was getting from the Iron Salamanders suggested she was greedy in keeping them to herself.


    And though it could be considered partly true since she has consumed far more of these Toads and Frogs than she would care to admit, Tara wanted to protest her innocence that this was not her intention.


    At times like these, she wished her contemporaries all shared the intelligence of Claw and Lady.


    At first, it was amusing when the first Iron Salamander was badgering her mind with ¡®Food. Tasty?¡¯ as it stared and pointed at the Frogs and Toads, but when large groups of them bombarded her with the same messages, it quickly grew bothersome.


    Fortunately, Claw was alongside her, so directing the Iron Salalanders away from the Frogs and Toads became far more manageable when one of their Elders instructed them to do so.


    Eventually, they arrived back at the Iron Salamander''s primary den.


    Lady was already making her way towards them even before they went towards the cave that held the Spiritual Plant.


    At first, Tara figured it would take a while for the Elder Salamander to grasp the sudden allegiance when it was clear that the target when they had set off to the Poisonous Bog was now their sudden ally.


    She has underestimated Lady, however, as the Elder Salamander was able to catch on almost instantly.


    ¡®So I understand this is a token of goodwill from your Queen to show her true intentions?¡¯ Lady asked as she conversed with the more intelligent Frog in the escort.


    Neither the Toad King nor the Frog Queen accompanied them, but a weaker Sixth-stage Qi Gathering Frog went with them.


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    It was a smart move from the Frog Queen, who was the brains of the two. The Frogs seemed more intelligent than the Toads, though she found the Toads were bulkier and packed a more vicious toxin.


    Either way, the Frog Queen demonstrated that it was not limited to her and the Toad King, as they had more Sixth Stage Qi Gathering Frogs and Toads around.


    Tara knew the Frog Queen was intentionally demonstrating their superiority, which was already the start of a power play.


    She knew it appeared that the Frogs and Toads did not need them at all, and alone, they could match the Pikeake, yet she was sure that the fruits they provided them were to secure their partnership for good. After all, judging by the frogs'' and toads'' reactions, the fruits usually seemed helpful only for poisonous magical beasts.


    Therefore, securing a partnership with the fruits would be difficult for the Frogs and Toads, whose options were limited.


    The Frog Queen knew they would take a lot of damage if they went by themselves to attack the Pikeake head-on and needed the Salamanders more than they would like to admit.


    Tara believed the Toad would have charged in already, but the Frog Queen was far more astute. She knew the victor between the Frogs, Toads, and the Pikeake would be significantly weakened regardless of the outcome.


    The Frog Queen didn¡¯t want to beat the Pikeake only for opportunists to take advantage of their weakened state.


    According to Claw, the Pikeake guarded the most valuable spiritual plant in the region, and many subordinates guarded it. The Pikeake did not attack the Salamanders with all their strength; they would have all their fighting force at their den.


    The spiritual plant filled every Magical Beast in this region with greed, yet none dared to fight for it, as the Sphyrna Pikeake was genuinely the strongest.


    Lady found the Qi Gathering Sixth Frog Wrangler nodding in agreement, its eye filled with cunning and intelligence, ¡®Of course. We ask nothing in return to taste our glorious fruits. Just your company for when the time comes to sort out a troublesome enemy that has been on top for too long.¡¯


    Lady did not waste much time after that. She proceeded to thank and assure the Toads and Frogs, and when the Qi Gathering Sixth Frog Wrangler seemed pleased with the exchange, they left as quickly as they arrived, much to the displeasure of a few Iron Salamanders who were hoping things would go wrong so they could have another feast.


    On the other hand, Tara was just pleased they had left, not realising at all that Lady''s eyes had lit up in understanding.


    ¡®So that¡¯s how it is. A King of another region is making a play for this one. Of course, it''s against the agreement, but if it''s another, a subject of its perhaps and not itself¡­¡¯ Lady was mumbling, sharing her musings with her and Claw.


    Tara just stood there stupidly, not knowing what was going on. Claw, however, understood straight away after receiving a hint from Lady.


    ¡®Now that all makes sense. I can see why the Big Fish was intimidated by finding those two instead of just one big dumb frog.¡¯ Claw voiced back, showing his approval.


    Tara knew the two had involved her out of respect, yet she lacked background information.


    ¡®What do you mean by another King?¡¯ Tara asked questionably.


    Lady looked back at her with confusion and then understanding as she said, ¡®Sometimes I forget your ignorance. There are five known kings, with five separate regions similar to this one and many different species. These Kings kept each other in check; none wanted a rival to hold more than one section of the five regions, and this region would not have much value to some of the more powerful Kings. The Magical Beast kings are driven to improve themselves, and this region does not have the resources to push a beast further past the Sixth Qi Gathering Stage.¡¯


    ¡®Then why would another Beast King even care about this region if it presumably held a stronger territory?¡¯ Tara asked curiously.


    Lady paused momentarily as if in consideration, then replied, ¡®Well, usually that would be true. However, a Beast King, considered the second-strongest in the swamp, is a terrifying Goliath Frog at the peak of a Ninth of Qi gathering for a long time. It is gigantic and absurdly poisonous, yet the strongest Beast King is even more terrifying and is a Dracrocodile with Dragon Blood. It is a beast mutated to the extreme from the influence of a Flood Dragon that roamed here long ago. Any Magical Beast with Dragon Blood is powerful; even if the purity of that blood is low, it is not something most magical beasts can compete against, and the Goliath Frog has been soundly suppressed for a long time. The only problem is that the Goliath Frog has no idea how to push itself into the Foundation Realm, with its desperation growing enough to the point it has likely set its sights on the Dracrocodile. The Goliath Frog has no chance of beating it head-on. Still, if it managed to utilise every region to target it, using the resources from each region to enhance its subordinates quickly, it might have a chance.¡¯


    Hearing Lady, she understood the implication of her words. It was likely the Frog Queen was related to the Goliath Frog in some way.


    Yet hearing the word "Dracrocodile" made her pause; she seriously couldn''t have unintentionally run into the swamp''s shockingly powerful, most feared Beast King by accident, could she?


    Either way, she needed to act hurriedly. She knew the Frogs and Toads would want to call on their assistance soon, and she needed the enhancement the fruit would bring.


    Lady seemed to agree, saying, ¡®Let us return to our den. It will be private and a good place to eat those fruits.¡¯


    Agreeing with her, she accompanied Lady and Claw returning to the cave. The fruits were brought to a large pile, which the Frogs and Toad had long passed to Iron Salamanders to carry into the den so they could await her.


    The Salamanders seemed transfixed by the beautiful green glowing fruits, but fortunately, the toxic foul aura the fruits emitted prevented any of them from taking a curious bite.


    She was unsure what a normal Iron Salamander reaction to the fruit would be, yet she felt it would go no better than consuming one of the Toads or Frogs.


    It was finally time to consume the fruits and see if she could push her trait to its limit.


    The Frog Queen has provided them with a relatively large number of fruits, showing she had them clearly in abundance. She is likely similar to Claw and Lady, who, long ago, extracted the fruits'' full benefits for herself and the Toad King.


    She would not be this generous otherwise whether she had the partnership in mind.


    Examining the Fruits, she found they had a similar glow to the Iron Dragon Fruit yet were apple-shaped instead of pear. They were also bright, translucent green, appearing lush and beautiful. However, as a magical beast with extreme senses, the fruits'' pure beauty appeared like an illusion, hiding the extreme aura of toxicity and death that they exuded.


    To certain beasts, like the Toads and Frogs, the fruit was a tonic that empowered their natural abilities with poison; to others, it was pure death. Tara just hoped it was the former. She knew the system''s abilities well, yet she still felt nervous about bringing the incredibly toxic-looking fruit to her mouth.


    ¡®Here it goes.¡¯ Tara thought.


    It was finally time to experience the effects of the fruit first-hand.

 Chapter 23 - Bug Extermination

    Before consuming the fruit, Tara decided to utilise {Insight} on the fruit, similar to what she had done to the Iron Dragon Fruit.


    Quickly, after using insight, a description of the fruit popped up.


    [Toxic Abiote Fruit: A highly poisonous spiritual fruit considered a low-level spiritual treasure that is an excellent source of nourishment towards poisonous Magical Beasts. The fruit nurtures and empowers poison Qi. It is highly toxic and fatal for consumption if you cannot digest the fruit''s energies. The compatibility between the host''s current traits is high, and this is an item that will enhance existing characteristics.]


    The fruit seemed similar to the Iron Dragon Fruit, both low-quality natural treasures.


    It was no wonder the Frog Queen accepted their proposal despite holding such an advantage in the exchange since the fruit only enhanced Magical Beasts or cultivators utilising poison.


    Tara felt the Frog Queen had long extracted the value of what a low-level natural treasure could do, so it was simple for her to exchange these fruits for a chance at gaining something far more valuable with the death of the Sphyrna Pikeake.


    Holding up the apple-like fruits with her claw-like appendages, she found that despite the fruit''s evident toxicity and the feelings of energies that were no doubt poisonous Qi, the fruit seemed as appetising to her as the more gentle attributed Iron Dragon Fruits.


    Deciding there was no point in delaying the inevitable, she brought the first fruits to her maw and started munching on them.


    Feeling the familiar warmth bubbling energy in her, that was Qi no doubt Tara, enjoyed the taste and stopped hesitating, gorging on the fruits with fervour.


    The number of fruits they retrieved was sizable. Tara had already achieved three prior upgrades in {Poison Secretion}; therefore, she had enough to push the trait to its limit for her current species and cultivation realm.


    And with the constant intake of Toxic Abiote Fruits, she was getting closer to that limit.


    [Toxic Abiote Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.]


    The notifications kept coming, and she soon received a notification indicating she had advanced {Poison Secretion} to Level 4.


    [Toxic Abiote Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Trait: Poison Secretion trait level forcibly increased {3} > {4} *NEW* Your poison becomes even deadlier and more toxic; its additional effect has improved, making it more efficient at draining Qi¡­]


    However, the notification did not stop there, and the more fruits she consumed, the closer she came to another level increase.


    As the seemingly bottomless pile of fruits began to vanish at an alarming rate, and Tara was on the brink of finishing the large pile, the notification she had been waiting for happened.


    It required a mountain heap of fruits, but she had done it.


    [Toxic Abiote Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.


    Trait: Poison Secretion trait level forcibly increased {4} > {5} *MAX* Your poison becomes even deadlier and more toxic; its additional effect has improved, making it more efficient at draining Qi. In conjunction with {Poison Qi Resistance}, you are immune to your poisons and are highly resistant to foreign poison. You can now layer your teeth and claws with a thick membrane of Poisonous Qi; the poison''s lethality will naturally increase with cultivation level.]


    Like her {Iron Bones} and {Iron Skin and Tendons} traits, the trait had reached its maximum potential limit at her current species, cultivation realm. It seemed the primary constraint to these traits was her natural cultivation realm and the potential of her species. The greater the talent and potential, the more room for growth exists in every cultivation realm.


    Abruptly, the final notification sounded.


    [Excess vitality from fruit transformed into EXP. Calculating: You have received 200 EXP.


    You are now 4077/5000 EXP into progressing to Level 5.]


    ¡®Huh¡¯, Tara thought. The EXP was far less than she assumed it would be judging by the number of fruits, yet maybe the fruits had less vitality than the Iron Dragon Fruits.


    Though now she had maxed out her {Poison Secretion}, she felt better prepared than ever to help take down the current Beast King of the region.


    Nonetheless, being so close to the next level, she wanted to accomplish another thing.


    It was time to reveal even more about herself to Lady. Hopefully, she can explain that she got stronger from killing things and felt close to the next cultivation stage.


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    She did not expect herself to be so fortunate a second time against the Sphyrna Pikeake, and an additional level would not only provide her with an all-around improvement from her cultivation realm but also allow her to resist better the same ability the Sphyrna Pikeake utilised to freeze her solid.


    Leaving behind the remnants of the {Toxic Abiote Fruits}, she quickly found Lady and Claw awaiting her.


    Claw was the first to remark, ¡®Were the fruits as helpful as expected?¡¯


    Tara nodded her Salamander-like head as she replied, ¡®Yes, perfectly. However, I have another request from you to bolster our chances further.¡¯


    Lady responded, ¡®We won¡¯t have time to acquire more unique fruits if that''s what you are asking for. Natural treasures in this region are lower than the rest of the swamp and are each fiercely guarded. We were lucky with the Toad and Frogs and won¡¯t have such fortune again. Agreements like this one are so fleeting. Even I, who usually is optimistic towards an alliance like this one, were surprised when you and Claw of all Salamanders were the ones to do it.¡¯


    ¡®No, that''s not what I need. We are pressing for time, but it''s another aspect of how I grow. I grow stronger with those I hunt and feel close to progressing towards the next stage.¡¯ Tara said with clarity.


    Surprisingly, Lady and Claw gathered their composure rather quickly.


    Claw said, ¡®I know there was something more about you. Though I should have suspected something, your growth is swift; you gather Qi far too fast for a typical kin member. I¡¯ve never witnessed such a thing with our kin, but there have been strange humans and beasts who cultivate the domain of slaughter and, similarly, cultivate utilising the energies of the death of their victims. Though your Qi is too pure for that, they progress quickly, even swifter than you, yet their foundation is feeble. Some bloodlines also cultivate similarly to you, like you; their Qi is pure, yet you are different from them. You are a rather peculiar one, but so far, you have been worth our trust, so I suppose we won¡¯t mind the further secrets you hold as long as you never betray us; we don¡¯t care what you are.¡¯


    Claw seemed relatively simple in that respect. He did not care about how she gained power as long as she remained on their side. The implications of her oddities appeared not that important to Claw.


    On the other hand, Lady was more of a thinker; after all, she gained power through the death of her enemies. It seemed rather demonic if she was being honest, though Magical Beasts did not hold the same ideals as humans.


    The new world she found herself in was not some civilised world, especially from a Magical Beasts perspective.


    However, Lady seems to have adopted many beliefs from the Lady Cultivator who saved her. She seemed to fit her idea of a ¡®righteous¡¯ type of cultivator, and right now, Tara feels she fits the prerequisite of the stereotype of an evil Demon King whose goal is world domination.


    Lady paused before she responded, ¡®I have a means for you to find many foes in a short period. We needed to thin their numbers anyway, though it would be dangerous. The swarm are dumb and weak, but they are far more numerous than we can ever hope to compare to.¡¯


    Hearing it was Lady who proposed, she thought it rather strange that it was not Claw, whose speciality seems to be dealing with threats to the herd.


    Though she supposed it was a good way to demonstrate to Lady, despite the system''s unique capabilities making her appear like a bloody fiend who wants to kill everything in sight, she was far from that.


    However, if she was being honest, apart from Iron Salamanders, she had been practically slaughtering every magical beast since coming to this world, so maybe that portrayal of her was accurate.


    ¡®That sounds great. When should we leave? I know that venomous Frog Queen wants us to assault the Pikeake''s den as soon as possible so we can do so before the Beast King breaks through.¡¯ Tara asked curiously.


    ¡®No point delaying. I will accompany you this time. Claw, stay here and guard the herd.¡¯ Lady said assertively, surprising everyone present.


    Claw gave her a knowing glance for a short period before seeming to accept Lady was being firm on this one.


    From spending their long lives together, Claw seemed to know better than to argue when Lady set her mind on something.


    Tara found it suspicious that Lady seemed to change attitude so suddenly, yet decided it was better to move forward.


    She knew her chance of surviving the second encounter with the Sphyrna Pikeake would increase manifolds if she gained an additional level.


    Soon enough, she and Lady left the herd behind, again under the wandering gazes of the Iron Salamanders of various sizes.


    The herd was used to her now and, upon their departure, gave her weird salamander-like waves with their clawed appendages.


    Though she has not had much opportunity to interact with most of the herd except Claw and Lady, she has to admit she finds them oddly cute. With their big beady eyes scanning their surroundings seriously and the way they wagged their tails around as they scurried around the water.


    She found herself praising her cohort''s effort at protecting the den; though most of her brethren may be dumb, with toxic Toads and Frogs seeming an appetising meal for them, it didn''t erase they were kinda adorable in a dopey way.


    Tara and Lady soon began picking up distance between themselves and the den.


    She was curious about where Lady was taking her. Yet, she found the sights oddly familiar, realising that the familiar greenery and surroundings were similar to what she had seen upon her arrival in this world.


    She knew this area well since the small cave she had used upon her arrival, where she had levelled for the first time, was fairly near here. Yet Tara knew from her recent levels that she would be far too big for the originally well-spaced cave.


    It seemed strange to her she had barely been in this world; it felt perhaps a week at most, yet she had already outgrown her first lodgings.


    Nonetheless, she knew this was merely the beginning. If she was having prestigious growth spurts now, she could only imagine the sheer size a Magical Beast such as a Dragon would reach in the later stages of cultivation.


    ¡®We will be dealing with a consistent problem. Devilfly swarms above the swamp are a constant issue for laying our eggs; they are the most significant pests in this swamp and are notorious for being endless to the point it is impossible to eradicate them all.¡¯ Lady abruptly said, awakening her from her stupor.


    Hearing the word ¡®insect¡¯ brought her mind to the Nymphs she encountered upon her arrival in this world.


    And from Lady¡¯s description, they sounded eerily similar to the target she had in mind.


    ¡®Right when I was getting used to the thought of never seeing those giant bugs again¡­¡¯ Tara thought, already not liking the idea of marching head first into a swarm of those things.


    It seemed Lady had insect extermination in mind. And she brought Tara along to help her with the deed.

 Chapter 24 - Emberwing Devilfly

    Tara found herself staring at Lady with a hard-to-read expression.


    ¡®So what exactly is a Devilfly?¡¯ Tara asked curiously.


    ¡®Devilflies are voracious predators for our eggs and hatchlings, and not just that, but they will treat virtually anything in this swamp as prey. They are weak individually, yet there are swarms of them with near-inexhaustible numbers. They operate above and below the swamp surface and are a constant problem for us, considering the Pikeake has been limiting where we can lay eggs.¡¯ Lady explained.


    Tara understood the need to reduce the number of such aggressive predatory insects, even though she was reluctant to get involved with more giant insects from her first encounter.


    She did lose a limb to that persistent group of insects who attacked her upon hatching.


    The thought of those insects made Tara recount that encounter with Lady.


    ¡®Seemed like you encountered them already. However, that sounded like their larvae, the weakest of the swarm, and they were newly born. There are even variants types of those larval staged Devilfly capable of operating in the swamp waters; you were lucky not to encounter them; they are persistent regarding prey. Though that made me curious about when you were born, a clutch was recently laid there. Don¡¯t tell me.¡¯ Lady''s eyes widened as she concluded something impossible.


    Tara knew she had given away something big here. She had been illusive about her origins to Lady and Claw, who, viewing her current growth and cultivation stage, did not suspect she was a mere week old at most.


    Magical beasts'' intelligence grew remarkably slowly and generally matured gradually over time. Iron Salamanders would take a long time to gather and build up their Qi, as their cultivation naturally increased over time until they entered a stagnation upon reaching their species'' natural limit, like Claw and Lady.


    Tara was an irregularity. She was far too intelligent for her growth period. Claw was easily pleased, but Lady, who initially seemed the friendlier of the two, was far more astute regarding these things.


    ¡®I have no problem with most things. But can you assure me you are not a Demon? Claw mentioned the bloodlines and domains that achieve a similar means to how you gain power, but he did not say that Demonic Cultivators have the same methods. Humans refer to the Magical Beasts who have become Demonic Cultivators as Demon Beasts. And they are never good news; at the beginning, the whole race of the Demon Beasts prospers and grows as they gather territory, but a Demon Beast is one for a reason; the means of their growth corrupts their mind, and soon enough, they turn on their kin. Even if that does not happen, Demon Beasts are always hunted down by either humans or their fellow Magical Beasts. I must ask again, are you a Demon Beast?¡¯ Lady¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously for a moment.


    Tara felt shocked at the sheer bloodlust from the seemingly docile Salamander. If she was being honest, Tara should have seen it coming. Lady was gentle for a Magical Beast, but anyone who had lived to her age in such an environment was not some greenhouse flower who shied away from violence.


    At this moment, Tara felt that Lady was even more dangerous than Claw, who outwardly displayed a rougher attitude but was more straightforward.


    Tara knew she had to clarify something to Lady, as she said, ¡®No, I am confident that I am not a Demon, or Demon Beasts, or whatever you call it. I am sane of mind, or at least I think I am. How I ended up where I am is very complicated, and I would love to explain it in due time. However, now I don¡¯t believe it will benefit anyone with the time constraints we¡¯re under.¡¯


    Lady paused for a moment, and Tara grew nervous. She was beginning to feel the Elder Iron Salamander decided keeping her around was not worth the risk.


    That was until the Elder Salamander''s posture abruptly softened, and all the previous aggressiveness vanished.


    The familiar soft, caring Lady reappeared as if she never left when she said, ¡®I owe you trust. I apologise. You have been nothing but helpful in the brief time since we met. However, I have seen the destruction a Demon Beast can bring to a herd, and I will not allow myself to be betrayed again. Accompany me, young one, so I can experience what Claw has seen.¡¯


    Then Tara realised Lady was hinting that it was time to go and do what they had come for.


    Following Lady, they began to ascend to the Swamps'' surface. The swamp water grew less murky as they neared the surface.


    Tara¡¯s excellent eyesight allowed her to see the bottom of the swamp perfectly, yet even to her, there was a noticeable difference.


    The wildlife in the upper reaches of the swamp waters varied. She had swam deeply in a hurry the previous time as a hatchling, so she did not notice the variety of creatures she could now observe.


    She saw what appeared to be types of Killifish, which, again, like most things in this world, were larger than their Earth counterparts. The memorable part of their appearance remained as their scales glittered with various bright colours.


    Like most things in the swamp, though, these Killifish were not friendly. They actively preyed on the smaller fish in the surroundings, though they ignored them.


    Tara found herself lucky she was with Lady, as Lady seemed to deter most things naturally with her size and power.


    Tara even saw a rather large mudfish, what appeared to be a swamp trout-like species, and other creatures that bore no resemblance to anything she had seen on Earth.


    She thought they were about to make it to the surface without incident until she caught eyes with a ginormous alligator-looking creature.


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    Though smaller and far less intimidating than the Dracrocodile, staring into the reptile''s cold, threatening eyes was a menacing sight to a former Earthling like Tara.


    Tara felt ready to attack, fearing the alligator beast was about to approach until it stared at them with a calculating gleam before deciding to leave, giving them a wide berth.


    ¡®That one will be back.¡¯ Lady acknowledged suddenly, startling her briefly.


    ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ Tara replied with curiosity.


    ¡®Those magical beasts are ambush predators. It wasn¡¯t running away, and it was smart enough to judge we would be crawling to the surface. Usually, creatures even of my strength can return heavily injured from such excursions, and when we do, you can bet that it will be lying in wait.¡¯ Lady predicted in an assured tone.


    Tara realised she still had a lot to learn about the dangers of her new life. The highly deadly predators she was encountering lately showed that ignorance might get her killed eventually, so it was advisable to learn from the two-centuries-old Salamanders about his place as soon as possible.


    Though it was rather apparent that an alligator-like creature would act in such ways, it was precisely the type of thing their Earth counterpart would do, a Crocodile even more so. However, she was unfamiliar with these creatures'' habits in extensive detail and knew nothing about the more exotic creatures.


    Either way, she was about to encounter something even creepier of the insect variety.


    Lady continued to escort her further, and she began seeing all the vegetation that neared the surface.


    Floating plants like water hyacinths and emergent plants like cattails and sedges soared above the water.


    She wondered where they would be going until she noticed these Island areas above the water''s surface.


    These Islands were similar to the Mangrove swamp islands found on Earth; they had vegetation littering them, and Lady instructed her to approach them.


    Tara was curious about what it would be like to be above water for a change; she had lived underwater ever since she was born as a hatchling and dove for the swamp waters. It may not have been a particularly long period, but it felt strange as Tara neared the heavily forested islands; even from the water, Tara could see they were heading towards highly dense, endless vegetation.


    As they were near the surface, they did not have to do much to climb onto the Islands; with their claws, it was easy to do so, and Tara found herself following Lady, feeling the sudden absence of the comforting presence of the smooth, cold water against her skin.


    It felt wrong being on land, which was strange because her memories mainly consisted of human ones, and she did not think her instincts alone would be powerful enough to override that. Yet, it showed that the immortal''s strange suppression of her emotions was more extensive than she initially believed.


    ¡®All I need to do is just continue to grow stronger¡¯, Tara reasoned with herself. After all, strength usually resolves everything in a world like this one, and it is the only real way forward for her anyway.


    Looking around their island, she found big trees everywhere, yet the space between them was relatively wide, with more vegetation filling the gaps. There were layers of mucky water, muddy soil, and puddles, with sections around her having various pools of water at varied depths.


    She saw plenty more creatures on the strange island, but so far, no insects, with Swamp Crabs and all sorts crawling around carefreely.


    ¡®The bugs are not far. We must be quick; they will come out in numbers when they realise our presence. Tara, I would be considered a prime target with my cultivation. Going so close to their lair like this will be a risk.¡¯ Lady said with warning.


    ¡®I understand. We need to get in and out before they mobilise in threatening numbers. However, are you sure I will get what I need before we are forced to leave?¡¯ Tara asked, unsure if the risk was even worth it.


    ¡®I¡¯m sure there are many of these insects, and they are not particularly hard for a beast of your strength to bring down. The problem is their numbers and ferocity; they have some rather strange and powerful variants among them.¡¯ Lady said.


    The lady nodded in understanding, and soon enough, they started to make their way carefully through the island.


    Tara wondered where flight-capable insects would even live here until she noticed something.


    The so-called trees looked strange, and as dozens of insect eyes fixed on her hungrily, scuttling out revealing their camouflage, the beating of wings sounded.


    Supersized, more developed versions of the Nymphs revealed themselves, and the so-called Devil Flies made their appearance; each one had flecks of red in its eyes, a long and slender abdomen, two pairs of wings, and three pairs of legs with large scythe-like appendages up front.


    They were something you would picture in your worst nightmare, and despite Lady''s reassurance of them being weak individually, the sight of such large bugs was harrowing.


    She thought the Nymphs were terrible, but these things took it to a new level.


    The horde of insects seemed riled up and began buzzing angrily. Soon enough, they began to leave the trees one by one in a fury as they approached them menacingly.


    Tara thought things couldn¡¯t get any worse until she saw the insane sight of a large Devilfly covered in flames.


    Utilising {Insight}, she saw the insect''s description.


    [Species: Emberwing Devilfly


    Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]


    ¡®An insect that can control flames?¡¯ Tara thought the sight was pure absurdity, but the way the other insects avoided it, she knew it did not have a way to spare the other insects the effect of its flames.


    Tara didn¡¯t need to wait much longer for a group of insects to attack her. Similar to the much smaller Nymphs, a bunch of Devilflies attacked her in a fury with their scythe-like limbs and barbed-wire appendages as they tried to restrict her before ripping her to pieces.


    Tara was surprised at how strong she felt, inwardly thanking Claw and Tara for maximising her traits; she proved far too challenging and strong for Devilflies who possessed similar cultivation to her, finding them as fragile as Lady informed.


    The insects gave up their flight, speed, and mobility in an attempt to immobilise her, believing they could tear her flesh apart between them.


    Tara was now able to reach them in a wild fury, and her claws and teeth tore through the bugs like they were made of paper.


    [You have defeated {Devilfly}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 4097/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    [You have defeated {Devilfly}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 4117/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]


    Using {Insight}, she knew the two Devil flies were Qi Gathering four similar to her, yet at this level, an Iron Salamander was already generally stronger than a Devilfly at the same cultivation level, never mind her who possessed the strengthened traits of an Iron Salamander decades older.


    The insects are irritated at the easy disposal of their compatriots, but the horde has the mindless desire to consume no matter how many of them they throw at an enemy.


    Tara and Lady were in for a long fight, and the erratic Emberwing was beginning to charge up its flames for a confrontation.


    It was time to fight out of a swarm of insects and achieve their goal.

 Chapter 25 - Devilfly Variants

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    in a way that she had never done before, but in a way Lady said should come instinctive to her.