Arthur and Brambles traveled alongside the river and rapidly covered the area. While the river was long and winding, with their speed it didn't matter as much.
Brambles was technically slow, but with no tree blocking its path, the beetle flew with ease. The same was the case with Arthur whose Agility had exceeded 30s already.
The two met a few enemies along the way too.
~KISHHHHHH~
A strange sound was heard that made Arthur become alert.
"Careful," Arthur wanted the beetle, as he didn't see any enemy out in the open.
His eyes wandered around and glowed slightly as he used Dragon's Insight a few times in a row. He was trying to see where the enemy might be hiding.
~KISHASHA~
"There!" Arthur finally realized that the sound was coming from none other than the water itself!
~SPLASH~
A second later, a large creature leaped out of the water. It looked like a large furry frog with a black tongue that seemed to be targeting Brambles who was in the air.
~SPLAT~
Arthur wasn't worried about it though, as the long black tongue helplessly struck the carapace of Brambles, unable to even make him move from his location in the air.
>Dragon's Insight has been successfully activated!<
~DING~
——
Target: Long Tongue Green Fur Frog
Rank: Uncommon
Level: 14
Type: Beast
Info: An amphibian that's found in long rivers that flow from mountains and into forests.. The farther one goes to the source, the stronger these beasts get. It is said that they lay eggs in the mountain reservoir, and their eggs get transported all the way to the Northern forests.
***
HP: 100%
MP: 90%
Stamina: 100%
***
<Physical Stats>
Strength: 14
Toughness: 16
Agility: 16
Dexterity: 18
Vitality: 15
<Non-Physical Stats>
Wisdom: 3
Intelligence: 7
Will: 3
——
<Active effects>
1. Drenched: Target's covered in a layer of water which weakens the effect of fire attacks and strengthens lightning attacks.
——
<Skills>
1. Tongue Lash
Info: The user uses its long tongue to whip at a foe.
Cooldown: 15 seconds
Cost: 5% Mana for every use.
2. Sticky Shot
Info: The user shoots a blob of sticky material at a foe that slows down its movement.
Cooldown: None
Cost: 10% Mana for every use
——
"So its these frogs, huh…" Arthur looked at the oversized amphibian that seemed confused about not being able to hurt Brambles. "Brambles! TOSS!" he shouted.
~KIIIIIIII~
The Dragon Horn Beetle had little reason to resist after that and swung its large horn. The Frog's tongue was stuck to his carapace and ended up getting tangled along the horn.
~WHOOSH~WHOOSH~WHOOSH~
Brambles spun the frog in the air before tossing it towards Arthur.
"Here it comes," Arthur drew out Dietrich and pointed it at the incoming Long Tongue Green Fur frog.
~SLICK~
~SPLAT~
"Ugh! Forgot their slime can still splash a bit." Arthur said in disgust, wiping the drops of frog gunk that had splashed on his helmet.
[-100% HP!]
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[FATAL HIT!]
Still, Brambles had skewered the frog into the Key Spear wholly, ending its life in one go.
>Player Arzhur has obtained 1% Experience!<
>Dragon Horn Beetle has obtained 2% Experience for assisting in the kill!<
~SQUELCH~
Arthur held the spear against the ground and pushed the frog out using his foot. The dead frog leaked out blood and guts that mixed with its slimy membrane.
"These critters don't even give anything worthwhile." Arthur frowned.
He was quite familiar with these frogs. They weren't just found in this region either and were common in a lot of the areas. Players who thought that the river was a safe path to take would encounter these and could get themselves into a sticky situation… literally.
The sticky shot skill would basically restrain most of the players with just one correctly placed hit. Not to mention, if multiple players were caught together, they would end up getting stuck in one place too.
It was a damnable skill for most newbie players to deal with. Especially when they didn't know they would be encountering it.
Thankfully, the way to solve it was also easy as one could simply use the river water to wash it away.
"There we go," Arthur did the same and washed off the slime that had splashed on him.
While this hadn't come from the frog's skill, it still had the same properties. It wasn't exactly tolerable after all.
"Keep an eye out for these buggers Brambles. If you feel like they are near, don't hesitate to attack." Arthur advised.
"Keri!" Brambles nodded and took it seriously.
With the short battle over, the duo continued onwards and encountered a few more Long Tongue Green Fur frogs. Of course, this time around the battles were a lot different.
Brambles either smacked them away before the frogs even got the chance to attack them, or their attacks helplessly fell on Brambles's carapace.
This was also why Arthur had chosen this route, as the Frogs would mainly attack the closest target which was none other than the Great Horn Beetle.
This allowed Arthur to avoid all damage and take care of them one by one.
The experience gain was small, but still counted in the long term.
Every hour, they fought around five to six such frogs, with the highest reaching as large as twenty frogs when they had reached the foothills of the mountains.
"That's a lot of them…" Arthur's Dragon's insight had already picked up on the group of the frogs that were lurking under the water.
"KARI!~" Brambles chittered with fury, telling Arthur something.
"Sure, you can try that." Arthur replied to the beetle, letting it try its own strategy.
~SHUA~
As such, Brambles opened its mandibles and a strong heat could be felt coming from them. The heat intensified in a second and a fireball manifested there.
~WHOOSH~
Then in the next moment, the fireball shot toward the river, hitting the water with great force.
~SPLASH~
~Hiss~
The force of the fireball made the water splash, but also heated it up at the same time. This caused the Long Tongue Green Fur Frogs to be pushed out of the water and be hit with a secondary attack.
~SHUA~
Brambles had used Draconid Breath again and hit the group of the Long Tongue Green Fur Frogs that had been pushed out of the water. Since their active effect of being doused prevented them from burning right away, the beetle simply used multiple attacks.
[-66% HP] x 2
[Critical hit!] x 2
[-81% HP] x 3
[Critical hit!] x 3
[-23% HP] x 6
[-48% HP] x 2
[-100% HP] x 3
[Critical hit!] x 3
[Fatal Hit!] x 3
>Dragon Horn Beetle has killed Long Tongue Green Fur Frog!< x 3
>Dragon Horn Beetle has obtained 12% Experience!<
The attack injured most of the frogs that were launched in the air and killed three of them. Only a couple were left unharmed, but they were still launched in the direction of Arthur.
"Rapid Thrust!" Arthur used his spear skill and stabbed the frogs when they were midair.
[-33% Hp]
[-48% Hp]
[Critical hit!]
[-36% Hp]
[-66% Hp]
[Critical hit!]
[Fatal Hit!]
>Player Arzhur has killed Long Tongue Green Fur Frog!< x 2
>Player Arzhur has obtained 2% Experience!<
"Finish them all, Brambles!" Arthur ordered.
"KRIIII!" Brambles waved its long horn through the air like a scythe reaping the harvest and ended the lives of the frogs.
He then stabbed the water and killed the remaining Long Tongue Green Fur Frogs that were left alive.
>Dragon Horn Beetle has killed Long Tongue Green Fur Frog!< x 15
>Dragon Horn Beetle has obtained 36% Experience!<
>Dragon Horn Beetle has leveled up!<
>Pet Status<
——
Name: Dragon Horn Beetle
Level: 15
Type: Insect/Draconid
***
HP: 100%
MP: 68%
Stamina: 58%
Experience: 0%
***
<Physical Stats>
Strength: 24 -> 26
Toughness: 44 -> 48
Agility: 11 -> 12
Dexterity: 11 -> 12
Vitality: 23 -> 25
<Non-Physical Stats>
Wisdom: 9 -> 10
Intelligence: 11 -> 12
Will: 20 -> 22
——
The combined experience was enough for Brambles to finally hit level 15 and his stats rose once more.
His toughness had reached a level that would block a lot of the enemies that Arthur would encounter.
'I think even the Rock Bees would be helpless once Brambles levels up once more.' Arthur reckoned since Brambles' toughness would exceed 50 after that.
Even for the offense oriented Rock Bees, that defense was not easy to pierce. And if they couldn't prick Brambles, there was no way they would be able to petrify him either.
As such, the Dragon Horn Beetle would be quite an effective counter against them.
'His Draconid Breath will also wiped out swathes of them in one go.' Arthur smiled, knowing that he had a very capable companion now.
"Looks like we'll focus on getting you stronger, Brambles." Arthur robbed the shiny head of the large beetle.
"KIII~" The Beetle gently chittered in response finding it pleasant
Arthur looked up at the mountains that were just a couple of hundred meters from them and searched for the path that would take them up.
'We just might hit enough experience to make him level up once again.' Arthur hoped.
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