[Archery Proficiency: 935/1000.]
[Red-Eyed Toad Quest: 0/10.]
Less than 24 hours remained of the novice protection period.
Points: 30.
Song Xu thought to herself as she walked that she might not be able to redeem the gene repair fluid for her daughter this time.
She needed to earn at least 100 more points to ensure she had enough time during the day to stay with her daughter.
Three hours later.
The ground beneath her feet began to turn muddy.
She was approaching the territory of the Red-Eyed Toads.
Picking up the arrow she had just shot, her Archery skill finally leveled up.
The skill page updated:
[Beginner Archery → Intermediate Archery]
[Proficiency: 0/2000]
[Effect: Master basic aiming assist; range slightly increased. +10% damage to stationary targets.]
A warm current surged into her, and Song Xu’s arm felt slightly warm.
When she drew her bow again, she felt the bow in her hands was far more obedient.
She tried shooting an arrow.
Thud!
The arrow nailed firmly into a tree trunk—the deviation was reduced, and it penetrated deeper into the wood!
[Archery Proficiency +1]
Song Xu’s confidence shot up.
Even if the roasted moth meat didn’t work, she could still shoot ten toads to death using just her bow and arrows.
Someone in the chat channel had already mentioned that the Red-Eyed Toad had high attack and low defense.
As long as one launched a sneak attack while it wasn’t paying attention, it could basically be instant-killed in one shot.
It was close to noon.
The three eyeballs in the sky were fully open, and the temperature had risen noticeably, making the air stiflingly hot and humid.
Hiding behind a giant tree that would take several people to encircle, Song Xu carefully poked her head out and used her skill to scan the area.
Ahead was an open swampy wetland with murky puddles scattered like stars, and dead trees standing crookedly in the water, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Many dark-green, basketball-sized giant toads were squatting in the mudflats, their crimson eyes extraordinarily striking.
[Red-Eyed Toad LV1]
[Dietary Habit: Male toad meat is coarse and contains poison, unsuitable for consumption. Its tongue attack is swift and carries a paralysis effect.]
[Red-Eyed Toad LV1]
[Dietary Habit: The female toad’s abdomen contains a large amount of fat, making it a precious seasoning for cooking.]
Song Xu raised her eyebrows.
Male toads were inedible, but female toads were!
She was about a dozen meters away from the nearest Red-Eyed Toad, which was beyond her precision range.
She took out a skewer of roasted moth meat, skewered it with a long branch, and stretched her arm out as far as she could.
Gently shaking the branch, the aroma spread out.
The toad’s eyes fixed dead on the moth meat, its throat rolling.
Song Xu held her breath, slowly lowering the skewer, then quickly hid back behind the tree, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow.
Shooting at a closer distance would yield better accuracy; she had originally intended to shoot an arrow into it when it hopped over to eat the meat.
However, in the next second, she froze in place.
That toad did not hop at all; squatting on the spot, its neck suddenly stretched and contracted.
Its red tongue shot out, wrapping up the roasted meat on the branch with a swoosh!
Song Xu: …
Just as she was shocked by how ridiculously long this toad’s tongue was, she noticed that the small, originally white text above the toad’s head—[Red-Eyed Toad]—had changed, turning into a light green.
[Red-Eyed Toad (Favorability 100%)]
At the same time, another slightly larger toad on the right turned its head, its crimson eyes immediately locking onto Song Xu behind the tree!
The name above its head instantly turned a glaring, bright red.
“Croak!”
The red-named toad let out a croak and launched itself towards Song Xu!
Song Xu knew things were bad and was just about to raise her bow to shoot.
Just at that moment, another anomaly occurred!
The toad with the green name above its head suddenly leaped up at incredible speed, biting down hard on the red-named toad’s hind leg!
(-2!)
A damage number floated up from above the red-named toad’s head.
“Croak!”
Pain struck the red-named toad, and it turned around to bite back at the green-named toad.
(-2!)
Thus, Song Xu watched this absurd scene in utter astonishment.
Two identical-looking toads were biting each other, mouth by mouth, sending spittle flying everywhere.
A series of -2 -2 -2 -2… floated into the air.
Seeing that the health bars of these two toads were rapidly dropping and they were on the verge of perishing together, Song Xu hurriedly aimed at the red-named toad, drew her bowstring to the full, and released an arrow!
Pfft!
The arrow struck the back of the red-named toad’s head dead center.
(-18! Critical Hit)
The red-named toad’s health instantly hit rock bottom, and it fell to the ground.
[Killed Red-Eyed Toad (Male) x1, Gained Experience Points +5, Points +1.]
[Red-Eyed Toad Quest Progress: 1/10]
Done!
Song Xu breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward the green-named toad.
She saw it turn around and hop over to Song Xu’s side in just two bounds.
Song Xu subconsciously stepped back, tightening her grip on her bow.
The green-named toad stopped two meters in front of her and raised its head.
It stared at her with its bright red eyes, making a soft grunting sound in its throat, as if claiming credit.
The corner of Song Xu’s mouth twitched, and she took a slow step backward.
The green-named toad awkwardly shuffled forward a few steps.
She moved left.
It hopped left.
She moved right.
It hopped right as well.
Song Xu was stuck between laughter and tears.
The effect of ‘A Wise Person Submits to Fate’ was simply too instant and dramatic.
She had originally thought it would merely lower hostility to make hunting easier, never expecting she could acquire a toad pet.
This skill was awesome!
Glancing at the quest list, nine were still needed.
A bolder plan surfaced in her mind.
“Hey.”
She tried speaking to the green-named toad, not knowing if it could understand her or not, “Can you… help me lure your companions over? One by one?”
The green-named toad tilted its head, its eyes filled with pure cluelessness.
Song Xu palmed her forehead.
Forget it, she couldn’t expect a toad to have high intelligence.
“Wait here, don’t move.”
It seemed to understand this command; when Song Xu walked away again, it did not follow her.
She picked out another solitary toad and stuck out a skewer of roasted moth meat as bait.
After the toad finished eating, its name indeed turned green as well.
One, two, three…
By the time all eleven skewers of roasted moth meat were completely used up, the scene had already begun to grow somewhat spectacular.
Eleven basketball-sized ugly toads were lined up in a neat row.
Each held its head high, crimson eyes blinking in unison as they stared right at Song Xu.
The picture was so beautiful it was hard to look at directly; the corner of Song Xu’s mouth twitched.
She raised her finger and pointed at a red-named toad dozing off on the mudflat in the swamp, “Target: that one! Go!”
All eleven green-named toads turned their direction together.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
Green cannonballs traced parabolas through the air one after another, crashing down precisely around the red-named toad and surrounding it instantly!
Just as that unlucky red-named toad opened its eyes in confusion, a dense barrage of attacks arrived!
The long tongues of the two green-named toads on the left whipped down violently like lashes against its back, taking off a small patch of skin and flesh.
(-3! -3!)
The two on the right pounced forward simultaneously, opening their mouths to bite.
(-2! -2!)
Three or four others from behind couldn’t squeeze in; jumping anxiously on the outer edge, they caught an opening and delivered a tongue lash.
-2, -3, -2, -2…
That red-named toad being ganged up on didn’t even have time to react before its health bar was completely emptied in an instant.
Song Xu watched, thoroughly dumbfounded.