Inside the heart of the dense forest, where an impenetrable shroud of pure darkness cloaked the land, myriad nocturnal denizens ventured forth, their incandescent eyes darting swiftly through the shadowy recesses of the colossal trees. Their haunting cries harmonized with the ethereal symphony of the night wind.
Upon the forest floor, two colossal entities prowled with a sinister grace, resembling amphibious monstrosities akin to frogs, albeit magnified to a scale of sheer lethality. Towering on elongated limbs, their crimson orbs burned with an insatiable hunger, and their viridescent, muculent hides bore a daunting, impervious texture.
Though relatively youthful, having recently emerged from the murky depths of the pond that had been their sanctuary for much of their existence, these amphibian behemoths were already a mesmerizing spectacle to behold.
They emitted sonorous croaks as they pursued a peculiar quarry – the evasive green slimes that leaped away from them in a desperate bid for survival. The forest teemed with creatures equipped with natural armaments for self-defense, and the hapless slimes were among the few entities these voracious giants would unhesitatingly exploit.
However, this night was unlike any other. It was a night when the tables would turn, and the hunters would become the hunted.
The echoing croaks of the frogs reverberated through the eerie stillness of the forest.
*Slimy Frog: Level 4.*
*Slimy Frog: Level 4.*
The two colossal frogs swiveled their gaze towards an approaching presence. This new entrant was making an unmistakable cacophony, paying no heed to subtlety as it shattered the tranquil silence.
What materialized before them was a diminutive, ball-shaped creature, its minuscule form seemingly inconsequential, rendering it almost invisible to the notice of many of the forest's inhabitants. The creature's unsightly spiky armor, bristling with defensive spines, repelled any interest from other creatures, for it presented an unpalatable image, uninviting to the voracious monsters that roamed these woods.
Most of the denizens of this forest killed solely for sustenance, and the sight of a spiky orb careening through the underbrush did little to whet their carnivorous appetites.
Gideon, a hedgehog of diminutive proportions, propelled himself forward, his aim set on one of the frogs. The amphibious behemoths, however, responded with remarkable agility, their muscular limbs launching them skyward to seek refuge amidst the towering branches. Gideon's charge fell short, and he came to a halt, revealing his elongated snout.
"By the mystical woods, this place is rife with the bizarre!" Gideon exclaimed, his high-pitched voice carrying through the forest, albeit barely.
Yet, Gideon's proclamation was abruptly silenced when a slender, ivory projectile shot forth from one of the frog's maws. The projectile streaked toward him with deadly accuracy. In a swift, instinctive motion, Gideon rolled into a protective ball, and the oncoming missile harmlessly clattered against his spiked armor. He unfurled himself, his ebony claws pointed menacingly at his assailant.
"Has no one ever told you that spitting on someone is frightfully impolite?" Gideon hissed with measured composure before adding, "Oh well, manners be damned." With a swift, practiced motion, he activated his *Claw Attack*.
Before the colossal amphibians could even fathom what was transpiring, Gideon vanished from his initial position, leaving behind nothing but a fleeting wisp of smoke. In the blink of an eye, Gideon materialized behind the frog that had released the pin just moments ago. His talon-like appendage surged forth with murderous intent, poised for a lethal strike. However, Gideon's claw only met empty air as the frog executed a nimble leap to evade the impending attack.
With grace, Gideon alighted on a nearby branch. "Impressive reflexes," he remarked with a sly grin, his claw poised for another assault. "But it matters not; so long as my eyes are upon you, there is no escape." He muttered, and in a heartbeat, he was gone again.
The two massive frogs continued to execute agile bounds, desperately eluding Gideon's relentless onslaught. They might not have been the swiftest creatures in this particular stretch of the forest, but their tremendous leg strength allowed them to propel themselves at a velocity surpassing even some of the region's fastest inhabitants. Still, Gideon kept pace with ease, and their close proximity made them vulnerable to his relentless attacks. Their stamina dwindled with each evasive maneuver, and the two Slimy Frogs grasped the dire need to counterattack if they were to survive this relentless onslaught.
As Gideon once more materialized mid-air, one of the frogs made a fateful decision. It lunged its elongated tongue towards him, completely shrouding Gideon within its mucus-coated grasp. Their tongues were their primary weapons, equipped with a potent paralyzing secretion capable of immobilizing prey in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, Gideon found himself ensnared, pulled into the frog's cavernous maw, where the true horror lay. The acidic brew that coursed through the frog's innards could dissolve even solid rock within mere seconds. This gruesome ensemble of biological weapons was what rendered them formidable hunters.
A tense stillness permeated the air as the two frogs locked eyes in the shadowy depths of the forest. One of them seemed on the brink of emitting a triumphant croak when the unforeseen transpired.
It commenced with a single, ominous crunch, quickly succeeded by another. Spikes jutted forth from the frog's throat, its eyes bulging wide with a mixture of surprise and agony. Then, the forest was filled with a cacophony of gruesome sounds emanating from within the frog's body, as Gideon's spherical, spiky form bounced about, ruthlessly dismantling its innards. The frog's guttural growls were the only vocalizations it could muster as it lay helpless. Its grotesque body ricocheted, impacting trees and rocks with a bone-rattling force.
Gideon's daring maneuver had turned the tables in this grim confrontation. The remaining Slimy Frog stared in disbelief at the horrifying spectacle before it, the balance of power drastically shifted.
In a climactic crescendo, Gideon erupted from the very depths of the frog's gut, accompanied by a gruesome cascade of the frog's eviscerated innards. His formidable spiky spherical form acted as an impenetrable shield, effortlessly thwarting any futile attempts by his adversary to inflict harm.
Without affording the surviving frog a moment to react, Gideon vanished into thin air. With a single, fluid motion, he unleashed his formidable Skill, the *Claw Attack*. The initial strike, a near-miss, only set the stage for his relentless assault. Swiftly, he triggered another *Claw Attack* just before the frog's vulnerable descent, seizing the opportune instant with unwavering precision.
While he couldn't sever the frog's head due to the glaring size disparity, Gideon inflicted wounds deep enough to trigger a corrosive reaction. In a last-ditch effort, the frog leaped in a desperate bid for freedom, but the damage it had incurred was substantial. Obsidian fumes emanated from its decaying cranium, gradually devouring the creature. Unyielding, Gideon initiated another *Claw Attack*, vanishing and reappearing atop the escaping amphibian, culminating in a single, devastating slash that culminated in its demise. As the frog's lifeless form plummeted to the earth, Gideon rode it down.
A lingering silence enveloped Gideon for a brief, contemplative interval, his body trembling involuntarily. "Repulsive! The interior of that frog was utterly revolting!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with disgust.
And as if in acknowledgement of his triumph, the message materialized before him:
*You have leveled up.*
•••••
NAME: GIDEON BRANGWEN
LEVEL: 4/10
SPECIES: EXTREMELY WEAK HEDGEHOG
*STATS*
VITALITY: 17 (+85)
STRENGTH: 19 (+95)
MAGIC: 20 (+100)
SPEED: 18 (+90)
STAMINA: 17 (+85)
SKILL POINTS: 20
*SKILLS*
ACTIVE SKILLS: Dig, Claw Attack, Roll.
PASSIVE SKILLS: Appraisal, General Language Comprehension, Spike Armor.
DIVINE BLESSINGS: Night Form.
•••••