Looking at the Lotus Leaf Frog, Char's feelings were a mix of surprise and disappointment, quite complex.
The surprise was because he was very familiar with the frog with a lotus leaf on its back.
It was one of the Magic Pets he and his buddies had designed together for "Mobile Castle·Fantasy Forest"!
The Star Worm and the Lantern Firefly both evolved from ordinary animals, not only were they not Demon Beasts in "Mobile Castle·Fantasy Forest," they were likely not in this world either, representing entirely new species.
A new Magic Pet, he thought it would be the same, but it unexpectedly evolved into a Demon Beast from "Mobile Castle·Fantasy Forest."
Seeing the form he designed suddenly come to life, existing in reality, was naturally both shocking and exciting, a truly wonderful feeling.
But this did not cover up the disappointment in his heart.
He had painstakingly prepared four alternatives only to find that the Prayer Altar didn't play by the rules at all.
In fact, Char had anticipated this earlier; after all, recruiting Magic Pets at the game's Prayer Altar was completely random, so how could it be assumed they'd follow his arrangements in reality?
Nonetheless, seeing his plans fall through, Char couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Of course, a greater disappointment came from the fact that the new Magic Pet's strength didn't meet his expectations, which would put him at a disadvantage in the upcoming Steel Teeth Pig crisis.
In the game, the initial Level of the Lotus Leaf Frog was 9, a Primary Pet as basic as it gets, while in the DND world perspective, the Lotus Leaf Frog became a Challenge Level 1 Demon Beast.
Although the growth potential of the Lotus Leaf Frog was quite good and after evolving, several of its unique Skills were very useful, even in the later stages of the game, it could still hold its own, unlike most Primary Pets that could only be relegated to the storage, undertaking some minor tasks.
But that was after evolving, and for now, the help from the Lotus Leaf Frog was really minimal.
Despite the disappointment, Char quickly managed his emotions and started listing the advantages of the Lotus Leaf Frog in his mind, thereby consoling himself.
Firstly, the Level of the Lotus Leaf Frog was 9, and even though the Challenge Level translated to only 1, it was clearly among the powerful in Challenge Level 1 Demon Beasts.
After all, a Level 5 Magic Pet translates to a Challenge Level 1, and a Level 9 Magic Pet translates to Challenge Level 1 as well; surely their combat strengths can't be the same?
So, the recruitment of a Lotus Leaf Frog, though failing to meet Char's minimum expectations, wasn't too outrageous, considering the Lotus Leaf Frog was just a step or perhaps two steps away from reaching Challenge Level 2.
Or maybe two steps?
Moreover, the "Tongue Strike" of the Lotus Leaf Frog had a fairly good lethality.
Its tongue was already potent, easily preying on flying insects, and once it used "Tongue Strike," its tongue could shoot out like an arrow, fast and with strong impact force, easily piercing through five to six centimeters thick wood, and its attack distance was fairly good—the tongue of the Lotus Leaf Frog was three to two meters long.
With human's fragile skin, once hit, it would immediately leave a bloody hole.
If it carelessly hit a vital spot, like the eye or heart, being killed on the spot wasn't impossible.
Compared to "Tongue Strike," the "Water Arrow" Skill of the Lotus Leaf Frog had even stronger lethality.
After all, it was a Level 1 skill, while "Tongue Strike" was just a level 0 skill.
Moreover, the attack distance was also farther; the attack range of "Water Arrow" was not just beyond "Tongue Strike," but even farther than the Lantern Firefly's "Red Glow."
Therefore, although the combat power of the Lotus Leaf Frog didn't meet Char's ideal standard, it wasn't weak either, stronger than himself, the Star Worm, and the Green Skull Ghost Spider.
Additionally, the Lotus Leaf Frog was a Water Attribute Demon Beast, somewhat filling the attribute gap—the Star Worm was of Light Attribute, and the Lantern Firefly was clearly of Fire Attribute.
Besides, the Lotus Leaf Frog could also dive into the water to catch fish, clams, turtles for him! He himself was terrible at fishing, and since crossing over, he had hardly eaten any river delicacies at all, so the Lotus Leaf Frog perfectly made up for this deficiency.
Of course, these are not the true value of the Lotus Leaf Frog.
Its real value comes from the lotus leaf on its back.
This leaf, tightly connected to the body of the Lotus Leaf Frog, seems like it grows from within it, accumulating a pool of spring water at regular intervals.
This pool of spring water is known as "Lotus Leaf Spring," known for its purification and detoxifying effects.
If poisoned, just drinking a bit of the Lotus Leaf Spring can detoxify or alleviate the symptoms.
Of course, this is assuming that the poison level isn't too high.
It's not possible to say that the toxins released by demon beasts with a challenge level of 4 or 5 could be neutralized by the Lotus Leaf Spring; otherwise, the challenge level of the Lotus Leaf Frog wouldn't just be 1.
Even without being poisoned, using it as a daily beverage, the Lotus Leaf Spring can also purify the body, eventually enhancing one's constitution.
This is also why the system's introduction mentions that the Lotus Leaf Frog has an excellent reputation in the forest.
It's all because of the Lotus Leaf Spring!
Otherwise, how could it be achieved by merely being mild-tempered?
If it were just mild-tempered, it would just end up as food!
Listing them like this, the Lotus Leaf Frog seems to have quite a few advantages, and Char's mood brightened up.
Thanks to his entrepreneurial experience before crossing over, he was very good at adjusting his mental state, and now, didn't this ability come in handy again?
"Ribbit!"
The Lotus Leaf Frog, as if finally reacting, gently leaped across the stream and hopped to Char's feet, rubbing his leg with its head.
The Star Worm flew lower happily in front of the Lotus Leaf Frog, tracing bright arcs, welcoming the new companion's arrival.
Char was startled, afraid that the Lotus Leaf Frog would flick its tongue out and swallow the Star Worm in one gulp.
Aren't worms on the diet of frogs?
With the small size of the Star Worm, it was almost the perfect size for a meal for the Lotus Leaf Frog.
If the Lotus Leaf Frog seemed smarter, Char wouldn't worry, but looking at its eyes that were clear yet seemed stupid, he really couldn't trust its intelligence.
If it hadn't reacted in time and swallowed the Star Worm, he would have been too late even to cry.
In comparison, the Lantern Firefly was much calmer.
However, watching it hovering in midair, its right hand dimly glowing red with the True Red Thorn ready yet not released.
Clearly, the Lantern Firefly's heart was not as indifferent and detached as it appeared; it was also worried that the Lotus Leaf Frog might accidentally swallow the Star Worm, always ready to attack.
Luckily, the Lotus Leaf Frog was not that foolish; half a second later, it showed a happy expression on its face.
Then it lay down, and the stem connected to the lotus leaf on its back grew a bit longer, bringing the leaf to the Star Worm, gesturing it to drink from the Lotus Leaf Spring.
The Star Worm happily drank a bit, then flew up, making a "ring ring ring" sound like a clear, pleasant wind chime.
This was the call of the Star Worm, indicating it was in a very good mood, very happy.