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 an Iron Salamander, usually over a century old 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, yet 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; 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 close them down.
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.
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 wary of the so-called big one growing each time.
'If these are a small, far weaker version of the one they 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, 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 it had chosen to target her instead that 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 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 it held before, which limited his attacks.
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.