Chapter 55 The Frogman Village - Arianna

  Arianna sat in meditation, her breathing slow and even, the faint hum of mana vibrating along her skin. She wove her mana pattern steadily through every fiber of her being, the swirls and spirals growing stronger, more resilient with every pass. It was thanks to the pattern—and the synergy it had with her Force Absorption skill—that she had managed to heal so many wounds during the previous fight without collapsing from mana depletion.

  The combination was intoxicating, letting her draw in ambient mana even while moving and fighting only to get more mana when she was hit. In this dungeon especially, she needed every advantage she could get. She wouldn’t risk someone succumbing to a poisoned wound just because she was stingy with her mana.

  The tigerapes had been a nasty surprise. Their strange stealth ability—hiding their mana presence until it was too late—had blindsided them. Again.

  She and Cassis had already talked about being more cautious, about the limits of their future knowledge, but this fight hammered that point home with painful clarity.

  Well, at least she was getting a steady stream of CP from all the monsters they were killing. The experience didn’t do much for her anymore at this level, though every bit would help with reaching level 20.

  Her scales were also getting more balanced again. Killing was an evil action, after all.

  Finishing her meditation, she opened her eyes slowly but kept the mana pattern going, flowing through her like a second pulse. She needed to get better at maintaining it even while moving, even while fighting. Once she mastered it staying active throughout her whole body, she’d be even more effective in battle. Right now, she could keep in at around three quarters of her body. Only her legs and feet were missing from having a completed circuit now.

  As she rose to her feet, she glanced at Cassis. He had fought with precision, his movements fluid and devastating. Yet she had noticed that his eyes kept flickering back to their teammates and her, checking on them constantly. More than just battlefield awareness—it was that overprotective instinct again.

  She understood it. Respected it, even. But he needed to trust them, trust himself, more. He was trying, though. He hadn’t rushed to her or Liam’s side when they had struggled, even though she could feel the tension in him, could almost see the effort it took.

  It's a start, she thought with a small, proud smile.

  Once everyone was recovered and brimming with mana again, they set off. Luke had pointed out during their short rest that the frogmen who had rushed them thanks to the tigerapes’ roars all came from the same direction. They pinned their hopes on soon finding the frogmen’s village.

  The forest grew denser again as they moved away from the big tree they had sheltered under. Battles became more frequent, clusters of frogmen attacking in groups, forcing them into constant skirmishes.

  During one such fight, Arianna caught it—the subtle shimmer in the air, the sticky feeling in her lungs.

  Pollen.

  She didn’t hesitate. A Water Barrier rose around the team, trapping the frogmen inside with them but sealing out the encroaching pollen cloud.

  "Neutralizing pollen inside the barrier!" she called over the party chat as she quickly worked to remove the lingering poison threat. Twice she had to restart because a frogman attacked her, and she had to defend herself. Liam noticed and dragged Camden over to her side to give her time to cast.

  Finally, her Neutralize Poison spell spread out, catching and crushing the mana particles of the pollen. The others weren’t badly affected yet – only some tiredness, as far as she could tell. Once she was sure the inside was clean, she turned back to the battle, swinging her mace.

  At the edge of her vision, Cassis activated Blazing Body and stepped outside the barrier.

  "I'm going to look for the Mesmerizing Blossoms," he informed the group over party chat.

  Despite the chaos of the fight, warmth bloomed in Arianna’s chest. He did trust them to a certain degree. Enough to not go to her side immediately when she was under attack while casting. Enough to leave them behind to fight while he went after their goal.

  They finished off the last frogman quickly, and Arianna moved to heal everyone at once. The frogmen had poisoned them, and she didn’t want anyone to be more tired than normal during all these fights. At least she had gotten faster at responding to the poison. She had managed to fine tune her heal spell to neutralizing the poison and wasn’t wasting as much mana anymore as at the beginning.

  There actually wasn’t much difference between her using Heal and Neutralizing Poison anymore. But Neutralizing Poison could help with the pollen and probably other poisons outside the body, Heal only worked on a living being.

  Cassis returned shortly after, depositing four more Mesmerizing Blossoms into his inventory, his body still trailing faint wisps of flame from the lingering effect of his spell.

  But they couldn't relax yet. Outside the barrier, the air was still thick with pollen.

  Arianna stepped up to the very edge of her Water Barrier, narrowing her eyes at the swirling golden motes.

  Time to test my theory.

  She shaped the familiar net of her Neutralize Poison spell, but instead of filling it with neutral mana, she channelled Water Mana into it. The structure immediately destabilized, the net warping and snapping apart. She frowned but didn’t let it discourage her. Again and again, she tried, adjusting the weave, reinforcing the connections.

  The others took this time to start meditating again. Camden had quickly adapted to the rapid change between battle and meditation. The others had already been used to it thanks to their actions during the Bloody Weekend. The constant fighting back then had been gruesome, but they had also gained many advandages because of that.

  Finally, on the fifth attempt, she succeeded.

  The net shimmered, humming with the density of water mana.

  With a flick of her wrist, she threw it outward.

  The results were immediate. The pollen mana dissolved on contact, wiped clean far faster and with much less effort than when she had crushed it with non-elemental mana force. She grinned, exhilarated.

  Now confident, she spread her newly improved net wider and flung it again and again, sweeping the air clean in large, efficient arcs.

  Once the work was done, she checked her system notifications.

  Neutralize Poison had reached Advanced Rank.

  No spell evolution this time, which made her wonder—maybe some spells were simply meant to have both elemental and non-elemental variants depending on how you used them. After all, when she had used water mana with her heal spell, she’d gotten a new one. This time her spell ranked up. More material for her growing pile of mana theories.

  She chuckled to herself.

  I'm going to need to start writing all this down soon, she thought. Or I'll forget half of it by the time I can actually work on it.

  Several more skirmishes against persistent frogmen bands—and one harrowing fight against over twenty walking flowers when they stumbled onto a hidden flower field—followed.

  After the exhausting fight against the walking flowers, the group took a much-needed break. They found a relatively safe spot, away from the dense flower fields, and sat down to rest and recover.

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  Helen, Nadine, and Luke were practically vibrating with excitement. They had each reached Level 10 during the last battle and were eager to check their system menus for new options. Still, none of them evolved their classes yet—they agreed it would be smarter to finish the dungeon first. Titles and achievements could still enhance their class evolution options if they waited just a bit longer.

  Camden was only a step behind at Level 9, needing just a little more experience.

  Only Liam remained stuck at Level 7. And they all knew why.

  He wore the Experience Sharing Bracelet. Every bit of experience he earned flowed into the Matteo's and the other children’s growth instead of his own.

  His family and Camden had all accepted it, but seeing him stuck was a silent, growing weight on the their spirit. Arianna wasn’t so sure of Cassis’ acceptance and hoped he wouldn’t do something desperate.

  Suddenly, Liam looked up sharply, eyes wide with surprise.

  Cassis, always alert, noticed immediately. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice cautious.

  Liam blinked a few times, then broke into a broad, boyish grin. "I just got a title!" he exclaimed, almost not believing it himself. "It's called Guardian of the Future."

  Everyone turned to him now, curiosity sparking around the group.

  "It's given to an awakener who levels up a dependent to Level 5 by sacrificing their own progress," Liam explained, still grinning. "It increases my attack and defence by 30% and boosts my mana and health regeneration by 20%—but only while I'm wearing the bracelet."

  A beat of silence followed his announcement, and then Cassis laughed quietly and slung an arm around his younger brother's shoulders in a side hug.

  "That's a good title. Well done," he said warmly, making sure his voice was full of pride rather than pity.

  Arianna caught the brief flash of sorrow and worry in Cassis’ eyes before he quickly masked it. He knew the truth. Even with the boost from the title – which was frankly amazing – Liam wouldn’t rise beyond F-rank strength while he wore the bracelet. His progress would always be given to others. His power would always at his current level.

  Camden followed up Cassis' gesture, pulling Liam into a full hug. "I'm proud of you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

  Liam’s grin softened into something more vulnerable, and he hugged Camden back tightly.

  Arianna watched quietly, her chest tightening. Liam was finally coming out of his shell again. He was starting act like the Liam she had met during her first days in this world. But not being able to grow with the others had to weigh heavily on him, making him feel like a burden. And in a way, he was becoming one, simply because the others were growing stronger so quickly while he would always be stuck at level 7.

  But now, with the title, he could keep up a little longer. It wouldn’t last forever. She sighed sadly to herself. Nothing they could do about it. He had chosen his path—and it was an honourable and meaningful one. But she wished he didn’t need to sacrifice himself like this.

  After a while, they finished their rest. Their spirits were a little lighter, and they rose to their feet.

  The frogman village awaited. The real challenge was only just beginning.

  Just a short distance from their resting place they finally found it. The frogman village.

  They stayed hidden behind the tall trees, peering through the foliage. The area ahead was wetter, more humid than the surrounding jungle. Small ponds with yellow water dotted the landscape, some bubbling ominously. Arianna couldn't tell if the bubbling was from heat or poison and she didn't want to find out. Other ponds were coated with thick layers of pink, algae-like plants, so dense that the ponds could almost be mistaken for solid ground until the surface rippled when a frogman leapt in or out.

  Dead trees littered the area, many hollowed out into crude dens. In other places, there were pits filled with gel and strange, round objects.

  Frog eggs, Arianna realized, though they were massive compared to any she had ever seen. Each was easily the size of her head.

  The frogmen further inside the village were even carrying weapons around and wearing some leather armour. They were clearly higher levelled than the roaming bands they had encountered before. Only the frogmen on the outskirts of the village seemed still weak enough to be easily dealt with.

  Arianna watched as some of the stronger frogmen made their way to the centre of the village, hopping and sometimes leaping over seven metres between patches of solid ground. Her group would have to find their own careful path through this strange, dangerous terrain.

  At the centre of the village was a massive, half-fallen tree, its trunk cleaved open to create a cavernous hollow. From it emerged a monster far larger than the others—a frogman that stood tall and proud on its hind legs, unlike the hunched posture of its brethren. It carried a large axe in one hand, a blow dart hanging from a string around its thick neck.

  The Frogman Chief. It was unmistakably an E-rank monster. The weight of its presence pressed down on them even from this distance.

  Arianna swallowed. This wouldn't be easy. Not only did they have to cut through dozens of frogmen, but the treacherous, pond-riddled terrain worked against them.

  She began to study the area, trying to chart a safe path. But Helen, sharp-eyed and quick, spoke up over the party chat first.

  "I’ve found a way. We’ll have to jump a small pond at one point, but otherwise, we can navigate around the ponds."

  Grateful, Arianna listened carefully. The first three pools were confirmed empty—easy enough with her and Cassis’ Awareness. But they couldn’t sense further, so they needed to be careful and adapt on the spot.

  Cassis remained silent about his experiences with this village, and so did she. They trusted their teammates to figure it out, especially because there would be times, they also didn’t know the answers, or the others would be alone. Sure enough, Luke and Helen devised a solid plan. One that, coincidentally, mostly mirrored the strategy Cassis had used in the other timeline.

  They would lure the frogmen towards the treeline where the footing was better. Helen and Nadine would fire arrows even deeper into the village, baiting more enemies out. If they were overwhelmed, Arianna would cast her Water Barrier to give everyone a breather.

  If, by the time most frogmen were killed, the chief hadn’t come out, they'd push forward toward him. Arianna knew the chief would stay in the centre of the village, protecting their young, but that didn’t change anything about their plan, so she stayed silent.

  Everyone nodded, nerves tightening in anticipation.

  Plan set and preparations ready, they stepped out of the cover of the trees.

  The battle erupted immediately. Dozens of frogmen hissed and croaked, some brandishing makeshift weapons, all of them leaping toward them. Tongues flew around with high speed.

  Arianna was in the thick of it from the start. She kept her mana pattern flowing through most of her body and activated Water Shield, Body Reinforcement and Force Absorption instinctively, pulling in mana from the hits on her or her water shield between healing spells.

  When Camden was struck across the chest by a frogman's spiked club, Arianna was there in an instant. A burst of golden light and the wound sealed before it could worsen.

  She ducked under a frogman’s spear thrust, countered by blasting it back with her mace.

  Cassis was a blazing force of destruction. His Fire Blade cut cleanly through the frogmen, the flames scorching flesh but still weak enough not to jump from his sword. Though the frogmen had water mana, which was strong against fire mana, Cassis was still stronger and used his abilities actively while the frogmen didn’t seem to have any active water-based abilities. This made it easy for Cassis to use his fire mana undisturbed. It wouldn’t work against the chief or some of the stronger frogmen, but these weaker ones were easy prey for him.

  Nadine shot arrow after arrow, her wind element making them sharp and impossibly fast. She skewered frogmen mid-jump, her shots precise and deadly.

  Helen, careful with her own fire element, held back, making each shot count. Her arrows went for throats, joints, weak spots—crippling enemies so others could finish them off. Sometimes she’d stop shooting and practice her sneaking and backstabbing.

  Luke, Liam, and Camden charged with their elemental blades flashing. They fought hard but suffered the most. Luke was hit by one of the tongues in the thigh, Camden got slashed along the arm, and Liam fought through multiple deep bruises.

  Arianna was constantly moving, weaving between them, healing poisoned wounds, sealing cuts before they could turn deadly. Each heal sapped her reserves, but Force Absorption kept her going since she was also constantly attacked.

  Then came the moment they had feared. Too many frogmen were converging at once. They were surrounded.

  "Water Barrier!" Arianna shouted over the party chat. A dome of shimmering water sprang up around them and the frogmen they were currently fighting, keeping the new frogmen out of that battle and giving them time to finish the fight without being overwhelmed.

  She dropped the barrier as soon as they had sufficiently rested after killing all the frogmen inside. Once the barrier fell it only fed her a small bit of mana back, and they exploded outward. Cassis led the charge, his fire blade flashing.

  Arianna flanked him, bludgeoning frogmen left and right. Then she turned around again to heal more injuries, only to get back towards the fight. The switching between fighting and healing was difficult but she felt like this battle style suited her perfectly.

  Nadine and Helen resumed firing from behind. They were trying to lure out more frogmen.

  One by one, the frogmen fell. Though now that they were fighting the stronger ones, Cassis couldn’t use his Fire Blade anymore. It was being cancelled out by the frogmen’s natural water mana-based defences. Those frogmen were probably over level 10 since they had some kind of water barrier around their bodies, much like her and Cassis’ Body Reinforcement.

  It was more difficult fighting these enemies but after some time they had managed it.

  By the end of the fight, more than half the village was empty, the rest had retreated, hiding among the ponds and dens. And the chief still stood guard in the broken tree, unmoving, watching them with unblinking, predatory eyes.

  They would have to go to him.

  Arianna wiped the sweat from her forehead and tightened her grip on her staff.

  It wasn’t over yet.