After leaving the Mission Hall,
Link made a quick stop at the warzone's store before returning to his dormitory.
After a brief round of organizing and preparation, he once again left the camp, heading straight for the frontlines.
Currently, he had three D-rank missions in hand, but in truth, only the first one truly mattered to him.
All three missions targeted Level 2 races.
Given his current strength — approaching the level of a Level 4 Esper —
dealing with these targets was hardly any challenge.
However, Link's primary goal remained the first D-rank mission.
The mission's destination was a place on the frontlines known as the Devour Swamp.
This region was infamous for hosting nurous species with potent poisonous talents,
and the target of Link's mission — the Jungle Swamp Frog —
happened to live there.
Talent: A-rank – Toxic Body!
After several hours of travel,
Link finally arrived at the outskirts of Devour Swamp.
The environnt was dim and oppressive, with towering trees blotting out the sun,
leaving the entire area shrouded in gloom and treacherous swamp terrain.
Fortunately, the swamp was located only about a hundred miles from the Northern Front,
so there was little danger of encountering particularly powerful moonfolk.
However, because the swamp was saturated with Deadly Poison,
most human soldiers preferred to stay far away from it.
Link wandered the outskirts for a long ti but saw no sign of the Jungle Swamp Frogs.
Thus, he decided to venture deeper into Devour Swamp.
Yet with every step he took forward, the danger increased exponentially.
Before long, Link spotted a white frog lurking ahead.
A panel imdiately appeared before his eyes:
[Race: White Poison Frog]
[Power Values: 300–400]
[Talent: D-rank – Toxic Tongue]
[Racial Traits: Dwells in caves, poor vision]
[Weakness: Nearsightedness. Recomnded to attack from a distance.]
Link didn't waste any ti.
Summoning a Shadow Arrow, he fired it cleanly through the frog's head.
A flash of light burst forth as the Shadow Arrow pierced directly into the White Poison Frog's brain.
Link crouched beside the corpse, rummaging through it with his dagger.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find a spiritual powers core.
Frustrated, he gave the body a swift kick and continued his search deeper into the swamp.
"Lib," he called ntally, "under normal circumstances, where would Jungle Swamp Frogs usually be found?"
"Master," Lib responded, "Jungle Swamp Frogs are notoriously aggressive and territorial.
As a result, you will rarely find other species in their vicinity.
Even more powerful species usually avoid their territory.
If pushed to the brink, Jungle Swamp Frogs are known to unleash deadly toxins powerful enough to kill themselves along with their enemies."
"What a fantastic talent!"
Link couldn't help but marvel.
With this information in mind, he adjusted his search pattern, heading toward areas with fewer traces of other creatures.
Thanks to his enhanced perception talent, he quickly locked onto a relatively isolated direction.
Several hours later,
Link decided to take a brief rest against a tree.
Just as he leaned back, however, his sixth sense blared a sudden warning!
In an instant, a massive shadow ca hurtling down from above, aiming directly for his head.
Reacting at lightning speed,
Link instinctively dodged to the side.
Mid-dodge, his sharp eyes caught sight of his attacker, and a corresponding panel popped into view:
[Race: Black Armored Snake]
[Power Values: 800–1200]
[Talent: A-rank – Venom Mist]
[Racial Traits: Swamp dweller]
[Weakness: Seven-inch point...]
An A-rank talent, and a good one at that —
exactly what he needed: a proper area-of-effect attack ability!
Grinning internally,
Link stopped dodging and simply stood his ground.
...
[A-rank Talent – Venom Mist]
[Venom Mist: Releases a poisonous mist centered around the user.
Any creature caught within the mist will suffer from its effects.
As the user's strength grows, the mist's area of influence will also expand.]
With a "let's test it out" mindset,
Link unleashed Venom Mist across Devour Swamp.
In a short ti,
many of the moonfolk species dwelling in the swamp were decimated by his expanding poisonous fog.
During the rampage,
Link also discovered several other valuable talents:
[A-rank Talent – Deadly Poison]
[Effect: Enhances the toxicity of one's venom, making it even more lethal.]
Within just a few hours,
Link had almost entirely cleared out the outer regions of the swamp.
After a short rest,
he ventured deeper into the heart of Devour Swamp.
It was then that he noticed sothing peculiar —
a sweet, fragrant aroma drifting through the otherwise fetid air.
In a place like this, filled with rot and decay,
such a pleasant sll was highly unusual.
Could there be so kind of treasure hidden here?
Link's heart stirred with excitent,
and he imdiately followed the scent without hesitation.
After all, he wasn't afraid of death — why not check it out?
Before long, he traced the scent to a patch of dense underbrush.
Within it, he found a vibrant green vine intertwined with the bushes —
clearly a symbiotic plant.
The source of the sweet fragrance was a cluster of purple flower buds growing along the vine.
Each bud was spherical, like a swollen ball, and at its center grew a small, jet-black fruit.
At the sa ti, another panel appeared before Link's eyes:
[Item: Sweetflower Fruit]
[Effect: Increases resistance to poisons]
[Location: Areas saturated with toxins]
Jackpot!
A glint of excitent flashed in Link's eyes.
But just as he reached toward the plant,
a rustling sound — like sothing slithering through the underbrush —
echoed from behind him.
Instinctively, Link spun around.
What he saw was a massive green python,
rearing up, its tongue flickering as it locked eyes with him.
Beside the snake crouched an enormous, dark green swamp frog —
bigger and aner than anything he had encountered thus far.
Well now, wasn't this just hitting the jackpot twice over?
Link grinned from ear to ear, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
[S-rank Talent – Toxic Control]
[A-rank Talent – Toxic Body]
After dispatching both creatures and absorbing their talents,
Link felt an enormous surge of strength.
He flexed his sowhat stiff limbs,
then instinctively opened his personal status panel:
[Na: Link]
[Power Values: 476 (Lv4 Esper)]
[Mind Power: 563 (Lv5 Esper)]
[Talent: (omitted)]
[Newly Acquired Talents: S-rank – Toxic Control; A-rank – Venom Mist, Deadly Poison, Toxic Body]
Toxic Body:
[Floods the user's body with deadly toxins, causing rapid deterioration and inevitable death.
However, the generated toxins are potent enough to kill enemies one tier above the user.]
No wonder Lib had recomnded these talents —
they were truly reliable!
Now that he had patched up his biggest weaknesses,
Link's spirits soared.
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