Chapter 29
A conjured axe cleaved through a Guppi Fighter, splitting it in half.
Keith approached the monster’s dissipating corpse and picked up the loot. Just earlier, he had encountered a group of three Guppi Fighters, killing two and leaving one alive.
He drew out the fight by using Entangling Roots to control its movements and learn more about it. To summarize, the Guppi Fighter frequently used the fog to its advantage, and in addition to its acidic saliva and pouncing stun, it could summon a water trident to use as a weapon.
With the assessment complete, Keith ventured into the marsh more confidently. On his way, the landscape gradually became more complex. Dense shrubbery and thorny vines encompassed everything, while the ponds grew in size until they became small lakes.
Keith killed any Guppi Fighters he came across.
Against them, he mainly relied on Arsenal of the Desert, greatly enjoying its lethality. It also paired well with his Mind Division and Mind Enhancement skills. With it, Keith had easily wiped out over a hundred Guppi Fighters in almost an hour.
The entire time, he paid attention to his experience bar, dismayed by the amount he needed to level up. All the monsters he killed contributed less than a percent toward the next level. He recalled that Yara once said the experience required to level beyond 500 increased exponentially, but he didn’t think it was this steep.
Sighing, Keith focused back on his surroundings upon sensing monsters nearby.
He followed along the bank of a lake when the outlines of five Guppi Fighters emerged ahead. With a dozen conjured weapons already prepared, he stepped closer and found another outline three times larger next to the Guppi Fighters.
What’s that? Keith wondered.
At his command, the Arsenal of the Desert weapons flew forward at maximum speed, instantly reaching the monsters. Caught off-guard, the weapons cut through them like butter, highlighting just how mighty a celestial grade skill was.
Pained shrieks rang out, and two wounded Guppi Fighters left their three deceased companions behind and rushed toward their attacker from different directions.
Keith simultaneously retreated and tracked the flanking Guppi Fighters with Mana Manipulation. Summoning roots at their feet, he accurately slapped the two monsters toward him, at which point swords, spears, and axes ripped them apart.
At that moment, a fierce bellow shook the surrounding fog as a massive creature several meters tall lumbered over. Appearing to be of the same species as the Guppi Fighters, this humanoid fish sported freakish muscles all over its body.
(Divine) Guppi Brawler – Level 740
Health: 8,000,000/8,000,000
In the Guppi Brawler’s hand was a giant sledgehammer made of coral. When it saw Keith, it hefted its weapon overhead and smashed down.
BOOM!
The earth ruptured from the blow.
A shockwave spread in an arc, uplifting the ground wherever it passed. Dirt and foilage flew everywhere.
Keith saw the incoming shockwave and multicast several layers of Ice Wall. The barriers crumbled one after another, though each one decreased the shockwave’s power until it fizzled out.
After defending against the Guppi Brawler’s skill, Keith sensed its mana signature move with astonishing speed, and he dashed to the side just as the monster barreled through the last few Ice Walls with its burly physique.
Retreating, Keith waved his hand, controlling his weapons to slash and stab at the Guppi Brawler. Each inflicted a bone-deep wound, and combined, they dealt heavy damage.
With blood pouring out from every place on its body, the Guppi Brawler bellowed out in anger and charged at the tiny human before it. In response, Keith continuously fell back, using Entangling Roots to harass the Guppi Brawler and observing its actions.
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He noticed two things.
First, the Guppi Brawler glowed red the further its health decreased, and the darker the glow, the faster it became. Second, it possessed a potent regeneration ability. Its wounds healed at a visible speed. When the monster revealed nothing new even after several minutes, Keith ended its life.
Walking over to its disappearing corpse, he picked up the Guppi Brawler’s loot, finding a broken gem among the other items.
(Special) Fog Repellant Fragment
Description: Combine ten fragments to form a Lesser Fog Repellant that increases the distance the fog is from the holder by five feet. Only effective while in the Foggy Marsh zone.
Keith wasn’t too excited by the special item.
For most people, the fog was a great hindrance. It was the same for him until he grew more familiar with sensing living creatures' mana signature through Mana Manipulation. Now, Keith used the fog to his advantage. That was how he killed the five Guppi Fighters before they spotted him.
More importantly, the encounter with the Guppi Brawler made Keith cautious.
It was a brainless berserker that only cared about charging straight at its opponent, making it hard to ignore. Alone, it was no threat, but the situation changed when it had a group of Guppi Fighters as reinforcements. Keith could easily imagine that while dealing with a Guppi Brawler, Guppi Fighters would lurk in the fog, waiting to deal a fatal blow.
Brainstorming how he’d counter such an enemy lineup, Keith continued deeper into the marsh. No longer did he encounter lone monsters. Instead, Guppi Fighters appeared in groups larger than five, with a Guppi Brawler occasionally accompanying them.
Keith focused on wiping out the Guppi Fighters as fast as possible before moving on to the Guppi Brawler. The fights generally went well, especially because he attacked the monsters first.
However, there was one unexpected battle.
At that time, Keith was dealing with two Guppi Brawlers when a nearby group of monsters heard the commotion and came to assist. To play it safe, Keith Quickdrew several Laegur Beam Arrays to swiftly finish the fight.
That encounter was an insightful one.
It taught him that no matter the situation, there were always factors outside your control.
After that, Keith fought one group of monsters after another.
Unlike when he hunted in Mandara Desert, where he bombarded everything in sight from the sky, the Foggy Marsh zone forced Keith to engage monsters head-on. He improved with every fight and was like a piece of steel slowly being tempered.
Several hours later, Keith crouched behind a boulder surrounded by reeds. He stared forward, motionless. Ahead, about fifty feet away, he sensed twelve Guppi Fighters, two Guppi Brawlers, and something new.
By now, Keith could accurately determine what monster was what based on their mana signature, provided he had sensed them before. It was similar to recognizing something you had smelled in the past.
Keith guessed the unknown mana signature belonged to a new type of Guppi, probably one with ranged attacks. He decided to play it safe. Retreating silently, he scouted the surroundings to ensure no other monster groups were nearby.
After Keith confirmed the area was clear, he found a decent hiding spot and used Entangling Roots far beyond the monster group he was targeting. The roots slammed against the ground and made a ruckus, drawing the attention of the monster group.
The Guppi Fighters rushed over to investigate, and due to their speed, they left the Guppi Brawlers behind. At that moment, a gang of weapons flew over from the left and right, storming the Guppi Brawlers like a swarm of hornets.
While suffering from the strikes, the Guppi Brawlers attempted to search for Keith, unaware he was over fifty feet away. Unlike Keith, who used Mana Manipulation to bypass the fog, they were completely blind.
Unable to find their assailant, the Guppi Brawlers retaliated against the flying weapons to the best of their ability. Although the weapons were fast, a few broke apart from some lucky blows. Even then, more weapons burst out from the fog to replace their fallen brothers and sisters.
Every strike from the Arsenal of the Desert weapons dealt a little less damage than the Laegur Beam array, and they could attack several times a second. Their damage output was so great the two level 740 divine Guppi Brawlers died in less than ten seconds.
At this point, the Guppi Fighters returned after destroying the roots, just to die one after another under the weapon gang’s lightning-quick attacks. The only monster left was the unknown one.
Keith deliberately kept it alive and approached the battlefield. He ignored the loot on the ground and observed the new Guppi variant.
(Divine) Guppi Warlock – Level 750
Health: 6,500,000/6,500,000
Wielding a gnarled wooden staff, it had a sickly and frail physique. The Guppi Warlock shrieked upon spotting Keith and waved its staff, whereupon the nearby reeds and shrubbery sprang to life. With movement similar to snakes, they crawled along the ground quickly.
As Keith conjured roots to counter the plant life, the Guppi Warlock summoned a half-dozen bone totems six feet tall. A ball of fire shot out from the skull at the top and locked onto Keith.
A few minutes later, the Guppi Warlock fell to the ground, dead.
Keith picked up all the loot, happy with the alchemy materials the Guppi monsters consistently dropped.
Just as Keith stored the last item, he sensed four unknown mana signatures homing in on his position with alarming speed. Unsure of what was nearing him, Keith activated Mana Barrier’s Dragon Regalia mode and surrounded himself with conjured weapons.
Two seconds later, a humanoid with dark skin wielding daggers rushed out of the fog, their stance low.
Keith was shocked.
He recognized the other – it was a female demon!
Without missing a beat, the demon locked eyes with Keith and sped up. Fearlessly entering the range of Keith’s conjured weapons, she expertly deflected two strikes from a sword and axe in one move and twirled past another attack in the next.
Horrified by the demon’s speed, Keith teleported backward as a sharp pain came from his wrist. He looked down and saw his right hand missing. Without hesitation, Keith turned and fled.