The toads were, in fact, not happy to see me again.

I wasn’t expecting the warmest of welcomes, but I definitely didn’t expect to be swarmed as soon as I entered the valley. They must have been on high alert after I stole their buddy. That, or they just assumed I would return.

I could barely find time to drop my captive off at the edge of the mud pit before I had to Flash Step away to avoid the first wave of oncoming water missiles directed at me by the smaller females. Individually, the mana-infused water couldn't hurt me, but that didn't mean I could stand there and let them hit me. Each bolt of water that touches me eats away from Mana Skin. If I get hit too many times, I'll run out of mana, and then the water could do some real damage at that point.

"Back off!" I yell, kicking a male toad jumping at me and trying to bite my leg. I made sure not to use all my Strength in hopes that I wouldn't accidentally kill the thing.

Tabitha threw my challenge back at me, and I would do my best to pull it off. And that meant I couldn't kill a single toad—a challenge the toads were making extremely difficult.

Thankfully I held back just enough to send my attacker flying, but not hard enough that when it landed, it could get back up, all be it a little wobbly on its feet.

For the first time in forever, I make use of Pugilist Skills. Unfortunately, I can't use my hammer for fear of killing the squishy amphibians, so instead, I use my hands and feet to defend myself.

I quickly find myself falling back into old stances, a kick here, a chop there. The only difference is the amount of fighting experience I've had since the last time I fought with my bare hands. It's almost effortless to switch between attacking and defending to suit my needs, and soon a tiny mound of toads is croaking in pain around me.

Their attacks may be pointless, but I'll give the toads one thing, they did not quit. No matter how many of them I knock down or how many I send flying, there's always another wave hopping toward me.

The males were throwing themselves at me with no regard for their own lives. It was interesting to see the clear dynamic between the two sexes. While the males were essentially living cannonballs with teeth, the females stood back, continuing to try and hit me with their pressurized water blasts with no regard for their smaller mates.

More than once, I'm forced to sidestep a blast of water, and a male toad is hit by a female's attack in my place and is blasted away. The little guys are still twitching afterward, so I'm assuming they're alright, but I don't exactly have time to worry about them.

I already had all the toads focused on me, but that was only the first part of Tabitha's and my plan. While the male toads were charging me, the females were still clustered around their eggs.

I needed to get them to move from their position so Tabitha, who was hiding just over the ridge, could sneak down and grab the eggs.

Tabitha made it clear that if I couldn't get the females to move, she'd resort to plan B, eradicating the females and any other toad in her way. Meaning I was on the clock. I was going to need to approach the females and fast.

I would rush them as it is, but I was only on the outer rim of the mud pit, and my feet were already getting caught in the slop. With each step I took, I needed to dislodge my feet from the muck, kicking up a lot of mud and releasing a god-awful smell that seemed to stick to the inside of my nose. The water blasts from the females weren't helping the situation either. With each salvo, they were making the already soft ground even mushier.

So, reluctantly, I activate Air Walk, as it's the only way to get out of my predicament. With each step, I burn through precious mana as I rush the large females at the center of the mud pit.

"Crap!" Sadly, I only get to take two steps before being forced to Flash Step away in a mid-air maneuver. "That one almost got me," I frown at the alpha female. So, even toads can have tricks up their sleeves.

I was aware that she was charging up her attack again, but instead of shooting a ball of water the size of a beach ball at me like she did last time, the alpha female shot a projectile half that size at a much faster speed. It’s a good thing I didn’t drop my guard.

Though, knowing she could attack quicker was a massive disadvantage for me. I needed to hurry, and depending on how fast she could recharge, I might waste too much time dodging. My mana was already trickling away, and once I used half my mana pool, I would need to cut my losses and be forced to kill rather than injure.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

This is different from back home, where I can use up all my mana and safely recharge in my room. This was just a single part of my day, and I needed to have enough mana for later.

I have a split-second decision to make; did I stay in the air where I have better maneuverability at the cost of my mana? Or did I drop dawn, where I'll be exposed to both the males' and females' attacks to save mana for later?

"I choose mana," I physic myself up as I turn off Air Walk and drop to the ground. But, then again, I'm not actually turning my skill off all the way. Instead, as the alpha female did, I'm changing how I use my skill, so it doesn't use as much mana.

As my feet are about to touch mud, I form a thin mana barrier under my boots. The barrier doesn't need to be as thick as when I run through the air to stand on mud, so I'm not using as much mana as I usually do. To further lower my mana usage, I deploy my Magic Threads.

It sounds counterintuitive to use more mana rather than less, but Magic Threads offer me even more support where there was non in the first place.

I might not be in the air anymore, but I was maintaining my mobility with a fraction of the mana I'd be burning if I was.

Dodging a handful of male frogs leaping at me, I run across the top of the mud pit like its solid ground. The females croak louder as I approach them, and as soon as I reach the first one, I lash out with a swift kick. The females are higher leveled than the males and were easily quadruple their size, so I don’t need to hold back as much either.

My boot connects right under the toad's open mouth, and as it soars through the air, it makes a sound akin to a squealing pig. Now I could finally get on to the next phase of our plan.

I want to celebrate, but that would be premature. Because no sooner than the female toad I kicked crashes down into the mud, the rest of the toads surrounding me change. All the croaking around me stops at once, and suddenly I feel like I’m in danger.

“Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

The noise started small, a gentle humming in the ears. Then it began to grow.

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”

The noise became louder until the combined humming of all the toads was defining!

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”

......

Then the noise stopped, and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I have just enough time to Flash Step away before every toad around me dove at me at once in a frenzied rage.

A few minutes ago, they were jumping at me in packs of four or five, but now dozens of toads were flinging themselves at me with mouths open, not caring that they were mostly slamming into one another rather than me.

Even the females who were once content to stay back were now bounding after me, shooting water at me as soon as they could gather it in their mouths.

I grimaced; I might have gotten their attention a bit too much.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Tabitha taking the chance to sprint toward the unguarded eggs, but I can't watch her long before I must entirely turn my attention to the attacking toad army.

At this point, I'm forced to punch and kick at my full Strength. Too many toads were getting close to me and trying to bite through Mana Skin, and I needed to make sure they wouldn't get back up when I knocked them down.

I feel a few wisps of experience waft up from my feet, signaling that I did indeed kill a few, but I didn’t have time to dwell on the fact.

To my left, the alpha female was gathering her mana in her mouth again, and this time there were so many toads around me I didn't have a safe space to escape to.

Reaching behind me, I'm finally forced to draw my hammer. I have just enough time to ready my weapon before another condensed water bolt is shot at my head.

I use my superior reflexes to cover my hammer in mana and swing for the bleachers. Water missile meets hammer, and the resulting explosion of water sends reverberations through my bones. The toads around me were less prepared for the clash, and the water explosion actually helps me by scattering the amphibians around me.

“I got it!” I hear Tabitha call out.

I don't hesitate after that and immediately activate Air Walk and jump straight up. A few toads were now turning their attention to the second human in their valley, but most were still locked on me.

Dodging multiple smaller water missiles, I break in the opposite direction Tabitha was fleeing. No matter how much leg strength they have, none of the toads can keep up with me when I can run unimpeded, and soon, I'm outside the valley.

I'm not in the air long, and I appreciate the solid ground I land on, but I only stop running once I take a curving route to the base of a tree six hundred feet away from the mud pit where my bag is waiting for me. Leaning against the tree, I try to catch my breath.

Tabitha and I picked this tree to stash our bags because there wasn't anything dangerous nearby. Still, I only allow myself to relax once I see Tabitha jogging up from the opposite direction, holding both mine and her waterskins in her hands.

“Good job,” Tabitha congratulates me with a smile.

Taking a few deep breaths, I stand up straight and give Tabitha a half-hearted grin. “I couldn’t avoid killing a few,” I freely admit my defeat.

I expect Tabitha to gloat, but surprisingly she walks over to me and gives me a reassuring pat on the back. “Yeah, but only a few. It was impressive how well you did when they went berserk. I didn’t think you’d last as long as you did.” I don’t know how to feel about that, but it’s nice to have Tabitha acknowledge me in her own way.

In the end, I decide it’s better to focus on the good, and I’m able to give Tabitha a proper smile in return. “So, you got them?” I motion to our waterskins.

“Sure did,” Tabitha holds them up and gives them a light shake, where a sickening sloshing noise comes from inside. “Enough eggs to get you the Poison Resistance skill. I think.”

"Goody," I cheer sarcastically, not bringing up how she didn't sound very sure at that last part. Leaning up against the tree, I take a few more shallow breaths to even out my breathing.

"Need a moment?" Tabitha asks concerningly. She looks me up and down for any signs of injury, but in the end, the toads were unable to break through Mana Skin with any of their attacks.

“Just a sec,” I reply, taking a seat on the soft forest floor.

Tabitha nods in understanding before turning around to watch our surroundings. Knowing she would guard me, I take a second to enter a meditative state again and draw in as much raw mana as possible to speed up my regain. Sunset was still five hours away, and we still had ground to cover before we looked for a new campsite.

After meditating for a few minutes, I'm about to deactivate my skill when I remember I should check up on the goblin scouting party. The whole toad egg thing took us roughly an hour, so they should be back in range by now.

I scan in the direction they would be in if they were following our tracks, and…. I go pale.

"We need to go now!" I yell, springing to my feet. I reach over and grab Tabitha's backpack next to mine and throw it at her as she turns around, hearing the fear in my voice.

"What's wrong?" She asks as I stumble to secure my bag while trying to run simultaneously.

“Goblins; lots and lots of goblins,” I tell her as she catches up next to me.

"How many?" Tabitha gave me a look that said she was ready for battle and wanted a more concrete number.

“I don’t know,” I tell her. “I lost track after I counted a hundred!”

A whole goddamn horde was after us, and they weren't far behind.