Bo used the skill [Crouch] as he eyed the Dry Toad. It was a bit smaller than Lima Bean and was covered in oddly shaped brown spots. He remembered from his lessons that the Dry Toad was a type of amphibian that thrived in dry environments, hence its name.

This was the third time Bo had used the secret tunnel to sneak out of the burrow and the second time he had seen a Dry Toad. He had thought about hunting it the first time he'd seen it, but he was curious about the thing when he saw it fearlessly take on a hoard of Lion Bugs, its tongue shooting out and catching 4 to 5 bugs each time.

It was cool! He wanted whatever skill that was!

So he'd taken to following whatever Dry Toad he stumbled across. Along the way, he'd gained proficiencies in [Sneak], [Crouch], and [Observation].

The first two skills were self-explanatory, but the third was special. When he used it, whatever he was [Observing] would give him extra information and increase his understanding of it. He tried using it when the toad used his tongue skill, but it hadn't worked. Luckily, Bo wasn't one to give up so easily, so he constantly used the skill, hoping to raise its proficiency enough so it would work on the toad.

He didn't have much time before he had to run back to the burrow, but he would squeeze every bit of time he could watching the toad. If he could learn how to take out those fiendish bugs, he'd be invincible!

Currently, the toad was engaged with a very large horde; there was an upwards of maybe 150 or so bugs attacking it. But like the first time Bo had watched the toad, it didn't seem bothered by the outrageous numbers.

Bo was just about to use [Observation] on the toad's skill when something light landed on his back. 'Hi, B-bo!'

He recognized the familiar stuttering, immediately associating it with Twig, who'd been upgraded from Acquaintance to Friend.

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'Oh! Hi, Twig!'

'W-what are y-you doing?'

'Watching a toad fight some Lion Bugs.'

'Wow! T-that's a b-big swarm!'

'Yeah! But the toad is taking it on like its nothing! You see the skill it's using?'

'I-I t-think it's c-called [Tongue Stretch].'

'Really?'

'Yeah. M-my dad s-said only Toads o-or Frogs have it.'

'Aww, man! I want that skill!'

'Y-you'd have to b-become [Toad Kin], then.' He heard Twig make a disgusted sound. 'Do you wanna be kin with a Toad?'

'Yeah! I'd get the skill! Plus, they can hop super far!'

'H-hares don't h-hop, Bo. T-they leap and l-leaping is better t-than hopping.'

'Still,' Bo insisted, 'Toads are cool. And besides, when you're practicing flying, don't those bugs get annoying?'

'W-well...'

'If you had [Tongue Stretch], you could easily catch the bugs flying into you!'

'I-it's m-more like I f-fall into them...But a-anyway, Mom says I-I'll be able to f-fly in no time, s-so it w-won't be a p-problem anymore!'

'Sure.'

He shifted so he could look at Twig. It hurt his neck so he politely asked her to get off. She hopped off and faced him. 'Have you made any progress?'

'N-no...M-mom says my wing j-just need to g-get a bit bigger.'

Bo studied her, observing her deformed left wing. Of course, neither of them knew the word 'deformed' so they naturally assumed it was just growing slower than the right-wing.

At least, that was the hope.

The baby hare gave the chick a friendly nudge. 'It'll happen in no time!'

Twig smiled at him. 'Thanks!'

'So, when that Toad finishes its business, you wanna become [Toad Kin] with me?'

'I dunno...I-it might h-hostile. Remember w-what Lima B-bean said? N-not all animals will b-be f-friendly.'

'Yeah, but if we're nice to him, he should be nice to us, right?'

'Um...I think so.'

'Alright! Let's do it!'

'But...d-don't you h-have to g-get back to the b-burrow?'

'Aww, man! Is it time already?'

'You really s-should get the c-clock system L-Lima B-bean told u-us about.'

'I know, I know...Guess we'll have to do it tomorrow...You wanna race back to the burrow?'

'N-no w-way! You're t-too fast!'

Bo gave her a cheeky grin before running off. He was about 6 yards away when he heard Twig scream. He spun around to see a Coyote attacking her!

With an enraged battle cry, he charged the beast. He'd help to kill a Lesser Griffin. A Coyote was nothing!

To battle! he thought, his eyes blazing with anger.