Aria sat still, her legs crossed and eyes closed. She breathed in rhythm, in and out, in and out. Her eyes only opened when the feeling of energy in her second stomach was depleted. Her eyes flickered open, glancing at the grass where there'd been a corpse a few minutes prior.

Her white teeth shone as she smiled, looking at the screen hovering in her face. She’d been killing and testing with several different abilities and creatures throughout the entire day, and it showed.

You have killed a Bulbion Wolftoad, Level 28. Experience has been earned.

You have killed a creature 20 or more levels above your own, bonus experience has been granted.

You have killed a Bulbion Wolftoad, Level 32. Experience has been earned.

You have killed a creature 20 or more levels above your own, bonus experience has been granted.

You have killed an Acidic Wretch-frog, Level 42. Experience has been earned.

You have killed a creature 30 or more levels above your own, bonus experience has been granted.

And so on and so forth. In the end she’d managed quite the haul even with her reduced experience.

Twilight Acolyte has reached level 9

Gained:

+10 Vitality

+5 Strength

+5 Agility

+10 Intelligence

+15 Wisdom

+25 Free Stat Points

As usual, Arienna spent her free points the second she got them, but she decided to use them to round up her lower skills so they didn’t fall quite so far. It was a wonderful boon, but the true delicacy was in the skills. She had to sort them quickly just so she didn’t get overwhelmed.

New Skill Learned: Adhesion Resistance

New Skill Learned: Acid Resistance

Inquiry has reached level 3

Pain Resistance has reached level 5

Poison Resistance has reached level 8

Meditation has reached level 6

Adhesion Resistance has reached level 5

Acid Resistance has reached level 2

The Flames of Twilight has reached level 4

Twilight Vessel has reached level 3

“The fruits of my labor.” Aria muttered to herself as she sat back, remembering her close call with the second creature she’d run into after choosing to hunt their kind.

…

“My world, my world, my world. My world.” Aria hummed a soft tune as she strolled along the river bank. The river seemed to change the forest surrounding it. It was easily a hundred feet across at most parts and Aria didn’t even want to know how deep. She’d stayed at the banks when she cleaned herself, always ready to flee to the land at a moment's notice. Terrified was a soft way of putting how she felt toward deep water.

The forest loomed on either side of the river, but the treeline stopped a few hundred feet from the bank, giving way to a grassy plain that led to the river’s edge. The river had a soft current, giving the whole area a serene feel. But Aria knew that the afterlife was deceptive. She was proved correct once again as she saw one of the hulking abominations that were the wolftoads.

The creature crawled out of the river, walking onto the grass and shaking itself like a dog. The sight made Aria shiver. “Not natural.” But the big oafs were the perfect test subjects for her abilities.

“First, let’s test your hearing.” Aria brought her hand to her lips, placing two fingers on her lips and creating a sharp whistle. The wolftoad’s head swiveled, its focus locking on where Aria stood in the open grass. “Alright, come here ugly, this scientist has some testing to do.”

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The wolftoad obliged Aria, running at her with a strangely graceful gate, more wolf like than she had expected. Its large toad head bobbed unnaturally, looking even more odd as it ran toward her. “What kind of failed science experiment were you?”

This wolftoad was larger and far less cautious than its earlier counterpart. When it was within range of Aria, it launched its spear-like tongue with gusto. Aria ducked, narrowly avoiding the muscled appendage. She flicked her eyes up, getting a great view of the nasty and swollen purple tongue. Another shiver wracked down her spine.

Aria didn’t grab the mucus-coated tongue. As quickly as it’d let her close the distance, she really didn’t want a repeat of that situation. This creature gave her a more sinister feeling than the other had, making her act with a bit more caution. But Aria had experiments to run.

Aria split her focus between fighting and paying attention to the energy in her second stomach, paying close attention as she activated her skills. “Inquiry.”

Bulbion Wolftoad, Level ?

Aria felt a slight amount of the stored energy leave as she activated her skill, but it was a very small fraction of the whole. The lost energy did not begin to restore. “Interesting.”

The tongue lashed out again, making Aria spin to her right, but this toad was faster than the other. With a quick move of its head, the adhesive tongue swung like a whip, splatting against Aria’s naked shoulder. “Fu-” Her curse was silenced as she was yanked toward the toad’s open maw.

Aria screamed as her body impacted hard into the sturdy toad. Her shoulder had been ripped from its socket, and her entire arm was numb. Aria had somehow managed to avoid having her entire body sucked into the maw, but she was still buried up to her shoulder and part of her chest.

Aria fought, but there was no easy way to get her arm free from the creature’s adhesive tongue. She screamed as the frog ground its jaws together, its many teeth like needle grinding across her arm and breast. This frog’s teeth were longer, sharper, and many times more painful, especially as it ground apart the tender flesh of her chest. Spots swam in her vision, her head spinning. Chunks of the energy in her second stomach rushed out.

New Skill Acquired, Adhesion Resistance.

Pain Resistance is level 4

The bitchy voice in her head woke Aria from her dazed stupor, allowing her to refocus on the situation. The added pain resistance wasn’t too noticeable, but the adhesion resistance made a world of difference. Aria was able to pull back slightly from the toad’s maw, managing to free the bloody mess that used to be her right breast. The sight was horrifying, but it hardly made Aria falter, it only made her mad that it was her tit and that made her feel almost somewhat violated.

“Stupid frog.” Aria growled, planting her knees against the creature's lower jaw. Using the added leverage, she pulled with all she had, feeling her muscles and skin tearing as it ripped free of the adhesive. She screamed in pain, and mostly rage, as her arm was freed with a sickening pop. The limb that she called an arm was no longer recognizable as such, looking more like a shredded mess of gore that hung from her body.

Adhesion Resistance is level 2

Adhesion Resistance is level 3

Aria felt the energy in her stomach draining away as she leveled, the skill using it as fuel for its growth. “Fuck!” Aria screamed, kicking the Toad hard in the chin. She flared the fires, willing the acts into a dance. White flames danced along her skin as she felt the darkness explode into the beast from her kick. The creature reared back slightly, seemingly surprised that she had attacked it back, but Aria didn’t care what it thought, she was angry.

Aria stepped forward as the creature stepped back, driving another kick hard into its chin. She felt pain bloom from her bare foot, the power of her kick a bit too much for it, but it faded almost immediately as the white flames of Twilight wrapped around the injury. Aria grinned, the panic she felt fading as the cooling breeze swept over her skin.

Aria drove her right fist forward, the flesh that had only moments before been utterly destroyed reformed enough to be controlled. Inky black flames danced over her knuckles, swirling in a dance with the white flames and disappearing into the toad when she struck it.

The Flames of Twilight have reached level 3

The energy in her second stomach was all but gone, but Aria didn’t care. She fell into a deadly dance with the beast, the two partners doing their best to kill the other. The beast recovered quickly from its shock, finding the rhythm of the invisible dance quickly, but it was stepping to Aria’s tempo. She controlled the battle, attacking and dodging, stepping in and back, guiding the beast to its end.

Aria wasn’t unscathed, she had taken several hits from the beast’s claws, leaving large gashes over her body that were quickly set upon by the white flames. With every hit, she sent the destructive flames into the beast, the dark fire devouring the beast from within.

Aria had fallen into a trance, stepping to the invisible music in her ears, letting it guide her body, use her. The flames flared with the music, roaring and dancing alongside her, the perfect partner.

Aria only snapped awake when her feet gave out from under her, making her collapse on her knees. Her chest heaved, starved for breath, her body felt weak. She could hardly lift her head to the collapsed beast in front of her, its breaths fading away as it died.

Aria let her head fall, focusing on her breath as she kneeled in on the wet grass. Wet, she realized, with her blood. Huh? That’s… that’s disconcerting.

Aria fought to stay awake, but she was so tired, and the grass looked so soft. “Fuck, why was that one so much stronger?” She closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping as her chest rose and fell.

You have killed a Bulbion Wolftoad, Level 56. Experience has been earned.

You have killed a creature 50 or more levels above your own, bonus experience has been granted.

Oh, that’s nice. Aria thought before her exhausted body slumped to the ground, the world fading as sleep took her.