Chapter 23 - Bug Extermination
Before consuming the fruit, Tara decided to utilise {Insight} on the fruit, similar to what she had done to the Iron Dragon Fruit.
Quickly, after using insight, a description of the fruit popped up.
[Toxic Abiote Fruit: A highly poisonous spiritual fruit considered a low-level spiritual treasure that is an excellent source of nourishment towards poisonous Magical Beasts. The fruit nurtures and empowers poison Qi. It is highly toxic and fatal for consumption if you cannot digest the fruit's energies. The compatibility between the host's current traits is high, and this is an item that will enhance existing characteristics.]
The fruit seemed similar to the Iron Dragon Fruit, both low-quality natural treasures.
It was no wonder the Frog Queen accepted their proposal despite holding such an advantage in the exchange since the fruit only enhanced Magical Beasts or cultivators utilising poison.
Tara felt the Frog Queen had long extracted the value of what a low-level natural treasure could do, so it was simple for her to exchange these fruits for a chance at gaining something far more valuable with the death of the Sphyrna Pikeake.
Holding up the apple-like fruits with her claw-like appendages, she found that despite the fruit's evident toxicity and the feelings of energies that were no doubt poisonous Qi, the fruit seemed as appetising to her as the more gentle attributed Iron Dragon Fruits.
Deciding there was no point in delaying the inevitable, she brought the first fruits to her maw and started munching on them.
Feeling the familiar warmth bubbling energy in her, that was Qi no doubt Tara, enjoyed the taste and stopped hesitating, gorging on the fruits with fervour.
The number of fruits they retrieved was sizable. Tara had already achieved three prior upgrades in {Poison Secretion}; therefore, she had enough to push the trait to its limit for her current species and cultivation realm.
And with the constant intake of Toxic Abiote Fruits, she was getting closer to that limit.
[Toxic Abiote Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.]
The notifications kept coming, and she soon received a notification indicating she had advanced {Poison Secretion} to Level 4.
[Toxic Abiote Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.
Trait: Poison Secretion trait level forcibly increased {3} > {4} *NEW* Your poison becomes even deadlier and more toxic; its additional effect has improved, making it more efficient at draining Qi…]
However, the notification did not stop there, and the more fruits she consumed, the closer she came to another level increase.
As the seemingly bottomless pile of fruits began to vanish at an alarming rate, and Tara was on the brink of finishing the large pile, the notification she had been waiting for happened.
It required a mountain heap of fruits, but she had done it.
[Toxic Abiote Fruit consumed. Attributes and traits enhanced.
Trait: Poison Secretion trait level forcibly increased {4} > {5} *MAX* Your poison becomes even deadlier and more toxic; its additional effect has improved, making it more efficient at draining Qi. In conjunction with {Poison Qi Resistance}, you are immune to your poisons and are highly resistant to foreign poison. You can now layer your teeth and claws with a thick membrane of Poisonous Qi; the poison's lethality will naturally increase with cultivation level.]
Like her {Iron Bones} and {Iron Skin and Tendons} traits, the trait had reached its maximum potential limit at her current species, cultivation realm. It seemed the primary constraint to these traits was her natural cultivation realm and the potential of her species. The greater the talent and potential, the more room for growth exists in every cultivation realm.
Abruptly, the final notification sounded.
[Excess vitality from fruit transformed into EXP. Calculating: You have received 200 EXP.
You are now 4077/5000 EXP into progressing to Level 5.]
'Huh', Tara thought. The EXP was far less than she assumed it would be judging by the number of fruits, yet maybe the fruits had less vitality than the Iron Dragon Fruits.
Though now she had maxed out her {Poison Secretion}, she felt better prepared than ever to help take down the current Beast King of the region.
Nonetheless, being so close to the next level, she wanted to accomplish another thing.
It was time to reveal even more about herself to Lady. Hopefully, she can explain that she got stronger from killing things and felt close to the next cultivation stage.
She did not expect herself to be so fortunate a second time against the Sphyrna Pikeake, and an additional level would not only provide her with an all-around improvement from her cultivation realm but also allow her to resist better the same ability the Sphyrna Pikeake utilised to freeze her solid.
Leaving behind the remnants of the {Toxic Abiote Fruits}, she quickly found Lady and Claw awaiting her.
Claw was the first to remark, 'Were the fruits as helpful as expected?'
Tara nodded her Salamander-like head as she replied, 'Yes, perfectly. However, I have another request from you to bolster our chances further.'
Lady responded, 'We won't have time to acquire more unique fruits if that's what you are asking for. Natural treasures in this region are lower than the rest of the swamp and are each fiercely guarded. We were lucky with the Toad and Frogs and won't have such fortune again. Agreements like this one are so fleeting. Even I, who usually is optimistic towards an alliance like this one, were surprised when you and Claw of all Salamanders were the ones to do it.'
'No, that's not what I need. We are pressing for time, but it's another aspect of how I grow. I grow stronger with those I hunt and feel close to progressing towards the next stage.' Tara said with clarity.
Surprisingly, Lady and Claw gathered their composure rather quickly.
Claw said, 'I know there was something more about you. Though I should have suspected something, your growth is swift; you gather Qi far too fast for a typical kin member. I've never witnessed such a thing with our kin, but there have been strange humans and beasts who cultivate the domain of slaughter and, similarly, cultivate utilising the energies of the death of their victims. Though your Qi is too pure for that, they progress quickly, even swifter than you, yet their foundation is feeble. Some bloodlines also cultivate similarly to you, like you; their Qi is pure, yet you are different from them. You are a rather peculiar one, but so far, you have been worth our trust, so I suppose we won't mind the further secrets you hold as long as you never betray us; we don't care what you are.'
Claw seemed relatively simple in that respect. He did not care about how she gained power as long as she remained on their side. The implications of her oddities appeared not that important to Claw.
On the other hand, Lady was more of a thinker; after all, she gained power through the death of her enemies. It seemed rather demonic if she was being honest, though Magical Beasts did not hold the same ideals as humans.
The new world she found herself in was not some civilised world, especially from a Magical Beasts perspective.
However, Lady seems to have adopted many beliefs from the Lady Cultivator who saved her. She seemed to fit her idea of a 'righteous' type of cultivator, and right now, Tara feels she fits the prerequisite of the stereotype of an evil Demon King whose goal is world domination.
Lady paused before she responded, 'I have a means for you to find many foes in a short period. We needed to thin their numbers anyway, though it would be dangerous. The swarm are dumb and weak, but they are far more numerous than we can ever hope to compare to.'
Hearing it was Lady who proposed, she thought it rather strange that it was not Claw, whose speciality seems to be dealing with threats to the herd.
Though she supposed it was a good way to demonstrate to Lady, despite the system's unique capabilities making her appear like a bloody fiend who wants to kill everything in sight, she was far from that.
However, if she was being honest, apart from Iron Salamanders, she had been practically slaughtering every magical beast since coming to this world, so maybe that portrayal of her was accurate.
'That sounds great. When should we leave? I know that venomous Frog Queen wants us to assault the Pikeake's den as soon as possible so we can do so before the Beast King breaks through.' Tara asked curiously.
'No point delaying. I will accompany you this time. Claw, stay here and guard the herd.' Lady said assertively, surprising everyone present.
Claw gave her a knowing glance for a short period before seeming to accept Lady was being firm on this one.
From spending their long lives together, Claw seemed to know better than to argue when Lady set her mind on something.
Tara found it suspicious that Lady seemed to change attitude so suddenly, yet decided it was better to move forward.
She knew her chance of surviving the second encounter with the Sphyrna Pikeake would increase manifolds if she gained an additional level.
Soon enough, she and Lady left the herd behind, again under the wandering gazes of the Iron Salamanders of various sizes.
The herd was used to her now and, upon their departure, gave her weird salamander-like waves with their clawed appendages.
Though she has not had much opportunity to interact with most of the herd except Claw and Lady, she has to admit she finds them oddly cute. With their big beady eyes scanning their surroundings seriously and the way they wagged their tails around as they scurried around the water.
She found herself praising her cohort's effort at protecting the den; though most of her brethren may be dumb, with toxic Toads and Frogs seeming an appetising meal for them, it didn't erase they were kinda adorable in a dopey way.
Tara and Lady soon began picking up distance between themselves and the den.
She was curious about where Lady was taking her. Yet, she found the sights oddly familiar, realising that the familiar greenery and surroundings were similar to what she had seen upon her arrival in this world.
She knew this area well since the small cave she had used upon her arrival, where she had levelled for the first time, was fairly near here. Yet Tara knew from her recent levels that she would be far too big for the originally well-spaced cave.
It seemed strange to her she had barely been in this world; it felt perhaps a week at most, yet she had already outgrown her first lodgings.
Nonetheless, she knew this was merely the beginning. If she was having prestigious growth spurts now, she could only imagine the sheer size a Magical Beast such as a Dragon would reach in the later stages of cultivation.
'We will be dealing with a consistent problem. Devilfly swarms above the swamp are a constant issue for laying our eggs; they are the most significant pests in this swamp and are notorious for being endless to the point it is impossible to eradicate them all.' Lady abruptly said, awakening her from her stupor.
Hearing the word 'insect' brought her mind to the Nymphs she encountered upon her arrival in this world.
And from Lady's description, they sounded eerily similar to the target she had in mind.
'Right when I was getting used to the thought of never seeing those giant bugs again…' Tara thought, already not liking the idea of marching head first into a swarm of those things.
It seemed Lady had insect extermination in mind. And she brought Tara along to help her with the deed.