The humidity in Mistvale didn't just cling; it weighed. Every breath Shino took felt like swallowing damp wool. As they stepped onto the rickety wooden pier that led into the heart of the paddies, the fog swallowed the village behind them, leaving only the emerald glow of the marsh and the unsettling, rhythmic thrum of the unseen singers.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhX2T5CMeQJ
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywvddABaqP
"This is repulsive," Elsa muttered. She was forced to lead her white mare by the bridle, her polished silver greaves sinking into the peat with every step. "My boots are ruined, and I can't see five feet in front of my blade."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkFKG1K9Dd
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYKMcrShzd
"Focus on your ears, Elsa," Kazuto advised, his hand resting on his broadsword. "The mist diffuses light, but sound travels better in the damp. Shino, what are the readings?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RcTvSioAe
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VBkM52l71
The First Ambush99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYT8nLhutU
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34450SMUhT
Shino didn't answer immediately. Her glasses were fogging up, so she pushed them to her forehead, letting her [Analytical Eye] do the work. The world turned into a thermal map. She saw the heat signatures of dragonflies, the cold flow of the water—and then, four massive, pulsating blobs of frigid blue mana lurking just beneath the lily pads.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgda6NZ2Vd
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSh4Ri5wIWe
"Left! High!" Shino barked.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ774UGdDgWK
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrNUoOx2RL
Kwah-RACK!99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCs0Qp4MK8
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEBG5rMjok
The water exploded. A Giant Marsh Frog, the size of a carriage and mottled with toxic purple spots, launched itself into the air. Its tongue, a wet, muscular whip tipped with a serrated pad, lashed out toward Elsa’s throat.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYg4vThlJO
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CSgYFALYn
The Failure of Steel99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvc2aqKbeJs
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSduUfn2k4
"Valerius Strike: Gale!" Elsa reacted with the speed of a veteran. Her rapier blurred, a spiral of wind mana concentrating at the tip of her blade. She lunged, aiming for the beast’s soft underbelly as it soared over her.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqT4ZfBLE1
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LWwuzN5Cx
The blade hit—and then it slid.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LzAujkHwd
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhYNn4VPQE
Instead of piercing the hide, the rapier skidded off the frog's skin as if it had hit a greased mirror. Elsa’s momentum carried her forward, and she stumbled into the knee-deep muck, her weapon splashing uselessly into the water.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbgPY315bZ
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9va3PCGZg
"It has a [Reflective Mucus]!" Shino shouted, her tail fluffing up in alarm. "It’s not just slippery, Elsa—it’s a non-Newtonian fluid! The harder you hit it, the more it hardens into a shell!"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbyL1HN4me
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WlNrtOauQ
Two more frogs surfaced, their throats ballooning out with a sickening, wet sound. They weren't croaking; they were vibrating, creating a sonic frequency that made Shino’s ears ring with a sharp, piercing pain.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWOzTrmY9H
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuttAov7Rgg
The Chemical Solution99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrj3QqrTk5l
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKn9sqZASl
Kazuto stepped in, swinging his broadsword in a wide arc to keep the beasts back, but even his heavy blade bounced off their backs with a dull thud. The frogs were closing in, their tongues darting out like harpoons.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuVpVy55SN
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGXItUJTRt
"Shino! Logic! Now!" Kazuto roared, parrying a wet lash that nearly took his helmet off.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9cUPPeePZ
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27efe9daS3
Shino dropped to one knee, ignoring the mud staining her scholar’s robes. She reached into her pack and pulled out a vial of Concentrated Citric Essence—a byproduct of her alchemy research—and a handful of Crystalline Salt.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTOeQB3uor
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOXMKiwP57
"In my world, we call this a 'Surfactant'!" Shino yelled.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7hHDaCa6L
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfsKRGgIOG
She didn't throw the vials at the frogs. She threw them into the water around them. Then, she snapped her fingers, igniting a tiny, precise spark of Fire mana.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOK7TOtXJKz
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakZ4bCjqml
[Safety Protocol: Phase 3 — Chemical Dissolution]99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnz95AeKWeP
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1hiorSvRO
The spark didn't cause an explosion. Instead, it heated the water just enough to catalyze the reaction. The citric acid and salt hit the frogs' mucus, and the "Reflective" properties shattered. The thick, shimmering slime turned into a watery, bubbling froth, sliding off the frogs’ skin and leaving their soft, vulnerable hides exposed to the air.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQzAR87dkp
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfyBA3tYZE
The Opening99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡag9DBT1pun
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ52ZhoJq04
The frogs let out a high-pitched, pathetic shriek as their protection vanished. They looked suddenly small and fragile without their armor.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSC65S2Ep7M
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZSd1NOXNw
"Now, Elsa! While the pH is low!" Shino commanded.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYT9jlCOUT
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNc3U9CvJpY
Elsa didn't hesitate. She surged up from the mud, her pride stinging more than her arm. She didn't use a heavy strike this time; she used a precise, light-infused prick. The rapier sank into the frog’s shoulder like a needle into silk.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyQpPwxDco
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLAon1k7gO
Within seconds, the three smaller frogs scrambled back into the deep water, terrified by the loss of their "Invincible" skin.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJi7yXEHnNW
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOyZRSM4eC
The Quiet Aftermath99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpQlY12pKn
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjajbw62WDe
Silence returned to the marsh, save for the heavy breathing of the trio. Elsa stood in the muck, her golden armor covered in green slime and brown peat. She looked at her rapier, then at Shino, who was calmly wiping a splash of mud off her glasses.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20VBvlCoI7
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFApDRiWdAy
"You... you used fruit juice," Elsa said, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and exhaustion. "I used the secret technique of my house, and you used a bottle of lemon extract."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0o798dOovO
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG4ZHQxTIu
"I used Chemistry, Elsa," Shino replied, her ears twitching as she checked the horizon. "The frogs aren't the problem. They're just the symptom. Look at the water."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOmrzFou6E
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxstYZhfbn
Shino pointed to where the frogs had surfaced. The water was turning a faint, sickly violet—the same color as Oberis’s new eyes.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJbCULxGFr
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPISq3eFKA
"Something is poisoning the bog from the center," Shino whispered. "And it’s much bigger than a frog."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAH8kW39xe
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Xn44CaM9Y
1234 copyright protection95ＰＥＮＡＮＡiChR4WCuzA 尼99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLRAtX3bDA