Chapter 40: Who knew the dragon had a phobia?

Chapter 40: Who knew the dragon had a phobia?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! KYAAAAAAAAAAHH!

As I, Saori Segawa, was taking a few ingredients from my storage, I heard a girlish scream from the direction of the lake.

As if she was a rocket, Hestia bolted right pass me all while shrieking from the top of her lungs. In the fading sunlight, it didnt take long for her silhouette to slowly melt into the depths of the forest, only her crimson hair was visible as it fluttered around in a panic.

My arm was stretched out in the direction she ran and my voiced tried to utter, Hey, where are you going?, but I quickly closed my mouth, my attention shifted to my [Prediction]s warning.

From the shadow of the water geyser that Hestia caused, a long, slippery tongue shot out like a bullet.

Tch! clicking my tongue, my eyes began tracking its every movement.

Everything felt slower, as my senses went on overdrive to understand what is currently happening. My awareness of the surrounding was slowly being processed, quickly identifying the target of the attack and how long the tongue will need to reach it.

Reflexively, my right arm jolted upwards, claws ready, and sliced the tongue just a few centimeters away from hitting its mark, the flying Tasianna.

"Eek!" Tasianna shocked face suggested that she wasn't aware of the attack before I cut it apart.

Blood sprayed out of the tongues opening, showering the ground red, while its tip fell onto the ground with a thud.

Miss Tasianna, would you please go find Hestia? I believe you will be safer at her side. I told Tasianna, my eyes didnt meet hers, as I was cautiously glaring at the new threat.

Knowing that she could find Hestia with the party bracelets search function, Tasianna began moving towards that direction after saying, Please, be careful, Madam Saori..

Despite not having any real tracking skills, she moved with confidence and efficiency as she kept her eyes on the blue party screen projected by her bracelet. I do hope that Hestia didnt run too far away, otherwise, Tasiannas probability to encounter another ambush would be all too high.

I wanted to find Hestia, too, but most of our food was currently sprawled on the ground. I was confident that nothing will happen to Tasianna when shes with Hestia, so it was my task to make sure that our food isnt stolen from us.

Hestias insatiable stomach would cause me problems if I backed out now.

Identify.

Giant Fume Toad

A giant monster with pores that emit toxic fumes when it's endangered. Warts on its body are filled with toxins and are used to defend itself from being preyed by other monsters. This monster uses the neurotoxins in its tongue to paralyze its prey. It is extremely docile until it is harmed. Rank D

Oh, Hestia

From the tingling in the hand used to cut the tongue, I could feel that the toxin doesnt only paralyze potential victims. I was completely immune to even Hestias weird concoctions, after all.

Looking over to the enemys side, I could see fumes coming out of the skin of five toads. The posturing and angry croaking of one of the toads suggests that they wont flee without a fight.

No choice, I should probably look at the bright side here. Its a great situation to test out my new body.

I quickly took off my party bracelet, as it would break upon monsterization, and put it in my storage. A mana mist dispersed out of my body as [Humanize] transformed me back into a Cadejo, a wolf-like monster with red eyes.

Wrooooooo! the toads were clearly surprised by my new form; however, they did not back off.

How presumptuous. I should see what I can do, first.

With those words, I quietly chanted the spell [Dark Bolt]. Putting into action what I learned from Tasianna, the chant was quickly done, and a magical circle appeared before my head, before shooting the spell.

The front toad noticed the projectile and dodged to the side, leaving the one behind him as the next target. Crashing into the toads skin, the spell left a visible burnt mark, enough that it began squirming around. Seeing their friend in pain, this agitated the other toads to begin their assault by shooting their tongues out of their mouth.

Having already prepared a [Shadow Dash], I activated it and was taken into my shadow. It was only for a few seconds, but I could never forget this experience, whenever I used this spell.

Swimming through a completely dark and empty sea, there was nothing for me to do in it but to swim onwards. A single light in this vast world was shining at the end of my path through a hole, the shadow that I chose to exit out.

Reaching out to it, I transitioned from this dark world back into the world of light, which was behind the back of the toad that I attacked with [Dark Bolt].

Wrapping my claws with [Shadow Armament], I pierced its skull with spear-like claws of darkness and crashed its body into the ground. Water exploded upwards and showered me in it, as I was currently standing in the shallow part of the lake.

[Poisoned (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo, Saori Segawa]

I should hurry up.

My initial plan was to kill these toads with range spells, but an ingenious idea came flying into my head in the last moment.

Isnt this a great time to train [Poison Resistance]?, was what I thought. Considering Hestias hobby of mixing and creating new toxins, it would be smart of me to use this to my advantage. The effectiveness of Hestias venom was shown when we fought the trolls.

It was currently too dangerous for me to continue using it for a prolonged time, risking being poisoned myself. Hestia couldnt heal any status ailments that has reached the major stage, and how dangerous they were was currently random, until Hestia categorizes and organizes them correctly.

So, why not train my resistances with these toads, first? At the rate that I can kill these toads, at worst, I will be affected by [Poisoned (Moderate)], which is perfectly curable by Hestia.

The tingling throughout my body from being poisoned was uncomfortable, but Ill endure it. Any Health damage will be healed up once I level up.

Once I finished casting another [Shadow Dash], I used it to dodge the incoming tongue lashes and re-entered the world of black.

Like a shark, I dived out of the shadow of my next quarry and quickly finished it off with another skull piercer. The toads were unsure of what is happening and werent able to adapt to it. Their natural cowardice showed when I managed to kill the third one, promoting the rest to flee.

Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Poison Resistance Lv. 1] evolved into [Poison Resistance Lv. 2]

[Lifetaker (3 kills)] inflicted on [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo, Saori Segawa]

A surge of unnatural strength entered my body, empowering every single of my stats. Instead of ecstasy, the announcement made me ask myself a question.

Why havent I level up yet? They are D rank, this should be enough for one level.

I slightly tensed my face up as my question was left unanswered. My Health wasnt anywhere close to critical yet, but it was nonetheless dropping slowly. It was baffling that I couldnt level up even after killing three D rank monsters.

I shook off my concern and pursued the monsters before they could jump back into the lakes depth.

I quickly slashed off the legs off one of the toads, making sure that none of the blood and warts would touch me, I then shot out a [Dark Slash] towards the last toad. The claws made of dark mana sliced a chunk of the toad and staggered it long enough for me to cast [Dark Tendrils] on it.

With that, the battle was over and all I needed to do was to kill them.

Experience has reached multiple breaking points. [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo, Saori Segawa] has risen from [Level 0] to [Level 1]

Attributes have increased due to level up

Acquired 500 skill points

Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Poison Resistance Lv. 2] evolved into [Poison Resistance Lv. 3]

Upon killing the fourth giant amphibian, my level rose up. The damage I took quickly healed and I finally had SP, again.

I quickly used it to upgrade a skill.

Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Poison Resistance Lv. 3] evolved into [Poison Resistance Lv. 4]. 450 SP remaining

[Poisoned (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo, Saori Segawa]

Oof.

The instant that messaged appeared; my body was assaulted by lethargy. My muscles complained similar to being under the effects of lactic acid and my head felt foggy.

My stomach churned and bits of vomit burnt my throat as I pushed it back down.

Shit, I wasnt fast enough

I lamented while I killed the last toad by slicing its throat from a distance using [Dark Slash]. I quickly rushed back to where our camp was and humanized back to my Wolfkin form.

[Humanized (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo, Saori Segawa]

I then picked up some herbs and started mincing it into small pieces inside my mouth.

Parshkey

A flowering plant that can only grow when the amount of mana in the soil reaches a certain level. The plant produces an antitoxin using the mana to cultivate itself. Letting it soak in water allows it to show its maximum effect

This aromatic herb is the Peolynca version of Parsley. The taste and smell were exactly the same, the only difference was that this version is exceptionally good at detoxing your body.

The dizziness caused by the poison suddenly stole most of the strength in my legs and sent me falling down onto the ground. I turned my body to lay on my back, making sure that my body was in a proper position to swallow comfortably.

[Poisoned (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo, Saori Segawa]

I continued chewing the plant leaves inside my mouth, making sure to swallow all my saliva that was soaked in the antitoxin that this plant was producing. I continued breaking down and sucking this wonderfully sweet spit until I heaved a sigh when my poison status was to back to minor.

I could feel the effects instantaneously. The tingling was dulled but hasnt faded yet. I still needed Hestia to heal me up.

Brushing off my sweat-filled face, I took out my party bracelet and put it back on my left wrist. With my fever slowly dwindling, my mind was sober enough to notice something peculiar on my blue party screen.

Name: Saori Segawa

Level: 51

Job: None

Health: 1579/2002

Mana: 650/682

Stamina: 1006/1236

With the warm air drying our bodies off, our shivering bodies quickly regained the strength that was stolen by the night.

With that done, we both helped out Hestia with the cooking. Once I was done, we sat around the campfire and began eating.

[So,] after half-filling my stomach with the warm food, I looked at Hestia, our eyes meeting each other. [Only frogs and toads?]

Her body shrunk down from embarrassment. Her mouth quivered for a bit before stopping, [Im not good with any amphibians but frogs and toads are the only ones that can send me into a hysterical fit.]

With that, Hestia has confirmed her batrachophobia, a fear of amphibians.

[Really, Princess Hestia? But how?] Tasianna looked flabbergasted just as I was dumbfounded from this information.

Our reckless dragon princess would look into the eye of a giant troll and smile, but she would revert back to a little girl at the mere sight of a small frog? It sounded unbelievable, but all the screaming and shivering wasnt made up.

The terror that I saw in Hestias eyes was enough to cause a cold sweat bead to form on my forehead.

[How did it happen?] I asked Hestia, curious about the origin of this phobia.

Hestias frowned face was trying its best to pry her mouth open, wanting to speak with her voice. However, she realized that Tasianna wouldnt understand so she reverted to using [Telepathy]

Slowly but surely, her words entered our minds, ["When I was little, my parents brought me to the park for their off-day. We had a picnic."] Her face tensed up when she started to remember this bit. ["I was left alone for a bit when they went to buy me ice cream, but that's when a big frog jumped onto our blanket. I tried to shoo it off when it tried to steal our food, but it just slapped my hand with its tongue. It then attacked me by jumping on me.]

Well, I guess thats how some phobias develop.

[From that day onwards, I just couldnt look at frogs nor toads anymore. Their disgusting looking faces and that wide, monstrous mouth just sends shivers down my spine,] she continued speaking after stumbling on her words. [A-And that jumping! That jumping, urgh. They always look like theyre trying to cause a fight. Aaaahhh, I cant stand anything about them!]

Ok, thats a bit more understandable. Their appearance scares her.

I stood up and went to soothe her with a hug, [There, there. Do not worry, Hestia. I will make sure to kill all the frogs and toads for you.] Patting her back, I further added in a murmur. [Ill also kill everything else, while Im at it, too.]

[Nein!] Hestia pushed me back a bit and stared into my eyes. [You promised not to steal all the kills!]

Eh, worth the try.

[Besides, why are you hugging me again? I know its an embarrassing reason, but you dont need to patronize me!] she said in indignation.

I was about to stand up when Hestia, once again, pulled me into her arms. [Wait, wait! I didnt say that I wouldnt like it. Sorry]

Oh jeez, this girl

With that said and done, we finished dinner and then went to bed.

A note from AbyssRaven

Ha, you guys thought it was frogs but nobody expected the toads! I know it's pedantic :P

So, it has been a very long time since we last had a Saori POV chapter and I believe this was a nice one to have. We've only had Hestia's POV until now and very little of Saori's. It was a great moment to show her progress so that's why it's here.

Hope you guys enjoyed it!.

If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 10 advance chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr!

If you guys enjoyed this chapter then, please follow the story. If you guys want the story to grow, then giving it a rating or a favorite will do wonders: Rawr!

Thank you for reading this chapter.

PayPal

Patreon

Previous

Chapter Fiction

Index Next

Chapter

RSS

About the author

1 Fictions 7 Posts 1 Threads

Saturday, March 14, 2020 9:15:00 PM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

Achievements

Comments(40)

Set Compact

Log in to comment

Log In

Load Comments

Log in to comment

Log In

Theme (Entire Website) Dark Light Dim background 0% 20% 40% 50% 60% 80% 100%

Font Size 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 22 24 28 32 Reader Width Max 90% 80% 70% 60% 50%

Font Family

Default Open Dyslexic Atkinson Hyperlegible Arial Roboto Open Sans OS Default Comic Sans Lucida Verdana Ubuntu Ubuntu Condensed Franklin Gothic Garamond Caslon Minion

Font Color

Indent

Color Scheme

Theme Default OLED Black Royal Road Dark Dark Gray Gray Light Gray Sepia White

Paragraph Spacing

Close

Points You can specify how many points you want to give (minimum: 0, maximum: 0).

Comment (optional) Why are you giving this user reputation?

Give Reputation Close

Royal Road is the home of web novels and fan fictions! In our amazing community, you can find various talented individuals who write as a hobby or even professionally, artists who create art for them, and many, many readers who provide valuable feedback and encouragement.

Royal Road is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Dark Light Create a support ticket

Contact Us by Email

Ads for Authors

Programmatic Advertising

Royal Road 2013-2022

Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Blog | Status

Tap again to scroll to the top!