Chapter 40: Mirewood ToadsEmber shot one arrow after another at the Mirewood Toad, imbuing them all with mana. The gigantic frog let out a screeching ribbit, its tongue flinging towards him and spitting inflaming acid at his chest.With blitz steps, Ember skipped through the wetland, nocking another arrow in a swift draw.Applying mana augmentation to the arrow, he shot at the Mirewood Toad once again. The creature was over four metres tall, with a grotesque rotund form, so there was little margin for error in his aim. His arrow flew true, lodging alongside the five others he had struck it with. With the empowering effect of mana, most of his arrows had dug a few inches into its mucky flesh, yet the amphibian seemed far from dying. It could only mean that this creature was likely of the Iron Rank, perhaps even a low-levelled one among tier 4 creatures. Or else, Ember wouldn’t have been so courageous as to face it.And these Mirewood Toads were timid to begin with. If they were unable to gobble up their meal in quick succession, they had no qualms about withdrawing without ceremony. Ember had chased after it for a while as the toad hopped through the bog, each of its lunges launching it several metres away and hurling muddy water all over the place.Finding no purchase with his max-level archery, Ember finally decided to bring out his wand. He could have dispatched it with his sword as well, but he feared its acid attack might ruin his enchanted cloak and attire. Of course, he could still use his protective ward, but Ember was trying not to become overly reliant on it.Yet, as he channelled mana into the tier 4 wand, a burst of wind bolted from the other side and eviscerated the creature into a bloody mess. Thick purple blood sprayed in a fountain. Only by activating the ward did he manage to keep it off his skin before his eyes darted to find the other boy, who had stolen the kill after all his hard work. (...)