A region near Kishnoi Swamps, which is four days away from the city of Ludan.

Shaikai kingdom. Gilaahan.

A relatively barren region with sparse vegetation. An expanse of small hills and patches of water bodies in between.

The dry air and afternoon sun were making their presence known. The heat haze from the ground was turning the scenery in front a bit blurry. The region didn't appear to be suitable for habitation by mortals.

"Thanks for coming here with me, Eren."

Mia Silver said this while riding her colt alongside Eren's. Even under the blazing sun, the rankers could adjust their body temperatures accordingly. Their natural mana defense layers would also provide them with additional protection.

As such the place that was supposed to be a hellhole for mortals was a minor nuisance for rankers. The only rankers visible in these barren lands were Eren and Mia Silver riding their colts.

"I know that you have been a bit busy lately. However, the monsters in question pose some difficulties for me alone. So I had to ask someone like you."

While adjusting her hair, Mia said. She then took a glance at Eren who flashed a smile before responding.

"It's fine. I was getting bored practicing by myself anyway. And the pay for this mission is quite commendable. I can always use more Mana Quartz."

Eren said casually. He then scanned the mission details on his spectral screen once again before raising his question.

"What do you know about these Slaadi?"

Mia knew Eren was asking for insider information not covered in mission details. So she adjusted her colt's stride to Eren's before answering.

"A Slaad is a frog-like creature that usually doesn't have a fully developed consciousness. These monsters are not like the usual ones with an advanced culture.

The Slaadi are best described as creatures of chaos. They are mostly dependent on their mana-enhanced physical capabilities. But some of these monsters can use a huge range of spells."

Mia said and took another glance at Eren. For some reason, she liked his company. Adjusting her hair, she continued.

"The Slaadi often fight with each other for the smallest of grievances and can act viciously with their own children. Their tribes have a lot of infighting, which is abnormal even by monster standards."

Eren nodded at her before smiling bitterly. He had to address the one issue he had read about Slaadi.

"These Slaadi are usually resistant to acid, cold, lightning, and fire element spells. They are immune to sonic attacks as well.

As such, I might not be the most suitable person to fight with them. The spells I have come from either the fire or lightning element."

Mia clicked her tongue when she realized that in her search for Eren's company she had forgotten to consider his elemental affinity. But it was too late at this point. He had already traveled for days with her to get here. That meant that he wasn't hesitating to fight with Slaadi.

"Um... my bad, Eren. My mind was preoccupied with a few things. But you could have made me realize these things before we left the city of Ludan, you know. I wouldn't want you to struggle to fight these monsters."

Eren gave a hearty chuckle to Mia's damage control. He looked at her with eyes that said "it's okay" before verbalizing his thoughts.

"A comfort zone is indeed a beautiful place. But nothing worthwhile ever grows there.

It's fine. I wanted to try some stuff anyway. These monsters would serve as effective target practice."

Mia's guilt was curbed by Eren's understanding tone. The latter nodded at him before reciting the mission's objective. Her way of changing the subject.

"All we have to do is kill these creatures and get our hands on at least 6 Slaad gemstones. Many of these gemstones are embedded in their skulls in the shape and size of a human child's fist.

This naturally produced organic growth looks like a gem that shares its color with the Slaad. This jewel is hidden beneath a layer of their skin. So we might get our hands a bit dirty to get them."

The Slaad gemstones were used for a range of purposes including array designs, alchemy, weapon strengthening, potioning, and more. The missions related to Slaad gemstones were highly lucrative.

Plus, the rankers who could slay these monsters could also save some of the Slaad gemstones for themselves. The gemstones could be used as raw materials for their custom armor order.

The Slaadi had resilient skin. The hides and armor constructed from their skin would also gain elemental resistance. As such their bodies were treated as precious resources by rankers.

Eren had said yes to Mia's invitation considering all these points. He also meant it when he said he didn't want to stay in his comfort zone all the time. The Hex testing grounds were waiting for him. He needed to gain a wide range of experiences to clear the second and third stages with flying colors.

Eren had high hopes for the testing ground's reward. He had already been lucky enough to pass the first stage. And that was supposed to be half of his reward. That meant the second and third stages of the test were going to be extremely difficult to clear. Likewise, their rewards will be exponentially better as well.

***

It's been almost a month since Eren escaped the hex ground meant for Hexers belonging to the Creed of Bear. He had mostly focused on honing Hex spells after that. He would rarely take missions. The only missions he did with diligence were the mandatory missions with Miranda.

Eren hadn't cut his workout time either. But he had new workout partners these days. So his peaceful workout sessions stopped being peaceful and became a team activity.

Reece, Ekay, and Rhea were now training alongside Eren in an altered gravity force. Eren's progressive overload would always turn brutal the more time they spent with him in the gym. But they held on.

Reece, Ekay, and Rhea were already stating that they were feeling the burn from their workouts which was helping them get over their minor roadblocks. Eren would look at them doubtfully whenever they said that to him, wondering if the placebo effect was working.

***

"We are near Eren. We need to ditch our colts."

The thoughts swirling in Eren's head were interrupted when Mia made him aware of his surroundings. He followed her lead and prepared himself for the battle.

***

The shore of an unnamed swamp. The sun had just reduced its intensity, painting the sky in evening colors.

Due to the magical nature of the habitat, the region would stay dry even with a lot of water bodies present within it. But these dry winds would feel less bothersome to mortals now that the evening had arrived.

"Daryaaaao!"

Two Slaadi were fighting with each other when they were suddenly ambushed by someone. As a result, they both stopped fighting and called it a truce. They needed to settle the external threat first before dealing with the conflict even though they weren't completely sure of it.

One of these monsters was a blue-skinned Slaad with a huge muscular torso. He measured up to 8 feet in height. His arms and legs were both elongated. Plus, he had the facial features of a frog.

There were two white exoskeleton claws attached to the Ulna and Radius of this blue-skinned Slaad. These claws looked like they had been produced at a moment's notice by rupturing the blue-skin Slaad's skin at the back of his hand. He also had a long tongue that stayed out of his mouth.

The blue-skin Slaad also had a series of fin-like growth on his back. He also had a bunch of warts all over his skin. His yellow eyes and his noseless face made him look malevolent.

Then there was a green-skin Slaad who was fighting with the Blue-skin Slaad not too long ago. He was only 6 feet tall. But this monster had more muscle definitions than the blue-skin one.

The green-skin Slaad didn't have exoskeleton-like claws. Instead, he had sharp black nails that were coated with blue-skin monster's blue blood. He also had frog-like facial features. But there was no fin-shaped growth on his back. Instead, his back was covered with natural runic patterns.

Both these monsters had worn loincloths that barely covered their genitals. It looked like these monsters had some form of intelligence after all.

"Draaaaw!"

The blue-skin Slaad informed his green-skin brethren that two humans were trying to attack them when he adjusted his yellow eyes to look at their approaching enemy.

Mia had attacked the two monsters from a distance using her elemental arrows. However, she had underestimated the resilience of the monsters' skin. Even when she had aimed their eyes, all the monsters needed to do was close their eyes. The elemental arrows were bounced off their eyes before dispersing into thin air.

Eren was the only one approaching both monsters with his movement spell, and it was too late to turn back. He was counting on Mia's support spells.

But luck has always been a fickle mistress for him.historical

"Damn it. This one's gonna hurt."