Chapter 31 - 30: The Legendary Disaster-Attracting Physique?

As an Ability user, he possessed the power to see in the dark, but an ordinary person like Sev Steele did not. To his surprise, she remained calm in the darkness. She didn’t chatter incessantly beside him, nor did she panic and cling to his arm seeking comfort. He found this genuinely remarkable.

By now, the weather outside had cleared. A ray of sunlight filtered down through the cave opening. Utilizing this faint glimmer, Sev changed into the knee-high rain boots and thick poncho he had given her. Hayden Hanson changed into the same gear himself, not forgetting to reach over and tighten the straps on her poncho. He climbed up first, then tossed down a sturdy rope for her. Sev followed suit, tying the rope tightly around her waist before letting him haul her back up to the surface.

The sky was a pristine, crystal-clear blue. Reflecting on her narrow escape from death, Sev couldn’t help but sigh in relief. She had only transmigrated into this world five days ago, yet she had already brushed death’s door three times. Was she truly a magnet for disaster?

The wheelbarrow and the bamboo tied to it were completely soaked by the rain, so Hayden decisively abandoned them. By now, those items were undoubtedly highly irradiated, and the radiation levels wouldn’t drop to a moderate tier anytime soon. The two walked back empty-handed, occasionally stepping into puddles along the way.

Sev couldn’t help but joke, "Are we going to have to throw away these ponchos and rain boots before we enter the safe zone?"

"Naturally," Hayden replied earnestly.

Sev rummaged through the original owner’s memories and realized that in her twenty-plus years of life, she had never been caught in the rain even once! However, in those memories, there were Scavengers in the safe zone who had suffered genetic collapse and died miserable deaths simply from being rained on. The more she thought about it, the more lingering fear she felt. When she looked back at Hayden, her eyes brimmed with gratitude. If she hadn’t been traveling with him today, she probably would have kicked the bucket for real.

"Hanson, I owe you a massive favor. If I ever get the chance, I’ll definitely repay you," Sev declared solemnly.

"It was nothing. Since we’re traveling together, it’s only right to help a companion." Hayden’s tone was flat, showing no intention of claiming credit.

The two trudged in their oversized rain boots across the sodden earth. As they walked, they suddenly heard a series of low yet resonant croaks: "CROAK, CROAK, CROAK!" The calls echoed one after another, sounding like there were at least five or six of them.

"What’s that sound? Frogs or toads?" Sev asked in a hushed voice.

"Probably... Mutant Tree Frogs? These things often come out to forage after heavy rain." Hayden sounded somewhat uncertain, but he had already assumed a defensive stance. It made sense. This was The Wasteland, teeming with mutated animals. Even Tree Frogs, which were originally harmless, had likely become aggressive.

Without a second’s delay, Hayden pointed at a mutated locust tree by the side of the road. Its trunk was over three meters in diameter, making it an ideal place to hide without easily being spotted. The two tiptoed as quietly as possible, ducking into a dense thicket of shrubs behind the tree. At the same time, they didn’t forget to spray some Beast Repelling Powder on themselves. Although this stuff was useless against a true Beast Tide, most Mutant Beasts detested the smell. Unless they were on the verge of starving to death, they wouldn’t easily approach.

Soon, the animals suspected to be frogs came bounding toward their area. Sev was so terrified that she held her breath, not even daring to exhale loudly. Through the mottled leaves, Sev spotted five supersized Mutant Tree Frogs, each about fifty centimeters long. Their bodies were roughly four or five times the size of normal Tree Frogs. Compared to other Mutant Beasts, their level of gigantism wasn’t actually that extreme.

The Mutant Tree Frogs all boasted thick, powerful limbs with exceptionally well-developed webbing between their toes. When they leaped into the air, the webbing would flare open like a hang glider, allowing them to maintain their balance. Several sharp bone spurs stuck out from the middle of their toe webbing, acting like the ribs of an umbrella. Whenever they brushed past a tree trunk, the bone spurs would hook into the bark, giving them the leverage to jump farther and higher. The bone spurs glinted with a cold, metallic luster—they were undoubtedly weapons capable of dealing lethal blows in combat.

As they drew closer, she could clearly see their skin. It was a gelatinous, semi-transparent texture that vaguely revealed the outlines of their subcutaneous blood vessels and internal organs. Their backs were covered in irregular, fluorescent green spots that glimmered with a mesmerizing brilliance under the sunlight.

Upon getting a clear look at the Mutant Tree Frogs, Hayden immediately pulled a pair of earplugs from his backpack and swiftly stuffed them into Sev’s ears. He didn’t dare make a sound to explain, but soon, his face began to pale. Sev immediately guessed that the calls of the Mutant Tree Frogs were likely offensive in nature and would cause physical discomfort. But why had Hayden given her his only pair of earplugs?

Sev stared at the Mutant Tree Frogs as if facing a formidable enemy. She noticed that one of them was relatively larger than the rest, with shorter and blunter bone spurs that looked more suited for digging a nest. When the other frogs croaked, the vocal sacs under their chins ballooned into spheres. However, this particular one had a relatively smooth vocal sac that was barely visible. Furthermore, its skin was much thicker and far more opaque than the others, and the warts protruding from its body were significantly larger.

Sev deduced that this frog was either the alpha of the pack, or it was... Before she could finish her thought, she saw the other four frogs pair off and begin to fight. Judging by their posture, it looked as though the males were fighting for mating rights. Sure enough, although they fought fiercely, they didn’t inflict any fatal wounds on their opponents. They merely used their bone spurs to scratch at each other’s forelegs, never aiming for the head.

Hiding in the shadows, Sev watched with keen interest. This was already her second time observing a battle between Mutant Beasts up close in the wild. Beside her, Hayden realized that this woman had serious guts. When ordinary people saw a pack of Mutant Beasts appear, most would either scream in terror or tremble uncontrollably. Yet, she looked as if her curiosity was bursting at the seams, watching the spectacle with utmost concentration. Hayden was quite satisfied with her reaction today. Even if her combat prowess was abysmal, at least she wasn’t dragging him down.

By now, he had already drawn his weapon—a Frozen Ray Gun. He had sold most of his equipment, but kept this piece for self-defense because it didn’t consume any Ability energy to use and was incredibly easy to operate.

The moment Sev laid eyes on the weapon, her gaze lit up, and she stared at its slender barrel with keen interest. In the original owner’s memories, there were pictures of special weapons in the trading hall, and she happened to have seen this exact one. It was called the Frozen Ray Gun, also known as "The Frozen King." It could fire a freezing ray at minus fifty degrees Celsius, instantly freezing small Mutant Beasts solid. Naturally, this weapon wasn’t capable of a one-hit kill. It could only temporarily slow down their movement speed.

An ordinary person like Sev could never afford to buy such a weapon, let alone afford to use it. That was because every freezing ray fired required a Low Tier Ice Attribute Crystal Core. Of course, if an ordinary person ran into a Mutant Beast, they would have virtually no chance of winning anyway. Their only option was to run.

Hayden now pulled out a silvery-white Crystal Core about the size of a pinky finger. Judging by its size, it was several times smaller than the Wood Element Crystal Core that Silvy’s mother had given Sev on her deathbed. Its purity also seemed far inferior. By all appearances, it had to be the lowest Level of Crystal Core.

Sev didn’t know how effective the weapon in Hayden’s hand would be, but she gripped her own Blunt Dagger tightly in her palm regardless. She was ready at any moment to charge out and fight these Mutant Tree Frogs to the bitter end.

Hayden glanced at her again. Seeing that she didn’t intend to hide behind him, but rather wanted to fight alongside him, his respect for her grew a little more. It was a pity this girl was just an ordinary person. Otherwise, she could have been a true partner to fight alongside.