Paige Summers honestly had no idea something was stuck to her chest. In reality, the talisman paper was largely to thank for her quick recovery from the aftershocks of the spiritual power attack!

But she wasn’t dwelling on that at the moment. Her only thought was that they wouldn’t be truly safe until this toad was dead. Besides, the creature had caused her so much pain. ’How could I let this go without giving it a little "payback" right now!’

Sean Raines had carefully placed the Crossbow back in its Crossbow Bag, and Paige Summers, now full of vigor, retrieved it and rejoined the battle.

Seeing her renewed spirits, Marcus Monroe’s own attacks grew fiercer. He had already identified the toad’s weakness: its underbelly. He’d tried to slice it open, but the creature’s skin was too thick, and his superpower couldn’t condense into anything as fine as a Crossbow Arrow. A horizontal cut distributed the force over too wide an area, yielding poor results. He had managed to inflict a few more wounds, but nothing that could hinder its movements in the short term.

But Paige Summers was different. Her Crossbow Arrows were not only sharp but also laced with a potent poison.

’She can definitely inflict a serious wound on this huge beast!’

While directing the others to continue distracting the toad, he signaled for Paige Summers to seize the opportunity.

With everyone working in concert, Paige Summers successfully fired two arrows. One flew into the toad’s mouth, piercing its throat. The other shot toward its belly once more!

Marcus Monroe, trusting her aim completely, shouted ahead of time, "Fall back!"

Sure enough, both of Paige Summers’s arrows found their mark. Enraged by the searing pain, the toad let out a horrifying shriek. It locked onto Paige’s position and leaped right at her! 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Unfortunately for the toad, while its spiritual power may have been immense, its speed was no match for Paige Summers—especially not after she had Promoted.

The moment she activated her superpower, Paige Summers understood why people drew such a clear line between the Fifth and Sixth Ranks. ’It’s truly the difference between a stream and a great river! After entering the Sixth Rank, the energy in my body is so much more abundant, and my speed has more than doubled!’

She reveled in the exhilarating feeling, but those watching her were even more astounded.

Martin Warren and the others were simply dumbfounded.

"Sh-she’s too fast..." one of the party members mumbled. The others who heard him all nodded in agreement. To them, it was as if she’d vanished on the spot only to reappear somewhere else entirely.

How could the toad possibly keep up with that kind of speed!

It wanted to give up, but then she would stop moving, just standing there. Yet the moment it lunged for her, she would vanish again...

Paige Summers realized that with the toad’s spiritual power sealed and her own recent Promotion, the creature was utterly powerless against her. Of course, that didn’t mean killing it would be easy.

The two of them were locked in a stalemate.

’This can’t go on forever. I have to do something before its spiritual power recovers...’ Seeing the toad’s movements begin to slow, she paused in confusion before a new theory took shape in her mind.

’Maybe the Poison Arrows weren’t useless after all. Maybe it’s just taking longer because the beast is so massive?’

She decided to test her theory.

After running a few more circles, she deliberately lured the toad some distance away from the others.

Just as the toad saw her stop again and lunged forward in frustration, Paige Summers spun around and charged back with the speed of the wind!

One was descending from its jump; the other was ascending in a leap. They met in mid-air!

Paige Summers timed it perfectly.

She made contact with the toad’s underbelly for no more than a second or two before they separated.

The toad could only continue its descent, carried by inertia, while Paige shot off in the direction she was facing, instantly leaving the area...

By the time Paige Summers had put some distance between them and the others were rushing to meet her, she looked back. The outsmarted toad stood frozen in place, as if trying to turn, but it never succeeded.

It teetered for a moment before crashing to the ground with a tremendous THUD.

A moment later, its legs kicked out and went still...

’Did it work?!’

Paige Summers looked at Marcus Monroe, who had grabbed her arm in concern. He was already staring at the toad in astonishment, and a slow smile spread across his face.

"...It’s dead?"

"Looks like it..."

He ignored the crowd’s murmurs, stepped forward, and decisively lopped off the toad’s head with his Energy Blade.

A sudden cheer erupted from the crowd!

Paige Summers secretly clenched her right fist in satisfaction. ’Compared to when I was Fifth Rank, the amount of Poisonous Liquid has definitely increased. It’s way more than just a few drops now. If this toad hadn’t died after all that, I would have started to wonder if my Poison Ability had stopped working!’

’Thank goodness!’

The great battle finally concluded with the poison toad’s decapitation.

Everyone was exhausted, but it wasn’t time to rest yet.

The first step was a task everyone was more than willing to undertake despite their exhaustion: collecting the spoils of war.

In the heat of the moment, they hadn’t had time to check some of the slain Mutant Animals for Crystal Cores. Now that they finally had a moment to breathe, it was time for a thorough inspection.

The poison toad’s Crystal Core was the first to be extracted.

It was a Sixth-rank Crystal Core!

Everyone stared, their eyes wide, at the Crystal Core that was nearly the size of a child’s fist.

Marcus Monroe didn’t leave it exposed for long, quickly retrieving a bag to store it in. But its sheer size, and the light swirling within it, were deeply seared into the memory of everyone who saw it.

For those desperate to Promote, it was a powerfully motivating sight, one that would be difficult to forget!

The other Mutant Beasts, by comparison, were far less impressive.

This was immediately apparent from their Crystal Cores, which were mostly Third to Fifth Rank. Fourth-rank cores were the most common, followed by Third Rank, with Fifth Rank being the rarest.

In terms of quantity, it was a massive haul for a Hunting Party of any rank. Even when split among them, each person would receive a considerable share. But perhaps the Sixth-rank Crystal Core was just too thrilling. After seeing it, the party members looked at the cores in their own hands and couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment.

’That Crystal Core will probably go to Paige Summers...’ some of the Hunting Party members thought. They felt it was only right, and yet, they couldn’t shake an indescribable, sour feeling.