Chapter 136: Encounter with the Toad

Helag immediately cast Absolute Defense on himself and kicked the stone away.

The stone was heavier than it looked, but Helag’s strength sent it flying.

Once the stone was gone, the cursing stopped, and Helag felt oddly relieved.

He noticed he was drenched in sweat, something he hadn’t realized earlier.

Looking in the direction where the stone had landed, he turned back to the dilapidated station.

“This place is too dangerous. Even a random stone can be a threat,” he thought.

Helag debated whether to stay put or explore further. Without knowing the situation, both choices seemed equally risky, depending on luck.

As he pondered by the station, he heard a faint noise to his right.

He looked up to see a palm-sized black humanoid creature.

The creature had limbs and a tail, its body gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Helag felt a significant threat from it and immediately cast various enhancement spells on himself.

The black creature noticed Helag and locked its gaze on him.

A spark of electricity flashed on the creature, and it vanished.

In the next moment, it appeared before Helag’s shield, punching it with a tiny fist.

The force sent Helag flying, though the shield held. However, it wouldn’t last long under such attacks.

Helag barely got to his feet before the creature charged again.

Taking a deep breath, Helag punched back.

Both were pushed back, but Helag retreated further.

In terms of strength and speed, the black creature was superior.

“I can’t win in a direct fight. I’ll die if I keep this up.”

Helag observed that his punch had no effect on the creature, whose defense seemed formidable.

He took another deep breath, set his stance, and then turned to run.

The black creature hesitated, thinking Helag would fight back, but then chased after him.

It followed closely, electricity flickering around it.

On the barren, gray-white ground, the chase continued. The creature was faster, but Helag used teleportation to maintain distance.

“Why won’t it give up?”

Helag couldn’t understand why the creature was so fixated on him. He hadn’t provoked it.

He turned and fired a Corrosion Arrow at the creature, which ignored it and charged through.

The arrow left no mark on the creature, not even slowing it down.

“Why is mana flow so sluggish here?”

Helag had noticed something odd but hadn’t had time to think about it.

After casting the Corrosion Arrow, he realized his mana flow was sluggish, weakening his spells.

“Deep Blue, what’s the strength of that Corrosion Arrow?”

“Based on calculations, 0.14 units.”

The original strength was 0.2 units, now reduced by 30%.

“Is it because of this space?” Helag’s condition was fine, so the weakening had to be due to the environment.

He concluded that the space suppressed spells, reducing their effectiveness.

Boom!

The creature’s electricity surged, boosting its speed and strength. It shattered Helag’s shield and sent him flying.

Helag crashed into a large rock, struggling to get up, feeling like his back was broken.

The creature closed in, ready to strike Helag’s face when a sudden “Ribbit!” echoed.

The creature froze and turned.

A basketball-sized toad watched from a distance.

The creature erupted in electricity, covering itself, then turned and fled, not even glancing at Helag.

The toad stood still, opened its mouth, and shot out its tongue at lightning speed.

The creature, now a distant black dot, was caught and pulled back.

The toad swallowed the creature whole, burping afterward.

Helag watched in shock, not daring to move.

The toad slowly approached Helag.

He didn’t even think of running. The toad had devoured Shivara and the black creature, far beyond his power.

If the creature couldn’t escape, neither could he.

The toad croaked at Helag, as if speaking.

Helag smiled bitterly. “I don’t understand you.”

The toad seemed to comprehend, looking thoughtful.

It croaked again, and Helag felt information flooding his mind.

The sensation was similar to learning necromancy, almost identical.

“Can you understand now?” the toad croaked.

Though it still croaked, Helag understood its meaning.

“Yes, I can. Where am I?” Helag asked.

“This is the Abyss Plane,” the toad replied.

“So it really is the Abyss Plane. How did I end up here?” Helag had suspected but found it hard to believe.

Traveling between planes was difficult. How could he end up in the Abyss Plane so easily?

Realizing he was in the Abyss Plane, Helag felt even more hopeless.

The wizarding world knew of other planes, with many records in Moonlight Forest.

Powerful wizard organizations often explored and conquered new planes.

These planes were rich in resources, offering endless wealth if conquered.

Each new plane represented immense benefits, attracting countless wizards.

Wizards were powerful, rarely meeting equals in other planes.

Helag had read about wizards conquering numerous planes.

Moonlight Forest had once been such a powerful organization before its decline.