Tara and Lady slowly began their retreat whilst they maintained their squashing of insects.
Tara was now not far from meeting her advancement requirements, and the insect swarm provided an excellent opportunity for her to do so.
The Devilflies were even more suicidal than before, doing everything they could to contain them here.
It made their situation even more dangerous yet gave them more opportunities, as the insects were far less calculated in their attacks.
Tara still felt intense pain and stiffness in her body from the flames of the deceased Emberwing that her regeneration was struggling to handle.
The experience with the Devilfly gave her a wake-up call when it came to over-relying on her durability, as there seemed to be all manners of abilities in this world, and nothing was impregnable.
Her flesh was thick and sturdy from the spiritual fruits, and her varied traits supported this further, yet the magical fire from the Emberwing tore her defences asunder.
The experience against the Emberwing and the variants also demonstrated her weakness regarding long-range attacks as {Metal Manipulation} was strong but limited due to her low cultivation level.
Either way, this was irrelevant now as a regular Devilfly had no means of stopping them unless they gave away their aerial advantage and fought the Salamanders where they were strongest.
Tara sent insect bits flying again, as she could squash many insects who strayed too close after launching a flurry of attacks.
[You have defeated {Devilfly}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 4757/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]
As their forced retreat from the insect den began, Tara was concerned they would not achieve their purpose for this dangerous trip. Yet, the neverending swarm of Devilfly, who continued to bombard them frenziedly, led Tara to meet and exceed her advancement requirement.
[You have defeated {Devilfly}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 4777/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]
[You have defeated {Devilfly}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 5077/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]
[Congratulations, you currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to progress to level 5?]
Tara had to ignore the influx of notifications, and the swarm of insects was taking its toll.
For the first real-time since she woke up in this world, her regeneration was severely struggling from the sheer amount of damage it has to heal continuously.
The longer they remained here, the more of a crisis it would become. At this time, Lady's reassuring voice filled her mind.
'Ready to go? We have thoroughly agitated the swarm now. If you think there are many of them now, the amount coming will dwarf these numbers soon. I will create a path, and we will retreat to the swamp waters…' Lady said as she told Tara to follow her.
Lady has been holding out for as long as possible to give her time, but it seems she has reached her limit.
Looking over at Lady, the hulking Salamander appeared a true behemoth amidst the sea of insects. If Claw was a big Salamander, then Lady was even larger. She was the biggest Iron Salamander she had seen in the herd, even compared to the other deceased Elder Salamanders who the Pikeake killed.
The giant insects, though deadly in their own right, did not have the physicality, no matter how many of them there were, to outmuscle Lady when she began mowing down the insects charging to the swamp waters.
Tara heard the buzzing of insects intensify even further as she followed Lady, her salamander-like appendages pushing through the muddy, marshy floor of the mangrove island.
The other island denizens had long vacated to safety upon hearing the insects.
Stepping and tearing through vegetation that strayed in their path, Tara and Lady began making a final push as the waters neared.
At this point, the buzzing became even more frantic, and Tara had to kill several insects that tried to get in her path.
[You have defeated {Devilfly}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 5217/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]
Despite the seemingly small distance, Tara thought they would never reach the waters until they finally did.
Lady was the first to submerge herself into the swamp waters, and Tara quickly followed.
They did not stop there. Lady continued to make her way through the murky depths of the swamp waters.
Tara kept up as the angry, frenzied Devilflies buzzed even as they retreated from the scene.
Some of the bugs even daringly followed them. Water variants, like Lady mentioned. They propelled themselves with their appendage, moving swiftly through the water.
Fortunately, none of these variants appeared particularly strong, and their speed in the water was not as swift as in the air.
Lady and Tara were much more mobile in the water and could escape the insects after squashing a few in the lead.
[You have defeated {Nymph}, gaining 15 EXP. You are now 5232/5000 into progressing to Level 5.]
The remainder of the Nymphs had other issues, as denizens of the swamp surface disturbed by the presence of insects emerged actively preying on them.
With that, their daring escapade with the Devilflies swarm seemed to conclude finally.
Tara thought this was reaffirmed as she and Lady rapidly entered the swamp's depths, nearing the swamp floor.
It was there Lady interrupted her thoughts and asked, 'Can you advance?'
Tara nodded her salamander-like head and thought she could see an eye roll from Lady. She thought it was crazy how what initially appeared to be just a large Salamander now seemed incredibly expressive to her; it was strange because Tara was confident Salamanders on Earth don't have the biology to produce complex facial expressions similar to humans or other mammals, yet now she was envisioning Lady and Claw actively smirking at her.
'Maybe I'm just becoming insane? Maybe I'm becoming what my Mother called some of the lazy parents from the school a 'dunderhead' and am just delusional.' Tara thought.
Either way, Lady continued her train of thought after receiving her reply.
'I think you should advance as soon as possible. So do it here; I will protect you and watch out for interruptions.' Lady said as she gestured to a small but protected trench in the swamp floor.
Tara decided to listen to Lady's instructions. After all, she had consumed spiritual fruits and enhanced herself in front of Claw and Lady; if they wanted to betray her by now, they already had plenty of chances to do so.
After finding a location to settle down and complete her advancement, she brought up the notification she had to discard earlier.
[Congratulations, you currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to progress to level 5?]
Viewing the notification, she selected 'Yes.'
[Your cultivation level has increased Qi Gathering 4 > Qi Gathering 5. All essential attributes increased. Qi capacity enhanced. Select two existing traits to improve. Then select your mutation.]
By now, she was starting to get used to the sudden feeling of her body seeming to ascend to an additional level after improving her cultivation.
It was as if everything about her improved. Her mind felt more precise and sharper, her body responded to her better, and she was physically stronger and faster despite her notably increasing body size.
She was growing used to this feeling and even looked forward to it. The warmth that spread through her body and the familiar feeling she associated with Qi roaming through her body had increased a fair amount.
Now, it was time to select two traits she wished to improve. With the fruits maxing out three of her traits, she now had three current ones.
If you were to ask Tara what she would have chosen before, she would have believed maxing out regeneration would be the best option.
However, her experience with the Devilflies changed her perception.
Her next opponent will be Sphyrna Pikeake, who has potent abilities in using Ice Qi. And {Regeneration} appeared far less effective against skills such as that, and she decided that upping her resistance to Ice Qi may help her survivability more in the short term.
She also wanted to improve {Metal Manipulation} if her poison proved ineffective. Confronting the Devilfly swarm made it clear that having more offensive options was never bad and may prove vital against the Sphyrna Pikeake.
She had held off enhancing it before in favour of other traits but now decided it was time to strengthen it.
[Metal Manipulation {1}: You gain a rudimentary control of metal…
*NEW* The pathways in your body's conductivity to metal deepen. You can form metal from your Qi more efficiently, enhancing the metal formed.
Trait level: {1} > {2}]
The trait seemed to allow her to convert her Qi to Metal Qi more efficiently and faster, thereby reducing her cast time utilising the trait.
It also makes it more efficient, meaning less Qi is wasted during the formation, allowing her to use less Qi to form metal spikes.
She was satisfied with this enhancement and moved into the next one.
[Ice Qi Resistance {1}]: Your body has formed a resistance to Ice Qi…
*NEW* Your body is more adapted to healing damage caused by Ice Qi. It is significantly harder to freeze your flesh.
Trait level: {1} > {2}]
The enhancements brought by upgrading the trait to the next level were simple but effective. And Tara was not about to take any chances with the Sphyrna Pikeake.
She figured that with how regeneration could not deal with Fire Qi, {Ice Qi Resistance} would likely protect her better against the Sphyrna Pikeake.
Now, deciding to look through the available mutations, she came across an interesting one.
[Jagged Iron Spiked Tail {1}: Your tail mutates to become a weapon. Spikes, as sharp as your iron-like claws and teeth, now elongate from your tail; they can bludgeon your foes and detach into your enemies' flesh, causing severe damage. Spikes can also be launched from your tail towards foes. Detached spikes will regenerate through recuperation or can be sped up using Qi.]
She thought the trait appeared helpful and gave her further flexibility in attack. Utilising her tail as a weapon made her far less susceptive to being attacked from behind.
It also provides another means of a ranged attack.
Satisfied with her trait enhancements and new mutation, she confirmed her options. Once again, she found her vision go black for a short period before reawakening, feeling her perspective differ again.
Looking around, she found her surroundings appeared the same; it was just that her perspective seemed a bit different.
And finding Lady not too far from her, she could see why.
'I have grown a lot once again. Even more so than last time.' Tara thought.
She had been tracking her growth from the start and found that the higher her cultivation, the more of a leap her growth has been so far.
It seemed every stage brought about a more considerable increment than the previous, even in the early cultivation stages.
Lady stared at her with a bit of wonder. It appeared her means of growth were by no means usual.
She found her body already neared the size of the gigantic Salamander, who was already considered significant among her kin.
'We must head back. But the detour we took was worth it. You appear much stronger than previously; I have to say you are the largest Iron Salamander I have seen at that stage; you will likely surpass even me once you reach the next cultivation stage, and maybe you could even go beyond. Many of us stagnate where I am now; it is the limit most never cross among our kin but you. I don't believe that will be your limit; for some reason, I believe it will only be the start.' Lady said solemnly.
Tara could only acknowledge her words. It seemed strange to have that much expectation put on you.
She did not feel very unique or special. Tara was just a former human on Earth thrown into bizarre circumstances.
Tara did not know if she could meet Lady's high aspirations for her, yet she would try.
It was that or do nothing but remain idle until something in this Swamp decided to eat her.
That did not sound good to Tara so that she will move forward.
Now, they must meet a giant talking frog and toad to work together to kill a big fish.
'What could go wrong…' Tara thought, trudging along with Lady for the journey back to the den.