Chapter 15: Annoying Hoppers!
Daniel felt... solid.
The passive 15% physical damage resistance from [Stone Resilience] settled over him like an invisible mantle, complementing the enhanced E-grade Deflector Vest and his now formidable Vitality score of 52.
Combined with his sky-high Strength (53.1) and Agility (50.3), and the devastating C-grade [Kinetic Hammer], he felt less like a recruit and more like a walking, talking natural disaster waiting to happen.
A quiet disaster, thanks to [Ghoststeps+].
He needed only 84 more EXP to hit Level 2. A mere trifle, surely! Perhaps one more Level 3 beast, or maybe two or three Level 2 creatures would suffice.
Confidence brimming, he pushed onward, [Aura Sense] actively scanning for his next victims... er, learning opportunities.
It didn't take long. His passive sense picked up multiple signatures ahead, maybe five or six of them.
They felt... erratic. Agile, definitely, but their energy signatures pulsed inconsistently, flaring brightly then dimming, moving in short, sharp bursts.
Level 2 signatures, judging by their intensity. Curiosity piqued, Daniel advanced, melting into the vibrant, alien foliage.
He emerged cautiously at the edge of a wide clearing dominated by strange, trampoline-like fungi , flat-topped mushrooms with bright orange caps that visibly quivered.
And bouncing gleefully between these fungal trampolines were the sources of the signatures.