Turns out that, whilst the fire was indeed crispy, the monster did not enjoy it. The only unfortunate thing was that it didn't not enjoy it sufficiently enough to immediately perish. Having missed its initial bite and then been bitten and burned, the toad creature snarls, its lips pulling back from those horrendous teeth and grinding out a sound like nails on a chalkboard combined with bones snapping. It's quite distressing.

I allow the flames to dissipate to get a better visual of my opponent and I find them lurking just out of the fire’s range staring at me with baleful eyes. With this level of distance between us I feel confident taking a second to evaluate myself and I do so with one of my sub-brains. What I find is more than a little shocking. Despite not suffering an attack, despite only being close to the stupid toad for only a few moments, it's chewed through ten percent of my HP! How?!

[Invidia?! Can you check me for impurities in my mana?]

[Sssss. It will be done.]

The piercing green eye flashes with power as that immense brain goes to work and in only a few heartbeats the little demon has completed his work.

[It hassss infected you. Your mana issss being tainted.]

How in the hell?! Watching the frog carefully I use my sub-brain to turn my mana sense inwards, scouring through the mana channels of my own body and I'm shocked to find that Invidia is completely correct. It's small, but there are places where the creature's mana has somehow gotten into my system, and just as it’s doing in the area around us, it is converting the mana it comes into contact with its own, spreading the damage further.

But that doesn't explain how it got in! Desperate to understand how I was harmed, I angle my body slightly so I can better see my own carapace and I'm shocked to see a few places where the glittering diamond has crumbled into a blackened mess. The spots are small, easy to go without noticing if I wasn't looking so carefully, but they are definitely there. It managed to break down my carapace so quickly? That's insane! I didn't even feel it? Except there was that moment of blinding pain when I drew close enough to bite it… that hadn't felt like it'd come from my back though, or anyplace in particular. It had felt like my entire body had been dipped in acid mixed with poison, with an added spoon of radioactive viruses and a sweaty sock.

Is it just an aura power?

The more I stare at the toad, the more I think I'm right. Somehow, the mana around its body is corrosive, infectious and replicates itself, and I think it can control that mana at will, as if it were an aura generated by a gland. It's the only thing that makes sense…

My musings are rudely interrupted as the frog decides it has had enough of sitting back on its legs and launches into action. With two leaps with its withered, twisted limbs it rockets around the tunnel, opening its mouth wide to deliver a blast of pure toxic mana in my direction.

Not good!

Nerves afire with panic I get the heck out of the way as that concentrated ball of pain splashes onto the rock where I'd been standing, dissolving it into a hissing mess in an instant. Holy Moly! That is intense! Keen not to get hit again I continue to move in rapid bursts, relying on my nerves and foresight to track the frog as it throws its body around the tunnel at Vibrant-pleasing speeds, raining hell on me from above, to the side and from any other angle it can find.

Dammit! This is making it hard to find a window to retaliate! If I want to get my mandibles on this punk, then I need to close the distance, which is hard when it's so much faster than me… Even though getting closer to it is a guaranteed way to suffer from that horrendous aura effect, but it's better than trying to hit this thing with spells from range as it zips all over the place, bombarding me with this sludge mana!

DASH!

Firing my legs in sequential bursts to stack up multiple dashes at once, I rocket forward, zooming in a straight line toward the point I predict the frog will have to land next. As I'd hoped, it doesn't seem capable of changing its direction in mid-air and is forced to complete its jump, which will place it right in range of my jaws. As I rush forward, another ball of sludge flies over my back to impact on the floor behind me. Mandibles wide open and locked in place, I close the distance between us in an instant.

The moment I draw close enough, I feel that burning pain return, except this time, I somewhat know what to expect. When I'm paying attention, I can feel it go to work, eating into my antennae, my carapace, my eyes and my legs, everything that's exposed to it. I certainly don't want to put up with it for long!

DOOM CHOMP COMBO!

Using my new rapid-fire combo skill, my mandibles enjoy a massive increase in speed at a vast increase in stamina cost. In less than a second, I launch three rapid doom chomps, my entire body straining with the sheer amount of energy it takes out of me, but it's worth it. Put in a poor position to dodge, my toad nemesis is forced to try and evade my bites as best it can, but is not as successful as before. It manages to escape, but not unscathed, one of its legs is only a shadow of its former self.

How do you like that action, frog? Not going to be able to leap about quite as freely now, are ya?! Although, getting that close to the damn thing has eaten into my HP again.

[Can I get a heal, Invidia?]

I trigger the healing gland within me as well, unwilling to take any chances as I track the toad's movement. Despite the loss of the limb, the monster doesn't look too worried, still glaring down at me with those bulging, oversized eyeballs. They really are creepy now that I get a good loo -

Oh, snap!

As it retreats, the frog unleashes a wide spray of the corrosive mana from its mouth, more of a straight up wall of spew than a ball of the stuff. To escape this curtain of poison, I'm forced to leap backwards, which is when I realise I’ve fallen into the horrible creature’s trap! What lies on the ground behind me isn't a safe zone of clean rock, as I'd thought, but a grotesque sea of green bile. All those shots I'd thought I'd dodged, the damn stuff doesn't go away, it just keeps spreading! Half the tunnel floor is covered in it now!

As I sail down to my inevitably painful landing, I can’t help but flex my claws a little. This is probably going to sting…