There wasn't much to say about taking down the Scuttle Crab.
Even though it had been strengthened, so much so it felt like it could almost solo Jet and Droy together, it still wasn't anywhere near Rhodes' level.
With one punch, Rhodes flipped it over. With two, he flipped it back again. In the end, the crab obediently scuttled over, letting him ride on its back like a carriage.
Along the way, the crab even showed Rhodes a brand-new ability.
The old vision-sharing trick was still there, but now a faint mist spread from its feelers. Rhodes' field of vision expanded outward with the haze, allowing him to see even through walls for a few fleeting seconds before the mist dissipated.
"A short-term, all-directional x-ray vision?" Rhodes mused, his eyes lighting up. The possibilities for reconnaissance with this were far better than before.
Perched comfortably on the crab's back, Rhodes wandered out of the river, passed through the blooming bush by the forked path, and headed toward the blue side's lower jungle.
There, a hulking Stone Golem and its smaller companion sat motionless, pretending to be rocks. At first glance, they looked the same as always. Rhodes wondered if they had escaped the strengthening.
But the moment the Stone Golems noticed him, they rumbled to life, charging forward as if eager to attack, not just him, but even the crab beneath him.
"So that's how it is. You really want me to clear the jungle."
Rhodes sighed, leapt from the crab's back, and landed squarely atop the Stone Golem. The crab wisely turned tail and bolted, now faster than he remembered.
The Stone Golem couldn't reach its attacker on its back, so it slammed its body into the ground, dragging Rhodes beneath the earth with it.
Darkness swallowed his vision, until, without casting any magic, a soft mist pulsed outward from his body. Suddenly, the underground became crystal clear. He could see every grain of sand, the tunnels of the Stone Golems, and the very monsters that had just tried to ambush him.
"This is the crab's ability…" Rhodes realized in surprise. "But I didn't even use Summoning Magic this time."
If he could use the crab's skill directly, then perhaps, defeating these monsters would grant him their abilities too.
Rhodes grinned, cracking his knuckles at the Golems. "Well, you started it."
By the time Rhodes returned to the Dragon Pit, he was sore, battered, and completely worn out.
Half a day had gone by. In that time, he had beaten his way through the Stone Golems, Shadow Wolves, the Gromps, and the Raptors in the blue-side jungle.
His effort paid off. Now he possessed:
The Stone Golem's burrowing ability
The Shadow Wolf's enhanced sense of smell
The Gromps's poisonous spit
The Raptors' feather barrage
Like the crab's mist-vision, these skills didn't require him to fully transform, they had become new magics he could use freely.
Granted, the bird feathers were a little awkward. He had to fire them out using his hair. They grew back quickly enough, but the sudden chill on his scalp was more than a little uncomfortable.
Even so, Rhodes couldn't deny it was a huge harvest. He felt like one of those stage heroes from old tales, able to switch between forms, pulling out the right ability for any situation.
And when he used Summoning Magic again, he could still enter his full specialized forms, whether brute force, speed, or versatility, perfectly tailored to the fight.
If Rhodes went out tomorrow to fight more of the jungle creatures, he was certain he could expand his pool of abilities even further in his normal state.
And if the elemental Dragons themselves…
Rhodes paused at the thought. The Dragon Soul felt far too unique. There was no way he'd be allowed to "solo" a Dragon of that magnitude.
Otherwise, couldn't he just ask the elder Dragons to cut him some slack and put on a little performance for him?
Still, he noticed something strange. While the other monsters had grown stronger, their increase wasn't anywhere near as dramatic as the Crab's, and their appearances had barely changed.
The Bramblebacks and Golem, however, were completely different stories. They had been twisted until he almost didn't recognize them.
Both hulking forms were streaked with an ominous purple glow, and the moment they caught sight of Rhodes, they rose to their full height and roared, a pressure crashing down on him that made him wonder if the Rift Herald had wandered into the wrong pit.
But Rhodes didn't have time to provoke them today. He still wanted to scout out the Baron's lair first, so he decided he'd deal with the Bramblebacks and Golem tomorrow.
Unfortunately, as soon as he reached the upper river, another crab charged straight into him.
After Rhodes subdued it, the exit of the Baron's pit suddenly erupted with movement.
A swarm of small, blue-violet Worms came flooding out, surging through the river with speed and numbers that made Rhodes' skin crawl.
Rhodes, who had so often used swarm tactics on others, finally got a taste of his own medicine. The endless tide of little bodies brought back the same nauseating helplessness he'd once felt against a horde of sewer rats.
And these Worms were no ordinary pests. Each was larger than usual, surrounded by a faint dark-purple aura, with a translucent shield shimmering around its body.
That aura wasn't the Crown of shqttered Queen, no, Rhodes recognized it. It was the Hand of Baron, the same buff in the game that empowered minions with more damage, range, and resilience.
A nasty, well-rounded blessing.
And the shield… it wasn't something he'd seen before, but its effectiveness was undeniable. It blocked poison, needles, even his bare-fisted blows. It was as if Baron had gifted his minions an all-purpose defense.
What should have been weak, disposable Worms were suddenly far too dangerous. And with their overwhelming numbers, they wore Rhodes down to the bone.
By the time the swarm finally scattered, the sun had already begun to sink. Rhodes hadn't even made it inside the Baron's pit.
Weary and half-starved, he called over the crab that had been hiding in the brush, spying on the battle the whole time, and rode it back to the Dragon Pit.
There, the Ocean Dragon was lounging like nothing had happened, her calm voice greeting him:
"Back already? How did it go?"
As she spoke, she raised a glowing claw, sending soothing green magic into his body. The exhaustion in his limbs eased at once.
"Thanks," Rhodes sighed, pulling two Honeyfruits from under his arm. "I'd say it was a pretty productive day. Want one?"
The Ocean Dragon shook her head with a small smile. "No need."
Rhodes shrugged and tore into them himself, the sweet, jelly-like pulp refreshing him as he chewed.
Halfway through the second fruit, he suddenly looked up, curiosity striking him.
"By the way, what do you Dragons usually eat?"
"We don't need to eat anything in particular," the Ocean Dragon explained. "As long as there's Magic Power, we'll endure just fine. The Purgatory Dragon, though, he does enjoy biting into those explosive red fruits from time to time."
Explosive fruits… Rhodes had seen those in the jungle earlier. Red, round, volatile. In the game, they sent champions flying when struck.
Here, he wasn't quite brave enough to try them yet. For all he knew, they'd either knock him halfway across the Rift, or break his teeth.
Finishing the last of his Honeyfruit, Rhodes asked again:
"Can I go see Vilemaw? And Warm, the big Poro you mentioned?"