( One week later )
Over the next week, Dumpy continued to experience rapid growth, expanding from the size of half a palm to nearly half an arm's length.
No longer resembling a cute baby creature, Dumpy now looked more like a fierce, mythical swamp frog, shedding much of his baby fat.
His weight, once barely noticeable, now made Leo feel his presence each time he hopped onto his shoulder, making him acutely aware that if Dumpy's growth continued at this pace, the frog would likely outgrow his shoulder in just a few days.
Now, as Dumpy faced off against multiple snakes, it was they who fled from him, no longer seeing him as prey, as his natural aura as a mythical creature had begun to assert itself.
Over the past week, Dumpy had also started to develop small teeth and a pair of retractable fangs, with his poison glands becoming more active.
As a mythical swamp frog, Dumpy possessed the ability to shoot poison through both his tongue and fangs, as well as through his skin, and even a mere touch could prove fatal if he wished for it.
Fortunately, from birth, Dumpy had control over his skin's poisonous secretions, sparing Leo from any accidental harm during their play or tickling sessions, but otherwise he was a walking hazard capable of killing any man/monster that he wished to.
This was especially true for NPC like Butler George, who Dumpy did not take kindly to, as except for his Lord Father, Dumpy growled and warned any human that approached it, threatening to kill them with his eyes.
Over the week, even his voice changed significantly as it no longer croaked in a cute *Ribbit* , but rather had a more guttural roar that sounded like thunder booming.
Leo was no longer unaware of Dumpy's rapid growth and potential. Witnessing it evolve before his eyes, with the strength of a level 100 monster at just eight days old, Leo quickly realized that his pet was far more than an ordinary frog—it was something exceptional.
This newfound understanding made Leo more eager to train Dumpy, feeling proud of his pet's progress. However, he still didn't fully comprehend the true danger Dumpy could become.
If nurtured properly, Dumpy could become as powerful to Leo as the Black Dragon Drogo was to the Demon King. Yet, Leo treated him more like a companion dog, focusing on training as a casual pastime, rather than recognizing Dumpy's true, untapped potential.
However, it was only a matter of time before Dumpy rocked his world, as around the 3rd week mark, it was bound to grow to half the size of Leo's body and start to speak human language.
At that point, Leo was sure to understand just how amazing a pet he had obtained.
***********
Meanwhile in the real world, Leo settled into the new VIP sector and started to train diligently with the marrow meditation manual.
Just as he anticipated after his first training session, this meditation manual was much more difficult than the one he practiced before and even after a week, he made almost no significant progress in increasing the speed or quality of his new cell production.
The technique was notoriously hard to get used to and Leo acknowledged that it would take him roughly 6 months to even get a basic hang of it.
On the other hand however, apart from practicing the marrow meditation manual, Leo began spending the rest of his free time training in the open grounds of his manor, as to his pleasant surprise, he discovered that he could bring up an endless amount of training dummies in his Manor's front yard and destroy them unrestricted using his in-game skills.
Upon his request, Elandor the housekeeper even procured a set of training daggers that he could train with, giving Leo near game-like conditions to train with in real life.
While most players could not channel 100% of their mana or could not produce the full power spells that they possessed in-game because of their ankle monitors, Leo faced no such restrictions.
Hence, when given a free hand, he went absolutely wild with his training, as for the first time ever he experienced what it was like to be 'TheBoss' with his real body, rather than inside the game world.
At first, using his skills in the real world felt slightly different to using them in-game, as although the world of Terra Nova was extremely realistic, it was still not a 100% replica of reality.
The way that the grains of sand moved under his feet, the way the wind moved around his body, the way his weight balance felt, it was all very subtly different from the game world and that experience felt incredibly confusing to Leo the first time he trained.
Also, training in the real world brought with it a sensation that Leo had almost forgotten: the sting of real pain.
In Terra Nova, he was accustomed to pushing his limits, diving headfirst into dangerous situations, knowing that his health bar could regenerate, or that he could respawn after death. But here, things were different.
In the real world, the slightest misstep or error during training had immediate consequences—sore muscles, bruises, and cuts that didn't magically disappear after a few minutes or could not be cured with just a health potion.
However, what struck Leo the most was how his mind reacted to the knowledge that there was no respawn point waiting for him outside the game. As now, every time he performed a reckless move or an advanced skill, there was a brief hesitation in his mind, which was a reminder that, in the real world, a wrong move could be fatal.
During his first real training session, Leo realized that he could not throw himself into dangerous techniques with the same abandon as he did in Terra Nova, where the stakes felt more like a game, as here, the consequences of his actions were permanent.
That mental barrier, the instinct for self-preservation, made every strike and every dodge feel more deliberate and made the whole training experience feel more alive.