Day 15

  The instant he sensed the froglet mother’s presence, her gaze snapped to him as well.

  Worse still, he was well within reach of her monstrous tongue.

  He leapt for solid ground, but a tongue the size of a car lashed out, grazing him and hurling him into a tree. Pain exploded as bones cracked inside him.

  ‘Fuck me.’

  Blood spattered from his mouth. Only now did he grasp the true scale of the mother frog—easily the size of two double-decker buses. What kind of monster was this?

  Dazed, Isaac finally registered what was happening. The beast was closing in, and its tongue lashed out again.

  'Ooo shit'

  Isaac scrambled upright, dodging the wrecking ball tongue. Agony flared in his back leg, sending him stumbling—just in time to avoid a second tongue that smashed down from above.

  He crashed into the tangle of brambles and bushes. Shit, shit—I need a plan. Running isn’t an option anymore.

  Every other time he’d glimpsed the giant froglet, he’d run and hidden. Now he understood exactly why.

  Limping through the undergrowth, Isaac’s mind raced. Could he even kill this monster?

  Was it worth the risk?

  Fortunately, the boss monster was too massive to fit comfortably among the trees. That didn’t stop it from forcing its way toward him, snapping trees like branches in its path.

  'Shit’

  Late Day 15

  Isaac fought to stay conscious through the pain, clinging to the fragile outline of a plan.

  The mother frog was still right behind him, relentless in her pursuit.

  But that was part of the plan. As Isaac had run deeper into the forest, the signs of more life had been apparent, but not something he focused on. What he was looking for was a huge tree.

  The mother frog barreled after him, flattening bushes and trees with her bulk and battering the forest with her massive tongue.

  There—Isaac locked onto a towering, ancient tree. It looked sturdy enough to crush even the monstrous frog.

  He rushed forward, gritting his teeth against the pain.

  Reaching the tree, he tested his claws against the bark and began to climb. The mother frog’s thunderous approach grew louder. Pain stabbed through his back leg, but at least he didn’t need to reach the top. That reminded him—how was his hunger?

  Dragon nourishment: 4

  If nothing changed, he’d be dead soon. This was truly do or die.

  Clambering around the tree was easier than expected. He marked the weak spots he needed the mother frog to strike. Perfect timing—the boss was here.

  He glanced down, locking eyes with the furious Froglet. If he wanted to survive, he’d have to dodge like his life depended on it—because it did.

  Thankfully, he’d honed this skill during the hunt. He would need every bit of it for what came next.

  You have leveled claws to level 10

  You have leveled evasion to level 2

  You have leveled evasion to level 3

  He’d realized evasion was much harder to level than his other skills—not that he’d ever volunteered to be attacked this much before.

  His focus snapped back as the Froglet boss’s twin tongues lashed out at his perch. Instinct screamed—one would miss, but the other was on target.

  Isaac twisted aside, his skill guiding him as he swung to the next marked spot. The tongue shattered wood into splinters, shaking the entire tree. He slipped, claws digging in, pain flaring in his leg. Dragon instinct surged, driving him upward. Failure was not an option.

  The boss struck again, missing by a hair’s breadth.

  A storm of attacks followed, each dodge worsening the agony in his back leg. At least he was gaining levels from the ordeal.

  You have leveled claws to level 11

  And not a moment too soon.

  The giant tree began to creak and splinter beneath Isaac, warning him that time was running out. He scrambled higher, pain lancing through his leg. Below, the boss monster thrashed and attempted to climb, but after minutes of futile attacks, it finally realized Isaac was out of reach.

  He found a branch directly above the mother frog. Starving and wracked with pain, he braced himself to change the game.

  Dragon nourishment: 2

  'Here goes nothing.'

  He clawed deeper into the tree’s weak points, then climbed higher, using his weight to strain the branch.

  Creeek

  The tree began its slow, inevitable fall…

  Crashing down toward the giant froglet.

  It’s eyes went wide, and it started to run... or tried to.

  Isaac jumped off the tree.

  The tree thundered past him, missing the frog’s center but slamming into half its bulk. The impact echoed—a sound that promised pain.

  'Half the forest heard that most likely too'

  He landed atop the frog, claws ripping into flesh. The mother reeled from the blow, stunned, giving Isaac precious seconds to attack.

  As Isaac continued to tear and bite relentlessly. When the frog finally lashed out, it was slow—he dodged with ease. That felt like an age in itself, but then he got the message.

  You have defeated a level 10 Froglet Matriarch

  Congratulations, you are now a Level 7 Dragon youngling

  Congratulations, you are now a Level 8 Dragon youngling

  Congratulations, you are now a Level 9 Dragon youngling

  The levels gave him a surge of new strength, which was almost a shock, but exhaustion still dragged him down. He could have died right there, spent and empty.

  Dragon nourishment: -1

  He was starving—’ curse this dragon hunger,’ he thought. Still, he limped toward the dead Matriarch. He really ought to figure out what this system was, but right now, hunger ruled everything.

  After devouring the best chicken—well, frog—he’d ever tasted, Isaac felt ready to burst. Then the prickling sense of being watched crept in. In the darkness, he spotted smaller froglets lurking, but thankfully, they kept their distance for now.

  But night was falling, and more frogs were on the way. Time to move.

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  Morning Day 16

  The journey home was brutal—Isaac was still hungry despite the feast, and his back leg throbbed with every step.

  He finally reached his cave. A few froglets had trailed him, but they weren’t strong enough to matter—and they seemed to dislike each other, breaking into fights. Noted for later.

  Inside, he found his remaining food stash and devoured it without hesitation.

  But the moment he lay down, something felt wrong.

  Congratulations, you have awakened your mana.

  New stat awakened: mana nourishment.

  Then realisation struck—he had eaten the mana stone.

  'Fuck me sideways.'

  Pain crashed over him, swift and merciless, sending him to a pain-filled sleep.