FWOOM!

  The large Boomfrog releases a gust of pressurized gas towards the smaller boomfrog. Wyn, lacking any defensive abilities, dives to the side to avoid the attack. She prays the smaller creature gets out of the way in time.

  FWOOP!

  The juvenile boomfrog releases its own smaller blast. It rockets away, using the explosion to gain some distance from the larger frog. The larger frog is only the size of a large dog, but compared to the juvenile frog, the beast is huge. Wyn, following the juvenile frog’s lead, ducks behind a tree. Wyn half expects the warrior boomfrog to detonate the tree, but the explosion never comes. The beast stays focused directly on the smaller baby frog who continues dodging its attacks.

  Taking advantage of the peculiar situation, Wyn examines the large frog to see what she’s up against.

  Enemy: Warrior Boomfrog

  Rank: Novice

  Type: Beast

  Level: 12

  Not good. According to her quest, there are still twelve more out there, and that alone is enough to make her uneasy. Then there are the elder boomfrogs. And the matriarch. A chill settles in her gut.

  Wyn shakes her self-doubt and refocuses on the task at hand. She can worry about how she’ll handle the other creatures later. For now, it’s time to take down this oversized frog. Wyn steps out from behind the tree and begins hurling mage bolts at the warrior boomfrog. The juvenile, seeing Wyn getting in the fight, fires explosive barrage. The battlefield lights up with opposing magical energies. Wyn’s mage bolts fly through dozens of flashy explosions from the dueling frogs. The frogs give no attention to Wyn, concentrating completely on each other. With each passing moment, the air grows hotter, the stench of sulfur coating the area.

  The juvenile boomfrog’s blasting suddenly stops. It wheezes; its gullet no longer returns to its original shape. It instead hangs like a deflated balloon. The creature must have overextended itself, forcing its tiny body far past its limits. The larger warrior boomfrog eyes the juvenile with a hungry grin. It lumbers closer, still paying no attention to Wyn despite her relentless attacks. The frog’s skin bears light scorch marks, with a few glowing Essentia burns where Wyn’s strikes landed. Despite the flurry of attacks, the larger frog still stands tall.

  Wyn stops firing mage bolts. At this rate, she’ll run out of Essentia before it dies. She grabs her rusty dagger from her waist. She has a stupid idea, but it might just work.

  With a thought, Wyn activates her Illusions of the Beyond ability. Based on its behavior so far, this thing really loves fighting other boomfrogs, but isn’t interested in her. She plans to use that to her advantage. Once the illusion is prepared, she places it on the battlefield between the three combatants. While the illusion takes form, Wyn charges forward, her feet hammering against the hard mountain soil.

  The warrior boomfrog locks eyes with Wyn and inhales sharply. Its belly lights with roiling orange flames, ready to unleash a devastating blast. In an instant, the illusion swells and takes shape, growing rapidly until it reaches the size of a horse, about twice as large as the warrior boomfrog. Its skin shimmers with a faint, ghostly light, every wart and ridge more pronounced and sharply defined. The illusion’s eyes, those same beady yellow orbs, gleam with an intense, unblinking focus, locking onto the warrior boomfrog with a silent challenge.

  The warrior boomfrog’s focus shifts away from Wyn toward the new threat on the battlefield. Its head snaps back and forth between the charging Wyn and the larger boomfrog. Fortunately for Wyn, it chooses to attack the illusion. A burst of explosive gas shoots from the warrior boomfrog, with a flicker of flame close behind. The resulting explosion tears through the illusion, shattering it. The boomfrog fixates on the empty space in stunned silence for but a moment, puzzled by the sudden disappearance of its opponent.

  But a moment is all Wyn needs.

  By the time the boomfrog inhales to begin its next attack, Wyn is already right on top of it. The frog reaches to slap Wyn with its forelegs, but she’s too fast. She ducks beneath it, using her small stature to her advantage. The boomfrog’s belly is at capacity, and Wyn has only one chance to enact her foolish plan before she’s blown to smithereens.

  She grabs her rusty dagger and drives it into the frog’s belly. The swollen cavity ruptures, releasing volatile contents in all directions. Sulfurous gas spills out, no longer confined to a focused blast but spreading through the air, filling it with a hazardous, acrid haze.

  Shit. Not good.

  The frog, teetering on death’s edge with its guts spilled across the battlefield, makes one final, desperate act of defiance against Wyn. Nestled at the base of its torn gullet, a small, glowing organ pulses. Wyn guesses it’s the source of its deadly gift: the power to ignite the noxious gas it released. With the gas thick around them, the beast threatens to engulf them both in a blazing storm of fiery destruction.

  Wyn’s eyes race across the battlefield, her mind sharpening as if the world itself has slowed around her. She knows without a doubt that this blast will mean death. She has to act.

  She recalls the sensation of Essentia control. When she forced the Essentia out of her pool and throughout her body, she felt strong. She felt powerful. And hopefully, it’ll work. In a fraction of a second, Wyn forces Essentia to fill her veins. It spreads rapidly, answering her call. She gives a silent prayer to whatever gods might exist in this world, and turns her body away from the frog.

  BOOM.

  The boomfrog explodes in a sudden burst, showering the trees with blood and viscera. Bits of froggy entrails splatter wetly against the bark, while dirt and debris are flung violently in every direction. A thick cloud of ash and dust rises, hanging heavy in the air and coating everything in a dull gray haze.

  Still weak and wobbly from its earlier injuries, the little boomfrog stumbles forward, its tiny feet scraping at the rough earth. It lets out soft whimpers and high-pitched chirps, straining to catch any sign of Wyn’s presence beyond the veil of dust. The silence that answers is deep and empty. No footsteps, no voice, no sign of the friend who had just saved its life.

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  The small frog’s heart pounds in its chest as it presses its feet into the dirt, poking and pawing, desperate for any clue that Wyn might still be near. Though their time together was brief, a quiet bond had formed. It knows, instinctively, that it owes its survival to her.

  Slowly, the ash and dust begin to settle, revealing the scorched earth where the battle had raged; a crater gouged deep into the soil, empty and waiting. The little boomfrog freezes, wide-eyed, caught between hope and fear. It waits there, vulnerable and small, in the silence left behind, uncertain if Wyn still breathes somewhere beyond the smoke, or if the battlefield’s cruel silence is all that remains.

  “Fuuuuuuck that hurt,” moans a weary voice nearby.

  The frog leaps toward the voice, moving as fast as its frog legs can carry it, until at last it finds its target. Wyn. She sits up, brushing dirt out of her short hair. All of her hurts. But she lived another day. The boomfrog hops up on Wyn’s legs, chirping loudly at her.

  “Hey there little guy,” Wyn says, voice hoarse from inhaling too much explosive dirt. “I’m okay.”

  The frog narrows its eyes at her.

  “Well, maybe not okay. But I am alive. Not really sure how.”

  The frog chirps excitedly, hopping in a small circle on her legs. Psai floats into view, having stayed just out of sight for the duration of the battle. The frog rears back once it sees him. Psai looks on curiously, when the frog begins sucking in another gulp of air.

  “Woah there, uh… Froggy? I need a better name for you. Calm down. Psai is a friend, I promise.”

  The frog safely releases the gas but keeps a healthy distance from the floating orb.

  “Wyn. You have lost significant hit points. I strongly encourage you rest.”

  Wyn rolls her eyes. “Really, Psai? I didn’t notice.”

  Not trusting her body to move just yet, Wyn takes a moment to check her notifications.

  Ability Unlocked!

  Ability: Fortify Self - Uncommon

  Description: Channel Essentia throughout your entire body, to make it strong. Allows the player to drastically increase their endurance and armor rating for a short duration.

  Class: Basic Mage has reached Level Four

  One Level Point Earned.

  Current Level Points: 3

  Enemy: Warrior Boomfrog - Defeated

  Experience gained.

  Class: Basic Mage has reached Level Five.

  One Level Point Earned.

  Current Level Points: 4

  Item Acquired.

  Warrior Boomfrog Essence - Common

  An Essence orb containing the essence of a dead Warrior Boomfrog

  Essentia Affinity: Weak Fire Affinity.

  “Well, that’s a lot of notifications.”

  “Affirmative! You displayed significant skill in that battle. You, having a total of 5 levels, went up against a creature of significantly higher level, and of a higher rank! Eden rewards players with greater experience points for taking risks against stronger enemies.”

  “That makes sense.”

  Wyn looks over the notifications once again, finding the order of them very interesting. Assuming they arrived in real time as the fight went on, she gained a level before the warrior boomfrog died. This means either she gained experience from just fighting the boomfrog, which Wyn doubts, or more likely, she gained experience from unlocking the fortify self ability.

  That at least answers one question Wyn had. In most fantasy stories Wyn has read, wizards grow their skills by studying magic in a tower. And in a game where experience is gained mostly through fighting, Wyn worried the only way she could improve her level was by murdering random monsters. This at least confirms that practicing magic does give her experience towards leveling up. Good to know.

  Wyn pulls out the essence orb from her inventory. Unlike before, where the essence orbs were fairly dull spheres with energy swirling inside of them, the Boomfrog essence carries a slight orange hue. As the notification said, this essence orb has a weak fire affinity, and is even hot to the touch. She wishes she could consume the essence and see what it does, but sadly she has no current way of lighting her Essentia Generator.

  Or does she?

  Wyn glances to her new little friend and has an idea. She places the Essentia Generator on the ground and points to it.

  “Okay Froggy. Light the thing.”

  Froggy only stares up at her, its large eyes unblinking. Wyn sighs. The frog is cute but not the brightest. If this frog is going to help her light the Essentia Generator, she’s going to have to get more creative than just telling it to help. Wyn sucks in air, blowing up her cheeks to imitate the frog’s boom. She then exhales pointedly at the Essentia Generator, trying to inspire the little frog to follow her lead.

  After her demonstration, she looks to the frog, gesturing encouragement for it to try the same. The frog glances back and forth between Wyn and the Essentia Generator. Much to Wyn’s delight, the frog gulps in air.

  “That’s it!” says Wyn, pointing to the Essentia Generator. “Now blast it!”

  The frog looks at the Essentia Generator, then back at Wyn, then again at the device.

  “Come on! Just do it already!”

  The frog, detecting Wyn’s frustrated tone, releases its stored firepower. Sadly for Wyn, the explosive blast is not directed at the Generator but at the ground. The little frog blasts its tiny jet of flame and catapults itself a few yards away in an uncontrolled arc. It bounces harmlessly and rights itself, shaking off the dirt from the tiny impact. It looks back to Wyn and chirps innocently.

  Wyn sighs and clips the Essentia Generator to her belt, moving on. She’s not going to light it today.

  Having taken a moment to recover, she’s in good enough shape to continue. Standing up, she turns to the tiny frog.

  “You coming along, little friend?” Wyn asks the frog.

  The tiny creature gives an eager chirp and hops toward her, landing with a soft thump at her boot. It presses its slick, cool body against her foot in what can only be described as affection. Wyn chuckles, the tension of the past few minutes finally easing. “I guess you are.”

  She bends down and scoops up the little frog. When she sets it gently on her shoulder, it lets out a delighted trill, its throat pouch puffing with pride. Wyn can’t help but grin. After everything that’s happened, the warmth of a small companion feels strangely comforting.

  “Interesting,” Psai’s voice hums beside her ear, a ripple of blue light hovering at her periphery. “Why have you taken this boomfrog with you instead of dispatching it for your quest?”

  “He’s not listed on my quest,” Wyn replies, giving the frog a fond glance. “And just look at him! He’s adorable!”

  Psai floats closer, examining the frog. “Cuteness does not denote value. Given the evolutionary nature of boomfrogs, this creature will soon mature into a full-sized specimen, which could pose a substantial risk to yourself and others.”

  Wyn cups her hands protectively around the frog. “Don’t say that. You’ll hurt his feelings.”

  “I sincerely doubt that amphibians experience emotion.”

  The frog croaks softly from the safety of Wyn’s hands, a confused little sound that somehow feels like protest.

  “See?” Wyn says, her tone triumphant. “Now you’ve made him upset, Psai!”

  Psai’s orb dips sheepishly. “My sincerest apologies. I will… recalibrate my thoughts on tiny frog creatures.”

  Wyn smirks, brushing a bit of soot from her cheek as she looks toward the winding path ahead. The mountain air still carries the faint scent of ash and burnt sulfur, but for the first time in what feels like hours, she breathes easy. The little frog chirps again from her shoulder, and Psai drifts silently beside her, his faint glow cutting through the haze.

  But there’s no time to rest. Bigger, deadlier boomfrogs still roam these peaks, and Wyn knows her true challenge lies ahead. With a steadying breath she sets her sights forward, ready to face whatever comes next and determined to finish what she started. The hunt has only just begun.