A lone girl in a green jacket could be seen running for her life across the open plains, screaming her lungs out as something bounced after her like a literal nightmare on legs. It was...
A giant frog?
"HELP ME!! HELP ME, PLEASE!! I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS, NOR DO I WANT TO BECOME A FROG'S LUNCH!!"
Yeah, turns out solo adventurer life isn't as easy as I thought it would be.
Right now, I'm quite literally running for my life, and this massive frog won't give up chasing me! The only reason I'm still going is because of my high vitality stat, and I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep my legs going.
Its tongue suddenly whipped past me, slamming into the ground just inches away.
"FUCK!!" I shrieked in fear, looking as it pulled back.
I kept running. And running. And running—until...
Whish.
The frog got me.
"AAAAAHHHH—!!" I screamed as its tongue wrapped around my waist and yanked me backward with terrifying force, dragging me across the grass like a fucking ragdoll.
It reeled me in like some kind of cartoon, and before I knew it, I was in its mouth, about to be devoured.
Man.
I guess this is the end of the line for me, huh?
To die being eaten by a frog… not exactly the fate I imagined. I would've preferred going out in some epic fight against the Devil King, but eh.
It is what it is.
It's only been a short time, but this world really was a wonderful one to live in.
...Is what I would say, if I didn't have this dagger I "borrowed" from that weapon shop!
It looked abandoned and kind of lonely, so it's not like anyone really needed it. Besides, no one even noticed it was gone.
Unsheathing it from my waist, I aimed it at its tongue while holding onto its mouth to not fall into its slimy-looking throat.
"Take this, you overgrown toad bastard!!"
With one quick thrust, I stabbed under the tip of its tongue—right in the most sensitive, veiny part I could find.
This caused the frog to screech—not even scream, screech, and almost instantly regurgitated me like a piece of spoiled food.
I was flung out of its mouth, flailing through the air before faceplanting onto the grass with a damp thud, while the giant frog simply retreated.
"Ugh... I smell rancid, and I'm covered in frog slime. To top it all off, my whole body is aching. This job is just lovely."
I was the one who chose to do this, though. They said they would pay 5000 eris per frog slain, and I thought it'd be simple to do alone.
News flash: I absolutely cannot.
I need party members or someone to help me kill these things, because it's simply impossible to deal with these hopping demons.
I wiped off part of the slime on my face and arms, and took out my adventurer's card.
Glancing at my stats, I noticed something unusual on the skill shop.
Huh?
[Skill Shop: Skills available for purchase!]
Oh.
I never really looked at my card after choosing the adventurer class, so a few adventurer-specific skills might've appeared after that?
Still though, this is a godsend. I'm in serious need of some actual magic. Right now, the only thing keeping me alive is my luck and my vitality.
And a lot of running.
I tapped it, and the tab opened on the card.
Uh...
Okay, the hell?
[The Real Knife – SP Cost: 0]
[DESCRIPTION: A weapon powered by the user's mana and determination. Inflicts both magical and physical damage, scaling with both INT and STR. Can be further empowered by imbuing it with the user's determination, at the cost of draining it at a constant pace the longer it's maintained. This will boost its offensive capabilities, change its appearance and grant the user a ranged ability with the weapon.]
["Here we are!"]
This... This is the singular available skill? Why even say skills if there's only gonna be one?
And Real Knife? Not only does that sound edgy, it's unoriginal as hell.
What game does this remind me of...?
I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm grateful that it's at least free, and that it's actually a magic skill.
Bought!
As soon as I pressed the [ACQUIRE] button, I felt the exact same thing from when I first selected my class. Like something was changing, again.
A few seconds later, that tingling sensation was gone. However, no weapon or magic was yet in my hands.
"Maybe I have to do some kind of chant to summon it?"
I stood up, still covered in the slime.
"HA!"
I made a ridiculous pose to try and summon the skill.
"REALU KNIFU!"
Then one more. And another, another and another. I was making a fool out of myself just shouting random things in weeb accents, hands slicing through the air in an attempt to cast some kind of spell like an idiot.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
"I give up."
Yeah, screw that. I'm not doing that any longer, since it's clear that it doesn't even work.
Then, I remembered something.
The description... It probably has something to do with the way to summon this knife, right?
I held up my hand in front of me, slime sliding off my fingers as I tried to ignore how gross it felt.
"Here we are."
Then, something manifested on my right hand.
I could feel something solid taking shape in my grip, feeling wooden—like the handle of a knife.
Then, the blade finished forming—shimmering into existence like some kind of mirage.
"This... really looks just like a kitchen knife."
Indeed, it was a kitchen knife. Wooden handle, metal blade with the length and curve you'd expect from something meant to chop vegetables, not monsters.
"Whatever, it should still work."
I also couldn't help but notice I felt some slight exhaustion from that, and there was a reason behind it.
[Mana : 1008/1108]
Apparently, summoning this thing drains mana. Who would've known?
"How do I even infuse this with det—holy shit!"
Suddenly, the blade began to glow a bright red, like it had just been pulled out of a forge. Not only that, bright orange rings adorned parts of the blade—one near the base, another circling the tip, and a final one dead center like a targeting reticle.
"So all I had to do was think about it... Pretty cool."
I looked at my determination bar, and it seemed to have been drained slightly.
[Determination: 52.6% → 47.6%]
I don't know how much this will last, so I better get moving.
Standing up back on my feet, I eyed the toad from earlier in the distance, still hopping around.
"You're mine, you ugly sack of mucus." I muttered, with the blade still in my hand.
I began sprinting towards it, determined to slay this motherfucker. He'll pay for covering me in this... stuff, or whatever!
I remember reading in the description you could do ranged attacks with this thing, so maybe...
"Eat shit and die!"
I swung the knife with all the force I could muster, and before I knew it, a red slash of energy flew out from the blade, quickly enclosing into the giant amphibian.
It sliced clean through, and luckily, it went through another frog I didn't even know was nearby. Bonus points and money, I guess.
The energy dissipated just as quickly as it came, and I stumbled...? Then, I fell to the ground on one knee.
"Ugh." I grunted, looking back at my adventurer's card.
[Mana : 758/1108]
[Determination : 47.6% → 32.6%]
That's heavy.
I guess that means I can't really abuse this ability. It consumed a fourth of my mana, and 15% of the red bar.
All of that from a single use... It is powerful, but I can't just throw these around at random. I need a less powered, more spammable variant that I can actually use, and also find a way to fill up this bar.
Fast.
[Name : Clara Aozora] [Age : 16] [Gender : Female]
[Class : Adventurer]
[Level : 3]
[Health Points: 420/460] [Mana : 758/1140]
[Determination : 32.6%/100%]
[Experience Points : 20,4/132,5]
[Primary stats: STR (10), DEX (12), INT (40), VIT (20), AGI (17), LUCK (15)]
[Stat Points: 6] [Skill Points: 9]
[Active and Passive Skill List: None]
[Skill Shop: No available skills for purchase.]
[Monster Index: Open for details...]
Damn, that's good. Not bad for some frogs.
You really do level up fast as a beginner, huh?
I even gained some base stats, instead of stat and skill points.
"Apparently, these are gonna get hauled back by the guild, so I better get going to get my monetary reward. And a bath. I need one real bad."
Yup, I'm in desperate need of a bath.
The slime just kept clinging to my clothes, my hair—everything—like some kind of cursed muck. I reeked, and each step I take makes this really weird squelching sound.
"I'm never hunting frogs alone again."
Thankfully, I remembered to take off my green jacket before engaging in combat, so it was still clean.
...Then, it hit me.
I have to carry the jacket back.
With these dirty, slimy hands.
"Goddamn it."