Kaito groaned as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the partially boarded-up window of his room, the faint drip of the leaky roof still a constant background noise. He stretched lazily, letting out a loud yawn as he blinked up at the cracked ceiling.
For a moment, he lay there, trying to piece together his memories of the night before. There was something about horrendous singing—like a drunk bard being strangled—and some distant, thunderous frog croaks that rattled the windows. He vaguely remembered pulling the pillow over his head and muttering curses about the people of Axel.
"Great acoustics in this town," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Really adds to the ambiance."
With a resigned sigh, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, the floorboards creaking ominously beneath him. It wasn't the most luxurious start to his day, but it beat sleeping outside with cabbage bandits or giant frogs. Probably.
After splashing some cold water on his face from the rickety washbasin in the corner, Kaito grabbed the pouch he'd received from the guild and dumped its contents onto the uneven nightstand. He surveyed the pile with a mix of curiosity and skepticism.
"Alright," he said, picking through the items. "Let's see what kind of treasures the Guild has blessed me with."
The first item was a small, rough cloth pouch containing what looked like trail rations: stale bread, some kind of dried meat that smelled suspiciously like old socks, and a handful of nuts. He tossed it aside with a grimace. "Breakfast of champions."
Next was a standard-issue adventurer's map, more symbolic than useful, with its vague squiggles and landmarks marked as "that big hill" and "probably the forest."
Then there was a tiny potion bottle, about the size of his thumb. The liquid inside was a murky red, and the label on the side read, in smudged handwriting: "Healing? Maybe."
"Comforting," Kaito muttered, setting it down gingerly.
Finally, he picked up what appeared to be his starter weapon, still wrapped in a thin strip of cloth. He carefully unwrapped it, expecting... well, not much, but he wasn't prepared for just how pitiful it actually was.
In his hand was a dagger—if you could even call it that. The blade was short, dull, and slightly bent at the tip, while the hilt looked like it had been cobbled together from scraps of mismatched wood. It might have once been decorative, but now it just screamed "budget adventurer."
Kaito held it up, turning it over with a skeptical eye. "Wow. Really going all out here, aren't they? I'm sure this'll terrify the frogs."
He gave it an experimental swing, only for the blade to wobble slightly in his grip. "Okay, so maybe not terrify," he muttered. "But it might annoy them to death."
Setting the dagger down with a sigh, he began packing up his meager belongings. "Alright, Kaito," he said to himself. "Step one: survive the frog quest. Step two: get some actual money. Step three: buy a weapon that won't fall apart if I sneeze on it."
With his pouch reassembled and his pitiful weapon strapped to his belt, Kaito stood and stretched again, ready—or as ready as he could be—for his first real day as an adventurer. "Let's just hope I don't embarrass myself too much out there," he muttered as he made his way out of the room.
As the door creaked shut behind him, a faint croak echoed from somewhere outside, low and ominous, as if mocking him from afar.
"Yeah," Kaito grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Today's going to be great."
Kaito descended the rickety stairs of the inn, each step creaking loudly under his weight. As he reached the ground floor, the smell of something vaguely edible wafted toward him. A small group of adventurers was huddled around a splintered wooden table, picking at a meager breakfast of stale bread, thin soup, and what might have been eggs—though their unnervingly grayish tint suggested otherwise.
The innkeeper, still as gruff and scowling as ever, glanced up from behind the counter. "Breakfast's included," he grunted, jerking his thumb toward the table.
Kaito hesitated, eyeing the food. He wasn't exactly picky, but even his low standards were being tested. Still, he knew better than to tackle a quest on an empty stomach. "Alright," he muttered, reluctantly taking a seat.
The innkeeper plopped a wooden bowl of soup in front of him, along with a hunk of bread that looked—and felt—like a brick. Kaito stared at it, poking the bread with his finger to confirm that, yes, it was just as dense as it looked.
"Eat up," the innkeeper said. "You'll need your strength for those frogs."
Kaito nodded absently, dipping the bread into the soup to soften it. As he took a cautious bite, his mind wandered to the quest ahead.
Alright, Kaito, focus, he thought, chewing on the soggy bread. Giant frogs. Probably not as bad as they sound. They're gag monsters, right? Big, goofy-looking, probably slow, and clumsy. Classic low-level fodder.
He took another bite, trying to psych himself up. I've watched enough anime, read enough books, played enough games. This is just step one of the classic adventurer's journey. Take down the weak monsters, earn some coin, and move on to bigger things. Easy.
Still, a small voice of doubt lingered in the back of his mind. Giant frogs weren't exactly glamorous, but they were giant. What if they weren't as slow and goofy as he imagined? What if they were more like... actual predators?
"Nope," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Not gonna think like that. They're frogs. Just big, slimy frogs. I've got this."
The adventurers at the table glanced at him briefly, then went back to their meals, muttering to themselves about "another newbie losing it."
Kaito sighed, sipping his soup. It wasn't great, but it was warm, and he couldn't deny that he felt a little better with something in his stomach. He forced himself to focus on the positives: he had a plan, he had a weapon (barely), and he had... well, partial frog immunity. That had to count for something, right?
By the time he finished his meal, he'd managed to convince himself—mostly—that the quest wouldn't be so bad. "Alright," he said quietly, standing up and slinging his pouch over his shoulder. "Let's do this."
As he stepped out of the inn into the crisp morning air, he could almost hear the faint echoes of distant croaks, a reminder of what awaited him.
"Just frogs," he muttered again, more to himself than anyone else. "How bad could it be?"
The morning sunlight felt reassuring as he headed toward the fields, though the ominous croak that followed him down the street felt significantly less so.
As Kaito strolled down the cobblestone streets, the morning sun warming his back, he caught snippets of a conversation from a group of travelers loitering near a small vendor cart. Their voices carried over the general morning bustle, and the tone was anything but reassuring.
"I'm telling you," one traveler said, a wiry man with a weathered cloak, "those frog quests are no joke. My cousin took one last week—came back half-slimed and swearing never to go near a pond again!"
Kaito's ears perked up, and he slowed his pace, pretending to adjust his pouch while eavesdropping.
"That's nothing," another chimed in, a stocky woman with a wide-brimmed hat. "I heard about a guy who got swallowed whole! Barely made it out alive, covered in slime and reeking to high heaven. Took weeks to wash the smell off, apparently."
The wiry man shuddered. "Ugh, I don't even want to think about that. Can you imagine? Sitting there, thinking you've got it under control, and then BAM!" He clapped his hands together loudly, making a few passersby jump. "You're frog food."
The stocky woman nodded solemnly. "And don't forget the partial slimings. That stuff sticks to you like glue. Saw a poor adventurer just the other day, still walking funny because of it. Frogs are no laughing matter."
Kaito stopped mid-step, his confidence taking a nosedive. Slimed? Swallowed? Walking funny? What kind of nightmare quest did I sign up for?!
He turned slightly, peeking at the travelers as they continued their horror-filled discussion.
"Honestly," the woman added, crossing her arms, "I don't even know why they keep sending newbies on those quests. They're not gag monsters—they're death traps."
The wiry man chuckled darkly. "Well, it's not like the guild wants to deal with them. Easier to let the fresh meat figure it out. They're cheap to replace."
Kaito paled. Cheap to replace? I'm starting to think I've been scammed.
Trying not to look as panicked as he felt, he picked up his pace, putting some distance between himself and the doom-filled conversation.
"Okay, so maybe they're not classic gag monsters," he muttered to himself. "But they can't be that bad, right? I mean... what's the worst that could happen?"
The faint croak of a distant frog seemed to answer him, the sound low and guttural, sending a shiver down his spine.
"Right," Kaito said, laughing nervously to himself. "Totally fine. No big deal. It's just a quest. A normal, perfectly safe quest."
But no matter how much he tried to convince himself, the travelers' words echoed in his mind like a warning he couldn't shake.
——————
After what felt like an eternity of wandering through twisting streets and accidentally ending up at the same fountain twice, Kaito finally arrived at the town gates. He let out a relieved sigh, muttering under his breath, "Finally. Took long enough. This place is like a maze."
He pulled out the adventurer's map from his pouch and squinted at it. The details were as vague as ever, but there was a lake marked a short distance outside of town. A large, blue blob labeled "Frog Lake" seemed like the obvious destination.
"Alright," Kaito said, tucking the map away. "That's got to be where the frogs spawn in. Easy enough."
With renewed purpose, he set off down the dirt path leading away from Axel. As he walked, the bustle of the town faded behind him, replaced by the gentle sounds of the countryside. Rolling green hills stretched out on either side of the road, dotted with clusters of wildflowers swaying in the breeze. A pair of birds darted overhead, their cheerful chirping filling the crisp morning air.
"This... isn't so bad," Kaito muttered, relaxing slightly as he took in the scenery. The sun was warm on his back, the breeze was cool, and for the first time since arriving in this world, he felt like he could actually enjoy himself.
He passed a small field where a group of sheep grazed lazily, their wooly forms looking so peaceful that Kaito couldn't help but smile. A little farther along, he saw a farmer tilling the soil, waving casually as Kaito walked by. Kaito waved back, his earlier nerves slowly melting away.
This is nice, he thought. Idyllic, even. Maybe I was overthinking this whole frog thing. How bad could it be, really?
The path meandered gently through the hills, shaded occasionally by tall trees that rustled softly in the breeze. A babbling brook ran parallel to the road for a while, the sound of flowing water adding to the tranquil atmosphere. Kaito couldn't remember the last time he'd been somewhere so picturesque.
"Okay," he said aloud, his voice lighter now. "I think I might have lucked out with this world. Sure, the town's chaotic, and the quests are weird, but this?" He gestured to the serene landscape around him. "This is the kind of fantasy world I can get behind."
He felt his earlier tension fading with every step, lulled into a sense of calm by the peaceful surroundings. It was almost enough to make him forget the ominous warnings he'd overheard earlier. Almost.
As he crested a small hill, he caught his first glimpse of the lake in the distance. It was a wide expanse of sparkling blue, framed by reeds and dotted with lily pads that looked like they belonged on a postcard.
Kaito stopped for a moment, taking it all in. "See?" he said to himself with a grin. "Nothing to worry about. Just a peaceful lake. Maybe I'll even finish this quest without breaking a sweat."
With a newfound sense of optimism, he started down the hill, the tranquil scene before him doing its job perfectly: lulling both Kaito and anyone watching into a false sense of security. The countryside was quiet, the sun was shining, and the world seemed entirely too pleasant for anything bad to happen.
At least, for now.
Kaito strolled down the hill, his steps lighter as he took in the idyllic landscape. Everything seemed peaceful—birds chirped, the lake shimmered invitingly, and there wasn't a single ominous sign of danger in sight.
"See? Nothing to worry about," he muttered, feeling his earlier nerves ebb away. "It's just a lake. A lake with some frogs. How bad could it—"
He froze mid-step, his words dying in his throat.
There it was.
Not far from the water's edge, sitting like it owned the place, was a giant frog. And it was huge.
Kaito gawked at the creature, his mind struggling to reconcile what he was seeing. The frog's slimy, greenish-brown skin gleamed in the sunlight, its bulbous eyes swiveling lazily as it chomped on something with disturbingly loud squelching noises.
At first, Kaito thought it was just a pile of leaves, but as his eyes adjusted, he realized the frog was munching on what could only be described as a cabbage corpse. Torn leaves dangled from its mouth, some still dripping with moisture, as the frog audibly crunched into the vegetable like it was a delicacy.
"Okay," Kaito whispered, ducking behind a nearby bush before the creature could spot him. His heart raced as he peeked out cautiously. "That... is bigger than I thought it would be."
He crouched there, staring at the monstrous amphibian as it happily devoured its leafy snack. His earlier confidence evaporated as the words he'd overheard in town came rushing back. Slimed. Swallowed whole.
"Nope," he muttered, shaking his head. "Nope, nope, nope. This is ridiculous. That thing's the size of a car. What am I even supposed to do against that? Poke it with my glorified butter knife?"
But as he sat there, doubt creeping in, another thought surfaced. This was his first quest. If he ran now, he'd never hear the end of it—assuming he even managed to scrounge up another chance at earning coin.
"Alright," he said, taking a deep breath. "You've got this, Kaito. You've read the books, played the games. You just have to be smart about it. Stealth is the key."
He slowly drew the pitiful dagger from his belt, its dull blade catching a glint of sunlight. Not great, he thought, but it's better than nothing.
Steeling himself, Kaito began to creep out from behind the bush, moving as quietly as he could. He stayed low, his eyes locked on the frog as it continued to snack, blissfully unaware of his presence.
"So far, so good," he whispered to himself, inching closer.
Then, it happened.
His foot came down on a dry twig hidden beneath the grass. The snap echoed like a gunshot in the serene landscape.
The frog froze mid-chew, its eyes swiveling toward him with terrifying precision.
"Uh-oh," Kaito muttered, his face pale.
The creature let out a deep, guttural croak that shook the ground beneath him, its massive tongue flicking out briefly as if testing the air. The cabbage fell from its mouth, forgotten, as it turned its full attention to Kaito.
"Right," Kaito said, his voice trembling. "New plan."
Without thinking, he bolted back toward the bush, the frog letting out another thunderous croak as it began to hop after him, each leap shaking the ground.
"This is not how this was supposed to go!" Kaito yelled, his arms flailing as he sprinted away, his earlier attempt at stealth thoroughly ruined.
Kaito sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him, the sound of the giant frog's thunderous hops growing louder behind him. Every time it leaped, the ground shook, nearly knocking him off balance. He glanced over his shoulder and immediately regretted it—the frog was closing the gap far too quickly.
"Oh, come on!" he shouted, his voice tinged with both panic and frustration. "Why is this thing so fast? It's a frog! Aren't they supposed to be slow and stupid?"
With a final, earth-shaking leap, the frog soared through the air and landed directly in front of him, cutting off his escape. The impact sent a ripple through the ground, and Kaito stumbled to a halt, nearly falling flat on his face.
He looked up at the massive creature towering over him, its bulbous eyes locked onto his with an unnerving intensity. For a moment, they just stared at each other, the frog's throat inflating slightly as it prepared another deep croak.
Kaito swallowed hard, realizing two things simultaneously:
1. This frog wasn't going to stop chasing him.
2. If he kept running, he'd just exhaust himself and get eaten anyway.
"Alright," he muttered, gripping his pitiful dagger tightly. "Looks like we're doing this. You want a fight? Fine. Let's see what you've got."
The frog blinked, unimpressed, as Kaito darted to the side, trying to circle around it. He lunged forward, aiming his dagger at the frog's flank in what he hoped was a weak spot. The blade connected, but the result was underwhelming.
The dagger barely scratched the creature's slimy hide, leaving a shallow mark that might as well have been a paper cut.
The frog let out a low, irritated croak, turning toward Kaito with surprising speed. Its massive mouth opened wide, showcasing rows of tiny, conical teeth and a cavernous throat that seemed entirely too eager to make Kaito its next meal.
The sound that emerged from the creature was deafening—a resounding RIBBIT! that echoed through the countryside, shaking Kaito to his core.
He froze for a split second, his brain caught between panic and sheer disbelief. "That is... way too big!" he yelled, stumbling backward as the frog's massive tongue flicked out, testing the air in front of him.
Adrenaline surged through his veins, overriding his fear just enough to keep him moving. "Okay, Kaito, think! You can't outrun it, and you can't outpower it, so... outsmart it?"
The frog lunged forward slightly, its throat expanding as it prepared to strike. Kaito barely managed to dodge to the side, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Not good, not good, not good!" he muttered, his voice shaky but determined. He clutched his dagger tighter, his mind racing for any kind of strategy that didn't involve becoming frog food.
Despite his rising panic, a small part of him couldn't help but think, This is way harder than the books made it look.
The frog's massive tongue shot out toward Kaito like a slimy, horrifying whip. He yelped and dove to the side, narrowly avoiding getting stuck to the grotesque appendage. The tongue retracted with a wet splat, and the frog let out another thunderous croak, its eyes locked onto him with unwavering focus.
"Oh, come on!" Kaito shouted, scrambling to his feet. "Give me a break already!"
The frog didn't seem inclined to listen. Its tongue lashed out again, this time with even more force. Kaito dodged left, the tip of the tongue grazing his sleeve and leaving a trail of sticky slime behind.
"That's disgusting!" he yelled, shaking his arm as he stumbled backward. The frog's tongue snapped back like a rubber band, leaving a stringy residue in its wake.
The creature didn't give him a moment to recover. It flicked its tongue out again and again, each miss growing closer and more aggressive. Kaito's movements became increasingly frantic as he tried to avoid the attacks, flailing his arms and tripping over his own feet.
In his panic, he slipped on a patch of the frog's slime, his foot sliding out from under him. "No, no, no—!" he cried as he hit the ground with a loud thud.
He tried to scramble back to his feet, his hands slipping in the gooey mess as the frog turned toward him, its throat inflating ominously. "This is not how I imagined my heroic debut!" Kaito wailed, scrambling backward on all fours.
The frog launched its tongue again, but Kaito managed to roll to the side just in time. The tongue hit the ground where he'd been moments before, splattering more slime across the field.
Panting, Kaito staggered to his feet, his boots sliding slightly on the slick surface. "Okay, this is ridiculous," he muttered, gripping his dagger tightly. "There's gotta be a way to beat this thing without looking like a complete idiot."
The frog croaked loudly, as if mocking him, and flicked its tongue again. Kaito barely dodged, slipping and sliding in the slime as he tried to keep his balance.
"Alright, frog," he said through gritted teeth, his panic giving way to a surge of determination. "If you're gonna keep doing that, maybe I can use it against you."
He steadied himself, adrenaline and desperation sharpening his focus. The frog's tongue retracted, its eyes narrowing as it prepared another strike. Kaito planted his feet, his mind racing for a way to turn the creature's relentless attack into an advantage.
"Okay," he muttered, gripping his dagger. "Time to see if this dumb plan actually works."
Kaito steadied himself, his heart pounding as the frog prepared another strike. The creature's tongue shot out toward him, and this time, instead of dodging, Kaito lunged forward, trying to angle his pitiful dagger just right.
"Come on, come on!" he muttered through gritted teeth, swinging his blade in a wide arc.
The tongue smacked against the ground where he had been standing, and with surprising precision, Kaito slashed at it. The blade connected, slicing through the slimy surface, and the frog let out a guttural croak of pain, recoiling slightly.
"Yes!" Kaito shouted, a surge of triumph filling him. "It worked! I actually—whoa!"
In his excitement, his foot slipped on the ever-present slime, and he toppled backward, landing flat on his back. His dagger skidded out of reach, and before he could recover, the frog loomed over him, its massive shadow blocking out the sunlight.
"Well," Kaito muttered, his voice shaking as the creature's throat expanded menacingly. "This is bad."
Just as the frog prepared to strike, a loud, enthusiastic voice broke through the tension.
"Fear not, citizen! I shall save you!"
Kaito turned his head just in time to see a blonde-haired woman in full armor charging onto the scene. She was tall, striking, and absolutely radiated confidence as she brandished her sword.
"Finally!" Kaito exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief. "A real adventurer! You're in trouble now, frog!"
He scrambled to his feet, pointing dramatically at the creature. "You hear that? Your reign of terror ends here!"
The frog blinked at the new arrival, its bulbous eyes swiveling toward her. It let out a low, guttural croak and shifted its focus entirely to the armored woman.
She smirked, her sword gleaming in the sunlight. "Come at me, beast! I will be your opponent!"
The frog didn't hesitate. In one swift motion, its tongue lashed out, wrapping around her waist. Before Kaito could even process what was happening, the frog hoisted her into the air and swallowed her whole.
Kaito's jaw dropped as the woman disappeared into the creature's massive mouth. He stared in stunned silence, his brain struggling to catch up.
"Oh my god," he gasped, his voice barely above a whisper. "It ate her."
The frog, now noticeably fuller, let out a satisfied croak, as if daring Kaito to make his next move.
Kaito raised a trembling hand, pointing at the frog. "Did... did that really just happen?!"
The reality of the situation finally hit him, and he groaned, running a hand down his face. "Of course. Of course this would happen. Why wouldn't it? This is my life now."
Somewhere, muffled from inside the frog, he thought he could hear the faint sound of the woman's voice. "I'm fine!" she called out, her tone disturbingly cheerful. "This is nothing!"
Kaito stared at the frog in disbelief, his grip tightening on his dagger. "You've got to be kidding me."
The frog, clearly done with Kaito's antics, let out a deep, resonating RIBBIT! and lunged toward him. Before Kaito could scramble away, the creature's massive, slimy foot came down, pinning him to the ground like a particularly unimpressive bug.
"Hey! Whoa! Hold on!" Kaito shouted, flailing his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to free himself. His movements only succeeded in making a wet squelch against the slime-coated ground, his dagger now hopelessly out of reach. "Let's talk about this! Frogs don't even eat people! You're supposed to go after flies, not guys!"
The frog stared at him, unblinking, as if deliberating whether it should squash him outright or save the effort and just swallow him whole. Its massive throat began to inflate ominously, a clear sign that it was about to end this nonsense.
Kaito's panicked thrashing grew more frantic. "No, no, no! This is not how it ends! This isn't a game—this is real! I don't want to be frog food!"
The creature raised its other leg, its slimy, webbed foot poised to come crashing down on Kaito. He stared up at it, terror and disbelief written all over his face.
"This is it," he muttered. "This is how I die. Again. To a frog."
Just as the leg began its descent, muffled squeals came from within the frog's bulging belly. "I'll save you, citizen! Hold on!"
Kaito froze, his eyes wide as he stared at the frog's inflated midsection. "Is that—?"
The muffled voice, unmistakably Darkness', was suddenly cut off with an audible gulp. The frog croaked loudly, as if to say, No interruptions, and refocused its attention on Kaito.
The massive foot began to descend again, slow and deliberate, as if savoring the moment. Kaito, despite his comedic flailing and increasingly desperate yells, couldn't escape the creature's weight.
"No, no, no, no—!" he screamed, his voice escalating into a high-pitched wail as the frog's shadow loomed over him.
It was absurd, almost cartoonish—the way the scene balanced on the knife's edge between comedy and terror. The grotesque slowness of the frog's movements, the ridiculous futility of Kaito's struggles, and the bizarre, muffled heroics coming from the creature's stomach all collided into something that felt like slapstick horror.
"This can't be happening!" Kaito shouted, his voice cracking. "I'm gonna die in the stupidest way imaginable!"
The frog croaked again, its massive mouth opening wide, ready to add Kaito to its meal plan.
Kaito squeezed his eyes shut, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "I hate this world," he muttered weakly. "So much."
Kaito's last memory was the frog's massive mouth closing in, followed by a brief sensation of complete darkness. It wasn't like falling asleep—it was cold, oppressive, and final.
Did I just die? Again? he wondered, his thoughts swirling in confusion and dread. He braced himself for the sterile white office where he'd first met Cylenne, already preparing to give her a piece of his mind for sending him into a literal death trap.
But... nothing happened.
Instead, Kaito felt warmth on his face, and when he snapped his eyes open, he was staring at the same cracked ceiling from before. Morning sunlight streamed through the partially boarded-up window, the rhythmic drip of the leaky roof filling the otherwise quiet room.
"What the—" Kaito sat up abruptly, his heart pounding. His hands instinctively went to his body, checking for injuries or slime. Nothing. His tunic was clean, his limbs were intact, and there wasn't even a scratch on him.
His adventurer's pouch was in the corner, right where he'd left it last night, completely untouched. The dagger he'd been using against the frog was neatly strapped to the side.
Kaito swung his legs over the bed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to make sense of what was happening. "Okay," he muttered to himself, his voice shaky. "Maybe it was just a bad dream? A really vivid bad dream?"
But even as he said it, he didn't believe it. Everything about the frog quest had felt too real—too painful. He shook his head, trying to clear the lingering fog of confusion, and decided to investigate.
He stepped out of his room and made his way down the creaky stairs. Halfway down, he paused, peering into the dining area below.
The scene was identical to the morning before. The same group of adventurers sat at the same splintered table, eating the same sad breakfast of grayish eggs, stale bread, and watery soup. One of them laughed at a joke that Kaito swore he'd already heard yesterday.
"What the..." Kaito whispered, his stomach twisting.
He turned and hurried back up the stairs, shutting the door to his room behind him. He double-checked everything: the pouch, the dagger, even the cracked mirror in the corner. It was all exactly as it had been when he'd first woken up to tackle the frog quest.
"No way," he muttered, pacing the room. "This is impossible. I died. I definitely died. So why am I back here?"
His mind raced as he tried to piece it together, but nothing made sense. He took another deep breath, opened the door, and made his way back downstairs.
The innkeeper looked up from the counter, giving him the same gruff greeting as before. "Breakfast's included," he said, jerking his thumb toward the adventurers' table.
Kaito stared at him, wide-eyed. "Wait, what? Didn't I—" He stopped himself, his voice trailing off.
The innkeeper raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you what?"
Kaito opened his mouth to explain, then shut it again. What was he even supposed to say? "Didn't I just die hunting frogs yesterday?" That would go over well.
Instead, he muttered, "Never mind," and slumped into the nearest chair, his mind spinning.
The adventurers at the table glanced at him briefly before going back to their conversation, exactly as they had the day before—or was it today?
"This can't be real," Kaito whispered, his hands gripping the edge of the table. "Am I in a time loop? Or did I hit my head so hard the first time I died that I've officially lost it?"
The innkeeper's voice cut through his thoughts. "You alright, kid? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Kaito looked up, his face pale. "You have no idea."
Kaito stepped outside the inn, the morning air crisp and the street bustling with activity. For a brief moment, he felt a flicker of reassurance—until he noticed something strange.
There, walking down the road toward the Adventurers' Guild, was the same travelers he'd seen yesterday. Or, at least, what should have been yesterday.
The two followed the exact same path, recounting horror stories of frog related quests they'd hear about.
Kaito froze in place, his blood running cold. He stared after the travelers, his eyes narrowing. The timing, the path, the dialogue—it was all the same.
He turned his head, scanning the street. Sure enough, every detail lined up. The same merchants were arranging the same wares in the exact same order. The farmer he'd seen yesterday was pushing the same squeaky cart of vegetables, muttering about cabbage thieves. Even the birds overhead were flying in the same lazy patterns.
Kaito's hand went to his forehead, a cold sweat breaking out. "No," he whispered, shaking his head. "No way. This isn't happening."
His eyes flicked back to the traveler, who was already disappearing into the Guild. The eerie familiarity of it all finally clicked, and Kaito whispered hoarsely, "Am I stuck in that day...?"
The weight of the realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he stumbled backward, his legs feeling like jelly. Memories of the frog quest flashed through his mind—the chase, the slime, the crushing weight of the frog's foot, and then... darkness.
And now, here he was. Back at the start.
His voice cracked as the full implications of the situation set in. "Wait... does that mean I have to fight that frog again?!"
The sheer horror of the thought made his knees buckle. Kaito groaned, burying his face in his hands. "You've got to be kidding me. I didn't even survive the first time!"
As the bustling town continued around him, oblivious to his predicament, Kaito let out an exasperated sigh. "Great. Just great. I'm not even cut out for one frog quest, and now I'm in some cosmic redo loop?!"
The sounds of distant croaks drifted on the breeze, a haunting reminder of what awaited him.
Kaito's shoulders slumped as he muttered, "Why couldn't it have been a normal fantasy world...?"
To be continued...