Froggy struggled to get up; the ground was so hot his underwear had almost been scorched. Luckily, he had managed to stand up in time. His feet, however, weren't so lucky—they burned the moment they touched the scorching surface. But after a couple of seconds that felt eternal, his body adapted.
He looked around; wherever he looked, all he saw was an infernal plain.
— Stats — he said quickly.
A floating screen materialized in front of him.
[HERO STATS]
Name: Green Froggy.
Max Level.
Strength: 3
[You can lift a backpack…]
Speed: 2
[You're as fast as a turtle]
Dexterity: 2
[At least you're alive, right?]
Agility: 1
[What is dodging?]
Endurance: 14
[Not bad. You'll probably survive… a little…]
Luck: ???
[Your fortune is a miracle. And miracles… are accidents]
Willpower: 101/100
[Is this even legal…?]
For a second, he said nothing.
—… — Finally, after a while, he spoke — I've seen worse.
A new window appeared.
[LEGENDARY WEAPON: RUSTY KNIFE – SSR RANK]
Power: +0.5
Description: Slightly shines to reveal your position to all enemies.
Status: Impossible to unequip.
[System Note]
"Congratulations, hero! You are one of a kind!"
Froggy grabbed his head and covered his mouth. A small laugh escaped him, then grew louder, until it finally made his stomach hurt.
— I've never seen anything this absurd in my life.
He forced himself to stop laughing, wiping away the tears that had come from laughing so hard.
He sighed.
— Doesn't matter — he exclaimed — There's still the starter pack.
It was a classic trope: they gave you starting tools, even if they were miserable, just to ensure a somewhat reasonable experience. And indeed, there it was. The interface displayed it.
[STARTER PACK]
Mysterious chest: locked.
Requirement: you need a key.
[New quest active]
Objective: obtain the key by defeating the Absolute Lava Lizard, zone boss.
Description: an ancient being capable of melting the sun and destroying civilizations just by existing.
Reward: chest key.
He blinked a couple of times, checking if it was some kind of error. But the interface didn't change.
— Melt… the sun?
His mind tried to process it, but couldn't reach a clear conclusion. He only managed to look up as the ground beneath him trembled slightly.
Then he saw them; not just one, but three gigantic magma mountains moving as if they were alive. Each one radiated liquid fire that was clearly visible even from a distance.
They had a vague, bulky shape that reminded him of classic stone golems from many games, just hotter—and clearly made of lava.
The screen appeared once again.
[NEW SYSTEM ALERT]
Magma Titans – guardians of the lava.
Threat level: titanic.
Behavior: attack all living beings.
Recommendation: go well equipped.
— Go well equipped, huh?
Wherever he looked, there was nothing but burning ground. Not even a small rock to throw. A barren wasteland, no trees, no life—only those titans, now beginning to move.
Their roar shook the air, making his hair stand on end.
— Great…
He didn't think twice and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Who could blame him? He was the best, but this was too much. How was he supposed to fight them? Punch them? He would die before even getting close.
In his hand, the knife began to glow intensely. The mountains turned toward him, and one of them raised a wave of magma straight at him. Even while running, he couldn't reach anything safe.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
"You have died by magma titan."
Recalculating data…
"Congratulations! You can revive."
The system presented two options:
[1] Revive.
[2] Mysterious option.
— Not this again…
[Inaction detected.]
[Auto-selecting: mysterious option.]
— What?! Wait—! — he shouted in vain.
[You have chosen: mysterious option.]
Reward obtained: level 1 magic potion.
Reviving hero…
When he opened his eyes, he was in the exact same place he had died. The landscape was still the same hellscape, except the magma wave had erased what little remained, leaving everything even more scorched.
Sweat ran down his back.
— N-no way…
The system vibrated again.
[Practical advice]
"Use level 1 magic potion to recover."
He didn't waste time; the titans were getting closer. He brought the potion to his mouth and tried to drink it.
[ERROR]
"You have no magic stats."
"You cannot consume level 1 magic potion."
— W-what the hell? I can't drink a simple potion?! WHAT KIND OF SYSTEM IS THIS?!
The titans roared in unison. Another wave of magma rose, even larger than before. He ran with all his strength—barefoot, pantless, and holding a knife shining like a lighthouse in the darkest night, clearly marking his exact location for the titans.
[SYSTEM NOTE]
"Running aimlessly does not increase your speed."
— SHUT UP, SYSTEM!