Well, I had done it. Eclaire was not happy with me since I was delaying their mission a fair bit with my dragon incompatibility. But oh well, nothing I could do about it. It wasn't my fault that the dragons didn't find me likable, okay?
Yet I could understand her; I would also be pretty irritated if I were in her shoes. It would be too much. Picture yourself trying to help out a homeless kid begging for food, and just when you get them something to eat, you discover that they're allergic to the food you just got for them. It wouldn't be the kid's fault, but you would be slightly annoyed.
Eclaire probably feels the same way about me! She was already doing a lot for me by healing me and finding us transport just to discover I couldn't use a standard method of transportation! Yeah! I would also be annoyed if I were her. Luckily, she seems nice enough to restrain her intrusive thoughts.
Speaking of Eclaire, I never really described her to you, did I? Well, now is a good time to do so. I have nothing else to tell you until the monster trader returns with whatever monster he plans on selling me.
Eclaire was a fairly short woman with short brown hair and a bob-like haircut. She had emerald red eyes with silky smooth skin as if she were only in her late twenties. Her skin tone was a little on the pale side, but she compensated with sun tan marks on her arms and legs.
When it came to her clothes, she wore a weird set of clothes that reminded me a little of classic Valkyrie from video games. She also wore silver arm bracelets with a metal skirt instead of a normal one. Not that I thought of it some more; she looked freaking cool!
I wonder if I will look just as good when I get older. Don't get me wrong, I'm beautiful, but I'm definitely lacking in both departments if you know what I mean! I'm a goddam table both ways! TuT, I have no curves! I'm flat!
{Loud noise from downstairs in the trader's basement.}
{Rumble, rumble, ribbit, ribbit, tsk, tsk, tsk!}
What the hell? Did I just hear a loud Toad sound? That didn't sound like a usual Toad! It sounded like it came from something much, much bigger than a hand-sized toad. {Ribbit!} There it was! It did it again! What was that!?
"Alright! Ladies! I have the latest monster you can ride! A giant domesticated TOAD!"
Ah?! What!? Was that a joke? Because it had a poor taste, if it was, how the hell did he even manage to? Oh lord, wait! Why is it looking at me like that! The Toad! It's glaring at me like I'm its next meal! Yikes!
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The monster trader had come out of the basement while riding a giant toad, as it wasn't a novelty. Eclaire also looked surprised as she pushed me toward the man now getting off my brand-new ride.
"Hey, hey! Easy! It's so big! It's scary!"
"No need to worry, little miss! This one has been domesticated! It's not dangerous in the slightest!"
Literally as if to probe the man wrong, the Toad tried to swallow me in a shot as soon as he jumped off the Toad's back!
"WaaaahhhhhH!!!!!! It's trying to eat me help! Ahhhhhh!!!"
"Oh shit! Spit her out! It's an order!"
The Toad obeyed the man, and just like he ordered, the beast Spit me out of its mouth, now fully coated in frog spit. My body was covered in whatever the weird, slimy substance was, and I reeked of whatever that smell was. Eewww, it was disgusting!
"Sorry about that, sometimes these ones do that to show you their love! Yes! It's showing you that it likes you very much!"
"Cool gig, but isn't it a little impractical?" Said Eclaire.
The Merchant giggled as he turned to Eclaire. "Not in the slightest! These Toads are just as fast as dragons, if not faster! They are a little bumpy to ride, but! If you can tolerate the movement, they're excellent for all-terrain travel!
Eclaire looked at the man and then at me as if saying, "What are you waiting for! Go get your whip!" Oh no, I don't want it! It's so gross and covered me in its mouth, geez, before I even bonded with it! Waaaaahh!!
{Ribbit! Ribbit?}
{Sight} Fine, I would buy it even if it set me back a couple of silver pieces. I had no alternative anyway, so it couldn't be so bad. Once I paid for my new monster, the trader did a weird ritual using my blood and ink to draw a bizarre symbol on the creature's forehead.
The Toad struggled during the whole process until a purple light coming from the symbol appeared to calm it down and made me see a new icon in my field of view.
The icon was a warning symbol, and when I clicked on it, the following message popped up!
[New monster slave added to your party, available stats ready to display]
What? I could finally see stats? I thought this world wasn't game-like at all, but this new information probed it wrong. Naturally, my curiosity made me click on the Toad's stats.
Monster encyclopedia: File 1.
[Giant Toad]
Name: Nameless.
Age: 7 years old.
HP: 1,245/1,300
SP: 775/800
MP: 200/200
Strength: 550. Unique leg strength (Enhanced kick): 1,500.
Damage Output (Max): 1,250 (Reg): 400.
Defense: 450 (Medium) Weak to extreme heat.
Speed (Reg): 500 (Leap): 2,000
Skills: Locked.
Information: Giant Toads are delicious monsters usually hunted down for their tasty meat. They're weak and typically live in swamp areas as they enjoy a wet environment. Toads are notoriously weak to Fire and Ice elements and thus are easy to defeat even for an inexperienced adventurer. Their danger level is F.