I didn’t feel like a slime.

[Respawn complete]

[View status? yes/no]

[yes] damnit, what am I?

[Rowanoak the Dauntless]

[Monster type: Tread Toad ]

[Level: 1 ] [Hp:6/6] [Mp:3/3]

[Title: Deceased Adventurer ]

[Perks: Bound Soul, Heroic Legacy, Delver’s insight, Dungeon Babble, Prickly Demeanour, Mighty Leap, Sticky Maw ]

[Drawbacks: Outcast’s Brand, Delicious, Fodder Bounty ]

[Dungeon points: 1 ]

I focussed on my new status, that thankfully was steady in my vision. It was a good Distraction from the spinning disorientation that seemed part and parcel with respawning.

I’d never heard of a Tread Toad before, still the toad part meant I had limbs at least, so it was a step up as far as I was concerned.

Looking over the rest of the status I saw a lot of the same things as when I was a slime, so it looked like those would be following me around regardless. I could have guessed as much with names like “Heroic Legacy” and “Delver’s insight”. Still, It’s always good to have some confirmation on things. I suspected they were just more residual quirks. I would have to keep an eye on them and check if they stick around the next time I die.

Oof, The next time I die? That was getting normalized way too fast. I was going to have to keep my survival instincts if I was planning to accomplish anything in this place. I resolved to die as little as possible. Top of the Priority list In fact. It was Still a weird thought but hopefully a more productive one.

As the world started to settle around me I began my respawn warmup silently thanking that random yellow slime for the idea. I Started by trying out a few test swears, nothing too vile, just some general condemnation of the universe and it’s mother. I got a “gub-gub” noise for my trouble. Next I flexed my little toadie toes and stretched out each of my limbs to get a feel for this body. If I had to guess I was pretty big for a toad, which basically just means you might’ve had trouble picking me up with only one hand. It was still odd feeling but not nearly as utterly Foreign as being a slime. My eyes worked like eyes again for the most part. Maybe the colours were a little washed out and a wider field of view then a human but blinking was a treat. Smells of damp and faint rot swirled in my nose but it wasn’t overwhelming. So far so good for toad me.

With that done I turn my attention to my surroundings.

This time the text of the spawn point hung in front of a Gnarled tree hanging with sickly brown-green moss. A core of crystal visible through a hollow in its trunk. I was standing on the bed of snarled roots that rung the trees base.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

[ Mob Spawn Point ]

[ Monster Types: Bog Pests]

[ Set as respawn location yes/no ?]

I hit [yes] and got the same error I’d gotten from the slime spawn. More data points, yay.

I was used to cave, cavern, and tunnel dungeons but here I saw open sky filled with a gray and swirling overcast more like smoke than clouds. I’d heard open air dungeons were a thing but it was my first time seeing one. I couldn’t make out any kind of sun but there was a diffuse light that seemed to come from the entire sky casting weak shadows on the ground. The air was still and cool.

As the spawn point had hinted it was a bog, rocky outcroppings, stagnant pools, the occasional twisted tree, and moss covering the mushy looking ground. Actually moss and vines clung to just about everything.

I noticed a fat horse fly buzzing close and wondered… Fast as a blink my tongue lashed out and snactched it from the air. A split second later I was crunching down on the Morsel. Now, you might expect me to be disgusted by this but I was more surprised by the instant reaction than anything. As an adventurer I was already used to snacking weird dungeon critters when needed. Delves can run long, rations can be lost, or get spoiled, all common problems. This was far from the first big bug I’d eaten. Honestly it wasn’t the worst I’ve had, kinda tangy.

Thinking it over as I chewed I suspected I may have just triggered my [Sticky Maw] perk. I peaked at my status and it was the same as a moment ago except now my [Mp] was down by one. Did monster perks work some like an adventurer's skills? Was [Mp] mana or at least like mana? If so I wished I had gotten a handy status as an adventurer too. It would have saved so much time on guild grade evaluations and skill Certification. Just being able to check mana levels numerically instead of having to do it by feel would have been amazing. Mages would trade their best pointy hat for that, well maybe not their hat but definitely a finger or two at least.

This! This was exciting. I might have tools again. [Mighty leap] seemed Self-explanatory being a toad and all but [Prickly Demeanour] was the most Intriguing of the new options. I had a thought, or a hope really of what it might mean. I’ve had a lot of spikes shot at me by monsters, that type could always dish out the hurt. If I could do something like that I could really be in the monster slaying business again. Range and surprise were a little guy's best friend. You better believe I was packing a crossbow as a rogue. I waited to see if my [Mp] would tick back to full and I was pleased that it did after a minute or so. While that was happening I considered how to test my new theories. I could feel kinda pointy nubs on my back which seemed the best place to start. I focused on them and used the same kind of mental effort I would have used to call on a mana skill and gub-gubbed “PRICKLY DEMEANOUR!“ out loud for good measure.

My whole body stiffened as the nubs on my back extended into spines. I was frozen like that for several moments before they retracted and I could move again. Damn. I was half right. Extending spines not launching spikes. Oh wait, tread toad… a toad you tread on. I was a hopping, gubbing, caltrop.

“Well that’s just great.” I snorted. Which of came out as a single remarkably Sarcastic “Gub”.

I checked my [Mp] and had dropped to zero, so the spines seemed to be my show stopper move.

I was thinking about how else I could poke at things when the Crystal in the tree began to glow. The now familiar summoning circle started to form soon after. I realised I may have been an idiot to stay hanging around the spawning zone to muse on my toad life. Just cause my fellow slimes had been Cordle didn’t mean whatever was popping up would be the same. Also that [Delicious] drawback suddenly got a lot more worrying. I did not want to share the same fate as the fly I’d snacked on. Nope nope nope. Not getting eaten jumped to the top of my priorities list. Yes, above just regular dying. I made a break for cover wishing I had the juice to give [mighty leap] a try.

After getting some distance I turned to check the spawn point to gauge how much time I had, it wasn’t much. Something was already rising from the circle. Quickly Glancing around looking for a place to hide, I noticed how well I blended in with the moss of the bog. Of course! I shimmied my toad butt to work a divot into the soft Mulchie earth and went still. With my quick and dirty stealth mode engaged I watched my fellow bog dweller arrive.

My completely Rational retreat may not have been totally Necessary. The new monster was a big round dopey looking beetle which I recognized. It was a gunk-slinger beetle. Hell yeah, I could take a gunk-slinger beetle. It was time to plan cold blooded invertebrate murder.