Inside the frog’s stomach subspace, the students had begun moving as well. Everybody knew what being nauseous felt like. All sorts of stuff could trigger it—motion sickness, eating too much, eating too little, eating the wrong thing… basically anything out of the ordinary.

In short: if what they saw now was the frog’s stomach as “normal”, then they needed to do anything in their power to remove it from its normal state. Their combined strength wasn't enough to rock the whole landscape, but it was enough to mess with it.

The group stuck close together so they wouldn't go off the safe path. They collected branches, rocks, and logs that weren't too deeply lodged in the mud.

“…This feels dumb,” Woojin complained, even though he was willingly helping out.

“We’ve got no other ideas, Woojin,” Soobin replied, focused on her own growing armful of debris. “Is everybody ready?”

There were murmurs and nods throughout the other students. Each was laden with as much as they could carry. Suho had a log over each shoulder, the others keeping a wide berth so they didn't get whacked by them when he moved.

“Follow me.”

Soobin seemed to have some sort of tracking skill that kept them on dry land. She lead the way up a volcanic hill of black gravel and sand. At the peak was a small hole in the rock that bubbled with hot water.

The ground started to rumble. She turned to another female cadet next to her.

“Hyejin.”

“Got it.”

A magic barrier formed between them and the geyser as it exploded, venting steam and sulfur out the top. It spewed for a few seconds, releasing the pent up pressure, then died down.

Hyejin deactivated the barrier. Soobin stepped forward and dumped everything in her arms down into the hole.

“Alright everyone. Unload.”

They jammed the vent with as much debris as possible, like they were packing trash. The nail in the coffin was when a tall male cadet stepped up.

“Beomseok, if you could,” Soobin said.

He nodded and raised his hand.

“Earth Molding.”

The ground shifted, melting between the debris, sealing up everything. At the same time, the rumbling signaling that the geysers were about to vent started as well.

“Everybody back!” Soobin shouted.

They followed her down the hill. And as they stood back, the geysers around them started blowing, one by one. The one they had plugged seemed to be straining against the blockage, but…

It didn't explode. Instead, the pressure redirected to the others surrounding it, the steam and water coming from them spewing higher than before.

They died down. Soobin glanced back at Suho.

A grin crossed her face.

“Again?” she suggested.

They didn't know how long these plugs could hold, and they didn't know how many it would take to make real change in the landscape. But maybe they had a shot after all.

“Again,” Suho agreed.

⊕

“If Yuna’s in, then there’s something I want to try,” Kitae said.

He opened the exam store window on his watch and flicked through it, filtering for the cheapest items. Yuna raised an eyebrow.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked. “I can stuff that monster full of ice, as long as my magic power doesn't run out.”

“That’s not it,” he replied, “there’s something more efficient you can do.”

He stopped on one page of items and pointed.

“Look,” he said, “stone ovens. They're the cheapest, largest, heaviest thing in the store. We’ll fill the frog up with random shit like this, and you’ll be the delivery system. This way you’ll use less magic power, and the frog will get fuller faster.”

Sunghyun opened the store on his watch and found the stone oven page. They were so bulky and difficult to use that nobody had even bought any. He toggled it to the maximum number allowed.

“There’s only 15 in stock,” he said. “That won't be enough.”

“I’ll search for other things in the store that will work,” Kitae replied. “But you get the plan, right? Once Jihyuk arrives, you take him and whoever else he brings, and you guys grab as much big, bulky, heavy shit that you can find. Yuna will freeze it all together and send it into the frog’s mouth. As many times as it takes.”

Sunghyun nodded. Yuna also didn't raise any objections.

“Got it,” he said.

With the inventory slider still on maximum, Sunghyun hit “purchase”. Instantly, a huge warp circle formed midair beside them. 15 giant stone ovens fell out of it, clumsily piling on top of each other, dust billowing.

“What’s the next thing?” he asked, looking back to Kitae.

There was no reason to hesitate now. Of all people, Sunghyun had plenty of points to spare.

“Picnic tables,” Kitae answered. “5 points each. Max inventory of 20—”

Purchase. 20 picnic tables clattered over the pile.

“Next.”

“Next is—”

Kitae stopped as he spotted a movement between the trees. He looked over to see Jihyuk arriving with several other cadets in tow, a bit away from them.

“Hey!” he shouted. “Here!”

Jihyuk turned towards the voice and spotted them. Finally, they met up.

“Are you Kitae?” he asked. “…And Sunghyun? And Yuna???”

Kitae glanced behind him. There were a total of eleven students who had followed him here—more than he had expected. But he didn't know that the camp had originally around 50 members. This was everyone Jihyuk had managed to convince to come help. Several of them were carrying random, bulky debris like branches and rocks. He must've explained the plan to them already, and they'd grabbed things as they traveled.

“Put everything on the pile,” Kitae said, pointing to the conspicuous pile of supplies Sunghyun had bought. “And gather more. As much as you can. Yuna will deliver it to the target.”

Jihyuk glanced at the frog monster, which was visible in the distance between the trunks of the trees. It was huge, even from this distance.

“Alright. You heard him, everyone.”

They scattered and started hauling anything they could get their hands on. A familiar wind began whistling through the forest. Kitae glanced back at the frog. Its mouth was opening again, another vortex forming.

Yuna raised her hands.

“I’m going to start,” she said.

He nodded.

“Ice Realm.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Frost gathered across the ground, turning into thick, blue ice. It grew up the sides and through the cracks of the pile, sealing it all into one solid mass.

She furrowed her brow. It did use less magic power this way, but that didn't make it easy. She hadn't trained to lift so much weight before with her magic.

“Everybody get back,” she said.

All the students backed away. Yuna clenched her hands into fists, then swung them towards the frog.

“Hup!”

The giant heap of ice flew from the ground, crashing through several trees in its way. It followed the wind, and eventually picked up speed as it cleared the forest.

“What the fuck is that?!” Hyuna shouted as it soared over her head.

Her and the other instructors present were slowly securing the frog in place. The couldn't react before the vortex snagged the huge package and sucked it into the frog’s mouth.

With a gulp, the monster closed its mouth, and the vortex died down. And as everyone watched—

Its stomach bulged further. It was working.

“Again!” Kitae shouted, now having confirmation. “Gather as much as you can! Sunghyun—go to the building supplies section and get foundation blocks.”

The students unfroze and got to work. Jihyuk and his campers piled everything they could get their hands on together. Huge, cement bricks were added as Sunghyun bought all the foundation blocks in the store’s inventory. And then he just went down the list of building supplies.

“Hey!” Hyuna was racing towards them. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Nothing, headmaster,” Sunghyun said, putting on a harmless smile—ready to stall for time.

“The valedictorian title is not going to get you out of this one.”

“We’re a safe distance away.”

“You can’t be here at all.”

“Ice Realm.”

Yuna disregarded her and raised her hands. Ice congealed in the cracks between the items, forming another single mass.

The giant chunk of ice whizzed past Hyuna, on the same track towards the frog. She looked back in time to see it land squarely in its mouth again. Its stomach bloated even more.

“Our friends are stuck inside there,” Sunghyun said, trying to sound a bit pitiful. “We’re going to force that thing to give them back up. Please, headmaster.”

Hyuna’s jaw clenched, both mad at the kids for being irresponsible and mad at the fact that this might be the only way to get her students out. If making the frog overflow worked…

She couldn't be away from it for long. The other teachers were doing what they could to hold it back, but for some reason, it was only interested in capturing her.

“When we get back to campus, you are all going to see me in my office,” she said.

Hyuna turned and headed back towards the frog before they could respond. She couldn't give them explicit permission to do anything. But she decided not to stop them right now either.

The monster roared as she returned. She let an annoyed smile cross her face.

“Happy to see me again, huh?” she said. “Want to catch me that bad? Too bad I cut off all your tongues.”

All it could do was open its mouth and start another vortex. Exactly as she wanted.

“Come on now,” she muttered to herself, feeling the temperature drop behind her as Yuna started her magic again. “Show me what you got.”

⊕

“Catch it, catch it!” Soobin shouted.

Every time the frog sucked in more things, they rained down on the subspace’s landscape. And with the advent of Yuna’s humongous ice packages, the students inside now had a surprisingly easy way to plug up the vents.

A lump of ice filled with random camping supplies and tree trunks landed on a volcanic hill. Suho grunted as he pushed against it, preventing it from rolling down. Two other tank-type students joined him.

“Up, and a little to the right,” Soobin advised, watching their destination.

They followed her directions, rolling the ice block until it settled on top of several geyser holes. The heat from the ground melted the ice, letting the items inside drop down and plug the vents. And then Beomseok, the earth mage, sealed it all together.

A rumble went through the ground. Used to it now, the students backed away. Pressure built up beneath them, seemingly ready to explode. But as they waited…

It passed.

“Yes!”

Soobin pumped a fist in the air. These were the last vents that needed plugging. The frog had actually sucked so much debris in at this point that the entire bog was covered, and there wasn't even much space to move. And as the subspace rocked slightly again—

Another huge chunk of ice descended from the sky, bigger than all the previous. It splashed down in the mud, surrounded by tree trunks and boulders that were already there.

The landscape began to rumble. This time, it felt different. The ground rippled and moved, unable to let out the pressure that had built up below.

“Is this it?” Soobin asked.

None of them could be sure if this was good news of not. They had tried to make this happen, but the result was still unpredictable.

“We have to stay together,” Suho said.

There was so much debris lying around that if everything got ejected from the subspace at once, it would be impossible to find the others if they got separated. And if somebody got pinned under debris and stayed trapped inside, then all of their effort would've been for nothing.

“Vines,” Soobin said, “let’s tie ourselves together.”

Several of the students already had dungeon vines coiled around their waists, just in case somebody fell in the mud and needed to be dragged out. As the rumbling got louder and more pronounced, starting to throw them off balance, they quickly tied themselves to each other. They became a chain of students connected by their wrists, and finally a circle as Soobin tied her wrist to Hyejin’s, completing it.

“Hold hands and don't let go,” she said. “We’re all getting out of this together.”

They gripped onto each other with increased urgency as the sound of the earth underneath them moving grew in intensity. This place was going to blow.

Suho found himself sandwiched between Beomseok and Woojin. Nobody said a word. Some closed their eyes. Some gulped. Some held onto their neighbors’ hands even tighter. Maybe not consciously noticing, Woojin did too.

And then—

The earth exploded.

The ground beneath them heaved upwards and broke into pieces like a bubble had been blown underneath it. The tree trunks and boulders and volcanic gravel were thrown around like they were inside a giant washing machine. The only thing connecting them now was their hands.

A log came flying towards Suho, spinning and ready to take half of them out. He twisted his body and kicked it hard, deflecting it away. The situation wasn't much different for the students around him. Everything was going up, up, and up, and colliding with everything else.

“Hyejin!” Soobin called.

“I’m working on it!”

Slowly, a magic barrier was forming around them. But Hyejin had been working hard this whole time, and she was running on fumes like the rest of them. There were no magic power supplement pills here like Yuna had access to outside. She had to muster up all the strength she didn't know she had.

“Everybody pull!” Soobin shouted. “Get closer!”

The students strained and pulled on each other, forcing their circle to tighten so Hyejin’s barrier didn't have to grow as large. It worked. A magic barrier in the form of a sphere completed around them, blocking out the intrusive debris. But sweat beaded on her brow, and her eyes were shut tight. She couldn't hold this forever.

“How much longer?!” she asked.

Soobin shook her head.

“I don’t know, just hold o—”

—

Suddenly, silence.

—

Suho’s eyes widened. The world had turned pitch black. There was no longer any sight nor sound of the people around him, of the debris flying through the air, or even of the landscape below. It was like they were floating through space. All he had to prove they were still together was the two hands he was holding, and the wind whistling in his ears.

And then a wall of sound crashed into him all at once.

Bang!

They flew out of the frog’s wide open mouth along with everything else it had been storing in its stomach. The debris crashed against their barrier and against other objects, creating a cascade of noise so loud that Suho couldn't hear anything else over it. And as he saw the ground quickly getting closer to them, he pulled his neighbors closer and held on tight.

They went crashing into the dirt. The barrier broke on impact, Hyejin too exhausted to keep it up for any longer. They went rolling across the ground, a ball of disoriented bodies—still tied together.

“Are you alright?!” a teacher shouted as she quickly reached them. “Is everyone here?!”

Suho cracked his eyes open and raised his head. The others were still groaning or out of it. He counted—one, two, three..

Nine. None of them had gotten lost in the chaos.

“We’re all here,” he said.

The relief was visible on the instructor’s face.

“Headmaster!” she shouted, turning back towards Hyuna, who was standing atop the pile of debris the frog had ejected. “They're all safe!”

A twisted smile spread across her face.

“Finally, some good fucking news.”

She raised her wand, pointing it at the now flat-bellied frog.

“I’ve been saving this up just for you,” she said.

Pure magic power gathered at the point of her wand. It glowed so white that Suho had to shield his eyes.

“Open up, motherfucker.”

The frog parted its lips to try and suck her in again. Not half a second later—

“Unstoppable Light.”

Suho was forced to look away. The heat from the spell singed the tips of his arm hairs. A beam of light crashed into the roof of its mouth, burning into it like a laser, cutting through flesh and cartilage and bone until it bore through its skull and all the way out the back of its head. Hyuna held for as long as she could, pouring out all the rest of her magic power and her rage into this one attack.

She was going to keep her promise. This monster would not leave alive. It gargled, stumbled backwards, twitched and stomped, and then, as her spell died out—

It fell into a limp pile on the ground, orange skin going sickly grey.

She finally had a moment to breathe. It was dead. Her students were out. The battle was over.

She looked over her shoulder at the pile of groaning and exhausted kids who had been launched out of the frog’s mouth. A couple other instructors were already helping them get untied from each other and checking their conditions. They looked to her once they noticed the fighting had ended.

“Get them to the hospital,” she said, “and get this place cordoned off. I don't want anyone touching it until I say so.”

Nods of agreement. This was more than just a simple monster intrusion. The frog had been summoned through their portal. This wasn't a fluke or bad luck. Somebody had commandeered it with a purpose.

Hyuna intended to do more than just find out who it was.