Leaning slightly out of the tunnel, Ethan raised a hand and sent a gout of barely concentrated flames toward the mystic toad. It didn’t reach as far as he wanted, but he hoped it would scare the beast away, or at least make it take a step back. Enough to give him time to make a run for it, but all it did was make the toad squint its large eyes.

It refused to budge. Which meant Ethan would either need to spend a lot more time working on his skill to make it project the flames further, or he would have to come out.

Damn.

He didn’t want to test his Toughness against that laser-thing. He didn’t even know if that was all the toad was capable of. But he was running out of options. His stomach ached. His throat was parched. He didn’t think he was about to keel over, but he couldn’t wait this out.

Shit.

He had to come out. Would it even be afraid of the flames if he sprayed them point-blank?

Ethan eyed the toad and grit his teeth. He wished his flames were strong enough to melt the damn thing away. In fact, if he somehow managed to get on its back, he’d cook its brain in seconds. Then the levels and fragments he’d get out of its carcass would make it so situations like these happened less.

He had to get stronger. Enough to break through anything that tried to hinder him. He'd had enough of that in his past life, and he wasn’t willing to take any more of that now that literal magic and aliens were a thing.

No more.

The air rippled around him, and Ethan stilled for a second before he looked behind him. Again, there was nothing.

What is even happening?

Ethan stared at the empty air behind him for a couple more seconds, then shook his head. “Focus,” he mumbled to himself as he turned his glare back at the toad.

Fourteen levels and a potential evolution. Against lengthened claws and a bunch of fire.

His heartbeat echoed in his ears. His muscles felt taut as a haphazard plan began taking form in his mind.

If you want an edge over the competition, you better be ready to take some risks.

Ethan slowly exhaled. He rolled his shoulder and played through the scenario in his mind. That usually helped calm him down.

First, he had to dodge the first ray. It all hinged on that. After which he’ll need to close the distance and burn the damn thing to a crisp. Like everything else that tried or will try to stop him.

The air shuddered once more, and Ethan realized he wasn’t being stalked. But something was happening. Something linked to his thought process. He was sure it was important to understand and investigate, but not right now. Right now he had a fight to get through, and he was on the clock. Might and Toughness might be helping him with the thirst and hunger, but that won’t last for long.

Ethan slapped his face a couple of times. He stretched his legs and did a couple of hops, breathing deep. Then he summoned his claws once more.

Don’t overthink it.

Ethan bent his knees, took one more deep breath, and the world stilled. The only thing he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears.

Then he exploded forward.

Ethan jumped over the bush and sprinted right and around the toad, which instantly reacted by shooting its purple beam at him. The glowing light flew at where Ethan had been and hit the stone wall.

Ethan only felt an electrifying sensation from behind him, but he didn’t stop.

He had no clue how long before the toad could shoot again, so he began closing in, but the toad wasn’t having it. It squeaked, and its purple-tipped tongue shot out. It barely missed him, tearing a large chunk of the mushroom-tree’s stem.

Now!

Legs still pumping, Ethan rushed at the tongue, eyes peeled for another beam. The flames around his right arm roared as he swung down, and in an instant, the claws surged as [Extended Enhancement] activated.

Ten-inch-long flaming claws fell on the wet tongue like a hot, sharp knife. Blood, smoke, and steam surged around the deep groove he carved into the toad’s tongue, and it squealed. For a fraction of a second, Ethan felt a pang of hunger.

It smelled like seared steak.

The toad retracted its bleeding, smoking tongue. Ethan didn’t fully sever the damn thing like he’d hoped, but he’d cut at least halfway through it, while the burn damage might make the tongue unusable.

Ethan didn’t waste time, rushing the toad as he pulled back on his flames. The claws were back to their usual length as Ethan approached his target, but before he could jump on it, its head snapped toward him and he had barely enough time to see a purple light.

Ethan let himself drop, feet skidding, but the laser caught his left arm as he’d involuntarily raised it as he fell. A searing pain cut into his flesh, and Ethan screamed as his feet glided against the soft soil, uprooting quite a few tiny mushrooms. He started to pull himself up, eyes watering with the pain, but he couldn’t afford to look at his arm right now. He had to watch his opponent. He knew his arm was still there, which was both a source of relief and of incredible pain. He could feel the air against raw skin, but at least he still had it.

Toughness saved his bacon, once again.

Ethan got to his feet, expecting another laser or tongue shot, but the toad did something he hadn’t expected. It hopped forward, mouth wide open, ready to snap down on him. Ethan scrambled back, cursing, and shot a gout of flame into its open maw.

The frog screamed and shot its tongue out once more, but Ethan had already moved. He only stopped when was right next to the monster. He tasted blood, but still grinned as he panted for breath. His left hand was still killing him, but his right hand was ready.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The claws extended once more, swallowing a large portion of his available mana, and Ethan hopped, shoving his clawed hand into the toad’s right eye, and dumped all of his regenerating mana into summoning as much fire as he could possibly manage.

The toad recoiled violently away from him, but Ethan was up to his elbow in its eye socket. It tried to shake him off as the flow of pressurized flames filled its eye sockets and head, but Ethan would not let go. He even used his incredibly pained left arm to latch on harder to the monster. A few seconds went by, and there was a hissing sound. A final weak squeak escaped from the toad, then a popping sound followed by the flames freely flowing out of the monster’s other eye.

Ethan kept the fire pumping even when he saw the notification come in, then he let himself fall against the dead monster.

His chest rose and fell, and even though his left arm was screaming with pain, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Ethan had never felt this alive.

You have defeated [Mystic Toad - Level 32]

You have reached Level 19. 1 stat point awarded.

…

You have reached Level 21. 1 stat point awarded.

Congratulations. Side quest completed.

1 trait token.

1 tier-1 spell token.

5 stat points awarded.

Congratulations. Hidden quest: completed.

10 stat points awarded.

Ethan frowned as he laid panting against the smoking carcass.

Hidden quests? How many of those are there?

He smiled. Another interesting mechanic that could give him an edge. He’d need to start thinking about what other achievements might be hidden behind a secret side quest. It was an interesting subject to explore, but he had a few more notifications to get through.

Ethan lifted his left arm and examined it. It was beet-red and swollen, as if it had been scalded. In a few areas, the skin had peeled off, but it wasn’t bleeding.

Jeez.

He could still move his fingers, at least. But it was incredibly painful.

Would be nice if the spell-token had a healing spell.

Ethan believed [Enduring Brawler] could manage this level of injuries. Stab wounds healed in mere hours, so this should also be possible to recover from.

Seeing his new levels, he couldn’t help but grin. The regular side quest rewards would also be fun to get through. He was about to get a new spell and new trait, and considering the traits he’d been shown before, he had high hopes for this round.

Actually, I wonder if traits are upgradeable. How about spells? That’s bound to be a hidden quest if it’s possible. Now, what’s the new side quest…

New side quests unlocked.

Side quest:

Reach level 30 and [hidden]

Reward:

[hidden]

[hidden]

10 stat points.

Ethan frowned at the air in front of him.

Hidden? Huh. Maybe it’ll show up eventually. I wonder if it has to do with the number next to the mystic toad’s name. Like, some upgrade of sorts? I guess we’ll see. Still, that’s a nice list of rewards. The 10 points reward alone is pretty attractive.

Ethan considered picking up his spell, but it might be better to collect the fragments before anything dangerous showed up. He began moving—then paused. What if he had a trait available that could affect his haul?

Nah. Something might show up at any moment. Not worth the risk. Not when I’m already injured.

With his clawed hand, he leaned over the purple toad—

Lesser Wand of the Fire Elemental: 41 fragments collected.

Ethan paused. “Wait, what?”

He looked at the toad, then at its extended tongue. The tip still had that different-colored sheen like the previous toad he’d fought, so he made his way to the tip of the monster’s tongue and touched it with a claw.

Lesser Wand of the Fire Elemental: 23 fragments collected.

Ethan looked at the tongue, then at the toad, then back at the tongue. “What’s happening?”

Why did he get fragments twice? Did it have two wands?

Ethan’s stomach gurgled, cutting him off, so he filed the question for later.

What should he do? Head up to the camp and trade for some food? Maybe someone would know about hidden quests as well. He could get some information, and once he assigned his—dear god—18 stat points, he should be pretty damn safe from any other participant. At least most of them.

Ethan glanced around at the forest, then down at the dead toad. The tongue had smelled good.

He stared at the carcass for another second, then shook his head.

Regular small toads were toxic. He was almost sure of that. It would be too risky to try this one’s meat, even if his Toughness might protect him from the toxin. It just wasn’t worth the risk. But that didn’t mean he should trudge back to the camp.

He just had to find something nearby.

Ethan nodded to himself. He’d give it an hour or two before going back, to find some water and something to eat. But first, he headed back to the safety of the tunnel and sat down right past the entrance with a wide grin on his face.

He had some gifts to unwrap, and some stat points to assign. And no painful arms or gnawing stomachs were going to prevent him from enjoying the fruits of his labor.

An image of a platter full of peeled and cut fruits popped into his mind, and Ethan groaned. “Maybe I shouldn’t think of fruits.”