THIS ISN’T WORKING! I can’t find any level 5 ingredients. I can’t even find level 2 ingredients!

I’ve spent the last few hours in game searching through the fields, and all I could find was some root willow. My first few attempts at harvesting them were unsuccessful. I found that the trick was not to rip them out of the ground, but rather cut the ground around the root, and then take it out whole. No damage, perfect ingredient. Well, perfect for a level 1 ingredient.

I managed to harvest 10 root willows before the supply ran dry. I couldn’t find any more. I suspected it might have something to do with a limit on how many things can be harvested by a single player.

The ground under my feet began to change from a grassy field into a wet marsh. I look up and notice I have gone far from the city. I’ve probably gone an hour out. That’s not a huge problem, Terrane: Online has a teleport system, where you can teleport back to a nearby city you have already visited. This system turns of in combat to avoid abuse though.

As I attempt to walk into the marshland, a message appears,

Warning, you are attempting to enter a level 5 zone. Are you sure you want to enter Y/N?

I open my menu and look at my character. I was a level 1 rookie. I assume that rookie is the class that everyone starts with. Either that or I have made a mistake somewhere. But what to do here. This is a level 5 zone, so there are probably level 5 ingredients here. Well, since I haven’t found any yet, I might as well look around right?

Yes.

The message fades away as I enter the swamp.

Immediately after entering, the ground beneath my feet changes. Before it was wet marsh, now it was a full swamp. I felt my boots getting stuck in mud and I had to yank them out one at a time for each step. With every step I took, the mud made a squelching sound. The light was noticeably darker here, with clouds blocking off the sun.

This swamp was east of Rhodrik, and there was a noticeable absence of players. As I trudged through the swamp, the resistance I faced from the ground was progressively becoming worse.

‘Maybe it was because I was low level?’ I thought to myself, but either way I had a job to do.

Traveling deeper into the swamp, I started to become weary at the absence of monsters. A short distance ahead of me, I spot a patch of mushrooms growing from a mound of mud. These mushrooms were a dark brown and varied in size. I was about to approach the mushroom patch, when a splashing sound attracted my attention. In the swamp, a small deer appeared stuck in the mud. The deer was barely up to my waist. Near the deer, a giant stag stood, seemingly distressed over the stuck fawn. Before I could even consider helping, the mound of mushrooms rose from the ground. A pink object seemed to shoot out of the mound towards the fawn. As the object hit the fawn, I could clearly see what it was. A tongue. The tongue stuck to the fawn as it yelped in panic. The tongue retracted with lightning speed back towards the mound, as a huge from rose from the mud.

The frog must’ve been 10 feet tall, as it swallowed the fawn in one go. The giant horned stag, likely the fawn’s parent, was very distressed. For a moment, it appeared like the stag would charge the frog. Instead, the stag retreated into the reeds, out of my sight.

The frog—happy with its meal, begins to hop away—either not noticing me, or no longer hungry. On its back, the mushrooms grew. For a moment I was still. I had almost approached the giant frog and tried to pick mushrooms off its back. I almost died.

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“Haaa” I sighed in relief

The frog appeared to be strong, so the mushrooms were probably strong as well. I had to have those mushrooms. But how to get them without… well… dying.

I looked off in the direction the frog left in. The large frog prints in the mud were also a pretty clear indication of where it went. I decided to follow it for now, maybe an opportunity would arise to grab one.

As I followed the tracks, the usual cover-plenty swampland died away to a muddy field. All over this field, were giant frogs. There must have been thirty of them hopping around.

‘This must be a spawning area for giant frogs’ I think

As I examine the field, I move into a stack of reeds in an attempt to hide myself. Each of the frogs in this field had mushrooms growing on their back. I considered how to get one. I would have to be close, I don’t have any way to remove one from far away. I would also need to be able to escape, which would be extremely hard if thirty frogs were all shooting their tongues at me. The best way to do this was probably to lure one of the frogs away from the others, then take a mushroom and escape. But still, how would I get the mushroom without getting eaten. An idea popped into my head. Not a great idea. But an idea. I had a plan, it would be risky, but it just might work.

I pull out one of my daggers from my inventory and hold it in a throwing position. Phase one was a simpler job, I just had to pull a frog away from the others. I pulled back my arm and released it. The dagger flew towards one of giant frogs, before harmlessly splashing in the mud at its feet. The frog looked at the mud. Then it looked at me. It took a hop towards me.

I started to run.

With the frog hopping after me, I just had to get far enough away that the other frogs couldn’t interfere. I hear something in the wind, and instinctively duck. A large pink mass passes over my head and hits a nearby tree. I keep running. The frog takes a moment to get its tongue off the tree before continuing hopping after me.

Phase two. I had to climb a tree. I needed to have an elevated potion for this plan to work. The frog was probably only twenty metres away now and gaining fast. I look for a tree to climb. Luckily, a nearby tree has branches low enough for me to reach. As I grab onto the lowest branch, the force required for me to both lift my weight up, as well as get my feet out of the mud was much more than I expected. In a feat of strength, I was able to pull my feet out of the mud and onto the tree.

Like a monkey, I quickly scramble up the tree. I manage to reach the top of the tree without the frog even attempting to hit me with its tongue again. Probably because of the branches in the way.

By the time I stop climbing, I’m about 15 feet above ground. So only 5 feet above the frog. The frog reaches the base of the tree and looks up at me. Its lifeless black eyes full of hunger. This is the most important part of the plan, either I succeed or die. I pull out the item I need and uncap it.

As the frog’s mouth starts to open, I can see its tongue begin to react. With quick reflexes, I drop the vial I’m holding down the frog’s throat. After the vial enters its throat, the frog closes its mouth. It had never been fed anything before? The frog was about to use its tongue to grab its prey, when a strange feeling started in its stomach. At first the frog ignored it, the meal was more important, but quickly it started to lose its focus, as its stomach began to painfully contract.

I watched as the frog began to twitch in strange ways.

‘I know the feeling’ I think with as much empathy as one can for something trying to kill you

The frog started to hop away from its prey, maybe it had tried to bite off more than it could chew. Soon, the contractions became to powerful to resist anymore, and it collapsed on the ground.

“That was surprisingly effective” I say to myself as I climb down the tree. When I had a sample of the poison, sure it was painful, but I didn’t collapse or anything. Maybe it was because it had the entire vial. Although that poison was only level 1, maybe poison was really strong because of how difficult it was to use?

Either way, enough thinking. I approach the collapsed frog, not really in the mood to be surprised if the frog wasn’t as incapacitated as it seemed. I pulled out a dagger—after the one I threw earlier, I only had 4 left—and began to cut away at one of the mushrooms. There was no blood from this, but I did manage to remove 3 large mushrooms.

Obtained 3 ‘Spore Frog Mushrooms’. Level 5 ingredient.

YES! I think, as the first step towards my class was completed. I decide to leave the swamp for now. The muddy ground was annoying to trek through, and I hated getting dirty.

Although this trip was eventful, it appeared my day was not done. As I approached the exit from this swamp, life once again seemed to get in the way.