"Quest complete? Really, after all I went through, all I had to do was look at menus!?"
Stephen could feel his blood boil at how asinine it all was. He glared at the message as it hung in the air. With a thought, he dismissed it, but soon, a new message appeared, hovering before his face. He was starting to hate these pop-ups; every new notification was a reminder of what he had lost. Just a few short hours ago, he was going to bed with his wife, and now, he was huddled next to a rock, hiding from God knows what. His vision refocused on the message window.
Level up! Please assign a level to a job of your choice!
"Okay, so that's like a typical roleplaying game. Gain experience, level up. Seems standard enough."
He opened his status screen to view his jobs. He had only two at this time: Barbarian and the weird one, Glitched. He focused on Barbarian first, and soon the information panel for his jobs opened up.
Barbarian, Level 1
* Description: Barbarians are frontline fighters, able to battle through hordes of enemies. They boast high attack and endurance stats.
* Leveling Up:
* Gain +2 Strength and +2 Endurance upon leveling up.
* Gain Skill "Rage" at Level 3.
* Gain Skill "Furious Roar" at Level 5.
* Gain Skill "Endless Rage" at Level 7.
Pretty straightforward, Stephen thought. The job was all about sustainability and raw strength, just as he expected from something called Barbarian. The fire crackled in front of him, and he could have sworn he saw a shadow move. No, it was just his imagination, right? He shook his head and refocused on the task at hand.
"Now, to the weird one," he muttered, his gaze shifting back to the jobs screen. He focused on the Glitch job, expecting the same kind of screen as Barbarian. Instead, he was greeted with a mess of text.
G&l%i*tch, L#v@el 2!@ W#!h@at th3e f#ck! y%ou s^ho&uld n!ot h^ave t!hiis i&s im^pos^sib#le! W&ell, n*ot imp^oss#ib!le b#ut th3e o!dds a^re c^he!ks no@tes 1 i^n 8.2 b$ill!ion! G^ai^n S$k^ill R^ef!ormat a&t L@ev!el 3* G!a%in S$kil^l N0-C#l@ip a*t L#ev&el 5! Gai^n S#kil@l Pu^rge @t L!eve^l 7#
"What the hell does any of that mean!?"
He shouted at the floating window and took a massive bite from the Predator meat he was cooking. It tasted like... chicken? Or something chicken-adjacent. Maybe jerky. He mulled over the flavor before turning his attention back to the window. His eyes scanned the text, but he quickly gave up and dismissed the window with a sigh. Whatever it was, he concluded that if the system was obscuring it, then it wasn't safe. With that in mind, he resolved to apply his level to Barbarian. He looked back at the job screen and applied the level.
Glitched Leveled up! Glitched now level 3! New Skill acquired: Parse! Character level now 4, Luck +4
His eyes widened at the message. That can't be right—he knew he applied the point to Barbarian. He opened his status screen.
Player: Stephen Jacobs
Health Points (HP): 100
Magic Points (MP): 15
Character Level: 3
Job(s):
* Barbarian (Level 1)
* Glitched (Level 3)
Attributes:
* Strength: 32
* Dexterity: 26
* Endurance: 38
* Intelligence: 44
* Wisdom: 34
* Luck: 21
Skills:
* Melee Proficiency (Level 1)
* Brutal Strike (Level 1)
* Glitch (Level 2)
* Overcome (Level 1)
* Adrenaline (Level 1)
* Shadow Stalk (Level 1)
* Parse (Level 1)
Titles:
* Glitched
"Well, fuck me," he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing at the cursed job called Glitched. Just his luck—he was stuck with a job he didn't want, and it seemed like he couldn't level the job he actually chose. He spat on the ground in frustration, his eyes catching something in the shadows again. This time, he was certain he saw something. His hand slid towards his axe lying against the rock next to him, feeling the wood of the haft beneath his fingertips. The air was still, and all Stephen could hear was his heartbeat pounding in his ears and the slow-moving stream behind him. Then, a twig snapped. Stephen’s eyes snapped to his right. A deer—well, a creature like a deer—froze. It had a rack of massive horns and crocodile scales covering its body. Slowly, the creature leaned down and began to eat some grass by the stream. It was beautiful, even if it was oddly strange-looking. The way it slowly ate and drank, it seemed to know Stephen was there but didn’t seem to care, as long as he stayed by that rock.
Stephen nestled back down against the rock and watched the strange creature. He opened his status screen again, glaring at the new level in Glitched, then looked down at the new skill, Reformat.
Skill Name: Parse
* Ability: Read and understand any language or script. Useable only with written communication. Target the script in question to begin the Parsing process.
* Casting Time: 2 hours
Casting time? This was something new. As for the ability, this was an interesting one. Allowing him to read any language, maybe he could use this to read magic scrolls. He knew that in Dungeons and Dragons back in the day there was a "use magical device", allowing the person to use scrolls even if they were untrained. But if the ability took two hours to cast, then he couldn't use it in combat. Maybe he could target himself? He thought for a second, then realized he didn’t even know how to target something. As far as he was aware, all he had to do was swing his axe at things. Now there’s targeting? Stephen looked back at the deer-crocodile hybrid as it lay down next to the stream.
Scalebuck - Level 2
* HP: ??
Wait, what? Stephen thought to himself. Is this targeting? He looked away from the Scalebuck and then back at it; the name, level, and HP slowly came back into view. So if I focus on something, I can target it. Stephen made a mental note of that, but why was the HP only displayed as question marks?
Hunting level too low. Kill more Scalebuck to unlock additional information.
"Hunting level... Oh, I’ve seen this in games before. It’s a mechanic where the player needs to grind a specific creature to fill a bestiary."
He leaned back against the rock and let out a sigh. There was a lot to this 'game,' and if he was to get his life back, he needed to learn fast. The fire crackled before him. He leaned up and stared at the night sky. The stars were different but still beautiful; they twinkled and sparkled like a silk sheet encrusted with diamonds. His vision drifted slowly, stopping at a strange sight—two moons. One looked like the normal moon he was used to, but the other was a light purple. It was smaller than the main white moon, but something about it made him smile. It was almost as if Abigail was watching him. He felt that tightness in his chest again, gulping back the emotion. He looked away, focusing on the Scalebuck. It was majestic in a strange way, its scales glistening under the moonlight. Suddenly, the silence was broken by what could only be described as a large croaking sound. The Scalebuck's head shot up as it looked toward the water. A massive figure shot from the darkness and smacked the Scalebuck, adhering to the deer-like creature.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
In an instant, the Scalebuck was hoisted from the ground and pulled toward the stream. All Stephen heard was a meek squeal before a loud CRUNCH. Shakily, Stephen moved his gaze along the path the Scalebuck had traveled. What he saw next caused him to freeze. A large, fat frog sat in the stream, the Scalebuck’s legs protruding from its mouth, still twitching. With a slurp and gulp, the frog swallowed. One leg, two legs, gone.
Frogling King - Level ??
* HP: ???
A cold sweat broke out across Stephen’s body. His gaze locked on the Frogling King.
"Well, you don’t see that every day," he barely managed to whisper before the large green frog with massive tusks slowly turned in his direction. It let out a loud croak that rumbled Stephen's chest like a booming bass from a massive speaker.
You have been stunned for 3 seconds.
Stephen couldn’t move. The frog opened its large mouth, its tongue squirming inside. Then, with a flash of reddish-pink, it lunged toward Stephen. Just as it was about to make contact, Stephen regained control of his muscles and dove to the left. The large tongue smashed into the boulder he had been sitting on.
New Quest - Boss Encounter
* Quest Objective: Defeat the Frogling King.
With a split-second thought, he dismissed the window, just in time to dodge another of the 'Boss' attacks. Scrambling to his feet, he darted for his axe lying on the ground next to the now-cracked boulder. He managed to whirl to the right as he ran, kicking up the axe, catching it, and chopping at the massive sticky appendage. Blood spewed from the wound, and the Frogling King croaked out a pained roar. Stephen whipped around the boulder to catch his breath. How was he going to get out of this? He was only level 4—he hadn't expected to encounter a creature like this only one day into his journey. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the axe. He could feel the grain of the wood digging into his palm.
Skill Activated - Shadow Stalk
In an instant, his body vanished as he made his way around the boulder. Maybe he could run? He thought to himself. No, if this was a boss, it definitely would have a way to track him. His heart pounded as he looked at the massive frog-like creature. It was dark mottled green, with black running down its back. It had massive tusks and large orange and yellow eyes. It looked like something from a sci-fi movie Stephen remembered from his youth. He half-expected to see a sultry space princess in a gold bikini chained at its side. The muscular frog slowly turned and looked directly at Stephen. It let out a loud croak, and its damaged tongue lashed out, splashing next to him. Could it not see him? Maybe it somehow knew his location but not his exact position? Another tongue lashing slammed into the ground, sending dust and debris into the air. This was his chance. He moved closer, crouched, axe at the ready. With a single thought, he materialized the second axe from his inventory and began to run toward the frog. It let out another loud croak. Stephen could see an invisible depression in the water traveling toward him, like a sphere displacing the stream. He dodged to the left with a splash. This was how it stunned him earlier—the croak was an attack. But before he could make sense of this new knowledge, a tongue crashed into him. The pain was unbearable, almost knocking the wind from his lungs, but that wasn’t the worst part. He was now being sucked toward the waiting maw of the frog at lightning speed. He didn’t have time to think—he swung an arm in a chopping motion as hard as he could.
Skill Activated - Brutal Strike
The tongue flew up into the air, a loud, deafening croak filling the area. Blood and ichor sprayed everywhere, coating Stephen.
Skill Deactivated - Shadow Stalk
Monster Part Broken - Frogling King Tongue added to inventory
A message appeared, but Stephen quickly dismissed it. He had severed its tongue—that was one way to end its attack. Stephen staggered to his feet, both axes at the ready. Shadow Stalk deactivated—must be because he was covered in the creature’s juices. That made sense, he thought. The Frogling King glared at Stephen. Its body began to vibrate, and soon, many smaller croaks could be heard all around.
"Great, it can summon friends," he muttered through gritted teeth. He soon saw four pairs of eyes rise from the stream around the large creature.
Skill Activated - Overcome
The pain in his body began to subside. He thought this skill only triggered when he wasn’t engaged. Maybe he misunderstood what 'engaged' meant—maybe it meant while he wasn’t attacking. Good to know. Just as the thought passed his mind, his body moved on its own as four new sets of tongues lashed out at him. He stepped to the left, a splash of water striking his face. He then jumped back to avoid another splash. His body was moving on its own—was this his increased Dexterity, increasing his chances to avoid attacks? Could this 'game' control his movements like this? New questions bubbled up in his mind, but before he could process them, a cold slap hit the right side of his face, snapping him back to reality.
Skill Deactivated - Overcome
The hit shocked him—it stung. He expected to be pulled toward the attacker, but instead, he watched the tongue retreat back to the smaller frog.
"Well, I see now, those are basic attacks."
He dashed forward, weapons flailing. The large frog jumped skyward, and the smaller Froglings continued their assault. Stephen hacked and slashed at the malleable flesh of the summoned frogs. He looked up just in time to see the massive belly of the Frogling King rapidly descending toward him. He barely managed to dodge out from under it. When the large frog landed, he took a swing, crashing the head of the axe into the Boss’s leg.
Skill Activated - Brutal Strike
The Frogling King bellowed in pain. Stephen then cleaved the head of a summoned frog. He moved, dodging tongues, jumping out of the way of the Boss’s smash attacks, and cleaving at it and its minions when he could. His chest burned. His lungs ached. He dodged as best he could, but his movements began to slow. He was beginning to take hits.
Passive Skill Activated - Adrenaline
The Adrenaline skill was doing what it could to withstand the blows, but his body ached. He knew his HP had to be low—if only he could see that while fighting. Managing to kill the final summoned frog, he turned toward the Frogling King. It was not looking so good—its body was covered in gashes, and blood seeped into the stream. It began to shake violently, just as it had before. Oh no, it’s summoning again, Stephen thought. He lunged forward, bringing his axes down on the Frogling King’s belly. It bellowed out a loud roar as its flesh caved in. Two massive gashes slid down its belly, releasing a flood of blood over Stephen. He pushed harder, ripping his axes free from the Frogling King’s body.
Skill Activated - Brutal Strike
When his axes finally tore free, the Frogling King fell backward with a large splash. The stream turned blood red from the wounds on the hulking creature. Its belly looked deflated as intestines and other gore seeped out of the fresh gashes.
Congratulations! Quest Complete: Boss Encounter. You have defeated the Frogling King! Reward: 500 Exp, 25gp, Talisman of the Frog King.
Barbarian now level 2, Strength +2, Endurance +2.
Adrenaline now level 2, damage reduction now 13%.
Melee Proficiency now level 2, 1.5% Strength applied to attacks.
Melee Proficiency now level 3, 2% Strength applied to attacks.
Melee Proficiency now level 4, 3.5% Strength applied to attacks.
Activate Skill - Glitch Yes or No.
Skill Activated - Overcome.
Would you like to Loot the Frogling King?
Would you like to loot the Frogling?
Would you like to loot the Frogling?
Would you like to loot the Frogling?
Would you like to loot the Frogling?
Frogling Hunter level increased. You can now see the HP of targeted Froglings.
Frogling King Hunter level increased. You can now see the HP of targeted Frogling Kings.
Title Gained! King Slayer! Strength +4.
Title Gained! Defier of Odds! Luck +4.
A flood of screens seemed to slam Stephen in the face, flying and vanishing quickly, one after the other, too fast for him to really make sense of what was happening. The sheer number of screens was disorienting, causing him to blink rapidly and stagger backward, falling into the stream with a splash.