—Finally…
He curled up beside a burning rock large enough to cover him completely; his body trembled. The air itself was scorching, filled with an infernal heat that barely let him breathe, and as if that weren't enough, the roars of those titans could still be heard…
He had been lucky—or perhaps disastrously lucky—which, for better or worse, had led him to step onto false ground and discover a hidden entrance to an underground cave. Right in front of him was a lake giving off a faint vapor.
Even so, this might not have been the best possible entrance into a new world, but it was the closest thing to a victory he had experienced since arriving, he thought to himself.
He let himself fall to the ground and released a long sigh. He stayed like that for a moment, then got back up and leaned against the rock again. He closed his eyes. It felt strange; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember certain things clearly. Everything was blurry. The championship, the games, his rivals… even the sound of the keys when he slammed the keyboard, all of it felt distant… almost like a dream.
He couldn't remember clearly. He raised his hand and looked at the dirty, rusted blade of the knife, seeing half of his reflection in it.
Maybe that was it—the price of having this weapon.
—So now I'm the Hero Green Froggy… —he sighed again— From champion to a bad joke…
He crawled toward the lake and drank some water. He felt it slide down his throat, bringing with it a bitter, metallic taste. But he kept drinking. It was water, after all.
[You have consumed water]
"You have gained +0.5 Vitality"
"Current HP: 85.5/100"
For the first time since arriving, he allowed himself to relax, stretching out his legs and placing both hands behind his head. Then he looked around the cave and its contours.
—Alright. Now for the important part.
His smile returned.
—Time to build the ultimate base.
He pulled out his knife and looked at the rock.
—This isn't going to break, right?
There was no response, but he nodded to himself.
He stood up and began mapping the area, deciding where everything would go. Then he started digging.
A notification suddenly appeared.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
"You have pressed your legendary weapon too hard."
[Rusty Knife SSR]
"New trait acquired: tetanus."
—Seriously? System, you really know how to make me feel special —he muttered with irony.
He kept digging without paying it much attention and began humming a tune.
—Tururu, tururu, turu…
And so the hours passed, a stretch of hard labor. The ultimate shelter was beginning to take shape. He had dug an irregular hole in the rock that he planned to use as a bed.
—Ha! In the end, you were useful for something.
His knife seemed perfect for digging. Little by little, at a slow pace, it chipped away at the rock. It felt almost like a student making a sculpture. Every movement loosened stone and ash, until his hand began to tremble from the effort, perhaps influenced by the new trait he had acquired.
Even so, he smiled proudly.
—Not bad.
He looked at the hole he had dug.
—It has ventilation, a hidden entrance, and this rock I'll use as a chair. It's practically a penthouse.
He stroked his chin in thought. It was good, but perhaps it still needed a comfortable bed and silk sheets. But you couldn't have everything in life.
—Now the important part.
He had it clear: once the base was established, he had to explore the surroundings, search for valuable items, and even possible enemies lurking nearby. He couldn't risk sleeping somewhere unsafe. He also considered setting traps, but that could wait for another time.
Outside, he already knew what was there, and he had no particular desire to die to another magma wave. He shuddered.
That left only one viable option for exploration.
He entered the underground lake and walked until the water reached his shoulders.
—Let's hope there aren't any sea monsters…
[WARNING!]
"Lifeform detected."
—Sea monsters?!
He gripped his knife tightly, but nothing happened. Far from a sea monster appearing, at the far end of the lake—which turned out not to be very long—there was a figure. It looked human, but very short. It was striking the cave wall with a pickaxe.
—Is that… a dwarf?
He hesitated to approach. As far as he knew, dwarves were famous for being stubborn, lovers of beer, and rather grumpy. But having one as a companion wasn't so bad. They could help with equipment or even provide magical runes. It was a very useful NPC. His choices were either that… or going back to his half-finished shelter.
[New quest available]
"Befriend the mining dwarf."
Difficulty: SS
Description: [Locked]
Interact first.
—Alright.
All he had to do was approach in a friendly way, say hello, and start a conversation. Nothing difficult.
He walked slowly so as not to scare him. Slowly… very slowly… moving stealthily through the water. The dwarf didn't seem to notice and kept mining absentmindedly.
The water began to get shallower; he was getting closer.
Then he thought about what he would say. A simple "hello"? Too plain. "How's it going, anything new?" Too casual…
An idea began to form.
What if he introduced himself for what he was?
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm the hero."
It might sound pretentious, but it was the most effective approach. The dwarf had no demonic or evil traits; he would probably like him. He didn't seem especially armed either, wearing only light armor and a helmet. Perhaps a lone miner.
As he approached the miner, he stepped carefully along the lakebed, but his foot came too close to something sharp. A stab of pain shot through his left foot.
—Aaaagh!
He failed to endure the pain. He fell straight into the lake and began splashing wildly, sending water everywhere.
The dwarf turned around, startled by the sudden scream, and what he saw froze his blood.
He saw the water thrashing violently, with hands flailing from side to side. Finally, the being emerged.
They stared at each other.
—Uh… hello… peace? —Froggy tried to salvage the conversation.
—Grumtagh vaf-nor fel grom! —the dwarf shouted in an incomprehensible language and ran away with all his might.
He had left behind the pickaxe he had been using, along with a rock he had perhaps mined.
—Well… my social skills are still intact, I suppose.
He walked over to where the dwarf had been, picking up the pickaxe and the stone beside it. It was a red stone with a peculiar shine. He was a professional gamer; while it was unfortunate that befriending the dwarf had gone badly, he had no intention of wasting these resources.
[You have obtained mysterious stone.]
[You have obtained worn pickaxe.]
He stored them in his inventory.
One second later, the system vibrated.
[MORAL ALERT]
"You have stolen a mysterious stone and a pickaxe from a poor dwarf."
[MORAL UPDATE]
"Your morality has changed to Evil."
[New achievement unlocked]
"The Evil Hero."
Description: Everyone will now consider you a being associated with evil.
Reward: Nothing. (Nothing)
—I swear one day I'm going to kill this system…