Twar had awakened, and the moment he did, he saw something unexpected—more than unexpected, it seemed absurd. Who the hell was that man?
—Hum track, hum-hum. —the mysterious man said.
The man seemed to be speaking some kind of foreign language. He also had a lizard on his shoulder.
—What are you looking at, insignificant being?
—??? —Twar had no idea what was happening.
He looked from side to side, still disoriented, searching for any trace of the demon that had been following them. But he couldn't find it; the closest thing was that man. But for some reason, he felt different from the demon. They didn't seem to be the same person, just a man… eccentric, to put it mildly.
—I WILL NOT BE YOUR SPOKESPERSON, HUMAN! —the lizard shouted.
The strange man and the lizard began exchanging words.
—Just this once… —the lizard muttered.
—A pleasure to meet you, honorable dwarf sir.
—A pleasure to meet you, weakling. —the lizard declared arrogantly.
—What the hell? —Twar had no idea how to respond.
—Tell them I am the great hero Froggy Green, the hero who defeated the enemies tormenting them, the lava lizard and—
—I am a stupid mortal who… WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DEFEATED ME!? —the lizard burst into fury.
The man and the lizard started arguing again. They seemed to be having a serious dispute.
—I defeated some lizard or whatever, blah blah blah… —the lizard muttered under his breath.
Twar shook his head; he felt like he was in one of those nights where he drank until collapsing and suddenly woke up in a stranger's bed. What the hell was this?
Twar looked at his own body; his skin had been tanned by the earlier heat, by that unbearable heat.
—Get up, brother. —Froggy extended his hand.
—Rise and worship me, mortal. —translated the lizard.
Twar stood up with effort; his skin hurt from the burns. Though they weren't severe, they needed attention. He tore part of his armor to make bandages.
—Who are you? What are you doing here? —he asked while wrapping himself.
—I am the great hero Green Frogg… Froggy Green.
—I'm hungry. —the lizard completely ignored Froggy's words.
Twar stared, waiting for an answer, only to be met with silence from both of them. He got up and began shaking his companions awake so they could continue onward.
Little by little, the dwarves got back on their feet, helped by Twar, Froggy, and the ones already awake.
—Lizard, we need to go to the city.
—What city?
—I know someone there; he knows a lot about this world. He must be waiting for me. —said Froggy.
—Fine. —the lizard turned toward Twar.—Hey, we need to go to your city.
—How do you know…?
Twar, who barely had time to process everything that had happened, now found himself facing a man who seemed to know him more than he should. Perhaps he was an envoy from the surface? But that presence somehow felt familiar.
—Fine, fine. —he answered, lacking a better response.
Twar looked him over. The man wore green underwear and, for some reason, a mask. He had nothing else, except perhaps that strange knife attached to his arm…
—Why are you half-naked? Are you an exhibitionist? —asked Twar.
—What? Exhibitionist? I just had some clothing issues. I'm a decent man. —Froggy exclaimed indignantly after hearing the lizard's translation.
The lizard tilted his head.
—I dress like this because I'm an idiot. —said the lizard.
—Right…
The dwarves fully woke up and saw in that mysterious man the figure of an unexpected savior. Despite his apparent tendency toward exhibitionism, he had protected them. They were in his debt.
—You saved us. —one dwarf expressed gratefully.
—It was nothing, nothing. You'll make me blush. —Froggy replied modestly.
—Obviously, it was all thanks to the great Absolute Lava Lizard resting on my shoulder. You should thank him! Worship him!
—Can you tell us your name, savior? —they asked.
—My name… is that of the magnificent hero, Green F… Froggy Green. —Froggy placed a hand on his mask and struck a heroic pose like some kind of bodybuilder.
The lizard looked at him and grinned through his teeth.
—You can call me idiot.
The dwarves stared in disbelief.
—Really?
—Or Froggy Green, but between us. He prefers the first one.
The lizard whispered to the dwarves.
They all nodded.
Because of the burns and everyone's miserable condition, they decided to spend the night there, making improvised beds. Froggy lay on the ground, refusing to sleep on a piece of armor; he already had a bed waiting for him. The lizard curled up on Froggy's stomach.
—You want to sleep on me? I'm not a bed. —complained Froggy.
—Now you are. —the lizard closed his eyes.
And so ended his second day in the new world.
They woke early—or so he thought. There was no way to know whether it was morning or night. Everyone gathered their belongings, weapons, everything, then began marching again, somewhat refreshed, led by Twar toward the city entrance.
When they arrived, the entrance had been completely destroyed. Nothing remained but fallen earth where once there had been a glorious gate. At the sight of it, many collapsed to their knees on the burning ground. Some simply lowered their heads. There lay the remains of their home… of their lives…
—The city… —Twar couldn't believe it.
Froggy also seemed shocked.
—What happened here?
—What happened, mortals? —the lizard asked the dwarves.
—This… this must be the fault of that bastard demon.
The dwarves burned with fury and pain, all directed at one person, one abominable being who, despite his brief stay, had caused unprecedented chaos.
—Did they say something? —asked Froggy.
—A demon attacked them.
—A demon?
Since arriving in this world, he had never seen a demon. But from what he knew, they were evil beings, members of the Demon King's army.
—This is bad… A demon… How can someone be so vile? —Froggy fumed at the destruction of the city… of his bed… What about Star…? What had happened to them?—What did that demon look like?
—What did the demon look like? —the lizard asked.
—He was horrible! —said one dwarf.
—Ugly as death itself; his face looked carved by the Demon Lord himself. —said another.
—He spoke demonic tongues and wore only a pair of white underwear. —Twar joined in.
—… —the lizard remained silent.
—What did they say? —asked Froggy.
—Isn't there something you should say, mortal?
—No?
The lizard sighed.
Froggy thought… a demon in underwear. What kind of degenerate was that? He was different because of the system, but that being must have had terrible taste. For a moment, the thought crossed his mind that it might have been him—but he dismissed it. He didn't speak demonic tongues. It was impossible.
Besides, he needed a way into the city.
—I have an idea: we can dig our way in. —said Froggy.
Twar looked the strange man up and down; he had nothing to dig with. He sighed.
—This is no time for jokes.
—Inventory. —Froggy said.
Inside his inventory, ignoring the old potatoes, he searched for the pickaxe he had obtained earlier. It materialized before the dwarves.
—I only have one. —he said, surprising everyone.
—You… —said one dwarf.
—Are a hero. —Twar looked at him in amazement, wondering how many mysteries that man hid beneath his mask.
Froggy smiled; at last they recognized him for what he was. He cast an arrogant glance beneath the mask. The lizard straightened proudly, lifting himself with dignity.
The dwarves looked at them strangely; they seemed like an eccentric duo. But they had no choice except to accept them. They took the pickaxe and began to dig. It wasn't easy… It took effort, but they managed to open a small hole, barely large enough to crawl through.
—I, along with you three, will go in. The rest will guard the entrance. —Twar said to the dwarves.
Then he looked at Froggy.
—Are you strong? —he asked.
—The strongest. —Froggy replied.
—The lizard will save my ass. —translated the lizard.
The group entered the tunnel.