He was lost. Below him, the dwarves; above, the magma titans. A death by dwarves or by a mountain of molten fire? Not exactly an easy choice. He ran through every possible move in his head and came to one conclusion:
Run.
The dwarves rushed out of the cave. Froggy turned to look at them. Suddenly, they felt it—the heat. The mountains. Both the dwarves and Froggy stared in horror as a wave of magma rose up.
The dwarves bolted back toward the cave. Only one stayed behind, gripping a massive axe.
Froggy: What the…?
The dwarf lifted his axe and struck with tremendous force, splitting the magma wave clean in two. Froggy thought he saw a white glow bursting from the weapon—almost like a miracle.
Froggy: Magic! That's…
Unfortunately, he didn't have anything like that. The magma wave swallowed him whole.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
"You have died."
[Revive]
[Mysterious Option]
Froggy: Are you always like this?
Froggy pressed "Revive."
Another wave rose.
Froggy: Wai—!
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
"You have died."
[Revive]
[Mysterious Option]
Froggy: …
He had to go through it again and again before finally breaking free from that hellish respawn loop.
Froggy: NOOO! YOU'RE NOT CATCHING ME, YOU FILTHY MOUNTAIN!
Froggy ran with everything he had—which wasn't much. The mountains, despite their size, were painfully slow, even slower than him. The real problem was the—
Froggy: Not again…!
Another magma wave surged upward. Froggy looked desperately for cover. The landscape was barren—red earth, no rocks to hide behind. Not even a fire tree or anything remotely helpful.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
"You have died."
[Revive]
[Mysterious Option]
Froggy: AHHHH!
The frustration felt familiar, like when a respawn point is set right before your death. Froggy used the ten seconds before the system picked the mysterious option to think.
Froggy: What can I even do?
8…
Maybe just run?
5…
There has to be something…
2…
Another miracle cave?
"You have selected Mysterious Option."
"Congratulations, you have obtained: Old Potato."
Froggy: …What?
No time to question the system. He had to run. He'd only made it a few hundred meters away from those terrifying mountains. They were still in the distance, distracted by the dwarves—just enough time for him to escape.
Froggy collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Froggy: I… I made it!
He stretched out on the ground. He had done it. He had survived…
Froggy: Ha! In your face, system.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
"You have survived 'Titanic'-level threats."
Reward: Congratulations.
Froggy glanced at the screen, amused.
Froggy: Oh right… what was that thing you gave me earlier?
He opened his inventory.
[HERO INVENTORY]
"Old Pickaxe"
"Mysterious Stone"
"Old Potato"
Froggy: Old potato?
[Old Potato]
Description: An old potato grown long ago somewhere in the world.
Froggy: Does that even make sense? Well… at least it's useful.
He pulled it out and examined it carefully, then took a bite without thinking much. It was sour, but it was the closest thing to food for miles. As he ate, still lying on the ground, he glanced around.
Lava. Hellish dirt… that kind of thing.
He took another bite.
Froggy: Not bad…
In the distance, he spotted figures… several of them. The dwarves didn't seem ready to give up. He kept eating. He didn't have the strength to run anyway. Besides, what was the worst they could do?
The dwarves arrived. It was a pitiful sight: an armed group standing over a guy in his underwear. They muttered among themselves in a language he couldn't understand.
Froggy: Something wrong, guys?
The dwarves tied his hands and feet.
Froggy: Huh?
They bound him to a long spear and carried him between two of them.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Froggy: Now what? Another problem?
"The heat has reached critical levels. Ultra power-saving mode has been activated as a precaution."
Froggy: Power-saving…?
"Loading… loadi… See you soon… hero…"
The system shut down abruptly.
Froggy: System?
No response.
Froggy: Hey… wait! I was joking—I really don't want to mess with you!
One of the dwarves shouted at him to shut up.
Froggy: DON'T LEAVE ME NOW!