Day 587 in This World
"No, no!! I'm not ready to die!!!"
Screaming doesn't help. The frogs leap at Tris with their powerful legs, slightly slowed by their own weight.
Fwoosh!
Tris rolls, dodging by a hair, scrambling to her feet and sprinting again.
"No, no, no! Stop chasing me! Go back to your swamp!! I give up, I give up!!!!"
"Ribbit!!!" x6
The frogs leap after her, faster now, seeing their prey defenseless.
"Somebody help!!!"
"Ribbit!!!" x6
Tris bolts, jumping over three campfires set to repel insects, but the frogs follow right through.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!!
"Ribbit!!!???" x6
Behind the fires, piles of oil-soaked dried herbs, pepper, and salt scatter into the air, clouding their vision.
"If I hadn't faked my panic, your smart little frog brains would've sniffed out the trap and stayed back, huh!?"
"Ribbit!!!?" x6
"Too late!! Take this!!!"
Splashhh!!!
"Ribbit!!!!" x6
The frogs try to move but slow down as salt absorbs their moisture, stinging their skin. Tris splashes a mix of chili oil, peppers, garlic, herbs, and strong distilled liquor—rigged with ropes and buckets—into their eyes, making them flail instead of leap. The flour thrown earlier, now heated and dried, sticks to their bodies with the spices!
"You got too cocky thinking you'd beat me, huh!? …Time to become garlic-pepper frog BBQ!!!!"
Tris grabs torches from the four campfires behind and hurls them at the frogs.
Zzoooom!!!
Flour, pepper, garlic, oil, alcohol, and fire ignite their bodies in a blazing inferno, burning with intense pain.
"Thanks to this farming village, I got all these ingredients dirt cheap!! Take it all—no holding back!!! Peppers, salt, spices, every cooking gimmick!!!!"
"Ribbit!!!!!" x6
"Die, die, die!!! Die already!!!! Take this!!"
Tris (me) knows high-level monsters have hefty HP. They won't die just from being roasted, not with HP logic in play…
Yeah, they won't die… unless you roast them long enough!!!
"Not dying, huh? Not dying fast enough? Then suffer like this!! Haha!!"
(*Tris, calm down… Tris!! Wait, Tris is basically 100% me! Do I stop myself or Tris who's me!?)
Tris grabs more high-proof liquor prepared around, splashing it on them, relentlessly tossing peppers, garlic, and spices! The faint charred aroma mixes with the alcohol and herbs.
No stopping the fuel until they're still!!!
"Dieeee!!!!"
Once their skin crisps, Tris stabs with a long spear!!!
Stab! Stab-stab!!!
Zzoooom!!!
"Ribbit!!!!!" x6
…
…
5x Frog Very Rare Grade F LV.81 EXP.2430 SXP.2025
1x FightFrog Very Rare Grade E LV.101 EXP.4040 SXP.3535
[Tris received EXP 16190, SkillXP 13660]
[Tris LV UP LV 66 > LV 67]
[Tris SLV UP LV 48 > LV 49]
Those frogs were pretty smart. Even falling for the trap, I could tell they were wary of Tris from the start… If I hadn't planned or faked a childish panic to match her age, they probably wouldn't have fallen for it.
Tris (me) glances at the four campfires where the second trap layer was set, and further off, nets and broken potion bottles for the third layer, unused… Good thing I planned three layers, but the first one did the job.
… I'm getting confident that some of these warped monsters aren't normal wild ones… They're raised or trained, then sent here to be culled. The culprits? Just nine people (minus me) from other continents… How convenient for my city, huh? Hope no one's cheating in the shadows like me.
But why do it? Are they figuring out the same stuff I am and testing it? Ugh, hope not, at least until I control the situation.
Sizzle-sizzle~~
Slice! Slash!
"Haha, told ya I'd make you pay!"
Tris (me) stands before six charred frogs, using the spear's handle to scrape off the slightly burnt outer skin of the FightFrog, revealing juicy, white meat infused with the aroma of herbs, peppers, and garlic, locked in perfectly by the flour and potion coating.
Even if it's frog, it looks tasty… For a village girl like Tris, eating frog isn't weird. Wolves eat them, don't they?
"Time to eat, ma'am! Nom!Chomp-chomp! …Mmm, tastes like chicken… No, tastes like frog! Garlic-pepper-salt-herb frog, straight up! So delicious!! Totally worth bringing the spices!"
Too bad Tris's stomach is tiny like a sparrow's…
"Can't finish this alone. Guess I'll share with Faren and the villagers! Nom-nom-nom!!!"
End of Chapter 77
Garlic-Pepper-Salt Frog BBQ