[Siegfried von Proa]

[HP: ■■■■■□□□□□]

One hit...

That was all it took for Siegfried to lose fifty percent of his HP.

Tuareg’s ultimate skill, Five Star Frog Splash, was not just about the raw damage.

“Guhhh! Cough! Cough!”

Blood poured from Siegfried’s mouth as he writhed in agony.

Every organ inside him was rattled to its core. After all, he had just been on the receiving end of the Frog Lord’s titanic weight that had come crashing from high altitude.

“Urghhh!”

Siegfried clutched his stomach and groaned in agony.

He was not the only one suffering.

“Ughhh...!”

Tuareg, too, groaned while clutching his gut.

[Lord of the Pond: Frog Lord Tuareg]

[HP: ■■■■■■■■■□]

It turned out that the Five Star Frog Splash was a double-edged sword.

While it dealt fifty percent of the target’s max HP as True Damage, it also dealt ten percent of the user’s max HP. In other words, it was a move that sacrificed one’s HP to deal True Damage to the opponent.

“You damn bastard...” Siegfried growled, forcing himself to his feet.

At the same time, Tuareg jumped back to his feet. “Heave-ho! You’re quite tough for an insect! Quite impressive that a mere insect like you managed to survive my Five Star Frog Splash! Fufufufu!”

The Frog Lord sounded genuinely impressed by Siegfried.

A single hit of the Five Star Frog Splash would have killed most creatures outright, but Siegfried managed to survive it.

“But this is it for you! This is the end! Fufufu!” Tuareg said with a grin.

Then, he puffed up his throat and unleashed another sonic blast.

Bwaaak! Bwaaak! Bwaaak! Bwaaak!

Siegfried tensed up all over again.

Even with the Shield of Malice activated, he couldn’t escape getting paralyzed.

Tuareg’s sound blasts were that overwhelming.

While it seemed ridiculously broken, it made sense, as the Frog Lord was no ordinary monster. He was one of the ancient monsters once imprisoned in Purgatory. He was so powerful that even the Chief Archangel, Michael, struggled against him back then.

“Arggh...!” Siegfried groaned, convulsing under the sonic blasts.

“Time to rip you apart! Kekeke!” Tuareg cackled and whipped out his long tongue.

Shwiiik! Shwaaak!

The Frog Lord’s long tongue cracked across Siegfried’s back with brutal force, just like a whip.

“Gaaaah!” Siegfried groaned in agony; pain ripped through him with every strike.

He raged inwardly, but there was nothing he could do.

What good were his debuffs when he couldn’t even lift a finger after getting paralyzed?

“Kyahahaha! Kekeke!” Tuareg shrieked with manic delight as it whipped Siegfried again and again with its tongue.

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

Each time the tongue cracked, the generated noise sounded like a cannon blast.

[Siegfried von Proa]

[HP: ■■■□□□□□□□]

Even with Shield of Malice activated, Siegfried’s HP was depleting rapidly.

Tuareg’s tongue was simply too powerful.

‘Agh... Is there no other way...?’

It was then.

“Chomp! Chomp! Time to feast! I’m hungry, so get in my stomach!”

The Frog Lord opened his maw wide.

Whoosh!

With its maw wide open, it lunged and swallowed Siegfried whole.

“...!”

Siegfried tried to move, but he was still paralyzed, and his body refused to listen to him.

Gulp!

Tuareg’s throat bulged as he gulped him down whole, not even bothering to chew.

Buuuurp!”

“Kekeke! That was a delicious insect!”

The Frog Lord rubbed its belly while wearing a satisfied grin. It was quite satisfying, as it had been far too long since it had a feast like this.

***

Tuareg’s stomach was surprisingly vast.

It was not just the inside of a creature; it felt like a whole different world altogether.

Even though the Frog Lord was large, the space within him was disproportionately vast.

Siegfried felt like he was thrown into an entirely different dimension.

Shhhhh... Tssss!

The green stomach acid sloshing around the cavernous space was already starting to digest him.

While Siegfried possessed a body that was immune to all types of poisons, he wasn't immune to acid. To make things worse, Tuareg’s gastric juices were so potent and corrosive that they were as corrosive as concentrated hydrochloric acid.

“U-Ugghh...! Grrhhh...!”

The gastric juices seeped through the gaps in his armor and seared his skin raw.

‘I-I have to move... I can’t die here...!’ Siegfried forced himself to move.

Unfortunately, he was still paralyzed, so his body refused to obey his orders.

Gurgle! Gurgle!

To make matters worse, Tuareg’s stomach secreted even more acid after sensing that food had come.

‘I’ll have to use something else if I can’t move my body...’ Siegfried thought, gritting his teeth.

At once, he activated Overclocking and cranked it up to its third stage. Then, he layered himself with Shield of Malice, protecting him from the acid. While the shield could only protect him for a short while, those were precious seconds that would allow him to channel his focus.

Woooong!

Aura blades appeared by the tens of thousands.

Even if his body was frozen, his mind and his mana hall could still channel his Primordial Force.

By focusing on channeling his Primordial Force, he could use Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain without having to move a muscle.

Shwiiiik!

The aura blades tore through the air, wreaking havoc within Tuareg’s stomach.

“...!”

The Frog Lord’s eyes snapped open. He felt a sharp pain radiating from deep within him.

However, that was just the beginning...

‘You think I’m gonna die here? Think again, bastard!’

Ssseuuuu!

A green radioactive mist spread outward from Siegfried.

And he was just getting started...

Fwoooosh! Woooong!

An inferno swept across the place, and a vicious blizzard raged simultaneously.

Siegfried used Infernal Hellscape and Frozen Hell one after another, unleashing a devastating combination of fire and ice within Tuareg.

Of course, he was still far from over.

‘I’ll make your guts explode!’

He unleashed the Wave of Annihilation, aiming the destructive energy directly into the walls of Tuareg’s stomach.

“G-Guuarghhh!”

The combined assault from within was super effective!

Tuareg shrieked and squirmed in agony. The sheer pain radiating from inside him caused him to roll across the ground and thrash violently.

Inside the Frog Lord’s stomach, Siegfried was flung around like a rag doll trapped in a washing machine. He slammed into the walls of flesh as Tuareg thrashed violently.

“Acckkkk!”

The acid burned his skin, causing immense agony, but Siegfried gritted his teeth and endured it all.

If there was one thing he was good at, then it was being stubborn and persistent.

With sheer stubborn grit, Siegfried endured the pain until the very end.

Eventually, his resilience won against the Frog Lord.

“Bleuuuurgh!”

Unable to withstand the torment, Tuareg gagged and spat him back out.

Splat!

Siegfried hit the ground hard, covered head to toe in bile and stomach acid.

“You vermin! You’re going to pay for this insolence!” Tuareg roared.

Bwaaak! Bwaaak! Bwaaak!

The Frog Lord’s throat swelled as it prepared to unleash an even stronger sonic attack than before.

“This son of a toad,” Siegfried growled, his face twisting in anger. Then, he grinned and said, “Go ahead. Keep screaming and see if it does a damn thing to me.”

“Bwaaaaaak!”

The Frog Lord unleashed its sonic attack, its roar rattling the air around them.

“This damn disgusting monster...” Siegfried muttered before slowly raising both palms to the side of his head.

BAM!

He slammed his palms against his ears with brutal force.

“Argh!”

Siegfried grimaced from the excruciating pain as blood streamed down his ears.

He thought long and hard about how he could counter the Frog Lord’s sonic attacks. Then, he reached the conclusion that he could simply pop his eardrums to ensure that he wouldn't get paralyzed once again.

After all, Siegfried was an Adventurer, and his eardrums would regenerate after two or three days of using potions.

***

Siegfried had made the right decision.

Beeeeep!

The moment his eardrums were ruptured, he could no longer hear a single thing—no noises and no status effects meant he would no longer be paralyzed.

“Time to die,” Siegfried said with a grin.

He gripped his +10 Sky Piercer and charged at Tuareg.

Bwaak! Bwaak! Bwaak!

The Frog Lord shrieked even louder, ramping up its sonic assault.

However, it was futile.

Tuareg’s sonic attacks were not attacks, but rather, commands.

The sound waves would send signals that forced the target’s brain to paralyze itself. However, Siegfried was immune to these sound waves, as he no longer had any eardrums to transmit them to his brain.

In other words...

“It’s over for you.”

In the blink of an eye, Siegfried closed the distance by teleporting right in front of the Frog Lord.

Then, he thrust his +10 Sky Piercer toward Tuareg's face.

Shwik!

The spear pierced Tuareg’s face. Siegfried immediately struck six more times at lightning speed, delivering a total of seven strikes.

Seven Steps to Invincibility.

The Frog Lord was struck seven times in a fraction of a second.

[Lord of the Pond: Frog Lord Tuareg]

[HP: □□□□□□□□□□]

The Frog Lord’s HP dropped to zero, and his colossal body dissolved into nothingness, leaving only his regal robes and golden crown behind.

“Is it dead?” Siegfried grimaced and muttered.

The Frog Lord’s HP had hit zero, and his body disappeared, but Siegfried didn't gain any experience points. The quest progress wasn't updated as well.

This was indeed strange—a bit too strange.

‘What the hell is going on?’ Siegfried wondered.

It was then.

Plop!

A tiny frog hopped out from beneath the discarded robes.

It was a small frog, one normally found in ponds.

As it turned out, Tuareg was not dead at all.

While his colossal body had disappeared, he managed to survive by reducing his body to a smaller size.

“Just you wait, you damn human! I’m going to have my revenge!” Tuareg clenched his tiny fist and swore vengeance.

All he needed now was time to recover, regain his power, and then exact revenge against the humans.

Thus, he had to escape for now and bide his time.

Plop! Plop!

The little frog hopped away, but—

“Stop right there,” Siegfried said, his gaze focused on the tiny frog.

“...!”

“Where are you rushing off to? Got another appointment aside from me?” Siegfried asked with a grin.

“Y-You insolent—!” Tuareg raged.

Siegfried raised one boot and said with a grin, “Tell them you won’t make it.”

“N-Noo!”

Splat!

Siegfried’s foot came down, crushing the tiny frog flat.

Pop!

Tuareg’s belly burst with a pop, and his innards spilled on the floor.

A small frog couldn’t withstand getting stomped on by an ordinary human, let alone the stomp of a Grandmaster like Siegfried.

[Alert: You have killed Lord of the Pond: Frog Lord Tuareg!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 554!]

[Alert: Your quest progress has increased!]

[Alert: The Ten Calamities progress has increased to 30%! (3/10)]

A flurry of notifications popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

Thud!

Then, something appeared in mid-air and fell to the ground—an ordinary-looking wooden flute.

[Flute of Calamity: Song of Death]

[A flute containing the powers of Tuareg, one of the Ten Calamities.] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

[Blowing this flute will summon a horde of endlessly multiplying frogs, and their Song of Death will induce cardiac arrest on all nearby lifeforms.]

[Type: Flute]

[Rating: Mythic]

[Durability: 1/1]

[Note: This is a single-use item. Once opened, the flute will break and cannot be used again.]

[Alert: You have obtained Flute of Calamity: Song of Death!]

After defeating the Lord of the Pond: Frog Lord Tuareg, Siegfried was now in possession of three artifacts that had the power to bring forth a calamity.

Thud!

Just then, Siegfried collapsed to the ground. He flickered like a lightbulb on life support.

“ZzZz... ZzZz... Zzz...”

He was not dead. He had simply fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. Siegfried raided numerous Ancient Dungeons and was forced to push himself further beyond his limits, as three dungeons had rampaged simultaneously.

After days of fighting without proper rest, his body shut down the moment he killed the third boss monster and the tension lifted from his shoulders.