Chapter 63: A Strange Responsibility

Max finally stopped running. Standing at the edge of a cliff, he looked down at a settlement. However, it was not a settlement built by civilized races in the middle of nowhere; rather, it was a settlement inhabited entirely by Frogs.

"So, this is your home?" Max asked.

"Yes, my sweet home," the Frog replied.

"Well, what is so sweet about it? It is just a bunch of rocks with Frogs living underneath them," Max said.

"Show some respect to my village," the Frog demanded, noticing his disrespect.

"So, what is this village of yours called?" Max asked. Inwardly, he wondered how these Frogs managed to survive in such a monster-infested location.

"This entire place is called Neande," the Frog stated.

"What does that mean?" Max asked, finding the name rather strange.

"I do not know. It is simply the name of this village's founder," the Frog said.

"Very well, then. What is next? Does reaching your village mean you are freed from the seal?" Max asked. Now that the Frog had arrived at its home, his task should logically be complete.

"Do not be ridiculous. Let us go; I want to meet my mother. It has been two decades since I last saw her. I only hope she is fine," the Frog said.

"Just how long do you guys live? You said you were sealed for 400 years, yet your mother is still alive," Max noted as he descended the cliff.

"We are immortals," the Frog revealed.

Hearing this, Max asked no further questions. He simply climbed down the cliff face and arrived at the small river valley, where Frogs the size of himself roamed about.

"Hey, how can this place exist here? Wouldn't those monsters attack and eat your village?" Max asked. Although he had kept his eyes forward while running and did not clearly see the horde, his instincts warned him that those monsters were truly terrifying. If they reached this settlement, wouldn't these Frogs simply become snacks for them?

"Those monsters are afraid of us. They never come close to this village," the Frog said.

Max did not doubt that claim, recalling the Frog mentioning that the Dungeon used to be Level 200. This showed just how powerful the Frog must be to sustain a Level 200 Dungeon.

Max walked toward a big rock that stood in the middle of the valley. The Frog sitting on his shoulder jumped down and turned into a giant frog.

"What is this skill called? Turning yourself small and big," Max asked, fascinated by this sudden change.

"It is not a skill. It is simply nature that was bestowed upon us. You humans are not capable of doing it," the Frog said. It then hopped into the village, and Max followed.

As they neared the stone village, the other Frogs noticed them.

"Hey, look who is here, everyone. It is Marlak."

"The kid is back so soon. He brought yet another human."

"You aged poorly, Marlak."

"Are you planning to stay here? Or do you still want to cling to that unwanted ambition of yours?"

"Marlak, is this human capable enough to free you? Or will he run away just like the last one?"

"You should mate soon and have a family. Do not waste your youth sitting somewhere, waiting for someone to free you."

Max was dumbfounded by these Frogs' behavior toward the Legendary Bull Frog, Marlak. They were treating him like he was some brat who talked big and got into trouble. However, this situation told him that was exactly what was happening. This damn Frog, who called itself legendary, was nothing but a brat who caused trouble in the neighborhood, Max wondered.

Meanwhile, Marlak hopped silently without saying anything to those mocking it. Max also silently followed the Frog. As they walked towards the big rock, more Frogs came out and gathered around them.

When they finally reached the big rock among the other rocks, a total of 100 big Frogs had gathered. Max waited silently, not knowing what would happen next. Soon, he saw a relatively old Frog come out of a burrow under the big rock.

"I greet the Elder." Marlak lowered its body until its belly lay flat on the ground, and the other Frogs did the same.

Taken from NovelPhoenix, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Marlak. You have returned," the old Frog said as soon as it came out, laying its eyes on Marlak before moving its gaze toward Max. "You brought a human again."

"Go meet your family, then we will talk," the elder Frog advised.

"No, Elder, I will meet them later," Marlak quickly said.

Hearing this, the elder Frog let out a sigh. "Do you really want to do this again? You can live in this world happily for your entire life. Why are you so stubborn about leaving this place?"

Marlak remained silent at that question.

Max, who was listening to all of this, was confused by the elder Frog's words. Was Marlak truly sealed in the Dungeon by its enemies as it had claimed, or did it simply want to leave this place? If so, what was the purpose of getting sealed in a Dungeon?

Looking around at the green land, this place did not look bad. Setting aside those monsters, if it was true that they were afraid of these Frogs, then it was a nice place to live. If the Frog Marlak could come to this place, why would it sit in a Dungeon as a stone statue?

He had many questions, but he could not ask them. He had to wait and question the so-called Legendary Bull Frog, since everything it had told him seemed to be a lie.

"That being said, I hope you achieve what you aim for and become free, or whatever free means to you," the elder Frog said.

"Now, human. Do you agree to do this?" the elder Frog asked, looking at Max.

"Agree to do what? Marlak has not said anything yet," Max said. "Our agreement was that I need to help break the seal. However, how to do that, I have yet to learn from Marlak."

As soon as these words came out of his mouth, a series of gasps came from the crowd of Frogs.

"Marlak, what is the meaning of this? Do you not know the rules? The participant must be aware of the consequences of undertaking this ritual," the elder Frog quickly asked Marlak.

"Do not worry, Elder. The young Adventurer agreed to take the ritual no matter what," Marlak replied.

"Is this true, human?" the elder asked Max.

Max, however, was in the dark; he could not understand the things that were happening. The damn Frog had asked him to free it from the Dungeon's seal. He had agreed to this, thinking he might need to undertake some Trial or bring back an artifact like a key that would unlock the seal. But now, he was suddenly hearing different things about a ritual and such. He did not know what to say. Should I say that Marlak lied to me and brought me here?

"I did say that I will help Marlak become free. But I forgot to ask what needs to be done to free him," Max stated truthfully.

"Oh is it?" the elder frog thought far a while. " since you agreed to help free Marlak, we will take that as a yes and proceed," the elder said eventually.

"But could you tell me what this ritual you are talking about is? If I know, I can prepare for whatever it entails mentally and physically," Max asked.

"That is a fair question, to know what you are about to do," the elder said. "The ritual you have to go through to free Marlak requires you to spend 24 hours in the 'Pond of the Blessed'."

"What is in the pond?" Max asked.

"It has nothing but a Sacred Pond. We were all born in that pond, so don't worry, no danger lives in it," the elder frog said.

"I mean, what do I need to do there? Don't I need to fight something to free Marlak?" Max was confused by this strange ritual.

"No, human, you do not need to fight anyone. All you need to do is prove that you are worthy enough to take care of Marlak once he is freed from this world," the elder Frog explained. "In this world, we are considered the strongest. All the other species fear us, and we can live a long life in this world, a peaceful one at that."

"But some..." The elder Frog's eyes moved toward Marlak. "...want to leave this world and travel around other worlds. But this is forbidden by our Pond of the Blessed. Due to our formidable strength, we are restricted to living here, since that brings peace upon the other worlds."

"However, even after those restrictions, if someone wants to leave this world, their strength and power will be stripped away. This restriction put fear upon some youngsters." The elder Frog moved its eyes over the crowd. "A few wanted to leave even then, so the Pond of the Blessed eventually came up with this ritual. If anyone wants to leave this world, their strength will be stripped away, and they must find a guardian of another species who is worthy of taking care of the one who wants to leave. So that's when you come and pledge that you will take care of Marlak in your world," the elder Frog explained.

"However, whether you qualify to take care of Marlak or not is solely decided by the Pond of the Blessed. If the pond approves of you being trustworthy, Marlak can become free to leave this world and go with you to your world," the elder said.

"So I don't have to fight anyone?" Max asked. "I just have to stay in the pond for 24 hours, and the pond will give a result?"

"That is right. Are you ready?" the elder Frog asked.

Max stood there, realizing that not a single thing the Legendary Bull Frog, Marlak, had told him was true. Its claims of being legendary, knowing hidden things, possessing world-shattering power, or being sealed in a Dungeon for 400 years must all be fake. It was just a damn frog that wanted to roam around other worlds.

Max shook his head. He should have gone back to the academy, applied for another Dungeon, and leveled up. Being greedy for treasure had led him here to take on the responsibility of a nanny for a Frog.

Max gave a side glance to the Frog, who stood silently. "Yeah, let's do it," Max agreed.

He could go through with this ritual. It did not seem to be dangerous, and furthermore, if the Frog wanted to roam in his world, he could understand. As far as he could guess, there was no advanced civilization in this world, just a bunch of predators and Frogs living under a rock. He could take the Frog out of this world if possible; it would not be much work for him to take care of a small Frog.

With that decided, everyone started to move toward a small hill located away from the valley.

After walking for a while, they reached the hill. Max saw a pond at the top, and the water looked strangely green, resembling a soup he had drunk in a stone room.

"Please, remove your clothes and enter the water," the elder Frog said.

Max reluctantly thought for a moment before he started to remove his tunic and other equipment.

"Keep these items safe. They are very important to me." Max handed the items to Marlak and walked into the water.

Although it looked like it might rain, the water was warm and felt good. He quickly swam to the center of it. The water was shallow, making it easy for him to stand instead of constantly floating.

"Just stay there. We will come back once 24 hours have finished." Saying so, every Frog started to leave the place.

Even Marlak hopped away after giving a last look. Max had at least expected Marlak to stay here to pass the time, but now he was left completely alone in a strange pond in a strange world.