---
"New life as a tadpole, huh?" he mocked himself, still unable to accept what had happened to him.
"Ugh," he muttered, shaking his head. He couldn't fathom that this was his life now, but deep down, he knew he'd have to accept it eventually.
"Where am I, anyway?" He looked up and swam to the surface to get a better view of his surroundings. When he peeked out, he saw the vast expanse of water, the clear sky above, and the towering trees and wilted grass surrounding him. He realized he was in a swamp.
After figuring this out, he dove back underwater, pondering his next move. Suddenly, a strong current swept him in another direction.
"What's happening?" he wondered, trying to find the source of the powerful current. When he saw where it was coming from, he nearly fainted from fear—it was a suction force.
The suction was coming from the three-eyed frog he had seen earlier, the one that might have been his parent.
He panicked and froze in terror. Even thousands of his kind were being sucked into the massive mouth of the giant frog.
"No... no... I'm one of your children!" he screamed in his mind, fighting with all his might to resist the suction. But despite his efforts...
"No-o-o-o!"
He was sucked in, along with thousands of his siblings. The thought of death crossed his mind again. "Am I going to die again?" were his last thoughts before being swallowed by the frog's massive mouth.
---
"Am I in hell now?" he thought, surrounded by darkness. The last thing he remembered was being eaten by the frog. After a while, a faint light appeared, and he saw his current situation—he was surrounded by thousands of tadpoles, all clustered together, and he was one of them.
"Get off me! Don't step on me!" he struggled. He realized he hadn't been eaten after all—he was just inside the frog's mouth, being transported somewhere.
Soon, they were all spat out. When they emerged from the frog's mouth, they found themselves in a massive cave.
The tadpoles clustered together in the cave, alongside other frogs with three eyes. It seemed they were all of the same kind.
Moments later, a larger frog arrived, almost four times the size of the one that had brought them. This frog also had three eyes, but it had a horn on its nose and spiky skin. Its mouth held a fish unlike anything Raven had ever seen—long and with horns.
The giant frog spat out the fish, and the thousands of tadpoles rushed toward it, as if they had never seen such a feast before.
Raven didn't understand what was happening, but his instincts told him the fish was delicious. He couldn't resist and joined the frenzy.
With his first bite, he felt a strange energy flowing through his body. He didn't know what was happening, but he didn't care. He ate as much as he could, along with the thousands of others.
"Hmmm," Raven felt an unusual sensation. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out. He felt something incredible happening to his body. Soon, two bumps formed near the base of his tail... and Raven noticed them.
"I'm no expert on frogs, but I know these will grow into legs as I grow bigger," he thought excitedly.
As they feasted on the fish, the cave began to shake.
"What's happening now?" he anxiously said.
---
"Be careful, Shelly. Don't get too close to the swamp."
"Master said there are poisonous and venomous wild beasts in that swamp," said the 17-year-old boy, dressed in a red robe adorned with various symbols.
"I know that, Brother Jerome," replied the 14-year-old girl.
"If only we hadn't been late, we could've had a spot in the tower hall," Jerome said.
"There's nothing we can do. You're just too slow, Brother Jerome."
"Let's get started so we can finish quickly."
Shelly nodded.
"Watch this carefully so you don't keep asking questions."
Jerome pulled out his meter-long staff and waved it. Stones and sand floated into the air, and as he maneuvered the staff, they followed its direction. Sweat dripped from Jerome's face.
"Brother Jerome, you're getting really good at Earth magic."
"Not... really... Kai is still better," Jerome muttered.
"Kai's on a different level. Teacher said he's one of those rare geniuses who only come once in a hundred years," Shelly said.
"Instead of praising Kai, Shelly, why don't you show me what you've learned?"
"Brother Jerome, are you trying to embarrass me?"
"In two years as a caster, it's impossible you haven't learned anything from Teacher."
"Do it."
"Fine, I'll try. But don't laugh."
"I won't."
"Really?"
"I promise, by the name of Caelus," Jerome said, placing his right hand over his chest.
"Okay, you said it." Shelly took a deep breath and pulled out her 24-inch magic staff. Using both hands, she pointed it at the ground and began to chant. A strange melody and power flowed through her words, and soon, light emanated from her staff.
The ground trembled, and stones and sand began to float into the air.
"5 seconds..."
"13 seconds..."
Shelly's arms trembled, and sweat started to drip from her forehead.
"21 seconds..."
"Wow, that's great. Keep it up," Jerome encouraged.
"30 seconds..."
"Brother Jerome, I don't think I can hold it much longer."
"Push yourself. Let's see your limits."
"37 seconds..."
"44 seconds..."
"Ah! I can't do it anymore!" Shelly's face paled, and she collapsed to the ground. The stones and sand lost their energy and fell, creating a cloud of dust and smoke.
Shelly gasped for breath. "How... how long... Brother Jerome?"
"57 seconds. Not bad for two years as an apprentice."
"Your magic mana has improved, Shelly."
"Even if I don't practice every day, I make up for it by listening to Teacher."
"Alright, alright—"
Before Jerome could finish, they heard a grating noise, like stones scraping against each other. They looked around to find the source of the sound and realized it was coming from the debris of stones and sand not far from them.
Shelly stood up to get a better look at what was making the noise.
When Jerome saw the creature making the sound, he stopped her.
"Wait a second." Jerome waved his staff, and the stones, branches, and sand floated again. Among the debris, they saw the source of the noise—a frog the size of a chicken, with three eyes and a horn. It was lying on its back, seemingly injured, surrounded by tadpoles squirming like worms doused in salt.
"Ew, gross! A frog!" Shelly stepped back slightly.
"That's no ordinary frog, Shelly. Have you ever seen a frog that big? That's a Three-Eyed Toad, a low-tier enchanted beast."
"Three-Eyed Toad?"
"A low-tier enchanted beast?" she whispered to herself.
"What's a low-tier enchanted beast?"
"Didn't you read about it in the Beast Record?"
"I did, but I wasn't interested, so I forgot. I only remember things from magic spell books."
"Shelly, sometimes knowledge helps too. It's not all about magic spells."
"Okay, okay, you sound like my mom."
Jerome shook his head. Shelly's attitude would never change.