I didn’t want to trust the frog man.

  Everything about him set my fur on edge—the calm way he smoked that pipe, the fact that Pulse Sense didn’t pick him up at all, and the way he seemed to know things when he set those milky eyes on me.

  I prowled forward slowly until I decided on a safe patch of ground a few lengths away. I lay down there, low to the earth, but kept my ears sharp and my gaze fixed on him. He hadn’t moved an inch since offering me the bone, like he knew I’d eventually take it. I sniffed. I could smell it from here and couldn’t help licking my lips.

  Genzo shifted the pipe in his mouth and spoke through the smoke. “The vale has been restless these last days. Ribbit. I wonder… Does your presence have to do with the red masks?”

  My ears folded back, and I growled softly at the mention of them.

  His webbed fingers drummed lightly against the sword hilt as he nodded.

  “As I thought. I was aware powerful monsters had come from the depths to make this vale their territory. Seeing you, I now understand why. Ribbit.”

  I tilted my head curiously. The depths? And by powerful beasts, was he talking about Mom and Dad?

  “Those red masks are fools… Ribbit…” He took a drag from his pipe, blowing out smoke. “They have a great warrior among them, you see. He had once slain a dragon, and after the battle, he claimed an egg for himself. He must think succeeding at taming a dragon in this way means any monster can be tamed. Ribbit. But memory…” Genzo pointed the pipe at me, a serious look in his eyes. “The difference between an unhatched dragon and a pup taken from their pack—that memory they will hold inside themselves will be all the difference. Ribbit.”

  I growled again, hackles raised, imagining how they might be treating my brothers and sisters. The woman I had killed talked freely of what the frog man was implying. But there is no way they would break them! My brothers and sisters were strong! We were Mom and Dad’s children, so that meant we were strong! We wouldn’t be broken!

  I felt so much hate. I knew Dad was already dead, and that meant our pack would never be whole again. And it was all because of greedy humans!

  “Hatred is a strong motivator. Ribbit. But hear me, young pup. If hate is the only thing that guides your path, then it will destroy you along with your enemies. Ribbit.”

  My ears folded back at the weight in his tone. I let my gaze lower to the ground in front of me. If I could speak, I would have said, “What else am I supposed to feel? They killed my Dad. They took my family. My brothers and sisters are all probably so scared and sad.”

  This time, a growl didn’t bubble up in me. Instead, my eyes became hot and misty with tears, and my paws tensed, digging into the ground.

  Then, the bone dropped in front of my view, lying on the ground. I brought my head forward slightly as I sniffed it, but I didn’t have much appetite for it now.

  Then, another realization grabbed me as I looked back up at the frog man. He didn’t seem at all surprised that I could understand him. Then again, he wasn’t really a human, even though he stood on two legs like a human.

  “I was once like you,” he explained, then pinched two of his long fingers together as if measuring something very small. “I started life as a tadpole, no larger than this. Ribbit. Yet, I was unlike my kin. I had greater thoughts and memories of another world. Ribbit.”

  I looked up at him, eyes wide and unbelieving. Could it be true that he also came from Earth? Though, the wording was important. He didn’t say, he was from another world, he said he had memories of another world. In truth, that would be the more accurate way to describe it for me as well, for I did not feel many true connections to that past life. The girl Lisha, who I once was, didn’t feel as if she were now the person in this dog's body. No, it was more like Lisha was a very vivid dream that I had woken up from. That must have been why the system did not recognize Lisha as my true name.

  I looked around for a moment, thinking how to communicate my question to him. Then I got up and slowly began dragging my paw through the dirt, beginning with a large, sloppy E. When I was finished and spelled out “Earth” I looked up at the frog man.

  He scratched one of his long fingers under his wide, round chin. “Earth. Is that your last world? Ribbit.”

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  I nodded.

  “And you are asking if that is where I am from? Ribbit.”

  I nodded again.

  He shook his head. “No, my past life’s world was called Xanathu. Ribbit. It was a dark place, the inhabitants mostly living underground, for the surface air was toxic. I worked as a technician who would go to the surface to maintain the solar panels that powered the underground cities. Ribbit. That is what I was doing one day, when something fell out of the sky and struck me. The next thing I knew, I woke up in an egg, and when I broke free, I was a tadpole, and I could only swim through the small puddle with others like me. Ribbit.”

  So there are even more worlds than this one and the one I remember? That was interesting to know.

  I looked him up and down. His clothing seemed oriental, which made me think of a wandering samurai. That was odd enough, since what I thought of as Asia shouldn’t exist in this world, but I didn’t really know anything outside of the vale.

  Either way, was it thanks to following a certain path that allowed him to end up with a human-like frog form? Well, of course, that had to be the case. I then wondered if I could unlock Paths that would allow me to change so drastically. But I honestly would prefer to just stay as a dog. Having arms and opposable thumbs would be nice, but this body had its advantages as well.

  He stroked his big chin, looking at me. “It is incredible you’ve gotten this far into the forest at your level. Perhaps your Pulse Sense allowed you to avoid the worst dangers. Ribbit.”

  I nodded.

  “Hm, yes, you are a clever one. Ribbit. But your luck will eventually run out.”

  I tensed as he grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it from the sheath. I was prepared to turn tail and run at any sudden movements, but then he lowered the tip of the blade to the ground and began drawing a circle. He drew another circle in the middle, and arrows that I realized were supposed to be mountains around it. He was drawing the vale.

  “We are here, on this side of the lake,” he explained. “There are monsters as high as level twenty here. Ribbit. If you come across one, you’d surely be killed. On the other side of the lake, there are monsters up to level thirty-five. Way on the other side, here, there is an entrance to the depths where the mountains part. Ribbit. I assume this is where your parents must have come from. Depending on how far down you go, you may confront monsters over level 100 there. Ribbit.”

  I watched his sword move around the little map. Then I had an idea, and put my paw down on one side, approximately where I think my den would be.

  He looked at me, turning his head and raising his pipe to his lips.

  I tapped the spot again, looked at him, and then nodded into the forest. I was trying to ask him to help me get there.

  He raised his blade once again, then moved it towards me, causing me to flinch back as it came a little too close. But he pointed out an area closer to my den.

  “I cannot guide you for long. Ribbit. But here, closer to the edge of the forest, monsters will be far lower level. I will take you there. Ribbit. There are chances you’ll come across some that may be dangerous for you, even there, but that would be the safest area for you to train. Ribbit. As for myself, I have my own training to consider. The empire I serve, in a far distant land, has been at war, and my emperor sent me to seek out the great lake spirits and train. Ribbit.”

  Great lake spirits?

  I tilted my head and then looked out to the middle of the lake, where I could barely see an island.

  “That’s right. Ribbit.” He pointed his sword into the middle of the inner circle inside his map. “There is an island here, where I might find one. There are twelve of these lakes known in the world, all of which will give hints to new paths upon discovery of the Lake and the spirit that resides within it. Supposedly, finding all twelve spirits will grant an epic achievement and open a legendary Path. Ribbit. Or at least, that is the rumor. My Emperor believes it to be true and has put his faith in me to go on this quest. If I can succeed, perhaps I can turn the tide of the war and save my people. Ribbit.”

  I felt a little bad asking him to guide me, since he was doing something so important. However, he did offer to help.

  He raised his sword and returned it to the sheath. “Drink from the water, but don’t have too much. Ribbit. It will restore your statuses and give you temporary bonuses. But just know not to drink too often. Once per day at the most, or you may gain negative status conditions, or in worst cases, anger the spirits of the lake. Ribbit. One quick drink should be fine, however.”

  I went ahead and did as he said, walking up to the lake, then lowering my snout down. My tongue lapped up a few sips, and I instantly felt refreshed. I drank a little more, and then the system pinged me.

  [Temporary bonus granted!]

  +100% bonus mana regen until you next sleep.

  +5 to all attributes until you next sleep.

  That wasn’t too impressive compared to the last one I had gotten. The mana regen would be nice, but considering how slow it regenerates at its base, merely doubling it meant I’d still have to be conservative.

  The last temporary bonuses I got were way more impressive, but I had killed something many times higher leveled than me, even if the Black Prowler had done most of the work for me.

  “Very good. Ribbit. Now, grab that bone, and take it with you. I will lead you until nightfall.”

  I trotted over and scooped up the bone. I gave it a few testing chews. It would take some effort to work my way through, I could already tell, but it had a very interesting flavor. There was a richness to it that was far greater than anything I’ve hunted or Dad used to bring us. The frog man seemed to imply there would be something special about it, but I wasn’t sure.

  I looked up at him, wondering why he was helping me. I couldn’t exactly directly ask, though.

  He began leading the way. “If you are ready, let’s be off, then. Ribbit.”

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