For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

After all this searching, the very creature I had been chasing appeared right in front of me—suddenly, out of nowhere. Of course I was struck speechless.

I had imagined days of scouring every termite tower hole, moving from one to the next. I had never dreamed it would just pop up like this.

And on top of that, I could understand its words.

'Looks like opening the Seomseo Gate really did let me talk to frogs! A flawless choice!'

Because of that choice, I could understand what it was saying.

I’d stacked my build, and it hit perfectly. How could I not be stunned?

It felt like those rare times when I hadn’t studied at all, then skimmed a book because Mom nagged me, and the exact passage showed up on the quiz the next day. That kind of electric thrill.

'This is insane.'

Once my frozen brain rebooted, a familiar cry burst out of me.

"GyAAAAAH!"

The creature’s size was about that of a child’s head—bigger than a melon, maybe a little smaller.

Its body shone golden, its forelegs blazed fiery red, and its hind legs glowed deep blue.

An animal bearing three natural colors like that? Unbelievable.

No doubt about it: this was a poison dart frog spirit beast.

Poison dart frog.

Scientific name: Dendrobatidae.

English name: poison dart frog.

A tiny frog native to the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, famous for secreting deadly toxins from its skin.

How potent? Potent enough that local tribes once smeared their arrows with it for war—that much is recorded.

Enthusiasts have given them all sorts of nicknames: Bumblebee, Blue Jeans, Gold, Harlequin, Rainbow—classified by their colors.

The Bumblebee is yellow and black, like a wasp. Blue Jeans have bright blue legs, like denim pants. Gold—entirely golden—is every amphibian fanatic’s dream.

What made these frogs legendary among herpers worldwide wasn’t only their bright colors—it was their parenting.

In Costa Rica’s jungle, predators abound. To protect their eggs, these frogs don’t lay them in streams but in tiny puddles on leaves or plants.

But small puddles dry out.

So the frogs carry their tadpoles on their backs in search of new water.

Tiny frogs carrying tadpoles on their backs—adorable, right? That’s why enthusiasts go crazy for them.

'I really wanted to raise one in my previous life too.'

But importing them was nearly impossible, so I had only seen them once, in the wild, in Costa Rica’s forests.

I touched one then, and the guides panicked:

"S-sir, don’t touch that! You could die!"

"I don’t care if I die today!"

Now, the frog before me seemed to be answering the grudge of my past life—an ultimate “very nice” specimen.

It looked like a hybrid of Gold and Blue Jeans—and something brand new.

Its red forelegs suggested a new variety. As far as I knew, no dart frog had forelegs colored red alone.

The red ones—like the Strawberry Poison Dart Frog—still had blue legs.

This one had a bright golden-yellow belly and head, pure gold.

A belly the color of wet paint, radiant yellow.

Its hind legs were deep blue, like jeans—classic Blue Jeans traits.

It was perfect.

I couldn’t stop grinning, but the frog flinched and said,

—Kwaaaak. "W-what’s with that creepy noise?"

Apparently startled by my scream.

I quickly apologized, smiling brightly.

"S-sorry, did I scare you? Nice to meet you, I’m So-ryong."

—Kwaak? "Strange fellow. You actually greeted me? Usually humans just try to catch me. Are you used to spirit beasts because of that centipede behind you?"

It muttered, as if convinced I couldn’t understand.

Then it stiffened.

—Kwaak!? "Wait, how did you know I was startled?"

"Ah, I can understand spirit beast speech."

—Kwaaa? "R-really? Amazing fellow—no, amazing human. To understand spirit beasts..."

Our conversation hung awkwardly in the air.

I offered it a skewer of roasted termites I’d saved for later.

"Want some more termites?"

—Kwaa. "Gladly."

It shuffled closer and snatched the termite, munching as it spoke.

—Kwaaak. "A human with manners. The others I’ve met all tried to catch me—annoying. Not that they could do anything to me, of course. Hmph."

It had a pompous air, surely because of its poison. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

No matter how much effort humans put in, no one could capture it. Its poison would erase anything that approached.

I grinned.

"Such bad people, huh. Don’t worry. I have no intention of catching you."

Of course, I had no intention of catching.

My intention was to invite.

The frog smirked and pointed at the termite skewers.

—Kwaa. "Hand over a couple more."

"Alright."

—Kwaa. "Going into a termite mound to eat is a hassle. They swarm me."

Even weak termites gang up when a predator invades. Unless it poured out its poison and melted them all, it couldn’t use that toxin freely—hunting termites would be annoying.

I handed over a couple more. The frog swallowed them carefully and said,

—Kwaa. "Oh, one warning: don’t touch my body or my tracks. My skin is toxic. I’m not releasing it now, so it’s fine, but better safe than sorry. Wouldn’t want a polite human like you to die because of me."

"Oh—thanks for the warning."

So it wasn’t just arrogant; it had courtesy, too.

I nodded knowingly, and it asked,

—Kwaa kwaa. "But what are you doing here? Not many humans come around. The last were some red-clothed fellows, trying to catch me—annoying lot. Since they vanished, no humans until you."

"Red clothes?"

At those words, Gun Hye-rin’s voice rang out in our group channel.

"Master, he must mean the Blood Cult. Likely the time they staged their false surrender."

"Ah, of course!"

Gun Hye-rin’s words made sense the more I thought about them.

It was perfectly plausible—the Heavenly Demon Cult had staged their fake surrender, stumbled across the World-Destroying Golden Toad, tried to capture it, failed, and retreated with nothing but a sample of its poison.

If that were true, then the mark on the map wasn’t the toad’s actual lair.

The terrain here didn’t match the map at all.

Wait—unless I thought of the termite towers as mountains. Then everything clicked.

There was a waterway, and if the termite towers were “mountains,” the map lined up perfectly. The tower over there must be what was marked—the toad’s home.

Just then, the frog answered.

—Kwaaak. "Yeah, a few of them annoyed me for a while. Eventually, they left."

"Such rotten bastards."

I feigned outrage, and the frog nodded vigorously.

Then it introduced itself.

—Kwaak. "Ah, I should return your greeting. I am Hongbi (Red Sorrow)."

"Ah, I already said earlier, I’m So-ryong. This is my wife, Gun Hye-rin. And this is my daughter, Cho. On her head are Moji and Soji."

—Kwaa. "What, you had others with you? Wait—you said daughter?"

—Tsrut. "Hello."

—Myu-myu, "Hi."

—Myuu, "Hello, nice to meet you."

—Kwaak!? "What, it wasn’t just one!?"

Moji and Soji poked their heads up from Cho’s head, startling Hongbi.

Without Hye-rin around, those two always tagged along, whining about being hungry. When they appeared, Hongbi’s eyes went wide.

And what shocked it even more was my calling Cho my daughter.

It turned toward Hye-rin with a bewildered look.

—Kwaa? "A human giving birth to a centipede? Incredible!"

That would have made Hye-rin faint if she heard it. I scratched my head and explained.

"Ah, no. Hye-rin didn’t give birth to her. I raised her myself since she was little."

—Kwaak. "I-I see. I thought..."

It looked oddly relieved, even though it wasn’t its business.

Then it repeated its earlier question.

—Kwaa. "So, why are you here? Not a place humans usually come."

That suspicious glint in its eyes—best to be honest. Honesty worked best in conversations like this.

"Well, those red-clothed guys you mentioned, I know them too. They’re very bad people. We caught one of them, and he had a map. That map led us here, following the traces."

—Kwaak. "I see."

I offered another termite.

"Want one more?"

—Kwaaa. "No, I’ve had enough. But now I’ve received your hospitality, and I’ve nothing to give in return."

"No, no, don’t worry about that. Just seeing your beautiful self is more than enough."

—Kwaak? "Beautiful?"

"Of course."

It looked shocked, then asked cautiously,

"So... do you live here alone?"

—Kwaaa. "Yes. Just me, eating termites and living here."

So the many holes weren’t because there was a colony. Just one.

A bit disappointing.

If there were several of such dazzlingly beautiful frogs, that would be heaven itself.

Sensing the lull, I decided to cut to the main point.

"Actually, I love spirit beasts, and I’ve built a family with them. If you’d like, would you come with us?

We even have termite towers back home."

If termites were essential for raising it, the Tang Clan already had the perfect setup. I’d transplanted a queen termite earlier, and now that it was spring, the new queens might already have established more towers.

So raising it would be no problem.

Confident, I asked.

But the frog smirked mischievously.

—Kwaak. "So that’s it. I thought you were just a kind fellow, but in the end, you’re after catching me too?"

"N-no, no! Not catching. Never that."

Not catching—adopting. Inviting.

I protested, but the frog grinned slyly and made an unusual offer.

—Kwaaa. "Normally I’d just melt anyone on the spot. But since you fed me, I’ll give you a chance. If you can take me, then take me. Heh."

It spoke with absolute confidence, backed by poison that could erase anyone.

Excited by the challenge, I asked,

"Really? That’s allowed?"

The reply came quick.

—Kwaak? "Of course. If you can subdue me, then go ahead and take me."

Alright, time to break this spirited creature’s pride a little.