Humans

"...Since you're humans, monsters may attack you in the Underground. If that happens, don't be afraid. Try speaking to them kindly, and I'll step in to resolve things."

As Toriel spoke, she led the two of them over to the training dummy.

"Come on, try talking to the dummy."

Linde stepped forward. He remembered that, in the game, whatever Frisk had said had scared away the ghost inside the dummy, eventually causing an angry dummy to attack the protagonist in Waterfall.

If possible, he hoped to avoid that battle...

"Um... Hello, Mr. Dummy. I have a dummy at home too, but unfortunately, I accidentally broke it. If you're willing, would you like to be my dummy?"

Before Linde could decide what to say, Frisk had already spoken. He stiffly turned to look at the dummy, only to find that it looked much more lifeless. Apparently, the ghost inside had already been scared away.

Linde couldn't help facepalming. "If you put it like that, the dummy's probably going to think you want to break it."

Frisk thought for a moment. "Hmm, I guess you're right. But it's fine. It's only a dummy. I'll think carefully about what to say when I face a monster."

Linde sighed inwardly. It seemed that battle was unavoidable after all.

"Well done, children! It seems you understood exactly what I meant!" Toriel praised them happily.

As luck would have it, a Froggit attacked them shortly afterward!

Froggit was a general term for a type of frog-like monster, divided into two varieties: ordinary Froggits and Final Froggits.

Compared to ordinary Froggits, Final Froggits were more intelligent and more powerful.

Ordinary Froggits mainly lived in the Ruins, while Final Froggits mainly lived in the Core.

The Froggit before them blocked their path, seemingly intent on attacking them.

Information about the monster appeared before Frisk's eyes:

[Froggit]

[Attack 4][Defense 5]

[Life is difficult for this enemy.]

Frisk tried to say something, but before she could find the right words, Toriel walked over.

Toriel said nothing and simply stared coldly at the Froggit. Under the pressure of her gaze, the Froggit wisely backed down and left.

"All right, let's keep going." Toriel clapped her hands and smiled.

"Hey, Frisky, don't you think that look she just gave it was pretty scary?" Linde leaned close to Frisk's ear and asked.

"A little... Wait, what did you just call me?! Was that on purpose or an accident?!"

"It was accidentally on purpose... Pfft, no, uh... Lovely weather today, isn't it? Look at that su... Uh, I guess we can't see the sun."

In the blink of an eye, Linde had slipped behind Toriel, and Frisk chased after him, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

"Hey, hey, wait! No hitting below the belt!" Linde ran circles around Toriel, dodging Frisk's attacks.

"All right, all right, enough playing around. Let's keep going." Toriel affectionately ruffled both children's hair, then took their hands and led them onward.

After they passed a puzzle involving a floor covered in spikes, Toriel crouched down, patted their heads, and said:

"Children, you've both done very well so far. However, I have something rather difficult to ask of you... I want you to walk to the other end of this room on your own... Please forgive me."

With that, Toriel turned and swiftly walked toward the other end of the corridor. Neither of them could keep up with her, but they could only chase after her toward the far end.

Along the way, they carefully surveyed their surroundings. Once they confirmed there was no danger, they cautiously advanced a little farther.

And so, the two of them reached the end of the corridor, jumping at shadows the whole way.

"Um... Hey, Linde..."

"Don't worry. We're not being followed right now."

"Uh... No..."

"Toriel won't abandon us. Don't worry."

"Um... What I wanted to say was..."

"It's okay. That flower probably won't pose a threat to us for now..."

"I just wanted to ask if you could let go! You're about to rip my clothes!" Frisk angrily slapped Linde's hand.

"Heh, sorry..." Linde awkwardly let go. He had simply noticed a few monsters poking their heads out to watch them from time to time, and he was a little nervous that they might suddenly attack.

Yes, just a little nervous.

Just then, Toriel emerged from behind a nearby pillar. "All right, don't worry, children. I haven't abandoned you. I was only testing your independence. I'll be going off on my own for a little while now. Until then, stay here and be good while you wait for me to come back, all right?"

Toriel thought for a moment, then handed Linde an old cell phone. "I'll give you this phone. Call me if you need anything, all right?"

"Okay." Both children nodded obediently.

"I'll be off, then. Be good." Toriel smiled in satisfaction, then left the corridor.

After Linde handed the phone to Frisk and had her put it away in her menu, the two sat on the floor and began chatting.

"Hey, Linde, where are you from?"

"Oh, I'm from Dragon Country."

"Dragon Country? I know it! Long Aotian, the world's strongest elite soldier, is from Dragon Country! He's also the current world-record holder for the hundred-meter dash, at just zero point two seconds! He's amazing!"

"Haha, right?" Linde replied with a smile. Suddenly, he sensed something was off. "Wait, how many seconds did you say it took him to run a hundred meters?"

"Zero point two seconds. Why?"

Looking at Frisk's earnest expression, Linde felt his facial muscles twitch.

Five hundred meters per second? Faster than sound?!

Sure enough, the humans of this world and those of his original world were practically two different species. If the humans here really were as weak as the ones in his original world, then it really should have been "the monsters sealed the humans on the surface."

Linde carefully examined his own body and discovered a wondrous energy within him. Using it, he could sprint at around a hundred meters per second if he wished.

Suddenly, Linde understood. This was what they called "determination," a powerful force of mind over matter, and the reason humans in this world were so strong.

"So that's it... Hehehe... Well, what about you, Frisk? Where are you from?"

The two continued chatting idly, and the Ruins were filled with a cheerful atmosphere.