Crystal Rabbits were not an opponent to be underestimated.
They had a small body, and a prominent horn stuck out of their foreheads. Their crystal horn and eyes got them their name. They looked particularly harmless, except for their rather creepy appearance for a rabbit.
So, why was this creature infamous for being the worst beginner hunting target?
Because their agility. These little guys were fast as f**k.
So fast to the point where unless you could beat their speed, if they wanted to run away from you, it would be as simple as jumping into the nearest bush.
You're guaranteed to never catch another glance of them unless you're desperate enough to look for a long time.
The rabbits were sensitive to all five senses except for one.
They didn't have good eyesight.
As per mentioned earlier, their eyes were covered by a layer of crystal. Even though they weren't blind, they had a hard time seeing objects, especially ones that were in a far distance. Their other senses covered up for this drawback.
Imagine aiming down at one, believing that you would get the little shit, and then missing because the rabbit sensed your hostility from meters away.
Losing to a partially blind prey.
Ha!
An instant recipe for disappointment!
Despite their low catch rate, there were still many people that tried their luck and went down to hunt the rabbits because of their high selling price. Their horns as materials, and their meat as food. It was good money.
[It's a nice target for you. You bought a bow earlier, right? Do you think you have excellent vision?]
As they began to enter the Crystal Rabbits' spawning area, Elgin became more and more unconfident.
"Well.. Even expert hunters have problem dealing with Crystal Rabbits. This will be my first time shooting a bow, how can I possibly.."
[I believe in you, though! Just try it out on your own first. After that, I'm going to tell you what you did wrong and what you should do instead. With your current abilities, I'm one hundred percent certain that you're able to kill these little guys.] Cecily assured him with a wide smile.
Elgin wasn't entirely convinced, but he thought to give it a shot anyway. It wouldn't hurt him. Although the rabbits were fast, they were skittish and rarely would attack humans. They preferred to run away straight up without engaging in battle.
This was the first hunting ground.
If there were strong monsters in this kind of area, Ulya and the other neighbouring small town would be destroyed once a swarm occurs.
Naturally, the rabbits, like other monsters in the Rudis Forest was not life threatening to a hunter if one was sufficiently prepared, just like Elgin did.
Not long after walking without a destination, Elgin came across one Crystal Rabbit. His bow was already firmly clutched in his hands, but there was a lot of nervousness in him.
He stopped in his tracks, afraid to startle the creature even by the slightest bit. He immediately went into position and aimed at the rabbit that was currently feeding on some wild plants.
[You got this! Shoot, child!] Cecily cheered as she pointed towards the rabbit.
'She makes it sound so easy...' Elgin sighed.
It was clearly not an easy task.
Elgin took a deep breath, pulling the bow and aiming it towards the monster.
This was, again, his first time using the bow. He didn't believe that he could succeed, to be honest.
Aiming down at it was quite easy to his surprise. The bow didn't make him uncomfortable, and he was able to get into the correct stance and hold.
He took another deep breath, trying to calm his nerves so his shot's chance at landing wouldn't be dampened.
Sadly, those several loud breaths were enough for the Crystal Rabbit to sense that Elgin was trying to attack it.
It looked towards Elgin's direction once and its long ears immediately straightened up. It had confirmed an attacker's presence.
Its instincts to run away kicked in, and the fast rabbit began to scramble everywhere to look for an exit.
"..!" Elgin was shocked. The creature was sensitive beyond imagination.
He cursed internally, trying to follow the rabbit's movements and shoot at least once. While intensely looking at it, Elgin's talent came to reveal itself once more. His bluish mana showed up, forming a stripe of faint light beside the corners of his eyes.
It elevated his senses and made it easier to trace the rabbit down. From his original aiming spot, his arms suddenly jerked to flick to the side, where the rabbit was headed. The mana vision helped subtly guide him to fulfilling the rabbit's demise.
The target was locked on.
'..Look at this child. Using mana vision again.. As I had expected, this kid is the real deal. A crazy talent worth looking forward to.' Cecily thought.
She knew about the perks of using Mana Vision, and did plan to suggest it to Elgin once he failed his first shot. Previously, Elgin had used it the wrong way. It ended up with him wasting too much mana just in order to see her.
But now.. he was actually starting to implement it in battle.
Crossing her arms, Cecily harrumphed. She wanted to personally teach this child how to use and sustain mana vision properly, but the kid didn't need that sort of help.
'Did he turn this way because I was constantly around him..? Is that even possible?' Cecily theorized.
She was a pure faerie. Born from no bloodlines. The Goddess 'created' her. From birth, she was brimming with spiritual power. Those who were sensitive to her power could experience some shifts in their own powers, but cases like Elgin was abnormal.
His adaptability, growth rate, thinking speed, everything. He was a natural. A terrifying gifted child.
Elgin definitely continued to surprise Cecily at every turning point. Proving himself as a great candidate for their mission yet again.
Elgin released his arrow with the mana vision still turned on. The arrow was aimed a bit farther from the rabbit instead of where it was currently at.
The mana vision didn't just help notify him of the rabbit's aggression, but also helped him form a trajectory of what the rabbit would try to follow. It was just for a slight second, but it was enough for him to aim at the designated location.
The agitated Crystal Rabbit tried to hop away from the location.
Unfortunately for it, Elgin's well placed arrow did not let it escape. The sharp weapon pierced through the rabbit's body and drew a loud shriek out of it. The rabbit struggled for a bit more, but soon turned lifeless after the fatal wound.
[1 Crystal Rabbit successfully killed.]
[Experience points raised by 3323.]
"Yes!!" Elgin cheered after seeing the notification pop up, informing him of his first kill.
Not only that, the experience it gave was also very tasty.
'But why is it so much higher when it's just a rabbit?'
Because Elgin ended up taking it down in one swoop with just some minor problems, he didn't feel like it was that big of a deal to guarantee this high of a disparity in points.
In actuality, what Elgin did would probably shock most beginner hunters to death with how easily he did it.
[Oh, my sweet, shallow child. Are you perhaps thinking that since the rabbits are weaker, they should give less experience points?]
"..Isn't that how it works?" Elgin jerked backwards with Cecily's strange tone, furrowing his brows.
The rabbits weren't as strong as the wolves.
[I'm not the creator of the System. How would I know?] Cecily stuck out her tongue and spoke in a mocking tone.
"Ha?! Then why did you speak like you knew the truth?!" Elgin asked.
[..I didn't imply anything! It's just a random guess.. Isn't it just because these rabbits are meant to be hard to take down? You normally would have a hard time killing one, so the experience is boosted compared to a wolf, which doesn't really have a prominent good point. The rabbits are considered a 'higher' level threat due to its supposed troublesome traits. Though, it didn't affect you at all.. Tch!]
That explanation was acceptable.
Elgin nodded. It didn't really matter to him as long as he gained the necessary experience points. One rabbit was currently equal to five wolves. This would help him reach the next level easier.
[Anyway, you hunted one of them, so the rest should be no problem at all, right? Let's look for more rabbits!]
From there, he continued to make his way through the forest and locate some more rabbits. He took down each and every single one his eyes fell upon.
With it, his mana vision was also starting to improve. Elgin knew that he was using his mana, but didn't focus on it specifically. He just knew that it helped him shoot his enemies down.
'His mana usage is lessening, but his vision still stays effective. Just like that, he figured out what to do by himself, and he didn't even mean for it or anything. Haa.. is this a joke? An anomaly like this..' Cecily was rather shocked by everything.
Elgin amazed her, but at the same time worried her.