" So as you guys might already know, we get paid just for watching over you guys, and there are 2 of you already, so we won't need any loot. We'll focus on how much you want to train or hunt, and we'll go there. Our tank, Toons, has the ability to attract monsters, so we could hunt any amount depending on what you guys like. So what do you guys want to do? " He's an honest man, huh? Besides, I prefer it that way because I get all the commission for everything I hunt.
" Oh thanks, I just need combat experience." Sol immediately answers what he plans to do. Quite the honest one as well, huh?
" Yeah, same." I say, brazenly. I'm not about to say I need money because I just got here and I don't have this world's money. Well, I guess you could say I was not the honest one.
Besides, I'll just act like I need A LOT of combat experience and somehow made the horned rabbit extinct.
Anyway, Kinmed and the others lead us deep into the forest. It honestly was incredibly trippy, as the forest was wider than I expected. Well, I guess if the island was big while looking on the ground, it would be larger when you're on it.
" Alright, this spot should be perfect for you guys. This is one of the main roads used by the rabbits, so you could fight a lot of rabbits while preventing them from ganging up on you, such as that in the Lair. But if you want that, it's like a few meters north of here. We stopped in a clearing amidst the grassy grounds.
" Did the rabbits really just make a road when they could go through the grass without any problems?" I ask as I look at the clear patch going through the grass.
" They usually eat the grass that goes there. And without any natural predators, they don't really need to hide properly. Besides, even if you kill every single rabbit here, The Lair will just produce more. " Kinmed answered my weird question like it was normal. Well, it was probably considering how subtle yet weird this was.
Shk
" One's coming, one of you guys should go. A rabbit emerges from the thick shrubs as it hops through the clearing. It looked like a normal rabbit from the real world, but it had quite a long and sharp horn on its forehead.
Sol looks at me, trying to ask if I want to go first. I replied by pointing my arms towards the rabbit like I was some sort of theme park owner, magnifying my business.
Well, I wanted to see how strong Sol is as of now, as I could barely remember how good he was at the beginning of the story.
Seeing my confirmation, he pulled out the katana strapped to his waist as he moved out of the clearing. Toons soon followed and immediately activated his ability.
Thud... Thud, he punches his fist together, catching the attention of the rabbit. With their presence now fully in view of the rabbit, it tried to make a run for it, until Toons suddenly roared, stunning the rabbit in place.
And when it seemed like it was about to run off, its eyes turned red and it shifted its sight towards Toons and the others.
Caught by Toon's ability, it tried to pierce him with its long horn, only to be stopped by Sol, who parried the rabbit's horn with his katana.
!
" How did he..." You could hear the whispers of the others as they looked at Sol, who was a few feet away from the Rabbit, yet he managed to reach it in a matter of seconds, almost like he teleported in front of it.
That was none other than Sol's main ability, The Heron's Dance. He had a lot of abilities, obviously due to his Hunter Shop, yet this was what he used the most, and what he based all of his other abilities on. Symbolizing the beauty and elegance of a heron, this swordsmanship was polished to the extreme, making the user's blade flash into a white light due to its quick ability to slash others.
And if that wasn't enough, as the rabbit and Sol flinched from the impact they both had created, the rabbit whilst falling to the ground had its horn sliced in half yet Sol was just falling a second ago, well a second is just a second if its this swordsmanship we're talking about. Sol already had his blade sheathed as the rabbit continued to fall to the ground.
Clap... Clap...
" Wow, are you in your third year already?" Kinmed looks at Sol's form clapping from the show that is called the main character. It was a well-deserved question, as not only did he manage to parry that quickly, but he also chopped its horn into two. Well, the horned rabbit is only a Normal tier monster, meaning a 1* would struggle, a 2* would kill it, and a 3* wouldn't even budge, and Sol was already a 4* hunter, someone who could go one on one with a Shrieker. But this rabbit sells for a lot, not because of its pelt, but because of its horn. You could pierce an elite monster's skin with the durability of this horn, and with Sol managing to cut one seemingly without even that much difficulty, he was truly the main character of this world.
"S-Class, same as-"
"Wow! S class? "I'm still struggling in C class, and you're in S class!"I interrupted Sol as he was about to expose an advantage of mine. I mean, sure, he could handle the consequences of that, but me, who was only a 1*, couldn't possibly handle the power of someone who was not careless and proud. I mean, this world runs on the law of the jungle. I couldn't trust someone who I just met.
Sol looked at me weirdly, but he didn't push it any longer.
A rabbit arrived soon later, and it was my turn to kill it. I didn't really have to show off as they think I'm only a C-Class and my Holic indicates I'm only a 1 star, so the expectations weren't there anyway. They even offered to help me kill one, but I acted like I was hunting horned rabbits as a practice already, so they were cool with me going alone. Well, Sol had all his attention on me though.
I killed it pretty efficiently by blocking its vision and just using a blade to cut its neck effectively. It shocked the others, as a normal 1* would normally struggle to fight normal monsters, but I could kill it in one fell swoop without even breaking a sweat. Sol also looks at me with quite a conflicted expression, probably trying to figure out if I had great combat experience or if I was really hiding something.
Nevertheless, I just continued hunting rabbits efficiently, leaving Sol wondering about my real strength. Sol just went on his own way after failing to learn anything new.
We hunted for almost half an hour straight. The spot we were on was flooded with rabbits, so we hunted an incredible number, forming a small mound of bodies. It seems like my stamina improved as well, as I was able to move for 30 minutes straight without getting too tired. Well, thankfully my ability doesn't use Ki to maintain itself. It's just a one-time use and you could control it as long as I don't use a magic bullet and disperse it.
" Mister Kinmed, do we have space for all these rabbits?" The mound was too distracting for me. Seeing a large number of dead killer rabbits was quite unnerving after all.
" I'm carrying all the equipment we need for this expedition, so I'm afraid I don't. Toons, however... Toons! Could you please put these rabbits in your space pouch? "
Toons nods, and he puts all of the rabbits inside his space pouch.
Anyways, nothing interesting really happened other than Sol's show of ability and the sudden stomach ache of our healer James. I mean, isn't it quite funny that your stomach suddenly aches in the middle of nowhere as a healer of all things? Well, it's not quite funny for James though, so I still feel bad.
" Alright, it seems like we're good to go. Let's wait for James, then we can head back home. Let's-"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
When things seemed to end successfully, a scream suddenly enveloped the whole forest.