In the early morning, Kito woke up, still feeling a hint of excitement. He hurriedly dressed and prepared himself for the day ahead. The thought of facing monsters in the forest sent shivers of anticipation down his spine, but he knew he also had to be cautious and heed his father's teachings.
After a quick breakfast, Kito headed towards the forest that bordered their property. He quickly reached the edge of the forest and made his way to the entrance of his hideout. He didn't want to attack just any monster, and so he didn't want to venture too deep. He stayed behind a tree, observing the surroundings, and moved discreetly from time to time. According to his father, if a monster spotted him, it would attack immediately. A situation Kito preferred to avoid for now.
After spending an hour watching what was happening around his hideout, he had only spotted a type of sabre-toothed rabbit with red eyes that gave them a terrifying appearance. They were often alone, sometimes two or three at most. But suddenly, while trying to move quietly, Kito stepped on a pile of twigs that made a loud cracking noise. The rabbit he was watching turned around immediately, and leaped towards him, its sabre teeth leading the way. At that moment, a new quest appeared:
"Kill 10 wererabbits. Reward: 300 exp."
Everything happened so quickly that Kito didn't have time to think. Fortunately, his father's training was paying off. Reflexively, he raised his sword to block the wererabbit's teeth, and the impact sent them both reeling. Regaining his composure, Kito adopted the fighting stance taught by his father.
After a quick moment of thought, he lunged forward towards the beast and swung his sword in an arc, hoping to slice the creature in half. But the wererabbit nimbly dodged and counterattacked. With a swift evasive move followed by a quick strike, Kito managed to land a powerful blow on the wererabbit, knocking it down. To his great surprise, the creature's anger only intensified, drool flowing from its sharp teeth and its eyes taking on a blood-red hue. Without thinking, the wererabbit lunged at Kito in a desperate assault. Kito narrowly dodged by positioning himself in the creature's blind spot as it leaped in a straight line, and managed to kill it.
"Congratulations on defeating your first wererabbit (lvl 3). Exp gained: 10."
It took him a few moments to recover from his emotions. He was both very happy to have killed his first monster but also felt some guilt. Luckily, his father had explained that monsters were under a sort of "grip," similar to a rage, which clouded their thoughts, and they only thought about killing everything they saw, with no other instinct than violence.
After examining the lifeless body, Kito instinctively thought about the magical ring he was wearing. It automatically activated and stored the monster inside. This was good news because he could examine it later at his leisure. For now, he focused on his quest and decided to continue hunting the following wererabbits. They weren't that strong; the hardest part was finding them. Not daring to go deep into the forest, he stayed close to the edge, where there were few monsters. By the end of the day, he had killed three more.
The next day, Kito returned to try and complete his quest. As he searched for them, he began to recognize potential locations where these creatures might be found. By the end of this second day of hunting, he had killed eight in total.
On the third day, he was motivated to kill the last two wererabbits to complete his quest, which had become quite easy for him. Wererabbits were very predictable and leaped in straight lines, which allowed him to work on his evasions and counters. He collected and stored each body in his ring.
When he killed the last wererabbit, a notification appeared:
"Quest completed, congratulations! 300 exp gained. Congratulations, you have reached level 6."
At the same time, a wererabbit, or rather something that resembled one, appeared in Kito's field of vision. This rabbit was at least twice the size of the others and seemed much more powerful.
"Bonus Quest: Defeat the evolved wererabbit. Reward: 1 additional level."
This battle was going to be much more difficult. He instantly took a combat stance, ready to face this formidable foe.
Kito, his gaze focused and muscles tense, prepared to face this fearsome opponent. The evolved wererabbit, its eyes bloodshot and its saber teeth even longer than those of the other rabbits, stared at him with an unsettling intensity. This battle would be tough, and Kito was certain the beast wouldn't let him go easily.
The two adversaries sized each other up for a moment before the evolved wererabbit leaped at Kito with astonishing speed and agility. Kito, partly thanks to his experience gained during previous fights, barely dodged the attack. He took the opportunity to strike the creature, but it quickly moved, and Kito only managed to inflict a minor wound.
The evolved wererabbit, furious at being hit, lunged at Kito again. This time, Kito anticipated the attack and used the creature's force to perform a takedown, throwing it against a tree. The evolved wererabbit got up, shook its head, and charged at Kito once more.
The battle intensified, with the creature's attacks becoming faster and fiercer. Kito, relying on his father's teachings and his experience as a wererabbit hunter, managed to dodge most of the assaults and inflict some injuries on the beast. However, he began to tire, and he knew he couldn't keep up this pace indefinitely. In a moment of clarity, Kito remembered a particular piece of advice from his father:
"There is always a weak point, even in the most powerful monsters. Find it and use it to your advantage."
Carefully observing the evolved wererabbit, Kito noticed that the creature tended to protect its left flank, where he had first wounded it. He realized that this was its weak point.
With a plan in mind, Kito feigned fatigue and lowered his guard. The evolved wererabbit, thinking it had an opportunity to end the fight, lunged at him with increased rage. But Kito was ready. At the last moment, he dodged to the side and struck the monster's left flank with all his might.
Though the wererabbit was powerful, it didn't have much health, which killed it instantly.
Pleased with himself, Kito sat down and stored the monster in his ring.
"Congratulations for completing the quest. Reward: 1 level"
Kito was now level 7. To continue in this forest, he would need more strength. It was the perfect time to allocate some statistic points. Not wanting to do it carelessly, he decided to return to his hideout to rest a bit. After careful consideration, Kito decided to allocate his statistic points in a balanced manner. His new characteristics looked like this:
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Name: Kito
Race: Human?
Level: 7
Current Exp: 5 / 635
Health Points: 45
Mana: 40 / 40
Class: None
Subclass: None
< Strength: 5 >
< Dexterity: 8 >
< Vitality: 8 >
< Intelligence: 8 >
Skills:
- Hand-to-hand combat (E)
- Sword combat (E)
Magical Affinity:
- Earth: Rank E
???
Statistic Points Available: 0
-----
After allocating the points, Kito could already feel the changes. He decided to leave his hideout and venture deeper into the forest to test his new abilities. At that moment, a different monster, appearing far more dangerous than the others, appeared before him, with murderous intent.
The monster, resembling a giant wolf with scales and horns, stared at Kito with a wild gleam in its eyes. Kito prepared himself for a difficult fight, but he was ready to take on the challenge. He got into a combat stance and faced the creature, determined to demonstrate his strength and courage.