With a few exceptions, Luna looked almost exactly the same as he remembered when his eyes were still good. The new long rabbit ears on the top of her head and ruby red eyes accentuated her cuteness.
Leo became nervous when his sister didn't say anything. He had forgotten to go look for her in the game up until now and his current state of dress was less than ideal.
Barry was wondering what sort of relationship between the two of them and couldn't resist the urge to ask the question.
"Do you know that brat?".
"Oh y-yeah. She is my SistAAAAAAAGHH"
"LEEOOOOOOO!!"
Leos nervous confirmation ended in a scream as Luna launched herself at him, practically tackling him and bear hugging him as she loudly cried with tears streaming down her face.
Gone was the cool and sophisticated yet still cute girl, replaced by a blubbering mess who cried at reuniting with her brother. She didn't want to let him go and squeezed him tighter.
[-60]
An alarming damage number flashed above Leos head as he felt his bones being crushed from her overbearing hug. Growing up with her, he knew that she was strong but this was ridiculous! One hug and he was almost dead.
"H-hey! Let go of him! He will die if you dont!"
Barry panicked as he moved forward to try and pry Leo from Lunas grasp. It took a minute or so but Barry was able free Leo giving him a chance to breathe.
The tears of a foolish sister only became stronger seeing her brother alive and well. The relief that washed over her seeing him alive and in good shape felt like a massive burden off her back was too overwhelming for her. She sank to her knees in front of Leo bawling, trying to wipe her eyes with her hands as they kept falling, even her nose began to run to run.
"Sis…its okay! I'm okay…. We will all be okay"
Leo consoled Luna, moving to give her a gentle hug himself while still trying to catch his breath. He gave Barry a look of gratitude for saving his life from what would have been an embarrassing death.
It took nearly 10 minutes for Luna to stop crying and to compose herself. She stood up, dusting her legs as her ears burned a fiery cherry red, the shame of crying so uncontrollably was a big blow to her pride.
She coughed a bit before growling
"Today never happened. If you even breathe a word about this, I will make you wish you were dead…".
Her voice fading as Leo began laughing softly.
"Whatever you say Sis. Your words are the law right~?"
A bright smile plastered on his face. Even if today was just a dream and this was the end, to him it was still be a happy family reunion.
"Thats right. You should always listen to your beautiful and wise older sister! It is a little brothers duty to make their big sister look good…OK?!"
Luna put her hands on her hips and tried to look serious.
There was a brief moment of silence before both of them burst into laughter, their cheerful demeanour showing how much they loved and missed each other. To the both of them, it was almost like they had gone back in time to a point before everything had gone downhill.
Barry watched his apprentice smiling and laughing so happily after reuniting with her sibling, something that he had never seen from before. He had thought the girl had been a little cold, every one of her smiles or laughs around him had felt forced at best. He was gratified to see that she could truly smile like a girl her own age should.
"So what do you think of the game so far? I've only played for a few days but it has felt really intense. I feel like I have grown even stronger"
Luna eyes showed just how curious she was about Leos own experience leading up to the village.
Luna then noticed the bloodstains on Leos clothes. Barry and Leo felt the surrounding temperature drop several degrees and a rumbling noise came from somewhere within Lunas body. The light in her eyes dimmed and red trails of smoke rose from her body: Bloodlust given physical form.
"Who… Who.. am I going to have to execute for hurting my baby brother!"
Lunas voice was emotionless as she stared at the blood on her brothers clothes. Leo could feel sweat dripping down his back as he recognized that his sister was beyond furious now. Even with her adorable rabbit ears, both Barry and Leo couldn't help but be a tiny bit afraid.
"Sis it's not my blood! "It's blood from the 5 Goblins I killed. I'm Level 2 now!"
Leo grabbed his sisters shoulders in an attempt to get her to focus on him before she charged off somewhere and caused unspeakable havoc. . Thankfully, his desperate plan worked as Lunas eyes regained some light
"You are Level 2 already?! I still haven't reached level 2 yet. Stingy old man doesn't give much Exp to level up!"
Lunas eyes turned to glare at Barry, feeling wronged that her little brother had surpassed her.
"I'm not an old man! And it can't be helped. You are supposed to gather a foundation before you face off with monsters. Inexperienced hunters may die if they aren't careful around monsters like goblins. Not everyone can be lucky like your brother and survive an encounter with a..Wait a second, did you just say you killed 5 goblins?!"
Barry retorted, trying to justify himself but was instead shocked by the information Leo had nonchalantly blurted out.
"Yeah. It was really rough fighting 3 of them alone at the same time but I managed." Leo shrugged.
Barry could feel his jaw dropping as he looked at what he could only describe as a little monster in the making. Luna puffed up her chest with pride, giving the Lumberjack a smug grin as if to show off that she was proud to have such a talented little brother. Her anger quickly fading when she found out the monsters that tried to bully her brother were already dead.
"By the way Sis. What do your stats look like? I didn't really have a baseline to what is considered good"
Leos curiosity rose as he looked at his sister with a pleading gaze. She could tell he wanted to see her stat page. Letting out a sigh conceded to his request.
"Oh what am I gonna do with you~...Alright [Status].
The status screen showed up before Lunas eyes and with a little bit of fiddling, it quickly became visible to Leo as well.
-Character Status
-Name: Luna
Race: Warbunny
-Title: Lumberjack Apprentice
-Class: N/A
-Age: 19
-Level: 1 (79/100exp)
-Status: Healthy
-Health: 105/105
-Mana: 10/10
-Attack: 70
-Defence: 15
-Dodge: 30
-Strength: 10
-Endurance: 7
-Agility: 10
-Dexterity: 5
-Intelligence: 2
-Wisdom: 1
-Charisma: 7
-Luck: 4
-Free Points: 0
-Skills: Bloodlust (Innate Racial), Axe Mastery (F), Throwing (F), Appraisal (Innate), Rampage (Innate Racial)
-Equipment: Hatchet(x2), Leather Vest, Leather Pants
"So how is it?" Luna asked, eyes shining brightly as she expected her brother to praise her for being so strong.
"It is exactly what I expected from you Sis…."
Leo smile was twitching as he, tried not to laugh . Having grown up with her, he knew that behind her usually calm cool exterior that she showed to others, Luna was in actuality an airhead. While she may be a genius in the sense of physicality, she was a lost cause when it came to academia.
However, Leo did not have the guts to tell her that as he knew that it would end in one of two ways: He either gets punched or makes her cry again. None of those were ideal, especially the punch since he had almost died from a mere hug. The thought of taking a punch from her made him shiver.
'Nope. No way!'
Leo mentally shook his head. It was always better to play it safe and compliment her.
"You are really amazing Luna!"
Lunas cheek puffed her cheeks as if she sensed something was off with the praise Leo was giving her. She narrowed her eyes, shooting him a suspicious glare
"Is it because of my low intelligence and wisdom stats?"
Leo gulped nervously, eyes trembling as he mentally cursed his sisters senses. Why the hell were they so unnecessarily sharp in cases like this?!
Trying to hide his nervousness, Leo tilted his head and tried to act as innocently as possible
"I have no idea what you are talking about Sis…"
Leo thought that his poker face was pretty good and had hid his expression well but Lunas suspicion became a fact in her mind as her little brothers tail was tucked close to his body and his cat ears were laid flat against his head, showing that he was nervous just like any other typical cat.
'He's so cute as a kitty!'
Luna mentally took note of that as she glared at him. However no matter how cute he was, such a cheeky brat needed to be punished. She let out a bestial roar as she raised her hand
"Don't you lie ya little turd!"
She quickly but powerfully flicked Leo between the eyes. A short scream came from Leos mouth as a loud bang akin to a gunshot rang out.
[-19]
[Stunned!]
Leos head snapped back as the finger connected with his head. His feet left the ground and his eyes rolled back and his vision became white as he lost consciousness. Smoke rose from the spot where Luna flicked his head.
Luna made a 'Hmph' noise as she crossed her arms, somewhat satisfied with the punishment she had doled even as Leo was laid out flat on his back.
Slight twitching the only sign that he wasn't dead yet. Smoke rose from Leos forehead as Barry panicked seeing his apprentice nearly murder their brother in front of him
Barry pulled out a potion and knelt down to feed Leo. Luna looked on without saying anything but deep down felt really guilty. How could she be grateful that her brother was alive only to nearly kill him herself! However, her pride didn't allow her to apologize. Instead she crossed her arms and growled
"Did you learn your lesson? Don't mess with the majesty of the big sister!".
As the potion rapidly recovered his wounds, Leo sat up coughing a bit. He felt wronged but didn't dare say anything. He had no desire of being beaten again.
'Would there ever come a day that a younger brother could triumph over his elder sister?
He couldn't help but wonder yet he knew today was not that day.
"Thank you Mr. Barry" Leo said, turning back to face his saviour. "You have saved my life again". He said sincerely.
"No.No. There's no need to thank me. I can't let a young talent like you die before you have a chance to soar"
Barrys reply was a bit sheepish, not willing to admit that his apprentice was scaring him a little bit as she reminded him of his own older sister.
Despite not saying it, Leo recognized that look in his eyes, having seen it quite often on his own face. Leo held out his hand to Barrys and whispered
"Comrade..".
Barry looked at Leos hand then at the boy himself. When he looked in his eyes, he realized what he meant. He then firmly grasped the boys hand
"Comrade!".
The two of them had formed a bond of mutual understanding: Older Sisters are scary!
Luna looked at the two men bonding and for some reason felt annoyed but chose to not act upon it. Instead she sent a message to Lily, telling her that she had found her brother in the game. Lily had almost immediately replied and said she would be there soon as her shift at the shop was over so they could party up and go questing together.
With no other choice,she sat down and waited for her friend to show up. Her eyes began roaming over her brother's body, especially in the areas around the ears and tail which looked fluffy and cute even to her eyes.
Leo noticed his sisters gaze and approached her again.
"Sis. I have a few questions I have to ask. I need to know"
he was nervous, afraid to hear the potential worst case scenario had come to fruition. He bit his lips from the anxiety of it all.
"What is happening in the real world? Am I okay? Or am I still going to die? Or….am I already dead there….?"
Luna closed her eyes before replying in a soft voice
" The doctors say that you are getting better. They are seeing noticeable improvements in real time. Though there was one thing that surprised me."
Relief washed over Leo as he heard what he had hoped to hear. He place his hands over his heart with relief, The feeling of hearing his heartbeat had never been so comforting. A game had somehow managed to save his life. However, the last part of his sisters statement piqued his curiosity. With a tilt of his head he asked
"What was that?".
"The doctors told me that it seems that you are growing a tail"
Luna had a faint smirk on her face as she glanced at Leos tail. .
"Sorry. I dont think I heard you correctly. What did you say?"
Leo blinked his eyes in disbelief. He shook his head thinking he must have misheard her
"No you heard correctly. Somehow you are growing a tail"
She nodded her head confidently, as if it was a matter of fact before giving him a big thumbs up.
"You are gonna be even cuter soon1"
Leo could feel his sanity rapidly crumbling when he heard that.
His mind and expression was left blank, leaving only 3 words for him to say.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"