“You’re joking, right?”
“Nope.”
The two men stared at each other as Chris looked at the list of his Skills that he’d written on a piece of paper.
“These are your Skills? And your Class and Job?”
“Yep,” Chris nodded.
“War Magister…” Ryan sighed, “What does that even mean?”
“Well, it Evolved from Battlemage, so I guess something similar to that?”
Chris quickly opened his Status screen again, focusing on his Class, reading over the text that appeared when he did so.
[War Magister. Rank S. The War Magister is an elite among elites, their skill with any weapon matched only by their magical might. An army of one, War Magisters are known to change the tides of battle with their expert knowledge and overwhelming strength.]
“That’s all it says,” Chris sighed as he read the text out loud, “This is ridiculous. I wasn’t really paying attention when I left the Dungeon because I was tired and hungry, but this is just…it’s too much.”
“It’s fine,” Ryan nodded, glancing at the mirror on the wall beside them, “Look, I’m sure this is all very overwhelming, but we appreciate your honesty about your Skills and abilities.”
Chris muttered something as he sat with his head in his hands.
“Pardon?”
“I want to go home,” Chris repeated louder, suddenly standing and walking towards the door, “I…I need to see my dad. My sister. I need to tell them what’s happened.”
“I’m sorry,” Ryan said as he shot to his feet, grabbing Chris by the shoulder, “But we can’t let you do that!”
“Can you stop me?”
The words sent a shiver down Ryan’s spine as he looked into the cold brown eyes staring back at him.
“No,” he admitted after a moment, “I doubt we could. But we need to finish this debriefing first. After that, I promise, we’ll get you in touch with your family.”
“You swear?” Chris growled, sending another shiver down Ryan’s back, the sound guttural and aggressive.
“I swear on my life,” the sergeant nodded, feeling the sweat drip down his forehead as the other man stood silently for a moment, before turning and heading back to his chair, Ryan only able to breathe a sigh of relief, “Right, then let’s get this done as quickly as possible.”
------
“You’re joking, right?”
“Nope.”
The two stood at the edge of the small forest, looking out over the fields around them, several of the horned rabbits trotting about as they ate the grass and flowers.
“You seriously want me to try…making friends with one of these things?” Jessica asked again.
“Yes,” Elizabeth nodded.
“You’re insane!” the other girl shouted, startling a couple of the closer rabbits, making them scamper away, “They’ll kill me!”
“Only if you attack them first,” Elizabeth hummed, pulling out another granola bar from her pocket and pressing it into her friend’s palm, “Come on, you can do this!”
“I can’t!” Jessica said again, “I…I just can’t! I’m too scared!”
“I’ll be right behind you, I promise,” Elizabeth said, “You might not notice me, but I’ll be there. I won’t let any of them hurt you.”
“You’re going to do the thing with your Skill again?” Jessica asked, the other girl nodding, “You gave me such a fright the first time you did that, I thought you’d left me behind!”
“And I’m sorry I didn’t warn you,” Elizabeth sighed, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder, before spinning her around and pushing her towards a rabbit that had hopped closer to them, “Now go.”
Jessica swallowed nervously as she glanced back, not seeing her friend for a moment, before she noticed the presence crouching down a short distance away. Turning back to the rabbit, she took a hesitant step forward, then another, slowly making her way towards the monster.
“H-hey, little guy,” she said softly as she got closer, the rabbit immediately turning to look at her, making Jessica flinch back, tears forming in her eyes, “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to s-scare you. I…I was wondering if you’d like to be my friend?”
Jessica was shaking uncontrollably as she looked down at the rabbit, which stared back at her. Suddenly, she felt a comforting hand touching her shoulder, making her feel a little braver, before she held out the granola bar to the monster.
“I’ll give you this,” she said softly, the rabbit’s nose twitching cutely as it hopped closer, Jessica freezing as it approached.
The rabbit sniffed at the granola bar, before opening its mouth and biting into it, the sound of crunching filling the empty field. It quickly finished the half of the treat that was exposed, trying to pull Jessica’s fingers away from the rest.
“D-did you like that?” the girl asked, the rabbit looking up at her with pleading eyes, “I can give you the rest, okay? But only if you’ll be my friend.”
Jessica swallowed nervously again, almost screaming as the screen appeared in front of her, reading over it in confusion.
“Oh, you’re a girl? And I need to give you a name?” she said softly, “O-okay, uhm…Loppy.”
The screen quickly vanished, Jessica gasping as the rabbit began to glow, a small circle with a simple flower design in it appearing on its chest, an identical symbol appearing on the back of her hand. Gingerly, Jessica reached out to the rabbit, the monster immediately pressing its head into her hand, purring quietly as she scratched it behind the ears. After a moment, it pulled back, looking at Jessica in expectation, staring at her other hand.
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“Oh, right!” the girl gasped, opening her hand and giving the rest of the granola bar to the rabbit, “A deal’s a deal, right Loppy?”
Loppy quickly ate the rest of the bar, before hopping up into Jessica’s arms, making the girl gasp as she instinctively caught it.
“Oh,” she said as the rabbit nuzzled her cheek, “You’re really soft, Loppy.”
“Congratulations,” Elizabeth said as she stepped up beside her friend, making both the girl and rabbit jump in surprise, Loppy hopping to the floor and growling at her.
“Loppy, no! This is Beth! She’s my friend!”
The rabbit looked between Jessica and Elizabeth for a moment, before Elizabeth pulled out another granola bar, opening it and offering it to the tamed monster.
“Here, as a way of apology for scaring you,” she chuckled as the rabbit snatched the treat and devoured it in a few bites, before pressing its head against her hand as well, “I think we’ll get on fine.”
“Great!” Jessica said happily, picking the large rabbit up in her arms again, “Now what?”
“Now,” Elizabeth hummed, looking out over the fields, “Now we fight.”
------
“Go, Loppy!” Jessica shouted as the Horned Rabbit charged another, “And take this with you! Speed Up!”
Loppy immediately shot forwards even faster, spearing its horn into the side of the startled rabbit, which flailed wildly as it was thrown to the ground. A rock suddenly shot out of thin air, striking it in the back of its head as it tried to get to its feet, making it spin around to find its new aggressor. It quickly spotted Elizabeth, charging towards her even as it bled out, before skidding to a stop when she seemed to fade into the shadows of the trees.
“Loppy, again!” Jessica shouted, making the rabbit look her way, before the horn pierced its neck, making it squeal in pain, before going limp.
“And that’s another one down,” Elizabeth said as she emerged from the shadows, “Have you leveled up again yet?”
“No,” Jessica shook her head, “It’ll take a while, because I share all the Experience I gain with whatever tamed monsters I use in the fight, so Loppy is getting half of it.”
“Wow, that’s tough,” Elizabeth hummed, “I mean, we’re both already splitting the Experience between us, but you’re still only getting half of that as well.”
“But the other half is going to Loppy and making her stronger,” Jessica chuckled, kneeling down to pet the rabbit, “Aren’t you, girl? You’re going to be the strongest bunny ever!”
Loppy happily accepted the attention, quickly cleaning off her horn as she looked around for another rabbit to fight.
“Calm down, Loppy,” Jessica gently scolded the Horned Rabbit, “You’re only allowed to attack when I tell you to, remember?”
The rabbit just looked at her, then nodded, Jessica squealing as she picked the tamed monster up and cuddled her.
“You’re such a smart girl!”
“Right,” Elizabeth hummed, “I think we’ll be good to try getting past that big rabbit from before after you two level up again. What did you put your Free Points into?”
“Charisma,” Jessica said confidently, “It’s the most important stat for making friends, so I put all my points into it.”
“Right,” Elizabeth nodded, “Just remember to up your other Stats from time to time, you can’t always rely on Loppy or me to protect you.”
“Yes, mom,” Jessica said sarcastically, laughing as she buried her face in the rabbit’s soft fur.
Elizabeth watched for a moment before opening her Status screen, looking at her new Stats as well.
Name: Elizabeth Audrey Sanders
Level: 3
Experience: 5/400
Health: 170/170
Mana: 40/40
Stats:
Strength: 5
Vitality: 7
Dexterity: 10
Intellect: 8
Wisdom: 4
Charisma: 5
Free Points: 0
Skills:
[Throwing lv 8]
[Stealth lv 12]
Each Horned Rabbit only gave ten Experience when killed, which was then shared between the two girls, so they only got five for each successful kill. They’d already killed over sixty of the rabbits, having spent another night in the cave they’d found before. At the rate they were going, they were about halfway to getting Jessica and Loppy to level three, meaning they’d have to stay in the Dungeon for at least two more days.
Sighing, Elizabeth checked her Skills again, happy to see that both Stealth and Throwing had leveled up. Even if both were only D Rank Skills, they had proven extremely useful. She was even getting used to the idea of sneaking around and attacking from the shadows. She wondered what would happen when they managed to get out. Would they be in trouble? Would the police have to get involved because they’d technically broken a law by entering a Dungeon without permission? She was pulled from her thoughts by a loud laugh and crooning call, the two girls turning to see a familiar figure walking towards them from over the hill.
“Found you,” Dylan cackled, lifting his bent and dented pipe onto his shoulder, “You bitches have made me walk all over this fucking hellscape looking for you!”
“W-wait? Dylan?” Jessica gasped, the boy almost unrecognizable under the layer of dirt and blood that covered him, “Why are you here?”
“Why? Cause I killed that bastard Kyle for stopping me before!” the boy shouted angrily, before his tone turned sickly sweet, “But he’s not around to protect you two anymore, so you’re all mine!”
“Go away, Dylan,” Elizabeth said as she held an arm in front of Jessica, standing between them, “Leave us alone.”
“Oh? You want to have some fun first?” the boy laughed, “I’m happy to oblige the queen of the school! Hey, would fucking you make me the king, then? I like the sound of that!”
“He’s gone crazy!” Jessica whispered hurriedly, “We have to run!”
“Run where?” Dylan shouted as he suddenly shot towards them, startling the two girls as he moved far faster than he should have been able to, “You’re right where you need to be! With me!”
“L-Loppy!” Jessica shouted as she threw the rabbit forwards, the beast landing on the ground and charging towards the boy, “Speed Up!”
“Huh?” Dylan blinked as the rabbit shot towards him, “You think I’m scared of a stupid bunny?! Go to hell!”
He swung his pipe at the Horned Rabbit, Loppy jumping into the air to avoid it, allowing it to spin and plant a kick right to his face. He was sent flying backwards, blood spraying from his nose as he crashed to the ground.
“You fucking rat!” he howled as he staggered back to his feet, “I’m going to kill and roast you!”
The rock struck him on the side of the head, making him stagger as he looked around for its source, only seeing Jessica and Loppy. Before he could react, another rock hit his shoulder, making him stagger forwards. The Horned Rabbit immediately took advantage of his broken stance, charging in again and driving its horn into his calf. Dylan screamed in pain, swinging his pipe down at the monster as it pulled free, managing to clip it with the end.
“Loppy!” Jessica screamed as the monster bounced along the ground, mewling as it stood, lifting one of its legs as it hobbled around.
“Ha!” Dylan laughed, “Take that, you stupid animal!”
The third rock slammed into the back of his head, making him spin around and glare at the tall grass around them, blinking as he saw some of it move.
“There you are!” he cackled, shooting forwards again as he swung his pipe through the grass, Elizabeth gasping as it slammed into her chest, knocking her out of Stealth and throwing her to the floor, “Right where I want you!”
Elizabeth groaned as she tried to stand, suddenly finding herself pinned as Dylan sat on top of her, fiddling with the button on his jeans. She tried to struggle, the boy just grabbing her wrists with one hand as he used the other to undo his pants.
“I have waited so long to do this!” he cackled, pulling his jeans down, about to expose his crotch when a shout made him turn and look over his shoulder.
“Strength Up!” Jessica shouted as she swung the pipe he’d dropped in his excitement, smashing it into his face as he was flung back, before she lifted it over her head and brought it down on his head again.
Elizabeth watched in horror as her friend continued to smash the pipe into the boy’s head over and over, blood splattering on her clothes and face. After the fourth hit, Dylan’s body faded into light, Jessica panting as she stared at the puddle of blood on the ground.
“Jess?” Elizabeth wheezed, her chest still aching from the earlier hit.
“I…” the girl choked, tears pouring down her face as she turned to look at her friend, “I killed him.”
“You saved me,” Elizabeth said quickly as she got to her feet, pulling the sobbing girl into a tight hug, “Thank you. You saved me.”
Jessica just clung to her as she cried like a child, Loppy hopping over awkwardly and nuzzling her leg.
