Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Brown Horned Rabbit

The rabbit felt a murderous intent approaching the underground nest. But it didn’t know where the exact location was. The rabbit kept a keen eye on its surroundings while warning the other rabbit to stay away from the nest.

Lupa didn’t falter. She kept moving her legs as quickly as possible after noticing the rabbit knew about her presence.

The rabbit was close to the nest, and with a few steps, it entered in the underground nest hiding from the hungry white wolf.

Lupa became angry for not controlling her intent to kill. She was too happy to eat a rabbit that her belly prevailed over her rationally, ultimately releasing a glutinous bloodlust.

Lupa turned her sad gaze at the cloud of dust. She knew rabbits that entered their nest would become impossible to catch, so she hoped for Vincent to succeed in his attempt.

Shortly, her ears twitched and turned as they picked movement, causing her to grin and revealing her wolf fangs. Inside the dispersing cloud of dust was the other rabbit.

Lupa moved her legs as fast as she possibly could. This time failure wasn’t an option. The chance to eat a rabbit was still possible, and the window to receive praise as well.

.....

The cloud of dust dispersed. Surprisingly the rabbit was in the same place it was before. It tried to leave the cloud of dust, but it felt like a never-ending duststorm. No matter how hard it tried to move forward somehow, it couldn’t leave.

The next thing the rabbit saw were the fangs of a white wolf approaching deadly fast. A trial of killing intent followed the white predator along with the urgency not to let the immobilized rabbit run away.

The rabbit tried to run but soon noticed its hind legs didn’t move. Both had a small scratch from the splintered numb coated tip of the spear.

Besides the rabbit was a small rock. It seemed the spear landed of the rock and shattered on impact. The force from the wooden fragments shooting everywhere made a cloud of dust and hit the rabbit in the process.

Vincent and Ester exited the bush. They saw Lupa in the open field, delivering the finishing blow and stealing his kill.

[Yey, we did it! I was never allowed to eat this animal before.]

Lupa said in her wolf form. She was wagging her tail in excitement with the rabbit tightly gripped in her mouth. It looked quite dead.

Vincent closed his eyes while imagining Overheat to stop. Soon, the warm temperature surrounding him vanished, and his green mutated hard skin crumbled into mutated ash.

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[Overheat deactivated.]

[Host Race returning to human.]

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“Congratulations, you managed to catch one. We wouldn’t have caught one if it wasn’t for you.” Vincent praised Lupa for the catch. He didn’t know the brown rabbit couldn’t move.

Lupa liked the praise while keeping the condition of the rabbit a secret. However, the inspection ability soon reviled the cause of death.

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[Name] Brown Horned Rabbit (Corpse)

[Discription] Killed by fangs. Killer Lupa. Assisted by Vincent.

[Loot] None

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Vincent didn’t say a word of what he saw. A happy Lupa was better than a sad or grumpy one. He could also notice how the rabbit had a ten-inch horn poking from its forehead.

They took some time to check if the rabbit’s nest contained the other rabbit, but the hole seemed like a long tunnel to another side. The second rabbit couldn’t be added to the menu.

Later, after Vincent picked most of the Mutated Ash and collected it in a small bag, he decided to continue their journey until it got dark. The three hoped to find something else to eat. However, they found none.

As the moon graced with its moonlight, the group decided to call it a day. They found a small area with a patch grass, a few trees, and a few rocks.

Vincent started skinning the rabbit. He wasn’t disgusted or afraid by skinning or butchering an animal as the survival experience changed him to become a hunter.

Ester and Lupa prepared the campfire. They made a firm stand with branches and placed a stick in the middle to rotisserie cook the rabbit. Their hungry eyes could only gaze at Vincent until it was their turn to start cooking.

Vincent pulled out the horn. He was interested in the rabbit’s horn in his hands. It was quite sharp and durable, almost like a bone. It could be used as a weapon adding to the short sword and wooden spears in their possession.

Ester and Lupa soon received the skinned and hornless rabbit. Lupa impatiently shoved a stick from bottom to mouth and placed it on the rack.

The two girls cooked the rabbit while Vincent cleaned and later framed the brown rabbit’s pelt, adding to the pelt collection.

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[Name] Horn of Horned Rabbit

[Condition] Undamaged

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[Description] A horn from the Horned Rabbit race. The horned rabbit sharpens their horn against rocks to lunge head first for self-defense.

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Vincent decided to inspect the horn after he had to wait for the Lupa to joyfully shout that the food was ready. The result made him frown at how dangerous the cute horned rabbits sounded.

He felt that even a small critter could kill him in this dangerous world. Lupa might’ve gotten hurt if it decided to lunge at her instead of running away.

[I see a pattern here. The squirrels had a small horn, but you probably missed that because your eyes were locked on the Golden Acorn. And now we met with horned rabbits. Is it going to be a Unicorn next?]

Kazumi asked a question filling Vincent’s mind with ideas and fantasies. She knew how much he loved the mythical pegasus horse. A unicorn would also make him raise his brow with interest. He loved horses but had never seen or touched one in person.

“Are there horses with horns or wings in this world?” Vincent looked at Ester as he asked her an important question. His hopes rested on her delicate answer while he stared with a nervously beating heart.

“Hmm...” Ester started thinking. She remembered a story her mother used to sometimes tell as a bedtime story.

“My mother came here from another continent. One split by sea. She would tell many stories about how horses of all shapes and sizes live together in a certain land. Horns, scales, wings. Some look like a half-human horse beastman while others look like a horse dragon.” Ester said the first part with a smile. Then she continued with a frown.

“I once asked my mother to continue the story because she always stopped before the end. It seems the stories were true, and they were once a peaceful race. However, they started hating humans after hunters invaded their lands to hunt them for money.”

“Soon, any non-horse race became their enemy as they hid in a paradise made by what my mother called it, the gift of life. Many became slaves before all this happened. But because they rejected the slave curse, their death arrived a few months later.”

“I never asked to hear about the story ever again. It made me too sad to sleep.” Ester said with a sad expression on her face. The memory of becoming a slave and the hopeless feeling she felt was engraved in her mind and heart.

[It’s nice that they exist. But you better take care of harem member number one. The memory of becoming a slave must be haunting her. It’s a memory that might never fade in her life.]

Vincent shook his head to clear his thoughts. Kazumi was right. He got excited because mythical creatures such as Unicorns and Pegasus existed in this world.

“Don’t be afraid, Ester. You have us by your side, so like it or not, you’re stuck with us, hehe. ” Vincent tried to console Ester while sprinkling some truth with a smile.

“What are you looking sad for? Come on. The food is ready!” Lupa excitedly announced.

Lupa didn’t listen to the story as her ears focused on the rabbit’s sizzling juices dropping in the fire. She spun the stick a few more times, then lifted the stick with joy. It was time to eat.

“We will split this like the chicken... I mean the large bird. Lupa will take the extra piece since she caught the rabbit.” Vincent decided to give Lupa the extra piece. Then he placed one piece of the rabbit each in two bowls and two pieces in one bowl.

Lupa didn’t raise her tail from excitement. Instead, it was down. She didn’t feel the need for praise as she knew Vincent didn’t need her help to catch the Brown Horned Rabbit.

“I failed to catch mine and caught yours instead. Sister needs energy, so you take it.” Lupa averted her eyes from her bowl with a delicious aroma that made her stomach beg to eat. She then swiftly swapped her bowl with Ester’s bowl.

[This is new. Lupa declined an extra serving. Is she guilty for not telling us how the rabbit was immobilized before she caught it? The powerful detective Inspection ability accused you of assisting the kill after all.]

-Yes, it’s a good thing I’m collecting the Mutated Ash, or I might get found out if someone with Inspection finds it on the ground. I might become a mineral in the eyes of many.-

“This sisterhood is such a nice sight to see. Lupa is a good and caring wolf.” Vincent said while he lifted the bowl with his portion.

The smell exiting from the bowl made him drool. Unlike the spicy soup that left him with a terrible lasting impression of never eating with numb paste on his mouth.

Lupa wagged her tail with interest. The word sisterhood made Lupa stare at Ester. Then she asked, “Ester is my sister, right? So what is this sisterhood? It sounds nice.”

Best

“I will only explain if both of you start eating. The food is getting cold and Ester. I agree with Lupa; you need the most nutrients.” Vincent set a condition for his explanation.

Lupa, with great curiosity, began devouring her meal. Ester peeked a few times until she had to accept another extra serving. Vincent then explained what sisterhood was in his own way.

[Your careless word might be able to form the pillars of your harem. A sisterhood of Vincent’s girls. It has a nice ring to it, if I say so myself.]

-Let me enjoy this savory BBQ rabbit. Your harem quotes are starting to become anoying.-

[Fine... the harem advisor will stop for today.]

Later, the three went to sleep. Ester and Lupa had a smile on their faces. It seemed both liked the sisterhood explanation.

Kazumi stood guard as it had become her job. However, it wasn’t a dull night as she saw night activity between the girls.

Lupa woke up first. She spent a few hours training her shapeshifting and climbing tree ability. When Lupa later went to sleep, Ester woke up. It seemed they planned to swap on who could train at night.

Ester froze a cup of water for training. Then she spent a minute staring at Vincent, thinking about something before she slept next to him. Her face was a bit red from being nervous as she slept.

‘I know Vincent is pulling the cart, but he needs to start training as well. Ester is still cute when she is embarrassed, hehe.’ Kazumi thought while gazing at the sleeping Vincent.