'Seems like they are busy among themselves.'
I looked at the two Greenhorn rabbits that were preoccupied with each other, negligent of their surroundings.
After fighting the first Greenhorn rabbit I stored its body inside the ring and began wandering.
These Greenhorn rabbits were the first beast I found after dealing with the first Greenhorn rabbit.
If it was before I wouldn't have thought of attacking these two Greenhorn rabbits together. But after searching for a few hours these were the only beast I found.
I needed to quickly level up and gain some stats otherwise my chances of even escaping stronger beasts would be slim.
'It should be okay. From the previous fight, it is clear that my agility can keep up with their speed. With the skill, I should be able to fight both of them… Still, just to be careful.'
I began searching around for a stone to throw and distract the Greenhorn rabbits before rushing to them.
'Not this one. Not this. Yes, this is perfect.'
Picking the stone, I aimed it at the tree on the opposite side.
THWACK-!
The moment the stone collided I rushed at the two startled rabbits.
I was able to swiftly cross the distance. But my loud steps alerted them.
Nevertheless, the stone had bought me enough time.
Thrusting the spear, I aimed at the rabbit closest to me.
The rabbit only moved at the last second, barely avoiding a critical injury.
Expecting to miss my first strike I quickly put more strength in my forearms and the swung the spear towards the other rabbit.
The move was unexpected and caught the rabbit off guard. The blade of the spear made a gash on its body as it was flung away.
By now the first rabbit was ready to rush at my face with its horn ready. Noticing it I also thrust my spear again towards it.
Seeing the incoming spear, the rabbit quickly got ready to dodge.
"Pierce."
But before it could do anything, the tip of the spear abruptly elongated and pierced its stomach, killing it on the spot.
Just now I had activated the skill I had to kill the Greenhorn rabbit. When I was moving through the forest earlier I used the free time to get familiar with it.
The skill 'Pierce' elongates the metallic tip of my spear almost instantly. This makes it perfect for a surprise attack in close-quarter combat.
After a few moments, the spear reverted back to its original size.
"Using a skill makes me feel somewhat less energetic and empty." I rubbed my hand over my stomach and muttered.
"Hmm, the exp is still not given. Is it still alive?"
I looked at the Greenhorn rabbit I killed without using the skill.
RUSTLE-!
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBefore I could even think about the sound I just heard, my body moved on its own.
As I jumped sideways, I felt something grazing my shoulder. I rolled on the ground causing the dust to jump and cling to my clothes.
I hurriedly stood up and looked at the new Greenhorn rabbit in front of me. I unconsciously gulped at the sight of the new Green horn rabbit.
This one was twice the size of the previous ones, and so was its horn. This Greenhorn rabbit was at a higher level than the previous ones!
Weirdly enough my body had dodged the first attack on my own. But I didn't even have the time to think about it when the Greenhorn rabbit suddenly dashed towards me.
Without wasting any time, I also swung the spear to stop it in its track.
When the swing had almost reached its head, the Greenhorn rabbit suddenly jumped! Vaulting to its left, it landed horizontally on a tree's trunk.
Before I could even react, the rabbit jumped again. This time directly towards me!
Earlier I used my full strength for the swing. So, now I was unable to quickly stop my body which was moving forward due to momentum.
I could only helplessly look at the Greenhorn rabbit's attack.
Even so, I couldn't give up so easily. I tried to pull my head back while tilting at the same time in hopes of dodging the attack.
But the rabbit was a step faster.
THUMP-!
I sucked in a mouthful of cold air as the rabbit landed on the ground, and so did a few droplets of blood.
I was completely speechless. No, not because the rabbit was jumping like a pro-ninja, but because it had completely missed my head!
It flew away by almost a foot from my head.
But I knew this wasn't time to think about the weirdness.
Turning around I hastily attacked again. The rabbit was still stumbling after the landing.
This was the perfect chance!
The spear moved forward as it sliced the air, aiming to take down its enemy in a single strike.
SWISH-!
As the swing completed, I looked at the rabbit's eyes.
With its hazy eyes, it looked toward me, then at the tip of the spear, which had sliced the air three feet away from it.
'.... Did I just miss?'
For a moment, none of us moved as both of us dumbly looked at each other.
Abruptly breaking the silence, the rabbit leaned forward and jumped toward me.
The time distance was too close for me to use the spear.
Looking at the big horn that was about to impale me, fear clawed at my heart and my body froze.
I knew I needed to move but my body refused to budge.
'Give up. It's not like you can dodge this attack.' It felt as if my body was telling me this.
Yet, I tried to move my body to atleast defend myself.
Finally the my efforts bore fruit and it felt like some chains binding me loosened.
My right leg moved and kicked the rabbit square in the face, blowing it away.
"….."
The process felt wrong but it was okay since the result was good, right?
Although it was easier using my body rather than an unfamiliar weapon I still couldn't praise myself for what just happened.
But knowing that the rabbit was still alive, I rushed after it.
Only to see something even more bizarre. With its brown fur occasionally falling and rising, the Greenhorn rabbit was... asleep.
The rabbit appeared so harmless that I doubted that this was the same beast that was trying to kill me moments ago.
But I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
"I shouldn't get distracted."
Raising the spear, I held it upside down to kill the rabbit.
PUCHI-!
[Congratulations, you have killed a Lvl.3 Greenhorn Rabbit. You have gained 30 exp.]
[Congratulations, you have killed a Lvl.3 Greenhorn Rabbit. You have gained 30 exp.]
[Congratulations, you have killed a Lvl.4 Greenhorn Rabbit. You have gained 60 exp.]
The notifications popped up, signifying the end of the battle.
"I won." I didn't know how to feel about the fight.
Ignoring the notifications, I crouched to examine the rabbit. I was looking for something relating to it's strange behaviour.
After carefully examining it for a minute, the only thing I found weird was the purple smudge around its mouth.
Remembering its hazy eyes, I could only conclude that it had eaten something wrong before coming there.
"I got lucky this time." A sigh escaped my mouth as I realized the reason behind its strange actions. I felt a little hopeful that I might be able to find whatever this beast ate. I might be able to put it to good use.
But I did not dwell on it for long.
"I need to get everything that could be useful."
Standing up, I circulated my aura to bring the dagger out.
THUMP-! THUMP-!
Looking at the objects my mouth twitched. Everything except the dagger came out.
"sigh… I need to work on this too." It took me another minute to bring the dagger out. After which I quickly got to work.
***
"Phew. It's done, two Lvl.3 cores and one Lvl.4 core."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWiping the sweat on my forehead, I stood up while putting everything inside the ring.
"It ripped."
The red jacket I had been wearing was now slightly ripped at the right shoulder.
I was wearing dark blue jeans and a white shirt underneath the jacket.
Who wears such clothes for an interview? Maybe the previous Nathan was a happy-go-lucky guy if he wore these casual clothes for something that could make or break his future.
"At least the bleeding stopped." The wound on the shoulder had already clotted.
This was due to the fact that Aura-type awakeners have good recovery.
======
Time Remaining: 115:17:23
======
Looking again at the timer, I realized that five hours had gone by since the test started and I still didn't know where I was.
"I need to figure out where I am if I need to go there."
"Status."
======
Name: Nathan Hunt
Rank: Meta
Level: 3
Exp: 450/450
Remaining SP – 00
-->Stats:
Strength – 09
Agility – 14
Stamina – 11
Constitution – 10
Aura – 10
Intelligence – 11
Luck – 07
-->Skills:
[Pierce [Common-Rank]]
Extend the tip of your weapon by 5 feet.
=========
"Only one more rabbit to go."