Chapter 176: Chapter 174: Lesson Learned

“Shit!” I cursed in a growl, its meaning, in my opinion, needing no translation for anyone who heard it. 

Narrowly avoiding the long razor-sharp rabbit teeth sticking out of a mouthful of shorter ones about to bite into my flesh, I kicked a rock hidden in the grass. Well, it wasn’t like it suddenly appeared there. After all, horned rabbits were not in possession of such devious skill as I had mistakenly assumed in my first days here in the Labyrinth. No, since then, I have learned to be aware of my surroundings via my domain, to pay enough attention to it, and the rock was there from the beginning, part of this floor just like the beasts. One of which pushed me so hard I had no choice but to take the step and hit the rock.

And the beast kept on pushing me, not giving me no time to rub my aching toes. 

Instead of the much needed toe rub, I rolled to the left, dodging the other rabbit charging my way. Yeah, we kind of ended up fighting two beasts at once. Three, actually. Only Freyde faced one of them, while he left these two to me. Kind of. I think we had switched opponents a few times already. It didn’t matter. A beast was a beast.

Ending my roll in a squat, I dashed towards the first rabbit as soon as the second rabbit swept past me. A quick glance to my right told me that Meneur was still in one piece, casting his magic. For a man in his fifties, he overestimated his strength and, early in the battle, was forced to drink a mana potion. Taking one wasn’t a big deal. I understood that the human body could take a lot more of them before the side effects started to show. Moreover, he was a huge terran. If anything, he could have endured even more.

No. What pissed me off about the whole deal was the wasted time. He was not used to drinking bottles under pressure and panicked. Unable to pop the cork, he lost the vial when one of the beasts squeaked past me.

I was able to stop the beast before it could do any harm to him, but I took a nasty blow to the side in the process. One of the beast’s horns left a big gash, taking a chunk of flesh with its horn.

Our squad mage wasn’t the only one I was pissed at, though. I was pissed at myself, at my own incompetence. Seriously, if I spent a little more time working on my presence, especially better control of it, I might be able to hit only one beast, deal with it, and pounce on the other. Instead, if I used it uncontrollably like I have been using it, I would have crippled not only the beasts but my squadmates as well.

The same was true of my poison, mana, barrier... every skill I had. If only I’d practiced more...if I did this and that. Such thoughts ran through my mind this whole fucked up battle, and even now, as I reached the flank of the horned rabbit and dug my claws into it. I hacked and slashed like a madwoman; the blood staining my hands and face.

The beast roared, bled, hurt, and tried its best to take a bite out of me. I, on the other hand, did my best not to let it do that. One gaping tear in my side, though already healing, was one more than I wanted to take. It wasn’t that with my experience and [Ride of Ancestors] in my skillset, I still had trouble avoiding rabbits. In fact, I found it fairly easy. What I had trouble with was keeping the attention of two beasts on me, especially since I wasn’t the only one here and they had the option to choose their prey. Why go after a little girl who was hard to get when they could bite into a beefy terran, right? 

So keep their focus on me....it seemed impossible, actually.

The horned rabbits did not fight as a pack but competed with each other, trying to steal the prey for themselves, and so while I kept one of them busy, the other always sought to take advantage of the situation. And that hadn’t changed even now.

While I did some damage, not nearly enough to even slow the horned rabbit, the other had already turned around after its missed charge and was racing back towards Meneur. In the few fights we had gone through, I learned he wasn’t a mage strong in multitasking. So while streams of embers were already swirling around him, almost ready to be unleashed on one of the beasts, his chances of escaping the charging once were slim, limited to a simple dodge or roll, if at all. 

Not willing to count on him performing some miraculous magic dodge, I gave up my somewhat futile attempt to wound my rabbit seriously and rushed off to tackle the one heading his way. Well, rather than tackle, I was thinking more along the lines of slamming into the beast and throwing it off its track. Colliding with it head-on would be suicide and stupidity. Plus, I wouldn’t even make it. All I managed was to slam into, shall we say, beast’s hind legs - okay, its ass, as it whizzed past me.

More than ever, I wished I had more mass in my small twisted body; to be able to put that weight to good use and throw off the beast more than I did, because it felt like I accomplished absolutely nothing. Just imagine what I could do if I weighed 2.2 times more than normal, as outlined in the description of [Behemoth]. What I weighed right now was a far cry from full use of it, though. My reserves of energy, nutrients, calories, whatever you want to call it, were not even a quarter full. In other words, right now, weighing about as much as the massive beasts I fought was just a wet dream, and I had to make do with the little I had.

Sure that the weight behind my slam wasn’t enough to throw the charging beast off the tracks, I glanced at Meneur, fully prepared to see the squad mage in blood. Instead, I watched the rabbit stumble and roll through the grass. In spite of everything, my weight was enough to throw it off. That or the beast hit one of the rocks like I have so many times. Regardless, it was an unexpected success.

Well, until it wasn’t. 

The horned rabbit didn’t hit the standing mage head first, just as I had hoped, but it did bump into him despite its uncontrolled tumble. What followed was grotesque. Meneur let out a howl, unlike anything I’ve ever heard from him, much like a bull’s roar, and waved his arms frantically, trying to get his magic under control while he fell into the grass. He didn’t. The burning embers that had been flying in neat ropes around the mage only a moment before slipped out of his control and burst out in all directions.

It was a sight to behold, almost like fireworks. Only totally useless in our current situation, not hurting the rabbit at all. If anything, it set the grass on fire in several spots.

I pondered for a second if I should rush in and help Meneur. The shadow appearing up above made the decision for me. There was no way I could do anything to help him when I was busy trying not to become a fucking bloody pancake. 

The trust that Deckard was talking about. I had no choice but to trust that the taurus would fend for himself for a minute...or two.

Giving it my all, using even my wings and tail, I sprang aside. The second I was clear of the impact ground, I leaped into the air, seeing no need to wait for the horned rabbit land when I had a clear plan in my mind - to get on its back. And then? That was more than obvious. Break the beast’s neck. Simple.

Unfortunately, this was not my first attempt at a simple kill, since things went sideways. I think it was the one Freyde and Harper were fighting nearby on whose back I jumped shortly after it showed up with its two friends. But a pissed-off beast was not the same as one frozen in fear. Well aware of its own weakness, it shook me off before I could follow through with my merciful intention to take its life painlessly.

What an ungrateful bastard!

The second is the charm. That’s kind of how it went, didn’t it?

The horned rabbit landed, pissed it missed its target. The squeak-roared it let out made it known to all the vexation it felt. To hear that was music to my ears, and it brought a smile to my face as I landed on the beast’s back, proceeding straight with a punch to the back of its neck.

I hit one of its horns.

The bastard reacted quickly and turned his head just in time. As one might guess, my tender human bones were no match for the hard horn. I may not have broken anything, but the pain shot from my fist through my entire body. Even Sage shuddered, while I let out a roar that echoed across the battlefield. Not a battle cry, but one to ease the pain.

Hold on, Meneur, I thought to myself while I held onto the back of the beast that was doing its best to shake me off. Just one good blow, and we would have one less beast to worry about. At least, that’s how I saw it.

There. Seeing an opportunity for another hit, I raised my hand to strike, and....the pressure wave swept across the land, knocking me off the horned rabbit’s back.

‘What the hell! What kind of idiot...?!’ I cursed as I spread my wings, gliding down to the ground. The source of the pressure wave and the moron behind it weren’t hard to find. Only a few dozen meters away from me, a cloud of smoke was rising to the false sky of the labyrinth floor and an unmistakable smell of burnt flour wafted through the air. Harper! Somehow the crazy bitch found a way to ignite her flour bombs without Meneur’s involvement.

The worst part about it was not even that she interrupted my attack, but that the rabbit she and Freyde were dealing with was still alive. Seriously, what the fuck were they doing?! 

Not that Meneur and I fare much better and I could afford the time to ponder the fuck-ups of those two. My horned rabbit, Bloody Hoppy, as I decided to dub him, had already shaken off that abrupt jaw-dropper and was glaring at me. I stared back, ready for his move.

There. Hoppy’s ears twitched. So did mine. An obnoxiously high-pitched whistle stung my ears. A familiar whistle, if I may say so. Doing what I shouldn’t, I looked for the source of the ear-splitting sound, as did Bloody Hoppy.

‘What the actual fu....!’

While I hoped to find a squad mage casting a new spell, I found Idleaf running away from his horned rabbit, let’s call him Bloody Idiot because that’s what the beast was, if it was trying to catch the spirit that was playing a blade of grass, obviously having the fun of her life. Needless to say, I was speechless. At least Meneur seemed to get his act together and was casting a new spell.

“Good job, Idleaf,” I growled, and as the giggles reached my ears, I lunged for my rabbit. So far, everyone was alive and well-ish, but it might not be that way for long.

And so, with new resolve, I completely surrendered to my instincts. I mean, so far, I let them guide me; I listened to them, but I tried to keep my wits about me. No doubt that the beasts in me knew how to put a quick end to this farce. Only, I couldn’t keep up with them, my wits holding me back.

Now, as my pressing need to end things overcame the fear I had about it, I went wild.

Ducking under a bite that threatened to take my head, I slashed at the horned rabbit’s neck, digging my claws in as deep as I could.

Warm blood drenched my hands, and I bared my fangs in a smile. Not staying in one place a second longer, I scrambled like a weasel between Hoppy’s legs while he tried to shred me with the claws of his front legs. Finding myself under the rabbit’s belly, I took a chance and left eight deep slashes in that fine white fur.

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Hoppy roared, reared up, and as I made my way from beneath him, he pushed off the ground, living up to its name. He soared through the air, a shower of blood trailing behind him as he struggled to get away, to put distance between us.

I didn’t let him and shot after the beast, following the trail of blood. As soon as Hoppy landed, I was on him, digging my claws into his soft neck once again while gracefully evading the already rather weak bites and continuing my onslaught.

One roar and whimper later, Hoppy fell to the ground, dead.

You have defeated [Horned Rabbit: lvl 38]

The system message tickled my beast pride a little. Yet to linger longer over my prey was not a luxury I could afford. There were two more beasts still running around in need of killing.

The choice of which to tackle first was an easy one. Idleaf may have had the attention of Bloody Idiot with her horribly annoying and ear-splitting song, but she was limited to running in a twenty-meter radius around me. On the plus side of things, she was able to evade and dodge Idiot’s attacks with incredible grace and ease. Compared to her, I looked like a lumbering brute when I was immersed in my battle dance.

As it seemed, Meneur didn’t dawdle either. He truly got his act together and, taking advantage of the chance Idleaf gave him, landed his attacks on Bloody Idiot. The fur of the beast smoldered in two spots, blood pouring from the cracks in the burnt skin.

I breathed in; the smell of roasting meat mingled with all the others, stimulating my taste buds and making my mouth water. A roar comparable to my battle cry arose from my stomach. Yeah, I could really go for a well-done steak right now. One? Make that at least three.

Pushing my hunger aside, I launched myself at Idiot just as a stream of burning embers buried itself deep into his front leg. Even before the painful roar-whine echoed through the battlefield, I was at the rabbit, digging my claws into his flesh. A little longer, and I believed our squad mage would have killed the beast himself. 

Well, with Idleaf’s help. 

The reactions of Bloody Idiot were slow and weary; they didn’t have the energy and explosiveness they had when this whole mess started. Hard to say, but the beast’s internal injuries must have been considerable.

While a twinge of pity struck my heart, I, after ducking a bite, plunged my hand with all my strength like the tip of a spear - claws first - into his chest. Since this wasn’t the first time I had done that, I hit the heart without missing a beat. 

Your group has defeated [Horned Rabbit: lvl 42]

Another prey hunted. One remained.

“Damn, thanks, Korra,” the mage stuttered between breaths, his voice trembling as much as his knees. Guess I was giving him too much credit. On second thought, he did well, considering the state he was in.

“That was fun,” sang Idleaf. She was beaming with excitement, unlike Meneur.

Baring my fangs, I grinned back. “Good job. High five?”

My gesture was met with a look of puzzlement from the spirit. Sure, I hadn’t taught her that yet, and it might not have been a thing on Eleaden in the first place, but I think anyone would hesitate, considering my hands were drenched in fresh, warm blood.

“Forget it, later.” I waved her off and growled at Meneur. 

Even though there was no meaning in it and Idleaf had nothing to translate, he understood. “Go. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

No more needed to be said; off I went.

In a flash, I ran up the hill behind which Freyde and Harper were now fighting, assessing the situation. The quarter-gnome clashed with the horned rabbit up close, limping just like the beast that tried to sink its teeth into him. To my astonishment, the Baker didn’t hold the crossbow any longer. Instead, she was crouched over something in her hands that she was frantically trying to fix - or simply make work.

“Harper, what’s taking you so damn long!” Freyde shouted, pain and despair palpable in his voice.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I heard the Baker swearing under her breath while her fingers darted all over the object. “Just a second, damn it!” She barked back, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a bloody hand. They were both badly injured.

Not hesitating a second longer, I moved.

“Stop!” Deckard’s voice boomed in my head, and I, panic-stricken, halted after taking just a few running steps. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?!” I cast my gaze back behind me, fearing that another beast had emerged and attacked the mage. Meneur was as fine as could be, though.

“Just let them finish that one. Understand, Little Beast?”

My mind went blank for a moment before what he meant sunk in. They had been fighting that horned rabbit all along, and even though they needed help, it would be like stealing their victory. I was sure Deckard and Pinecard intended it as a lesson for them as well. For all of us, in fact. So, yes. I understood.

While I could have slumped to the ground and caught my breath, I didn’t. I didn’t let my guard down. Instead, I fixed my eyes on the fight playing out below me, ready to step in at any time.

“Fuck all the gnomes! Harper!” Freyde shouted again as he repelled the rabbit’s front paw swipe.

“Just a sec...got it!”

“Then what are you waiting for? Throw it!”

“You know what to do,” Harper yelled before hurling the object right under the horned rabbit. Immediately after that, she threw herself into the grass, and despite facing the beast, Freyde did the same. The moment the object hit the ground beneath the beast’s belly, it exploded in a cloud of white dust that engulfed the rabbit in a heartbeat and detonated into a fireball a second later.

As the ball of black smoke rose up and the pressure wave swept across the grass, the realization dawned on my mind, and a smile spread across my face. The small device, the bomb, was the origin of the pressure wave that had knocked me off Hoppy’s back earlier. Sweet! Knowing well what was coming, I braced myself, so all the blast did was ruffle my hair.

The smoke hadn’t lifted yet, and Freyde jumped to his feet, hurrying to the horned rabbit lying before him. The beast was still alive, its chest heaving in erratic breaths, clinging to life like a drowning man grasping at straws. Not a pretty sight. Its suffering ended when a quarter-gnome stabbed a sword through its eye, piercing deep into its brain.

Your group has defeated [Horned Rabbit: lvl 43]

It was done. The mess in which the essentially routine fight turned into ended. 

And how did it even start? Well, with a simple flour bomb. Harper desperately wanted to try out that thing she’d done on the barracks training grounds - the inferno that almost roasted me alive. And we foolishly let ourselves be swayed, seduced by a promise of a massive explosion and a simple kill. And it actually killed the horned rabbit she tracked down. Only the noise attracted three more.

Well, lesson learned.

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