Chapter 6: 06 – Rude Awakening

I lost.

Badly.

It was just a damn bunny. I'd killed more rabbits than I could count. Creating a trap from just a few branches and a bit of rope was enough to kill them. Sure, it had a horn, but it was just a little horn. Part of my job had been to face down bulls daily, and the horns on a bull looked way more vicious, and they had two of them. Not to mention that a bull would have a huge advantage in size and muscle power. So, I figured there was no reason to fear such a tiny furball with its single small horn.

But that harmless-looking little rabbit completely overturned my understanding of how the world worked.

From start to finish, the fight only took a handful of seconds.

Gilda took a few steps back, but the Horned Rabbit never seemed to notice her. At first, I was worried the horned rabbit would run away like any regular rabbit normally would when faced with a predator. Instead, it charged straight at me with as much rage as any bull. But I wasn't flustered at all. Due to my body enhancements, I could easily side-step that charge. So, I felt smug as I stabbed the rabbit with my makeshift spear as it passed to my right. After all, I was even faster and stronger than I had been on Earth. It was obvious that this little critter stood no chance. And, as expected, when my spear struck, the horned rabbit stopped dead in its tracks, stunned.

But things quickly went wrong from there. First, the beast shook itself, causing my spear to slide off its body, revealing I had caused no damage at all. Then, taking the time to turn and glare at me, it stared straight into my soul with a look that said, 'are you stupid?' I'm not too proud to admit that I felt a chill go down my spine at that moment.

But yeah, I guess I really was stupid. Until that moment, I hadn't truly understood that I was facing a monster.

After that, it was a one-sided bloodbath. The creature launched its small body at my leg, head first. The seemingly harmless horn slashed through my leg like a hot knife through butter. But that was only the beginning. I lost my balance, the pain was incredible, and my leg was only hanging on by a thread. I was so shocked by the situation that I toppled right over onto my right side. Then that damned rabbit launched into my shoulder with the force of a cannonball, comparable to a creature several times its size. My left arm got blown clear off, landing a dozen feet away. Nearly blacking out from the pain, I didn't even have time to fully register the situation before my skull was gored by its horn, my brain obliterated.

Oppressive, dark silence pressed in on my consciousness for a terrifying split second before I jumped out of my seat, finding myself back on the spaceship.

"Ah! Ah! What in the hell was that!"

Adrenaline pumping wildly, I was frantically checking my body. My head was whole, my arm reattached, and my leg was back to normal. But, finding myself back in one piece did little to contain the brushfire of panic still burning through my addled mind.

"Please calm down, Willie. Everything is fine. The simulation ended because you died."

I was gasping for air, my eyes darting around the room frantically. I desperately tried to make sense of what Gilda was saying to me.

"I died?!"

Then, as my brain kicked back into gear, the panic subsided, replaced by confusion.

"I died... from a weak-looking little bunny rabbit?"

"Yes. Although weakness is a relative concept."

I couldn't help but notice the look on Gilda's face carried more than a tinge of guilt as if she had done something wrong.

Suddenly, I realized how uncool I must've looked to her. I got wiped out by a little bunny rabbit. I was supposed to be some great hero, and I got utterly destroyed by a bunny in my first fight. I was still shaking from adrenaline and freaked out, but more than anything, I had wanted to look cool in front of Gilda, but the exact opposite happened. My fear and shock rapidly replaced with shame and frustration. I couldn't face Gilda at that moment, so I tried to shift the blame.

"That was a trick, wasn't it? That damn rabbit was some kinda final boss!"

Not looking me in the eye, she quietly replied, "No. That was the lowest level monster you could face in the simulation."

"Lowest level?! That damned thing was stronger and faster than any rabbit I've ever seen! It tore my whole fucking arm off with one hit!"

"That is the power of magic. It can transform the unreasonable and impossible into an undeniable and irresistible reality."

"What in the fuck are you talking about?! I didn't see any magic!"

While my voice was getting louder, Gilda softly sighed and tried to reach for my arm.

"Please calm down, Willie. I can explain if you give me a chance."

Jumping up to get away, I snarled, "NO! This is bullshit!"

My emotions were a mess. I couldn't get a grip on myself. I was angry at myself for losing so badly in front of Gilda, but I couldn't admit that to myself. So, I tried shifting the blame. I tried denying reality. Ultimately, I fled to be alone in my room.

Later, lying on my bed with my arm over my face, I was finally calm enough to think more clearly. There was no doubt I was in the wrong. I needed to man up and apologize to Gilda, but I really didn't know how to do that.

Time had been passing. My eighteenth birthday was rapidly approaching. I had already been considered an independent adult, but here I was, still reacting like a child. I lost a game, causing me to lose my composure. Then, I tried to shift the blame for my failure onto Gilda.

I could only come to two conclusions.

This sucks.

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I suck.

Gradually, my mind wandered, replaying the battle. It was a total defeat and no doubt about it. But the whole point was to train and learn. So, what lessons could I take from the experience? Try to figure out a way to turn a negative into a positive.

After thinking on it for a while, I realized there were several points of failure on my part:

1) My threat assessment was plain wrong.

2) I failed to adjust to a changing situation. When my spear attack failed, I just stood there like a fool.

3) I completely lost sight of the tools I had at my disposal. Notably, I forgot about the nanites, which could cut off pain and heal wounds.

4) I entered a confrontation without first training my physical body and combat skills.

5) I disregarded the fact I was facing a monster rather than a simple animal. Magic was the unknown factor that I'd failed to take seriously.

I had a list of things I could've done better. I needed to do better next time. I also needed to keep in mind the fact that it was only a simulation. Basically, a game that I could play over and over again until I figured out how to beat it. There was no reason to get upset if I got hurt or died. It wouldn't have any effect on my physical body. Training in the simulation was a process that would take time and practice, but there were also things I could do right away.

Above all, I vowed to myself that I would kill that thing.

Definitely.

I accessed the ship's computer, looking up more on horned rabbits. When the information flooded my brain, it showed that Horned Rabbits were among the weakest of all monsters. For the most part, they served as prey for other monsters. They existed at the bottom of the food chain, only a few steps up from a slime. The theory was the magic they used was simple body enhancement.

Still, the notion of using magic for body enhancement was in itself a revelation to me. I'd only thought of magic as an external force, a flashy weapon meant for use at a distance, like a gun. It had never occurred to me that magic could change my body from the inside. I had gotten stuck on the idea that improving my body was only about physical training and DNA editing. But that wasn't really it at all.

As a warrior, I had three ways to improve my body's performance: training, DNA editing, and magical enhancement. If I wanted to reach my maximum potential, I'd need to use all three together.

The computer couldn't tell me how the rabbit used magic, but the results were plain to see:

1) It packed a bigger punch than the sheer mass and muscle structure should naturally deliver.

2) It was also tough enough to shrug off attacks.

3) That horn caused more damage than was possible if you only considered the size and shape.

After digging deeper, my research suggested horned rabbits might be using any combination of several types of magic:

1) Body reinforcing, or perhaps a force field.

2) Muscle enhancement or propulsion enhancement.

3) Increasing weight or mass, maybe even some variation on gravity manipulation.

4) Increase in the cutting power of the horn or weakening of the target on contact.

Not knowing the correct answers for sure left plenty of room for interpretation. I might be able to mimic the magical abilities of the horned rabbit if I could somehow visualize how they would work with my body. I didn't have a horn, but perhaps I could do something similar with my makeshift spear.

My stats said I possessed mana, so I should be able to use magic. However, I had no clue how to get at that mana to do anything with it. I couldn't think of any practical way to get started, so I checked the computer for more information about magical training.

According to that information, using magic was usually tied to religious rites, meditation, or altered states of consciousness. That made sense if you considered shamans and witch doctors back on Earth. But the rabbit wasn't doing any of that stuff. It just attacked me head-on. So, there must be some way to use magic that doesn't require complicated stuff like rituals.

Then I thought of martial arts on Earth, particularly Kung-Fu. There were plenty of stories of superhuman feats that highly trained martial artists were supposed to be able to perform. Maybe that was an expression of mana used as magical body enhancement. When I looked for more information on Earth martial arts, two things jumped out and seemed to be potentially supernatural to me:

1) Life energy manipulation, sometimes referred to as Chi.

2) Intense states of concentration, visualizing the breaking of objects with your body before unleashing a strike.

Those ideas made more sense concerning how I could do what the rabbit might be doing. Starting from that idea, I came up with a magical training strategy. First, I downloaded several different martial arts forms to my brain. I was going to practice the movements, trying to feel the circulation of life energy described. Second, I needed to hone my ability to visualize a strike and the desired results before I hit the target.

Feeling a burning need to redeem myself as soon as possible, I started training.

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