Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Black Illusion Rabbit
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The Darkness-Devouring Forest was home to all sorts of monsters.
Starting with packs of Dark Wolves.
Steel-Beaked Owls, Black Silk Snakes, Shadow Boars, and so on...
There were plenty of monsters, but the most dangerous among them was the rabbit.
"Be careful!"
"Huh?"
Daehyeop Kim froze the hand that had been reaching out to pet what looked like an incredibly cute black rabbit, after hearing Raven's shout from behind him.
At that moment, the black rabbit's expression twisted into something grotesquely unrecognizable.
"What the fuck!"
Startled, Daehyeop Kim kicked off the ground and put some distance between himself and the rabbit.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"It's a Black Illusion Rabbit. It lures people or natural predators with the illusion of a cute bunny, then devours them."
💬 Live Chat — Viewer1 What kind of rabbit is that shit? — Viewer2 Cannibal rabbit ffs lololol — Viewer3 Isn't Akare a healing game? — Viewer4 I screamed when the rabbit's face twisted lol Daehyeop Kim's inner thoughts weren't much different from the chat reactions.
"Is that really a rabbit?"
"...No one's ever actually seen the true form of a Black Illusion Rabbit."
"What? What does that mean...?"
It's called a Black Illusion Rabbit, sure.
But shouldn't it at least fall under the rabbit category?
"Anyone who's seen its true form is dead."
"Oh, really now!"
What an uplifting story!
Daehyeop Kim swallowed the rest of his words and focused straight ahead.
On a night shrouded in storm clouds, beyond the invisible path in the Darkness-Devouring Forest.
Dozens of paired red glowing eyes stared at Daehyeop Kim and Raven.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Entering combat state with the field boss of the Darkness-Devouring Forest, 'Black Illusion Rabbit'. BOSS Black Illusion Rabbit Lv.10 Daehyeop Kim assumed a stance and steeled his resolve.
He could instinctively sense that this was a real monster, incomparable to the regular mobs he'd faced so far.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer1 Rabbit as field boss ffs lol — Viewer2 Upvote if you're scared tbh — Viewer3 First discoverer of boss: Grandmaster Daehyeop ㄷㄷ — Viewer4 Solo raid incoming? — Viewer5 Boss skippers will never see this Daehyeop Kim was currently level 9.
The Black Illusion Rabbit, meanwhile, was level 10.
Even at equal levels, soloing a boss was questionable.
And here he was, below the boss's level.
No matter how much enlightenment Daehyeop Kim had gained by overcoming his heart demon.
There was nothing he could do against such an overwhelming difference in power.
Proof of that: his HP was already more than half gone.
"Crazy rabbit bastards."
Illusions or the real body?
In a situation where distinguishing them was nearly impossible, Daehyeop Kim's focus was slowly crumbling.
The Black Illusion Rabbit exploited that gap, closing in on him slowly like a beast stalking its prey.
This time, he'd finally record his first death in VR.
That thought filled Daehyeop Kim's mind when—
"Run away."
A voice laced with resolute determination reached him.
"What?"
"I'll be the bait."
Daehyeop Kim's gaze turned to Raven.
Raven had long been covered in blood.
Bite marks from the Black Illusion Rabbit stood out clearly.
She was already a total mess.
"What are you talking about..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Escape the Darkness-Devouring Forest. A choice appeared.
A choice with no regard for his dignity.
"Is there any reason to hesitate? Our bond isn't deep enough for you to throw away your life."
That goes for you too.
You have no reason to risk your life.
Daehyeop Kim could die and respawn.
He was a player, after all.
But Raven was an NPC.
Death was permanent for her.
"...We don't have much time left."
Raven's words seemed to point to the ticking timer on the choice prompt.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer1 Take profits and go — Viewer2 Oh no Raven's getting normalized — Viewer3 Rabbit punishing with illusions ㄷㄷ — Viewer4 Let the rabbit touch~ Kill Raven — Viewer5 Daehyeop's first death virginity pop time~ — Viewer6 You gotta give what you're owed... "Pfft!"
A burst of laughter escaped Daehyeop Kim's lips as his immersion shattered for a moment.
"Ah, seriously."
These crazy viewers.
Making jokes like that in such a tense moment.
"Raven."
"...Yes."
Daehyeop Kim shoved the intrusive choice prompt to the corner of his vision.
"Neither of us is dying today."
"But..."
"No buts."
If I say you're not dying, you're not dying.
Even as he said it, Daehyeop Kim wasn't entirely confident.
This was just a faint glimmer of hope discovered mid-battle, after all.
'Killing the illusions gives EXP.'
Of course, the rabbit illusions didn't give much EXP.
Ten of them were about equal to one level 6 Dark Wolf?
But the key was that they did give EXP.
Daehyeop Kim's EXP bar was currently at 98%.
Leveling to 10 should restore all his lost HP.
'But that's not enough.'
This was a gamble.
A bet that something special came with level 10.
"Get behind me and play defensive! Just focus on surviving as long as possible. If we hold out... I've got a plan!"
Raven shifted to a position behind Daehyeop Kim at his shout.
And the two endured the Black Illusion Rabbit's onslaught as best they could.
Even then, Daehyeop Kim kept his focus, analyzing the boss's patterns.
'The real body is hiding among the illusions.'
Among the illusion rabbits jumping to bite them, one had noticeably superior jump power.
Hard to spot at a glance, but clear enough with concentration.
'99.9%!'
He'd already pinpointed the real one amid the illusions.
Even without something special at level 10, it didn't matter anymore.
"Just gotta give it everything I've got."
✨ LEVEL UP! ✨ Lv.9 → Lv.10 The long-awaited level-up message appeared.
And a pure white light erupted, illuminating everything in the darkness.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Mm... what time is it?"
I checked the time as I woke from sleep.
"I've been out for an hour..."
Maybe because I passed out cold after being shocked by the deceased's amazing play commentary.
Even after two hours of sleep, my mental fatigue hadn't lifted.
"I wonder if he's doing okay."
If he'd skipped the main story, he should've reached the Empire's capital by now.
But without skipping, chatting with Raven, going through the ambush event.
Enjoying all the early-game content, he'd probably still be stuck in the Darkness-Devouring Forest.
Curious, maybe I should peek at Daehyeop Kim's stream or browse the gallery real quick.
The urge welled up, but I pushed it down and climbed into the capsule.
I logged straight into VR and headed to the Director's space.
⚔ CLASS LIST ⚔ [Normal Class]
> Warrior, Thief, Hunter, Mage, Cleric
(Planned / In Development)
> Spirit User, Swordsman
…… [Secret Class]
> Martial Artist, Ranger, Bard, Cultist, Shaman
…… [Sub Class]
> Knight, Mercenary, Gambler, Blacksmith, Appraiser
…… The basic framework was all set.
All that was left was finalizing keywords and skills for the Secret Classes.
And balancing them against the other classes.
"When am I gonna finish all this..."
The violent workload suddenly made me hate my past self.
What confidence did I have back then to start all this?
Didn't I care at all that my future self would suffer?
No answers came no matter how much I grilled myself.
I stopped the self-recrimination and dove into work with full focus.
How much time passed?
"It's..."
After finishing the last Secret Class skill tweaks, I checked the time.
"...A whole day later?"
I'd been so absorbed that a full day had flown by.
Worried my skin might've suffered, I checked the mirror—everything was fine.
If anything, it looked more radiant, maybe even prettier.
'Well, my body's not gonna degrade anyway.'
It had a Dragon Heart implanted, after all.
A post-human body beyond mortal limits.
The near-infinite mana halted aging and provided boundless stamina.
'Mental fatigue recovers quick with a bit of rest too.'
Maybe thanks to my experience rolling around in that other world.
Overwork stress like this didn't even dent my mentality.
"Not sleepy at all..."
A memory from that other world suddenly surfaced.
Stranded alone in the demon realm, I once went days without sleep.
The area was crawling with mana-corrupted monsters; no way to rest safely.
I really thought I was done for then.
If the Crown Prince had sent rescue even a little later, I'd have died right there.
Maybe because those memories were seared in.
Ever since, napping whenever possible became habit—even now, when I didn't need it.
Anyway, I wasn't in the mood to force sleep now.
'Fires are out, nothing urgent left.'
Maybe lurk the in-game gallery.
'Stopped watching the stream midway yesterday; felt unfinished.'
Time to fill that with some gallery lurking.
With that thought, I logged into the gallery.
📰 Indie Game Gallery 📋 Hot Posts Daehyeop Kim's Awakening Clip: A Movie in Itself [504] Heart Pounding for the First Time Watching That Dawn Scene [560] Martial Artist 1st Awakening Skills & Info [435] Raven << Actually a girl in disguise? [841] Daehyeop's just a one-man quote machine [387] Current Martial Artist Perfect Summary.txt [1025] Analyzed Black Illusion Rabbit Patterns [322] Just glancing at the concept post titles in the indie game gallery told the whole story of recent events.
'Daehyeop Kim met that guy, huh.'
The field boss of the starting zone, Darkness-Devouring Forest: Black Illusion Rabbit.
This rabbit was a learning tool for players.
Designed as a teaser for future raid content, this early experience would pay off big later.
'Not that it was a cakewalk.'
Some patterns were straight-up unfair if you didn't know them—you just had to eat the hits.
'But succeed in breaking them...'
And the clear difficulty plummeted.
📰 [Title] Martial Artist 1st Awakening Skills & Summary Fighting Spirit (Passive Skill)
> - Always-on buff, 10% damage reduction
> - If HP ≤30%, increases to 30%
> - +5 modifiers, +5 attack power
> - Unlocks combat system 'Linkage'
One Strike Annihilation (Active Skill)
> - AoE, main damage dealer
> - 10s cooldown
> - Linkable
> - Damages all enemies in a straight line
Forward Leap (Active Skill)
> - Mobility skill
> - 15s cooldown
> - Linkable
Spirit of the Martial Artist (Active Skill)
> - Buff
> - 60s cooldown, 20s duration
> - Not linkable
> - +10 Agility to self and all party members
Only Forward Leap → One Strike Annihilation linkage revealed
> Effect: One Strike deals bonus damage equal to Forward Leap distance
> Exact numbers unknown
> Martial Artist << Upvote if OP
Recommends: 1258 | Dis: 0 💬 Comments [435] — Anon1 Passive wtf is that even allowed? — Anon2 ㄴOther jobs will have similar passives, gay — Anon3 ㄴSpoiler: 10 free stats lol free stats party — Anon4 ㄴAnd damage reduction on top — Anon5 Spirit of the Martial Artist << This alone makes Martial Artist party essential lol — Anon6 ㄴBasically +10 levels to party members — Anon7 ㄴThe more I think, the more broken it is — Anon8 ㄴPerfect hexagon, needs nerf ASAP 📰 [Title] Current Martial Artist Perfect Summary.txt Main tank viable via passive Sub-tank viable via passive Main DPS viable via One Strike Sub-DPS viable via Spirit Great survivability via mobility Martial Artist << Does everything Akare's GOAT, greatest of all time Recommends: 1025 | Dis: Various 💬 Comments [1025] — Hater1 Only one job revealed and you're calling it GOAT already — Fan1 ㄴMage is gonna be even more broken — Hater2 ㄴMartial race OUT!!! — Hater3 ㄴMartial bros all lost their minds — Fan2 ㄴNerfed on official launch anyway — Troll It was clearly a fart... Btw I like Martial Artist! — Anon Martial hate lol — Anon Fucking martial hate Maybe because only one job—Martial Artist—had been revealed so far.
A "grassroots cup" tournament had broken out between it and imaginary unrevealed jobs.
Mage was especially common as Martial Artist's rival.
Probably because of that trailer finale: my fight with the Elder Lich.
📰 [Title] Martial Artist << Just a Wuxia Sim Right? Skill names scream wuxia, zero relation to actual martial arts Why are you boomers so obsessed with Martial Artist? Give up and pick Mage or Cleric chill ㅇㅇ Recommends: 5 | Dis: 26 📰 [Title] No Retards Picking Martial Artist After Trailer Right? (Aurora skullfucking Elder Lich gif) Boomer big sis smashing skullhead, you blind? Stylish Mage is Akare's only hope Recommends: 20 | Dis: 20 Not just concept posts—most gallery threads were waging these "imaginary grassroots cups."
"Pathetic..."
I said it was pathetic, but.
Tap-tap-
📰 [Title] I Think Mage is At Least Superior to Martial Artist... My typing fingers were more honest than anything.