Mari Nate
Mari Nate. One of the characters at the academy with her own individual storyline.
In the original story, she was so timid and wary of people that she was one of the characters I planned to approach slowly.
Even in the original, if you just bluntly talked to her or tried to get close, she'd show extreme wariness, making it hard to even see all her story events. Later, the reason for that comes to light.
That's right. Mari Nate. Unless you were exceptionally handsome, she'd put up her guard and even hesitate to hold a conversation.
I had no idea why that was the case, but... my infamy built up at the academy had skyrocketed thanks to the trait 【Bad Boy】, and I was confident my charm was way higher than any average character.
The result...
"Uh, um, is it okay to call you Han Yujin-ssi?"
"Just call me Eugene casually. Oh, and I can call you Mari, right?"
"Mari... yes!"
Conversations like that became possible.
"Class 1-A! We're starting survival class now! Move out!"
With the survival lesson underway, the kids began climbing the mountain one by one, and just as we were about to head higher up to gather ingredients...
"Hah...! Hah...! This is too hard...!"
One minute after starting the climb. Even though we could still see the starting point, Mari cried out to me in a voice like she was dying.
"...Already tired?"
"Hah...! Haah! Yes...! I'm really gonna die like this!"
Come to think of it, I don't think I'd ever seen her moving around the academy except when going to or from class.
Did she just sit during breaks too? With her stamina even worse than I'd imagined, I let out a sigh and said,
"Just do it like you normally would."
"But if I'm the only one doing that, it'll stand out..."
"I don't care. I wouldn't be this worn out anyway."
"Ah. Then... excuse me."
Only after hearing my words did Mari finally plop down on the spot.
She touched the ground with her bare hand, and with a crack, dirt rose up, molding into a golem slightly larger than a person.
Groooar— The golem let out a bizarre groan, red light glowing from its eyes. Mari hopped on top, finally looking relieved as she patted it affectionately.
"...Ahh, I'll live."
This was her ability, Puppet Master. She could create and control puppets within the limits of her mana.
Moreover, those puppets were classified as inanimate objects, granting them complete immunity to curses, poison, and disease. Later, she uses this to conquer countless dungeons and fight villains, growing into a hero.
...Of course, you still needed decent charm for proper conversations back then too.
"I was too tired to ask earlier, but what are we making?"
On top of the steadily thudding golem, Mari finally looked relaxed as she turned to me.
"Since it's outdoors, something simple to cook would be best. Hmm... Cacciatora should do."
"Caccha... what?"
"Think of it as Italian-style meat dish. I'm planning to use rabbit, so it'll be Coniglio alla Cacciatora."
I had no clue why I knew it, but it was the only dish faintly lingering in my memory, so there was no other choice.
It originated from hunters cooking their game, and the recipe was pretty straightforward. Plus, since cacciatora meant "hunter," it might impress the instructor too.
"Coni-what-now... Ugh, whatever. So what do I do?"
"First, spread your familiars throughout the forest to gather ingredients. The things we need are..."
I explained every single ingredient available here to her.
"Just wine flower, evil tomato, blue lime, rock salt, wild onion, and the veggies you like. That'll be enough."
These were all easy to find even in the academy's back mountain.
"Uh... that's a lot?"
"Might as well do it right if we're doing it. By the way, how many familiars can you handle max?"
"For golems like this, three. Mouse-sized, nine."
Nine, huh...
"The ingredients aren't that big, so mice should suffice. Can you do it now? You know what they look like, right?"
"I'm top of the note-takers despite how I look..."
As if to say what are you talking about, nine deformed mice in riot helmets appeared from under her golem. Unlike regular golems, their eyes showed hints of intelligence.
"Number 1 to 9. The ingredients I'm sending to your head. Can you fetch them?"
Squeak—!Squeak squeak—!
The apparent leader stepped forward, saluting her on hind legs. The [1] on its helmet confirmed it was Number 1.
Mari watched the mice scatter in all directions, then turned back to me.
"So, can we rest now?!"
"No way. Now we hunt the main ingredient: rabbit meat."
"...Pardon?!"
Was the idea of moving again such a shock?
"I know where the rabbits are, so follow slowly. They're not far anyway."
"...Okay."
And so, with Mari on her golem, we headed deeper into the mountain.
The terrain grew harsher the further in we went. This felt like a real mountain.
As I thought that—
"Ah! Number 6 spotted a rabbit! What do we do? Go there?"
Apparently, another rabbit had entered her familiar's view.
"What does it look like?"
"Huh? It's just a rabbit?"
She shot back like my question was nonsense. From her reaction, it wasn't the one I wanted.
"Then leave it. Doesn't seem like the rabbit we're after."
"Huh? There's a specific rabbit we're hunting?"
"This is an evaluation, after all. Cooking a normal rabbit makes a normal dish, so we need something special. Ah, is that it?"
A large cave appeared ahead. Nothing around but barren trees and dry earth.
The eerie sight made Mari shrink into her golem.
"Um... this place feels off... Nothing around, no way rabbits live here...!"
"Nothing?"
I pointed to the mountain of bones piled at the cave entrance.
"Aren't those bone piles right there? That's proof rabbits are inside."
"Huh? No way a rabbit eats meat! More importantly, aren't those Needles Boar bones? Monster bones!"
"Is it weird for one monster to eat another?"
"It's not just weird! A rabbit eating a Needles Boar is the weird part! What the hell lives in there—"
"—Quiet."
I quickly raised a hand to silence Mari as she tried to say more.
"It's here."
At that moment.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground began to shake.
"...What the heck is in there?"
Following my order to stay quiet, Mari whispered.
"Rabbit."
"...The ground's shaking like this; it can't be a normal rabbit."
Right, not a normal one.
"It's called the Ton Rabbit."
"...Ton Rabbit?"
Ton Rabbit. The self-proclaimed mountain god of the academy's back mountain, nicknamed for its master of the hills.
Its defining traits: as the name implied, a ton—six tons of body weight—and its distinctive appearance.
"It's coming."
The thuds grew closer as it emerged.
Snow-white, fluffy fur like a tundra. Long ears, red eyes. And...
"...It's a rabbit?"
"Told you. A rabbit."
Even adorably sized. It looked exactly like a rabbit.
"...How does something like that hunt? It looks so weak."
"That's the trap."
Its hunting method was simple. It just stood still, and predators charged to eat it.
Then it body-slammed them. That tiny frame packed six tons of compressed mass—a one-point breakthrough dump truck.
It could shatter a regular mage's shield with a single ram.
But for me, who knew how to catch it, it wasn't that tough.
"Mari, one favor."
"Yes? What? Y-you're not asking me to go out there, right? Right? I'd die. For real...!"
She was already trembling in fear before I even asked. Sighing at the sight, I pointed not at her, but the golem she rode.
"Use that golem as bait."
"...Me or it?"
"Yeah, it."
What was I thinking? Even I wouldn't throw a classmate as bait... or would I have? Anyway, it was just the golem.
"The Ton Rabbit's weight means it'll create an opening after charging. I'll exploit that."
Like a one-shot-kill risk.
The academy back mountain was a beginner zone, so even strong monsters had simple patterns.
"Fine by me if it's the golem. I can remake it if it breaks."
"Perfect. Move the golem slowly toward it. Very slowly."
"Yes! Hup."
Mari dismounted with a grunt, and gestured. The golem lumbered slowly toward the rabbit.
The rabbit perked its ears, eyeing us.
As the golem fully descended the cliff, the rabbit tensed, scraping the ground with its hind legs—a pre-charge tell.
At the same time.
BOOM────!!
The rabbit shot like a cannonball at the golem. On impact, an explosion roared, dust billowing.
"Kyaaah───!!"
Mari yelped, ducking in terror.
Leaving her behind, I used [Skill: Aura Sonar] to pinpoint it and leaped in.
Aura Sonar
The surest way to damage something with overwhelming mass was impact. Wrapping my fist in aura for a one-punch finish, I swung at the fluffy rabbit.
"—Gotcha."