Horn Rabbit Expert (3)
Choi Jin-hyeok fired a steel marble at a makeshift target he'd fashioned from stones. Even without much practice, his accuracy was climbing in real time. So even without mana, he's got that innate physical talent. I could totally see how he'd taken on six horn rabbits with a mana-less body.
"Now, shall we go find the others?"
"Yeah. Got any guesses on where they might be?"
"Yeah. There's a blood smell coming from beyond that hill over there..."
"...Then let's go check it out."
Choi Jin-hyeok took the lead, and I followed right behind. I'd wanted to guide him from the front, but he insisted ranged attackers should hang back, so I stayed in position.
Huh?
But wait, isn't Choi Jin-hyeok a ranged attacker now too? The thought had barely crossed my mind when I slammed face-first into his back—he'd stopped dead.
"Ow."
The leader halting without warning? Something was definitely wrong. I peeked around his back to check it out, but he stretched out a hand and covered my eyes, blocking my view.
"You shouldn't see this."
"Why...?"
"Just... it's one of those things."
He spun my body around by force and started heading back down the hill we'd just climbed. The stench of blood was so thick, I figured there might be a human corpse on the other side.
"Who died...?"
"...Yeah. We'll handle recovery later. Survivors come first."
"Ah..."
So someone really had died. For me, who'd only fought in low-rank dungeons where death was practically unheard of, it was a huge shock.
"Let's head down. Better if you don't see it yet."
"Y-Yeah..."
What was mana, anyway, to render people so utterly helpless? An inexplicable emptiness settled over me as I descended the hill with Choi Jin-hyeok.
"...This is real trouble. Can't even check positions without mana."
"No signal flares or anything?"
"We got some, but they're all magic tools. Never even considered a no-mana scenario."
Yeah, that tracked. To people in this world, mana depletion was basically death.
What now?
How were we supposed to find anyone in this dungeon of meadows and woods? As I scanned around for ideas, I spotted a few stones rolling on the ground.
Flint.
Mixed with the lighter fluid I'd brought just in case, they might work as signal flares. I scooped up a handful of flint chunks and headed over to Choi Jin-hyeok.
"Hey, think you could sling this with the slingshot? As straight up as possible."
"Into the sky?"
"Yeah, I've got a solid plan. Shoot it high, like a flare."
"Gotcha. Let's give it a shot."
Choi Jin-hyeok took the flint, aimed skyward, and let fly. The oil-soaked stone rocketed up. At its peak, I nocked and loosed an arrow.
Thwack!
The steel arrowhead collided with the oil-drenched flint, and flames burst into the clear sky. If we kept shooting fire like this, someone was bound to spot it and come running.
"Keep going?"
"Yeah. Smart move."
Choi Jin-hyeok and I kept launching flames into the air. It was around the seventh burst when people finally showed up.
"Gyeowol...!"
Han Yeoreum and Jeong Yu-na approached with a group of adventurers in tow. Relief washed over me at how surprisingly clean they looked—my tail started wagging wildly on its own.
"Gyeowol! What are you doing out here? It's dangerous!"
"S-Sorry. You weren't coming back, and I got worried..."
"Even so...!"
My tail froze mid-wag at Han Yeoreum's scolding. Not sure what to say to her, I clamped my mouth shut. That's when Choi Jin-hyeok stepped up and blocked her path.
"Ease up. She came to help us."
"Help us...?"
"Yeah. She's better at horn rabbits without mana than we are."
"...I get what you're saying, but Gyeowol's still just a kid."
Han Yeoreum shot me a sidelong glance. It looked like she was doubting my horn rabbit skills. Fair enough in my old body, but this one was different. I'd taken down dozens just getting here.
Looked like it was time for a lecture on horn rabbits—the creatures that had been my entire life.
* * *
"So, the horn rabbit's weak points are the eyes and the horn, right?"
"Yes. The hide's protected by mana—no matter what you do, you can't pierce it."
To demonstrate, I nocked an arrow and fired at a lone horn rabbit off in the distance.
Thwack!
The arrow flew like it would shred the hide... but it bounced right off the white fluffy fur. Not because the skin was thick—the mana barrier hadn't even let it get close.
Peep-?!
The startled horn rabbit perked its ears. Before it could spot us and charge, I quickly loosed another at its eye.
Thwack!
Same power behind it, but totally different result. Jeong Yu-na, who'd been watching quietly, clapped her hands.
Clap!
"Horn rabbit mana is specialized for hearing. They pull mana meant for their eyes to their ears."
"So you knew the weakness...?"
"N-No, not exactly. I didn't think that far ahead. Who goes after horn rabbit weak points like that?"
True that. The surrounding adventurers nodded in agreement.
"Then why's the horn a weak point?"
"The horn itself acts like armor, compensating for their lack of mana. It protects the head with raw physical toughness."
"Tough, but no mana, so you can smash it?"
"Yeah. Nerves are super dense there—hit it right, and it's instant death on the spot. Tough to break, though."
Got it. I clapped my hands like Jeong Yu-na.
Clap!
Of course, mine didn't make much noise.
"Such fragile little things."
"Yeah. That's why they're the bottom-tier monsters."
Han Yeoreum and Jeong Yu-na exchanged awkward smiles. I knew it was because they'd nearly died to the lowest monsters around.
Whew. Han Yeoreum sighed, stepped to the center of the group, and addressed everyone.
"Everyone hear that? Attack the eyes and horns from range—makes 'em easy."
"...Even knowing the weak points, no mana means crap accuracy. And these things swarm by the hundreds sometimes."
"Exactly. Why do you think we were just running? Numbers make it impossible to engage."
"Hmm..."
Han Yeoreum crossed her arms and turned to me, her gaze dropping to the bow in my hands.
"Gyeowol, think you can hit every horn rabbit you shoot at?"
"Yes. I've practiced shooting without mana a ton."
The day I'd shredded that tent with my bare hands, the shock had driven me to train archery mana-free. A beastkin's body was superior even without mana, so I'd quickly reached expert level.
"Then we'll put Gyeowol up front as main..."
Han Yeoreum grabbed a stick from somewhere and sketched our plan in the dirt. With no better options, we went with it.
* * *
The twenty or so adventurers split into roles. The fast ones lured horn rabbits over, while the ranged attackers perched in trees and fired whatever weapons they had.
Thwack!
Ten precise arrows took down ten horn rabbits. An adventurer who'd just handled two next to me whistled.
"Incredible. I needed thirteen shots for just these two."
"P-Practiced shooting without mana..."
The awe in his eyes—better than me, no less—was overwhelming. Embarrassed, I stared at the ground. Han Yeoreum called out to the tree-dwellers.
"Next team, retrieve those arrows."
The tree-climbing adventurers hopped down to gather them. As I watched from my perch, a woman who looked like a mage approached us from afar.
"Yeoreum! Figured out the dungeon clear condition!"
"For real?"
"Yeah! The exit gate grows a bit every time we kill a horn rabbit! By my math, just 217 more to go!"
Two hundred seventeen. I'd already handled more than half, so that meant at least 150 by my hand. My arms were already aching at the thought.
As I rubbed my forearm in dread, a scream pierced the air—the speedy lure guy was sprinting back toward us. Chasing him was a horn rabbit at least ten times the usual size.
"S-Save me!"
The moment he reached out toward us, I spotted the massive rabbit's leg muscles coiling.
"Ah."
It's gonna jump. Gore him in one leap. Without thinking, I reflexively loosed an arrow—not at the giant rabbit, but at the desperate young man fleeing toward us.
Swoosh!
The fast-flying arrow pierced his pant leg and pinned it to the dirt. His body pitched forward, suddenly anchored.
And right then—
Whoosh!
The giant horn rabbit's massive horn grazed right over the fallen man's body. For its size, the speed was insanely agile.
"What is that...?"
"I couldn't even read its movements..."
A horn rabbit the size of a wild boar. Looked like the boss monster had descended on this horn rabbit dungeon.