Thump, Thump, Thump!

"Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump, thump!"

Ah, so noisy.

The sound of rabbit feet thumping against the ground was surprisingly grating. Carbanog was officially sulking!

"...Alright, alright. I'll check the rabbit hutch first," Tae-hyun coaxed.

Carbanog might be a minor deity with a tiny following and barely any recognition, but a god was still a god. In a continent abandoned by most of its pantheon, simply being a god was a massive deal! In truth, Carbanog had been incredibly helpful to Tae-hyun. Because of its divine status, it possessed vast stores of esoteric knowledge. Having been saved by this knowledge multiple times, Tae-hyun couldn't afford to let Carbanog stay mad. He had to appease it!

Well, a rabbit hutch shouldn't be that big of a deal...

It wasn't some ridiculously expensive facility like a castle. Just hearing the name gave him a rough estimate of the cost! You build a basic wire cage, throw in some feed, and boom—rabbit hutch complete. Besides, he didn't even have to build it from scratch; he just had to patch up an existing one...

Oh, even better. Tae-hyun felt relieved. At 96%, it was basically pristine.

"...Huh?"

Tae-hyun blinked. Did I misread that?

Sixty-four thousand gold? He wanted to repair a rabbit hutch, not buy a whole castle! If he had that kind of money, he'd invest it in developing his fief first! But no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes, the system message remained unchanged. Tae-hyun was dumbfounded.

What, did they build this rabbit hutch out of Orihalcon and Mithril?!

Now Tae-hyun understood exactly why Count Knema had gone bankrupt. The man had built a rabbit hutch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of precious gems and prepared everything from the blood of high vampires to Wyvern's Hearts just to feed them... Of course a lunatic who poured that much money into rabbits would go broke!

"..."

Here was a talent who should have joined the Karbanog Church instead of the Salavian Church or any other cult. Tae-hyun checked the status window with a complicated expression. He had assumed Count Knema was some impressive figure since he possessed the bloodline of an ancient vampire, but...

He just seems like an eccentric who spent all his money on luxury and died...

Honestly, dying after squandering everything on rabbits was just poetic justice, wasn't it?

Carbanog, I'm sorry, but there's no way I can repair this right now.

Carbanog was disappointed, but it didn't resume its thumping. Even to the Rabbit God, the required materials were clearly absurd!

Yeah, I bet you would have.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

If a rabbit-obsessed count met the chosen apostle of the Rabbit God? Their affinity would have pierced through the heavens.

Honestly, it might have been way better than setting up that sleazebag Vlad as the count...

He wouldn't have had to fight at all; he could have just taken over an island in the Blood Archipelago for free and gone home to relax! Thinking about it that way made him genuinely regret Count Knema's death. Who cared if the guy was a bit eccentric? As long as they could communicate, that was all that mattered!

Nevertheless, Tae-hyun decided to visit the rabbit hutch in person. It wasn't to comfort Carbanog...

If the durability is at 96%, just how many of those gems are still intact?

A truly wicked scheme! Oblivious to his dark intentions, Carbanog was simply touched by his gesture.

...!

Even in the perpetually gloomy Blood Archipelago, where sunlight rarely penetrated, something was glittering brilliantly in the distance. Could it be...!

A hutch with a floor paved in solid gold, and diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds serving as the windows! Tae-hyun shuddered at the dazzling brilliance.

Is this divine providence? A reward for my virtuous life?

Tae-hyun approached as if possessed. At that moment, a low growl echoed.

"...?"

"Karreung!"

The hutch wasn't empty. Inside sat a single rabbit.

What? I thought it wasn't operational.

If the facility was shut down due to damage, how was there still a rabbit inside?

"...?"

"Karreung!"

"?!??!?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely shocked. His status ailment resistance was no joke. Even among high-tier rankers, few could withstand debuffs as well as he could. He had passive skills, an absurd Luck stat, and a massive array of defensive skills he had scraped together from various sources! Yet this creature had bypassed all of them to inflict a status ailment. Just what on earth...?

First a vampire dragon, and now a vampire rabbit. While a vampire dragon sounded terrifying, a vampire rabbit didn't sound particularly threatening. But that was a grave misconception. A truly powerful vampire rabbit was absolutely terrifying!

Fortunately, Tae-hyun possessed a unique advantage that didn't really feel like one: he was incredibly popular with rabbits!

"Karung."

Ancient Vampire Rabbit King... that's way too long. I'll just call him Towang.

Towang stopped baring his teeth at Tae-hyun and lay down arrogantly, as if granting him permission to enter. Of course, even when lying down arrogantly, he was still just a rabbit, so he didn't look particularly majestic.

"Uh... so... what can you do, and why are you here?"

"Karung."

"...Why?"

Normally, wouldn't a creature leave if its master disappeared? With Towang's power, he could easily break out of a hutch like this.

"Karung."

...Isn't he just incredibly lazy?

In short, he just didn't want to walk!

"Hey, Towang."

"Karung?"

Surprisingly, Towang didn't seem to mind the name at all. In fact, he seemed to quite like it!

"By the way, what level are you?"

At the question, Towang proudly extended a single front toe.

"...One, one thousand?!"

Tae-hyun gasped. There was no way he was Level 100, so did that mean... Level 1,000?! No... was that even possible? But if it wasn't that...

"..."

Tae-hyun's face instantly contorted. What do you mean, Level 1?!

Wait. I got hit with a status ailment from a Level 1 rabbit's squeak?

This was too embarrassing to ever tell anyone! Of course, special skills didn't care about level, but still... Tae-hyun stepped inside and grabbed Towang. The plump, chubby rabbit was easily lifted into the air.

"Karung! Karung!"

"Sure, sure."

Looking at this rabbit, Tae-hyun felt utterly pathetic for being fooled. He deeply reflected on his actions. How could I make such a rookie mistake!

"He chased away our envoy?! I don't know who this 'Vlad' bastard is, but I will never forgive him!"

"He is a disgrace to all vampires!"

Among the vampire counts, the name 'Vlad' was being dragged through the mud as a piece of trash who knew neither honor nor rules. But the shock didn't end there.

"My Lord!"

"What is it?"

"Someone... someone has entered Count Knema's Vampire Castle!"

"????"

"What kind of nonsense is that?!"

Count Scabio gasped in shock. Knema's Vampire Castle was protected by a powerful barrier of absolute non-intrusion that even he hadn't been able to bypass. Furthermore, the ownership of Knema Island hadn't even been decided yet! Who dared to step foot inside?!

"Could it be... that Vlad fellow?"

"Impossible!"

"But My Lord! There is no one else to suspect!"

"I would sooner believe Count Andalto managed to get in! What trick could a lowlife like Vlad possibly use to enter?!"

Count Scabio simply couldn't believe it. A place they had been completely barred from entering had been breached so easily by a nobody like Vlad!

"We've confirmed it! It doesn't seem like Count Andalto's doing either. His forces are just as confused as we are!"

"..."

Silence fell over the room. Everyone was trembling with a sudden chill. This vampire named Vlad... he was truly a terrifying monster! Where on earth had such a formidable vampire suddenly appeared from?

"My Lord... this is bad. If that bastard Vlad finds that inside the castle first..."

"...No! He won't know about it. Its very existence is a secret known only to myself and Count Andalto."

Count Scabio refused to give up. The situation was spiraling in an bizarre direction, but hope was not yet lost.

"There are countless treasures inside that castle. Unless he's completely out of his mind, why would he go to a rabbit hutch to look for a rabbit? No matter how cunning and clever Vlad is, he could never know about it!"

Indeed. The sole reason Count Scabio was trying to conquer the otherwise worthless Knema Island and claim its castle was because of the Ancient Vampire Rabbit King. It was the final masterpiece created by Count Knema, an ancient vampire and master of all sorts of esoteric arts!

According to rumors, that rabbit contained the culmination of various ancient vampire secrets. No one knew why a master of such incredible techniques would choose a rabbit as the vessel instead of any other powerful monster, but... since it was Count Knema's choice, there had to be a reason! Perhaps rabbits were more compatible with the esoteric arts, or perhaps they were sturdier... It sounded incredibly sketchy no matter how one looked at it, but... the reason didn't matter. What mattered was that he succeeded! The moment he laid hands on that rabbit, it would be as good as having a powerful army of beasts in his grasp.

Meanwhile, a very similar conversation was taking place in Count Andalto's camp.

"Vlad... that uncultured, lowborn vampire who dared to attack our envoy won't know a thing! We cannot give up. Prepare the army!"

"My Lord, the Vampire Castle is dangerous! You know how powerful its defenses are."

"Hmph. Unlike Count Knema, a bastard like Vlad won't be able to properly control the castle's power! If anything, its defenses will be weaker now."

Count Andalto's reasoning wasn't wrong. Count Knema had been a master of esoteric arts and had used all sorts of magic to turn his castle into an impregnable fortress. But now, the master had changed. The new owner couldn't possibly be superior to Count Knema, meaning they likely wouldn't even know how to utilize the existing defenses. This moment of transition and chaos was their perfect opportunity!

"You all know how powerful the ancient vampire rabbit army is! Even the Salavian Cult, who prided themselves on taming demonic beasts, tucked their tails and fled in fear!"

Count Andalto could not back down. The rabbit...! He had to get his hands on that rabbit!