10
Chapter 10
The Evolution list appeared.
There were a total of seven possible species for Evolution.
The choices were varied, yet not varied at all.
Because in the end, they were all evolutions into a Teddy Bear.
It seemed I could not escape this Teddy Bear mold.
Hmm. Which one should I pick.
I thought about it over and over.
It was hard to make a decision easily.
Jjokkomi! If you are watching me, give me the answer!
Phew. What should I do.
All of them looked fine except for one.
There was truly no dilemma like this.
I guess I am just horribly indecisive.
Let us take it slowly and consider them one by one for now.
Self-Destruct Teddy Bear.
I absolutely had no intention of picking this one.
It was the only route I did not like.
Because it sounded like a name that would use an explosion ability at the cost of my life.
That was what self-destruct meant, right?
Of course, that might not be the case.
Maybe the explosion would be harmless to my body.
However, I did not want to gamble on something so uncertain.
There were plenty of other options, so why would I.
Therefore, the Self-Destruct Teddy Bear was out!
The remaining candidates were reduced to six.
Next was the Boss Teddy Bear.
This was a species name I quite liked.
Boss! The leader of beggars Teddy Bear!
The word beggar was a bit off-putting, but a king was a king anyway.
Alright, the Boss Teddy Bear would be put on hold.
Next after that was the Thief Teddy Bear.
This one seemed alright too.
Calling it a thief made it sound a bit petty, but the English word for it was Thief! Thinking of it as a Thief Teddy Bear worked a miracle that made it seem rather cool.
In addition.
Having a skill to steal things would be helpful for survival.
Good, good.
The Thief Teddy Bear was also put on hold.
Next! Gourmet Teddy Bear!
It was a species name that sounded like my sense of taste would be maximized.
I would probably be able to taste things much better.
This one was also on hold.
Spicy-Sweet Fist Teddy Bear.
A name that sounded like it would use martial arts!
There was a high chance it was a combat type Teddy Bear.
Maybe it could become something like a knockoff Kung Fu Panda Teddy Bear.
This was also on hold.
Venomfang Teddy Bear.
A poisonous fang Teddy Bear!
Adding a poison ability to my Bloodsucking fangs would be the icing on the cake!
On hold! On hold!
Undead Teddy Bear.
It had the feel of the standard Evolution species for a Vampiric Teddy Bear!
My Bloodsucking fangs might even get further reinforced.
On hold!!!
I finished my diligent analysis.
Now to look at the remaining candidates......
.......
......Huh?
I was practically running in place here.
I had only managed to eliminate a single candidate.
What have I been doing all this time.
It could not be helped.
Since it had come to this, I had no choice but to use my last resort.
Among multiple choices.
The forbidden secret technique used when I absolutely could not pick just one.
Namely, seeking advice from an expert!
Now! Doctor Smarty-Pants, please make an appearance!
Coca-Cola is tasty.
If it is tasty, eat more.
If you eat more, you get a stomachache.
A candidate was selected for each syllable.
As the syllable changed, the candidate changed sequentially as well.
At the syllable Co, the Boss Teddy Bear.
At the syllable Ca, the Thief Teddy Bear.
At the syllable Col, the Gourmet Teddy Bear.
At the syllable La, the Spicy-Sweet Fist Teddy Bear.
Just like this.
The final syllable.
In other words, the place where the syllables finally stop.
That choice was none other than the most outstanding species chosen by Doctor Smarty-Pants.
Doctor Smarty-Pants, please guess it!
Ding-dong-dang-dong... dang-dong-dang-dang-ding-dong-dang-dong-dang!
The Spicy-Sweet Fist Teddy Bear wins!
Do not think about it anymore!
Just select it right away!
I made my final choice using a professional method.
***
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
The Limit Breakthrough proceeded.
Time flowed endlessly.
My consciousness did not fall asleep and remained awake.
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
Is it supposed to proceed while I am awake?
Or is it because I cannot sleep?
I do not know the reason.
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
When will it end.
Ah. It said it would take about 12 hours.
I should just zone out.
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
.
.
.
.
.
.
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
[Reconstructing the body.]
[Reconstructing the internal Mana Stone.]
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
[Discovered that the Vampire's Subordination is in progress. Blocking the Subordination process.]
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
[Limit Breakthrough is in progress.]
.
.
.
.
.
.
[Limit Breakthrough has succeeded.]
Finally complete!
It seems 12 hours have already passed.
Time really flies.
It was boring, but bearable.
Because I am used to staying still and zoning out.
Anyway......
Limit Breakthrough successful!
Special Evolution completely successful!
I am now at the Uncommon rank too!
It felt as if I had undergone Reincarnation one more time.
As the Limit Breakthrough succeeded, the protective barrier surrounding me smoothly disappeared.
Heave-ho!
After getting up energetically from my spot.
First, I checked my newly changed appearance.
Oh. My front paws have gotten incredibly huge.
Are these not exactly Dorae*on fists?
They were the size of boxing gloves.
Other than that, the changes were......
Did the stitching become denser?
No, it seems the same.
I could not find any other changes no matter how hard I looked.
I guess only my fists got bigger.
Since I finished checking my appearance, I immediately opened the Status Window.
[Spicy-Sweet Fist Teddy Bear lv.5]
┗Pw.10 (+2)
┗Rnk.Uncommon (Limit Breakthrough unavailable)
[Skills]
[Helper lv.1], [Evolution lv.2], [Action lv.2], [Feeding lv.1], [Magic Chef lv.1], [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1], [Bloodsucking lv.1], [Spicy-Sweet Fist lv.1]
Limit Breakthrough was once again in an unavailable state.
The level had decreased to match the previous base power.
The Evolution skill level had also risen.
It was probably because I had reached the Uncommon rank.
From now on, there should be at least two Evolution choices.
And by becoming a Spicy-Sweet Fist Teddy Bear, I also gained a skill fitting for the species.
[Spicy-Sweet Fist lv.1]
─You can use Spicy Fist and Sweet Fist.
└Spicy Fist: Engraves a weakness mark on the opponent's body. The weakness mark is engraved in a random location and is only visible to the skill user. When hitting the weakness mark with Spicy Fist, there is a 1% chance for the opponent to die instantly. The opponent's level is irrelevant. However, it does not work on grades of Superior or higher.
└Sweet Fist: When a punch lands on the opponent, there is a 3% chance they will fall into a sweet Sleep state. The opponent's level is irrelevant. However, it does not work on grades of Rare or higher.
─Spicy Fist can only be used with the left hand.
─When 50,000 normal punches are accumulated with the left hand, Spicy Fist is charged once. The charge is consumed even if instant death does not trigger.
─Sweet Fist can only be used with the right hand.
─When 10,000 normal punches are accumulated with the right hand, Sweet Fist is charged once. The charge is consumed even if Sleep does not trigger.
─The maximum number of charges for Spicy Fist is limited to 1.
─The maximum number of charges for Sweet Fist is limited to 3.
Waaaah!!!
An instant death skill! A Sleep skill!
Yet, it felt a bit awkward to shout and rejoice like that.
Hmm. Is this actually a good skill?
The probabilities are absolutely abysmal.
......Begone, negative thoughts!
Shake, shake! I shook my head from side to side.
Let us think positively.
Anyway, I did gain the overpowered abilities of instant death and Sleep.
In my left hand, the Spicy Fist instant death skill!
In my right hand, the Sweet Fist Sleep skill!
Hehe!
With just a bit of luck, I would be no different from the strongest Teddy Bear!
More importantly, it said I needed to accumulate normal punches to use Spicy-Sweet Fist, right?
Would it accumulate even if I punched the empty air.
Jab! Jab!
I threw a few jabs just in case.
No changes occurred at all.
Seeing no response from the Helper, it seemed the punches were not accumulating.
I guess I actually have to hit something.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a living creature, right?
This time, I tried lightly tapping the ground.
Bear-Bear Punch!
Bonk!
[Left hand punch accumulated 1 time.]
Ooooh! It works!
So the punch count increases even if I hit an inanimate object!
Alright, it is decided.
My opponent for today is you, the ground!
[Right hand punch accumulated 1 time.]
***
[Left hand punch accumulated 1,024 times.]
[Right hand punch accumulated 1,024 times.]
Before I knew it, the accumulated punches had exceeded 1,000.
I was not tired or exhausted.
Because I am a Doll, not a living creature.
As long as I had enough Mana, I could continuously maintain top condition.
[Left hand punch accumulated 1,025 times.]
[Right hand punch accumulated 1,025 times.]
While in a state of trance.
As I was continuously throwing punches.
Rustle.
A sound that broke my concentration reached my ears.
Pausing my punches, I turned my head toward the direction of the sound.
[Blood Rabbit lv.15]
┗Pw.30
┗Rnk.Uncommon
Why are you here?
The rabbit I saw last time had reappeared.
It definitely seemed to be the exact same individual.
Not only was its level the same, but the large spot on its ear was identical as well.
Well, if that spot was a common trait among the Blood Rabbit species, it might not be the same individual.
"Wooo."
The Blood Rabbit stared intently at me.
Then, out of the blue, it held out the Carrot in its paw toward me.
What could that action mean.
Was it an expression saying it wanted to be friends?
I will give you a Carrot, so let us not fight and be friendly neighbors, something like that?
"Wooo, wooo!"
The Blood Rabbit shook the Carrot.
It seemed to be urging me to take it quickly.
Hmm. It does not seem to have any intention of attacking...
It wouldn't be pretending to be friendly, planning to lure me in with food and ambush me, right?
I could not help but be suspicious.
Because this place was a cold and harsh wild world.
As I remained cautious, the Blood Rabbit tossed the Carrot it was holding toward me.
The Carrot landed right in front of me.
"Wooo!"
"......."
For now, I picked it up and ate it, considering the gesture.
It did not matter if it contained poison or something.
Because things like that do not work on me anyway.
The Blood Rabbit maintained its distance.
It stood there and continued to stare intently at me.
What. Do you need something else?
I do not know why it is not leaving.
I am incredibly busy right now fighting the ground.
Still, I am glad it didn't just suddenly attack.
Even though we are the same rank now, the difference in level and power is still severe, so I would have no chance of winning if we fought.
Anyway.
Let us just ignore it.
I should finish what I was doing.
I continued my fierce battle with the ground again.
Thump thump thump thump!
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
Huh? What is this sound?
Thwack thwack thwack thwack?
I raised my head.
The Blood Rabbit was in a stance, putting its front paws against the ground.
While staring at the Blood Rabbit, I tried striking the ground.
Thump thump thump thump!
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
Then the Blood Rabbit also struck the ground with its front paws.
...Why are you fighting the ground?
Are you perhaps a possessor of the Spicy-Sweet Fist?
No, there is no way that is true.
It seems it is just copying me.
I guess this looked fun.
***
[Left hand punch accumulated 10,000 times.]
[Right hand punch accumulated 10,000 times.]
[Sweet Fist is charged 1 time.]
[If desired, you can use Sweet Fist with your right hand.]
Phew!
After all that effort, I charged the Sweet Fist 1 time.
This takes quite a long time.
I stopped my actions and stood up from my spot.
"Wooo?"
The Blood Rabbit stopped its actions too.
While I had been striking the ground all this time, the guy had also been striking the ground continuously without resting.
You are a rabbit with a surprising amount of grit.
Thanks to that, I was not lonely.
It would have been a bit boring if I had done it alone.
Maybe it is because we repeated the same action together for such a long time, but I felt a slight sense of intimacy with the Blood Rabbit.
"Wooo."
Mr. Rabbit.
Instead of just staring blankly from over there, could you come here for a moment?
I called the Blood Rabbit over with a hand gesture.
It felt like I no longer needed to be on guard.
The Blood Rabbit tilted its head, then,
"Woooo?"
Hop hop!
It realized the meaning of my gesture and hopped over to me.
"Wooo."
Stopping in front of me, the Blood Rabbit smoothly offered its Carrot.
It seemed to think I called it because I wanted to eat the Carrot.
I appreciate the thought, but I don't need it.
You can eat plenty of Carrots yourself.
I had a different reason for calling the Blood Rabbit.
It was to try using the newly charged Sweet Fist.
Whether it failed or succeeded.
I had to check if it worked properly first.
"Wooo?"
Do not worry.
You will not die.
Either nothing will happen, or you will just fall into a Sleep at a very low probability.
Showing my intent to use the Sweet Fist, I lightly pressed my right fist against the Blood Rabbit's body. It probably didn't matter where I hit with the Sweet Fist.
Tap.
[Sweet Fist has been successfully activated.]
Thud-
The Blood Rabbit collapsed powerlessly.
What is this.
It succeeded?
The 3 percent miracle had occurred.
Was 3 percent actually a surprisingly high probability?
Zzz zzz.
The Blood Rabbit had fallen fast asleep.
Feeling bewildered, I stared down at the guy.
Wow. Rabbit meat.
...That was just a joke.
As a reward for the Carrot, I will let you live.