115
Chapter 115
Luna Rabbit proposed to the Vampire Lord.
At her relentless wooing, the Vampire Lord shook his head and sighed.
It was a reaction that showed he was quite used to this situation.
"Accept it!"
"No."
"Just accept it!"
"No."
A clash between a spear named confession and a Shield named rejection.
Neither side was willing to back down even an inch.
I stood there blankly, taking in the sight of the two of them.
What in the world was going on here?
Did Luna Rabbit like the Vampire Lord?
"Bear...."
I subtly shifted my gaze to the side.
Tosuni, who had come down from Luna Rabbit's head at some point, was linking arms with me.
"Bear-bear-bear, bear-bear."
"Woong, woo-woong."
When I asked her, she confirmed that Luna Rabbit indeed liked the Vampire Lord.
She had heard about it when we held a festival in our Dungeon last time.
And considering she had asked him to accept the proposal of the three sisters earlier, it seemed not only that Luna Rabbit but the other Luna Rabbits were also harboring an unrequited love for the Vampire Lord.
So that Luna Rabbit was currently confessing on behalf of all of them.
Well, that was that....
Tosuni, you need a scolding first.
Who told you to go out without saying a word?
Bear! I smacked Tosuni's bottom with my Cane.
"Woo-woong...?"
I had no idea Tosuni had gone outside.
Because I had clearly told her to let me know if she was going to go out.
That was why I had been leisurely looking for her, thinking she was inside the Dungeon.
"Woo-woong, woo-woo-woong. Woo-woong."
She was sorry.
Luna Rabbit had asked to be called immediately if the Vampire Lord ever visited our Dungeon, so she had rushed over there. Still, she had told Ailee before heading out.
It was typical Tosuni, offering an Apple first and then rattling off her excuses.
What, so she had told Ailee before leaving.
I should have asked Ailee about Tosuni's whereabouts instead of the Fox.
Anyway, then I take back the scolding from just now.
Since she didn't necessarily have to report to me before going out.
Pat, pat.
I patted Tosuni's bottom as a sign of an Apple.
Then, I naturally pulled out a Mirror and shined it on Tosuni.
It was a procedure to check if she was a Doppelganger.
Good, she isn't a Doppelganger.
After verifying Tosuni, I turned the Mirror toward Luna Rabbit.
The information of Luna Rabbit in the Mirror also popped up perfectly fine.
Verification complete.
"Tanaric! Become ours!!!"
"How many times must I tell you I refuse?"
"Stop playing hard to get when you actually like it!"
"I simply do not want to."
"Woo-woo-woong...!"
Doesn't she ever get tired?
It feels like she's already confessed dozens of times in this short period.
Luna Rabbit remained undaunted even after being rejected dozens of times.
Even against her endless bombardment of confessions, the Vampire's resolve remained firm.
He maintained his composure, continuing to express his refusal with a very steadfast attitude.
They say there is no tree that won't fall after ten strikes, but it seemed the Vampire Lord wouldn't fall even after infinite strikes.
If this were the Human society from my past life, Luna Rabbit would have been reported as a stalker and arrested by the police by now.
A restraining order would have been issued as well.
Though there are no such laws here, so stalking victims cannot receive protection.
More importantly, I had accidentally learned the Vampire Lord's name.
Tanaric Bloodmoon.
So this was his name.
Is Bloodmoon the surname?
Then Miss Vampire must also be something-something Bloodmoon.
Since she said she was the Lord's niece.
"Woo-woong. Today is not easy either."
"It will never be easy for the rest of your life, so just give up."
"Woo-woo-woong...!"
By the looks of it.
It seems the Vampire Lord is single.
Since the Luna Rabbits wouldn't so blatantly target someone who is already taken.
I also don't recall hearing anything about the Vampire Lord having a wife and children.
...Wait, could they target him even if he were taken?
I guess I judged that too much based on the common sense of my past life just now.
Perhaps they would court him regardless of whether he is taken or not.
Well, it wasn't any of my business anyway.
I watched the two of them for a moment, then decided to take Tosuni and the Fox and head up to the 2nd Floor first.
Since a third party shouldn't interfere in that fierce lover's quarrel.
The two of them will probably finish their confession battle on their own and come up after reaching some sort of compromise.
Surely they won't be doing that all day.
***
The Vampire Lord and Luna Rabbit came up to the 2nd Floor together.
The Vampire Lord had a gloomy expression, while Luna Rabbit was beaming with a smile.
Tosuni ran straight toward them.
And she asked how it turned out.
The two of them replied that they had reached an agreement.
Instead of the Vampire Lord accepting today's proposal, he agreed to go on a date with the three Luna Rabbit sisters all day. Since the Luna Rabbits couldn't all leave the Dungeon together, it would naturally be inside the Rabbit Dungeon.
For reference.
Luna Rabbit had not given up on her confession.
Because she said she had merely given up on today's proposal.
Still, she said she wouldn't propose again for a while out of courtesy.
"Woong! Hurry up, my sisters are waiting!"
"...Understood."
Saying there was no time to waste, Luna Rabbit urged the Vampire Lord to return to the Rabbit Dungeon immediately. And so, the Vampire Lord was led by Luna Rabbit's hand, heading back down to the 1st Floor and trudging toward the Dungeon's entrance.
We went out to the Dungeon entrance to see them off.
"Stay well, everyone. I will come visit again next time...."
"Woo-hoo-hoong! Let's go quickly!"
Farewell, Tanaric Bloodmoon.
Have a pleasant date with the Luna Rabbit Noonims.
I waved my hand vigorously and sent the two off.
Ah. Miss Vampire didn't leave with them.
Because she said she plans to stay in our Dungeon for a while.
***
Late afternoon.
I came out to hunt personally for the first time in a while.
Since my combat senses might dull if I just have the Fake Dolls auto-hunt every time.
Of course, I had no intention of going far.
I only planned to hunt the weak monsters near the Dungeon.
Because facing dangerous situations is a no-go for me.
Today, I decided to have a cozy hunt with just Jjokkomi and me.
Because sometimes, sibling-only time like this is necessary.
"Kku-oh-oh, I'm going to burn everything."
Jjokkomi's eyes sparkled.
Unlike usual, she walked on all fours, looking around and flaring her nostrils.
Then, sniffing the air, she searched the surroundings to see if there was any suitable prey.
"Bear."
I was riding on Jjokkomi's back.
Standing straight and resting my Cane on Jjokkomi's back, I was stroking my pure white mustache in a gentlemanly pose.
It was then.
I felt a presence nearby.
Soon after, two familiar monsters leaped out from the bushes.
[Thunder Ant lv.25]
┗Pw.50
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Domain: Insect]
┗Rank - Uncommon
[Thunder Ant lv.21]
┗Pw.42
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Domain: Insect]
┗Rank - Uncommon
Oh, Thunder Ants.
It's been a while since I've seen these guys.
I had classified the Thunder Ant species itself as an enemy.
However, whenever possible, I avoided hunting them even if I spotted them.
Even though they were opponents I could definitely defeat, there were times I just let them go because I had an ominous feeling.
There's something strange inside their bodies.
An object that looks much like a Human face.
That was one of the reasons for the ominous feeling.
There was one more reason for it.
The first time I hunted that species, their bodies swelled up as soon as they died.
During that process, no attacks worked on them.
Back then, I fortunately handled it by putting them to sleep with the Sweet Fist that had a Sleep ability, but what if I hadn't been able to put them to sleep? What if I couldn't stop them from swelling? Wouldn't a dangerous situation have unfolded?
Because of those thoughts, I usually avoided the Thunder Ant species.
Yet, for some reason, I didn't feel anything ominous now.
I had a gut feeling that it was okay to check now, or more accurately, that there would be no problem even if I hunted them.
"Kiiii...!"
"Kii, kiiiii...!!!"
The guys we were facing off against started to slowly approach.
Did they recognize us as prey?
It seemed they had decided to fight instead of running away.
The Thunder Ant I saw last time had instinctively gotten scared and run away.
"Kku-oh? Dongsaeng-Oppa, I think they're going to attack first?"
"Bear-bear."
I guess they just have fearless personalities.
Or maybe they're just fools who can't gauge their opponent's level.
If it's the former, that's a pity.
Being a coward isn't a bad thing.
In the wild, cowards are the ones who survive the longest.
Poor guys, your arrogance will soon bring about your deaths.
"Kiiii!"
"Kiiiii!"
Lightning shot out from their long, extended nose hairs.
The lightning surged toward us in an instant.
It was so fast that we couldn't dodge it.
We were hit directly with a pow-
But there was no problem.
"Kku-oh, it stings! How annoying!"
"Bear."
Because we didn't take any damage at all.
Standing unfazed even after taking their attack, I realized just how much we had grown during this time.
In the past, the arm that took a direct hit from a level 11 Thunder Ant's lightning fell off and even burst into flames.
"Kii, kiii!"
"Kiiii!"
The guys didn't get scared.
I thought they might run away if their attacks didn't work, but they kept shooting lightning.
Tsk, where are your manners.
If you attacked once, you should prepare to take the opponent's attack next!
What truly ungentlemanly fellows.
Don't you guys know what turn-based combat is?
Now it's our turn to attack!
"Kku-oh-oh-oh! Stop shooting that stinging stuff!!!"
"Bear."
Hellfire spewed out from Jjokkomi's mouth.
And the flames generated at the tip of my Cane wrapped around the bodies of the Thunder Ants.
I could use the Flame Manipulation skill through the Cane as well.
"Kiiiii!!!"
"Ki, kiiii!!!"
Fwoosh-!
The agonizing screams of the Thunder Ants engulfed in flames echoed out.
Soon, they burned to a crisp and lost their lives.
.......
...Twitch!
Twitch, twitch!
Soon after, the corpses of the Thunder Ants began to swell grotesquely.
So it wasn't just that one individual that was unique back then.
Jjokkomi continued to shoot Hellfire at them.
However, the Hellfire no longer worked on the swelling corpses.
My flame skill didn't work either.
The two corpses rapidly grew massive.
Then they slowly split in half, revealing Human faces from within.
Craaaack-!
A torso grew beneath those Human faces, and soon after, limbs sprouted bizarrely.
The twisted limbs quickly took on a complete form.
Small bolts of lightning flickered in their eyes.
They were Antmen known as Bugmen.
[Bugman lv.30]
┗Pw.120
┗Rnk.Rare
[Domain: Insect]
┗Rank - Uncommon
[Bugman lv.30]
┗Pw.120
┗Rnk.Rare
[Domain: Insect]
┗Rank - Uncommon
Wow, what is that?
They undergo Evolution after dying?
What kind of overpowered species is that?
Their species rank had jumped up by two whole tiers.
Their levels had also risen.
They were both level 30.
I think their levels were different before they died....
Are they a species that unconditionally reaches Rare rank and level 30 upon Resurrection, regardless of their level when alive?
Anyway.
I'm really glad I just let them go peacefully in the past.
That could have been a disaster.
If I had chased down and killed the one running away back then, I would have had to face off against these Bugmen, right?
There was a reason why I had a bad feeling.
If it were me back then, I would have been hunted down without even being able to resist or run away.
Of course.
It wasn't a problem at all right now.
Against me, who had steadily consumed Mana Stones to Level Up even while cooped up in the Dungeon,
[Gentleman Teddy Bear lv.37]
┗Pw.148 (+25)
┗Rnk.Rare (Limit Breakthrough possible upon reaching lv.40)
Would you guys even be a match?
There's a massive power difference of 53, you know?
Bzzzt-!
Bzzt-!
With a spark, the figures of the Bugmen disappeared.
They revealed themselves on both sides of me in an instant.
Left and right.
Appearing before I could even react, their sharp claws viciously lunged at my face.
However,
Poof-!
Those claws failed to pierce my face.