35
Chapter 35
Tosuni's face was heavily contorted.
I had no idea why she was suddenly so worked up.
Perhaps the Iron Rabbit we just encountered was from a race hostile to the Blood Rabbit, or maybe she had a personal grudge.
Well, the reason didn't matter.
All I needed to know was that there was no problem with hunting that guy.
"Wooooong!"
Wow, the more I looked, the more vicious her expression seemed.
I didn't know Tosuni could make such a scary face.
Blood surged from Tosuni's back.
It formed the shape of a whip and rapidly charged toward the Iron Rabbit.
Clang-!
Unfortunately, the Blood Whip bounced off.
It was nowhere near enough to pierce its hard iron skin.
I took a step forward.
Then, I extended my arm dramatically and pulled Tosuni back.
"Woong...?"
Tosuni.
You just rest behind me.
Because today, I am the Bus Knight!
It was time to repay the favor from last time.
[Iron Rabbit lv.25]
└ Pw.50
└ Rnk.Uncommon
[Dragon Teddy Bear lv.14]
└ Pw.42 (+8)
└ Rnk.Superior
Hmm. First of all, my race rank was higher.
The opponent had a higher base power, but since I had bonus power, we both ended up with an equal power of 50.
In a situation like this,
The outcome would be determined by combat experience and available skills.
Alright, this was another experiment.
Let's see if the Chaos Breath works on an opponent of a similar level!
Just as I was thinking that.
"Uweeeck!"
The Iron Rabbit began its counterattack.
It released iron fragments from its own body.
Swoosh-!
The fragments that floated into the air fiercely shot toward us.
I had to block that first.
[Using the skill [Rolling lv.2].]
Gooooom-!!!
I activated the Rolling skill.
A hard shell then grew on my back.
The back shell that had disappeared during the Evolution process had changed to temporarily appear only when using the Rolling skill.
"Woooong?!"
Seeing me spinning in place, Tosuni raised both her arms in surprise.
Tosuni, stay still behind me!
Don't move a muscle!
Clank! Clank! Claaank-!
All the iron fragments were deflected.
Not a single one pierced my body.
After successfully defending.
I immediately deactivated Rolling and used the Dragon Mimicry skill to counterattack.
[Using the skill [Dragon Mimicry lv.1].]
Gurgle- Pfft!
One of my hands instantly transformed into a Dragon Doll head.
"Woooong?!!"
Tosuni was startled once again.
Her reactions were seriously top-tier.
What a cute kid.
"Uweeeck?"
Why are you surprised, buddy?
The Iron Rabbit stepped backward.
A hint of fear seemed to linger on its face.
Why would it be scared of something like this?
Even if it's just a Doll, is a Dragon still a Dragon?
It seemed the appearance of a Dragon alone was enough of a threat to monsters with low intelligence.
Anyway.
If you're done gawking, off you go.
I opened the jaw of the Dragon Doll wide.
[Using [Dragon Mimicry lv.1] - [Chaos Breath].]
Whooosh-!!!
A black breath shot out.
The Iron Rabbit quickly turned to flee, but the breath caught up to it at a terrifying speed and swallowed the guy in an instant.
"Uweeeeck!!!"
A scream filled with agony.
The Iron Rabbit rolled wildly on the ground.
Oh, it doesn't face Annihilation immediately.
Unlike the Venomfang Rat that was hit with Decomposition and scattered instantly, the Iron Rabbit put up quite a fierce resistance.
But it's no use!
[Using [Dragon Mimicry lv.1] - [Chaos Breath].]
I just need to keep shooting!
Relentlessly firing the Chaos Breath at the Iron Rabbit, I slowly moved my steps forward. Tosuni followed closely behind me.
After narrowing the distance like that.
I had arrived right in front of the guy before I knew it.
"U, weeeck......."
Unlike Tosuni, your cries aren't cute at all.
That is the reason you die.
Whooosh-!!!
I spewed out the Chaos Breath once more.
The guy was engulfed in complete darkness, and soon faced Decomposition, disappearing without a trace.
Its screams, which sounded like scraping metal, could no longer be heard.
Where the Iron Rabbit had been thrashing around, only a single small Mana Stone was left lying there.
Subjugation complete!
That was a breeze!
I crossed my arms and made a triumphant expression.
"Wooooong!!!"
Clap, clap, clap!
Tosuni cheered, clapping like a seal.
How about that, Tosuni? This is who I am.
I uncrossed my arms.
Then I picked up the Mana Stone that had fallen on the ground.
Holding the Mana Stone, I blankly looked down at the empty ground where nothing remained.
Hmm. Come to think of it...
I probably shouldn't overuse Chaos Breath.
Setting aside the massive mana consumption, it prevents me from retrieving the prey's corpse.
From now on, I should assess the situation and use it appropriately.
Ah. I do plan to keep using it today, though.
Because the goal of this hunt is to Level Up.
Even if the corpse faces Annihilation, the Mana Stone doesn't, so there is no problem using Chaos Breath to my heart's content.
Plus, there's blood back at the shelter that replenishes my Mana quickly.
Anyway.
You eat this Mana Stone, Tosuni.
I held out the Mana Stone to Tosuni.
"Woong?"
Tosuni didn't take the Mana Stone.
She just stared blankly, then shook her head and gently pushed the Mana Stone back toward me with both hands.
"Woong."
Are you telling me to eat this one, too?
Thanks, Tosuni!
...Did you think I would say that?
Are you some kind of overly generous rabbit?
If you keep yielding everything to me, when are you ever going to grow? Huh?
I swiftly shoved the Mana Stone back to Tosuni.
"Woong, woong."
Shake, shake.
Tosuni firmly shook her head from side to side.
Hey! Just take it and eat!
I'm not some trash who only takes and never gives!
Tosuni tried to yield the Mana Stone to me until the very end.
I forcefully brought the Mana Stone to her mouth and shoved it right in.
Eegh! I said eat it!!!
"Woooob...!"
Gulp.
Eventually, Tosuni swallowed the Mana Stone I gave her.
Her resistance wasn't actually that strong.
Deep down, she must have wanted to eat it too.
"...Woong."
Nod, nod.
Tosuni bowed her head twice.
It was the expression of gratitude she had learned from me.
[Blood Rabbit lv.18]
└ Pw.36
└ Rnk.Uncommon
Tosuni's level went up.
From level 17 to level 18.
Hmm. Her growth is seriously way too slow.
When we first met.
I remember Tosuni being around level 15.
Which meant she had only managed a Level Up three times in total so far.
This won't do.
Let's rapidly raise your level today.
For reference, Tosuni is an entity capable of a Limit Breakthrough.
Meaning, she could achieve a Limit Breakthrough by just raising her level two more times.
Alright, let's aim for exactly level 20, no more, no less!
Tosuni, just trust me!
I'll get you plenty of Mana Stones!
Beckon, beckon.
I made a hand gesture for Tosuni to follow me.
"Woong?"
The bus is departing!
Fasten your seatbelts!
***
Was this entire area the habitat of the Iron Rabbit race?
The place we had come out to hunt.
There was a significant number of Iron Rabbits distributed around this area.
Those taking Action alone.
Those taking Action in groups.
Among them, we only targeted the ones taking Action alone.
There was no reason to go out of our way to face multiple enemies at once.
I did want to get a lot of Mana Stones at once, but excessive greed always invites disaster. For our safety, we had to take them down one by one.
For reference, they were all one-on-one fights.
I handled them all by myself, without Tosuni's help.
Fortunately, none of them were stronger than the first one we encountered.
After quite some time had passed,
[Blood Rabbit lv.20]
└ Pw.40
└ Rnk.Uncommon
Tosuni finally reached level 20.
Congratulations, Tosuni!
"Woong?"
Tosuni wiggled her bottom.
She seemed to instinctively notice that a change was happening to her body.
Ah. You shouldn't do your Limit Breakthrough here, okay?
Go home safely and take your time doing it.
I pulled Tosuni by the arm.
Since we achieved our goal, it was time to slowly head back to my shelter.
*
I returned to the shelter with Tosuni.
Tosun's Mom and Servam were still sitting across from each other, chatting away.
The Baby Doll remained completely motionless, and Jjokkomi was nowhere to be seen, perhaps not intending to come over today.
Tosun's Mom spotted us returning safely.
She immediately noticed the change that had occurred in Tosuni.
Realizing that a Limit Breakthrough was now possible, Tosun's Mom was overjoyed before hurriedly preparing to take Tosuni back home.
Tosun's Mom and Tosuni finished their preparations to leave.
The two of them said their goodbyes to us, turned their backs, and quickly left the shelter.
Bye-bye.
Come play again tomorrow.
***
The night deepened.
Having returned home with her mother, Tosuni quietly lay down in her bed.
"Woong...."
And after closing her eyes.
Just as her mother had taught her, she began to embrace the new Mana energy she felt within her body.
Swoosh-
Mana flowed out from Tosuni's body.
The Mana soon gently wrapped around Tosuni, forming a Mana Orb.
If she succeeded in her Limit Breakthrough.
The possible Evolution routes for Tosuni were as follows.
================
◎ Maintain Race (Blood Rabbit) - Superior
◎ Crimson Rabbit - Superior
◎ Angel Rabbit - Superior
◎ Devoted Rabbit Doll - Superior
◎ Cosmos Rabbit - Superior
================
Of course.
Tosuni didn't have a choice in the matter.
Nor could she check her own Evolution routes.
She could only leave it to luck and follow the flow of fate.