90
Chapter 90
The first-floor warehouse was stacked with a massive pile of monster corpses.
Only a fraction of them were ones we'd hunted ourselves.
Most of them were left behind by the Black Human who had accompanied the Old Man a while back.
Among them.
I used more than half just for today's festival.
Using my skills, I transformed them into a diverse feast.
I didn't regret it one bit.
You should save things when they need saving, sure.
But on a day like today, it was only right to go all out and treat everyone to a grand feast.
It was all to deepen our already friendly relationship with the rabbits.
"Wow, this Dungeon looks so cool!"
"Awoo, awooo."
"Turtle, tuuurtle."
"There are so many cute Dolls here! I want to hug them all!"
The festival started much earlier than expected.
The rabbits showed up right in the middle of our preparations.
Seeing them arrive bright and early, they must have been really looking forward to it.
The food wasn't fully ready yet.
Even so, it wasn't a problem.
I could just keep cooking while the festival was underway.
For the record, not every rabbit came to visit.
I heard only about half of them made the trip.
It wasn't like they could leave their Dungeon completely empty.
"Mmm! There's so much to eat! Every single thing is delicious!"
Naturally, Tosun's Mom, the Queen of the Dungeon, came along as well.
They needed a leader to guide everyone, after all.
Just like before, it was fine for Tosun's Mom to leave the Dungeon for a short while.
During those times, the Elders managed and protected the Dungeon in her stead.
"Why did you prepare so much, awoo."
Only one Luna Rabbit attended.
All three of them couldn't be absent at the same time.
The ownership of the Rabbit Dungeon was divided among the three Luna Rabbits.
Of course, they didn't need two to stay behind.
Just having one stay in the Dungeon was more than enough.
As long as at least one owner remained, the Dungeon wouldn't collapse.
The reason only one Luna Rabbit came was simply because of a rule they had set for themselves.
The rule dictated that only one of them could go out at a time.
It was strictly forbidden for two or more to leave the Dungeon.
"This is delicious... awoo?"
"Huh?"
Luna Rabbit was politely nibbling on her food.
Suddenly, she locked eyes with the Star Fox nearby.
The Moon Tribe.
The Star Tribe.
It was a meeting between two similar yet distinct tribes.
Come to think of it, I was told the Luna Rabbits hated the Star Tribe...
I had completely forgotten about that.
"You..."
"Nice to meet you! I am me!"
I grew a bit worried.
There wouldn't be any issues, right?
I stopped cooking and watched the two of them nervously.
Just then.
Tosun's Mom swallowed the mouthful of food she was chewing and approached the Luna Rabbit.
"Mmm. Ancestor, I told you about that child before we came here."
"Awoo? Oh, right... You did. I forgot."
So she had already briefed her about the Fox.
I felt relieved.
It made sense; there was no way she would have come without saying anything beforehand.
Especially since Tosun's Mom knew perfectly well that the Luna Rabbit hated the Star Tribe.
By the looks of it.
She must not have mentioned it to her beforehand.
But since the Luna Rabbit and the Fox were bound to meet today, she likely had no choice but to bring it up.
After all, she couldn't exactly leave the Luna Rabbit behind when she insisted on coming to our Dungeon festival.
"You said she was a child presumed to be of the Star Tribe, awoo...."
The Luna Rabbit fixed her gaze on the Fox once again.
Then, she narrowed her eyes and observed her intently.
"Eh? Are we having a staring contest? I won't lose, awoo...!"
"Awoo...."
The Luna Rabbit groaned as she studied the Fox, but soon softened her expression.
"Awoo, she really is from the Star Tribe. It seems she's a beast-type Mutant."
"I won the staring contest!"
As the Fox jumped up and down in excitement.
The Luna Rabbit slowly approached her.
Then, stopping right in front of her, she called out to the Fox.
"Child."
"Why are you calling me!"
"I hate the Star Tribe."
"I like rabbits!"
"......."
"Hehehe!"
"...Let me repeat myself. I hate the Star Tribe. But I don't hate the tribe itself."
"Huh?"
"You are completely separate from the Star Tribe members that I despise. So even if you belong to the Star Tribe, I won't hate you, awoo."
The unfortunate event of the Luna Rabbit attacking the Fox didn't happen.
It was a relief she was a rabbit capable of rational thought.
The Fox blinked at the Luna Rabbit before smiling brightly and holding out her hand.
"Then let's be friends!"
"Awoo... Friends with the Star Tribe, you say...."
The Luna Rabbit made a troubled face.
Even if she didn't hate her, being friends was apparently a bit of a stretch.
"If you won't be my friend, I'll pee right here!!!"
"......."
It was a threat, yet not really a threat.
The Fox suddenly lifted one leg up high.
Flustered, the Luna Rabbit ultimately had no choice but to grab the Fox's hand.
Perhaps, for the very first time, it was the moment the Moon Tribe and the Star Tribe became friends.
Afterwards.
While cooking, I explained the Fox's past to the Luna Rabbit.
It was to clarify that the Fox now had nothing to do with the Star Tribe, so the other Luna Rabbits wouldn't be hostile to her later.
"Bear bear, bear bear."
"Awoo. I see, so that Fox is someone who ran away because she couldn't endure the discrimination."
"Bear bear bear, bear bear."
"You're saying it's just the Vampire's guess, so it's not certain? No, it's definitely certain. I had forgotten about the Star Tribe because I loathe even thinking about them, but they're a garbage tribe famous for discriminating against Mutants. They practice such atrocious discrimination that tribes who just abandon or banish Mutants are actually better in comparison."
While we were having this conversation.
Tosun's Mom, who was munching on the giant Carrot-shaped meat I made with my skill, looked at me with a pleased smile.
"Mmm. I'm so happy our Son-in-law Bear can speak now. You can finally whisper sweet nothings with our Tosuni all you want."
"Ufufu!"
What do you mean, sweet nothings...
I don't do cringeworthy things like that.
***
After much hard work, I finally finished all the cooking.
Now it was time for the next preparation.
I had come up with an event while I was cooking.
Rather than just eating food, having at least one form of entertainment would liven up the festival.
The event I prepared was none other than sparring matches with the Fake Dolls.
Naturally, we wouldn't be the ones fighting.
It was about conducting mock battles with the guests who came to play from the Rabbit Dungeon.
The rabbits seemed to quite like the sound of this event.
There was no way they wouldn't like it.
After all, it was an event I prepared after noticing the Luna Rabbit, Tosun's Mom, and a few other rabbits wondering about the strength of the Fake Dolls earlier.
The event preparations were finished quickly.
In truth, there wasn't much to prepare.
All we had to do was gather the Fake Dolls who would be sparring here.
"I brought the guys from downstairs!"
"...!"
The Fake Dolls participating in the sparring match were brought up by the Fox and the Puppeteer Doll.
The Fake Dolls gathered on the second floor totaled three.
The Old Man Fake Doll.
The Werewolf Fake Doll.
The Chickenhead Human Fake Doll.
It was these three.
The Gatekeeper... no, the role of guarding the Portal was left to the other Fake Dolls.
"Awoo. You said that guy is supposed to be the strongest class of Human, an Astral Slayer?"
"To be precise, he's not exactly the strongest. Like I told you before, there's a Human called the Zero Slayer who ranks higher than an Astral Slayer. Though, even I don't know if they actually exist."
Ailee answered when the Luna Rabbit asked.
The Luna Rabbit nodded, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the Old Man Fake Doll.
Her gaze was brimming with interest.
"So he's the second strongest Human. Regardless, I'm looking forward to this."
The first match was the Luna Rabbit versus the Old Man Fake Doll.
"Come at me, awoo."
The Luna Rabbit gestured for him to attack first.
The Old Man Fake Doll politely bowed his head, took his stance, and charged at the Luna Rabbit.
*
"...Awoo."
The Luna Rabbit looked down.
The Old Man Fake Doll was collapsed on the plush floor.
Less than a minute after the battle began, the Old Man Fake Doll had met his defeat.
As expected, the Luna Rabbit was on a different level.
It was the expected outcome, though.
The Old Man Fake Doll might be the strongest in our Dungeon, but there was no way he could be a match for the Luna Rabbit.
"It's a shame it ended faster than I thought."
She didn't look disappointed.
Rather, she had a satisfied expression on her face.
"Still, it was quite fun. Awoo."
He definitely wasn't weak.
He was in a completely different league than that Ebony Slayer or whatever he was called.
The Luna Rabbit added these remarks, highly praising the Old Man Fake Doll.
I felt a surge of unwarranted pride.
It meant the Old Man Fake Doll was strong enough to earn the Luna Rabbit's acknowledgment.
"I wonder if he was even stronger when he was Human? It's a pity we couldn't fight back then."
Saying so, the Luna Rabbit turned her back.
She continued speaking as she moved toward where the food was laid out.
"I have no interest in the other two. Have someone else deal with them, awoo."
"Mmm. Then I'll give it a try."
The one who stepped up this time was Tosun's Mom.
Tosun's Mom looked back and forth between the two Fake Dolls.
The Werewolf Fake Doll, who used to be a Lycanthrope.
The Chickenhead Human Fake Doll, who served as the Transport Captain.
"Son-in-law Bear, which of those two is stronger?"
"Bear bear."
I pointed at the Transport Captain.
At that, Tosun's Mom's eyes grew as wide as a rabbit's.
Ah, not 'like a rabbit'—she actually is a rabbit.
"Mmm. The Lycanthrope Doll is the weaker one? How surprising."
Before long, Tosun's Mom's gaze locked onto the Werewolf Fake Doll.
With a smirk, she singled him out.
"Then I'll fight the weaker one first, ufufu!"
...She sure says some shameless things so confidently.
***
Swish- swoosh-!
Moving at an invisible Speed, the Werewolf Fake Doll was clawing at Tosun's Mom's body.
It wasn't leading to any fatal damage.
This was just a mock battle, after all.
I had forbidden the Fake Dolls from making any life-threatening attacks.
Of course, that wasn't the reason he couldn't inflict proper damage.
"Mmm?! Oh my, oh my goodness!"
Tosun's Mom was narrowly dodging the Werewolf Fake Doll's attacks.
She was surprisingly agile for her size.
Though she wasn't dodging perfectly and was getting scratched by his claws.
Swish- swoosh-!
The Werewolf Fake Doll pushed Tosun's Mom even more fiercely.
"Oh my, my, my! Oh my!"
Tosun's Mom focused entirely on evading the attacks while letting out strange exclamations.
She showed no signs of counterattacking at all.
She seemed completely preoccupied with just dodging.
"Awoo, Tojin is being pushed back. That Wolf Doll was quite strong too."
The Luna Rabbit, who had been watching the battle, slipped up next to me and said.
Tojin?
Ah, is that Tosun's Mom's name?
That's the first time I've heard her name.
"Teddy Bear, what do you think? Does it look like our Tojin is going to lose?"
"Bear bear bear bear bear, bear bear bear bear bear bear."
Judging solely by the current situation, it looks like she'll lose.
The Werewolf Fake Doll is just launching one-sided attacks, and Tosun's Mom hasn't been able to counterattack at all.
When I answered like that, the Luna Rabbit looked at me and chuckled.
"Tojin won't lose. She is our pride, the very first of the Moon Tribe in history to reach the ultimate realm."
The ultimate realm seemed to mean Max Level.
So she knows that Tosun's Mom is at Max Level.
I wondered if being Max Level gave off some kind of special aura.
The Luna Rabbit shifted her gaze back to Tosun's Mom.
"It is known that reaching the ultimate realm is so difficult it borders on impossible, regardless of one's tribal rank. Because it is such a monumental task, achieving it grants a very special reward. A reward known as a Unique Skill, something that has never existed before, will never exist again, and can only be possessed by a single living being. Awoo."
"Bear bear?"
A Unique Skill?
"A Unique Skill refers to a skill born exclusively for one lifeform. It stays with that being for its entire life, and when the lifeform dies, the skill faces Annihilation from the world alongside it."
I roughly understood.
You receive a reward when you reach Max Level.
The reward is uniformly a Unique Skill, but you don't receive the exact same Unique Skill.
In other words, there are absolutely no duplicate Unique Skills.
This is because a specific Unique Skill is a one-of-a-kind ability born and existing solely for a single living being.
To put it even more simply.
If one Max Level achiever received Unique Skill A, another Max Level achiever would receive Unique Skill B, and yet another Max Level achiever would receive Unique Skill C.
"And the Unique Skill our Tojin obtained by reaching the ultimate realm is none other than..."
Listening to the Luna Rabbit's words, I also fixed my eyes on Tosun's Mom again.
Then, the Helper automatically brought up Tosun's Mom's information.
[Crimson Rabbit lv.100(Max)]
┗Pw.300
┗Rnk.Superior
[Domain: Moon]
┗Grade - Legendary
"Temporary Limit Transcendence, awoo."
Just as the Luna Rabbit finished speaking.
Whoosh-!!!
A brilliant blood-red light began to erupt from Tosun's Mom's body.
And the moment that light faded.
[Crimson Luna Rabbit lv.100(Max)]
┗Pw.1500
┗Rnk.Epic
[Domain: Moon]
┗Grade - Legendary
"Mmm. It's been a very long time since I've gotten this serious. This form is my trump card, so I tend to never reveal it unless it's a dangerous situation... but I suppose it's fine not to hide it in front of Son-in-law Bear and his friends."
Tosun's Mom's body had taken on a radiant ruby hue, and a massive blood-red crescent moon had risen behind her back.
"Well then, shall I begin my counterattack now?"