12. Complacency
Since Shiro figured he’d gathered the necessary skills, he decided to head out on the hunt right away. His target: one Black Horn Rabbit.
Using his scouting skill, Shiro confirmed the Black Horn Rabbit’s location—about one kilometer southwest of the cottage, beyond the sanctum’s barrier, another five hundred meters past that.
After exiting the sanctum, Shiro activated his 【Stealth】 and 【Invisibility】 skills, moving cautiously through the woods to avoid detection by monsters. He knew he’d likely be unseen, but still, the novelty of using new skills made him a little nervous.
The forest here was massive.
“Feels like the Redwood Forest I once traveled through.”
Shiro thought, glancing around at the towering trees.
Every tree had a trunk diameter of several meters. Fortunately, the ground between them was relatively flat, and the roots didn’t twist up too much, so it wasn’t hard to walk.
After carefully advancing for about thirty minutes, he emerged into a slightly open area. Just outside the woods, a large boulder lay scattered, and Shiro hid behind it to observe. He spotted three Black Horn Rabbits about a hundred meters ahead.
“Huh. Unexpectedly cute, aren’t they?” Shiro thought.
From a distance, they looked like fluffy, typical rabbits. Black, as their name implied. The only difference was the sharp horn protruding from their heads.
“Shiro, they’re a hundred meters away, right?” Mitoka pointed out, floating atop the rock.
Yeah, so what… Shiro started to say, then suddenly noticed something.
“Wait… something feels off about the scale…”
Shiro paused, considering.
"The tree behind it looks smaller than it should? It’s supposed to be a hundred meters away, but the rabbit itself appears normal-sized…?"
"Black Horn Rabbits are three meters long," Mitoka said.
"Wait, that’s not huge? Ah—maybe it’s the way it looks from afar, like a giant billboard, that’s throwing me off?"
Shiro, stunned, decided to just check it out for himself.
Black Horn Rabbit Beast Level 20
Skills: [Short Step], [Leap], [Horn Charge]
"Hey, Mitoka. That thing… looks pretty tough, doesn’t it?"
Shiro glanced at the beast’s level, a flicker of unease crossing his face, then turned to Mitoka for confirmation.
"Shiro, your magic should be enough… I think," Mitoka said, eyes averted.
"Wait, what’s with that look? And where are you even looking? Come on, aren’t you sure?"
"..."
"..."
"For food," Mitoka said flatly, as if trying to convince herself.
"Huh. Fine, whatever. Can’t know until we try," Shiro sighed, resignation creeping in, but still checked with Mitoka.
"Um, so—go in stealth mode, close to thirty meters, hit it with a few Stone Balls to the head. Once it’s down, secure it in the inventory, then bail immediately. That’s the plan, right?"
"Yes. Please make sure to take on only one at a time. Multiple at once would be difficult."
"Got it. Any other tips?"
"Not really. Other than the horns being dangerous, your long-range attacks should handle it."
"Understood."
"Then… be careful."
With that, Mitoka vanished.
He thought he should just finish it quickly, heart pounding with tension, but managed to calm himself with a deep breath.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a brief wave of heat wash over his body. Probably just nerves, he thought, and didn’t give it a second thought before beginning to move toward the Black Horn Rabbit.
Three, no—was it three? One of them was slightly smaller than the other two, standing a bit apart. Shiro decided to target that one, trusted his stealth skill, and inched forward slowly.
When he was about thirty meters away, the size of the Black Horn Rabbit suddenly seemed off—unnaturally large.
“Whoa… kinda surreal, huh?”
He muttered, still cautious, as he crept closer.
Alright, he thought, and activated 【Stone Ball】.
At the instant the orb launched, a sharp *hiss* came from the side, and a searing pain shot through his body.
“Ugh…” he groaned.
『Shiro!』 Mitoka screamed in alarm, her voice echoing in his mind.
As he heard her cry, he looked down at himself—and saw, to his shock, one of the Black Horn Rabbits had somehow appeared behind him, its horn piercing straight through his abdomen.
“Huh… why?”
He stared, stunned.
The moment he spoke, the rabbit swung its head, flinging him through the air like a ragdoll. He crashed into a tree twenty meters away, then slid down the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.
“Gh… cough…”
His vision blurred. The world spun. He felt consciousness slipping.
——No way… am I really going to die this easily?
He thought that, and then blacked out.
——"Critical injury confirmed. Activating [Instant Death Resistance]. User confirmed as [Apostle]. Maximum level of [Instant Death Resistance] confirmed. Initializing [Rollback]-related skills. Executing [Rollback]."
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