Centaur Race,
The so-called World Invasion was a real invasion from another world. Worlds of countless races—Centaurs, Zerg, Three-Eyed Race, Barbarian Bull Race—had begun to overlap with this one, allowing them to descend upon it. This world was no longer just for humans.
Thirty years ago, at the beginning of the invasion, the worlds of the Centaurs and Three-Eyed Race first overlapped with the borders of Emberlyn Kingdom. They arrived with awakened professionals and malicious intent, leading to fierce conflicts. Emberlyn Kingdom initially relied on thermal weapons, but as the world's laws changed, those weapons gradually became ineffective. After strategic-level weapons failed, the kingdom was on the verge of collapse.
Fortunately, thermal weapons bought by Emberlyn Kingdom some time ago have allowed human professionals to grow. After a decade of arduous struggle, the kingdom barely achieved victory, but it was not a complete one. They could not fully expel the foreign races, so they signed a truce—the Three-Race Accord—promising not to initiate large-scale wars for the next fifty years. This led to a tense coexistence.
Ironfang City was still a human city, but many nearby cities were predominantly inhabited by Centaurs or the Three-Eyed Race. Some cities near overlap points even explicitly prohibited humans from entering—a humiliating reality for a country defeated but not annihilated. The Centaurs and Three-Eyed Race were powerful combat professionals, and their willingness to coexist was only because the world fusion wasn't yet complete. Their truly powerful individuals couldn't yet cross the barrier.
The news was despairing, and it made many humans pessimistic about their future. While Vincent had been shocked to first see Centaurs in the city, he was used to it now. These Centaurs seemed to be newly awakened professionals, too, also on their way to a dungeon. They walked and talked loudly, looking more at ease than in their own homes, with an air of superiority. Many human professionals who saw them felt disgust but said nothing, intimidated by the foreign races' innate skills and the fact that nearly all of them were professionals.
In truth, Emberlyn Kingdom's situation was already relatively good. Before the great change, there had been nearly two hundred countries worldwide. Now, there were fewer than a tenth of that number, and the citizens of the annihilated countries had been slaughtered. Emberlyn Kingdom, at least, still existed.
Thinking of these issues, Vincent exhaled, shaking his head. "Never mind them. Let's go into the dungeon first."
Thalia withdrew her gaze and nodded. The sight of these foreign races made it difficult for Vincent to feel anything but disgust, but as a small figure, he couldn't change anything he wanted to. It was better to enter the dungeon first.
He led Thalia through the town, soon seeing the dungeon entrance: a giant spatial vortex, suspended over twenty meters in the air. Its existence was perplexing; from all directions, it looked like a vortex, yet you could walk directly through it if you weren't trying to enter.
Many people were gathered in front of the vortex. From time to time, figures would flicker and disappear as they entered, and others would flash into existence as they emerged.
As Vincent and Thalia approached, their panels automatically popped up a dialogue box.
[You have entered the 'Rabbit Paradise' dungeon entrance.]
[Dungeon: Rabbit Paradise]
[Tier: 0]
[Current Difficulty: Normal]
[First entry, no pass required. Do you wish to enter?]
They carefully read the prompts. Entering a dungeon usually required a pass, which dropped randomly inside. The first entry was free. To unlock higher difficulties—Hard, Hell, and Abyss—they first had to clear the current one.
After reading the prompts, Vincent exhaled. "Are you ready?"
"Mm!" Thalia was eager. She nodded repeatedly.
"Let's go."
The siblings chose 'Enter'. They stepped forward, their figures flickered, and they disappeared. After a dizzying spin, they found themselves in a vast wilderness. The sky was blue with white clouds, and a gentle breeze carried the scent of earth. It was a harmonious world, surprisingly elegant.
Thalia suddenly whispered, "Brother, there are rabbit monsters!"
Vincent turned and saw three meter-tall white rabbits snarling and rushing out of the grass, moving incredibly fast. His mind stirred, and he used his skill.
[Monster: White Rabbit]
[Level: 1]
These were clearly no threat. "Let's kill!" he laughed, a little excited himself.
Both of them moved, using Stealth. They became two afterimages, flashing towards the rabbits.
Pfft!
A brilliant flash of blade light.
1549!
827!
Two huge crimson numbers burst above the heads of two white rabbits. They didn't even whimper; their health instantly emptied, and they fell dead.
Thalia appeared, looking astonished. "Brother, how is your damage so high?!" she asked.
Vincent smiled. "Isn't high damage normal?"
While Thalia's backstab wasn't as strong in the daytime, his single strike was almost double hers, and it astonished her. As they spoke, the remaining rabbit was visibly stunned. Two companions gone in a flash. With a shriek, it turned and ran.
Thalia saw Vincent's gaze shift and quickly shouted, "Brother, I'll go!" She hadn't had her fill yet. Before her words even landed, she was already chasing the rabbit, as if afraid he would steal her monster.
Vincent chuckled, letting her act. A moment later, a brilliant blade of light flashed. The third rabbit's health bar appeared for an instant, then emptied completely. It toppled over, lifeless.
These white rabbits had 500 health points. For other Tier 0 professionals with their attack power in the tens, it would have taken a lot of effort to defeat them. But for Vincent and Thalia, it was a one-hit kill every time. The power of an Epic profession was truly terrifying.
"Brother, something dropped!" Thalia's voice rang out with a hint of excitement.
Vincent walked over with interest. "Oh? What dropped?"
The last rabbit dropped a ball of light. Thalia's eyes widened. She touched it, and the light shattered, revealing 27 silver coins.
Vincent felt a hint of disappointment, but then he saw Thalia's face.
"Twenty-seven silver coins, Big Brother!" she exclaimed.
He couldn't help but laugh. "You little money grubber."
Thalia wrinkled her nose in mock dissatisfaction. "What do you mean? We used to have to work for half a month to earn this!"
Her words made Vincent pause. She was right. It had taken half a month of grueling work just to earn this much. Now, it had taken less than a minute. Recalling the past two years, Vincent felt a complex mix of emotions. The world's malice towards ordinary people was indescribable.
Thalia, however, didn't dwell on it. She happily deposited the coins into her panel wallet. "Big Brother," she said, her voice full of excitement, "these rabbits are so weak. I feel like I can clear it myself. Don't attack later, I'll do the killing!"
"That's fine, but don't be careless," Vincent cautioned. "This isn't a game. If you die, you really die."
"Don't worry," she giggled, "I know. You taught me that even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit."
Vincent chuckled. "Alright, then I'll leave it to you. Let's continue."
"Mhm!" Thalia cheered.
They continued forward. The scenery in Rabbit Paradise was truly breathtaking. As they went deeper, they found a world of childish innocence—a forest with giant, colorful mushrooms that gave the place a fairy-tale charm. Of course, that charm was quickly broken by the sight of blood-red-eyed, fang-filled rabbit monsters that were often over a meter tall.
Vincent strolled leisurely, enjoying the scenery, while Thalia did all the work.
Along the way, they encountered only rabbits: White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, Black Rabbit, Gray Rabbit, Rabbit Axeman, Rabbit Archer… they had truly stumbled into a rabbit's nest, living up to the dungeon's name.
These rabbits were no match for an EpicAssassin. Rabbits below Level 3 couldn't withstand a single normal attack from Thalia's blade. After Level 3, they only needed one more strike.
-848!
-821!
-781!
One after another, terrifying damage numbers popped up above the heads of these monsters, numbers that would have astounded others.
Thalia killed with abandon, happily putting the constant drops of silver coins into her panel. She wasn't afraid of having too much and didn't mind if there was too little. The more she killed, the happier she became, even humming a little tune.
Vincent couldn't help but smile, following alongside her, providing support, and enjoying the tranquil, yet lethal, scenery of the Rabbit Instance.
They soon entered the depths of Rabbit Paradise and saw their old friends, the Irritable Rabbits. Thalia rushed forward, delivering two quick slashes, and an Irritable Rabbit fell.
The other two immediately launched a pincer attack. Vincent's heart tightened, but he quickly realized his worry was for nothing. Even before she awakened, Thalia practiced combat techniques daily. Now, with an energized body and immense power, her techniques unleashed a destructive force. In six slashes, all three Irritable Rabbits were dead. Thalia's health bar hadn't even flickered.
One of the rabbits dropped a ball of light. Thalia picked it up and suddenly shouted with excitement.
"Big Brother, equipment dropped! It's a dagger!"
Vincent's eyebrows shot up. Equipment dropped? And a weapon, no less? He knew that while normal instances could drop items, the probability was low, and weapons were the rarest of all.
Thalia showed him the panel.
[Rabbit Dagger]
[Attack: 23, Strength +1, Agility +5]
[Equipment activation condition: Level 5 Assassin Professional]
It was a plain white item with no skills, but its stats would still be a significant boost.
"Ah, I need to be Level 5 to use it?" Thalia said, her voice full of disappointment. Leveling up was difficult. After all this fighting, neither of them had leveled up once. A single kill only gave them a dozen or so experience points, and even a Level 9 Irritable Rabbit only gave 102. To reach Level 1, they would need 10,000 experience points.
"The stats just won't activate," Vincent said with a smile. "But you don't rely on these few attributes anyway. Why not just use it as a normal dagger?"
Thalia was stunned. "Oh, right!" In this world, unlike a game, you could pick up and use any item you wanted. You could be a mage wearing full plate armor and swinging a greatsword; the only thing stopping you was that the equipment's skills and attributes wouldn't take effect.
This had no impact on Thalia whatsoever. Her old dagger was a dull, ordinary knife that could break at any moment. She immediately held the new one in her hand and swung it. It was double-edged, with a cold gleam and a rabbit-head pommel. It was far handier than her old one.
"It's both strong and cute!" she said with a smile. "Alright, Big Brother, let's continue!"
Vincent nodded, and the siblings continued deeper into the instance.
They finally saw the guardian boss of Rabbit Paradise.
It was a giant rabbit wearing a mushroom hat and wielding a huge carrot club. With a mouth full of fangs, it stood at least four meters tall, its muscular body radiating a formidable presence. Its blood-red eyes fixed on them. Seeing them, it roared and charged.
Vincent used his skill.
[Instance Boss: Rabbit Leader]
[Level: 10]
"Big Brother, I'll do it!" Thalia declared, showing no fear. Her confidence from one-shotting rabbits all the way here was at an all-time high.
Vincent didn't try to stop her. "Be careful," he said.
"Okay!" Thalia responded, her feet already moving. She charged straight toward the boss, a tiny, determined figure against the enormous Rabbit Leader.