"Haa... This is exhausting."
By the time I'd finished communing with all 30 rabbits.
I'd stroked them so carefully that my arms were killing me.
Even after putting 5 stat points into stamina from my level up, my arms were still numb.
"I give up. Come at me, you lumps!"
But I couldn't just leave those bundles of experience points behind.
Exhausted, I yelled out in reckless abandon.
Kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi!
"Eup! Euuup!"
The rabbits, lined up in perfect formation behind me, all rushed in at once.
"What do we do about that guy!"
"Whoa, looks like the rabbits evolved or something. That's wild."
"F-First, let's bail!"
The players who'd been staring blankly at the long line of rabbits freaked out and ran off.
Meanwhile.
Thud— Thud-thud—
I was getting bumped and bashed from all sides.
Kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi-kkwi!
The rabbits were all over my body, licking me furiously with their tongues.
[⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
'...Gotta endure it.'
Thud— Thud-thud!
A wave of self-loathing hit me—was this why I'd started playing Silmaria?
But I was growing at a higher efficiency than anyone else at my level.
[⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[✨ LEVEL UP! ✨]
[Lv. 4 → Lv. 5]
My health, whittled down by the rabbits' frenzy, recovered with the level up.
It hurt and was humiliating, but at least I wouldn't die doing this.
"Eup... Ptoo! Hey, kids! Mmph... Ptoo-ptoo! Bonded ones, step back!"
I spat out the rabbit fur filling my mouth and somehow gave orders to the rabbits.
[⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙]
[You have communed with 100 or more rabbits.]
[You have acquired the title 'Rabbit Rider'. ]
[⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[You have gained 10 experience points by communing with the rabbit.]
[... ]
A title acquisition message popped up midway, but it scrolled up and out of sight before I could check it.
How much time passed like that?
"...Completely... licked clean."
The rabbits finally stopped licking me.
"A mountain is a mountain... A river is a river. Heh, the sky sure is pretty."
The absurdity of it all had me lying there, staring at the beautiful sunset sky to steady my mind.
After about five minutes of mental recovery.
"Oof, my back."
I staggered to my feet.
The rabbits were already lined up in perfect double file.
Their eyes gazing up at me sparkled with utter adoration.
"...Haa."
Post-nut clarity hit again, and I let out a long sigh.
There wasn't a single spot their tongues hadn't reached.
I felt like a training dummy that had been thoroughly ravaged.
"Let's go."
As I set off, the rabbit procession followed.
I had no idea why they were so loyal to my commands.
'But this... what'll Guard Captain Hans say?'
The dumb rabbits were still following in formation even after entering Talia Village. The villagers' shocked stares made me puff up a bit.
'They'll be thrilled I caught so many, right? Please be.'
The adventurers' guild was right in front of me now.
I swallowed hard and slowly pushed open the guild's weathered wooden door.
Creeeak.
As the door to the adventurers' guild swung open.
"Wha? Wh-whoa? Eeeh?"
The skinny chef freaked out first.
"..."
Hans stared wordlessly at the long line of rabbits stretching out the door.
Finally, he spoke.
"What in the world...?"
"Kwon Ha-yul's special rabbit capture method."
I blurted out whatever came to mind.
At this point, I'd given up thinking.
"My ultimate skill."
"Y-You've already mastered an ultimate move?!"
Hans, you really believe that?
"Yes."
"You're incredible! There are exactly 132 rabbits! Here's your reward. I've given you extra for the numbers."
[⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙]
[You have acquired 3 silver.]
[You have gained 300 experience points.]
[✨ LEVEL UP! ✨]
[Lv. 5 → Lv. 6]
The money was ten times the original quest reward.
Experience was three times as much.
Shff.
'Nice!'
I tucked the precious money pouch into my bag.
My level was already 6.
The lingering self-loathing in my chest washed away completely.
'Cleared the rabbit quest and hit level 6... I'm probably the first player to do that.'
I invested the unallocated stat points from before, putting 5 each into stamina and strength.
I'd chosen a spear as my first weapon, so dumping into intelligence or mental power would make early game hell.
"Come on, give me a bit more. 132 rabbits for 3 silver?"
Capitalist instincts kicked in, and I haggled with Hans.
Win or lose, worth a shot.
3 silver was decent, but after what the rabbit horde took from me, I wanted more compensation.
"That's already generous. Processing this many would be a hassle for us. Hey, Vincent, give me a hand. When are we gonna get all these into pens...?"
He was planning to sell all 132 to the neighboring village, rolling up his sleeves as he spoke.
"Hold up!"
"...?"
"I'll handle that too."
"Ah, thanks. You're a top-notch adventurer!"
"So pay me more."
"...Hm?"
"I'm doing your annoying work for you. A little labor fee's fair, right?"
"...Hmmm."
I stared Hans down for a while.
Couldn't miss a money-making chance.
"Tch, fine."
Hans grumbled reluctantly.
[📜 NEW QUEST 📜]
[Put 132 rabbits into the pens.]
[▷ Rank: Common]
[▷ Reward: 1 silver / 100 experience points]
Nice.
"Kids, head into the pens, each group!"
Would they obey to the end?
Heart pounding, I commanded the rabbits.
If they bolted now, I might lose the 3 silver I'd just earned.
Please, no Amitabha regrets at this point...!
"Kkwi-kkwi. Kkwi."
Surprisingly, the front row of ten hopped into the pens first. We were short on pens, so four per pen.
"Kids, a few pens short. Not like that— one per four of you. Bear with it even if it's tight. We'll let you out in a big grassy field soon."
I had no idea if there really was a big field with grass, but I blurted it out to convince them.
"Kkwi-kkwi... Kkwiik!"
"Kkwiik!"
The rabbits followed my words perfectly.
Stuffing themselves into the cramped pens, their obedience was almost foolish.
No clue why they were so loyal.
"Alright, the rest of you too!"
"...Kkwi?"
I flinched.
The lead rabbit at the front tilted its head at my words.
'Bad feeling.'
The problem was the rest starting to tilt their heads too.
The ones following the vanguard hesitated at the sight of the narrow pens.
The head-tilts spread like a contagion.
'Stay calm, persuade them well.'
"Kids?"
"Kkwi!"
Thud-thud-thud.
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
"Ack, no! Stop, you bastards!"
Whether sensing danger now, the back rabbits bolted, and the rest followed. Way faster than on the mountain.
I chased their tails with all I had.
'Can't lose what I earned!'
Truth be told, I was the one running away.
No way I could catch rabbits darting off like that.
If I killed time elsewhere and came back, would I lose the 3 silver reward?
At least the first quest was done, so chaining to the next should be natural.
'Huh?!'
But.
Thud-thud-thud!
Hans was a higher-level NPC than expected.
"Hahaha. Where you off to in such a hurry?"
He'd started way later, but now he was running beside me.
I'd suspected as much when he nailed the exact count of 132, but... this was overkill.
"Huff... Huff... S-Stop right there!"
I pretended to chase the rabbits, legs shaking as I ran full tilt, but couldn't shake Hans.
Eventually, my stamina bottomed out, and I stopped dead.
"Hand over my money."
"Huff, huff... What're you talking about?"
"Haha, no dodging. Rabbits ran off, so quest reward reverts to 30 copper."
A thought flashed: with Hans's speed, couldn't he outrun and herd them back to the guild?
"Hand it over nicely. Yeah?"
Grab.
Hans clapped a hand on my shoulder with a sly grin.
Rooooar—!
"..."
Killing intent poured from Hans.
My skin prickled.
'S-Strong.'
From his running speed alone, a noob adventurer like me wouldn't survive one of those burly fists.
Shff.
"...Here."
[⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙]
[You have provided 2 silver and 70 copper.]
Grudgingly, I returned the quest fee.
Tried for an extra silver and lost 2 silver 70 copper instead.
"Heh, got it."
Hans's smug face as he walked off with the money was infuriating.
'Dirty rotten...!'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The rabbits seem to follow me. Just 20-30 seconds of communion, and they're more loyal than any guard dog.
No idea why.
If I'd used this ability more shrewdly, I could've earned an extra 2 silver 70 copper without lifting a finger.
But posting this on the community would get me labeled a bug exploiter, so the only one I could ask was my buddy.
— That's what happened. What is this?
I spilled everything that happened today to Jin-gyu.
He started Silmaria early, so he's level 60.
He should know plenty.
— What else? You asking 'cause you don't know?
↳ Reply — Huh? What. What don't I know.
— Kang Jin-gyu: Animals have always liked you anyway.
— Kwon Ha-yul: ...Huh?
— Kang Jin-gyu: You fell into the bear enclosure at the zoo as a kid messing around. Normally, the bear would've swatted a kid and it'd be over, but you rode around on its back without a scratch.
— Kwon Ha-yul: Oh yeah...
Come to think of it, Mom letting me do that overseas bear shoot probably stemmed from that childhood incident too.
She was relieved it was just bears.
Well, ended up with a bum leg from a car accident anyway.
— Kang Jin-gyu: And you bonded with Tung-i right away. You always befriend pets instantly, don't you?
Tung-i was Jin-gyu's dog, a pit bull terrier.
Rescued from a shelter, bred for fighting—they warned him the temperament was nasty, but to me, Tung-i was a total softie.
Only gentle with me out of all visitors, I learned later.
— Kwon Ha-yul: Nah, that's just coincidence. Today's rabbits were on another level. Moved like trained soldiers.
— Kang Jin-gyu: Dunno. Could be you.
Frustrating guy.
Doesn't get it no matter what.
— Kwon Ha-yul: Sending the footage. Check it and give feedback on uploading to YouTube.
— Kang Jin-gyu: OK. Send it now.
Hung up.
Quickly edited today's footage and emailed it to Jin-gyu.
I daydreamed about becoming a legendary Pokémon master with this talent, but too early for that.
Those happy thoughts could wait for his feedback.
"Kids, dinner!"
Mom's call had me wheeling to the living room.
Sis had claimed her spot first, devouring food like a beast.
Home or not, habits show.
'Wish she'd mind her manners.'
'Tsk tsk.'
Wonder which sucker she'll snag...
My condolences in advance to her future husband.
"Hey, hey, in the land of propriety, how dare a little sister eat before her brother even picks up his chopsticks..."
"Shut it."
...So curt, it shut me up instantly.
'This won't do.'
Can't maintain big-bro authority like this.
Time for the ultimate weapon.
"Mom. She's cursing at me."
"Whoa, how old are you to still tattle to Mom?"
"Whatcha gonna do?"
Sis shot me a scornful glare.
Wanna smack her head, but can't.
She's stronger.
"Wanna die?"
"Mom, she's threatening to kill me. Punish her."
But I've got the Mom call.
Mom's always Team Me.
"Kwon Hee-yul! Don't talk to your brother like that!"
"Mom, stop spoiling him! Calling for Mom at his age?"
Sis countered Mom's nagging.
No effect, of course.
"Hmm? So what? I love it. Son, even when you're old, come to Mom, okay?"
"Yeah! Hehe."
"Ugh, gross. Ruining my appetite."
"Tsk... Keep talking like that?"
"Like what?!"
I mimicked Mom to provoke Sis.
Gotta tease the enemy to savor it.
"Seriously, I was eating quietly, and he started it!"
"Hey now! Sis, enough chatter. Eat. No fighting at the table."
I scolded her officiously like a drill sergeant.
Even I cringed at how annoying it sounded.
"...Hah, whatever."
Sis surrendered.
'Heh, my win again.'
Today's family dinner was as heartwarming as ever.
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