The status screen was still floating in front of me when new text scrolled across it.
Title Acquired: Coward
I stared at the words for a long moment, then let out a laugh that came out more like a bark. "Coward? Seriously?"
But the system—or whatever was controlling this—didn't respond. The title just sat there on my screen, mocking me.
I dismissed it with a thought and the screen vanished. Coward. Yeah, okay. I'd run from a level twenty-five demon bear when I was level one with ten HP. That wasn't cowardice, that was basic math. Survival instinct. Common sense.
Still, the word stung more than I wanted to admit.
I looked back toward where the cave was, hidden somewhere beyond the trees. Those other eggs were probably gone by now. Destroyed or eaten or whatever that bear had been planning to do. And I'd run.
Because I was weak.
My reflection stared up at me from the lake, crimson and small and pathetic. Level one. Seven strength. Three magic. If I wanted to survive in this world—if I wanted to be more than just prey—I needed to get stronger.
"Right," I muttered. "So let's—"
Rustling.
I froze, every muscle tensing. The sound came from the bushes to my left, something moving through the undergrowth. My heart rate spiked. Please don't be another bear. Please don't be anything that could kill me in one hit.
A creature hopped out from behind a twisted shrub.
It was... a rabbit.
I almost laughed again from sheer relief. Just a rabbit. Brown fur, long ears, probably weighed five pounds soaking wet. Except—there was a horn jutting from its forehead, spiraling like a unicorn's, about as long as my claw.
"Divine Messenger."
The status screen appeared above the creature.
Species: Horned Rabbit
Level: 3
HP: 15/15
Mana: 5/5
Strength: 4
Defense: 3
Agility: 18
Magic: 1
My eyes locked onto those numbers. Strength: four. Defense: three. Both lower than mine. The agility was higher—way higher—but everything else? I had this.
"Okay," I said quietly, crouching lower. "Okay. First monster kill. Come here, little guy."
The rabbit's nose twitched. Its head turned toward me, and I saw its eyes—not the gentle, vacant stare of a normal rabbit. These were sharp. Predatory.
I lunged.
The rabbit moved like liquid. One moment it was there, the next it had shifted three feet to the left. I hit empty ground, my claws gouging dirt, and before I could recover—
Pain exploded in my side.
The rabbit's horn punched into my scales, right between two plates. It wasn't deep, but it burned like someone had jabbed a hot knife into my ribs. I yelped and stumbled back, and the rabbit hopped away, already repositioning.
My status screen flashed in the corner of my vision.
HP: 6/10
Four damage. That tiny thing had done four damage in one hit.
"You little—"
I charged again, snapping my jaws where its head had been. The rabbit dodged, impossibly fast, and I felt the wind from its movement as it darted past my shoulder. I spun, trying to catch it with my tail, but it was already six feet away.
This wasn't working. I was bigger, stronger, but the thing was too fast. Every time I committed to an attack, it slipped away and countered. If I kept this up, it would whittle me down to nothing.
Think. There has to be a pattern.
I circled the rabbit slowly, and it circled me, both of us watching for an opening. Its horn was stained with a drop of my blood—crimson on ivory. The creature's back legs tensed and released, tensed and released, like a spring coiling.
There. That was the tell.
When it attacked, it prepared. A split second of tension before it moved. If I could time it right—
The rabbit's legs coiled. I shifted my weight but didn't commit. The creature shot forward and I moved at the last second, letting it pass under my chest. As it went by, I saw the pattern: attack, retreat, reposition. The retreat was the vulnerable part. That's when it was moving away from me, not toward me.
We danced around each other. The rabbit feinted left and I didn't bite. It darted in, horn leading, and I twisted away. My side throbbed where it had hit me, but I kept my focus on the pattern.
Attack. Retreat. Reposition.
Attack. Retreat. Reposition.
The rabbit coiled again. This time I was ready.
It shot forward and I moved with it, tracking its trajectory. The horn grazed my shoulder—I let it, accepted the trade—and as it tried to pull back for its retreat, I was already there.
My jaws closed around its body.
The rabbit squealed, high and piercing, thrashing in my mouth. I bit down harder, felt bones crack between my teeth, and the thrashing stopped. The taste was wrong—gamey and bitter—but I didn't care. I'd done it.
I dropped the body and stared at it, panting. Dead. My first kill.
Text scrolled across my vision.
+20 XP
Level Up!
Level 1 → Level 2
HP: 6/15 (+5 Max HP)
Mana: 25/30 (+5 Max Mana)
Strength: 7 → 8
Defense: 10 → 11
Agility: 6 → 7
Magic: 3 → 4
Skill Acquired: Chomp
I pulled up the skill description.
Chomp: Enhances bite attack damage for one strike. Small cooldown between uses.
A combat skill. Something that would make me more dangerous. I looked down at the rabbit's corpse, then at my bloodied claws, and felt something shift in my chest.
I'd been scared. Terrified, even. But I'd won.
"Not so pathetic after all," I muttered, though my side still throbbed and my HP was only at six out of fifteen.
The forest was quiet again, but it felt different now. Less oppressive. Like maybe, just maybe, I could handle what it threw at me.
One rabbit at a time.
I needed to find more. Get stronger. Level up enough that the next time I ran into something like that demon bear, I wouldn't have to run.
But first, I should probably figure out if I could eat this thing.
My stomach growled, answering the question for me.
Yeah. Food first. Then more hunting.
I was done being a coward.