《Rabbit Reincarnation - The Nexus: Reincarnated》 Chapter 1 - I鈥檓 awesome Roger walked down the footpath, ready to cross the street. Left, right and left again none of that truck-kun business here. Walking on he passed various shops and businesses heading straight for a nearby parking lot. Dropping his bags in the boot he hopped in his car and drove home to the small apartment in a middle class residential building. So far so good, nothing dangerous going on here. Nooo, just an average adolescent person on a regular day. Getting home he put on some music and adjusted his earphones before doing what normal people do when no one else is there to watch. That is, hip hopping and twirling and elbow swinging as well as the best imitation of a moonwalk that was definitely pulled off¡­ definitely. During this rendition chores were half done and the broom received the microphone treatment. Roger was proud of himself for getting stuff done as he stared in the bathroom mirror approvingly. Dirty blonde hair blue-green eyes and a generally fit body that came from not overeating and lifting basic weights once a week or whenever he could get around to it. ¡°What a handsome fellow¡± he thought to himself grinning as the music chanted ¡®hop on it, hop, hop, hop on it¡¯. The smart young man skipped study, ate noodles and went to bed. Because awesome people needed their beauty sleep. THUMP, SCREAM, BANG, CRASH. Roger woke up with a start, something that was still being very loud had entered his home. Trying to stay calm while not actually achieving it, he rolled off his bed and crawled into the kitchen grabbing a knife from the bench along the way. Carefully he peered over the bench only to see a horrendous sight. To the left the front door was open, a body on the ground. Sarah¡¯s body. She had almost finished her bachelor degree, just a few months left. Her parents had come around every month, so proud of their little princess that was all grown up. Unlike Roger¡¯s parents, his mother left when he was four and his father, well, his father¡­ He felt his Dad had raised him more out of a sense responsibility then love. Dad loved him, sure. Just not the same way Sarah¡¯s parents clearly loved her. Had he been jealous? Sure, but it still made him happy to watch. He¡¯d been booted out of home as soon as he hit 18, Sarah¡¯s parents had begged her to stay home, finally compromising when she agreed to live close. Now they would never see her smile again, she wasn¡¯t moving, her chest wasn¡¯t rising or falling, and there were clearly bullet wounds in her chest. Why? Why was this happening? She had so much life left to live. He could see her open door across the hallway, had she tried to come to him for help? He looked back to the right and saw two murdering thieves in his lounge room. How did he know they were thieves? They had large bags and they were clearly shoving some of the few valuables he had into them, that¡¯s how. In horror movies people always yell at the characters telling them ¡®Don¡¯t go in there¡¯ or ¡®don¡¯t do that¡¯. Roger knew this and always kept this in mind. However, his mind wasn¡¯t all together at this particular moment and he wasn¡¯t exactly in a state to do the smart thing, sort of like in horror movies. As he looked from Sarah in the doorway to the murderers in his home he gasped with terror, which the one without a gun heard and turned. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Roger stood up on instinct with knife in hand, yes, he has terrible instincts, hopefully they will get better¡­ eventually. Hearing Roger stand the other thief turned as well. Seeing the knife thief two raised his gun and fired. BANG, BANG. Everything slowed, it was as if the world itself stopped spinning. Pain. Roger looked down at his chest and saw blood. ¡°Bastards¡± he thought to himself. Looking back up at hands hovering in front of him he came to a decision. ¡°If you assholes think you can get away with this you thought wrong. I won¡¯t let you hurt anyone else.¡± There were others in the building, some he knew well, some less so. He was a goner, his safety no longer mattered. He needed to do something to protect them. One final kumbaya. Time sped up, returned to normal, and he raised his right hand in a throwing motion. Back, forward, release. Adrenaline high the knife flew reminding Roger of kung fu movies for some reason. There was a squelching sound as somehow the weapon pierced the gunman¡¯s eye socket. Thief two screamed as he raised his gun haphazardly. Roger dodged to the side. BANG. The gunman had missed falling backwards as he did so before going completely still. ¡°Surreal¡± Roger murmured to himself, noticing the wheeze of his breath and the taste of metal on his tongue. ¡°You¡¯re dead¡± thief one said reaching for the gun. Vision going blurry and lungs choking on blood Roger rushed around the bench, across the room and into the gunman-to-be fists swinging. He was no boxer, but he knew the nose to be a good spot. ¡°This counts as self-defence right?¡± hazy thoughts entered his mind before he heard a CRACK. The gunman-to-be¡¯s nose broke and his eyes were clearly watering. As thief one was reaching for his nose Roger socked him in the side of the head, feeling fingers breaking against the man¡¯s skull. Silence apart from heavy wheezing as well as choking. Both thieves were now unmoving on the ground. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that of. hurt more. I should. be screaming. right now¡± he spat out blood on the floor as his thoughts grew slower ¡°there¡¯s one more thing. I need to do.¡± ¡°What. Was. It?¡± Mission to protect complete the young man fell to the ground beside the murderers. ¡°Oh, right¡± leaning to the side to spit out quite a bit of blood he tried his best to clear his throat. ¡°CALL TRIPLE ZERO¡± Roger yelled as loud as he could, he was actually pretty proud of his last words, young swagger and overconfidence coming back during these final moments. With all the noise many of the buildings residence would no doubt be awake to hear the urgent and noble words. Even as the pain of his organs ceasing washed through him there was a slight smirk on his face. As the light disappeared from his eyes a few last thoughts passed across his mind, fleeting then gone. ¡°I was. pretty heroic. Man I¡¯m awesome.¡± Chapter 2 - Whims Of The World There was a distant voice. Was it a voice? Some kind of communication. Maybe. ¡°Code input 000 accepted. In order to implement code 000, previous intelligence attribute must be retained. Please wait¡­ Accepted. In order to implement code 000, Luck and Charisma attributes must be elevated. Please wait¡­ Accepted. Intelligence score 23 has been retained. Luck score elevated from 2 to 20. Charisma score elevated from 9 to 20 Implementing code 000. Code 000: Whims Of The World. Whims Of The World - Celestial: An innate ability possessed by those born with or who gain immense Intelligence, Luck and Charisma scores for their grade. An almost non-existent ability usually granted to mythical grade beings such as dragons, gryphons and unicorns or humanoid beings such as elves, dwarves and beastkin that have reached the highest known grade for their kind. This is a passive ability that allows you communicate with any and all beings in the world. This ability also allows the world to appear as if it bends to your whim, most things just seem to go the way you want them to. This ability also allows any beings you come into contact with to take an instant liking to you and a level of trust is instantly formed. Although this is a passive ability it can be deactivated and activated at will. Once the ability is granted it will immediately become active. Note: Any beings with a higher attribute score in any of the associated attributes will be able to resist the associated power of the ability. Communication ¨C Int. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Your Way ¨C Luck. Likability & Trust ¨C Cha. Code Input 1 and 2 detected. Please wait¡­ Code Input 12 accepted. Grant skills imitated within the previous 12 hours. Please wait¡­ Skill: Hiking granted. Skill: Intuition granted. Skill: Guidance granted. Skill: Enhanced Hearing granted. Please wait¡­ Skill: Enhanced Hearing innate to future vessel. Skill: Enhanced Hearing upgraded to Skill: Ultrasound. Skill: Combat Dance granted. Please wait¡­ Actions Moon and Walk not compatible. Alternate skill assigned. Skill: Night Vision granted. Please wait¡­ Skill: Night Vision innate to future vessel. Skill: Night Vision combined with innate Skill: Sight. Skill: Night Vision and Skill: Sight upgraded to Skill: Panoptic Vision. Skill: Sonic Scream granted. Skill: Reflect granted. Skill: Sleeping Beauty granted. Skill: Stealth granted. Skill: Tracking granted. Skill: Farsight granted. Skill: Investigate granted. Skill: Startle granted. Skill: Instinct granted. Please wait¡­ Skill: Instinct innate to future vessel. Skill: Instinct compatible with Skill: Intuition. Skill: Instinct combined with Skill: Intuition. Skill: Instinct and Skill: Intuition upgraded to Skill: Enhanced Precognition. Skill granted ¨C Defence. Defence related skill granted after future vessel inhabited. Skill: Accelerated Perception granted. Skill granted ¨C Heroic. Heroic related skill granted after future vessel inhabited. Skill: Ranged Combat granted. Skill: Pierce granted. Skill: Dodge granted. Skill: Endure granted. Skill: Dash granted. Please wait¡­ Skill: Dash innate to future vessel. Skill: Dash upgraded to¡­ Future compatible skill detected. Skill: Rush granted. Skill: Dash compatible with Skill: Rush. Skill: Dash combined with Skill: Rush. Skill: Dash and Skill: Rush upgraded to Skill: Minor Teleport. Skill Detect Weak Point granted. Skill: Impact granted. Skill: Regeneration granted. Further actions detected. Skill: Endure upgraded to Skill: Persevere. Skill: Persevere upgraded to Skill: Survive Skill: Enhanced Voice granted. Noble Title granted ¨C Knight. Skill: Pain Resistance granted. Skill: Confidence granted. Future vessel determined by recent actions. Action detected: Caution Action Detected: Walking Action Detected: Jumping Action Detected: Hopping Action Detected: Swift Movement Action Detected: Grooming Action Detected: Staring Action Detected: Eating Action Detected: Sleeping Action Detected: Spooked Action Detected: Crawling Action Detected: Hiding Action Detected: Observing Action Detected: Fighting Action Detected: Dying Notice: most of the listed actions are common for most beings. Notice: Basing future vessel on remaining actions. Notice: Remaining actions include Caution, Jumping, Hopping and Spooked. Notice: Future vessel obtained Future Vessel: Horned Rabbit Monster At this point Roger thought he had well and truly lost it. This voice not voice was trying to make him some kind of rabbit? Wait. Was he even thinking. Were these thoughts. They didn¡¯t feel like thoughts but they also did. It didn¡¯t matter anymore. He was feeling really sleepy, or not. He didn¡¯t feel like he could sleep. But he didn¡¯t feel like he couldn¡¯t sleep either. It was all very confusing, or not. He suddenly felt peaceful once more and it all just faded away. Chapter 3 - Mother? Warm. Cosy. KICK. Ow. Annoyed. KICK. More Annoyed. Sleep. Cold. Very Annoyed. Tired. Warm again. Different Warmth. Food. Feeding noises. To his left. To his right. Try to see. Can¡¯t. Something blinking in the corner of his vision even though everything is black. Sleep. Wake. Feed. Repeat. KICK. KICK. Roger woke properly for the first time in a long time. His vision was still a little blurry but at least he could see some of his surroundings. What he saw was several fluffy bodies around him along with fluffy feet that randomly kicked as they dreamed. ¡°Where am I?¡± he tried to think back but came up blank. That¡¯s when he noticed something in the corner of his vision, blinking with a white green light. Confused. he tried to focus on it. [STATUS] KIND: [MONSTER] RACE: [INFANT HORNED RABBIT] SEX: [MALE] AGE: 0 [UNNAMED] TITLE: [KNIGHT] [LEVEL 0] STR ¨C 0 VIT ¨C 1 AGI ¨C 0 DEX ¨C 0 CON ¨C 1 INT ¨C 23 WIS ¨C 4 CHA ¨C 20 PER - 0 Surprised at the screen now filling his view he tried not to focus on the weirdness of it, instead investigating the screen more thoroughly he found that this status screen was connected to the first of three dots lined up horizontally at the top of the screen. Focusing on the second dot a new screen appeared listing his skills and abilities. ¡°This sounds familiar¡± he thought as he read over the list. It was like a distant dream that felt like it hadn¡¯t actually happened, even though it clearly had. He stared at the ability [WHIMS OF THE WORLD], mulling over how incredibly OP it was. Roger smiled a bit to himself. At least he smiled in his mind, his face didn¡¯t quite feel like it could make a proper smile. In any case he must have made some movement as suddenly there was a giant one of the fluffy things sniffling at him. At first he was afraid, until the giant communicated with him. ¡°Are you well little one?¡± It wasn¡¯t a voice exactly, just some snuffling noises and some scents conveying emotion. Despite the lack of vocal conversation, he could tell the communication was feminine, soft and motherly. He could also sense that this understanding wasn¡¯t due to his amazing skill. It was innate for one rabbit to understand another rabbit after all. Then a realisation hit him like a brick. He was a rabbit. The screen labelled him as much right there on his status sheet. ¡°So, I reincarnated as a rabbit¡± he thought absently. For a moment he was in a bit of a daze, bricks weren¡¯t exactly light after all. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Little one?¡± the mother called again. Woken from his stupor Roger processed the information as best he could and then decided to just roll with it. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m a bunny now, let¡¯s do this. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve got much waiting for me back on earth anyway.¡± ¡°Mother?¡± he snuffled aloud in question. For some reason she looked stunned, he didn¡¯t know how he could tell, he just could. Initially he was confused, hadn¡¯t she been waiting for a response? As he was thinking on it a different and unintelligible reply came from beside him, then came a revelation. Baby bunnies didn¡¯t tend to be all that smart. His new mother was astonished because he was much too young to be able to converse. ¡°Oh well, too late now and I¡¯d rather not play charades until I¡¯m ¡®supposed¡¯ to be old enough.¡± ¡°Mother?¡± he asked again. ¡°Yes dear, I mother¡± her rabbit language seemed to be a little lacking. ¡°Baby?¡± she asked seeming not sure. ¡°Oh no¡± did she now think he was some older kit that had just wandered into her warren? Would she kick him out and abandon him? He needed to fix this, quickly. However, he wasn¡¯t sure how to. Following his instincts, he decided to play dumb. ¡°Baby?¡± he asked back. When a loving human mother spots their baby doing something cute but also mischievous, she will give a certain look as if she in on the joke. Although his new mother had a rabbit face, he could tell that this was the exact look she was giving him. ¡°My clever baby,¡± she said ¡°no lie to mother¡±. Wow. She saw right through him despite her lacking grammar. It seemed your intelligence score didn¡¯t always equal your smarts. Maybe it had to do with the speed and clarity of thought rather than the cleverness of intelligence. Anyway, those were thoughts for later. Back to the conversation at hand Roger was mulling over the first part of Mother¡¯s statement. My. My. My clever baby. She had declared him hers and even though her son was a bit different her voice made it clear that she loved him and she would be keeping him. ¡°Yes mother, I will not lie to you¡± he confirmed. ¡°Does Mother love me?¡± he asked wanting to make sure. He didn¡¯t want to get strings attached only to have his heart crushed, again. ¡°Mother love baby, Mother love all my baby.¡± His heart swelled, he¡¯d never had a mother that loved him before. It was too late. Those strings were now tied up in knots. His Mother hadn¡¯t waited for a response after that, she had simply snuggled closer to his brothers and sisters, him being in the middle of the pile, and laid down her head. Looking around he counted nine siblings, one of them clearly being the runt of the litter was positioned right next to Mother¡¯s head. Looks like she was keeping an eye on him. Good. Coming to a decision he decided to share it. ¡°Mother I will protect you and all my siblings¡± he stated seriously. She looked up clearly amused but also with just a hint of pride. ¡°Good boy.¡± As Mother put her head back down he felt a sense of responsibility. He would keep his word. Then he had yet another realisation. He was a horned monster rabbit. Yes, we¡¯ve been over this but just hang in there, we¡¯re getting to it. So, first off rabbits breed a lot and quite quickly. This means that dependant on how old his mother is he may have over a hundred older siblings, and unless he can convince his Mother to hold off on the breeding program he would probably also have quite a few younger siblings in the future as well. Second, they were monsters which means it was highly likely they were inside a dungeon of some kind with many other stronger monsters that thought horned rabbit was the perfect lunch. Even if that wasn¡¯t the case and they were above ground in some monster infested forest, there was a different far more glaring problem. In his skill description for [WHIMS OF THE WORLD] humanoids were mentioned as a possible candidate. Can you tell where this is going now? Every man and his dog probably thought that ridding the world of a common pest while also grabbing horned rabbit steaks and materials is a brilliant idea. It seems the little bunny had a tough job ahead of him. But for now, he was still only an infant and all this thinking had been too much for the little one. Solutions would have to come later. Until then, radiant rabbits needed their beauty sleep. Chapter 4 - Skills & Questions *DING* [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION] has reached Level 1. *DING* [SLEEPING BEAUTY] has reached Level 1 *DING* [ULTRASOUND] has reached Level 1 *DING* [PANOPTIC VISION] has reached Level 1 *DING* [STEALTH] has reached Level 1 *DING* [FARSIGHT] has reached Level 1 *DING* [DETECT WEAK POINT] has reached Level 1 *DING* [CONFIDENCE] has reached Level 1 *DING* You have reached basic survivability applicable for your race. You can now attempt to exist on your own. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 1. 4 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 1 Skill point and 1 Attribute point to distribute manually. The last two notifications actually appeared in his vision for a few moments when he awoke before disappearing. He found the skill notifications on the right side of the screen connected to the third dot along with these two. It appeared similar to a system log of sorts. The left of the third screen also appeared to be skill related. At the very top stated ¡®Unspent Skill Points: 1¡¯. Under that was what looked like a search bar, and looking underneath the bar was a list of available skills to purchase. There weren¡¯t very many, he was still an infant so of course there wouldn¡¯t be. The real kicker though was that all but one of the skills was out of his apparent budget. Available Skills: [DOUBLE JUMP] ¨C 2 Points Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. [FORCEFUL KICK] ¨C 3 Points [BLOODHOUND] ¨C 2 Points [BASH] ¨C 3 Points [CLEANSE] ¨C 1 Point It seemed that the offensive skills cost more while other skills came at a discount. There weren¡¯t any defence related skills on the list so he wasn¡¯t sure where they stood on the points scale but he imagined them leaning towards the more expensive side as well. Trying to focus on the skills for more information didn¡¯t work, however, an explanation popped up just fine when he checked his already owned skills on screen two. Turns out he got some pretty badass skills to start, but you can¡¯t try before you buy on the third screen. He needed to think on whether he should wait for a better skill or buy the one he could afford. A little active now, he and his siblings had begun to explore the burrow. Roger was even more active, crawling through tunnels and passing other mother rabbits with their litters. As he did so he noticed that everything around him was very sanitary. Pondering on the abnormality he soon recognised why there was such cleanliness. It was the [CLEANSE] skill of course. Most bunnies able to access the skill shop would pick the first skill they could get their paws on. What a great skill. Deciding then and there in the middle of a main tunnel he obtained [CLEANSE] and then cast it on himself. There was a bright light that washed over him and then faded. ¡°Woah¡­¡± it seemed to be light based magic. ¡°So Cool!¡± It reminded him of being in a spa bath with the jets and everything except even as the feeling lingered he was all dry and fluffy. His fur even looked like it had been combed and his breath tasted sweet, like berries. Yes. This was definitely the correct choice. Faith in the skill shop restored Roger turned around and headed for his family. After a stern look and a soft ¡®flap¡¯ on the head from Mother¡¯s ear for straying too far, he laid down and once again fell into a blissful sleep. Up! Up again and ready do some more exploring. He was moving around even more now. Quick learner he was. He needed to guard his siblings after all. A stern warning from Mother about being out for too long before she shooed him away and then he was off. His surroundings weren¡¯t the only things he was exploring. A see through screen was splayed in front of him as he hopped along. He found the automatically distributed points went into [STRENGTH], [AGILITY], [DEXTERITY] and [CONSTITUTION]. He decided to place his remaining point into [VITALITY]. First question, where were the defense and heroic skills he was promised? He didn¡¯t really have much room to complain what with all the other skills he really shouldn¡¯t have for his level. But still, he distinctly remembered that his future vessel, the him of now, would get to choose a skill of those natures. So, where were they? Next query. Maybe his memory of the before was a bit foggy so he could¡¯ve remembered wrong. However, the description available for his ability [WHIMS OF THE WORLD] clearly proved him right sooo¡­ Where the heck was his [LUCK] stat? It wasn¡¯t in his status sheet. The only reason he could think of as to why it wasn¡¯t listed was maybe because you weren¡¯t allowed to add attribute points to it. He¡¯d heard isekai stories like that before after all. Still, it was a bit weird that it wasn¡¯t even shown. Confusing thoughts aside, what he really wanted to know was coming right up ahead. The question that had been burning in the back of his mind. Dungeon or infested forest? The answer¡­ Slowly and cautiously crawling out of the entrance to the burrow he found his answer. Up above was the roof of the cavern, glowing a crystalline purple and blue. It looked like something that would be profitable to mine. Lowering his view he found more of the glittering crystals lining grey blue rocky walls. That is where the beauty of the place ended. Snakes, foxes, rats, frogs and many animals that resembled creatures of earth and yet were not quite the same. Blood, guts and roars of pain filled the large cavern, including those of his brethren. ¡°If this isn¡¯t a dungeon, I don¡¯t know what is¡± the baby rabbit thought as he cowered in fear by the entrance doing his best to stay unnoticed. In an instant he was a few paces back behind the entrance safe in the confines of the burrow. Without stopping to wonder about his good fortune Roger turned around and raced for the deeper tunnels not even glancing behind once. Chapter 5 - The Weakest Monster Available Snuggled up amongst his family safe and sound the little rabbit pondered on the sight he had witnessed outside the burrow. Although initially startled at the predatory nature of the dungeon displayed, Roger eventually came to himself. This was exactly what a dungeon filled with monsters was supposed to be like. As a said monster himself he shouldn¡¯t have expected anything less. What had startled him the most was the sheer strength he could sense from the beings within range. It felt insurmountable from his baby bunny perspective. Now having calmed down he used his high intelligence to understand that all he had to do to reach that strength was level up. Once again filled with purpose and seeing the path to fulfill that purpose he regained his confidence to once again set out and explore. Right after his nap. Nap time was almost as important as bedtime after all. A few hours later he woke up and cast [CLEANSE] leaving him refreshed and raring to go. His Mother and siblings were still sleeping so Roger figured he would just stealthily sneak out of the pile. He didn¡¯t want to disturb their beauty sleep. Before that though, he needed to check his notifications. *DING* [CLEANSE] has reached Level 1 *DING* [HIKING] has reached Level 1 *DING* [GUIDANCE] has reached Level 1 The associated information regarding the Skill: [GUIDANCE] can now be found in your menu. *DING* [INVESTIGATE] has reached Level 1 *DING* [PANOPTIC VISION] has reached Level 2 *DING* [FARSIGHT] has reached Level 2 *DING* [STEALTH] has reached Level 2 *DING* [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION] has reached Level 2 *DING* [ULTRASOUND] has reached Level 2 *DING* [ACCERLATED PERCEPTION] has reached Level 1 *DING* [DETECT WEAK POINT] has reached Level 2 *DING* [MINOR TELEPORT] has reached Level 1 *DING* [CONFINDENCE] has reached Level 2 *DING* [SLEEPING BEAUTY] has reached Level 2 *DING* [CLEANSE] has reached Level 2 Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 2. 4 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 1 Skill point and 1 Attribute point to distribute manually. Another level up. From his natural growth as a rabbit no doubt. The levelling up of his skills might also be helping. Thinking speed would definitely be his friend in the future he allocated two free points to [AGILITY]. Moving on, something interesting had caught his attention. The skill [GUIDANCE] had its own tab in the menu screen. Opening it up with a thought he found that [GUIDANCE] was just a fancy way of saying ¡®map skill¡¯. This would come handy. Every part of the burrow he had explored was already displayed on the screen, with unexplored areas just as foggy dark space. It turned out that he didn¡¯t need to be physically present for areas on the map screen to appear he just needed to have glimpsed it or sensed it somehow. His [ULTRASOUND] skill sure picked up a lot. The large cavern he had seen earlier was also detailed on the map. Projecting with his mind he could even manipulate the angle that he could see the map from which basically gave him a 3D vision of the area. Very handy indeed. On another note, it had become clear why the miracle of instantaneous movement had occurred while he was frozen in fright earlier. The [MINOR TELEPORT] skill had come his rescue. Something he was absolutely ecstatic about, who didn¡¯t love the idea of teleportation? Focusing within himself he could feel the skill, how it worked and also its limitations. It could be used repeatedly without consequence, however, the user had to have a destination in mind and the destination itself had to be within twenty feet. The skill was heavy on energy resources, in this case mana, and he felt that he could only use it about four or five times at once, dependent on the distance travelled, before running out of mana completely. Happy with his gains the rabbit used [STEALTH] and his newly acquired [MINOR TELEPORT] to slip out unnoticed before once again making his way to the main entrance of the burrow. Upon approaching the entrance the powers clashing outside could once again be felt, however, this time he was prepared and stood firm. *DING* Skill: [AURA RESISTANCE] granted. *DING* [AURA RESISTANCE] has reached Level 1 Well that also seemed helpful though there didn¡¯t seem to be much of a difference. The only thing keeping him from just fleeing was logic. Getting back on track the baby bunny crouched down by the entrance and gazed out at the cavern to decide what would become his first prey in this world. There were many different kinds of monsters fighting for supremacy throughout the cavern. There was a decent view as the entrance of the burrow was dug into the side of the wall at one of the highest points around the layout of the cavern. Ridges, giant vine plants and large boulders created complex paths throughout the area. Several small ponds that glowed with mana radiating from them were the only points that had lush vegetation. Even in such a mana rich environment, the ponds were clearly a resource that everyone wanted to hoard for themselves. At the bottom of the slight incline from the entrance was the smallest pond. Many horned monster rabbit variants were guarding the pond, battling dozens of fierce creatures. They weren¡¯t letting the creatures get anywhere near the tiny pond nor the burrow¡¯s entrance in which he sat. At least, that was the goal of his brethren anyway. Being rabbits, even monster rabbits, meant that they were at the very bottom of the food chain. Magic flew and horns clashed, even so, weird frog monsters were slipping through the gaps as they offed their opponents and dove into the pond. His brethren were in a constant state of survival mode, barely a moment to rest after a victory before the next enemy was upon them. Deciding that he was too weak to assist right now the rabbit looked over the entire surroundings with a more calculating eye. To his right were two small ponds one guarded by rat like creatures and the other by snake creatures that had legs at the front of their bodies. Peculiar. Beyond the ponds was a cave entrance that let in warm rays of sunlight. These vision skills were fantastic they even picked up heat signatures from so far away, and the detail was amazing. Definitely worth it, even if he was born with it. Gazing back to the middle of the cavern and past the immediate pond in front of him there was another pond, except this one was surrounded by more frog creatures. Wait a minute¡­ They wanted to double dip. Not only did they have their own pond but they were also fighting for the smaller pond next door. How ruthless. Moving on he glanced to his left which is where the largest pond sat by itself. Surprisingly there were no monsters fighting to get into that pond or even fighting nearby. Behind the largest pond was another cave entrance except that this entrance was dark and seemed to lead deeper into the dungeon. Focusing back on the vacant pond there came a realisation, it wasn¡¯t entirely empty. The largest creature in the cavern had somehow initially avoided his gaze. His [PANOPTIC VISION] had felt suppressed once he finally managed to catch a glimpse of the creature, probably a stealth skill. The back half of its body was submerged in the water while its front half seemed to be snoozing. It had a lithe body covered in long spines with a turtle head and short stumpy lizard legs. After observing the creature for a while, he had finally decided what his first prey would be. It might be the largest but from his point of view it had to be the weakest monster available. Chapter 6 - Vision & Plans It was defence focused. It was extremely strong. And it was extremely, incredibly and painfully slow. After a few hours, the thing decided it was hungry. Instead of going for the small skulk of foxes not so hidden in a nest of vines near its territory, it instead headed for the maze of ridges and hid in a small alcove. Really well. This thing¡¯s stealth had to be at the max for its level. From the moment it left the pond the lizard had been in stealth mode. Although he tried his best to follow the large monster with his eyes he felt like he was constantly losing track and couldn¡¯t even observe it properly. Despite watching from the beginning the only reason he was able to sense the lizard¡¯s location was due to his OP sight skills, [FARSIGHT] and [PANOPTIC VISION]. Both skills were being used at once, but he felt that because he was concentrating on two separate skills, neither of them were being utilised optimally. One of the smaller creatures came scurrying along a nearby path. It ducked and weaved between the shadows trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible. In its efforts to remain unseen, the monster failed to notice the ambush predator waiting in its path. Continuing to focus on his unwieldy sight skills the rabbit absently wondered if he could manage to use them as one. It would make things so much easier. *DING* Skill: [FARSIGHT] combined with Skill: [PANOPTIC VISION]. Skill: [FARSIGHT] and Skill: [PANOPTIC VISION] upgraded to Skill: [PANOPTIC FARSIGHT VISION]. He thought and the system answered. They had merged just like that. Amazing. It seemed like if he wanted something then he could have it. How convenient. Shortly after his lucky upgrade the lizard turtle struck. The prey seemed to be some kind of possum monster that he hadn¡¯t seen before. Although both monsters were creatures of stealth, the possum monster had lost. The smaller monster had tried to hide in the same alcove as the lizard as it travelled but had become lunch instead. As its torso was locked inside the lizard turtle¡¯s jaw it screamed bloody murder. All creatures in the immediate surroundings fled in fear. Even from where he crouched the scent of bloodlust from the lizard and skin tightening fear from everything else could be sensed. The entire cavern seemed to freeze with panic. His body trembled ready to flee at any moment but he dragged logic up to the front of his mind and held it up as a shield. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it *DING* [AURA RESISTANCE] has reached Level 2 The screaming and screeching stopped as suddenly as it had started. In the distance the possum¡¯s bones could be heard cracking and he saw the prey snapped in half. Man, this place was brutal. A few moments later the bloodlust dissipated and the sounds of battle could once again be heard throughout the cavern. Not losing sight of the stealthy lizard he watched as it dragged lunch back towards the pond for several hours before finally resting in its former state, half in and half out of the pond, and began to devour its meal. For a while afterwards the little bunny was confused. Why had the big monster dragged its meal all the way back to its lair before consuming the possum? This became evident less than half an hour after the lizard turtle had finished its first meal. Turns out the first catch was only the entr¨¦e. Mr lizard turtle had dragged poor Mr possum monster¡¯s bloody corpse on the ground all the way back home. This means that any of the stupider monsters that followed this trail looking for injured prey, which happened to be most of them by the way, would end up at the end of the trail right in front of a carefully concealed lizard turtle that was apparently still very hungry. Three frog monsters, two snake monsters and five rat monsters later the blood trail seemed to have dried enough that no more monsters bothered to follow it. Then the spiny hunter decided to sleep for a few hours, before the cycle started all over again. Making his way back to the family burrow the little rabbit had finally decided on his plan. After a flap on the head from Mother for worrying her once again he snuggled in between his siblings and went over the plan one last time. Mr Lizard Turtle crawled the same trail every time he went to hunt prey. The hiding places were also all in the same vicinity. Mr Lizard Turtle never ate foxes, it always let them pass. All fox monsters lived in vines. Testing found that although thorny, the main problem with the vines was that they were poisonous. Level one in both [POISON RESISTANCE] and [PAIN RESISTANCE] had been gained from the experience as well as a grudge against all poison vines on the planet. It turns out poison isn¡¯t great for your health and even causes extreme pain that can leave you unable to move. The foxes were smart, they partially lived off the vines making themselves inedible prey. Their Poison Resistance level must be through the roof. So with all this information the plan was as follows, step one eat vines carefully until poison resistance is at least level five. Not exactly looking forward to that part. Step two raise digging level. Digging too slow could alert the monster of prey which was not ideal. Step three, dig underneath the monster¡¯s regular trail making a deep hole that the ground will hold up against for most monsters but will collapse under the weight of Mr Lizard Turtle. Step four, collect vines and layer the deep hole with them, both on the ground and the walls of the hole. Step five, collect more vines and hide them in a nearby hole to toss on top of the hopefully trapped lizard monster. Foolproof. Maybe. Chapter 7 - Grow Up & Get Some Magic *DING* Elite Monster ¨C Spined Turtle Lizard ¨C Dungeon Boss ¨C [LEVEL 16] has been slain. You have gained a vast amount of [EXPERIENCE] for your level *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 3. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 4. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 5. 12 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 3 Skill points and 3 Attribute point to distribute manually. *DING* [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Would you like to evolve? [Y/N] Note that further levels can not be attained until you have evolved. Level 16 elite. In hindsight he should have gotten an appraisal type skill sooner. Whoops. All well it worked out in the end and it probably wasn¡¯t available yet anyway. So it worked. And way too easily. ¡°Everything just seemed to go my way. Oh wait¡­ OP skill for the win!¡± the bunny cheered to himself. He¡¯d laid the trap, Mr Lizard Turtle fell in and then promptly died with the thorns piercing its soft belly making way too much poison to be healthy pump through its system. Now there were some levels and apparently, he had an evolution pending. First things first, assign attributes. He still thought that as a rabbit speed would be his best bet so, two points to [AGILITY] and the other to [DEXTERITY]. Done. Saving the skill points until after his evolution sounded best. Maybe evolving would give him some new skills to pick from that he didn¡¯t have access to yet. He was too small and weak to drag his prey back home yet so he buried it instead and covered the ground with even more vines. *DING* [POISON RESISTANCE] has reached Level 6. He still felt like crap from the poison but his resistance skill along with the attributes from his level ups allowed him to endure the poisoning better. Using [STEALTH] and [MINOR TELEPORT] the rabbit made his way home through the sea of monsters. Evolution didn¡¯t sound like something that he would go through bright eyed and bushy tailed. He needed somewhere safe. Finally reaching the burrow he hopped home and laid down next to Mother. It seemed all his other siblings were out exploring the burrow again. Mother appeared to have sensed that he wasn¡¯t in the best of shape and didn¡¯t even give him a flap of the ear for worrying her again. She just let him feed and then rest while apprehensively watching over him. Ready for whatever happened next the young bunny selected [YES] to evolve. Everything went dark and he could no longer move his body. He could still feel everything though. Select your evolution from the following options: [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT] That was it. Just one option. Well that actually made sense since he hadn¡¯t done all that much yet and he was still only in the growing phases of his monsterhood. Without further ado he picked it. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. [EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] [INFANT HORNED RABBIT] to [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT] [COMPLETE] Select defence skill from the following: [TOUGH FUR] [MAGIC SHIELD] [VINE WALL] Ahhh here it is, the skills he was promised. He was still unable to move so this must be a part of the evolution process. [TOUGH FUR] sounded bristly, count that out. He liked having soft and fluffy fur, it helped make naptime comfy. [VINE WALL]. Nope. No way. He already had enough vines in his nightmares he did not need anymore of them. [MAGIC SHIELD] it is. Magic sounded cool too, it was just a no brainer. [MAGIC SHIELD] ¨C Unlocked Select heroic skill from the following: [SAVE THE DAY] [HEROES MOMENT] [DYING BREATH] [FOR THE PEOPLE] [SACRIFICE] Who knew heroic skills were so¡­ morbid. [DYING BREATH]? [SACRIFICE]? It makes one wonder if the other skills are any better. [FOR THE PEOPLE] didn¡¯t exactly sound appealing either. Trying to focus on the skills gave the same result as in the skill shop. Nada. Eeny meeny miny mo in his head between the final two gave him his answer. [SAVE THE DAY] ¨C Unlocked Horned Monster Rabbits generally have their Affinities and Proficiencies selected for them due to their low [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. Generically Horned Monster Rabbits are granted one of the following: [LIGHTNING AFFINITY] ¨C 100% - Chance 7/10 [LIGHT AFFINITY] ¨C 100% - Chance 1/10 [LIGHTNING AFFINITY] ¨C 50% [LIGHT AFFINITY] ¨C 50% - Chance 2/10 Due to your [INTELLIGENCE] being equal to or above 10, you may choose your own Affinities and Proficiencies. All Proficiencies from each Affinity must equal 100%. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. 1 point will increase proficiency in one affinity by 10% Note that all beings have natural affinities. This means that a being will be able to more easily channel and control the magic of that affinity. Horned Monster Rabbits natural affinities are [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. Select magic affinity from the following base affinities: [FIRE] [WATER] [AIR] [EARTH] [LIGHTNING] [LIGHT] [DARK] [LIFE] [DEATH] [UNDEATH] [POISON] [TRANSMUTATION] [NATURE] [SOUND] [MYSTIC] [BEASTIAL] [MENTAL] [NULL] [SPACE] [GRAVITY] [TIME] [CHAOS] [ORDER] ¡°Woah, a lot to take in there. Pretty awesome though. Base affinity? Pretty sure that¡¯s referring to how you can mix affinities. [FIRE] and [EARTH] would probably make [LAVA]. While [FIRE] and [WATER] would combine into something like [FOG] or [STEAM]¡± the bunny thought to himself. There were some pretty amazing affinities but he only had 100% of proficiency to split and the less proficiency an affinity had, the weaker he would be in it. He was really glad about saving those skill points right about now. Didn¡¯t grieve over the spent attribute points though, he needed those to survive. His thoughts were as follows, sticking to his natural affinity would be best so [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT] were a go. Next. He also really wanted [NATURE], [SPACE] and [GRAVITY], however, if he also got [WATER] and [AIR] then he might be able to create something akin to storm magic. That would be seriously OP. All the other affinities sounded awesome too. But if he picked them all then he''d have a sad amount of proficiency even if he sacrificed most of his skills. Glancing over the list again the rabbit decided that in the future he would need a defence against any [MENTAL] or [NULL] magic he came across. Decision made he also picked the two affinities, even if he had low proficiency in them at least it was something. So in conclusion, his affinities would be [WATER], [AIR], [LIGHTNING], [LIGHT], [NATURE], [MENTAL], [NULL], [SPACE] and [GRAVITY]. With that decided he then focused how to divide his proficiency and what skills would be sacrificed. After much consideration the skills that would get the boot were [HIKING], he could hop just fine on his own, [TRACKING], already had [INVESTIGATE]. [STARTLE], [RANGED COMBAT], [PIERCE], [ENHANCED VOICE], he hadn¡¯t used them yet anyway and they didn¡¯t sound all that useful to a rabbit, [DETECT WEAK POINT] also hadn¡¯t proved to be helpful as he could kind of figure that out himself. Between the original 100%, the three spare skill points and the seven sacrificed skills, that came to a total of 200% proficiency to divvy up. Chapter 8 - Einstein On Cloud Nine You have chosen the following affinities and proficiencies: [WATER] ¨C 40% [AIR] ¨C 40% [LIGHTNING] ¨C 50% [LIGHT] ¨C 10% [NATURE] ¨C 10% [MENTAL] ¨C 5% [NULL] ¨C 5% [SPACE] ¨C 20% [GRAVITY] ¨C 20% You have chosen to sacrifice 3 Skill Points and the following Skills: [HIKING], [TRACKING], [STARTLE], [RANGED COMBAT], [PIERCE], [ENHANCED VOICE], [DETECT WEAK POINT]. Would you like to confirm your selection? [Y/N] After confirming there was a rush of power and then he could use his body again. Opening his eyes, the [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT] heard something he wasn¡¯t expecting. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 6. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 7. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 8. 24 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 6 Skill points and 6 Attribute points to distribute manually. Confused for a moment the bunny eventually realised that these levels came from the kill of the dungeon boss. They hadn¡¯t come through before because of his evolution. He was a bit miffed as he wouldn¡¯t get to spend the skill points on his proficiency. Calming down he understood that you couldn¡¯t just put evolutions on hold to gain more levels. That would be an incredible cheat. All well. Looking at the notifications again he realised both the Skill and Attribute points he had received had doubled. ¡°Nice! Must be a perk of the evolution.¡± Thinking on it the rabbit monster decided to save his Skill points while putting two attribute points into [VITALITY] and four into [PERCEPTION]. He only had three attributes still under ten and he wanted to get all his attributes to at least that point before he even started to think about min maxing. Survivability came first. With that in mind he looked over his screen to view his stats and skills. [STATUS] KIND: [MONSTER] RACE: [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT] SEX: [MALE] AGE: 0 [UNNAMED] TITLE: [KNIGHT] [LEVEL 8] STR ¨C 11 VIT ¨C 4 AGI ¨C 14 DEX ¨C 12 CON ¨C 12 INT ¨C 23 WIS ¨C 4 This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. CHA ¨C 20 PER ¨C 4 MAGICAL AFFINITIES: [WATER] ¨C 40% [AIR] ¨C 40% [LIGHTNING] ¨C 50% [LIGHT] ¨C 10% [NATURE] ¨C 10% [MENTAL] ¨C 5% [NULL] ¨C 5% [SPACE] ¨C 20% [GRAVITY] ¨C 20% Unspent Skill Points: 6 Skills: [GUIDANCE] ¨C Level 1 [ULTRASOUND] ¨C Level 2 [COMBAT DANCE] ¨C LOCKED [PANOPTIC VISION] ¨C Level 2 [SONIC SCREAM] ¨C LOCKED [REFLECT] ¨C LOCKED [SLEEPING BEAUTY] ¨C Level 2 [STEALTH] ¨C Level 2 [FARSIGHT] ¨C Level 2 [INVESTIGATE] ¨C Level 1 [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION] ¨C Level 2 [ACCELERATED PERCEPTION] ¨C Level 1 [DODGE] ¨C LOCKED [MINOR TELEPORT] ¨C Level 1 [IMPACT] ¨C LOCKED [REGENERATION] ¨C LOCKED [SURVIVE] ¨C LOCKED [PAIN RESISTANCE] ¨C Level 3 [CONFIDENCE] ¨C Level 2 [CLEANSE] ¨C Level 2 [AURA RESISTANCE] ¨C Level 2 [DIG] ¨C Level 9 [POISON RESISTANCE] ¨C Level 6 [MAGIC SHIELD] ¨C Unlocked [SAVE THE DAY] ¨C Unlocked ¡°Alright I have a much better chance of surviving now¡± he thought. Taking in his surroundings the bunny saw that all his brothers and sisters were playing around their family¡¯s part of the burrow. Knowing he needed to think of his next steps he decided to save that decision making for later. Jumping forward he began to tumble around with his siblings, pulling on their ears and running away or getting his tail play bit and chasing after the sibling that dared to provoke him. With his higher level he always won. But it was a fun way to pass the time. Besides sleeping this was the first time he had actually begun to enjoy his new life. After a few hours they all fell in a heap around their mother exhausted. While the rest of them fell into slumber Mother nudged. ¡°You evolved baby.¡± ¡°Yes Mother, I hunted earlier and gained many levels.¡± ¡°Baby strong?¡± ¡°Yes, much stronger, I¡¯ll help my siblings get stronger too¡± ¡°Good baby¡± With that, Mother settled in to rest with her children. ¡°Hmmm, how strong are my siblings anyway, I know we can gain some levels through growth but that way is much slower and probably stops once we become fully grown¡± he thought. Pursuing that thought he decided to look through the skill shop. Now that he had evolved there were quite a few more options. After some searching the prize was found. Available Skills: [IDENTIFY] ¨C 10 Skill Points [APPRAISAL] ¨C 15 Skill Points [EYE OF THE BEHOLDER] ¨C 30 Skill Points They were some pretty expensive skills, at least for his current level. For now, his goal was [IDENTIFY]. Once again stealthily teleporting out of the heap the little rabbit went to go get those extra skill points. Hopping along he had decided to join the fight against the frogs. How hard could it be now that he had some levels under his belt? Then another thought struck. Magic! How had he forgotten that he could use magic now? Ah right, playing. With a thought he tried spreading his mana throughout his body. It felt like he was going in the right direction but it felt a little off. First, it felt like he shouldn¡¯t be handling his mana all at once. Like there were separate strings that didn¡¯t want to be bunched together. Like separate¡­ affinities¡­ ooohhh. Second it felt like he was channelling the magic wrong. In his first attempt he tried to circle the mana throughout his whole body without much thought. But doing that, especially on the first try seemed¡­ gluggy and inefficient. He felt that channelling mana through different parts of the body would have different effects. So, he stopped to test it with just one of the strands, this one felt like water. Water affinity should be safe for testing, right? Channelling through arteries and veins improved his blood flow, making him feel lighter and healthier. Focusing on his nervous system made his senses shoot to new heights and made his reaction times quicker. When the mana seeped through his muscles, he immediately felt stronger, like he could kick a boulder and it would shatter. Finally, he carefully circulated mana through his brain, screwing this up was not an option. He didn¡¯t want to accidentally kill himself. Focusing on the different parts of his brain he slowly channelled the mana. After the first cycle he felt like he was Einstein on cloud nine. And with the next few cycle that feeling increased exponentially. With his mind razor sharp he inspected his entire body and then realised with his new brainpower he could control the channelling effortlessly. Discarding all prior caution all at once he was suddenly lighter and healthier, his senses heightened and reaction times increased, strength flowed through his muscles and to top it all off he directed the mana to flow through the areas he had missed including organs. His mind wasn¡¯t even fully occupied with all this. Calculating the steady loss of mana and the efficiency with which it was being used he came to the conclusion that so long as he didn¡¯t use any skills this state could last up to five hours. Great! While focusing he had closed his eyes to better concentrate. Opening them he viewed some new messages. *DING* Skill: [MANA CONTROL] granted. *DING* [MANA CONTROL] has reached Level 1 *DING* Skill: [MANA BODY] granted. *DING* [MANA BODY] has reached Level 1 ¡­ *DING* [MANA CONTROL] has reached Level 5 *DING* [MANA BODY] has reached Level 3 Amazing! He was really happy with this progress. Time to get some monsters to bugger off from his family¡¯s pond. Chapter 9 - Tiddaliks & Titles Exiting the burrow, he found an all too familiar scene. The frogs were winning, beating back his brethren, slipping into the pond and then attacking from both the front and back. The frogs clearly had some basic form of tactics. There was something confusing him though. Weren¡¯t his kind supposed to be proficient in lightning? As best he could see most of the magic was coming from the frog¡¯s side. Most of the rabbits were fighting with physical attacks and the few magical attacks they did throw out were... well¡­ weak. ¡°Is it really that hard to use magic?¡± Hopping to the edge of the pond closest to the burrow and away from the fight he saw there were several young bunnies drinking slowly while keeping an eye on the battle, ready to flee at a moment¡¯s notice. Glancing at them he figured they must have just reached level 5. Did drinking from the pond help with their growth? Something to think about later. For now, there was some testing to do. Focusing once more on his mana, this time he drew on the strand that reminded him of static electricity, lightning affinity. The water affinity never stopped flowing throughout his body, keeping [MANA BODY] active. Instead of willing the lightning mana through his body, this time he willed it out and into the pond with all his might, wanting it to go as far as it could and even harm the frogs already in the pond if possible. CRACKLE, ZZZZZZTTT. Huh? *DING* Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 10 has been slain x4 Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 11 has been slain x5 Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 12 has been slain x3 Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 14 has been slain Adolescent Tiddalik ¨C Level 11 has been slain x2 Adolescent Tiddalik ¨C Level 13 has been slain Adolescent Tiddalik ¨C Level 15 has been slain You have gained a vast amount of [EXPERIENCE] for your level *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 9. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 10. 16 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 4 Skill points and 4 Attribute point to distribute manually. *DING* [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Would you like to evolve? Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. [Y/N] Note that further levels can not be attained until you have evolved. Every frog in the pond suddenly stopped moving and floated to the surface. The frogs closest to him had died instantly. The notifications showed seventeen kills. There was clearly more than quadruple that number of frogs in the pond. After the glow of the attack faded two things happened. The bunnies immediately noticed their advantage and jumped in to the pond to finish off the stunned monsters. And the remaining frogs on land turned and jumped away for their lives. Wow. Glancing back at the kits beside him to make sure they weren¡¯t accidentally injured, he saw them just stare at him looking dazed. They mostly looked alright. No harm done, to them at least anyway. Taking another look at his notifications he realised that he had an evolution pending. That was fast. Back to the burrow. No time to waste. This was so exciting. Back in his family¡¯s section of the burrow his Mother and siblings still slept soundly. Seeing the spot he had recently vacated still open, he teleported in and then lay down ready to evolve. Confirming on the screen the process began. Select your evolution from the following options: [ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] [ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT COMMANDER] ¨C Title raised to [COMMANDER GENERAL] [SOVEREIGN ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] ¨C Title raised to [BARON] Well, well, well. It was clear which one was the best choice. Thinking over the options it kind of made sense the [ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT COMMANDER] evolution was probably because he joined the fight against the frogs and made such a big impact. The evolution to [SOVEREIGN ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] was probably due to the fact that he had done it with so much overwhelming power, for his level. It also didn¡¯t hurt that he had apparently killed the dungeon boss before his first evolution as well. Anyway, enough thinking. On to the actual choice. [EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT] to [SOVEREIGN ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] [COMPLETE] TITLE: [KNIGHT] raised to TITLE: [BARON] Raising 1 rank allows you to increase your proficiency by 10% in any chosen affinity ¡°Yes!¡± he thought happily. So, there was another way to gain magical power. Just raise your noble rank somehow. Moving on. You have raised your title by 7 ranks. You have gained 70% proficiency to increase in any chosen affinity. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. 1 point will increase proficiency in one affinity by 10% Note that all beings have natural affinities. This means that a being will be able to more easily channel and control the magic of that affinity. Horned Monster Rabbits natural affinities are [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. Select magic affinity from the following base affinities: [FIRE] [WATER] ¨C 40% [AIR] ¨C 40% [EARTH] [LIGHTNING] ¨C 50% [LIGHT] ¨C 10% [DARK] [LIFE] [DEATH] [UNDEATH] [POISON] [TRANSMUTATION] [NATURE] ¨C 10% [SOUND] [MYSTIC] [BEASTIAL] [MENTAL] ¨C 5% [NULL] ¨C 5% [SPACE] ¨C 20% [GRAVITY] ¨C 20% [TIME] Thinking through his choices he realised something awesome. He had lots of unspent skill points and attribute points saved up and with how powerful his magic was against the current enemies there was no need to worry about the attribute points for now. At least during this evolution anyway. With that in mind he took count of how many spare points he had to spend. 10 Skill Points and 4 Attribute Points. That¡¯s 140% proficiency all on its own. With the 60% from ascending ranks that came to 200% to divvy up. Again. Nice. Chapter 10 - More Magic for the Gentleman First up [LIGHTNING], take that all the way up to 100%. It had served him well up to now, and hopefully even better in the future. Out of curiosity he tried to add even more proficiency. Nada. 100% was the limit. [WATER] had also been useful and [STORM] magic was the goal so [AIR] affinity was raised as well. With three affinities at 100% he was feeling pretty good about himself. Now, how to distribute the remaining 30% proficiency. Initially he decided to stick with the rest of his chosen affinities for the remaining amount. On whim he decided to get [DARK] affinity and gave up giving extra to [SPACE] and [GRAVITY], instead adding 10% to the new affinity. It would be interesting to test how the [LIGHT] and [DARK] affinities interacted with each other and the environment. There was so much to discover! You have chosen the following affinities and proficiencies: [WATER] ¨C 100% [AIR] ¨C 100% [LIGHTNING] ¨C 100% [LIGHT] ¨C 15% [DARK] ¨C 10% [NATURE] ¨C 15% [MENTAL] ¨C 10% [NULL] ¨C 10% [SPACE] ¨C 20% [GRAVITY] ¨C 20% You have chosen to sacrifice 10 Skill Points and 4 Attribute Points Would you like to confirm your selection? [Y/N] After confirming there was a rush of power even greater than before. It was exhilarating. Opening his eyes, the [SOVEREIGN ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] once again heard something he wasn¡¯t expecting. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 11. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 12. 24 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 6 Skill points and 6 Attribute points to distribute manually. *DING* Skill: [LIGHTNING DOMAIN] granted. *DING* [LIGHTNING DOMAIN] has reached Level 1 This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Calculating, the rabbit found that his allotted points had once again been increased. Not doubled, but each level now gave an additional point per attribute. Now each time he levelled up he would receive 3 points in [STRENGTH], [AGILITY], [DEXTERITY] and [CONSTITUTION] as well as 3 spare. Distributing the extra points, 2 points each went into [VITALITY], [WISDOM] and [PERCEPTION], bringing them all up to 6. With the overall increase in stats the bunny felt himself getting more and more powerful. Brilliant, it was brilliant. And to top it all off a new skill was granted. It turns out pumping as much [LIGHTNING] as possible into the pond had counted as creating a domain. Who knew? Putting all this aside the awesome rabbit felt very, very hungry. Not for milk, he was grown now after all. It hadn¡¯t been all that long since he¡¯d slain the dungeon boss, right? It should still be where he buried it. And if he cooked it through with [LIGHT] mana the poison shouldn¡¯t have as much of an effect, right? Right, of course. He didn¡¯t have [FIRE] mana right now but maybe he¡¯d be able to pick it up later. Besides, half of wielding magic was intent anyway. If he wanted [LIGHT] mana to cook, then cook it would. Mmmmmm. He was already picturing the medium-well done spined turtle lizard steak awaiting him. A new goal was set and he activated [STEALTH] and [MINOR TELEPORT] so as to not wake his family from their precious slumber. Being woken up was the worst, he wouldn¡¯t dream of putting those he held dear through that experience. Forgoing hopping, the hungry bunny used [MINOR TELEPORT] all the way to his previous victory site. As he passed, some of the rabbits were staring at him as if he were a strange oddity. Not letting the stares get to him he chanted ¡°I¡¯m late, I¡¯m late! For a very important date! With an ever so lovely steak!¡± More weird stares. Oh well, they weren¡¯t his problem. He had much more important things to worry about. Teleporting along he finally arrived only to be greeted by an egregious sight. In front of him was the spot where he had buried the spoils. Apparently while he was gone something had dug through the vines and the dirt and begun to devour his future steak but then fallen unconscious. The something was a small fox. Unlike the other foxes he had seen this one had mostly white fur while its paws and the tip of its tail were orange. At first, he had been quite disgruntled by the thievery until he saw the true state of the things. It was a wonder it had managed to survive this long. Matted fur, ribs clearly visible and bite marks all across its body that had clearly torn fur and flesh alike. Weirdly though they weren¡¯t bites intended to kill. The bites reminded him of that time his Dad had taken Roger to see a family friend when he was young. When they¡¯d arrived, he had realised right away that she was a cat lady through and through. Spending time there had made him think he would be a cat gentleman one day. Turns out he really liked animals. Or at least cats. While his Dad and the cat lady had chatted Roger had just sat around and played with the many kitties. While playing he noticed that there was one cat that was constantly bullied by the others as they would nip at the poor thing¡¯s fur and scratch at its face. They wouldn¡¯t leave it alone. When he had asked the cat lady about it, she nodded sadly with understanding before explaining that the battered cat was a new stray she had taken in but he didn¡¯t fit in so she was trying to give him away to a good home. That day Roger left with Mittens in his arms, obtaining the best cuddling companion ever. Memories resurfaced and overlapped with the fox in front of him. Making a decision he dug a small burrow down into the side of a stone ridge. Then, carefully he lifted the fox with [AIR] mana and carried it down where it was warm and safe. *DING* Skill: [PLATFORM] granted. *DING* [PLATFORM] has reached Level 1 Then riding on the success of a new skill he created a blade of [AIR] and began to skin and gut his previous kill, burying the waste as he did so. *DING* Skill: [WIND BLADE] granted. *DING* [WIND BLADE] has reached Level 1 *DING* Skill: [DISSECT] granted. *DING* [DISSECT] has reached Level 1 Cutting up the meat further he stacked it and then took it and the bones down the burrow to store. Once finished he covered the entrance in vines and then waited for the scrawny thief to wake. Chapter 11 - My New Best Friend One hour. Two. Three. Four. Okay this was taking a while. He might as well go back to his cooking idea from before this mess started. Floating one of the cuts of meat in front of him with mana, chef class in another world 101 began. Channel light magic. Check. Make it gather in front of his paw like a small flame. Check. Imagine the ball of light searing the meat and cooking it. Check. Infuse that intent into the light and hold it up to the steak. Maybe Check? After a few moments of concentration there was a sizzling sound. Then the meat began to go brown taking on a cooked appearance. Next was the smell. Sooooo good. How would he know when it was done? As it turned out, how he had wanted the meat had also been infused into the magic so once the meat was cooked the light mana near his paw just stopped gathering. Seemed simple enough. Yay for magical cooking. *DING* Skill: [LIGHT FLAME] granted. *DING* [LIGHT FLAME] has reached Level 1 *DING* Skill: [INTENT] granted. *DING* [INTENT] has reached Level 1 *DING* Skill: [SCORCH] granted. *DING* [SCORCH] has reached Level 1 Look at that. Skills were seeming to fall from the sky. As the scent of the juicy steak continued to permeate the small space there was finally a shuffling from beside him. GRUMBLE GRUMBLE. ¡°Food¡± the fox huffed out weakly. He had a quite hungry fox on his hands. Both its stomach and mouth told him so. ¡°Here you go¡± the bunny communicated while handing over the freshly seared steak, before reaching over with his mana for another one. *DING* Skill: [TELEKINESIS] granted. *DING* [TELEKINESIS] has reached Level 1 The rabbit was pretty happy with this most recent skill but he did wonder why it took until the second use that it was granted to him. He had wondered about the system from the moment he woke up but had been too occupied with his new bunny life to worry about it. Even now that was still true. He might have beaten all his enemies so far but he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think that streak would continue, even with all his [LUCK]. Caution would prove wise, especially while he was still so weak. He wouldn¡¯t let his victories blind him with unfounded pride. He would¡­ TNYHT TNYHT TNYHT. Man, the little fox could really chew. It was going all out like it hadn¡¯t eaten in weeks. In all fairness it might not have. The rabbit finished cooking his next batch just as the fox finished the last. ¡°More?¡± it pleaded. He was such a sucker. The cooked meat was again passed on and the next raw batch was put over the [LIGHT FLAME]. Each skill he was using went up another level. At least all this work was good for something. As the bunny finished using [SCORCH] on the piece of meat before him he looked over to see whether his current roommate was ready for the next lot. To his surprise it was curled up already fast asleep. The rabbit decided it was time to focus on himself again. BITE. The meat. The juice. The char. The taste. This was officially the best meal of his life. Yes, he hadn¡¯t actually consumed anything besides milk in this life but that wasn¡¯t the point. This meal was absolutely heavenly. After finishing he felt very full. Who knew Turtle Lizard steak was so filling. With that thought he came to the very important decision to join his now companion in blissful slumber. And so, drowsy from sleep, the rabbit and fox took a nap together. ***** SNIFF SNIFF. ¡°Hungry¡± came a whispered snuffle ¡°Meat. More hot meat.¡± ¡°Nnnghn¡± Slowly waking from the rudely interrupted rest he groggily opened his eyes ¡°Who would dare¡­ to wake¡­ me?¡± the bunny asked sleepily. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Meeeaaat. Fooooood¡± came the reply. Great. More responsibility. He did this to himself really. He knew this. Didn¡¯t make him any less grumpy in this waking state though. ¡°Alright, alright, just give me a minute¡± he said while yawning. Getting up the rabbit shook his body before once again channelling [LIGHT] and [AIR] mana to begin the cooking process. Five minutes later. TNYHT TNYHT TNYHT. Finishing up their meals both bunny and fox were once again content. Now, questions. Keep it simple or it might not understand. ¡°Do you want to go back to your leash?¡± He shook his head no. By now they had spent enough time together that he could tell the fox was male. ¡°Do you want to live and hunt with me?¡± The fox nodded. ¡°Well if you¡¯re going to stick around I can¡¯t just go around calling you fox. Can I give you a name?¡± The fox looked confused. ¡°Name?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, a name. When I talk to you, I will refer to you by your name.¡± Come to think of it, why didn¡¯t he himself have a name? Had Mother just not gotten around to naming him. He was pretty sure none of his siblings had names either. Was it just a monster thing? An animal characteristic where they just didn¡¯t feel the need to identify themselves? He would ask Mother later. Now that he thought about it, since he had been born, he had never referred to himself as ¡®Roger¡¯ except when he recalled memories of himself from his previous life. Even now he felt a disconnect from the name as though even if it used to be his, it no longer was. ¡°Name. Okay, have name¡± The fox¡¯s words were broken. No doubt due to the [INTELLIGENCE] stat. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s see. Something fox related.¡± Foxes were known to be tricksters right? Tricky. Trick. Loki. Nah. How about¡­ He was a male fox, right? When naming female foxes, a lot of people call them ¡®Vixen¡¯. From his sketchy educational memories, he recalled a male fox was called a Reynard. That seemed like an alright name. Nothing to make fun of a least. It did sound a little old fashioned though. Reynard for the name, but maybe Rey for short. ¡°What do you think of Reynard? And your nickname can be Rey. Oh right. A nickname is¡­ a nickname is a name that¡¯s shortened, a name that¡¯s usually said between friends. Ahhh. You might not want that. Do you want to be friends?¡± The bunny was nervous now. He¡¯d made a bunch of assumptions without fully thinking it through. What if the fox didn¡¯t want to be friends and just saw it as an alliance kind of relationship? ¡°Friend¡± the fox repeated. He seemed to be processing all the information dumped on him and his meagre [INTELLIGENCE]. It took a while. Finally, the fox answered. ¡°Friends. Yes. Name. Yes. Nick¡­ name. Yes.¡± *DING* [UNNAMED] fox has accepted your name suggestion: [REYNARD] You are not currently strong enough to name a being of this level ¨C Level 7 [PROCESSING] Your Title: [BARON] gives you the ability to name any being below or equal to your current rank. A [NAME] increases a beings Attributes by 15%. The amount increased is not set and resets each level to allow a constant 15% increase of stats even as the being grows stronger. Do you wish to sacrifice 10% of your attribute points to name [UNNAMED] fox [REYNARD]? This is a one-time sacrifice and does not reset as the named being levels. [Y/N] The notification surprised him but it shouldn¡¯t have. There were myths in fantasy stories about naming monsters after all. From his memories the sacrifice was just supposed to use mana though. Like casting a spell. All well, myths were just that, myths. Anyway, thinking it over it seemed like the trade off was worth it. A one time 10% sacrifice in turn for a constant 15%. The rabbit said yes. You have 150 Attribute points total 15 Attributes are required in order to [NAME]. Select which attributes to sacrifice: STR ¨C 21 VIT ¨C 6 AGI ¨C 24 DEX ¨C 22 CON ¨C 22 INT ¨C 23 WIS ¨C 6 CHA ¨C 20 PER ¨C 6 Yay. Choice. He got to choose what went and what stayed. Thinking about it, he could have temporarily lost the ability [WHIMS OF THE WORLD] if the system had just taken all the needed points from [INTELLIGENCE] or [CHARISMA]. Bugger. He really needed to think things through more. What¡¯s done was done. Move forward. Take three points from [DEXTERITY] and [CONSTITUTION], take four points from [STRENGTH], and take five points from [AGILTY]. You have chosen to sacrifice 3 [DEXTERITY], 3 [CONSTITUTION], 4 [STRENGTH], 5 [AGILTY] in order to [NAME]. Confirm? [Y/N] He agreed. There was an uncomfortable feeling as the attributes decreased. Weird. Gaining attributes was also a weird feeling but it was a good weird. Whereas the current loss was a bad weird. *DING* You have named [UNNAMED] fox [REYNARD] Great. He was glad that was out of the way. Maybe it was time to go hunt some more frogs. *DING* As a [BARON] you may bestow 3 Titles to those linked to you. Only [RULERS] may bestow definite Titles. A Title bestowed by other Title bearers is randomised under your own rank. Would you like to bestow a Title on [REYNARD]? [Y/N] Ummmm. Why not? Confirm. *DING* [REYNARD] has been granted the Noble Title [BARONET] Awesome. He waited for a few moments to make sure that was all. It was. ¡°Alright Rey, my new best friend, let¡¯s get out of here. It¡¯s time to go hunt some frogs.¡± Chapter 12 - Yokai Stats & Real Magic Maybe the name Jumpy or Skippy would have suited the newly dubbed [BARONET] more. Journeying back towards the burrow, the fox zoomed around like nobody¡¯s business as the elevated stats apparently agreed with Rey. Reynard had also become more confident and was now picking fights with the other dungeon monsters they happened to come across. Usually teleporting through this area, the rabbit was actually having to keep a proper eye out. Still, the fox managed to handle most of the fights and even glowed a light Madang green briefly a few times from level ups. Seeing this the rabbit decided to give the fox some advice. ¡°Hey Rey, you should put some free points into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. It will help you think better¡± Rey, coming to stand before him tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Points?... In telly gents?... Wis dom?¡± He seemed very confused. Couldn¡¯t his friend access his stat screen? Did others have stat screens. Rey had glowed green just like the stat screen. The bunny wished he could show Rey his own stat screen so the fox could understand. Would you like to access your [BARONET]s status screen to adjust the Attributes? He was startled by the sudden notice. ¡°Umm. Sure¡± he responded out loud not sure what was going on. [STATUS] KIND: [MONSTER] RACE: [JUVENILE SHIRO YOKAI KITSUNE] SEX: [MALE] AGE: 0 NAME: [REYNARD] TITLE: [BARONET] [LEVEL 9] BASE ATTRIBUTES: STR ¨C 0 VIT ¨C 14 AGI ¨C 13 DEX ¨C 13 CON ¨C 1 INT ¨C 0 WIS ¨C 1 CHA ¨C 13 PER ¨C 0 Unspent Attribute Points: 13 Unspent Skill Points: 13 Would you like to assign unspent Attribute and Skill Points for [REYNARD]? Note: Creatures with [INTELLIGENCE] under [10] are unable to access their [STATUS]. [TAMERS], [NOBLES] or [PARENTS] are able to access and adjust the [STATUS] of those they are connected to. Well that was enlightening. Sometimes this system was very helpful. Other times not so much. Luckily, this was one of the more helpful times. Did this mean that for most animals and monsters, if they didn¡¯t get [INTELLEGENCE] increased when they levelled up then they remained at zero [INTELLENCE] forever? Thinking on it, that actually made sense. He supposed that wouldn¡¯t hold true for beings like dragons, but then again [INTELLEGENCE] may be one of the automatically assigned stats for those kinds of monsters. That wouldn¡¯t be the case for his friends and family though. He would help them all out just like he was going to do with Rey. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Rey, will you let me change your stats for you? I promise its just until the system will let you do it on your own.¡± Reynard¡¯s blank stare wasn¡¯t all that reassuring. It took a while but eventually he asked ¡°Friend help?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll help you with your status until you can do it on your own¡±. ¡°Yes¡± the fox responded sounding happy that his friend wanted to help him. ¡°Okay then, here we go¡±. The bunny assessed the situation and made some decisions. First off, five points to [INTELLIGENCE] right off the bat. If he thought he could get away with it he would have brought the stat all the way up to ten, but as always, in this place survivability came first. Four points to [STRENGTH] and four to [CONSTITUTION] should assist his buddy. Moving on he saw that he could also spend the skill points, then remembered that those might be useful during Rey¡¯s next evolution which wouldn¡¯t be all that far away. Despite setting the Skill points aside, he still wanted to get a look at what the fox was offered. Available Skills: [CLOAK] ¨C 2 Points [BLOODLETTING SCRATCH] ¨C 3 Points [BLOODHOUND] ¨C 2 Points [SWIFT MOVEMENT] ¨C 3 Points [CHARM] ¨C 1 Point Okay, those were kind of cool, and they all sounded useful too. Especially since Rey wasn¡¯t born with the impressive list of skills that he himself was. Changing his mind, the rabbit purchased [CLOAK], [BLOODLETTING SCRATCH] and [SWIFT MOVEMENT]. Survivability first. That would leave five points for the evolution. Less than before, but it wasn¡¯t nothing. Giving the changes one last check he selected the [YES] prompt, confirming the choices. There was another green glow and then all of a sudden Reynard¡¯s eyes were clearer. ¡°Head feels faster!¡± he exclaimed with excitement. ¡°Body feels like rocks¡± he added while stretching out muscles. The rabbit was pretty sure he meant those as a good thing. ¡°More levels!¡± Rey announced suddenly before dashing ahead looking for his next prey ¡°It¡¯s time to go hunt some frogs.¡± That¡¯s exactly what he himself had said earlier. What a copycat. Joyful at his friend¡¯s newfound smarts the rabbit bounded in the fox¡¯s wake. *** Racing along they soon reached the pond of the horned rabbits which was again under attack by the frogs. The amphibians had decided to try their luck once again. He and Rey would be happy to oblige them in their contest. First though he needed to get something straight. Coming to the edge of the pond he gazed towards where the horned rabbit monsters were defending, sat down and then proceeded to thump his right back foot against the ground very loudly several times. Much louder than he expected. So loud in fact, that even the frogs turned to see what the commotion was about. Gathering more attention than intended but taking advantage of it anyway he proclaimed in a reverberating voice ¡°This fox is now on our side. He will fight with us. Do not attack him or there will be consequences¡±. He hadn¡¯t meant to come off so domineering but he really needed to hammer that point home so that Rey wouldn¡¯t get hurt by his presumed allies. As one, every rabbit monster in the vicinity nodded once. The sight was eery but they clearly viewed him as their leader of sorts. A leader that would be followed. Maybe it had something to do with his race including the word sovereign in it. *DING* Skill: [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL] granted. *DING* [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL] has reached Level 1 *DING* Skill: [ENHANCED VOICE] granted. *DING* [ENHANCED VOICE] has reached Level 1 Moments later the battle had resumed, Reynard leaping forward to chase his next level. Happy with the skills he had gained and regained the Sovereign decided to join as well. Instead of focusing on the water where his companions were fighting, he turned his attention to the banks of the pond and beyond where many enemies were stalking amongst the vegetation. Coming to the conclusion that this would be a great chance to experiment with magic he drew upon the [WATER], [AIR] and [LIGHTNING] strands of mana and channelled them into a loose ball of sorts just in front of his body. The ball began to convulse tremulously but he focused his intent to infuse the elements together. [WATER] and [AIR] were easier to fuse as they formed into a cloudy fog. He tried adding the [LIGHTNING] but it wasn¡¯t working the way he wanted it to no matter how hard he tried. The extra element was like an outside force that just didn¡¯t want to join in. An idea came. In his previous life as Roger, he¡¯d learned in school that lightning and thunder were actually a result of clouds rubbing against each other and causing static which in turn resulted in storms. This idea was probably the dumbed down idea of what really happened but maybe it would be enough. Concentrating on that thought he thread the [LIGHTNING] mana through the cloud but only while also dividing the cloud and churning the pieces to create friction. With joy he realised he¡¯d succeeded. Aiming the miniature storm up into the air he made it hover over the area the frogs were coming from, then the real magic began. Chapter 13 - True Nature *DING* Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 10 has been slain x2 Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 11 has been slain x3 Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 13 has been slain Adolescent Water Leaper ¨C Level 15 has been slain x4 Adolescent Tiddalik ¨C Level 10 has been slain x7 Adolescent Tiddalik ¨C Level 11 has been slain x9 Adolescent Tiddalik ¨C Level 15 has been slain x5 Adolescent Tiddalik ¨C Level 17 has been slain You have gained a vast amount of [EXPERIENCE] for your level *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 13. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 14. 24 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 6 Skill points and 6 Attribute points to distribute manually. *DING* CONGRATULATIONS! Through immense ingenuity and control, you have unlocked the following branches of magic: - [WATER] BRANCH [ICE] ¨C 1% [FOG] ¨C 1% [MIST] ¨C 1% [BLIZZARD] ¨C 1% [HURRICANE] ¨C 1% - [AIR] BRANCH [CLOUD] ¨C 1% [GALE] ¨C 1% [TORNADO] ¨C 1% [ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE] ¨C 1% - [LIGHTNING] BRANCH [STATIC] ¨C 1% [BOLT] ¨C 1% [STORM] ¨C 1% - [GRAVITY] BRANCH [WEIGHT] ¨C 1% [FORCE] ¨C 1% [PLANETARY PRESSURE] ¨C 1% *DING* CONGRATULATIONS! You have attracted the attention of [8] [EVERLASTING]. They are all [AMUSED]. [3] are [IMPRESSED]. [########] [SCOFFS] at your accomplishment. [########] [TISKS] at your accomplishment. Though no offers to be your [PATRON] have been made, should you continue to show promise, future patronage may be possible. As a creature with [INTELLIGENCE] above the minimum requirement you may view comments towards your accomplishments. Would you like to view comments from the [EVERLASTING] in the [CHATGROUP]? [Y/N] *DING* [BARONET REYNARD] has earned a large amount of [EXPERIENCE]. Would you like to take a percentage as is the right of his [BARON]? (Maximum deduction of [20%] permitted per allotment of experience only when threshold has been surpassed) This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Y/N] Left over lightning tinged with black skimmed the ground before slowly petering out. The pouring rain slowed to a drizzle before coming to a stop as well. Then, finally, the initially dark and now white clouds began to disperse. With that, the few remaining frogs that had managed to avoid being fried to a crisp, escaped with their lives. The storm had not only managed to get rid of the enemies amongst the vegetation, but also made the frogs already in the pond flee for safety as well. Turns out frogs didn¡¯t like scary storms or their consequences. Especially when the scary storm accidentally had [GRAVITY] magic funnelled into the spell while trying to keep the affinity strands separate and also trying to split and use more than one strand all at once. Who knew? This was why both the clouds and lightning had had a black hue to them. It wouldn¡¯t have surprised him if even the raindrops had been dyed the colour. Rather than just a regular storm the magic had become a gravity storm which had seemed to make everything in the vicinity move slower, like there was a weight on each of their backs. He would have to experiment at a later date and see if he could make the effect only affect enemies. Now, to assess the notifications. Apparently using a particular base affinity well enough would allow other branches of magic connected to that affinity to be unlocked. That was awesome. Magic for the win. The levels were kind of expected but that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t appreciated. Taking a look at his fresh stat sheet he decided it would be best to put his spare points into [VITALITY], [WISDOM] and [PERCEPTION] again. Two more in each attribute would bring his last low stats up to eight. He could feel the amount of mana he could use swell as the point allocation was confirmed. Although he¡¯d really wanted to focus on [AGILITY], he already had points automatically going into that attribute each level. Ever since he started to get a feel for his magic the rabbit had felt the connection between his pool of magic and [WISDOM]. With that in mind, he¡¯d decided that from now on he would be stocking up his spare attributes into the magic related stats, [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. There might be a few here and there for [VITALITY], [CHARISMA] and [PERCEPTION] but overall, they would probably get left behind for now. Next on the list¡­ [PATRON]? [EVERLASTING]? Comments? This was all new and probably way above his current pay grade. He¡¯d come back to this in a moment. Moving on. So he could take some of Rey¡¯s [EXPERIENCE] if he earned above a certain amount. The bunny guessed this happened between all higher and lower classed connected nobles. What a crappy system. This would make the lower-class nobles work twice as hard for everything they earned. Not fair at all. Then again, that¡¯s life. And death too really when you think about it. Getting back on track the bunny selected the [NO] option. Seeing that was the end of the list of his notifications he decided to double back. Would you like to view comments from the [EVERLASTING] in the [CHATGROUP]? [Y/N] Now curious he selected [YES]. A chat screen instantly opened up in front of him, it skimmed back over what he hadn¡¯t read, all the way to the top where the conversation started. [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments [AMUSED] [########] comments: How can such a stupid creature do something so complex? [IMPRESSED] [########] comments: Are you blind? It was a complete fluke. The spell nearly exploded in its face. It might have wiped out half of the dungeon floor but it would have been compressed along with them. If it had even the faintest sliver of [INTELLIGENCE] it might have felt how moronic it was to add [LIGHTNING] and [GRAVITY] together. That alone would be scary enough to something so weak but it went another step further. [WATER] and [GRAVITY]. Does that thing even have a brain? [SCOFFS] I bet twenty Drokma it¡¯ll be dead within the week. [########] comments: It was greatness! It was awesomeness! It was epiphany! BOOM! I also bet twenty Drokma. No doubt. Death within a week. [IMPRESSED] [########] comments: You idiots realise someone actually has to oppose your Drokma with their own in order for a bet to work. Luckily for you I think it will survive a whole two weeks before it unlocks [MONSOON] magic. Then it will die. However as most of my assets are wrapped up in sponsorships, I will only be betting ten Drokma. [IMPRESSED] [########] comments: I do not know one way or the other. I will say it was a rare sight though. Even if it was a fluke, having that many affinities unlocked incidentally is quite the miracle. Just imagine studying a creature with five affinities. It also used [LIGHT] mana earlier, but that is to be expected with a [HORNED RABBIT MONSTER]. It¡¯s a pity reaching our status forbids us from interfering with beings that haven¡¯t reached maturity yet. [TISK] Only six more levels, but I don¡¯t think it will reach that far. It would have been such a good study. It might even have furthered my research. What do you think oh [SILENT DEATH]? [########] comments: It may survive. But I suggest you all leave it be. Strongarming something so far beneath us is quite pathetic, no matter the circumstances. [########] comments: Yes. [########] comments: Of course. [########] comments: If that is your wish [GREAT ONE] then so be it. [########] comments: Agreed. [########] comments: Indeed. [########] comments: [SILENT DEATH] did you see the BOOM! It went crackle! It went roar! Will you bet as well?! It is good to play! You are a [GREAT ONE] yes? This bet will be GREAT! You must join. Let us play with coin! [########] comments [APOLOGETIC] [########] comments [APOLOGETIC] [########] comments [APOLOGETIC] [########] comments [APOLOGETIC] [########] comments [APOLOGETIC] [########] comments: [ARGOS] apologise immediately. - ALL CURRENT IN THE CHAT AGREE [########] comments: No. Why? Play! We must all play! [########] comments: I place fifty Drokma on the rabbit completing the dungeon. Yes, I have noted that the bottom floor has a Level 100 boss. [########] comments: YES! We shall play! We shall see how far it goes! This is fun! [########] comments: We all thank [SILENT DEATH] for humouring him. - END CHAT Despite the mysteriousness of the participants the actual chat was informative, if a little insulting. Except for the [SILENT DEATH] guy, he seemed nice enough. [ARGOS] was obviously a loose cannon by the way the others reacted, but he didn¡¯t seem to have directly nefarious intentions. If anything, he sounded like a lot of fun. It was the creepy research person he needed to keep an eye out for. That one sounded like trouble with a capital T. He did seem to acquiesce to [SILENT DEATH] though. Focusing on the chat screen he tried to access it. No luck. It seemed this comment thing was purely for these so called [PATRON]¡¯s to use for discussions about a particular subject. As he hadn¡¯t been mentioned directly and with the way they spoke about him, he assumed they didn¡¯t realise he was sentient. Now how was he going to use this knowledge to his advantage? And how long would he be able to keep his true nature hidden? Chapter 14 - Family Nice No point asking himself questions that couldn¡¯t be answered. For now, he needed to focus on the present. He now had saved up enough skill points to purchase the basic [IDENTIFY] skill. Without further distractions he did just that. *DING* Skill: [IDENTIFY] granted. *DING* [IDENTIFY] has reached Level 1 Looking around he decided to test the new skill straight away. He found that the skill required intense focus, but eventually the results came through. Object ¨C [ROCK] Object ¨C [GRASS] Object ¨C [TREE] Object ¨C [MANA FUSED POND] ¨C [LOW QUALITY] Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 11] Monster ¨C [JUVENILE SHIRO YOKAI KITSUNE] ¨C [LEVEL 10] It was pretty basic but that¡¯s about what he¡¯d expected for a level one skill. On cue Rey ran up with a request. ¡°Level ten. Must evolve. Safe place?¡± ¡°Of course. Come with me. You can meet my family.¡± ¡°Family nice?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll need to know your friendly first, especially Mother. But after that, sure, my family will be nice to you.¡± ¡°Friend help with evolution until Rey think better?¡± ¡°Um¡­ Okay. If you want me to¡± ¡°Want¡± With the conversation settled the pair continued into the burrow and travelled to where the rabbit¡¯s brothers and sisters were living. Monster ¨C [INFANT HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 4] Monster ¨C [INFANT HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 4] Level four shouldn¡¯t have been that much of a surprise, but it was to him. He had been levelling up like crazy ever since he left the comfort of the burrow less than a week ago. Hopping forward he immediately sought out Mother. She would need to be informed first. The look she gave him as their eyes met wasn¡¯t all that reassuring. ¡°Baby, that a fox. Fox no good.¡± It seemed Mother had decided to start off the conversation. ¡°I know foxes can be dangerous Mother. Any dungeon monster can be and we should always be alert for enemies. This fox is not an enemy. I decided to save and name him so now he is loyal to me. Reynard is my friend. And by association he will be a friend to our family as well.¡± Mother paused while processing what he had just said. The adolescent gave her a minute to think. ¡°Reynard help babies?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes¡±. ¡°I trust baby. Reynard stay. Reynard family now¡±. While saying this Mother nodded her head with conviction. To be honest he had thought that this was going to take longer. Looks like it was all sorted then. Turning away he spoke to Rey. ¡°Alright evolution time¡±. Nodding Rey found a comfortable spot to rest by the wall and then laid down. *DING* [REYNARD] has passed control of his [EVOLUTION] to you. Do you accept? [Y/N] He selected yes. [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Would you like [REYNARD] to evolve? [Y/N] Note that further levels can not be attained until [REYNARD] has evolved. Yes again. Select your evolution from the following options: [ADOLESCENT SHIRO YOKAI KITSUNE] This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. [ADOLESCENT SHIRO YOKAI KITSUNE VIZIER] ¨C [INTELLIGENCE] increases by 1 per level [INTGELLIGENCE] and a cool name. Yes. He had a feeling this was connected to his sovereign race though. That would kind of make sense. [EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] [JUVENILE SHIRO YOKAI KITSUNE] to [ADOLESCENT SHIRO YOKAI KITSUNE VIZIER] [COMPLETE] Yokai Kitsune generally have their Affinities and Proficiencies selected for them due to their low [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. Generically Yokai Kitsune are granted one of the following: [FIRE AFFINITY] ¨C 100% - Chance 7/10 [MENTAL AFFINITY] ¨C 100% - Chance 2/10 [FIRE AFFINITY] ¨C 50% [MENTAL AFFINITY] ¨C 50% - Chance 1/10 As a fox that lives amongst poisonous nature the following may also be granted: [POISON AFFINITY] ¨C 100% - Chance 1/20 [NATURE AFFINITY] ¨C 100% - Chance 1/20 [POISON AFFINITY] ¨C 50% [NATURE AFFINITY] ¨C 50% - Chance 1/100 [FIRE AFFINITY] ¨C 50% [POISON AFFINITY] ¨C 50% - Chance 1/100 [FIRE AFFINITY] ¨C 50% [NATURE AFFINITY] ¨C 50% - Chance 1/100 [MENTAL AFFINITY] ¨C 50% [POISON AFFINITY] ¨C 50% - Chance 1/100 [MENTAL AFFINITY] ¨C 50% [NATURE AFFINITY] ¨C 50% - Chance 1/100 [FIRE AFFINITY] ¨C 25% [MENTAL AFFINITY] ¨C 25% [POISON AFFINITY] ¨C 25% [NATURE AFFINITY] ¨C 25% - Chance 1/1000 Due to your [INTELLIGENCE] being equal to or above 10, you may choose [REYNARD]¡¯s Affinities and Proficiencies. All Proficiencies from each Affinity must equal 100%. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. 1 point will increase proficiency in one affinity by 10% Note that all beings have natural affinities. This means that a being will be able to more easily channel and control the magic of that affinity. Yokai Kitsune natural affinities are [FIRE] and [MENTAL]. [REYNARD] and his leash also have a natural affinity for [POISON] and [NATURE]. [REYNARD] has reached the TITLE: [BARONET] Raising 1 rank allows you to increase your proficiency by 10% in any chosen affinity You have raised your title by 6 ranks. You have gained 60% proficiency to increase in any chosen affinity. Select magic affinity from the following base affinities: [FIRE] [WATER] [AIR] [EARTH] [LIGHTNING] [LIGHT] [DARK] [LIFE] [DEATH] [UNDEATH] [POISON] [TRANSMUTATION] [NATURE] [SOUND] [MYSTIC] [BEASTIAL] [MENTAL] [NULL] [SPACE] [GRAVITY] [TIME] [CHAOS] [ORDER] Magic. Now? Didn¡¯t that happen at level five? All well, for now don¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth. He would have to look into it later. With two spare attribute points, seven available skill points and six title jumps that came to 250% proficiency. Thinking the possibilities over he decided to spread it out. Sticking with the natural affinities first he selected [FIRE], [POISON], [NATURE] and [MENTAL]. Then he also added [NULL] and then threw in [MYSTIC] and [TIME] just for the fun of it, and also to sate his curiosity. You have chosen the following affinities and proficiencies: [FIRE] ¨C 50% [POISON] ¨C 50% [NATURE] ¨C 50% [MYSTIC] ¨C 20% [MENTAL] ¨C 50% [NULL] ¨C 10% [TIME] ¨C 20% Would you like to confirm your selection? [Y/N] He confirmed the selection. *DING* [LEVEL UP] [REYNARD] has reached Level 11. 13 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of [REYNARD]¡¯s race. [REYNARD] has 3 Skill points and 3 Attribute points to distribute manually. Deciding to get this out of the way as well he put one point in [WISDOM] and two points into [PERCEPTION]. His friend¡¯s stats were beginning to look a little more suited to the fox. ¡°Done¡± he whispered to himself. Coming back to the world around him the bunny noticed that all his siblings had gathered around in a semicircle to watch. A moment later Rey stirred and looked around at his apparent audience. Sitting up the fox didn¡¯t have the capacity to communicate with them directly and instead began to wag his tail to show his appreciation for the attention. ¡°Play?¡± he asked. The next hour was spent once again running around in circles as well as competitive tackles from out of nowhere. The adolescents were careful to manage their strength around the others but still had just as much fun. Eventually they all fell in a pile, heaving for breath. After calming down the runt of the litter spoke up. ¡°Help too¡±. ¡°Hmmm?¡± the adolescent hummed in question. ¡°Help us too¡± the runt repeated with better grammar. Looking around he saw all his siblings were agreeing with the youngest brother. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll help¡± he told them. Reynard nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Family nice, Rey help too¡± he continued to nod even after speaking his sentence. His tail seemed to also approve as it followed the head¡¯s movements. They might not have understood the words of the fox but all his siblings began to giggle and laugh at his antics. Rey¡¯s personality was lifting spirits just by him being present. ¡°Yes, Rey will help too¡± the bunny told them, both answering the fox and relaying the information to the others. Considering the implications, the rabbit came to the conclusion that Rey really needed to get some kind of communication skill. It didn¡¯t have to be as good as [WHIMS OF THE WORLD], just enough so he could understand the basics of what other languages or communications were saying. Following that thought he immediately brought up his skills list and searched to see if any of the sort was available. Available Skills: [WHISPERER] ¨C 20 Skill Points Communicate your intentions with any beast or monster. You will also be able to understand their intentions as well should they wish to convey it. [BABEL] ¨C 50 Skill Points Be able to understand and speak any common humanoid language. Well, that seemed pretty straight forward. [IDENTIFY] was clearly helping out as he could now read basic descriptions of skills he hadn¡¯t even bought yet. As Rey had now crossed the level ten threshold, perhaps he would have access to these skills as well. First though, he would have to save up enough points for the actual purchase of the skill. Chapter 15 - As You Can See, I鈥檓 Slightly Busy With Living Without further ado the rabbit led his siblings outside the burrow for their very first outing. Hopping around the pond his family followed in a line with Mother keeping watch from the back. Looking at the surrounding area he found that all the frog monsters were gone and his brethren were happily drinking and lazing along the banks. Smiling to himself he continued on. ¡°Everyone keep up, its going to get dangerous once we leave our territory.¡± Affirmations came from behind as they travelled. After leaving the vegetation behind he brought the group to a halt and then climbed one of the taller rocky ledges to scout for prey. He trusted Rey and Mother to protect the others for a few moments. Searching from above he used [PANOPTIC VISION] to locate what would become experience for his siblings. He spotted something close by, hidden under a rocky alcove, that would work if he managed to pin it down. Focusing on it he used [IDENTIFY]. Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT BASILISK] ¨C [LEVEL 15] If he remembered correctly, the myths about basilisks from Roger¡¯s memories told of a power to turn enemies to stone with a look. That was not something that he wanted to risk. Coming up with a plan he hopped down to inform the family. *DING* Skill: [CLIFFWALKER] granted. *DING* [CLIFFWALKER] has reached Level 1 Conveying his thoughts to the others, they all agreed. Setting forth again, the mood was a bit grimmer than before. The infants didn¡¯t have any attack skills to speak of so they would just have to bite the enemy, which was a very dangerous proposition. Luckily if the plan worked then they wouldn¡¯t have to worry. Reaching the point of access to the alcove the rabbits got into formation. Half of the infants were fired up and the other half were more subdued. Creeping forward by himself the adolescent carefully stalked his prey. *DING* [STEALTH] has reached Level 5 Finding his prize coiled and asleep he threw a pebble at it so the snake monster would open its eyes and then he stretched out a string of mana towards its face. The distraction worked and just as the eyelids opened, he made the ball of [LIGHT] mana explode, blinding the basilisk. Skill: [FLASHBANG] granted. *DING* [FLASHBANG] has reached Level 1 Then strings of [WATER] mana wrapped around the creature to secure it in place. Just as he was about to call out his siblings, the basilisk spoke, ¡°hey, what¡¯s going on? Let me go. What did I ever do to you?¡± Stunned for a moment the rabbit froze in astonishment. He responded in kind. ¡°Um, sorry. I needed to find some experience and you seemed like the best bet. Most monsters have just attacked me so far so I just assumed you would too.¡± Even blinded the snake was clearly giving an annoyed glare, ¡°Aren¡¯t we all and I can understand where you¡¯re coming from but I request that you choose someone else for your conquest. As you can see, I¡¯m slightly busy with living. I currently have no time to be experience right now. If that changes, I¡¯ll be sure to let you know.¡± The rabbit stared at the gall of the creature in front of him. ¡°Um, okay, I¡¯ll see you around then¡± he replied while slowly loosening his strings, ready to tighten them in a moment should the snake try something nefarious, ¡°if I let you go then all rabbits on this floor are off limits.¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± ¡°Before we go, I have a question. You seem a lot smarter than the average monster. Why is that?¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. By this point the snake monster clearly had full use of his vision again, but instead of attacking, he gave a reply. ¡°Making smart choices in life leads to an increase in [WISDOM] which in turn leads to a smarter mind. If you did not know this then I assume you are one of the few lucky ones that was born with increased [INTELLIGENCE] or [WISDOM].¡± ¡°Something like that¡± the rabbit responded. With the conversation ending, the basilisk slithered off. ¡°Well that was surprising¡± the rabbit mumbled to himself. Trudging back to where his family was hidden, he explained that the snake was actually not an enemy, for now. He would have to search for new prey. Changing direction, the bunny decided there might be better luck in hunting Tiddalicks. A little under half an hour later the new prey had been sighted. Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT TIDDALIK] ¨C [LEVEL 17] The monster wasn¡¯t even trying to act stealthy despite being on the outer areas of the frog¡¯s territory. Then again, it was level seventeen. The monster was lazily sitting on a log, its eyes half lidded. Unfortunately, the peaceful atmosphere was ruined by the rat struggling to get out from under its feet. Monster ¨C [JUVENILE AROURAIOS] ¨C [LEVEL 9] Looked like the frog monster was playing with its food. Getting within range he chose [AIR] magic this time so that it wouldn¡¯t play to the frog¡¯s strengths. The bunny once again wrapped the strings around his opponent and then lifted it off the ground. The experience to be now bound tight had its former prey escape at high speed. *DING* [TELEKINESIS] has reached Level 4 Watching the rat run away for a moment his attention was brought back as the tiddalick tried to counteract the bonds with its own [WATER] mana. Annoying. How would his siblings attack with all that magic waving about. The frog gave a loud croak coated in malice. She wanted blood. She was not a happy little froggy. Experimenting, the rabbit reached out with his senses to the opposing strings and willed them to obey him instead. To both his and the frog monsters surprise the mana strings did just that and went dormant. The bunny gave a toothy grin. ¡°Alright, come on out and attack¡± he spoke, calling his siblings to arms. *DING* [ENHANCED VOICE] has reached Level 2 *DING* [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL] has reached Level 2 He expected some of them to be more cautious, like last time, but his call seemed to have heightened all their spirits somehow. In fact, the infants that had previously been raring to go were now even more hyped, as if they were invincible. With gusto they all leapt forward and bit at the frog monster. Legs, stomach, eyes, nose and back. Everything began to bleed profusely and within just a few minutes the creature was dead. Not wanting to waste any possible food the adolescent horned rabbit set about preparing his sibling¡¯s first true meal. Setting the carcass on a [PLATFORM] he dissected it with [WIND BLADE] and then cooked the meat. Not sensing any nearby threats he then distributed the feast. *DING* [TELEKINESIS] has reached Level 5 *DING* [PLATFORM] has reached Level 2 *DING* [WIND BLADE] has reached Level 3 *DING* [DISSECT] has reached Level 3 *DING* [LIGHT FLAME] has reached Level 4 *DING* [INTENT] has reached Level 4 *DING* [SCORCH] has reached Level 4 These notifications about skill upgrades were beginning to get really annoying. Opening up his notification logs he found some new toggles in the corner that weren¡¯t there before. Maybe they were because of his evolutions? They were all marked as [ON]. Show LEVEL UPS ¨C [ON] Show Skill Upgrades ¨C [ON] Show Skills Gained ¨C [ON] Show Magical Affinity Upgrades ¨C [ON] Show Magical Proficiency Upgrades ¨C [ON] Show evolution prompts ¨C [ON] Show [CHAT] requests from general population ¨C [ON] Show [CHAT] requests from [ALLIES] ¨C [ON] Show [CHAT] requests from [ENEMIES] ¨C [ON] Show [CHAT] requests from the [EVERLASTING] ¨C [ON] Show [CHAT] requests from [PATRON] ¨C [ON] Show General Announcements For [DUNGEON] ¨C [ON] Show General Announcements For [REGION] ¨C [ON] Show General Announcements For [COUNTRY] ¨C [ON] Show General Announcements For [CONTINENT] ¨C [ON] Show General Announcements For [WORLD] ¨C [ON] Impressive. But all he really wanted was to fix the upgrade spam. Mentally sliding the toggle left, he switched the Skill Upgrade notifications [OFF]. That action felt like peace was finally coming within reach. Then his most boisterous brother tried to tackle him. And his three boisterous sisters decided to follow their idiot brother¡¯s lead. Not him, just to make that clear. The moron that play-tackled him in enemy territory was the one they tried to copy. All four failed of course. Simple [TELEKINESIS] resolved the issue and some ear flaps from Mother stamped out any mutinous ideas. Chapter 16 - Be Prepared With the levels they had all gained it was time to head back home to evolve, so they did just that. Some moronic monsters tried to make a snack of the smaller ones, but those were quickly taken care of. Finally, they made it back to their own hole in the burrow. All his siblings laid down and handed over their evolutions pretty much straight away. *DING* 9 [INFANT HORNED RABBIT]s have passed control of their [EVOLUTION]s to you. Do you accept? [Y/N] He selected yes. [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Would you like the 9 entities to evolve? [Y/N] Note that further levels can not be attained until they have evolved. That¡¯s a yes. Select your evolutions. The 5 male entities include the following options: [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT] [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT OUJISAMA] ¨C Title raised to [BARONET] The 4 female entities include the following options: [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT] [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT OHIMESAMA] ¨C Title raised to [BARONETESS] The second ones sure were interesting, and it was only his [WHIMS OF THE WORLD] ability that helped him understand what they meant. The evolutions were basically calling his siblings royalty. The connection to his own race was clear. Not needing much time to decide, he picked the options granting titles. [EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] 5 entities are evolving from [INFANT HORNED RABBIT] to [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT OUJISAMA] 4 entities are evolving from [INFANT HORNED RABBIT] to [JUVENILE HORNED RABBIT OHIMESAMA] [COMPLETE] They have been raised to TITLE: [BARONET]/[BARONETESS] Raising 1 rank allows you to increase your proficiency by 10% in any chosen affinity They have each raised their titles by 6 ranks. They have each gained 60% proficiency to increase in any chosen affinity. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. 1 point will increase proficiency in one affinity by 10% Note that all beings have natural affinities. This means that a being will be able to more easily channel and control the magic of that affinity. Horned Monster Rabbits natural affinities are [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Select magic affinity from the following base affinities: [FIRE] [WATER] [AIR] [EARTH] [LIGHTNING] [LIGHT] [DARK] [LIFE] [DEATH] [UNDEATH] [POISON] [TRANSMUTATION] [NATURE] [SOUND] [MYSTIC] [BEASTIAL] [MENTAL] [NULL] [SPACE] [GRAVITY] [TIME] [ORDER] [CHAOS] So how much proficiency did he have? The original one hundred percent, sixty percent from the title, and fifty percent from the unspent attribute points. He decided to leave the skill points. His siblings would need them later. Doing some basic calculations, he would give them all seventy percent proficiency in [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. That meant he had seventy percent left which he decided to invest in a single element for each. His brothers¡¯ affinities would be [AIR], [POISON], [TRANSMUTATION], [SOUND] and [GRAVITY]. His sisters¡¯ affinities would be [WATER], [LIFE], [NATURE] and [MYSTIC]. When making the selections, he just went by ear, thinking which affinity would best suit each brother or sister. He hoped he had chosen well. A moment later the confirmation of affinities notification came through. Would you like to confirm your selection? [Y/N] He confirmed the choices. *DING* [LEVEL UP] 9 entities have reached [LEVEL 7]. 8 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of their race. You have 7 Skill points and 2 Attribute points to distribute manually per entity. This was an easy one. Both attribute points went into [INTELLIGENCE]. Next, he needed to look at whether he could select skills for them. He could. It turned out that [INFANT HORNED RABBIT]s were born with innate skills. He probably didn¡¯t get them because of the special skills he had at birth. Opening the skill screen for one of his brothers, he looked it over. Unspent Skill Points: 7 Innate Skills: [CLEANSE] [DASH] [DIG] [ENHANCED HEARING] [INSTINCT] [NIGHT VISION] [SIGHT] Ohhh, now that made sense. He had been wondering about that. If [HORNED RABBIT]s didn¡¯t normally have enough [INTELLIGENCE] to access their own screens, then why did they have the [CLEANSE] skill. Well, that was simple really. It was an innate skill that they were born with. Now, to protect his family better he wanted to give them a skill he had noticed [REYNARD] had. Combined with one of his own skills, it would be invaluable in keeping them alive whenever he wasn¡¯t present. Available Skills: [DOUBLE JUMP] ¨C 2 Points ¡­ [CLOAK] ¨C 3 Points ¡­ [STEALTH] ¨C 4 Points With his mind already made up, he purchased both [CLOAK] and [STEALTH] for all his siblings. And as they had already woken from the slumber of evolving, they began practicing immediately. Should he have thought this through more? Half of his siblings had gone missing. ¡°Sorry Mother I¡¯ll make this up to you¡± he silently thought to himself. His mother didn¡¯t appear to be all that worried as she herself began to playfully chase around her children. The bunnies that were invisible became visible again and the rest began to activate their skills instead. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes the adolescent rabbit jumped into the fray and join in on the fun. After collapsing once again in a pile, they all fell asleep once more. As the white furred rabbit that had dealt out the skills dozed off, he thought of what came next. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll head down and see what¡¯s on the next floor. I should make sure my siblings can take care of themselves first though, then I¡¯ll leave them in [REYNARD] and Mother¡¯s care. What level is Mother anyway?¡± Turning his head slightly he identified his mother. Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT MATRON] ¨C [LEVEL 19] Hmmm. Yes, his mother should be able to take care of them just fine. One final hunt in the morning that he would supervise, then he would go. He could maybe go the other way and check out what was outside, but he wanted to be more powerful first. Both the exits were unknowns, but he sort of knew what he was getting into if he went downwards. If he went up and outside, he had no clue what awaited him. It was better to be prepared. Chapter 17 - Elves Are Very Scary The next morning, he discussed his plans with Mother. She reluctantly agreed. She was clearly worried. ¡°Is there any reason I shouldn¡¯t go explore the next floor?¡± he asked, hoping she would explain herself. ¡°If get [LEVEL 15]¡­ all go there¡­ few come back. Three mates gone¡­ no come back. Kits gone¡­ only two come back,¡± his mother appeared very sad. ¡°How many¡­ kits, have left for the next floor?¡± he asked wondering if his mother even knew the number of siblings he had. It took a long moment. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and began to cry. Just as he was about to change the topic she said ¡°Fourty-two. Lose forty kits. Lose first mate¡­ make sure to pick stronger mate¡­ no change. They all die. Know will lose two older boy kits soon too. None survive long.¡± His jaw dropped. Two? Two out of forty-two had survived up until now. She said they were from the most recent batch before his and that they probably wouldn¡¯t live much longer. All of her previous litters were dead. All her chosen mates were dead. That was beyond tragic. Then again, he guessed that was just the typical life of a monster rabbit. They were born to be prey after all. He wasn¡¯t going to let that happen to his family anymore. Now that he thought about it, he hadn¡¯t really seen any higher levelled male rabbits. He had seen a [LEVEL 17] on the first day he got the [IDENTIFY] skill, but that rabbit had seemingly disappeared not long after. The only higher levelled rabbits he saw were female, all with matron in their race, and they all stayed within the burrow. Looking after their young. He had even recently spotted a [LEVEL 45] rabbit with matriarch in the race, but again, she always stayed in the burrow watching over the matrons. Besides the matriarch, the highest level matron he had seen was [LEVEL 27]. That did leave him wondering why the matriarch was so much stronger, but that question would have to be left for another day. With the plan decided on, his family set out once again. This time he would not be assisting in the hunt, but he made sure they helped each other out in groups of three. He, Mother and [REYNARD] each kept an eye on one of the groups. Success was achieved. A [LEVEL 12] rat, [LEVEL 13] snakelike monster and a [LEVEL 14] frog brought them all up to [LEVEL 8]. Then all nine ganged up together on a [LEVEL 15] possum that had tried to ambush one of the groups. Mother had stepped in right away, but he had talked her down and convinced her to let his siblings give it a try. He held it with his telekinesis again to assist, which ended up giving him another level. Adolescent Pygmy Possum ¨C Level 15 has been slain *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 15. 12 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 3 Skill points and 3 Attribute points to distribute manually. Then he felt it. He NEEDED to go down there. It was so exciting. He felt the magic shift. It was clearly more powerful from the entrance to the second level. He needed to see what was down there. To grow his magic and strength even stronger. He needed to-. Wait¡­ He shook himself. The urge was still there, but he could think again. Woah. That was scary. The moment he hit [LEVEL 15] his magic had strengthened and his instincts had gone into overdrive. He would need to be wary and warn his family about the upcoming takeover that they would need to keep in mind. Would [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM] help? He¡¯d have to look into it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Just as one crisis ended, he felt another from the other cave opening. He hopped up one of the ridges to look at what had entered. Five human looking beings walked through the entrance and then began to eliminate every monster that came into their sight. Humanoid ¨C [WOOD ELF] ¨C [LEVEL 33] Humanoid ¨C [FOREST ELF] ¨C [LEVEL 37] Another urge came. He had to go fight them. Kill them. It filled his every thought. He had to-. Shit. He needed to get them all to safety right now. Taking in a deep breath, he called not just to his direct family but the rabbits throughout the floor as well, ¡°Hide inside home, now!¡± With his order, he and his family dashed for the burrow at top speed. He noticed with relief that there were quite a few rabbits obeying his order. Hopefully all of them. After seeing everyone inside, he crouched down at the entrance to the burrow, waiting and watching. He observed as the five elves slaughtered their way through the first floor. The crouched bunny shivered in fear. He wanted to go outside and talk to people. He wanted to experience the life of a humanoid as he had before. But no one would listen to a rabbit, especially not a monster rabbit. He would be shot, sliced apart or have his head bashed in. Just like these elves were doing to the snakes and frogs that lunged like rabid animals. Hey, wait a minute. Where were the rats? They should have the same instincts too right? Even with his perception and upgraded sight skills, he couldn''t spot one. They had all hidden away. How? Why? Hmmm¡­ At that moment, he sensed the true abilities of his skill [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL]. It didn¡¯t just affect rabbits, but rodents and lagomorphs in general? His OP ability, [WHIMS OF THE WORLD], let him know that those who would obey fell under the Glires category. Something else to test out later. ¡°Hey, ain¡¯t there usually be liddle rabbies and ratties ¡®round ¡®ere?¡± one of the elves asked casually to his companions in a lilting accent. ¡°Mmm¡± came the reply ¡°those rabbies musta bin wiped out by the froggies. They be hangin¡¯ on by their tails tha las tim I wos ¡®ere. No rats is a weird one though, those critters multiply tha fastest an¡¯ always manage ta survive.¡± The adolescent rabbit held his breath as the five companions nodded in agreement. Luckily, nothing came of it as they finished their conversation and entered the second floor. Only another five minutes after their disappearance did he finally release a big sigh of relief. The compulsion to follow them was still very strong. To both murder the elves and travel to the second floor. For now though, he decided to postpone his plans. He would wait however long it took until those elves come back up and left. It sounded like they had been here before after all. That meant even if they left though, they would come back again. Also, they probably weren¡¯t the only parties that challenged this dungeon regularly. He would have to make sure all his family members got their smartypants attributes up so that there wouldn¡¯t be any compulsive accidents in the future. Man, that was very scary. While waiting, he helped his siblings evolve into adolescents. Their race didn¡¯t change but their titles went from [BARON] and [BARONESS] to [VISCOUNT] and [VISCOUNTESS]. He dumped their six attribute points evenly into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM], and then used the six skill points to up their proficiency. There was sixty percent from the skill points, and of course ten percent from going up a noble rank. He topped up all their [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT] proficiencies to one hundred percent and then gave the left-over ten percent to their additional affinity. Five days later he could sense the elves coming back, so he sent out his [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL] once again. The five slaughtered their way back out of the dungeon a few levels higher then when they¡¯d entered. After much consideration he taught all eleven direct members of his family [MANA CONTROL] and [MANA BODY]. It took a lot longer for them, especially his mother for some reason, but eventually they all got it. The rabbit then promised his mother that he would bring his two older brothers home if he found them. Feeling that he¡¯d be leaving his family just a little bit safer with the new skills, he ventured out. It was time to explore a higher levelled floor. Chapter 18 - Lets Take It To The Next Level The tunnel exiting his home floor was lit by the same glittering purple blue crystals that covered the cave roof of the first floor. The rabbit swallowed down his trepidation and let himself fall into the excitement and eagerness that he suspected was a result of dungeon interference. Upon reaching the end of the tunnel the space opened up to a view of thick forest. The entrance was on a bit of a ledge, but there was a clear path that went down to the slightly lower ground. The floor itself seemed to steep downwards. Despite the floor being so vast, the decline made it so that the exit at the other end of the cave could be seen. The roof was still glittering with the glowing crystals that gave off a constant light that was weirdly distorted. First things first. Recon. Even as hyped up as he was to reach the second floor, he still kept his priorities straight. Activating [STEALTH] and [MANA BODY], he then used [MINOR TELEPORT] to make his way among the trees. His findings were quite interesting. There were obviously upgraded versions of the monsters from floor one. Monster ¨C [AROURAIOS] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 19] Monster ¨C [SLAAD] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT LEG SNAKE] ¨C [LEVEL 18] Monster ¨C [PYGMY POSSUM] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT YOKAI KITSUNE] ¨C [LEVEL 18] However, it was also obvious that these were just prey for the monsters that truly belonged on this floor. Monster ¨C [BULETTE] ¨C [LEVEL 21] Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT BARLGURA] ¨C [LEVEL 16] Monster ¨C [ADOLESCENT CATOBLEPAS] ¨C [LEVEL 18] Monster ¨C [WARG] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Despite being of similar levels, these monsters were much scarier. The second floor was set up much like the first. There were four much larger ponds, each the territory of a key monster of the floor. Both the [BARLGURA]s and the [WARG]s were vying for the [CATOBLEPAS]¡¯ pond. Similar to the situation with the frogs and the rabbits before he was born. The [BALGURA]s were gorilla like monsters with tusks and bright red fur. In opposition to their colouring, they didn¡¯t seem to be all that bright upstairs. He had seen a [LEVEL 17] get flicked in the face by a branch and then procede to punch the offending tree. It had then moved on to every tree in the area making a loud racket. A pack of [WARG]¡¯s had been attracted by the noise and quickly taken the creature down. The [WARG]s were pretty much big wolves. Very big wolves that belonged in nightmares alone. They seemed to be the smartest of the four top races of the floor. Next on the list was the [BULETTE]s, a race that looked kind of like sharks. The differences were the much shorter tails that didn¡¯t have fins, and the four stumpy legs. Its body looked to be armoured, reminding him of an armadillo. Finally, there were the [CATOBLEPAS]¡¯. These bovine-like creatures seemed to be a mix between a bull and a moose, just with a very long neck that was maybe half as long as a giraffe¡¯s. [CATOBLEPAS]¡¯ were a grazing race that mostly lived off the grass and plants of the forest. He noticed that their territory had the most clearings fit for grazing land. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. So, now that he had sussed out the competition, what would his first move be? He decided on a [BULGURA]. They were big, dumb bullies, so he wanted to take some out. His main concern was staying away from the pond territories. He did not need or want to be ganged up on. Eventually he found a lone ape creature fumbling along like it didn¡¯t seem to have a care in the world. It was munching on a [LEG SNAKE] as it trundled along, heading towards the exit to the third floor. Monster ¨C [BARLGURA] ¨C [LEVEL 22] The neck. He needed to go for the spine in the back of the neck. Breathe in. Breathe out. Making one last check to make sure there were no other monsters in the area he teleported to the back of his prey and then used [WIND BLADE] as powerful as he could make it. Well, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that he definitely got the kill as the monster¡¯s head flew clean off. The bad news was that his empowered magic blade cut through a whole swath of forest which revealed a [BULETTE]. Its armour had been grievously cut, but the monster didn¡¯t appear harmed in any way so it mustn¡¯t have cut all the way through. It looked very annoyed though. It charged at him. Thinking fast he teleported onto its back and then sent another fully empowered [WIND BLADE] through the armoured neck. As the armour was the direct target this time it cut all the way through, slicing its head off. The attack had been aimed towards the ground this time making the rest of the surrounding trees safe from his tyranny, for now. Panting, the rabbit teleported to a thick high branch and then collapsed in relief. That had been really stressful. A lot more stressful than he had been expecting too. *DING* Bulgura ¨C Level 22 has been slain Adolescent Bulette ¨C Level 19 has been slain *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 16. 12 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 15 Skill points and 6 Attribute points to distribute manually. That¡¯s right, with the elves attacking he had completely forgotten to assign his attribute points from his last level up. That was a stupid move, but he kind of had a lot on his mind at the time so he could forgive himself just this once. He decided to make the last push to bring his three lowest stats up to ten. [VITALITY], [WISDOM], and [PERCEPTION] all got two points each. Alright, what to do with this meat? He really wanted to hang on to it but where was he supposed to put it to keep it safe? Aha! What if he had an inventory skill? Excitement building once again, the bunny went through his available skills. Available Skills: [MOGLOG] ¨C 20 Points [CRONO DEPOZITARE] ¨C 50 Points Well, that sucked. He needed to get more levels before he could purchase either of them. That was kind of to be expected though, with how awesome they were. [MOGLOG] Allows storage of up to 100 separate items in a space linked to the user. If below 1 Kilogram, up to 1000 of the same items can be counted as one. Maximum storage limit of 1000 Kilograms per item. Liquids will only be stored up the maximum amount. Can not store living entities. [CRONO DEPOZITARE] Allows storage of any item of any size. An unlimited inventory that allows the storage of living entities. All items and entities will be frozen in time during storage. The current goal was [MOGLOG]. It was only a couple of levels away so he would come back for the bodies of his fallen prey later. If they were still around by then. He didn¡¯t actually have much hope for that. They would probably be eaten by then. It was highly likely. Definitely likely. Never mind. Focus on the future. What was next? Hmmm. He wanted to check out those [CATOBLEPAS] things again. Then he would move on to the [WORG]s. That was the plan. With that in mind, he activated his skills once more, and then teleported from branch to branch. Chapter 19 - Food No Talk Unfortunately, while the [BULETTE]s and [BULGURA]s could be lone wanderers, [CATOBLEPAS]¡¯ and [WARG]s were not. Perching on a high branch, the rabbit looked down on the apparent omnivores. These creatures seemed to be more pacifistic and only really fought when they had to. No wonder they were slowly losing their territory. That¡¯s not to say they weren¡¯t dangerous. Dangerous had to be a [CATOBLEPAS] middle name. Eight of the ape creatures had tried to attack four of the moose bull monsters. While the grazers had lost a member of their group, the gorilla monsters had been decimated. Having observed for an extended period, the bunny decided to test out a theory. A breath in, a breath out. Then he teleported on to the backs of one of the bovines. All five of the current group looked up in surprise. The one that he was sitting on turned its neck all the way around to glance at him. After a few moments they all lost their startled looks and continued stare at him. Their looks turned to lazy attention as they continued to chew on grass. ¡°Well, that answers that¡± he thought to himself. He would leave these monsters be. Now to check out the [WARG] packs. He actually had a plan for them if he could manage to wrangle some into obedience. He did need some guard dogs for his family after all. Half an hour later he had narrowed in on a pack of twelve. The one leading was labelled an [ALPHA]. Monster ¨C [ALPHA DEATHSHADOW WARG] ¨C [LEVEL 20] That was the one he would have to convince first. The entire pack ranged from [LEVEL 16] to [LEVEL 20], with the [ALPHA] being one of the highest ones. Okay, maybe he was a little ambitious, but it meant that each of his family members would get a guard dog to help them at all times. He would try a civil approach first though. He didn¡¯t expect it to go well. Breathe in, breathe out. The rabbit jumped down in front of the biggest [WARG], the alpha. ¡°Hi there, I¡¯ve got a deal for you. How about you come and help out our warren of rabbits, then we can work together to get stronger?¡± The rabbit got an immediate response. ¡°Food no talk.¡± Then the wolf creature lunged at him. Its shadow felt of [DARK] and [DEATH] magic as it moved. He was a special little wolfy with multiple affinities. Most of the others had one or the other, with [DEATH] magic being the more common one. For the first time, the rabbit used his [DODGE] skill. He felt it unlock as he moved out of the way while listening to his [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION] skill. The bunny could have teleported, but he didn¡¯t want to give too much away before he knew what the huge canine was capable of. A pool of shadows gathered around the monster while the rest of the pack stood back, they didn¡¯t want to kill steal a measly little rabbit. As his jaws snapped over nothing, a low growl came, then the rabbit felt the shadows begin to spew [DEATH] magic. He dodged back again while preparing his own attack. ¡°Down boy¡± he yelled while blasting the [WARG] with a face full of water. The [WATER] mana washed away the other affinities with ease, leaving a soaking wet dog glaring at him with its tail tucked between its legs. He had tried not to hit it too hard, but it had still packed quite the punch. Also, he hadn¡¯t expected the other affinities to be gone so quickly. Even if the alpha had been given fifty percent proficiency with each affinity and he had a full one hundred percent proficiency with [WATER]. He guessed that he just had more practice, or maybe it had something to do with his attributes. Either way, he had clearly won this battle as the leader of the pack laid down on the ground in defeat. The rest of the [WARG]s looked at their alpha with distain. That only lasted for another fifteen seconds as they were also drenched in [WATER]. A moment afterwards they were rolling belly up. ¡°Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be¡± the bunny thought to himself. He told them to keep hunting as he would be back later. He wanted to reach [LEVEL 20] before going home. The rule was also set to leave the [HORNED RABBIT]s alone. The pack bowed their heads in agreement. It was strange for five foot tall [WARG]s to submit to a foot tall bunny rabbit, but that was just the way things had worked out. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Before going back on the hunt, the rabbit began a proper search. He had learned that all monsters had a special sense when it came to family, and how closely related that family was. Just sensing another monster¡¯s presence instantly informed you of whether they were sister, distant cousin, or a complete stranger. It had to do with sensing magic, which all monsters could do to some degree. This meant that only after an hour of searching the vast area, he had found his two older brothers. They weren¡¯t hunting together, but they must have been within each other¡¯s vicinity on purpose. They sensed him as well and looked over at him. Monster ¨C [HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [ELETRIC HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 21] One of them was a variant. The reasoning behind the name, despite almost every rabbit having [LIGHTNING] affinity, was completely obvious. His electric brother constantly crackled with voltage. It ran along his fur in waves. He instantly knew why this particular brother wasn¡¯t dead yet. It would really hurt to fight him if you didn¡¯t have the same affinity. The regular brother must have been alive because they stuck together. It made sense. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m your younger brother and I¡¯m here to tell you off. Mother is worried sick, so you need to come home now.¡± They both just tilted their heads a bit in confusion. ¡°You¡­ talk¡­lots. You¡­ talk¡­ big¡­ words¡± the electric brother said. Wow. That sounded painful. Right, small words. ¡°Home now. Mother worried.¡± They both nodded in understanding. Very slowly. Okay, these two might have been on the same level as the gorillas. Not exactly the brightest bulbs of the litter. Smart enough to survive, one of them was even smart enough or lucky enough to activate a variant race, but that was about it. Then the regular one spoke ¡°Careful.¡± That was all he said before moving cautiously in the direction of the first floor. Both of them were extraordinarily cautious. With them surviving down here, it really should have been the logical conclusion. Four hours. That¡¯s how long it took to hop them all the way back to the tunnel. He had actually teleported ahead a few times, just to take care of the monsters impeding their way. He did not, repeat, he did not want to slow this trip down any more than it was already going. Travelling so slow was exhausting. Watching them be constantly on the lookout, turning their heads this way and that way, was even more exhausting. He was tempted to just follow them all the way back home and go sleep in the family¡¯s cozy burrow for the night. But no. He wanted to reach [LEVEL 20] before heading homeward for real. Finally, they reached the destination, so the two older brothers hopped onwards and he himself turned back around to get some hunting done. Chapter 20 - Names Are Great *DING* Adolescent Bulgura ¨C Level 15 has been slain Adolescent Bulgura ¨C Level 16 has been slain Adolescent Bulette ¨C Level 17 has been slain Bulette ¨C Level 21 has been slain *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 17. 12 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 18 Skill points and 3 Attribute points to distribute manually. These were just the notifications from the trek with his brothers across the second floor. Throwing two of the spare points into [WISDOM] and one into [INTELLIGENCE], he carried on. [BULGURA] were the unlucky race he decided to pick off. It wasn¡¯t all that hard. He just found lone wanderers, and then used the same [MINOR TELEPORT] and [WIND BLADE] combos every time. Of course there were some [BULETTE]¡¯s that got in the way as well. *DING* Adolescent Bulgura ¨C Level 16 has been slain Adolescent Bulgura ¨C Level 17 has been slain x2 Adolescent Bulgura ¨C Level 19 has been slain x3 Bulgura ¨C Level 20 has been slain Adolescent Bulette ¨C Level 17 has been slain Adolescent Bulette ¨C Level 18 has been slain x2 Bulette ¨C Level 21 has been slain *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 18. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 19. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 20. 36 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 27 Skill points and 9 Attribute points to distribute manually. During the combat he could feel his skills levelling. [WIND BLADE] got stronger every so often, and he noticed that the range of [MINOR TELEPORT] had gotten much larger. Deciding to catch up his [WISDOM] to [INTELLIGENCE], he put eight points into it. Then he added the last point to [PERCEPTION], just because, and it was nice to see and sense things just a little bit better. The attribute also helped his [GUIDANCE] and [ULTRASOUND] skills too. There was one other thing besides his evolution that he was really pumped about. Inventory! He could now get the storage skill, [MOGLOG]. Now that he was safely tucked away high up in a pine tree, he bought the skill and mentally accessed it. So cool! Now he had somewhere to put stuff he wanted to keep. Listening to his instincts, he knew that he would have to be touching the item before he could store it, but other than that, he didn¡¯t really see any drawbacks. ¡°Alright, time to head home.¡± It took him around half an hour to do just that with his [MINOR TELEPORT] skill. He had been closer to the third floors entrance by the time he was finished with hunting. Now back on the first floor, he headed straight for the burrow. When he got to his family¡¯s hole in the wall, no one was home except his two older brothers, who were fast asleep. After what they had endured, he didn¡¯t blame them. Laying down nearby he began his evolution. *DING* [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Would you like to evolve? [Y/N] Note that further levels can not be attained until you have evolved. Select your evolution from the following options: [HORNED RABBIT] [SOVEREIGN HORNED RABBIT] ¨C Title raised to [VISCOUNT] ¨C Can gift ten names to monsters without consequence or five additional [KNIGHT] titles (Granting a [KNIGHT] title removes the ability to gift two names) [SOVEREIGN STORM HORNED RABBIT] ¨C Title raised to [VISCOUNT] ¨C Can gift ten names to monsters without consequence or five additional [KNIGHT] titles (Granting a [KNIGHT] title removes the ability to gift two names) ¨C Unlock secondary affinities of [WATER], [AIR] and [LIGHTNING], all at 50% proficiency. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. [STORM] affinity will be an exception as it will be unlocked at 100% proficiency. This one was just as obvious as the last evolutions, right? And he already knew the monsters he would give the names to. [EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] [SOVEREIGN ADOLESCENT HORNED RABBIT] to [SOVEREIGN STORM HORNED RABBIT] [COMPLETE] TITLE: [BARON] raised to TITLE: [VISCOUNT] Raising 1 rank allows you to increase your proficiency by 10% in any chosen affinity You have raised your title by 1 rank. You have gained 10% proficiency to increase in any chosen affinity. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. 1 point will increase proficiency in one affinity by 10% Note that all beings have natural affinities. This means that a being will be able to more easily channel and control the magic of that affinity. Horned Monster Rabbits natural affinities are [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. Select magic affinity from the following base and secondary affinities: [FIRE] [WATER] ¨C 100% [AIR] ¨C 100% [EARTH] [LIGHTNING] ¨C 100% [LIGHT] ¨C 15% [DARK] ¨C 10% [LIFE] [DEATH] [UNDEATH] [POISON] [TRANSMUTATION] [NATURE] ¨C 15% [SOUND] [MYSTIC] [BEASTIAL] [MENTAL] ¨C 10% [NULL] ¨C 10% [SPACE] ¨C 20% [GRAVITY] ¨C 20% [TIME] [ORDER] [CHAOS] Ten percent from the rank up and another seventy percent from spare skill points gave a total of eighty percent proficiency to allocate. He would bring all his chosen affinities up to twenty percent proficiency first. That left him with forty percent. [SPACE] and [GRAVITY] would get another twenty percent each. You have chosen the following affinities and proficiencies: [WATER] ¨C 100% [AIR] ¨C 100% [LIGHTNING] ¨C 100% [LIGHT] ¨C 20% [DARK] ¨C 20% [NATURE] ¨C 20% [MENTAL] ¨C 20% [NULL] ¨C 20% [SPACE] ¨C 40% [GRAVITY] ¨C 40% You have chosen to sacrifice 7 Skill Points Would you like to confirm your selection? [Y/N] After going over his choices one last time, he selected yes. Power. He could feel it running through his body. Every evolution gave him more and more. The ten strands of mana running through his magical veins had now more than doubled into twenty-two. Twelve of the threads were connected to three others. It was clear those were the secondary affinities that stemmed from the base elements. It felt amazing. Both of the other rabbits in the room raised their heads to stare. ¡°Brother smart¡± the electric brother said. ¡°Brother strong¡± his other older brother said. ¡°Ahh, yeah, that¡¯s right¡± he agreed. He was a little flustered at their praise. He¡¯d never been complimented that brazenly before. Even if they were just stating what they thought was true. ¡°Good¡± they both spoke in unison. ¡°Baby¡­ brother¡­ protect¡­ family¡± the normal rabbit said. It reminded him of Mother. The reminder made him give a little rabbit smile. He liked his new family. He would protect them at all costs. Not long after, the rest of their family came back. ¡°Mother, is it alright if I give names to my younger siblings? And you, I¡¯d like to give you a name too.¡± She just sat staring at him for a while, thinking. He was used to this by now and just waited it out. ¡°Baby be okay?¡± Ahhh, did she know that naming monsters usually took away attribute points? ¡°Yes Mother, I can do it without consequence because of my new evolution.¡± She took another moment to process his words. ¡°Okay. Yes. Baby name.¡± ¡°Great, I already have some ideas. Would you like me to run them by you?¡± She stared. Oh oh. He had said too much too fast. ¡°Mother, you want to know names first?¡± There, hopefully that wouldn¡¯t be too much. She seemed to actually be processing the words this time. ¡°No. Baby name.¡± He smiled. ¡°Alright then¡± he answered while also calling out to his litter ¡°who¡¯s ready to get a name!?¡± With their higher [INTELLIGENCE] all of his younger siblings got the message straight away. The five more boisterous kits began to hop up and down in joy, though they probably didn¡¯t fully understand the concept he was trying to relay. ¡°Me, me, me, me¡± the two younger male kits began to chant. Their hyper sisters followed suit ¡°Me, me, me, me.¡± ¡°Settle down¡± he said in what he tried to make sound like an authoritative voice. They went quiet, but were still bouncing on the spot. ¡°Right, you¡± he looked at the most hyper of his brothers ¡°you¡¯re Peter.¡± *DING* [UNNAMED] rabbit has accepted your name suggestion: [PETER] [PROCESSING] Your Title: [VISCOUNT] gives you the ability to name any being below or equal to your current rank. A [NAME] increases a beings Attributes by 15%. The amount increased is not set and resets each level to allow a constant 15% increase of stats even as the being grows stronger. Due to your [RACE] you may gift 10 names. Would you like to [NAME] this being? [Y/N] He confirmed and then the newly dubbed [PETER] lit up with a white green glow. Moving on he looked to his two more sober and calm brothers ¡°You are Benjimen and you are Thumper.¡± He looked to the less hyper brother that was looking on in fascination as more green flashes came. ¡°Your name is Bugs.¡± Then he glanced at the runt of the litter who had stars in his eyes. Oookaaay. This one seemed to kind of idolise him. ¡°Your name is Snowball.¡± [SNOWBALL] also lit up and his expression went slack jawed in wonder. He noticed that the smallest of the bunch had been trying to imitate the humanish expressions he made due to his previous life. It was flattering really, but a bit creepy on a rabbit. He should maybe try to control his expressions more until he could figure out how to take a humanoid form. This world had magic, surely it could be done. ¡°What about us!¡± his three excitable sisters exclaimed. ¡°Hmmm. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail.¡± They all squealed in delight as the green glow rushed through them. He hoped they would take after their namesakes and calm down a bit as they grew up. He then glanced at his quietest sibling, besides his older brothers of course. His sister was snuggled up next to Mother. ¡°What do you think of Miffy?¡± he asked her. She just nodded shyly. Another green flash. ¡°Mother, would you like the name Lola?¡± His mother gave a soft, hopeful expression, and then nodded. Chapter 21 - A Mans- No. A Bunnys Best Friend There were some very happy bunnies play chasing each other around. The eldest two siblings looked on in wonder. Right then, the storm rabbit decided it wouldn¡¯t be too bad if he just named a couple of rabbits himself. ¡°You two, you¡¯re now Fred and George.¡± *DING* [UNNAMED] rabbits have accepted your name suggestions: [FRED] and [GEORGE] [PROCESSING] Your Title: [VISCOUNT] gives you the ability to name any being below or equal to your current rank. A [NAME] increases a beings Attributes by 15%. The amount increased is not set and resets each level to allow a constant 15% increase of stats even as the being grows stronger. Do you wish to sacrifice 20% of your attribute points to name 2 [UNNAMED] rabbits [FRED] and [GEORGE]? This is a one-time sacrifice and does not reset as the named being levels. [Y/N] You have 258 Attribute points total 52 Attributes are required in order to [NAME] 2 monsters. Select which attributes to sacrifice: STR ¨C 42 VIT ¨C 10 AGI ¨C 45 DEX ¨C 43 CON ¨C 43 INT ¨C 24 WIS ¨C 20 CHA ¨C 20 PER ¨C 11 Spare Points: 9 You have chosen to sacrifice 11 [STRENGTH], 15 [AGILTY], 13 [DEXTERITY] and 13 [CONSTITUTION] in order to [NAME]. Confirm? [Y/N] As the confirmation went through, he saw [FRED] and [GEORGE] flash green before he felt the uncomfortable feeling of losing stats. He would have to be even more careful from now on. His attributes were probably now equal to that of a level sixteen or seventeen monster. Something to keep in mind despite his overpowered magic. Before he forgot again, he distributed his spare points. One into [INTELLIGENCE], five in [WISDOM], and the final three went into [PERCEPTION]. The rush of gaining attributes lessened the lingering uncomfortable feelings from just before. His younger siblings had been assisted in levelling by a now [LEVEL 17] fox. Their levels now ranged from thirteen to fourteen. Going into [REYNARD]s status screen, he divvied up the points evenly between [CONSTITUTION], [WISDOM] and [PERCEPTION]. With the benefit from his race, the kitsune could now access his screen all on his own. The rabbit then taught his friend the basics and left him to his own devices. Next up his younger sibling¡¯s stats. He brought all their [INTELLIGENCE] attributes up to ten and then washed his paws of them. They would now also be able to access their own screens as well. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. While he was at it, he should probably help out his other three family members too. After asking permission, he saw that they all had a backlog of spare points. He entered ten points into [INTELLIGENCE] for each of them and then decided to leave the rest in their own paws. He saw the glazed looks in their eyes turn brighter. He felt a warm, happy feeling for having given them that. A few moments later they seemed to be even smarter, and he had a feeling they had dumped most of their points into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. Not long after [FRED] and [GEORGE] left to go out hunting again. Hopefully they would have a better time out hunting now. He was pretty tired though, so once he had run himself ragged play chasing his litter again, he laid down in the pile of fur and fell asleep. It was a good long sleep. He enjoyed it. He woke up upon sensing it was morning again, because magic stuff. The rabbit had a plan. A basic plan, but he did have one. Level his siblings to twenty-five, leave them in Mother and [REYNARD]¡¯s care, go gain power until [LEVEL 50], and then go explore outside the dungeon. Pretty simple really. Simple didn¡¯t meant easy though. His litter was now also up and about. ¡°Everyone, I have a surprise for you on the second floor! We are all going to go level there today.¡± There were exclamations of surprise and wonder all around. All except Mother. ¡°My baby, that will be very dangerous. Are you sure?¡± Wow, increasing the smartypants attributes sure did wonders. ¡°Yes Mother. They all have skills to hide themselves and I will be keeping an eye out for them. Also, I have arranged for some protection.¡± His mother looked doubtful, but agreed in the end ¡°Very well you may all go, do be careful.¡± The storm rabbit gave her a cheeky look ¡°what are you talking about mother? You¡¯re coming too.¡± She gave him a surprised expression this time. He was getting a lot better at reading rabbits as he continued to live with them. ¡°Me? I have no hiding skills baby.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll be looking out for you¡± he replied smugly. She glanced at him warily but they all ended up heading for the second floor. The storm rabbit searched for the wolves while helping the others hunt. It actually wasn¡¯t that difficult. There were twelve of his family members hunting together so whatever they ganged up on didn¡¯t really have a chance. The ability to access their own screens had allowed the others to purchase skills. On top of spamming the innate [DASH] skill, and activating [MANA BODY], they were now also using skills like [BASH] and [FORCEFUL KICK]. To be honest the skills hadn¡¯t sounded great all that time ago when he first read them, but now that they were used alongside skills like [MANA BODY] and [CLOAK], they seemed pretty decent. Over the next few hours, they all steadily gained levels. There were a few slight slip ups and scares here and there, but his family learned quickly, and luckily none of the hits were lethal. His more boisterous brothers and sisters were the ones to get banged up a bit first. But, as said, they learned to keep an eye out and stay out of the way when necessary. Finally, he sensed the pack he had subdued nearby. ¡°Alright, surprise time¡± he told them. The [WARG]s were currently resting in a small clearing. His mother saw that he was heading straight for them without any preparation. ¡°Baby, those are dangerous. We should not fight them. They are a big pack.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Mother, we¡¯re going to be working with this pack, not hunting them.¡± She gave him a dubious look. ¡°Hello again¡± he called as they came into the [WARG]s sight. Immediately the alpha laid down, head to the ground. Its subordinates followed their leader¡¯s example. ¡°Welcome back Master¡± the entire pack called in unison. ¡°Thanks, were going to have one of you work with one of us from now on. Alright troublemakers, take you¡¯re pick¡± he switched from talking to the big wolves to talking to his siblings. Half were unsure about the situation, but the rest, including the fox, leapt forward. Eventually the rest moved forward as well and they all picked out the [WARG] they wanted to hunt with. No one picked the alpha, he was just too strong for them, especially since he had gained levels since last time. The storm rabbit obligingly jumped up onto the largest wolf¡¯s head. ¡°We¡¯ll split into two groups from here, Mother and Rey can go with one group, and I¡¯ll be going with the other. We¡¯ll meet back up at the burrow once its dusk. Any questions?¡± There were none. He and his brothers went one way, while his sisters, mother and Rey went in the opposite direction. The [WARG]s were great hunters, and were much better at sniffing out the most fitting prey. Upon reaching dusk, he himself had reached [LEVEL 25] and his brothers had all gained available evolutions at [LEVEL 20]. He even suspected that some of them had reached twenty-one or twenty-two. The wolves had also progressed and the ones below [LEVEL 20] had reached their evolutions too. There was still a little bit of time before dusk, but it was time to head home. On the way back he spotted [FRED] and [GEORGE] going in the same direction. Monster ¨C [HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 25] Monster ¨C [ELETRIC HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 27] Cool. His older brothers had done awesome. It was time to go home, see what evolutions everyone got, and then fall into fluffy dreams. He loved sleeping. He¡¯d been looking forward to it all day. Chapter 22 - Farewell, Im Off To Fight A Real Battle The [WARG]s went back to their own pond and the rabbits travelled back to the burrow. He allotted his spare points while waiting. He now got four points per stat per level, along with four spare points. The points were distributed evenly between [VITALITY], [INTELLIGENCE], [WISDOM] and [PERCEPTION]. That meant each attribute he chose got five points on top of the automatically assigned points. It also meant that he now had twenty skill points, but he would just leave those for now. An hour later, the rest of his family came back with similar results from the trip. Both his mother and Rey had gained [LEVEL 24]. All his sisters had reached [LEVEL 20] as well. He had only been a little worried. Just a tiny bit. After twenty or so minutes of silence with the slumber of evolution, the results were evident. Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA ESSENCE HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA ESOTERIC HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA FORCE HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA AFFLICTION HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA RESONANT HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 20] Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA FOREST HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 21] Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA AQUA HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 21] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA FLURRY HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 21] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA METAMORPH HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 21] Yes! It had worked. Before leaving the burrow that morning he had instructed his siblings to channel and use their extra affinity as much as possible. It was obvious that the outcome of that advice had been very beneficial. Asking around a bit, he found out that they had unlocked the secondary affinities of their base elements at fifty percent proficiency. They had made some real gains this evolution. There was a slight problem though. They could now all feel the compulsion to go to the lower floors. Upon reaching [LEVEL 25] the storm rabbit was sure that he was meant to go all the way down to the fourth floor. Now that he had trained them up to an acceptable level of power, he needed to go further down himself. [LEVEL 50], here he came. They rested again together that night, but in the morning, he said goodbye. He emphasised that they should all work together to stay alive in a final lecture of sorts. They were all quite sombre as they took turns rubbing their faces against his own in a gesture of farewell. He was not tearing up. He really wasn¡¯t and you couldn¡¯t prove otherwise. With watery eyes, because you know pollen and stuff, he left the burrow. He wouldn¡¯t be seeing it again for a long time. He passed through the second floor, leaving the alpha to watch over things. He also gave a firm warning, just in case. The [WARG]s really didn¡¯t appreciate spontaneous showers. He assured them he would be more considerate in the future as long as they reciprocated. The tunnel to the third floor was much the same as the one to the second. The only difference was that it exited out into a rainforest. He could even hear a waterfall out there somewhere. Wild. The bunny concluded that he actually enjoyed exploring, it was an enlightening experience. Now, what types of monsters were down here? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Monster ¨C [CHASME] ¨C [LEVEL 23] Monster ¨C [STIRGE] ¨C [LEVEL 23] Monster ¨C [DRETCH] ¨C [LEVEL 24] Monster ¨C [ETTERCAP] ¨C [LEVEL 25] He had travelled all throughout the third floor, so now he was sure. His [LEVEL 25] power resonated with the dungeon somehow, and it compelled him to go deeper every five levels. The fourth floor called to him like a siren, but he wanted to properly check out each key monster of this floor first. There were a couple from floor one, but the majority of the prey was from floor two. He imagined this trend would continue as he travelled down. The [CHASME] and [STIRGE] were actually similar insectoid creatures. The [CHASME]¡¯s were basically giant four-foot-long mosquitos. A [STIRGE] was the same body shape, but had half the size, four bat wings and a wasp like stinger instead. The [DRETCH] and [ETTERCAP] monsters were also similar to each other. Both had orangutang like bodies with no fur, the only differences being that the [DRETCH] had a distorted bat face, while an [ETTERCAP] had the eyes and mouth of a spider. [ETTERCAP]s also only had two claws per limb. Nothing all that exciting really. Though it was still eerie. Even after nearly a month in this new world, the storm rabbit still found all these different monsters just existing a bit weird. Moving on after only a few hunts then. The view of the waterfall had been nice, but it was time to travel on to the fourth floor. He travelled down the next tunnel once again and¡­ he was very disappointed. It was a water floor, kind of. No one likes water floors in games. The layout had many large lakes with only a few rocky banks running between them. The rocky banks were like a maze of sorts. There were many dead ends that just ran back into the lakes. Only a few paths actually led to the other side of the cavern, which couldn¡¯t be seen all that well due to the difference in lighting. This floor still had the distorted light from the crystal overhead, but it was dimmer and the roof was a lot lower than the previous floors. His [MINOR TELEPORT] let him cheat by just teleporting from one spot to the other. Around half the dead ends were too far away from any of the other paths, but that still left him with a lot of leeway. While sussing out his new levelling grounds, the storm rabbit kept an eye out. The narrow rocky banks didn¡¯t exactly leave many great hiding places. Even with the extra vigilance, something still managed to get the jump on him right as he came to one of the dead ends. Not knowing what was in the water, he didn¡¯t want to jump into the lake, so he dodged in the narrow space. [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION] and [ULTRASOUND] really came handy. It was like a sixth sense dialled way past ten, almost a future sense. Finally getting a chance to look at his first enemy of this floor, he was caught off guard by the shear freakishness of the monster. It gave him the chills. Monster ¨C [BEHIR] ¨C [LEVEL 27] The creature could be described as a cross between a snake and a wyrm dragon, except that it had twelve legs. The [BEHIR] hadn¡¯t even tried to make a damaging attack first. It had sprung straight from the cavern roof and tried to crunch down on his body with its jaws. It looked big enough to swallow him down in one bite too. The monster was a gigantic ten foot long and around a foot wide. Yep, no trouble at all. Its scales were the same purple and blue like the crystals overhead, perfect camouflage. The monsters on this floor were in whole different ballgame to the previous floors. It lunged again, so he tried the ¡®teleport on its head to cut through its neck¡¯ trick, but the snake like monster just twisted around several times at an accelerated pace. He hopped off after the second turn made his stomach flip flop with butterflies. It really had a thing for lunging as quickly as it could, because the snake wyrm tried the same thing again. This time he released a powerful [WIND BLADE] while jumping back. The attack cut through the monster¡¯s jaw muscle, which left its mouth hanging wide open, but the attack barely made a dent into the armoured scales on either side of its head. Luckily, that didn¡¯t matter as the part of the attack that had entered the monster¡¯s mouth had cut at an upward angle through its throat and into its brain. The [WIND BLADE] didn¡¯t exit out the other side of the head, due to its tough scales, but it had destroyed what was vital. For a moment, it still stayed poised over him for another strike, then it fell flat on the ground. Chapter 23 - I鈥檓 Having Fish Tonight ¡°Whew¡± the bunny thought ¡°that was actually pretty close. If I hadn¡¯t immediately attacked one of the few true gaps in its scales, I might have been toast. I need a stronger attack. Maybe if I can make [WIND BLADE] slice better¡­ What level is [WIND BLADE] right now anyway?¡± [WIND BLADE] ¨C [LEVEL 11] He came up with a new priority goal right then. Spam [WIND BLADE] as much as he could to try and level it. Testing began straight away. Of course, he would make sure to have a least a third of his mana pool available at all times so that if all else failed during another surprise ambush, he could just teleport away. With that decided he travelled to a wall of the cavern and dug himself a burrow. What? He wasn¡¯t just going to carelessly toss around magic willy nilly. There had to be precautions in place for this kind of thing, and on this kind of floor. And so, he spammed. Never getting too low and always waiting for his magic to refill all the way before he began again. This training skit thing actually taught him something else important too. The more concentrated the mana in the area was, the faster his magic was regained. This was evident as the deeper he went into the dungeon, the denser the mana became. [MANA CONTROL] also assisted in not just managing his magic, but how quickly it was spent and refilled. As such, the level of this skill sky rocketed along with the [WIND BLADE] skill. He spent over a week spamming and waiting, over and over again. It was working. He knew it was working because he could now cut through the [BEHIR]¡¯s scales with ease. He had needed something to eat to keep him going, hadn¡¯t he? So, he had stored the giant monster in [MOGLOG], and then slowly dissected and cooked its meat during his waiting periods. Hot tip, eating magic rich meat also increases the rate at which mana is regained, and it tasted really good cooked, it was like chicken. He knew this because he hadn¡¯t acknowledged and sated his hunger until the second day. Pretty nifty right? Well, anyway, more than a week later he was pretty happy with the results in his skill list. [MANA CONTROL] ¨C Level 35 [MANA BODY] ¨C Level 9 [LIGHTNING DOMAIN] ¨C Level 1 [PLATFORM] ¨C Level 8 [WIND BLADE] ¨C Level 41 [DISSECT] ¨C Level 7 [LIGHT FLAME] ¨C Level 8 [INTENT] ¨C Level 10 [SCORCH] ¨C Level 9 [TELEKINESIS] ¨C Level 15 The skills had really slowed down during the level thirties, and had nearly stopped altogether once the skill hit the forties. The obvious assumption was that you couldn¡¯t continuously level just by training, in order to progress any further the skill would need to be used in a fight. Made sense. Alright, now he could continue exploring this floor. He hadn¡¯t exited the burrow except to take the occasional drink from the nearest lake, so he still didn¡¯t actually know what the other key monsters of this floor were. After a very boring week, he was keen to find out. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t take all that long to figure out. After wandering the banks in no particular direction for ten minutes or so, two of the monsters kept trying to eat him, and the other two types poked their heads out of the water in curiosity. Again, with the similar monsters on the same floor. What exactly was this dungeon thinking. Was it even thinking? Did it think? Never mind for now, he needed to focus on the threats in front of him. Monster ¨C [BEHIR] ¨C [LEVEL 26] Monster ¨C [QUIPPER] ¨C [LEVEL 28] Monster ¨C [HIPPOCAMPUS] ¨C [LEVEL 28] Monster ¨C [KELPIE] ¨C [LEVEL 30] This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. After observing how the different monsters interacted for a while, he found the dynamic peculiar. This floor had a war going on. The [BEHIR]s were working with the [QUIPPER]s, and the [HIPPOCAMPUS]¡¯ were working with the [KELPIE]s. A [QUIPPER] was just a piranha on steroids, and twice the size. A [HIPPOCAMPUS] had the front half of a horse and the back half of a fish, which was actually very weird to look at. The combination looked like it went together fine, even though it shouldn¡¯t have. That sense of ¡®yes but no¡¯ weirded him out. And finally, the last monster, a [KELPIE], didn¡¯t really have the shape of a monster at all. Apart from the fact that its whole being undulated like a ghost with ethereal water constantly running off it without making a sound. The horse creature was only two or three feet taller than the average equine, but its other ghostly features really stood out telling everyone ¡®yeah, this ain¡¯t no horse¡¯. When carrying out his regular, ¡®will you attack me¡¯ test, the former two went straight in for the kill. Though the latter two gave similar responses as the [CATOBLEPAS]¡¯ had. They just looked over alert, but when he gave no reason to react, they just stared at him in curiosity and fascination. Well, he¡¯d figured out what his prey would be for this floor. He was going to be feasting on seafood for the foreseeable future. Over the next few days, there was one thing that resounded in his thoughts over and over again. [QUIPPER]s sucked. They always hunted in swarms of ten to twenty, so you couldn''t attack one without attacking the rest, and the meat was ¡®meh¡¯. All this work for subpar food. Striking from the narrow banks didn¡¯t keep you safe. The fish would just use their natural [WATER] affinity to bring what they needed for survival with them. At least his [WIND BLADE]s could kill a whole lot of them at once, but was it really worth it? *DING* Behir ¨C Level 25 has been slain x2 Behir ¨C Level 26 has been slain Behir ¨C Level 27 has been slain x2 Behir ¨C Level 29 has been slain Quipper ¨C Level 25 has been slain x9 Quipper ¨C Level 26 has been slain x5 Quipper ¨C Level 27 has been slain x8 Quipper ¨C Level 28 has been slain x7 Quipper ¨C Level 29 has been slain x4 Quipper ¨C Level 30 has been slain x2 *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 26. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 27. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 28. 48 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 32 Skill points and 12 Attribute points to distribute manually. The battle with the [LEVEL 29] [BEHIR] was too close for comfort. The snake wyrm beast had actually bitten off one of his back legs. He had only managed to win by sending several of his strongest [WIND BLADE]s through one of its eyes. He was still healing from that fight and had been extremely pleased when his [REGENERATION] skill had unlocked. The skill was now [LEVEL 4] and had regrown about half of his leg back so far. The sensation was way too itchy, so he had put off fighting for now and holed up in his premade burrow, just waiting to be back in tip top shape. While waiting, he placed five of his spare attribute points into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. The last two went into [VITALITY]. He was kind of hoping that raising the stat would help him heal. Maybe it did slightly. He wasn¡¯t sure. The time also gave him the opportunity to test out something. *DING* You have been offered the [NAME] [ROGER]. Accept? [Y/N] *DING* [UNNAMED] rabbit has accepted your name suggestion: [ROGER]. [PROCESSING] Your Title: [VISCOUNT] gives you the ability to name any being below or equal to your current rank. A [NAME] increases a beings Attributes by 15%. The amount increased is not set and resets each level to allow a constant 15% increase of stats even as the being grows stronger. Do you wish to sacrifice 10% of your attribute points to name the rabbit [ROGER]? This is a one-time sacrifice and does not reset as the named being levels. [Y/N] You have 375 Attribute points total 36 Attributes are required in order to [NAME]. Select which attributes to sacrifice: STR ¨C 63 VIT ¨C 17 AGI ¨C 62 DEX ¨C 62 CON ¨C 62 INT ¨C 35 WIS ¨C 35 CHA ¨C 20 PER ¨C 19 You have chosen to sacrifice 13 [STRENGTH], 7 [AGILTY], 7 [DEXTERITY], 7 [CONSTITUTION] and 2 [PERCEPTION] in order to [NAME]. Confirm? [Y/N] It worked. It actually worked! The loss and rise of attributes happened at the same time making it feel even weirder than usual. The decrease in his attributes was shown on his status screen, but the increase wasn¡¯t. The only proof of his new power was the rush of strength in his body and the notification that came through. You have been [NAMED] [ROGER]. All attributes increased by 15%. Chapter 24 - This Wasnt The Plan! Even though only his base attributes were shown on his status screen, the increase in power he felt was welcome. A few more days of waiting later, his leg was finally fully regrown. It did look a bit strange with all the fur missing from it. That would grow back in time. He really didn¡¯t want to go through that again though. It was just way too itchy, but he hadn¡¯t been able to scratch at the growing limb. Now that it was all healed up, it was time to grind some levels. He wanted to be [LEVEL 32] before he left this floor. Naming four separate monsters, including himself, had made him lose a decent amount of stats. This meant he was essentially a few levels behind where his actual level said he was at. The higher his level got the less this would matter in the long run. If he got one extra point for each assigned attribute every evolution, then the few points he lost now wouldn¡¯t really be a big deal in the grand scheme of things. He assumed the next evolution was at [LEVEL 40], if it went according to the regular pattern anyway. Well, he¡¯d have to grind levels to get there first. After finally exiting the temporary burrow, he set out to do just that. The next four days were a blur as he slew [BEHIR]s and [QUIPPER]s. *DING* Behir ¨C Level 27 has been slain x2 Behir ¨C Level 28 has been slain x3 Behir ¨C Level 29 has been slain Behir ¨C Level 30 has been slain x2 Quipper ¨C Level 26 has been slain x13 Quipper ¨C Level 27 has been slain x14 Quipper ¨C Level 28 has been slain x16 Quipper ¨C Level 29 has been slain x5 Quipper ¨C Level 30 has been slain x2 Quipper ¨C Level 31 has been slain *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 29. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 30. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 31. 48 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 44 Skill points and 12 Attribute points to distribute manually. Sometimes he would get assistance from a nearby [HIPPOCAMPUS] or [KELPIE], which made the fights a lot easier. There was even one particular [KELPIE] that seemed to be fond of him, and after two days, began to continuously follow him around. He had no idea why the horse had grown so attached. He¡¯d just shared some of his cooked meat one time and patted its neck while sitting on its back to get a better vantage point. This was totally uncalled for. He could already feel the falling stats from naming the seemingly devoted monster. Would he name her? She was such a gentle monster, nickering at him for attention. This wasn¡¯t the plan! *DING* [UNNAMED] [KELPIE] has accepted your name suggestion: [ULA]. [PROCESSING] Your Title: [VISCOUNT] gives you the ability to name any being below or equal to your current rank. A [NAME] increases a beings Attributes by 15%. The amount increased is not set and resets each level to allow a constant 15% increase of stats even as the being grows stronger. Do you wish to sacrifice 10% of your attribute points to name the [KELPIE] [ULA]? This is a one-time sacrifice and does not reset as the named being levels. [Y/N] You have 397 Attribute points total 40 Attributes are required in order to [NAME]. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Select which attributes to sacrifice: STR ¨C 62 VIT ¨C 15 AGI ¨C 67 DEX ¨C 67 CON ¨C 67 INT ¨C 35 WIS ¨C 35 CHA ¨C 20 PER ¨C 17 Spare Points: 12 You have chosen to sacrifice 17 [STRENGTH], 7 [AGILTY], 7 [DEXTERITY], 7 [CONSTITUTION] and 2 Spare Points in order to [NAME]. Confirm? [Y/N] This was just another way in which his [WHIMS OF THE WORLD] skill was useful. He could tell the meaning of names and where they originated from. Very overpowered. Ula was a Scandinavian and Irish name that meant, jewel of the sea. Didn¡¯t that describe his newest companion perfectly? Ula seemed to agree as she had accepted the name. Before moving on he wanted to distribute the spare points from his level ups. He allocated the rest of his points evenly into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. [ULA] then followed along behind as he finished gathering the needed experience for his final level of this floor. He could feel the compulsion to descend once again. He just needed a little longer. By the time he had reached [LEVEL 32], [ULA] was still only [LEVEL 29], but she had decided to follow him to the fifth floor anyway. It made it slightly harder to do recon for a while. That is until he had the bright idea to use [LIGHT] and [DARK] magic to create an illusion that would hide her. It took quite a bit of concentration. He suspected that if he¡¯d had less than thirty [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM], he wouldn¡¯t have been able to pull it off. As he was though, he could manage. It did require multitasking though. Luckily, man he was really lucky wasn¡¯t he, he had received a skill that helped him with just that. *DING* Skill: [MIRAGE] granted. *DING* Skill: [SIMULTANEOUS MIND] granted. When checking his skill logs, he noticed that these skills were levelling pretty fast, they were already up to [LEVEL 5]. It was probably due to the amount of effort he had to put into controlling the magic, he did only have twenty-five percent proficiency in each of the affinities used. As he continued to conceal [ULA] and travel, the effort decreased with the skills¡¯ rise in level. Three hours later, both skills had reached [LEVEL 10] and he could control the magic with relative ease. The time spent traversing the new terrain didn¡¯t just help his new skills. He now knew the key monsters of this floor as well. Monster ¨C [COCKATRICE] ¨C [LEVEL 30] Monster ¨C [ROC] ¨C [LEVEL 31] Monster ¨C [ANZU] ¨C [LEVEL 31] Monster ¨C [AXEBEAK] ¨C [LEVEL 33] So, this was basically the bird floor. It was just as dark as the previous floor, but the cavern roof was much higher than any of the others. The terrain was low rolling hills with trees here and there. It was mostly just grass as far as the eye could see. Of course, that trend changed around the four mana lakes. All of the glowing, bright blue lakes were set in valleys and were surrounded by lush vegetation. Each type of monster guarded a lake, but there was no teaming up this time. It was a free for all. The only rule seemed to be that they wouldn¡¯t go near each other¡¯s territory, where the nests were. All the younger and low levelled monsters stayed around the lake as well. That was okay. He wasn¡¯t after monsters too far beneath his level. He wouldn¡¯t gain very much experience from them anyway. He tested three of the monsters once again. Only the [ANZU] passed, the other two failed. He couldn¡¯t afford to test a [COCKATRICE], due to their shared trait with [BASALISK]s. A look that could turn you to stone. He wasn¡¯t worried about if they had kinder tendencies though. Out of all the bird monsters, the [COCKATRICE]s were the most vicious. As he studied his future experience, he took in their characteristics. A [COCKATRICE] had the ten-foot-tall body of a chook, but the tail and wings of a dragon. White or light brown feathers, with green or dark brown scales. Their eyes also matched the colour of their scales, but they weren¡¯t the eyes of chickens, their pupils were slitted like a lizard¡¯s. [ROC]s were just giant fifteen foot long eagles that were covered in light grey feathers to match their light grey beaks and legs. An [AXEBEAK] was a flightless, eight-foot-tall bird with either dark blue, yellow or red feathers and a big beak in the shape of its namesake that could literally chop its target like an axe. At first, he couldn¡¯t figure out why they weren¡¯t taking to the air like the three other key monsters. Their wings looked plenty big enough for flight. Then one ran straight through one of the trees, splitting it in half length ways. To give a clearer picture, let¡¯s mention that the further he went into the dungeon, the more gigantic the environment became. This eight-foot-tall bird split a three-hundred-foot tree in two, vertically. Sure, their beaks were sharp, but not that sharp. After some investigation he found that every step they took sunk half a foot into the ground. These things were heavy. Extremely so. Give them enough momentum and they¡¯d be able to charge beak first through just about anything. The final key monster that he¡¯d decided not to hunt, the [ANZU], was the least bird like monster of them all. It was basically a lion with wings. A lion with wings that was three times the size of a normal lion. The [ANZU] were the only monsters that hunted in a pride together. They were the main predators of the floor. Strangely enough, these monsters didn¡¯t hunt for levels. Well, maybe they did, but they only slew what they could eat. Although they were the strongest on the floor, they actually killed the least compared to any of the monsters [ROGER] had met before. He was kind of inspired by them. He had been eating what he could from what he slew, but he still left about half of his kills behind, especially those ¡®meh¡¯ [QUIPPER]s. The [ANZU]s made him reconsider why exactly he was taking this path. The answer came immediately. He wanted to be strong enough to protect his family and himself from threats. That was it. It might feel wasteful now, but when he came up against something much stronger, it wouldn¡¯t feel like a waste then. With his actions reaffirmed he set about hunting his experience of this floor. Chapter 25 - Dont Worry About Looking For Monsters In The Dark, Theyll Find you Before starting he distributed his remaining points from the last level up. This time all four spare points went into [PERCEPTION]. Then the slaughter began. The bird monsters didn¡¯t have tough scales like on the previous floor. In fact, they had very little defence at all. Despite their massive sizes, his [WIND BLADE]s cut off heads like knives through butter. Honestly, by the end he was beginning to feel a little bad, just the slightest bit. *DING* Cockatrice ¨C Level 30 has been slain x8 Cockatrice ¨C Level 31 has been slain x2 Cockatrice ¨C Level 32 has been slain x5 Cockatrice ¨C Level 35 has been slain x2 Roc ¨C Level 33 has been slain x3 Roc ¨C Level 34 has been slain x5 Roc ¨C Level 35 has been slain x3 Axebeak ¨C Level 30 has been slain x6 Axebeak ¨C Level 32 has been slain x9 Axebeak ¨C Level 33 has been slain Axebeak ¨C Level 34 has been slain x4 *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 33. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 34. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 35. 48 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 56 Skill points and 12 Attribute points to distribute manually. After three days, he finally stopped for a rest and allowed [ULA] to drink from one of the lakes. A part of the bank was unguarded so he had cast the [MIRAGE] skill on both himself and his companion. It turned out this was even harder. The effort was giving him skill levels though. While waiting for the [KELPIE] to drink her fill, he allocated his points. Five went to [VITALITY], then two points went into [INTELLIGENCE], [WISDOM] and [CHARISMA] each. He loved the rush of power as his attributes rose. It felt amazing. Next on the agenda. He finally had more than fifty skill points! It was inventory upgrade time! Available Skills: [CRONO DEPOZITARE] ¨C 30 Points Huh? [ROGER] was pretty sure it had been fifty points last time he checked. What had changed? Focusing on the skill, he brought up its description. [CRONO DEPOZITARE] Allows storage of any item of any size. An unlimited inventory that allows the storage of living entities. All items and entities will be frozen in time during storage. Note: As a lesser storage skill that can be upgraded is possessed by the user, the cost has decreased. Look at that. There was even a handy little note explaining things. Not needing or wanting to wonder about it anymore, he purchased the skill. *DING* Skill: [CRONO DEPOZITARE] granted. Now there would be no need to waste any of the food that came into his possession. He went back to the nine kills he had made that day and stored the future chicken drumsticks. He didn¡¯t want to go back any further than that, the meat would be too old. It was nearly time to head to the sixth floor, he could already feel the pull to go further down. The strength of the compulsion wasn¡¯t based on which floor you occupied, but how high your level was. He wanted to get an extra two levels again, just to be safe. [ULA] had also risen in levels and was now [LEVEL 34]. He had noticed a few other [KELPIE]s and [BEHIR]s around the floor, as well as some [ETTERCAP]s and [STIRGE]s. He was surprised to also come across a lone [WARG] as it stalked a few [AXEBEAK]s. He had been in [STEALTH] and had been concealing [ULA], so he decided not to intrude. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. By the end of the day, he had reached the goal of [LEVEL 37]. It would be unwise to go lower without being rested though, so he led his companion back to their new temporary burrow that had been dug into one of the hills the day he arrived. Before napping he assigned three of his newest points to [INTELLIGENCE], three to [WISDOM] and then put the last two into [CHARISMA]. The dreams were peaceful and he actually dreamt about his Dad and how distant they had been in his previous life. It would be different this time. He would be more involved and lend an ear to his family when they needed it. It was true that his Dad had been distant, but Roger hadn¡¯t exactly been reaching out to his father either. Though he regretted it, he could only move forward from now on. It would be different, he was different, he had learned his lesson. Waking up the next morning he headed for the sixth floor. Trekking through the tunnel he found it was slowly growing dimmer and colder, a lot colder. By the time he reached the entrance to the sixth floor it was pitch black. He was really glad he had [PANOPTIC VISION], but even that was having trouble piercing through the gloom. Things were about to get dicey. [ULA] seemed restless and kept wandering off for some reason. When she started to trip a few times, he got it. She didn¡¯t have a skill to see in the dark. Quickly sending a request, it was immediately accepted. He opened up [ULA]¡¯s status screen and shifted to her skill page. Unspent Skill Points: 61 Available Skills: Searching¡­ Available Skills: [NIGHT VISION] ¨C 10 Skill Points [DARK SIGHT] ¨C 20 Skill Points [PANOPTIC VISION] ¨C 40 Skill Points Not wanting to use up all her skill points for her, he selected [DARK SIGHT]. Her steps looked more self-assured afterwards. They didn¡¯t sound assured because [KELPIE]¡¯s had an innate skill to make their steps silent. Ultra cool. Then he dumped half her spare attributes in [INTELLIGENCE]. Her race already automatically got [WISDOM], but the dull look in her eyes cleared up a lot after the allocation. She even had a bit more spring in her step as they moved forwards. Done with his interference, he closed the screen. It turned out he didn¡¯t need to go looking for the monsters innate to this floor. They found him. Monster ¨C [NOTHIC] ¨C [LEVEL 35] Monster ¨C [OTYUGH] ¨C [LEVEL 36] Monster ¨C [REMORHAZ] ¨C [LEVEL 37] Monster ¨C [VROCK] ¨C [LEVEL 39] The first monster to attack, a [NOTHIC], could almost be called humanoid. It had jagged spikes running up and down its back, and one giant eye taking up the top part of its face. Its long needle-like teeth were uneven and it let out a piercing screech upon attacking. Ow. [ULTRASOUND] did not like that. It used [DARK] magic to block his [WIND BLADE]. The creature was just fine against [AIR] magic and seemed to be laughing at him. The tables turned quickly enough as it apparently wasn¡¯t appreciative of [LIGHTNING] magic. It gave out another screech, more pained this time, then fell on its back, dead from electrocution. The [OTYUGH] was much less subtle. It stormed into their path like it owned it. The monster reminded him a of a [BULETTE], except that it didn¡¯t have a tail, had rocky skin and also jagged, needle-like teeth. Three tentacles grew from its back ending in mouths that had the same long teeth. The [WIND BLADE]s were blocked by [EARTH] magic this time. The monsters of this floor seemed to be competent in magic. However, [LIGHTNING] affinity was their nemesis, though he suspected that [FIRE] affinity would be even worse for them. All well, the [LIGHTNING] attack did the trick again. *DING* Skill: [ELECTROCUTE] granted. The third type of monster to attack them was the most dangerous yet. It clearly had resistances to all elemental magics as [ROGER] threw one type after the other at it. The [REMORHAZ] was a gigantic twenty-foot-long and five-foot-wide cobra centipede monster. As it glared down at them while hissing, its previously blue body began to glow an orange red. The heat radiating off it was intense, like lava. Yeah, there was no way he was getting close to that thing. Pulling on the needed affinity strands he created a storm in the air above the monster. He put as much power as he could into the spell. *DING* Skill: [THUNDERSTORM] granted. The miniature storm crashed and boomed as it covered the entire cavern roof that could be seen. Lightning struck the creature and the rain came in a downpour that speared the monster with every drop. The gale surrounding the storm was strong and buffeted the [REMORHAZ] from all sides. Wanting to see how well the storm could attack his enemies he sat and channelled it for a full five minutes while protecting himself and [ULA] with [MAGIC SHIELD]. The cobra centipede was distracted trying to levy its own fire-based magic at the storm thundering around it. He had meant to channel the spell for longer, but after five minutes the [REMORHAZ] died from all its wounds. After storing away the creature, he noticed that there were lots of notifications from other monsters that the storm had killed, including a [VROCK]. Despite the area of the attack, he honestly hadn¡¯t expected the magic to be as powerful as it had. *DING* Nothic ¨C Level 35 has been slain x8 Nothic ¨C Level 36 has been slain x4 Nothic ¨C Level 37 has been slain x5 Nothic ¨C Level 38 has been slain x7 Otyugh ¨C Level 36 has been slain x3 Otyugh ¨C Level 38 has been slain x9 Otyugh ¨C Level 39 has been slain x2 Remorhaz ¨C Level 34 has been slain x6 Remorhaz ¨C Level 37 has been slain x5 Remorhaz ¨C Level 40 has been slain Vrock ¨C Level 38 has been slain x3 Vrock ¨C Level 39 has been slain x2 *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 38. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 39. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 40. 48 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 38 Skill points and 12 Attribute points to distribute manually. Then again, these monsters were all ambush predators that relied on the dark for protection. Upon collecting his kills, he found that a [VROCK] was a scrawny humanoid bird creature that had a long, thin tail and bird claws for both hands and feet. Nothing all that impressive really. Chapter 26 - Release The Kraken! *DING* [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Would you like to evolve? [Y/N] Note that further levels can not be attained until you have evolved. Yay! This is what he had been looking forward to. Not having a safe place on the current floor, he quickly finished gathering what kills he could in the surrounding area, then headed back for the temporary burrow on the fifth floor. As soon as they were both safely tucked away, he accepted the evolution. Select your evolution from the following options: [STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will be changed to [AGILITY], [DEXTERITY], [CHARISMA] and [PERCEPTION] [SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C Title raised to [COUNT] ¨C Grants the skill: [SORVEREIGN¡¯S INFUENCE] ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will be changed to [AGILITY], [DEXTERITY], [CHARISMA] and [PERCEPTION] [STORM WALDRASSLINGE] ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will be changed to [STRENGTH], [VITALITY] and [CONSTITUTION] ([STRENGTH] will receive 7 points, [VITALITY] will receive 7 points, [CONSTITUTION] will receive 6 points) [SOVEREIGN STORM WALDRASSLINGE] ¨C Title raised to [COUNT] ¨C Grants the skill: [SOVEREIGN¡¯S INFUENCE] ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will be changed to [STRENGTH], [VITALITY] and [CONSTITUTION] ([STRENGTH] will receive 7 points, [VITALITY] will receive 7 points, [CONSTITUTION] will receive 6 points) Interesting. A [WALDRASSLINGE] sounded like a rabbit tank. Not really his style, but cool nonetheless. Maybe one of his siblings would pick it. His choice was pretty straight forward. [EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] [SOVEREIGN STORM HORNED RABBIT] to [SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] [COMPLETE] TITLE: [VISCOUNT] raised to TITLE: [COUNT] Raising 1 rank allows you to increase your proficiency by 10% in any chosen affinity You have raised your title by 1 rank. You have gained 10% proficiency to increase in any chosen affinity. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. 1 point will increase proficiency in one affinity by 10% Note that all beings have natural affinities. This means that a being will be able to more easily channel and control the magic of that affinity. Horned Monster Rabbits natural affinities are [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. Select magic affinity from the following base and secondary affinities: He decided to sacrifice all thirty-eight skill points. That gave him a total of three hundred and ninety percent proficiency to distribute. Settling on sticking with the affinities he already had, he brought [SPACE] and [GRAVITY] up to one hundred percent. Then after a moment of consideration he did the same to [LIGHT] and [DARK]. [NATURE] also improved by thirty percent. Finally, he increased [MENTAL] and [NULL] by twenty percent. You have chosen the following affinities and proficiencies: This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. [WATER] ¨C 100% [AIR] ¨C 100% [LIGHTNING] ¨C 100% [LIGHT] ¨C 100% [DARK] ¨C 100% [NATURE] ¨C 50% [MENTAL] ¨C 40% [NULL] ¨C 40% [SPACE] ¨C 100% [GRAVITY] ¨C 100% You have chosen to sacrifice 38 Skill Points Would you like to confirm your selection? [Y/N] With that, his status changed once again, accompanied by a whole new rush of power. That never got old. What did change was that he had felt his form shifting during the evolution. His legs felt longer, and his body lither. He needed to go have a look at his reflection in one of the ponds. After waking up he noticed that [ULA] had also evolved. That actually made sense as she had been a level ahead of him when they started the sixth floor. Monster ¨C [SOVEREIGN¡¯S KELPIE STEWARD] ¨C [LEVEL 40] Huh. He was pretty sure she had enough [INTELLIGENCE] to pick that one herself. Awww, she wanted to stick around for a long while. That was nice. Before leaving the burrow, he put five of his spare points into [VITALITY], one in [CHARISMA], and the rest into [PERCEPTION]. That evened things out, sort of. Concealing both of them from sight they went up to the edge of the [ANZU]¡¯s lake. What he saw was startling. He had tripled in height, now three foot tall. Despite his features mostly staying the same, his body now more closely resembled that of a deer. He still had a rabbit head but it was slightly narrower and more refined. He still had white fur and paws, but his legs were much longer. The thing that he found the strangest though, apart from now having an additional pale blue unicorn horn on his head, was his tail. It was longer and fluffier than even a deer¡¯s would be. It reminded him of a fox tail, but not quite. Well, that was enlightening. Time to move on again. The fiftieth level wouldn¡¯t get itself. The two explored the entire sixth floor together before entering the tunnel to the seventh. There had been eight ponds this time but they were small and hidden away in coves. He¡¯d reached [LEVEL 43] by the time they were finished with the sixth floor and dumped all his points evenly into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM], with one point to [VITALITY]. [ROGER] was now convinced it hadn¡¯t been enough. Another pitch-black floor. Just great. Yes, his [PANOPTIC VISION] skill was levelling a lot so he could now see a few metres in front of him, but he didn¡¯t like not knowing what was coming. Wait a minute. Unspent Skill Points: 15 Available Skills: Searching¡­ Available Skills: [INFRARED THERMAL VISION] ¨C 10 Skill Points Why was a skill like this so cheap? He already had his suspicions, but he looked at the description anyway. [INFRARED THERMAL VISION] This skill allows the detection of heat in cool areas. Note: As a lesser sight skill that can be upgraded is possessed by the user, the cost has decreased. Awesome! He bought it as soon as he¡¯d finished reading. Skill: [PANOPTIC VISION] compatible with Skill: [INFRARED THERMAL VISION] Skill: [PANOPTIC VISION] combined with Skill: [INFRARED THERMAL VISION] Skill: [PANOPTIC VISION] and Skill: [INFRARED THERMAL VISION] upgraded to Skill: [ENHANCED PANOPTIC VISION]. Honestly, why hadn¡¯t he thought of this earlier? [ULA] still wasn¡¯t talkative, but she understood well enough. He made the suggestion to her as soon as he made the discovery. She obliged and also bought the skill. The skill activated so he could see, and his blood ran cold. The rocks around them were monsters. Lots and lots of still monsters. He hadn¡¯t bothered to identify the terrain, so he hadn¡¯t realised they were there. His companion also stopped in fright. Her silent steps kept her from making any notable changes though. The rocks continued to stay still, so he identified them as well as the things that he thought were on the roof, but were actually just floating in the air. Monster ¨C [DARKMANTLE] ¨C [LEVEL 41] Monster ¨C [ROPER] ¨C [LEVEL 43] Monster ¨C [ABOLETH] ¨C [LEVEL 45] These things were freaky scary, which made him even more glad that they had very little defence as the pair focused on attacks. [WIND BLADE] easily cut through the enemies. Even though the atmosphere was spooky, the floor reminded him of how straight forward slaying the bird monsters on the fifth floor had been. One thing did strike him as weird though. Well, weirder than usual. The three key monsters he had found were staying well away from the easily found brightly glowing lakes. They were very big lakes. They could almost be called small seas. What the heck was in the water that the other key monsters would stay away? It didn¡¯t take all that long to find out. An [ABOLETH] that seemed to be of the moronic variety floated merrily over one of the seas. An enormous tentacle with suckers all along it reached up and snatched the poor monster from flight. Monster ¨C [LESSER KRAKEN] ¨C [LEVEL 43] Shit! That was¡­ He couldn¡¯t even describe it. All he¡¯d seen was a rough outline with his normal vision. Most of what he had been able to spot was due to his new thermal vision. Had he made a mistake? He hadn¡¯t tested these monsters. He¡¯d been so spooked by how they looked. So, even though they hadn¡¯t attacked first, just knowing he¡¯d been surrounded by potential enemies after the fact, had scared the living daylights out of him. Now that he thought about it the [ABOLETH]s seemed quite tame. And only a couple of the more territorial [DARKMANTLE]s and [ROPER]s had tried to scare him off with their tentacles. This kraken thing was the real predator of this domain. The size of just one appendage had sent shivers down his spine. Thirty feet. The tentacle he had seen had reached thirty feet into the air. He didn¡¯t even know if that was the full tentacle. The thermal part of his sight skill must have still been too low level to see beneath the water. Not that he was even sure he wanted to after that display of power. Chapter 27 - Water Floors Suck Well, whether he wanted to or not, finding out was now his priority. His main goal was still to reach [LEVEL 50], on what he assumed could be attained on the eighth floor. Going over his skills, the rabbit decided it was now time to add swimming to the repertoire. ¡°Stay here please¡± he requested of the kelpie. There was no need to endanger his aide any more than necessary. Not seeing a sneaky way to go about the process, the bunny just jumped straight into the water from the bank. Then he sensed it. A tentacle rising up from below. ¡°You have a teleport skill, you have a teleport skill, you have a teleport skill¡± he kept chanting in his mind as it grew closer. The end wrapped around his body and then began to pull downwards. Wanting to see if his eyes had better luck underwater, he activated his sight skill. A glow radiated from his pupils. Having torch eyes was yet another new discovery. This discovery was outshone however, as the [LESSER KRAKEN]¡¯s main body came into view. It was just an octopus. A very, very big octopus that was now staring directly at him with an eye that was at least five times his entire body. Um, gulp? Not to worry though, this was a bunny with a plan. After his heart finally started beating again, he channelled [LIGHTNING] magic through his body before focusing the mana through the tentacle holding him and then down into the monster¡¯s head. A whale call combined with the screech of nails on a chalk board. That was the sound released as its tenacle loosened. It really hadn¡¯t liked that. So, the rabbit reversed their roles as he latched on to its tentacle and channelled more of the same affinity. [WATER] mana began to swirl the surrounding area as another screech came. It seemed the opponent was also competent in magic. He needed to end this before the giant squid could really get going. Now free of the enemy¡¯s appendage, the rabbit teleported to the skin right beside the visible giant eye. Pressing his paws to the surface the rabbit summoned up as much [LIGHTNING] magic as possible and focused it down into its brain. With one final shriek, the monster went limp. It looked like calamari would be on the menu. *DING* Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 43 has been slain *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 44. 20 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 10 Skill points and 5 Attribute points to distribute manually. He found the carcass was too heavy to drag with [TELEKINESIS]. Fortunately, he remembered that it didn¡¯t matter thanks to his [CRONO DEPOZITARE] skill. Happy with his catch, the little rabbit almost missed the enormous shadow coming up behind him. Following his instincts, he teleported directly beside [ULA] to avoid what would surely be a hassle. He was right of course. The fight had allowed his sight skill to level up enough so that he could now see the outlines of darker shapes through the water. There were at least three other [LESSER KRAKEN]s in that small sea, and one had been coming to try and eat him. Deciding to take his mind off the scare, he allocated the spare points. Two into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM] with the final point going to [VITALITY]. Having focused on his breathing and calmed down, he could now think about the fight critically. It had been nerve racking, but he hadn¡¯t actually been in that much danger. At any moment he could just teleport himself back to the surface. With this reasoning in mind, he tried again, this time with [ULA] in tow. The kelpie, who was adept in water was just fine. He himself also excelled. Over the next few days, the stock of calamari gradually increased along with his levels. It turned out krakens were extremely aggressive creatures, and the bunny was happy to roll with that. *DING* Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 41 has been slain Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 42 has been slain x3 Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 44 has been slain x4 Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 45 has been slain x2 *DING* This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 45. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 46. 40 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 20 Skill points and 10 Attribute points to distribute manually. One point went into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM] each, with the remaining eight going towards [VITALITY]. Roger was so ecstatic about the progress that he wanted to move straight on to the eighth floor, with a healthy amount of caution of course. ***** So¡­ the plan changed to completely avoiding the eighth floor, at least for now. He could get to [LEVEL 50] with the floors already conquered anyway. The reason? Well, there were two main ones. First, the type of floor. It was a water floor with ocean as far as the eye could see. No one liked water floors. Second, who wanted to fight water dinosaurs in deep oceans? No one, that¡¯s who. Before you judge you can be the one to look a forty-foot kronosaurus or a sixty-foot megalodon in the eye and not flee. They weren¡¯t needed to reach [LEVEL 50], so there was no need to take on that particular floor. On that note, both he and [ULA] finished reaching his goal by taking down monsters of the sixth and seventh floors. *DING* Nothic ¨C Level 38 has been slain x5 Nothic ¨C Level 39 has been slain x6 Nothic ¨C Level 40 has been slain x4 Otyugh ¨C Level 38 has been slain x4 Otyugh ¨C Level 39 has been slain x7 Remorhaz ¨C Level 38 has been slain x5 Remorhaz ¨C Level 40 has been slain x3 Vrock ¨C Level 39 has been slain x2 Vrock ¨C Level 40 has been slain x8 Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 41 has been slain Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 42 has been slain x3 Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 44 has been slain x4 Lesser Kraken ¨C Level 45 has been slain x2 *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 47. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 48. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 49. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 50. 80 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 40 Skill points and 20 Attribute points to distribute manually. He distributed five points to [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM] each, with ten spare points going to [VITALITY]. With that done, the rabbit took a final look at his stats before heading home. [STATUS] KIND: [MONSTER] RACE: [SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] SEX: [MALE] AGE: 0 NAME: [ROGER] TITLE: [COUNT] [LEVEL 50] STR ¨C 81 VIT ¨C 45 AGI ¨C 146 DEX ¨C 146 CON ¨C 96 INT ¨C 60 WIS ¨C 60 CHA ¨C 75 PER ¨C 77 Spare Points: 0 Looking good. Time to head back up. So saying, they did just that. Upon returning to his family, there were quite a few surprises. There were raised levels for everyone, they were now all around [LEVEL 30]. The rabbits had also found and gotten along with the talkative snake that had nearly turned into prey earlier. Rey had actually named the monster. It was one of the names that Roger himself had spit balled to himself after meeting the reptile. Rey must have overheard and decided to take matters into his own paws. [VASSILIOS] was now a live in guard of sorts. He was constantly coiled up in the middle of his family¡¯s burrow and just slept there. It was a win win situation for all involved. The pack of [WARG]s that had previously been tamed had now expanded their pack to include all wolves in the area. Every canine monster on the second floor now obeyed his siblings. Sweet. Rey had also ended up taking control of all the kitsune, including the ones that had managed to travel to the second floor. His friend ended up finding two foxes with similar conditions to his own. Instead of full white with orange patches on the ears and paws, these two instead were full black with orange patches. Rey had taken the [ADOLESCENT KURO YOKAI KITSUNE]s and had levelled them. They had evolved into [KURO YOKAI KITSUNE ADVISOR]s with [REYNARD]¡¯s assistance. These two then pretty much lorded over all the other foxes at Rey¡¯s command. While explaining all the changes to Roger, Rey¡¯s eyes shone and his tail wagged, as if he expected a treat and that he should be told he was a ¡®good boy¡¯. The bunny obliged him by cooking octopus for everyone. Apparently, they all loved calamari. [ULA] just stood by his side as usual, almost making him forget to introduce her. She wasn¡¯t exactly a chatterbox. After getting home the dual horned rabbit rested with his family for a few weeks. For being a rabbit monster, life was pretty good. Then the day came. It was time to explore the outside. He would go on his own. There was no need to drag everyone into trouble because of his curiosity. He made everyone promise to look after each other while he was gone. He got the feeling that Benjimen and Thumper were taking the promise even more seriously than everyone else. Well good. He was glad he could rely on them. He made sure to leave them plenty of food as well as instructions to hide from the scary humanoids. With everything settled, the reincarnated bunny exited the dungeon into the sun, and then gaped in surprise. Chapter 28 - Travelling He had kind of expected an elven village to be close by, but no, not that he could see anyway. The low rolling hills reminded him of the fifth floor, though with a lot more trees. It wasn¡¯t exactly a forest, but there were lots of what looked like pine trees clumped together in groups here and there. The spacing was random, making him wonder if the water source they relied on was perhaps underground. None of this is what made him gape though. It was gone. As soon as he had exited the dungeon, that constant need to go deeper into the dungeon disappeared. The feeling weirdly reminded him of busting to go and then relieving yourself in the bathroom. His thoughts had constantly been drawn to the feeling over the past few weeks, and now it felt like he could finally focus again. He turned around, ready to inform his family, but stopped. He still was unsure how safe it was outside the dungeon. The feeling might be annoying, but safety was his number one priority. He would let them know after he had scouted around. With an easy path ahead through the grass, he decided to test his speed. Excitement bubbled through him. He hadn¡¯t fully tested any of his capabilities yet. This was going to be fun. Choosing to head west first he coiled his legs in preparation, then he was off. He was fast. Very fast. Laughing with pure joy at the fun of it he continued to race straight west, taking in the surroundings as he went. The rabbit was pushing to nearly sixty kilometres an hour if his rough calculations were right. And with his [INTELLIGENCE] he reckoned they were close. The hills slowly turned into small mountains, then back into hills, before turning into flat plains that turned into a sparse rainforest that eventually hit the coast with sandy beaches. The only thing that had stopped him from continuing was the water. He was slightly huffing, but the bunny could have kept going for much longer. The effects of his stats were incredible. Disappointment resonated through him at still not finding out the full extent of what his levels could achieve. Oh well. At least he had scouted the full five to six hours the journey had taken him west. His [ULTRASOUND] and [GUIDANCE] skills had also done some of the work to take in the immediate territory. Now there was a choice to make. Head all the way back and search in a different direction, or head north to where he had spotted the first sign of humanoid life outside the dungeon. The large tribe of more than five hundred humanoids were situated a kilometre away from him on the edge of the rainforest. His awesome hearing skill could help him make out shapes just from the vibrations within the skills vicinity. From the sound alone he could tell they were much shorter, just four to five feet tall. Their language was guttural and he had been surprised to understand its strange intonations despite his overpowered communication skill. The grammar was simple, reminding him of Chinese, even though he¡¯d never actually learnt it. Knowing languages without learning them first was still giving his brain ¡®what the heck¡¯ vibes. Maybe he¡¯d get used to it eventually, or it would always hit him strangely whenever he heard a new language. After some deliberation, the rabbit decided to head northwards to see what and who his closest known neighbours were. Stolen novel; please report. Greenskin ¨C [GOBLIN] ¨C [LEVEL 16] Greenskin ¨C [YOUNG GOBLIN] ¨C [LEVEL 9] Greenskin ¨C [GREEN GOBLIN] ¨C [LEVEL 32] Greenskin ¨C [HOBGOBLIN] ¨C [LEVEL 34] Greenskin ¨C [GREATER HOBGOBLIN CHEIF] ¨C [LEVEL 61] Besides the chief, the highest levelled goblin was forty-two. He could take them, not all at once obviously, but the only real hurdle looked like the [LEVEL 61] leader. He did not want to be smooshed because he underestimated what in games were the starter monsters. Wait a minute. Hey! Why did his [KIND] tag say monster and theirs didn¡¯t? Were goblins not classified as monsters? Come to think of it, all of the beasts he had passed on his way to the coast had been classified as Canine, Feline or Bovine, etc. Why wasn¡¯t he Leporine? He hadn¡¯t originally known that word, but the translation skill had made him understand what the classification of a rabbit would and should be. There was only one explanation. Was it because he was born in the dungeon? Even the tags of the wolves he had tamed were Monster. Interesting. His theory checked out. Back to the actual decision of whether he would approach the new neighbours¡­ No. Bad idea. If these beings were anything like the stereotypes of the games back in his previous world, then even if he could talk, all they would see was a good fur and some meat for their stew. Maybe he would come back and try again at a higher level. Moving on then. Instead of going back, they bunny continued north through the stretch of rainforest running beside the beaches and cliffs. There were a few predators that tried to eat him as he raced along, but he either defeated them, or was too much trouble to chase with his teleport skill moving him sideways out of the chaser¡¯s path. All things considered, the trip was one [ROGER] enjoyed immensely. Whenever the rabbit got tired, he would just dig a burrow and then collapse the tunnel. Safe and sound. In truth he didn¡¯t have that many opponents that could go toe to toe with his level. The highest had been a tiger-like creature that had been [LEVEL 57]. If he¡¯d been smart about it, he could have run circles around the creature and worn it out. Either that, or used his magic against it. The feline had been fire-based but its magic was weak and unfocused, also extremely inefficiently used. The beast seemed to have come into its magic recently and relied way to heavily on instincts alone. He had left it be though. He was not out to hunt, and he wasn¡¯t really looking for levels. As two full moons shone in the sky alongside twinkling stars, a white streak continued northbound. His hearing sensed it just as dawn broke. A city. An actual civilised city. People that looked human and some that didn¡¯t, roamed the streets. As the sun crept above the horizon, he saw it from the top of a small mountain. After hearing the hustle and bustle of civilisation he had detoured in a north-east direction, more east than north. There were no roads from the north, west or south directions, however there was a clear trade route heading east from the city. Horses and wagons moseyed out the gate as the people began their travels with the rising of the sun. Chapter 29 - Patrons & Talents He needed, no, he wanted to get in there. To be among the kind of his past once again. To wander shops and have a meal in a restaurant. Take in the sights of a new place and socialise with those who could actually hold a conversation. He hadn¡¯t been the most social person in the past, and no offense to his family, they were great, but¡­ He wanted to talk and promptly get back a response. Just a few times. Until he saw the city he hadn¡¯t even realised how much he wanted this. But to talk with them, he needed to have a humanoid form, and have a humanoid tag. He could maybe use [MIRAGE] to waltz in with a human form, but anyone with an appraisal skill would immediately know he wasn¡¯t what he looked like. There were probably skills to see through illusions as well. Even if those weren¡¯t issues, interacting with others would be out of the question. You can¡¯t shake hands, or trade goods, or give a pat on the back to an illusion. Also, if anyone bumped into him, they¡¯d actually just walk through him, which would give away the game again. The rabbit¡¯s ears fell behind him like the sad bunnies in cartoons. There might be a skill [ROGER] could buy to address both his concerns, but he imagined they would be quite expensive skill point wise. Could the bunny really spend his precious skill points on something he didn¡¯t truly need for survival? *DING* CONGRATULATIONS! You have attracted the attention an [EVERLASTING]. He is [IMPRESSED] and [SYMPATHETIC]. [########] has offered to be your [PATRON]. Would you like to accept? [Y/N] [########] has sent a direct message. As a creature with [INTELLIGENCE] above the minimum requirement you may view messages. Would you like to view messages from [########] in the [CHAT]? [Y/N] Shock and bemusement clouded his thoughts. Besides reaching a city, he hadn¡¯t done anything of note recently. Why now? It wouldn¡¯t be wise to accept something without understanding the consequences. And just who had offered to sponsor him? There was no way he would accept the offer from the creepy research guy. No. Way. Deciding to play along for now he agreed to view the message. [########]: Hello little rabbit. I suspect you are sentient. I should tell you that if this message shows as read, I will know I am right. ¡­ Ahhh, I am. And you did not accept my patronage straight away. This shows forethought. Probably memories of a previous life. Either Transmigration or Reincarnation then. Actually, Transmigration does not fit as you have shown [INTELLIGENCE] from birth and it can only happen during certain periods. Reincarnation of a humanoid then. Alright, I shall tell you of the situation now. [PATRON]s are much higher levelled beings that have been gifted certain abilities by The Nexus to lift up the talented and gain advancement from it. Many agree to this as levelling gets a lot harder the higher you go. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. My most known, and I suppose feared, Given Name is [SILENT DEATH]. Should you accept my offer this is how my tag will appear in the [CHAT]. You will not be able to reply until you have accepted the offer. The only reason you haven¡¯t received other offers is because I am hiding you from my fellow [EVERLASTING]. There is a big universe out here, but we [EVERLASTING] only receive notifications of talented individuals from the planet we ourselves rose from. If we want to raise up talents from other planets, we must find them ourselves. I am telling you all this as I wish for us to be open. Also, just a side note, I may find it a little difficult finding talents that will accept me after chatting with other [EVERLASTING] about my... accomplishments. As a token of appreciation for accepting my offer, I will grant you two Abilities. These are separate from skills, and much more powerful. Skills can be overpowered by stronger skills, abilities work differently. You want to enter the town, yes? Speak with actual people? I can grant your wish. For a few moments, [ROGER] turned the offer over in his mind. It sounded suspicious. The explanation also reminded him of when he himself had tried to make friends as a human, overexplaining everything. Not a pretty sight. In a word. Awkward. Mmmm. CONGRATULATIONS! You have accepted the [EVERLASTING], [SILENT DEATH] as your [PARTON]. May you continue to expand your power together. You have been granted two Abilities from your [PATRON]. Abilities: [VEIL] ¨C Grants the ability to veil one¡¯s true nature. Projected tags will show what is desired by the user. [SHIFT] ¨C Grants the ability to shift your body into a form predetermined by your soul. Only one shift form may be set for this ability. Choose the [KIND] your shifted form will take: [HUMANOID] [GREENSKIN] [DEMONOID] [MERFOLK] ¡­ [CANINE] [FELINE] [BOVINE] [REPTILIAN] ¡­ Grinning in his mind, the bunny selected [HUMANOID]. At once he felt his body begin to stretch. It was extremely uncomfortable. Then the sensation was over. Without much thought he brought up his forearms to check the result. His pale palms reflected the sunlight. He was human. He was human! Joyfully the man jumped in the air and raised his arms in celebration. His tail flicked with glee and his hands were scraped by his horns. Huh? That wasn¡¯t right. Turning the man glanced behind himself to find a long fluffy tail. In doing so he also noticed the matching long white hair that framed his face and blocked some of his view. The motion caused him to realise the strands reached all the way to the top of his hips. Apparently, all that fur had to go somewhere. Reaching up to his head, he found he not only had horns sticking out the front of his head and growing around each side, but he also had long rabbit ears sticking out the top. He was weirded out that his ears were placed differently on this body, then felt that he had actual human ears where they were supposed to be. That just weirded him out even more. Now he had four ears. Strange. He panicked at first, then realised he could just cover the extra body parts with [MIRAGE]. No horns, no bunny ears, and no tails. He would be just a simple human. Come to think of it, until he could trade for clothes, he¡¯d have to create illusory garbs as well. This would be interesting. Just as he was about to head for the gate, another message came through from his [PATRON]. [SILENT DEATH]: A final few notes for my young talent. First, I suggest withholding your [TRUE] name. I would explain but I¡¯m not too worried. You¡¯ll feel it whenever you go to tell someone. This only applies to Monsters, so everyone else can share their names with no problems. Just be wary. Lastly, I suggest caution when entering the city. I strongly advise against spending the night there. As he finished reading the message the rabbit came up to the gates. While mulling over the advice he read the name of the city. Thrallton City. For many, this would have raised red flags, especially combined with the advice from his new [PATRON]. But sometimes¡­ sometimes the reincarnated rabbit could be quite dumb. Chapter 30 - My Dear, Leaving So Soon? There were easily found markets a few blocks from the entrance of the city. Before entering he had retrieved a [COCKATRICE] from his inventory in order to gain something he really hoped existed before the real trading began. As it turned out storage items did exist, though they were extremely expensive. Fortunately for the rabbit, so were [COCKATRICE] parts. The giant lizard chicken earned him what was considered a medium sized storage bag. The [SPACE] affinity sensed from the enchantments on the bag would mask his true skill perfectly. He didn¡¯t know how common storage skills were after all. Best to play it safe. Wandering through the streets until coming to the other end of the markets, he began his true objective. Standing before the new set of stalls he reached into his bag while actually accessing his storage skill. There the excitable bunny traded away half of his apparently premium materials for a hefty amount of gold and silver that stunned the nearby merchants, including those that he traded with. He had a feeling that even though a remarkable amount of currency had been gained, the merchants had gotten great bargains due to his lack of knowledge on the economy. All the money went straight into [CRONO DEPOSITARE], via his new bag of course. Now the real fun began. First a few sets of clothes, followed by a nice lunch in a fancy restaurant. Next he went into brand stores to look over equipment and furniture lavished in enchantments that he couldn¡¯t comprehend. It was all so fascinating. While exploring he noticed that many of the people in the city looked absolutely exquisite. He had learned early on, from the first merchant he met, not to go around identifying people as it was considered rude. Anyone who had a decent level had obtained a skill that notified them if they were identified by someone. The decent level being around [LEVEL 20]. From observation, he found that most young adults were around [LEVEL 15], thus no problem. Anyone older though was hit or miss. The conclusion was it was best to keep that particular skill to himself while in town. Because of this, he didn¡¯t know if there was a particular reason as to why some of the citizens were so beautiful. Due to their pointy ears he assumed it was because they were elves. The thing was, this theory didn¡¯t really hold up. The elves he remembered attacking his home dungeon had only slightly tapered ears and were closer to the human ear in comparison. The ears of these gorgeous people were sharply pointed and a bit longer. There was another reason why the theory was wrong though. The beauty traits seemed to be spread throughout different races. He was just eye balling it without out [IDENTIFY], and from his observations alone he could pick out what he would call dwarves, humans, elves, fairies and scalekin. The ones he pinpointed as elves had leaner bone structures. The fairies were self explanatory, they had wings, actual wings. Butterfly and dragonfly, all different types and colours. The so called scalekin was also obvious, they had scales, some covered only part of their body while others had their body fully covered. These races were all quite common throughout the city but there was a clear difference from those who were normal and those who stood out with confidence. The regular people also displayed major courteousness whenever a pointy eared paragon passed by. It was a sight to behold. It was an extreme curiosity. It was very, very weird and he wanted out before the weirdness caught up with him. He really should have left right after getting everything he wanted. But he¡¯d been mesmerised by the city¡¯s sights. Well it was time to get going now. He decided to head back home before scouting south. As he headed for the city gates he noticed it was nearing dusk. Definitely time to leave. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°My dear, leaving so soon?¡± came a sultry feminine voice, ¡°You can¡¯t leave just yet, a handsome specimen such as yourself has caught many interested gazes. Won¡¯t you stay to entertain me for a little while? Maybe tell me a bit about yourself.¡± He turned to address the seductive voice to say he was leaving. Opening his mouth to speak he gazed into her eyes, and instantly fell in love. ¡°Whatever the lovely lady desires¡± he answered. She smiled while putting one hand to her face and the other to her generous chest, ¡°Please. You¡¯ll make me blush.¡± ¡°Anything you want" the dreamy reply came. ¡°Come along then.¡± He did. He followed her through the streets. Onto a carriage that travelled out of the business district. Past the regular homes. And past the smaller mansions. Eventually the entourage stopped at the front gates of a sprawling estate. The rabbit didn¡¯t really hear what his absolutely amazing companion said to the gate guards. He was in a much too dreamy state. The carriage started again. Then it stopped a short time later. His heart beat faster as she took his hand and led him up the steps to the massive, double front doors. She issued a harsh command and the doors opened. Was it harsh? No, it couldn¡¯t be. Her voice was like chocolate, smooth and sweet. He obviously misheard due to his dreamy state. Yes, that would be right. She led him through the front parlour and down a hall. A door was opened. Steps were walked. Many steps down. Her hair was such a gorgeous golden yellow. It swayed like a field of wheat on a windy summer day. Another door. Old wood. The lock looked rusted. A guard entered the key after she spoke again. He couldn¡¯t quite hear her this time. His head was foggy, but in a good way. Why were they down here? Did she like it kinky? He wasn¡¯t very experienced. He¡¯d only done it twice with two different girls in his last life. Didn¡¯t she want him to tell her about himself? More stairs down. Longer this time. That¡¯s alright. It gave him a chance to stare at her lovely skin, it was very pale, but it had a lustre that shined. He smiled goofily. He¡¯d never felt this way before. Her hand held his, only lukewarm. Was she sick? Could he help? He tried to ask, but found his tongue not making the movements he wanted it too. It was too loose and not listening to his brain signals. At this he began to panic. How could he help her if his body wasn¡¯t functioning properly? ¡°Shhhhh", she hushed him after noticing his jerky movements. His mind went into the clouds once more. There were no issues. If the beauty needed assistance she would tell him. Finally, they came to a rusted metal door with a small barred window at the top. This time the lovely lady pulled out the key herself before unlocking it and dragging him in behind her. Rather than bare, the stone room had shelves filled with implements and papers. In the centre was a large, rectangular, stone slab big enough to fit a large man on. There were two sets of chained metal cuffs at either end of the slab. Oooo. Kinky indeed. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready for this, but he would do anything for her. ¡°Lay down on the slab" she commanded in her buttery voice. He did as told. A moment later her hands were on his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± He obeyed as her teeth painfully sank into his throat. He obeyed as she began to suck out his blood. He obeyed as he felt the moisture leave his veins. He obeyed as he felt fire injected into what was left of his failing circulatory system. He obeyed as his heart gave its last few beats in defiance of his body¡¯s condition. It was only in his very final moment, when the fire that had been injected into his jugular reached his heart, that the horned rabbit monster¡¯s mind cleared enough to repel the intrusive suggestions. Anger. Loss. Rage. Nothing. Chapter 31 - Wakey, Wakey His mouth was dry. His veins scraped together like sandpaper. All over his body his skin felt cracked. Water. He needed water. He was too weak to raise his arms, but when he tilted his hands the jingling sound of chains could be heard. Trying to open his eyes was a nightmare of fire. They burned and stung at the same time. Best to keep them closed for now. He instantly recalled the last of his memories. Did she use a highly levelled skill or a powerful ability? Either way he was angry, no, more like enraged. Having your mind and feelings manipulated like that was not pleasant. How dare she. This was why he had upped his [MENTAL] affinity. Apparently it wasn¡¯t enough. Thirsty. He really wanted something to drink. Badly. Then he heard movement coming down the stairs. Had his hearing gotten better? He felt that it had improved. Clip clop, clip clop her heels sounded out the steps. He knew it was HER. He could sense it somehow. Eventually she reached the door, unlocked it and swung it open. ¡°Wakey, wakey" she called in a sing song tone. It was so different now. It was still buttery and smooth, but the sound grated on his ears. It no longer lulled him, the sound now only induced rage. He tried to speak his thoughts but his throat and tongue were parched. ¡°Dearie me, you awoke faster than expected, you must be much stronger then your tags imply. Are you hiding something from me? Do tell.¡± He could feel it this time, her magic trying to worm its way into his mind. This time though he blocked it out like it was nothing. To be sure, he did a cursory check of the magic running through his body. That¡¯s when the rabbit noticed it. First, his [MENTAL] affinity felt much, much stronger than before. Second, his [MIRAGE] skill had reached [LEVEL 20] and had continued to level while running on autopilot since the kidnapping bitch had uttered her very first question to him. ¡°Let me guess, difficulty talking? Let¡¯s fix that." With a shove she pushed forward a crying young man, hands bound and mouth gagged. [ROGER] had been so focused on the bitch that he hadn¡¯t even noticed the person she had dragged down with her. An oversight he decided not to make again. Grasping half of the man¡¯s long hair she viciously tugged his head to the side. It was amazing what his new hearing could pick up, it was like he had hearing vision. ¡°You want this?¡± she purred with expectation. Finally, he managed to open his eyes and glance at the pair. Dark pink eyes, golden blonde hair, pale as the moon skin, nasty bitch. Dark green eyes with tears, long wavy brown hair, light brown skin, empathy. They were in the same boat after all. Back to the bitch. He wanted what? The man? A second look. Why would he want him? There was clear expectation in her eyes though, like it wasn¡¯t really a question but a foregone conclusion. He looked back into her eyes with questioning, and rage. She then returned his puzzled look. After a moment she put her sharp fingernails that were more like claws to the man¡¯s throat and scratched it deep enough to draw blood. Then she walked over and put it to his lips. The few coppery drops that landed on his tongue did slightly quench his thirst, it was only then he realised that water wasn¡¯t what he needed. He tried to roll his eyes at his own stupidity. How had he not realised this earlier. She was a vampire. And now apparently, so was he. But something was off. The human¡¯s blood wasn¡¯t quite what he yearned for. But apparently it would suffice for now. He decided to react how she would expect. ¡°More! Please!¡± he rasped. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. She grinned in triumph. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen our kind confused upon awakening before. Mindless. Yes. Starving. Of course. But not confused. You are an odd one.¡± He was starving alright, just not for what she was offering. If his guess was correct, there would be quite a lot of bunny blood in his future, once he got out of here. He¡¯d have to make sure he had proper control of himself before going back home. After her statement, she levelled the guys neck over his mouth and the newly awakened vampire¡¯s instincts took over. And his own fangs pierced his bottom lip deeply. Ow. As soon as he tasted his own blood, the rabbit knew he¡¯d been correct. It still wasn¡¯t quite what he craved, but it was closer. Readjusting, the bunny sunk his fangs into the throat in front of him and sucked. Bleh. Yes, it quenched his veins and after a few more swallows there was no more sandpaper. But this was not satiating his hunger. ¡°Don¡¯t worry you¡¯re not to my taste, I won¡¯t kill you" he thought about his meal. To his surprise, he felt the message being delivered into the blood. The man gasped slightly before sending back his own message. ¡°Those fed to new vampires rarely survive the first feed, and those that do are too weak to survive the second. My fate is sealed. Don¡¯t worry, I can tell this isn¡¯t your fault. I don¡¯t blame you. In fact, knowing the rumours about Madame Lucielle, I pity what comes next for you.¡± Those blood sent words sent a shiver down the rabbit¡¯s spine. He definitely needed to escape from the bitch''s clutches. A moment before he would have pulled away in disgust at the bleh taste, the Madame yanked the young man back. ¡°That¡¯s enough for now. Can¡¯t have you gaining too much strength¡± she said with a shark like grin. Dragging the man out of the room, the bunny heard her lock him in a cell next door. Re-entering the room she spoke again. ¡°Before we start I may as well inform you of your situation. I¡¯m a researcher, and my favourite thing to research is vampires.¡± Her expression changed into a pout which would have looked adorable under other circumstances. ¡°Unfortunately, vampires in Thrallton have rules in regards to other vampires. We are not allowed to maim or torture our kin without consent or lawful interference. That really makes it hard for someone like me.¡± Next she gave a smile resembling a thousand sunshines. ¡°Luckily for me there¡¯s a loophole. A vampire can treat those they make however the heck they want.¡± Another exaggerated frowny face. ¡°Buuut, roughly only one in ten survive the transition. That¡¯s what they say anyway, but I¡¯ve injected my [VAMPIRE¡¯S KISS] venom into more than thirty people, yet you are my first creation. It¡¯s been sooo disappointing. ¡°But you!¡± she exclaimed, her expression doing another one eighty, ¡°You survived! So now I can do whatever I want! So, with that being the end of the explanation, let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°Why me?¡± he questioned, not all that keen to ¡®get started¡¯. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? [LEVEL 51] humans aren¡¯t exactly common. Before you the highest I could find was [LEVEL 35]. Now, no more questions.¡± With that, she walked over, put on a lab coat, and then grabbed a tool with a metal loop he was pretty sure assisted in the act of skinning. Terror permeated his being. Chapter 32 - Chatterboxes & Hunger This chick was very chatty. As she flayed him open, her favourite topic during the first half hour was about the skill [PAIN RESISTANCE]. Apparently, this skill could level pretty fast with any kind of pain. The only exception was the first level. In order to gain the skill you had to continuously cause yourself pain. Not stub your toe three or four times kind of pain. It had to be a kind of brutal pain that would last continuously for at least ten minutes. An example might be eating poisonous vines that would leave you rolling on the ground in agony for an hour. The rabbit monster didn¡¯t mention this analogy to his torturer as she made him scream. He also didn¡¯t mention it over an hour later when he began to fake scream, he¡¯d done it enough times during his time with her that he¡¯d gotten plenty of practice. He could still feel the metal knives, loops and other implements digging and slicing into his body, but he was now numb to most of the pain. There was now only a slight, brief pain similar to how a paper cut felt. It lingered like a paper cut too, but the experience was nowhere near as bad as when their session together had started. Finally, three hours after they started, the bitch decided both of them needed a break. She dragged in the better looking than expected, unwilling blood donor. The bitch and the donor were both surprised when said donor survived the second feeding. Her eyes glittered with fervour as she was clearly thinking about her new area of study. He seemed to be quite the fascination for her. The bunny heard more dragging, a cell door was relocked, then the mad vampire skipped up the stairs in delight. [ROGER] let out a slow breath. This had all been a lot to take in. With some time to himself, he eventually noticed the blinking green in the corner of his vision. *DING* You have been influenced by the Skill: [CHARM]. Your mental related attributes are slowly decreasing temporarily while under the influence of [CHARM]. Your mental related attributes are higher than the current level of the skill can influence indefinitely. *DING* [CHARM RESISTANCE] has been granted. Your mental related attributes are slowly retaining their original values. [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Note that further levels can not be attained until you have evolved. [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [DARK VISION] Skill: [DARK VISION] combined with Skill: [ENHANCED PANOPTIC VISION]. Skill: [DARK VISION] and Skill: [ENHANCED PANOPTIC VISION] upgraded to Skill: [VAST VISION]. [REGENERATION] Skill: [REGENERATION] upgraded to Skill: [ENHANCED REGENERATION]. [SIXTH SENSE] Skill: [SIXTH SENSE] combined with Skill: [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION]. Skill: [SIXTH SENSE] and Skill: [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION] upgraded to Skill: [FUTURE SENSE]. [DETECT SCENT] [ENHANCED HEARING] Skill: [ENHANCED HEARING] combined with Skill: [ULTRASOUND]. Skill: [ENHANCED HEARING] and Skill: [ULTRASOUND] upgraded to Skill: [ENHANCED ULTRASOUND]. [CHARM] [FORCED EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] [SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] to [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] [COMPLETE] TITLE: [COUNT] raised to TITLE: [EARL] Raising 1 rank allows you to increase your proficiency by 10% in any chosen affinity You have raised your title by 1 rank. You have gained 10% proficiency to increase in any chosen affinity. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. [ERROR] Proficiency assignment bypassed due to [FORCED EVOLUTION]. 10% Proficiency had been transferred into 1 Skill Point. *DING* [PAIN RESISTANCE] has reached [LEVEL 21]. [ENHANCED REGENERATION] has reached [LEVEL 44]. [SURVIVE] has reached [LEVEL 5]. Oh look, his [SURVIVE] skill had finally unlocked and levelled. All it took was nearly dying several times. He was very done with this place. He really needed to get out of here. But his body felt like lead. Despite the situation, he also felt very drowsy. Random thoughts floated through his mind, one of them being ¡°nap time is important, if I just let go I can figure all this out when I wake up.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.The more rational part of his brain knew he wouldn¡¯t get the chance as he would likely be woken up with the next round of pain. Lost in his thoughts, the newly turned vampire gave the background noise of skittering and squeaking no mind. Until he did. What was that smell? It was sooo good. Like one of the roast meals his Father would cook every few months. The succulent scent made his mouth water. Was the bitch cooking? Where? Kitchens weren¡¯t generally built in underground prisons as far as he knew. The smell was all-consuming, surpassing the shitty other scents around him and in the nearby cells. It was all his mind could focus on. He neeeded that food. Now. He was starving for it. His thoughts scattered as roars came from the unsatisfied stomach. Now. Now. Now. Need. Need. Need. Come here. Please. Please. Please. There was nothing else. Only that scent. Only that delicious smell. He felt like he was burning up with a fever. Surely, death would come unless he could just get a taste. Just one bite. Unbeknownst to the bunny, his fangs were ripping apart his lips, bloodshot eyes darted around unfocused and frenzied. His newly grown claws ripped into the slab beneath him causing even more damage to it than when he had been used for ¡®research¡¯. Then, the source of the smell came forward. Small beady eyes stared back at glowing red ones, insane with hunger. [ROGER] lunged with all his might. The chains screeched with the strain, the one holding his right hand breaking entirely. Then came a timid squeak. ¡°Master? Me come. Me here.¡± After a moment three more rats emerged, then two mice, a few more of both, then a mole and what might be identified as a gerbil. A few more moments and there were nearly a hundred rats and mice in the room. Hungry. He was so hungry. And they all smelled so good. ¡°What does Master wish?¡± the first rat who also happened to be the largest asked. The guests to his prison waited patiently as the ¡®Master¡¯ inhaled and exhaled very loudly for a few minutes. Finally, he gritted his teeth, sinking his fangs even further into his lips to ground himself. He needed even the slight pain right now to take his mind off what he really wanted. After some control was gained he reached out and asked for approval, which was immediately granted by all present. He cast all of their spare points into [INTELLIGENCE], then confirmed. ¡°Keys!¡± he ground out harshly while holding up his cuffs ¡°Find the keys for these.¡± They all bowed as best they could, then quickly dispersed. Less than ten minutes later the bunny was unlocking his bindings. [ROGER] didn¡¯t even notice his new grace and speed as he leapt off the slab, exited the room and kicked in the door of the neighbouring cell. ¡°Wha...¡± the young man got out before the rabbit pulled his head to the side and bit down drinking in blood he would now compare to sludge after getting the scent of what he really craved. After choking down as much as he could manage, he turned to the entourage waiting in the doorway. Staring at the largest and highest levelled rat that had also brought him the key, he said ¡°I name you [TEMPLETON]. Now come here.¡± Stats were lost and gained in the exchange. A pale green glow lit up the cell, then the rat obeyed. [ROGER] lifted the cat sized rat in his arms and bit down again, hoping that he wasn¡¯t about to kill his new subordinate. ¡®Just a few swallows¡¯ is what he told himself. Then pure ambrosia ran down his throat. One, two. He needed to stop. Three, four. Enough was enough. Five. He¡¯d just needed that one last taste to tide him over. He slowly licked the puncture marks, savouring every last drop. Then the wounds closed. His instinctive knowledge of his vampiric abilities let him know that his saliva could now heal wounds. Interesting. Licking his lips in pleasure while turning the thoughts over in his mind, the bunny finally noticed the disgusted look of the young man beside him. ¡°Usually when you¡¯re trying not to kill people, you do that the other way around¡± he said in a deadpan tone. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re not to my taste. Now,¡± breaking the man¡¯s cuffs with ease he continued ¡°let¡¯s get out of here.¡± There were no protests forthcoming, only a willingness to let [ROGER] lead the way. How kind of him. ¡°My name¡¯s Chester. And you are?¡± Chester asked as they travelled. ¡°Ro... Roe" came the stilted reply. His [PATRON] had told him, and he had felt it. Like a collar wrapped around his soul, he would be handing the leash to whoever he gave his [TRUE NAME] to. The rules mustn¡¯t apply when its another [MONSTER] or he would have felt it earlier. ¡°Nice to meet you, Roe. I¡¯m glad I was fed to one of the mythical few who can actually resist the thirst. Sure has made it a rough day for me though. Hey, new friend, what¡¯s with all the rodents following us, you some kind of whisperer? Those types are rare. How do you even get that kind of class anyway?¡± The bunny turned around and squeaked out a message to the rodents, telling them to keep an eye out in the city. His followers scattered, following his orders immediately. ¡°You really are a whisperer type, aren¡¯t you! That¡¯s so cool! I¡¯m nineteen years old, but I¡¯m only [LEVEL 15] and haven¡¯t picked my class yet. If I want to be a whisperer too, should I start with the basic tamer class?¡± Chester continued to chatter on while getting unsure nods and shakes of his head from ¡°Roe". As they continued to climb the stairs, the bunny realised he had allied himself with another chatterbox. Just great. Chapter 33 - Quest Attained Using all his enhanced senses and skills, the rabbit led the young man around and past the guards in the mansion. He¡¯d had enough violence for one day. Staying in [STEALTH] and using [MIRAGE] to hide themselves as well as the opening and closing of doors, they managed to exit the estate without a fuss. Then the chattering started up again. It was only after he felt a measure of safety that the bunny came to a realisation. Abandoning a former vampire prisoner in the middle of a vampire city was probably a bad idea. He really didn¡¯t want the responsibility, but he felt responsible anyways. ¡°Hey Chester, do you have anywhere to go?¡± Chester stiffened at the question, finally falling silent for the first time since they¡¯d left the mansion, then his whole body drooped in defeat. ¡°My family sold me so they could afford to buy a house.¡± For a moment, [ROGER] thought he had misheard. ¡°Was your family out on the streets? Were they struggling to find food and shelter?¡± Chester just shook his head. ¡°We rented a comfortable house in Alto, a main city of the human lands to the east across the mountain range. I was the eighth out of nine boys, but my parents really wanted a girl. Our parents grew to hate the youngest of us. Each boy born received a little more hate than the previous one. In the end, our parents sold the three youngest of their children to set themselves up for a better life. Cole, our seventh brother and the one I was closest to, didn¡¯t survive the trip over. The people turned slaves were packed tight onto the ship and then had to survive the week long journey with the meager amount of water given out. After being dragged from the ship, we were sold from the docks. I haven¡¯t seen Lyle since.¡± Chester began to tear up as he told the story. The bunny didn¡¯t blame him. The young man had had a brutal time of it. For a few moments, there was only silence. ¡°If you want, you could come home with me.¡± The rabbit cringed as soon as the words left his lips. Yeah, just follow the newborn vampire home after being enslaved and suffering at the hands of a demented bitch of a vampire. Turns out, the teen didn¡¯t seem to be quite that bright. ¡°Really, I can stay with you? I¡¯d love to, and its not like I have many other options. But I want to find my brother first if that¡¯s okay¡± Chester said enthusiastically. The bunny¡¯s mind summoned up a set of scales. On one side was trouble and on the other was his sense of responsibility. ¡°Quest attained¡± his thoughts continued ¡°find the brother without catching the attention of any other vampires. Note, once you are found missing from your cell, there is sure to be a group of vampires specifically looking for you.¡± Just great. He thought it was going to be one heck of a hassle. Then his instincts told him otherwise. All the skills that had gone into creating [FUTURE SENSE] alerted him to how easy his task could be. ¡°Alright then¡± he replied, before walking in the direction that Chester¡¯s blood in his veins told him to go. *DING* Skill: [TRACE BLOOD] granted. Your vampiric race enhances this skill. Skill: [TRACE BLOOD] upgrades to Skill: [BLOOD PERCEPTION] That¡¯s weird. Chester had said that three brothers had been sold and one had died. Why were there four other traces that matched Chester¡¯s blood? Although, one of them was¡­ off. Did that mean they were dead? There were another two that screamed ¡®vampire¡¯ to his senses. Two had been turned then. The one that felt mostly normal must still be human, though the thread leading that way was weakening ever so slowly. It was dying. He decided to head for that one first. He moved quickly while also trying not to attract too much attention. Chester seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation and didn¡¯t speak, or it could have been because he was struggling to keep up. Heavy breathing followed in the vampire rabbit¡¯s wake. Travelling deeper and deeper into the rougher areas of the city, they eventually began to make their way through what was clearly the slums. After a final few turns the pair stumbled across the slave market. Sellers were hawking their wares as if it were some kind of bazaar. The sight made his stomach turn. Market stalls with merchants offering merchandise, buyers appraising things they might purchase. In any other scenario it would be normal. The chains, sunken skin and hollow faces said otherwise. ¡°Let¡¯s go in and get out, we¡¯re not sticking around¡± he murmured near the young man¡¯s ear. Chester just nodded. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The trail they were following led to one of the less frequented establishments. ¡°Watcha wont¡± the seller eloquently asked. Chester looked straight past him to the sickest and weakest body, that was still living. ¡°Clyde¡± he whispered hoarsely. [ROGER] glanced over. So, this wasn¡¯t Lyle then. Taking in the situation, a gleam appeared in the merchant¡¯s eyes. ¡°Tha one? Ten gold.¡± He said smugly while pointing his thumb behind him. The bunny decided this was the perfect time to let his new nature do the talking. Two canines lengthened and ice blue eyes turned glowing red. Filtering through the bargaining around him he said ¡°We both know just one gold coin would be an extravagance for any of your ¡®merchandise¡¯.¡± Seeing the situation, a new price was suddenly offered ¡°For sumwun of ya standin¡¯ sir, I offa for five silva.¡± Despite knowing the price was still a bit high, the storm rabbit agreed. Money and keys were then exchanged. Chester ended up having to carry what was assumed to be another of his brothers. This wouldn¡¯t do. Taking two humans, one nearly dead, to see vampires was not a good idea. ¡°You two need to get out of the city, I¡¯ll look for Lyle myself.¡± Chester looked about to protest, but the bunny continued, ¡°Clyde needs water, food and rest. Also having humans trailing behind is slowing me down.¡± At that the young man closed his mouth and nodded. Chester turned for the closest gate, but the rabbit didn¡¯t want to risk it. He led them instead to the closest part of the city wall right next to the slums. As Chester looked at him in confusion, they were suddenly teleported quite a ways outside the wall. That had been hard. Just that teleport had made his skill jump two levels. He collapsed in exhaustion as soon as their feet hit the grass. While the vampiric storm rabbit imitated a dying fish out of water, Chester looked around in wonder. A few minutes later a white haired, blue eyed man stood up as if nothing had happened. Chester wisely decided not to comment. Around a kilometre from the city, a suitable small hill was found. The burrower softened the soil with [WATER] magic, then carved out chunks with [WIND BLADE]. There. A perfectly safe and cozy burrow. ¡°Why do you look so proud of a cave?¡± Chester asked in bewilderment. Startled and a bit embarrassed, the monster waved off his companion¡¯s confusion, muttering about how he couldn¡¯t appreciate complex magic. After leaving the humans with water and some precooked meat, the bunny teleported back to the spot just inside the wall. That had been a lot easier. From there he decided to track the trail that was off. Probably the dead brother. The threads he followed led to a small, very run down estate. From the gate he could hear only five heartbeats. But that didn¡¯t match the movements he heard. The movements were all humanoid as far as he could tell, but there were at least one hundred in the building. It didn¡¯t make sense. Once again combining [MIRAGE] and [STEALTH] he crept into the building. Humanoid ¨C [HUMAN] ¨C [LEVEL 21] Humanoid ¨C [HUMAN] ¨C [LEVEL 25] Humanoid ¨C [HALF ELF] ¨C [LEVEL 31] Greenskin/Humanoid ¨C [HALF OGRE] ¨C [LEVEL 33] Humanoid ¨C [HUMAN] ¨C [LEVEL 42] On the ground floor, he found the five with beating hearts. The two lowest levelled [HUMAN]s appeared to be the servants. The [HALF OGRE] was clearly for security as it was constantly on alert. There was one point where he almost thought the guard had seen through his magic. That didn¡¯t end up being the case though. The two others appeared to be researchers of some kind. As they poured over papers in the large study and made notes, the male [HUMAN] took the lead. The female [HALF ELF] was an assistant by the looks of it. This all seemed interesting, but the interest faded once he figured out what exactly they were researching. Undead. Any and all kinds. With this in mind, he had a feeling Cole was no longer dead dead. He was probably undead dead. Just great. He didn¡¯t yet know if this was a good or bad thing. If the seventh brother was now like a mindless zombie it would probably be better to just put it out of its misery and tell Chester that he had just found the body. If a consciousness had actually been reawakened though, then it could be a happy reunion. Maybe. First, he would have to follow the thread all the way to his target and find out what the situation was. From the sounds coming from below there were five underground floors. The door leading underground reminded him of the bitch¡¯s dungeon door. He shivered in revulsion and a hint of fear. It was fine. He was fine. He was the one in control this time. No one else. Using [TELEKINESIS] he unlocked the door and entered the practical side of the lunatics theoretical research. On the first floor were nearly thirty of the weakest creations. They were also all clearly mindless. Humanoid ¨C [HUMAN ZOMBIE] ¨C [LEVEL 10] Humanoid ¨C [ELF GHOUL] ¨C [LEVEL 12] Humanoid ¨C [DWARF REVENANT] ¨C [LEVEL 13] They were all in separate cells, the explanation for which was obvious. They would have ripped each other apart. Chewing at the bars, climbing up the walls with no regard for their own bodies. Bones cracked and muscle tore as they tried to escape their prisons. Communication was a no no. They just growled hoarsely at him. There were no signs that anyone was home upstairs. Disgusted at the scene, he sent a bolt of [LIGHT] magic through each of their skulls. The entire floor fell silent. Chapter 34 - Man, Im Still Awesome Next floor down was pretty much the same situation, the only exception being that the levels had increased by around ten. So, actions including [LIGHT] bolts repeated. *DING* Skill: [MANA BOLT] granted. This skill allows the condensation of mana a distance from the caster in the desired shape and affinity. The condensed bolt may then be moved at will. Interesting. The bolts were now much easier to use. Not all that surprising though. On the third floor down he found his first sentient undead, barely. Another ten levels higher as well, though there were only around ten of them this time. They all looked at him with despair. ¡°No more.¡± ¡°Please kill me.¡± ¡°Enough already.¡± Their cries echoed the sentiment. Even as they begged, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill those who were still aware and had done him no harm. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, I¡¯ll free you from this place¡± his promise feeling more like a persuasion to go on. He felt helpless at being unable to take away their suffering. Then a spark appeared, making him hope. One of the prisoners sat by the bars, staring him down with determination and rage. He did not want to get in that lady¡¯s way. They all fell silent once he had passed them by. They couldn¡¯t be freed just yet, he had to find Cole first. Fourth floor and still no Cole. Just five extremely strong looking variants of undead. Humanoid ¨C [DARK KNIGHT] ¨C [LEVEL 41] Humanoid ¨C [WRAITH] ¨C [LEVEL 42] Humanoid ¨C [DRAUGR] ¨C [LEVEL 43] Humanoid ¨C [SKELETON] ¨C [LEVEL 43] Humanoid ¨C [SKELETON] ¨C [LEVEL 45] Whatever their previous races had been were now entirely absent from their tags, though he strongly suspected the [DRAUGR] had been a dwarf. Unless they used a buff, young teenager to changer over. The bunny thought that was unlikely. He also hoped very much that it was unlikely. ¡°Ya fittin¡¯ ta brrak as ou¡¯?¡± came a masculine, lilting, ghostly voice sounding very much like the elves that had entered his home dungeon way back when. It was the [WRAITH]. He still looked elven, but his entire body, including hair, irises and pupils, were pale white. And although his body was mostly solid, there were ethereal projections coming off it within a few inches, like he was in three or four places at once. ¡°I need to find someone first then I¡¯ll be back.¡± The deeper voice of the [DARK KNIGHT] replied ¡°If its someone on the last floor, forget it. We five have begun training to follow commands at all times. A taming. If any makes it down there, they¡¯ve already been broken.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. His stomach dropped at those words. Then, thinking of Chester, he pushed the feeling aside and strode towards the stairs leading down. ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out¡± he told himself and the audience he was leaving behind. Three beings focused their gazes on him from behind bars. Instead of a hall, this room was circular with five cells side by side. Each being was in the first, third and fifth cells, meaning there was an empty cell between each undead. Humanoid ¨C [DEEPSOUL WIGHT] ¨C [LEVEL 81] Humanoid ¨C [DEATHBOUND LICH] ¨C [LEVEL 83] Humanoid ¨C [ABYSSAL SHADE] ¨C [LEVEL 85] Well that was a leap. He was expecting high fifties, maybe even low sixties, but this? For beasts and monsters this meant they had reached the next evolution. Were undead considered the same as monsters by the system? The naming situation as he descended seemed to suggest as much. Looking around, his senses told him that if Cole had been the lich, then he wouldn¡¯t have been able to trace him. No blood, no [BLOOD PERCEPTION]. Luckily, this wasn¡¯t the case. Turning to his left, the bunny looked at the wight. It was Cole. Now. How much of what the fourth floor prisoners had said was true? Time to find out. ¡°Hi Cole, your brother, Chester, sent me to look for you. Would you like to see him again?¡± Silence. The cell had the basic steel slab bench of a bed on the right wall and nothing else. Cole sat on it, staring at the opposite wall. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you [DEEPSOUL WIGHT].¡± That got the muscular undeads notice. The wight stood up, moved to just behind the middle of the bars and stood to attention like a soldier. Extreme musculature was only the start. Bone claws extended from the fingers. Teeth were jagged and pointed. The eyes no longer had pupils, irises or capillaries, they were instead just plain glowing white. His ears were also no longer human, they were as pointed as a vampires. ¡°What is your command?¡± ¡°Ummm¡­ To come with me to go see Chester.¡± If talking it out wasn¡¯t going to work right now then they could just try later. If he had to command Cole to Chester¡¯s side then so be it, for now. ¡°Is Chester my target?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Sure?¡± For a moment, the rabbit thought he sensed a flicker of pain from the wight. ¡°Is Chester my target?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Is Chester my target?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Didn¡¯t they already go over this? ¡°Is Chester my target?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Is Chester my target?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Is Chester my target?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Is Chester my target?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± On the seventh confirmation, something snapped. ¡°No¡± came a whispered reply shuddering with expected pain. Muscles bunched, his claws ripped palms and his head banged against the bars. His eyes glowed with white flames. Roaring ensued. ¡°No! I will not kill my brother!¡± The wight began to chant to himself, each time seeming to come to himself a little more. ¡°No!¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Nooo! I will not kill Chester!¡± The final roar echoed in triumph as if the undead had overcome some great difficulty. Whoops. The storm rabbit hadn¡¯t realised that the so called ¡®command¡¯ was a kill order. Good thing Cole was setting himself straight. ¡°All good now?¡± he decided to confirm just in case. ¡°My thoughts are my own again, but I fear my mind is not what it was.¡± ¡°Great. I mean, not great. Don¡¯t worry we can figure it out on the way to see Chester.¡± ¡°The master keeps the keys to our three cells on him at all times. He does not want someone to command us while he is away.¡± [ROGER] walked over hands in pockets, then raised a fist to the bars and knocked twice. Definitely enchanted and that was some kind of special metal too, though [IDENTIFY] didn¡¯t tell him what kind. Still too low levelled. He¡¯d seen it in the rock of the sixth floor back in the dungeon though. Special indeed. Running his magic across the bars, the sovereign grinned like the cheshire cat. ¡°No worries.¡± there was a clinking as bars hit the concrete floor ¡°There, dealt with. Now let¡¯s get out of here.¡± High levelled [WIND BLADE], combined with [INTENT] and [MANA CONTROL] sure worked wonders. As he had already learned from the over levelled [TIDDALIK] too far from home base, your own personal magic wasn¡¯t the only mana that could be controlled. Sure, he could have just teleported Cole from one side of the bars to the other, but this felt so much cooler. The show off continued to smile while thinking ¡°Man, I¡¯m awesome.¡± Chapter 35 - Call In The Big Boss He supposed releasing the other two might not be a good idea. What was he supposed to do with them? ¡°Ah, here¡¯s the source of our trouble¡± came a familiar voice from the doorway. Facing the sound, he saw the bitch, along with the researcher, assistant, and the guard. ¡°My pet, I¡¯ve been looking all over for you.¡± Bugger. He could tell where this was going. He had freed a [LEVEL 81] undead. They would inevitably command and release the other two to take care of business. How had they known? The researcher decided to clear up his unspoken question. ¡°Sensing an identifying skill but unable to see the culprit was quite perplexing. It was only natural to call in the big boss for such a wily intruder.¡± Yeah, no. He wasn¡¯t going to let this play out. What was his strongest solid element? Ice? Wait. He was a vampire now. Hmmm. Well it was worth a shot. Pushing past the control of their own mana, the storm rabbit used the blood pumping through their bodies to skewer each brain. That was the plan anyway. Three bodies instantly collapsed. The bitch¡¯s did not. She gave a predatory smile that almost seemed placating. Her mana had rebuffed his own with ease. ¡°Nice try, but its time to come home now.¡± Did she think he was done? That he¡¯d just give up now? Forming three small ice spears behind her head, he sent them to her skull. Again, she stopped him in his tracks. The bunny decided to try something harder to control. Channelling as much [LIGHTNING] affinity as he could manage he sent it towards her. The result was slightly charred skin. But she survived. A malicious smile played about her lips. The look turned to confusion as the other being in the room that both of them had forgotten about landed a solid punch through the side of her skull. He was stunned for a moment. Then she groaned. Still not dead? He needed to fix that before she healed. Summoning an axe of ice, he sent the blade cleanly through her neck. At the notification he felt immense relief. *DING* Half Elf ¨C Level 31 has been slain. Half Ogre ¨C Level 33 has been slain. Human ¨C Level 42 has been slain. Entrancing Vampiric Human ¨C Level 84 has been slain. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 51. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 52. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 53. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 54. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 55. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 56. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 57. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 58. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 59. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 60. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 61. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 62. 240 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 60 Skill points and 60 Attribute points to distribute manually. The increasing attributes felt like an enormous waterfall crashing down onto him. It was exhilarating and too much all at once. Embarrassingly, he fainted. When he regained consciousness not long after, there were three undead bent over and staring at him. ¡°He¡¯s awake¡± said the shade. He was clearly missing something. Without needing to be prompted the lich explained the situation. ¡°The witch had a skill that bound us with mind control. The link broke when she died. Our minds aren¡¯t exactly in the best shape, but being able to think properly for the first time in a while definitely helps.¡± Ah. He was referring to the bitch. Two birds, one stone by the sound of it. ¡°Fantastic¡± he murmured dazedly, not fully recovered ¡°let¡¯s get out of here. I¡¯ve got things to do and places to be.¡± While travelling up the steps he allocated his spare sixty points. Wanting to keep it simple, twenty went into [VITALITY], [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. There was another rush, though no where near as powerful as the last one. Reaching the next floor, [WIND BLADE] was once again put to good use. Five more then joined the entourage as they ascended the next flight of stairs. Again, clinking sounded out as bars hit the floor. These undead exited their cells much slower, as if not believing their torment had truly ended. The [DEATHBOUND LICH] ended up being a leader type though. He rounded them up with encouragements and had them following along eventually. Finally exiting the prison, [ROGER] headed for the study while the rest headed out of the house. He stuffed all the notes and books in his inventory, then set the place alight. After everything he had witnessed here, he wanted it burnt to the ground. He was sure those that had spent time here felt the same. Upon exiting the now smoking room, the bunny found the two servants kneeling in front of him, heads to the ground and arms out. ¡°Thank you for freeing us!¡± they shouted. He felt awkward and unsure about the situation. Then he saw the bite marks on their necks, arms and there were even a couple on their legs. He hadn¡¯t really paid attention before due to their low levels. Taught skin hugged their bones and the thin shirts highlighted prominent ribs. They were starving and had been fed on, a lot. ¡°Please, we have no place to go. Do you have any need for some servants? We promise to work hard¡± the man said. The sovereign sighed. Why did he keep doing this to himself? But he couldn¡¯t just leave the pair to their fate. ¡°Alright, come along.¡± The girl hugged his ankles and squealed ¡°You won¡¯t regret this. We promise.¡± ¡°Uh huh¡± he answered, wondering whether the statement would prove true. By this point, the smell of smoke was strong and he could sense the flames licking at the double doors he had just exited. Leading the two outside in a hurry he was met with every undead standing in the twilight of dusk. They all stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting for him apparently. Standing at the top of around twenty steps he stopped, again unsure of what to do. Then the rage lady at the front spat at him ¡°Where are we supposed to go now! Its not like we can just go home! My family is on the other side of the Noritun Range. And even if I managed to get there, they¡¯re a bunch of crazies who go on and on about purity. I, in this form, would NOT be welcome¡± by the end of her speech her voice cracked, before she broke down crying ¡°What are we supposed to do!?¡± He sighed again. ¡°If you truly wish to follow me, you may. I will protect and take care of you. Just know that my home is a dungeon, and my true form is that of a monster.¡± He didn¡¯t know why his voice and words came out so refined, but after his short speech, both [ENHANCED VOICE] and [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL] levelled up a few times. As he stood there, uncertain, every undead knelt to one knee. Then the two servants on either side of him did the same. ¡°Take us as your own and we will follow your lead¡± the lich called out. They all nodded in agreement. Heeding his instincts, he replied loudly in kind ¡°So be it.¡± *DING* Skill: [ROYAL DECREE] granted. Another sovereign skill he didn¡¯t know what to do with. What to do now? After some discussion, he found that the shade could read memories and was able to travel with people through shadows. Perfect. Showing the shade where Chester was, he instructed the group to head for the closest part of the wall. Kieron, the shade, would then transport them over the wall and head for Chester and Clyde. The rabbit then explained where he would be going. Cole immediately wanted to join him in his quest to find Lyle. That was fine he guessed. Plans made, the two groups headed their separate ways. Chapter 36 - Uniquely Fantastical The two last trails led to the same property that was, you guessed it, an estate with a mansion on it. This one had some kind of masquerade ball going on that night. Buying some fancy clothes and masks for both himself and Cole, they made their way towards the entrance. They were stopped at the gate. ¡°Invitation¡± the guard said. The vampiric bunny made his eyes glow. ¡°Hope the food¡¯s good, haven¡¯t eaten in a while.¡± He was really hoping bluffing his way through would work. ¡°Apologies young master, and this gentleman is?¡± ¡°My servant and bodyguard¡± he replied smoothly. ¡°Very well, enjoy your night.¡± The rabbit just nodded before striding forward like he owned the place. The white with sky blue lining formal wear he adorned was complemented by the full black ensemble that his ¡®guard¡¯ wore. Entering the party was like entering a nightmare. Slaves in chains walked around while balancing champagne glasses, or something similar. A guest would then decide whether they wanted a drink or an appetizer. Along the wall more chained people watched on in terror. These ones had entire bite chunks missing from their arms or legs. Lyle. They were looking for Lyle. He couldn¡¯t react. His maker had been [LEVEL 84]. Her actions had proven that even she was scared of some people. That meant he should be terrified. Get in. Get out. Get stronger. He¡¯d be back to test the waters again once he reached [LEVEL 100]. For now, he couldn¡¯t help them. Once again, he was helpless. He continued to follow the closest trail into another ballroom across the hall. This one was just as packed and nightmarish. There. The trace was close. His gaze ended up on one of the serving appetisers in chains. But¡­ but wasn¡¯t that a vampire¡¯s essence? The storm rabbit was confused enough to use [IDENTIFY]. Humanoid ¨C [HUMAN BLOOD SLAVE] ¨C [LEVEL 14] The race. The race was changed. But he wasn¡¯t a vampire. Cole leaned over and whispered close to his ear despite all the noise ¡°That¡¯s Lyle.¡± One down, one to go. ¡°We¡¯ll be back for him¡± he replied in the same whisper ¡°I think another one of your brothers is somewhere here.¡± The wight¡¯s eyes widened in surprise before he nodded gravely. The other trail led them towards a door off from a secluded hallway far away from the main event. There was a small hall of stairs leading down to it. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t guarded. He focused his hearing to find that most of the guards had gone outside to deal with the fire encroaching on the property. Apparently, the wind had blown it this way from a nearby estate. Weird, so weird. Smirking to himself the rabbit opened the door which led to, surprise, surprise, an underground prison. It was just one enormous brick room with lots and lots of chains. There were a little over one hundred people in the chains. Sixteen people were vampires. The rest of them were dead. Recalling his own transformation, he knew what had occurred down here. His maker had told him the ratio. Usually, ninety percent of forced evolutions into vampirism didn¡¯t take. Looking around, slightly more than expected had survived. Every living face looked at him in dread. Then one of the faces caught sight of the [DEEPSOUL WIGHT]. ¡°Cole!¡± the face croaked in disbelief. Oof. That scratchiness and dryness when first regaining consciousness really sucked. The vampiric rabbit remembered it well. ¡°Finley!¡± Cole gasped back in joy while running over to hug what [ROGER] expected to be the oldest sold sibling. He thought about warning the wight, but the low levelled vamp wouldn¡¯t be able to do any real damage to the undead even if his hunger would make him try. As expected, Finley lunged for his brother¡¯s throat. A few seconds later he sat back in disgust, though his hunger still made him gulp down what he had already swallowed. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°You taste gross¡± was the older brother¡¯s critique. ¡°Gee thanks, and your sweat smells like flowers and sunshine¡± came the sarcastic reply. Smiling, the rabbit came to a decision and headed upstairs. After grabbing Lyle and some of the humans that were enjoying the masquerade¡¯s tortuous entertainment. He dragged them past guests with confused looks and re-entered the prison without much trouble. Tossing out a human for each vampire he went back out to grab a group of elves that also seemed to be living the high life. He didn¡¯t want to cause another scene though, so he disguised himself with [MIRAGE] and then charmed them to follow him. With every vampire freed and fed, leaving sixteen extra bodies on the floor, he gave a command. ¡°Everyone hold hands.¡± They all just stared at him. ¡°I¡¯m going to teleport us all out of here so everyone hold hands.¡± They complied. He had to do them all at once and he had to do it now. He sensed that if he tried to leave and come back, many powerful beings would sense the magic and rush there to catch him. The extra stats would help, but would it be enough? Only one way to find out. The sovereign closed his eyes and concentrated. A clap of power. The world shifted. He opened his eyes to find they were all present just outside the wall. Happy with the results, his body decided to embarrass him again. His unconscious state was much longer this time. ***** A few hours later he woke up with Chester''s face hovering a foot from his. ¡°Finally awake!¡± he shouted making the poor bunny¡¯s head hurt. ¡°Shhhhhh¡± he whispered as softly as possible. As the young man whispered ¡°Sorry¡±, there were also calls of ¡°Finally!¡± and ¡°Can we get going now.¡± Sitting up, he found himself staring at a bunch of undead just sitting outside the cave. Some of the vampires had left to go find family, but most had stayed. Eleven in total. After sussing out the situation, the bunny began leading them directly home according to [GUIDANCE]. Lots of his skills had been levelling recently. Not far into the journey the malnourished humans had to piggyback. This actually made it so they could pick up the pace of the journey. Just three days after setting out, they finally reached the entrance to the dungeon. He assumed it would take longer, but they made good time. Upon walking up to the entrance, the wraith stilled and spoke in its ethereal voice. ¡°Young Lord, this be tha secrit [UNIQUE] grad dungeon tha me homelan uses fa trainin¡¯ and levellin¡¯ up. It be extremely hard ta find. The magic emanatin¡¯ from it can sen someone walkin¡¯ in circles fa weeks.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± the rabbit turned to respond inquisitively ¡°What are grades?¡± The lich, Caspian, answered, ¡°There are ten grades that apply to everything. From equipment to dungeons to living beings. Grades are revealed once an identifying or appraising skill had reached [LEVEL 10]. [LESSER] grade is marked with red in tags. [AVERAGE] is orange. [SPECIAL], yellow. [EPIC], green. [RARE], blue. [UNIQUE], purple. [LEGENDARY] is brown. [MYTHICAL], black. [TRANSCENDENT], white and [CELESTIAL] is grey. The higher the grade of a dungeon, the stronger and more elaborate the evolutions are for the monsters inside. At least for the ones that survive anyway.¡± The [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] nodded in sadness while thinking of his dead father and siblings. ¡°What about levels? You said levels are graded?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the highest grades. But [LESSER] is levels up to ten. [AVERAGE] is up to fifty. [SPECIAL] is up to one hundred. [EPIC] is up to five hundred. and [RARE] is up to one thousand. After entering [UNIQUE] grade, you¡¯re granted the [EVERLASTING] status by The Nexus and can become a [PATRON]. I¡¯m not sure after that. I would assume that [LEGENDARY] grade would start after [LEVEL 5000] and go up to [LEVEL 10 000], but I just don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°The Nexus?¡± the bunny questioned. ¡°You don¡¯t even know that much?¡± the spiteful undead woman asked accusingly ¡°What kind of under a rock, na?ve leader are you?! The Nexus is the spell cast eons ago to assist in progression. It gives us the status screens and lets us level. There are many stories but basically some strong mage on a backwater planet caste a super complex spell to help their entire world progress. The spell ended up leaking and spreading to the entire galaxy the planet was in. Anyone who could travel through space at the time and passed through caught a ¡°Nexus Virus¡± and spread the spell to other galaxies. Others heard of this and decided to try casting planetary progression spells of their own, which again, spread like a virus. Eventually the spells spread so far, they ended up colliding and there was a great glitch called ¡®The Day of the Nexus¡¯ War¡¯. After that the Nexus just incorporated any new progression spells into itself. There are rumours that even to this day, old monsters that have reached [TRANSCENDENT] or [CELESTIAL] can poke around with the Nexus spell itself and make alterations. No one has managed to dispel the Nexus, and there have been many tries.¡± The storm rabbit gaped at the information. That had been quite the info dump. He wasn¡¯t really sure how to respond. ¡°Wow. Okay. You guys wait here. I¡¯m just going to let my family know of the situation.¡± With that, he turned back into his rabbit form and re-entered the dungeon. *DING* You have entered the [UNIQUE] grade dungeon [FANTASTICAL FAUNA] Chapter 37 - We Can All Do This Together! No wonder his evolutions were good. [UNIQUE] grade was up there in regards to the power of grades. On another note, getting out from the sun had been a relief. If there was one thing the journey over had hammered home, it was that vampires and undead did not appreciate the sunlight. It made them drowsy and was way too bright for their super sensitive eyes. Vampires were regarded as only kind of undead, since they still had a beating heart despite dying. Passing through the entrance of the dungeon felt like a safety net, even though the rabbit was attacked by a low levelled frog monster straight away. He was home. His family was here, and that was enough. Approaching the burrow made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The scent also made his mouth water, but the thirst was nowhere near as bad as the first day. Not only was he in complete control, but the urge now reminded him of smelling baking cookies. It was a nice aroma to have in the house, but you didn¡¯t necessarily have to eat the cookies. How had his family been holding up while he was away? According to the lazy snake napping in their burrow, everyone was just fine. All the others were currently out levelling. The storm rabbit got a shock upon identifying [VASILIOS]. Monster ¨C [SOVEREIGN¡¯S AFFLICTION OROCHI BASILISK BUTLER] ¨C [LEVEL 41] That was a really long [RACE] name. Not only had his [RACE] changed, but so had the reptile himself. The snake had gone from being three metres long with dark green scales and light green eyes, to a ten metre monster with glowing dark green eyes and scales ranging from dark green to obsidian black in various patterns. There was also a black mist emanating from the scales but would vanish whenever the mist reached half a foot from the body. ¡°Wow [VASILIOS], you¡¯ve really had an upgrade.¡± ¡°It hass been a pleassure to sserve your family¡± the basilisk said while bowing his head in a manner that the bunny would consider formal. ¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡± was the much less formal response ¡°If my family come by, then let them know that we will be having some friends join us soon. Get them to stay in the burrow for now. We need to have a family meeting.¡± The snake just bowed his head in that professional way of his ¡°It will be done.¡± The sovereign thanked the butler before racing off to find his family. Travelling through the dungeon was so much easier this time around. His levels were higher and the increase in stats from his vampiric nature definitely helped him out. Before long, the horned rabbit found all of his family and followed them back to the burrow. Most of them had been on the sixth floor. Despite this, he was still surprised at all of their levels. The non-rabbit monsters he had taken under his wing were certainly doing well. Monster ¨C [SOVEREIGN¡¯S AQUA KELPIE STEWARD] ¨C [LEVEL 48] Monster ¨C [ESOTERIC KURO YOKAI KITSUNE] ¨C [LEVEL 48] Monster ¨C [SAGE KURO YOKAI KITSUNE] ¨C [LEVEL 48] Monster ¨C [ESOTERIC SAGE SHIRO YOKAI KITSUNE VIZIER] ¨C [LEVEL 49] And his brothers from the previous litter, along with Mother, had really levelled up too. Monster ¨C [ELECTRIC DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 47] Monster ¨C [PHASE WALDRASSLINGE] ¨C [LEVEL 47] Monster ¨C [K¨­G¨­ VOID DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 48] The real surprise though, had been viewing his sibling¡¯s levels one by one. They had really improved. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA ESSENCE DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 48] Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA ESOTERIC DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 48] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA FORCE WALDRASSLINGE] ¨C [LEVEL 49] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA AFFLICTION WALDRASSLINGE] ¨C [LEVEL 49] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA RESONANT DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 49] Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA FOREST DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 49] Monster ¨C [OHIMESAMA AQUA DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 50] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA FLURRY DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 50] Monster ¨C [OUJISAMA METAMORPH DUAL HORNED RABBIT] ¨C [LEVEL 50] Finally having gathered everyone, they all sat in a circle as the storm rabbit explained the situation. Both [ULA] and [VASILIOS] were positioned behind him as he spoke. There was some nodding and excited chatter amongst his siblings. ¡°Will they be joining the nest then?¡± asked Mother in a serious tone. He thought it over for a moment, ¡°Pretty much. I guess I¡¯m kind of a leader for them now so we¡¯ll all be looking after one another.¡± ¡°Good enough¡± she approved with a stiff nod after a few moments of thought. Then the inquisition truly began. ¡°Aren¡¯t humanoids like elves scary?¡± [THUMPER] questioned. ¡°Are they really strong? How strong?!¡± [PETER] chimed in excitedly. ¡°So long as they guard the nest, we will get along fine¡± [BENJIMEN] stated seriously. ¡°Big brother has helped out others and even offered to let them join the nest. That¡¯s amazing!¡± [SNOWBALL] said with stars in his eyes. ¡°I wish I could have travelled with big brother, seeing everything outside must have been quite the experience¡± came the slightly off topic comment from [BUGS]. ¡°If they¡¯re anything like the elves, then our burrow probably won¡¯t accommodate them. We¡¯ll need to figure out proper shelter for them as soon as possible¡± [FLOPSY] interjected. ¡°I want to meet them already! Any friend of my brother is my friend too! We can all do this together!¡± came the enthusiastic shout over the chatter from [MOPSY]. [MIFFY] just sat next to [COTTONTAIL] quietly. While [COTTONTAIL] also stayed out of the conversation, that was mainly because she was muttering to herself in the background. ¡°This is good. More family to protect the nest.¡± ¡°Are they truly family though? Can we trust them?¡± ¡°Of course we can, brother trusts them, so we can too.¡± ¡°What if brother is wrong in his trust though?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not. Brother has never steered us wrong before.¡± [MIFFY] continued to listen to several versions of this repeating conversation that her older sister was having with herself. [REYNARD] also mostly listened in silence, only commenting briefly when the rabbits sought his opinion. Though his gaze showed utter devotion every time he met the storm rabbit¡¯s eyes, that gaze narrowed into suspicion towards the entrance whenever the sovereign looked away. He would make sure there was no betrayal or trickery left undiscovered. The fox would find and eliminate any resentment towards his beloved family. The conversation continued in this way for quite a while as the sovereign tried to answer all questions and concerns to the best of his ability. Finally he suggested that they should all go meet the new members of their group. His butler and steward as well as the kuro kitsunes stayed behind to guard the burrow, while the rest followed him out. ¡°Let¡¯s race!¡± [PETER] suggested as if it had already been decided. Immediately, thirteen monsters darted as fast as they could towards the entrance. Even Mother had joined the game. The storm rabbit stopped in surprise before grinning his bunny grin and then easily surpassing his entirely family. He sat smugly by the dungeon opening while waiting for his family to catch up. Peter reached him first with a sour expression. Apparently, he was used to getting first place. The aura of smugness from the actual first place holder increased exponentially at each new annoyed face. The only exceptions were [SNOWBALL] and [REYNARD], instead of annoyance, awe was in their expressions. Of course, the smugness vanished as soon as the last place holder arrived, Mother. One look from her was enough to snap him out of it. Taking on a serious expression he gave some final reminders. ¡°Remember, leaving the dungeon will release you of the bindings urging you deeper, but this is only temporary. When meeting them, just follow my lead. You won¡¯t be able to understand them, but I¡¯ll translate anything that needs to be said.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t my [WHISPERER] skill help?¡± [REYNARD] interrupted, ¡°I got it a while back and was part of the reason I named [VASILIOS].¡± The bunny mentally smacked his own forehead. He¡¯d been so preoccupied handling everything that he hadn¡¯t even noticed [REYNARD] intermittently having discussions amongst his siblings. It was a very smart move on the kitsune¡¯s part, but¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve looked over the description for that skill before. It was a good decision to grab it, but it won¡¯t help in communication with humanoids. You¡¯d need the [BABEL] skill for that.¡± The fox perked up after being told about the good decision, but his ears drooped at the end of the sentence. ¡°Alrighty then. Let¡¯s meet and greet, then we¡¯ll figure out where the newest members of our¡­ tribe, will be living.¡± Chapter 38 - When Storms Thunder, Death Follows The young woman glared at the cave entrance as the sun beat down on her tender skin. Scrunching up her eyes in dismay at her situation she huffed irritably. Her [HUMAN ZOMBIE] race sure wasn¡¯t doing her any favors right now. The recently obtained skill [ETERNAL FLESH] wasn¡¯t doing its job either. It was supposed to keep her flesh together, but at this rate, she would end up a [SKELETON]. Flakes of skin rot and fell off her even faster than usual due to the ball of fire in the sky. It was the bane of an undead¡¯s existence. How had it come to this? She knew how. Living on the border of Hanoah was always a risk, but that risk was highest where the southern border connected to the [VITO PLAINS]. Though the plains were named, no one lived in the region. It was a place where wars between humans and demons were fought. [HEROES] and [DEMON LORD]s battled out the frustrations of their respective rulers. Towns bordering the [VITO PLAINS] were seen as sacred towns. They were a safe space where provisions were sent off and injured soldiers could lay their heads without worry. The villagers of these towns were also seen as sacred people. It had been this way for generations, leading the people themselves to think they were sacred and pure. Her white blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and gentle nature had led to a particular young lady being constantly told how wonderful she was. The gentle girl was always the example mentioned whenever someone asked about their town. Her consideration and kindness was absolute. She took the sacred duties on as if they were second nature, tending to the wounded and helping with supplies. Her parents had been so proud of the moniker given to her alone by warriors and townsmen alike, the ¡®Angel of Purity¡¯. It had been said so often that she had been sure the Nexus would give her the title too. If not, then maybe one of her class upgrades would have a similar name. Everything had been perfect, until it wasn¡¯t. The most troublesome times were when a battle drew close to the border. If anything, it was expected that her town might be wiped out in one of these wars, should Hanoah be on the losing side of a battle. However, what had actually occurred, happened during the brief times of peace. Her town had been one of the smallest on the border, more of a village really. A group of ex-warriors that had turned bandits raided the village of Rockleaf and pillaged it for all it was worth, people included. Houses were burned, stock was stolen or slaughtered, but worst of all, they captured and chained nearly half of the roughly five hundred villagers they could find, and carted them off to the northern docks. No one had looked twice as the barred carts had trundled the three-week long trip to the northern shipping docks in the city of Croatia. Slavery was common on this continent. She had never been to a city before. It had been quite the experience. So much so that she had nearly died of dehydration before making it to the second mode of transport. The bruises from random rocks thrown at the cart hadn¡¯t helped much either. It was something she never wanted to experience again. Dying on the ship had been even less pleasant, but it was waking up again in Thrallton that had truly horrified her. Angel of Purity. The pride of that moniker had been stripped from her. Rotting flesh was all she had been left with. Then the experiments started, and just like when the young lady had starved on the journey to Croatia, she wished for true death. Weeks passed, then months. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly when the change happened, but after enduring one experiment after the other, her resolve slowly grew. Everything had been taken from her. She was no longer pure. The [HUMAN ZOMBIE] could not regain what had been lost, but she would make sure she was strong enough to never let anything be taken away from her ever again. As the recordings of her torture continued, her resolve only continued to intensify. In her mind each pain inflicted was a challenge to overcome. Every agonizing experiment, a trial to endure. Then he came and freed them all, this so-called leader. He shared information about himself so easily. What a moron. Someone could take everything from him. One of the people in her very vicinity could be plotting something against him. He was such an idiot. Just like she had been. She would not let someone with his consideration and kindness be taken advantage of. She would not let him make the same mistakes. She had to get stronger. Strong enough to protect him. Sure, he was stronger than her, but he was just a stupid bunny that didn¡¯t even know the basics of the world. A stupid bunny that lived in a [UNIQUE] grade dungeon that would be fantastic to level in. Yes, the monster thing had come as a shock, but from the moment he offered refuge after already giving freedom, she had silently vowed undying loyalty. She¡¯d had nothing. Now she had him. She would not lose him. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The [HUMAN ZOMBIE]¡¯s thoughts trailed off at the sight of over a dozen white and palomino rabbits as well as a white three-tailed fox exiting the dungeon. Three tails? So, a spirit fox then. Spirits were really rare, especially on the continent of Fenivan. The bunny monsters weren¡¯t fully rabbit like either. Their body shapes slightly resembled that of deer, though their tales almost matched the kitsune¡¯s. Interesting. Before she could reflect further, one of the few all white rabbits transformed into a humanoid form. The sovereign quickly donned clothes from a storage space making the process instant. At his appearance, they all gathered around. ¡°Hi peoples. These monsters are members of my family so I hope you will treat them all with respect. Due to certain conditions, I will be withholding their names for now, however, I will be introducing those who have shown the most initiative to them. I will call you forward in groups through [TELEPATHY] so you can give a greeting they will understand via my skill.¡± Immediately the three big hitters strode forward, Caspian the Lich, Kieron the Shade, and Cole the Wight. Shortly after, they stepped back and the rest of Cole¡¯s family walked up to the monsters. The humans Chester and Clyde, the bloodslave Lyle and their newly undeadish brother Finley. After a bit they turned to walk away and then she heard his voice in her head. ¡°Axar, Agnar, Eulalia, Osteon, Kosci and¡­ I¡¯m sorry but I still haven¡¯t actually learned your name. Zombie lady, would you mind enlightening me?¡± Her heart skipped a beat and every muscle froze. She had shown initiative? As far as she could tell she¡¯d been nothing but disrespectful and was wondering why he allowed her to stay with the group at all. Her aggressiveness had originally been to try and protect herself from hoping. But after he offered her a place to call home, she still hadn¡¯t been able to shake the original persona she portrayed. Lost in her thoughts the [WRAITH], [DARK KNIGHT], [DRAUGR] and two [SKELETON]s went forward while she stared blankly at their ¡®sovereign¡¯. Then her mind kicked back into gear. ¡°My old name is from my past life. I don¡¯t want it. You choose my new one¡± she sent via the link. Though the tone was still slightly aggressive, she couldn¡¯t help the emotions of need, want and hope that leaked into her words over the private link. She could somehow sense that he was the only one to hear her. The rabbitman monster gave a startled look her way before seeming to examine her in deep thought. She sat on one of the larger surrounding rocks in the grassland, baking in the sun. She couldn¡¯t have looked too impressive. With horror her mind conjured names he might pick from just a glance at her. Zom? Flakey? Meanie? Grey? As her thoughts spiraled, he cleared up her fears in an instant. The answer was cautious, ¡°What do you think of ¡®Dabria¡¯, it means¡­ It means ¡®angel of death¡¯. If you¡¯re as vicious to our enemies as you are with your words¡± he finished with a cheeky grin, ¡°then you¡¯ll be my ¡®angel of death¡¯ to all that oppose us.¡± By the end of his explanation, he looked pretty proud of himself. Her eyes widened. He didn¡¯t see her as extra baggage with thorns. To him she was a feisty angel that could work as his sword to take out enemies. His ¡®Angel of Death¡¯. ¡°Acceptable¡± she replied with a scoff before joining the others. She would not let him down. During introductions the kitsune once again caught her attention, but for a completely different reason. The protectiveness in his eyes matched her own. They would get along, no doubt. He gave her a slow nod of recognition. The [HUMAN ZOMBIE] returned it with heavy meaning. Her life had been perfect. Then everything had turned to ruin. And now, she had something new to build. A purpose. Her [SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] would thrive. With her as his sword and the ultra rare spirit as his shield, he would accomplish great things. She inwardly grinned at what the future legends would say. It would go ¡®When storms thunder, death follows¡¯. Chapter 39 - Good Boy [ROGER] was startled at the spiteful lady¡¯s request, but what was even more surprising were the emotions that filtered through the link of his newly obtained skill, [TELEPATHY]. Loss and hope all tangled together and focused on him. She wanted to aid him in any way possible. So, she was actually an angel on the inside then? Looking at the undead sitting around fifteen metres away from him, the bunny wondered if perhaps the name ¡®Angel¡¯ might suit her. Nah. Too clich¨¦. Then something to do with angels and probably death too since she was technically dead. Then his overpowered ability ran some translations through his head. Dabria. It meant ¡®Angel of Death¡¯. He then ran the idea by Miss not-so-spiteful. The joy he felt across the link did not match the blank look on her face. He smirked to himself. It was really funny to watch. This situation reminded him of when he had first used the skill on his family not too long ago. They had been discussing the new residents of their dungeon when he had thought to buy a mode of communication between his family and followers. [TELEPATHY] had cost him thirty skill points. To test it he had run it through each of his family¡¯s minds. Most of the thoughts were as expected. The only exception was Rey. The constant skepticism against everyone outside the immediate family running through his brain was surprising. The kitsune gave him a goofy look of enthusiasm while at the same time plotting how best to reveal any ulterior motives from the newcomers. It was honestly pretty scary, and also kind of cool as well. He had decided to keep his opinions to himself for now and let the esoteric sage kitsune go through with his plans. It would be interesting to see how they turned out. The greeting between Rey and Dabria was like watching two kindred souls find each other after going it alone for who knows how long. The bunny wished he had popcorn right about now to sit back and watch the antics these two would get up to. Sadly, there was neither popcorn nor time currently available to enjoy observing any shenanigans. Introducing his family had actually gone better than expected. He felt their respect for him spreading to include his family. Alright. Before heading in, there were just two more people he wanted to come forward. Linking their minds he called out ¡°Enzo. Elysium. Please come over here.¡± Without delay two humans, the brother and sister duo that had vowed to serve him, walked over. Once they had arrived, he linked the rest of his family and addressed them. ¡°Okay everyone, these two are humans who wish to serve our family just like [ULA] and [VASILIOS]. This is Enzo and his sister Elysium.¡± The twenty-year-old Enzo gave a small bow at his statement, while the sixteen-year-old Elysium curtsied shortly afterwards. For some reason he sensed Rey take an instant liking to them. Was it just instinct? Interesting. ¡°I¡¯d like to take you both to meet your fellow attendants so you can all get used to each other¡± he sent through his skill. They both nodded in understanding. Then the bunny turned to address the rest of the group and spoke aloud ¡°I¡¯m teleporting away for a short while. I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡± Resting his hands on their shoulders he took them straight inside the burrow. The snake and horse monsters guarding this section of the burrow jerked in surprise. [ULA] nickered in anger while [VASILIOS] hissed in warning. It took them only a second to realise the situation after sensing his magic. They immediately backed down and lowered their heads in apology. Elysium screamed while her big brother went pale. ¡°Easy everyone, everything¡¯s okay now. [VASILIOS], [ULA], this is Enzo and Elysium.¡± The girl recovered much faster. ¡°I love horses¡± she almost shouted ¡°can I pet you?¡± The rabbit made sure to relay her words through [TELEPATHY]. After a moment, the kelpie nodded her head in agreement. Squealing in excitement, the girl rushed over and proceeded to hug and pet the equine while telling her how amazing she was. [ULA] preened at the flattery. Getting a hold of himself, Enzo slowly walked up to [VASILIOS] and gave another slight bow. ¡°Pleasure to be working with you.¡± The basilisk bobbed his head in greeting. ¡°Likewise, and apologies for the scare earlier.¡± Great. They were getting along just fine. ¡°[ULA] and [VASILIOS], I¡¯d like to ask that you each save up points to purchase the [BABEL] skill. It will make communicating easier for everyone.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Elysium interrupted their nods of agreement. ¡°Its all good. I just picked [TAMER] for my [CLASS]. Usually, [TAMER]s get a low grade skill like [INSTINCT] to help understand their animal companions intentions, but I just got [WHISPERER]! Its probably because I have already spoken with such a high levelled monster! Thanks [ULA]!¡± The rabbit cleared his throat with meaning ¡°I might look humanoid now, but I am also a monster.¡± ¡°Right,¡± she responded with slight embarrassment ¡°thank you My Lord. Enzo, you still haven¡¯t picked your [CLASS] either, you pick the same.¡± The sovereign was taken aback from how the young lady addressed him. He supposed as both a sovereign and an [EARL], that was what people were supposed to call him. Still felt weird though. ¡°Alright you two¡± he spoke to the other monsters in the burrow ¡°there¡¯s now less pressure to grab the [BABEL] skill, but it would still be handy to have. Take your time and when you can manage it, be sure to purchase it.¡± There was another round of nods. ¡°Great. Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it then. Time to get back to the others now. Bye.¡± He said before teleporting back to the entrance. Appearing before everyone again, he decided to get the ball rolling. ¡°Hey everyone. Now that I¡¯m back let¡¯s get you all out of the sun and settled in. Discussions have been had amongst my family and we believe sheltering in the second floor would be best for everyone. It will give you some time to hide should certain elves waltz back in here. Also, there¡¯s less refracted light from the sun the further you venture down, which will be nice for those who no longer have a heartbeat.¡± There were some nods of agreement around the group. ¡°Alright then, follow me.¡± As they travelled further discussions were had. It was agreed that the best spot to set up camp would be next to the wall near the pond that was furthest from the entrance. [MOPSY] was exuberantly chatting with anyone who would speak a word to her through the link, which was everyone. She was really good at making new friends by the looks of it. [FLOPSY] was the one to take charge of the conversation though. She brought up what they would build for them and how they would make it. The subject of what a house was made up much of the conversation. The sovereign interjected here and there, suggesting that they could just dig any rooms and communal areas that were needed, just like a burrow, only larger. No one opposed his idea and he even sensed approval through the link. Caspian then commented on the efficiency of the idea and how he thought it would work well to hide them from any intruders. Less than an hour later, with the help of an escort of [WARG]s, they reached the intended wall. This particular pond was guarded by the [BULLETTE]s, however, the now [LEVEL 30] plus wolf monsters easily drove them all off. His entire rabbit family stepped up to dig out the intended homes. [BUGS] was especially suited to moving the rock with his [TRANSMUTATION] magic. Each monster put their own magic to use as they carved out halls, general areas and then rooms. With a lot of guidance from the humanoids, the metamorph rabbit also transformed the rock into wooden furniture and dirt into fluffy bedding. All his siblings were really getting the hang of their magic. Once most of the construction was out of the way the sovereign sat by the pond in his human form and gave his canine companion some scratches. The alpha lapped up the attention like a puppy, nuzzling and licking his master. While watching everyone else make the final touches, he got the alpha to do some tricks like sit, shake and roll over. Every time, the command was obeyed, and every time, the canine ferociously wagged his tail at being told he was a ¡®good boy¡¯. The sovereign thought it would be good to get naming him out of the way so he would lose a smaller amount of stats compared to later on. After all, he really, really wanted to name the big puppy dog. He¡¯d grown up without pets in his previous life, but he¡¯d always wanted one. Now he had one. A few names filtered through his mind. Something that connected with being an alpha or leader. Something simple. A name that would include meaning about how amazing the canine was. He had it! It was short and to the point. The name meant ¡®illustrious leader¡¯ or ¡®champion¡¯ according to his ability. ¡°Hey buddy, how would you like to have the name Roark?¡± The alpha¡¯s ears perked up and his tale wagged as fast as possible, though he didn¡¯t move from his position laying right next to the rabbitman. ¡°I would love to have a name master!¡± the [WARG] shouted in his deep baritone voice that definitely matched his huge frame, ¡°ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!!!¡± [ROGER] just laughed at the canine¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°Then I name you [ROARK].¡± With one thousand and seven attribute points total, he took one from [STRENGTH], twenty from [AGILITY] and [DEXTERITY], and thirty from [CHARISMA] and [PERCEPTION]. The sacrificed amount came to one hundred and one points. It was his biggest hit yet. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t need to do this again for a while. Probably not since the plan was to clear the entire dungeon once the new residents were all settled in. Attributes were once again decreased as the newly dubbed [ROARK] lit up green for a few moments. [ROARK]¡¯s tongue lolled as he panted with joy. That was one happy dog and he couldn¡¯t help himself from smiling in kind. ¡°I¡¯m planning to take off again soon. Going to go deeper into the dungeon. You look after everyone while I¡¯m gone, okay?¡± The alpha sat up straight and took on a serious expression, ¡°Yes master!¡± The sovereign just grinned at his response before standing and reaching up to rub his chosen companion¡¯s ears. ¡°Good boy.¡± Chapter 40 - Nightmares They had ended up carving out more than he expected. There was a library, training room, armory and parlor as well as the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms. They didn¡¯t have to worry about electricity or plumbing since the lich organised magic for everything. Caspian carved and enchanted runes onto all the necessities. Both [THUMPER] and [MIFFY] seemed to be interested in the processes and magic being used. The sovereign had a feeling that the lich might have two potential students on his hands. It turned out that before exiting the prison mansion back in Thrallton, some of the former prisoners had found storage bags or jewelry and ransacked the place before he burnt it to the ground. Apparently, the estate had had quite the book and armor collection, which had been nicked and kept for safe keeping by those who shall not be named. Now all the so-not-stolen property had a new home. With the new residents established in their homes and the original members happy with the arrangement, the sovereign stayed an extra night to hang out with his family and make sure they were all properly taken care of. Snuggling together with the rest of his family sure was nostalgic. It helped to ground him from his thoughts of the nightmares that came every night. As a vampiric being, he didn¡¯t need to sleep as much, but it was still necessary. Despite this, the sovereign stayed awake for as long as possible. He constantly wanted to hold out just another moment more, to prevent the nightmares from beginning. They happened every night. Every time he closed his eyes, there she was, calling out in her sing song voice, ¡®wakey, wakey¡¯. Then the seemingly never-ending pain would start. Even if his resistance skill had curbed most of the pain after a while, he would never forget those first few horrifying hours. The rabbit shivered in remembrance. In reality, he hadn¡¯t spent all that long with the bitch, but the time he had with her would always haunt him. When he had been cornered in the bottom floor of the prison she had deflected all his attacks with ease while also taunting him. The rising despair he had felt in those moments had been almost as bad as the torture itself. The thoughts that had slowly crowded his mind as she had dealt with him like a disobedient child throwing a tantrum. In that moment, her look had reminded him of a mother that was disappointed in their child¡¯s behaviour. A cruel mother. Her overwhelming power had slowly drained him of any hope in escaping. The terror of realising he would soon be back in that room, that she would continue her work on him like nothing had happened. In his dreams, there were no rodents to find the key. In his restless sleep, there was no [DEEPSOUL WIGHT] to take her out. It was just him and her in that endless loop. He gave another shiver of terror. Then a voice called out softly, washing away the looping memories. It was quiet, so as to not wake the others, but also angry. ¡°Someone hurt my baby. Who? No. What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright Mother. It¡¯s been dealt with. There¡¯s no need to worry¡± he replied tiredly. Mother carefully stepped around the others to rest beside him. She nuzzled against him, her worry clear. ¡°It¡¯s a mother¡¯s job to worry about her children. For now, rest easy. Your mother won¡¯t let anything happen to you. I¡¯ll protect you.¡± The storm rabbit smiled softly while resting his head against her side and closing his eyes. This was a true mother. His true mother. Not the one that had abandoned him in his previous life. Nor the bitch that had transformed his very nature. The nurturing, angry, protective mother cuddled up to him right in this moment was the only mother he had ever needed or wanted. She was his mother. And he was her son. With these new thoughts running through his head, he slept soundly for the first time since his escape. **** When morning came the rabbit set off in his original form. Down he went through the first seven floors that he had already cleared. It was now time to face his water dinosaur fears. Surely sea monsters couldn¡¯t be that bad? He¡¯d levelled up a lot after all. Right? This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Wrong. They were still gigantic monsters with gnashing teeth that could swallow him whole and not even realise it. However, he was now a much higher level than they were. This did curb some of his anxiety as he used [WATER] magic to bound across the surface of the sea. It took less than a minute for some of the key monsters to notice him. As soon as they did the real hunt began once again. Monster ¨C [KRONOSAURUS] ¨C [LEVEL 46] Monster ¨C [MEGALODON] ¨C [LEVEL 48] Monster ¨C [BASILOSAURUS] ¨C [LEVEL 48] Monster ¨C [LESSER LOCH NESS] ¨C [LEVEL 50] As one would expect of water dinosaurs, they were all red-blooded mammals. This means they had blood. It also means that the vampiric rabbit was having an easy enough hunt. It didn¡¯t take the carnivores long to realise that the small fluffy monster they had been chasing was predator, while they had been the unsuspecting prey. His journey to the other side of the small ocean was intermittently interrupted by nearly one hundred sea monsters. Though even with all the kills he racked up, the bunny didn¡¯t earn a single level. Made sense since he was now [LEVEL 62]. These small fries, a least level wise, didn¡¯t give him much experience. Reaching the other end quite quickly, he descended to the ninth floor. Monster ¨C [GREATER YOKAI TANUKI] ¨C [LEVEL 53] Monster ¨C [YOKAI BAKENEKO] ¨C [LEVEL 53] Monster ¨C [GREATER GORISTRO DEMON BEAST] ¨C [LEVEL 54] Monster ¨C [HEZROU DEMON BEAST] ¨C [LEVEL 54] Surprisingly, the lower levelled monsters of the next floor gave him a bit of trouble. The two yokai monsters seemed to be constantly shifting in and out of reality. The tanuki was a racoon type creature while the bakeneko was a large cat. Though they didn¡¯t work together specifically, they did play off each other¡¯s attacks striking from the ethereal one after the other. Not even summoning his storm magic could help him against them properly since it could only affect reality. Wherever they went was currently beyond him. [BLOOD] magic was also mostly useless. Their partial spirit form gave them a great resistance. His [BLOOD PERCEPTION] could sense their blood, however, it felt like the blood was both present and not present. It was very annoying. Luckily the demon beasts were the complete opposite. They were definitely all there. The problem was their [STRENGTH]. So much so that he began to wonder what steroids they were on. The goristros were basically red, bipedal bulls with razor sharp teeth and claws, along with the snout of a pig. Hezrous on the other hand were spiked and bulky creatures with no neck. They were also red and bipedal, however, instead of hoofed feet and clawed hands, they had three fingers and toes extending from each limb. Their claws were much shorter and half of the face was a very wide mouth like a frogs. He had tried to be careful, but one of the Hezrous had landed a nasty blow while he was dodging mid-air. He landed on one of the nearby rocky mounds like a pancake. While his [ENHANCED REGENERATION] was handy, he wasn¡¯t sure he could¡¯ve survived without his altered [RACE] and the [SURVIVE] skill. As soon as his brain had healed enough the bunny used [MIRAGE] to conceal himself before moving to bury himself underground. He was a powerful vampiric monster with healing abilities, yet it still took him over an hour to fully heal from the blow. He¡¯d felt some resistance in the healing process and cast [CLEANSE] before trying to sense out what might be wrong. Turns out Hezrous empowered their strikes with [FIRE] and [EARTH] magic. Maybe [MAGMA]? Anyway, the foreign mana which had stuck around had been eating away at his own active mana. He really should have gotten the hint earlier from their fists glowing red in the dark and the barrier of mana he had felt around their bodies preventing him from using [BLOOD] magic. Thankfully, it only took a few more casts of [CLEANSE] to entirely remove the intrusive mana. His body¡¯s regeneration went much faster after that. Using [MINOR TELEPORT] throughout the fight hadn¡¯t been sneaky enough. Keeping this in mind he activated [MIRAGE] and [STEATH] right from the get go. If he could just get close enough, he would have an easier time using their own blood against them. He had already tried [STORM] magic on them, but they were just too tough. The bunny was confused about why he was having so much trouble with these monsters. His level was far superior and even with his loss of some stats he was much smarter and had better evolutions. So why was clearing this floor so hard? His best guess was in some of their [RACE] names. The ones he was having the most trouble against were those with ¡®greater¡¯ in their tag. All well, he had most of their fighting patterns down pat now. Testing was over. It was time to actually gain some levels. Chapter 41 - Dangerous Contracts & Hidden Fine Print The storm rabbit was now on a roll. It took him longer than usual but he eventually managed to get past the defences of the monsters on the ninth floor. *DING* Greater Yokai Tanuki ¨C Level 53 has been slain x4 Greater Yokai Tanuki ¨C Level 54 has been slain x4 Greater Yokai Tanuki ¨C Level 55 has been slain x2 Yokai Bakeneko ¨C Level 51 has been slain x5 Yokai Bakeneko ¨C Level 54 has been slain x3 Yokai Bakeneko ¨C Level 55 has been slain x8 Greater Goristro Demon Beast ¨C Level 52 has been slain x2 Greater Goristro Demon Beast ¨C Level 53 has been slain x7 Greater Goristro Demon Beast ¨C Level 54 has been slain x7 Hezrou Demon Beast ¨C Level 51 has been slain x5 Hezrou Demon Beast ¨C Level 53 has been slain x13 Hezrou Demon Beast ¨C Level 55 has been slain x3 *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 63. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 64. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 65. 60 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 45 Skill points and 15 Attribute points to distribute manually. It was about time. He really wanted to round up the numbers in his stats as that had been annoying him. Gaining more levels and points was also great as well. Calculating quickly with his high [INTELLIGENCE], the bunny put two into [AGILITY] and [DEXTERITY], and three into [PERCEPTION]. The final eight points went into [VITALITY]. After nearly dying again, it felt reassuring to up the main attribute keeping him alive. Happy with his choices, he looked over his status screen. [STATUS] KIND: [MONSTER] RACE: [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] SEX: [MALE] AGE: 0 NAME: [ROGER] TITLE: [EARL] [LEVEL 65] STR ¨C 80 VIT ¨C 73 AGI ¨C 165 DEX ¨C 165 CON ¨C 95 INT ¨C 80 WIS ¨C 80 CHA ¨C 120 PER ¨C 125 Spare Points: 0 The light green glow that washed through his body at the confirmation always left him feeling refreshed. With that taken care of it was time to turn his attention to the latest discovery. Elite Monster ¨C [SUPREME YOKAI ONI] ¨C Dungeon Boss ¨C [LEVEL 56] He didn¡¯t know why it had taken him so long to come across another boss. Was there even a system to it? Something to find out later. He had considered trying to just pass onto the tenth floor, but the boss almost seemed to be guarding the exit. It would wander away for a short while, but it wouldn¡¯t be long before the boss would once again pass in front of the exit. His [VAST VISION] was really helpful this deep into the dungeon. Though still a monster, this particular boss leaned more towards a humanoid looking appearance. It was roughly twenty foot tall with deep red skin. The entirety of its eyes glowed magma and a cloud of dark smoke puffed out with every breath. It had short, curly black hair and two onyx horns grew from its forehead, curving like a semicircle. Its only clothing was a pair of ragged pants with a few scorch marks on them. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Since it was humanoid in shape, the rabbit wanted to at least try talking things out first. The chances were low that a boss monster with such power would cooperate, but who knew? He hopped up to the top of one of the taller rock mounds, levelling his [CLIFFWALKER] ability in the process and bringing him eye level to the oni¡¯s chest. Looking up he slightly projected his voice. ¡°Hi there, would you mind if I pass by you to reach the tenth floor?¡± The boss stopped and stared at him for a while. Then it smiled and huffed like it was laughing at an inside joke. ¡°Looks like she wins this round,¡± the boss initially spoke to himself, before turning his full attention to the questioner, ¡°I have no quarrel with you, you may pass. Understand that through this action, I have submitted myself to you by my own will. I am now yours to command.¡± The sovereign froze for a moment, startled by the reply. That had been way too easy. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®she¡¯? And why would you submit yourself to me? I¡¯m not that much stronger than you and you¡¯re clearly a variant just like me.¡± He smiled softly with expectation. ¡°Reach the final floor of this dungeon, and you will have the answers to those questions.¡± This answer only left the bunny puzzled. How would clearing the dungeon help? ¡°Well then thank you for your cooperation¡± the storm rabbit said uncertainly. Without further ado the exit was taken. It felt like there was a barrier at the exit this time but he passed through absent of any trouble. *DING* Achievement Earned: Clear 50% of [UNIQUE] grade Dungeon [FANTASTICAL FAUNA]. [COMPLETE] Reward: 2x Random Contract Tokens up to [UNIQUE] grade. *DING* Achievement Earned: Have the Ninth Floor Boss submit to you. [COMPLETE] Reward: 1x Demon Contract Token up to [UNIQUE] grade. The flash of notifications wasn¡¯t much of a warning for what dropped out of the air in front of him. Upon closer inspection, he found three small purple disks. Hovering them in front of him revealed that two had question marks inlaid on both sides. Did they use question marks in this world? Or was it because he himself was from Earth? The other disk, however, was inlaid with the image of a basic humanoid body. The only exceptions were the barbed tail and two horns protruding from its head. Demon contract token. Pretty obvious and on the nose. So how did he use these? Focusing on the tokens, a message immediately popped up. *DING* Would you like to submit 3x Contract Tokens? [Y/N] Holding his breath in trepidation, he selected yes. *DING* 3x Contract Tokens have been consumed [WARNING] Protections are in place. Contract tokens are 100% effective. In an instance where the contract is forced without consent (97% Probability), the summoned may intermittently break through the protections to lash out, dependent on the summoners level compared to the summons¡¯. Summoned beings can not level until their summoner exceeds the level they were contracted at. Contracts are permanent. Only the death of either the summoner or the summoned will end the contract. Oh shit. What kind of reward was this! There were protections but the protections might not hold? The contract will always go through even if the contracted being doesn¡¯t want it? Why!? Before he could ponder on his current plight any further, three different magical circles big enough to fit an elephant appeared in the tunnel. There was a green one, a blue one and a purple one. It was truly panic mode now. What grade was what colour again? And what levels were in what grades? In this truly terrifying moment, he couldn¡¯t remember. Magical energy rushed around each circle as the tags appeared first. [CONTRACTED SUMMON] Demonoid ¨C [DISGRACED ROYAL HELLFIRE DEMON] ¨C [LEVEL 329 [LOCKED]] NAME: [ABRAXAS] TITLE: [PRINCE] GRADE: [EPIC] [SUMMON PACT] Ethereal ¨C [FALLEN MONARCH SPIRIT] ¨C [LEVEL 722 [LOCKED]] NAME: [TITANIA] TITLE: [QUEEN] GRADE: [RARE] [BONDED SUMMON] Ethereal ¨C [FALLEN IMPERIAL FAE] ¨C [LEVEL 4963 [LOCKED]] NAME: [FINVARRA] TITLE: [EMPEROR] GRADE: [UNIQUE] He only had a moment to process the information before the contracted beings had fully been summoned into existence. They seemed just as surprised as he was that they had appeared. The demon prince was already enough to take him on if the ¡®protections¡¯ were to fail, and the spirit queen was also a much higher level, but it was the [FALLEN IMPERIAL FAE]¡¯s level that nearly gave the little bunny rabbit a heart attack. The thoughts came to him in a daze as the demon and the spirit leapt at him in anger, claws outstretched. Apparently, they had realised their situation and come to terms with it quite quickly. The spirit was beauty incarnate. She had crystalline, purple hair, eyes, nails and wings. The wings reminded him of a monarch butterfly¡¯s, except for the colour and that they were transparent. Everything else looked human apart from her skin, which was a sky-blue colour and undulated in a fashion similar to water. The dress she wore was elegant and slim fitting, seemingly made from purple flower petals. Her hair was done up in a hairstyle that he would consider fit for a royal ball. Both the demon and the fae were also human shaped. The prince had very light red skin, long, dark crimson hair and ruby red eyes that were slitted like a reptile¡¯s. The outfit he wore reminded the rabbit of noble style clothing from the eighteen hundreds. Dark red coat and shoes were paired with a frilly black shirt and slacks. A ruby brooch was pinned in the middle of the neckline. Ruby rings, cuffs and earrings completed the outfit. His face had gone from blank confusion to a rage filled grimace that showed off all four of his fangs which were similar in shape to a vampire¡¯s. The hazy processing continued as he saw that the claws of both the lower levelled summons had pierced a transparent sphere which had formed around him. His emotions were currently too muted to feel any despair or terror at the failing ¡®protections¡¯. Realising he would soon be dead, the bunny glanced over to his final summon. If he¡¯d had time to think and communicate, he may have grovelled a little before the being that had surpassed the minimum threshold to become an [EVERLASTING], like his [PATRON]. The fae could likely kill him much quicker than his current murderers. Despite this, he still took what he was sure would be his final look. A tired man looked back at him with weary and despairing grey eyes. He wore two or three layers of ragged robes that were also grey, but a lighter shade. His shoulder length, dark green hair was messy and matted. The taught, caucasian skin was smudged with dirt marks. The storm sovereign was about to die any minute, but in that moment, he felt like the fae who had sat down in weariness upon being summoned, wished to swap places and end it all. How tragic. Chapter 42 - A Demon, A Spirit & A Fae The fae raised his hand. Oh. Maybe he would die before the other two got to him. An instant later both the [QUEEN] and [PRINCE] were back inside their summoning circles in a kneeling position. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± The [EMPEROR]¡¯s tone matched his expression. If he was truly over it all, then why had he helped? ¡°Listen here rabbit, do not call me to you unless your enemy is a higher level than the spirit. Do you understand?¡± he said while briefly pointing to [TITANIA]. The bunny nodded meekly. After getting confirmation, [FINVARRA] turned to stare down the other two in the tunnel. ¡°This monster is under my protection. I have left enchantments on him that specifically keeps summons from harming their summoner. You will answer his calls when he needs you. I don¡¯t care about the rest of the time.¡± Sensing that he was finished with his instructions the spirit rose before performing a generous curtsey, then remaining there with her head bowed. ¡°If I may, your excellency, why do you wish to keep this insignificant being alive? He is so far beneath us. What would make him worth the effort?¡± Hurtful. The measly [LEVEL 65] rabbit monster felt very slighted in that moment. Even if he could see her point. The answer was curt and for some reason made him feel avenged even if it had nothing to do with him. ¡°How dense are you?¡± Silence. Golden silence that let the monster enjoy the affronted look that crossed her face. Then the fae continued ¡°We are beings that have been betrayed and sold off to the Nexus by our very own people. We are slaves. Property of the Nexus itself. And to keep its ¡®property¡¯ from rampaging through the universe in revenge, it keeps us in stasis somewhere. This might be the first time out for both of you, but its not mine. If our current contract holder dies then we go right back on the shelf for the next contract gifted by the system. I¡¯d much prefer to watch suns rise and set than go back in there again.¡± The demon just sat while keeping his mouth shut but the spirit was incensed, ¡°I am a [QUEEN]. I do not wish to be ordered around by a filthy rodent. If you recall, your excellency, summoners that know their summons [TRUE] names can have them follow their every order, just like monsters and demonoids. And since the Nexus gave him our names from the start, he can tell us to do whatever he wants!¡± Shock! How dare she?! Summons could be controlled just like monsters? And so could demonoids? [ROGER] was really beginning to feel for poor [ABRAXAS]. Being born a demon and having to try and hide his [TRUE] name his whole life, and probably failing, only to be betrayed by his own people and turned into a summon that a much lower levelled monster could tell what to do from the get go. That must really suck. With a flick of his finger from his still sitting, but more slouched position, the [EMPEROR] put the spirit back in a kneeling position. ¡°If you¡¯re still not convinced, then I shall regail you of my previous two summoners. The first was [HUMAN] and what I would call a smart idiot. The Nexus hadn¡¯t even gifted him a token. He had managed to evolve his class to [SUMMONER] and decided to try and take from the Nexus itself. He was over [LEVEL 100] and had crafted a perfect summoning circle. Every glyph was correct, every line and circle in place. The ritual was crafted to contract a summon between [LEVEL 50] and [LEVEL 100]. Unfortunately for him, the Nexus doesn¡¯t take kindly to being stolen from, so it switched out the intended target with me. I emerged thinking I had regained freedom and instantly killed the man after getting all the information out of him that I could. Less than a second later, these metal cuff bracelets that we each get glowed green, then I was sucked back into stasis through the void. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. My second time in a contract was a much more gruelling experience. This time was an [ELF] and she had been gifted a token. I don¡¯t know what level she was but by the time I was summoned my contractor was [LEGENDARY] grade. From the start she was quite unhappy with me. I was extensively lectured about how the token had said a being from [UNIQUE] all the way up to [TRANSCENDENT] grade could have been summoned. She¡¯d been prepared too. She hadn¡¯t wanted to rely on the protections from the Nexus but had instead crafted her own. She boasted that her enchantments might have even been strong enough to contain a low levelled [CELESTIAL]. I don¡¯t know if it was true. I was and still am much too weak to discern that level of power. Due to how weak I was compared to her she treated me like the slave that I am. I, a once noble [EMPEROR] that had ruled a dynasty which spanned planets, was forced to scrub floors and muck out animal stalls. All because I was too weak. I wasn¡¯t worthy enough to level despite having the ability to do so due to the significant gap. She forbade me from levelling, yet when the command waned in power after a few years, I would sneak out to gain even just one more level. Whenever caught I¡¯d receive her wrath in multiple floggings and then the command would be renewed. Those weren¡¯t the only instances of punishment though, I became one of her favourite ways to vent her frustrations. One spot wasn¡¯t as clean as the rest and she was having a bad day. Flogging. The clothing she wanted to wear wasn¡¯t washed, dried and ready quick enough. Flogging. Her favourite [ALICORN]¡¯s stall wasn¡¯t spotless. Flogging. Eventually, after a few thousand years, some of her enemies pinned down her location and managed to kill her. Though I did have a nice reprieve in stasis, I wasn¡¯t allowed outside very often by my previous summoner. I do so love the sun and would much prefer to be able to see it. Also, I don¡¯t want to ever have to feel the dread in wondering if I¡¯ll perhaps have a summoner like my Mistress ever again. So, trust me when I say, it is much more preferable to have a weaker master. I would advise not to wish for someone stronger.¡± The listeners were speechless. Turning to his current summoner the fae continued ¡°Don¡¯t let this story go to your head young one. As an act of good faith, I will let everyone know that you can call for us mentally. So, ripping out your vocal cords wouldn¡¯t do us any good.¡± The monster once again nodded meekly. Then the [UNIQUE] grade being that had survived the unimaginable, vanished. Now it was just him and the two lower grade summons. The spirit immediately decided to be a copycat. Standing and pointing at the demon she commanded ¡°Don¡¯t call me unless your enemy is a higher level then him.¡± After getting the now customary nod of confirmation, she also vanished. Two beings were now sitting in the tunnel. ¡°Ahhh, Hi. As you know I¡¯m [ABRAXAS]¡± the [PRINCE] said uncertainly ¡°sorry about before, but in my defence, the last memory I had was of my falsely loyal [DUKE]s taking my father¡¯s head before trying to sacrifice me in a ritual. If the Nexus hadn¡¯t reached out to offer me a slave contract, I¡¯d be dead. I went straight into stasis after that and then I was just ¡®here¡¯. My mind was still in life-or-death mode, so can we just move past the previous ¡®incident¡¯?¡± The bunny blinked in surprise, then just rolled with it. ¡°Sure, nice to meet you [ABRAXAS]. I¡¯m going to keep my name to myself since I don¡¯t really want anyone spreading it around. You can just call me¡­ ummm¡­¡± ¡°Should I refer to you as ¡®My Lord¡¯, since you¡¯re an [EARL]?¡± ¡°That works. Would you prefer to be called your name or ¡®Your Highness¡¯?¡± ¡°Either works for me My Lord.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°Um¡­ Your Highness.¡± ¡°Yes My Lord?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude, I mean you are welcome to stick around if you want but¡­ Why are you still here? The others left as soon as possible.¡± ¡°A few reasons actually. First, I¡¯d like to get my head straight and come to terms with what in my mind is a recent betrayal. Secondly, staying with the person who commands me means I¡¯m unlikely to get betrayed anytime soon. I don¡¯t want to make any friends right now, I¡¯d be too suspicious of them. Hanging out with My Lord will head off any loneliness from that decision. Thirdly, I¡¯m a really lazy demon. I never want to do anything more than absolutely necessary. And finally, exploration''s not my thing. I¡¯d much rather stay inside and read a book. I can see you¡¯re travelling right now, but surely you¡¯ll go home at some point. I¡¯ll just create my own space and hunker down there for a while.¡± ¡°Okay. That¡¯s fine by me, I guess. My family and I live on the first and second floors of this dungeon so you¡¯ll have to at least be civil with them. Right now I¡¯m trying to clear the dungeon and apparently I¡¯m around halfway there, which is how I got gifted your contract tokens.¡± The demon nodded in understanding ¡°Sounds fine. Shall we continue on then My Lord?¡± Chapter 43 - Rambling & Shambling The tenth floor seriously needed pest control. It was basically lots and lots of tunnels filled with spiders, worms and fleas. Monster ¨C [ANANSI] ¨C [LEVEL 58] Monster ¨C [DJIEIEN] ¨C [LEVEL 58] Monster ¨C [GRICK] ¨C [LEVEL 59] Monster ¨C [RUST] ¨C [LEVEL 60] As the storm rabbit sent waves of [WATER] and [LIGHTNING] through the narrow spaces, the demon floated a few steps behind cross legged and upside down. His hair reached towards the ground while he read from a book pulled out of his own personal storage skill. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 66. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 67. 40 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 55 Skill points and 10 Attribute points to distribute manually. Both [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM] got an extra five points as they neared the exit for the tenth floor. Things were going well. He had gained some high levelled security, at great risk, and progressing deeper into the dungeon was going smoothly, at least so far. *DING* [SILENT DEATH] has sent a direct message. As a creature with [INTELLIGENCE] above the minimum requirement you may view messages. Would you like to view messages from [SILENT DEATH] in the [CHAT]? [Y/N] [SILENT DEATH]: I already realised you had a high [LUCK] attribute, maybe ten or eleven. But for the recent events that have happened to occur¡­ You would need a truly monstrous amount of [LUCK]. Summoning top tier summons for your grade, all way above your own level will cancel itself out and is really more of a thing that happens to people with negative [LUCK]. Yes, they are supremely powerful summons compared to the summoner, however, all three would have had the ability to override the protections. Even the demon. This would make the incident rather unlucky under normal circumstances. [SILENT DEATH]: But you managed to get the highest graded summon possible, for the token you received, to actually keep you alive. A one out of a billion chance, no, maybe even less likely than that. I¡¯m guessing fifteen or maybe even a seventeen in [LUCK]. Absolutely unfathomable. I¡¯ve been finding it quite difficult to level at all for a long while now, yet just the carry over from that event you endured netted me ten levels! Do you have any idea¡­ No, you probably wouldn¡¯t. I have a feeling you are going to go far in the universe. Keep up the good work. [SILENT DEATH]: Oh, and as a side note, I highly suggest making better use of my advice from now on. You did manage to get yourself out of there, but not without being changed. You realise this is going to hamstring you, despite the additional power. Even the most powerful vampires can¡¯t go a month without eating. To give you some context, [TRANSCENDENT]s can go an entire century before they need sustenance again. However, vampires in the same grade need to seek out the blood of their own kind every month. This means that the usual meditation techniques used to help with evolving skills are near useless. Some have tried to stay in the trance while drinking blood, but the euphoric taste always engulfs their senses. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. [SILENT DEATH]: Oops. Looks like I overdid it again. The longer I¡¯m your [PATRON], the more I will be able to contact you. After a year or so there won¡¯t be any wait time and we will be able to contact each other without delay. Until then, there is only so much we can send per message, and only so many messages we can send within a certain period. After this message I won¡¯t be able to contact you for at least a week, though I will receive it if you send something. Okaaay? That was out of the blue. He smirked at the comments about his [LUCK]. Apparently having twenty in the lucky stat was nothing to sneeze at. Also, him just surviving a powerful being would level his [PATRON]? How did that even work? And he had tried to listen to the advice. He tried to leave before sunset. It was just bad timing that the bitch had wanted to go out for an early stroll right as he tried to leave. Being a vampiric monster wasn¡¯t so bad overall anyway. It had given him quite a bit of extra power both attribute and skill wise. There was something he was beginning to realise about his [PATRON]. He was reserved and shy when communicating with others of his level, but when it came to one on one, the guy was a rambler. He¡¯d sent out four rambling messages in less than a minute. The probability was high that he had sent them as soon as the Nexus would let him. It had been what? A bit over a week since the last messages from him, and now they had once again been used all at once. Another thing, he hadn¡¯t been able to respond to messages before. That had changed? Focusing on the screen in front of him as they travelled down the tunnel, he found that a reply function was now available. Interesting. What should he say? [ROGER]: Thanks for the advice. I will try to adhere to it more in the future. Happy to be of help in the level department, especially after you helped me out by gifting me those abilities. Once you are able to respond, just out of curiosity, would you mind telling me your grade? The bunny updated the chat with his reply. Then watched in horror as his name was automatically added to the message. Several expletives went through his head at the realisation, most of them repetitive f bombs. Oh well. It was too late now. Hopefully he¡¯d never meet his [PATRON] in real life. A thought he didn¡¯t actually have much hope in. Moving on. The initial inspection of the eleventh floor didn¡¯t show any signs of monsters at all. It was just a jungle that glowed with fluorescent green light. Then the jungle itself tried to kill him. Monster ¨C [SHAMBLING MOUND] ¨C [LEVEL 61] Monster ¨C [ASSASSIN VINE] ¨C [LEVEL 61] Monster ¨C [MAN TRAP] ¨C [LEVEL 62] Monster ¨C [TWIG BLIGHT] ¨C [LEVEL 64] The vegetation came alive as they walked by. The demon just put up a transparent flaming barrier and then went back to his book. Still floating, the [PRINCE] was laying on his side now while propping up his head with one of his hands. Overall unbothered by the situation. On the other hand, the storm rabbit was chased by bushy humanoid [SHAMBLING MOUND]s and attacked by [ASSASSIN VINE]s that reached down from the trees. Every fifty metres or so a leafy [MAN TRAP] would try to grab at him from the ground, its toothy plant maw already open with expectation. Sometimes the trees themselves were the monsters, though they were the more dead looking trees that were mainly just twigs and branches, so not too hard to pick out. A raging thunderstorm blew through the jungle at tremendous speed. Rain and sleet pierced the vegetation, while a whipping gale terrorised the floor and bolts of electricity fell from above. Hundreds of kill notifications passed by his vision in a haze. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 68. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 69. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 70. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 71. 80 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 75 Skill points and 20 Attribute points to distribute manually. By the time he reached the other end of the floor, he¡¯d gained four levels. The spare points were split evenly between [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM]. His favourite magic sure had helped him out with this floor. And as a bonus, it had looked spectacular with the stormy clouds lit up by the fluorescent glow of the jungle below. As they entered the next floor the rabbit noticed that [ABRAXAS] had once again shifted floating positions, book held up in front of him and ankles crossed. The book had also changed this time. If there had been a swinging chair holding up the demon then perhaps the pose wouldn¡¯t have looked so out of place. Shaking his head in bemusement, the monster continued on without commenting. Chapter 44 - Only An Idiot A flat grassy meadow stretched out as far as the eye could see with only a few glowing trees throughout the expanse. It was soon discovered that more plant monsters were on the twelfth floor as well. Monster ¨C [HUNGRY GRASS] ¨C [LEVEL 66] Monster ¨C [MANDRAKE] ¨C [LEVEL 67] Monster ¨C [YELLOW MUSK CREEPER] ¨C [LEVEL 68] Monster ¨C [TENDRICULOS] ¨C [LEVEL 70] Now monsters were, in general, difficult to defeat when of a similar level. However, there was a monster on this floor that was truly annoying to disturb let alone fight. The [SOUND] magic it used was annoying enough that even the demon had created earmuffs of [FIRE] to block out the noise. Listening to those screeches, the bunny decided then and there that all [MANDRAKE]s should be eliminated on sight. To help achieve this goal, he constantly kept his [LIGHTNING DOMAIN] active while sending electric bolts through the ground. The shrieking abominations quickly popped up out of the ground only to but cut down by numerous [WIND BLADE]s. This method was also effective in slaying both [HUNGRY GRASS] and [YELLOW MUSK CREEPER]s. A [TENDRICULOS], however, was quite a bit tougher. With its four limbs, it reminded him of the [SHAMBLING MOUND]s of the previous floor. Instead of a body made of shrubbery, its form was formed with vines. It lacked eyes, but had a huge gaping mouth with thorn shaped, jagged teeth. Wanting to continuing using different magics in battle, the storm rabbit focused on using [BOLT] and infusing it with [LIGHT] mana. It successfully singed his vine bound opponent. This brought to mind a few other skills that were very much underutilised. Continuously firing [BOLT]s he tried combining [SCORCH] and [FLASHBANG] with [BOLT]. The first few hits resulted in serious burns marking the plant monster. Then a hit landed and caused a spark. A spark that caught alight before fire spread across the entire [TENDRICULOS]. The opponent that had previously been five times the size of the bunny, went up in flames and shrivelled to dust. *DING* An additional affinity has been unlocked. [FIRE] ¨C 1% has been granted. *DING* Skill: [SCORCH] has upgraded to Skill: [FIREBALL]. *DING* Skill: [FLASHBANG] has been upgraded to Skill: [COMBUST]. ¡°Impressive¡± the demon said from behind him, finally glancing up from his book. ¡°You managed to unlock an affinity without evolving. I¡¯m not sure you understand quite how amazing that is, but I can¡¯t be bothered to explain.¡± Finished with handing out compliments, the princeling went right back to his book. He was upside down again. The sovereign decided to just leave things be for now. Didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t let his own thoughts run wild though. Wow. Just wow. No matter how much he used his magic the percentage had never increased for any of his affinities. So, it had nothing to do with the use of magic itself. The key was HOW he used his magic combined with HOW he used his skills. His instincts told him this stroke of luck was a one-time thing. It was only going to be even more difficult to do something similar again. For now, he wouldn¡¯t even try. The current goal was clearing the dungeon. So clear it he would. Throughout the rest of the floor, the storm rabbit continued to keep his [LIGHTNING DOMAIN] active and sliced apart any plant creatures that came at him. Channelling [FIRE] mana through his upgraded skills wasn¡¯t very effective since his proficiency was so low, however, combining the threads of both [LIGHT] and [FIRE] had an explosive effect. Every [TENDRICULOS] was met with a [FIREBALL] that was triggered by [COMBUST] upon making contact with the opponent, resulting in the enemy turning to cinders. In this way it didn¡¯t take the sovereign long to exit the twelfth floor. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 72. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 73. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 74. 60 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 90 Skill points and 15 Attribute points to distribute manually. The next floor was quite interesting for several reasons. The first thing the rabbit noticed was that crystals on the roof far above were reflecting a dim amount of light. Was there a light source at the end of the dungeon? If each floor continued to get brighter, then it seemed that way. Secondly, the types of monsters were an odd sight. Monster ¨C [CHIMERIC ALLOCAMELUS] ¨C [LEVEL 72] Monster ¨C [CHIMERIC SHUG MONKEY] ¨C [LEVEL 73] Monster ¨C [CHIMERIC KUMO USHI] ¨C [LEVEL 74] Monster ¨C [CHIMERIC AKHEKH] ¨C [LEVEL 75] With such a bizarre view in from of him, the rabbit couldn¡¯t help but stare. Yes, some of the creatures on the way up had seemed to be a mix of several animals, but these [RACE] names outright stated that these monsters were chimeric. The allocamelus had the head of a donkey, but the body of a camel. Shug monkeys were long haired black dogs, with a face like a monkey¡¯s. A kumo ushi was a giant spider with the face of a bull. It was the creepiest. The final chimera, an akhekh, was a mix between an eagle, an antelope and a lizard. With its horns, bird beak and reptilian tail, this creature was actually the most majestic out of the four. It reminded him of the [ANZU]s of the fifth floor. This theory was upheld when both the allocamelus¡¯ and the akhekh¡¯s didn¡¯t attack, but simply watched on. They were rather docile monsters in general. Levelling on this floor would be filled with monkey dogs and spider cows. Before stating the last reason this floor was interesting, it should be brought up again that monsters of previous floors do try to progress further into the dungeon. The majority of the progressing monsters wouldn¡¯t make it more than three floors further than their own due to death or giving up. There were still some that did soldier on, fighting their way deeper and deeper into the dungeon. The key monsters of the floors weren¡¯t the only ones that had tried to attack the sovereign throughout his mission to clear the dungeon. With this in mind, the storm rabbit spotted a particular lone wolf on this floor. Before leaving the dungeon to explore, he had seen a [WARG] hunting by itself well past its own floor. It was the same one without a doubt. His monster senses didn¡¯t lie. He had left it be, not wanting to interfere. But now, now it was interesting. Monster ¨C [LESSER SHADOW REAPER FENRIR] ¨C [LEVEL 81] Deciding he really wanted this monster on his side, he called out telepathically once he saw they were each out of harms way for the moment. ¡°Hi there, would you be interested in having a chat?¡± There were three possible reactions that the sovereign expected. Curiosity, the best-case scenario. Attack, the unfortunate worst case scenario. Or retreat due to suspicion, an acceptable outcome where he could try again later. The Fenrir did none of these things. ¡°[ROGER]? Is that you?¡± The sovereign missed a step and landed flat on his face. The princeling, now in a reading pose that would suit if he were laying in a hammock, raised his head and lifted an eyebrow at the unforeseen situation. He was clearly spying on the telepathic communication with his own magic. Picking himself back up, the bunny tried to regain some dignity by continuing the conversation. ¡°Max? What are you doing down here?¡± ¡°I¡¯d ask you the same question, but I¡¯m pretty sure I can piece it together. The guys that broke in and slit my throat did the same thing to you, didn¡¯t they?¡± [ROGER] thought back to that night. The night he died. The bastards must¡¯ve broken into more than just his and Sarah¡¯s apartments then. Max had been [ROGER]s next door neighbor. A guy in his early thirties. As far as he could recall, all Max did was work, sleep and watch television. No friends, no family, no girlfriend. Just a one night stand every month or so. Their apartment walls had been thin. How many homes had those bastards broken into? How many had they killed? [ROGER] felt sick just thinking about it. ¡°There were bullets instead of a knife, but basically yeah. They got Sarah too. I managed to take them down, but I died in the process. I don¡¯t know how many they got.¡± The wolf bowed his head in grief. ¡°Such a shame. You two were so young. Had your whole lives ahead of you. Come to think of it, Sarah had her boyfriend over that night as well. Connie? Or was it Ronnie? Poor chap probably didn¡¯t make it either.¡± They were both silent for a few moments. Grief and remembrance filtering through their minds. Max was the one to change the topic. ¡°You have a friend with you?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. This is¡­ my companion. Um¡­ did you get anything for clearing fifty percent of the dungeon? And how did you get past the boss?¡± ¡°The boss? I just snuck around him. Too big and scary for me. At least at the level I was back then. And rewards for clearing half the dungeon? Yeah, I got two contract tokens. They looked fishy to me. Only an idiot would use those, who knows what could turn up or if it would even be friendly.¡± In this very moment, [ROGER] was glad that blushing couldn¡¯t be seen through his fur. There was the sound of stifled giggling behind him. He would NOT look at the summon behind him. Max tilted his head in both question and realization. ¡°Hey [ROGER], you didn¡¯t happen to get some contract tokens as well did you?¡± The only answer was the sound of laughter that could no longer be contained. The demon no longer floated in the air. He was rolling on the ground, arms crossed around his chest and tears of mirth running down his face. Loud cackling peeled from the summon as he tried to speak. ¡°Only. Hehehehe. An. Hehehehe. Idiot. Hehehaha! I agree! Ha ha ha ha. What kind of. Hahahaha. [SPECIAL] grade moron would use. Hehehehehe. [UNIQUE] grade contract tokens?¡± at this, the demon finally calmed down before aiming a shit eating grin at the idiotic bunny, ¡°Gee, I wonder?¡± Chapter 45 - Ominous The outburst was followed by awkward silence. During the silence the demon went back to floating in the air and reading. Nearly a full minute later the silence was once again broken. ¡°Well¡­ is your ¡®companion¡¯ from one of those contract tokens then?¡± The bunny nodded. ¡°Did you use the other token as well?¡± [ROGER] let out a sigh of resignation. ¡°I got an extra token for getting the boss to submit to me. I used all three tokens like an idiot. And I summoned three extremely powerful beings. If the most powerful summon hadn¡¯t wanted to keep me alive, then I¡¯d probably be dead right now.¡± ¡°Huh¡± Max said, not sure how to respond. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that triage of question marks for your summons¡¯ level means that it¡¯s in the hundreds?¡± Another nod. ¡°Were all three of your summons¡¯ levels in the hundreds?¡± The rabbit slowly shook his head. ¡°Ah, so this is the one that wanted to keep you alive then?¡± The demon began to shake once more while holding his book to his belly and the other hand over his mouth in an effort to keep from laughing again. The defeated looking bunny¡¯s ears were now laid back in shame. ¡°One of my summons¡¯ was nearly [LEGENDARY] grade¡± he nearly mumbled. The Fenrir looked puzzled. ¡°What does that mean?¡± A deep breath. Then he gritted out ¡°In order to go from [UNIQUE] grade to [LEGENDARY] grade, one would need to pass [LEVEL 5000]. My highest levelled summon had less than fifty levels to go.¡± Silence reigned once again. ¡°Hey [ROGER]?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Remember that time I asked you to look after my plants while I went on a business trip?¡± ¡°Yes¡± he replied with resignation. ¡°And then you thought it would be fine if you just gave them a week¡¯s worth of water all at once to save you time?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°I lost my favorite orchid.¡± ¡°I said I was sorry. I bought you a new one¡± he mumbled under his breath. ¡°Sometimes you make really unwise decisions.¡± ¡°I know.¡± By this point the rabbit was both looking and feeling very down trodden. ¡°You know what this means right?¡± ¡°Hmmm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to stick around and keep an eye on you. Who knows how much more trouble you¡¯ll get yourself into if left to your own devices?¡± [ROGER] brightened with happiness. ¡°I guess so then. Does that mean you¡¯ll join me in clearing the dungeon?¡± ¡°Well, I was already heading down there. Its not like I¡¯m going out my way¡± the ten-foot-tall wolf said gruffly. The bunny acted very much like a rabbit for a moment. In his excitement, he hopped up and down a few times in quick succession. Recognizing his display of childlike behaviour, he quickly suggested they move on. As they moved throughout the floor, they each shared their own experiences since being born in the dungeon. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 75. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 76. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 77. 60 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 105 Skill points and 30 Attribute points to distribute manually. After a bit more hunting the Fenrir mentioned that he had been trying to level for more than a day and needed some rest. The bunny showed off his amazing digging skills by carving out a hideaway for them all. The wolf didn¡¯t seem all that impressed, but still thanked the storm rabbit before quickly falling asleep. Confidant that everything was secure, points were distributed. Of the thirty spare points, ten went into [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM], while five points were increased in both [STRENGTH] and [VITALITY]. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Once the rabbit was sure that Max was sound asleep, he rounded on the demon demanding an explanation of his outburst. [ABRAXAS]¡¯ reaction had been way over the top. It hadn¡¯t been that funny, had it? Who laughed that much at someone else stuffing up? Apparently, the answer was demonoids. The prince brushed the issue aside by claiming that demons just had a different sense of humour to everyone else. Unsatisfied, but unable to refute the answer, the sovereign let the matter go. Sometime later the wolf monster awoke. It was then suggested by the rabbit monster that they should move on to the next floor. There was a disapproving look in the giant canine¡¯s eyes at his evident ¡®recklessness¡¯. Then the black wolf glanced at the [PRINCE], before agreeing with a defeated expression. A white blizzard greeted them on the fourteenth floor. Snow and ice covered everywhere they looked. The chill of frozen mana began to seep into their skin the longer they remained on the floor. *DING* Skill: [COLD RESISTANCE] granted. *DING* [COLD RESISTANCE] has reached Level 1 The ice age theme of the floor was soon confirmed with little exploration. Monster ¨C [SABER TOOTH TIGER] ¨C [LEVEL 75] Monster ¨C [MAMMOTH] ¨C [LEVEL 78] Monster ¨C [STEPPE BISON] ¨C [LEVEL 78] Monster ¨C [CAVE BEAR] ¨C [LEVEL 79] Going against all expectations, the herbivorous inhabitants of this floor were quite vicious and attacked on sight just like the [SABER TOOTH TIGER]s. The [CAVE BEAR]s, the only lone monsters, mostly just kept to themselves. Despite there being so many threats, something else was holding the storm rabbit¡¯s attention. Each time his magical related attributes had increased, he felt a little more connected to mana itself. He had already become accustomed to his own innate magic, but the mana outside his body slowly came more and more into focus with every level. The density of the mana had increased with every floor descended as well. And now, with over one hundred points in both [INTELLIGENCE] and [WISDOM], dense mana like he had never felt before, and with the magic itself being currently attuned to the [STORM] affinity, the bunny felt like all the pieces were clicking together. He could feel its very essence in the air. Standing in the middle of an icy plain which was covered in such a savage blizzard, he stretched out his own threads of mana. In the process he managed to intuit that his dual horns conducted the magic more efficiently. Focusing on channeling through them, he reached out and took hold of as much of his favourite affinity as he could. This turned out to be every drop of [STORM] mana within the entire floor. Suddenly, it wasn¡¯t a blizzard, it was his blizzard. At his command, everything froze. Their breathing was the only sound to be heard. The astonished huffing blowing away the nearby snowflakes. An instant later, the bunny made everything burst back into motion. The wind howled in an agonising scream. The snow flurried in a rush, bombarding all those in its path with iciness reminiscent of death. Thunder bellowed through the sky in an ominous rage. The resulting lightning sporadically lit up the entire floor, showing just how dark and deadly of a force the [STORM] had become. Notifications fell like rain as the intense snowstorm thundered on. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 78. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 79. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 80. 60 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 120 Skill points and 15 Attribute points to distribute manually. *DING* [EVOLUTION AVAILABLE] Would you like to evolve? [Y/N] Note that further levels can not be attained until you have evolved. Time to hide away again. He¡¯d really been looking forward to evolving. What sort of options would he get? It wouldn¡¯t be long before he found out. Letting the others know of his situation, they began searching for a convenient place to burrow down. Only a little while later he was once again safe and secure. [YES] was selected before a list appeared in his vision. Select your evolution from the following options: [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN MONSOON JACKALOPE] ¨C Title raised to [MARQUESS] ¨C Grants the skill: [HONED FOCUS] ([INTELLIGENCE] & [PERCEPTION] based skill) ¨C Grants one free [EPIC] grade skill ¨C Grants the unlocking of all Tier 3 [WATER] affinity types at 100%. [BLOOD], [MONSOON], [SAP] and [TYPHOON]. ¨C Grants the unlocking of all Tier 3 [AIR] affinity types at 100%. [SMOKE], [TEMPEST] [TORNADO] and [VAPOR]. ¨C Grants the unlocking of all Tier 3 [LIGHTNING] affinity types at 100%. [CHARGE], [CYCLONE], [MAGNETIC] and [HURRICANE]. ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will be changed to [AGILITY], [DEXTERITY], [INTELLIGENCE], [WISDOM] and [PERCEPTION] (All automatically assigned attributes will receive 5 points per level) [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN TEMPEST RAVRAKI] ¨C Title raised to [MARQUESS] ¨C Grants the skill: [REPAIR INJURY] ([WISDOM] based skill) ¨C Grants the skill: [REPRIEVE] ([WISDOM] based skill) ¨C Grants two free [EPIC] grade skills ¨C Grants the unlocking of all Tier 3 [WATER] affinity types at 100%. [BLOOD], [MONSOON], [SAP] and [TYPHOON]. ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will be changed to [VITALITY], [INTELLIGENCE], [WISDOM] and [PERCEPTION] (All automatically assigned attributes will receive 6 points per level) [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN CYCLONE SKVADER] ¨C Title raised to [MARQUESS] ¨C Grants the skill: [FAST FORWARD] ([AGILITY] based skill) ¨C Grants two free [EPIC] grade skills ¨C Grants the unlocking of all Tier 3 [AIR] affinity types at 100%. [SMOKE], [TEMPEST] [TORNADO] and [VAPOR]. ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will remain [AGILITY], [DEXTERITY], [CHARISMA] and [PERCEPTION] (All automatically assigned attributes will receive 6 points per level) [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN TYPHOON WOLPERTINGER] ¨C Title raised to [MARQUESS] ¨C Grants the skill: [OMNIPOTENT] ([STRENGTH] based skill) ¨C Grants two free [EPIC] grade skills ¨C Grants the unlocking of all Tier 3 [LIGHTNING] affinity types at 100%. [CHARGE], [CYCLONE], [MAGNETIC] and [HURRICANE]. ¨C Automatically assigned attributes will be changed to [STRENGTH], [AGILITY], [DEXTERITY] and [CONSTITUTION] (All automatically assigned attributes will receive 6 points per level) So basically, there was a magical choice, a healer choice, a speed focused choice, and an attack focused choice. So which one would he choose? That¡¯s right. Bring on the magic! Chapter 46 - Ive Got The Magic In Me [EVOLUTION IN PROCESS] [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN STORM DUAL HORNED RABBIT] to [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN MONSOON JACKALOPE] [COMPLETE] TITLE: [EARL] raised to TITLE: [MARQUESS] Raising 1 rank allows you to increase your proficiency by 10% in any chosen affinity You have raised your title by 1 rank. You have gained 10% proficiency to increase in any chosen affinity. You may bypass this limit by sacrificing a skill, skill point or attribute point. 1 point will increase proficiency in one affinity by 10% Note that all beings have natural affinities. This means that a being will be able to more easily channel and control the magic of that affinity. Horned Monster Rabbits natural affinities are [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. [WARNING] This will be the final evolution in which you can increase base affinities. Choose wisely. Select magic affinity from the following base, secondary and tertiary affinities: With the warning in mind and some skill points to spend, he thought the options over carefully. How far did he want to go with magic. Should he focus on what he already had and save the rest of his skill points for actual skills? Or did he go to the extreme and increase as many affinities as possible. His current stash of one hundred and twenty skill points along with the ten percent from ranking up did give him a fair margin of leeway. Bringing his current base affinities all up to one hundred percent left one thousand and forty percent proficiency to divvy up, if he intended to spend all of his points. [CHAOS] and [ORDER] had always been at the back of his mind. He also wondered if [DEATH] and [UNDEATH] had any synergies. How would they even work? What about [LIFE] and [DEATH]? His thoughts ran wild at the possibilities while increasing all five affinities to maximum proficiency. Five hundred and forty percent left to go. Eight base affinities remaining. Unable to make up his mind, the bunny eventually increased the remaining choices by fifty percent and decided to leave the rest of his skill points for just in case. You have chosen the following affinities and proficiencies: [FIRE] ¨C 50% [WATER] ¨C 100% [AIR] ¨C 100% [EARTH] ¨C 50% [LIGHTNING] ¨C 100% [LIGHT] ¨C 100% [DARK] ¨C 100% [LIFE] ¨C 100% [DEATH] ¨C 100% [UNDEATH] ¨C 100% [POISON] ¨C 50% [TRANSMUTATION] ¨C 50% [NATURE] ¨C 100% [SOUND] ¨C 50% [MYSTIC] ¨C 50% [BEASTIAL] ¨C 50% [MENTAL] ¨C 100% [NULL] ¨C 100% [SPACE] ¨C 100% [GRAVITY] ¨C 100% [TIME] ¨C 50% [CHAOS] ¨C 100% [ORDER] ¨C 100% You have chosen to sacrifice 106 Skill Points Would you like to confirm your selection? [Y/N] It was a big spend, but in his mind, it was worth it. He was now the magical version of a ¡®jack of all trades¡¯. As soon as he selected yes, the strands of other magics appeared as if they had been there all along. Thinking on it, they probably had been, he just wasn¡¯t able to sense them before the evolution. The different affinities were constantly changing in strength according to the variables in the area. [HONED FOCUS] activated a moment later letting him understand what was truly the most powerful magic in his current surroundings. The blizzard outside was wreathed in [CHAOS]. What would intentionally mixing [STORM] and [CHAOS] do? With barely any effort, he reached outside the hidey hole to do just that and sense the effect himself. The action caused him to realise that he no longer had a pair of pale blue unicorn horns sticking out of his forehead. They had transformed into translucent blue antlers. The reaction outside was like setting off a bomb. In an instant the power levelled the entire floor. His new skill somehow slowed down his perception of time whenever viewing magic with his senses, which he noticed was being helped along by the new strand of [TIME] affinity. This made him able to create barriers of [EARTH], [NULL] and [ORDER] around his party and the remaining [CAVE BEAR]s on the floor before the devastation of his magic could occur. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s some power My Lord. I can only sense the explosive qualities of the magic you just used, but even that was powerful, especially for your level¡± [ABRAXAS] said with wonder in his eyes. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Max was unfazed by something he¡¯d barely even felt, ¡°Alright, if you¡¯re done. Let¡¯s head out.¡± The rabbit tuned them out as his prior level ups came through followed by hundreds of kill notifications crossing his vision. Then once again even more level ups floated in front of him after the annihilation of the fourteenth floor. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 81. ¡­ [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 85. 125 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 44 Skill points and 40 Attribute points to distribute manually. The newly evolved jackalope quickly brought his [STRENGTH] and [CONSTITUTION] up to one hundred. The remaining twenty points were tossed into his lowest attribute, [VITALITY]. A refreshing wave washed over his body making him feel like a million bucks. A quick observation made him realise that apart from the antlers, his body hadn¡¯t changed all that much. The only other change was that he was now another foot taller. Finished with evaluating his new power he used it to calm the storm and they exited the burrow. Outside was a landscape of ice as far as the eye could see. [ROGER] didn¡¯t notice the stunned looks of his companions as he took the lead. He was ready to see what the next floor would bring. A few hours later they entered into a hellscape of fire, lava and unbearable heat. *DING* Skill: [HEAT RESISTANCE] granted. *DING* [HEAT RESISTANCE] has reached Level 1 *DING* Skill: [COLD RESISTANCE] combined with Skill: [HEAT RESISTANCE]. Skill: [COLD RESISTANCE] and Skill: [HEAT RESISTANCE] upgraded to Skill: [THERMAL RESISTANCE]. [MAX] instantly began to gather shadows around himself to ward off the [FIRE] mana trying to cook them. ¡°Ahhh, this is the good stuff¡± said [ABRAXAS] with glee, ¡°feels just like home. Once you¡¯ve conquered the dungeon, I think I¡¯ll settle on this floor.¡± The jackalope now had a choice to make. Sheild himself with ease from the burning mana suffusing the floor, or grin and bear it to level his new thermal skill. He hadn¡¯t bothered when he got the [COLD RESISTANCE] skill because he had been too caught up in the wonder of [STORM] magic to worry about letting a new skill level. He had shielded himself on instinct to better focus on what he wanted. Now though, he had more attention to give. The extra boost in magical stats along with [HONED FOCUS] allowed him to use [SIMULTANEOUS MIND] to greater effect. Using part of his mind to focus on the nuisance of extreme heat, he concentrated the rest to study the swirling storm of smoke raining sparks of fire. Aside from the gigantic waterfalls and pools of magma, the floor was lined with many narrow, rocky paths and hanging cliffs that spelled doom. It didn¡¯t take long for the inhabitants of the floor to come into view. Monster ¨C [MAGMA BREATHING SHADOW SALAMANDER] ¨C [LEVEL 80] Monster ¨C [SMOKEY SAGE AMPHITHERE] ¨C [LEVEL 80] Monster ¨C [TRUEFIRE LESSER PHOENIX] ¨C [LEVEL 84] Monster ¨C [SHADOW BLAZE LESSER DRAKE] ¨C [LEVEL 85] *DING* [IDENTIFY] has now reached Level 10. You may now differentiate by [GRADE] up to [UNIQUE]. Your Skills List has been updated. The grades are as follows: Lesser Average Special Epic Rare Unique It had been a while since he checked his Skills List. Interested in the changes, he did just that. Skill Points: 44 Skills: [GUIDANCE] ¨C Level 18 [ENHANCED ULTRASOUND] ¨C Level 29 [VAST VISION] ¨C Level 42 [SONIC SCREAM] ¨C LOCKED [REFLECT] ¨C LOCKED [SLEEPING BEAUTY] ¨C Level 61 [STEALTH] ¨C Level 32 [INVESTIGATE] ¨C Level 11 [FUTRURE SENSE] ¨C Level 9 [ACCELERATED PERCEPTION] ¨C Level 24 [DODGE] ¨C 37 [MINOR TELEPORT] ¨C Level 28 [IMPACT] ¨C LOCKED [ENHANCED REGENERATION] ¨C Level 50 [SURVIVE] ¨C Level 6 [PAIN RESISTANCE] ¨C Level 27 [CONFIDENCE] ¨C Level 41 [CLEANSE] ¨C Level 34 [AURA RESISTANCE] ¨C Level 35 [DIG] ¨C Level 53 [POISON RESISTANCE] ¨C Level 10 [MAGIC SHIELD] ¨C Level 15 [SAVE THE DAY] ¨C Unlocked [MANA CONTROL] ¨C Level 62 [MANA BODY] ¨C Level 28 [LIGHTNING DOMAIN] ¨C Level 7 [PLATFORM] ¨C Level 12 [WIND BLADE] ¨C Level 49 [DISSECT] ¨C Level 9 [LIGHT FLAME] ¨C Level 11 [INTENT] ¨C Level 22 [FIREBALL] ¨C Level 15 [TELEKINESIS] ¨C Level 26 [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL] ¨C Level 9 [ENHANCED VOICE] ¨C Level 8 [IDENTIFY] ¨C Level 10 [CLIFFWALKER] ¨C Level 4 [COMBUST] ¨C Level 4 [MIRAGE] ¨C Level 43 [SIMULTANEOUS MIND] ¨C Level 48 [CRONO DEPOZITARE] ¨C Level 30 [ELECTROCUTE] ¨C Level 4 [THUNDERSTORM] ¨C Level 19 [SOVEREIGN¡¯S INFLUENCE] ¨C Level 3 [DETECT SCENT] ¨C Level 16 [BLOOD PERCEPTION] ¨C Level 17 [MANA BOLT] ¨C Level 7 [ROYAL DECREE] ¨C Level 2 [CHARM] ¨C Level 1 [TELEPATHY] ¨C Level 7 [THERMAL RESISTANCE] ¨C Level 1 He was pretty happy with how much all his skills had levelled. There was one discrepancy though. [FUTURE SENSE] was brown. Brown didn¡¯t match any of the grade colours he had been shown. Did that mean¡­ that it was a higher grade? He was thinking [LEGENDARY]. That made him grin. The skill was pretty amazing. He could see any oncoming threats before they even happened. Usually around three minutes in advance. Less if they were higher levelled and more if they were lower. He spent a lot of time using [SIMULTANEOUS MINDS] to block out the lesser possible threats. Overall though, he was really happy to have the skill. He wasn¡¯t that surprised that its grade was so high. Chapter 47 - Hes A Dumb Dumb Two palomino rabbits stared down at the intruders as they entered the dungeon oblivious to the eyes watching them. ¡°Should we take them out?¡± [BENJIMEN] questioned. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s wise. We are strong enough to defeat them now, but first, let¡¯s try talking to them. We should send people that can communicate with them¡± [THUMPER] argued. [BENJIMEN] nodded before using a skill he had picked up after watching his eccentric brother use it, [TELEPATHY]. ¡°[VASILIOS], take [ULA] and the humans to go greet our guests. We need to see if they¡¯ll be friend or foe.¡± ¡°Yess, Lord [BENJIMEN], I sshall carry out thiss tassk at oncce¡± The reply went through his mind. **** Evindal¡¯s shoulders were tense and he focused his hearing on every sound. Something was wrong. None of his four party members believed him, but he was sure of it. The usual sounds of monsters clashing came from all around them like usual. Nothing seemed out of place so far. But his [ENHANCED PRECOGNITION] skill was giving his body goosebumps and his pointed ears were trembling with fear. There was something strong nearby, maybe several strong somethings. However, his skill had overreacted many times before. This led to his team not taking the warning seriously. He couldn¡¯t blame them, but it was different this time. Evindal always had a sense of how certain the skill was. Every previous time he had felt the skill go off, he¡¯d understood that the danger was only a possibility. Some possibilities were bigger than others. Certain doom was now hanging around him like a dense cloud. If they entered the dungeon and didn¡¯t show a least the minimum amount of respect required to whatever was setting off his skill, then his entire party would die. It was definite. There was no range of possibility this time. Unless they turned around, they were about to face something extremely powerful. The terrified elf shivered as the sense of doom came ever closer. ¡°Lord Droth, Commander Connak, please listen to me, we have to leave.¡± Once again, his pleas fell on deaf ears. ¡°Watch it scout, you wa only assigned to this team due to yer so-called [EPIC] grade skill, bu its dun squat fer us so far¡± Connack berated him ¡°Shut up an wait fer ya Lord¡¯s commands.¡± Lord Droth acted as if he hadn¡¯t even registered the conversation. As he was basically the crown prince of their tribe, that was his right. Only the best had been chosen for each role of the team. Every member had at least one [EPIC] grade skill and had a slew of [SPECIAL] grade skills. The only exception being Lord Droth himself. The hope of this expedition was to have the young Lord upgrade the rarity of his skills. How he was supposed to do that while the four of them were doing the brunt of the work was beyond Evindal¡¯s comprehension. Commander Connak had upgraded his initial [CLASS] of [GUARDIAN KNIGHT] to [PALADIN]. Their ranged fighter Hastos went from [ARCHER] to [ARCANE ARCHER]. And their only female party member Amara upgraded from [MAGICIAN] to an [ELEMENTALIST]. He himself had gone from a [ROGUE] to a [NIGHTBLADE], but due to his penchant for perception and a concealment [ABILITY] gifted by his [PATRON], everyone thought he had upgraded to [SCOUT] instead. The only one still with his initial class of [WARRIOR] was the young Lord Droth. Following orders, Evindal kept quiet while keeping an eye on every possible abnormality. As soon as he sensed the threat approaching them, he would alert the others before tucking tail and running. Just as he felt like a calamity was breathing down his neck, the nearby sounds of fighting died off, then came a voice. ¡°Hello there! We bring peaceful intentions. And you?¡± The voice was male and confident. Looking towards the voice they found two figures walking on top of a sandy crest a little distance away. As they walked closer it became clear that there were four entities, not two. A young human woman sat astride a watery horselike creature. Walking next to them was the man who had spoken. An onyx snake with bright green patterns was coiled around the man¡¯s arms and neck. A black mist was emanating from the pair. Evindal noticed all this well before the rest of his party. He could see that although the humans were strong, their party should be able to take them. The real shock came when he tried to identify the beast companions. Hang on a minute¡­ Were¡­ Were the beasts stronger than the humans!? What? Why? How was that even possible? When a [TAMER] or similar [CLASS] bonded with a creature, the beast could almost never surpass the [LEVEL] of their master. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Then the truth struck him. The beasts weren¡¯t bonded to the humans. The humans had no control over these powerful creatures. If anything, it was the other way around. He was in so much shock from the realization that it was too late by the time he remembered that he should clue his party in. ¡°Human! Ya dare delve in a dungeon tha has bin claimed by elven people! Impudent! Fer tha crime tha has bin committed, I sentence ya ta be executed!¡± Droth proclaimed with rage. ¡°Lord Droth, we need to rethink this. Please talk this out with them¡± the terrified elf squealed. Hastos and Amara took a few steps back and looked at their scout questioningly. However, the bull headed commander and the idiot young Lord paid him barely any mind. Evindal¡¯s mind was so scattered with fear that he didn¡¯t noticed Connack hitting him with his shield face on until it was too late. Sprawled out on the ground and barely conscious he heard the commander shout, ¡°Disrespect tha young Lord again an I¡¯ll silence ya fer good!¡± The nightblade knew why they were acting this why. In general, there was no point identifying a tamer¡¯s beast because they were almost always lower levelled then their master. Maybe a few levels more with specialised skills but that was it. Droth and Connack had seen the humans half decent levels and decided that they weren¡¯t a true threat since bonded beasts would be around the same level. He also knew they had made the biggest mistake of their lives, perhaps their last. ¡°Hey, hey¡± the girl said in a bright tone, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that kind of talk. We¡¯re just here to let you know that these monsters live here and we were also invited to live here by them. If you¡¯ve levelled here before, its understandable that you¡¯d want to continue to do so. Just make sure to do it away from the sections of the dungeon where we live. Then we can all get along. No problem.¡± ¡°Enough a¡¯ this nonsense. Connack. Kill ¡®em.¡± The idiotic young Lord commanded. **** [VASILIOS] was troubled at the developments of the conversation. It didn¡¯t take long for the situation to devolve into murder. Weren¡¯t humanoids supposed to be more civilized? And smarter too? [ULA] rarely spoke. She was a quiet soul by nature. ¡°He¡¯s a dumb dumb¡± she communicated softly with some light nickering. The basilisk silently agreed. He was disappointed with how this meeting was going. Would he have to kill them? He had shrunk himself down with [DOWNSIZE] and draped himself around Enzo to appear less threatening, but things weren¡¯t looking good. Lord [BENJIMEN] and Lord [THUMPER] had been very clear about wanting to talk things out. They wanted to follow their weird big brother¡¯s example. So did [VASILIOS]. However, this time it was looking impossible. Then something very unexpected happened. The ¡®scout¡¯ that was actually a [NIGHTBLADE] according to his [ABILITY], [DISCERNMENT], ran forward ahead of his young Lord and fell to his knees and bowed with his head to the ground. ¡°Have mercy! Please spare us.¡± Both the [PALADIN] and his charge looked infuriated at the display. The [PALADIN] was so angry that he immediately ran his sword straight through the pleading elf¡¯s back, severing his spine. Looked like it was time to step in. Without him needing to say a word, [ULA] trotted forward and healed the wound while simultaneously using her magic to bind the two idiots. She made the water flowing through the air look natural as it healed in one direction and secured unstable hotheads in the other. **** Evindal felt his chest where the injury had been inflicted and then healed. Hastos and Amara kneeled to either side of him. The [ELEMENTALIST] gazed at the kelpie in awe and envy. Water and air were her best elements after all, but even she couldn¡¯t wield magic that well. It had taken him a while to figure out who was really in charge, but he finally had it figured out. None of them moved unless the snake moved its head. The snake was the one giving orders. Since they weren¡¯t dead yet, he decided to risk a proper [IDENTIFY]. Monster ¨C [********* AFFLICTION ****** BASILISK ******] ¨C [LEVEL **] Affliction Basilisk? Basilisk!? This thing could literally kill them with a look. No wonder it was in charge. And what about the parts that were marked out. Levels he could understand, if the level was too far above your own and whatever identifying skill you had wasn¡¯t enough, then you couldn¡¯t view the level. Not being able to see part of the [RACE] though. That was highly unusual. He¡¯d never heard of such a thing happening before. Less than a second after taking the risk, the basilisk¡¯s eyes locked on his. His heart felt like it stopped as he stared into those dark green depths. Then he could breathe again as it glanced away and the male human spoke. ¡°My fellow servant has asked me to relay that you should all mind your manners. Remember, if things take a turn, we won¡¯t hesitate to defend ourselves. Even if that means ending all of you.¡± Evindal¡¯s heart froze once again. The death threat was expected after the stunt he had just pulled. But the start of what he said shook the elf to his core. ¡®My fellow servant¡¯. If even the one in charge was just a servant, then how strong was what they served!? Chapter 48 - Special Little Snowflake *DING* [THERMAL RESISTANCE] has reached Level 11 *DING* [CLEANSE] has reached Level 35 It was sooo hot. His fur was sticky with sweat which he tried to [CLEANSE] away, but a few minutes later he would be once again sweating buckets. Finally deciding he had levelled his new skill enough for now, the jackalope began to run [ICE] mana across his body in a constant stream. He let out a sigh in relief. That was more like it. Contrary to the previous floor, only one kind of monster set out to attack them. The giant flaming geckos known as [MAGMA BREATHING SHADOW SALAMANDER]s were a feisty lot. They were also the most numerous. Shiny, sleek, black skin was dappled with bright red dots. Their reptilian crimson eyes blended with the lava-coloured spots which helped it to camouflage. The amphibious creatures employed ambush tactics and attacked in groups usually ranging from four to eight. About midway across the floor was the largest fight for the jackalope. Over ten salamanders attacked him at once. Despite his recent evolution, he still had some trouble dealing with the monsters. Yes, he was a powerful variant, but he had named quite a few monsters, which had brought down his stats. Also, each floor higher was another jump in levels, and on top of that, the [LEVEL 80] evolution was a significant jump in power for all monsters. The final problem was that these creatures had some talent with mana. They did a decent job of bending the shadows around them to hide, then jumping out and spewing mana infused magma. His perception-based skills picked them out, even through the magical stealth. The intense magical attacks gave the leporine monster pause though. He had to put a lot of focus into keeping his shield from melting away. Constantly trying to reconstruct the shield as it was disintegrating was no easy feat. At the same time his offense of [STORM] or [ICE] magic was having trouble ripping away at the [MAGMA] magic infused throughout the enemies bodies. The combination of tier three [FIRE] and [EARTH] magic was no joke. *DING* Magma Breathing Shadow Salamander ¨C Level 80 has been slain x44 Magma Breathing Shadow Salamander ¨C Level 81 has been slain x22 Magma Breathing Shadow Salamander ¨C Level 82 has been slain x28 Magma Breathing Shadow Salamander ¨C Level 83 has been slain x14 Magma Breathing Shadow Salamander ¨C Level 85 has been slain x7 *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 86. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 87. 50 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 56 Skill points and 10 Attribute points to distribute manually. After a volley of icicles took out the last of his current opponents the rabbit monster turned to watch [MAX]. After some conversation the big wolf had officially named himself. His [SHADOW] infused claws tore through the attacking monsters like paper. His teeth followed suit. The Fenrir seemed to be having a lot less difficulty. When five of the fire geckos ganged up on him [MAX] had no trouble spotting them hidden in the dark. As they jumped out, he backed into the shade of a small cliff and disappeared, only to reappear behind the salamanders from their own shadows. Not naming monsters and getting extremely strong evolutions had definitely given his old neighbour a leg up in this life. There were some small injuries from the fights. A burn here, a bite there, but nothing that didn¡¯t heal almost immediately. He guessed the Fenrir had a regeneration skill, or something similar. The other monsters kept to themselves and stayed away from the action. [AMPHITHERE]¡¯s looked like western dragons with no legs. They also had feathery wings as well as feathers along the tops of their heads and the ends of their tails. The colour of their scales ranged from light pink to crimson red, with eyes and feathers to match. [PHOENIX]es on the other hand were entirely bird like. The monster looked like a mix of an eagle, a heron and a peacock. It had the basic shape of an eagle, but its neck and legs were heron-like. Its overly long feathers resembled that of a peacock, apart from the fact that the feathers were every shade of red imaginable. Finally, there were the [DRAKE]s. These monsters also resembled western dragons. They were basically miniature dragons without wings. Their scales ranged in colour from golden yellow to earthy brown. They were the only creature that actually enjoyed wading through the lava pools. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Throughout the floor, [ROGER] did notice something a little odd. Whenever he passed another monster that didn¡¯t attack, they instead lowered their heads. It was as if they were bowing in reverence to him. It felt weird. He didn¡¯t want to be rude and also sensed his sovereign race and skills urging him to respond, so he always slightly dipped his head down in response. It felt right. So, he continued to do it as they travelled the dungeon. Being a little weirded out by the phenomenon, he inquired about it to the disgraced prince. ¡°Just sovereign skills? That¡¯s above my pay grade. You¡¯d have to either be an [EMPEROR] or have the Nexus consider you to be a potential [EMPORER]. Being a [ROYAL] does give you sovereign adjacent skills though. Do you have any skills with the word ¡®royal¡¯ in it?¡± ¡°Yeah actually, I¡¯ve got a skill called [ROYAL DECREE].¡± ¡°Wow, fancy. That¡¯s a future [KING]¡¯s skill at minimum right there. You must have proven yourself to the Nexus. It¡¯s not the reason for the bowing though. Any royal aura or influence skills?¡± ¡°Royal? No. I¡¯ve got a skill called [SOVEREIGN¡¯S INFLUENCE] though. Could that be it?¡± The demon fell from his current floating position, it had been the ¡®kicking back in a hammock¡¯ one, and stared in disbelief at his summoner. A few seconds went by. Then some more. ¡°Are you alright?¡± the jackalope asked with concern. He blinked. ¡°Ahhh, yes, I¡¯m pretty sure I just misheard you. What did you say the name of your skill was?¡± ¡°[SOVEREIGN¡¯S INFLUENCE].¡± The demon continued to stare from his position on the ground, seeming to have trouble computing the words. After a while, awestruck words left his mouth at a slow pace. ¡°So, you weren¡¯t just asking about sovereign skills at random? You actually have one?¡± his voice was almost squeaking towards the end of his rhetorical question. ¡°Well, not just one. I have two of them. The other one is called [SOVEREIGN¡¯S CALL].¡± ¡°Why in the hell are you telling me this?! Do you have any idea how¡­ Scratch that. You have no idea do you? You know what¡­ Until you reach [UNIQUE] grade, I suggest you never utter those skill names again. Skills with ¡®that¡¯ word in them are unimaginably rare. Just reaching [EMPORER] doesn¡¯t automatically mean you have those skills. There are only two ways to get them. Earn them. Or kill someone who has them. That¡¯s it. And they are bloody hard to earn too. Its all about right place, right time, combined with the loyalty of your subjects, an incredible amount of [LUCK] and the approval of the Nexus. It beats me how you got those kinds of events to line up. Not just once, but TWICE. I repeat. Keep those skill names to yourself. Don¡¯t tell anyone, not even those you trust most. If the wrong person hears, its all over. From now on, if you need to explain away their effects use the term ¡®royal¡¯. Never use ¡®that¡¯ word again until you¡¯re much, much more powerful. Understood?¡± ¡°Ahhh, sure. Why are you so surprised though? Can¡¯t you see my race?¡± ¡°Your. [RACE]. You have¡­ ¡®That¡¯¡­ Kind of [RACE] too?¡± [ABRAXAS] said, his eyes widening in realisation. ¡°Yeah, couldn¡¯t you tell by identifying me?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to bring it up, because its not really my business, but¡­ Did your [PATRON] tell you that they can hide the tags of those who are gifted with and accept their patronage?¡± ¡°Umm, noo.¡± The bunny monster said slowly also in realisation. ¡°When you summoned me all I could make out was [DUAL HORNED RABBIT]. The rest was marked out with stars. And for good reason by the sound of it. Now all I can see is [JACKALOPE]. Didn¡¯t your [PATRON] fill you in when they hid it for you?¡± ¡°No, he didn¡¯t. He¡¯s¡­¡± [ROGER] paused searching for the right phrasing, ¡°¡­ A bit introverted and, strange.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they all.¡± the prince sighed in resignation, ¡°Well a least you found out here in the middle of this dungeon rather than someplace where anyone could overhear.¡± ¡°Agreed¡± the jackalope confirmed in an annoyed tone targeted at his absent [PATRON]. With that, they ended the conversation, both in agreement that they wouldn¡¯t bring up the topic again for a long while. As they neared the tunnel at the other end of the floor [MAX] rejoined their group. The shining crystals lining the roof were noticeably brighter as they travelled down the spiralling tunnel. It had been harder to tell on the previous floor due to the lava pools lighting up the entire space. Now though, with no other source of light, the slightly less dim crystals resembled a reflection of light similar to the third or fourth floor. The darkness had once again disappeared. The trio continued on in silence, the only sound was from paws treading against the gravelly earth. After a while birdsong could be heard. Then the chittering of small woodland animals. As they finally exited the tunnel, the sound of a gushing waterfall could be heard in the distance. The reflections had once again gotten even brighter. This time though, white and yellow crystals were scattered throughout the purple ones. Golden reflections streamed through the trees like sunlight. By all accounts, walking into an idyllic forest in the middle of a murdery dungeon should have been creepy. But all his senses were telling him everything was exactly as it seemed. There was no malicious intent on this floor. Neither [MAX] nor [ABRAXAS] seemed to be put off either. With nothing jumping out or stopping them, they set off into the woods of the sixteenth floor. Chapter 49 - I Am Not Jake Walking along, the key creatures of the floor came into view. The fact that each beast followed the same magical path as all its other brethren became known. For some reason none of them deviated. Maybe it was what they were gifted from birth. Like how his own kind had a natural inclination towards [LIGHTNING] and [LIGHT]. Monster ¨C [FLURRY FOREST PERYTON] ¨C [LEVEL 86] The perytons were deer like animals with wings. They were the most active, prancing around in the apparent giddiness of just being alive. They were usually in large herds. Though the odd single or duo could be seen here or there. Monster ¨C [ESOTERIC DAWN LESSER UNICORN] ¨C [LEVEL 88] It was official. Unicorns were actually real. Like, really real. Yes, he¡¯d seen all manner of strange creatures in and out of the dungeon since his reincarnation, but unicorns? It definitely made him stop and stare. They were all either white, gold or black equines with rainbow-coloured manes, tails, eyes and horns. It was a majestical sight. They were usually lone creatures, with the only groups gathering around the ponds to drink. Monster ¨C [ESOTERIC FOREST PEGASUS] ¨C [LEVEL 88] Apart from their colouring and horns, a pegasus was much like a unicorn. The only other difference was, of course, its large feathery wings. Their fur was a dark shade of either pink, purple, blue or even green. The mane and tails matched, but the eyes always stood out. They were the exact same as a unicorn¡¯s. Rainbow colours reflected the shining lights from above. Monster ¨C [FLURRY SAGE HIPPOGRIFF] ¨C [LEVEL 89] The hippogriffs did resemble the more equine inhabitants of the floor. They had hooves and wings, but their long tails were feathery and their heads looked like that of an eagle¡¯s. Rather than fur, they had tiny feathers covering their entire bodies. It still looked like fur from a distance, but it wasn¡¯t. All their beaks were dark brown, and their colours ranged from dappled grey to obsidian black. Every creature they came across did the same. Stopped what they were doing. Stared at him. Took one step forward, then slanted their bodies backwards with their heads to the ground. They were bowing to him. Every single one. ¡°This make so much more sense now¡± [ABRAXAS] muttered to himself. The bunny wanted to ask what the demon was talking about, but then the levels came through. *DING* [SOVEREIGN¡¯S INFLUENCE] has reached Level 4 *DING* [SOVEREIGN¡¯S INFLUENCE] has reached Level 5 That cleared up what the prince had been referring to. Around two-thirds of the journey across, they came to the largest of the four mana lakes on the floor. Standing in front of the lake were one of each key monster. A peryton stag, a golden unicorn, a navy blue pegasus, and a dark grey hippogriff stood side by side facing him. [MAX] sat down beside him, while [ABRAXAS] looked on in curiosity. [ROGER] was just confused. Neither side had shown aggression. Why have a confrontation now? He felt no malice from what he guessed were the leaders of each group. They started things off with the customary bow that he had slowly gotten used to. He gave the now routine head dip of acknowledgement. *DING* [SOVEREIGN¡¯S INFLUENCE] has reached Level 6 They rose before the unicorn began to speak in a feminine fairy-like voice. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Greetings mighty one. We have been told of your arrival by the mistress. She does not wish to reveal herself completely just yet, so please do not ask. Our mistress is sure you will complete the tasks set before you, as such, you will soon be our new master. It has been made known to us that you have named many beings within this dungeon. We would like to request that you would name the alpha of each herd on this floor. Please keep in mind that unless you pass on the mantle that our mistress is giving you, something that is highly unlikely, we will forever be your loyal subjects. This is true even should you reject our plea. We only ask before you have even ascended to lessen the impact upon yourself, while you are still lower levelled.¡± So many questions. But apparently, they wouldn¡¯t answer most of them. How foreboding. Right. Just move on to what he could question. ¡°Very well. I understand. But first, why should I weaken myself to name you? Can¡¯t you just name yourselves?¡± The equines and cervine looked to each other in confusion. The hippogriff answered in a masculine and gentlemanly tone that sounded slightly hawkish. ¡°If a monster names themself, then any who learn their [TRUE NAME] can control them. However, if a monster is named by another, then only the one which named them can command them. A monster giving themself a name is giving themself strength, but also creating further risk unto themselves. I believe it is said ¡®with great risk comes great reward¡¯. The statement applies to such a situation. If you name us then we can be loyal to only you and no one else. Our mistress refused this offer as she does not wish to be tied down. Ever since she took up the position, she has been waiting to hand it off. You though, will you abandon your home here? If not, then it would be in your best interests to have us serve you¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to add¡± said the stag in a rumbling tone, ¡°that naming the leader of a group of monsters doesn¡¯t just strengthen the leader. Leaders always have passive buffing skills which are reliant on attributes. Naming us won¡¯t just be giving power to four monsters, you¡¯ll also be helping every creature in our herds. And we will all be serving you.¡± Man, they made some good arguments. Was it truly worth it though? He thought it over. Maybe? Probably. He had been born in this dungeon, and despite the violent monsters he still called this place home. It wasn¡¯t like he hadn¡¯t been naming monsters left and right anyway. He really needed to stop giving his stats away, but, this would be worth it. Besides, they¡¯d asked so nicely and even thought up some reasonable arguments. The only thing missing was a convincing power point presentation to seal the deal. Oh well. You could only work with what you had. ¡°Very well. I agree to your proposal. Who wants to go first?¡± The unicorn stepped forward. ¡°I await my naming, my liege.¡± Riiight. A name. He could name. He knew how to name. He¡¯d done it before. Name. A name. Name, name, name. Ahhh¡­ Goldie? He mentally slapped himself. He wasn¡¯t some overpowered main character with a stupid naming sense, that was a whole other series. Time to put that powerful translation ability to use. Something to do with the sun or light. Sky? Nah. Maybe something relating to gold¡­ Nubia! It was unique, beautiful and meant ¡®gold¡¯. He was pretty proud of himself. Then he realised he still hadn¡¯t told anyone and had just been sitting there with a smug grin on his face. Luckily rabbit faces weren¡¯t too expressive. Maybe no one noticed. Clearing his throat to try and hide his embarrassment, the jackalope proclaimed ¡°I name you [NUBIA].¡± He felt his stats fall as soon as the statement fell from his mouth. Well, he¡¯d known this was coming. ¡°Gratitude¡± [NUBIA] said as soon as she¡¯d finished glowing green, before stepping back. Soon after the stag stepped forward, ¡°I request you choose a name conveying strength,¡± he said while bowing. The sovereign nodded in acknowledgement. He was just glad that he was losing a lower amount of stats with each name. Naming them all at once would have been a bad idea as each ten percent would have been calculated from his original total attributes. Much better to do it one at a time. Now, a strong name. How about a name meaning strength? He¡¯d already used one African name. How about another? ¡°I name you [EKON], the name literally means ¡®strong¡¯.¡± ¡°I accept.¡± More glowing. [EKON] stepped back and the hippogriff stepped forward. ¡°I would ask for name that inspires cleverness.¡± Deciding to stick with the African theme the sovereign said, ¡°Your name is [AKILI], meaning intelligent and bright.¡± Further weakening, more glowing. Finally, the silent navy stallion stepped forward. ¡°Any guidelines for your name?¡± A shake of the head was his answer. The bunny considered the vibe he was getting from the monster standing before him. ¡®Chill¡¯ was what came to mind. Chill¡­ Calm¡­ Peaceful. And still keeping with the African naming sense. ¡°You will now be known as [DAMBA]. Continue to keep your cool, for that is what your name means.¡± [DAMBA] slowly nodded in acknowledgement before stepping back. ¡°We wish you well on your journey my liege,¡± said [NUBIA]. ¡°Climb your way to victory and conquer all!¡± encouraged [EKON]. ¡°Watch yourself and be careful, the next floor is no picnic¡± [AKILI] advised with some actually helpful information. [DAMBA] was as stoic as ever, with not even a nicker of communication. Well, that was out of the way. Time to move on and figure out who this ¡®Mistress¡¯ was. Chapter 50 - Whyre You Hitting Yourself? Living chaos. That was the only way to describe the seventeenth floor. Unlike the previous floors where those of the same kind worked together, here it was all out war. Throughout the swampy scenery [BUNYIP]s, [QUASIT]s and [QUAGGOTH]s were all at each other¡¯s throats. From the moment they entered the floor both [MAX] and [ROGER] were fending off attackers. With having recently given up a fair few stats, the bunny was having slightly more trouble than usual. Earlier he had sacrificed a fair few [AGILITY] and [DETERITY] points but his mental and magical attributes had mostly been spared. This floor was giving him exactly what he needed after giving away those names, [LEVEL]s and skill levels. The constant rush of fighting and winning made him feel awake like never before as he triumphed over the monsters coming after him. They were all in a frenzy, only focused on the kill. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 88. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 89. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 90. 75 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 74 Skill points and 15 Attribute points to distribute manually. The surroundings were either muddy paths, overgrown trees all clumped together or tiny ponds which were murky and only showed a few sparkling ripples sporadically. As usual the monsters were all strange creatures. A [QUAGGOTH] was a bi-pedal creature covered in white fur, with long gangly arms, and a face that looked like a mishmash of bat and bear. The [BUNYIP]s were more ambush predators. They hid in the muck on the banks of the ponds and leapt out at their prey as it passed by. The monsters were warped versions of a [KELPIE]. Their front half was a shaggy black or brown with two paws and a doggish snout on an owl-like face. The back half matched exactly with what one would expect a dark grey seal to look like. The final beasts that had attacked them straight away were the [QUASIT]s. It had the basic structure of a monkey, but that was where the similarities ended. Their amphibious skin was covered in shades of dark yellow and green. Their tails were long and snake-like while all their digits ended in claws. It had the mouth and black compound eyes of a centipede, the ears of a bat and two curving horns like an antelope. The thing itself was terrifying, but when it started to shape change into an actual giant centipede, that when things got truly challenging. Its chitin was tough and a great defence. The jackalope and the Fenrir fought back-to-back as the demon hung high above them looking on in a bored kind of curiosity. Shields and magical attacks descended from one side while shadows danced, claws tore and fangs punctured on the other side. As the largest lake they had ever seen came into view, a different kind of monster began appearing. The [LESSER TARRASQUE]s fought in packs making their jobs a lot harder. The lesser versions resembled a tyrannosaurus-rex with large spikes along its back and two large spikes sticking out the front of its head like horns. The only other difference was the front limbs, which were much larger and long enough to reach the ground, basically making the creature a four-legged t-rex. All the monsters around them were quite terrifying, but the awe-inspiring creature sitting in the middle of the lake was monstrously huge. To put it in perspective, each floor down got larger the further they went. The current floor they were on was a very hilly habitat and their current view was from the largest mountain, which just so happened to be just before the largest body of water in the dungeon so far. The floor with water dinosaurs had basically been a small sea, yet the oceanic lake in front of them was even bigger. Only their high viewpoint let them see the bank on the opposite side. Taking up around an eighth of the surface was a massive tortoise with the head of a lion. Elite Monster ¨C [SUPREME AQUA BEAST TARRASQUE] ¨C Dungeon Sub-Boss ¨C [LEVEL 99] With an end goal for this floor in sight they continued to level by eliminating the seemingly endless enemies. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 90. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 91. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 92. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 93. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 94. 125 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 104 Skill points and 40 Attribute points to distribute manually. The jackalope felt his strength regaining as he progressed. More importantly his magically helpful attributes, which he hadn¡¯t deducted from at all, only increased. To help along his feeling of growing power, the floor was absolutely drenched in mana. His sensitivity to the magic made movement feel like hopping about underwater, though it didn¡¯t feel nearly as heavy. Assigning most of his free attributes to [INTELLIGENCE], [WISDOM] and [PERCEPTION] only heightened the sensation. [STATUS] KIND: [MONSTER] RACE: [VAMPIRIC SOVEREIGN MONSOON JACKALOPE] SEX: [MALE] AGE: 0 NAME: [ROGER] TITLE: [MARQUESS] [LEVEL 94] STR ¨C 100 VIT ¨C 100 AGI ¨C 150 DEX ¨C 150 CON ¨C 100 INT ¨C 192 WIS ¨C 192 CHA ¨C 120 PER ¨C 160 Spare Points: 0 Channelling his own source of magic combined with syphoning extra from the environment made all his storm magic melt through the continuous hoard like butter. Even though these higher levelled monsters were more resistant to magical energy, they had still mostly invested in physical attributes. This showed that despite their much higher levels than anything else above, they weren¡¯t the sharpest tools in the shed. The way they just ran at the trio and each other displayed that they also hadn¡¯t tried very hard to gain any attributes in [WISDOM] either. Even Mother, before her [INTELLIGENCE] had been increased, had made enough smart decisions to have a few of the smarty pants points up her sleeve. It was honestly embarrassing that these big, strong creatures were more idiotic than a dumb bunny. Though he supposed, with all their power, they didn¡¯t usually have a need to think. Carving through the monsters at a rapid pace by repeatedly harnessing surrounding environmental mana, the rabbit¡¯s thoughts turned towards defeating the lion tortoise. Was he even strong enough to defeat it after losing all those stats? What would help give him a boost? He was already levelling. What about skills? He was already doing a sort of training montage as he tried to use as many skills as he could as much as possible during the fight. And boy were they levelling. But, he still needed something more. He had over one hundred skill points to spend now. Would something new help? He thought through the skills he had compared to the types he could maybe imagine having. Man, splitting his focus like this was really helping out [HONED FOCUS] and [SIMULTANEOUS MIND]. Scrolling through his skills he came to a realisation. Using his one hundred and ninety-two points of [INTELLIGENCE] he reached back through his memories to recall the original list of locked skills he¡¯d been gifted. He was missing some. All he¡¯d had to do previously to unlock the skills he¡¯d been born with was to make an action that could use them. Opening his mouth, he screamed at his opponents while threading a touch of [SOUND] magic into his voice. Every monster in sight froze as if stunned and fell forward. *DING* [SONIC SCREAM] has reached Level 1. *DING* Skill: [SONIC SCREAM] upgraded to Skill: [RESONANT SONIC SCREAM]. They were still twitching, not dead, but it still did better than he expected for a level one skill. The more durable creatures managed to get back to their feet. He rewarded them with full body slams that made their bones crack and break. The sensation beneath his paws at the action wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant. *DING* [IMPACT] has reached Level 1. More monsters appeared from over a crest to join in the squabble. Not liking the direction of his thoughts, the leporine jumped ahead before he could further process what needed to be done. He landed in front of a [QUAGGOTH] and it immediately swung for a life ending punch. A chant of ¡®reflect, reflect, reflect¡¯ went through his head, and to further cement his thoughts he ran a thread of [MENTAL] mana through his mind. The punch was less than a centimetre from reaching when its fist suddenly swung back, the monster hitting itself in the face. *DING* [REFLECT] has reached Level 1. *DING* Skill: [REFLECT] upgraded to Skill: [REFLECTION OF THE MIND]. High on the resulting adrenaline of his calculated risk, the young bunny grinned merrily at his achievements and acquisitions. ¡°Why¡¯re you hitting yourself? Why¡¯re you hitting yourself?¡± he mocked with enthusiasm while headbutting the monsters. *DING* Skill: [IMPACT] combined with Skill: [REFLECTION OF THE MIND]. Skill: [IMPACT] and Skill: [REFLECTION OF THE MIND] upgraded to Skill: [IMPACT OF MINDFUL REFLECTION]. This day just kept getting better. Chapter 51 - Pendant Of Storms Now, about that new skill. He needed something that would make up for his missing attributes. Maybe something that assisted his architype. He was a magic bunny, right? So, something that boosted his insane [MONSOON] magic. He had already been given a skill that helped to control magic when he evolved at [LEVEL 80], [HONED FOCUS]. The new skill was levelling nicely. Now he just wanted something that would assist the ¡®power¡¯ aspect. Opening his skills list that the Nexus would currently allow him to buy, he mentally projected what he was after. The listing had over ten skills ranging from [LESSER] all the way up to [UNIQUE], though the lone purple skill was way out of his price range. Skipping over the [LESSER] and [AVERAGE] grade skills, he read through the info for the higher-grade ones. Available Skills: [BASIC BOOST] ¨C 10 Points [MANA GATHERER] ¨C 10 Points [MAGIC POWER] ¨C 20 Points [MORE MAGIC] ¨C 20 Points [INCREASED MAGIC POWER] ¨C 30 Points Increases power of magic in use by 20%. [MANA MAGNET] ¨C 30 Points Mana is drawn to your very being. Can now be altered to target specific affinities. [MAGIC STORM] ¨C 40 Points Increases power of magic in use by 40%. [ELECTROMAGNET] ¨C 40 Points Mana is drawn to your very being. [STORM] related affinities are drawn more rapidly than others. Can be altered to target specific affinities. [ENHANCED MAGIC STORM] ¨C 50 Points Increases power of magic in use by 80%. [ELECTROMAGNETIC FOCUS] ¨C 50 Points Magic hears your call and you are its focus. [STORM] related affinities are lured by your essence. Can be altered to target other affinities. [SPELLBINDING MONSOON POWER FOCUS] ¨C 100 Points Increases power of magic in use by 100%. Magic hears your call and you are its focus. [MONSOON] related affinities are lured by your essence. Can be altered to target other affinities. [SOVEREIGN¡¯S POWER FOCUS] ¨C 500 Points Increases power of magic in use by 500%. Magic heeds your call for power, your very will is its focus. [MONSOON] related affinities submit to your essence. Other affinities stand by, ready to gather at your whim. There wasn¡¯t really a need to think it over. The choice was obvious. He was also hoping that by purchasing [SPELLBINDING MONSOON POWER FOCUS], the cost of [SOVEREIGN¡¯S POWER FOCUS] would go down, just like his storage skill had. After his previous evolution, he had felt a rush of power that rivalled any level up. As soon as the [RARE] skill activated, he felt a similar explosion of energy. The description had said that mana would hear his call, but it felt the other way around. The surrounding magic seemed to draw him in. He could sense the call of [STORM] related affinities even more loudly than the rest. Over the initial shock of the skill, he channelled mana from just his own personal magic¡­ and felt like he was holding a bomb. He could still technically add environmental mana to increase the power even more, but screw that! He could barely control his own magic now, [HONED FOCUS] factoring into that control. Time to put his new potential to use. Creating a storm in the air above them, he enclosed himself and [MAX] in a [MAGIC SHIELD] bubble, then released a blizzard of piercing sleet. The monsters fell in droves. His power was turning the usually miniature balls of ice into slightly larger magical spears of ice that pierced through all their foes in the area. ¡°Decent,¡± [ABRAXAS] commented at the display, ¡°but I thought you¡¯d be more powerful, must have been those names you gave away. The bunny was annoyed at the remark. In defiance he sent out a chain of lightning that passed through the remaining monsters leaving burnt out husks. This time there wasn¡¯t just his own power in the continuing attack though. He was empowering it even more with the surrounding mana. An ocean seemed to flow through him, and exploded across the entire floor. In the distance came a pained roar. The echo resounded through the cavern ominously. ¡°Well, that was more impressive¡± the demon resumed his unwanted commentary.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Then another voice rumbled through the cavern, gravely and exhausted sounding. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve had enough. Just let me get back to my nap and I¡¯ll submit. If you had of just asked first, I would have told you I¡¯m too sleepy to fight. Youngsters these days, too fired up to consider if a monster even wants to fight. Now, if we¡¯re done, go away.¡± The power of the voice made both the jackalope and Fenrir tremble. That had just been the voice? But it was submitting? Why? How? Before he could consider any further a notification blazed in his vision sending all other notifications about kills and level ups behind it. *DING* Achievement Earned: Have the Seventeenth Floor Boss submit to you. [COMPLETE] Reward: 1x Random Equipment Token up to [UNIQUE] grade. Excitement ran through his veins. This wasn¡¯t some dubious contract that could hurt him. The explanation was far more tangible. He was getting equipment! But what equipment could a rabbit like monster even wear? With trepidation, he submitted the token. Would you like to submit 1x Random Equipment Token? [Y/N] *DING* 1x Random Equipment Token has been consumed. *DING* You have received [SOVEREIGN¡¯S PENDANT OF STORMS] Grade: [UNIQUE] While worn, any land you consider under your rule will be guarded by storms. Those you consider enemies will automatically be harassed with storms while in your lands. The rain from your storms will debuff the magical attributes of all enemies and trespassers with ill intent by 40%. All debuff cancelling skills or items [UNIQUE] grade or under will be bypassed. *Abilities do not apply. The rain from your storms will buff the physical attributes of your people and livestock by 10%. The rain from your storms will buff the growth of your land¡¯s crops by 20%. Wow. This was amazing. Especially for those considered under his leadership. Not really useful inside a dungeon, but maybe his family and people could now live in the area surrounding the dungeon without fear. Living under an open sky again would be nice. And the clouds from his storms would protect the undead from the sun¡¯s rays. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. As he read through the description, an opalescent teardrop shaped pendent swirling with lightning and the colour of dark clouds appeared attached to a thin silver chain. The item had automatically been placed around his neck and the opal rested against his chest. His companions noticed and he explained the item to them while skimming through the rest of his notifications. *DING* [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 95. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 96. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 97. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 98. [LEVEL UP] You have reached Level 99. 125 Attribute points have been distributed according to the natural inclinations of your race. You have 29 Skill points and 25 Attribute points to distribute manually. [MAX] was a little impressed, but [ABRAXAS] stared at him wide eyed after the clarification of what exactly he¡¯d been awarded. After some time processing the prince stated in awe and horror ¡°I¡¯m contracted to a monster of monsters.¡± Ignoring him, the black wolf brought them all back to reality. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan from here? Next floor down? I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I¡¯ve been down here too long already. I need to get out and see some blue sky.¡± [ROGER] nodded at seeing where his old neighbour¡¯s thoughts were headed. ¡°I think something big is going to happen on the hundredth floor so I think we should rest up before going. Also, I want to check on my family, just make sure their okay.¡± ¡°As always, I¡¯ll follow your lead my lord¡± [ABRAXAS] said in deference. With the trio in agreement, they travelled back up through the dungeon floors. **** Count Vladislav Ontairo was perplexed. Among the high court of vampire lords in the city he was considered one of the weakest. This meant that whenever he brought up his concerns with the rest of the court he was brushed off as mad or crazy. He could see their point of view. Old and powerful vampires had their own quirks that made others consider them lunatics. If anything, he was the weird one among his peers for his purely theoretical studies which only required studying books already written. Meanwhile Dame Wilafred wandered the mountains splicing different wildlife together just to see what would happen, Viscount Hannabil had a thing for dissecting scalekin, and Madame Lucielle experimented on undead. Well, had experimented. For such a social creature, no one had seen her in a while. Of all the vampires in the high court she was the one who creeped him out the most, despite her slightly lower level than his own. The constant enthusiasm in her eyes had always sent chills down his spine. As cruel as the thought was, he hoped she was dead. Come to think of it, his concerns had began right after her disappearance. Then there was that fire which had ravaged an eighth of the estate properties in Thrallton. There were of course all the rumours about sensing powerful teleportation magic that same night. He wasn¡¯t sure what he had felt that night, but it was definitely something. Then his suspicions had grown over time. His interests were in study and observation. Nothing more, nothing less. A non-interference policy. However, during his nighttime walks around the city, he had been observing some odd and worrying coincidences. He had brushed it off at first, just like those he was now trying to convey his suspicions to. Rats and mice of every species were coordinating with each other and spying on the city. As he paid more attention to the coincidences, he realised they weren¡¯t coincidences at all. Even his pet gerbil seemed to stare at him with intelligence. Just what was going on. And why wouldn¡¯t anyone believe him? No, he knew why, it was almost impossible. Vladislav sat at his desk of ancient oakwood, staring out the window, the sky was slowly turning grey with dark clouds. His trundling thoughts came to an abrupt halt. That¡¯s right, almost impossible. There were only two rarely seen exceptions. Either a beast that had been given some [INTELLIGENCE] by its tamer had miraculously slipped out of their control, or a random beast¡¯s natural attributes had implausibly mutated to allow the increase of [INTELLIGNCE]. Even at this realisation the count slumped in defeat. Even if either of those events had occurred, awakened beasts were too stupid to go around awakening other beasts. It just didn¡¯t happen. The legendary Kitsune, the beast that most often had a rare awakening and were smart enough to keep increasing their [INTELLIGENCE], were too selfish to awaken their brethren. To repeat, it just didn¡¯t happen. But it had! He was watching it take place right there in Thrallton. Somehow. Why? How? It was his greatest wish to find out. Continuing to gaze out the window he saw the dark clouds were merging quickly and the slight wind had turned into a gale. That was fast. It almost looked¡­ magical? With that thought thunder echoed loudly throughout the city, then lightning struck again and again. Each strike blew apart sections of the mansions neighbouring his. Rain began to fall heavily, the now screaming wind hammering water against the window. What was going on? It all came on so fast. Opening the study window he was soaked by the storm¡­ And instantly felt lighter. The heaviness in his shoulders was gone, his mood improved and he felt younger than he had in hundreds of years. The count didn¡¯t know what was happening, but he had a feeling these events were all connected. He grinned in excitement as the now hail turned back to water as soon as it touched his aura and gently splashed his drenched clothes. Should the mastermind appear, he would be ready to kneel in service.