-White Bunny POV-
Once the bunny was certain the wolf was asleep, she slipped out of the inn. Her skill points weren't going to magically appear on their own, after all. She went back to where she had hidden her knife, then she snuck out of the village.
The cows could trample her without looking, but the massive creatures were still a better bet than taking on a feral dog. She would work her way up the food chain, one animal at a time.
The bunny moved through the grass. The grazing creatures ignored her, not seeing her as a threat. Ordinarily, it would've been true. Due to the sheer difference in their size, even with a knife, she wouldn't be able to do anything but slash at their knees.
But with a few windows to leap off from-
[Lvl 1 [Infection] has been activated! You have stolen 1 Health from the cow!]
She slashed her knife across its neck- and barely managed to cut through the cow's skin. The cow let out a loud, bellowing sound, stamping its feet across the grass. The creature charged towards her, and the white bunny quickly leaped up on to higher windows. The cow angrily tore at the grass, unable to reach her. A few beads of blood trickled down its neck. Besides activating [Infection], all she had managed to do was piss the creature off.
A glance at her health confirmed that the health point she stole had been added to her own. The additional health point didn't matter when her health was 29/30, but there were still plenty of interesting ways she could use [Infection].
The white bunny bounded across the windows, leaping through the sky. The childish part of her wanted to see how high she could go, but she quickly tamped down on it. There were no owls who hunted at night, but she didn't want to tempt fate and see if there was some other creature that flew high in the sky.
After locating her next target, she landed back on the ground. She crept through the tall grass, nearly invisible at night. Her eyes gleamed red, marking her as less prey and more predator.
She struck swiftly, going for the only part of the cow not protected by its thick skin- the eyes. The cow let out a sound of anguish, crumpling to the ground. [Infection] and [Time of Death] both activated, and the bunny finished the cow with a sharp twist of knife, granting the creature a swift death.
[You have slain [Grey Rat]! You have gained +4 Skill Points!]
The cow was utterly still in death, only the grass rippling in the wind around its body. Blood seeped from the puncture wound in its eye. Even though she had known the cow would be helpless against her, it was difficult to believe it had died so easily.
The bunny checked her [Status Window]. [Infection] had restored her health to 30/30, and she had fifty-three skill points and one skill level she could spend. She spent a brief moment looking through her options. With ten points, she could boost any of her base stats by one, or she could level up a skill from one to two.
Why would anyone bother with base stats? The bunny wondered. An extra point in health wasn't going to do anything. Wouldn't it always be better to invest in skills?
The bunny reviewed her skill list. Between [Devourer], [Sixth Sense], and [Time of Death], [Devourer] was the only one which directly made her stronger. She hadn't found a use for [Infection] except healing minor wounds yet, but if she could gain another useful skill...
[Skill [Devourer] has been upgraded to Level 2!]
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-Devourer-
There's nothing quite like the taste of blood, is there?
Level: 2
Points to Level: 0/20
Skill Slots Used: 1/1 [Infection]
*Skills acquired with [Devourer] cannot be directly leveled.
**The next skill will be unlocked at Level 5
╚═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╝
Somewhere, that [System] was laughing at her. She glared at the window. If the number of points required was increasing by ten every time, she didn't have close to enough points to get [Devourer] to Level 5, meaning her points were as good as wasted until then.
What other surprises do you have for me? The bunny thought bitterly at the [System]. Of course, there was no response.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
She spent the next twenty points on [Time of Death] and [Sixth Sense]. [Time of Death] gained an extra second, while the description for [Sixth Sense] changed.
╔═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╗
-Sixth Sense-
Sense and scent, memory entwined.
Level: 2
Points to Level: 0/20
╚═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╝
Just what she needed, more vague bullshit from the [System]. The bunny closed the window, putting another twenty points into [Time of Death] in exchange for another lovely, precious second.
The next second will cost thirty points, then the one after that..
She was going to need to kill a lot of cows. Her eyes drifted to the cows grazing near her. She could probably kill most of them tonight, but...
That would incite some mass panic tomorrow. No one would suspect the cute white bunny, of course, but the strange gold-eyed boy- well, outsiders were always the first to be blamed, and it didn't help that the wolf had no real identity, no explanation for his money, and no ability to speak.
The bunny eyed the dead cow. It had clearly been killed by a knife. The bunny jumped back down to the grass, resigning herself for a mess.
She really hated it when her white fur got dirty.
The white bunny carved into the cow's flesh, faking the wounds left by coyotes. If some coyotes were going to die as a result- well, she couldn't say she was particularly sad about that.
She observed her handiwork. Any coyote would instantly be able to tell it wasn't a coyote who killed the cow, but to a human, it should be close enough. More probable than the idea that a human decided to carve up all these wounds instead of just dragging the body away. Satisfied, the bunny turned away, leaping into the sky in search of her next target. She killed another three cows, taking the time to mark them up in all sorts of different wounds.
When the cows started growing skittish, she returned back to the village. The sky was still dark, and it was easy to slip through the village unnoticed. After cleaning herself off and burying her knife in a different location, the bunny returned to the inn.
The wolf was still curled up in the same position she had left him in. His eyes fluttered, undoubtedly dreaming of all sorts strange berries and man-eating plants. It wasn't long before dawn broke the sky. Streaks of red and orange rays lifted the curtain of darkness, coloring black into dark blue. The wolf's chest rose in slow, gentle rhythms.
She nudged the wolf. He didn't react. She nudged him again, and he yawned, stretching his arms above his head. Then he rolled back over, pulling the pillow closer to his body.
[White Bunny: Wake up!]
[Black Wolf: Wha... wha iss happening...?]
He blearily looked around the room, rubbing his eyes. His gaze was unfocused, still half-asleep. It was a sharp contrast to her state- eyes sharp, but awake for too long.
[White Bunny: We're meeting Emil-iath at the Adventurer's Guild.]
Recognition flickered across his face. His eyes turned distant, and the bunny knew it had very little to do with how much he had slept.
[White Bunny: Emil-iath promised free breakfast. I expect lots of berries. Every kind of berry, got it?]
She demanded. His mouth curved into a tired smile.
[Black Wolf: Of course.]
The two of them made their way towards the Adventurer's Guild. The world was just starting to wake up, humans starting to take up the streets. Guards continued marching past, still searching the crowds.
The wolf pushed the door of the Adventurer's Guild open. His shoulders were tense, even before he spotted the two knights sitting in the corner of the room. Emil-iath waved to him, grinning too widely for how early it was in the morning. The room was filled to the brim, packed with more weapons than people. The adventurers were shouting rather than talking, and they laughed even louder, often knocking over plates of food or spilling what smelled an awful lot like beer.
It was sunrise. She wasn't that surprised.
The wolf squeezed his way across the room. Emil-iath eagerly patted the chair beside her. The wolf sat down, and-
"You're late," Xi-ren said coldly, kicking the day off to a wonderful start.
[White Bunny: Hand Emil-iath the paper.]
The bunny directed the wolf. She had specially instructed him to prepare the paper in advance, just in case this meal devolved into a screaming match. She had been promised a free meal, and she was going to claim it.
Emil-iath’s eyebrows rose as she read the paper. The bunny had been very detailed about the variety of berries she expected. Once Emil-iath finished reading, she took a deep breath in, as if preparing to broach a difficult subject.
"Shouldn't she, ah, eat more vegetables?" Emil-iath asked delicately. The knight avoided looking at the bunny. "Bunnies typically don't berries, and too much sugar can be bad for heal..."
The wolf narrowed his eyes at the knight. Emil-iath let out a nervous laugh.
"Alright, then. Berries it is."
She handed in the order to the server. Xi-ren's lip curled into a sneer. He picked up his cup, taking a drink of- orange juice? The wolf blinked in surprise, too.
"I am not training you drunk," Xi-ren said sharply, eyes flashing at the very idea of it. "No matter what you think of me, I'm trying to keep you from getting your idiotic self killed."
Xi-ren pointedly looked away from Emil-iath. Whatever words had been exchanged last night, it had evidently not cleared the air between them. Emil-iath smiled, her grip on her fork turning dangerously white.
"Can you save it for after breakfast, Xi-ren?" Emil-iath asked tightly. Xi-ren arched one eyebrow.
"What's wrong with discussing it here?"
The two of them stared each other down. Emil-iath's plate was practically untouched. Xi-ren didn't even have a plate, just three empty cups of what was presumably once orange juice. The server set the bowl of berries down on the table. It did nothing to change the atmosphere. The bunny ignored the two of them, helping herself to her meal.
[White Bunny: The red berries are the sweetest ones.]
She told him, chewing on the skin. It was on the bitter side, but free meals weren't easy to come by. She wasn't about to waste it.
[Black Wolf: Thanks.]
He didn't make any motion to eat, either. Finally, Emil-iath took a deep breath in. She forced a slight smile to her face.
"Since we can't come to an agreement, why don't we go? Some fresh air and sunshine would help all of us feel better, I think," Emil-iath said warmly, looking around the table. She even smiled at the bunny.
"I'm still drinking," Xi-ren said, taking a tiny sip of his orange juice.
Emil-iath's smile twitched. She managed to refrain from strangling the other knight. The white bunny wasn't sure how- even she wanted to bash Xi-ren's head into the table.
"Whenever you're finished, then," Emil-iath agreed lightly. She set her fork back down on the table. The metal utensil was warped beyond repair.