He's clueless about what's considered cliché. Like, is it when the name of the monster sounds cute but it looks all fierce and scary? Or when the monster's name is super intimidating but it turns out to be adorable?
Either way, there's just no way the terrifying thing in front of him can be called a "Horned Rabbit." Seriously, if it wasn't for all that fur, it'd probably be named something like "Mini T-Rex" instead. With those huge fangs, beefy muscles, bloodshot eyes, and that deep growl, it's impossible to picture this creature as anything remotely rabbit-like.
The only thing remotely rabbit-ish about it is its head and fur. But seriously, he's itching to ask the animal expert in this world again: Are you absolutely sure this four-meter monstrosity is supposed to be a freaking rabbit!?
This thing's got the power of a top-tier level 3 wizard apprentice. What's even scarier is that these buggers usually roll in packs of three to five. It's flat-out impossible for a level 2 apprentice to take one down solo. So, why the heck is the minimum requirement for this mission only a level 2 apprentice? Aren't they just sending these poor apprentices to their doom?
Zzap!
A bolt of lightning shoots from the horned rabbit's horn right at Zack. [Flicker]! He coolly flickers away from the blast. Running faster than lightning? Nah, but dodging the aim of that rabbit? Piece of cake.
That rabbit's also surrounded by lightning, especially those two massive hind legs. It's hot on Zack's tail in a blink of an eye. Seems like the rabbit's got some sort of body-boosting trick up its sleeve. But even if Zack's just using [Flicker] and not going all out with continuous max enhancement, it's totally useless.
[Flicker]
If you were watching Zack's showdown with the rabbit from afar, all you'd see is one streak of lightning trying to catch Zack's form. But Zack's form keeps vanishing to another spot before the lightning can catch him. Maybe one reason why the rabbit's having such a tough time is because Zack blends in so well with his surroundings using [Stealth]. The moment it loses sight of him, it struggles to find him again. It's all happening so fast, it's like there are multiple Zacks darting around at once.
Every now and then, he'd toss out a [Lightning Web] to tangle up the rabbit and follow it up with a solid [Zap]. Right now, his [Lightning Web] looked more like a raging wave of electricity made up of layers of webbing, instead of just a flat layer on the ground. And his [Zap]? Might as well call it a lightning bolt, considering how thick and concentrated it was. Even with the rabbit packing the strength of a peak level 3 peak apprentice, Zack could easily overpower it. His strength and mana were on a whole other level compared to six months ago.
He even had time to think about other stuff while duking it out. Like, it struck him as odd that he'd only come across one rabbit. Weren't they supposed to roll in packs?
Zzap! Bang!
Another [Zap] and the rabbit visibly stumbled. Time to wrap this up. He unleashed a [Lightning Chain], conjuring ten thick chains from the swirling mass of lightning around the rabbit. The chains snaked around the rabbit's body before cinching tight. In a blink, when the chains had the rabbit bound, he cast another spell and his palm crackled with lightning.
"R*ikage-sama, bless me with your lightning!”
[Double Enhancement II] - max output! The world felt like it paused for a moment. Suddenly, he was right in front of the rabbit.
[Lightning Clad Glove] - three fingers! He thrust his hand forward.
RAAAAAHH!!
He yanked his hand back and backed away. The rabbit stood still for a moment before toppling over. Boom! With its size and weight, the ground shook when it hit. The whole sequence of his last moves looked like it took ages, but it happened in the blink of an eye. When you're facing off against a lightning wizard, fights can be over in an instant. Can't let your guard down.
Earlier, he'd used [Lightning Chain], a new spell he'd picked up that specialized in snagging one target, powered by the mana from his [Lightning Web]. That way, he could whip up chains not just close to him, but right around his enemy, catching them off guard.
Moving back to the rabbit, although he knew which parts of a horned rabbit's body were valuable, he had no clue how to butcher the thing. So, he just stashed the t-rex—uh, rabbit—body into one of his storage rings. He'd scored quite a few of those rings from offing multiple wizards on previous missions. Good thing he had plenty of space to stash his loot.
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Then, he followed a faint mana fluctuation in the forest, figuring maybe the rabbit he tussled with had gotten separated from its buddies.
Sure enough, he stumbled upon a scene: three apprentice wizards going toe-to-toe with ten horned rabbits. Around them lay about ten dead rabbits. These wizards were decked out in lightning magic tower robes. Huh, first time bumping into fellow tower apprentices outside the tower.
All three apprentices looked pale as ghosts, but they worked together like a well-oiled machine. Against the scattered attacks from the rabbits, they could probably wipe them all out eventually, even without his help. But it'd cost them one or two of their own judging by their exhausted mana reserves.
So, he figured he'd lend a hand. He kicked on [Double Enhancement] at max output and slid on [Lightning Clad Gloves]—four fingers.
Flicker!
In a flash, all the rabbits had their necks sliced open, and he was standing in front of the wizards. They all jumped, ready to fight. Can't blame 'em, really, when some masked stranger suddenly pops up, especially one who just offed ten horned rabbits like it was nothing.
Oh, forgot to mention, he'd hit a growth spurt and now stood at a solid 184 cm. Thanks to those [Body Enhancement] spells, which had sped up again after learning [Lightning Flesh]. And he'd even tweaked his voice to sound like a middle-aged dude, so the apprentices in front of him had no clue he was from their tower.
"Don't worry, I'm from the lightning magic tower too," he reassured them, flashing his badge. With a touch of mana, he made the lightning symbol inside the badge flicker, a sign that it was indeed his own. Only the rightful owner could manipulate their badge like that.
As soon as they saw the badge, the three wizards visibly relaxed. They quickly apologized, "We apologize, Professor, for not recognizing you earlier, Professor," bowing their heads. All of them looked even paler than they did after fighting the rabbits.
Professor? Well, it made sense. Only a professor could handle a swarm of rabbits like that without breaking a sweat. And wizards from the tower were known for their pride. They were probably freaking out because they hadn't recognized him and shown proper respect earlier.
But hey, it wasn't him, and he didn't bother correcting their misunderstanding about him being a professor.
"Nah, it's cool, get up. I'll take the loot from the rabbits I killed, you can have the rest," he waved them off.
"How could we dare to take any spoils, please, Professor, take it all," they frantically refused.
Fed up with the back-and-forth, he finally snapped, "Enough! Just take it and help me dismantle my share too." They visibly shrunk and hurriedly started hacking away at the corpses.
Oh, he should mention, these rabbits were way smaller than the one he fought, only about 1.5 meters tall. These ones actually looked like rabbits. Maybe that t-rex rabbit he ran into was just a weird variant.
While they tore apart the corpses, he bombarded them with questions. Turns out, the twenty rabbits that attacked them had some serious coordination. They'd even pulled off an ambush, using three rabbits as bait to lure the wizards into a trap with the other seventeen.
Mid-fight, the rabbits suddenly stopped working together, which made the skirmish drag on. Hmm... maybe that big rabbit he offed was the leader, giving commands from afar. Killing it might've messed up their teamwork. It all clicked in his mind, but who knows? Could just be a wild guess. Either way, no point dwelling on it. He just found the whole thing kinda interesting.
Turns out, these apprentices were some of the top talents in the tower. They'd hit level 3 after just ten months. Plus, they were part of the beast extermination squad of the battle department. Basically, they were in the business of solving the tower's violent problems. And boy, were the rewards sweet. On top of mission rewards, they'd bag a bonus from their department.
Not that he was jealous or anything. He'd already moved from the library department to the magic beasts department. His gig? Feeding some of the critters inside. Not too shabby, pulling in five points a day without even stepping out of the tower.
But seriously, why did no one want to sit next to him in the cafeteria after he changed his department? Sob, sob.
Wiping away imaginary tears, he asked the apprentices about the local black markets. They happily marked up his map with the spots. Once they'd finished dismantling their share of the spoils, he vanished from the scene in style, thanks to a little [Flicker]. Gotta keep it classy.
The 3 Apprentices POV
Finally, that demon is gone. He insists he couldn’t detect anything from the wizard earlier—not before his appearance, not during their conversation, nothing. It's as if the wizard was a ghost or a mirage, his presence intangible like air.
Without direct visual confirmation of the wizard, his presence remained uncertain. Even his footsteps left no trace, fueling suspicions of a spectral nature. Facing him was more unnerving than confronting other professors, despite the wizard's lack of mana emissions. If not for the wizard's affiliation with the lightning magic tower, fleeing would have been the only viable option.
As the wizard bathed in a soothing blue glow before vanishing, a wave of relief washed over him. Collapsing to the ground alongside his teammates, he dared not relax while the wizard lingered, instead focusing on the grim task of dismantling the fallen foes.
Dismantling their corpses could wait; rest was their immediate priority. Oh he also has to erect a beast-repelling array first.
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Name: Zack
Age: 10/100 (150)
Occupation: Apprentice wizard
Mana: 60/60 (1011/1011)
Overt Talent: [Low Mana Manipulation Correction], [Low Mana Sensory Correction]
Hidden Talent: [Limitless Mana Well], [Advanced Mana Manipulation Correction], [Advanced Mana Sensory Correction], [Advanced Intelligence Correction]
Hidden Boss Abilities: [Hidden Strength]
HBP: 0
HB Progress Bar: 30/100%
Expand Hidden Boss abilities Store? yes/no
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