Here's your chapter, enjoy
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Morning came, and Steel woke up still sitting with his arms around Hunie. She was dozing in his arms, a satisfied smile on her face. He smiled down on her, taking in her scent of life and the warmth of her body. Speaking of, he took a closer look at her with his eyes, his lecherous gaze desperateness trying to find a way to be lecherous. Kind of hard in the current situation and position.
As if sensing his thoughts, he felt his body being squeezed, not in a fun way, by two arms of pure power. A face with a knowing look turned and gazed up at him.
"Good morning master, this one sees your already quite bold in the morning. Allow Hunie to correct this." He squeeze grew tighter, emphasizing her meaning.
"Dear Hunie, I was merely making sure you were not an image of my imagination, surely you can forgive me for that." He said smoothly, trying to breathe.
Her grin grew wider, and his sweat grew more pronounced, "Dear Master, it's this one's duty to tell you she can hear your lies. Hunie will do her best from now on to teach Master who to behave."
"Wait a moment, I was doing quite well for myself." He protested, suddenly worried about her new ability, "I've experienced life long enough to survive."
"Oh really? Then why did foolish Master try to walk to his death last night?" She asked smoothly.
His protests died on his tongue, she did have a point. He had ignored her and the result had been her demise. Speaking of...
"Hunie, I hate to ask, but do you know what happened to you?"
Hunie let go of him an took a step back, her face in deep concentration. She looked down at her body, slowly rotating her arm in front of her face as she took in her body.
Her screams range across the grassland, causing many rabbits and other creatures to look up in panic, only to find nothing wrong, and went back to what they were doing.
Hunie rolled around on the ground, desperately trying to deny her senses.
"Noooo, my beautiful body! My soft fur, my teeth!" She screamed as she felt the changes that had come over her. Steel wisely let her have her moment and did not interfere. It took her a few minutes to calm down, excepting the changes far quicker than he would have thought.
"Hunie, are you alright with this?" He asked cautiously, moving slowly into a fleeing stance in case of the worst.
She sighed, hugging herself, "Hunie realizes she died now Master, but it doesn't bother Hunie like before."
"Speaking of which, why do you call me Master?"
"Same reason Master, Master made me." She answered simply, "Hunie wasn't Hunie before Master, Hunie was nothing." She shivered at the memory, "Master made Hunie, Hunie, when Master named me. Hunie's not sure specifics, but when Hunie died in your arms, Hunie was still Hunie. A voice told Hunie "Welcome", and then Hunie was back with Master."
Steel realized what had happened to her. She had undergone an A.I. awakening, a very rare event in the cyber-world when a long-lasted program gained enough sentience to transcend programming. She was still unaware of the world outside the game, but she was more than a simple bunny program now. He had a feeling that his blessing had played a roll in the event, but he still couldn't check all the specifics yet.
It was this reason that Hunie could have been returned to him, he realized. If she were still a program, she would have just restarted her program, losing all her memories from her previous run. He just had one question.
"Er, it's great to have you here, and it's your body is amazing, but why do you look like that?" He asked curiously.
She shrugged, "No idea Master, it could have something to do with how you brought me back. How'd you do that anyway?" Her words were starting to improve the longer they talked.
Steel had a sudden memory of forcing his bleeding tongue into her mouth. His blood in her body most likely tricked the program into reading both rabbit and human code, leading to her current state. He figured that the event should remain a secret for as long as possible.
"Umm, uhh." He tried to think of a good way to say it, her earnest eyes causing much guilt in his heart, "It was a magic kiss with the blessing of Milna." He had a sudden inspiration," My feelings for you brought you back."
He wasn't completely lying, so he figured she wouldn't be able to sniff it out.
- 30 impact damage
'Ahh, this feels familiar.' He thought.
Her fist knocked him into the air again, flying to become a star in the sky. He wasn't too bothered this time, had his M instincts awoken?
The maiden in question was blushing furiously and holding her cheeks with her hands.
"Master is so bold with this one, kyaa. This one will have to teach Master this and that (blush), oh Master is making this one so shameless now. Ufufu." She muttered to herself as Steel landed back on the ground.
-12 impact damage, small rock in the way.
It was the start of an interesting relationship
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The two journeyed together back toward the woods, eager to resume their progress. Steel didn't see a time limit for the quest, but he figured sooner would be better than latter.
Hunie explained that she was taking him to a spot where the forest met that grassland that smelled more strongly of wolf. She had been trying to take him before, but she had not been able to communicate with him properly as a Hungry Bunny. Now as his Bunny Fighter Maid, she proclaimed with a hint of pride, she would make sure he kept on the right path for here on out.
Steel felt his soul quiver in fear, already thinking of plans to escape her to have some fun.
They finally reached the forest entrance, though to be honest it just looked like forest to Steel.
Entering Dangerous AreaThe following area is recommended for players levels 4-8, please be aware of your limitations.
"This really is a suicide mission." Steel muttered, reading the notice. Hunie hit him with a fist.
"Don't ever say that Master, I'll make sure you don't die." She declared, glaring at him to make sure he understood. She smiled when he nodded and the two of them walked in.
The inside of the forest was dark, the trees casting shadows under the sun above. Undergrowth spread from patch to patch, and small trails crisscrossed in the gloom. Steel enjoyed being in the forest, it reminded him of a childhood memory, and a girl he would most likely never see again.
"Hey Hunie." He grinned, "Fancy a race up a tree?"
She snorted, "Master is so dumb, I'm a rabbit, rabbits don't climb."
"Use your big teeth."
She chased him up a tree, eyes red at the reminder of her lost teeth.
When she realized her current position, she hugged him tight in fear.
"Don't be such a scaredy-bunny, this isn't bad at all." He reassured her. He stroked her head, and she relaxed under his touch. He smiled at her, "You have much to learn before you can be a proper fighter bunny."
She puffed her cheeks at him and climbed to a different branch, sulking.
Laughing, Steel climbed back down the tree, just be punished by Hunie in the form of a landing cushion. He moaned as she got off his back daintily.
Now that they were in the woods, Hunie's nose could no longer differentiate the different wolf smells for location, so Steel pulled out his map.
He crossed off the circles too far from their current position, leaving him with three circles in the shape of a triangle.
He pointed in the direction of the closest circle, "Lets give that way a try." Hunie nodded, and the two marched on through the woods.
It didn't take too long for them to walk into a clearing in the forest. A stream flowed through, water trickling down it in a small flow. They stopped a moment to take a drink, water having half the effect bread had on his hunger levels. Hunie seemed to enjoy it though, alternating licking it with her tongue and trying to use her new lips to suck it up.
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A growl rolled over the clearing, freezing the both of them where they stood. A small bear rumbled into the clearing, clearly displeased by their presence. Seeing the bear's level as 6, Steel and Hunie wisely backed off and let the bear have the clearing to itself.
Walking to the second spot yielded similarly disappointing results, this time only some boulders lying in the woods with nothing living in the area that they could see.
As they walked to the third spot, Hunie to continued to ask things of her Master about himself and his life: why he was helping the guard, which people did he know the best, whose scent was on his clothes. She seemed tense about that last question.
Steel did his best to explain things to her without involving the physical world. If she were a program, she wouldn't comprehend worlds besides this one and forget the question or information. The A.I.'s would be aware, but they had the same view as humans when it came to being in the game world; no talking about the real one. Hunie was a newly evolved A.I. though, so he had no idea how to approach it. Since he couldn't leave his capsule, he decided to walk around Cybertown the next time he logged out.
Her questions were interrupted by their arrival at the third area. The circle was a little larger than the others on the map, so they tried stealth as they walked around the area, carefully searching for the wolf lair.
Seeing nothing, they entered the area and began their search.
A low roar stopped their progress.
Out of a bush, a monster jumped out and growled at them, barring it's fangs.
[tr]
Opponent InformationNameLevelThreatHealthDemon Wolf3A.45DescriptionThis is a type of corrupted wolf. Demon wolves are the first form of corruption a wolf can take. After enough time, they become devil wolves, or die to become zombie wolves. The corruption of magic has warped their minds full of pain, which makes them seek to inflict pain on others. Killing one is a mercy.
Seeing the monster information for the first time, Steel couldn't help but feel sorry for them. At the same time, he felt his blood lust rising with a smile at the thought of slaying it.
With a bark, the wolf leapt at them, and a second demon wolf jumped from beside them.
Steel took the one in front head on, bashing his shield into it's head and knocking it back. A quick glance told him Hunie was fighting the second wolf on her own, and she was fine.
"Well, this is a perfect time to try out some new skills." He said with a bloodthirsty grin.
He let out his "Rallying Cry" and his "Leader's Roar" skills, boosting his and Hunie's defense. Neither wolf reacted to his roar, but he wasn't too phased.
A mind in constant pain would likely shrug off mental attacks like that for breakfast.
He activated "Charge", and met the wolf head on.
Left Hit, Right hit.
The wolf jumped back, dodging with a growl. It ran around him, trying to find a weak spot.
He turned with his shield, activating "Shield Bash".
Missed
The wolf had already run back, this time though turning to Hunie.
Cursing, Steel ran at Hunie, activating "Shield Cover". The skill moved him quickly toward to her side as he braced his shield against the body blow of the wolf.
-5 impact damage
His armor and shield cut down the damage, but the wold had managed to get a blow in. Thankfully, his skill succeeded and he absorbed the damage meant for Hunie. She shot him a grateful look as her skirt whirled with her body.
Even though Hunie was in a new body and had lost some of her original ability, she was still a force to be reckoned with on the battle field. Her agility was her best trait, and she made good use of hit fighting the demon wolf, who was also an agility focused fighter.
Her pattern was pretty basic: dodge, roll, punch, dodge.
Neither side seemed to be able to land a clean blow, and small increments of damage floated above their fight.
-1
-3 impact damage
-2 piece damage
The wold managed to land a tooth into her arm before she recovered, leaving a little injury. Hunie snarled, and their fight intensified.
Steel swung his shield again, the wolf managing to dodge again.
He gnashed his teeth, he couldn't use the shield spike if the wolf wasn't still.
'I need to slow his movements' He thought, knocking a clawed paw away.
The wolf initiated a body blow, pushing Steel back into a tree. With a snarl of victory, the wolf jumped into the air, teeth open to tear into him.
"Earth Wall!" Steel shouted in the moment.
He was crouched on the ground, so his wall used up just 40 mana to cover him. Really, it just made a 1 by 4 earth post in front of him, but it did the job.
The wolf slammed into the post headfirst, knocking itself down.
-20 impact damage, daze effect.
Steel didn't let the opportunity go, he used the last of his mana to cast "Earth Armor", and his shield piercer activated. He slammed it into the wolf, piecing it's torso.
-25 death blow
The wolf didn't even give a whimper as it fell over dead. Oddly enough, it's body glowed and disappeared, leaving loot behind.
Steel ignored the loot for now, and focused on Hunie.
She was still locked in a fight with the other demon wolf, but it looked like she was winning now. With shouts of "Rabbit Fist" and "Rabbit Kick", she roundhouse kicked the wolf into the air, and slammed her fist into it, bringing it to the ground. The wolf groaned, and Hunie began beating it senseless.
"Hm, white huh." Steel muttered as he watched a slaughter.
Hunie's ears twitched, and her face grew red as her punches landed harder, "Wha, what is Master saying! So indecent! Hunie, cough, I will have to punish you later." Her flustered face revealed her speech quirks. Steel thought it was quite how she used third person to refer to herself.
The wolf finally died under her fists, and disappeared as well.
"Huh, wonder why they disappeared." Steel stared at the loot on the ground.
Hunie gave him a sideways look, "What do you mean Master?"
"Well, when I fought that devil wolf, I had to skin it and everything, and I didn't get any loot."
Hunie giggled at him, "Oh that, silly Master, we bunnies were the one that killed it. You were barely doing anything to it, but you did help us by dazing it."
He understood, when NPC's killed things, they didn't disappear as an interaction, but players killing things would eliminate the body and leave the loot. By the looks of it, since Hunie was his companion now, the same rule applied to her.
"Well that's a shame, I wanted to get more skinning done." He looked sadly at the loot. Hunie hit him.
"Really Master? You want to skin wolves in the middle of wolf territory?" She shook her head, "This is why Hun, hem, I am here, to keep you from doing stupid things."
He patted her head with a smile, "Thank you for that Hunie, I really appreciate it."
She grabbed her ears and went into a happy muttering session. Steel returned to the loot and collected it.
5 pieces of demon wolf meat
4 sections of demon wold fur, small
1 dagger, simple
5 copper pieces.
The dagger and money surprised him, but assuming they ate a traveler recently, it could be possible. Not sure about the dagger though. He offered it to Hunie, but she declined saying her body was a weapon. Steel agreed whole heartily, and she smacked him again with a blush. Her innocence really was cute, even though she had the mind of a rabbit and the resulting experience.
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Happy Fourth of July! Also, my review is now top weekly review, yay for small things :p