The next day, the group travelled to the Monster's lairs. There, the Bunny was making its way outside. None but two had seen a Monster Horned Bunny before, and most grew weak in the knees at the sight of it.
The evolved creature had grown to the size of an Earth Elephant with large iron-colored claws. The once grey fur now a pure white with its horn having grown several feet. It wasn't as dull or smooth as the normal bunnies, it was sharp and jagged, looking ready to skewer anything and anyone.
The bunny though, looked quite fat. Deliciously so.
Selene licked her lips, already imagine devouring the bunny's meat. With how fat it looked, the meat must be quite sweet and juicy, so a nutty ot semi-spicy glaze would do perfectly for it. As a side dish, she thinks Franky could whip up a wonderful soup or baked potatoes.
While Selene thought of food, Lukas had his sword at the ready. It wouldn't do well to alert the creature when trying to draw his weapon. Silently, he motioned everyone to keep quiet and low. As discussed more thoroughly the night before, Horned Bunnies have good hearing, their monstrous counterparts had even better hearing.
The beast gave a low roar shuffling like all bunny creatures did when they were wanting to sunbath. The roar made them tense.
It would be best to attack it when it lays down for a nap. It would keep the meat tasting delicious and it should cause less trouble in general. It'd be a swift end with few injuries.
However, some of the Nobles, ones that likely never hunted real game before, attacked. They were loud, their footsteps uneven and untrained on the rocky forest floor. The sleepy beast woke, giving a much louder roar this time.
"Fools." Juno muttered under his breath, a hand on his younger brother's shoulder.
Jupiter had tried to follow, his impatience getting to him. Yet, he was glad he was held back in the next second. In a swift moment, the Nobles that had charged were almost instantly outmatched.
The Bunny used wind magic to slice and throw them back or simply trying to use its horn to try and pierce them. Blood was every where.
Selene frowned, gritting her teeth. She didn't like the sight before her. Unnecessary bloodshed all because they were being overly eager children.
Silently, she readied her new bow. She winced a little as pulling it backed required a bit more strength than she was used to. Still, she looked for an opening.
Seeing their little Mistress ready to fight, her two retainers prepared as well. It was just like hunting an Iron Antler Deer, a really large Iron Antler Deer. They could handle this!
"Ice Arrow!" A voice echoed with magic, a glowing blue-white light piercing one of the Bunny's claws. Instantly the claw was incased in sharp ice.
It roared loudly, pain in its cry. It slammed its paw down, smashing the ice, but left bleeding wounds.
Selene heard two ping.
Congratulations! Learned Magical Skill: Ice Arrow Level 1!
Congratulations! [14] Magical Skill Points Earned!
She took a deep breath, readied another arrow and let it fly with the same spell. The monster just barely dodged it, the arrow creating a pillar of ice. The beast now had it's attention on her tree.
She jumped high in the air, just in time for it to send a series of Wind Blades to shred the tree. She winced, feeling sorry for the tree.
Maneuvering her body in a certain way, she was able to land on her feet. It jarred her but she ran, knocking another arrow. This time, she just let it fly without magic.
The arrow pierced the back of its neck, making it focus on her once more.
Its bloody horn began to glow, sending a chill down her spin. She wanted to run away. This felt more dangerous than hunting an Iron Antler Deer. Far more dangerous.
A sharp, but low whistle drew her back. It was the hunting whistle Clover used to say he set a trap.
Right! She wasn't alone! She may be bait at this point, but not alone and certainly not stupid!
She dodged to the left, just was a torent of wind crashes where she was. She hissed as a few Wind Blades cut at her arm and calf. Nothing too deep, she could still move. She needed to move!
Knocking an arrow, she drew a deep breath, calming her heart. Getting up, she raised around the Monstrous Bunny, using her high Agility to keep it from pinning her down.
Skidding to halt, she shot a regular arrow. Just then Izzy jumped out from wherever she was hiding, her blades glowing a blue-white.
The Bunny dodged the arrow, but that led it right into Izzy's blades. Ice sprung from its side, making it yell and stumble. Stumbling right into activiting a bear trap.
Another roar sounded, practically deafening her and the others. Now with the monster weakened, the other hunters began to attack. Her retainers were by her side, quickly ushering her away.
She arms felt weak, the bow felt too heavy and the drawing back hurt. She wanted her bow back. It was made for her and hunting... She could've gotten more shots in if she had it.
There was a heavy thud and a pitiful roar, telling her the others had finally killed it. Then a ping.
Congratulations! [20] Ability Points Earned.
Izzy and Clover looked worried and guilty.
"We're sorry... We should've acted sooner." Izzy murmured, using some ice magic to cool the stingy cuts.
Selene shook her head, catching her breath.
"The ones who should be sorry are dead. And it seems I need to put get more Attack and Strength." She gave them a weak smile.
They still looked upset, but said nothing more. Clover took her bow while Izzy had Selene on her back. She didn't care what her Miss said, she was hurt! She needed to rest her body!
Heading back to the main party, Juno walked toward them. His face didn't hold any arrogance like before.
"You fought well, Little Sister."
"Well?" Jupiter marched over, a disgusted scowl on his face. "She didn't even finish it off!"
"Yet it was her people that had weakened it." The oldest son shook his head before looking to her. "I do hope you become an adventurer. It would make our father proud."
There was another meaning behind those words. Selene knew that, but she wasn't sure for what or why. Or if she could trust them.
Still, the large part of green adventurers used some levitating magic to get the Bunny monster back to camp. There Izzy and Franky, along with several other, butchered it. Each party was rewarded with some meat, fur, and parts of the creature's horn. Many people refused the torn fur, leaving more and more for the other groups. Then it was Selene's.
She grinned as she looked at all the fur. "Thank you!" She chirped.
They were a bit surprised but shrugged it off, moving back to Lukas. Everyone was eyeing the cloudy, fist size stone. Even near the back, the stone radiated magic. It didn't feel right though, sickly almost.
"Hey, what about the core!" Jupiter was the one to shout this.
Murmurs agreed, wanting to know about the core's fate. They were sure it would give them a lit money. Not they necessarily needed it.
"Cores go to the Grandmaster." Lukas held.a look on his face before sighing and hiding, like he just remembered something. "Right. Cores are valuable, and can be measured a number of ways." He held the core up for all to see. "This is a rank E core. As you should know, hunting in a party, even those that don't do the work," his face scrubched in disgust, "will earn the same amount of points. After the core is harvested, deoending on its Rank and quality will depend how much money you earn and what the core will become. For a Rank E core with a Quality of E, this will be ten to twenty Sol."
Selene blinked in surprise. Sol meant gold for this country, and that sounded like a lot of money. She had maybe seen three or four pieces of Sol within her decade of staying in that world.
"Miss..." Amzi gave her little sister a worried look over as they came back.
Selene's wounds were wrapped up and so was their prizes along with the bag of fifty Luns -- silver. She had her thinking face in, which usually led the small manor to something new that would be worth it in the end.
When they were in their tent and another few minutes had passed, her sharp eyes looked to them.
"What would you think if we became Adventurers?"