The silence of the forest was not peaceful; it was a physical weight. After the slaughter of the Murderous Rabbits, the very air seemed to hold its breath.
Arthur stood in the center of the clearing, his eyes tracking the shifting shadows of the undergrowth.
Then, the silence broke.
A shriek, jagged and high-pitched enough to shatter glass, tore through the trees. From the darkness of the central burrow, the Rabbit Queen launched herself.
She was a blur of white fur and malice, her massive weight propelled by hind legs that could crush river stones. She didn't scurry; she charged like a siege engine.
Arthur's reaction was instantaneous. There was no panic, only the cold, calculated logic of the Undefeated King's Apprentice.
He didn't reach for his sword. Instead, his hand blurred to the mangled bow slung across his back. In a single motion, he notched an arrow, drew the string to his ear, and exhaled.
He wasn't aiming for the Queen's heart—not yet. He was aiming for her momentum.
Twang.
The arrow hissed through the air, burying itself with surgical precision into the Queen's left ankle.
[You have dealt 132 damage.]
The effect was immediate. The Queen's balance vanished. Her massive body tilted, her front paws clawing uselessly at the dirt as she tumbled end-over-end.
She slammed into a thick oak tree with a sickening thud, the wood groaning under the impact.
Arthur didn't give her a second to recover. He dropped the bow and snatched his chipped spear from the ground.
With a practiced overhand throw—utilizing the full rotation of his hips—he launched the weapon. It whistled through the air and pierced her other ankle, pinning the limb to the earth.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 423 damage.]
[All of the Rabbit Queen's stats have been reduced by 35%.]
The Queen was now a stationary target, her mobility stripped away by two perfectly placed shots. Arthur drew his dull sword.
He approached not with a run, but with a steady, lethal stride. What followed was not a fight, but an execution.
Horizontal. Vertical. Diagonal.
The blade moved in a rhythmic pattern, carving through the Queen's health bar until the light faded from her eyes.
[You have defeated the Rabbit Queen.]
[You have acquired 1 gold coin.]
[You have acquired the Rabbit Queen's Majestic Horn.]
[100 experience has been acquired.]
As the massive corpse began to dissolve into data fragments, the satisfy notification showed up. But Arthur knew the rhythm of the game. The Queen was the herald; the King was the storm.
Instead of rushing toward the next objective, Arthur sheathed his sword and sat cross-legged amidst the carnage.
"Breathe," he whispered.
[You have entered the meditative state.]
[Increases health/mana regeneration by 50%, stamina by 30%.]
For ten minutes, he was a statue. He ignored the notifications. He ignored the ticking timer of the hidden stage. He was flushing the lactic acid from his muscles and sharpening his focus to a razor's edge.
The ground began to vibrate.
[The Rabbit King has spawned.]
[The Rabbit King has entered the 'Berserk' state.]
[Stats have increased by 30%.]
"A bit sooner than expected," Arthur remarked, a thin, dangerous smile playing on his lips. "But I suppose a King doesn't like to be kept waiting."
The Rabbit King was a nightmare of evolution. Standing nearly five feet tall on its hind legs, its fur was a deep, bruised purple, and its eyes burned with a crimson, frantic light.
It didn't screech like the Queen; it let out a guttural howl that vibrated in Arthur's chest. The King bolted. It was significantly faster than the Queen, its Berserk buff turning it into a living projectile.
Arthur didn't retreat. He met the charge head-on. As the King lunged with its serrated horn, Arthur executed a 'Cross Step'—a high-level footwork technique that used the opponent's own momentum against them.
He slanted his sword at a precise angle, catching the horn and guiding the force harmlessly into the dirt.
[You have perfectly blocked the attack. 0 damage received.]
[The Rabbit King's Berserk state is temporarily disabled for 10 seconds.]
"My turn," Arthur said. He pivoted, his sword flashing in a series of lightning-fast slashes. He followed the blade with a brutal kick to the King's ribs, creating the distance he needed to transition. He stepped in close, his sword finding the King's eye in a blindingly fast stab.
The King howled, snapping its massive jaws. Arthur blocked the bite with the flat of his blade, but the sword became wedged in the monster's powerful teeth.
Without a hint of hesitation, Arthur let go of the hilt. He wasn't wedded to a single tool. He rolled backward, snatching his spear from the ground as he moved.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 217 damage.]
[The Rabbit King's hit rate has been reduced by 25%.]
The King spat the sword out, the metal clattering against a rock, and coiled its muscles to jump. It wanted the high ground—the safety of the trees.
Arthur's Insight predicted the trajectory before the King's feet even left the ground. He thrust the spear upward.
The King, mid-air and unable to dodge, twisted its body with animal instinct. It saved its heart, but the spear-tip tore through its rear leg.
[The Rabbit King's stats are reduced by 10% due to Fear.]
[The Rabbit King's Berserk state has been forcefully canceled.]
The King hit the ground limping. It looked at Arthur, and for the first time, the crimson light in its eyes wasn't just rage—it was terror. It turned to flee, but Arthur was already moving toward his discarded sword.
With his weapon back in hand, Arthur used a 'Dashing Footwork' variant. He became a blur, intercepting the King's retreat.
As the monster tried one last desperate charge, Arthur countered. He didn't just strike; he channeled his entire momentum into a low, sweeping cut.
The King's leg severed cleanly.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 713 damage.]
[The Rabbit King's agility has been reduced by 60%.]
The boss was finished. It tried to drag itself into the thick bush, bleeding profusely, desperate to find cover among the roots. Arthur didn't chase. He stood calmly, watching the trail of blood. He took out his bow one last time.
He drew the string, the wood creaking under the tension. He didn't fire immediately. He waited. He felt the wind, the rustle of the leaves, and the erratic heartbeat of the dying King.
Ten seconds of absolute silence.
Then. Release.
The arrow traced a golden arc through the canopy, whispering through the leaves before burying itself in the back of the King's skull.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 1,473 damage.]
[You have defeated the Rabbit King.]
The forest fell silent once more. Then, the system went into a frenzy.
[You have cleared the hidden quest 'Hunting Season'!]
[Rewards: +50 Stat Points, Deluxe Set, Lucky Necklace...]
[Title: 'Genius', 'Fast Thinker' acquired!]
Arthur stood frozen as the notifications flooded his vision. The sheer volume of rewards was staggering.
In any other circumstance, a player would need weeks of grinding and a party of ten to achieve what he had just done solo at Level 4.
"Th-this... This is the jackpot! Hahahaha!"
His laughter echoed through the Breeding Grounds. He opened his status window, his eyes darting over the numbers. He was now Level 7. His stats, bolstered by the new titles and the Deluxe Set, were starting to resemble a mid-Level 50's powerhouse rather than a starter.
[Name: Arthur]
[Level: 7]
[Class: Undefeated King's Apprentice]
[Titles: Plunderer, Forgotten Royalty, Hunter, Little Hero of Patrian, Fortuna's Grace, Genius, Fast Thinker...]
He looked at his hands. They were steady. The 'Genius' title was a game-changer—it would allow him to learn skills simply by observing the fundamentals. He wasn't just playing the game anymore; he was rewriting the rules.
"Genius and Fast Thinker," Arthur mused, closing his menu. "With these, the next stage won't just be a challenge. It'll be a massacre."
Before Arthur turned to leave the blood-stained clearing, a strange sensation washed over him.
It wasn't the cold chill of 'Sense' or the sharp clarity of 'Insight.' This was different—a warm, rhythmic thrumming in his chest that seemed to pull his gaze toward the dark, jagged entrance of the Rabbit King's burrow.
The 'Good Luck' stat, though only at a base of 1, was reacting to the 50-point boost from his new Lucky Charm. The air near the burrow seemed to shimmer with a faint, golden hue that only he could see.
"The spoils of war," Arthur whispered, his smile widening.
He didn't just walk into the burrow; he moved with the caution of a predator, his 'Keen Sense' mapping the interior.
The smell of damp earth and musk was thick, but beneath it lay the faint, metallic scent of something that didn't belong in nature.
Deep within the nest, tucked behind a pile of gnawed bones and matted fur, Arthur found a small, reinforced iron chest—likely a caravan's lost cargo that the rabbits had dragged underground as a trophy. Beside it lay a skeleton clad in rusted mail, its hand still clutching a leather-bound satchel.
[Your 'Good Luck' has triggered a 'Great Find'!]
Arthur opened the satchel first. Inside was a heavy, blackened whetstone and a vial of shimmering silver liquid.
[Abyssal Whetstone (Rare)]
* Description: A whetstone infused with the essence of dark minerals.
* Effect: Permanently increases the Attack Power of a 'Common' or 'Uncommon' weapon by 15. Can be used 3 times.
* Note: A sharp blade is the difference between a hunter and the hunted.
[Elixir of the Swift (Epic - Consumable)]
* Effect: Permanently increases Agility by 5.
* Description: A concentrated brew of wind-elemental herbs.
"Permanent stat increases this early?" Arthur's breath hitched. In the early game, a permanent +5 to a core stat was worth more than ten levels of grinding.
Without hesitation, he downed the elixir. He felt a sudden lightness in his veins, as if the gravity of the world had loosened its grip on him.
Finally, he turned to the iron chest. It was locked with a sturdy mechanism, but Arthur didn't need a key.
He used the tip of the Rabbit King's Majestic Horn—already a high-penetration item—and jammed it into the lock's core, using his 'Fast Thinker' ability to find the internal stress point.
Snap.
The lid creaked open, revealing a glow that filled the dark burrow.
[Skill Manual: "Swift Draw"]
* Rank: B
* Description: A technique that allows the user to strike the moment their weapon leaves the scabbard.
* Effect: The first strike after drawing a weapon deals 200% damage and has a 30% increased critical hit chance.