PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Chapter 5: Chapter 5 Rabbits are dangerous.

Aqua Rabbit seems to be its name, so it must already exist in the association’s database. But according to this, the rabbit that I killed and gave me a good rib pain is practically the weakest type of magical creature; the guy was almost a baby, and it was barely classified in the zero-star class.

Although it is edible and its horns valuable, I feel terrible. And as if it was trying to prove how accurate my hunches were, an enormous pain hit my back, pushing me hard enough to fall and roll over a couple of times.

Fuck, how that hurts; I clenched my teeth and tried to control my pain as I quickly got up and jumped to my right. It proved to be the correct decision as right after my evasive action, a second shot hit the spot where I was.

I finally have enough time to see the cause of my intense back pain, and to no one’s surprise, it is an Aqua rabbit, much giant than the previous one. Its body is generally more prominent, but its horns are much bigger and brighter than the little one I kill.

Considering the almost rabid attitude that it directs toward me, I will take a risk by saying that this rabbit is the father or mother of the one I just killed. Before I even formulate another thought, I have to jump back quickly to evade its next water shot.

Wow, that seriously left a little fist-sized hole in the ground; I don’t think I can take several of those and stay in the plane of the living. Since this rabbit thinks it is a cowboy from the old west taking slow but powerful shots with its water revolver, I better apply modern techniques and take cover.

Psst! Psst! Psst!

.....

Three shots hit the tree where I was hiding and made two things clear: these were much more powerful than the little ones but still took two seconds to charge, and I really shouldn’t try to take one with my body.

Usually, I would wait until the rabbit got tired like before with the little one, but I didn’t want to risk more Aqua rabbits coming and making soup out of my leftovers.

So I decided to get serious for a moment and leave all unnecessary thoughts for another time. I focus again and prepare to use my bow again. Only this time, it’s different; when I have the bow ready, I have to use the time window between the rabbit’s shots to aim and shoot.

The problem is that this rabbit does not seem as silly as the previous one and is kept at a considerable distance of 10 meters. Although this does not sound like much, I am not yet familiar with this bow and these arrows; added to that, the stress of the current situation will be a somewhat tricky shot.

Let’s see if I still have what it takes; wait. . . waiting. . . now.

I lean at a 45-degree angle from the cover of the tree that has taken a good deal of water bullets, and I see my target. It seems a little surprising to see me come out of my hiding place; that’s even better for me as a hunter to take my prey off guard.

I take my opportunity, and aim at my target, and release the arrow with my maximum concentration.

swiiiiiss!

The sound of the arrow splitting the air around it is followed by just what I wanted to hear.

shuiiiik!

Yes, that’s the little rabbit’s screech when the arrow hit it. Now I’m beginning to wonder if my bow skills got less rusty than I thought because my arrows pierce the center of the chest of the little one and the center of the skull of the big one.

Headshot! Ladies and gentlemen, I am on a roll. Leaving aside the imaginary ovations I receive, I should get out of here fast. The pain in both ribs and back is not tiny, and I don’t think I can fight several of these water rabbits simultaneously. I guess I’ll just quickly grab the horns and go.

Perhaps a quick analysis would not hurt.

Everything else remained the same. Really? It was just a zero-star class aqua rabbit, and its hits already hurt like hell. What would a mid-level rabbit look like? Mmm, it’s better to go and never find out.

At least I learned a valuable lesson in exchange for the wounds I now carried: Rabbits may be cute, but they are dangerous.