by Aaron Oster
AREA MONSTER
Name: Mob Bunny
Gender: Female
Level: 6 - HP: 110/110 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 140/140
Status: Blinding Rage
Greatest Threat: Bite
Mob Bunnies, once peaceful and fluffy, have been transformed into creatures of malice and loathing, due to a certain vengeful asshole.
“Hey!” Sam exclaimed indignantly as he read over the monster’s description. “Barry killed plenty of them!”
It was then that the bunnies let out a collective scream of rage and all attacked at once. Sam’s Mana Flare sent them scattering, killing the first wave off with a single attack.
“I don’t know what you were so worried about,” Sam scoffed as he began laying into the bunnies once more. “They’re barely even a challenge.”
“Just you wait,” Barry replied, taking off and flapping into the air. “This is only the beginning!”
Well, that’s ominous.
Sam didn’t have long to dwell on it, as the bunnies were attacking with a ferocity the likes of which he’d never seen before. It seemed his updated Title made them hate him even more than they had before and when one finally made it through his defenses and hit him, he received quite a shock.
Mob Bunny bites you for -12 damage.
Seriously? Twelve points of damage from a level 6 bunny?!
That shouldn’t have been possible, especially seeing as he had an Armor Rating of 41. That would have to mean that this bunny had just dealt a total of 53 points of damage!
“How the hell can such a low-level mob inflict so much damage? It was even under the level 20 threshold!” Sam yelled as he roasted the bunny with a Mana Burn.
“Probably because of how angry they are,” Barry replied from overhead. “They’re not even looking at me, which means that they’re more than just enraged.”
“They all have the Blinding Rage buff. What does that mean? And shouldn’t it be a debuff?” Sam called, using Mana Flare and knocking the swarm back.
“To monsters without a higher brain function, Rage is generally considered a buff,” Barry called while divebombing a group of bunnies.
As the bird had pointed out, they were so intent on attacking Sam that they didn’t even turn to face the bird when he killed four of their number.
“The Blinding Rage buff generally increases attack power by 300%, though it does drain HP at around 5 per second. If you had a defensive buff, you might be able to stand there and take the attacks until they kill themselves off.”
Sam already had a title like that called Punching Bag. It would reduce damage taken by half, but only when he was under 25% of his max HP. Seeing as he wasn’t planning on allowing himself to get that low, it wouldn’t be doing him any good. His MP was already running dangerously low, though, due to his earlier attacks on the bunnies.
He found himself reaching for Mana Herbs to restore his waning MP, even as the bunnies continued throwing themselves at him. Over the next five minutes, Sam suffered many painful bites, and by the time the last of the black bunnies were dead, he’d taken well over 100 points of damage and was bleeding from multiple places.
“Fucking hell, that was tough!” he complained, wincing and eating a Healing Herb.
“It’s not even close to being over with,” Barry warned.
“Yeah, I can already see the next wave coming, and let me guess. They’re going to be even tougher than the last?”
“Bingo! Give the monkey a prize!”
Had Sam not been so preoccupied with the approaching horde, he might have hit the bird for that comment. But seeing as his Stamina was already about halfway down, he couldn’t spare the energy. He only had a single Stamina Herb on him, seeing as his Endurance was so low, and Emma needed them more.
Who was to know that fighting off such a swarm with only magic would be so physically taxing?
The approaching bunnies came into view then. Over three times as large as the previous ones and sporting a set of curving black horns, they didn’t look any friendlier.
AREA MONSTER
Name: Horny Bunny
Gender: Male
Level: 12 - HP: 280/280 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 320/320
Status: Blinding Rage
Greatest Threat: Horny Attack
Horny Bunnies, once peaceful and fluffy, have been transformed into creatures of malice and loathing, due to a certain vengeful asshole. Their innate Horniness makes them more aggressive, especially toward said asshole.
“Fuck!”
22
Sam’s Mana Flare exploded out of his body, only staggering and not killing the much larger Gordon-sized bunnies. Horrible name aside, they were far more dangerous than the last swarm, seeing as their levels were much higher.
“Ow!” he yelled as one of the bunnies attacked him from behind, skewering him with one of its horns.
Horny Bunny stabs you for -31 Damage (Penetrating).
If there was anything worse than being attacked by something called a Horny Bunny, it was being penetrated by one.
“You fucking perv!” Sam yelled, whirling and sending a Mana Burn right into its ugly face.
He was then once again stabbed from behind and was forced to use his Mage Shield to fend off further attacks and give himself a few seconds.
“Eat this, you horny bastards!” he cried, using Mana Bolt.
The bunnies screamed in unison as lightning burned through them. Although they were inflicting massive damage in respect to their level difference, he was also doling out huge damage. He gained an additional 10% from his gear, plus 25% from his title and another 45% since they were under level 20. Still, they had numbers on their side, and by the time he and Barry managed to subdue this second group, he’d lost over half his health.
“Alright,” he gasped, feeling lightheaded. “What’s next?”
What was next turned out to be a monster called a Molotov Bunny, and they were exactly what they sounded like. Flaming bunnies the size of dogs rushed him and exploded into flames. Had he not had the bird with him for this one, he was sure he’d have died. As it was, he nearly didn’t make it, which was why when the Boss finally made its appearance, Sam felt a small shiver of fear run down his aching spine.
AREA BOSS
Name: Don Bunnystein
Gender: Male
Level: 22 - HP: 1,620/1,620 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 1,330/1,330
Status: Blinding Rage
Greatest Threat: Don-Don Barrage
Don Bunnystein is the leader of the bunny underworld. While normally content with staying in hiding to avoid the Anti-Carrot Smuggling Force, or ACSF as they’re known in the bunny community, your rampage has destroyed most of his crime ring. Nobody messes with the Don, and he’s about to show you why!
Sam’s fear immediately vanished, replaced with dumbfounded shock.
“What the actual fuck is all that supposed to mean? Crime boss bunnies?! Anti-Carrot Smuggling police?! Who the fuck even comes up with this shit?”
Sam’s fear was well and truly gone by now, replaced by rage of his own. Aside from the ridiculous description, the bunny even looked the part of a crime boss.
He stood on his hind legs, nearly five and a half feet tall, with black fur. He wore a three-piece suit, complete with a gold chain pocket watch. An eyepatch sat over his left eye, covering the faded scar that poked out on either side, and a carrot sat in his mouth in an obvious approximation of a cigar.
“Yeah,” Barry said as the Don bunny eyed them with hatred. “Even I’ve gotta admit that this is fucked up. Never seen the Don in real life before, though I have heard of him.”
“That’s what you find fucked up? The fact that he’s here, and not the fact that he even exists?”
“Why would that be…”
“Never mind!” Sam cut in before he could get even angrier.
This world had proved time after time that it made zero sense, so why did he bother thinking that it would be different now?
“Let’s ju
st focus on killing this overgrown bunny and get our XP.”
The Don’s eyes narrowed even further at that, and he removed the carrot from his mouth. Dropping it to the ground, he stomped on it, then drew a thumb across his throat.
“Probably shouldn’t have called him the B word. It’s very offensive,” Barry whispered.
“I can’t take this shit anymore!” Sam yelled, aiming his Over-Burn at the Don bunny and engulfing him in a roaring pillar of flames.
“Woah! Warn a bird before you go off like that!” Barry screeched as he took off from his shoulder.
But Sam wasn’t listening. Instead, he was aiming all his pent-up frustration, anger, and rage, and channeling it all into killing the Don. Bunnies didn’t run crime rings! Bunnies didn’t wear suits! And calling a bunny a bunny, was not offensive!
You deal: -239 (Base: 104 X2) Damage to Don Bunnystein (Over-Burn +19 Burn Damage)(Sucker Punch).
Sam continued attacking until he was forced to stop, as he’d put all his abilities into cooldown. As soon as he took a break, the now smoldering Don let out a scream of rage, then drew a weapon.
A Flintlock Pistol? What?!
The Don screamed as he pulled the trigger. There was a loud boom as smoke curled into the air, and a streak of red flashed between them, slamming hard into Sam’s chest. He staggered back, feeling as though he’d been punched in the gut. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as he’d expected a gunshot wound would, but that was likely because he hadn’t been hit by an actual bullet.
Don Bunnystein shoots you for -72 Damage (Don Shot).
Sam barely had time to recover before the bunny was pulling the trigger again. He doubled over as it slammed him directly in the solar plexus, knocking the air from his lungs and dealing a whopping -114 damage.
“Baron Von Tweet for the save!”
Sam heard the bird’s screech just before the crack of the gun went off once more, this time grazing his shoulder and knocking him to the ground. He wheezed, reaching for a Healing Herb as Barry began to pelt the mobster bunny with his exploding bird crap. If it wasn’t for that damn bunny’s massive health pool, it would already be dead.
As it was, Barry wasn’t doing much to distract the Boss, as he simply ignored the bird and raised his gun once more. Sam fired off a Mana Shot, all four beams slamming into the bunny before he could get off a shot of his own. This was closely followed by another Mana Burn. Unfortunately, these abilities were the ones that had the least amount of cooldown time, so he had to rely on just those two.
Don bunny-douche wasn’t going to close with him, as he was obviously a ranged attacker, so Mana Flare was out. All Sam could do now was continue firing at the rabbit and wait for his stronger Mage Bolt and Over-Burn abilities to become available to him. The former had a full five-minute cooldown, while the latter was only two. However, in battle, minutes felt like hours.
Don Bunnystein raised his gun once again, his fur smoking and singed, pure hatred shining in his eyes. The gun began to glow then, and Sam suddenly got a very bad feeling. He tried to intercept this attack as well, but he couldn’t stop the barrage of shots that exploded from the gun’s barrel.
Dozens of red streaks flashed toward him, and Sam desperately used his Speed Boost to get out of the way. He was only partially successful and was nailed by several shots. They didn’t pack quite the same punch as the earlier ones, but seeing as there were so many, they were much harder to avoid.
The Don clearly wasn’t finished yet, continuing to lay down fire and hosing the area down as if he were using a machine gun and not a flintlock pistol. Sam stayed ahead of the line of fire as best he could, then abruptly dropped to his face as he ran out of Stamina. Several more shots slammed into him, dropping him to under 50 points of health.
Though he knew he was probably about to die, Sam couldn’t feel anything but anger. All his hard work was about to be undone by a fucking bunny! There was little Barry could do to help. Even if he attacked head-on, the bunny would remain focused on Sam, because of his stupid title — not that he saw much use from it.
If anything, the title was more of a detriment than a help. All Sam gained was an additional 25% damage, while swarms of bunnies would dish out 300% against him and focus on killing him to the exclusion of all others. How the hell was that even fair?
However, instead of the painful punch followed by his HP dropping to zero, Sam felt nothing. He lay there for several seconds as his Stamina refilled to the point where he could move again, and when he finally looked up, he saw The Don smacking a smoking red-hot gun as Barry attacked from all sides.
Of course! The Boss has a cooldown time, too! How did I forget that? I’m an idiot.
All Bosses became vulnerable after using their biggest attack, forcing them into several seconds of inaction. It seemed that the Don was getting his gun back into working order already, if the vanishing glow around the weapon was anything to go by. But luckily for Sam, the few seconds had given him the reprieve he’d needed to recover.
Barry hadn’t been idle and had taken advantage of the cooldown time. He had shaved off a good portion of Don bunny’s HP while Sam had been incapacitated, and now it was his job to finish it.
With a yell of rage, Sam charged forward, popping the Stamina Herb into his mouth and using his Speed Boost to close the distance. The Don began to panic, raising the gun and trying to aim, but Sam was already too close. His Mana Flare sent the bunny stumbling back and a well-placed Mana Shot inflicted critical damage. The Don managed to get off a couple of shots, but none were more than glancing blows.
“And pop goes the fucking bunny!” Sam yelled, slamming his staff into The Don’s midsection and using Mana Burn.
The fiery projectile exploded through the Boss bunny, exiting out the other side of its body. Don Bunnystein’s HP bottomed out, and the Boss collapsed into a crumpled heap.
You deal: -94 Damage to Don Bunnystein (Mana Burn +14 Burn Damage)(Critical).
Don Bunnystein dies! +3,016 XP
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have killed the Boss and cleared the Area Event.
Rewards: 7,500XP, Special skill, Don’s Weapon
23
Sam dropped to his knees, his body shaking as the message telling him he’d won popped into view.
“That was way too close for comfort,” he muttered, noting his HP was at 19/350.
“We won! I can’t believe we’re still alive,” Barry crowed, landing on the ground next to the swiftly vanishing Boss bunny.
“Tell me about it,” Sam replied, reaching for a Healing Herb.
He looked down and realized that he only had two of the Potent herbs and one of the Potent+ herbs left, and quickly changed his mind. When they reached their next city, he would need to restock on many things, not just healing items. He decided to make a mental list. He needed a new bag, some rope, decent rations, and other miscellaneous items.
But for now…
“Let’s see what that bunny left for us,” he said, wobbling over to the small chest and lifting the lid.
Inside sat a very familiar-looking flintlock pistol, as well as a single slightly shiny scroll.
“I’ve never seen a scroll shining like this before,” he said, lifting it out of the chest.
“That’s because it’s a Special skill,” Barry replied as he cocked his head. “Never seen one in birdson, but there’s a first time for everything.”
“Birdson?” Sam asked, already suspecting what the parrot meant.
“Well, yeah. I’m not a person, so I can’t exactly say that.”
Not having any response to that, Sam examined his items.
ITEMS FOUND!
Name: Flintlock Hand Cannon
Durability: 290/300
Rarity: Legendary
Quality: Enhanced
Damage: Total Attributes Divided by 5
Effect: Once per day, it can use Multi-shot ability, at the cost of 10 Durability
Requirements: Deadeye Skill
&
nbsp; Name: Special Skill Scroll
Durability: 25/25
Rarity: Legendary
Quality: Enhanced
Contents: Deadeye Skill
Effect: Increases accuracy and damage. Bestows ability to wield Hand-Cannon weapons
Requirements: None
“Holy crap!” Sam exclaimed at the power of the items.
If these were his rewards, then surviving a surprise attack like that was worth it. Doing some quick math in his head, he figured that the gun would do 66.5 points of damage per shot. It was just the thing he’d been missing, a way to damage opponents once his MP began running low. And it was even better. For once, he received a reward that was actually useful to him.
He had no doubt that the gun was a Legendary weapon, and it was beautifully crafted. Now that he got a closer look, he could see the silver plating worked around the barrel. It was engraved with a swirling design complete with tiny flowers and trees. The grip itself was made of dark wood and felt pleasant in his hands. However, when he tried to lift it and level the barrel, it tipped forward, refusing to allow him to aim.
Right, gotta learn the skill first, Sam remembered, opening the scroll and learning the Legendary skill.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have learned a new skill!
Deadeye: Much like a stalker, you often see things you shouldn’t
Level: Intermediate 21 (0%)
Effect: Can wield Hand Cannon weapons up to 6 Lbs. in weight. Zoom in up to 40 yards when targeting, penetrating power increased by 45%
