"Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits…" the guy sat on the cold metal plate, hugging his knees, repeating the same words over and over.
"Look at that!" one of the passing men laughed. "He's gone completely nuts!"
"He was never quite right to begin with," another loafer twirled a finger at his temple. "Loony from the start. Must've died ten times already—swear to God, total psycho."
Nikolai didn't respond, though he heard everything perfectly. He just looked at them like they were idiots. Wasting their time. After all, two weeks wasn't much. Not nearly enough. Blink and the novice protection would be gone. Most people still didn't grasp how dangerous their situation really was…
Getting up from the cold metal plate, he strode quickly toward the main gate. His fists clenched involuntarily, and his teeth ground together. The hatred for those fluffy little monsters grew stronger with each death.
Earlier, he'd returned for the carcass he'd earned, but instead of loot, he found an entire pack of beasts! They were eating their fallen comrade, and when they sensed a new victim approaching, they instantly switched targets—even though Nikolai had been hugging the palisade.
He'd really wanted those coins… Not that he was particularly excited about stale bread, but the shop sold other goods! Like boots and armor. Those would make things a lot easier. Or a spear!
Nikolai wasn't afraid of dying anymore. It was inevitable. Upon resurrection, he felt no hunger, no fatigue, not even pain! So yes, he would die again. Many times. And he wasn't the only one…
But he didn't want to die for nothing. Even if he couldn't retrieve the carcass, the Development Points were worth something. Why? He didn't know exactly—but he was sure they weren't useless.
Some people tried to sleep. Everyone complained about being hungry and tired. And despair was slowly creeping in. Nightfall only intensified the fear… That's why they were huddling together. Many had managed to form bonds during the day—or just stuck near someone familiar.
But the girls mostly avoided the men's groups, choosing to stay in strictly female company. Frankly, they were afraid of being raped… At first, everyone was too distracted exploring the village and trying to make sense of things, but as night fell…
Nikolai had no doubt—sooner or later, people would be consumed by their inner demons. The weak would try to prove they were strong by oppressing those even weaker… and of course, their first targets would be the women.
"I wonder… can you even kill someone inside the village?" the thought crossed his mind, but he pushed it aside for now. He had another mission ahead of him.
He stood at the gates, looking out at the moonlit clearing. It was dark—pitch black. Only a partial moon hanging above the forest offered any light. And under it, the monsters cast twisted, grotesque shadows.
This time, Nikolai took a different route from the main gate. The area was unexplored, and he should've checked it during the day—but there was no choice now. There could still be a pack of those fanged freaks waiting to ambush him on the left, and he didn't want to run into them again.
"Every death is a waste of time… and there's less of that with every passing moment."
It was quiet on this side. He walked right alongside the palisade, listening to every sound, stopping repeatedly to locate the source of any noise.
But no new threats emerged with the night. Just the same damned rabbits. And they still stuck together in clusters.
Sometimes, they were quite close to the wall—just a few meters away. Nikolai would pass them sideways, pressing himself against the wood, trying not to make a sound—not even breathe.
But more often, they lounged around ten meters away. At that range, they posed no threat and didn't seem to notice anything at all. As an experiment, Nikolai even knocked on the wall—barely escaped with his life!
Their hearing was excellent! Fortunately, at night their vision was worse than during the day—that's the only reason he managed to get away. The rabbits sniffed around by the wall for a bit, then lost interest and went back to grazing.
"Oh-ho…"
A lone rabbit! And it was grazing quite close to the wall.
Pressing his back to the palisade, Nikolai froze and took a step toward the "herbivorous predator." At first, the bunny didn't react at all—but then it suddenly turned and crouched low, preparing to pounce.
What followed happened in a flash. The rabbit lunged forward, and Nikolai darted back to the palisade, ready to counterattack. He raised his leg for a kick—just like before, the rabbit dodged sideways, trying to get behind him.
But this time, the wall was there!
A loud thud and a pained squeal followed. The rabbit nearly knocked itself out, slamming full speed into the solid wood.
Nikolai blinked in surprise, not expecting that outcome—which gave the creature just enough time to recover and spring back up!
Luckily, he acted first—grabbing the monster by the ear just before it attacked. He immediately received several vicious bites to his hand in return. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Nikolai lifted the five-kilogram beast off the ground and began smashing it against the wall with all his might.
You have killed an enemy and received 2 DP.
The message popped up in front of him, but he kept slamming the rabbit into the wall a few more times. The sound of the impacts echoed through the village, but he didn't care. No one was around the palisade anyway—everyone was asleep in the central square.
"Fffuuuuhh…" he exhaled heavily and crouched down.
Only now did he notice how badly his hand had been bitten. Blood trickled from multiple wounds, forming rivulets that dripped onto the grass.
"No way to bandage it… and fresh blood attracts those freaks from dozens of meters away… I won't make it back to the village like this… Hmm!" Suddenly, Nikolai got an idea—he threw the rabbit's carcass over the wall, followed by the two coins, then made a run for it. And he made it! Though… via express delivery to the Resurrection Square.
"I hate rabbits!!!" he screamed in his soul as he picked himself up off the cold metal.
His return surprised no one, and neither did the fact that he immediately rushed back toward the gate. But this time, he didn't go outside—instead, he moved along the palisade, looking for his loot. And to his relief—he found the rabbit and the coins!
It took him about ten minutes of searching through the grass to find the money, but it was worth it. Now he held two copper coins with number ones stamped on both sides.
Clutching the coins and grabbing the carcass, he rushed to the exchange stall. Luckily, no one was around—no one saw him carrying the rabbit.
"Someone might try to rob me… People are starving… And hungry people are angry and crazy. I have to be careful. No one can find out that I managed to kill one of those beasts."
The guy reached the gates, made sure the coast was clear, and approached the carcass handler.
"Here's the body—whole," he said, placing it on the counter and watching the NPC. A second later, the carcass vanished, and in its place, three copper coins appeared. He grabbed them and calmly walked toward the bank.
The bank was one of the few stone buildings in the village. It stood about two hundred meters farther down the street, and… there were people nearby. Fortunately, they were sleeping—or at least that's how it looked to Nikolai.
He'd been inside before, just like everyone else—but no one stayed in buildings for long. You couldn't sleep in stores or other buildings—if you lingered too long, you'd be transferred back to the square. Nikolai had heard this from others while exploring the village, though he hadn't tested it himself.
Inside were a few wooden benches and some cubicle-like booths that closed from the inside. On one wall of the booth, he found a metal plate. He lowered it, placed the coins there…
"So what now? Store… in the bank? In storage? Inventory? Store? Got it—command 'store.'"
The five coins vanished and… that was it! He didn't know what to do next or how to retrieve them. But through trial and error, he eventually figured it out.
Storage Window – 'Small'
Coins: 5/1000Items: 0/20
"Now, back to the hunt!"
The guy headed toward the gate again. No one was watching him anymore. No one cared what he was doing. Just a lunatic, gone crazy from too many deaths. Let him keep dying if that's what floats his boat.
This time, Nikolai went left. He'd just been eaten on the right side, and maybe the rabbit pack had already scattered across the meadow.
And that's exactly what had happened. At the spot where he'd died, there wasn't even any blood left—just some trampled grass and claw-ripped dirt.
But not far off, he managed to find some remains: bits of fur, blood, and even a claw! It was broken and only about three centimeters long—but sharp.
"Seriously…" Nikolai slapped his forehead, then quickly moved back toward the palisade. A sound like that could attract monsters.
"I wonder if I can turn in only part of a rabbit? Like, without the claws?" he thought, examining the sharp claw, which looked like it could easily slice through hide and meat.
The claw was slightly curved, with an inner edge sharp as a razor. He tested it on the palisade, carving a few gouges in the wood—and was satisfied.
He started coming up with a plan to make a spear. But the scratches he'd made in the wood were already healing—vanishing completely!
"What the hell… without a shaft, I can't make a decent weapon anyway. What am I gonna do—try to gut a rabbit with a claw clutched in my fingers?" Nikolai muttered, standing by the wall. "But it could be good against people. I should stash a few in the bank. As for a spear—I'll need a stick… and those are only in the forest. To get there, I'd have to clear out the whole field first… Impossible. Alone—no way."
Frustration hit hard. Sighing heavily, the guy kept prowling around the village. One hand on the palisade, the other gripping the claw. His eyes scanned the meadow constantly, hunting for the next target.
Now he understood how to break the monsters' script—their AI, their programmed behavior. No matter what, even with an obstacle in the way, they always tried to leap behind their target! He needed to test it a few more times, but at the very least, the last rabbit had smacked straight into the wall.
Last time, he hadn't been ready and had hesitated. But now? He'd strike immediately. That was the plan.
"Here, bunny bunny… Come on, little fluff ball…" he muttered. He didn't actually know how to call a rabbit, so improvisation was all he had.
Still, he could feel he was going a little crazy… Despite reviving with a clear body, his mind didn't rest, and the accumulated stress was immense. Though—after killing that last rabbit, he did feel a bit of relief…
Meanwhile, the rabbit ignored the weird noises. It was too far from the palisade, and raising his voice would be too risky—small groups of rabbits clustered a few dozen meters to the left and right. One loud sound would draw their attention for sure.
So, step by step, he crept toward the fluffy ball of death, slowly moving farther from the safety of the wall.
"F-f?" the rabbit snorted, noticing him when he was just a few meters away. It spun around and leapt at him.
Nikolai barely dodged.
A quick glance told him he wouldn't make it back to the palisade in time. The rabbit hit the ground, twisted in place, and sprang again—this time straight for his throat, claws out, mouth open. The beast jumped surprisingly high!
All Nikolai could do was step back—and the bloodthirsty animal latched onto him with a wet chomp.
"Khrrrgh!" he choked out. Blood gushed in all directions, soaking the rabbit's fur, and the beast tore into him with even greater ferocity.
There was no shaking it off. The claws were embedded deep under his skin, and every attempt to pull it away sent fresh waves of agony.
"The claw!" he remembered, tightening his grip—and began stabbing the monster's soft side over and over.
Soon the clearing was soaked in two fountains of blood. Nikolai had slashed open its throat and belly—but the creature, despite its wounds, kept tearing into his flesh.
His fury and pain drove him, but his arms went limp, and his eyes began to close. The pain faded, and so did the sensation of his body. All he wanted to do was rest—and so he did.
You have killed an enemy and received 2 DP.
A smile spread across his bruised and bloodied face. The next moment, his body—torn to shreds by ravenous beasts—went limp.