The snake lunged.
I threw myself into [Hop Step]. The world blurred sideways, dirt exploding where I'd been a breath ago. Its fangs slammed into the ground, gouging deep, the snap echoing like a thunderclap.
Too close! This thing was going full berserk on me.
It whipped back, faster than thought. Another [Hop Step]. My legs screamed, muscles burning, but I cleared its strike by a whisker. Heart pounding, ears ringing.
One mistake. That's all it would take.
I lowered my head, horn forward, and jabbed.
[Thrust]
My horn punched into its side, shallow but bloody. The serpent hissed, twisting, its body rippling with fury.
I think I just made it worse…
It came again. I dodged. [Hop Step]. Another dodge. Another. Each one tighter, closer, the serpent's strikes hammering like blades of wind all around me. My horn stabbed in where I could, shallow wounds stacking up.
But then—
CRACK!
The tail lashed out. I barely saw it before it smashed into my ribs.
Ghhhk—!
Agony ripped through me, hurling me across the clearing. I hit the dirt rolling, breath torn out of me, vision flashing white.
[HP: 35 → 17]
Half my health—gone in one blow.
My chest screamed. My ribs felt crushed, lungs rasping for air. This… this was damage. Real damage. One more like that and I'd be nothing but fur and meat.
The serpent slid closer, blue eyes burning. It smelled weakness.
I gritted my teeth, forced my legs under me, lowered my horn. My body trembled, but I didn't run. Couldn't run.
It lunged.
No room to dodge. No time to flee.
CLANG!
Its fangs crashed against my horn. Sparks danced in my skull. The serpent's strike slid off, redirected into the dirt with a bone-rattling jolt.
A screen flickered before me:
[Skill Acquired: Parry Lv.1]
My eyes widened.
Parry!? I just… deflected that?
The serpent recoiled, enraged, but I was already stumbling back, hooves scraping, my stance broken. I'd survived—barely. The strike hadn't pierced me, but the momentum had thrown me, spun me out of position.
The next instant—
—ghhhk!
Its body coiled around me in a blur. [Coil]. The pressure crushed my ribs like iron bands, forcing the air from my lungs. My legs kicked uselessly, panic clawing at my throat.
[HP: 17 → 12]
The serpent's jaws lowered, venom dripping toward my skull.
No, no, no—!
Desperation snapped my jaws.
[Bite]
My teeth sank into an open wound I created earlier with Thrust.
[Skill: Bite Lv.1 → Lv.3]
The serpent shrieked, convulsing, loosening. I wrenched free in a frenzy, twisting, kicking—then blasted backward with a desperate [Hop Step]. I collapsed to the dirt, coughing, wheezing, chest heaving fire.
[Skill: Hop Step Lv.3 → Lv.5]
My vision was swimming. But I was alive.
The serpent wasn't slowing. Its body heaved, scales torn, blood dripping in rivers—but its rage only sharpened. Reckless now. Wild. A storm of death that would not stop until one of us fell.
I dragged myself upright. Legs shaking. Horn low. Ears twitching for the rush of scales through the grass.
It lunged.
[Parry]
The impact nearly split my skull, but I caught the angle. Twisted. Redirected. Its skull slammed into the dirt with a thunderous crack.
[Skill: Parry Lv.1 → Lv.2]
I staggered back, panting, legs trembling, every muscle burning. Both of us were bleeding, staggering, frenzied.
One more clash. That was all it would take.
The serpent reared high, body trembling, fangs flashing in the shafts of moonlight. A bowstring drawn to breaking.
I lowered my horn, every muscle screaming.
Come on then. Let's finish this.
The world narrowed to a single line.
It struck.
I met it head-on.
[Parry]
The force rattled me to the bone, but I held. The redirection whipped its skull downwards, smashing into the dirt with a bone-cracking thud.
And the momentum—
—sent me flying upward.
Wha—woah, woah, woah—!
My ears whipped in the wind as the world spun beneath me.
Then my eyes locked onto the serpent below.
Dazed. Staggering. Open.
PLEASE DON'T MISS THIS!!!
I realigned in the air, horn angling down, body pulled taut like a drawn arrow.
The wind roared in my ears as I plunged.
I came down like a falling star—
[Thrust]
—and my horn punched clean through its skull.
[Critical Hit]
The serpent convulsed once. Twice. Then went still, its body unraveling across the clearing.
Silence.
[Skill: Thrust Lv.2 → Lv.3]
I staggered back, chest heaving, my ribs screamed, my legs shook but I was still standing.
…And then—
I-I did it? I did it!
Woohoo! I won!
I circled the Forest Snakes corpse, ears bobbing, tail flicking back and forth in a jittery little dance.
Who's the rabbit?
I'm the rabbit.
That's right you anaconda wanabee, mess with the bun—get the horn.
Now, Show. Me. The Money!
―――――――――――――――――
[EXP Gained.]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Lv.6.]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Lv.7.]
[Attribute point gained]
[Attribute point gained]
[Skill point gained]
[Skill point gained]
―――――――――――――――――
[Attribute: Vitality → F+]
Another two levels from just one fight? That should tell you everything you need to know about that. Thank you [Guardian] title.
Now, time to go home and get some rest. This 12hp is making me nervous as h—
Chitter.
The sound scraped right down my spine.
I froze. Slowly, ears twitching.
…Hey, System… please tell me that was you
[Negative.]
I swallowed hard. The noise came again—dry, grinding, like mandibles chewing bone.
I glanced over my shoulder.
A giant insect stood only a few hops behind me—matte-brown carapace, saw-toothed mandibles, antennae tasting the air. It watched me without blinking.
I raised a paw weakly.
…Hi?
It clicked once.