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Episode 03 – The Bunny and the Wolf

Slammed down by an unidentifiable entity, I laid face first in the ground, kissing fresh moss while kissing goodbye to my would-have-been grand first step.

“Man, what an anticlimax… But I guess I have more pressing matters right now… Hey, up there, if you’re still alive, could you perhaps move over? “ Caught between the ground and whatever-that-was, I managed to let out a faint cry for help.

“Ow ow ow… that hurts… Hmm…? Oh! I’m sorry!!”, an unexpected but cute girl’s voice answered my call.

The pressure suddenly gone from the back of my head, I managed to totter back up, only to be greeted by two red rabbit ears.

“Bunny… ears…?”

“I’m so sorry!!”

At my visible confusion, the two tall ears drooped in response. I shifted my gaze downward to reveal a small girl with fluffy red fur and rabbit ears and tail.

“Err… a Lycanthrope, I presume?”

“Ye-yes! I’m Letty!”

Lycanthrope, one of the four types of airframe. They boast great senses of sight and smell. Unlike the other airframes, the Lycanthrope type consists of multiple sub-models derived from various animals, such as dogs and cats. And among those sub-models, this girl evidently chose a rabbit-type.

“So, uh, why are you in this forest, Letty?” I asked. “Wait, no, more importantly, how did you fall in the first place?”

“Well that’s… I don’t really know myself…”

Looking down at the dispirited bunny, shoulders hanging, it hit me.

“Did you by any chance choose the Survivalist’s Pack as your first item?”

Letty’s ears jolted back up. “How did you know?!”

I wasn’t sure about the specifics but it looked like her ears could sync to her current mood.

As I explained to her my unfortunate circumstances, Letty’s ruby-like eyes grew wide open in shock. “To think that there was such a catch… I’m shook.”

“Well, I’ve fallen for it, too. Let’s make it a point to read small characters in the future.”

“Good idea…”

Both caught in the trap—well, no, I guess it wasn’t a trap since it was clearly written—nonetheless, having both fallen for it, I felt a vague sense of camaraderie.

Going our separate ways now would be a little awkward, so I went ahead and proposed a joint operation.

“Say Letty, how about we head to Susanoo together?”

“Eh? Is that really okay with you?” Letty tilted her head.

I nodded and tried to put on the best smile I could conjure.

If an old man like me were to say something like this in real life, I’d undoubtedly get reported and cuffed on the spot. Even though we were in a game, I could feel an unpleasant sweat in the back of my neck…

“Of course. It’ll be definitely safer to go together, don’t you think?”

Letty cheerfully jumped around. “Thank you! I’ll be in your care then!”

I don’t know if she was role-playing or if it was spontaneous, but seeing her like that was kinda cute.

“Oh, I almost forgot. You just came down so you didn’t read the instructions yet, right?”

“Eh? The instructions?”

Sure enough, Letty cocked her head, puzzled. Fighting back a smile, I began to explain to her how to use the [Mirror]. I had her take out her own [Survivalist’s Pack] from the inventory and install the cartridge.

“To think that there was such a feature!!”

“Yeah, the tutorial is a bit bare in this game.”

“I like how it’s somewhat realistic, though!” Letty carried on and followed the instructions, checking her Three Sacred Treasures.

“Have you decided on a weapon yet?”

“Well”—Letty grabbed the [Sword]—”I’m thinking of using the hammer.” Slowly, her third Sacred Treasure morphed into the selected shape.

All in all, it was a commendable hammer with a long handle and a head bigger than hers.

“Uh. That’s unexpected. Somehow I thought you’d be going with an Arts build.”

“Ah ha ha… How do I put it… I don’t think Arts would suit me…” she confessed.

“Ah, I know what you mean. Arts aren’t everyone’s cup of tea…”

Letty shouldered her hammer and straightened her back. “I think I’m ready. Shall we go?”

“Oh, right. I’m counting on you then.”

“Likewise!”

I adjusted my backpack once again, grabbed my spear, and finally took my long-overdue first step.

Although we were in the middle of a dense and dark forest, thanks to our [Mirror], we could still check our current location and direction, as well as confirm the position of Susanoo.

“Hm… Still, with such a poor visibility, we won’t notice anything until it’s too late,” I remarked.

“You can leave that part to me! Us Lycanthropes have good eyes and nose!”

“Ah, you’re right. I’ll leave it to you then.” Letty gave me a cheerful approval and carried on.

Such a lively and pleasant girl.

After taking a few steps, Letty came to a stop. Her ears twitched, seemingly picking up faint sounds only she could hear. “Wait up, Ledge, I’m hearing something.”

As expected, like a real rabbit, Letty must have especially sharp senses.

“A monster?”

“Yes.” Letty dropped into a crouch and went into hiding behind a thicket.

“It looks like a small wolf,” she added.

Looking over her frail shoulder, I could make out a shadow in the distance.

“Only one?”

“I think so, yes.”

The numbers were on our side; we should be fine. There’s no way we’ll lose against one foe.

“All right, on the count of three,” I said.

“Got it.”

3, 2, 1… We both jumped out of the thicket, charging.

“Yah!”

“Oryaaaah!”

The wolf was caught off guard, its chest fully exposed. Spear extended, I lunged. Next to me, raising a battle cry, Letty lifted her hammer then brought it down full-force.

The wolf whined at our sudden combined assault. The moment our attacks connected, a red bar appeared above its head, instantly dropping 20%.

“Damn, can’t expect too much from the starting equipment and from our newbie stats,” I said.

Still, with two of us on this side, it should be plenty enough. And because normal attacks aren’t submitted to cooldowns, we could easily chain hits.

“Take that!”

“Uryaaaah!”

Another hit. I could feel the tip of my spear tearing apart the muscles.

The wolf now stopped dead in its tracks, Letty’s hammer easily found its mark right between the monster’s eyes.

The beast let out with a sharp, piercing whimper.

Even so, it stood its ground. Dodging out of further harm, the wolf bared its fangs, glaring defiantly at us with glinting eyes.

An instant later, the beast was upon us. Flexing its hind legs, it leaped full speed.

It was aiming for Letty, who was going for her third consecutive hit. “Hyaa!— Eh?!”

Left wide open by her reckless swing, Letty was completely defenseless. The wolf slipped past her reach, his fangs drawing near.

“Letty!!”

I quickly brought my spear around and managed to plunge it just in time on the side of the wolf, catching in mid-air.

The beast’s fangs still managed to graze Letty’s belly, scratching it shallow and prompting a red damage effect.

“Are you OK?!”

“Ju-just a scratch. Thank you, Ledge.”

“Alright, let’s put this thing down once and for all!”

“Got it!”

We nodded at each other and both dropped back into our fighting stances.

“Yaah!!”

Aiming the tip of my spear at the wolf, I thrusted hard. The beast, now fully alert, dodged my blade by a hair’s breadth.

I found myself caught in the momentum, unable to react as the wolf opened his jaw wide, targeting my thigh.

“Drop dead!!” Coming in full force, Letty’s hammer took the wolf square in the side, sending it rolling on the ground.

The wolf cried out in surprise.

“You’re finished!!” Before it could even get the chance to get back up, I skewered it to the ground. The wolf’s HP bar dropped once more to finally reach zero.

“Phew…”

“Sorry, thank you for the save,” Letty said, panting.

“Don’t mind it, I owe you one, too.”

With no new threat in sight, Letty and I both fell to the ground, finally able to catch our breaths. On my left wrist, the [Mirror] rapidly flashed newly ranked up skills.

“Oh, looks like my <Spearmanship> went up a bit.”

“My <Joujutsu> leveled up, too!”

In FrontierPlanet, XP points gained through various actions add up in real-time. Thereby, if one were to level up mid-combat, the damage dealt would increase for the rest of the fight.

“What kind of build are you aiming for, Letty?” I asked.

“I’m not sure yet… For now, I’ll just beat them to death! Or something like that anyway!”

“I-I see…”

That explains why she picked a hammer… What a scary one. Better not to be fooled by her cute appearance…

“Okay then, let’s collect the loots and move on.” I stood up and walked to the carcass a few meters away. As I extended my hand above the dead wolf, the drops’ window popped out.

“So, this guy is called a ‘Forest Wolf’. It dropped its [Fur] and a few [Fangs].”

Once the items were secured in my inventory, we watched the wolf slowly disintegrate into tiny little cubes; then went back on our way, toward Susanoo.

Tips

◇Type: Lycanthrope

One of the four autonomous-type mechanical dolls. They possess razor-sharp senses, making them the most suitable airframe to carry out searches and investigations.

Among the four airframes, it is the only one to come equipped with soft, furry parts, granting it extra resistance in cold environments.

There are three variants of the type-Lycanthrope airframes, each one with different animal characteristics, ears and tails. The dog-type Lycanthrope airframe boasts an excellent sense of smell while the cat-type airframe comes with an exceptional eyesight. As for the rabbit-type Lycanthrope, their hearing allows them to pick up even the lowest sound in a wide radius.

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