Chapter 21: Another rabbit hunt

After cleansing herself until she looked sparkling new again, Lylia resumed her hunt. She wasn’t sure what her next prey would be, but she was determined to earn at least something this time. No more disappearing loot.

She walked leisurely, humming a little tune, until something in the distance caught her eye. There, near a cluster of trees, was a man who's a plain-looking guy with the face of an extra fighting off a group of horned rabbits.

“Oh?” Lylia tilted her head. “A wild side character appears.”

She stopped and watched, curious. The man wielded two daggers and moved fast with clean, efficient strikes, nothing flashy unlike her first impression of Slade. This guy fought like he was in a rush to finish a side quest.

Lylia crossed her arms thoughtfully.

He didn’t look like he needed help. Despite being outnumbered, he dodged and countered with practiced precision. The horned rabbits lunged and hopped, but he twisted and slashed.

Shk, shk, thud.

“Hmm… pretty good,” she muttered, slightly impressed. Still, she decided not to interfere. It wasn’t like she could offer much help anyway.

Her most effective spell 'Dark Flame' wasn’t exactly team-friendly. It left no body, no loot, no anything. And her other spells? They were more like magical party tricks than actual combat tools.

“I’d probably just steal the kill,” she mused, tapping her chin. Besides, using a book as a weapon might look… questionable.

So she stood there quietly, hands on her hips, judging and observing. “Let’s see if I can learn something,” she said under her breath.

Moments later, the battle was over. The man stood surrounded by rabbit corpses, calm and steady, barely a speck of blood on him.

Lylia blinked. “...That was fast.”

He’d struck them cleanly on their necks and hearts, it looked like. Enough to kill instantly, without making a mess. Efficient, quiet, and a little scary.

“Assassin type, huh?” she muttered. “So that’s how you do it without turning it into a crime scene.”

She mentally took notes. If she ever had to stab someone or something, she’d at least know where to aim. Not that she use nor plan to use knives. She was a mage. A totally book-wielding, spell-chanting mage.

Still… cool technique.

Then, the man knelt and began to work on the bodies. “Oh, is he dismantling them?” Lylia realized. Her curiosity won out, so she stayed to watch.

The man’s movements were almost too efficient. Slice. Pull. Pack. Done. Each rabbit was cleaned and skinned in seconds, with barely any wasted motion.

Lylia tried to follow what he was doing—but it was like watching a tutorial video at 4x speed.

Before she could make sense of it, he was already wrapping up his loot neatly into a small pack.
“Well, that was educational,” she said flatly.

She thought about walking over to say hello, but by then he was already done. “Eh. Too late,” she muttered. “Besides, he looks busy. And I’d just sound awkward.”

Also, it’s not like she could really show off her hunting method. If he saw her smack a rabbit to death with a book... yeah not with that.

With that thought, Lylia turned and wandered off to find her own spot. Somewhere private. Somewhere no one could witness her… unique techniques.

After a short walk, she stopped and stared at a nearby bush. She squinted. “...This feels familiar.”

The first time she’d encountered horned rabbits, it was from a bush just like this. Her instincts told her this was a hotspot. Maybe even a nest.

She waited quietly for something to hop out.

...Nothing.

Minutes passed. Still nothing.

She frowned. “Should I… burn it?”

Reason said no. Instinct said yes.

Instinct won.

“O radiant heat of the crimson blaze, gather in my palm, spiral forth and ignite the path before me!”

A small fwoosh later, the bush caught fire. Lylia readied her book, expecting something.

Rustling.

Then, there were bunnies. Lots of bunnies.

“Here we go!” she cried, grinning as they charged out.

Reflex kicked in. Panic and excitement mixed as she swung her trusty book like a hammer of divine judgment.

WHACK! WHACK! THUD!

Some were hit directly, others by accident. A few fell victim to glorious combo hits, two-for-one specials.

It was chaos. Furry bodies were flying.

When the chaos settled, she stood there, panting and drenched in blood.

Her surroundings were a crimson mess.

But she’d won.

“I… did it.” she said. Then, with a shaky laugh he added, “Well… that’s one way to win." There were more of them than she expected. Then again, they were rabbits.

She brushed a bit of blood off her cheek and giggled. “That was actually kinda fun.” It felt like a ridiculous, violent game. Thankfully, she wasn't stabbed anywhere. A very close call.

...But then, she noticed the same man from earlier, standing in the distance, staring at her.

Their eyes met.

Lylia froze, then smiled brightly and waved. “Oh! Hello!?"

The man blinked, frowned slightly, and quietly walked away.

“...Huh?”

Confused, she tilted her head. Then, she glanced down at herself. “Oh.”

She was absolutely soaked in blood.

Lylia snorted, then laughed. “Yeah, okay. I’d walk away too. I probably look like a psycho right now.”

With a chuckle, she cast Cleanse, and in a shimmer of light, she was spotless again. “Good as new.”

The clearing, however, looked like a battlefield. “Eh, they’ll dry up eventually.”

Then she noticed the burning bush… was still burning.

“...Oops.”

The flames were spreading slowly.

“O gentle flow of the azure tides, gather in my palm, surge forth and crush what stands before me!”

A small water ball splashed out.

It hit the bush. However, it did absolutely nothing.

Lylia sighed. “Okay, second try.”

She closed her eyes this time, just like the step how the book taught her she should use magic. She steadied her breathing, and chanted again. “O gentle flow of the azure tides, gather in my palm, surge forth and crush what stands before me!”

This time, she felt a stronger pull in her chest. The air hummed. Then,

BOOM!

When she opened her eyes, the fire was gone. So was the bush. And a bit of the ground.

She blinked slowly. “…At least the flames are gone.”

She stared at the scorched spot, then nodded to herself. “Yeah. Definitely not using fire next time. No to hurting mother nature.”

She twirled her staff once, sighing. “I’ll just… poke the bushes next time.”

And with that, there is now one less bush in the world and one very confused man somewhere nearby who probably thought she was cursed.