The Dragon's Pact: A Princess for the Flame

Chapter 34 – Big pouch

It might just be an illusion.

Harutamoto-no comforted himself with this thought.

The moment he stepped out of the safe zone, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if dozens of vicious eyes were watching him.

But when he looked around, he found nothing.

Only the gentle breeze rustling through the leaves, creating a "swoosh" sound, as the dusk deepened, casting eerie and twisted shadows of the trees, giving off a horror movie vibe.

"I'm already a level five mage. The area around the Starter Village is full of ordinary low-level monsters. There's nothing to fear."

Harutamoto-no mumbled to himself, scanning the surroundings, and suddenly spotted a wooden treasure chest in a patch of low shrubs.

"Huh? How high is the refresh rate for these chests? There's another one already?"

Harutamoto-no was a bit surprised but quickly became cautious. What if a slime or something pops out halfway through opening the chest?

No matter, just a mere slime.

The wooden chest didn't require a key, so Harutamoto-no pried open the edge of the chest, and with a "click," a flash of white light emerged, shooting out a piece of smoked beef.

[Acquired food: Dried Bronzehide Beef. Consuming over 500g for the first time increases Strength by +1.]

"Good stuff, but what's with this buzzing, fist-sized hornet? A bonus gift?!"

[War Hornet Level 1]

Harutamoto-no exclaimed, his hand trembling as he tossed the wooden chest away at the sight of five fierce War Hornets.

"Fireball Spell, Fireball Spell, burn for me!"

He wildly swung his staff, launching three Fireball Spells, but they missed their mark, only managing to kill two of the closely grouped War Hornets.

[Defeated War Hornet, gained 5x2 experience points]

Having succeeded with one strike, Harutamoto-no glanced at his mana, which was less than half, and forced himself to calm down.

"Though I didn't expect monsters to spawn from the chest, you're nothing special."

Harutamoto-no smirked confidently. A single Fireball Spell could take down two War Hornets, so the remaining three were just trash.

The outcome was clear!

He positioned his staff in front of his chest, casting another Fireball Spell, this time accurately hitting a War Hornet charging at him.

"I'm not a coward, Harutamoto-no. I will become strong!"

Harutamoto-no shouted, his momentum growing stronger.

He was an experienced gamer, having played various virtual reality games, and quickly got into the zone.

With two more Fireball Spells, he took down the remaining two War Hornets, exhaling lightly as he looked at his dwindling mana.

"Well done, Harutamoto!"

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Harutamoto-no chuckled, bending over to search for the dried beef he had tossed into the bushes.

"Huh, it was just here..."

"Did a wild animal take it?"

He was a bit troubled, rummaging through the grass, when he suddenly spotted a pair of furry rabbit feet in his line of sight. They were small, pink, and incredibly cute.

[Blazing Rabbit Chief: Bugs Bunny Level 5]

"Startled me, just a rabbit."

Harutamoto-no stood up, but noticed something was off about the Blazing Rabbit Chief in front of him.

Ordinary rabbits run on all fours, but this Blazing Rabbit Chief stood upright, arms crossed, with a half-human-sized body showing faint signs of muscle.

The rabbit's head was facing him, with large white teeth, a defiant gaze, and ears pointing skyward like spears.

Something's not right! The rabbit's gaze is off!

But it should be killable.

His own strength was at five points, and even if he used his staff to hit, he could take down this level five trash mob. The advantage was his!

With this thought, Harutamoto-no grinned and raised his staff, swinging it at Bugs Bunny.

But Bugs Bunny caught the staff with a "smack," and then delivered a powerful slap to Harutamoto-no's face.

[-53]

"Ugh—"

A tooth flew out of Harutamoto-no's mouth, but since he had adjusted the pain settings, he didn't feel any pain.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

If Harutamoto-no understood rabbit language, he would know that Bugs Bunny was saying, "To hear the Way in the morning, one can die content in the evening."

"Damn, this rabbit's damage is so high! It's only level five!"

Harutamoto-no spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes filled with a hint of malice.

"I won't be humiliated anymore. This is a game, my domain!"

"Die, rabbit! Fight me like a man!"

Harutamoto-no stood up, staff in hand, legs spread in a sumo stance, ready to battle the strange rabbit before him.

However, Bugs Bunny had a different idea. It looked at the towering human who stood up, clapped its hands gently.

Accompanied by a rustling sound, to Harutamoto-no's astonishment, a thousand or so upright, defiant rabbits emerged from the bushes.

One rabbit approached Bugs Bunny, placing a cigarette in its mouth, then lit it with a small flame, retreating respectfully behind Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny raised an eyebrow, mimicking the Black Dragon boss, blowing a smoke ring, its fierce gaze locking onto Harutamoto-no once more, emitting a high-pitched "squeak."

This was the signal to attack!

...

A minute later, Harutamoto-no emerged from the respawn point, bewildered. Just moments ago, he had been beaten to death by a horde of upright, violent rabbits, each delivering a powerful slap.

The humiliation was immense, no different from being beaten up by bullies in a restroom.

"Am I just a coward in the game too?"

Harutamoto-no muttered to himself.

No, something's wrong, definitely wrong!

It's not his problem, but the rabbits'.

Their damage was too high, unreasonably high for level three monsters near the Starter Village.

The Blazing Rabbit Chief's slap dealing over fifty damage could be excused as a boss monster, but the regular Blazing Rabbits averaging over thirty damage per slap was absurd.

Why?

It doesn't make sense!

"Hey, isn't this Harutamoto? How did you die? Dying in the safe zone, you really are a coward~"

Coincidentally, Yamamoto Nanjirou was near the respawn point, sneering at Harutamoto-no as he emerged. As expected, trash remains trash, even in a game.

"…"

Harutamoto-no said nothing, casting a sinister glance at Yamamoto Nanjirou, lowering his head, and silently leaving.

He wouldn't tell Yamamoto Nanjirou about the rabbits. This game wasn't that simple, and he awaited the moment Yamamoto Nanjirou would face the same humiliation.

Time for a big sticker photo.