Wandering Dungeon

The group decided to head east out of town and hunt down the horned rabbits for the quest they had accepted. They stopped to talk to the guards at the town's east gate and get some information about the rabbits. Turns out the rabbit population was getting a little out of hand and the rabbits had started becoming a threat to local merchants and farmers that used the road through the forest to get to Lakefall. It took less than an hour to walk down the dirt road before they got to the forest that the rabbits inhabited.

"I hope the rabbits aren't too easy." Kyle said with a huff. "After easily taking down those goblins I'm feeling a little OP."

"OP?" Blixie asked.

"It means overpowered." Garrett responded. "Like a human stepping on an ant."

Blixie burst into laughter. "A human...stepping...on an...ant." She wheezed out as the others looked at her. Blixie managed to get herself under control a bit before she explained. "Ants are bigger than humans in this world and are quite aggressive. Humans are more likely to be stepped on by the ant."

"Man, it's going to take a while before I am used to this world." Kyle said.

"Well, thanks for letting us know Blixie. If we see an ant, we run." Garrett chuckled.

They walked along the main road through the forest enjoying the scenery for a few minutes before they heard a rustle of leaves to their right. "Hold up." Garrett said as the group turned to look through the densely packed woods. "There." Garrett said quietly and pointed to a bush a few feet away. "I saw that bush move. There must be a rabbit in there."

"We have to be careful." Blixie said. "Horned rabbits can be quite tricky. They are also very fast, but if you can avoid their charge then you should get a good chance to attack."

"They are just rabbits." Kyle scoffed. "How bad could they be."

A wet squelch sound was heard as a very sharp, shiny black spike sprouted from Garretts chest. Everyone spun towards Garrett with looks of confusion, as much as a blob of jelly and a metal helmet could show confusion at least, and saw the spike quickly withdraw and leave a hole in Garretts chest.

"Ughhh!" Garrett wailed. "I have been stabbed." He wobbled a little and lifted his arms into the air as he fell to his knees. "What a cruel, yet beautiful world I was born into. I only regret not getting to see more." The group looked over Garrett passively. "Avenge me my friends. Let my death be a warning and a rallying cry to you all." Garrett slumped to the ground and twitched a few times.

"This is why you were never chosen to play the lead role in school plays." Kyle quipped. "Are you sure you weren't reborn as a pig, you big ham." April laughed.

"Now is not the time to play around Garrett." Blixie huffed as a few grey rabbits hopped out of the brush to join the one standing behind Garrett. The horned rabbits looked like a standard rabbit except they were as big as a small dog and had a nearly two-foot, shiny black spike protruding from their forehead. The one that had stabbed Garrett sat on its haunches and stared at the group in confusion as dark, black blood slowly oozed down its horn.

"I was just having some fun." Garret's voice rang out as his body lifted itself from the ground.

"You should do that if we get attacked by bandits." April said cheerily. "Imagine their faces as the guy they just skewered, and thought was dead, just gets back up with a laugh. It's wasted on animals that can't understand it." A dull thump sounded as one of the rabbits collided with April's leg and bounced off. The horn unable to pierce her durable armor.

"I guess it is a good time to test out your new weapons April." Garrett said as another rabbit stabbed its horn through his leg before quickly retreating.

"Yea." Kyle cheered "Let's see if those lessons you were taking in our world transferred over." He said as he moved his body and flailed a couple tentacles through the air in pseudo kung-fu style. A rabbit passed through his body, spike first, and splashed some of Kyle's goo onto April. The rabbit looked confused as it stood there covered in spots of slightly sizzling green goo before in squealed in pain from the acid in the slime slowly trying to dissolve it.

Blixie flew higher to get out of the reach of the rabbits. "Why did I have to get the crazy group." She mumbled.

April reached down and drew the two metal rods from her hips and spread her feet into a wide stance. A rabbit jumped straight at her, but she smoothly slid to the side and swung a rod straight down on the rabbit's neck, killing it instantly. She spun and slammed the two rods down on another rabbit that had rushed up from behind. She laughed with glee when she stood up and jumped in place. "It feels amazing to be able to move on my own again." She twirled in place with the rods held out on either side of her, killing a few more rabbits that had jumped to stab her.

"Looks like those escrima stick lessons worked out for you." Garrett said. He pulled out his staff that he had purchased and swung at a rabbit that approached from behind him. He hit the rabbit with the flat hammer like stone while the rabbit was in mid-jump.

"Yea." April replied. "Although it seems I am faster and stronger than I was in our world." A green tentacle shot past her and speared a rabbit that had snuck up behind her.

"Don't go taking all the fun April." Kyle said with a chuckle.

The group spent the next hour or so walking through the forest killing any horned rabbits they came across. Garrett would launch stone spikes or use his staff to either crush the rabbits or spear them. "This staff is more versatile than I thought it would be." He said.

April flowed from strike to strike when she attacked. Interspersing punches, kicks, and strikes with her rods. "It is pretty cool looking. I wish I had a few more ways to attack myself. These rods are great but might be less effective against things with armor."

Kyle flailed his tentacles, slamming or piercing rabbits with each strike. " Maybe when you level up a few times you will get something to help with that." Kyle told April. "I had to level up my Form Control skill a few levels before I could make my tentacles solid on the tips. So now I can make them pierce or slash my enemies." Kyle demonstrated by turning one of the tips of his tentacles into a spear and the other into a scythe.

"That gives me an idea." April said. She focused on one of her rods. After a few seconds the flat tip slowly extended and sharpened until it resembled one of the spikes from a horned rabbit. April squealed in excitement. "My Ferrous Forming skill allows me to modify my rods. It's not a lot yet but I am excited to see what I can do when the skill levels up."

"That's amazing April." Garrett said as he finished picking up the last of the rabbits they had killed and put it in his inventory.

April looked at Garrett. "I've been meaning to ask Garrett, what are you doing with the rabbits?"

"I'm putting them in my inventory so we can sell them later, since we don't need to turn them in for the quest."

"But don't you need to absorb them or something?" April asked. "Like the stories from our world about dungeon cores absorbing new items and enemies to make them later."

"Unfortunately, I can't summon monsters for some reason, but I did absorb one, so I have its pattern for later if I ever get the ability to summon monsters." Gerrett responded. He heard a chime come from his Adventurers Guild card and pulled it out. Quest complete, showed across the face of the card. "I guess we can head back and turn in the quest now."

"Let's go see if they have a better quest." Kyle said. "I didn't get that much experience from these things."

"Sounds good." Garrett said, and the group started back towards Lakefall.