I moved closer to Hessien. His eyes were frozen wide, staring blankly, as if he had just witnessed the horrors of war. A pang of sympathy struck me. If something like that had happened to me, I probably would’ve put a gun to my mouth and ended it already.

  He mumbled something, his words too faint to make out. I leaned in, bringing my ear closer to his mouth.

  “Time…”

  “Huh? What?” I asked, confused.

  “Can’t you… rewind time already? Just… erase everything…”

  Oh, like hell. That probably cost a ridiculous amount of skill points—points I didn’t have.

  I shook my head. “Nope. Sorry.”

  “Useless child…”

  Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been offended. But right now? I’d let it slide.

  I glanced at him, wondering how long he’d stay like this. Would he need therapy?

  “Baru!”

  Nearby, a small, blue, rabbit-like creature with five ears let out a series of chirps.

  Hm. I should test this HUD feature more.

  I scrolled through the settings under World Perception and found an option: Information on newly seen creatures. I toggled it on, and a small tab popped up:

  BLUEBIT

  LEVEL 1

  That was it? I expected more. At least tell me about it.

  …Nothing.

  So the system knew its name but nothing else? Useless.

  Hessien locked eyes with the creature. His expression shifted, like something had just clicked in his mind.

  “Ah… that’s the answer. I just need to get stronger. Strong enough to kill that toilet fiend.”

  “What?” I frowned. He actually wanted to go after it again, even after it nearly killed him?

  A low, eerie chuckle escaped him. Then, like a zombie, he pushed himself upright, his movements stiff and jerky. He pointed at the innocent creature, which tilted its head in response.

  “If I kill you, I’ll level up!” he declared.

  Oh. So that’s what he meant. But… it’s so cute!

  I blocked his path. “Wait, wait! It’s way too cute to kill! Go after something ugly instead!”

  My logic was solid. People killed spiders because they were creepy, but kittens? If you killed a kitten, everyone would hate you—me included. Rabbits were cute enough to deserve protection.

  Hessien narrowed his eyes. “I don’t discriminate.”

  Tough luck. “I do. Now leave it alone!”

  “No. Move!” He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me aside.

  I reacted fast, grabbing his leg—the same one Vacinay had struck with a rock.

  “Argh!” He collapsed, groaning. “Let! go!

  “I know.” I let go and backed toward the bluebit.

  His glare burned with pure murderous intent—until, suddenly, his expression twisted into confusion.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Wait… what the hell?”

  Was he trying to trick me?

  Hessien suddenly scrambled backward, screaming, “Behind you! That thing isn’t just a cute rabbit!”

  …Please tell me he’s joking.

  I considered playing dumb—but no. I wouldn’t.

  A deep, guttural growl rumbled behind me.

  Cold sweat prickled my skin as I slowly turned.

  The tiny, rabbit-like creature was gone.

  In its place stood a towering, 2.5-meter-tall man-rabbit, muscles bulging like they’d been pumped full of steroids. It grinned down at me.

  RABBITMAN

  LEVEL 18

  Had it evolved?

  The wind howled as its massive forearm swung toward my head.

  Oh. I was about to di—

  Splat.

  …

  Hessien eyed me skeptically. “I don’t discriminate…”

  Wait. What?

  I blinked. My head had just been crushed—hadn’t it?

  I glanced at Hessien, then at the bluebit, which was now rolling around playfully on the ground.

  Was I losing it?

  Hessien shoved me aside and stormed toward the creature. He picked up a stone, just like before.

  …Oh shit. I could timeloop!

  That had to be my passive skill. Holy shit, that was awesome! Well—aside from the dying part.

  I rushed to stop him, grabbing his arm. “That’s not an easy target! It’s some kind of monster!”

  He didn’t even look at me, pushing forward like I weighed nothing—to him, I basically did—the guy was 6'2" and 220 pounds, almost four inches taller than Vacinay.

  “It’s a powerful monster!” I shouted, but he ignored me again.

  Just like last time, I tried attacking his injured foot, but he lifted it too fast and shoved me away.

  Alright. New plan. I wasn’t going to convince him—but I knew someone who could stop him.

  “Ghomas! Stop Hessien! He’s gonna get himself killed!” Technically, not a lie.

  “What the hell…?” Ghomas immediately sprinted toward us.

  Hessien, furious, yelled, “Stop lying!”

  “I’m not lying!”

  Vacinay groaned as she pushed herself up. “Damn it… this guy always gives me extra work.”

  Seeing them rushing at him, Hessien bolted forward and hurled the stone at the bluebit’s head.

  Shit! It was going to transform—

  Thud.

  The creature screeched as the rock struck its skull. Blood pooled beneath its tiny body, staining its fur.

  …Huh?

  Why didn’t it transform?

  Hessien ran over and nudged it with his foot. No movement. His brows furrowed.

  “What the hell? Where’s the level-up?”

  Ghomas and Vacinay caught up.

  Ghomas frowned. “I thought you said he was trying to kill himself—”

  His words cut off as Hessien’s head was suddenly gone.

  I froze, staring at the same rabbit-man monster that had killed me before.

  Where the hell did this thing come from?!

  It grinned at us while water swam down its blue fur.

  Yeah… we needed to run.

  But as I turned to flee, I remembered something important.

  If I died, I could rewind time.

  There was just one problem: I didn’t want to die.

  It leapt over us, landing heavily in our path.

  Thud!

  Goddamn it! I still had no idea how far back my death would rewind time, and I didn’t have time to find out.

  But I had a bad feeling that if I waited too long—

  “Ke!”

  The rabbit-like creature screeched as it died.

  …Oh. Huh?

  Huuuh?

  Oh shit.

  I sprang into action. “Ghomas! Get Hessien out of here—now! Or his guts are gonna explode!”

  “What—” Ghomas hesitated, but the urgency in my voice made him listen.

  Vacinay, still catching her breath, muttered, “So, he went from suicidal to… exploding guts?”

  “I died twice. Time loop. That thing keeps killing us.”

  She raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical—until her expression shifted. “…You do have a time card.”

  Ghomas had Hessien in a headlock and was dragging him away. He was slightly bigger than Hessien, so that helped.

  I exhaled. “Okay… Rabbit… Why the hell are we still standing here?”

  Then I shouted, “Guards! Monster attack!”

  The guards were still nearby, somewhere close. Anyway, I made my move.

  “Let’s go!” I took off running.

  “Huh?! Oh, right—time loop shit!” Vacinay exclaimed, quickly following.

  “Wait for me!” Ghomas called, still dragging Hessien.

  As we ran, I stole one last glance at the bluebit’s corpse—

  Then something caught my eye.

  Ripples shimmered across the spring’s surface. A colossal rabbit-man surfaced.

  Vacinay saw it too. We were so stunned we barely reacted.

  Hessien had been right about the spring monsters. Damn it! Were we really supposed to be the defenders of this cursed world? It should’ve been burned to the ground!

  The guards, hearing our cries, rushed to our side, running alongside us.

  “What is it?!” one of them shouted.

  I instantly regretted calling for them. Still, without missing a beat, I yelled, “That rabbit monster—it’s strong, it’s fast—save us from it!”

  Basically, I was asking them to be cannon fodder so we could escape.

  They exchanged looks of pure disbelief.

  “Oh, hell nah!”

  “We don’t wanna die!”

  “I got kids, damn it!”

  …Damn it.

  Then something streaked through the air, landing in front of us with a somersault. It straightened up, arms spread wide, preparing to leap.

  I made a stupid decision.

  Stepping forward with an annoyed scowl, I planted my hands on my waist. “Oi, oi—you trying to kill me?”

  No sooner had I spoken than seven-inch claws hovered near my eyes. The creature tilted its head, confused.

  Holy shit—it understood me? And that actually worked?!

  I swallowed hard, forcing a smile despite the cold sweat running down my face. Then, spreading my arms theatrically, I challenged, “Let’s play a game: me versus you. If you win, I’ll show you where thousands of people live. If I win… you have to kill yourself.”