The lynx collapsed under a final rend from the evil [Wrack] bunny. Its body was a motionless bloody heap on the forest floor. Yuki stood a few paces away, trembling, lungs burning and fur matted with blood—mostly hers. The fight had been brutal, a blur of claws, teeth, and desperate magic, but she had won. Barely.

  A sharp throb in her shoulder reminded her she wasn’t in any condition to daydream. She gave the lynx one last wary glance, then turned and hopped away, ready to call it a day. The bleeding seemed to agree with her.

  She found a nice nook to hide in before checking her situation.

  It had started like a typical hunting day. She ventured farther from the burrow each day, now that most critters avoided the area surrounding her home.

  Had she over-hunted?

  No, that was silly. No way a single bunny would have that big of an impact on the ecosystem. Yuki had killed three, maybe four… dozen?

  She looked at her experience counter. Exp: 581/1000. She looked at the last exp notification.

  Forest Lynx died.

  You’ve gained 20 experience points.

  Yuki opened her landing page and looked at the rabbit there. It was red all over. Barely any patch of orange in sight. Her mana wasn’t looking great, either. The crystal cup held a smidgen of blue. Yuki had two, maybe three more spells in her. And she was pretty sure she would need more than just one [Regenerate] to heal the mess the Lynx left her in.

  It was best not to delay. That was a mistake Yuki wasn’t keen on making again. She pushed her magic and mustered the dregs of her mana. The soothing effect of Regeneration washed over her many injuries.

  While the spell did its best to restore Yuki to health, she started to clean her bloody fur. Another thing she learned the hard way. And by that, she meant being mistaken for an enemy when approaching the burrow. Rabbits and blood weren't the best combination.

  To distract her mind from the somewhat tiresome job, she looked at her skill gains over the past two months.

  [Magical skills]

  Invocation (A): 3 ? 9

  Shaping (A): 3 ? 9

  [Combat Skills]

  Bite (A): 2 ? 3

  Evade (A): 2 ? 6

  Feint (A) (New): 0 ? 2

  Thump (A): 3 ? 8

  [Resistances]

  Resist: Fear (A): 2 ? 5

  Resist: Pain (A): 1 ? 4

  [Basic Skills]

  Balance (A) (New): 0 ? 3

  Climb (A): 1 ? 3

  Dance (A): 1 ? 2

  Dig (A): 1 ? 3

  Forage (A) (New): 0 ? 3

  Hide (A): 1 ? 5

  Listen (A): 1 ? 6

  Sing (A): 1 ? 2

  Sprint (A) (New): 0 ? 4

  Track (A) (New): 0 ? 2

  Yuki was proud of her progress. She almost died only a half dozen times, usually because of some ambush predator, like the Lynx or that tag team of hawks. Those birds hunted her until she sent them packing with [Wrack].

  But it had become harder to hunt. Yuki’s outings were limited to her lack of mana and how hard it was to find new enemies.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  She could always use blood magic to drain her enemies dry of life.

  It was like the forest critters decided there was a new predator in the area and started to avoid it like the plague.

  That, in turn, forced Yuki to travel further away from the burrow and, more often than not, trespass in some other local predator haunt. Maybe it was time Yuki braved the lands to the other side of her burrow? Familiarity kept her always leaving from the same direction, but with the local fauna in decline…

  Wasn’t this how farmers did? Rotate their planting soil or something? Yeah, maybe she needed to give some attention to the more neglected hunting grounds.

  About one hour after the Lynx fight, while Yuki was still fighting against this annoying patch of knotted fur, she heard strange noises and voices in the forest. Human voices.

  She focused her ears toward the sound. They weren’t far away, in the same direction where she left the Lynx carcass.

  “Another one.”

  It was a gruff voice that made her think of her grandpa.

  “Witchcraft. It’s like they said.” Another one said, the voice lowering to a fearful whisper at the end. This one was a young man, maybe a teenager.

  “Don’t be daft. You aint no young boy no more,” the grandpa retorted. “Stop believin’ all those wives' tales.”

  “What then, if not witchcraft?” The teenager challenged.

  “Some new predator,” the grandpa retorted.

  Yuki was really curious to know what they were talking about. After the group of adventurers, these were the first humans that ventured this close to the burrow. She left her hiding place, making sure to stay out of sight. Her second Regeneration spell was about to fade. Her mana had bottomed out, but she could still manage one more spell without modification.

  Curiosity burned inside her mind. She moved toward the voices.

  “Can’t be gran. It’s witchcraft,” the teen said again. “Why else would his Lordship start the culling early?”

  “First lurkers, now whatever’s out there killin’ everythin’ ‘round. It’s a damn miracle it ain’t gone for the burrows yet,” the old man said, his voice taking on a lecturing tone. “Listen up, Boris. Ya gotta think bigger. The lord done lost three burrows to the lurkers. He ain’t lookin’ to lose more of his livestock.”

  By now, Yuki was close enough to see the two.

  One was an old man. He reminded her of those old farmers she often saw in magazine pictures: wrinkly sun-kissed skin and all. The other was a tall, freckled teenager, too big for his clothes as if he had grown too much over the last summer, and no one had told him to get new pants. He carried a large bag on his shoulders.

  She might not have been as quiet as she thought. The grandpa looked straight at her as soon as she hopped closer. She froze like a rabbit facing the worst of predators.

  How high was his listening skill?

  Gramps squinted. “Well, I’ll be damned. This ‘un ain’t got no horn. Look at the size, it's a quarter o’ what it oughta be.”

  “What? Is it the witch?” Boris asked. He turned woodenly like he thought he would see a monster behind him. His eyes scanned the surroundings, passing Yuki several times without seeing her.

  She didn’t know if she should bolt or stay still.

  “There’s nothing here, gran,” Boris whispered again.

  “By the tree, near the shrub. It’s white, how the hell ya missin’ it?” Grandpa said. His voice sounded annoyed.

  The boy’s eyes scanned the area again, finally finding her hiding place. He nudged the old man.

  “Hey, gramps, this one doesn’t seem dangerous,” the teen said, his voice a little playful, fear forgotten.

  Yuki was ready to bolt, but none of them carried weapons besides a knife tied to the old man’s belt. He didn’t look like the type to use it. She kept listening to their conversation, even if none of the words made sense.

  “Maybe a newborn kit?”

  “Might be, but no, the other kits are bigger than that.” The old man reached for the boy's bag and took something in his hands. He untied the bag and dug his hand inside.

  The smell reached Yuki’s nose. She hadn’t felt that fantastic smell since her early days. It was the same scent as the nuts Mom had brought when Yuki was still a wee kit blind and deaf and furless. Her mouth watered.

  He offered it to the teenager. “Well, go on then, feed it. That’s what we’re here for. We’ll start with this ‘un.”

  Boris took the offered nuts and took a step toward the rabbit.

  Yuki woke up from her stupor. She bolted away. From behind, she heard voices.

  “Gran, it fled!”

  “‘Course it did.”

  “What now?”

  “You ain’t learned nothin’? Pile it up nearby, let the smell bring it back. If it be from the burrow, it ain't gonna be able to keep away from the scent. We’ll nab it after it eats.”

  Yuki fled until she was a safe distance away. There were a few more whispered words between the duo, and then she heard them moving—not toward her, but away. Should she follow them? She would never admit it—rabbits were great—but she was missing meaningful interactions.

  The smell reached her again. Stronger this time. Her mouth salivated even more. It was like someone took what she liked most and put it in a single nut. She focused on her hearing. The humans had stopped a fair distance from where the smell was coming from.

  She hopped toward the burrow’s direction, and the wind brought even more of the tantalizing smell. She wanted some. Like, a lot. Was this what addiction felt like? She really, really wanted some of that nut.

  Maybe Whisker would like some as well? She paid attention to her hearing again. The humans hadn’t gone near where the smell was coming from.

  Yuki changed directions and hopped toward the smell. She found a small pile of nuts on the ground when she arrived. She felt conflicted. She was no pet bunny to be fed by strangers, but she was delighted they left the nuts for her. From up close, the scent was better than she remembered.

  With one last hop, she descended on the treat. She gobbled one and relished in the taste. It was the taste of happy days, of mom’s fur and warmth, of indulging in Bunbun’s awesomeness, of hopping along with Sir Hopsalot, of sleeping with Flopsy. She didn’t know she missed it that much. Thank god rabbits couldn’t cry. Imagine crying because the treat reminded her of the first days of her rabbit life. Now, she wanted to cuddle with them again.

  No more exploring. Just thinking about it made her sleepy. She gobbled one, two more.

  Yuki yawned.

  She looked for the biggest one she could find and grabbed it with her teeth. Whisker would love a treat. Back to the burrow now. Yuki felt all cozy and happy, ready to tuck in and enjoy the cuddle pile.

  Yuki yawned again and the nut slipped from her mouth.

  A system notification blinked into existence.

  New skill learned:

  Resist: Poison (A): 0 ? 1