18 - Priorities

Stepping off at the nostalgic bus stop, I couldn't help but remember the last time I was there. I died quite a bit the last time, and yet I've returned. Hopefully, there are no Wokes here to murder me.

As I went into the forest, I completely forgot about the fact that I have no hunting Skills at all. In fact, in my past life, I barely went outside at all.

I skirted around the outside of the forest, too scared to go in when I saw a brown blob at the edge of my vision.

It was a rabbit.

I was going to say "Aw! What an adorable bunny rabbit!"

But this 'adorable', 'lovable', and 'cuddle-able' bunny rabbit just headbutted me in the face.

[Appraisal: (unnamed), 18 months old Dwarf Rabbit. Title: (none)]

This tiny rabbit is vicious! Now I have a bloody nose.

What in the world is this Dwarf Rabbit, anyway? Aren't rabbits supposed to be cute animals to keep as pets?

[Ding! Dwarf Rabbits are common lower F-rank beasts that specialize in stealth. They are the smallest rabbit species. Male rabbits have lopsided ears while female rabbits have shorter ears. Dwarf Rabbits can be found alone or in a warren of 2 to 50 in grass fields and forests. Their weaknesses are their ears and nose due to their keen sense of hearing and smell.]

I turned my attention back to the rabbit and thought about turning it into a meal, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Where the hell did it go?

I searched around for another five minutes. No, I'm 'totally' not petty.

I was just about to leave when something else hit me in the back.

SH¡T! Did I just get shot by a cannon?

I cursed silently as I turned around and found the same rabbit I was searching for. Its black, beady eyes stared back at me. Its nose twitched as if mocking me.

I pulled out the dragger on my hip and threw the weapon. The rabbit jumped back. My plain silver dagger landed one foot short. It tilted its head towards the dagger, now embedded in the ground, then at me. I mentally facepalmed as I realized I have zero fighting experience. Even with all my overpowered U-rank Skills, none of them could help me attack, and neither could my two Arts.

The rabbit head-butted me again in the face, then bounced off and flew backwards towards a tree trunk. It was rather fascinating watching a wild rabbit do gymnastics. It curled its body into a ball, then kicked the tree trunk explosively, flying towards another tree. The ball twisted and turned in midair, and after bouncing around for a while, flew towards me again.

The impact knocked me off my feet. You'd think that such a small creature couldn't possibly have that much strength, but that rabbit seemingly defied the laws of physics. Before I could get up, it landed on my chest and used me as a springboard, launching back into the trees.

I got up and ran, not looking back. I could hear the rabbit bouncing off the trees, preparing for another strike. Knowing there was no way I could outrun the beast, I reached into my inventory for something to defend myself with.

I felt something cold and hard with my fingers, and pulled it out without thinking. The furry cannonball was coming again, and instinctively I held whatever it was in front of my face and shut my eyes.

I mentally cursed myself for being an idiot, but before I could finish that thought, I felt something warm splash on my face. A Warm liquid tickled my eyelids and flowed between the gaps in my fingers.

I tried to wipe whatever was covering my eyes, but everything was a red blur. The wiping only spread it across my face. I couldn't open my eyes. It smelled awful.

What is this? Some kind of poison attack?

[Ding! The blood of the dwarf rabbit.]

I'm sorry. Did you say blood?

[Ding! Yes.]

That is unsanitary!

I wiped my eyes again. I tried squinting open my eyes, and the first thing I saw were two black, beady eyes. In a panic, I flung away whatever was in my hands. After I calmed down, I realized it was the rabbit with the poison dagger implanted deep within its body.

I realized: that was the rabbit, and I just killed it.

I stared at the corpse, filled with disbelief.

The once adorable face of the rabbit is now dark red instead of the usual brown fur. The blade went through the middle of the face and out of the rear end of the rabbit. Bits of guts splattered on the ground, and where the dagger went in the flesh was already being poisoned. Some iconic green vapor was leaking from the corpse.

I then looked at my hands. They were completely covered in blood, front to back.

I thought I should be panicking more, since this was the first time I've killed something, but after seeing Park Hyun's corpse, this wasn't much to look at. I guessed this would not be the last time I get blood on my hands. If I was to try and exterminate the Demon king, this "Ocean Snake Crescent Dagger of DOOM or whatever" would be my greatest weapon.

[Ding! The name of the artifact is "Poisoned Sea Crescent."]

I ignored the system. Thinking back on the 'fight', I didn't feel any force when the rabbit became a meat skewer. It probably tried to headbutt my face again, but it didn't change direction in time, and jumped straight into the dagger. Now that I think about it, I did hold the dagger in front of my face.

[Ding! The Host's face is indeed covered in Dwarf Rabbit blood.]

I looked down and saw my beautiful gray and blue uniform was now covered in an utter red mess.

Can I wash this off?

[Ding! By the time the Host arrives home, if the Host won't be interrogated by the police about the source of the blood, the blood will be dry enough to leave a stain.]

I grimaced. I already had a reputation as a kidnapper, a Demon Worshipper's victim, and a person who defeated said Demon Worshipper. What's my excuse this time? Hu Jung-Lee will probably send her personal Lie Detector and I don't want anyone to find out about my identity as an immortal transmigrator. They will either see me as a threat, or as a savior because I had to help a specific danger magnet "hero" kill the Demon King. Both paths are full of trouble.

I could find a way to buy or make a new uniform after sneaking around with Shadow Step, but this fancy uniform? It probably cost a lot.

[Ding! The cost of the TREE uniform is 148,000 won. The reason for the cost is the high-quality white silk obtained from Lunar Silkworms -a rare D-rank beast-, yellow webs from the Golden Weaver Spider -a rare C-rank beast-, and the dark blue fur of the Black Wolves -an uncommon D-rank beast-.]

Nice, I don't know half of the things on that list.

[Ding! The uniform is free for TREE students.]

Why free? Where is the school-system corruption?

But then again, I couldn't imagine the bun-haired principal who looks like an 8yo child as a corrupted business-woman.

[Ding! A third of the TREE academy's earnings come from taxes. Students can attend the TREE academy either through a scholarship, a recommendation letter, or pay a school fee of 28,950,000 a year.]

I think I know where a part of my debt comes from.