The White Rabbit

First-Person View

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Fresh blood trickled upon my face after I slashed the bunny's upper body in half. Its eyes, which were now quite a bit distance away from each other since I cut him in half, all had a look of horror and fear.

To be honest, I didn't expect him to change into a rabbit when he ran away from me, but thankfully, I didn't let the surprise hinder me, and I managed to kill it.

I didn't feel anything after killing him. It was just like when I killed those fish creatures. Despite Albert being capable of speaking, I killed him without a second thought.

Still, he was quite powerful, and that special technique of his was formidable. But, that was it. He lacked footwork, technique, skills, etc... If you want my hypothesis, it seemed that he was used to being more powerful and faster than his opponents. As such, he never even bothered to learn any techniques or combat arts. His feeling of omnipotence swelled him up and thought no one could challenge him.

Hmm, omnipotence? That sounds fancy, and I think it's the correct word to use here. Or maybe I should use all-powerful? Oh wait, I think they are the same thing?

Alas, that doesn't matter. If a truly experienced warrior appeared, I believe they could've killed him as well.

[You have managed to successfully kill Albert, The King of The Insane Rabbits! You have gained 804 experience points! You have successfully leveled up to level 5!]

[We detected that you have killed a Guardian. Absorb his core to unlock your potential, and have full access to the system!]

A few moments after killing the rabbit, which was apparently called 'Albert', this transparent panel gave me many notifications. That was odd. Usually, it instantly appeared the moment I killed a target, like the fish things, but it took a bit of time here. Perhaps 'Albert' didn't instantly die.

Also, the king of the insane rabbits? What a title.

Still, 800 experience points are quite a lot. And unlike the fish things, his name is not gibberish. That's good. It seems I have also leveled up, whatever that does. I think I was already level 3 prior to fighting Albert, since it gave me a few of these level-up notifications when I killed quite a bit of those fish things. So it was quite a nice jump.

Still, unlocking my potential, and absorbing his core? I assume it means the sphere that is in his stomach? Now that I think about it, the rabbit did mention something about unlocking my potential, or something.

I reached my hand out to the core inside the stomach of Albert and ripped it out. It was odd to touch. It felt warm, and a pleasant feeling seeped through my body, calming me down.

Still, I'm not sure how to absorb this. Do I need to eat it?

If so, then I should postpone that until later. I put the core back into Albert's stomach.

Because, well, if it wasn't obvious already, I was currently falling through an endless pit. I couldn't even see the bottom.

Once I turned my attention towards the sides of this pit, I noticed that they were filled with cupboards and bookshelves; here and there I also saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs.

What kind of pit was this? Hell, that wasn't even the weird part.

I'm not sure what kind of magic this place has, but it seems I was falling slowly, as if my speed wasn't increasing due to gravity. If I continue to fall at this rate, I probably won't be injured, at least, not by a lot. No wonder Albert decided to escape to this place. He wouldn't even be damaged due to his strong physique and this pit's magical energy that slowed the descent of anything falling into it.

Still, I can't let my guard down. The moment I see even a slight hint of the bottom, I'll plunge my sword into the sides of the pit to break my fall.

But, until then, I slowly drifted towards the walls of this pit. I was falling incredibly slowly, so I could see the maps, items, and everything quite well.

The Eyes of a fairy frog? Purple Grass? Wings of a Devilishly Rude Fairy? Fur of the boy who cried wolf?

What the hell are these names? All of these jars had weird names on them, and their shapes were odd. Some looked normal, while others had peculiar shapes like a rose, a cone, or even a star.

I took down a jar from one of the shelves as I passed; it was labeled "Orange Marmalade", It sounded tasty, and honestly looked like the only thing that sounded like food from all the jars I passed by.

But the moment I took off the lid of the jar, I wasn't met with food, but with great disappointment instead. It was empty. With a sigh, I closed the lid and turned my attention towards the falling body of Albert, the jar still in my hand.

Weird, despite Albert seemingly being much lighter than I am, he was exactly at the same level of me of falling. I wasn't falling faster than him.

To test this theory out, I let go of the jar in my hand, and sure enough, it descended at the same level as me, not falling faster or slower. Another magic trick by this pit.

I flew close to Albert's corpse and grabbed it. In case the fall will actually do damage, I don't want his corpse to get turned into mincemeat. Because, well, he has the supposed 'core' that can unlock my potential, and I was interested in it. Another reason, and the real reason, is that I want to eat him.

Hey, I might not be hungry, but I sure as hell am looking forward to tasting anything.

...

Down, down, down. This pit really doesn't end, huh? Well, I guess I can practice my jokes here.

Have you ever tried archery blindfolded? No? You don't know what you're missing.

Hehe, I'm getting good at this. You know, it's actually quite weird. I feel like there are many scattered bits in my mind, bits of information, words that I'm supposed to know yet have trouble finding the meaning for. But, for some odd reason, I know everything that is related to combat. They are all crystal clear in my mind, and I can easily remember all the combat words.

Oh, I got another joke!

A guy once told me he had a shark attack one day. The shark took out his whole left side. Couldn't believe it when he told me he was all right.

Ah, how fun. I should've told Albert some of these jokes. Man, what a missed opportunity! Who knows, he might have laughed at a few of them.

Why are mountains so funny? Because they are hill areas.

Prison might be one word to you, but to some people, it's a whole sentence.

While I was giggling like a moron for a whole minute, I turned my gaze on the corpse of Albert, his eyes still wide-opened.

"My doctor told me I was going deaf," I said out loud, barely holding my giggle, "That news was hard to hear."

Ah, I love this.

...

...

...

Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do. I tried to look at the maps and the jars on the bookshelves, and even read some of the books, but the maps were complicated, and there were a dozen of them. The jars all had weird names on them, and most of them had even weirder and useless items inside. And the books, well, they were all unintelligible. Each book had a different language, so I couldn't read them.

Eventually, I just began to count the distance I have fallen till now. Based on the speed, and the time that has passed, It has been around... hmm, 30 kilometers? Yeah, that sounds about right. Man, how deep is this pit? Could it have actually been a trap by Albert? No way, right?

I hope not.

I turned my gaze towards Albert. Should I just eat him now? I wouldn't mind, to be honest. I'm dying to know what his flesh tastes like.

Wait.

From the corner of my eye, I could see something. The ground was slightly showing itself!

I'm near the ground! And, from the looks of it, there are heaps and sticks on the ground. If I fall toward them, I'll probably won't sustain any injuries.

Still, I decided against it. This place is weird. Who knows, that could be a trap for all I know.

Immediately, I began to get close to the wall, and with great strength, I plunged my sword toward the wall.

*Crack*

The sword easily plunged itself into the wall, and due to my slow fall speed, I managed to easily break the fall. I don't know what my sword is made out of, but I had a feeling that it wasn't made of normal metal, as not a single crack appeared on it.

I was about 8 meters from the ground. If I let go, a height of this wouldn't affect me in the slightest. Still, I was hesitant.

I took out the sword from the wall, and when I was about a meter away from the ground, I plunged it into the wall again.

Slowly, I used Albert's corpse to touch the leaves and sticks.

Nothing happened.

I then lightly touched the ground with my foot.

Nothing happened again.

Finally, I took out the small sphere inside Albert's stomach inside my mouth and made sure not to swallow it. Then, I threw Albert's entire corpse at the ground.

Once more, nothing happened. I let out a sigh of relief and took out the sword from the wall, and landed on the heap of sticks and leaves. Sure enough, it was safe.

I took out the bead from my mouth and retrieved Albert's corpse, and put the bead inside his stomach. I looked up, but it was all dark overhead; around me were book shelves, and before me was another long passage.

...Hmm? I could see something there.

It was a rabbit, a white rabbit to be precise, just like Albert. Only, it was slightly larger than Albert. But, what shocked me the most was the fact that it was walking on its hind legs, and was wearing a waistcoat! A book was in his hand, and he was hurrying down the long passage. I gripped my sword handle with massive strength, and I began to walk rather fast towards it, easily exceeding it in terms of walking speed, but my footsteps barely made any noise. It seemed to focus on the book, not being able to hear me.

There was not a moment to be lost: away I went, my walking speed getting faster and faster like the wind, and was I just in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, "Oh my ears and whiskers, this doesn't seem to be it either! Oh dear, I really thought it was going to be it!" I was close behind it when I turned a corner, and I was met with a long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof. There were doors all around the hall, but I didn't bother to open them up.

That's because the White Rabbit was still in my sight, trying to open one of the door while still reading the books.

*Crack*

*Boom!*

The muscles in my legs bulged, and like a cannonball, I shot toward the White Rabbit, cracking the ground I was on. My sword aimed at its neck, and regardless of what he does, he'll get killed by it.

"Huh?" Finally aware of my presence, the White Rabbit finally turned his attention towards me, a startled look on his face, but he was only met with the tip of my blade.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" With a loud scream, all the hair on the White Rabbit stood, his ears shot straight, and his eyes widened so much I thought they will pop right off of their sockets. The pupils of his eyes immediately disappeared.

I lowered the speed of my sword just as it was about to reach his neck, and finally, the blade stopped.

But, the White Rabbit didn't react. Instead, it just stood still, its mouth agape, his pupils still gone. In the next moment, the White Rabbit slowly fell to his back, foam coming out his mouth.

...Uh, I didn't sense any danger from him, and I thought he was a powerful opponent that can hide his strength or something. But...

Was that not the case?

I lightly poked the White Rabbit with my sword, but he didn't wake up, and instead just groaned, foam still coming from his mouth, and his eyes still wide open.

Um, is he going to be alright?