Hunting The Helpless Rabbits

Hey, Shun here!

After a hard day of labor, of course you need to also have a nice sleep. It's vital for all of us members of the workforce.

I always feel really mad when someone disturbs that one instance where I can finally take a rest and relax.

Peace was never an option when you're that person who disturbed me from my deep slumber after a hard day of work.

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(Shun's POV)

I arrived at the West Gate while munching on my last remaining kebab. Although it has this gamey taste, I still gotta say, it's quite tasty. I'll give it a 6 out of 10.

When I arrived in front of the West Gate, a different gatekeeper from last time stopped me from my tracks.

"Where are you going, adventurer? A quest?"

Oh, it looks like he recognized me as an adventurer due to the armor I'm wearing. Also, no need to be so polite Mr. Gatekeeper. I'm still a newb when it comes to adventuring.

"Yes. Here is the slip…" I showed my guild quest slip to the guard at the gate.

"Hmm. Good. You can pass. Also, just show this slip again later so that you can pass without having to pay the entrance fee."

"Got it. Thank you for telling me."

"It's my job."

After showing the slip to the gatekeeper, I got outside without needing to pay anything. Looks like I don't need to pay a single cent if I want to go in and out of the city when I'm in the middle of a quest.

That's quite a neat bonus.

The entrance fee aside, I traveled on foot for a kilometer or so before arriving at the outskirts of the dense forest near Tsia City. The grasses are quite lush and pleasing to look at, making me think that a lot of rabbits should really be around this area.

They're herbivores, after all. Just so you know, carrots aren't that good of a meal for rabbits since it's hard to digest for them. That's facts.

Hmm… This gave me an idea for the next floor of our dungeon. Making a section of the new floor seem like a pseudo safe area slash resting spot, I could maybe sneak in some strong rabbit monsters like the Assassin Bunnies.

Those adventurers who would lower their guards at the time will never know what hit them. It's such a devilish scheme, I know, but you gotta do what you got to do to earn DP.

Not only will this plan help me earn a bunch of DP, I could even maybe remove someone I don't like from the face of this world if the need arises. I just feel like in this type of fantasy world, a time like that would eventually come.

Not even a minute passed before I found one rabbit on my way to the forest. It was bouncing around the grassy plains, much like you would expect a rabbit to do.

I mean, Tsuka and her crew are an exception among exceptions. Those bunnies are really cute but deadly creatures, I tell you.

"If I hadn't encountered Vorpal Bunnies and Assassin Bunnies, I might have felt a bit hesitant to kill these cute furry creatures…"

Honestly… these animals are just super cute. White fur, red eyes, tiny… Yeah, they are really cute.

Cute and fluffy. A cute ball of fluff frolicking amidst the grass.

But moments later, I had decapitated it with a single slice. My Muramasa easily sliced through its neck thanks to its extreme sharpness.

Do I feel guilty killing these cute and helpless creatures? Yes. A little.

However, I often eat meat that was killed by somebody else everyday so the burden of 'murder' rests on my shoulders as well, even before I killed this ball of cute fluff. This meant that I had no excuse for not killing any rabbits here, unless I wanted to be a hypocrite.

I don't know if it's good or bad but… somehow… killing rabbits made me feel more guilty than watching those bandits die in our dungeon. Though, I ended up killing a rabbit myself.

Anyway, I picked up the rabbit's corpse by the feet as blood pumped out of its neck and held it upside-down for a bit. Once most of its blood had drained, I threw it into a leather bag I brought with me during my delivery trip.

Since the kebabs uncle might need it as well, I threw in the head too. I mean, why not?

I swung Muramasa a little to get rid of the blood on its blade before readying myself to hunt once more. Since the maximum number of rabbits required is ten, I'll go and hunt ten.

"Ah, that's right. Before I forget. "Purification"…"

I casted [Purification] on the place where I drained the blood to avoid attracting other monsters. I could kill them if they come but that's seems to be quite the extra work so let's leave it for later.

I could maybe hunt those monsters who would come, for example, Goblins, and save their ear for when I needed to submit a quest regarding Goblin Hunting at F-rank.

You're saying it's cheating? Nah, I heard that those snot nosed nobles who knew nothing about adventuring do this until they reached D or C-rank.

Those rich second-generation.

Eventually, as I got inside the forest to find more rabbits easily, I bagged my target of ten rabbits and took them back to the client. I killed them easily but the problem was I had to go around at a pretty high speed all the time in order to catch them off-guard.

These critters really are good at detecting approaching hunters. They've somehow earned my respect. Should I train rabbits in order to become my scouting units or something?

Anyway, I handed over the rabbit-filled bag to the kebabs uncle to inspect. Kebabs uncle grinned at me after seeing what was inside.

"Well, well… Looks can be deceiving, huh? Didn't expect you to be this skilled with a blade. I thought you're just some snot nosed noble brat trying to play adventurer…"

That's rude. Do I look like a noble to you? This gaudy looking equips is something I have earned through a hard quest.

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After a brief chat with kebabs uncle, I went on my own way. I quickly passed through the West Gate after greeting the gatekeeper before arriving at the Adventurer's Guild.

The sun's just starting to go down so I have all the time in the world to search for a place to stay in after reporting the completion of this quest.

When I searched through the available receptionists, I noticed that the one who pretty much took care of me the whole day is still there. Conveniently, her line just ended so I could go there immediately.

"Hello. I would like to report the completion of my hunting quest."

"It didn't take you long to finish it…"

"Yep, I went inside the forest to have more chances of encountering rabbits." Oops! Slip of the tongue. I shouldn't have said that, right?

Hey, don't glare at me like that, Ms. Receptionist. I didn't do anything wrong. It's the most rational thing to do, after all.

Ah, right, she didn't know that I'm pretty strong, right? Let's just divert the topic. Yep.

"So? Is the quest done or should I wait for you to verify it?"

Thankfully, it looks like my attempt at changing the topic worked. Or did it really?

"…No. The quest is complete. Congratulations on completing all of the requirements to rank up." Ms. Receptionist said with a deadpan expression.

"Rank up? Already?"

That was fast.

"There are two requirements for ranking up to F-Rank: Complete ten or more quests, and have one of those quests be a hunting or extermination quest. Additionally, if a quest is completed with high praise from the client, it counts as two quests. And furthermore… this Rabbit Hunting quest has three as a minimum number of rabbits, so it counts as one quest per three rabbits. In conclusion, you completed five quests with high praise, and thus fulfilled the requirements for ranking up. Do you wish to rank up?"

I get it now. So it's like that.

"Yes please."

"Then please give me your guild card. Please sit down and wait for a moment."

After I handed my guild card to Ms. Receptionist, she disappeared into the deepest room in the guild.

Is this it? The legendary, "You achieved some awe-inspiring feat so you are invited to meet our Guild Master!".

Shucks, it looks like I'm about to be the talk of the entire town in a fantasy world. I quite like the sound of it.

What about staying out of the radar? What are you saying?

Do you even know what you're suggesting? Are you high?

Eh, you must be. Copium is bad for your health, okay?

Unless you are powerless to defend yourself from some incidents here and there that fame would bring upon you, there's actually a lot more merit in gaining popularity than you might think. For example, just one word from me — when I get famous — that I got a magic sword or something from my dungeon, and many adventurers would be more or less convinced.

When you're a complete nobody, you wouldn't have such a speaking power. According to the quests I'm given, it would take me forever to gather all the DP and gold coins required if I try to do things like those typical fantasy genre main characters that I read in my past life.

As a consequence though, I need to be extra careful when it comes to reinforcing my and Rokuko's dungeon. It's risky, really, but it's all worth the risk.

I have me and Tsuka to defend the dungeon if need be, after all. Based on the information I gathered, I should be stronger than the regular heroes — or what people most commonly address as Soldier of Gods — of this world.

After I sat and waited for a little bit, the receptionist came back.

There was no, "…Mr. Shun. The guild master wishes to speak to you. Please follow me." or anything like that. Nope, I just got interviewed once again and got asked by a few simple questions before my promotion to F-rank got through.

That's it? No hue hue from fellow adventurers? It's like this is just another normal day inside this Guild.

Eh, whatever, let's just ask if she have a recommendation for an inn. I kinda need a place to stay right now.

"I'm planning to stay at an inn here tonight. Do you have any recommendations?"

"You can get a bed at the slums for only four coppers but, I can't guarantee your safety…"

"Thanks but I'll pass on that one."

Sure, I'll go to the slums later but I don't want to stay there. Who knows what problems might crop up while I'm in there.

"I'd like an inn where I can sleep relatively well for fifty coppers or less a night. Good food is a nice bonus. Any recommendations?"

"I believe you will like the Sleepy Songbird Inn. It normally costs thirty-five coppers a night to sleep there, and it comes with one meal."

Perfect. After receiving my pay of one silver coin, or ten big copper coins, for giving the kebabs uncle ten rabbits in pristine condition, I checked my map to see the location of the Sleeping Songbird Inn.

Before going, I wanted to take the quest regarding the investigation of my own dungeon, the [Ordinary Cave]. However, it turned out that I needed a party member to take it.

A shame. With it, I can prevent others from investigating my dungeon for two or more weeks, give or take.

During that period of time, I'll start constructing the inn and reinforcing my dungeon with more ideas, traps, and some other tricks. I guess I should look for a new party member?

After shaking my head in disappointment, I said goodbye to Ms. Receptionist and left the guild.

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※~To be continued~※

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Author's Remarks:

※ Oh yeah, now we're talking. I'm enjoying writing this arc so far. There was an error here that I changed. He shoulder have been able to take the quest by himself so I changed that.