Chapter 20: R.I.P Rabbit

Rei and Umaru followed the sound and spotted a high-level white rabbit facing off against a girl in beginner attire, preparing to unleash a skill.

Upon witnessing the white rabbit's attack, Maple (BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.) hastily raised her shield. However, her attempt went awry, and the horn on the white rabbit's head struck her abdomen.

"Uh-huh! ... No, it didn't hurt?" Maple, surprised that the white rabbit's potent attack caused minimal damage, took a step back in bewilderment.

"It's astonishing! No pain at all!" Realizing her impressive defense, Maple displayed a smug smile, patting her belly. "Hey, hey, hey... Check this out, rabbit man! My abs aren't hard at all!" Maple pressed her stomach, which remained soft without a trace of tension.

The white rabbit, undeterred, charged at Maple once more. This time, Maple didn't even bother lifting her shield and instead blocked the attack with her belly.

The white rabbit continued to charge and bump, while Maple sported a grin, effortlessly countering each move. She even began to playfully interact with the rabbit, occasionally patting it with her hands.

In the bush, Rei couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He hadn't expected to encounter the shield-wielding girl Maple here, a character with such a peculiar level of defence in the game. 

Umaru, who was watching with anticipation, dashed out of the grass.

"So you could play like this as well!" Umaru exclaimed. Just before the rabbit could collide with Maple, Umaru appeared in front of her, cradling the rabbit in her arms. "Ah~ What an adorable rabbit."

Rei stepped out of the grass and, upon seeing the newcomer, Maple looked at them with curiosity.

With a clinking sound, the rabbit nestled in Umaru's arms transformed into a radiant point of light and vanished, leaving behind no equipment or materials.

Frozen in place, Maple extended her hand, her heart heavy. "Little rabbit~~~"

Umaru looked at her hands, stunned. She swore she hadn't used any attack skills, so why did the rabbit vanished?

Rei approached and sighed. "Little Umaru, the armor I gave you inflicts poison damage to monsters. Just being close to it can inflict one percent agility-reducing poison damage. Didn't you check the equipment's attributes before putting it on?"

"Welp, I forgot," Umaru admitted, acknowledging her mistake. She turned to Maple, who mourned the rabbit's demise. "I'm truly sorry! I only wanted to play, but I didn't expect to accidentally kill it. It's my fault. Clearly, the rabbit was so cute..." As Umaru glanced at Maple, who appeared even sadder than before, Rei couldn't help but find this girl quite the actor.

Maple looked at the 'heartbroken' Umaru and saw the character information pop up in front of her. The girl's in-game name was Umaru. Maple offered some comforting words, "Umaru-san, don't be too disheartened. Even though the rabbit is gone, it will surely be with us in another world."

Umaru: "... I don't want it, please don't come."

"Let's create a resting place so it won't be lonely," Maple suggested suddenly, her eyes sparkling with inspiration.

"Resting place?" Rei, observing the two girls who suddenly wore smiles, held hands, and set out to find branches and stones, couldn't help but arch an eyebrow. Girls' minds were truly beyond comprehension.

Examining the simple gravestone in the place where the white rabbit had disappeared, a small stone placed atop it, and the two girls kneeling on the ground, hands clasped in a prayer, Rei sighed and decided to join them.

He patted the shoulders of the two girls and spoke gently, "The little rabbit will surely find joy in the heavens."

"Thank you, big brother." Maple wiped her eyes, expressing her gratitude to Rei. She noticed that a prominent level fifty floated above his head—levels of this kind were a rare sight in the entire first-floor main city. "You must have been playing for a long time. Big brother, your level is so high."

Rei shook his head. "I've only been playing for about a week."

"Huh? Senior, you've been playing for just a week!" This time, Umaru was the one astonished. It had taken her a whole day to advance from level one to level five. Leveling up at a lower level was tedious enough, let alone someone like Rei, who was at a much higher level. "How did you manage it, Senior?"

After considering for a moment, Rei provided an answer, "It's quite straightforward. Play for twelve hours each day and focus on leveling up."

"Twelve hours?!" Umaru's eyes widened. She had believed her gaming endurance was commendable, but now she realized there was someone even more dedicated. Whose strategy was this?

Maple, considering a suitable profession, couldn't help but inquire, "Big brother, are you a professional gamer?"

"Oh, not exactly. I'm still a high school student. I start playing games at home around four in the afternoon, and I keep going until four in the morning. It's fairly straightforward." Rei shared.

Maple: "..."

Umaru: "..."

"Well, when you think about it, maybe it isn't so straightforward after all."

"Maple, would you like to play together?" Umaru extended an invitation to form a team.

Ding, "Shield Maiden Maple" joins your party.

Since both Umaru and Maple were beginners, they naturally looked to Rei, the more experienced player, and asked, "Senior, which boss should we fight next?"

After assessing the levels of the two—level one and level five—Rei pondered for a moment. "Actually, we're not going to fight a boss. Instead, we'll face off against mobs and beat them up." Rei explained. Upon seeing the skeptical looks of the two, he elaborated, "In this game, there's a skill called 'Absolute Defense.' It allows you to endure enemy attacks for one hour without taking any damage. Though you can't use any magic or weapons to harm the enemy either."

"This skill doubles your defense power and can only be acquired during the novice phase. You won't obtain this skill if you level up by battling low-level monsters later on, and high-level monsters won't go easy on you." After explaining, Rei noticed Umaru's eyes light up. Unlike Maple, who was new to the game, Umaru understood the significance of having twice the defense power. For any profession, it was a rare divine skill, since survival was all about output. If you were instantly obliterated, what was the point?

"Maple, I believe you've specialized in defense and don't require assistance. You should have allocated all your attribute points to defense, so this rabbit won't cause you any health loss when it strikes you." Rei advised.

Maple nodded; she had indeed invested attribute points into defense.

"In that case, do I simply need to find another bunny to play with?" Umaru asked, somewhat surprised. This was the first time she'd encountered such a method of allocating points.

Rei nodded. "Exactly. Just continue as you were before. However, Umaru, even though your level is higher, you should balance your allocation of agility, strength, and endurance as a female warrior profession. You won't be able to complete this task on your own."

Saying this, Rei opened his backpack and searched through it. A piece of blue heavy armor fell to the ground.

"This is a level ten piece of equipment that can be equipped. It doesn't have any other special attributes, but it increases defense by 20 points. When you level up, focus on adding points to defense, and then wear this equipment to complete the task." Rei suggested.

As a lone wolf player, Rei had disassembled most of the equipment he'd acquired. However, he always set aside certain pieces with exceptional attributes at each level to satisfy his collecting tendencies.

"It seems you have the solution for every problem, Senior! It's just like Doraemon!" Umaru said joyfully. She drew the warrior's short sword from her waist and raised it high. "Maple, let's cheer together!"

"Oooh!" The two girls bumped their fists together in the air, their determination apparent.

Rei wielded an axe and looked at the numerous trees in the forest. "Then, I'll go chop down some trees too. Even though it doesn't really matter... Well, it actually does matter quite a bit. I did buy a log cabin, after all."

******

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