Warren and the Dungeon Seed

Chapter 7.Warren vs. Bunny

“I’ll do it,” I said.

“That whole field there is filled with rabbits,” she motioned. “Good luck and be careful. They can get a little fierce.”

Janica stopped in front of me, blocking me from advancing on the field.

“What’s up,” I said.

“This is a starter quest, Warren, but it’s not an easy one. It’s designed for level two Visitors. You’re going to need a weapon.”

“Seriously?”

She eyed me up and down. “Uh huh. Come on.” She zipped back and forth searching the ground.

I followed. “Could that woman not see you?”

“No. As a Guide, I’m not visible to anybody but you.” She flew back to the forest and I followed. “Here!” She pointed at the ground.

I picked up a stick about five feet in length and the thickness of my arm. It was dry with cracks down its length. Little sticks jutted from the sides. There was nothing special about it. Twigs and branches jutted out from the sides.

You received Wooden Stick

Wooden Stick:

Item Class: Spear

Item Quality: Poor

Damage: 1-2

“I’m supposed to kill a rabbit with this?” I swung it like a baseball bat.

Janica shook her head. “Stop, stop.” She pulled the mace that was strapped to her back. “Like this.” She held it like a spear and thrust.

I emulated her. “Wait, can I get a new Spear Skill through my Integrator Attribute?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “You have to show actual competence for that to happen. And you seem to be…” She tapped her chin. “What’s the word I’m looking for? ineffective? No. Un-competent? No.”

I rolled my eyes. “Incompetent?”

“That’s it!” she said.

I sighed.

“Start working your way out to the field,” she said. When you pull a rabbit, back up. You don’t want to fight more than one.”

I saw about half a dozen rabbits toward the middle of the field grazing on tall grasses. They looked sturdier than rabbits that I’d seen, with thick brown fur and tall ears. More like hares than rabbits. A large rabbit sat between me and the group, its ears upright. It scanned the perimeter of the group like it was watching for threats.

“Not that one,” Janica hissed. “You don’t want to take on one of the alphas.”

Alpha rabbits! I snickered.

The Alpha Rabbit’s head turned my way. It locked eyes with me and crouched low.

“Get back!” Janica warned me. “Back. Back. Back.” She commanded. “You can’t do anything the easy way, can you?”

I backed up, keeping my eyes on the rabbit, which sprang after me. Thankfully, the group didn’t follow.

Alpha Rabbit

Level 3

HP 6/6

Stamina 100/100

I pulled my stick back like a baseball bat, lowering my stance, letting the branch swing around in a little circle above me. I hadn’t had any training as a batter, but this seemed a better bet than trying to spear the thing.

The rabbit darted right then left as it jumped at my legs. I swung, missing the rabbit by a mile. The rabbit bit at my calf, its huge front teeth tearing into my flesh. I screamed. Pain overtook me and I fell to the ground, reaching for my leg. All five of my senses worked in Integration Online and, for the first time, I wished they didn’t. Maybe there was some way to turn down the pain settings.

“The Alpha Rabbit just bit you for 9 damage,” Janica said, her tone matter-of-fact. She floated near me, her arms crossed over her chest, unconcerned that I was about to get mauled by a rabbit. “You’re down to 16 hitpoints. You’re bleeding at one hit point per second for the next two seconds.”

I panted, getting back to my feet. I reached down to feel the wound and got blood all over my hands. The Alpha Rabbit had taken off more than a third of my health with one bite and made me bleed besides. If I got bit again, I’d barely have any life left. And if it critically struck me, I’d be dead. “Janica, what happens if I die?” I asked, watching the rabbit.

“All of your Job levels go back to level one,” she said. “And you have to port back to your own world for four hours.”

I hadn’t leveled-up yet, but four hours was a lot of wasted time. I only had Janica for 24 hours, and it was already mid-morning. It would take us time to get back here. If she had a plan to help me get to a place where I could succeed on my own, I didn’t have any time to waste.

The rabbit circled me, looking for an opening. It didn’t have to look hard. It lunged. I threw myself out of the way. The rabbit flew past me.

I got back to my feet.

“HP is down to 15, Stamina at 18.”

I had used a quarter of my stamina with one swing and a dodge. If the fight continued like this, I wouldn’t last a minute. My attempt at fighting my way had failed. I needed to try something new. I held the stick out like Janica had shown me and waited.

The beast raised its upper lip, showing me its massive front teeth. What the hell was with this game?

It sprung at me again, but this time I tracked it with the tip of my stick. When it jumped at me, I fell backwards but held my weapon in position. I grazed the Alpha Rabbit and felt my stick connect. It tumbled beyond me, rolling through the grass.

“That looked absolutely pathetic, but you connected for 2 damage.”

I got up again.

“Your health is 14/25. The bleeding stopped. This time, plant your back foot. Have a little confidence.”

I waited. Blood dripped down its leg. It began to thump and I felt a reverberation in my feet.

“That’s bad,” Janica said, nervous for the first time. “Kill it quick and run!”

Three more rabbits faced me, their ears sticking straight up. The Alpha charged. I pointed my stick at the rabbit and leaned forward, planting my back foot. The rabbit sprang toward my throat, but I angled the stick upward and impaled it.

You critically hit Alpha Rabbit for 4 damage.

You defeated Alpha Rabbit.

You earned 18 experience points.

Your Expertise with Spears increased to 3.

“Warren, run!” Janica yelled.

I took off, following Janica away from the pack of rabbits. I glanced over my shoulder and saw five of them following me, bounding through the grass, eyes ablaze. I ran on, eyes on my stamina bar which ticked down. 5/25… 4/25… 3/25… I entered the tree line, dodging between pines.

“They turned back,” Janica alerted me.

I collapsed to the ground, panting. My stamina read 0/25.

Janica hovered above me, rolling her eyes. “Come on. Let’s go back and loot the rabbit.”

The rabbit’s body lay far enough from the pack that I could access it without pulling the others. Its carcass glowed with little white sparkles. Next to the dead rabbit, pieces of my weapon lay scattered about the ground, some of them stained with blood. I guess I would need to find a new stick.

As I accessed the body, a window opened, showing me my first loot!

Alpha Rabbit Carcass

Item Class: Common

I grabbed the rabbit by its ears and headed back to the cabin, proud of my first kill.

The older woman’s eyes shot up as she saw me standing at her door, a rabbit laying on the front step. Like a cat proudly presenting a mouse to its owners. “I didn’t expect you to actually kill one of those little devils,” she said. “And an Alpha to boot!”

You have completed the Quest: Rabbit Season

Experience Rewarded: 30

“Come on then.” She turned and walked toward the kitchen, dropping the rabbit on the table in front of the old man and kicking his chair as she passed. “Jamon, we promised this boy a reward.” He startled, then grunted. He picked the animal up and shuffled past me back outside and around the back of the house.

I expected Jamon to impart the Skinning profession on me. Usually in games like this you suddenly know how to skin things. You click a button, wait a few seconds while an animation occurs, then a skin appears in your inventory.

Instead, the old man strung the rabbit up and proceeded to skin it with a few quick strokes of a knife, first cutting around the ankles, then down the back, and then pulling the fur off in a few jerks. His weathered hands moved with the precision of practice, his blue eyes locked in concentration. He paused to look at me twice, waiting for acknowledgement that I had seen what he did. I’ve always liked quiet people, so it wasn’t tough for me to withhold my questions and match his calm and serious energy. When he finally handed me the skin, he held my gaze for a moment, an acknowledgment of my presence. Perhaps a small thank you for not peppering him with questions.

Congratulations, you learned the Profession: Skinning.

You received Alpha Rabbit Skin.

“Jamon, do you happen to have an extra skinning knife that I could buy from you?”

“Wait here,” he said. He returned a moment later. “This is an old blade. You can have it for five Silver.”

I had trouble parting with even the smallest amounts of money. I tried to reach into my coin purse to remove five Silver, but that didn’t seem to work.

Jamon looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

I tried again, nothing. Jamon shifted. I glanced at Janica, giving her a facial expression that meant ‘help!’.

“Oh fine,” she said. “Just touch your purse and think ‘five Silver’.”

I followed her directions. Five Silver coins appeared in my hand. I handed them to Jamon, who seemed to become skeptical of me.

Congratulations, you received Worn Skinning Knife and Sheath.

I pulled the Worn Skinning Knife out of a leather sheath that measured the size of my palm. Its blade was metal, but chipped along the side. I ran my thumb over the blade sideways and found that the knife was not sharp. Its leather handle had tatters and rips, but it looked to be usable.

I nodded at him in thanks as I put the sheath on my belt and the Alpha Rabbit Skin in my inventory. “What’s next? Can I just use the skin to make clothing and armor with?”

Jamon shook his head. “It’s a process. I’ll teach you, but you’re going to have to work for it.”

You were offered a quest:

Quest: Rabbit Season 2

Objectives: Bring Jamon 6 Skins

Rewards: 35 Experience Points and Leatherworking 1

Do you accept?: Yes/No

I accepted the quest. I was going to need a new spear. Our peaceful interaction was broken by a set of voices that rose in argument as they approached. Three people strode toward us, marked by nameplates over their heads. As they got close enough to be heard clearly, the old man and I shared a weathered glance. Gamers had arrived.