Online In Another World

After reuniting, it was finally time to settle in for the night, which after some searching, the two managed to find a small, tucked away cave that was well-hidden behind bushes.

“This’ll work,” Emilio remarked.

“Yeah. I doubt we’ll get found here,” she replied.

The usage of ‘doubt’ stuck out to Emilio as he knew there was truly no certainty of safety in such a place, especially not with the type of beasts or men that lurk the land.

It was eerily dark and quiet through the forest, save for the sounds of critters and other unsightly beings rummaging through its scope, leaving the two to sit there in quiet, ready for whatever may come.

While they sat there in silence, the sound of a stomach growling was as noisy as could be, prompting Emilio to look towards the girl.

“Err…” Melisande covered her stomach embarrassedly.

A small smile formed as the dreadful silence was broken, prompting him to sit up, “We’re not making it through this trial with empty stomachs, that’s for sure.”

“Are you going out? I’ll–” Melisande started to get up.

Emilio quickly stopped her, “Just leave it to me, alright? Here, I’ll leave you with this.”

From a simple utterance of ‘Gnome’, he manifested the lesser spirit of rock, guiding the sentient spirit over to the girl.

“If anything approaches this cave that isn’t me, block it up, alright?” Emilio spoke to the spirit.

Seeming to respond, the brown sphere of magica energy blinked a few times, giving Emilio the answer he wanted as he headed out.

There wasn’t a large part of him that wanted to step out from that cave and back into the dark, ominous depths of the sealed forest, but his own stomach felt quite empty at this time as well.

I wonder if it’d be a good idea to use a flame?…I can hardly see a thing, but also…’things’ would see me too if I used one, he thought.

With the thought of being spotted by who-knows-what in the darkness, he decided to take things slow and steady without the guidance of a flame’s light.

This time, fruit from a plant wasn’t what he was looking for; after walking around all day and getting into battle, he was looking for true, hearty sustenance: meat.

Quiet now…He thought.

Lurking through the forest, he crouched behind bushes at the sound of a small critter rummaging through the leaves.

A bunny, of some sort, at least; it had fluffy, bright-red fur with white rings decorating its body, having a single, tiny horn protruding from its head. It was sitting in the middle of a small clearing, munching on what looked to be blades of grass.

“Hm…”

There were a multitude of ways to go about hunting the unsuspecting bunny, though it was a question of what was more efficient. While he did consider lobbing a fireball at the fluffy critter, that also came with the likely possibility that it would attract unwanted visitors and waste mana with an overkill.

I’ll take a page out of your book, Vandread, he decided.

While he didn’t have the arsenal of blades on him like Vandread did, and not a single expendable projectile at that, he was able to create one above the palm of his hand with stone magic.

It was chiseled upon creation; a sharpened stone that resembled a throwing knife.

A little reinforcement to strengthen it, and…He readied himself.

Just as he was preparing to throw the sharpened stone with a wave of his finger, he stopped as he finally saw what it was that the horned bunny was munching on: not grass, but the carcass of a fox.

“Huh?”

While hidden in the bush, the slightest movement made out of surprise caused the foliage to rustle, prompting the carnivorous bunny to spin around, looking straight towards him with blood-red eyes.

What the hell is this?! A demon bunny?! He thought.

It shrieked at him with its blood-soaked mouth before rushing over with frightening agility. He immediately jumped to his feet, tossing the projectile towards it.

With a swift hop, it evaded the projectile, leaping towards him with its buck teeth honed on his neck.

“Oh, no you don’t! I am not dying to a killer bunny!” Emilio said.

Before its teeth could reach his skin, he swiped his hand, sending a burst of wind forward to repel the rabid critter back.

As it slammed against a tree, he expected that to be the end of the palm-sized animal, though to his shock and dismay, it fell to the ground only for a moment before bursting back up with even further aggression.

Did the Guild Foundation really seal a bunny in here?! He thought.

With it racing towards him while squealing out like a high-pitched warcry, he drew his sword, swiping it just in time as it leapt towards his throat again–cutting cleanly through the bunny’s body.

“…Phew…” He sighed out.

There was a certain sense of shame for having to act so cautiously in the face of a creature that would normally be seen as adorable and passive, though he knew the truth of it.

Never again, he thought.

After sheathing his sword again, he bent down to check the carcass of the hellish bunny, finding it to still be somewhat intact, though its two halves were bound together loosely.

“Well…beggars can’t be choosers, right?” He mumbled to himself.

Taking the hunt with him, he ventured back, climbing over fallen logs and through dense foliage to find his way to the cave.

It took him a solid minute to actually spot the entrance to the shallow cave in the darkness, having to push through vines before stepping into the entrance and–

A rock shot right past his head, barely missing as he was left stunned, looking forward at the culprit: the lesser spirit of stone, Gnome.

“…Really?” Emilio said with a raised eyebrow.

Melisande looked about ready to blast him with wind before realizing it was him, letting out a sigh of relief.

Though it didn’t have an expression of its own, it was clear by the dimming of the sphere that the spirit felt guilty, returning to Emilio’s side before vanishing.

“What’d you find?” Melisande asked, looking at what he was holding.

Emilio lifted up his not-so-prideful spoils of the hunt, “Err, well…a feisty bunny.”

“Oh…well, I’m not complaining. I’m starving,” Melisande said with a small sigh.

“Same here,” he replied.