With energy I have seldom felt, I awake. This is probably the best night's sleep ever spend apart from Pando. Without even getting up, I roll on the ground stretching. As my heartbeat increases, my muscles start to receive more blood, and sleep leaves, I open my eyes and get up.

The sun is up already. Walking slowly around the area, I see a few rabbits near me. All of them are skittish, but they don't run away as I close the distance between us.

The class Friend of the Forest I unlocked might be a good choice for me. Or I could go for some type of druid class. The only problem is, I don’t feel good about locking myself to a single aspect. I will need more than just the forest to help Pando and Earth’s defense. Each time I start to think about this subject, I become more certain of my choice.

For now, I will keep my options open. Perhaps something less limiting will come along. Most people in the village have already chosen their class, but that was not the path for me. I needed more information and better choices before coming to anything.

When I'm only a pace away, I take a leave of a mint herb out of one of my many pockets. It may not be their favorite meal, but the bravest of them steps forward and catches it.

He chews it quickly and I give him another leave. The second time I see his tiny feet stepping inside the bush behind him. A tiny head pops out a moment later. The smallest of rabbits I have ever seen is peeking out. With curious eyes, he stares straight at me while nibbling at the leave.

You are so cute. Is she your mother? Does she take care of you well? She does feed you, that I know. Protection is a harder job. Given I have seen neither hide nor hair of any smaller rabbits, you are all likely very well protected by the older members of your nests.

I stay there without doing anything else for a while. Every one of them, even the kitten gets closer to me. Sitting on the ground I'm surrounded by them, and soon they are climbing over me.

From apparently nowhere, more rabbits start to show up. A few at first. Then dozens, scores, hundreds. Before I know there are almost a thousand of the furry little creatures.

For a dozen meters in any direction, all I can see are white furry things. The only exception is the occasional brown-furred rabbit.

Laying there, they all come to smell and lick me. Their rough tongue in my fingers reminds me of the cats I used to have as a kid. Not that anyone owns another being. But being their primary provider, in anyone’s eyes, I was their owner. At the time even I thought that. Little did I knew.

Wondering where they are coming from I close my eyes. Sending small tendrils of mana all around me and focussing my senses, I reach out open to know. To absorb whatever is happening around me. Unlikely to be like the wolves despawning, but whatever it is I will find out.

With my control of mana and no external mechanism warning the rabbits, they don't even notice the mana.

I try my absolute best to absorb my surroundings, and I'm rewarded. Though the manner of reward is much different from my expectations. There is an illusion. Their nest is underground and they leave through tunnels.

Hours go by as they swarm around me moving in and out of their home. Things around me change as they always do. I'm like Pando, the winds may blow, the day starts and ends but nothing moves me.

The task of monitoring my surroundings consumes my entire attention. I don't let a single distraction occupy my mind except as the information coming along with everything else. I'm the forest and the forest is me.

My senses alter and I can no longer even perceive the real world with my normal senses. My only way to perceive becomes the impressions I glean from my mana sense.

It's a very strange feeling. Something directly tied to my mana manipulation skill. It has changed in the last month. Not even a whole month and the instincts that come with it have evolved a lot.

It has analogous to two of my other senses. I can both see and feel the mana. I can take in the general shape of something with the equivalent of vision, and the finer detail feels more like touch. The almost tactile feedback or vision alone would not be enough. But combined, a greater whole is formed. And I would guess, better than simply having mana vision. A strange sensation that was slowly becoming the norm.

Sending a steady stream of mana extends my range. The one exception is the mana input for the forge. That piece of equipment behaves strangely.

With nothing distracting me, I slowly grasp the runes being used to create this simple illusion.

After hours, a clear picture is forming in my head. All of the runes are well familiar to me. All except the one. There is a single rune new to me.

A rune I will be experimenting with. Thought something else is also unknown to me. The configuration of runes is quite clearly different from everything we have seen. Just like the final configuration for the fire gauntlet. Mana seems to move in impossible ways through the circuit. If I can figure out the mechanics of these jumps, the mana use would be so much more efficient. Every time the mana jumps, there is no loss, unlike if you try to run the mana through the medium.

I don't focus too much on the details or the applications. Just the general shape and the day goes by this way.

For the entire day nothing happens, but as the sun starts to go down something does.

At first, I'm not sure what it is. Just a strange feeling. Something directed at me with ill intent. I can't make sense of it. Concerned, I stop looking at the iĺusion the Rabbits have somehow woven to pay attention to my surroundings.

All my focus goes to this unfamiliar sensation. At first, it is very loose and general. But soon, somehow, it both increases and diminishes rapidly.

Not understanding what is happening, I start to pour my mana out and open my eyes. A small sound sends me jumping and looking back. I can faintly determine the source of the disturbance. The rabbits all around me also notice the change and disperse.

What we notice is someone standing thirty paces away with a bow in hand. Someone ready to kill. Someone with malice in their heart towards me and my new friends.

He stands with a fully drawn bow slightly hidden behind a tree. His fingers are almost releasing the notched arrow.

The instrument of death is all I focus on.

My mana gushes out faster than ever. I don’t even pay attention to my actions, only reacting. Singular concentration leads me to shape the mana with barely a thought. A single earth rune forms. A big rune slowly surrounded by a smaller circuit I had no idea was there. Only instincts and the system guide me.

The arrow is released and time starts to move both faster and slower. Everything happens at once, but my brain can still make sense of it. Over fifty mana leave my hand and a tiny rock accelerates to collide with the arrow. A collision can be heard and a craked arrow spins harmless away.

I hear him cursing but he doesn't even try to draw another arrow. Around me, only a couple of rabbits are left and none are close to him.

A few of the bravest ones stand by my side, perhaps trying to offer support against this enemy, but I doubt they will be needed.

He slowly approaches with an arrow nocked, but not drawn. With an obnoxious smile, he says:

"So, Are you going to protect these animals? You cost me an arrow and a few Exp. Points."

Skipping his question entirely, I ask one of my own:

"Why are you harassing the rabbits, there are enough wolves to hunt at night."

Not that I want him to kill anything, but it’s the lesser of two bad choices.

"I'm just going to my hunting area. Then I suddenly see hundred of Exp bags lazing around. I just couldn’t resist popping one or two of them. What is to you?"

A little stumped, I answer with the first thing that comes to mind.

"These are the guardians of the forest, and they are under my protection."

I hear a laugh. A deep belly laughs from someone not expecting to hear something very funny.

"Ohhhh. So mister ‘I'm god's gift to the world’ wants to say we can't even hunt here anymore?"

A little backed in a corner, I ignore common sense and my better judgment to stop and think. Plowing through, the words leave my mouth.

"You can hunt elsewhere. Not on this particular place during the day."

"But you can't enforce that."

At those words, I tiny chill runs down my spine. From the corner of my eyes, I notice three people encircling me. None have a bow, but they are all well-armed.

"Perhaps we will be the ones enforcing that. We will make sure no one else hunts here. Though for that we will need compensation. Perhaps we will kill only a hundred every day."

Uncertainty grips my heart, and I curse myself for making things worse than they already were. I need to fix this. Now is the time to go all-in, not just take the sure bets.

With each word, I speak my voice is steadier and deeper.

"No, you won't. If you ever kill a single one of these rabbits your lives are forfeit. No amount of people to hide behind will save you. I swear this on my life, in the system, on..." for these next words I hesitate for a second. This will be an unbreakable promise. Something I have never done before, but the certainty that comes with it is eye-opening. "I swear it on Pando."

They cannot grasp the shift and the realization I just came to. This moment I understood a little better what hate was, and learned a little about myself. I may not actually hate him, and killing is a very blunt tool. But doing nothing was not a choice when I saw other people bringing harm to the world. It may not be my best self, but it was my real self.

The vehemence with which I spoke must have reached their tiny little heads, for they take a step back realizing the seriousness. With a stronger grip on their weapons, they are ready to attack or defend as needed.

Brad takes in the situation calmly. I would not have expected that of him. He tended to be a hot-head, but people can surprise you. His demeanor makes it clear he doesn't think it would be an easy fight.

With this many rabbits around me, he may think I have some variation of a beast-tamer class. With confident words and no hesitation, he addresses his people

"Let's go. If we kill this fool half the village would be upset. They don't realize what a hack he is."

They back away, and I stealthily look back. I see a few more people. This group had at least seven people.

If they wanted me dead, I may not have been able to make it. I would need to focus on escaping first. It’s the only way to take them all out. Going one by one in ambushes.

Luckily they realize my threat level. They may even be imagining I’m stronger than even Greg. And they may be right if I had taken a class and leveled it. Even now, with my base stats and magic, I would be able to take at least one or two even if they prevented my escape. Fighting head-on is not on my mind, however. They don’t have the stamina to run me down. That is a much better plan.

As they retreat and I’m happy no deaths occurred here today. Though, I'm not sure if it will be enough. It would be just like the douche to come back another day with the intent to kill the rabbits.

I have heard grumbling in the village. People unhappy with the guild’s council rule. While everyone just got here, everyone was ‘Xanaxed’ by the system, but soon after it runs out, dissent started fomenting. Ten percent of the village works only enough to feed themselves and have not contributed a single coin. As far as I know, Brad runs with those crowds. Though he seems to prefer being in charge.

He tries to demean me, but I think it’s pretty clear who is the hack.

I wait as they all enter the nest minutes before the sunset while keeping my senses very loose. Not making any effort to make out the specifics of the mana being shaped a dozen teleportations happen in the ten or so meters I can make out with any precision.

If I hadn't a good idea of the process from the wolves, this would be nearly useless. But after so much experimentation, I can make out a little more. Perhaps this will be a better way to go about it. This method relies much less on chance.

I get up one last time and leave after the picture is well-formed in my mind.

Even with the interruption from Brad, this was a good day. Let us hope it will keep been a good day, and the rabbits stay away from the entrances around here.