For the most part, he surprised himself by actually doing a good job. A rustle here or there, which could have been made by any two-hundred-pound woodland creature, but mostly he remained quiet. A few minutes of breath-holding effort, and he was peaking once again through the leaves at the Beast of Unfettered Evil.

He knew it was the Beast, because now with a bit of effort, he could see its nameplate, outlined in red, hovering a foot or two above its head. That had been one of the first things he turned on after the tutorial. It was just too creepy having everyone know his name if he didn’t know everyone else’s too.

Thinking for a moment, he decided the notifications setting was something he should try as well, especially with how much important information could apparently be included in a notification. With a little bit of focus, he opened his System Menu and toggled through the settings options. Off, On, Rolling.

Rolling? What the heck did that mean?

Deciding to ignore it for the time being, he turned Notifications on.

Stealth Check – Glorious Success!

The notification flashed in the corner of his vision and instantly began to fade away.

Well, that explained why he was so quiet.

Turning his attention back towards the “bunny,” he tried to come up with a plan.

Clearly, the bunny must be quick. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to kill him without him even seeing it. And what had Torbin said? Something about one hit?

How was he going to do that when he couldn’t even catch it?

Scanning the area, Arron searched for anything he could use to trap the little bastard. No obvious bear traps or cages were evident. He focused on the Beast, scrutinizing its tiny, fluffy body for a weakness.

Inspection: Success!

– The Beast of Unfettered Evil – Horror – Level 6 A small, rabbit-shaped abomination responsible for the deaths of countless adventurers. Incredibly fast, this pitiless foe can deal out the hits but cannot take much in return. Traits Health Pool: Very Low Damage: Moderate Speed: Very Fast Toughness: Low Cleverness: None Specials: Lightning Quick

Arron sat back a little from how incredibly helpful that information was. No wonder he was having so much trouble with… literally everything. Shaking his head, he yet again regretted skipping those crucial initial steps the first time through. He was almost certain this wouldn’t be the last time.

“Ok,” he mumbled, focusing back on the task at hand.

The Lightning Quick definitely fit. The Health and Constitution values confirmed what Torbin had said and were undoubtedly helpful, but it didn’t solve his primary issue: how to catch the thing.

He crouched for another minute, trying to come up with a brilliant plan. When nothing remotely grand came to mind, he settled on accepting simply workable. When he failed to develop even a workable idea, he gripped his hammer a bit tighter and went about it the way he knew best.

Standing up, he shouted, “Come on, Thumper, I’mma mess you up!”

The rabbit exploded towards him, a literal ring of dust in its wake.

Watching this time, it was easy to understand why he hadn’t seen the Beast during their last encounter. It was fast! Even anticipating its attack, he barely moved his foot in time to avoid the little bastard.

Turning, he bent his knees, straining to keep his eyes on the thing as it circled back for another rush. It launched off the ground, coming directly at Arron’s chest, fuzzy feet extended in a straight-legged position any fan of professional wrestling would recognize.

Ready for the attack, Arron swung his hammer.

He missed, and the extra power he put into ensuring a single hit knockout, pulled him off balance.

Evil Bugs was not one to let that opportunity pass, and Arron grunted when the Beast struck from behind, and he fell onto his shoulder.

Blows rained onto his face, one after another. Hits landed as fast as he could register them. Pain blossomed on his cheek, forehead, neck, and eyes. He spit out blood as one of his teeth was smashed back into his mouth, cutting his tongue on its way down his throat. He got his arms up to guard his face, accepting blow after blow, waiting for his moment to respond. Arron refused to die again to some stupid fucking bunny.

He was not going to be killed by this furry little appetizer. He would not be wrecked by some cheap tourist trap good luck charm. Grinding his teeth, he ignored the pain as best he could, pushing himself to his knees.

Blows to his legs, belly, and side pummeled him quick as thought. Arron tried to grab the Beast as it zoomed by before coming back for another hit.

Blow by blow, inch by inch, Arron stood. The crimson splotches around his vision confirming his injuries. Pain battled with his focus, striving not to be ignored. He refused to give in. He could not be killed by a friggin’ rabbit, not once, but twice.

With a deep exhale, he pushed through the last few inches, standing straight again. His hammer dangled in his fist.

The blows stopped. Suddenly enough that Arron almost lost balance from the impact he was expecting but didn’t receive.

In the middle of the clearing, the Beast of Unfettered Evil stared at him. He could swear the rabbit scowled, if rabbits could scowl. It was panting heavily, its breaths coming in deep, ragged pulls as it fought to catch its breath.

With a sudden realization, Arron smiled. The expression was strange on his bruised, swollen, bloody face. Gems of white shining through a sea of blue, black, and crimson.

Constitution: Low.

This thing was fast. But fast or not, it lacked endurance. And Arron was very much, incredibly, stubborn.

His vision shrank to a red-tinted vignette, just him and the Beast.

Blood dribbled down his chin as he smiled, exposing broken teeth. A rough laugh escaped his lips and he took his first steps toward his foe.

The Beast ran. Arron pursued.

They circled the clearing twice before it dawned on Arron that it had limitations to where it could run. With Torbin and the guild behind, Arron’s presence blocked the small gap in the natural layout of the area, effectively trapping the Beast in a space roughly 60 feet square.

Without being able to run away and disappear, it was only a matter of time. Arron knew it, and so did the Beast. It fled from him, curving through trees, under bushes, and behind rocks. Arron pursued, step for step. It tried to hide in holes and logs which Arron tore apart with his hammer, ripping free the earth, forcing it back into the light.

Gradually the sprints grew shorter and shorter as fatigue overcame it, and the Beast fought to catch its breath. Little by little, Arron made up the distance.

Ten feet behind, then eight feet, a little farther and—

Fire ran through Arron’s veins as he jumped onto the rabbit, grabbing it by a leg. Its teeth sank into his hand and primal madness overcame Arron as he tore the ear from the rabbit’s head with his own teeth. The Beast growled, and with one last effort, it tore into Arron’s forearm with the little strength it had left.

But it was too late. Arron had won.

The whole rabbit flashed as a weak spot in Arron’s vision, and he screamed in triumph as he gripped it in his fists and pulled, tearing the Beast in half.

He threw the limp pieces of meat to the ground and roared his victory, baring his teeth like an animal. He let the primal, animalistic side celebrate its win, lavishing in the release. Blood dripped down his chin, hot and metallic on his tongue. The taste wasn’t unpleasant, but disturbingly comfortable.

Clapping brought him back to reality. His vision snapped back to normal, leaving the strange red tint behind.

Torbin, Sonya, Iris, and Mercutio all stood at the edge of the clearing, applauding with big smiles on their faces.

Feeling awkward, Arron raised a hand in greeting.

“Well done, lad!” Torbin cheered. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone actually chase the Beast before!”

“Yea, pretty brilliant actually,” Iris chimed in. “The low Constitution let you effectively run it down, though how you survived is beyond me. That thing really went to town on you! Good thing you Leveled for the healing, right?”

“Yea, I just sorta ignored it,” Arron replied sheepishly.

“Ignored it?” Iris asked. “You can’t just ignore—”

Deadly Rage Expired – You Have Died!

Respawning at last selected node.

An adventurer always pays his debts. Gotta pay the piper. Don’t write a check your ass can’t cash. You get the idea.

Darkness flooded his vision with the notification, and the familiar weightlessness swept him up before he opened his eyes to Brynhild’s warm smile.

“What the hell was that?” Arron murmured.

Why had he died? Was he bleeding out or something and didn’t realize it? Growling, he slammed his fist on the ground.

He’d been so close!

He had slain the damned bunny and died when he wasn’t even fighting anything!

Frustration warred with his focus for several moments. The injustice of it all was kindling threatening to send him over the edge. But he was, eventually, successful in calming himself and rose to his feet.

He stopped awkwardly.

Brynhild was staring at him in shock.

“You? Seriously?” she whispered under her breath.

“Me, what?” Arron replied testily, too emotionally drained to bother scraping up anything from his low stores of social niceties.

His voice seemed to push her out of whatever train of thought she was stuck in. Shaking her head, she turned away from Arron.

“Oh, you will figure it out soon enough, death defier,” she replied, her tone strangely biting. “Get out of my respawn.”

And with that, she waved her hand, and a massive spectral hand swept through the spawn area, smashing into Arron and sending him flying out.