Day 13

For the last few days, due to his increased mana capacity and perception, Bharat was increasing the time he could stay inside his mana core during his meditating sessions. He didn't actually interact with it, as any attempt to touch that mana inside his core was only met with failure so far, so he was content with just observing it for however long he could. The longest he could do that till now was one full minute after which he depleted his mana.

But on this day, when he finally sat down to meditate after eating his daily fill of berries, he felt as if he had broken through some invisible wall that was preventing him from reaching the core because even after observing his core for full 3 minutes, he wasn't showing any signs of getting out any time soon.

He didn't dare break out of his state to check if he was losing mana and took full advantage of the opportunity presented to him out of the blue.

So finally, after 2 weeks of relentless meditation, he interacted with his mana in some meaningful way. ‘Touching’ some individual threads moving around his core, the number of them having increased from before likely due to his increased intelligence, he gently tried to guide them away from his core and through his whole body.

Just as it looked like the threads would come out of their revolving motion, a sharp pain in his head snapped him out of his state. While holding his head in an effort to mitigate some pain, he curiously opened his status and saw that his mana had only dropped by 60 points, far less than he thought he would have lost considering the results and the time taken.

He had no idea if this could be considered a good thing or not, but he had a feeling that learning to interact and use his mana could be the foundation towards learning magic in the future.

Bharat was once again inside the forest looking for viable targets but instead of implementing his usual strategy of one-shotting the rabbits by blowing up their brains, he added some changes.

His fight with the pair of claw-foot rabbits put light on one of his weaknesses in archery, in that he was not very proficient in aiming for moving targets, especially those with high agility like the rabbits.

Now, this was not a problem currently as one-shotting these rabbits was entirely possible due to their weak bodies but he knew that this won’t likely be the case for higher levelled beasts with far sturdy bodies, where one missed shot could be the difference between life or death.

And as hunting these rabbits was becoming far easier due to his own increased level, he decided to use this opportunity to improve his archery by using these slippery rabbits as a target.

So, when he finally did find a target, instead of immediately taking aim, he did something different.

[Swift-foot rabbit - Level 3]

Picking up a small pebble from the ground, he threw it in the direction of the rabbit. The sudden ‘attack’ startled the rabbit, which was what he was aiming for and when it finally noticed his presence and started to flee, that's when Bharat aimed his bow at it, the string already pulled and the arrow nocked. Following the erratic moments of the little critter as best as he could, he let loose the arrow.

Miss.

Miss.

…

Just like that, he missed his next five targets, as actually hitting the target was a lot harder without the presence of perception boost and he was not going to use that for every kill. That was too wasteful.

On his sixth target, he finally managed to hit one level-1 Swift-foot rabbit. Although it wasn’t a headshot like he was aiming for but it was progress nonetheless.

*Ding*

<< You have eliminated a Level-1 [Swift-foot Rabbit]. Experience is awarded according to your contribution. Bonus experience awarded due to perks of the [Newbie] Title. Additional Experience bonuses from the ‘First Find’ Achievement stacked. >>

He knew hunting like this was a bit wasteful, as he was essentially letting go of easy experience with each missed shot, but in his opinion, improving his archery was something that would prove far more beneficial when he finally enters the other territories.

And after killing some rabbits in this manner, getting familiar with the process with each success, he once more decided to change up some things, placed his bow over his shoulders and retrieved the dagger from his pants, the blade of which was wrapped up in rabbit skin as a makeshift sheathe.

He decided it was about time he actually learns to use this weapon properly instead of hoping for the best after pointing the sharp end at his opponent.

‘Now to find some targets for practice.’

Initially, he thought about killing swift-foot rabbits by pursuing them as his agility now matched theirs to some extent, but he figured that it won't likely make much of a difference than just hitting them for a finishing blow, which he has been doing till now anyway.

He needed something that put pressure on him, something that couldn't be done just by a simple stab and needed proper technique or at least some thinking on his part.

So with great trepidation, he chose Claw-foot rabbits for his practice, a small group at that. Now that he was level-4 he felt he could at least match with two or three of lower-level ones whiteout feeling death looming over him. Searching for his targets all the while eating some berries he picked up, he found the perfect group after 15 or so minutes.

[Claw-foot Rabbit - Level 3]

[Claw-foot Rabbit - Level 4]

[Claw-foot Rabbit - Level 3]

Three Claw-foot rabbits, who seemed to be fighting over a dead Swift-foot rabbit, something which was common behaviour among them. The place he found the group was very small though, surrounded by thick bushes and covered by tall grass.

‘That could be a slight issue.’, he thought as the usual strategy of these Claw-foot rabbits in a direct fight was hit and run tactics while sneaking through the forest which would be even more troublesome as there were three of them now.

Deciding to first lure them into a somewhat open location, he threw a pebble in their direction that startled them out of their bickering. All at once, they turned their heads and stared at the clearly visible Bharat, who after confirming that he got their attention ran away right in front of their eyes.

For a moment, the three rabbits were confused before suddenly snapping out of their shock and running after Bharat.

The rabbits, seeing their prey ‘fleeing’ away from them in obvious ‘fear’ continued to pursue Bharat, who, in the meanwhile led them to an open space where he could fight them properly without fearing sneak attacks.

After passing through some bushes, during which he accidentally nicked his arm on a sharp branch which drew some blood, he reached a relatively large open area and went towards the centre, waiting for the rabbits to arrive.

The situation was slightly familiar to the one he found himself back in the cave when three rabbits followed his trail. That time, he was only a level one with no weapon or experience in fighting and had to rely on his stat boost to score a win, that too by a small margin. But this time, he had four levels under his belt, a brand new weapon and more experience.

“Don’t you dare screw this up, Bharat.”, he muttered to himself as he trained his eyes across the clearing, not willing to make the same mistake he did in his first fight as the rabbits could likely attack from any direction.

As Bharat stood in the middle of the open area he chose for the confrontation, all sorts of thoughts and ideas were running in his head. He started running different scenarios in his mind about how the fight would go about, how the rabbits would attack, how he would go about defending himself in different types of attacks, places he should aim for in order to kill them and lastly, ways he could fuck up somehow and need to use stat boost once again.

All this preparation and cautiousness for fighting only 3 rabbits, two of whom were lower levelled than him might seem a bit of overkill from an outsiders perspective but he wouldn't make the same mistake of underestimating them again.

These rabbits were proficient in using ambush tactics as proven by his previous fights against them and they were intelligent creatures that could think and plan, so he would give them the respect they deserved at least.

But a few seconds of just standing there while holding his dagger got him confused, as he was pretty sure the rabbits were closely following him before but there were no signs of them at all till now. Remembering the flanking attack that lone Claw-foot rabbit used against him, he warily gazed at his sides and even at the back for any signs of surprise attack.

Suddenly, from the direction he had entered the clearing, one Claw-foot rabbit entered and started running at him, claws and eyes blazing.

For a moment, Bharat was bewildered at its choice of simple frontal attack but seeing that the rabbit was rapidly closing the distance between them, he pushed that thought back and rushed at it with full speed, the dagger held at the front in a position that made it easy to attack and defend at the same time.

He had just started his rush when he observed that strangely enough, the rabbit was moving slower than him. He might have believed it due to his increased agility stat if he hadn't already fought with a level 4 Claw-foot rabbit before and he was positive that it wasn't that slow.

‘What’s going on?’

Bharat was confused about the weird behaviour of his opponent. Moreover, he couldn't see any signs of his other two pursuers either.

Suddenly something clicked in his mind as he remembered a video he had seen about war tactics of medieval era. But before he could act on his discovery and change his game plan, the other two rabbits rushed at him from his right and left flank, their speed clearly higher than the level 4 rabbit in front of him.

‘Shit! A pincer manoeuvre?! Really?!’

By then, the distance between him and the level-4 Claw-foot rabbit was only a few feet and as if completing the last piece of a puzzle, it too sped up to its full speed after seeing him distracted by its two ‘comrades’.

He was in a tight spot now, as the rabbits timed this attack so perfectly that they will reach his position at almost the same time. If he focussed on the level-4 rabbit in front, the two of them coming at his flanks would use that opportunity to attack him. The same thing would happen if he rushed to kill the ones coming from the sides.

In every scenario he could think in his panicked state, he would end up facing all three of them at once unless he kills at least one of them fast enough before the other two reach him.

The level 4 was the obvious choice in this case but its agility was higher than him, so killing it in one shot was not possible as the rabbit would likely dodge his amateur stab easily enough.

Just as he was about to give up and once again get help from his stat boost, the rabbit charging from the front did a mistake that provided him with an opening.

Its eyes turned wild and unfocussed and instead of going for a tackle, it made a sudden leap while running at him, clearly going for his face. The attack was clearly done prematurely as the distance between them was still too far that he could dodge that easily. Not looking like a gift horse in the mouth though, he used that opportunity to lean forward and front rolled on the ground, the rabbit passing harmlessly overhead.

As he came out of his front-roll, the other two rabbits were about to reach his position as well but Bharat was prepared this time. Flipping his dagger into a reverse grip, he dodged the tackle attempt of the right rabbit by leaning his body to the side and slashed its exposed belly as it passed by his previous position.

The sharp dagger seamlessly sliced into the soft body of the rabbit without much effort on his part and doused the ground below in its blood and other contents as it skidded on the ground due to its earlier momentum.

The other level 3 rabbit was almost upon his position by now but he pivoted at the last moment and stabbed the dagger downward at its head while it was aiming for his exposed legs, going for a low attack instead of a tackle.

And though it managed to avoid the killing blow at the last second by jumping to the side, the dagger still stabbed into one of its legs and pinned it to the ground, but despite the obvious signs of injury, it showed so signs of being in pain and only madness and viciousness shined through its red eyes as it tried to jump at Bharat.

It was an extremely unsettling scene to witness for Bharat but just as he was about to kill the rabbit and put it out of its misery, he faintly heard the first rabbit approaching from behind in full sprint.

‘Not this time!.’, he angrily thought as he remembered the last time a claw foot rabbit managed to sneak up on him from behind. Not willing to go through that excruciating pain once more he pivoted on the spot with clenched fists and punched the airborne just as it was about to reach his head.

Unknown to Bharat, a very familiar energy travelled up his arm and into his hand just as his fist connected to the rabbit’s head and sent the rabbit flying in the opposite direction with a minor shockwave.

The rabbit skidded on the ground, too disoriented from the powerful attack to its head that it failed to maintain its balance properly and though Bharat was surprised by the power behind his punch, he knew an opportunity when he saw one.

So, before the rabbit could regain its bearings, he dashed in its direction, drew three arrows from his quiver and directly stabbed them into the head of the downed rabbit one by one, finally getting the kill notification.

As for the last remaining rabbit, it was still struggling to no avail to get rid of the dagger pinning its leg. Therefore finally taking pity on the poor creature, Bharat put it out of its misery with a well-placed arrow to its head.

For a moment, Bharat just stood there in a daze, still holding onto his bow. When the realization that he had won settled in, he couldn't help pump his fist into the air in excitement.

Despite their surprising strategy catching him off guard in the beginning, he managed to secure a win in the end, without any serious injuries to boot. The only time he got injured was when he punched the level 4 rabbit, getting some scratches on his hands.

Looking at the small party of dead rabbits around him, he felt like he regained some of the confidence he lost during his previous head-on clashes against them but this fight also taught him one important lesson. Never let your opponent decide the pace of your fight.

He gave the rabbits too much time to think and plan a strategy that almost worked if not for that slight mistake they made. He would have gotten better results if he ambushed them first as he was sure he could have managed to kill at least one of them while they were surprised back in their original location.

Leading them to an area favourable to him was not a bad decision per se but that gave the other party ample time to prepare and collect themselves.

But he mused that there was no point in berating himself on it now that the fight was over. He knew that the only thing he could do was use this lesson so as to prevent himself from making the same mistakes again.

Picking his dagger and putting the bow back to its place over his shoulders, he left the area and after finding a safe spot, opened his interface. The reason he abstained from doing this back there was that the dead Claw-foot rabbits start to smell a lot faster than their normal counterparts, so there was a slight chance that more rabbits could be attracted by the smell.

<< You have eliminated a Level-3 [Claw-foot Rabbit]. Experience is awarded according to your contribution. Bonus experience awarded due to perks of the [Newbie] Title. Additional Experience bonuses from the ‘First Find’ Achievement stacked. >>

<< You have eliminated a Level-4 [Claw-foot Rabbit]. Experience is awarded according to your contribution. Bonus experience awarded due to perks of the [Newbie] Title. Additional Experience bonuses from the ‘First Find’ Achievement stacked. >>

<< You have eliminated a Level-3 [Claw-foot Rabbit]. Experience is awarded according to your contribution. Bonus experience awarded due to perks of the [Newbie] Title. Additional Experience bonuses from the ‘First Find’ Achievement stacked. >>

No level up this time, which was to be expected as he just reached level 4 the previous day and since he was focussing more on the training aspect, his pace was a bit slower than normal, but he believed that level 5 was not that far off either as the ‘first find’ achievement was doing wonders for his experience gain.

‘I wonder if I can reach it tomorrow.’