For the past seven days and nights, through the howling winds and pelting autumn rain, Itsuki had gone hunting. During this period, the soon-to-be six-year-old had gained vast amounts of knowledge pertaining to the Horned Rabbits. Everything from where they lived to their sleeping schedule ingrained itself in his brain. Even the minute details, such as the number of times they ate a day and their most frequented regions, were not neglected. Through this, he obtained loads of hunting practice. Roughly a week ago, after the first miserable attempt, Itsuki realized that his success amounted to his knowledge about the prey. Thus, he kept himself busy by observing the horned rabbits for prolonged periods solely to obtain additional information. In turn, several blisters, cuts, and welts caused by the prickly forest floor spread across his body.

Sleep would never have the same meaning again. The hard surface of the branch was grave enough. But now, Itsuki also had to reposition himself multiple times throughout the night. Without this system, one could only imagine the intense pain created by lying on the wounds for too long. A seemingly permanent scowl had even formed on his youthful visage.

Closing his eyes so terribly slowly, Itsuki released a heavy sigh from his parched lips, one unfitting of his corporal age. In a heartbeat, it removed the pent-up pain and loneliness he had recently experienced. Akin to how the thundering ocean waves chronologically mopped the sandcastles away. With this as a symbol, he gradually entered a fractured and pain-filled sleep. Tossing and turning throughout the night, the blinding orb of flame above eventually stirred him awake. An intense headache permeated Itsuki's head, and his body welcomed a colossal wave of soreness. Even though the sun was beaming atop the atmosphere and declaring its graciousness, the encompassing air nonetheless induced a frigid chill. The type to make your nose run and cause you to remark the click-clack sound of your shivering teeth. In a way, the temperature was conflicting.

This chilly autumn morning was a precious opportunity to engage his prey actively. Unlike the seven previous times, today was freezing even while the sun was out. Itsuki had taken notice while spying for hours at a time that these pointy rabbits were sensitive to the cold. Whenever the slightest of breezes blew, they would immediately retreat into their burrows. Today they would no doubt be huddled in their homes. Rushing to take advantage of this, he wolfed down the meal consisting of a few different fruits and equipped his wooden bow. Somewhere along the last week, his archery had ranked up. Adding onto that, Itsuki recently obtained a new skill as well. These factors only aided in inflating his confidence regarding today's hunt. He wrapped his legs around the branch, pulled his body up and back down. A perfect landing!

He arrived on the ground sprinting. All the frustration and anxiety of last week serving as motivation, pushing him forward and allowing for a swifter pace than usual. As Itsuki ran with a bow strapped to his back, ten arrows equally split amongst his fingers, and an apple between the jagged rows of baby teeth, he opted to open the interface. Displayed on the bottom left corner was the name of his new passive skill, [Stealth]. However, it was not only shown as [Stealth], there was also a [Novice...] before it. The past seven days of intense spying had served to increase this skill substantially. Currently, infringing a few metres into the horned rabbits' territory was not difficult at all. Best of all, this skill only required the individual to have the will to enter into stealth mode, and it would immediately comply.

Two days after regaining consciousness, his first tooth had grown in. At the time, their sharpness was astonishing to him. These robust teeth allowed Itsuki to make quick work of his breakfast and instead concentrate on evading the copious trees on his path. Soon enough, the den of speed demons appeared before him. The painful memories of his time observing them replayed in his mind. He was back for a rematch, but this time was going to be different.

Crouching low to the ground until my belly scraped the rocks below, I concentrated. Not long after, [Stealth] had activated. The wind brushed past me, the ever-present scent of feces entered my nostrils, and a familiar sense flushed my body. It all felt the same, but one thing was different. I was armed with information this time! Not bothering to be silent any longer, the wooden bow was unhinged from my left shoulder and placed on the dry earth below. Rising to his feet, Itsuki padded the cough-inducing dust off himself. Once he was done he took some time to thoroughly scan the surroundings. A mere second later and he found it. Two large piles of feces were placed in the north and west corners of this rabbit territory. To be exact, these were two freshly dropped feces. Fresh being the keyword here as it symbolized that the rabbits had been hopping about not too long ago. It was fair to assume that since none could be seen at this moment, all of them were likely enclosed in their system of subterranean caves. Inhaling in and out, Itsuki calmed his nerves and got to work.

Sprawled randomly across the archaic floor were holes, reaching in the dozens. Each one acting as an escape hatch. Barely big enough for a rabbit or two but too small for anything more. Itsuki planned to cover all of them, but one. In this way, they could only come out one at a time. His soft fingers ran across the smooth, slightly jagged surface of the numerous rocks spread around the mossy ground.

Soon enough, an assembly of these stones was before him. The stones had to be capable of blocking the force caused by a charging horned rabbit but also small enough that he could hoist them around even with his disadvantageous height. One at a time, Itsuki lifted them off the ground, stealthily reached a rabbit hole, and dropped it atop with delicacy. Even going to the point of holding his breath until his ears turned red. In some instances where the boulder was too heavy, he would regulate his breathing and go in phases.

To say the least, it took a considerable time to finish this task. However, with Itsuki's resilience and an intense thirst for rabbit meat driving him, he braved on. Albeit gaining severe aching, soreness, and even a few bruises at the end of the ordeal. The injuries were painful but barely manageable.

When Itsuki completed this first step, he committed to taking a five-minute break before his inevitable return. During this time, he prioritized the recovery of his hand, arm, back, and shoulder muscles. The next phase would surely overwork them. Once the seemingly nonexistent break finished, Itsuki silently rose to his feet and equipped his hunting gear. With a bow in his left hand and an assortment of arrows in his right, he silently marched forward, assisted by the [Novice Stealth lv 2] skill.

The air was draped with a crisp stench, the type to subconsciously cause you to release tears. The closer I got to the rabbit hole, the more apparent it became. As if it was the only thing permeating this zone. Reeling to the back of my mind in search of an answer, I soon came up with a hypothesis. Usually, there would be multiple air hatch’s through which the scents of this rabbit maze could escape. But since all of them are blocked now, they can only leave through this one opening. So, I’ve essentially caused myself a major problem. Ugh, why does hunting have to be so complicated?

Arriving at the entrance to this maze, I reached into my pocket and removed an object. I’d thoroughly wrapped it with fabric, the same type used to cover my bacon strips and apples. Inside its crumpled exterior resided a plant, one which I had obtained but a few days ago. For some odd reason that I was still unaware of, every time the horned rabbits passed by the plant, they would unhesitatingly devour it. The funny thing about this plant is that it acted as a drug or catnip for these creatures. Once they stuffed it between their jagged rows of teeth, they would begin a pattern of unceasing rolling, flipping, rubbing, and eventually zoning out.

If Itsuki had been in his usual mindset, It would have most likely caused a small chuckle or grin out of him. Reaching inside the multiple layers of fabric, he snatched the rosy pink-coloured flower from its container. The sunlight reflected off its numerous pedals, casting a ring of violet and pink rays. Furthermore, it exuded an ethereal scent, effectively masking the wrench of the rabbits’ pit before him. Itsuki found himself releasing a small streak of saliva down his chin. He could fully understand the sentiment the rabbit’s expressed for this flower.

Itsuki snapped out of his daze. Latching onto the fabric which once masked this flower, he removed a few of its strips, placed a pedal from the plant inside it, and covered his nose and mouth with it. In theory, he had just made a scented mask, effectively liberating his nose from the horned rabbits’ horrendous stench. Once this was completed, Itsuki returned to the matter at hand. He placed the flower directly in front of the entrance and created a distance of two meters between himself and the plant. Simultaneously, Itsuki hoisted his bow over his shoulder, slid it under his arms and in between his fingers. Of course, he also didn’t forget to load the bow with arrows.

Hopefully, the scent of the flower would tempt the rabbits buried inside their homes and they would surface. And as soon as they did, an arrow would immediately lodge itself in their brains. He couldn't miss at this distance, now the only worry would be if he would run out of arrows before killing them all. After all, nests such as this one had as many as fifteen horned rabbits inside. Through countless reflections, this was the most effective and effortless method Itsuki had come up with. Itsuki licked his parched lips, and a grin formed at the realization that he would eat fresh meat today. Anything and everything that came out of that entrance were as good as dead.

Steadying his breathing, Itsuki aimed. With eyes as sharp as an eagle, he stared at the entrance and waited. This was nothing compared to his previous week of reconnaissance. Soon enough, his first unsuspecting victim appeared. Peeking its head out of the burrow it very carefully sniffed the air. Slowly at first, but then it began getting faster, its nose bobbing up and down. It was as if it was onto something. However, as soon as it realized, an arrow lodged itself dead center in its forehead. Itsuki steadied his heart rate and quickly moved towards his first kill. This was both exhilarating and melancholy.

The thrill and joy he had expected weren’t there. It was only sadness and the realization of having taken a living creature's life that clouded Itsuki's mind at the moment. However, he strenuously pushed it to the back of his mind, this was a matter for later. Right now, he had to focus on getting enough food to sustain himself. Dashing about, Itsuki removed the arrow from the rabbit. A gut-wrenching sound followed as he extracted it, brain matter and blood leaked off. Itsuki stealed his heart and proceeded to relocate the body of the lifeless creature. Thus, it would not obstruct the other creatures from succumbing to his arrows.

Not long after, Itsuki returned to his original position. With an arrow on the shaft and a steady heart rate, he sustained the painful act of slaying these rabbits. One by one, he kept it up until they were all eliminated.