Chapter 39:The First One (Plural)

In a room within the Rabbit Palace—home to Vash, the King of the Vorpal Bunnies and the heart of the country of Rabituza. A gate connecting space appeared in the room given to the human in whom the King saw potential.

"Yes! I got away! How do you like that, you hardcore trash! Hahahahahaha!!"

"I-I am... exhausted..."

Emul and I practically tumbled out of the portal. As the [Coordinate Teleportation Gate] vanished completely, I finally let out a sigh of relief. When Emul started shouting about not having enough MP, I really thought... well, I’m used to doing parkour while being chased by something, but it’s not exactly good for my mental health.

Honestly, that was a really dangerous situation. Having a known threat and an unknown threat coming at you simultaneously is bad for the heart. I had a feeling Pencilgon was plotting something malicious aside from just targeting my Unique Scenario, so living an elegant asylum life in Rabituza for a while seems like the right move. It would be a huge help if my existence was forgotten, overshadowed by the big news of a talking Vorpal Bunny.

"Aah... I guess PvP isn't so bad after all."

Defeating monsters that can't exist in reality brings a sense of accomplishment like no other, but the thrill of outsmarting a player with a human brain inside is also hard to give up.

"The time is... noon, huh?"

I should probably go grab some food. I collapsed onto the bed and saved my game.

"I'm gonna sleep for a bit. When I wake up, I'll ask Vash... Aniki? Boss? Which one is better? Well, whatever... I'll officially undergo the training."

Seeing Emul waving a paw while lying flat on the floor, I logged out.

"Alright."

While hydrating and replenishing nutrients with a jelly drink that served as an impromptu meal, I opened the email that had arrived, just as I expected.

Subject: You got me From: Pencil Warrior To: Sunraku Body: Well, well. Even if they were small-fry A through D, it’s impressive you managed to escape from high-level players. I heard from some chatter that the Black Wolves' "Maximum Firepower-chan" stepped in to help, but is she an acquaintance of yours? Also, I have something I want to talk about in a bit, so I’m calling Katzo too. Let’s meet at the Round Table. I’ll send the date and time later.

One email was, naturally, from Pencil Warrior (Pencilgon). Although there were a few concerning words, what exactly did she want to talk about?

"Going out of her way to talk outside of ShanFro... that's suspicious."

And why invite him too? As I tilted my head in confusion, I checked the other email. It was from the aforementioned ModoruKatzo.

Subject: Oi From: ModoruKatzo To: Sunraku Body: I got an invite from Pencil Warrior that clearly reeks of a scheme. What did you do? It sounds interesting, so I’ll hear her out, but you aren't running away, right?

A plan proposed by Pencilgon, involving me, ModoruKatzo, and herself. The suspiciousness is at max—no, maximum—but my curiosity is at the same level. Since he went out of his way to tell me not to run after getting dragged into this, I can't exactly flee.

"For now, I'll just send a normal reply to Katzo..."

And for Pencilgon, I’ll compose a text that looks like fan mail. Kukuku.

"Okay, good morning."

"Good morning to you!"

I woke up (logged in) on the strangely fluffy bed in Rabituza, greeted Emul casually, and got up. Although a new problem—my Unique Scenario being exposed—had surfaced, I achieved my initial goal of updating my landmark to Rabituza so I can return to the normal map from here. So, I'll call it a win.

Now, I can finally dedicate myself to the Unique Scenario. Walking behind the bouncing Emul, I proceeded down the hallway of the Rabbit Palace in high spirits.

"This is the arena we use for training, specifically practical combat training... We rabbits call it the 'Vorpal Colosseum'!"

"Hoh."

I stepped into the fairly spacious arena and looked around. It appeared to be a circular colosseum, about 20 to 30 meters in diameter. There were no particular obstacles; it looked like an orthodox combat field.

"Fathe—cough! The Boss says you must fight ten monsters in total here, Sunraku-san!"

"A gauntlet style? Okay."

"Then, shall we start immediately?"

"You bet."

I knew it was a training-type Unique Scenario, but I see it involves practical combat against monsters. Now, what’s going to come out? Regardless of my motivation, my tension gauge is maintaining a high value right now. I’m confident I can move better than usual.

With a grin on my face, I reached for my Marsh Daggers.

"Ah, you cannot use anything other than 'Vorpal' weapons."

Okay. My momentum was slightly killed, but that's barely even a handicap. It just means shifting from safety-first to being slightly more reckless... Well, I didn't plan on clearing all ten in one go from the start anyway. I'll learn the monster's action patterns through trial and error, and surely...

"Karorororo..."

It was a beast with jet-black fur that brought unpleasant memories to mind. A wolf... or rather, a hound? It lacked the wildness typical of wolves; instead, its perfectly synchronized movements gave off a sense of military discipline, vividly demonstrating that this was not a single entity, but a collective—a swarm.

"...This is the first one?"

"Yup."

"...The first one (singular)?"

"Yup."

Hmm...

"Vaoooooooooon!!"

"Gau! Gau!"

"Gurururuaaaa!!"

The jet-black hounds flooded in... at a rough glance, there were over ten of them. As I was pinned down by hounds that clearly specialized in group warfare, watching my HP get grinded away, I had only one thought.

"At least write it as the First Battle—agyaaaa!"

Author's Notes & Lore:

Unique Scenario "Invitation from the Country of Rabbits" - Practical Training, Match 1.

Monster: Majority Hound

Average Level: 65

Notes: They always spawn in groups of five or more. They are monsters that secure a numerical advantage over the player before attacking.

I don't really care, but while writing this, I mistyped "Majority" as "Majesty" so many times that I hate these guys now (irrational). The characteristic of the Majority Hound is that it always spawns 5 or more bodies, and furthermore, it increases its numbers based on the number of people in the player's party. It is a monster that "always attacks the player as the majority." Moreover, the AI is quite smart, so despite being mob trash, many players struggle against them.

Translator's Remarks:

The First One (Plural): The Japanese title uses "Ittai-me" (First Body/Unit) but adds "(Plural Form)" in parentheses.