37 RABBIT

Ivan and Yue peered over the edge of the gorge as they had been making their way to the woods. As for why they were on top of the gorge, well Ivan felt like there'd be a lot less monsters to deal with up there then down in the valley. So to test that theory out he had spent an hour climbing its side.

It was a pain with Yue on his back but he kept that rather crude remark to himself as he was sure she'd sulk about it. But it was good to have her up there with him seeing as how these wyvern looking birds with spiky tails would every once and a while dive to take a bite at them. Sure magic was quite difficult to use in the gorge but the effects of that debuff were a lot less heavier up here than within the gorge itself.

And seeing as how Ivan had no range other than throwing water at them it was better for Yue to deal with them using her magic, after all the water he had on him wasn't infinite. Sure he made sure to fill a ton of canteens when they were in Oscar's lair but he'd rather not waste them on something Yue could easily dispose of.

But returning to the scene at hand, Ivan and Yue peered over the edge of the gorge as they heard a strange noise emanating from it. Rather than a monster's howling or the roars of some beast what they heard was akin to a girl screaming. That's when Ivan's ring flashed green briefly before a pair of binoculars appeared in his hands. He passed one over to Yue before taking a look for himself.

The source of the noise became apparent as they laid their eyes on a figure desperately flailing about in an attempt to get away from one of those two-headed T-Rex. However there was something that particularly caught the eyes of Ivan and Yue as they looked at this figure, apart from her blue eyes and light blue hair what grabbed their attention was the pair of rabbit ears sticking out of her hair.

"..... A Rabbitman?" Yue muttered aloud.

Ivan confirmed her words with a nod of his own. As far as the reading he's done this girl flailing about was indeed a member of the Rabbitmen, seeing as how she possessed their distinctive rabbit ears.

"..... Should we help her out?" Yue looked over at Ivan inquisitively hinting at him to make the call. Meanwhile he pondered the benefits in his own mind, if they were going to find the labyrinth in the Haltina Woods they'd probably need a guide, as the fog that envelops the area makes it impossible for races other than the beastman to navigate through.

He recalled the info of the Rabbitmen he read back in the Kingdom, by strength standards they were to be considered the weakest of the beastman. Not to mention their docile personalities that only made them look lower in the eyes of others.

If anything their popularity came from their cuteness, as such it was quite common for them to be hunted as slaves. Which asked another question, even if they helped out this Rabbitman odds are they'll refuse to cooperate in fear of it being some trap to enslave them.

But if they were going to make a decision then it would be now, the female Rabbitman was only inches away from the two-headed T-Rex after all. Sooner or later she'd run out of stamina and be eaten to death.

Yue nodded over at Ivan as he made a signal with his eyes, then without another moment of hesitation she aimed her arm down at the two-headed T-Rex. "Crimson Javelin."

As those words came out of her mouth a spear made of flames projected itself into the air immediately and flew at startling speeds towards the monster. The Rabbitman on the other hand laid on the floor helplessly as she accepted her impending doom.

BANG!

Only that doom never came.

The Rabbitman opened her eyes in shock as she heard a loud thump before her. She looked down at the lifeless two-headed T-Rex that was only centimeters away from her. She stood up in confusement as she kicked the body to make sure it was dead. From that point on she drifted her eyes everywhere in order to find her mysterious savior.

"The Diheadoar….. It's dead." She whispered aloud, as if not being able to accept the situation.

THUMP!

That's when a loud bang erupted from behind her. The moment she turned to look at the source she had to cover her eyes from the collective dust that threatened to go in her eyes from whatever fell from the sky.

And as the dust settled, the sight finally became apparent to her.

A figure she assumed was a man stood kneeling in the sand, his helmet of steel covering his expression as the mantle that hid his body flew wildly in the wind created from the impact. Her eyes followed the curvature of his chest plate as she noticed the figure straddled onto his back. It was a girl, a very small girl. She wore a white robe as she readjusted her ponytail that had been disturbed by the impact. The small black bow she adorned on her head drew the Rabbitman's attention as she shivered under her crimson red eyes.

But rather than being afraid of the two that had mysteriously appeared, she jumped in joy as she made a lunge at them. To her these figures were the precise reason she dared to enter this ridge anyways. She risked her own life just to meet them, the people from her 'dream.' There was no way she wasn't going to celebrate the fact that her sacrifices had bore fruit.

Ivan only watched on in a daze as the scantily clothed bunny girl wrapped herself against his foot as she murmured things like 'I've finally met you guys' or 'I knew my vision wouldn't be wrong.' All the while tears fell from her eyes.

His actions faltered as he looked at this rather pathetic sight. At first he had intended on making some grand entrance to gain her trust but now he couldn't help feeling guilty. However, Yue was different.

BANG!

"Gwah!" With a boot to her face the light-blue headed bunny girl was sent flying into the air. Her body comically rolled a few times before stopping. Yue on the other hand nodded in satisfaction before she returned to her spot on Ivan's back.

"Um, Yue... That was our guide y'know?"

"..... I know."

"Now why is our guide lying lifelessly in the sand?"

"Because she was holding onto you…." Yue stated her reasoning without an ounce of shame on her face. Ivan only sighed before walking up to the mangled figure. The first person they met on the surface and Yue probably killed her.

But honestly he was sort of expecting such a development. He knew that Yue would have a problem if any other girls clung to him seeing as how affectionate she was in the dungeon at all times.

Ivan laid his left palm on the disfigured rabbit before her bones started aligning back to their former state. Surprisingly she had survived Yue's brutal kick, so Ivan ws doing what he could to make sure she would live another day as their guide.

He ignored her groans of pain as he watched on as the bones reverted to normal. Then he nodded with satisfaction, an action that seemingly ticked off the rabbit girl.

"I almost died you know! I want an apology! I'll forgive you guys if you save my family!" She said as she waved about her arms in protest

"Hooooh~ Should you really be taking this tone with the people that saved your life twice? Has this family of yours never taught you manners?"

"You guys are the reason it almost ended a second time!" The bunny girl held her head in frustration as she did her best to readjust her messed up hair. Though the people in front of her were different from the heroes she imagined she still decided to rest her hopes on them. They were the people she envisioned to save her family after all.

She dusted off what remained of her clothes as she presented herself in front of the two. "I am Shea, the eldest daughter of the Haulia beast tribe." The two stood in silence as they egged her on to continue.

Seeing this, Shea smiled brightly before stating her intentions. "Mhm! I'd like to enlist the two of you to save my family before they are eaten alive or sold off as slaves! Please, I'm begging you!" She finished off her statement with a bow as she began to prostrate herself onto the floor.

Ivan and Yue looked at each other for a moment. The guide they were looking for seems to come with strings attached. Not only that, but judging by the urgency she's showing there seemed to be some baggage as well.

"We will hear your story. However, I know that we hold the final decision. And of course should we help you out we ask that you owe us a favor in return. Think of it as a way of making up for my partner's slip up."

Yue pouted off to the side as Ivan spoke conditions with Shea. What the two lacked currently was funds. Interestingly enough though the lair to the Orcus Labyrinth held tools and materials far more valuable than any treasure, the two saw it too dangerous to reveal them. Doing so would be the same as painting a target on their backs.

So seeing the opportunity to gain something using their strength, they went ahead and decided to listen.

"Well, the truth is...." She went on to explain her circumstances.

Usually a beastmen would possess no mana, that's what made them hated by the Holy Church that believed them to be godless beasts. As their religion found mana as a gift from Lord Ehit. The beastmen on the other hand despised those with mana, seeing those with it akin to the monsters that terrorized their forest.

Now it's probably easy to assume what would happen to a beastmen should they be born with mana. As in they would suffer the discrimination from both sides, odds were they would be ostracized from the forest and sent out to die in the hands of some slave trader or warrior with strong belief.

However that's precisely the case for the Rabbitman that stood before Yue and Ivan. Like a monster Shea was 'gifted' with the ability to manipulate the mana running through her body. Not only that but she even had a specialized magic like most monsters.

If not for the Haulia tribe that treated its own as family, she would have been discovered and persecuted. Instead the clan took it upon themselves to hide her existence for sixteen years. Raising her with utmost care. That was until a few days ago when someone from the outside heard of her.

To escape persecution she fled the forest which had its own country in it, Verbergen. And alongside her family they just headed toward the direction of the mountains in the north. There they intended to live off the land. Sure it would be harsh but better that than executed by Verbergen or sold off as slaves in the Hoelscher Empire.

Unfortunately the moment they stepped foot out of the forest they ran into imperial soldiers, a battalion-sized army at that. Over half of the Rabbitmen were captured in their escape, the rest ran towards Reisen Gorge in hopes of deterring the ensuing soldiers.

Their plan was half successful as the soldiers didn't dare go in, however everything went wrong when they left a battalion to guard the exit to the gorge. Meaning either the Rabbitmen stayed in until their inevitable death at the hands of a monster or turn themselves in to the Hoelscher Empire to become slaves.

".....Before we knew it, our group of sixty had been whittled down to forty. At this rate we'll all be killed. Please, please, you have to save us! I'm begging you!"

When they inquired the specifics of her specialized ability they got a curt answer in response. Ivan mulled to himself as he weighed the benefits.

'A rabbit that can see possible futures when she's in danger… the Hoelscher Empire… the dungeon in the Haltina Woods…'

To agree with her request would be to become the enemy of a nation. Ivan in fact had briefly thought of taking base at the Empire once before. Seeing as they are an adventurer and mercenary hive that attracts all kinds of warriors. Warriors that'd fund his operations with just a few of his products.

On the other hand he held a general distaste for their beliefs. To do whatever it takes for power even if it means enslaving the lives of others. Hell, slavery was something even the Holy Church didn't condone publicly.

Another option of his that he favored greatly was the nation of Independent Merchant Republic of Fuhren. A land that as it sounds is an extremely popular place for merchants, craftsmen, and tourists. To him that seemed like the more likely location to suit his desires.

He looked at Yue before receiving a nod from her in return.

Seeing this he sighed to himself as his vision returned to the Shea who had prostrated herself on the floor.

'Screw it. Save some rabbits, take on the dungeon, and then run to Fuhren. Seems simple enough.'

With this in mind Ivan opened his mouth to speak to the rabbit.

"Very well, you got yourself a deal, miss."

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BING-BONG DONG-DING Announcement everyone! The release schedule will be slightly shifting. Instead of 3pm PDT you can expect chapters to now be released at 1pm PDT. This is because I have received a job today and I start at 3pm PDT. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you can spare the time. I will be uploading things soon and the support would be greatly appreciated. The link could be found in the 'announcements' on my discord server under 'inks.' Other than that if you go to my p.a.t.r.e.o.n. link you could also find it there.

On a side note I have heard yee cries and am contemplating on two chapters a day. Expect an update on that soon!

Fuhren is a pretty cool word. There's going to be some considerable changes to the plot in the future. No way Ivan's acts didn't have an effect. But for now I'm trying to catch up on the original source. I need to buy the books so if any of you are willing to help out look down below. It's difficult and scary to write about how future events will change if I don't even know how it is. But without further ado thanks again for reading. Know that your support keeps me moving.

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