Ghoul Evolution

Chapter 17: Stupid rabbit

Following Goldie’s advice, Oliver decided to continue moving in the direction the squirrel had pointed.

He had already been walking for hours, and yet the scenery had hardly changed. He was still surrounded by the same vast plains with only the occasional trees breaking the monotony.

It wasn’t until much later that he finally spotted the first beasts of the day.

It was a group of rabbits, who looked slightly larger than their normal counterparts.

There were few of them gathered beneath a tree bearing pear-like fruits. Their fur was a dull grey color, and thorn-like growths protruded from their backs, ears, and even parts of their legs. As they chewed on fallen fruit, the sharp protrusions occasionally scraped against each other as they rushed to get the fruits that sometimes fell.

Oliver crouched behind a patch of grass and observed them for a while.

’They don’t look very strong.’

The rabbits certainly seemed harmless compared to giant snakes and apes he had seen till now.

Still, Oliver wasn’t stupid enough to charge straight at a group of beasts, especially, if he had no idea how dangerous they actually were.

Besides, even normal rabbits became troublesome when there were enough of them and these were Aether beasts.

His eyes moved between the beasts as he thought.

’If I attack one, the others will probably either run or attack me all at once.’

As long as he was able to kill one, the rest running away wasn’t necessarily a problem.

The real issue was that they would all run in different directions all at once, making it difficult for him to reach them in time and secure a kill.

After all, unlike the snake, which was thick and looked heavy these creatures looked fast.

Oliver thought for a few moments before his gaze landed on the fruit tree, then a grin slowly spread across his face as his eyes shifted toward the ripe fruits hanging from the branches.

Beside him, Goldie watched curiously, seemingly interested in seeing what kind of plan his human companion was about to attempt this time.

Slowly, he began circling around the clearing while trying not to make any noise.

Then, after circling around to the other side of the clearing, Oliver carefully used his Firecraft to ignite a small patch of dry grass. He made sure to keep the flames under control this time, creating more smoke than actual fire.

The moment the smoke began drifting toward the tree, he put the second part of his plan into motion.

Earlier, he had left Goldie hidden nearby with a simple instruction, as soon as the smoke appeared, the squirrel was supposed to climb a neighboring fruit tree and knock down as many fruits as possible.

To Oliver’s surprise, Goldie had actually listened and executed his task flawlessly and the result was immediate chaos.

Startled by the smoke, several of the rabbits scattered away from the tree. At the same time, the sound of fruits falling nearby attracted the attention of a few others. Compared to jumping up and smashing their heads against tree for food, eating fruits that had conveniently fallen to the ground was a much better deal for them.

Within seconds, the group had broken apart, most of them ran away, while some hurried toward the second tree, and one particularly unfortunate rabbit seemed completely unable to decide what to do.

The beast was still chewing on the fruit it had been eating before everything happened. It looked at the smoke, looked at the other rabbits, and then looked back at the fruit that it was already eating.

Its tiny eyes narrowed in concentration, then after some careful consideration, it took another bite.

Oliver stared at it from the bushes almost amused.

The rabbit continued chewing, it seemed that among its many talents, quick thinking was not one of them.

Seeing such a perfect opportunity, Oliver didn’t hesitate and quietly rose from his hiding spot, tightened his grip on the spear, and began moving toward the lone beast.

The rabbit finally noticed him, but unfortunately it was already too late and Oliver had already thrust his spear.

Or at least, it should have been too late.

Just as the spear was about to hit, the beast suddenly twisted its body with surprising agility and dodged the strike entirely.

Oliver’s eyes widened slightly.

’Oh really now.’

The rabbit immediately jumped away and tried to escape, but Oliver quickly moved to cut off its path. Seeing that there was no easy way out anymore, the beast seemed to make a decision.

Instead of running, it turned around and attacked him.

It leapt toward him, twisting its body so that the thorn-covered growths on its back were aimed directly at Oliver.

Oliver had already been expecting something like that so he quickly sidestepped and dodged the attack with ease. Thankfully, his body decided to listen to him this time.

The moment the rabbit landed, Oliver counterattacked.

The beast seemed to predict what he was about to do. Seeing the spear move, it assumed Oliver would aim for its chest and immediately shifted its body to evade in that direction. freewebnøvel.coɱ

Oliver himself had intended exactly that and yet, at the last moment, something strange happened.

His hands moved on their own and instead of thrusting toward the rabbit’s chest, the spear suddenly dipped lower and struck toward one of its hind legs.

Stab!

The spear pierced straight through, and the beast let out a shrill cry as one of its legs was skewered, causing it to lose its balance and tumble across the ground.

For a moment, even Oliver was stunned, that wasn’t where he had wanted to attack and yet his body had simply... done it on its own. Again.

But he wasn’t about to complain. The rabbit tried to get back up and flee, but with one of its legs injured, its movements had become sluggish and uneven and Oliver wasn’t one to waste the opportunity.

He rushed forward before the beast could recover and thrust his spear down once more.

This time, the strike landed exactly where he intended.

The rabbit struggled for a few moments before finally going still.

Then the familiar voice of the System echoed in his mind.

[Aether Beast: Thornback Hare slain]

[Grade: Tarnished | Rank: Feral]

Only then did Oliver let out a breath.

Looking at the dead beast and then at his own hands, he couldn’t help but mutter,

"I’m starting to think my body is better at fighting than I am."

He could roughly guess that this was related to his Path and attribute, Eyes Full of Lies. Somehow, his body seemed capable of seeing through intentions and reacting accordingly, even when his conscious mind hadn’t fully caught up.

While that had undoubtedly helped him just now, Oliver wasn’t sure whether it would always be a good thing.

After all, having your body randomly decide to do its own thing during a fight sounded less like a blessing and more like the beginning of a very strange problem.

Still...

A grin slowly spread across his face as this was his first proper hunt since arriving here. Earlier, he had killed a snake too but that had happened more in the heat of moment.