My Overpowered Bunny Girls

Chapter 12: 12. Nathan Tops the Leaderboard

PEW!

PEW!

Two compressed bolts of raw mana tore cleanly through the jungle, the projectiles pierced straight through a charging Black Goblin’s chest.

"ARGHHHH!!" The creature shrieked violently before collapsing onto the forest floor. Moments later, its body dissolved into drifting particles of light.

[Ding! 25 Points Gained!]

[Ding! Level Up!]

Elise barely spared the notification a glance as Her attention remained entirely fixed on the battlefield.

Combat flowed naturally for her at this point. Managing her skills, positioning, battlefield awareness and party support had become almost instinctive.

Without hesitation, she activated her second skill, [Mana Shield].

Blue mana surged outward from her fingertips as a translucent barrier instantly wrapped itself around one of her teammates.

KRASH!!

The shield shattered almost immediately after a Black Goblin launched a heavy rock toward the protected student.

"KYAHHH!"

The female Priest screamed as she stumbled backward onto the dirt.

The Black Goblin grinned viciously and lunged toward her exposed position.

But before it could even get close, SLASH!

A flash of steel cut through the air and the goblin’s head separated cleanly from its body.

Its corpse staggered for half a second before dissolving into light.

"Th-Thank you, Dillon..." the Priest said shyly, her cheeks slightly red as she reached out a hand toward him.

But Dillon Briggs didn’t even acknowledge her.

His eyes had already shifted elsewhere, toward Elise.

Elise herself remained completely expressionless near the center of the formation.

No... If anything, her expression had become slightly colder.

Not because the Priest thanked Dillon.

But because she conveniently forgot who had actually saved her life in the first place.

Their party consisted of five people, A very strong composition by examination standards.

Elise Winterhart.

Dillon Briggs.

A Priest.

A Warrior.

And a Rogue.

Each member brought solid utility to the group.

Together, they had carved through large sections of the forest with very few difficulties.

"Haven’t you found the damn boss yet?!" the Warrior barked loudly as he slammed his shield into a charging Black Goblin.

BOOM!

The impact launched the creature backward.

"Stop shouting at me!" the Rogue snapped from atop a thick tree branch. "My tracking skill is only Level 3! I’m trying my damn best over here!"

His eyes remained closed while he continued channeling his tracking ability through the surrounding terrain.

Their objective wasn’t simple monster farming, they were hunting the Tutorial Realm’s Boss Monster.

The Berserk Ape. And honestly... They had every reason to feel confident about their chances.

Elise alone was terrifying enough: Mage Class, S-Grade Magical Aptitude and A-Rank humanoid summon [Frost Golem].

One of the strongest student profiles participating in the entire examination.

Then came Dillon Briggs: Special Class Samurai, A-Grade Magical Aptitude and B-Rank summon [Cloud Serpent].

A highly regarded genius from a smaller academy.

The remaining three weren’t weak either.

The Priest, Warrior, and Rogue all possessed respectable B-Grade aptitudes alongside competent C-Rank summons.

By student standards... This was a monster party.

"Once I heard Silvercrest Academy produced a student with S-Grade aptitude and an A-Rank humanoid summon..."

Dillon smoothly adjusted the grip of his katana while walking beside Elise.

"...I knew I absolutely had to party with you."

The admiration in his voice wasn’t subtle.

Not even slightly.

But Elise didn’t look at him. "Stay away from me."

Another mana bolt formed effortlessly at the tip of her Magic staff.

PEW!

A distant Black Goblin collapsed after the shot pierced directly through its skull.

"And focus on hunting monsters."

Dillon puffed dramatically.

"Hmph. So that’s how you’re going to play it?"

His hand slowly rested upon his katana handle. "Fine then. I’ll just prove I’m worthy enough to climb the Towers with you permanently."

Three Black Goblins suddenly burst through nearby vegetation. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Dillon’s smirk widened as he activated his skill [Quick Draw].

SHING!

For one brief moment... His blade vanished... Then the next second, Three severed heads hit the ground almost simultaneously.

The goblin bodies remained standing for half a heartbeat before collapsing into particles.

Dillon casually resheathed his katana. "Hehehe~ I don’t even need My Cloud Serpent for weaklings like these."

He crossed his arms smugly.

"We seriously need to find that Berserk Ape before somebody else steals it."

"Ouuuhhh! Dillon! So cool! So strong!" the Priest gushed. She practically tried throwing herself toward him.

But Dillon pushed her aside without missing a step, then immediately returned to following Elise.

Like a very handsome and dangerously overpowered lapdog.

"Stupid show-off," the Warrior muttered under his breath while crushing a wounded goblin’s skull beneath his shield.

The Rogue smirked from his tree branch.

"Don’t be jealous, bro. Pretty boys like that? The world practically hands them everything."

Then he snickered. "A thug like you could never."

Four hours had already passed since the examination began.

The Tutorial Realm officially lasted five hours.

The latter portion gradually simulated nighttime conditions, making survival significantly more difficult.

At this point, the party was performing exceptionally well.

Everyone had surpassed five hundred points.

And Elise still comfortably occupied Rank One as 750 points.

A dominant lead... Or so they believed.

DING!

A system notification suddenly appeared across every participant’s interface.

[DING! The Boss Monster: Berserk Ape, has been Defeated!]

The entire party froze.

The Rogue almost lost his footing on the branch.

The Warrior lowered his shield.

Even Dillon’s smug expression faltered.

Elise’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"...N-No way."

Without hesitation, she opened the leaderboard and froze.

Not just because someone overtook her, no. It was because of who had overtaken her.

[1. Nathan Cross: 1350 Points]

[2. Elise Winterhart: 750 Points]

For several seconds Elise simply stared silently at the glowing screen.

Nathan Cross. The F-Grade magic aptitude student. The bunny summoner. The same Nathan everyone had mocked during graduation.

The same Nathan she herself had quietly pitied.

Dillon frowned deeply."...Nathan... Cross?"

The Warrior blinked. "Wait, Isn’t that the bunny guy?"

The Rogue gave an awkward laugh."No way, No actual fucking way."

The Priest looked equally stunned. "Th-That Nathan? He...he must’ve cheated!"

Elise remained silent.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the leaderboard.

1350 points.

Which meant something very important. Nathan hadn’t simply defeated the Berserk Ape, No. He had been aggressively farming monsters long before reaching the boss.

Her fingers tightened slightly on the staff at her side.

For the first time since entering the Tutorial Realm... Genuine curiosity surfaced beneath her normally cold and composed expression.

"Just what exactly... are you, Nathan Cross?"