Chaos Bunny Part 2

The six humanoids departed, dragging the corpses of the slain monsters with them, and Jordan followed at a safe distance. Taking a closer look at their weapons, it seemed like the four carrying the corpses were fighters, while the ones at the front and back were magic casters.

As the group left the wall behind and advanced toward the center of the expanse, the sound of battle assaulted Jordan. Roars of pain and anger mixed with the sound of explosions to produce what he could only guess were the sounds of an active battlefield. Isn’t this a dungeon? Why are dungeon monsters fighting each other? He wondered, unable to understand it. I guess I should get used to the idea that this is reality and video game rules don’t apply.

They continued on their journey, moving across grassy plains, steering clear of the forested areas. On several occasions they came across monsters fighting, however, their arrival caused the combatants to flee. Except for one encounter, where a large wolf-like creature covered in scales was besieged by three dog-like monsters that shot stakes out of their maws. The wolf got blasted by the leading troll, falling over dead, while the dogs ran away at an unimaginable speed. After a brief conversation, the troll in the back of the group flung a fireball toward the cave’s ceiling, and the group continued on their way, leaving the slain wolf behind. Some kind of signal, Jordan guessed.

The party was about half a mile away from the mountain rising in the center of the expense when a monster rounded a nearby forest and rushed toward them the moment the group came into its view. The creature resembled a badger, with its elongated face, lowered body, and powerful legs, its fur was jet black, except it was the size of a bus.

The trolls’ reaction was a clear indication of how much of a threat the creature presented. The four fighters in the center dropped their burdens and drew their weapons as the leading troll retreated behind them. While the one bringing up the rear began to lob fireballs upwards, probably a signal for reinforcement.

Jordan began to move to the side so he could better observe the fight while staying out of harm’s way. Meanwhile, a troll armed with a sword stepped forward and slashed out, the attack produced a wave of energy which flew forward. The badger didn’t seem to think much of it though. Adjusting its path so the wave would land on its shoulder rather than face, it continued to advance and was soon upon the group.

The monster lunged forward with a swipe of its paw. The troll with the sword bellowed, part war-cry, part fear-filled scream of desperation, and slashed at the paw flying towards him. His sword bounced off the tough limb, and a moment later four long claws sliced him into rolls. Another troll used his group mate’s sacrifice to attack with an overhead swing, the hatchet he wielded buried into the creature’s face. The monster retaliated with a bite, its fangs piercing the humanoid. The badger then used its left paw to pin its prey to the ground and deliver several quick bites.

One of the magic casters attacked with the familiar purple energy beam, while the two remaining fighters, armed with spears, circled to the monster’s flanks. The weapons glowed in their hands before they stabbed forward. The badger barely moved, as the spears failed to pierce through its fur-covered skin, instead it continued to bite on the downed troll, ripping it in half and swallowing one of the halves.

The trolls stabbed again and again but to no avail. However, their continued attacks finally got on the badger’s nerves. It smacked the one on its left side with a paw, sending him tumbling away. Then it turned, at a speed that defied its size, and bit down on the other attacker. With a jerk of its head, the troll was flung toward the magic caster, who stopped channeling his spell and dodged to the side.

Jordan looked at the unfolding massacre with a blank stare. The brutality of the fight, and the speed with which the trolls lost their lives shocking him. He knew this was a violent world, and that he would have to kill lots of monsters, and perhaps humans, but only now did he fully experience what it would be like. He watched with glazed eyes as the badger tore apart one of the magic casters, and began to advance toward the last one, who had finally stopped sending fireballs towards the ceiling.

He was clearly sending a signal for help, but to whom? Jordan thought as he considered the troll’s actions. I don’t see anyone coming to help though, he thought while looking around when suddenly, he spotted a shadow that was quickly gliding toward them. He stared at the shadow for a bit, before he realized what was happening and looked up. Something huge was flying toward them from the direction of the central mountain. At first, it looked like a butterfly, but soon he was able to see that it was a troll with large black wings propelling it forward.

Flying trolls? Jordan thought dumbfounded. But he had no time for contemplation. The strange troll had already arrived, landing some thirty yards away from the monstrous badger. This specimen looked more impressive than the others, he was taller by about a foot and much more muscular. He’s much more powerful than the regular trolls, then he is the troll boss? Jordan thought. Troll Boss sounded kind of lame, but his mind drew a blank when he tried to think of a better name.

Once on the ground, the black wings turned into dust and dissipated in the air. Not wasting any time the troll was already casting spells. A miasma appeared on top of the badger, burrowing into it a moment later. Next, a black skull appeared in his hand, a second later it flew towards its target, expanding as it went and leaving a black trail in its wake, like a comet. It grew to two feet by the time it reached its target and flew into the badger.

The monster reeled in pain, nearly falling flat on the ground. No longer paying any attention to the last survivor, it turned around and snarled at the Boss. Having gotten its foe’s attention, the troll stopped casting spells and spread out his arms. Suddenly, blood splashed out of him, as if he had been cut all over, the blood quickly congealed forming a plate-like armor. More blood splashed from his hand, congealing into a sword. For the first time in this brief encounter, the huge badger displayed fear, as it stared at the red figure.

Even from his position dozens of yards away, Jordan could smell the scent of blood. These are the Blood trolls alright, he thought. He tried to distract himself from the violence by focusing on the fighters, hoping to use this opportunity to learn more about their relative power. Looking closely, he could see patterns on the armor that looked like veins with thorns. Just how powerful is this blood-armor?

Apparently, the badger was wondering this too, instead of closing in, it swiped with its paw, launching a wave of energy, similar to the one used by one of the trolls earlier. The Boss troll retaliated with a vertical and a horizontal slashes, launching a red, cross-shaped energy attack towards its foe. The two attacks collided, the badger’s attack dissipated while the red cross continued on, smashing into it and leaving deep gashes on its face.

The troll had used this time to cast another spell. A cloud of darkness covered the badger’s eyes, causing it to retreat. It then stood up on its hind legs and clawed at the air with its front paws. Seemingly waiting for this moment, the troll dashed forward at an unbelievable speed and sunk the entire blade of his sword into the monster’s chest. It wasn’t clear if the badger began to fall because it was hurt or if it was trying to use its weight to crush its enemy, but it didn’t matter. Before it could pin the troll under its body, he turned into a cloud of blood, which quickly dissipated, before reforming in his original position some thirty yards away.

The monster hit the ground with a thud. Its powerful legs trembled when it tried to get up. Meanwhile, the troll was flinging spells at it once more. A blade made of darkness formed in his hand, before flying forward and stabbing into the badger. It wasn’t as effective as the skull spell, but it could be cast repeatedly. One blade flew after another, and it looked like this would be the end.

The badger seemed to sense its imminent demise as well. Suddenly, the fur on its back stood up, and red sheen surrounded its whole body for a moment. It roared and charged forward as if it wasn’t wounded. In a blink of an eye, it was upon the troll, the swipe of its giant claws threatening to cut him to pieces.

The Boss seemed unperturbed, as he calmly slashed at the beast’s paw, severing it. Not paying any attention to the loss of an appendage, the badger opened its jaws and slammed them shut around the troll. The fangs scraped against the red armor, unable to pierce it. However, this attack backfired, it exposed the beast’s neck.

Despite the badger’s jaws clamping down around his upper body, the troll slashed horizontally and was rewarded with a literal ocean of blood, as his sword effortlessly cut through the beast’s neck, severing its jugular. The badger fell and began to convulse in its death’s throes, allowing the troll to free himself from its jaws. Once free, he stabbed the dying monster in the head, putting it out of its misery.

After confirming his victory, the armor and sword turned back into liquid blood and burrowed into the troll. He stared at the fallen monster while scratching his head before his gaze turned to the two surviving trolls. The last magic caster didn’t come under attack at all, while the spear-wielding troll that got knocked away was clearly hurt, as he tried to shamble closer.

The Boss troll began to cast a spell, seconds later the spear-wielding survivor was bathed in light, healing his wounds. He shouted a short order to the two, then shifted his attention back to the badger, he began to chant. Black tentacles extended from his back and wrapped around the slain monster, lifting its body off the ground. With the corpse secured, he began to walk towards the mountain in the center of the expanse, leaving the two survivors to deal with the rest.

Jordan stood unmoving, some forty yards away from the fight, as he watched the fight. He almost looked like a normal bunny that got spooked and was evaluating whether to stay or flee. Of course, his mind was occupied by rather different thoughts.

Wow, OK. So, this guy can cast offensive spells, has high melee damage, powerful armor, and he can heal too? Yeesh, talk about overpowered. Jordan shook his head, stopping himself from replaying the brutal, bloody fight in his head, as he began to follow the Boss. He hadn’t moved far when he spotted a group of trolls making their way to the place of battle. Once there, they grabbed the two monsters’ corpses and began to trail the large troll.

After they reached the mountain, Jordan could see a path leading to the top, before turning to wrap around the mountain at about three-quarters of the way up. The path upwards ended in a square plateau, and a wide, horizontal ledge formed the wrap-around part. Standing on the plateau, Jordan saw another path, which appeared to lead to the very top. However, there was a chasm, some six yards wide, between this new path and the plateau.

The troll began to follow the ledge, moving across the mountain’s face, and Jordan hopped after him. After a few minutes, the path turned inward, and Jordan discovered a large, level plateau, which housed the Blood trolls’ village comprised of several dozen primitive, wooden huts.

The village was nearly devoid of life, except for five trolls who chanted some hymn while surrounding a huge cauldron. Located in the center of the village, it was nearly ten yards high, and about seven yards in diameter, it stood on three stones, fire burning underneath it. And all around it were piles of dead monsters.

The chanting trolls showed excited expressions when they saw the slain badger monster. Having delivered the slain monster, the Boss troll spoke to the others. After a brief conversation, he used his tentacles of darkness to lift two nearby corpses and toss them into the cauldron. Then he began to chant a hymn of his own, though a different one than the other five.

This must be the ritual Xerx spoke of, Jordan thought. It looked like it would take a while for it to complete, giving him a chance to explore the village. Although, Xerx claimed the monsters of the dungeon would ignore me, I should probably test it first before I go exploring, he thought. His heart pounding in his chest, he hoped into the line of sight of one of the chanting trolls. Getting no reaction, he moved closer, ever so slowly. Finally, when he was just five yards away, the troll looked at him, causing Jordan to freeze. A moment later he relaxed, after the troll went back to chanting, seemingly paying him no attention.

Hmm, I do have that “(Ambient Creature)” in my status. Video game logic suggests that the monsters will ignore me, though I can still get caught in area of effect attacks. Then again, this is reality, and the monsters fighting each other doesn’t really make sense from a video game perspective. Using video game logic could backfire. Jordan mused, he resolved to stay cautious and not blindly rely on his status.

The experiment done, he began to explore the village. He didn’t find much. Primitive huts made of long wooden branches, a smithy with a forge. In the back, a brook flowed down from the mountain’s top, forming a small basin with some purple grass growing around its edges.

Much more interesting were the monster corpses piled all around. A three-tailed fox, like the one he saw earlier. An armored beetle the size of a horse. Another gorilla. A human-sized spider, whose hairy body looked so disgusting Jordan nearly puked. A bunch of cat-sized toothy rats, with spikes at the end of their tails. A plant with the body of a barrel topped with a savage maw and dozens of tentacles growing from its sides. A blob of green goop, whatever it was. Jordan discovered many strange-looking monsters as he wandered around.

After he was done exploring, Jordan moved to the edge of the plateau, the village at his back, the enormous expanse opened up in front of him. From this vantage point, he could see, and hear, the battles that were happening all over the place, as well as the many troll parties on the hunt. Doing some calculations, he felt the number of trolls hunting was more than a hundred.

Continuing to scan the land below him, Jordan’s eyes were drawn to a place where the walls of the expanse parted, opening up into a pretty wide path. Looks like an entrance to this place, Jordan thought. Actually, since this is a dungeon, does it only have one floor or are there multiple expanses like this one? And if so, just how far is this place from the actual entrance? I’ll need to explore and figure this out once I obtain [Blood Drinker], he made up his mind.

He continued to observe his surroundings, but soon he became bored. From this distance, most of the fights happening below looked the same, as he couldn’t make out the finer details. The trolls behind him offered little stimulation as well. Their constant chanting put him to sleep. The hunting parties returning with their catch was the most exciting part, but even that got boring after the types of monsters the trolls brought back began to repeat.

Having lost interest in his surroundings, his mind began to wonder. He thought of his friends, what would they say if they were here? Would they think this place was cool? Would they feel scared of the monsters or excited to hunt them? Then he thought of his parents, of their pain over his death. He felt it too.

He was still young at twenty-eight, and haven’t really given death much thought. It was far removed from his daily life. Yet, now that he had experienced death, it left him feeling overwhelmed. Why did it happen to him? And due to something as banal as a car crash. It felt pointless, devoid of any meaning. He didn’t die while rushing into a burning building or protecting the people he cared about, there was no sacrifice, just a meaningless death. He didn’t even realize that he died when it happened.

Anger began to rise inside of him. But, there was no outlet for it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, nor was there anything he could do about it. He just had to accept it and move on.

That’s right, I have this new life now, Jordan thought as he tried to calm himself down. Frankly, I should be happy I was able to retain my memories through rebirth. They say that as long as you remember someone, they never really die. Although I’ll never see my parents or friends again, they will live on in my memories. He understood the logic of this reasoning, but logic was powerless before emotions.

I need something to occupy myself with, he thought. Hmm, how about food? I am feeling kind of hungry.

He began to hop toward the basin in the back of the village. Moving past the piles of monster corpses, the large cauldron, and the chanting trolls, then even more monsters to weave around. Finally, the brook came into view. The purple grass growing around the basins looked vibrant and fresh. Having hopped his way over, he buried his nose in the grass and breathed in. No smell, or at least nothing he could detect.

Strange, I thought I’d have a strong sense of smell, but there is no fragrance at all. I guess there is only one way to find out if it’s edible, he thought.

Cautiously, he nibbled on a small clump of the purple grass. His eyes widened as the delicious flavor filled his mouth. Without thinking, he lowered his head and bit a mouthful worth. The grass crunched in his mouth, fresh, delicious juice flowed down his throat as he chewed.

This stuff is amazing!

Jordan lost himself as he began to gobble up the purple grass. Bite down, chew, bite down, chew, bite down… he repeated the process over and over. The sadness and emotional pain he felt earlier disappeared without a trace, instead they were replaced by the feeling of happiness and absolute bliss. For the first time since he regained his consciousness, Jordan felt content and at peace. So long as he could continue to eat this grass, it would be a life worth living no matter what else might happen.

It wasn’t until he was full and stopped his feast that he regained his mind. Blinking a few times in confusion, he shook his head in disbelief.

What the hell was that? Talk about unexpected, I didn’t think simply eating would make me feel so… give me such an emotional high. It felt better than having sex or being high. Simply amazing. He just couldn’t believe what he had experienced. But, it’s also dangerous. I was completely lost during it. That kind of loss of control is no good. What if some monster attacked me? Not to mention, between how amazing this grass is, and my current mental state, emotional overeating is a real possibility. This world is clearly a survival of the fittest on crack. I might be a bunny, but staying in top shape is still important, or I might end up as someone’s lunch. It would be a real shame if I died because I ate too much delicious grass and became fat and slow. I must stay vigilant.

Jordan cast a longing look at the purple grass, before decisively leaving.

*****

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