Rabbit's Foot

I couldn’t wait to get out of the healer’s temple. Mainly because I wanted to finally stretch my legs after a week of doing nothing, but also because it had quickly drained the savings Corby and I had built up over the past eight years. We had enough left over for some food to hold us over till we got to the city, but we were looking rough otherwise. I was also eager to leave because I hadn’t been allowed any visitors. Corby had stayed with me because of the skill keeping me alive, but they didn’t let him back in once I woke up.

Gonna have to hold back on the hair dye for a bit. Oh well.

It was a pretty big deal for rabbitfolk who reached adulthood to mark their hair. There’s not a lot of variety in rabbitfolk coats, except for the albino rabbitfolk Allie told me about on the other side of the continent, so it’s supposed to mark that you’ve finally become your own person.

I suppose the lack of hands is gonna make me stand out even without the dye.

When I finally got the all-clear, I sped out of that damn bed. Gods, the smell alone was driving me insane.

It was only when I got out the door that I remembered that I still had no pants on.

Whoops. Well, I’m already out here. Besides, they’d probably try to charge me for helping put on my pants. Might as well just keep going.

I turned up the speed, enjoying my new evolution and levels. I arrived at my house in a flash. My Zoom helped me balance even without my arms, but trying to open doors with my feet was a challenge. I fell over a few times, so there was now some mud up my butt.

I got into the house, bent over, and wiggled my shirt off. My hat was magically attached to my head, so it was a bit tricky. I got into the shower and—

Well, shit. Our shower uses a knob. And a bar of soap. Double shit.

I pondered options.

Twins are at work, Mom is…yeah, no. Guess that leaves Corby and family.

I looked back at my shirt and determined it wasn’t worth the effort to get that on just to go across the street. I got out of the house—much easier than getting in, and went across the street to Corby’s place. I kicked on the door gently. Corby opened the door and his jaw dropped.

“Nym! You’re naked?! Why are you naked?!” He was desperately trying not to look down.

“They’re called boobs, Corby. You’re going to be seeing these ones a lot now.” I smirked. “Do you not like looking at them?”

Teasing him never gets old.

“Of course I do!” He practically shouted.

We were both surprised by his reaction, but then I remembered what Crayon had done.

“Ohhhh, right. Oops. I may have gotten a blessing from Crayon, so now no one can lie near me. Sorry. Forgot about that.”

“Y-you got blessed?! By…oh gods, tell me you didn’t nickname a god!”

“Guilty!”

“We are absolutely going to get smote.” Corby was turning all sorts of colors during this conversation. I didn’t see what the big deal was.

Haven’t had any gods complain about nicknames yet. Pally and Crayon are cool nicknames!

I felt two big chunks of my mana disappear.

Guess they agreed.

I also realized I had to look up more to look at Corby’s face.

Nooooooooo. Not only has get gotten taller, but I haven’t grown at all with my evolution. I call shenanigans! Oh, I should probably go inside. Still naked.

“Can you let me in, though? I’ve got mud in my butt, and I haven’t figured out how to bathe myself yet.”

“Oh. Oh! Right.”

He moved out of the way and let me in. Mrs. Scully came down the stairs.

“Heeey, Mrs. Scully. Need a little help showering. Sorry to intrude.”

Mrs. Scully moved faster than I’d ever seen her move and practically tackled me.

“Oh, you sweet thing. Thank you! Corby told me what happened. I’m so sorry about what happened to you, but we are so grateful you saved our baby boy.” She was crying into my hair as she hugged me.

“Of course, Mrs. Scully. I promised you that I’d bring him back.”

Corby was still over in the corner staring at the ceiling.

“Do you mind helping me bathe? Corby is turning all sorts of colors.”

Mrs. Scully laughed and stood up. “Well, he might as well get used to it. Boy’s gonna be traveling with you, after all. Now’s as good a time as any to start. Besides, he even picked up a new skill for it.”

“M-mom!” Corby sputtered.

“New skill?” I turned around and looked at him.

“Yeah, I finally swapped out Woodworking, and I picked up Caregiver.” He said, still staring at the ceiling.

“O-oh.” It shouldn’t have shocked me, but it did. I knew we’d be traveling together and that I’d need to rely on him, but him devoting a skill slot just to taking care of me felt like he was devoting a part of his soul to me. It made me tear up, and my arm nubs wouldn’t reach my eyes to wipe them.

Gods, this is annoying. Stupid considerate jerkface making me cry with his sweetness.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “Well, ready to do this?”

Now we were both blushing, and Mrs. Scully wasn’t even trying to hide her laughter at our collective awkwardness. We just shuffled upstairs, both staring at the floor. I willed my hat to undo the magic and he took it off. He started to scrub my hair while looking like he was terrified he’d break me, so I decided to talk about his new build to help him out a little.

“So what did you pick for your Class?” I asked.

“Axe Fighter. Nothing too special. It did absorb my Axe Proficiency, so I picked up Running. That Ostrilorpe fight showed me my speed was a big weakness. I also got an attack skill and a temporary buff skill, at the cost of a debuff after it wears off. What about you?”

I explained my new Class and skills, with the occasional interruption as I giggled when the brush got to some sensitive spots.

“The healing is going to be a massive gain for us. Even if it doesn’t end up being useful in a fight, healing up wounds during rests will be massive for our longevity and our purse. Plus, we can take jobs to heal people.”

“Good point.”

“As for the rest, I guess we can test it out as we go. Not like we know much about magic, and I’ve never even heard of sound magic before.”

We finished up and he helped put some of his clothes on me, on account of me not arriving with any. The slightly-oversized shirt got another round of teasing from his moms.

By the time I left Corby’s place, it was already getting dark, so I just waited around the house for Bellum and Milly to come back. While I waited, I tried whistling and running around. I’d never been great at it, but now I could belt a tune without much effort. I now had a vague sense of the sound’s form and how it was traveling, but trying to add magic to it was going to take some practice.

I was in the field when I first heard the twins approaching, and I did a flawless backflip over the house to meet them.

I have some Big Sis credit to regain after being out for so long.

“Hey, kiddos,” I said, trying to act nonchalant.

“Sis!” They both jumped up onto me.

“Missed you, too.” I really wanted to pat their heads, but I settled for nuzzling their heads with mine.

“Corby was telling the truth…” both of them were staring hard at my arms, tears welling.

“Yup. But I lost a bit of weight, so I think I’m even faster now! Plus, I got a Class! Don’t you worry about your Big Sis.” I gave them a big reassuring smile.

“You’re gonna get a fancy healer to fix them when you’re rich, right?” Bellum said, trying to put on a hopeful face.

“Afraid not. A god did this, so it isn’t going away. Even if I could fix it, it would feel like going back on the deal, and I’m not about to go back on my word to anyone, especially when they helped me save Corby.”

“But you loved using your sword…” Milly said.

“And I haven’t given that up yet. I’ll just need to find a new way. And guess what? I can use magic now!”

Their eyes went wide.

“What kind of magic can you do?!”

“I dunno! Something to do with sound; I haven’t tried it out yet. But I can whistle pretty well now.”

“That’s not magic!” They protested in unison.

“It is!”

Eventually we went back into the house, where I entertained them with my new and improved whistling and our usual round of Allie stories.

They probably remember more of my stories than they do of the time they spent with her. They were so young when it happened, after all.

The thought saddened me, so I sprinkled in some stories of Allie being a goof. They seemed to be hanging on my every word today like they did when they were little.

Must be the new Class.

We slept in our usual position: both twins laying on me.

When we woke up, the twins helped get me dressed and fed me breakfast. They looked proud to be helping me out, and I was proud of how amazing my little brother and sister were.

Before long, it was finally time for Corby and I to head out. The twins and his moms came with us to the edge of the village.

“We got these for you guys!” Milly and Bellum each held an apple out for us, eyes brimming with pride.

“Aww, I’m such a lucky big sis to have you munchkins.” Corby put the apples in my bag. “Now, I’m going to be a bit hard to pin down, but if you send letters to the Guild, they should find their way to me eventually. I’ll have Corby help me write back, okay? Love you!”

The kids nodded vigorously. “Love you, too!”

I thought about leaving them a message for Mom, but I didn’t even know what I would say, so I let it be. The twins went over to say goodbye to Corby, and his moms came over to me, giving me a big group hug.

“We got you some farewell gifts.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Oh shush, you’re basically family. Now here.” Ms. Clea pulled out a pair of steel knives and showed them to me before putting them in my bag.

Steel?! This must have cost so much. I don’t think I could even afford a pair of iron daggers right now.

“Corby said you wanted to try stabbing things with your feet, and I think you’re crazy enough to pull it off.”

I grinned.

They know me so well.

Ms. Scully was next. She pulled out something that kinda looked like a small crutch, but with a cover of soft fabric on the top. She leaned over and whispered. “To help wipe your own ass. The cover can be replaced.”

This woman is a saint.

“Thank you!” I nuzzled into her again.

I gave the twins one last nuzzle, then looked over to Corby and nodded. It was time to get going. As we walked, I kept sneaking glances back until the village gate faded from even my improved eyesight. I was feeling a mix of dread at leaving them and excitement about what lay ahead of us.

I wonder if Allie ever got over this feeling?

I looked over at a Corby, and we both grinned. We had finally made it to the starting line. Our first stop was a city big enough for a Guild branch. The nearest city to Laketown was Oak Ridge, which was known for its oak trees and for being on a ridge.

Beastfolk really aren’t known for their creative naming.

It was about a month away by foot, but we decided to cut a week off by running most of the way. It was a perfect chance to level both of our running-related skills. As we traveled, we settled into a comfortable daily rhythm.

The mornings started with Corby making breakfast while I rolled up the bed rolls.

I had slowly gotten better at eating with my feet. Zoom stats really helped with the learning curve. There was usually a muddy aftertaste to the food, but I was pretty used to the taste of mud already.

I wonder if mud will taste different in new places?

The majority of the day was then spent running at a moderate pace. I needed to slow down to keep stride with Corby. Which actually worked out for me. My dangerously low Beefy meant I couldn’t hold top speed all day.

We each took the time to work on the skills that we could while on the road. I slowly got a handle on my magic. I learned how to infuse my voice with magic, and I got better at changing the volume and distance it traveled. It was also surprisingly versatile. I could whisper to Corby from a distance, disorient a creature till it threw up, and even puncture small holes in things. I was hoping to get it strong enough to go all the way through a tree. For now, disorienting creatures was the most mana efficient magic I could work in a fight.

Corby worked on his mapping skill, but that was the only thing he could really work on besides while we were on the move.

When we stopped for lunch, I’d tell stories or sing while we ate. Corby would also add to his experience by filling in the illustrations on our map when we made camp.

Afterwards, we would spar for a bit. At first it was just dodging, but Corby started tying my new knives to my feet. Corby was winning eight times out of ten, but I was getting better. We also tried tying the knives to my arms, but the result was more comical than practical since I’d basically need to be close enough to hug someone to actually use the knives.

We’d been refraining from trying my magic out during spars, since I wasn’t confident I could hold back enough to be safe. I did use my healing words to fix any injuries from sparring, though. The healing was weak and slow-acting, but still better than nothing. Plus, it could always improve with levels.

We went back to running after sparring, but it didn’t last long. Our senses were sharp, but there was no point in taking the risk of navigating by starlight. We took turns going on hunts for dinner. I wanted to do it every day since it was something I could actually help with, but Corby wanted to gain experience from tracking and hunting, which was an annoyingly reasonable argument.

I was surprisingly good at killing my prey with a combination of stealth, foot-stabbing, and sound magic. My real problem was trying to get the meal back to camp. I was sometimes able to kick a squirrel or a raccoon onto my shoulder and run that way, but with bigger game, I would just end up having to kick it the whole way back. It usually wound up looking rather mangled by the time I made it to camp. The System didn’t even seem to recognize kicking corpses as being worthy of experience, so it was a bummer all around.

Corby and I each took shifts keeping watch at night. He took the first shift since I hated being woken up. During my shift, I would sit around and try doing quiet experiments, which was difficult with sound magic (as Corby unfortunately discovered on several occasions), but not impossible. Instead of cranking up the pitch, I tried going the opposite direction and produced more of a rumble than a noise. The results were odd. Blowing out rumbles felt weird. I could slightly push tiny things with them, but it felt a magic version of just blowing on leaves. I just didn’t have a great grasp on the concept as a whole.

Making noise louder or sharper made sense. Like how lots of noise could give you a headache or how sharp sounds could hurt your ears. Rumbling felt a lot more vague. I could feel it in my throat, but I couldn’t tell what it was doing.

We’d bathe whenever the road met up with the river. Corby hadn’t gotten over his embarrassment of having to help bathe me, and I’d bet he’d gained a point or two of Willpower in the process.

One time I even made an accidental discovery when I was messing around in the river. Trying to blow bubbles, I released sound magic underwater. All of a sudden, I got hit by a bunch of echoes. I tried it a few more times and realized that the sound was bouncing back off of everything it hit. It even unlocked a new skill for me, .

Echolocation: You’ve learned how to detect things with sound waves underwater. Now use your skills in any environment. Increased range and accuracy of detection per level.

I instantly swapped it with Musical Proficiency.

I felt it was a bit wasteful to have a skill slot devoted to something I could clearly already do on my own, but it was at least more useful than a skill I never used.

I also contained my regular prayers to Crayon. I was thinking about how he seemed both disappointed and relieved that I wasn’t angry about my hands. Like a prank he had planned hadn’t worked, but he hadn’t gotten in trouble for it.

Maybe Crayon is just lonely and bored.

I felt my mana suddenly bottom out, and a splitting headache suddenly formed.

It took me a second to recognize what had just happened.

Are you embarrassed? Pffffffffffffffffft. Don’t worry, Crayon. I’ll be your friend!

I could’ve sworn I heard him grumbling.

How cute!

I suggested that Corby give Torrentus a nickname, but he just kept giving me this horrified expression like I’d suggested he destroy a cinnamon bun.

The first two weeks of our journey were relatively peaceful; Stampedes tended to clear out the monster population for a little bit. But after that, we started to find them more and more, so we started hunting together in the evening for safety.

I had taken to practicing my echolocation while we traveled, and it helped detect problems early. This time, I stopped running after I detected a pack of monsters ahead. I nodded at Corby, who readied his fancy new steel axe. I jumped into the tree line as we approached. It didn’t take long before we saw them. It was a small pack of four Dire Hamsters. They were about 1 meter tall on all fours; they always seemed to look so cute, but they were some bloodthirsty little fucks. One of the village kids had tried to pet one once. Ate his damn hand.

The Dire Hamsters all charged at Corby. I took the opportunity to pounce on the one in the back of the pack, kicking it in the face with my dagger. The knife drove into its eye as it dropped dead.

Hurray for sneak attacks.

I looked over and Corby had decapitated one of the other Dire Hamsters, and was defending against the other two.

“Incoming!” I shouted.

Corby jumped back and I pelted one of the Dire Hamsters with enough sound magic to make it start puking.

Monster puke is its own special category of gross.

Corby took the opportunity to finish off the still-coherent Dire Hamster, and I kicked the puking one, being very careful not to step in any of it.

I did another round of echolocation, and it looked like we were all clear.

It had only been a few weeks, but I loved traveling. It wasn’t glamorous or comfortable, but it just felt right to be out here with Corby, seeing fun stuff and leveling. We had settled into a routine, but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t try to expect the unexpected. We knew there was always more to learn about adventuring.

Name: Nymia

Age: 18

Species: Rabbitfolk Lv 18

Class 1: Bard Lv. 3

Class 2: Locked

Stats:

Bonk: 24+2

Zoom: 53

Beefy: 12+1

Senses: 50

Brain: 21

Mana: 24

Best Stat: 49+4

Free points remaining: 0

Class Skills

Sound magic Lv. 3

Soundproof Lv. 3

Story Time Lv. 3

Good at Word Stuff Lv. 2

Find stuff Lv. 2

General Skills:

Blades Lv 16

Dodge! Lv 17

Barefoot Lv 18

Sneaky Lv 17

Stubbornness Lv 10

Species Skills

Rabbit’s Foot

Enhanced Senses

Forage

Burrow

Cuddles