Haruto jumped up in a cold sweat, his eyes darted around the house, searching for someone. Only the sweet feeling of kicking Bluey calmed him down. What a crazy dream my little brother Aito had put on some bunny ears and chased me around the house in his birthday suit. Is this my subconscious telling me I'm homesick? After rubbing his eyes, Haruto was aggrieved to see that Yuuta was missing. "Oh no, where are you, little one?" Rushing out of the house Haruto began searching frantically for him. 

In the corner of his eye, he caught a figure dashing towards the river. Haruto was shocked because this creature was humanoid in shape. He quickly gave chase in hopes of conversing with another person and finding clues on Yuuta. The guy he was chasing was quite quick. He must be at a high level to be so fast. I wonder if he is from the empire, maybe on a mission from the princess. Perhaps this will be how I get dragged into the main story. 

Haruto quickened his pace but put a hand on his katana just in case the guy turned out to be a demonic creature. Wouldn't be the first time a chase quest turned into a battle. Not knowing whether the person was friend or foe, Haruto became torn between yelling at him to stop or quietly chasing after him. For now, I will just pursue him. Upon further observation, Haruto noticed the guy was butt-naked. What the hell, just my luck to find a pervert. 

Finally, after making it to the river, the guy stopped running and began greedily chugging the water. Haruto was still in the middle of deciding whether to run out or not as his social anxiety kicked into high gear. While Haruto was debating the philosophy of what was talking to a stranger. A giant carp shot out of the water to attack the mysterious person. 

What a stroke of luck. Now I will see just how strong this guy really is. But now the question is, what to do if he dies. The battle was short. As soon as the carp got near the guy, The guy jumped 20 feet into the air, and Haruto saw two pristine white ears flopping with him. Well, fuck a duck. This guy must have kidnapped Yuuta to use him as bait. A douche thing to do. I'm going to end this asshat's whole career. 

"How about you come back down, mate, that carp is going to be the least of your worries." Seething, Haruto ran towards the rabbitnapper prepared to beat the guy to death with his bare fists. Haruto saw Yuuta's ears twitch after hearing his voice. "I'm so sorry little guy, don't worry, I am here." 

The rabbit thief quickly turned mid-air and catapulted towards Haruto like a cannonball. This action took Haruto off guard, and he tried to dodge, but the thief was too quick and had pinpoint accuracy. The hit was devastating. Haruto's guts went into shambles, and he spat out a foot of saliva as his body rocketed into a tree. 

Dazed, Haruto saw his brother Aito looking at him with a worried face, so he chided, "why do you look so bothered. When have you ever cared about your failure of a brother's well being?" As his eyes came back into focus, he noticed that Aito was a lot younger than he remembered. His eyes widened as he saw two rabbit ears hang from his head. It wasn't a dream, there really is a rabbit Aito in this world. Sadistsama, you were already making my life hell. Now I have to be berated by my little brother as well, your sadism knows no bounds. Picking up the little guy Haruto gave him a once over and became perplexed on what he was doing here. 

The thing quickly nestled his head towards Haruto, which was something Aito would rather be tortured than do. Well, to be more accurate, he would consider this torture. Haruto yanked the little boy away from him and stuttered in fear, "Uhm Aito, no ….you aren't Aito. Doth thou be a mimic?" Impossible a mimic would have attacked by now, maybe he is a spy. "Did Beelzebub send you? Did the princess send you? Did sadist-sama send you?" 

The little fellow did a cute little head tilt reminding Haruto more and more of Aito. He even subconsciously expected him to say something sarcastic in reply. 

Haruto eyed the mysterious being, not letting his guard down in the slightest. Sorry to burst your bubbles little gremlin, but I'm the guy who downloaded a mod in "Senior Scrolls" just to curb stomp children, your cute antics have no power here.

The little one not knowing Haruto's inner thoughts, pondered the questions as if Haruto asked him about the truths of the universe or the true meaning of life. 

Haruto surveyed the surroundings for more enemies. He noticed a few of the rabbits from yesterday have gathered and were watching him intently. Hoping the rabbits could communicate with this rabbit-eared boy, he shuffled over to them. He put the boy down, and the rabbits began nestling into him, and he happily hugged them. 

Not a mimic. For now, I can rule out him being a spy. There are three options here: 1. I am still dreaming. 2. Aito was reincarnated right after me. 3. This is Yuuta. Hmm, 1 is the least plausible: Though he looks exactly as he did in my dream, that hit earlier should have woke me up. 2 could happen. I mean, I am a walking case of 2 happening, but why the age difference. 3 most plausible, but most mysterious. Yuuta had not killed any monsters that I am aware of to trigger this change. Even if he had such a drastic change is undocumented from the three other test-subjects. Is there a fourth option that this is some quest or timed event? 

As Haruto's brain was overheating, forty-nine level 35 rabbits the size of German shepherds came thunderously hopping towards him. "WTH, I don't remember seeing you guys before. Are you the parents?" To his question, their answer was hopping into him and slamming him onto the ground. 

These things are way too exciting to see me, to not know me even with my "Friend of Nature" title they are incredibly close, so they must be the rabbits from yesterday. But why did they all level up so quickly… Could it be party level sharing? Oh yes, when everyone grouped up around the fire, I earned "Comrade of the Rabbit" then went into battle against those carps the exp must have been shared amongst them, and Yuuta transformed from that. Hm, but I thought it'd be a minor transformation like theirs, but it was a major one. Haruto gave Yuuta a good look. Yuuta's level and stats popped up for him. "Nicee level 40, you must have stolen some of the other's exp you little leech. Sura will not be pleased to hear this," Haruto jeered at him and pat his head. A box appeared over his head, Yuuta's titles earned "Haruto's Soy Sauce Otōto." 

No wonder you look like Aito. You are my little brother now. "Too bad you didn't get any free clothes from the level up, I'll figure something out don't worry." Haruto pulled out his katana and cut some giant leaves off a tree. He put a leaf in front and behind Yuuta, then tied them together with some leftover swamp vine. "Well, that will have to suffice for now, it's not like clothes just appear out of nowhere."

 Haruto picked Yuuta up and gave him a ride on his shoulders. Smiling, he congratulated, "Today is your first day as a boy, so we shall celebrate today as your Bday." Gazing into the sky Haruto knew the sun still had a good bit of time left up, so he decided to catch a few things and throw a BBQ in Yuuta's honor. Shiki and Sura were still at the house, but luckily Bluey decided to follow him. "Ok, Bluey, we are having a big party tonight. So, I need you to catch as many carp as you can. Have the rabbits help carry it back." 

Bluey wagged his dangerous tail around in affirmation, then looked at the rabbits' as if they were his subordinates. He let out a few growls mixed with spiritual messaging, He then shook his gigantic head in a nod and slithered into the river. 

"Ok, that's going to take a while. I'm going to need 10 of the level 35 rabbits to pick up seaweed from within the river. The rest of you gather more rabbits and bring back any fruits or vegetables you can find by tonight." The rabbits quickly burst into action, unlike some creatures who had to show off before doing their jobs. After everyone broke into action, Haruto brought Yuuta back home and put him to bed. 

Haruto called Shiki and Sura over and had them follow him deeper into the forest. "Ok, you two, we have the most important job." He looked at his most faithful generals, and they both sent intense spiritual energies to show their resolve. Haruto couldn't help but be fired up from their enthusiasm. "Yosh, let's make this the best Bday this world has ever seen." Leading the march, they headed deeper into the forest. Haruto was searching for the herd of elks he saw when they first arrived. They spent an hour searching. Until finally, his ears picked up some movement to my north. Haruto raised his fist like a special ops soldier would, and everyone stopped. Haruto felt giddy from doing this action, giving away his presence. 

A lone elk was staring him down. The other elk had already escaped. Feeling an intense danger from its eyes, Haruto remembered the super elk from before. Now it was larger, and its horns reached towards the heavens. Numerous scars ran about its body, reflecting the battles it had gone through. A claw mark was etched across his face, most likely from battling another creature. Haruto was sure it was the same elk for its eyes did not hold a hint of confusion. It had seen him before.

Haruto looked at its level, and the thing was strutting 100 levels of badassery. Gulping Haruto contemplated retreating, and his eyes flickered with unease. That was a mistake for the elk was still maintaining eye contact. Seeing Haruto's indecision, it decided to hold its ground and fight it out. Haruto looked around to make sure it was alone. Haruto pulled out the sky breaker bow and took aim. 

The elk's eyes constricted after Haruto began moving. It began stomping on the ground, causing tremors that shook the earth and rocked its head side to side, prepared to charge. 

Seeing this, Haruto's heart tightened, and sweat accumulated on his forehead. Normally he would run away from higher-level bosses. Even with the level disparity, he was sure his hard-earned skills from gaming would allow him to formulate an escape plan. But times were different. He had a clan to look after, how lame would it be for their clan leader to turn tail in a fight. Just their luck counting on a guy who was cowardice by nature. Oh well, I'll hold firm and try to make their belief mean something. 

Pulling back on the bow, the wind in the vicinity began funneling into a vortex until forming a misty arrow. Haruto took a deep breath and blew all the air out of his lungs. The air flew into the arrow, making it stronger. Haruto did not notice this because all his focus was on the elk as he waited for it to charge. 

The elk noticed the change in air pressure and eyed Haruto more seriously. It leaned its head forward and began to gallop towards Haruto, hoping to destroy this threat to his herd. Picking up speed, the sound of thunder was released behind it as if it had broken through the sound barrier. 

Once the elk was halfway to him, Haruto released the arrow towards its chest, hoping to catch it off guard. The elk noticed the arrow zooming towards it and tried to leap over it, but the arrow was an embodiment of the wind. How could anything hope to be faster?

The elk got midway into its jump. The arrow missed the chest but landed in the stomach, causing the elk to fall out of the sky. A fine hole was drilled through, allowing blood to sputter out. The elk shook its head, smacked its antlers into the ground, and began charging towards Haruto once again. The wind arrow may be too fast, but Haruto's ability to conjure it wasn't. 

Having perceived the danger of the bow, the elk rammed into Haruto before he could pull the bow back. 

Seeing the approaching elk, Haruto dropped the bow and tried to dodge. But he didn't move fast enough. 

Two huge antlers pierced through his armor. Haruto grabbed on to them to keep them from piercing any further into his body. Taking on the hit, he ended up throwing up a bunch of blood.

 Heat and spit spewed from the elk's mouth as it began violently shaking its head, trying to rip its antlers free. 

Haruto's face became pale as excruciating pain circled throughout his body. 

Seeing this scene, Shiki quickly took action and stabbed the elk from the behind.

The elk had ignored the two generals as their levels were too low to be considered a threat. An average level 40 would be useless, but Shiki, with his ancient oak katana and potent poison, penetrated the elk's leg. 

The elk jerked from the pain and let loose its hind legs to kick Shiki to death. Shiki tried to hop back but was still caught by a leg knocking him away from the two. 

Sura had been increasing his size by absorbing the soil nearby and let loose a series of flaming punches. These were less effective than Shiki's katana, but still stole the attention of the elk. 

The elk swung its head, throwing Haruto off its antlers onto Sura, who as a slime took no damage from the blunt attack. Haruto could still feel the intense pain and heat as blood began soaking his armor. He pulled out a health potion and chugged it down. 

Now that the three of them had proved difficult, the elk became more wary and stomped again. 

After drinking the potion, the two holes in Haruto's stomach closed up, and he put on his herculean gloves. 

Seeing Haruto putting up the bow, the elk became less wary and tried charging him again. 

Seeing this, Haruto smirked and launched two one-inch punches. The swift elk dodged the first punch, but the second hit him dead-on, causing an antler to crack and fall off.

The elk was put into a daze by the shock wave, so Haruto rolled towards it and started throwing heavy punches. The elk's fur felt like steel. Every punch sent some feedback aggravating Haruto's internal injuries that were being healed by the small potion. Haruto spat out some more blood but continued throwing punches while it was in a daze. 

The elk began shaking its head then a loud grunt was released that caused everyone to back up instinctually. Even with Haruto whaling on it, the elk was still majestic. Swinging its large antler at him again, the elk flung Haruto into a tree. Not letting Haruto catch a break, it began pounding his body with its front legs, causing Haruto to spew more blood. He could feel himself weakening. Through the tears forming in his eyes, Haruto watched Sura heat up Shiki's katana, creating a purple flame from the fire and poison mixing. 

Feeling danger, the elk tried to turn around, but Haruto grabbed onto its antler and forced it to stay still. Taking the opportunity Haruto created, Shiki sliced down at the neck of the elk with his katana. But the elk wasn't level 100 for nothing, the katana could only make it 1/4th of the way through. The flaming poison happily forced its way into the elk's body, causing smoke to flow out of its mouth. In a panic, the elk mustered its strength and twisted its head, causing Haruto to slam into Shiki, knocking him unconscious.

 "Accursed thing, die already. You are nothing more than BBQ." Haruto used his left hand and sent a point-blank one-inch punch through its chest, causing it to cave in. 

The elk sputtered out blood and looked at Haruto with an intense gaze even as its eyes began to dim out, the gaze carried a thick killing intent. The elk began dragging itself up, prepared to drag Haruto to hell with it. Seeing the unrelenting determination in the elk, Haruto's otaku heart was moved. 

Like a proud Saiyan warrior, the elk pushes past its limits to protect those it cares about. This elk was a real man. Mimicking his favorite anime character Haruto crossed his arms and scoffed "Hmph enough. Don't worry, we have no need for your weak herd. Even if we did, we are too injured to attack them now. I promise not to allow any harm to befall upon them. This I swear upon my pride, so go ahead and die already. It's pathetic to see a proud warrior, worrying over such simple matters" Then he gave the trademark grin that showed his respect. Though teetering and bleeding profusely, Haruto shot it a thumbs up and showed the resolve in his eyes. 

Hearing his words, the elk finally calmed down, and its eyes drifted to the distance as if it could see its herd running free. Once all the light disappeared, the elk fell lifelessly to the ground. Haruto looked at the proud elk and picked him up. He had Sura carry Shiki back. The battle with the elk dragged on until the sun was setting. They made it back to the house only to find 100 dead carp being lined up by rabbits. At least 10 pounds of seaweed and a mountain of carrots and cabbage. A smug Bluey was wagging its dangerous tail around as if saying, "look boss not only did, I get the carp I got a lot of carp hmph am I not grand." Haruto held back the urge to kick this smug croc. Mentally exhausted, he sat down and stared into the sky, resting until the sun fully set.