RedPanda

With this, we have Chapter 2/4 for this week. To tell the truth, the chapters were planned to be released yesterday, but I rewrote a massive part in Chapter 3 and 4, what delayed everything.

I opened my status.

<Status>

Name: n/A.
Race: Horned rabbit
Sex: ♀️
Age: 5 months
Rank: F

HP:    5/15
MP: 10/10

Level: 5/10
EP:     0/10

ATK:   3 -> 5 + 1
DEF:   3 -> 5
MAG : 3 -> 5
AGI:    5 -> 9
INT:    5 -> 7

<=====>

1 ½ level for an ash wolf cub!? How fast could I level when I kill something.

It was already late, and I should return to the others, so I looked around.

Where am I...

I have run away from the ash wolf cub and changed the direction so often that I didn’t know which direction I came from and in which direction the flower field is...

Where was the sun at high noon?

The sun has passed its highest position and was already sinking. It was midday when the attack started, which meant that an amount of time passed.

At the current position of the sun, I should go in that direction.

I run to the southeast, which should be the right direction according to the position of the sun.

===

Some time had passed, but I could not find any clues or hints that led me back to the field. Everything looked the same, and nothing looked familiar to me.

The sun was already scratching the horizon, and the sky was turning red.

What should I do now? Although I can see in the dark... without the sun for orientation, it will be harder to find the way back... I should instead search for a safe place to sleep.

I found a hollow under a tree. The entrance was just big enough for me. I crawled slowly in, only to find a tunnel, in the hollow, that led wide deeper underground.

It goes even more profound? If I do not descend, I do not know if I'm sleeping at the entrance of a predator's cave...

The passage was narrow, and I had to struggle to get through it. It kept going down, and even though I could see in the dark, I couldn’t see the end of the tunnel.

* Pitsch *

A soft sound came from the direction in which I crawled in. It was not long before the sound repeated itself.

* Pitsch *

This sound... are these water drops? Maybe from an underground water source.

I kept crawling ahead. With each step, the noise became louder and louder, and I was almost sure that this sound came from water drops.

The path buckled and ended abruptly. A bright light dazzled me, and it took time for my eyes to get used to the brightness. I left the tunnel walls behind me and stepped out of the exit.

The exit was not at the bottom of the room but on a boulder. I looked down from the rock and saw a flower meadow. The flower meadow consisted of two types of flowers. One has golden petals and the other one silver.

The room was brightly lit because there was something on the ceiling that gave light to the cave. Part of the light was bundled and shone on a statue in the middle of the flower meadow. The statue was a young woman, in her early twenties, with the slight smile she had a friendly look. She had six angelic wings on her back, and with her left hand, she held a water pitcher. With her right hand, she held a spear in the air at a 45° angle. At her feet was a pool of water in which the water dripped from the pitcher. At the edge of the water pool, were various unknown symbols to me.

This narrow passage, which I came from, seems like the only entrance to this room. I searched for traces of other animals, but I could not find any traces, and so I decided to stay here for the night. I hid in the shadow of the boulder and lay down to sleep.

===

*crack* *crack*

A cracking sound disturbed my sleep and woke me up. Something was strange because when I looked out of the shadow of the rock, I saw a different room.

The light source now glowed in a dark red, which let the water appear blood red in front of the statue. The flowers were no longer golden or silver, but black and blood red. But what had changed the most was the statue. The six angelic wings now looked like bat wings. Her spear and water pitcher were replaced with a sword and dagger. Her previously friendly and smiling face was long gone and replaced with a look full of anger.

A shiver ran down my spine.

What's this!? Does an angel become a demon, and heaven become hell?

I hopped on the rocks, even though I felt no danger, the room's atmosphere was fearsome.

The exit? Where is it?

*crack* *crack*

The cracking sound sounded again. I looked at the statue where the sound came from.

The... The statue moved just now!?

*crack* *crack*

The distances in which the sound was heard were getting smaller and smaller.

The statue moved her head openly and, with her eyes looking onto me, now. A second later, the figure disappeared suddenly.

What!? Where!?

Something grabbed me from behind and threw me up. I was turned around and looked into the face of the statue.

There was no way out for me, no escape. She raised her dagger and pointed at my stomach. She was about to stab when a force pulled me away.

The statue disappeared, and everything around me turned pitch black.

*giggle* *giggle*

I could hear a soft giggle and lost my consciousness...

===

I opened my eyes, and with heavy breath, I looked around. I lay behind the boulder, how I lay down to sleep last night. I looked around the boulder and saw the room exactly looking like last night.

Golden and silver flowers, as well as an angel-like statue with a friendly smile, were back.

No matter if it was just a dream or a message! I'm sure I'm not welcome here.

Without turning around again, I ran to the exit. I crawled through the tunnel and climbed out of the hollow into the open.

Outside, the sun was already up.

I should forget what I saw down there, as soon as possible.

I had left the tree and cave behind me when the wind blew a familiar scent into my nose.

It smells like the flowers in our field.

I ran without thinking and passed trees after trees and left stick and stone behind me. A clearing came into my sight in the distance.

I was getting faster and faster. My concern for my family was just too big, so I wanted to be as quick as possible.

When I passed the last trees, I was on an all to familiar meadow where some younger horned rabbits were playing. Nothing reminded yesterday's attack of the ash wolves.

I ignored everything and everyone. My first goal was our burrow. I couldn't find one around, and our hole was empty. It didn't seem like anyone had slept here last night.

I immediately ran out to look for them on the field. I ran up and down on the ground. I squealed as loud as I could, but no answer came back. Only the eyes of the other horned rabbits stayed onto me.

They are not there... what... what... I should give up, for now.

I threw myself exhausted and disappointed on the floor. I looked around the meadow and saw a big green something.

Is that a huge bud?

I noticed something that looked like a 2m big bud.

Where does that bud come from...

I approached the bud.

Hmm... AHH!

I recoiled as the bud began to shine.

*Puff* *Puff* *Puff*

Three yellow glowing projectiles flew into the air and exploded one after another. The shock wave spread like an umbrella about us.

A barrier?

I looked around, and even before I could notice, two hands lifted me, slowly, into the air.

"Qeek Eeq Qeeek!"

I squealed in alarm. And before I knew it, I looked into the face of the person who lifted me. It was a woman with green skin and a green bud on her head, on the side of her bud were leaf falling like hair.

"Easy, I don’t want to hurt you."

She sits down, put me onto her lap, and gently stroked my back. She started to tell something, and I was stunned that I understood what she was saying.

"You're looking for your family, am I right?"

"Qek?"

"You're the youth one who screamed so desperately until now."

"Qeek eeq?"

"Who am I? I am a Hesperide, and my name is Crete. Once a year, I visit this place and create a new barrier using protecting magic. "

She lowered her gaze a bit.

"The barrier can't stop all predators ... But yesterday was my mistake... I had spent to much time in the capital of the Elves and thus delayed ...unfortunately broke the barrier a few hours before I arrived."

"Qeek Eeq Queek"

"Do I know where your family is? Maybe, maybe not ... The attack yesterday was threaded by some orcs. They have used the Ash Wolves as a distraction to capture some of your fellows. Others, mostly older, have gathered afterward and planned a counterattack to free the captured ones. If you describe your parents, it could be that I know something."

"Qeek eeq Queek Quek qek qeek."

"Your father is taller than the other horned rabbits, with black fur. Your mother has golden-colored coat and a crooked horn. Ha... HAHAHA? ""

"Eeq!"

"Certainly, Kyoku and Kuro!"

"Eq?"

"Ah! Your dad is the alpha animal here, so I gave him a name, Kuro. But just because your dad is the alpha animal does not mean that he's the strongest. Your mother got her name from me because she's the strongest fighter, she's even rank D, but Kuro is only rank E+. Both of your parents are old acquaintance."

" Qeek eeq Queek? "

"No problem, your parents are fine. Both of them are the leaders of the group of horned rabbits organizing an attack on the Orc settlement."

Crete spoke encouraging words to me, but it did not reassure.

"You're her kid, is it okay if I (Appraisal) you?"

She just said (Appraisal)? ... she has such an amazingly cheat ability.

"Eeq?"

"Why? Because I feel that our destinies are somehow connected. So, please. I will also give you a name for it. "

" Quek Qeek qek? "

"Why don't I just (Appraisal) you without permission? That's easy. It's a question of respect. If you were my enemy or potential enemy, it would be something else. To use (Appraisal) without permission on an ally shows that I don't trust my allies."

"Qeek."

"Ok? Thanks!?"

"Eeq!"

"Wait, I have a better idea!"

"Qeek?"

"When we enter into a temporary contract, we can show each other our cards."

"Eq ..."

"OK! Then I'll start drawing at the magic circle."

RedPanda

Chapters 3 and 4 will follow in the second half of this week. In the time between, I try to create an artwork for this novel.