Moving through the forest with purpose, we found the horned rabbit waiting in the same spot as before. He charged at me in rage, while completely ignoring Gilda, just like the last time. I side-stepped his charge and jabbed him with my makeshift spear, like a replay of our previous encounter. The only difference was this time, because of the mana-infused into my spear, he suddenly popped like a gory soap bubble.

All that build-up and the little bastard didn't even put up a decent fight. I had gotten so worked up to kill that damned horned rabbit that how it ended left me feeling empty and unsatisfied.

However, this also made it clear to me that horned rabbits really were just small fry. I just couldn't recognize it at the time because I had no real combat experience or magic. It was almost hard to believe that I went and got myself killed by something so weak only a few weeks ago.

A couple of weird things happened after the horned rabbit became a smear on the forest floor, snapping me out of my disgruntled reverie. Oddly enough, some music played announcing my victory, while new information appeared in the center of my visual user interface:

1 Horned Rabbit defeated

Gained -> 10 experience points
Recovered -> 1 x Horned Rabbit Horn

I had no idea what to make of that very game-like announcement.

Gilda told me the simulations had been specifically designed to create a more engaging training experience for warrior candidates. The results of training in the simulation would help set the initial rankings of warrior candidates upon arrival at the training grounds. So, the goal was to get them to train as much as possible using the simulation. As a result, the AI running the system added the victory sound, loot collection, and achievement announcement. I felt a bit conflicted about that. On the one hand, it definitely felt more fun. But on the other hand, it took something away from the seriousness of the situation.

Since I was still unsatisfied with my battle with the horned rabbit, I decided to continue hunting. Even if it was only inside a simulation, it felt great being outdoors again. Still, I couldn't afford to let my guard down, knowing that dangerous monsters could come from any direction.

Eventually, I came across a group of three horned rabbits. This time things didn't go as smoothly for me.

They all charged at once, so I had a more difficult time dodging them, and two of them hit me with their horns. I managed to kill one of them right away. While impact absorption stopped most of the physical force of their charge, it didn't stop the horns from gouging me. It was clear that there was a big difference between absorbing a physical attack and trying to stop a magical one. I seemed to have no defense against the magically enhanced horns, so even with impact absorption active, the magical horn easily pierced and shredded my skin when it touched. However, this time I didn't panic. The nanites were already repairing any damage while reducing the pain significantly, so I just focused on killing my opponents.

I tried to keep some distance from the remaining rabbits and use my superior reach to protect myself. This was harder than I thought it would be. For one thing, they were flanking me, and it was hard to protect both sides equally at the same time. Another issue was they were much lower to the ground than I had trained for. All of my training had been against human-sized opponents. Fighting these little monsters, who moved like animals, wasn't the same thing, at all.

I also needed to think of a way to stop the horns from doing so much damage. I'd already gotten wounded several times, and even without any major blood vessels getting damaged, the blood loss was starting to pile up. Eventually, I hit on the idea of triggering my lightning magic when a horn hit me, which stunned the attacking horned rabbit long enough for me to kill it. After that, the last one was easy to kill.

The victory music played again, along with a new announcement.

3 Horned Rabbits defeated

Killed 3 Horned Rabbits -> gained 30 experience points
Group battle -> gained 20 experience points
Recovered -> 3 x Horned Rabbit Horn

Gilda said I would usually also get the meat and pelts, but my attacks were so destructive that all that was salvageable was the horn. That really felt like a waste to me, so I'd try reducing the mana output through the spear next time. I wanted to eat some rabbit.

I still wanted to continue. I just needed a little break to recuperate and refocus.

I had learned that I could use my lightning magic to stun opponents that pierced Impact Absorption. However, I didn't want to keep getting hit just to have a chance to stun enemies. I needed to either improve Impact Absorption to include handle magic as well as it absorbed physical impacts or work on triggering the stun just before the horns made contact with my body.

I also took a second to check my stats to see how much mana I had used. The three stats that seemed most likely to change during battle always displayed as bars in the corner of the user interface, which currently showed:

Damage - 17/100
Stamina - 60/100
Mana/Capacity - 84/100

The damage bar steadily dropped as the nanites did their work, so it shouldn't be an issue. My stamina seemed to have dropped quite a bit. However, I figured that was mostly down to blood loss. My mana seemed to be holding up well, so I didn't have anything to worry about on that front.

Once my wounds closed, I decided to continue hunting.

After a short distance, I found a group of three more horned rabbits. However, shortly after I engaged them, another two appeared and joined in too. This time I concentrated on stunning attackers before the horn made contact with my body. I still received several wounds, but by the time that battle ended, I had gotten much better at timing the stun counterattack. By the end, I had figured out how to create a lightning magic counter strong enough for the last attacking rabbit to get knocked back. Nullifying the rabbit's attack and killing the monster purely through electrocution.

Again, the victory music played, followed by an announcement.

5 Horned Rabbits defeated

Killed 5 Horned Rabbits -> gained 50 experience points
Group battle -> gained 40 experience points
Recovered -> 5 x Horned Rabbit Horn
Recovered -> 2 x Horned Rabbit Pelt
Recovered -> 2 x Horned Rabbit Meat

I still felt like I had difficulty calibrating the amount of mana to put into my spear attack. As a result, I ended up completely destroying three of the horned rabbits in gory explosions. However, I did kill one without making it explode, and I also got the electrocuted one fully intact.

I asked Gilda if it was possible to use the loot from the battle, and she said I could only do that within the simulation. However, whatever I gained would remain in my virtual storage until the next training session.

Since I needed a break anyway, I carved a rotisserie spit and built a campfire to cook over. The system had already field dressed the rabbits for me, so I rubbed on some wild garlic I found along the way and roasted the electrocuted one for lunch. While our food was cooking, I experimented with using its horn as a weapon.

In earlier conversations with Gilda, I learned that some monster materials get used as magic catalysts. The rabbit's horn was considered a low-level catalyst but still could be used to help focus and aim low-level magic, like a magic wand. When I tried using the horn with lightning magic, an intense bolt of lightning shot out, leaving a good-sized crack in a nearby tree, but the horn crumbled to dust. It was a powerful attack, but the horn was only good for one shot. Sure, I had eight more horns left, but it felt like a waste to only get one use from each.

By itself, the horn did more damage than the sharpened stick would have. However, I had learned how to better control my output in the last battle, so I tried striking a tree with a mana-infused horn. Much to my surprise, the horn slid right into the tree like a hot knife through butter. Now I understood how the horned rabbits had done so much damage with these little horns. There was no damage to the horn either. It seemed to tolerate this type of attack much better than lightning magic. Perhaps it was a matter of compatibility.

After enjoying the spit-roasted rabbit lunch with Gilda, I modified my spear with a horn attached at each end. My stats seemed to have recovered from the lunch and the rest, and I figured it was a good idea to keep hunting.