Not once since Yuki woke in this world she lamented the lack of a horn. The prevailing sentiment was that she was better without it. She was prettier without it. Yuki saw the weasel jump’s trajectory. If she had a horn, she could position herself and let the enemy impale itself on it. That would be the easiest choice. Alas, no horn. She hopped forward, past where the critter would land, and crouched, hind legs ready to thump the critter away.

The weasel sailed overhead, but contrary to Yuki’s expectations, it contorted midair, claws lashing out at her back.

She watched the movement, then took a small side hop away from the claws.

Claws grasped at empty air. Then, like a cat, it landed on its four paws, already facing Yuki.

The rabbit’s back legs lashed out, and a delightful thump echoed, followed by the weasel’s squeal. That, Yuki had to admit, felt incredible. Her thumpnators moved where she wanted. Even if the power behind her thump was less than optimal, the degree of control over the movement was something she had never experienced in the before. She’d probably ace any paw-to-eye coordination test. Was this the effect of DEX or INT?

A low, high-pitched growl heralded the next attack. The critter jumped to the side and dashed, not toward Yuki but to a spot in front of her.

Yuki lost sight of the enemy for a moment. The intelligent little critter knew her most prominent blind spot was the area right in front of her face. She didn’t wait to see what else it would do; she hopped back and to the side. It took her a moment to locate the weasel; it had hidden itself amid brown leaves. She took a deep breath to calm down. It was, after all, just an animal. It had good instincts; were she not sapient, it might even have worked. But a former human, now turned splendid rabbit, wouldn’t fall for such simple tricks.

Fear forgotten, Yuki’s heart pumped with adrenaline, mischief gleaming in her eyes. She leaped past the hidden weasel and mid-jump, her thumpnators lashed out again — harder, faster, stronger than before. It hit the weasel. It squealed in pain.

Yuki landed triumphant. That felt good. Was she an unrealized bully? In the before, she preferred solitude and virtual friends. She was never one for picking up fights unrelated to her obsessions, often choosing to give up on things if it meant avoiding confrontations. She basked in the feeling from her legs. That moment she hit the critter, the impact reverberated through her body, the squeal of pain in response. She wanted to do it again.

Oh god, she wasn’t right in the head. First was the need to dominate Bunbun. No, she had good reasons for that; Bunbun’s fur was something out of this world, and it was a sin not to. Now, she wanted to hit the critter again. She wanted to hear it squeal again. She locked eyes with the weasel; it was still in the ground, hidden between leaves. Its ears swiveled, and its nose twitched.

Yuki’s body trembled in anticipation. The enemy was making this all too easy. They stared at each other. The creaking of leaves behind was the only warning she got. Yuki’s head snapped toward the sound.

There, another weasel, this one smaller, already mid-jump toward her.

She leaped away, putting some distance between herself and the new attacker. This might complicate things. Two enemies at once might be more than she bargained for. Movement in her peripheral vision startled Yuki into dodging, but it was too late.

Pain spread on her shoulder, near the neck. Claws dug into her back, and the weasel’s elongated body tried to wrap around Yuki like a death’s embrace. Yuki squealed like a trapped rabbit.

A slurry of notifications scrolled past the corner of her vision. The messages blinked, demanding attention. Yuki had none to spare; despite the pain, information dumped into her frontal lobe. Bits and bobs missing in her knowledge of the system now fit into place. Skills, Advanced Skills, Characteristics. The details flooded her mind, but a jolt of teeth tearing into her body took her attention away.

The original hunter held firm on the bite and tried to trap Yuki in its vicious embrace. Right then and there, Yuki decided that if she survived this, at least one thing she learned. She might be on the sadistic side, but pain wasn’t her cup of tea. She bucked and twisted, hind limbs lashing out at the grappler’s midriff.

The weasel yelped but didn’t let go. It was still sent away, dragging a piece of Yuki’s pelt with it.

Yuki cried out, her flesh torn apart by implacable teeth. She had to jump away again to avoid the second weasel that lunged toward her. She landed, pain flaring in her front leg. She stumbled but caught herself before falling on her face.

The trio stopped and stared at each other. Yuki contemplated what to do. The cheeky little murderer eating her flesh decided for her.

She stood on her hind legs, ‘arms’ moving in crisp, forceful movements. She sang the magic mantra. She felt the power building into her core.

Her audience also stood, ears and nose twitching in her direction. Beady eyes promised murder, but for now, they seemed more intrigued by her strange movements than ready to pounce again.

Yuki didn’t waste the opportunity. She finished the magic, picking choices on instinct. Terms and details she didn’t know a few moments ago. She finally understood what [Invocation] and [Shaping] did. One controlled her spells’ power; the other acted like a governor to limit how much a spell could be modified. Yuki made things simple. She increased the spell range, then dumped everything else into how hard the magic was to resist. There was one last detail to decide: how would the magic manifest in the world? She smiled sardonically and made the spell look like Bunbun. It seemed fitting. Then she unleashed the magic.

A spectral, half-translucent, red-eyed rabbit sprang forth, tentacles of inky darkness sprouting from its body. In the blink of an eye, it was already at the destination. The apparition lowered its head, then impaled the weasel that still held a piece of Yuki’s flesh in its paws.

The weasel squealed in pain. It fell, contorting. The apparition didn’t relent; it pounced, its mouth opening more than should have been possible for a rabbit, and then it bit down. There was a crunch, and Yuki saw the weasel’s head had been pierced and smashed. Startled, Yuki released her grip on the magic. The apparition disappeared, but the spell still was far from spent.

The second weasel bolted.

Yuki was too surprised to stop it from leaving. She had the sneaking suspicion the spell was a teensy-weensy evil.