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Sylvia and Crystal both shot their sharp arrows at the fluffy rabbit butt without hesitation, and in sharp contrast to what most might expect, they just bounced off of it with a ding as if the skin underneath the fluffy white fur was made of metal.
Their attack wasn't completely ineffective, however, as it did successfully manage to enrage the [Ravenous Rabbit] enough to make it come out of its 'hiding spot' without a second thought.
"Shit! It was eating… what the hell is that?!" Robin couldn't help but curse while pointing her shaking finger at the seemingly human corpse that was partially exposed after the rabbit exited the bush, with its 'partially consumed' organs and entrails exposed to the air.
Unfortunately, the monster they'd provoked was in no mood to humor her questions, and immediately lunged at Crystal in an attempt to tear her throat off with its shockingly massive maw.
The moment it turned around and exposed its hideous mouth that extended almost all the way back to its hind legs on both sides, it didn't look cute at all.
If the jagged and sharp teeth that seemed to run halfway through its entire body weren't enough to terrify anyone, the absolutely revolting stench that it exuded surely would.
Fortunately, Emilia managed to slam it down mid-flight, or there was no telling if Crystal would be able to survive even a single attack of that level.
A fireball slammed into the downed rabbit almost the instant it hit the ground, and Sylvia also took the opportunity to shoot it to death. But neither of their attacks seemed particularly effective.
[-230]
[-1]
Clearly, although the back of its head wasn't as tough as its butt, it was still too tough for their arrows. And while the fireballs were a lot more effective, it could only be considered to have dealt a 'shallow wound' thanks to the rabbit's five thousand HP.
Fortunately, Danielle was quite a skilled 'gamer', and quickly identified its key weak point without Emilia needing to 'help'. "Its skin seems to be really tough, so try to shoot inside its mouth!"
"Got it!"
Of course, Emilia was more than happy to keep the agile little monstrosity 'engaged', and even if her teammates were to 'fail', her poison damage would eventually accumulate enough to take it down.
For the 'poor' beast, the outcome had already been sealed.
—Killed [Ravenous Rabbit] (Level 25)
In addition to twenty-five hundred experience and three silver coins each, they also received [Ravenous Rabbit Fur], which was a rare material that could be used to make warm, comfortable, yet tough armor, and could also be sold at a decent price.
But while everyone else was quite happy, Emilia couldn't help but frown. "The corpse is... still there…?"
Her words quickly brought everyone back to their senses.
"…Huh?"
"Wait, Emilia, let me go check—"
Unfortunately, the crimson-haired girl didn't give them any chance to 'protect her eyes', and directly dragged the 'corpse' out of the bush.
As she'd told Crystal before, corpses in Arcadia almost always 'disappeared' into particles of light, regardless of it being a 'local' or a 'player', with only a few exceptions. And the most common explanation of such an event was for it to be a 'key' to some quest.
But no matter how she looked, aside from the unidentifiable corpse and its torn clothing, there was really nothing of significance around.
Emilia couldn't help but frown. 'What's going on…?'
Cynthia hummed. "Maybe try bringing it to the city?"
Just as the crimson-haired elf was about to agree, however, something at the very edge of her 'awareness' caught her attention. "What's that…?"
As they were in quite a dangerous area, and Emilia didn't want to risk them being ambushed, she'd obviously been keeping the 'Vigilance' skill of her headgear [Wisdom of the Forest] active. With the strength of her soul and the help of her gifted necklace [Hibiscus Heart]'s calming effect, it was just stressful enough for it to be considered 'training' by Emilia.
Robin quickly fetched the item she was staring at after making sure there were no traps around, and they quickly discovered that it was just a torn sack filled with beads.
—Discovered [Corrupted Blood Essence] x 20
—Progress added to the already discovered hidden quest.
-Current progress: 60%
"So it really was related to that!" Emilia exclaimed, both happy and worried.
After all, while it was an incredibly lucky event for them to discover a hidden quest so early, it was one that seemed to be quite close to the capital, meaning its level couldn't be low.
Higher-level quests definitely came with greater rewards, but how could they be so easy to complete?
No matter how overconfident Emilia might appear at times, she was well aware that there were limits to what she could do, even with all her advantages.
If they got distracted trying to completely uncover the mystery behind this hidden quest, and then failed to achieve anything in an acceptable period of time, all their efforts to get ahead of the crowd so far would completely go to waste.
Moreover, the release of the first dungeon was also quite close.
Crystal frowned. "Both the right hand and finger of the corpse pointed strangely towards the west, but that could either be a coincidence or a trap."
Previously, only Emilia and Crystal had the hidden quest added to their menu, but now the rest of the team could also see it, though there wasn't much to speak of.
"A hidden quest should be quite rewarding, right?" Nico grinned.
Obviously, Danielle and the rest of the team, who were unaware of the 'future' didn't think there was any reason to 'give up' such a juicy opportunity. And after considering it for a while, Emilia also decided not to stop them.
It wasn't that she was afraid of them becoming suspicious if she tried to dissuade them, but that the crimson-haired elf felt that stumbling into two clues consecutively like that was really too 'fateful', and it would be too much of a 'shame' to give up on such a gift.
Cynthia couldn't help but frown. 'Be careful, Emilia… I feel like there's something not quite right about this whole thing.'
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