The Karate Rabbit

Gwen swallowed the rest of her breakfast sandwich, waiting outside the Guild doors. True to their word, it’s been closed since the attack. The Guild has been withholding, allowing people to take on new jobs, focusing fully on repairs.

“I want to visit the slime hallway again,” she mumbled. “I wonder how far it goes since there are no records of people ever completing it.”

Without the need to turn in quests, the team could spend overnight in the dungeon. This is an idea for the future; right now everyone has to focus on training and teamwork.

Gwen stretched while glancing at the road. People were busy cleaning up after the festival, taking down remaining decorations. It was a testament to how lavish and busy it was.

The Radfords strolled up finally, both looking well-rested.

“Heya, boss,” Chris said with a slight wave. His sword hung at his side, and his new shield was slung over his shoulder.

Claire gave a small wave without speaking. A dagger rested on each hip beneath a hooded cloak that fell to her heels. Overall, both looked ready for the day—a slight gleam in their eye.

“Good morning, you two,” Gwen replied, giving a small nod of her head. “We’re just waiting on Kira, then we can plan our goals this week.”

“Knowing Kira, she’ll be ten minutes late.”

Claire nodded, a slight concern on her face. “Will you be able to fight without a staff? My brother told me your last one broke, and a new one isn’t ready yet.”

Gwen shot Chris a look. “So he didn’t tell you about my new weapon?”

“He only mentioned the staff breaking…”

Chris shrugged. “I thought you’d want to show her.”

“Well, for now I’m using this,” Gwen sighed, showing off her bracelet. “It’s made of magic metal, so it’ll be able to handle my spells much better than my old staff did.”

Claire stepped closer to examine it. “Wow… this must have cost over seventy–five slivers.”

“Close! It was a full gold coin.”

“Wow, so pricey!”

“Meh, I didn’t pay for it, so it’s fine,” Gwen said nonchalantly.

“I see…” Claire stepped.

“Heck, Chris even got a new shield out of the deal. I just hope after this we won’t be bothered by Kosouke for a while.”

“He seems pretty insistent on getting you to join his party… so I assume he’ll be back.”

Gwen’s shoulders dropped. “I hope not…he’s very weird.”

Chris patted her shoulder. “There, there. We’ll protect you from the naughty adventurer.”

“Yeah! We’ll make sure no one bothers you again,” Claire joined in, flexing her arm.

Gwen gave a low “thanks,” and went quiet. The siblings followed suit as they all waited for the fourth party member.

Gwen’s thoughts drifted back to Kosouke. She didn’t remember him from the anime either. Stone was also new, but Mel was the same guild receptionist. However, it left out any mention of her sister.

I need to start focusing on making my own path, she thought.

One option was to enroll in a school in the Magie Kingdom. They’re bound to have some information on soul magic and interdimensional travel.

Another was to become a Priestess of Hael. Then she could attempt to earn a blessing or an audience with the Goddess herself. The downside to that was it could take years, and there’s a chance she won’t answer.

It would be best for now to focus on gaining strength and going at least to the fourth floor of the dungeon. If possible, attempt to make it to the last floor.

That was the plan.

***

Kira finally appeared after thirty minutes—her hair frazzled and yawning. “Sorry, I’m late.”

Claire glared at her. “If you’re going to keep being late, I’m going to drag you out of bed myself.”

“What the hell… why would you even-!”

“It’s a promise! Be late again and I’ll—”

Gwen clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Despite one of our members being very late.”

Chris snorted, earning a harsh glare from Kira.

“With the guild going under renovation after an incident during the festival.” She continued.

“More like you fighting,” Kira grumbled.

“Today I want to spend time collecting magic stones on the second floor. The rest of the week we focus on searching for the stairs leading to the third floor.”

“Do you think we’re ready for the third floor?” Claire asked.

“Yes! I think we can handle the monsters that’ll appear if we go prepared. Plus, as long as it’s not fatal, I can heal you.”

“Okay. While collecting stones, we should focus on our teamwork during battle.”

“Yes, we should get to where we can work together without getting in each other's way.”

“Any monster we are hunting for?” Chris questioned.

Gwen tilted her head. “Hmm, not in particular. I am interested in fighting new monsters if possible, especially if it’s a boss. Besides that, I just want to collect at least five days' worth of stones to make up for not being able to take jobs this week.”

“Should I extract magic stones from regular creatures and only take pelts from important ones?”

“Yes, Kira. Today is all about speed and efficiency!” Gwen handed her the shoulder pouch.

“That should be easy,” Kira replied.

“Alright, questions?” Gwen looked around. When no one spoke, she continued. “Then today’s formation is: Chris and me in front. Claire will be guarding Kira and handle surprise attacks from the rear, or take out monsters that get past the frontline.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The others said at once.

With a sharp nod, Gwen marched off.

The trio followed behind as they went toward the dungeon. With the guild closed to job postings, the entrance line was short.

The party reached the second floor quickly, enduring the false heat as they trekked through the forest. A wolf pack attacked early on. Chris dispatched them easily without any help from the others.

His growing strength since joining the party was obvious. He had once admitted that even a single wolf gave him trouble without Claire’s help. Watching him grow strong brought Gwen joy. It felt like they could all grow and be able to rank up higher than adventurers.

Leading from the front, Gwen guided them deeper than were the left off on Friday. Besides the wolves, they haven’t encountered any other monsters yet. Fifteen minutes of travel, and finally the sound of combat echoed up ahead.

Gwen signaled for them to be quiet and crouched down.

The group copied her movements as she inched closer to the bushes. Parting the bushes to see through them—a black and white rabbit fighting a monster that resembled a praying mantis.

The mantis stood on its last legs while its body, bruised, dripped small beads of purple liquid onto the ground. Yellow energy coated the rabbit’s paws as it struck the monster’s tendons. The mantis tried to keep up, blades slicing into the ground, but it was too slow.

Its arms went limp, falling uselessly to its sides.

The rabbit leaped into the air. Doing a slight flip, it descended downward with one of its legs outstretched. The creature’s foot collided with the top of the mantis’s head, killing it instantly. Purple blood sprayed into the air as the corpse fell backwards.

“Holy shit!” Kira gasped, close to Gwen’s ear. “That is a rare monster, like, seriously rare.”

“She’s right, Boss! That’s a Karate Rabbit thought to be extinct from the dungeon.” Claire added.

Gwen glanced at them, then back at the rabbit. “Do you think we sh—”

A chill raced down her spine, cutting off her words. Her body moved on its own, and she slammed her palm into the dirt.

“Rock Wall!” A large slab of stone shot up from the earth in front of the group.

Seconds later, the wall shattered. Stone pieces rained over the group—a slight headache hitting Gwen. The rabbit stood among the rubble, anger flicking across its face as it glared at them.