Having completed one of the toughest jobs he had ever picked up, Shane was feeling extremely bruised and beaten up as he sat at one of the coffee shops that looked out over the countryside. On the table in front of him was a hot cup of coffee, steam still coming out of the dark beverage. The coffee was thick, aromatic and sugarless as he liked it. There were some buns and scones on another plate beside the coffee for him to enjoy with his drink. It was on the house, courtesy of the café owner and also as thanks for his aid to the town in the past week.
Shane used his left foot to hook one of the chairs opposite him and dragged it towards him until it was just the right distance. What he was going to do next was crude, unbefitting of a Rune Knight but he really didn’t overthink it. He propped up both legs on the chair opposite him, allowing him to straighten his legs while he leaned back in his chair, letting out a small sigh of relief.
The weather was just perfect too, a few clouds in the cerulean blue sky. The sun wasn’t too hot, with a mild wind providing the much needed breeze. It had been some time since Shane took some time off like this. He picked up his mug and took a sip of his coffee.
“Hi rabbit,” the Rune Knight greeted jovially, a rabbit having appeared on another chair at his table. He was taking a second sip when the unthinkable happened. The rabbit spoke.
“Must be nice to be so relaxed huh?” the weirdly chirpy voice of the rabbit came out. The result was Shane choking and coughing as he opened his mouth wide, breathing out loudly through his mouth as he felt the hot coffee burning down his throat. His eyes were wide with surprise at what had just happened, but in retrospect, it was actually not that difficult to believe.
“Did you just talk?” Shane asked again, just to be sure. He had seen the rabbit’s mouth move, and it matched the words that came out, but there was no harm to trying. Heck, he could be hallucinating after a hit to his head during the job last week.
“No, it was the buns. OF COURSE, I WAS THE ONE TALKING. YOU SAW ME TALK!” the rabbit answered before standing up on its hind legs and thumped its small paws on the glass table. The table barely shook. Shane tried to stifle his laugh, barely able to just project a smile on his face. How could he be so cruel to mock a talking rabbit?
“Right, I’m sorry. Yes, of course you can talk,” Shane answered right back. He let it sink in. “Of course.”
“Now hear me out, human. I need your help. I saw you deal with those other humans last week. You are strong. We need your strength in Spooky Forest. We’ve got a crazy tree wreaking havoc in the forest and it’s scaring all the other animals.”
Apart from the fact that the rabbit was capable of speech and was perfectly articulate, Shane was intrigued by the mention of the tree in the Spooky Forest.
“It’s the Spooky Forest. Your trees are meant to be crazy,” Shane replied casually as he took his mug for another sip. But the rabbit wasn’t amused. A scone flew into Shane’s face as he was taking a sip, bouncing off harmlessly. He put the mug down gently after the sip, as if nothing happened.
“Rabbit’s stew sounds quite good this time of the year,” the silver-haired Rune Knight exclaimed out of nowhere, just to spite the feisty rabbit. The rabbit stared daggers at Shane, to which the mage promptly ignored.
“Are you going to help or not?” the rabbit asked, small paws now on its hip.
“Fine, lead the way.”
It took them about three hours to make it back to the Spooky Forest on horseback, with the rabbit riding behind Shane, holding on tight to his shirt as it hang on for its dear life. When they finally arrived, the rabbit was the first to get off the horse, just jumping straight off without care for whether it would survive the jump or not. But it wasn’t because of the ride. It was the throng of animals and creatures trampling one over another as they scrambled out of the forest in panic.
Shane was stunned by what he was seeing, and even the horse was caught up in the panic. He tightened his grip on the reins a second too late and was thrown to the ground, on to a carpet of animals, sweeping him away like a wave. After a few minutes of effort, he finally got back on to his feet and quickly dusted himself off. The rabbit looked at him with a look that said I-can’t-believe-I-got-this-idiot. Shane merely shrugged.
“I spoke to some of the animals. The crazy tree’s rampaging around again.”
“Let’s go then.”
During their way in, Shane was forced to put down a few of the larger creatures inhabiting Spooky Forest. There were a few Vulcans as well, overcome with panic and aggressively attacking anything that wandered near them. The rabbit tried to stop them with words and was nearly stomped to death until Shane intervened. Fighting a few Vulcans at the same time was not easy, especially when they took on the form of the mages that wandered into the forest in the past, making for some dangerous foes.
The difficulty came from trying to subdue them with non-lethal force, and after a few minutes of brawling, Shane let out a sigh of relief when all five of the Vulcans were lying at his feet, unconscious. The rabbit nodded in approval at how Shane had handled the situation and they moved into the forest, the sounds of the rampaging tree growing louder. Signs of destruction multiplied, with the occasional broken trees, scattered branches and even some smashed rocks. All these were keenly observed by Shane, an indication of the monster’s strength.
When they finally arrived at a clearing, the rabbit squealed and hid within a bush while Shane stood watching his would-be opponent. It was a massive tree, leaves brown and black. It had uprooted itself and its roots as legs to move about, as thick as Shane’s legs with some even thicker. Long, barbed branches were whipping around from the top of its trunk, with two particularly thick branches that ended in horrible claws. Shane watched as it smashed those claws a rock, leaving deep gashes.
Having seen nothing like this, Shane took a deep breath and then began to prepare his magic. He could feel the energy surging through him as he lunged and jumped once he was within striking range, charging forward with his knee raised.
“Shirotsume Smash!” the Rune Knight yelled as he crashed into the tree, cracking its trunk and nothing more. The rampaging tree was quick to turn around, its roots supporting and stabilizing its abrupt movements, trying to lash at Shane with its branches in a wild pattern. The Rune Knight kicked off the trunk instantly, using Burst and got away without a scratch. It would take too long for him to subdue this monster if he was going to fight it the conventional way.
“Is it okay if this place gets slightly burned?” Shane posed the question to the bush. He had summoned Bloody Mary from his storage dimension, now holding the large weapon in his right hand. The rabbit poked his head out of the bush and then nodded furiously. That was the only permission Shane needed, smiling. Hefting the grenade launcher in front of him and supporting the barrel with his left hand, the silver-haired mage began to take aim as the monster tree charged at him, branches and vines swinging and extending in his direction.
A resounding report shook the entire forest, thundering over the monster tree’s roars. The grenade exploded but it wasn’t the usual explosive kind. Fire erupted from the grenade at the point of impact, entirely engulfing the monster tree in a fireball. The dry branches and leaves caught fire immediately and began to burn, but there was no other reaction from the monster tree. It was unable to feel pain, single-mindedly barreling towards Shane.
Unflinching, the mage stood his ground, relieving himself of the grenade launcher and summoning his twin pistols instead. Special bullets were loaded into the guns, and Shane began firing straight ahead. He was using explosive ammo, each shot taking care of any branch that was swung or extended in his direction. By the time the tree was five feet away from him, Shane kept his eyes on the tree but was already facing away from the heat. The monster tree was already mostly charred and it was on its last bit of life, feebly trying to catch Shane with its clawed branches.
A few shots later left the monster tree completely bald. Shane stood his ground until the monster finally stopped advancing, just two feet away from him. The roots supporting it eventually crumbled, charred, and the monster tree collapsed to the ground, sweeping up a large cloud of ashes into the air.
“You owe me, rabbit,” was all the silver-haired mage said as he turned around and walked out of Spooky Forest. “I’m Shane Stern, by the way. Rune Knights!”
Watching his new human friend walk away, the rabbit gave a mischievous smirk as well. “I’m Thumper!”
[Total WC: 1601/1500]
Shane used his left foot to hook one of the chairs opposite him and dragged it towards him until it was just the right distance. What he was going to do next was crude, unbefitting of a Rune Knight but he really didn’t overthink it. He propped up both legs on the chair opposite him, allowing him to straighten his legs while he leaned back in his chair, letting out a small sigh of relief.
The weather was just perfect too, a few clouds in the cerulean blue sky. The sun wasn’t too hot, with a mild wind providing the much needed breeze. It had been some time since Shane took some time off like this. He picked up his mug and took a sip of his coffee.
“Hi rabbit,” the Rune Knight greeted jovially, a rabbit having appeared on another chair at his table. He was taking a second sip when the unthinkable happened. The rabbit spoke.
“Must be nice to be so relaxed huh?” the weirdly chirpy voice of the rabbit came out. The result was Shane choking and coughing as he opened his mouth wide, breathing out loudly through his mouth as he felt the hot coffee burning down his throat. His eyes were wide with surprise at what had just happened, but in retrospect, it was actually not that difficult to believe.
“Did you just talk?” Shane asked again, just to be sure. He had seen the rabbit’s mouth move, and it matched the words that came out, but there was no harm to trying. Heck, he could be hallucinating after a hit to his head during the job last week.
“No, it was the buns. OF COURSE, I WAS THE ONE TALKING. YOU SAW ME TALK!” the rabbit answered before standing up on its hind legs and thumped its small paws on the glass table. The table barely shook. Shane tried to stifle his laugh, barely able to just project a smile on his face. How could he be so cruel to mock a talking rabbit?
“Right, I’m sorry. Yes, of course you can talk,” Shane answered right back. He let it sink in. “Of course.”
“Now hear me out, human. I need your help. I saw you deal with those other humans last week. You are strong. We need your strength in Spooky Forest. We’ve got a crazy tree wreaking havoc in the forest and it’s scaring all the other animals.”
Apart from the fact that the rabbit was capable of speech and was perfectly articulate, Shane was intrigued by the mention of the tree in the Spooky Forest.
“It’s the Spooky Forest. Your trees are meant to be crazy,” Shane replied casually as he took his mug for another sip. But the rabbit wasn’t amused. A scone flew into Shane’s face as he was taking a sip, bouncing off harmlessly. He put the mug down gently after the sip, as if nothing happened.
“Rabbit’s stew sounds quite good this time of the year,” the silver-haired Rune Knight exclaimed out of nowhere, just to spite the feisty rabbit. The rabbit stared daggers at Shane, to which the mage promptly ignored.
“Are you going to help or not?” the rabbit asked, small paws now on its hip.
“Fine, lead the way.”
It took them about three hours to make it back to the Spooky Forest on horseback, with the rabbit riding behind Shane, holding on tight to his shirt as it hang on for its dear life. When they finally arrived, the rabbit was the first to get off the horse, just jumping straight off without care for whether it would survive the jump or not. But it wasn’t because of the ride. It was the throng of animals and creatures trampling one over another as they scrambled out of the forest in panic.
Shane was stunned by what he was seeing, and even the horse was caught up in the panic. He tightened his grip on the reins a second too late and was thrown to the ground, on to a carpet of animals, sweeping him away like a wave. After a few minutes of effort, he finally got back on to his feet and quickly dusted himself off. The rabbit looked at him with a look that said I-can’t-believe-I-got-this-idiot. Shane merely shrugged.
“I spoke to some of the animals. The crazy tree’s rampaging around again.”
“Let’s go then.”
During their way in, Shane was forced to put down a few of the larger creatures inhabiting Spooky Forest. There were a few Vulcans as well, overcome with panic and aggressively attacking anything that wandered near them. The rabbit tried to stop them with words and was nearly stomped to death until Shane intervened. Fighting a few Vulcans at the same time was not easy, especially when they took on the form of the mages that wandered into the forest in the past, making for some dangerous foes.
The difficulty came from trying to subdue them with non-lethal force, and after a few minutes of brawling, Shane let out a sigh of relief when all five of the Vulcans were lying at his feet, unconscious. The rabbit nodded in approval at how Shane had handled the situation and they moved into the forest, the sounds of the rampaging tree growing louder. Signs of destruction multiplied, with the occasional broken trees, scattered branches and even some smashed rocks. All these were keenly observed by Shane, an indication of the monster’s strength.
When they finally arrived at a clearing, the rabbit squealed and hid within a bush while Shane stood watching his would-be opponent. It was a massive tree, leaves brown and black. It had uprooted itself and its roots as legs to move about, as thick as Shane’s legs with some even thicker. Long, barbed branches were whipping around from the top of its trunk, with two particularly thick branches that ended in horrible claws. Shane watched as it smashed those claws a rock, leaving deep gashes.
Having seen nothing like this, Shane took a deep breath and then began to prepare his magic. He could feel the energy surging through him as he lunged and jumped once he was within striking range, charging forward with his knee raised.
“Shirotsume Smash!” the Rune Knight yelled as he crashed into the tree, cracking its trunk and nothing more. The rampaging tree was quick to turn around, its roots supporting and stabilizing its abrupt movements, trying to lash at Shane with its branches in a wild pattern. The Rune Knight kicked off the trunk instantly, using Burst and got away without a scratch. It would take too long for him to subdue this monster if he was going to fight it the conventional way.
“Is it okay if this place gets slightly burned?” Shane posed the question to the bush. He had summoned Bloody Mary from his storage dimension, now holding the large weapon in his right hand. The rabbit poked his head out of the bush and then nodded furiously. That was the only permission Shane needed, smiling. Hefting the grenade launcher in front of him and supporting the barrel with his left hand, the silver-haired mage began to take aim as the monster tree charged at him, branches and vines swinging and extending in his direction.
A resounding report shook the entire forest, thundering over the monster tree’s roars. The grenade exploded but it wasn’t the usual explosive kind. Fire erupted from the grenade at the point of impact, entirely engulfing the monster tree in a fireball. The dry branches and leaves caught fire immediately and began to burn, but there was no other reaction from the monster tree. It was unable to feel pain, single-mindedly barreling towards Shane.
Unflinching, the mage stood his ground, relieving himself of the grenade launcher and summoning his twin pistols instead. Special bullets were loaded into the guns, and Shane began firing straight ahead. He was using explosive ammo, each shot taking care of any branch that was swung or extended in his direction. By the time the tree was five feet away from him, Shane kept his eyes on the tree but was already facing away from the heat. The monster tree was already mostly charred and it was on its last bit of life, feebly trying to catch Shane with its clawed branches.
A few shots later left the monster tree completely bald. Shane stood his ground until the monster finally stopped advancing, just two feet away from him. The roots supporting it eventually crumbled, charred, and the monster tree collapsed to the ground, sweeping up a large cloud of ashes into the air.
“You owe me, rabbit,” was all the silver-haired mage said as he turned around and walked out of Spooky Forest. “I’m Shane Stern, by the way. Rune Knights!”
Watching his new human friend walk away, the rabbit gave a mischievous smirk as well. “I’m Thumper!”
[Total WC: 1601/1500]
