Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 228: The Prowess of Rose

Aria let out a soft hum as the group walked through the grasslands heading towards the Southern Hunting Grounds. She had to admit that when she had flown over this area before, she didn’t have the mind to enjoy the scenery.

The air was fresh, the greenery was delightful and the various forms of wildlife like rabbits, squirrels and hedgehogs were absolutely adorable. If she had to make one complaint, it would be about Penny who had begun to whine after 15 minutes of walking.

"Are we there yeeeeeet?"

She groaned in annoyance, perhaps for the 4th time since they departed. Even Leo was getting a bit annoyed by it but kept his mouth shut. He understood the reason for her grumbling was partially because under the sun, Vampires did not have a great time.

"No we are not. We will be there in maybe 5-10 minutes."

Leo patiently explained but Crystal could tell that he was actually not as patient as he appeared to be.

In an attempt to help him, Crystal raised her hand, channeling a gentle stream of mana into her fingertips. With a small gesture, a thin, shimmering sheet of ice formed above Penny’s head, casting a cool shade like a delicate parasol.

Penny blinked, looked up at the hovering frost, then let out a long, dramatic sigh of relief.

"Oh, Empress. My savior. My hero. My adorable ice queen~!"

Crystal arched an eyebrow. "You’re welcome, I think."

Leo gave Crystal a grateful nod. His mouth twitched slightly, as if trying not to smile. He kept walking, but his steps seemed lighter.

Greg glanced at the parasol of ice floating gently above Penny and let out a short breath through his nose.

"Huh. That’s actually kind of clever."

"Elegant solutions for dramatic problems," Crystal replied calmly.

Penny gave a lazy grin. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

They continued moving across the grassy hills, the sunlight growing softer as they neared the shadowed edge of the Southern Hunting Grounds. The wind shifted slightly, rustling the taller patches of grass. Birds that had been chirping earlier had now gone quiet.

Aria’s eyes scanned the treeline ahead. Her wings twitched faintly, half-unfurled, not in preparation for flight but in instinctive caution.

"We’re close," she said, her voice quiet but certain.

Leo slowed his pace, his hand resting near the hilt of his weapon. "Let’s tighten up. Stay alert."

Penny lowered her voice. "I don’t see anything yet."

"That’s kind of the point," Aria said. "Predators don’t usually make themselves obvious."

Crystal’s eyes narrowed slightly. She extended her senses through the mana in the air, catching the subtle tension beneath the natural flow of energy. Something was watching.

Greg rolled his shoulders once, then cracked his knuckles. "Been a while since I stretched."

Leo gave him a sideways glance. "Let’s not pick a fight unless it picks one with us."

"No promises," Greg muttered.

They crossed from open fields into the first rows of trees. The shadows fell longer here, and the air grew cooler, though not from Crystal’s magic this time. The Hunting Grounds had a presence to them as if danger lurked within.

Just ahead, in the underbrush, there was a faint rustling sound.

Leo stopped walking. His hand rose without a word.

Everyone froze.

Aria stepped forward slowly, careful not to make a sound. Her eyes scanned the brush as the rustling grew louder, more deliberate.

A shape moved behind the leaves. Low to the ground. Four-legged.

Crystal tensed, her fingers flickering with a barely-there shimmer of ice.

Greg’s posture shifted subtly, his muscles coiled and ready.

Penny tilted her head. "So... do we fight it, or pet it?"

The bushes parted to reveal a small horned rabbit as it darted out into the clearing.

The tension broke slightly.

Penny let out a dramatic sigh. "Clearly hostile."

Greg chuckled under his breath. "I don’t think we should be going full combat beatdown on a tiny bunny."

"Even I could win," Penny said confidently.

The bushes parted to reveal a small horned rabbit as it darted out into the clearing.

The tension broke slightly.

Penny let out a dramatic sigh. "Clearly hostile."

Greg chuckled under his breath. "I don’t think we should be going full combat beatdown on a tiny bunny."

"Even I could win," Penny said confidently.

Just as she finished that sentence, the rabbit tensed, then launched itself like a missile. Its tiny horn drove straight into Penny’s gut with an audible thunk. freewebnøvel_com

[–91!]

[Critical Strike!]

Penny let out a high-pitched screech and stumbled backward, arms flailing as she crumpled to the ground with dramatic flair.

Silence.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

Even the wind seemed to stop as the group processed what just happened.

Aria blinked. "Did... did that bunny just crit her?"

Crystal’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again. She looked at Penny, then at the rabbit now triumphantly thumping its hind legs a few feet away, then back at Penny. Her lips twitched.

Leo stood frozen, eyes fixed on the red damage number still fading from the air.

Greg finally broke the silence with a choked noise that might have been a cough. Or a laugh. He quickly turned away.

Penny groaned, curled on the grass and holding her stomach like she’d been hit with a warhammer. "Why... does it feel like I got stabbed by a truck?!"

Crystal knelt beside her, still visibly fighting the urge to smile. "You got... crit by a rabbit, Riose."

"It came out of nowhere!"

"You watched it charge you," Aria said, staring in disbelief.

Greg’s shoulders were shaking.

Leo let out a low breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ninety-one damage... from a bunny."

Penny hissed, still holding her stomach. "How was I supposed to know it had piercing?!"

Crystal’s voice was calm, but her lips were trembling. "You have almost no armor."

"I thought vampires were supposed to be sturdy," Greg mumbled, barely able to keep his voice straight.

"We are in the dark," Penny snapped.

"You’re in the sun," Leo corrected.

Penny let her head fall back dramatically. "This game is rigged."

Greg finally lost it and let out a full laugh, trying and failing to muffle it with his hand. Crystal let out a soft giggle, and even Aria’s mouth curved slightly before she covered it with her wing.

"I’m never going to live this down, am I," Penny muttered.

Leo shook his head slowly. "Not even a little."

The rabbit gave one last victorious thump before hopping off into the woods.

The group remained still for another moment, recovering from the chaos.

Then Leo cleared his throat. "Alright. Everyone back in formation. Let’s try not to let any more woodland critters nearly kill us today."

Crystal helped Penny up, whispering something that sounded suspiciously like "you’d win, huh?"

Penny groaned again. "Don’t look at me."

Leo let out a heavy sigh when the group began to walk again. The fight ahead was most likely going to be more difficult than he would like.

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