CHAPTER 197: EX 197. MATING SEASON

"True death," Leon muttered under his breath.

He paused, the weight of the words lingering in his mind. What’s the difference between that and normal death? His brow furrowed as he leaned back against a moss-covered boulder. He hadn’t killed a person before, not once. Monsters and demons, yes. Countless. But even after all that, he wouldn’t call himself an expert in death. That was Elizabeth’s field, not his.

The thought of her hit him harder than he expected, pulling his chest down with a heaviness. His lips pressed together. "Elizabeth..." For a moment, the trial’s silence felt colder.

He shook his head quickly, banishing it. "I’m sure she’ll be okay. Her and Nikki both," he whispered.

His focus slid back to the question of death, and the corner of his mouth pulled into a sharp grin. "As for this—" he flexed his fingers, feeling the power simmering in his veins "—as long as I’m strong enough, it won’t be a problem."

That was it. The reason he’d come here in the first place. To get stronger. And this, this sudden twist into an SSS-ranked trial, was perfect.

"Whatever this place throws at me," he said, voice low, certain, "I’ll just power my way through it."

It had always been his answer. Since the very beginning, Leon’s philosophy was simple: everything could be solved with enough strength. If it couldn’t be solved, that only meant he wasn’t strong enough yet.

His eyes narrowed on the endless horizon of the trial world. "This world has too many possibilities. I just need to find them."

Force Affinity: Tier I. Extreme Art: still untapped. And then there was what Rachel, the elf, had spoken of a way to improve one’s talent itself. The memory struck sharper now.

"Did that elf seer predict this would happen?"

The thought came unbidden, and Leon’s jaw tightened. The D-rank trial shifting to SSS wasn’t something that should’ve been possible. If the seer had truly known, why let Rachel walk into something leagues above her? Why send her into a place that could crush her without effort?

But Leon didn’t doubt his assumption. A way to improve a talent... there was no chance it would appear in a mere D-rank trial. No, it made more sense that something like that could only exist in an SSS trial.

Before he could think further—

ROAAAAARRRR!!!

The sound tore through the land, violent and primal. The ground itself seemed to tremble.

Leon froze, his hand instinctively falling to his spare sword in his inventory. His heartbeat jumped once before leveling out into a steady rhythm.

"Finally. A living thing."

Although Leon was excited he didn’t rush. Charging in blind was a fool’s move. That roar could belong to something that would kill him with a single glance.

"I’ll just take a peek," he murmured, already calculating. "If it’s too much, I’ll dump every point into Speed and get the hell out of there."

His decision made, Leon slipped from the boulder’s shadow, his steps deliberate, his eyes sharp. The air was heavy, alive with the echo of the beast’s cry. And just like that, he moved toward the sound.

****

As Leon stepped closer through the underbrush, his eyes widened.

"...Rabbits?"

Out in the clearing, scattered across the grass, were bunnies the size of motorbikes, calmly grazing as if their massive bodies were normal. For a second, Leon just stared, caught between disbelief and laughter.

"I was kidding earlier," he muttered under his breath, "but I didn’t expect bunnies to actually be this fearsome."

They weren’t just oversized. Each one had curved goat-like horns jutting from their heads, a glaring sign that these weren’t the kind of rabbits people kept as pets.

"Can rabbits even roar?"

The thought barely finished when the answer hit his ears, an echoing roar that rumbled through the forest. Leon’s gaze snapped to its source: a massive black rabbit, just a little larger than the others, locked in combat with another. The second one looked younger, its fur less scarred, its body unmarked by the countless battles the black rabbit had endured.

"What could they be fighting over?"

Around them, a ring of rabbits stood watching, silent and intent. Leon’s chest tightened at the strange atmosphere. Somehow, he didn’t know how, he could read their gazes. They weren’t neutral spectators. They were behind the black rabbit, there gaze almost reverent.

"Could the young one be trying to take control of the colony?"

Leon smirked faintly, oddly pleased by the younger rabbit’s boldness. Courage against an entrenched leader, it was the kind of thing he respected. Besides, he’d already judged these creatures. Their aura was strong, but not threatening enough to him. Watching wouldn’t hurt.

The young yellow rabbit made the first move. It lunged forward, horns gleaming, and rammed its skull against the black rabbit’s head. The impact cracked like stone striking stone. The older beast hadn’t even moved, it braced itself, relying on sheer size and sturdiness to absorb the blow.

Leon’s lips curved upward. "Didn’t even charge back. It’s conserving stamina. It’s battle experience is showing."

The yellow rabbit hopped back, then charged again, and again, again. Each strike rang out, horns colliding with the same brutal rhythm. The black rabbit held steady, tanking the punishment. Sweat pricked Leon’s neck as he followed the rhythm.

"Poor guy," he chuckled, shaking his head, "looks like you won’t be mating this season."

The younger rabbit’s strikes grew desperate. Its breathing turned ragged. Its stamina was slipping. The clash started to drag, as it became predictable and dull.

But then something changed, as sparks crackled.

Leon’s eyes sharpened. Around the younger rabbit, yellow lightning licked across its fur, growing in intensity as it prepared for another charge.

"Now that’s interesting."

But it wasn’t just the younger one. The old black rabbit began to shine as well, its body coated in a metallic sheen, refusing still to budge.

The sight made Leon’s chest thrum with excitement. The yellow lightning reminded him of a certain anime character from Earth, but here, it was real.

The younger rabbit charged one last time, horns ablaze with electricity. The black rabbit braced, its metallic glow hardening like armor.

When they collided, the world split with a deafening crack of thunder.

****

Thank you for reading.