PHOENIX RISING (Book One In The Phoenix Hunter Series)

★CHAPTER 5★

     I tried to recall what the hunters in the city had told me about checking the status of monsters. 

Just imagine seeing the monster status, it will appear. And so i did,

A blue interface appeared above the bunnies, each one displaying their stats.

Name: Gem Bunny
Level: 1
HP: 5
MP: 5
Drops: •1 Healing Draught, •1 Blue Gemstone (Rare), •1 Mana Crystal, •1 Bunny horn, •5 Copper Coins, •1 Exp. ----------------------------------

The best thing about this monster is that there are not just gemstones, there are coins too and a bunny horn?

Uhm, okay then, let's see what the other had.

I looked to the other ones and saw the same thing, only this time, each gem colour was of the same color with it's name.

Name: Gem Bunny
Level: 1
HP: 5
MP: 5
Drops: •1 Healing Draught, •1 Blue Gemstone (Rare), •1 Mana Crystal, •1 Bunny Horn, •5 Copper coins, •1 Exp. ----------------------------------

Name: Gem Bunny
Level: 1
HP: 5
MP: 5
Drops: •1 Healing Draught, •1 Blue Gemstone (Rare), •1 Mana Crystal, •1 Bunny Horn •5 Copper Coins, •1 Exp. ----------------------------------

There were several other colors of the gems also, purple, emerald, blue, red, orange. It was like a Field of rainbows.

The others were right though.  These monsters really had no combat skills.  Just a few basic sword attacks, and they will be easily killed.  It wasn't going to be a difficult hunt.

Right?

I silently stalked towards the closest bunny, the gold gem one, its golden gem gleaming in the sun.  It was a tempting target, but I knew I had to be quick. 
As I moved closer, the bunny seen to have noticed me and hopped away, its tiny legs moving surprisingly fast.

I chased after it, but it was quicker than I expected.  I ran around for what felt like an eternity, my breath catching in my throat.  It was like a game of cat and mouse, but I was the clumsy cat, and the bunny was a mischievous mouse.

“You gotta be fast and slick with these guys,” Kaito warned, his voice a low rumble. “They're hard to catch, even though they don't have any speed boosts. You'll need to be quick, way more than that.”

I nodded, and turned back to the bunny.

The others watched me with amusement.  “He’s not as quick as he thinks he is,” Luna said, her voice laced with amusement.

I could hear Kaito's low chuckle.  “I told you, you need to be fast and slick.”

I was starting to get frustrated.  I needed to get a hold of myself.

And worst of it was that, I wasting precious time.

I then remembered Kaito's words.  “Be quick and smart.”

With a renewed sense of determination, I lunged towards the bunny, my sword flashing in the sunlight.  I sliced through the air, a quick, sharp movement.  The bunny didn’t know it was aimed at it. 

The sword landed on it's back, piercing through it's fur and coming out the other side.

It let out a high-pitched squeak, and then it was over.

[Notification: You have killed a level one monster. Loots have been condensed +1 Exp]

I stared at the bunny’s corpse, its blue blood splattered across the grass.  I didn’t feel any remorse, just a sense of accomplishment.

The feeling of reaping my first loot, and possibly awakening my system, was overwhelming.  I expected something to happen, a surge of energy, a change in my body, but nothing.  I spun around in circles, checking my body, but there was no difference.  But I knew I had felt something, a subtle shift in my being, as the notification had rung earlier.

The others approached me, their faces full of smiles.  “You did great,”Kaito said, placing a hand on my shoulder. 

“Why didn't I feel anything? I just got 1 exp right?” I asked Luna being the closest to me.

"You need five EXP to awaken your system," Luna said, her voice sharp and to the point. “And you need twenty EXP to level up as a beginner.”

“Twenty EXP to level up?” I asked, my brow furrowed. “That’s surprisingly much.  You said the Bunnies only give one EXP each.  Why would it be so easy?”

Kaito chuckled, a deep rumble that echoed through the meadow. “You’ll understand soon enough,” he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

Luna chuckled. “That’s just the first level.  Things will get much harder as you level up.  You'll need to grind much harder.”

Shadow nudged Luna, who was about to say something else. “Let him learn on his own, Luna.”

I gave them a questioning look, but they just shook their heads, their expressions unreadable.

“And what about the loot? How do I get it?” I asked, feeling a little lost in the whirlwind of new information.

“You need to extract it manually,” Kaito said. “You won't get anything if you just leave it here.  It's like fishing, you need to reel in your catch.”

He then proceeded to demonstrate, he killed a bunny with a single fire ball. his movements fluid and efficient.  He placed his hands over the bunny's corpse, his eyes closed, and a moment later, a flash of light engulfed the creature.

“There,” he said, opening his eyes.  “Easy peasy.”

The bunny's corpse had disappeared, leaving behind a small pile of gleaming loot.

“Alright, now it's your turn,” Luna said, her voice encouraging.  “Give it a try.”

I stared at the pile of loot, my heart pounding in my chest.  The feeling of accomplishment was still fresh, and I was eager to see what I had gained from my first kill.

I placed my hands over the corpse, following Kaito's example, and willed the loot to appear.

Whoosh…

A flash of light engulfed the corpse, and a pile of items materialized on the ground.  I gasped, my mouth hanging open in surprise.  It was like something out of a fairytale.  I didn’t know what they all were, but it was mesmerizing.

“I'm never going to stop monster hunting!” I exclaimed, my voice filled with excitement. 

This is incredible!
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