—Haru's POV—
I was just about to charge at the rabbit when someone jumped in first, completely catching me off guard.
The person was a rather large man, and the horned rabbit swiftly dodged his strike. Surprisingly, the rabbit didn't run away even after being attacked. Instead, it looked even more aggressive, leaping at the man with its sharp horns. The man managed to evade, though he still got grazed by the horns a few times.
Watching from a distance, I decided it was better to observe rather than immediately help. Besides, the guy looked experienced. Or—well, at least I *thought* he was. After about five minutes, I realized I had placed way too much expectation on him. Their fight looked less like a serious battle and more like children trying to catch a grasshopper that wouldn't stop jumping around. The man threw punches, the rabbit dodged, and then counterattacked. Over and over.
I considered helping, but something else caught my eye—the dents and cracks left in the ground each time the man's punches missed. Okay… so maybe he actually had some impressive strength?
Curious, I decided to test something and used my Lazy Eyes skill on him.
[Lazy Eyes]
Name: Leon Firdio
Age: 20
Title: Knight of Fist
Class: —
Stats:
STR: 21 (Heroic)
AGI: 13 (Rare)
END: 28 (Legendary)
INT: 10 (Above Common)
LCK: 15 (Rare)
MNA: 7 (Above Common)
Skills:
-Combat Fist
"Knight of Fist…?"
I almost burst out laughing when I saw his title, but well… the guy was obviously way stronger than me, so maybe not a good idea.
Instead of laughing at him, I figured it was better to help him—and, more importantly, help myself. If I teamed up with him, he could basically become my personal punching machine. Which meant I could slack off a little. Just a little.
I'd already gotten a pretty good grasp of the rabbit's movement pattern, so I gripped my dagger and lunged in—intentionally missing.
Perfect. That was exactly what I wanted.
Just as predicted, the rabbit kicked off the tree on the back-left side and shot toward me like a bullet. I spun to the side, and the moment it passed my shoulder, I drove my dagger straight into its body.
Bullseye.
I'd done it. A small wave of satisfaction washed over me. This Fast Adapt skill was proving very useful. I picked up the rabbit's body, then glanced back at the man.
He looked shocked—probably surprised to see another human besides himself. And suddenly, he grabbed me and hugged me hard.
"FINALLY—ANOTHER PERSON BESIDES ME!!"
I was so stunned I couldn't even react. Also, I couldn't breathe. His hug felt like I was being squeezed between two stone walls.
"H-hey, uh… c-could you… let go first…?"
I managed to squeeze the words out with the last air in my lungs. He quickly released me.
I managed to squeeze the words out with the last air in my lungs. He quickly released me.
"Ah, sorry! I got too excited. And also—wow! That was amazing! You stabbed it right as it charged at you!"
I let out a small awkward laugh at his praise. Not that it really meant anything to me, but… sure.
"It's fine. And um… big bro, you were hunting, right? If so, want to hunt together? Maybe join me?"
He looked confused, eyes serious, expression even more serious—like he was preparing to reject me.
"Big bro? Are you younger than me?"
The sudden question caught me off guard, but I nodded anyway.
"Yeah, I'm seventeen. And you look like you're in your twenties…"
Even though I obviously already knew he was exactly twenty.
He went silent, then burst out laughing—loudly.
"Wahaha! You're really young—and talented too! You even guessed my a—"
I immediately clamped my hand over his mouth.
"Uh, big bro? Could you… not talk so loudly? We're in an unknown place filled with monsters. They're probably sensitive to noise—especially loud noise."
He listened, then nodded understandingly. I slowly removed my hand.
"Alright, I get it. Sorry for being careless. And I haven't even introduced myself, have I?" He straightened up. "My name is Leon Firdio. I'm a former military soldier."
Ah. No wonder he had that kind of title. Knights, soldiers—same thing, basically.
"Nice to meet you, big bro Leon. I'm Shige Haru—just a normal high school student."
He laughed again and patted my shoulder—though it felt more like a gorilla smacking me with its palm.
"No need to be so formal. We're only a few years apart. Just call me Leon. Looking forward to working together, Haru."
"Yeah, looking forward to working with you," I replied—then paused as something weird clicked in my head.
"Wait a second… you said you're ex-military, but didn't you also say you're around twenty?"
Leon listened to my question and simply chuckled.
"Well, before I ended up in this world, I was enrolled in a military academy. But now that I'm in another world, doesn't that basically mean I'm retired? Kekeke."
I stared at him, confused. I couldn't tell if that was supposed to be a serious explanation or a joke.
If it was a joke… then he was a very young dad-joke-type guy.
But whatever. As long as he's useful to me, I'll take it.
"Alright, let's go find another rabbit."
He nodded and followed behind me.
Time passed, and we managed to catch only four rabbits. When I looked up, the sky had already turned orange—late afternoon.
I glanced at Leon, who looked exhausted.
"We should head back now."
He nodded, though he looked confused.
"Sure, but… back to where? Do you have a shelter or a camp?"
I simply nodded and started walking toward the cave.
Even though we'd hunted pretty far from it, I had marked trees along the way so I wouldn't lose track of the path back. Leon followed me, looking curious and also sometimes give a dad joke again make me must forced laught it,he joke really cringe and make me want shut he mouth.