Reincarnated as a Rabbit: Tales of Carrots and Chaos

When I woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky. My fluffy body stretched out as I yawned, ears twitching lazily.

Another day as a rabbit, huh?

I wonder how this life would actually play out for me. It's kinda fun, looking at my Godly visage on the small pond. You can say that I'm a handsome rabbit. If you don't agree with me then let me tell you what I did to those caterpillars yesterday. Speaking of yesterday.

Yesterday had been… surprisingly productive. Not bad for my first 24 hours as a fluffy herbivore. I'd leveled up, gained a skill, and even discovered that caterpillars apparently taste terrible, even when you're not eating them. (Seriously, squishing them felt gross enough. Let's not even talk about what their goo would taste like.)

But now what? My EXP-farming rampage was great and all, but how far could I get squashing bugs? What if I needed, like, a thousand caterpillars just to hit Level 3? At that point, I'd basically be the bane of insect-kind. The Rabbit Exterminator or maybe The Insects Bane or The Exterminator. Cause you know, Insect exterminator… whatever. It had a nice ring to it, but somehow I doubted that'd make me any less delicious to predators.

Speaking of predators…

The fur on the back of my neck suddenly prickled. My ears stood straight up as I froze. Something wasn't right.

A strange rustling sound came from the bushes nearby.

Okay, okay, stay calm. Maybe it's just the wind, I thought. Except… there was no breeze.

Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic.

The rustling grew louder. My instincts screamed at me to run, but my body refused to move. Oh crap, I'm about to become rabbit stew, aren't I?!

And then, it appeared.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes stared at me from between the bushes, unblinking and menacing.

"Oh, fuck" I whispered.

The creature stepped into the clearing, and my heart sank. It was a wolf—or at least, something wolf-like. Its fur was matted and black as midnight, its teeth glinted like daggers in the sunlight, and it was about five times my size. Worst of all, its eyes locked onto me like I was already its next meal.

"Oh, come on! I just leveled up yesterday! Can't you let me enjoy my progress for one day?!" I shouted, hopping backward toward the safety of my burrow.

"I'll call the cops on you if you don't stop it right now you predator!"

The wolf snarled, and the sound sent shivers down my tiny spine.

"No? Okay, cool, cool. Guess I'll just die, then!"

Without thinking, I turned tail and bolted.

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My legs pumped furiously as I raced across the clearing, the wolf hot on my heels. Every time I glanced back, it seemed closer—its massive paws pounding against the ground like thunder.

With every pounding on the ground, my heartbeat fastened more and more I felt like it would burst any time now.

"Why is this thing so fast?! I'm a rabbit! Aren't I supposed to be the speedy one?!"

As I leapt over a patch of wildflowers, I remembered my new skill. Bounce.

"Alright, rabbit legs, don't fail me now!" I shouted.

I activated the skill, and my hind legs launched me into the air like a tiny, furry rocket.

"WHOA!"

I soared farther than I'd ever hopped before, landing on the other side of a small stream. My heart was pounding, and my breath came in short, panicked gasps, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.

The growls of the wolf made me unable to even think about resting even for a millisecond. Death awaits but I plan to not let it get to me just right after dying and reincarnating.

The wolf growled behind me, undeterred. It splashed through the stream like it was nothing, closing the gap faster than I could manage.

"Come on, Bounce, don't let me down!" I activated the skill again, leaping farther and higher, but it wasn't enough.

The wolf's jaws snapped dangerously close behind me, and I swore I felt its hot breath on my tail.

I needed to think of something—anything—before I became a fluffy snack.

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As I bolted through the forest, an idea popped into my head.

What if I led the wolf somewhere else? Somewhere dangerous?

It was a terrible plan. Actually, scratch that—it was barely a plan at all. But I didn't have many options.

I zigzagged through the forest, using Bounce to gain just enough distance to avoid becoming lunch. The wolf snarled in frustration, its glowing eyes never losing sight of me.

After what felt like an eternity of running, I spotted my target: a steep hill covered in loose rocks.

Perfect.

I pushed my tiny legs to their limit, activating Bounce one last time to clear the top of the hill. The wolf, so focused on chasing me, didn't seem to notice the change in terrain until it was too late.

Its massive paws stepped on the loose rocks, sending it tumbling down the slope in a cloud of dust and fur.

"Yes!" I shouted, pumping a paw in victory. "Take that, you overgrown fleabag!"

The wolf landed in a heap at the bottom of the hill, dazed but alive. It shook itself off and growled up at me, but for now, it seemed to be keeping its distance.

Panting and shaking from the adrenaline, I sat down at the top of the hill to catch my breath.

"That's right, run away! You're lucky you didn't get to me or else I would've turned you into a dog meat dumpling!"

I couldn't believe I'd survived. Somehow, against all odds, I'd outsmarted a wolf.

Not bad for a rabbit, I thought, a small smirk forming on my face.

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Just as I was starting to feel a bit too smug about my victory, a voice echoed in my head.

[Congratulations! Quest Completed: "Don't Let the Predator Touch You."]

[Rewards: +50 EXP, [Skill] Danger Sense Lv. 1.]

"Wait, what?" I blinked. "A quest?!"

I hadn't seen any notifications about a quest when the wolf first appeared, but apparently, I'd just cleared one. Not only that, but I'd gained another skill—Danger Sense.

Curious, I tried to focus on the skill. Immediately, I felt a strange tingling sensation at the edges of my awareness, like an invisible warning system.

Whoa. This is actually pretty useful.

As I experimented with the skill, another notification popped up.

[New Quest Available: "The Forest's Secret."]

[Objective: Investigate the strange energy source deeper within the forest.]

"Strange energy source? What does that mean?" I muttered, tilting my head.

I was about to dismiss the message as some kind of glitch in this bizarre, RPG-like system when I felt it—a faint pulse of energy, barely noticeable but undeniably real.

It was coming from somewhere deeper in the forest.

For a moment, I debated whether to investigate or just go back to my burrow and pretend none of this had happened. But then I remembered the wolf. If this strange energy could help me grow stronger, maybe it was worth the risk.

"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do," I said, hopping to my feet. "Let's see what this forest is hiding."

And with that, I set off toward the source of the strange energy, my Danger Sense on high alert.

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As the rabbit ventures deeper into the forest, the shadows grow darker and the air heavier. Unbeknownst to him, something—or someone—is watching his every move.