If it weren't for my newly acquired Agility points, I probably wouldn't have dared this climb. But now, balancing on those thin iron rods felt more natural than it ever should have.
When I reached the upper floor, the scene remained unchanged. In fact, it was worse. Unlike the lab downstairs, this was a completely open area, and the traces of chaos were fresher. Deep claw marks on the walls, bloody handprints dragged across the floor, and shredded school bags...
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
The girl's voice rang out again. It was clearer this time. It was coming from classroom 2-C at the end of the hall. Her voice was trembling, yet sharp and warning. Since she said "Don't come closer," she was likely in the same room as the thing threatening her.
I moved forward, hugging the wall. My steps were silent. I made a mental checklist:
- If the thing inside is one of those giant insects I saw outside? I run without looking back.
- If it's that man in the black coat with the sword? I run without looking back.
- If it’s something weak-looking? Maybe I have a chance.
The classroom door was halfway open. No growls or roars came from inside. There was only the girl’s sobbing and the silence of a tense standoff. I slowly peeked my head around the doorframe and looked in.
The sight made my brain stall for a brief second.
In the far corner of the classroom, cowering behind the teacher's podium, was a girl holding a broken broomstick like a sword. Her hair was a mess, her school uniform was torn, and her eyes were wide with terror.
And the thing looking at her... was a rabbit. Yes, a familiar white, soft-furred, long-eared rabbit. It stood in the middle of the class on its hind legs.
"Are you serious?" I thought. "Is this girl afraid of a rabbit?"
But then I noticed the corpses around. The classroom floor was filled not just with human bodies, but also the corpses of small, green creatures resembling goblins from games. Did this mean the monsters were fighting each other? Some had their throats ripped out, while others were scattered around as if they’d been through a blender.
"No," I said to myself. "The girl only has a broomstick. If she had a 'Special Skill' that could kill those creatures, she wouldn't be cowering in a corner crying right now. Likely, her skill isn't combat-oriented, or she doesn't know how to use it. Or, in the worst-case scenario, she's part of that lucky 50% who didn't turn into a monster despite not spinning the wheel."
I fixed my eyes on the rabbit. It wasn't moving. It just stood there. But there was something strange about its posture. It wasn't twitching its nose or sniffing around like a normal animal. It was as still as a statue.
"Maybe this thing is like one of those rabbits from that anime—cute-looking but actually lethal," I thought. "I can't take the risk. If this thing killed those goblin-like creatures, it means it's more dangerous than it looks."
I had decided to help the girl, but I had no intention of dying stupidly. I had to be prepared. I gave the command in my mind.
[GENETIC ROULETTE ACTIVATED.] [MANA CONSUMED: 10 MP] [SOURCE: SLOT 1 - MUTANT HUMAN] [SPINNING ROULETTE...]
The symbols flowed before my eyes and stopped.
[TRAIT ACQUIRED: MUTANT TEETH (LOW TIER)] [DURATION: 5 MINUTES]
I felt a sudden, sharp pain inside my mouth. My jawbones cracked, my gums itched and swelled within seconds. When I ran my tongue over my teeth, I realized they were no longer human; they had turned into Matt’s hideous, jagged, razor-sharp teeth. My mouth had enlarged, and my jaw protruded forward. I was struggling to contain my saliva.
"Great," I thought, feeling my mouth with my hand. "I probably look disgusting right now. But I can feel the power in this jaw. If that rabbit attacks, I can rip its head off in one bite."
I was ready. I pushed the door fully open and stepped inside.
The moment the girl saw me, her reaction was even greater than her reaction to the rabbit. Her eyes locked onto my enlarged, salivating mouth and abnormal teeth.
"AAAAHHH! GET AWAY, MONSTER!"
She started swinging the broomstick at me.
"Damn it," I thought. "I should have accounted for this."
I raised my hand in a "stop" gesture, trying to calm her down. Speaking was difficult; my teeth prevented me from pronouncing words correctly.
"Don't... fear," I said, my voice sounding raspy and muffled. "I... am... hu-man. Came... to... res-cue you."
The girl’s expression froze for a moment. A monster that speaks like a human? Or a human turned into a monster? The suspicion in her eyes faded for a second, but then she swung that broom again.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"YOU'RE LYING! STAY BACK!"
I let out a deep breath. I couldn't waste time convincing her.
"Whatever," I thought. "In 5 minutes, my skill will expire and I'll return to my old self. She'll believe me then. But first, I have to eliminate this threat."
I turned my eyes back to the rabbit in the middle of the room. It still hadn't budged. Its back was to me.
"Just a rabbit," I said, encouraging myself. "Maybe it's just in shock."
I took a step toward the rabbit.
And then I realized. The rabbit wasn't standing still. It was vibrating. Its body was vibrating so fast, at such a fine frequency, that from a distance it looked stationary. Its muscles were tensed like an overcharged spring.
"What is th—"
I couldn't finish my sentence.
Vzzzt!
The rabbit suddenly vanished from my field of vision. My eyes couldn't even track it. I only heard the thin sound of it cutting through the air.
"What?!"
Suddenly, I felt a blow in the middle of my face as if I’d been hit by a sledgehammer. My head snapped back. Before I could even realize what was happening, a kick landed on my right kidney, followed by another hard strike to my left kneecap.
Each blow was like a tiny cannonball. Small, but incredibly dense and hard. I lost my balance. My feet left the ground, and I slammed onto the bloody floor on my back.
"Agh!"
I tried to pull myself up in pain. My head was spinning. I had 7 Agility points, but I hadn't even been able to see this thing's speed.
When I lifted my head, the rabbit was standing in front of me again. Just two meters away. This time, its face was turned toward me.
And in that moment, I understood why the girl was screaming.
This wasn't a rabbit. This was a sick joke of nature.
Its eyes... its eyes were blood red and bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. There were no irises, just pure, madness-filled redness. But the real horror was in its mouth.
Underneath that cute rabbit nose was a massive mouth ripped all the way to its ears. And the inside of that mouth... was filled with hundreds of needle-sharp, crooked, and bloody teeth, just like the ones I had now.
The rabbit looked at me and growled. Its voice wasn't the kind a rabbit would make; it was crackling and high-pitched like a broken radio frequency. It was smiling at me with its hideous teeth. Or rather, it was comparing our teeth.
"I guess," I said, trying to stand up. "We go to the same dentist."
I didn't even get the chance to stand up.
The rabbit began to vibrate again and let out that hideous, crackling growl. The moment I blinked, it was gone.
VIZZT!
This time I felt an explosion of pain in my chest. It was as if an invisible cannonball had struck me right in the sternum. My breath was knocked out of me; the air in my lungs emptied. I was hurled backward and slammed into a desk. The desk overturned, and books along with a student’s corpse piled on top of me.
"Fast..." I groaned, my vision blurring. "Too fast."
I had 7 Agility points. I felt sped up, but this thing was on another level. If my speed was a moped, its was a racing motorcycle. It was impossible for me to track it with my eyes.
The rabbit didn't stop. Despite me lying on the ground, it continued its attack. From the right, from the left, it circled me like a blurry red stain, leaving a new cut or bruise on my body with every pass. Its small claws were razor-sharp, and the kicking power in its hind legs was heavy as a sledgehammer.
I shielded my face with my arms, taking a fetal position to protect my vital organs.
"If this continues, I'll die," I thought, panic sweeping away all rational thought. "I have teeth, but I can't bite! I can't even catch it!"
The girl's screams, the monster's growls, and my own heartbeat were mingling in my ears.
There was a brief pause. The rabbit had pulled back for its next lethal strike, coiled like a spring at the other end of the classroom. Those blood-red eyes were locked directly onto my throat.
This would be the final blow.
Time slowed down. Adrenaline suppressed the fear and cleared my mind.
If you can't see it, feel it.
Agility wasn't just speed. it was also reflexes and perception. I closed my eyes. Yes, it was madness, but my eyes were deceiving me.
I felt the vibration on the floor. The pressure those small, muscular legs applied to the ground. The movement of the air.
VIZZT!
It was coming. Directly at me.
I didn't open my eyes. I just trusted my instincts and at the last moment, with all my strength, I threw myself to the left, under the overturned teacher's desk.
THUD!
The rabbit's head slammed into the metal desk leg right behind where I had just been. The sound of bending metal echoed in the room. The monster was dazed. Only for a second.
NOW!
This was my only chance. I lunged from under the desk with the strength of a dying man. The rabbit was shaking its head, trying to recover, but its balance was ruined.
I pounced on it. Not like a wrestler, but like a hungry animal. I wrapped my arms around its small but muscular body.
The rabbit reacted instantly. It started thrashing like a crazed chainsaw. Its hind legs were scratching my chest and stomach, tearing my t-shirt and shredding my flesh. The pain was incredible, but I didn't let go. If I let go, I’d die.
"Got you!" I growled, saliva dripping from my own mutant mouth.
The rabbit opened its hideous mouth to try and bite my shoulder, but I acted faster. I leaned my head forward and tried to sink my massive, crooked teeth into the back of the rabbit's neck, right at the spinal cord beneath those soft furs.
CRUNCH!
My teeth sank into the flesh. Warm blood filled my mouth.
The rabbit let out a shrill scream; its thrashing became even more violent. Its claws grazed my face, and blood began to flow from my forehead. But I tightened my jaw like a vice. That savage strength from Matt’s genetics was concentrated in my jaw muscles.
I bit deeper. I looked for bone.
The rabbit's body went stiff, then shook violently. And finally, I heard that distinct cracking sound beneath my teeth. Its spine had snapped.
The creature’s body went limp instantly. The lethal energy between my arms dissipated, leaving only a bloody, soft mass. I stayed like that for a few more seconds, my teeth still buried in its neck, until I was sure it remained motionless. Then I slowly loosened my jaw and let the corpse fall to the floor.
I collapsed onto my back. My chest was heaving like a bellows. Every part of me ached. Blood was trickling from my face and chest. My mouth was filled with the rabbit’s blood and fur.
I looked at the ceiling, at the flickering fluorescent light.
I had made it.
Just then, the blue windows I had been expecting appeared before my eyes.
[ENEMY SLAIN: KILLER RABBIT (MUTANT)] [EXPERIENCE GAINED: 60 EXP]
And immediately after, another notification came.
[GENETIC ROULETTE DURATION EXPIRED.]
The intense pressure and pain in my mouth vanished instantly. My teeth shrunk, and my jaw returned to normal. The pain of the wounds on my face and body, however, became even sharper as the adrenaline ebbed away.
"I'm alive," I whispered, spitting bloody saliva to the side. "Damn it, I'm still alive."
I forced my head to turn to the side and looked at the girl in the corner. She had dropped the broomstick. She was covering her mouth with her hands, looking at me. The fear was still in her eyes, but now something else had been added to it. A mixture of horror and fascination.
"I... I told you," I said, gasping, trying to sit up. "I'm not a monster."