Isaac flew in silence, his expression growing somber as he looked over the devastated forest.
The destruction stretched so far that it was hard to believe it had all happened within a single night.
Last night, he had not been able to leave a clone inside the Soulbind Pendant. Every one of his clones had already been assigned to other tasks that demanded constant attention. Several remained inside the Fourth Area of the Great Dungeon, continuously distracting the Special Monster so it would stay occupied.
The rest of his clones had been scattered throughout the city and its surroundings. Powerful new visitors had been arriving almost every hour, needing him to keep watch along with Catherine in case any trouble appeared.
At the same time, he had stationed clones throughout the wilderness after the Sinkhole Worm incident. Those monsters had nearly sunk the City before he found out about them. He didn’t want a repeat of that situation.
Because of all that, he had made a simple decision.
For a few hours, he would stop using a clone to work inside the Soulbind Pendant. After all, nobody could enter it without his permission.
What was the worst that could happen?
Now, standing before the ruined forest, Isaac had his answer. Apparently, plenty of things could still go wrong even if nobody entered the pendant.
Without wasting another second, Isaac activated Sovereign of Land. His senses expanded across the surrounding forest, covering an enormous area almost instantly. Mana signatures appeared within his perception one after another as he carefully sorted through them.
He quickly found the dragon maids. They were chasing something through the forest, but instead of attacking, they were deliberately holding back. Their movements made it obvious they were trying to capture whatever it was without injuring it.
Punpun was helping as well. The little creature hopped between trees, cutting off escape routes while the dragon maids slowly tightened the encirclement.
Isaac frowned as he focused on the unfamiliar mana signatures they were pursuing. He had never sensed anything like them before. However, after observing them for another moment, another detail caught his attention.
Small bodies. Two feet. Long ears.
Similar to Punpun.
"...Happy Bunnies?"
Just as Isaac identified them, every unfamiliar mana signature suddenly shifted toward him. He blinked in surprise before realizing they had sensed him as well. Their sensitivity toward mana was much higher than he had expected.
’They noticed me already?’
The Happy Bunnies rushed through the forest at incredible speed. Their movements were so fast that they easily rivaled Awakener Overlords of Low-rank Species who had only recently advanced.
’Their stats are already at the Overlord rank,’ he observed.
Even Isaac found that surprising. He had expected them to grow at a faster pace, but not this fast.
Dozens of Happy Bunnies emerged from behind trees, bushes, and broken rocks before gathering together. The moment they spotted Isaac, they immediately changed direction and charged straight toward him.
"They’re coming." Alice immediately stepped forward.
Celia also became alert, although curiosity filled her expression more than concern.
Isaac raised a hand. "Don’t attack."
The two women immediately stopped moving.
Isaac slowly descended until his feet touched the ground. The Happy Bunnies also slowed to a stop several meters away, staring at him with curious eyes. More specifically, they stared at the mana surrounding his body.
One Happy Bunny tilted its head.
[Papa...?]
Every other bunny froze.
Their ears immediately stood straight as they all stared at Isaac without blinking. For a brief moment, complete silence filled the forest.
Then dozens of excited voices rang out together.
[Papa!]
[Papa!]
[Papa!]
[Papa!]
[Papa!]
They exploded forward all at once.
Some kicked off the ground with flames erupting beneath their feet. Others created icy paths beneath themselves and slid across them to gain even more speed. Wind gathered around several more, pushing them forward until they became colorful blurs.
At that moment, Isaac finally understood why the forest had become such a disaster. These little creatures had gone completely wild last night. Every one of them possessed strength comparable to a newly advanced Low-rank Species Overlord, making even an innocent sprint destructive.
If one of them accidentally crashed into a stone wall, it would probably punch straight through it without slowing down.
Isaac remained where he was.
The first Happy Bunny slammed into him with all its strength before wrapping both arms around his waist. Another leaped onto his shoulder, while a third grabbed one of his legs. Within seconds, more and more bunnies piled onto him until he disappeared beneath a mountain of fluffy bodies.
[Papa! Papa! Papa!]
One bunny hanging around his neck happily rubbed its cheek against his face. Several others squeezed themselves into the pile despite there obviously being no room left. Every one of them looked unbelievably happy to see him.
Isaac sighed inwardly.
’If I were still an ordinary human, they would’ve crushed me to death.’
He could feel every bunny clinging to him with enough strength to flatten steel. None of them seemed to realize they were using far too much force.
’These kids really don’t know how to control their strength.’
"Oh my, they’re so cute!"
Celia’s entire expression brightened as she hurried toward the only Happy Bunny that had stayed behind. It simply stared at her with curious eyes until she picked it up without hesitation. She gently tickled its stomach and rubbed its fluffy ears while making cheerful cooing noises.
The Happy Bunny’s face immediately softened with delight.
Alice remained vigilant behind them. Celia’s strength was certainly high enough to deal with someone possessing the power of a newly advanced Overlord, but accidents were still possible. These Happy Bunnies clearly had no understanding of restraint, and Celia’s stats weren’t exactly very high. Compared to Isaac and others, at least.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
The bunny in Celia’s arms simply relaxed and happily accepted all the affection, occasionally giggling as she continued playing with it. Seeing that, Alice slowly let out the breath she had been holding.
From somewhere beneath the pile, Isaac finally spoke. "Alright, this is enough."
Invisible force spread outward as Telekinesis wrapped around every Happy Bunny. Strengthened by his evolved Aura, the skill easily lifted each bunny into the air despite their struggles. Isaac carefully placed them all back onto the ground while continuing to hold them in place.
The Happy Bunnies wiggled excitedly but made no attempt to resist.
Isaac looked at the dozens of fluffy faces staring back at him.
"Now tell me, why are all of you causing so much chaos?" he asked.
The Happy Bunnies blinked at him before looking at one another. They seemed to be able to understand his words, to some extent at least, but each seemed to be waiting for someone else to answer first. Meanwhile, the bunny sitting comfortably in Celia’s arms slowly raised one paw.
[Hungry.]
The others immediately began speaking as well.
[Wanted to look around!]
[The forest was nice!]
[Wanted Papa!]
[Hungry!]
[Playing hide-and-seek was fun!]
Isaac listened quietly for several seconds before closing his eyes. A faint headache was already beginning to form. Every Happy Bunny had given him a different answer, and somehow every one of them sounded perfectly reasonable from their own perspective.
He could not even bring himself to be angry. Instead, he found himself feeling a little sorry for the dragon maids.
These Happy Bunnies were essentially children born with overwhelming strength, and at their current level, each of them was already stronger than an Adult Dragon that did not possess the System.
The dragon maids were still stronger overall, but there were simply too many Happy Bunnies to manage.
More importantly, they could not fight seriously because they were afraid of accidentally hurting them. That alone made the situation much harder than it first appeared.
Isaac activated Sovereign of Land again and expanded his senses throughout the forest. He could still detect several stronger Happy Bunnies being brought toward his location from much farther away. They had wandered so deep into the wilderness that it would still take them some time to return.
The remaining dragon maids were still chasing the other wandering bunnies. Some of the children hopped between trees while laughing, while others happily used their newly awakened skills without realizing the damage they were causing. Every few moments, another patch of forest exploded with fire, ice, or some other elemental attack.
Isaac let out a slow breath before looking at the children gathered around him.
"Alright, everyone, calm down. I’ll feed those of you who are hungry. As for those of you who are bored, I’ll play with you too," he said.
The moment those words left his mouth, Isaac felt exhausted already. Just imagining himself spending hours entertaining dozens of superpowered children made him feel tired already. He had never liked dealing with children in the first place.
Fortunately, before he had to figure out how to keep that promise, Catherine arrived.
Dozens of Catherine’s clones spread across the clearing almost instantly. Some were real while others were illusions, but the Happy Bunnies could not tell the difference. Before long, groups of children were laughing as they chased different Catherines around the forest.
Isaac silently breathed a sigh of relief. If anyone could keep these energetic children occupied, it was Catherine. Her ability was almost tailor-made for dealing with a large group like this.
Catherine was quite happy to deal with the children, just like Alice and Celia.
At the same time, Alice began taking food out from her Spatial Ring and handing it to the hungry Happy Bunnies. Celia happily joined her, sitting among the children while feeding pieces of roasted meat and fruit into their mouths with an affectionate smile. The children accepted every bite without the slightest bit of hesitation.
"Oh, slow down. There’s enough for everyone," she said.
The Happy Bunnies were clearly liking Celia more and more with each second.