Ch.145145. Rabbit Knight (3)

He was born as the seventeenth son of a rabbit family in a quiet forest of the Elven Kingdom.

Born among ground-dwelling beasts, he grew up among these beasts who were his parents, and in his youth, before he had fully matured, he thought himself to be just an ordinary rabbit.

But as he aged, he suddenly realized that not only was he much larger than his ordinary domestic rabbit family, but his intelligence was also at a level that defied comparison with his own kind….

Having unintentionally gained this uncomfortable knowledge by taking the red pill, he thought that his place was no longer beside his family.

Due to his body being twice the size of his siblings, he needed to consume several times more food, and feeling the burden this placed on his family, he chose to leave them behind.

Of course, survival in this harsh and dangerous wilderness would be nearly impossible for someone barely exceeding 60cm in height.

But fortunately, the forest of this Elven Kingdom, especially the part managed by the elves where he lived, was different.

The elves, with their almost obsessive-compulsive temperament, had eliminated all filth that soiled their island home, and furthermore, “most” of the creatures that could threaten their children who loved playing in the forest.

Thanks to this, having survived the threats of fierce predators and safely passed through childhood, he now fell into contemplation about his own identity.

Who am I, and why was I born? While he was deeply pondering this question that has remained unsolved since the emergence of intelligent beings in this world….

He was able to find something unexpected in a clearing near the forest, quite by chance.

This place, where garbage from the nearby High Elf city accumulated, contained various things that sparked his curiosity.

What particularly caught his interest was something he presumed to be an information medium. That is, books. While spending most of his time collecting them in hopes of discovering anything, he happened upon a book meant for elf children.

It was a special magic-imbued study book that inserted the meaning of words directly into one’s mind upon touching them.

Although the magic in this discarded book had deteriorated, the most important function still worked without major issues.

Thanks to this, he acquired Elven language and the common tongue, and even Elven script and common writing. With these intellectual abilities, he began voraciously reading the discarded books.

What he particularly enjoyed was chivalric literature that had been popular in the Elven Kingdom—novels of chivalric literature that had reached the level of popular culture, dominating an era, made up more than half of his books.

Well, now its popularity has considerably waned, but for him, such considerations were irrelevant.

Rather, having acquired various knowledge through collecting large quantities of discarded books, “he” named himself “Lancelot” after a protagonist in the novels, and dreamed of becoming a knight.

Of course, one couldn’t become a knight simply by dreaming of it, but “Lancelot” was an exceptionally lucky rabbit.

As it happened, the book he used as his textbook, among countless novels and mediocre works, was a close-combat martial arts manual of the Elven Kingdom’s army.

And not just a training manual with basic movements and theory for recruits, but an instructor’s manual containing efficient mana operation methods.

Additionally, Lancelot’s mutant rabbit physique, with its light and elastic physical characteristics, was perfectly suited for the Elven Kingdom army’s close-combat martial arts, which specialized in evasion after striking.

It was as if heaven itself had ordained this connection.

Thanks to this, despite having no master, Lancelot acquired mana operation techniques through self-study, and now spent his days training his body and practicing martial arts while reading various books.

No matter how supernatural one’s physical abilities might become through mana-enhanced body strengthening, the foundation of these abilities is ultimately one’s basic capabilities.

If one were to quantify it, it would be like adding fixed values and percentage bonuses, making physical training absolutely necessary.

And how much time had passed while he was engrossed in training?

At some point, Lancelot realized he had broken through some barrier and could use special mana—he had awakened his aura—thus passing the first step toward becoming a knight.

With this, Lancelot, “complete” in many ways, now wanted to leave his beloved homeland and head straight for the city, but….

What actually struck him was nothing other than extreme hunger.

※ ※ ※

In truth, Lancelot wasn’t particularly isolated from society or reality.

Through extensive reading, he had built up a decent understanding of reality and society, and knew that money and food were the most important things for travel. Thus, Lancelot packed sufficient preserved food before leaving his forest home.

After calculating that he could earn money by selling his strength as a mid-level (aura awakened) fighter, he set out on his journey with enough dried fruits and vegetables to last at least two weeks.

While his judgment wasn’t particularly wrong, there was one fact that he (Lancelot) had overlooked:

He hadn’t considered the dramatically increased metabolism that came with becoming mid-level.

Warriors who reach the mid-level tier have bodies enhanced by the aura within them, even without actively using it, allowing them to exert superhuman strength without separate mana or aura manipulation.

However, such physical enhancement, even with mana compensating for deficiencies, still affects the physical aspect, requiring aura awakeners to consume more than three times their normal food intake without separate aura manipulation.

The amount of food we normally eat in a day would be surprisingly large if seen all at once, and aura awakeners need to consume three times that amount.

Naturally, Lancelot, unable to handle this, collapsed from overwhelming hunger, but….

Here, Lancelot encountered a once-in-a-lifetime connection.

The human male, possessing an astonishing amount of mana that left Lancelot astounded, took him in and provided him with an excellent meal.

For someone who had lived on simple food in the forest, the meal was so magnificent it made his eyes spin. Feeling genuinely grateful, Lancelot developed an even greater liking for the man when he addressed him as a knight—a title Lancelot had only self-proclaimed.

Though it was just a self-proclaimed title with no official standing, to be sincerely called that by someone of vastly superior status…

Just for that, Lancelot felt as if he had already achieved more than half of his dream of becoming a knight.

Of course, the influence of having only met arrogant elves as outsiders before couldn’t be discounted.

Anyway, while conversing with Gregory:

“Sir Lancelot, I have a proposal for someone with such a bright future as yourself. Would you consider becoming my knight?”

[…..What?]

While Lancelot froze, unable to process Gregory’s sudden proposal,

Gregory presented various conditions to Lancelot, proposing a vassal contract, and beyond that, an animal companion contract.

Though Gregory tried to maintain a calm demeanor while making the offer, there was an undeniable excitement within him that he couldn’t hide.

And Lancelot, directly sensing this excitement, wanted to approach the situation more seriously.

The man before him…. presumably at the transcendent level called superior, told him:

That he would fulfill Lancelot’s dream. That he would grant all the conditions necessary for realizing his dream.

Indeed, this man, Gregory Aleinos, not only had all the qualifications but also presented various conditions that Lancelot considered beyond his station, making him an offer.

And with such a nuance that he strongly desired Lancelot.

A dream that began as simple admiration had, through countless overlapping miracles, come within reach—close enough to grasp immediately.

So why would Lancelot refuse this opportunity, this chance to fulfill his lifelong wish?

[Yes, I accept! I pledge my sword to you… no, to my lord.]

“….!!”

Thus, Lancelot’s answer was acceptance.

He vowed to serve the lord Gregory Aleinos before him as his sovereign, to be his sword and faithful knight.