Chapter 3 – The First Follower
The chase began. I was faster than the fox, but I still wasn't fully used to this body.
He stayed behind me, refusing to let me slip out of his sight. I ran between trees and branches, but that wasn't enough to shake him off.
I started to feel tired.
[Danger avoided]
[You have obtained the title: Shield]
[Strength +2 | Endurance +3]
I felt my energy return. It was exactly what I needed.
Every muscle in my body tightened and grew stronger.
After about ten minutes, the fox stopped chasing me. It seemed he finally gave up.
I stopped in a place I hadn't seen before and began exploring my surroundings.
"Help… help…"
A soft, feminine voice echoed, asking for aid. I approached carefully and hid behind a fallen tree trunk.
I froze.
There were three men dressed in filthy leather clothes that smelled disgusting even from a distance.
Their hair was messy, their skin filled with wounds, and their expressions twisted.
The one in the middle—probably their leader—had a huge mustache, a glass right eye, and broken teeth. He sat on a chair while the others sat on the ground eating and drinking whiskey.
His gaze was fixed on a small cage with a cruel grin.
What shocked me was what was inside the cage.
A fairy. Yes—an actual fairy. She was about 12 centimeters tall, with butterfly-like wings, golden hair, and bright blue eyes.
"Please… rabbit, help me."
Her mouth didn't move. The words reached my mind directly.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Mimi. I'm a friend. Help me and I'll give you all the vegetables you want."
I stared at her.
Was she stupid, or did she think I was? How could a simple rabbit defeat three armed grown men?
"My name is Erbit. I won't gain anything from helping you… only trouble."
Her face froze in shock.
She must have assumed I was just a normal rabbit.
I opened my system screen and tapped:
[Followers: 0/1]
"But… I can help you if you swear loyalty to me."
I didn't really know how to get followers, but I assumed this was how.
"I—I can't! You are an animal and I am a fairy! I'm one of the forest's noble race. How could I swear loyalty to a rabbit?"
Even fairies, it seemed, had pride issues.
I turned around and began to walk away.
"If you think you're too high to bow… then go ahead and wait for someone stronger than me to save you."
"W–wait! Please! Ask for anything else! I'll give it to you!"
"No. That's what I want."
Her expression twisted with shock, frustration, and disbelief.
She kept silent for minutes until the men finished eating.
"%$$=) $=$!"
"(&(==؟ =) $=%%##"
I couldn't understand a thing they said.
"What did they say?" I asked.
"They said they will sleep here tonight and continue their journey to the capital tomorrow… where they will sell me in an auction."
The men each grabbed their sleeping bags and lay near the cage.
Her expression showed clear disgust.
"Fine… I'll swear. I'm Mimi, from the Fairy Village. I swear to follow—what is your name again?"
"Erbit."
I never even considered changing my old name. It was still me, and I hadn't changed—only evolved.
"I swear to follow my lord Erbit the Rabbit, from this moment onward."
[Alert: The host has gained the First Follower]
[Reward Granted]
[Special Reward detected: First follower is a Fairy. Unique evolution triggered.]
Suddenly, warm energy burst from her direction and wrapped around my body.
[The host has evolved from Ordinary Rabbit → Magic Rabbit]
"What happened to you, my lord?" she asked.
My senses sharpened. I could feel a strange energy floating in the air.
Was this mana? Magic?
It felt like something straight out of the novels I used to read.
"I… I became a Magic Rabbit."
She stared at me, shocked.
"That's incredible! Only 1 in 1000 rabbits is born with mana affinity… and even among those, only 1 truly evolves!"
One in a thousand…
I guess I really was rare.
I opened my status window:
Name: Erbit
Race: Magic Rabbit
Age: 1 year
Title: Shield
Strength: 3.8
Endurance: 5.8
Speed: 5.6
Intelligence: 9.0
Charisma: 4.5
Aura: 0
Magic: 5
Skills:
Jump Lv2
Enhanced Senses Lv1
Telepathy Lv1
Mana Sensitivity Lv2
Weapons: None
Skill Points: 1
Status Points: 2
Followers: 1/5
Follower:
Mimi – shocked, sad.