While on this train of thought, I realized something else.

*The clock on my phone is definitely correct.*

This was a bold claim. How did I know this? Well, I didn't for certain, but figuring it out wasn't going to be difficult.

*I just hope it's no longer cloudy outside...*

I hastily dried myself off and put on some fresh clothes. I was no longer tired. Nor was I sore... Perhaps that nap of a few minutes was all I needed.

With my black s.h.i.+rt and black shorts, I rushed outside as quickly as possible.

I quickly confirmed the weather. It was indeed sunny, the perfect condition to test my theory.

But before I could proceed with my observations, I noticed something else.

*Where... did the dead rabbits go?*

I knew for sure that I had killed precisely six rabbits in the vicinity of my house, yet I could currently see zero. The four bloodstains were still there, though. In my moment of confusion, I had one clear thought that should have been common sense, but my new reality kept this common sense suppressed.

*Rabbits are almost on the bottom of the food chain.*

My confusion turned to shock. My breathing started quickening. My heart began to beat faster as well. I didn't want it to be true, but the lack of evidence was exactly the proof I needed here. There was no other possibility, unless they had just magically vanished into thin air. But I knew this wasn't the case from the small trails of dripped and dried up blood sprouting off of each of the four stains.

*What G.o.dforsaken creature hunts those things?*

Yes, another creature had picked those corpses right off the ground and walked away with them. All I had done was give it easy roadkill. It was most likely thanking me for the easy hunt.

My efforts until now seemed laughable.

*Killing rabbits gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment? Give me a break...*

Any sense of pride I previously had had evaporated completely. I was in a daze after seeing my lap time, but that was only a record for Earth. Perhaps if I needed to survive and venture outside my comfort zone in this world, being superhuman was necessary.

*It's not just An that's ridiculing me, but wild animals as well?*

How long had I been watched? Was I still being watched? How had I survived for so long?

Well, that last question wasn't quite right. I *did* die once already, so maybe I wasn't so fortunate after all.

The scariest thing was that I never knew any other beings were here in the first place. The world merely seemed like a hollow sh.e.l.l of the one I knew. And now that I knew there was something out there that hunted my hunters, my superhuman capabilities didn't seem very impressive. There was undoubtedly only one way to survive comfortably in this world.

*I have to get stronger.*

Unless I didn't want to go anywhere and stayed inside my own home. As far as I knew, nothing had broken into my house yet, so I was safe here.

*But how am I going to test this theory?*

I could only test this theory with creatures I was certain I could beat. I certainly didn't want to invite an apex predator to my doorstep.

*I'll need to be cautious. I'll stick around my own house, and if something is on to me, I'll retreat inside.*

Of course, I would only need to retreat from anything I didn't recognize. I was confident in my ability to endlessly slaughter... rabbits...

*Just thinking of that statement makes me sound like a pathetic loser... Oh, yeah! Let's keep killing rabbits! Seriously, what am I doing here?*

But I had to take the first step here. The first step to obtaining new strength. I wouldn't be able to get anywhere by refusing to take the first step. At least there would be no one to witness my humiliating journey. No one important, anyway. And since there was n.o.body here, I didn't need to rush to take the first step. Just because I was required to start didn't mean I had a time limit on when I could.

*Ah, I almost forgot why I came outside in the first place!*

I was getting ahead of myself here. But that was only natural, since, unbeknownst to me, there was most likely another grave threat to my life lurking in the distance.

*Learning to stay calm in the face of danger is something I need to do.*

And this wasn't going to happen immediately. Who knows how many life or death encounters it would take before my train of thought was fluent in real danger?

*Although... technically I have an advantage here? Because I can't exactly die...*

Indeed, training in life or death situations was possible here simply because I could come back to life.

*I don't exactly know how many times I can come back to life... so I have to treat every life or death situation like normal. As if I could very well die. Because I definitely could... Okay, okay. Let's get back on track for real this time...*

I didn't have ADHD, but being easily distracted was another of my specialties. I came outside to see how long a day was in this world.

I checked the time once more. 12:17, and the sun was was probably a quarter way across the sky. I jotted the info down in a note-taking application.

...

And that's all I had to do.

*Why did I stall so long just to do that? Oh, well. The past is gone, now. And it's not like I was wasting time thinking about useless things.*

It was time to proceed with my second project - testing the supposed safety of my house.

*Calm down. Come on, let's go...*

I realized I was still shaking slightly from my realization earlier, but I took a deep breath and finally stepped away from my front door. I couldn't afford to stall any longer. This issue threatened my life.

*Whether or not I can procrastinate further depends on the result of this experiment, so I cannot fail by any means!*

Operation Rabbit Hunt was about to begin.

I gave this mission a name because I was going to take it very seriously!

*But my task remains the same. Kill more rabbits... Ahhhh! I want to get out of this h.e.l.l! But I also don't want to leave my house... Oh, the duality of man.*

I ventured around the perimeter of my house and into the backyard.

Since we lived in a spa.r.s.ely populated suburb, out backyard was fairly big - about the size of a football field. We didn't have a fence due to a few large trees lining the edge and the safety of our neighborhood. Not to mention there wasn't anything to steal from us anyway... although my parents were actually fairly wealthy, we had always lived modestly.

*This reminds me of all the times we hosted various sporting events for many of my friends. Thinking about it now makes me a bit nostalgic. Middle school was the best...*

Said sporting events hadn't taken place in this backyard, but seeing a wide open field brought back some fond memories. I had avoided this backyard for precisely this reason. But I didn't have much of a choice now, unless I wanted to carry a larger risk of death.

*The past is gone. Didn't I just tell myself this? And since that was even longer ago, it's even more gone. Move on.*

I sighed and continued searching in silence.

I obviously knew that these weren't going to pop up out of the ground, so I decided to search the perimeter of the backyard. I also knew that it was unlikely for them to show up near my house from previous encounters, although I didn't know how close "near my house" precisely was. Therefore, I slowly searched around the trees on the edge of the yard, steadily gaining distance from the nearest point of safety.

*These things are absolutely everywhere, so it shouldn't take that long to find one... Well, speak of the devil.*

As I reached the back edge of the yard, one angry looking rabbit jumped out from behind a tree.

*It's surprising to think that I can decipher emotion from their faces at this point. It's safe to say I know how these guys operate now.*

With that thought, I turned around and dashed towards the house. I turned my head back to confirm my suspicions.

*Looks like I'm right. If I charge at them, they freeze up for a little too long. If I do nothing, they run at me. If I run away from them, they go even crazier.*

It was a bit odd, but now that I knew their secrets, they weren't so scary anymore. Not to mention the increase in my strength as well.

*Hmm... looks like only one of them showed up this time. Well, that's enough for now. Any more would probably just be a waste. Let's see what happens.*

Since I was near the back edge of my backyard, I could dash straight through an open field without hindrance.

*Let's go! Hundred meter sprint!*

I pushed my legs as fast as they could carry me. I visualized a finish line near the back door of the house. I tried breathing as efficiently as possible. Yet I was still too slow.

*Well, too slow isn't exactly the right phrase. Rabbits are supposed to be faster than people, anyway. Especially in a sprint. I guess this is just going to be hundred meter hurdles... with a twist?*

I poised myself to perform a 360 mid-sprint, jumped into the air, and lightly kicked the furry projectile to the side halfway through my turn. It tumbled through the air and landed on its side, only to return to its feet after rolling on the ground a few times. I hit the ground and continued running towards my house.

*Well, I guess it's not a cat, so it's not gonna land on its feet most of the time?*

I had deterred it a bit, but its resolve didn't seem shaken. It didn't hesitate to charge at me immediately after regaining balance.

*...which is completely fine by me.*

I had reached the staircase that led up to the patio, and almost reached the back door to my house.

I hopped up onto the deck and turned around.

*I wonder what it'll do. Am I safe here?*

I had reached the top of the staircase, and the rabbit was trailing not far behind. But as soon as it approached the first stair, it abruptly stopped. It sniffed the air in front of it and reeled, backing off a few steps in the process.

"Oh?" I said out loud. "You're not coming?"

The rabbit looked me in the eyes with... anger? Fear?

*It looks like I'm still not fluent in rabbit facial expressions. But there's plenty of time to improve on that front as well.*

"If you're not coming... I'll come to you!"

I sped down the stairs, skipping record numbers of them in the process. As expected, the previously ferocious rabbit put on a look of shock and fear. I reached the bottom of the stairs in no time and grabbed the thing by the ears.

This probably made it come back to its deranged senses, as it attempted to bite at me, but to no avail.

*Now, I wonder what happens if I bring you with me?*

I started back up the stairs, but as soon as I took the first step, the rabbit let out a high pitched squeal.

*What the heck?*

I had never heard a rabbit make this sound, regardless of if it was a normal one or an insane one.

I looked down at the hand that was holding said rabbit in confusion. And to my shock, it was disintegrating face-first.

*What the heck??*

I was so startled that I threw the rabbit against the steps and involuntarily took a step back.

For better or for worse, it didn't have a face anymore, so I didn't have to hear that awful screaming. But it was a pretty disturbing sight. And immediately after it made contact with the steps, the rabbit vaporized.

*Just like that?*

It was gone. A monster that had me on edge for the entire time I'd been here had just disappeared into thin air. Literally.

*That's why they never approached the house? What a horrible way to die...*

I grinned devilishly.

*But how perfect for me.*