My magic had passed twenty-five thousand, and my combat power was nearing thirty. Compared to the wild rabbit that I used to be when I just started out, I might as well be a dragon now.

Having to get stronger all the time was really such a pain, but I didn't have any other choice. If I took too long, the secret beta testers would catch up in power.

"Ook."

*boing*

Sure, sure, Panda. Actually, where are you getting those bananas from?

The World Tree and its Saplings were the cornerstones that held up Yggdrasia. The mana taken from them was an indispensable part of life to the human race, and also the backbone of human prosperity.

Mana had allowed for the creation of high-quality weapons, the monster-repelling barrier, and the large-bore, long-range magical cannon that could slaughter a young dragon – a monster with over ten-thousand combat power – with ease (even if it required a direct pipeline to a Sapling, consumed a huge amount of mana, and needed several people to operate).

Weapons weren't the only thing mana had helped create. From the intense heat of magical flame came refined iron and other metals, which served as crucial materials for the manufacture of high-quality industrial goods. Spells were used to reinforce structures. The people had even discovered the secret of constructing high-rise buildings not too long ago.

More directly relevant to the common person's life was the protection the Saplings granted against the climate. Mankind no longer needed to fight against nature itself just to live.

Produce grew quickly in lands abundant with mana, and even quicker when subjected to further mana injection. Hunger was non-existent.

Magical stoves had removed the need for wood and coal, and water was effectively limitless with the help of magitools.

With the technology and industrial equipment granted by God, humans had developed high-speed transportation in the form of express trains and airships. The reach of humankind was slowly growing to cover the whole world.

Yet now, four of those Saplings had been destroyed in succession.

Despite losing the blessing of mana, the people still clung to their land. They struggled in desperation to get back on their feet. But with the cessation of the railway – and accordingly, the circulation of luxury goods – the wealthy and the merchants were the first to leave. The country was devastated. Some people had resorted to looting just to survive, which gave birth to a deluge of refugees.

There had been whispers, rumors that this was a plot by a demon to destroy the world. All the same, with how the rest of the world was still having the leeway to accept the refugees, the people living far away from the incident were yet to be alarmed. They only tightened their security, at most. They weren't seeing this as the crisis it was.

If anything, countries all over the world were even trying to capture the rabbit beastman girl they called the Fluffy Bunny (a nickname that had spread from the adventurers since who knew when) who was purported to be behind it all. To that end, they seeked the help of the adventurers and the Temple to set a trap for her.

Touze Empire, a large country in the Central Continent, was no exception.

"Damn that Shedy, what the hell is she thinking?!"

Within his office, the young emperor Tischlar von Touze muttered in exasperation. His eyes were scanning over pages after pages of newspapers from all over the world, all delivered after just a single day's delay thanks to the airships.

His country had made quite a bit of a fuss when they heard he issued a bounty of five thousand large gold coins for a single beastman. He shut them up by paying from his personal pocket.

With how much the bounty was worth, he had expected information about her to be pouring into the Empire. Yet despite there being not a single trace of Shedy using the airships, she was still popping up all over the world out of nowhere, practically making a mockery of the Empire's intelligence network.

His aged butler, the man who had watched him grown up since he was a baby, was preparing his tea. He chastised Tiz with a small sigh.

"Boy, your face doesn't match your words."

"Heh. That so?"

Even with his exasperation, Tiz was faintly smiling. He looked like he'd found something fun.

As long as the prosperity of his Empire and citizens wasn't being threatened, Tiz couldn't care less for whatever disaster was befalling the other countries. He didn't see the hand behind this atrocity to be the world's enemy. To him, Shedy was his possession. His toy.

Salia de Lence, leader of Tiz's personal bodyguards and an Imperial Knight, ground her teeth in frustration as she looked upon his smile.

The vile beastman girl had stolen the attention of her beloved lord. He might be thinking to take the girl as his pet, but Salia swore that once the opportunity showed itself, she would kill the girl with her own hands.

"However, there is no guarantee that rabbit beastman girl is truly 'Shedy'. According to eyewitness reports, she had looked halfway through her teenage years, around 14-15 years old. We should be prepared for the possibility the two are different people. With that said, I don't think there could be any other white-colored young rabbit beastman girl."

"Yeah. So how's our preparations for the trap?"

"It seems she might be avoiding the Central Continent. At the very least, she would not be easily lured to this Empire where she knew you were, boy."

"I told you, stop it with the 'boy' already, gramps."

Tiz leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms and lightly frowning at the implication. He stared at the old butler.

"So what's your plan, gramps?"

"It is not exactly a plan, per se… The one to have reached the conclusion that she was avoiding the Central Continent was a scholar of the Temple, and he had requested an audience with you. I have scheduled it for this afternoon."

The scholar who showed up was a man around Tiz's age. He called himself Mason.

The young maids staying back near the walls started tittering and squeeing as soon as they caught sight of him. He was tall, with short, neat dark-brown hair, fine features, and an aura of calmness. At the same time, his eyes glinted with the ferocity of a shark. If there were players here to see him, they might have thought he was an elite businessman coming from one of the top corporations of Earth, instead of just a simple Temple scholar.

"I am honored to have been granted an audience, Your Majesty."

"Can it with the greetings. Talk."

Mason nodded for a fraction "Then I shall begin…"

He was a researcher in the field of human psychology and statistics. He claimed to have calculated the likelihood of where the rabbit beastman girl may attack next by looking at the locations and order in which she appeared, her movement path, time between attacks, and other data points.

"We have discovered three countries that were likely to become the target. On top of the list is a certain small country. We humbly request the full cooperation of Touze Empire to set a trap for the rabbit there."

Chapter end