“New Blood, Old Chaos”

"New Blood, Old Chaos"

Loli ran through the forest, dodging roots and branches as several rabbits chased after her with bloodlust in their eyes. They were larger than normal rabbits, with sharp horns that projected backward from their heads, launching forward with each jump, trying to skewer her without mercy.

But even at low levels, the natural speed of an Astral Fairy wasn't something to take lightly. With just a light flutter, her wings gave her an extra boost, propelling her forward with incredible speed.

She couldn't fully fly yet… well, she could, but she didn't know how to control it properly. So she simply ran, letting her wings push her forward like she was gliding on the wind.

Just as the rabbits were about to catch up, several ice talismans shot out from the trees ahead. A gust of frost filled the air, and the four rabbits were frozen mid-leap, locked in poses that defied physics.

Sig and Bert emerged from the bushes, spears in hand. Bert still held several talismans, their mana threads glowing"he had launched them using telekinesis.

Loli joined them immediately, and the three attacked without mercy. Within seconds, the rabbits were defeated.

"You've killed: Horned Rabbit x4"

"You received: 200 EXP (equally distributed among group members)"

Loli rushed over to the frozen bodies and activated the loot system. The corpses shimmered and disintegrated, leaving behind mana fragments, meat, and a couple of curved horns on the ground.

"All right. This should be enough. We need to see how many Edward got," said Sig with a satisfied smile. After two hours of hunting, they'd managed to collect two large mana stones"one per hour. "It'd be nice to have a way to contact the others… this running back and forth blind is kind of annoying."

"We don't have a map, inventory, or any basic features from other games either. But that makes it more realistic, right?" Bert replied calmly. "Although… maybe we can create our own communication methods." His face lit up with his usual geeky excitement.

"You could use one of your spiders," Loli tossed the idea casually.

"Hey, you're right! They already share vision with me anyway," Sig responded, clearly excited.

"Sure. They'll just have to walk around with a spider stuck to their head," Loli added with a mischievous grin, imagining the scene.

"The problem is that only Sig receives the info, no one else," Bert pointed out, more critically.

"It's still a method!" Loli snapped back, frowning at her brother for ruining her brilliant idea.

"Yeah, yeah…" Bert mumbled, not arguing further.

When they returned to the village, they found Edward sitting near the firepit, while Ganfall calmly wove a straw basket in preparation for the next harvest.

"Hey Edward! Looks like you got back before us," Sig greeted with a smile.

"Yeah. I finished about an hour ago," Edward replied in his usual calm, direct tone.

"Uh, we said it'd be two large mana stones…" Bert muttered, frowning slightly.

"Got them already." Edward pulled both stones from his inventory and placed them on a nearby rock. The three stared at him in surprise.

"I don't know if I should feel bad that it took the three of us the same amount of time… or that he did it alone," said Loli, crossing her arms in resignation.

"Technically, he is a slime army," Bert added in his usual flat tone.

As Edward handed over the stones, Sig picked them up and arranged them on the ground. A glow surrounded them, and within seconds they fused into a demonic beast core.

"Perfect. Now we've got enough for two invitations," Sig said, nearly bouncing with excitement.

"Wanna come see them spawn in?" she asked Edward.

"No. I'm good. I'll keep hunting," he replied without hesitation.

"You guys?" she turned to Bert and Loli.

"Nope, I've got to start cooking for my daily mission," Loli replied with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, right, your mission to steal an oni's heart…" Sig teased, though Loli didn't seem to catch it.

"I'll pass. They'll show up here anyway, right?" Bert added casually.

"Whatever. I'll give them the invites. I wanna see their faces!" Sig exclaimed, then stored the core in her pouch and logged out with a grin.

As she vanished, Bert began planning a leveling scheme for Joe and Dean. He knew that starting off as spirits, it would take them at least a couple of hours to progress. But if he, Loli, and Sig weakened the enemies so Joe and Dean could land the finishing blow, they'd level up in no time.

Meanwhile, Loli cheerfully gathered firewood, humming a melody as she stacked the logs. Edward had already headed back toward the forest.

"Hey Edward! If you wanna join the mine raid, don't stray too far. Or at least swing by once in a while so we can coordinate," Bert shouted after him.

"Got it," Edward replied without turning back, raising a hand to show he'd heard.

Loli finished prepping the firewood, then looked toward the improvised shop"and frowned. Lua wasn't there.

"Oh… I need Lua to light the fire," she muttered, starting to look around the village.

"Let me help," said Ganfall, setting his basket aside and walking over.

"Do you have something to light it with, Grandpa?" Loli asked, curious.

Ganfall just smiled. He knelt in front of the firewood, extended a finger, and focused his mana. With a smooth motion, he began drawing a rune directly onto a dry log. The symbol glowed faintly, and upon completion, a small puff of smoke appeared… followed by a steady flame.

Loli stared in silence, mouth slightly agape.

"Grandpa… since when can you use magic?" she asked, still stunned. "And it's fire! We only had wind books!"

"Bert explained how magical control works. I picked it up pretty quickly. And the rune… I saw it once when that girl showed me," Ganfall replied in his usual calm manner, as if it were nothing special. Then he returned to his seat to keep working on the basket.

Bert, who had been watching everything closely, walked up to Loli with a slightly furrowed brow.

"Hey… do you think we picked the wrong job for Grandpa to help us with?" Loli murmured, glancing sideways at Bert with a mix of doubt and resignation.

Bert nodded with a neutral expression.

"We're not gonna say it out loud… but yes."

Just then, a burst of golden light exploded at the village entrance. Magical particles floated in the air for a few seconds before vanishing like glittering smoke. That signal was unmistakable"new players had arrived.

"New entries!" Loli exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

In Rebuilding the World, veteran players reappeared in the last place they logged out or inside the village. Only newcomers were summoned directly at the entrance. Loli and Bert knew this well: it could only mean one thing.

"Joe and Dean!" they said almost at the same time.

Ganfall, hearing the commotion, set aside his half-woven basket and stood up with curiosity. A few seconds later, Sig logged back into the game, saw the fuss, and ran after the group so she wouldn't miss it.

…

Village Entrance – Summoning Point

Two small figures emerged from the light vortex. One of them was… hard to ignore: a mini cow-man, barely one meter tall, with brown skin covered in a fine layer of fur. His body, though small, showed compact, defined muscles. He wore a leather loincloth tied at the waist, and his feet ended in thick hooves. Thankfully, his hands were still humanoid. Two small horns barely poked out from his forehead, and his snout extended slightly like that of a young calf.

The other figure was even more striking: a completely black skeleton, also just one meter tall. Its body looked like it was made of polished blackened metal, and it wore only a simple cloth loincloth. The most unsettling part was its eyes"two glowing blue orbs shining from within the skull. But the truly disturbing thing was its face. Despite being just bone, it moved"it had expressions. And it wore a calm, almost gentle smile that was unnervingly serene.

"What the hell…?" muttered the tiny cow-man, wide-eyed as he turned in place, taking in the blue sky, the wind-blown grass, the distant forest… and finally, the skeleton beside him.

"Dean?" he asked, frowning.

"It's me," the skeleton replied in a calm, familiar voice.

"Why are you a cow?" Dean shot back instantly.

Joe blinked in surprise. "A cow?"

He looked down at his feet"hooves. Then at his hands"thankfully, still human. He touched his face and felt the snout. Finally, he patted the small horns on his head.

"WHAT kind of joke is this?!"

Right at that moment, Loli, Sig, Bert, and Ganfall arrived. The instant they saw them"especially Joe"all four burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"What the hell is going on?!" growled Joe, visibly annoyed as he looked around. He recognized the faces of his friends… though none of them looked human anymore.

"Joe, Dean… say 'status panel.' It'll show you your race and stats," Bert explained, barely holding back another laugh at Joe's expression.

Joe huffed, clearly irritated. Dean, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying every second of it.

…

[STATUS PANEL]

Name: Joe

Level: 1

Race Level: 0

Race: Minitaur (Rare – Low Tier, Physical Type)

Title: None

[STATS]

Health: 100

Mana: 0

Damage: 1 (Physical Damage: 1)

Defense: 1 (Base only)

Strength: 6

Endurance: 5

Intelligence: 0

Speed: 2

Dexterity: 2

Luck: 3 (static)

EXP: 0/100

[EQUIPMENT]

• Worn Leather Loincloth (No bonuses)

[ABILITIES]

• Berserker – Level 1

 Enters a frenzied state for 10 seconds, increasing Strength by +3 and ignoring 20% of incoming damage.

 Cooldown: 60s.

…

[STATUS PANEL]

Name: Dean

Level: 1

Race Level: 0

Race: Skeleton Archer (Rare – Low Tier, Physical Type, Ranged Combat)

Title: None

[STATS]

Health: 100

Mana: 15

Damage: 1 (Physical Damage: 1)

Defense: 1 (Base only)

Strength: 2

Endurance: 1

Intelligence: 2

Speed: 4

Dexterity: 6

Luck: 3 (static)

EXP: 0/100

[EQUIPMENT]

• Worn Cloth (No bonuses)

[ABILITIES]

• Precise Shot – Level 1

 Carefully aims to deal +50% damage with the next shot. May fail if interrupted.

 Cooldown: 20s.