My Overpowered Bunny Girls

The morning air outside the grand arena was bitterly cold and thick with a suffocating, nervous tension. Thousands of the world’s elite Climbers were crammed into the holding zones, some aggressively stretching, others meditating in dead silence, and a few already trading dark, measuring glares. The World Climber Tournament wasn’t just a distant concept anymore; it was brutally real, and the Ranking Trials were about to weed out the weak.

A massive pillar of light shot down into the center of the arena, and a giant holographic figure materialized above the stadium. It was the system referee.

Its voice boomed effortlessly across the staging grounds.

"Ranking Trials. Each participant will enter the arena alone. You will face ten consecutive waves of monsters, with difficulty scaling incrementally. Your performance will be judged on the following metrics: monsters killed, completion time, damage taken, resource consumption, objectives completed, and style. The highest composite score wins. The lowest scores will be immediately eliminated from the tournament."

The massive floating screens shifted. A live ranking board appeared, listing every participant’s name and nation in alphabetical order. Nathan found his name near the bottom. His public profile was completely unremarkable: [Rank: B] [Level: 85]. There was absolutely nothing on paper to suggest he was a threat to the higher levelled rankers.

"Participants will enter the arena one at a time. The order is randomized. Good luck."

The trials kicked off with a deafening roar from the crowd.

Nathan leaned against the staging area barricade, watching as Climber after Climber stepped into the dirt. Their runs were broadcast on the giant screens above. Some were incredibly impressive, unleashing massive area-of-effect spells to wipe out waves in seconds. Others panicked, burning through their mana too fast and failing out by the seventh wave.

When it was his party’s turn, they performed exactly as expected.

Garrett was an immovable object, tanking every single hit without flinching and finishing in the top 30. Dillon was a blur of blue lightning, his speed impressing the commentators enough to land him in the top 20. Elise’s crowd control was a masterclass in ice magic, earning her a spot in the top 15. Smithy’s run was quiet, brutal, and totally efficient, placing him neatly in the top 40.

Then, Nathan’s name flashed on the screen.

He stepped out of the tunnel and onto the dirt. The crowd was screaming, but Nathan instantly tuned them out. His focus narrowed to a pinprick. He wasn’t going to use a single piece of his new Overlord magic. He was going to use his Archer kit, and he was going to do it perfectly.

The first wave spawned in a flash of blue light—twenty Goblin Warriors. Weak, erratic, and fast. Nathan didn’t even shift his feet. He summoned [Multi-Shadow Clones] and let loose a volley of [Mana Arrows]. There was no wasted movement. Every single arrow found a throat. Wave cleared in four seconds.

The second wave dropped heavily—five massive Stone Golems. Nathan’s eyes flashed silver as [Hunter’s Insight] highlighted the glowing mana cores hidden deep inside their rocky joints. He stepped sideways, perfectly dodging a sweeping stone fist, and fired five consecutive [Focus Shots]. The arrows punched through the rock, shattering the cores. The Golems crumbled to dust.

The third wave swarmed the air—a hundred shrieking Flame Wisps. Nathan aimed straight up and activated [Starfall Barrage]. The sky rained silver light, pinning every single wisp to the dirt with flawless, mathematical precision.

Wave after wave, Nathan fought with cold, terrifying efficiency. He didn’t do backflips. He didn’t use flashy, explosive skills. He pivoted, aimed, and fired. He let the monsters run right up to the edge of his personal space before side-stepping and putting an arrow through their heads.

Up in the booth, the commentators were starting to notice.

"Look at his resource consumption," one announcer said, his voice echoing through the stadium. "He’s barely tapped his mana pool. He isn’t wasting a single movement."

"His efficiency score is currently sitting at ninety-nine point eight percent. I... I don’t think I’ve ever seen a number that high in a World Tournament."

The roaring crowd slowly turned into a confused, buzzing murmur.

Nathan reached the tenth and final wave—a massive, heavily armored Minotaur Boss. He didn’t flinch as the beast charged, shaking the earth. He let [Hunter’s Insight] analyze the armor plating, found the microscopic gap at the base of its neck, and cast [Death’s Homing Compass]. He drew Moonlight back, holding his breath as the Minotaur’s axe swung down.

At the very last millisecond, Nathan released a fully charged [Focus Shot].

The arrow vanished in a streak of silver, bypassed the axe, threaded the gap in the armor, and severed the beast’s spinal cord. The boss crashed into the dirt, sliding to a halt just inches from Nathan’s boots.

Nathan lowered his bow and casually walked out of the arena. His final score flashed across the massive screens:

[Nathan Cross — Central Federation]

Monsters Killed: 100%

Completion Time: 92%

Damage Taken: 99% (Flawless Evasion)

Resource Consumption: 99.8%

Objectives Completed: 100%

Difficulty Modifiers: 85%

Style Points: 70%

Overall Score: 91.8%

Current Rank: 17th

The entire stadium went dead quiet. Then, the frantic whispering began.

The party crowded around Nathan the second he walked back into the staging area.

"Seventeenth?" Garrett frowned, looking up at the board. "That seems a little low for a flawless clear."

"Look at the specific breakdown," Elise pointed out, pulling up the stats on her datapad. "His raw combat score is totally average because he didn’t use any flashy area-of-effect nukes. But his efficiency rating is the highest in the entire tournament. That is what really matters."

Dillon was grinning ear to ear. "The commentators are completely losing their minds up there. They literally can’t stop saying ’efficiency score’."

Mirko, sitting in her green bunny form on Nathan’s shoulder, puffed out her chest proudly. ’Hmph! The Master is obviously the most efficient Climber in the world! This is not surprising to anyone with eyes!’

Kuro melted out of Nathan’s shadow, her voice quiet and serious through the link. ’It is drawing a lot of attention, Master.’

Nathan nodded slowly, looking up at the private VIP boxes circling the arena. "Good attention or bad attention?"

’Unclear. But attention nonetheless.’

Smithy didn’t say a single word. He was just standing in the back of the group, his eyes locked on the crowd.

Later that evening, Smithy sat alone in the dark of the team quarters.

He had seen something during the trials that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Up in the high, shadowed stands, far away from the cameras and the cheering fans, a small group of figures in plain grey cloaks had been watching the arena.

They weren’t journalists. They weren’t guild scouts looking for recruits. They weren’t tournament officials. They didn’t seem like ordinary spectators too. They were just... there. Standing perfectly still. Watching.

Smithy had spent years hunting and killing for the Nemesis Court. He knew exactly what it looked like when a professional was studying a target. Those people weren’t spectating a sport. They were observing. Collecting data. Analyzing weaknesses.

He had no idea who they were or what they wanted. But they rubbed him the wrong way, like a freezing cold draft in a warm room.

He decided to keep it to himself for tonight. There was no need to make Nathan and the others paranoid until he had hard proof.

The very next morning, a dark rumor began to spread like wildfire through the tournament compound.

A high-ranking Climber from the Southern Republic had been found completely unconscious in his locked quarters. There was no sign of a struggle, no forced entry, and when the healers finally woke him up, he had absolutely no memory of what had happened to him. The tournament officials quickly issued a statement calling it "severe combat exhaustion."

Smithy didn’t believe the officials for a second. But he still didn’t say anything. Not yet.

That night, the party gathered in their quarters to review the schedule.

The Ranking Trials were officially over. Nathan was locked in at 17th place—but his terrifying 99.8% efficiency score had made him the most talked-about Climber in the compound.

Tomorrow, the Team Trials began. The rules had just dropped: it was a mixed-team event. Randomly assigned squads. Nathan was going to be pulled away from his family and forced to work with complete strangers in the arena.

"Any thoughts on the new format?" Garrett asked, tossing a piece of gear into his bag.

Nathan looked around the room at his party. "We aren’t out there to make friends with the other nations. But starting tomorrow, we might actually need them to survive the rounds. Keep your guard up. Something feels very wrong about this tournament. We need to be ready for anything."

Elise walked over and took his hand. "Together."

Mirko raised her small paw in the air. ’For the Bunny Girl Legion!’

Kuro nodded silently. Shiro smiled. Ororo politely inclined her head.