[System]: Boost Up effect applied. Time remaining until recovery: 3 days.
Three days… It must mean I got hurt pretty badly. After all, I sprinted like my life depended on it, only to tumble and crash down from the third-floor roof. No wonder.
‘Three days… I’ll be healed right before the next quest.’
The system was being unusually considerate, even telling me when I’d fully recover.
Limp, limp. Meow, meow.
Kessler, who had been reading a comic book titled “Brave Skeleton: The Battle Diary of Jjangmakgol,” set it down on the table and glanced at me, who was bustling around restlessly.
“Hey, mutt-fox.”
I stopped moving and looked at him. He was lounging comfortably, one leg draped over the armrest.
“What are you doing?”
I reached my paw out toward the sky in a rhythmic motion toward Kessler, who was looking down at me.
“Asking to be petted?”
No, that wasn’t it. I wanted him to pick me up. It was incredibly frustrating to just lie flat on the floor. I wanted to at least sit by the window and watch the skeletons fooling around.
Kessler straightened his posture and easily lifted me up, setting me on the table. He always misunderstood things in his own way, but somehow we managed to communicate in the end.
He started poking at my belly fat, smacking his lips as if he had just spotted a delicious treat. I barked out loudly.
Meow meow!
“Meow meow!”
Kessler mimicked my barking noise, then hoisted me up again. He grabbed my front paws like he was holding pig trotters and pressed his lips against them.
“My kiss is the best medicine.”
“?”
“Our baby needs to get better quickly.”
Blown away by his nonsense, I snorted through my nose in disbelief— and right then, a notification popped up.
[System]: You have received encouragement from the one who cherishes you the most.
‘Huh?’
I paused, waiting for the next window to pop up with a reward or something, but no special bonus seemed to appear.
Wriggling free from his grasp, I moved toward the window attached to the table. Among the laborers moving lumber back and forth, one creature stood out—a lizard flaunting brilliant, gleaming scales.
Snake Rim, drenched and sluggish from the heat, was dragging his feet, tongue lolling helplessly out of his mouth. Maybe the hard labor was too much for him—he stumbled, coughing and hacking while blocking the path, only to have his tail stepped on by someone behind him, sending him sprawling face-first onto the ground.
Rolling around on the floor, he lifted his head and gazed this way with a pitiful look in his eyes. Kessler, who had been watching without a hint of sympathy, let out a snorting laugh.
“Don’t waste your pity.”
“He’s doing all that where we can see him on purpose. Just trying to look pitiful.”
Deciding there was no more point in watching, Kessler turned away and pulled out a packet of prescribed pills from the drawer.
“You have to eat this even if it tastes bad.”
He shoved it into my snout without hesitation.
***
After taking the medicine, my body quickly became sluggish. I rubbed my now limp body against Kessler’s palm when a notification chimed.
[Snake Rim has completed cleaning up the trash inside the fortress and received his first paycheck!
Snake Rim wants to spend his hard-earned first paycheck on you.
-Receive benefit]
Barely conscious, my front paw moved instinctively and tapped the notification. Right after, there was a knock at the door. Knock knock.
“Who’s there?”
—Rattle rattle. This is a stroller service from Snake Rim-nim.
“Just come in for now.”
From beyond the barrier, several businesslike bone merchants, properly dressed, came pushing strollers one after another.
—Black stroller
—Yellow chick stroller
—Shooting star stroller
There were three options. Considering it would be two guys—one riding and one pushing—the black stroller seemed the most reasonable choice. It was a bit somber, sure, but it looked stylish and would help blend in without standing out too much.
I hobbled over and jabbed my paw against the black stroller.
[System]: You do not have permission to make a selection. Please consult with your guardian.
‘Why?’
It seemed the right to choose belonged to Kessler, the one who would actually be pushing and pulling the stroller. I took a step back and watched him make his decision.
‘He’s being way too careful.’
I thought he’d immediately pick the black stroller, but he was pushing them back and forth to check the wheel quality and inspecting the material of the interior space.
“This one’s a no.”
Meow!!!
After examining it for a good while, Kessler dismissed the black stroller with a dissatisfied look. Startled, I let out a sharp cry.
“What, baby fox? You liked this one? But look, there’s barely any space for diapers and pudding. The inside is made of mesh, too. Your soft belly could get chafed and hurt.”
Hearing that, I had to admit it made sense. I calmly backed off and nodded.
Kessler also passed over the chick stroller and ended up choosing the shooting star stroller.
“This one’s good. Look—it’s super cushy. It’s embossed.”
He picked me up and placed me into the shooting star stroller, pushing me around the room once.
“How does it feel?”
The ride wasn’t bad. The forward view was wide open, and structurally, there was even a designated spot on one side to place a food bowl, which made it top-notch.
“We’re going with the shooting star stroller. Sound good?”
I nodded emphatically to show my agreement.
“This one’s it.”
—Understood.
Once the bone merchants left, Kessler rummaged through the drawers and pulled out various items: diapers for a baby arctic fox, handkerchiefs, bandages, a grooming brush, and single-serve pudding cups.
‘He’s surprisingly well-prepared.’
Even though I only tracked his busy movements with my head from where I stood, it was so dizzying that my head started bobbing.
“We’re going for a walk.”
After packing all the baby fox supplies, Kessler finally scooped me up and placed me in the stroller.
It was a welcome change from the boredom. The air felt completely different once we stepped out into the hallway—thick with the scent of freedom… and blood.
Using the pulley elevator, we made our way down to the plaza, where we stood and watched the users grilling various meats from an omniscient perspective.
“One of them must be the bastard who hurt your front paw.”
I slowly scanned the plaza.
Even though it looked like just a random gathering, the plaza was mostly the domain of users with a certain amount of financial backing, since it hosted meat parties. Which meant Jung Da-hoon, who was presumed bankrupt, would definitely not be here.
That bastard had burned through his funds way too aggressively during the election, and after accepting the personal quest Proof of the Pawprint to find the culprit who harmed the fox, it seemed his mental state had shattered—he hadn’t even collected the alternative rewards from The Vacant Throne.
“Wow! It’s a baby fox! Kessler, can I pet him?”
“You can, but if the baby fox tries to avoid you, don’t force it.”
“Got it! Thanks!”
By now, it had become an unspoken rule among the users that they needed Kessler’s permission before touching me.
“But hey, what’s wrong with the fox’s front paw? Baby~ what happened to you~?”
“Someone tried to shove him to his death.”
“Whoa… Someone tried to kill a baby fox? What kind of insane bastard—”
“We’re in the middle of finding the culprit. You didn’t see anything, did you?”
“If we find anything, we’ll let you know. You know we’re on Kessler and the baby fox’s side, right?”
“Good little husks you are.”
After the petting time with the older user girls ended, we walked along the fortress wall path. The breeze gently stirred my fine fur.
Kessler stopped the stroller and lifted me out. We were at the spot with the best view. He laid me down across his lap and started feeding me pudding by spoonfuls.
“You’re eating so well.”
The reddish sunset was reflected in his dark pupils. The breeze played lightly with his bangs, giving him an easy, relaxed look.
‘It feels too comfortable.’
Even though he should be someone I found uncomfortable, I wasn’t. Maybe because, deep down, I could feel how much he liked me. Because as long as I stayed by his side in the form of a fox, I knew he wouldn’t harm me.
[Black X.
A person capable of turning you into a lump of fox meat at any moment. Exercise extreme caution.]
I finally understood what it meant. He wouldn’t hurt the baby fox—but Yeo Woo-rim, once humanized again, could be harmed without hesitation.
The thought sent a sudden wave of anxiety through me, and my body twitched restlessly, almost like a reflex. This affection— It scared me.
‘What if he thinks I deceived him?’
“If you move around too much, you’ll get hurt. Stay still even if you’re excited.”
Kessler pulled me back and fixed me securely in place.
“You still need to eat more.”
He gently wiped my snout with his hand, then wiped his hand on a handkerchief.
“Why did you suddenly get all quiet? You need to poop or something?”
He pressed and unfolded my droopy ears like he was playing with them, then gave a small kiss on my snout. The more he showered me with affection like this, the more it felt like I was stacking up karmic debt… Because unlike reality, games always had a law of karma.
Shaking off my heavy worries, I gazed off into the distance. Beyond the horizon, the sun slowly sank, wriggling its way down in the most beautiful way. Unaware of what was brewing inside me.
***
Friday evening, when the quest was set to open.
[System]: Congratulations on your full recovery! As a recovery gift, you have received bandages.
Both legs stood firm, as if they had never been injured. The pulling sensation that tugged at my toes every time I forced myself to walk was completely gone.
As for the recovery gift—it was just bandages. It felt a bit like… fixing the barn after the cow had already run away.
I grabbed the bandages wrapped around my leg with my snout and began tearing them off. Kessler had wrapped them up so meticulously that removing them was quite a struggle.
And then, I waited for nightfall. The quest that would open tonight—
[System]: The special quest will begin shortly!
Right, <Shadow Binding.>
[System]: You have been provided with the item, ‘Yarn of Equal Length.’
I rolled the round ball of yarn with my front paw. I knew exactly what needed to be bound with this.
