While Yeo Woo-rim and Kessler were off on a trip to the United States, enjoying a carefree time together, Jung Da-hoon and his group were busy immersing themselves in the new season of Last Shadow.
And as he created a new character, Jung Da-hoon made up his mind. This season, he was going to reach Job Master—no matter what.
As the first step toward that goal, he decided to make full use of his real-life skill—his dexterous hands. Pouring in his best effort through many twists and turns, he finally succeeded in advancing to the class of Shadow Ceramist.
“To celebrate my class change, I should get matching couple items with Bori! Eeehee~!”
With a heart full of anticipation, Jung Da-hoon entered the cash shop district. The shop had undergone a major revamp for the new season, and one of the new features was the addition of regional and city-exclusive specialties.
With the introduction of region-limited items, not only did item collectors rise in number, but part-timers who bought items on others’ behalf also emerged. As a result, the newly added cash shop street next to the Shadow Market had become a sacred ground for so-called “lookducks” (users obsessed with in-game fashion), constantly crowded day and night.
Pushing through the swarm of players, Jung Da-hoon entered the Shadow Castle Specialties Street and looked around. The variety of items was insane—from candy sticks that could transform a musty, grimy staff into candy, to full-on ghillie suits.
‘What should I give her? What would make her happy?’
Shadow Castle exclusive items!
‘A one-time-only chance to buy! Don’t miss out!’
Then something caught his eye—regional limited items boldly emphasized with flashy banners. With a serious face, Jung Da-hoon tried on a rabbit ear headband, then attached a soft, fluffy tail to his character’s backside. After spending quite a while checking himself in the mirror, he finally smiled, seemingly satisfied.
“Shopkeeper, I’ll take these two, please.”
It was only after pulling out a 50,000 won prepaid gift card that he realized—
“…Huh? Why is there no NPC here?”
The skeletal clerk who usually guarded the counter was missing. When he stepped out into the shop street to look for the clerk, the rabbit headband he had been holding vanished with a burst of noise and returned to its original spot.
[System]: You cannot take items outside the store before purchasing them.
The now-empty store street was filled with users who, just like Jung Da-hoon, looked bewildered as they stepped out of the shops and scanned their surroundings.
‘Could it be… there’s some new kind of holiday? For the cash shop? No way.’
“…Does Kinder just not want our money or something?”
Jung Da-hoon, who had come prepared to splurge, swallowed his irritation and left the shop street for the plaza. But the scene that awaited him there was even more bizarre.
‘Just what the hell happened while I was holed up training to become a Ceramist?’
“Golgolgol.”
“Taktaktak…”
The skeletons walking through the plaza looked just as strange. Every single one of them had a hymnbook tucked under their arm and a fluffy white tail hanging from their tailbone. Even the cover of the hymnbooks featured a smiling white baby fox.
As Jung Da-hoon took in the surreal sight, the voices of nearby players drifted into his ears.
“Why can’t I take it even after I paid for it?”
“Ugh, I really wanted to buy the bunny outfit. Are they trying to resell them at a markup or something? Bunch of lunatics.”
Most of the users in the plaza were, like Jung Da-hoon, dressed in basic shirts and shorts. And all of them were grumbling.
LuvStar: Your partner, Bori, has logged in.
“Bori, something’s weird in town.”
“What’s going on?”
Jung Da-hoon, wanting to emphasize how unsettling it was, nestled his face gently against Bori’s back and whined.
“It’s too scary.”
“Oh dear. Don’t worry, Da-hoon.”
Bori, who had just logged in and wasn’t aware of the situation yet, calmly patted Jung Da-hoon’s head. Even so, something felt off. Just as Jung Da-hoon said, Shadow Castle didn’t feel like the place she remembered.
***
The newly updated Season 2 no longer required a complete restart upon death; players only had to deal with death penalties. This significantly reduced the stress for users.
With less pressure from failure, progressing to the next stage naturally became easier. But as always, unexpected variables existed. And this was one of those times.
Bori, a former Shadow Guide, quickly assessed the situation and headed straight for the Beginner’s Help Center. If she went there, she could figure out the cause behind this strange atmosphere.
“Huh?”
That’s when Bori ran into another problem she hadn’t anticipated. The Help Center—which had never once been empty—was completely deserted. Not believing what she saw, she glanced around, only to find that the skeleton who normally sat at attention was now slumped on the back stairs, deep in contemplation.
“Um, GuideyGol?”
—Golgolgol. Get to the point.
…He was even rude now.
“Are you… dealing with something lately?”
—Golgol? You’re gonna listen to my problems?
“Of course! Please, tell me everything!”
—R-really… it’s a real problem…
The guide skeleton, who had been putting on a rather cold front until now, immediately opened up like he’d been waiting for someone to ask.
—My skeleton friends won’t hang out with me anymore…
“Uh-huh.”
—They only want to hang out with the fox…
“Ah, the fox? Well, everyone loves foxes.”
—There are a lot more foxes these days… but I really miss the original baby fox. There’s a rumor that it came back for a bit, but no one knows for sure! I didn’t see it!!
“Woo-rim… Wait, you mean the original Baby Arctic Fox?”
Bori’s memories stirred. Last season, Yeo Woo-rim had briefly returned to his Beta-era baby fox form when his accounts were merged. It had caused a total stir among the skeletons of Shadow Castle.
—A mean skeleton shouted at the baby fox that there was no need for another fox like him… so he left…
“Oh no…”
Bori wanted to cut in and ask, So what’s your point? But the clueless skeleton just kept rambling.
—…But the baby fox has returned.
“Huh?”
—We must serve the baby fox now.
As if talking it out had helped clarify his thoughts, the guide skeleton suddenly sprang to his feet.
“Wait, where are you going?”
[System]: You have helped the guide skeleton resolve his inner turmoil about choosing between faith and duty. You can now begin the advancement quest for the profession: Decision Maker.
“What the heck is this?”
Whether Bori was bewildered or not, the skeleton strode back into the help center through the rear door and firmly slapped a “closed” sign on the front window. After making sure the front door was properly locked, he carefully took a white fox tail out of a drawer and attached it to his tailbone with both hands.
—This is… my true, fabulous form…
Then, as if seeing a new side of himself, he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
—I am a skeleton who walks with pride.
Bori watched, speechless, as the guide skeleton securely locked the back door and walked off. The nearby skeletons, all wearing fox tails, clapped for him like he was a new face in town.
***
While the guide skeleton and his brethren were gathering in the underground plaza, Jung Da-hoon, still desperate to buy couple items, continued to wander through the shopping district. That’s when he ran into three fox-type users in a back alley.
“Life’s just a damn grind, nya.”
“Right? No one adores us anymore. They just work us to the bone for cheap. Ptooey.”
“I thought everything would change once I got the fox form, but turns out there’s nothing good about it but the buffs. The fox era is over, nyang.”
Jung Da-hoon was quietly trying to slip past the rough-looking fox users puffing on their pipes and spitting phlegm—despite their small and cute appearances—when he heard it.
“It’s all that bastard Yeo Woo-rim’s fault, nyang. Fuck him.”
“Seriously, what a damn attention whore, nyang.”
“Couldn’t stop at one stunt, could he? Had to take it to the second, third, and final level of cringe and make our lives miserable.”
At that moment, Jung Da-hoon froze. There was no way he could just let that slide.
‘Why are they blaming our Pro?’
“Excuse me, foxes.”
“What the hell, nyang? Who are you, some human bootlicker?”
Looking closely, Da-hoon noticed name tags hanging on their collars: Helper Fox. No doubt they were fox mascots employed part-time by the shop manager skeleton.
“If you don’t have the guts to say it to his face, you shouldn’t be saying it behind his back either.”
“What the hell, nyang nyang? You picking a fight, nyang? Get lost already!”
“You started it. You lazy-ass, crusty little shiftless foxes!”
“What did you say?”
That hit a nerve. The foxes lunged at Da-hoon as if someone had pushed a button. Da-hoon didn’t back down, swinging his arms and legs wildly in resistance.
But he was still just a newbie. The foxes ganged up on him, beating him down in a flurry of kicks and scratches, and his health bar dropped rapidly.
[System]: You have died.
Though he had fought bravely, Jung Da-hoon was ultimately overwhelmed by the numbers and died under the claws of the delinquent foxes.
***
“Da-hoon, you said something urgent came up? So you won’t be able to log in for a day? Okay…”
Jung Da-hoon couldn’t bring himself to tell his partner Bori that he’d died from a group beating by foxes. So he lied and claimed something suddenly came up.
Bori, unaware of the real reason, busily continued exploring Shadow Castle alone. To verify what she had found, she opened up her messenger.
[Woo-rim, you’re still in the US, right? What have you been up to lately?]
Yeo Woo-rim
(Photo)
(Photo)
Yeo Woo-rim
Photosynthesizing on the Santa Monica beach with Juwon
In the photo Yeo Woo-rim had sent, he was flashing a peace sign with his fingers, while Seong Juwon looked at him with a relaxed smile.
[You’re not really playing the game these days, huh?]
Yeo Woo-rim
I still practice. It’s my main job, after all.
[No, I mean Last Shadow!]
Yeo Woo-rim
I haven’t even made a new account yet.
[You’re absolutely sure you haven’t made a new account?]
Yeo Woo-rim
Yeah. Why? Something going on?
[We’re about to find out. Got it—thanks!]
After confirming the situation with Yeo Woo-rim, Jang Bori reconnected to Last Shadow and headed to the underground plaza, which had been repurposed from an old dungeon prison.
—Golgolnyangnyang
—Golgolnyang
The place was packed beyond counting. A swarm of Golpa—skeletons devoted to the fox cult—and a number of users had gathered. All of them wore fox ear headbands and had soft white tails attached to their rears.
And at the very center of it all, leading the entire affair, was a Baby Fox.
—Nyang, nyangnyang, nyangnyang nya~?
At the center stage, the Baby Fox stood on a high platform, singing. The skeletons moved in unison to the rhythm. On the left, tails rippled like waves. On the right, tails were linked like garlands. Some skeletons even wrapped their tails around each other and performed a traditional Ganggangsullae-like circle dance to the beat.
—We love the Baby Fox!
—Long live the Baby Fox!
A hundred years had passed since the original Baby Fox had disappeared. Throughout that time, the skeletons had yearned for Yeo Woo-rim, the one and only true Baby Arctic Fox. The “1 Skull, 1 Fox” policy that once swept through their ranks, and the fact that modern history lessons for young skeletons included the “Baby Fox” as an essential topic—both were rooted in that longing.
And now, in the very center of the skeletons, was a fox putting on a dazzling performance.
To Bori, no matter how she looked at it, that fox could only be the original Baby Arctic Fox—Yeo Woo-rim. But it wasn’t.
It was someone who had perfectly copied him.
