I had wandered in all four directions and was completely worn out. My stomach rumbled, leaving me too hungry to do anything else. Thankfully, due to the excellent welfare system for foxes, there were well-maintained energy recharge stations for foxes like me.
Persuasion Rate: 22%
This wasn’t going to work. I should’ve raised it by 50% in one go when I had the chance.
Just then, Kessler approached with stately steps and stood beside me.
“How many percent, nya?”
“Right now it’s at 22… I think I need some other method.”
“Baby Fox, just wait a little bit, nya. I’ve already prepared something, nya.”
As he kneaded my shoulder with the tip of his neat forepaw, my whole body began to relax into a warm haze.
“But Kessler, you usually talk normally, and then sometimes you suddenly switch to nyang-speak. When do you use it and when do you talk like usual? Do you go into your settings to change it every time?”
I was genuinely curious about the psychology behind it.
“When I’m ready to play with you, I use Fox-speak. In serious situations, I drop it, nya. You should use it too, Baby Fox, nya~”
“Ahh… but is that really Fox-speak? Isn’t it more like Cat-speak?”
“Nya?”
It was right then. His movements, which had been toying with my soft tail, suddenly froze.
“What?”
“A job recommendation just popped up, nya.”
I read the notification Kessler had shared with me.
You, who love giving massages to Baby Foxes!
You have a natural talent for massage. If you’d like to change your profession to a Baby Fox Specialist Masseur, visit the Shadow Castle Massage Parlor. The Masseurs there will welcome you with open arms.
“…There’s a job like that? Are you gonna do it?”
“Should I?”
“Doesn’t seem all that useful though? You dropped the nya-speak just now.”
“Kiki. Should I slot it in?”
“Do whatever you want. I’m fine with anything our Juwon does.”
“Got it. I’ll change to a masseur and give you daily massages from now on.”
Somehow, I had a hunch—that this would end up being a grand excuse for something.
Anyway—
“But what was that thing you said you prepared?”
The moment I asked Kessler again, the answer revealed itself.
Pwoooo! A trumpet blared across the plaza. The shadow fox beside me, who had been gently swaying its tail, flinched and dove into my shadow in surprise.
The sound came from JeondoGol, who stood on the upper balcony of the castle. All eyes turned to him as he began his announcement.
—All skeletons, gather up.
“Nya? What’s he saying, nya?”
Even passing fox users tilted their heads in curiosity.
—Baby Fox, who cared about fox welfare, has now created skeleton welfare!!
—Golgol?
The skeletons looked up at him with puzzled expressions, as if asking what kind of welfare he was talking about.
—Every skeleton will receive a gift! Head to the plaza, fast!!
[System]: This is a gift-giving ceremony declared in the name of the High Priest Fox.
“Ju Hakbeom apparently released all the offerings he’d gathered to make snack bags for the skeletons. Move the shadow to the fountain, Baby Fox.”
Hearing that even the snacks were supposedly prepared by Baby Fox sent the skeletons into a frenzy. As the crowd of skeletons began stampeding, Kessler guided me toward safety and pulled out a pre-prepared fox float, setting it adrift in the fountain.
“If you ride this, you’ll be safe.”
As the plaza grew increasingly chaotic, Kessler and I, both dressed in fox robes, floated gently together on the fountain.
[System]: Deploying shadow to summon Shadow Fox.
“Raise it up over there, Fox.”
-Nya.
I lifted the shadow above the fountain. Amid the growing clamor and the scraping sound of bones from all directions, Shadow Fox stood atop the shadow in a position clearly visible to everyone.
[System]: Resident ‘Gamjagol’ now recognizes Shadow Fox as ‘High Priest.’
[System]: Resident ‘Bbirorigol’ now recognizes Shadow Fox as ‘High Priest.’
[System]: Resident…
The flood of notifications overwhelmed my screen to the point of nausea. After simplifying the alert window, I turned to observe the skeletons.
-The proud Fox Church must uphold proper order, golgol!
-Baby Fox gets sad when order is disturbed, golgol!
What had been pure chaos gradually settled into order as the skeletons collectively came to their senses.
“It’s too crowded right now. We’ll organize things starting from this fountain where Baby Fox is currently standing. If you’re here for a gift, please gather to the left. Once you’ve received your gift, exit to the right!”
Wearing my robe hood pulled low over my eyes, I quickly chimed in with the crowd.
-Golgol?
The skeletons looked up at the fountain as if to confirm my instructions. And there was Shadow Fox, dancing a goofy jig atop a coconut that Kessler had tossed up.
-Golgolgol!!
-Baby Fox is watching, bah!
-From the left of the fountain where Baby Fox is, to the right!
-Thank you, Baby Fox! We’ll enjoy the snack gift!!
Now that a clear rule had been established—“Follow the flow based on where Baby Fox is”—the skeletons began obsessively adhering to the order, glancing up at the fountain as they did so. Some even put their hands together in a prayer gesture after receiving their gift.
-Don’t stall!!
-Order!!
And surprisingly, it worked better than expected.
Persuasion Rate: 24%
It had already risen 2% just twenty minutes in.
-Ddak?
But not everything went smoothly.
[System]: Council Chair ‘Lejeongol’ expresses doubt about the existence of Shadow Fox.
[System]: Council Chair ‘Lejeongol’ claims the real Baby Fox is elsewhere.
[System]: Council Chair ‘Lejeongol’ was beaten by Fox Church believers.
High-ranking skeletons who had just met Ju Hak-beom couldn’t help but question things, especially since they knew he was currently imprisoned.
-I’ll prove it, golgol.
[System]: Council Chair ‘Lejeongol’ declares he will bring the real Baby Fox here to prove his claim.
“Kessler, you see that skeleton with the bald tail walking with a limp? Stop him. He’s about to bring Ju Hak-beom over here.”
“Got it.”
[System]: Honorary Blackbone ‘Saemmarugol’ expresses doubt about the existence of Shadow Fox.
But it wasn’t just the council chair. Others were starting to get suspicious too. This couldn’t continue.
I called Kessler back just as he was swimming away with a kissy face.
“Kessler, wait.”
“Kiss time?”
He quickly turned around and leaned in with his snout. As I stayed still, thinking things through, he gently began grooming my fur with careful licks.
“Tell them in the group chat. The noble skeletons are getting suspicious, so ask them to gather those nobles in one place. Jung Da-hoon, the noble master who holds shares in the Shadow Workshop, should be friendly with the noblebone crowd—he can pull it off. And remind Ju Hak-beom that after dying three times, he said he learned Stealth Technique, right? Tell him to use it and stay hidden in the room. I can’t take my eyes off Shadow Fox right now, so you have to do it.”
If a high-ranking skeleton was influenced, the faith of all those below would follow—this was the most effective strategy.
And even while I was laying out that plan, the influence rate kept climbing steadily. Love for freebies was universal, regardless of whether one was human or skeleton.
[System]: Shadow Fox is being exalted by numerous followers!
After a moment of hesitation, I made Shadow Fox start singing with its wobbly little body.
-Nyang, nyang-nyang, nyang-nyang ppikuri nyang~.
As the clumsy tune softly echoed through the plaza, the chattering skeletons fell silent, simply listening to the Shadow Fox’s song. And this led to an unexpected effect.
[System]: Skeletons with poor vision, previously unable to see ‘Shadow Fox,’ were moved. They will return to their villages with their snack gifts and preach faith in you to other visually impaired skeletons.
The world seemed to sway to the rhythm of the fox’s tail in time with Shadow Fox’s melody. A wave of fluffy white fur drifted into the air like dandelion seeds as followers wagged their fox tails in harmony.
I was exhausted, but Shadow Fox, formed from a master-level character, knew no fatigue and tirelessly followed every order. By the time half a day had passed, the persuasion rate had already surpassed 44%.
And the ending is always the most important part. Just as I was taking every precaution to ensure Shadow Fox’s safety, a voice whispered in my ear—from outside the game.
“Jung Da-hoon called an emergency meeting of the Elder skulls. They’re gathering tonight.”
Smack—a kiss from beyond the screen. Feeling the soft press of lips, I gave him some praise.
“Thanks. I’ll wrap things up here and head over.”
“I’ll come pick you up.”
Soon, Kessler reconnected and skillfully weaved through the skeleton crowd to reach me.
“Grab my tail and follow me, nya~.”
I held on to Kessler’s tail as we dodged between the dense legs of the skeletons. While ducking down, I suddenly realized something.
“Kessler, you didn’t have a butthole even when you were in your player character form. Why not?”
“If you don’t need something, you don’t need to have it, nya.”
“Seriously?”
Must’ve been one of those game producer privileges.
Shadow Fox followed behind us, diligently increasing influence even along the way.
And then we arrived at the multipurpose room of the pottery workshop.
With all the village’s top-ranking nobles gathered together, Shadow Fox climbed up onto the table before them.
-I’m Baby Fox, nyang-nyang~
-Ddakddak?
-Ddakddak!!
The skeletons, who had been tilting their heads in confusion at Baby Fox’s appearance, suddenly shot to their feet and gave a standing ovation.
The rude bakery owner skeleton and the sleepyhead pharmacy owner threw their arms around each other, cheering in delight.
And soon, the system message popped up.
Persuasion Rate: 51%
Shadow Baby Fox has gained the faith of 51% of the residents and ascended to the position of High Priest. You may now harvest Shadow Fox’s achievements and directly assume the High Priest role. Would you like to claim Shadow Fox’s achievements?
“No.”
I discreetly pocketed only the pocket-change-like allowance that the skeletons had tossed to Shadow Fox. That would be a gift for Jung Da-hoon, who had worked so hard.
[System]: Your bonded ‘Shadow Fox’ has been appointed High Priest of the Fox Religion.
-Baby Fox should not stay here, golgol.
-To a safe home—
I waved to Shadow Fox as it was carried away in the arms of its faithful. Shadow Fox waved back at me too.
