When I came to, I was staring up at the sky. A salty, ashen sky and a damp chill in the air…
I’ve always liked this kind of gloomy atmosphere. My tail gave a little flick.
…Tail? What tail?
The confusion hit me hard, and a strained, groaning sound slipped out of my mouth.
What the hell? I tried to leap to my feet, but even that was a struggle. My belly was round and heavy with pudge.
Staggering and wobbling… I barely managed to stand upright.
…On four legs.
A bead of rain rolled off a leaf and landed with a plop on top of my head. Each harmless little drop somehow made my ears fold back and my head bob instinctively.
I forced my head up and glared at the leaf that had “attacked” me. Just then, something flying high beyond the canopy caught my eye.
[Predator detected: Black Eagle! Evacuate to safety before being devoured!]
[Shelter: Shadow Castle Train Shelter]
[Failure Consequence: Death]
What the hell is this?! My eyes widened in shock, but instinct took over before panic could settle in.
An arrow appeared in front of me, pointing the way. I didn’t waste a second—I dashed after it.
I vaulted over a massive drawbridge, and—oof!
[Congratulations! Survival Successful!]
My legs were too short to handle the speed I’d picked up. I spun out with a clumsy twirl. It could’ve ended badly, but thanks to that full-speed sprint, I’d managed to survive.
As I stared at the congratulatory message flashing on-screen, the creeping sense of something being very wrong finally struck me. I pulled up my system logs.
[System]: Congratulations on the birth of a Baby Arctic Fox.
So that’s the very first entry. And then…
“The shelter… Shadow Castle Train Shelter?”
I glanced around. The landscape was familiar. It was a scene straight out of the horror game I’d been playing yesterday.
During the off-season, I—a pro gamer—had joined as an alpha tester for the upcoming horror game [Last Shadow]. In it, a thousand users are thrown into deadly trials, and only the last one standing gets out alive. After countless hours of grinding, I was finally closing in on that goal. I’d played deep into the night, pushing my character hard… and must’ve fallen asleep at some point.
So, what—am I dreaming?
For now, I crossed the drawbridge and descended a long stone staircase to the right.
At the bottom, I found a long train platform.
[You have safely arrived at Shadow Castle Shelter. Please wait for your party.]
That soft, automated voice—yep, this is definitely the same game.
I flicked my tail contentedly… until my eyes happened to catch my reflection in the shelter’s glass window.
And I froze.
…I’m really an Arctic Fox.
Yesterday, I’d cracked open a cash box and received an egg. When it hatched, out came a rare pet—an Arctic Fox.
I’d thought it was a cool bonus item. And now, here I am… as that pet.
Is this a dream? I lifted one paw and rubbed at my eyes.
The reality of being trapped inside a horror game finally settled in, and everything around me began to make sense—the muggy air, the bone-powder-caked walls, this eerie train shelter.
The game starts here, at this train shelter. One thousand players arrive by train, all playing under the premise that they’re from “the outside.”
I quietly gathered my front paws and calmly organized the status window hovering before me.
–The train is now arriving. All passengers, please take two steps back from the platform.
Moments later, the long-anticipated train rolled in.
I was already standing at a distance, but for no reason at all, I instinctively took two more steps back.
That’s when someone stepped onto the previously empty platform.
Tilt.
They wore a black hood pulled low, obscuring their face, but even from afar, something about them felt strangely familiar. I stared, unmoving.
A bizarre silence hung in the air between us.
Then the train doors opened, and a flood of a thousand players poured out.
Suddenly, the man in the black hood turned to look straight at me—and in that instant, a cold shiver ran down my spine.
Before I knew it, I was sprinting toward him. I didn’t even think. My body just moved. But with so many people flooding the platform, I was lucky just not to get stepped on.
“Eek! What is this?!”
I was forcing my way through the crowd as best I could when—whoosh—I was suddenly lifted high into the air.
“Look at this little thing!”
“Oh my god, what is this? So cute. Is it a baby Shiba? Maybe a white puppy?”
“A Shiba that white? Nah, it’s totally a fox!”
Some random girls I didn’t know had picked me up out of nowhere. No matter how much I squirmed, it was useless. I was barely the size of a handful, powerless in their grip as they cooed over me, practically drooling.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Time to start the game!”
Miyaaang!
“Yeah, yeah. Good boy.”
Kkikook!
“Okay, okay. Got it, little wigglebutt.”
By now, everyone had gotten off the train. The stairs were jammed with players, creating a bottleneck. And just as the platform emptied, a man stepped onto the now-vacant train.
I could’ve sworn we made eye contact. But it was already too late. The train, having unloaded all its passengers, was now pulling away—with him on it.
I needed to go after him. I needed to know who he was. What the hell is going on? Why am I even like this? Is this some kind of bug?
“I saved you from getting trampled, you know that?”
That smug, self-important comment made my fur bristle. Annoyed, I thrashed in her grip and sank my tiny teeth into the girl holding me.
“Aww, that tickles~”
Either I hadn’t finished teething or I was just too puny—my bite had zero effect.
After that, I gave up squirming. No point. I went limp in her arms, completely defeated.
“Oh wow, where’d you find that cutie?”
“Picked it up. Isn’t it adorable? Come on, fox—say hi. Hellooo~”
As we climbed the stone stairs, I became a walking spectacle. Whenever someone’s attention landed on me, the girl who’d picked me up would grab my front left paw and gently wave it like I was greeting them.
“Whoa, this place is huge!”
At the top of the stairs, the full cityscape of the inner castle came into view—wide, sprawling streets stretching from a park to a marketplace.
Only parts of it would be accessible to us, sure—but still, the scale was impressive.
Skeletons waved their jointed arms at us in a mock welcome, rattling their bones in a grotesque little dance. Every time they did, the girl would wag my paw harder, even bowing my head like I was some kind of living marionette.
“Come on, say hi. Hello, Mr. Skeleton~”
Granted, I was the one who had made my pet fox do sit, stand, poop, and all those tricks last night—but now that I was the fox myself, this was next-level hypocrisy.
“Where are we going? Oh, the Grand Hall? Wait, are pets even allowed inside?”
…Since when did I become a pet? That’s just wrong. I’m not a pet fox—I’m a partner fox. Actually, no, screw that—I’m Yeo Woo-rim, a human being. Why am I even arguing this in my own head?
“Info says… it’s listed as a pet? Haru-ya, let’s give it a name! Hey, does it have command functions?”
“Sit. Stand. Huh, maybe it’s still too young to understand anything.”
While the girls continued fussing over me, a boy who’d been hovering nearby finally came over, casting sneaky glances before stepping in.
“OMG~ what is this precious puppy?”
“Right?! Isn’t it insanely cute?”
“Where’d you get it from?”
“Why?”
“Just curious.”
Their voices flowed out in that distinct voice-to-text style—game-filtered audio chat. And in that moment, it clicked.
This wasn’t the test server I’d been on yesterday.
A new server of Last Shadow had gone live—and somehow, for reasons unknown, I’d been dropped into it.
[Welcome to Shadow Castle. A feast has been prepared in your honor. Please relax and enjoy yourselves.]
The game had officially begun.
Players began sampling from the lavish buffet, testing out the buffs attached to each dish.
Chomp chomp. The girls who picked me up returned, trays stacked with food.
“This cheesecake gives you a speed boost.”
“The strawberry one makes your cheeks blush! Here, fox, have a bite.”
They tossed me a piece of cake, and I happily scooped it up with my tongue—until…
[System]: This item cannot be consumed by a Baby Arctic Fox.
Nyang?
[System]: This item cannot be consumed by a Baby Arctic Fox.
Nya-mam!
Frustrated, I let out a howl—but all that came out were squeaky baby fox sounds.
NYANG!!
Feeling totally cheated, I slurped up some milk instead. But then I noticed the girl had grabbed a chocolate mushroom brownie.
I sprang forward, clawing at her hand, snatched the brownie in my mouth, and bolted under the table.
“Eek! Foxy, what’s gotten into you?!”
“I think it really wants to eat!”
I spat the brownie out with a blegh, then rinsed my mouth with water. Right on cue, the event I’d been expecting finally kicked off.
[A group of players has contracted food poisoning!]
One by one, people started collapsing.
