Kessler stared quietly at the child who had issued the quest, then murmured under his breath.
“Nothing’s going to change.”
Then he picked me up from the child’s arms, where they’d been gently stroking me.
Nyang.
The child reached out, wanting me back, but Kessler didn’t yield.
“What. He’s my fox.”
The shadows drifting through the room trembled in protest, demanding the fox be returned, but Kessler was not someone to be persuaded so easily.
※Pet players must be accompanied by their guardians.
“Let’s go.”
That message was a bit ridiculous, but since this was a bonded relationship, whatever.
I nestled quietly in Kessler’s arms, looking up at him. The notification must’ve gone through by now, but he showed no sign of surprise. That, more than anything, was strange.
‘The final quest to locate the Lord, , will begin shortly with an OX quiz. All players, please proceed to the gathering area.’
Without a word, he held me and walked toward the designated neutral zone.
“Oh? Kessler! What are you doing here?”
“Came to play the game.”
“So you’ve finally defeated the Black Flame Dragon and come to your senses?”
Kebab, standing two steps away and watching us warily, asked with a puzzled look.
“But wait, isn’t this quest about finding the Lord? Can the actual person in question participate?”
“Kessler’s a player too, so why not?”
“Wow, so you’re saying Kessler-nim issued the quest and is joining it himself?”
Kessler didn’t answer. He just absentmindedly kneaded my butt.
This guy… is he finally realizing that he’s playing as a player now? Or was he always like this?
Since Kessler ignoring other users was nothing new, Bori Noona and Kebab didn’t seem too discouraged by being brushed off.
“But why are you holding the fox? He’s gotta play too.”
“Husband and wife are of one heart.”
Occasionally, he would answer selectively—like now.
“C’mon, it’s the final quest, just tell us. What happened to the Lord? Come on, spill the secret… pretty please…”
“I’ve always been amazing.”
Bori Noona looked up at him with sparkling eyes, hoping for a real answer, but all she got was that pitiful excuse of a reply.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Overseer, who had just returned from gathering quiz questions from the Skeletons of Skeleton Village, stepped onto the podium. Kessler’s eyebrows twitched.
“First quiz.”
“Hey.”
“Y-yes, Kessler-nim.”
“You think that position suits you?”
…Right. Even in the shadow society, there was a clear hierarchy and order—those of higher status had to be in higher places. That’s why Kessler always got the top-floor room in the Shadow Atonement Prison.
At his words, the Overseer, who had been standing above Kessler, hurriedly stepped down from the platform.
That part of Kessler was honestly funny. Here he was, participating as a player, and still pulling rank like a tyrant.
“Start. First question.”
“Yes. First question: ‘The starting salary of a NewbieGol acting as Skeleton Village’s troubleshooter exceeds five shadow weights.’ O or X?”
“Wait, they’re making a quiz out of someone’s salary?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Isn’t that kind of confidential?”
Bori Noona and Kebab shrugged, visibly bewildered. But the Lord—Kessler—was different. His face turned serious, as if mentally calculating the average starting salary for new professional Skeletons. Then, with a confident look, he glanced down at the short Overseer.
“Give me a hint.”
“……Yeo Woo-rim-nim is said to know the answer.”
Instantly, every user’s eyes turned to me.
…Me? I know it? How the hell would I know?
Sure, I spent a lot of time around him for various reasons after he appointed me, but…
The first payment he’d offered me was… three hundred thousand won. When you think about how the top-ranked AttorneyGol, Byeonhogol, had offered a million won, Kessler’s offer was about 30% of that. Maybe even lower, considering how Byeonhogol had a monopoly on the workload.
30 seconds remaining.
But there was a twist. This year, NewbieGol had landed a golden contract through me.
20 seconds remaining.
And the questions for this quiz were written by the Skeleton Village residents themselves, weren’t they?
I don’t know his exact starting salary. Even if I’d heard it in passing, I would’ve ignored it. But I do know what kind of person NewbieGol is.
10 seconds remaining.
The image of NewbieGol standing with his hands on his hips, a golden crown atop his head, laughing oom-hahaha, was still vivid in his mind. The way his chin was lifted high in pride, and how he’d immediately bought five barley buns, tossing them at broke users like they were nothing—that memory lingered.
Still, he didn’t know NewbieGol’s salary.
“Five seconds.”
But he knew.
Just as Kessler began moving toward the X side, I let out a fierce series of nyang nyang cries.
“Not this one?”
Kessler’s two feet, along with the two who had followed him, just barely landed on the O side.
“Selection complete.”
The result was revealed.
“The correct answer is O. NewbieGol’s salary is above five shadow weights.”
Everyone survived. The person who had submitted that question must have been NewbieGol himself. Disguising a boast as a quiz question, showing off his paycheck—classic. I didn’t know the number, but I had read the intention.
“Next question: ‘Money King Skeleton wants to be reborn as a fox.’ O or X?”
“Isn’t that obviously yes? I heard he sold all his shares in the Bone Density Enhancement Center just to buy a Nine-Tailed Fox item.”
As the two moved naturally toward O, Kessler followed without much thought.
“20 seconds remaining.”
But this time, O was not the correct answer.
Nyang nyang!! Nyang nyang nyang!!
“What the—? It’s wrong?”
Everyone hurriedly switched sides to X.
“The correct answer is X. Once again, everyone is correct.”
“Fox-nim, how do you even know this stuff?”
“That baby fox must be a total insider. Seriously.”
The two gave me enthusiastic thumbs-up.
As a fox, I’d roamed around a lot and seen Money King Skeleton in action. He had spent a fortune buying fox tails and wandered around making clumsy nyang-nyang noises—but he didn’t actually want to be a fox. He was just…
‘A skeleton who was dead serious about cosplay.’
A skeleton who knew how to love himself. The fox tails weren’t about transformation—they were a way to look cuter and cooler in his own eyes.
Still, the game wasn’t supposed to go this way. It was supposed to eliminate all but one in the end, so why were these barley buns still sticking around?
Apparently, Kessler was also starting to get annoyed by the tag-alongs. Watching the two joyfully hopping beside us, he leaned in and whispered quietly to me.
“From now on, bark once for O, twice for X. Gotta shake off those clingy freeloaders.”
Sadly, luck had gotten us this far. I didn’t know every skeleton around, after all.
“Truly amazing, everyone. Now, the next question. ‘There is a trendy café on the rooftop terrace. The skeleton owner’s name is CafeBossGol.’ O or X?”
‘Oh no…’
It was another one I actually knew.
The café on the rooftop terrace that sold Bone Broth Lemonade. It was Kessler’s favorite spot—and the rendezvous point for me and Jung Da-hoon.
“You mean that massive rooftop café? How are we supposed to know the owner’s name…?”
As expected, the two looked clueless. They barely visited that place once a month, if that.
“20 seconds remaining.”
When Kessler moved to O, they followed him, playing the imitation game. Even if they didn’t know, how could Kessler, who visited that place so often, not know the owner’s name?
“Five seconds remaining.”
Nyang nyang!
With five seconds left, I let out two soft nyangs. Kessler swiftly stepped toward X, landing on it.
“Magnet cling!”
As if waiting for this moment, Kebab quickly used a magnet fishing item and stuck himself to Kessler.
“You leech.”
“Heh heh.”
In an instant, only Bori Noona was left behind. For the first time, we hit a split in the path. Soon after, the result was announced.
“Player Bori has been eliminated. The café owner’s name is ‘Ling Forgium.’ They recently changed their name.”
“Ughhh… How would anyone know that? I’m heading out first.”
Already planning to lose from the start, Bori Noona waved goodbye while being dragged away by the weaklings.
“One person has been eliminated. Next question: ‘TrafficGuardGol considers the baby fox’s safety a top priority.’ O or X?”
“Is that even a question?”
Kessler confidently moved to O, while Kebab headed to X and tried to persuade him.
“Come on this way. The GuardGol I know isn’t biased.”
“Ten seconds remaining.”
“…Hurry up. Foxy! At least you run over here!!”
Kebab’s frantic plea was met only with a dismissive snort from Kessler. Moments later, the results appeared.
“The correct answer is O. Kessler-nim listed ‘valuing the fox’ as a hiring condition.”
Kebab slumped in defeat but managed to smile as he spoke brightly.
“A worthy loss. Baby Fox-nim, we’ll see each other outside, right?”
Nyang!!
“That’s all I needed.”
He was dragged away just like Bori Noona had been.
Once the area cleared, star-like shards of light began to shimmer and rain down from the sky—a celebratory display for the final winner.
Kessler silently brushed the sparkles off my fur, even though he left the ones stuck in his own hair untouched.
“Congratulations to the final survivor.”
The final survivor of the quest <Last Shadow> has been determined. This noble being, who survived using their deep knowledge of the Shadow Castle, now has the insight to identify the true ‘Master of the Shadow Castle.’
Please identify the true master of the Shadow Castle.
“The one still in the room is the real master. I’m just the winner.”
