We faced each other in the darkness. I crouched down, frozen in fear.
Whimper, whine.
[System]: You have sensed an unknown threat. The skill ‘Protective Instinct’ is activated.
Suddenly, my eyes widened as if a veil had been lifted. My whole body trembled uncontrollably, and my charm offensive activated on its own.
[System]: Let’s try being adorable!
Following the prompt, I hopped forward a few steps, burrowing my face under the hem of his pants as if digging into the ground.
‘No fur at all.’
Moreover, there was no roughness or flakiness to his skin—it felt smooth. He looked down at me silently for a moment, then grabbed a fistful of my fur and roughly lifted me up.
Then, he forcibly pried open my tightly shut mouth. No, don’t! The blue light of the bead shimmering inside my mouth flickered.
Just as he was about to stick his fingers into my mouth—
“Hands off. What kind of germ-ridden filth are you trying to shove into a baby’s mouth?”
Kessler appeared like a ghost. But far from feeling relieved, tension surged up to the very tip of my throat.
In this sealed room, a murderer and a thief had met.
[System]: You are feeling tense. You become even cuter.
My cheeks puffed up tautly. My eyes darted around rapidly. What do I do? That idiot Kessler, barging in here without a care… What if he gets killed?
“Ah, it just looked like something was stuck in the fox’s mouth. I did wash my hands, though.”
Jung Da-hoon handed me over to Kessler without resistance, wearing a kind smile. However, Kessler, who now held me against his chest, was clearly not pleased as he inspected me.
“Why are you cornering a baby like this? He’s barely gotten a glimpse of the world.”
“The fox was already here first. Ah, did you find the bead?”
“Why the hell would I care?”
“It’s not that I care, but I was worried that maybe I’d accidentally taken your bead.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“The baby fox gave me the bead.”
“What?”
Kessler looked back at me, as if to confirm the truth. His expression was one of utter disbelief.
“Anyway, get lost.”
“Yes. Then, I’ll see you alive next time.”
Inside the room after Jung Da-hoon left, Kessler sat down on the floor and silently stared at me. His demeanor resembled that of a dog owner trying to discipline their pet.
“Sit.”
Tense, I worried he might snatch away the blue bead clutched in my mouth. Resolving never to open my snout, I firmly planted my butt on the ground.
“You…”
“…”
“Forget it. I’m not even going to bother.”
Kessler’s expression was grim. It seemed as if he was holding back his anger, or perhaps he was feeling a profound disillusionment with this wretched world.
“A gullible fox like you… I don’t even need you anymore.”
Wait, was this bastard seriously getting mad because he thought I gave the bead to Jung Da-hoon? Or was it because of the ‘Protective Instinct’ skill that had instinctively activated during the crisis?
“Just handing things over to anyone, acting all cutesy like some brainless baby fox…”
Fuck. It was both.
“You think the whole world is yours just because a few people fawn over you? You think you can just toss around the golden collar I gave you too?”
Despite saying he didn’t need an easy fox like me, he continued his rant as if he couldn’t suppress his indignation.
“What the hell did I do so wrong?”
…What is he even talking about now?
“I gave you so much good food. I let you lie on my belly, gave you baths. I even cleaned up your piss. You think anyone else would do that for you? You think that guy back there would have done that? You arrogant little fox.”
His sulky grumbling somehow made him seem endearingly childish. I shuffled closer and rubbed my face against his knee, giving it a gentle lick.
But unlike usual, he didn’t scoop me up into his arms. He didn’t even flinch.
“So fucking annoying.”
Meow.
“You’ll just wag your tail again the moment you see someone else you think is cool, right?”
By the way, had this guy actually found the bead or not?
The situation outside was escalating as the event approached its end.
People darted across the hallway in frantic escape, pursued by others. Piercing screams ripped through the air. A cacophony of chaos.
A faint light seeped into the room, settling over Kessler’s head. Above him, a black X was still marked clearly.
[System]: The indicator light has been deactivated.
I still couldn’t figure out what this bastard was really thinking. Even if that mark accurately reflected his heart… my feelings were something entirely different.
[System]: Remaining Time: 00:28:21
I scrambled up onto his palm, flailing a little. And then, I dropped the blue bead, now soaked in spit, onto his hand.
“What’s this? You’re giving it to me too?”
Vigorous nodding. Exactly—so take it and cheer up, you idiot. Keep this with you and survive. Let’s stick together from now on too.
The anger on his face softened ever so slightly. After giving a quick lick between his pinky and ring finger, I bolted out of the room.
With time running out, the hallway outside was littered with corpses from the fierce bead battle.
[System]: Currently, 484 out of 500 beads have been found.
I didn’t know who the Seeker was this time, but whoever it was, they weren’t showing themselves to help anyone. But I knew exactly where the remaining ten undiscovered beads were.
They were all gathered in one place—right here.
[System]: Entering Snake Rim’s office.
Hissss. A chilling air swept through the space.
Inside, insects that had been trapped flocked toward the doorway at the sight of light, but they couldn’t escape the barrier, clinging uselessly to the air like a wall of bugs.
‘It’s molting season, so it should be fine.’
Those were all Snake Rim’s snacks. I hesitated briefly at the sight of hundreds of wriggling insect legs sprawling before me, but then squeezed my body through into the barrier.
The barrier rippled as insects rained down in a clatter.
Shaking the bugs off my body, I clambered over the bed and onto the table. There, huddled together, were the beads. I stuffed my mouth full of them.
[System]: You can store up to three beads in your mouth.
The beads were small, but unfortunately, my mouth was even smaller.
[System]: You can attach them to your tail.
[System]: You can decorate them on your head.
[System]: You can carry them on your back.
Luckily, I could stick them to various parts of my body. Just as I was about to leave, dangling ten beads all over me—
Hisssssss.
“Who’s… there.”
Meow?
“Ah, it’s a baby fox… Give me some water… I feel like I’m dying… of thirst…”
A voice cracked and broken with dryness.
In the corner of the cave-structured room, Snake Rim was alone, molting, and somehow withering away.
It was puzzling. During the three-week molting period where he could do nothing, Snake Rim always stockpiled snacks and drinking water for himself.
“It… wasn’t water… It wasn’t water after all…”
A rotten chemical stench wafted from his water container. Looking closer, it wasn’t drinking water at all—it was wastewater discarded from a potion workshop.
…This didn’t happen during the Alpha Test.
“Baby fox…”
In other words, this was a player’s doing. A player who knew the timing of Snake Rim’s molting. Most likely, another Alpha Test veteran like me.
‘Pretty clever.’
Snake Rim was an extremely tricky boss monster to take down. If this molt completed successfully, he would only grow stronger.
The culprit was likely another second-round gamer like me, someone with the experience to survive long enough to know about Snake Rim’s existence, and careful enough to remain completely hidden.
‘Starving a boss monster to death, huh.’
That’s some strategic thinking. To target Snake Rim’s molting period so precisely.
If Snake Rim died like this, the game’s difficulty would be scaled down. It would be advantageous for the general players.
‘But not advantageous for me personally.’
If that cunning player turned out to be the Seeker, then it was highly probable that they—not me—would be the last survivor.
And considering that despite this game’s core being a battle royale, it allowed for high degrees of freedom, Snake Rim, though a villain, could still end up on my side.
First, I needed to get him some water… Should I ask Kessler for help?
No. He might get over excited and try to kill him instead.
During molting, Snake Rim’s defense was nearly infinite. If anyone failed to kill him properly, they would only end up provoking his rage.
I scanned the room for something that could hold water…
[Snake Rim’s Shed Skin. Highly elastic and stretchable.]
I stealthily slipped it into my inventory.
“Ah… Baby fox. You dare…”
‘It’s a misunderstanding!’
Without delay, I bolted toward the plaza’s fountain. On the way, as I passed by players fiercely fighting and clawing at each other over beads, I casually dropped one bead behind me.
“…Huh?”
The ones who had been tearing each other apart, drenched in blood, suddenly froze and stared at me, dumbfounded.
I even spat out a bead for those sitting quietly by the fountain, resigned to their fate, unable to gather any beads.
“What’s up with that fox?”
“Thank you, little fox!”
Then, I filled Snake Rim’s shed skin to the brim with water.
[System]: Your bag is too heavy. Try removing some water.
The amount of water I could carry in my bag was barely about a liter… Looks like I’d have to come back with it every day.
I returned to where Snake Rim was shriveling up, making faint, pitiful noises.
“Ahh… Baby fox.”
And I poured the water into his mouth, gulp by gulp. His parched skin began to regain a slight sheen.
[!!! Rare Achievement Unlocked! You have obtained the title ‘Peacekeeper Baby Fox.’ With a kind heart, you resolved conflict and brought peace. Blessed by this title, you can now use the skill ‘Declaration of Peace Zone.’]
‘What the heck is this?’
My heart thumped with excitement at the sight of the words “Rare Achievement.”
[Declaration of the Baby Fox’s Peace Zone.
The peace-loving baby fox declares a zone of peace.
—All attacks within a 10-meter radius around the baby fox will be nullified.
—Maximum duration: 1 hour / Usable once per week.]
Gasp!
I was so stunned that my stubby little body twisted wildly. Was the world helping me? Or was it a reward for the world I had helped?
