[System]: You feel great. Your nostrils flare.
That was the problem with animal transformations. When they’re happy, the baby fox dances, and the lizard flares its nostrils.
Kessler, who was holding me in his arms, subtly tried to shove my finger into his nostril, so I quickly shook my head and dodged it.
“Wanna go check our merit rankings? It’s been a while—I’m curious.”
SoftOnion immediately flailed and stopped him, horrified.
“No way. It’s dangerous. We don’t even know how many ‘Switch Position Skills’ have been cleared out, and the bulletin board is swarming with ‘ranker hunters.’ If they run into someone with merit they can’t chase down, they’ll just kill them.”
“Yeah. There’s even a job class called ‘Ranker Hunter’ now.”
“What the hell is a Ranker Hunter?”
“One of my old teammates earned the title after killing a line of rankers with higher merit than him. He even tried to kill me, so I ran.”
FreshKimchiArtisan drew both legs together and shivered as if he had goosebumps. Then Bori noona smiled brightly and said,
“Those hunters have been a blessing to us. Thanks to them, we get to feast on Artisan-nim’s food.”
A delicious meal had the power to make you forget the past.
Despite their warnings and pleas, Kessler stood up with me still in his arms.
“You’re really going? I warned you. Just saying.”
SoftOnion raised both hands for a final protest.
“If Baby Fox wants to go, then we go.”
“Then shall we all check it out?”
Bori noona, Jung Da-hoon, and even Kebab stood up, and the rest of the team members glanced around nervously. Jung Da-hoon had to go, being the baby fox’s personal photographer, and Bori noona and Kebab looked excited—they loved a good adventure.
“Everyone knows your personal info by now. If other users spot you, they’ll jump you as a group. Just stay and eat my food!”
Perhaps sensing that his regulars were heading straight into danger, Kimchi Artisan stood up clutching his rice paddle and yelled. But he was overlooking one key fact—just what kind of figure Kessler was among the lizards.
“You’re really going? Even after we begged you not to? You’re insane. You’ve got no fear.”
Well, there was nothing to be afraid of. And if things ever got dicey, I could just transform back into the baby fox and declare Baby Fox’s Peace Zone. Not that it would even come to that. Because—
—Baby FoxLizard and Kessler. Where are you off to with all these husks?
—Handsome Kessler kka-deu-ri~
Female lizards who spotted us came rushing over, volunteering to protect us. The next group of lizards we ran into also joined in. Soon we were moving forward, completely surrounded by female lizards.
—Kka-deu-ri kka-deu-ri~
More and more lizards kept piling on, and before long we were wrapped in multiple layers of scaly bodyguards.
“Holy crap, what are those guys? How’d they charm the lizards like that?”
“I don’t care. They’re out of the Peace Zone for once—let’s take them down.”
We had finally stepped out of the camping zone—the so-called Peace Zone—and users started drawing their weapons.
“Damn it, they acted like they’d never leave! Quick, get close and touch them!”
One user pulled out something that looked like a ‘Position Switch Card’ and tried to squeeze through the protective wall of lizards around us. But all he got for his trouble was getting repeatedly smacked in the face by swishing tails.
“No! We can’t miss this perfect chance! We have to pull at least one of them into our side!”
The bulkier warrior-class players didn’t even have enough space to get close. The scrawnier ones tried to wriggle their way in to attack, but they were stuck—trapped between the dense lizard formation and those thick tails swinging with every step.
“Ugh, dust in my face—”
[System]: You were hit by a lizard tail. HP -14
[System]: You were hit by a fat lizard’s tail! HP -33
[System]: You were stepped on by a lizard. HP -45
[System]: Your HP has fallen below 10%. Seek immediate healing!
“I’m out of potions… This is it…”
[System]: (Global) Player ‘Glucosamine’ has died.
“What the hell is wrong with these freaks? What’s with the earthshaking?!”
One user eventually died from the tail strikes. The others stuck in the lizard crowd were just barely clinging to life, guzzling potions.
[Megaphone]: Hey lead group, we won’t attack, just PLEASE check the bulletin and leaveㅠ I’m begging you
“What was that?”
One of the potion-chugging users couldn’t take it anymore and used the megaphone. As the chat window popped up and the voice boomed in my ears, I quickly scrambled up to sit on top of Kessler’s head.
Standing on his unusually tall head gave me a clear view of the whole situation.
The users who had managed to push deep into the lizard pack were getting beaten senseless by swinging tails, flailing helplessly.
“Uwaaaah! I’m doomed! Doomed! Do you know how much that item cost?! And I died with it on me?!”
Slide— The final Switch Position Skill card dropped from the hand of the slain user and drifted through the mud. Gleaming gold all on its own, it was promptly stomped on, one foot after another, by the lizards until it was torn to shreds.
“Wasn’t the guy who died and dropped that card the lizard soccer coach?”
“Guess the Switch Position Skill card was actually a special skill.”
“Anyway, now that we’ve checked the list, let’s hurry up and leave. The users’ cheeks are all swollen from getting slapped.”
“They were trying to attack us and got hit by the lizards. They deserved it.”
I gently licked Kessler’s cheek, which had taken on a criticizing tone, and his expression softened immediately.
“Let’s go, Kessler.”
“Alright.”
So obedient. Once again, we moved in a grand migration, reminiscent of a national exodus. Perched atop Kessler’s head, I looked back to see what was happening behind us.
As the dust settled, we could see users sprawled out in the dirt, weak and bleeding.
And then, two steps away from the merit rankings board—
[System]: !!!
Huh?
Congratulations. You’ve been appointed as the ‘City of Gratitude Swamp Ambassador’ for being the player who contributed the most to the city’s development. The ‘City of Gratitude Swamp’ wishes to be recognized not merely as some backwater swamp, but as an official city. Please proceed to Neo City and fulfill your duty as ambassador.
—Promote the City of Gratitude Swamp.
!Recommended actions for promotion!
—Recruit 100 City Shadows to return to the City of Gratitude Swamp as rural settlers
—Build a Snake Rim statue in Neo City’s statue row
—Spread heartwarming tales about lizards
—Mail Neo City’s lights as a package to Snake Rim
Go now to the King, Snake Rim, and receive your ticket to Neo City.
“…What even is this?”
Skimming through the quest content, I looked up to see that everyone around me wore the same expression. A kind of glazed-over post-realization face.
I spoke from Kessler’s head.
“Everyone just got the same quest, right? The one about being a promotional ambassador?”
“Yeah… we did. Do we really have to do this?”
“Hey, at least they didn’t ask us to build the Tower of Shadow Atonement.”
“True. Could’ve been worse.”
Kebab and Bori noona nodded furiously, trying to justify it to themselves.
[System]: (Global) The ticket award ceremony will begin shortly. All 15 players appointed as ambassadors must gather together. Violence and disorder are prohibited during the event.
After that alert, no matter how loud someone screamed, the sound wouldn’t exceed a set decibel limit, and hitting someone resulted in zero damage.
“I am Snake Rim, King of Lizards. I hereby appoint you all as ambassadors of the City of Gratitude Swamp.”
Once Snake Rim finished his proclamation, the lizard orchestra broke into an upbeat farewell song. As the speech kicked off, Bori noona suddenly asked, curiously,
“Didn’t everyone who wasn’t advancing to the next round die in the Shadow Castle? Why are these guys still alive?”
“You gotta bunker down here until the next arrivals show up.”
“Until the next ones arrive? Isn’t the town supposed to reset?”
That, Woo-rim could answer.
“Nope. The history of this world keeps moving forward. Players are just passing travelers who appear and disappear along that timeline. It’s not a frozen world—it’s an accumulating history. That’s the accurate way to see it.”
Just like the bond I’d built with Snake Rim as a fox. The one who stays rooted makes the rules. It’s also why I, having played through both Alpha and Beta servers, had an advantage navigating the game.
“First, Baby FoxLizard. Step forward.”
When Snake Rim called my name, Kessler stepped onto the platform. Not to accept on my behalf, but because I was sitting on his shoulder.
As the lizards’ tails patted the ground in applause, I stood on stage and received a bouquet, a set of dried fruit snacks for the journey, and a pale-blue glowing ticket.
“If not for you, our city would not exist. We are truly grateful.”
[System]: Once again, you’ve become a hero in a place you were invited to. You have earned the title ‘Baby Hero FoxLizard.’ No one can deny now that you are the hero of a city. Accordingly, the size of your FoxLizard statue to be placed next to Snake Rim will be increased, and reconstruction of the statue will begin.
‘That’s… a bit much, though.’
A sparkling crown landed on my head. Amid the tail-applause, I stepped down from the stage alone.
“Next, Kessler…-nim. Congratulations. Everyone, applause!”
With a sour expression, Snake Rim avoided eye contact with Kessler and hastily shoved the ticket into his hands, rushing to wrap things up.
The rest of the users were called in turn to receive their tickets, and in a flurry of metaphorical confetti made from dead fly fragments, we headed toward the train platform.
“Lucky bastards.”
“Sob sob.”
The players left behind had to hope for next time, staring at the departing group in envy, sucking on their fingers.
Soon, the train arrived.
The Neo Express. It approached in a stream of pale blue light and came to a halt before them.
“Fox First boarding! All foxes board first. Nyang-nyang, hop on!”
There was another fox besides me. It nimbly leapt onto the train. I tried to follow, but Kessler scooped up my belly faster and lifted me aboard.
“Hey, Woo-rim, were you always this short and pudgy? I don’t remember you being like this.”
“……”
One meal a day was enough for a fox body, but Kessler kept feeding me every chance he got. That’s how I ended up like this. Embarrassed at my plumper frame compared to the sleek fox, I tried to hide behind Kessler’s neck—but all it did was turn me into a fluffy scarf.
Once on board, I glanced around…
“Huh? That seat has two foxes—wait, is that a fox-lizard hybrid?”
The train was packed with users from other lizard-derivative cities. Every seat was taken.
“All merit holders from the last village are now aboard! Congratulations, everyone!”
Putting aside the upcoming competition in Neo City for now, they all raised a toast in celebration.
