[Special Quest
Find and bind the most valuable object inside the castle using the provided yarn.
A travel voucher will be awarded to the first-place winner.
—Yarn of Equal Length Provided
First Prize: Travel Ticket
Time Remaining: 4:29:48]
Inside the bag, the quest item—the skein of yarn—was neatly tucked away.
As always, but especially for this quest, securing first place was absolutely essential. Particularly for someone like him, someone with so much to lose.
Because…
‘The next quest includes an inspection of personal belongings!’
Since the valuables of the high-ranking skeletons kept disappearing, a quest would soon be issued to everyone.
As the quest progressed, the entire castle would be temporarily designated as an “Peeking Allowed” area, allowing players to use an item to view not only the contents of others’ bags but even their carried gold.
The “Magnifying Glass for Peeking” and the “Concealer” items were single-use, and a relentless war of attack and defense would inevitably lead to wallets being looted.
‘If someone, out of curiosity, used a magnifying glass on a fox…’
There was a real risk of his identity as a player being exposed.
Thus, during the period of the quest, the safest and most peaceful course of action was simply to leave Shadow Castle altogether.
“What should I bind?”
Bori noona gently fondled the fine thread while scanning the castle. Then she spotted me and beamed.
“Should I tie up our little fox?”
Startled, I hopped backward, sticking my butt out, but she laughed, saying it was a joke.
“Baby Arctic Fox, are your front legs all healed?”
Nyang.
“Thank goodness, that’s such a relief. But everyone seems really torn about this. Isn’t this basically a territory grab game?”
It was the same for the other players.
One was talking about tying up the oldest statue, while another claimed that since Shadow Castle was fundamentally about death—that is, human resources—he would gather and bind a bunch of skeletons together.
“What should I tie up to make people say I did it well?”
“What happens if two people bind the same thing?”
“I checked the additional notes… whoever uses less yarn to tie it wins.”
Having made up their minds, players began rushing around every corner of the castle.
Time remaining until quest completion: 4 hours.
Time to get started.
Golgolgol, ddakddakddak.
While standing still and organizing my thoughts, I nearly got trampled by the busy players, and one of them ended up placing me on top of a wall. Just as I was about to jump down, I spotted bodies being carried beneath the wall, wrapped in blankets.
……
One, two, three… four bodies in total. That’s a serial murder. Could this be Jung Da-hoon’s doing?
‘What is he scheming?’
Since the quest had already begun, it seemed clear that they had been killed and their yarns stolen. But what exactly was he planning to bind?
Time for a change of plans.
I postponed my plan to find Kessler and wrap him tightly, and instead, walked along the narrow edge of the wall in search of Jung Da-hoon.
It didn’t take long to find him.
[System]: You have activated ‘Protective Scent.’ Other beings will not be able to smell you.
I moved freely, and once I entered a certain radius, my heightened sense of smell picked up his presence.
He was circling around the outer edge of the castle.
…Was he planning to bind the entire castle?
I paused to think. Kessler was often referred to as “the most precious existence,” but there was no guarantee that binding him would secure me first place.
What if the quest applied only to objects?
And if binding the castle meant encompassing everything inside it… it could be interpreted in a completely different way.
Jung Da-hoon was from the test server. He might look sloppy, but this time he could very well be acting on some calculated certainty.
But as the saying went, the longer the rope, the likelier it is to snap.
I trailed behind him for a while, then stopped at a suitable spot and ate a piece of Jewel Ice.
‘Humanization.’
Immediately, I headed to the nearest general store to buy a box cutter and some tape. Then I pulled a random junk item from my inventory—a flag I’d gotten during the “Flag Digging” event.
I firmly planted it into the ground.
‘Phew.’
After a deep breath, I used the box cutter to slice Jung Da-hoon’s skein of thread.
Chaltak.
The crisp sound of the thread snapping was oddly satisfying.
I grabbed the severed string and wound it tightly around the flagpole.
Now and then, the pole would tense and sway slightly, so I stepped on it hard to anchor it firmly into the ground.
Done. Since I cut it in the middle, it no longer counted as a proper binding.
[Time remaining: 2:22:13.]
Now I just had to find Kessler and wrap him up good and tight. After dusting off my hands, I transformed back into a fox.
As I headed toward places he might be, a shadow heavier than darkness itself passed over me. Sniff sniff. The strong, fresh scent of blood stung my nose. The moment I looked up, a rough hand gripped my back.
Kiik! Kking! The murderer, Jung Da-hoon, stared me down like he was mentally dissecting me.
Fuck. I hadn’t sensed him coming because I was in human form.
‘Humanization, humanization!’
I was screwed.
[System]: You cannot transform into a human again today. Please try again tomorrow.
I struggled and whimpered in protest, but all he did was clamp down on my muzzle.
His eyes dropped from mine down to my soft belly.
“What are you doing here, little fox?”
Kking!
Gripping me like a chicken about to be butchered, he started climbing up the bell tower, avoiding other players’ gazes.
Higher, and higher. More secluded, more deserted.
“I can’t leave a precious animal the Lord cherishes with any knife wounds.”
So… he was planning to kill me by dropping me?
The echoing clomp of his steps pounded in my ears as we climbed.
Finally, we reached the very top of the bell tower.
Kkiing.
[System]: You have sensed a threat to your life. Skill ‘Protective Instinct’ is activating.
‘A threat to life.’
It was the first time the system used that phrase.
Even with my face cuter than ever, my body trembled uncontrollably, and urine dribbled down my legs.
“It’s just a game. It’s just a game,” Jung Da-hoon muttered to himself, deliberately avoiding looking at his face.
“I have no choice. If you’re gone, I can survive.”
Just as I thought. He really was going to drop me from up here.
But perhaps it was his first time killing an animal. He looked conflicted as he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a pill. It looked like a sedative.
A final mercy, huh?
He forced it into my mouth.
‘Haa.’
He extended the hand holding me out into the open air. Both his hand and my trembling body, dangling helplessly by my now ultra-cute scruff, were shaking violently.
And then— He just stood there, frozen for a long moment.
“…I’m insane. Even if it’s just a game, what the hell am I doing…”
Just as he backed away, rethinking everything and reaching to pull me back—
DENG…
His head smacked into the bell.
“Aaaargh!”
The sound was deep and heavy.
And from the shock, he let go.
And my body began to fall.
“Gasp! Fox!”
Jung Da-hoon’s face twisted in horror as he reached out toward me, who was plummeting straight down.
Too late. I was already falling fast.
This wasn’t like that time I fell from the third-floor roof and just hurt my leg. This time, it would be the real thing. My death—guaranteed.
What would happen afterward? Would I wake up back in the real world? I hoped… I really hoped it would all vanish like a dream—
[The Baby Arctic Fox’s stamina has been fully depleted.]
The moment I hit the dirt, my HP hit zero. I slammed into the ground with such force I couldn’t even tell where it hurt—everything hurt.
DENG. DENGDENG. The bell rang, signaling midnight.
It was short, but it had been a new life. I couldn’t recall ever receiving this much affection from everyone. If I ever got back to the real world… if there was even a chance…
I’d find Jung Da-hoon and shake him by the goddamn collar.
[Jewel Ice automatic consumption has been activated.
Would you like to increase your stamina through Humanization?
Yes/No]
“…Huh?”
As I was losing consciousness, I summoned all my strength and forced my eyes open. Midnight. The reset hour.
I immediately confirmed. And at that moment, the area of my body spread across the ground grew larger.
From fox… to human.
Even after turning back, my HP was still basically chewing gum stuck to the floor.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Every limb was trembling with pain. I saw double.
The agony pounding through my body made it impossible to think, and I didn’t even notice someone approaching until their footsteps were nearly on top of me.
Step… step…
Jung Da-hoon? No—
A black coat. Eyes staring down at me, cold and void of emotion.
“…Kessler.”
“……”
“I know who hurt the fox.”
“……”
“…So please. Spare me.”
A face I’d never seen while in fox form. Like a cold, merciless judge.
He grabbed me by the back of the neck with one hand and started dragging me somewhere.
…Did it work?
My HP was under 15. I’d die just from tripping over a rock.
Before the sedative could claim my mind, I hastily reached out and grabbed the skein of thread. Then, summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I wrapped it around one of Kessler’s ankles.
[Who would you like to bind?]
…Yes.
[Shadow Binding Successful!]
A cheerful quest alert popped up, and I broke into a shaky grin.
After all… Life doesn’t just let you die for nothing.
