Rin scanned the surroundings, tension crawling across his skin like cold sweat.
The forest wasn't pitch-black yet, but the light was fading, and fast.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy above in weak amber streaks, casting long shadows across the mossy ground.
The trees were tall—at least three stories, their trunks wide enough to hide carriages behind.
And the sound…
That constant whisper of rustling leaves, distant clicking, and... something else.
Something breathing.
Big.
His screen flicked open as he moved.
---
Main Task: Upgrade Your House
Time Left: 3 Days
Side Task: Make a Female Partner
Reward: Team Section Unlock + 50 Coins + 1 Diamond
Time Limit: None (But good luck)
---
Rin narrowed his eyes.
If the system specifically told him to find a female partner, it meant one of two things:
1. The nearby female was probably someone terrifying.
2. Or this was K being K again—rigging things so teams couldn't become too overpowered.
And honestly? With his luck?
Both.
He exhaled, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. He tapped it once, and the mineral sack shimmered away into storage.
"Let's not get robbed before I get emotionally scarred," he muttered.
Then, with all the stupidity of a man who hadn't learned from a single life choice he'd ever made, he walked deeper into the forest.
---
The deeper he went, the colder it felt.
The sounds shifted—less birds, more creaking. A low vibration beneath the chirps, like the forest was holding its breath.
Then he heard it.
A whimper. Not loud. Not close. But real.
A sound like crying. Faint. Fragile.
It came from beyond a curtain of thick leaves near a collapsed tree wall.
Rin's body moved before his brain had time to veto it.
His boots crunched lightly on twigs as he slipped closer, eyes darting to every shadow.
The sound grew louder.
Then stopped.
---
And that's when he saw it.
A fox.
No, not a fox.
A beast.
Its fur shimmered orange-red like fire beneath the fading sun.
Its tail—one massive, cloud-thick tail, swished lazily behind it. It was easily the size of a horse, maybe larger.
Its back was lined with thin glowing markings, swirling and pulsing like ancient tattoos.
It wasn't just a creature.
It was mythical. Regal. Deadly.
And it was chewing a lion's rib cage like it was nothing more than tough jerky.
Rin's breath caught in his throat.
The system hadn't even noticed it.
No alert. No scan. No status window.
Just him. And this oversized murder floof.
---
Slowly, Rin began to back away, step by cautious step.
Don't. Make. A. Sound.
His heartbeat drummed in his ears. He stepped over a root, nearly slipped—
then stepped right onto a dry stick.
Crack.
The noise was deafening.
The fox stopped chewing.
Its massive ears twitched.
Its golden eyes slowly turned toward him, glowing faintly with something between awareness… and hunger.
"...Shit," Rin whispered.
---
The fox moved.
Not ran. Not jumped.
Pounced.
It launched itself across the clearing like a meteor wrapped in fur.
Rin's body barely moved before he was hit—slammed onto his back, the air shoved clean out of his lungs.
A paw the size of his torso pressed down on his chest.
Hot breath washed over his face—thick and raw, like breathing in steam from a boiling river.
The fox's lips curled.
Fangs. Too long. Too sharp.
This was not a test.
This was not a cutscene.
This thing could end him.
"DON'T EAT ME!" Rin shrieked, voice cracking like glass.
"I'M NOT NUTRITIONAL! I HAVE DIARRHEA!"
The words left him like holy scripture.
His smile stretched awkwardly, eyes wide in raw terror, face soaked in sweat and shame.
The fox tilted its head.
One ear flicked.
Then, it blinked.
The fox's eyes locked onto Rin like a predator sizing up its final bite.
Then it leaned down and—sniffed his collar.
Rin didn't breathe. Couldn't. His lungs had abandoned their job. His chest was frozen under the weight of one enormous, fur-lined paw.
But his heart?
Marathon mode.
Racing like it was late for a wedding and also on fire.
The fox inhaled slowly, flaring nostrils close enough to ruffle his shirt.
Then…
The pressure lifted.
The paw slid off his chest.
Rin blinked.
Still alive?
Still alive.
He let out the slowest, weakest exhale imaginable, like even oxygen wasn't sure it wanted to be there.
But before he could even think about celebrating his miraculous survival—
CHOMP.
"AAAAA—WHAT ARE YOU EATING?!"
He shrieked like a man discovering a spider in his pants.
The fox had casually taken his right boot into its massive, gleaming teeth and was now chewing on it like a toy. Strings of torn leather drooled from its mouth.
Rin scrambled, dragging his foot backward, but the boot had already surrendered.
He sat up and slapped his own forehead.
"Of all things... all things... you had to eat the one part of me that's already made of dead animal skin?! How cheap of you! You're majestic! You're mythical! You're literally glowing!"
The fox tilted its head.
Its eyes narrowed, ears flicking forward with a low, questioning growl.
Almost like it was asking:
> "Excuse me, peasant. What do you mean 'cheap'?"
Rin shook his head. "Nope. No. We're not doing this. If I have to bargain with a forest monster, I'm doing it properly."
He flipped open his system board.
---
[Shop → Food Section]
Grilled Beef – 25 coins/kg
Raw Beef – 10 coins/kg
Raw Chicken – 5 coins per full body
Cooked Chicken – 10 coins per full body
---
He tapped on Raw Beef.
Raw Beef: 4kg – Total Cost: 40 Coins
[Confirm Purchase?] → Confirm
---
Ding!
Purchase successful. Enjoy your meat. Good luck not starving.
A massive hunk of raw beef spawned before him, steaming slightly in the evening air, almost comically large.
Rin didn't even flinch.
He marched up to the fox, grabbed its ears like reins on a very confused god, and dragged its massive head down toward the meat.
"Look here, you oversized drama queen," he muttered, voice sharp like a disappointed parent.
"This. Eat this. This makes you terrifying. This gives you credibility. My boot? That just makes you look mentally unstable."
The fox blinked.
Processing…
Still processing...
Rin yanked his soggy boot from its mouth and jammed it back on, dripping and squelching like shame.
And then—
The fox looked at the meat.
Then at him.
Back at the meat.
Back at him.
Then...
Devoured it.
No hesitation. One minute it was meat, the next? Gone.
---
Ding!
System Alert – Purchase Registered: Raw Beef (4kg)
Beast Interaction Logged
Player has successfully tamed curiosity.
Reward: +1 Beast Affinity (Temporary)
---
Rin stood there, panting, boot wet, dignity gone.
But alive.
He watched as the fox licked its jaws, eyes calmer now, tail gently swishing behind it like a huge sentient blanket.
"…Right. I guess bribery works in all universes."