The Secret of the Fox Bead

It's embarrassing to say this out loud, but I'm strong. Really strong. Among Silver-rank adventurers—who are celebrated as high knights in other regions—I'm clearly at the top of the heap. In terms of pure mana capacity, I'm barely scraping into Gold-rank. On top of that, my summons, which represent my true strength, all possess unique and formidable powers of their own. In practical combat ability, I can safely be considered Gold-rank. That's why I was certain that once I got serious, no living creature could outrun me. The physical reinforcement from fusion, the thrusters, and Blink's performance only made that confidence stronger.

That was what I'd believed—until I saw the monster fleeing into the distance and could only click my tongue in disbelief.

"Just how fast is that thing?"

Even Adela and Beatrice, who had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠transformed their bodies for extreme speed, were left far behind. Neon, as a mage, couldn't keep up from the start, so I'd essentially been chasing alone. Yet the best I could manage was barely hanging onto its tail. I had confidence in my speed, but I never dreamed I'd fail to catch a Silver-rank monster.

I'd tried spreading Ikelos to corner it or using the Rune Golem's Gravity Field, but its ridiculous pace rendered both useless. The one silver lining was that our speeds were nearly identical—and I was confident in my stamina.

"Keng!"

The monster glanced back. I flashed a crooked grin and delivered a line worthy of a classic hero. "Are you asking how long I'll keep chasing? Sorry, but I can do this all day."

A Silver-rank monster could get up after being smacked by an ogre's club, so its endurance was rock-solid. When I showed I was serious about running all day, the creature apparently decided it would tire first and finally stopped.

"Finally!" I shouted.

I'd been wondering if I'd have to keep sprinting forever. Now that a fight was on the table, I grinned brightly and settled into a stance. I pulled the spear-sword from my inventory and layered armor over my body. The monster lowered itself warily at my instantaneous battle readiness.

I stopped in front of it, smiling at first—then froze in surprise the moment I got a proper look at its appearance.

"Wait... is that a gumiho?"

"Grrrrr!"

"No, not a gumiho."

A giant fox with pure white fur and three tails glared at me with sharp eyes. The familiar silhouette had made me mistake it for a monster from my previous life for a second. But when I saw the orb clutched in its mouth, I corrected myself.

The way it held the bead like a sacred yeouiju sparked my curiosity, but subjugation came first. I couldn't let the adventurers currently searching the forest steal the kill. Which meant I had to fight it.

After a brief standoff, I tensed my legs to spring forward—

"...Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Keng?!"

Neon suddenly plummeted from the sky and slammed straight into the fox monster's flank. The completely unexpected arrival using a completely unexpected method left the creature—no longer focused on me—unable to react in time. The fox, struck without any guard, opened its mouth in shock and spat out the bead.

"Keheheng?!"

It must have dropped it reflexively from the surprise attack. The moment I saw the fox's startled face, I dove forward and snatched the orb. The fox stared at me with a devastated expression. I stood up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a smirk, grabbed the still-sprawled Neon by the collar, and hauled him to his feet.

"How the hell did you end up flying over here?"

"Ugh... Luna Nunim stuck a talisman on me and launched me."

"Yeah, that tracks."

There weren't many ways a mage could collide with a monster like this and come out fine. I didn't know much about talisman arts, but someone at Luna's level could probably make the impossible possible more often than not.

Thanks to the timely reinforcement, I grinned at the fox. It had been pacing restlessly and now looked at the bead in my hand with pitiful, pleading eyes.

It clearly treasured that orb. It wanted to charge in but was too afraid of it getting destroyed, so it could only watch helplessly. I loosened my grip on my weapon. My instincts—honed from facing countless monsters—were telling me this creature had no desire to fight me.

Now that I thought about it, the situation was strange. Northern monsters were known for their fighting spirit. Being chased by adventurers for days should have driven it into a frenzy, yet it had only run. Even a wood golem assassin type would normally turn and attack if cornered like that. The only reason it had finally bared its teeth at me was because it realized it couldn't shake me off.

Sensing something different, I stored the spear-sword back in my inventory. Neon gave me a puzzled look.

"Why are you suddenly putting your weapon away?"

"I think we might actually be able to communicate. I'm going to try talking to it."

"You're trying to tame it? Even so, shouldn't you keep your weapon ready just in case?"

"I can tank a few hits. And to lower its guard, I need to show I'm not a threat first."

Besides, the fact that I held the bead—which clearly meant the world to it—was a huge advantage. Using the orb like a hostage, I approached slowly. The fox came forward as well, still wary. After reaching an unspoken agreement, we stopped within arm's reach and stared into each other's eyes.

"Is this... really important to you?"

"Keng."

It nodded as if it understood my words. I made a troubled face. There was a high chance this was the exact item ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Edenberg had said he needed. I only planned to use it briefly to check the map's location, and it wouldn't get damaged, but I doubted the fox would accept that explanation.

Given how it had acted so far, I really didn't want to fight it. So I asked, not expecting much.

"Would you like to come with me?"

"Keng?"

"I mean taming. Do you understand what that means?"

It tilted its head, clearly not fully grasping my words. I scratched my head. Then it suddenly stretched its neck forward, sniffed my scent, and its eyes widened. Its three tails began to wag vigorously, as if greeting a long-lost friend. Neon, watching from behind, looked shocked.

"What? How did you do that?"

"I... have no idea. I don't know why it's acting like this either."

The sudden sniffing and tail-wagging caught me off guard too. I sniffed myself, wondering if I'd somehow gotten honey smeared on me, but there was no scent. Neon tried sniffing me as well and simply shook his head.

Regardless, the fox kept wagging its tail and panting like an excited puppy. Since it didn't seem like a bad development, I decided to proceed with the taming contract. Rata popped out of my pocket.

"Kiit!"

"You think you know the reason?"

Rata climbed onto my shoulder and looked back and forth between me and the fox, explaining energetically with gestures. The little creature chittered and waved its arms. Neon, watching from the side, looked utterly lost. I, however, understood perfectly.

"So my talent has grown another level?"

"Kit!"

"My realm rising increased my taming ability, and the decisive factor is the sprout in the Water Realm?"

"Kit kit!"

Rata nodded at my summary. Following its advice, I closed my eyes and focused my consciousness on the Water Realm. The sprout linked to me was radiating a brilliant light. It had been glowing nonstop ever since it absorbed the World Tree Branch, so the sight wasn't particularly new. Laserdon sometimes grumbled that the light kept him from sleeping properly when he rested there, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

Ignoring the Irregular Laserdon rolling around with the war ants on the floor, I focused on the sprout. It had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠definitely grown larger than before.

"It's grown?"

"What has?"

"The sprout in the Water Realm. It never changed much no matter how much experience I fed it before, but this time it's different."

I opened a rift to show the curious Neon. His eyes widened when he saw how much bigger it had become.

"It really has grown."

"The World Tree Branch really is an incredible item."

"Yeah. If it didn't grow after eating something like that, it'd have no conscience at all."

Recalling the energy the World Tree Branch had emitted, we nodded in mutual understanding.

By now the taming was complete. The fox yipped playfully and acted cute. Adela and Beatrice, arriving a step late, spotted us and the fox and quickly grasped the situation.

"You tamed it?" Adela asked in her usual blunt tone.

"It grew on me more than I expected. And since we got the item we needed, let's head back."

"Okay," they both replied, licking their lips with clear disappointment.

Come to think of it, they'd been hoping to hunt the new species monster to absorb its genes. Having accidentally tamed it instead, they'd lost their chance. They stared at the fox with lingering, hungry eyes. The fox shivered at their gazes, tucked its tails low, and hid behind me. I couldn't help laughing.

"It's a shame, but we'll absorb the genes of a new monster species next time we find one. For now, let's return to the ruins."

"Okay."

"Got it."

We headed back to the ruins with the fox in tow. At the entrance, we found the others waiting: Veil, who had sent the security forces away, several knights, Luna, and Owen. They waved warmly when they saw us.

"Wow~ I never imagined you'd tame that monster. Thanks to you, I got quite the show," Owen said with his usual polite, playful tone.

"Mr. Owen?"

"I am participating as the safety supervisor for this new species subjugation expedition. I came prepared for any emergencies, so please don't worry."

Owen was still acting suspiciously as ever. I smiled at Veil as if to say of course he is.

"Didn't you send the security forces back earlier?"

"Considering the weight of the secrets we're about to uncover, I decided it would be better to bring the knight order instead of mere guards."

At Veil's words, Rohan and Clorin standing behind him offered brief greetings. Bringing two senior knights from the Blue Stag Knights showed just how serious Veil was. Well, once you learned about an adventure this exciting, it would be impossible to stay away. Veil had always been physically weaker than his father or brother and couldn't display the same warrior prowess. That was exactly why he refused to miss this heart-pounding opportunity. He'd come thoroughly prepared with experienced senior knights and the next commander-in-training.

"Let's head inside! A thrilling adventure awaits us!"

We entered the ruins with Veil at the front. Edenberg was waiting just inside the entrance. He waved casually at Rohan and Clorin, who were about to offer formal greetings, then noticed the fox beside me and made an odd expression.

"Protisha? Is that this friend's species name?"

Edenberg examined the bead I handed him and smiled with satisfaction.

He snapped his fingers. The floor in the center of the ruins split open, revealing a small pedestal with a groove perfectly sized for the fox bead. I placed the orb into the slot. Complex circuits lit up across the floor, channeling energy through the bead and shooting a beam of light toward the ceiling. The light spread across the ceiling and projected a holographic map of the northern region from a thousand years ago.

Edenberg gazed at the map with deep emotion, then let out a long breath and pointed to a particularly prominent mountain.

"That mountain?"

"Of course I know it. It's still called that today."

Edenberg smiled with satisfaction, removed the fox bead, and handed it back to me.

"It might take a while to find it."

"Huh?"

I made a confused face at the cryptic statement. The fox—Protisha—had been quietly staring at the holographic map on the ceiling. Now its eyes sparkled as it wagged its tail, as if it knew exactly where Edenberg was pointing.