EP1 — I've Grown Ears and a Tail?

Have you ever heard the difference between a furry and a beastkin?

Frankly, I don't know much about these fields either, so I looked it up, and the gist was roughly this: if an animal acts like a human, that's a furry. If a human acts like an animal, that's a beastkin.

Put that way, it's a wonderfully simple binary.

So here's a question for you. What do you call it when someone goes to sleep and wakes up with a tail and a pair of ears?

What else could it be.

My life is ruined, that's what. Turning my head back, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

A girl who was, by any measure, unbearably cute — cute enough that if you passed her on the street, you'd want to stuff her pockets with allowance money.

'But this is ME?'

In disbelief at this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reality, I tentatively waved my hand back and forth. The me in the mirror was waving her right arm just as furiously.

'A dream?'

Just in case, I gave my cheek a good hard pinch, but all I felt was the soft, squishy give of skin.

Yep. Definitely not a dream.

'Not that that's the important part.'

Up until yesterday I'd been a perfectly ordinary man in his twenties. Then I got into it with a nasty customer at my convenience store shift, knocked back a few drinks in a fit of frustration, went to bed — and woke up like this.

The explanation is absurdly thin, I know, but what can I say? That's all I've got.

'Aaah, they weren't kidding when they said misfortune crushes the man who's already fallen.'

Was this finally my punishment for swindling that girl out of her work gloves in elementary school by pretending to be one of them?

This is why people tell you to live honestly...

I stared into the mirror with a look of utter desolation, but nothing changed. 'If it had to come to this, there were plenty of more normal options.'

A total bombshell, say. Or a pure, ethereal campus goddess type.

Why did it have to be a brat with fox ears?

On top of that, the pink hair — and pink eyes, too. Sure, the base model was so outrageously pretty that it all somehow worked, but this wasn't the kind of beauty society had in mind. Anyone who looked at this and thought, 'Wow, can I get your number~?' would have to be certifiably insane.

Actually, forget that. The real problem was that the ears and tail put me well outside the realm of normal.

These things on my head. Anyone with eyes could see they were fox ears.

On a whim, I reached up and touched the newly grown ears. They were fluffy like the puppy I'd once petted — surprisingly addictive.

'Can I move them, maybe?'

No sooner had the thought formed than my tail began swishing back and forth.

'It moves annoyingly well...'

Hard to deny it at this point. Wondering if the ears were different, I tried folding and unfurling them, and they responded without any trouble. Apparently I could use them as freely as my arms and legs.

Pretty advanced technology, this.

'Why on earth did this happen?'

It wasn't like I'd done anything creepy enough to get my fee stolen, so what gives?

'Alien abduction? Corporate experimentation?'

If they were going to abduct someone, you'd think they'd pick someone more accomplished than me.

The most realistic explanation, then...

'Awakening, huh?'

When something strange happens on 21st-century Earth, blame the gates and the towers. That was a fairly famous maxim.

And for good reason — ever since monsters and awakened humans first appeared about ten years ago, inexplicable things had been happening one after another.

'Come to think of it, I think I've heard of people's appearances changing after awakening.'

Though that meant things like getting a bit taller, or their hair color shifting. Only very minor, superficial changes.

'Nothing as extreme as my case...'

Maybe someone else knew something? I grabbed my phone and logged onto the community forums.

Ah, peaceful as ever today.

Despite the name, the Hunter Gallery was a place of remarkably high... quality? 'Well, naturally. There isn't a single actual hunter in here.'

It was nothing but wannabes dreaming of becoming hunters. Real hunters did show up now and then, but even those posts were mostly just flexing.

'Though the actual knowledge base is pretty solid, I'll admit.'

I used the gallery regularly to source hunter-related information, and occasionally to kill time when I was bored.

'...So I'm being treated as a troll.'

Well, fair. Who'd believe someone claiming they'd woken up as a girl? And this was a gallery that drew trolls like flies to begin with.

Just as I was about to close the app in disappointment, a reply finally arrived that actually made sense.

So I was still technically being treated like a lunatic, but...

'Right, the status window. That's the way to check.'

Every hunter is granted a status window from the moment they awaken. In other words, if I really had awakened, I should be able to summon mine.

'Status window!'

I'd merely murmured the words in my head, and instantly a translucent blue window floated up before my eyes.

'Whoa...'

So I really did awaken. I'd more or less guessed as much, but actually seeing the status window made me feel strangely... flushed with excitement —

who am I kidding.

'JACKPOT! My life is finally taking off!'

The most promising career of the 21st century! Ranked #1 among professions schoolchildren want to be when they grow up!

I was finally classing into a hunter — the job only the awakened could hold!

'Come on, B-rank — no, even C-rank will do!'

C-rank alone came with a salary north of a million dollars a year. With that, I could leave this shabby rental apartment behind and never look back.

'Let's see here~'

Slowly, I began reading down the lines that appeared on the status window.

'Same name, at least.'

Class name: Fox God.

And the rank was... EX!?

'!?'

What on earth is that? It was sparkling and glowing, so it looked impressively good, but...

'I've never heard of it in my life.'

Common knowledge said S-rank was the highest class there was. Naturally, I'd based my hopes on that same common knowledge and wanted a respectable C-rank, but...

'This... looks better than S-rank to anyone with eyes, doesn't it?'

EX-rank! Wasn't that the mark of something beyond the established categories altogether?

'A mega-jackpot!'

Who am I? The world's first EX-rank class.

'The current #1 in the hunter rankings was S-rank, right?'

Ho ho... poor soul was simply born in an era before I existed. A total mediocrity!

Shall I come collect that number-one spot now?

Just as I was marinating in dopamine and spouting nonsense, I noticed something off.

'...Aren't these stats way too low?'

I'd definitely heard that high-rank classes came with monstrous stats right from awakening. As an extreme example, an S-rank mage supposedly started with a base magic stat of 20.

At this level, I'd have a hard time even duking it out with a D-rank...

No, no. It's too early to let go of the thread of hope.

'I've got two skills!'

And EX-rank skills at that — the kind that leap clear over S-rank!

Wiggling my newly shrunken fingers, I tapped open the skill window.

'Hmm...?'

To sum it up, this skill seemed to be the main culprit behind turning my body into a girl's.

'And THIS is the form best suited to wielding the Fox God's power?'

Hm.

Well, I supposed I did suit the Fox God far better than my original male body. I'd look perfect the moment someone threw a shrine-maiden robe on me.

The ears and tail must exist for the same reason.

'But isn't this way too vague?'

What's the benefit of having the "best-suited body," exactly? Some buff that raises skill efficiency — something like that?

'Useless...'

It'd be one thing if it actually spelled out what buff I was getting. The description was way too half-baked.

Whew, whatever. Hoping to hit the jackpot twice in a row was just greedy.

'Because the second pull is where the real prize is!'

Alright, back in we go!

Hmm...

'Too long!'

Roughly speaking: the more tails I grew, the stronger I got?

Come to think of it, I had heard somewhere that a fox with more tails was more powerful. A growth-type skill along those lines, apparently...

'And how do I grow more tails?'

Shouldn't a skill like this come with instructions on how to increase them?

I poked at the status window a few more times, but the description didn't budge an inch.

'Now that's just cruel!'

One growth-type skill and one passive skill. Both were far too vague to deliver any immediate, tangible benefit.

'Should I be retracting my support for EX-rank?'

Maybe I'd set my expectations too high. For all I knew, EX-rank might not even be above S-rank. It could be below D-rank, for all anyone could say.

'But Foxfire... what's that one?'

A "divine authority" listed under the tail skill. Apparently some kind of perk granted as my tails multiplied...

'Is it just a skill?'

There were no usage instructions or further explanations to be found.

Unfriendly status window. Is there no complaints department I can file with?

'Whoa!?'

The moment I started to complain, a blue flame began flickering into existence right in front of me. Apparently I could summon it with nothing but a thought.

'It's completely blue...'

It had a will-o'-the-wisp sort of feel. About the same color as the old gas stove I used to cook on, actually.

'Would it burn if I touched it?'

Out of curiosity, I poked at the flame, but for all its fierce appearance, it wasn't hot at all.

'Hmm... what's it for, then?'

An attack skill...?

It was far too cold for that.

'Wait, it's moving?'

All I'd done was idly wave my arm, and the foxfire suddenly began tracing the path of my limb.

'Whoa, that's amazing.'

When I mimed throwing it, it went sailing off into the distance — so it clearly didn't need to stay near me.

And it even bounced off the wall. Neat.

'But what do I actually use this for?'

High-tech biological nightlight? A spooky-theme-park part-time job attraction?

"...Completely useless..."

Either way, it was nothing like the effortlessly cool skill I'd imagined.

Just as I was about to sink into disappointment, I felt the foxfire I'd idly lobbed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward the wall quivering.

I wasn't controlling it directly.

Just my imagination...?

No, hold on a second.

'It's growing!?'

The foxfire was steadily ballooning in size.

From the palm of my hand, to the size of a television. Then again, to the size of my whole apartment... and then, big enough to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swallow the entire building.

Well, that's fascinating.

Huh?

'...FWOOSH?'

Wait, what?

Day one of awakening.

One second before my apartment burns to the ground.