Status Window, Did You Deceive Me?

W-what do I do?

Even as I deliberated, the foxfire was already swallowing up our apartment building.

The floor below is completely visible!?

Just how much had it melted through?

Thankfully, the unit downstairs seemed to be empty, but still…

Whew….

This was no time to relax, though. If this kept up, the fire would devour ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the entire building before long.

I have to stop it…!

Because I'd really rather not be a criminal, you know?

If this went on, my route to Arsonist was basically locked in. I'd probably end up plastered all over elementary school textbooks as an Example of a Bad Awakener, too.

Wait a second…!

That was the moment a single idea for solving this situation popped into my head.

Come to think of it, isn't the foxfire technically a skill too…?

It might carry the grandiose name of Authority, but at its core, it was still an ability gained through Awakening, just like any other. Which meant it would probably respond to my commands.

And skills varied wildly in how you gave them orders. Magic skills required you to specify targets during the casting process, while summon-type skills just needed a command to be conveyed — most summoned creatures understood human speech, after all.

A magic skill…? Is the foxfire one?

Going purely by its appearance, it did look closer to a magic skill. But given that it hadn't gone through any casting process at all, it couldn't be one. Casting-free magic was like trying to recite your multiplication tables before you'd even learned addition.

Utterly impossible.

Then that means….

A skill I could summon with a thought and move according to my will.

Those are all hallmarks of summon-type skills.

Granted, it didn't exactly look like it would understand words… it didn't even have ears, for one thing.

Still, it's better than just standing here.

It wasn't like I had a better option than this. First things first — try ordering it to stop.

"Stop!"

Come on, work…!

Oh? Did it work?

About three seconds had passed, maybe. The foxfire that had swollen large enough to swallow an entire apartment building began to shrink, gradually, until it returned to its original tiny size — then it swayed back and forth, almost as if tilting its head in confusion.

Phew, thankfully the floor's back to normal too.

It was spotless, as if nothing had ever happened. Was that also a skill effect?

And to think I solved it with a single word — "stop."

This wasn't an anti-bullying campaign, you know.

Thank god the foxfire actually listened. Otherwise it'd be a one-way ticket to prison.

Come to think of it, the way it tilts its head… maybe it does have a sense of self?

No wait, was I just imagining it, and it moved by pure coincidence?

I glared at the foxfire, but the little jerk just kept blazing away merrily.

Is it mocking me because it knows I think it has a self?

Trying to burn down an entire apartment building, and now it's acting all carefree…!

You scared me for nothing, you know!

Granted, I bore some responsibility for failing to manage my own skill properly, but… it was scary, okay?!

But… I get that it's a summon-type skill, so what exactly are the activation conditions?

As it stood now, it was nothing more than a slightly glowing biological lamp. Just in case, I touched it with my finger — it wasn't hot at all. If anything, it felt lukewarm.

Then what about contact with other objects?

Would it swell up like before and reduce whatever it touched to ash?

Should I give it a try?

…Huh? Nothing's happening?

I held a nearby pencil against the flame, but nothing occurred. Disappointed, I was just about to tug the foxfire away and look for another method when—

Fwoosh.

In an instant, the flame flared up and turned the pencil to ash.

Wait, what? Just now?

Ah. I see.

It needs sustained contact with an object for a certain amount of time, doesn't it?

About ten seconds, apparently. Longer than I'd expected.

Just to be sure, I experimented with a somewhat larger object, and it seemed that when it touched something bigger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than itself, it grew in size first — like before — and then burned it.

What if I hold my hand against it for more than ten seconds? Would something change then?

Curiosity got the better of me, and I pressed my finger right up against the foxfire. Ten-odd seconds passed, and there was no sign of it growing larger or anything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the sort.

Come to think of it, even when it swallowed the apartment, I never felt particularly hot. Apparently the skill simply couldn't affect me — or other people.

…But if I use this right, isn't it kind of broken?

Hold it against something for ten seconds and it incinerates literally anything, right? I could send it at range, or just swing my arm and have it chase after targets. It didn't work on people, sure, but given how it ate through even glass in one go, it should make short work of most monsters too.

It really is exactly the offensive skill I need right now.

There'd been a few hiccups along the way, but the foxfire was, in the end, an attack skill. Confirmed.

Ta-daaa~ I am the proud owner of an EX-rank attack skill~

Humming a little tune, I dismissed the foxfire's summon and dove straight into bed.

The joy lasted all of a moment before an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashed over me. Well, fair enough — a lot had happened.

But I've only been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠awake for an hour!?

I'd turned into a girl, nearly burned down my apartment building… and all of that had happened within a single hour of waking up.

Time to rest, at least….

After rolling around in bed a few times, I felt a bit better. Up until yesterday, this bed had fit me perfectly, but now there was room to spare even with my arms stretched all the way out. And when I used my tail as a pillow substitute, it was incomparably fluffier than ordinary cotton. Just touching it put me in a good mood.

Maybe I could pluck a few tufts of fur and start a pillow business.

I had a genuine feeling it would make a fortune.

…More importantly, what now?

My convenience store shift started in a little while. Working there in this body… was probably a no-go, what with the ears and tail — and my face had changed too. It seemed best to just quit.

Sorry, boss. It couldn't be helped.

Which means I'll have to earn money somehow…. So I really am joining the Tower.

The Tower. A building that was practically the symbol of Hunters. It had risen at the same time Awakeners first appeared, and its true nature remained a mystery to this day. The only thing that was certain was that the resources emerging from it were vital to humanity — which was exactly why being a Hunter was such a high-paying profession.

Whew, my hands are shaking a little.

To think I'd actually be entering that Tower myself. It felt strangely surreal.

Eh, it'll work out somehow.

Who was I, again? The world's one and only EX-rank fox goddess — the Apartment Massacre whose first act after Awakening was nearly burning an apartment complex to the ground. Even the most celebrated S-rank Hunters didn't have titles like that.

…Reality check. Ugh….

Talking nonsense to myself had brought a sudden wave of existential dread crashing down. Thank god no one was around to witness me like this.

Let's just browse Hunter Gallery….

I picked up my phone and headed straight to the community site. It being a weekend was one thing, but it was still daytime, so there weren't many new posts. The most recent concept post was, as always, some gallery regular posting proof of their Awakening and declaring their exit from the gallery, and the comments were dominated by the usual envious reactions.

So cute. Adorable~

In a great mood, I wiggled my legs back and forth as I tapped the upvote button. Back in the day, seeing posts like this used to make my stomach churn with jealousy, but now? Nothing. If anything, I wanted to congratulate them.

I Awakened as EX-rank, by the way~

Humming happily, I was just about to go read another post when—

…Huh?

How am I supposed to register as a Hunter?

Thinking it over, Hunter registration fundamentally required a registered identity to begin with. Of course, anyone at S-rank or above was such a valuable national resource that the state bent over backwards for them — but my situation was a bit different.

It wasn't that I had no identity, but what would happen if a random strange girl showed up out of nowhere claiming to be me? And then insisted her Awakened class was EX-rank on top of that??

Psychiatric ward speedrun, absolutely achievable.

Sure, if I demonstrated abilities worthy of EX-rank, things might work out… but I might just draw aggro and get tangled up in something weird, or catch the eyes of guilds — nothing good would come of it. For now, avoiding all that was the smarter play. After all, the only skill I could properly handle at the moment was the foxfire.

…There's no illegal route for this, is there?

The Hunter Management Bureau was surprisingly strict about exactly this kind of thing, so even with a fake identity, I'd get caught in no time.

Tsk. Nothing for it, then.

Hunter registration could wait. Registering would grant me gate raids and various other benefits, sure, but none of that had much to do with climbing the Tower. The essence of being a Hunter was, in the end, ascending the Tower — and since the Tower was accessed through the Status Window itself, the Bureau's influence couldn't reach it.

Once I get stronger, a way will open up.

Easy to say, but I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

"And I wanted to flex on Hunter Gallery…."

I'd wanted to post my own awakening-proof thread like everyone else, and make a grand exit through the Status Window…!

Oh, right — didn't they say there's a community inside the Status Window itself?

The whole culture of posting proof on Hunter Gallery upon Awakening and then "escaping" the gallery — that all existed because of that. Listening to advice from active-duty Hunters inside a Status Window only the chosen could use versus killing time with Hunter hopefuls on the internet researching monster bust sizes. Even Ppoppi's best friend Baduki could tell you which side came out ahead.

But how do I get in?

First, let me bring the Status Window back up and figure it out from there.

Yeah, my stats are still a disaster….

The Status Window that appeared displayed my info, dismal as ever. Putting the pitiful stats behind me, I pressed hard on the back button tucked away in the top right corner. Hiding it in a place like this — absolutely diabolical.

Oh.

The instant I pressed it, a new window popped up.

It looked like the UI of one of those mobile games you only ever saw in ads. The options were written so plainly that I found what I was looking for right away.

Quite a few options, huh.

Not that I needed more than one of them right now. I moved my finger and tapped the Community tab, and the moment my fingertip made contact, another new window bloomed into view.

Apparently I was supposed to enter the nickname I'd use on the community.

Well, might as well use my usual handle.

I was just about to type in my nickname when the Status Window began moving on its own.

…?

Excuse me? Since when was this your decision to make?

Status Window, did you deceive me?