Chapter 21: Furball
Crack—crackle-pop— Seol-a's body continued to change, growing bit by bit. Her limbs stretched longer, and the light in her eyes deepened.
Nyeng! Seol-a came bounding straight toward Kang-ho now. Thud-thud-thud, she raced up and leaped right into his arms.
Nyeng! Nyeng-nyeng-nyeng! Nyeng! Kyeeng~ Nyeng!
'Hey, I've gotten a little bigger!'
It was as if she were saying exactly that, licking Kang-ho's cheek all the while. Lick-lick-lick. He couldn't hold back the ticklish sensation and burst out laughing. Seol-a had definitely grown to about twice her previous size. Before, she had fit perfectly in the palm of his hand like a toy dog, but now she was easily double that.
Thump-thump! He could hear her little heart pounding away.
Her face, though, was still that same small, round, pure white from before her heavenly ascension. Up close, she didn't even look much like a fox. Her nose was perfectly round, her cheeks plump and full. That moist black nose looked just like jelly, so Kang-ho poked it.
Nyeng! Seol-a beamed with a grin. Inside her mouth, her neatly aligned teeth gleamed—her fangs had grown sharper and more prominent.
Kang-ho scooped her up and opened his Beast Eye.
'Defense jumped two whole ranks.'
Her defense, previously FF, had climbed all the way to EE. It was natural growth from her body hardening up.
'The buffs are insane.'
Thanks to the newly unlocked skill, no doubt, the buffs were off the charts. Overfeeding spirit pills like these could be poison. They needed time to digest properly, so for now, that 1.5 billion shopping spree had paid off handsomely.
Fantasy Beasts went through stages from birth: infancy → growth → maturity. Seol-a was still in infancy. Laying a solid physical foundation and purifying her mana during this phase was crucial—it was what enabled explosive growth later on.
'That's enough for today.'
He had one 50-year-old Viola root left. Even if he used one later for processing, that still left another. Kang-ho pulled it out and showed it to Johanna.
"Johanna. Can you grow this with your powers?"
He'd seen her use fairy magic to accelerate crop growth just recently.
Johanna's eyes sparkled.
Of course, Absolute One!
"Yeah?"
He'd half-expected as much. Kang-ho rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The Viola root and World Tree fruit—he hadn't bothered cultivating them himself for one clear reason: they required absurdly long growth periods. Decades of dedicated care, at minimum.
"How strong are your powers right now?"
Hmm... compared to back in Fairy Tale... only about 1/10th. Without greater fairy stones here, my power's inevitably weakened...
Greater fairy stones. When he asked about them, Johanna explained.
In the fairy kingdom of Toonworld, there's a massive fairy stone right in the center. It spreads energy across the whole land.
"I see."
Gathering more fairy stones would mean higher-quality crops. And the more stones, the better the efficiency—probably exponential. His orchard had a land fairy princess on duty, after all. With luck, he might even cultivate the Viola root and World Tree fruit.
First, Kang-ho picked the prime spot in the dungeon orchard. He planted the 50-year-old Viola root there, quartered into four pieces for separate spots. The World Tree fruit he quartered too, planting only half the pieces. The rest he'd save just in case.
"I'm counting on you."
Just leave it to me, Absolute One!
Kang-ho grinned and left the orchard with Seol-a. She could barely contain her surging energy, pacing beside him one moment, then bounding far off the next before trotting back.
Outside, snow was falling again. Seol-a walked through it, gazing up at Kang-ho. She did this often—watching him constantly, studying his every move, whether eating or doing anything at all. Like she couldn't bear to look away even for a second.
Back in the day, young Seolhwa had been the opposite—aloof, barely interested in him, antisocial to the core.
But Seol-a? Total reverse. If she took after anyone...
'In this way, she takes after Furball as a cub.'
Furball had been exactly like this young. Massive build, ridiculous strength, but he loved people. From their first meeting, he'd been weirdly affectionate toward humans.
Kang-ho smiled, and Seol-a suddenly glanced around left and right. Then she dashed off into the snowy field yonder—thud-thud-thud!—looked around again, and...
Kyeeng! Nyeng-nyeng-nyeng!
'Where's big fluffy bro?'
Her intent came through clearer now. As she grew, their bond deepened, letting her thoughts reach him more directly.
"Furball."
Nyeng!
'Furball.'
Kang-ho smiled up at the sky.
"Around this time of year, he always heads to his favorite spot."
This was exactly when he'd first met Furball, all those years ago. In Cheorwon's mountain hollows, on that gentle slope behind the village.
"Yeah."
He looked down at Seol-a.
"Let's go pick up Furball."
Furball sat midway up the mountain, eyes wide and alert. His massive frame made him look like a statue carved right out of the slope.
Down below lay Cheorwon village. Furball rolled his eyes this way and that, sitting utterly still. The dispute zone lay beyond—blocked by that massive fence. He stared out there a moment, then turned back to the village.
His gaze lingered on the path leading down from the mountain base. Overgrown now, barely recognizable as a road anymore—no one came this way.
At last, he slowly closed his eyes.
[What are you?]
Suddenly, a familiar, nostalgic old man's voice echoed in his mind. Furball turned his head.
[A Shabel Tiger cub? Why're you so tiny?]
But no one climbed these winter mountains shrouded in darkness. Krreung. Furball growled low, tilting his head.
[Hurry back to the dispute zone. Stay here, and you'll die. Huh? Can't move?]
Furball closed his eyes again.
[...Starved for a long time, huh.]
Furball's thoughts drifted back to this very spot, sixteen years prior.
Stragglers. Common enough in the monster world. The brutal law of the wild: cull the weak, those unlikely to survive. Unthinkable in human society.
There was a Shabel Tiger cub, born small and docile. Pushed out in food competitions by siblings, day by day he withered away. One day on a wild mountain path toward the dispute zone, he awoke to find himself alone.
Krrreung—
Thus, the cub was abandoned.
With his innocent eyes, he sat like a stone statue, waiting for his parents. Any rustle perked his ears, sent him scanning around.
Ruby-red eyes, fluffy white fur growing wild on his tiny frame.
One day. Two. Three, four. A week and change passed before he finally realized the truth.
Gurgle. Hunger drove him to hunt, but he came back empty-pawed every time. Empty hunts piled up; he licked snow to survive. Day by day, the cub Shabel Tiger withered away on that back mountain.
By week's end, sleep tugged at him. His body went limp, sweet death's lullaby whispering near. Demise loomed.
As his eyes slowly shut...
Cough-cough. A coughing fit echoed.
"What are you?"
There stood an elderly man, white hair thick and wild, sword at his waist. Deep wrinkles creased his forehead as he stared down at him.
Hah-hah-hah— The man chuckled wryly at the cub's joyful tongue-lolling face.
"Get going. Fence is going up around here soon—you won't make it back to the dispute zone."
Cough-cough. He hacked again after speaking.
Krrreung— The cub rose, head cocked, took a few steps... then flopped down. No strength left; his head spun.
He staggered up again, collapsed, buried his face in the dirt.
"Where's your mother? Thought all disaster breeds cleared the area..."
The man paused, nodding.
"Ah—straggler, huh."
An A-rank disaster breed, Shabel Tiger cub. He reached for his sword, but those joyful eyes made him sigh long and deep.
"Hoo..."
After much hesitation, he pulled jerky from his pocket, sat beside the cub with a thud, and offered it.
"Eat and scram."
Looking at the cub's face, he let out a hollow laugh. Those sparkling ruby eyes brimmed with gratitude and joy.
Krrreung! Krrreung!
He snatched the jerky, devoured it. Strength surged; he clambered onto his lap. Starved and tiny, he wriggled like a stuffed toy. The man sighed again.
"Tough world for both of us, it seems. By the book, I should kill you."
He lifted him by the scruff; he dangled midair, tongue out, panting happily.
"Even a mere construction grunt like me could take you in one swing. Got it? Eat and beat it."
Soon, lick— he swiped his cheek.
"......"
The man came back the next day. And the next. And the one after.
Jerky each time. Waiting for him became the cub's greatest joy. Sitting in his spot, rolling those big ruby eyes expectantly.
"You rascal."
One day, the man said,
"When did you get so big? Fur's all grown out— from afar, thought you were a furball."
He grinned.
"Yeah, Furball. That's your name from now on, Furball."
Krreung!
And so the cub Shabel Tiger was named Furball.