Chapter 2
[Oh, fox, to think you'd die like this. How pathetic.]
…
[If you die this quickly, you won't be able to properly seize your chance or receive your punishment.]
…
[But your sacrifice for your little sibling is admirable, so I can't send you to hell like this.]
…
[I'll give you one more chance.]
[Bear this in mind. This is your last chance.]
…
…
…
[Information: Status window unlocked.]
['Fox Orb' acquired.]
…
…
…
"Kyuueeeng!!"
Lick, lick.
Ugh, I'd told them so many times I hated having my face licked! And they're doing it again!
"Kyuuaaaang!"
"Kyuuuu…"
I mean, if you're just going to get all dejected whenever I get mad, why…
What? I'm alive? But why are you here? Where's that orc?
Looking around, I saw no sign of the orc that had been after us, only bloodstains scattered across the ground.
Could the orc have run away because of the wound I'd given it at the end?
But why don't I hurt at all?
I twisted my head around to check my body,
but the wounds I'd gotten from the orc were gone without a trace.
"Kyuang"
I asked my sibling, who'd clearly witnessed the whole thing, what had happened, but…
"Kyu?"
Whack!
"Kyuuuu…"
Honestly, how would you know?
Still, it's sweet of you to come back because you were worried about me…
Whack!
"Kyuang!"
Sweet my ass!
If that orc had eaten me and waited for you, you'd have gotten eaten too!
"Kyuuuuu…"
Don't cry just because your head hurts a little! My whole body was almost torn apart earlier!
"Kyu (Phew)"
Anyway, I didn't know what had happened, but judging by the situation, we'd probably survived the orc.
Was that a good thing, or would it have been better if I'd just died…
No, that's not right. Living as a fox is better than dying.
For all I know, if I died and was reincarnated again, I might come back as a bug.
Being a fox is a million times better than that.
"Kyuang! (All right!)"
First, let's get out of here.
It'd be dangerous if other animals or monsters came because of the smell of blood.
"Kyuang!"
"Kyu!"
Anyway, you're good at answering.
…
…
…
Instead of going straight back to the cave, I headed for a nearby lakeshore.
If I went straight back to the cave, predators might smell the blood on me and come looking.
If that happened, with all this blood on me, they'd open a fox-meat omakase restaurant right inside our cave.
But if I jumped into the lake in the middle of winter, I'd turn into frozen fox meat…
This is when I put my human knowledge to use.
First, I plucked some broad leaves nearby and gathered them in one place,
then I carried a little lake water over in my mouth and wet the leaves.
"Kyuuaaaang!"
Then I lay down and rubbed myself against them!
After repeating that process a few times,
the blood on my fur gradually loosened and wiped off on the leaves, and I got rid of the smell too.
I got a little wet, but it was better than jumping in the lake, right?
"Kyuang!"
"Kyuuuu!"
Lick, lick.
I got my sibling to lick off the few bloodstains that remained… and bath time was over!
Now, next…
"Kyuang (You're hungry too, right?)"
"Kyuuuuu…"
After all, we hadn't eaten a thing.
If anything, we'd burned even more energy running from the orc, so we were in an even worse state than before.
This is bad. At this rate, we'll really starve to death.
Despair welled up from my empty stomach and filled my chest, but I couldn't give up yet.
We were still alive, so all we had to do was find a way.
"Kyuang!"
"Kyung!"
Let's drink our fill of water first and think about it.
When I went to the lake to drink, my face was reflected in the water.
A cute-looking fox with golden fur. I only just realized my eyes were blue.
I really am cute. Not that it's any use, of course.
If only I were human like in my previous life…
"Kyu?! (Huh?!)"
Something was floating above my head in the reflection on the lake.
Startled, I looked up.
Whum.
A tiny orb was floating in the air.
It was a little bigger than a 500-won coin, and it gave off a soft blue glow as it hovered in midair.
And then,
[Fox Orb]
[An orb possessed by a Heavenly Fox. It can gather spirit energy, and once it is full, it will create a tail for the Heavenly Fox. * This item is bound to no name*]
[Spirit Energy 10/1000]
A strange window appeared below the orb!
Heavenly Fox? Item?
I didn't understand what it meant, but I did know one thing.
These were definitely things I'd often seen in novels and games in my previous life.
Could it be…
"Kyu? (Status window?)"
Name: no name
Title: None
Race: Heavenly Fox
Sex: Female
Skills: [Telekinesis: F]
"Kyu?! (What is this?!)"
Could I really open a status window? Now, of all times?!
One hadn't appeared when I'd called out just in case a while ago.
Whatever! It doesn't matter if it appeared now. The gods really haven't abandoned me!
"Kyuang!!"
"Kyu?"
Don't worry. Now we can eat until our bellies burst!
First, let's calm down and take a slow look at the status window.
My name… Well, of course I don't have one. Nobody ever named me.
I don't know what a title is, and my race is Heavenly Fox? Could I not be an ordinary fox?
Hmm, just in case…
"Kyuang! (Information!)"
Name: no name
Title: Hikikomori
Race: Heavenly Fox
Sex: Female
"Kyu?"
I tried it just in case, and a window containing my sibling's information appeared too.
After reading all those novels and manga in my previous life, I'd always wondered what good any of it was.
Now that I think about it, they were basically personal guidebooks made just for me. I should've read more…
But why is my sibling's title Hikikomori?
Could it be a title that appeared because I kept thinking of them that way? If so…
"Kyuang (Sorry)"
"Kyung?"
I won't think of you like that anymore.
Anyway, my sibling doesn't have any skills? Why not?
Hmm… I'll think about that later. For now, I returned to my own status window,
and on a whim, like before, I lifted my paw and pressed down on the skill section.
[Telekinesis]
[Consumes spirit energy to move a target.]
Oh, so this is how it works! But…
Why are all the explanations so unhelpful?
There aren't any stats or, like, a health gauge,
and it should at least tell me what spirit energy is and how to get it!
This is what they mean when they say you get criticized even when you do something, huh?
"Kyu (Phew)"
Right, enough complaining. Let's try to think positively.
Judging by the information shown, my sibling and I are probably beings like the nine-tailed foxes I'd heard about in my previous life.
Except we're nine-tailed foxes before we grow up.
If we gather spirit energy to increase the number of our tails, that's pretty obvious, isn't it?
And we probably get spirit energy by killing monsters or animals.
Yeah, let's look on the bright side. At least I'm not just an ordinary fox.
And telekinesis? That's an amazing ability!
All right! Then let's test how well the skill works!
"Kyuah! (Stay still!)"
"Kyu?"
First, let's try using it on that decent-sized rock over there.
Just a little. I'll make it float just a little.
But how do I use a skill?
Hmm…
"Kyuang!! (Telekinesis!!)"
Whum.
As I imagined lifting the rock and shouted the skill's name,
the Fox Orb floating in the air responded with a sound, and the rock I'd targeted!
Silence.
It didn't react at all.
To be precise, it was trembling a little, but showed no sign of lifting off the ground.
Are you kidding me!!! You can't even lift a rock that small?
Stop, stop!
When I stopped the skill, the sound coming from the Fox Orb quieted down too.
I only had one skill, and it seemed to be garbage.
Judging by the number beside it, maybe it'd become useful after leveling up, but…
I'm on the verge of starving to death right now! What good is later?!
Wait, it didn't use up any spirit energy just now, did it?
With a nervous feeling, I checked the Fox Orb's information.
[Spirit Energy 9/1000]
It went down…
H-how am I supposed to survive with this!!!!
…
…
…
That's how desperate I was yesterday, but…
Who am I? In my previous life, I was the very pinnacle of all creation—a human being.
I found a way to put even this garbage skill to use.
And that method is!
"Kyuang! (Telekinesis!)"
Whum.
"Peepaaa!!"
A tiny bird that had been pecking around on the ground for bugs was flailing, its legs caught in a plant stem I'd manipulated with telekinesis.
I immediately dashed over, grabbed it by the neck, and squeezed, sending it quickly to heaven.
Then I checked my spirit energy.
[Spirit Energy 13/1000
]
Yesterday, after practicing the skill and making one mistake, it had dropped to 5.
Since this one was my second kill, I was sure a tiny bird restored 5 spirit energy per bird.
Besides,
Skill: [Telekinesis: E]
The prey I'd just hunted had somehow raised my telekinesis to Rank E.
Just yesterday, I was overwhelmed by despair about my life, and today I'm so happy I could die.
"Kyuang!"
I should stop basking in my joy here and hurry back, since my sibling is waiting.
I carried the dead bird in my mouth and carefully returned to the cave, staying alert to my surroundings,
"Kyuah!"
When I dropped the dead bird in front of my sibling, who was waiting there,
they started gobbling it down, looking pretty pitiful.
Not that I can talk.
When I ate the first bird I'd caught by myself so I'd have energy for my next hunt, I gobbled it down just like that.
Honestly, it was the first proper meal in three days. It'd be strange if we didn't go wild for it.
In the end, my sibling devoured the whole bird in an instant, without leaving even a bone.
"Kyu…"
Judging by that expression, they still aren't satisfied. You little glutton!
I was irritated by my shameless sibling,
but I didn't want to keep watching them suffer from hunger, so I had no choice but to leave the cave and hunt for more food.
I still couldn't trust them to go hunting on their own.
Still, since they're a Heavenly Fox too, someday they might gain an ability like me. Then even my stupid sibling should be able to survive by hunting alone.
When that day comes, I won't indulge their whining like I do now. I'll kick them out.
I can't keep looking after them forever.
Still, hunting really got easier after I got the Fox Orb.
The skill was useful, but more than anything, the Fox Orb seemed to have a will of its own.
"Kyuah (Please)"
When I asked it like that, the orb floated high into the sky and surveyed the surroundings, locating prey I could catch.
Whum.
Then it guided me along the best route to get there.
It also had excellent detection abilities. If something dangerous was approaching
or was nearby, it would let me know and help me avoid it.
Honestly, our Lord Orb is so capable I could cry.
Whum.
I hadn't walked very far following Orb when it gave me a signal with a sound only I could hear.
Thinking it might be somewhere ahead in these bushes, I carefully slipped between them, making as little noise as possible, and…
A bird? Much… bigger than the one I hunted earlier?
What kind of bird is that?
It looked as big as an eagle, but had a huge horn on its forehead. It seemed… like a monster?
You want me to catch that?
Whum.
Orb bobbed up and down in affirmation.
Hmm, it's only been a day, but Orb wouldn't betray me.
I raised my head again and checked the monster.
Now that I looked, the ground was covered with thick stems that could rightly be called vines, and that bird was pecking at the vines and sucking something out of them.
On top of that, I thought I could smell blood from the monster, just a little.
Could it be… Orb, did you calculate all of this?!
Whum.
It says yes. Why are you so capable?!
Let's stay together forever, Orb!
Hehe. In that case, that rotisserie chicken is now nothing but prey for our family.
Besides, something that big should be more than enough to fill both me and my sibling.
Wait for me, little sibling. Big bro—no, big sis is bringing home chicken!
But I couldn't let my guard down. I focused as much as possible on targeting the stems with telekinesis.
Something I'd learned after using it many times was that
even small birds, sensitive to danger, hadn't noticed me using telekinesis until the stems had wrapped around their legs.
So there was almost no chance that a bird as big as that one would notice.
Besides, it looked too distracted by its meal.
But one wouldn't be enough. Two… no, three!
The stems beneath the monster's feet moved according to my will under the power of telekinesis and sprang at it,
"Kieeeek?!"
Two stems grabbed the bird's legs, immobilizing it, while another wrapped around its body and completely subdued it.
Even if my skill had ranked up, I didn't know how long telekinesis would last, so I had to quickly cut its throat!
But if I charged straight at it, I might get hurt by those horns in return, so I carefully made my way behind it while it was too frantic to pay attention to me,
"Kyuuaaaang!"
"Kieeeek!!!!"
I waited for my chance, then charged and bit hard into the back of its neck.
I did it! I bit its neck, so I win.
It's a monster, but still a bird. A neck that thin should go down in no time…
Crackle.
"Kyuah?!"
At the sudden tingling sensation, I quickly jumped away from it.
"Kieeeek!!"
Crackle-crackle-crackle!!
The monster thrashed, giving off a powerful electric charge.
Maybe that bird wasn't just a monster—it was a Thunderx.
I'm screwed. Why did I go and attack it?
Of course, if I ran now, that thing couldn't chase me, but I could tell.
Even while thrashing around like that, the monster was still glaring at me. If it survived, it would come looking for me.
And then I'd be the one getting hunted.
So I had to finish it off now.
Of course, if I had no chance of beating it, I'd have run away, thinking I'd worry about the rest later.
But that thing has a bird brain.
A bird brain.
I think I heard in my previous life that some birds are clever, but at least this one wasn't.
Because even though the telekinesis I'd used on the vines earlier had already stopped, it had tangled itself up completely while thrashing around alone…
"Ek! Kieeek!"
It was now thoroughly tied up.
Honestly, if I just waited, it looked like it'd exhaust itself and collapse on its own.
Even under the powerful electricity it was emitting, the vines seemed fine. What kind of vines are these?
Without pointlessly rushing in, I waited for its strength to run out completely.
Crackle, crackle.
"Kieeek…"
At the moment it seemed to have completely discharged its electricity,
"Kyuuaaaang!!"
I charged at it again and tore at its throat,
"Kieee…"
Thump.
In the end, it collapsed.
But honestly, I was really lucky this time.
If we'd fought face-to-face, it would've snatched me up right away and carried me back to its nest,
and none of this would've been possible without Professor Orb, who trusted me and calculated the odds of success perfectly.
"Kyuang! (Thanks!)"
Whum.
Our cool, aloof Orb.
But how am I supposed to get this thing, all tied up like this, back to the cave?
Hmm… I don't know.
Putting that aside for now, I was curious how much spirit energy this thing would give me, so I checked Orb's status.
['Fox Orb' has acquired a new skill.]
Why are you the one acquiring a new skill…?