Chapter 3

    The True Form of the Golden Fox

    “Phew... it seems like we’ve made it.”

    After collecting the items, Möbius collapsed exhaustedly on the ground, glancing at Gumiho who was panting with her tongue hanging out. Meanwhile, Xiao Chuan frolicked around the female fox cheerfully.

    (Panting... Panting… Xiao Chuan, are you alright?)

    The fox gently rubbed her head against her little sister. The sight of the two playing together made the young man, lying down, feel immensely satisfied that he had risked his life to save them. Before the little fox came to thank Möbius by gently licking his face, Xiao Chuan suddenly froze.

    The young man, noticing something was off, slowly reached out to touch the little fox’s head gently and asked with concern,

    “Xiao Chuan, are you hurt? Did something happen when the cage shook?”

    But the look in Xiao Chuan’s eyes that met his was that of a predatory fox spotting a favored prey. Instantly, Xiao Chuan leapt and bit Möbius’s head fiercely.

    70 (Remaining 135/205)

    The charming atmosphere vanished entirely as the little fox that was biting the young man’s head thrashed as if to tear the flesh of its weakening prey and eat, clearly because it found him to be very tasty.

    (Oh... Mother must be worried by now. Xiao Chuan, it’s not nice to sneak out like this without telling anyone.)

    Gumiho walked over and gently grasped Xiao Chuan by the nape, causing her to release Möbius’s head. She was then lifted into the air, looking miserable as her older sister scolded her, while the young man simply watched the scene quietly, holding his head wound to stop the bleeding, and spoke to the female fox,

    “So, what will you do next?”

    (I think since we're out, I’d like to explore a bit, but we need to send Xiao Chuan home first.)

    The female fox responded telepathically, intending to send the little fox home first. The little one struggled vehemently in mid-air to no avail as one of Gumiho’s tail hairs came loose and floated in the air, transforming into an old-looking scroll.

    (Please tell Mother not to worry. We’re well and will bring a packed lunch back for everyone.)

    “The packed lunch you mentioned... who are you referring to...?”

    Packed Lunch looked up at Gumiho, who, even in her fox form, had eyes brimming with mischievousness like a child. Soon, the scroll floating in the air began to glow, as did Xiao Chuan in a visible state of distress. As the light brightened to the point of nearly blinding Möbius, both the scroll and the little fox transformed into a beam of light shooting up into the sky, undoubtedly heading back to the home of the celestial fox tribe.

    After watching Xiao Chuan with his gaze, the female fox slowly approached the young man and then lay down on top of Möbius’s stomach, leaving the person who was pinned couldn't help but ask in panic.

    "Hey... what are you doing…? Oh, have you fallen asleep already?"

    Möbius observed as Gumiho's eyes closed tightly, deeply exhausted from her non-stop three-day journey, including the fight to rescue her sister, and the use of a highly magic-draining finishing move. Her reason for lying on top of him was to prevent him from escaping.

    "Sigh, I'm not going anywhere because we're partners, aren't we?"

    He knew why she was pinning him down as well. Slowly sitting up, he adjusted so the fox lay on his lap, then gently stroked her head. Although he didn't know why, he felt a certain connection binding him to her. He then turned his attention to the system announcement, prompting him to open the interface to check.

    Window: Status

    Name

    Möbius

    Level, Profession

    7, Novice Adventurer

    Health, Magic Power

    135/205,0/90

    Abilities Window

    No.

    Name

    Ability

    1

    Hand of Möbius

    1 Black Hole-White Hole

    Black Hole

    Can store owned objects in a fourth dimension (no magic power used) (no delay)

    White Hole

    Can release stored objects from the fourth dimension (release speed depends on the amount of magic power used) (no delay)

    2

    Telepathic Communication Between Partners

     Ability to use telepathic communication to make one's partner understand.

    Partner Window

    Name, Species

    Gumiho, ??? (Celestial Fox)

    Level, Age

    30, 183 years

    Health, Magic Power

    1250/3000 , 10/1500

    Relationship Level

    20/100

    ×Note

    Resting

    "What is this ability, and why hasn't my status increased at all?"

    The young man frowned as he noticed that his status hadn't increased, leading to no visible changes. This was due to the game system where level advancement doesn't affect status directly. He then scrutinized his abilities and the partner window, just as Gumiho began to emit a faint golden glow, slowly transforming into a beautiful woman with golden hair dressed in a white kimono adorned with gold patterns, now lying on his lap.

    Möbius swallowed hard as he stared at Gumiho in her human form, not blinking. From the large golden fox she was, she had transformed into a proportionate young woman about his height. Her short kimono exposed her long, pale legs while she was sleeping, disrupting his heartbeat with the visible cleavage from the wide neckline. The sight of her breathing slowly made her chest rise and fall.

    The young man sneakily admired the woman's body as she slept, thinking back to their first encounter when she had pounced on him in her fox form. He wondered why the image of the woman in human form had so quickly replaced the initial one, causing his face to flush with heat.

    Trying not to take advantage of her by changing his gaze to Gumiho's face instead, her sweet, flawless face looked even more innocent when she slept. Eyes that were probably emerald closed peacefully, framed by long curled lashes, and her plump pink lips seemed content even in sleep.

    Once again, the events of a moment ago resurfaced. The image of the fox licking his hand gently replaced by the beautiful woman crawling on all fours, flicking her tongue to lick his hand. Then the image swiftly accelerated forward, transforming into one of Gumiho in human form, pinning him down, and lightly nibbling on his forearm joyfully.

    "No, no, I shouldn't get carried away."

    The young man tried to pull himself out of his thoughts by looking up at the sky, watching the wildlife slowly reappear, then his gaze inevitably returned to the woman, as there was nothing else more captivating. He didn't know how much time had passed, but the sky had turned dark, adorned with many stars.

    "Mom..."

    Before Möbius could succumb to breathlessness, the sweet voice echoed, awakening him from the trance. The smile that had adorned her face faded, replaced by an expression of torment. Gumiho shook her head, causing her sparkling golden hair to brush against the young man's legs, who thought that her hair felt as comforting as a fluffy tail.

    "No… not like this."

    The fox girl murmured something so softly that Möbius couldn't hear. He had to lean in close to her lips to try to hear better. The closer he got, the more intoxicating the faint fragrance became, making it hard for him to control his emotions as his heart raced inversely proportional to the decreasing distance.

    "Don't..."

    As she began to say something more, Möbius turned his face away to position his ear as close to her beautiful lips as possible, fearing that continuing to gaze at her lovely face might make it impossible for him to resist his instincts.

    "That's... my..."

    The young man leaned closer to the woman until his ear was nearly touching her pink lips. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on what she would say next.

    "No, Mom, that is my flesh!!!"

    Gumiho shouted so loudly that it almost burst Möbius's eardrums, causing him to jerk back suddenly. But her hands had already clutched his head, pulling it towards her parted plump lips.

    "Uh... uh... uhhhhhh..."

    Her lips nibbled on the young man's ear, then chewed it softly with her smooth lips and gently bit down with her teeth, making Möbius feel like he was being electrocuted, causing him to emit a continuous, strange noise.

    "So tasty... yum yum yum."

    Gumiho, savoring the taste of the young man's ear, tormented him by happily chewing on it for a long while before she finally opened her eyes because she couldn't actually eat it. Realizing she was currently biting the young man's ear, though she had woken up, she didn't let go of the delicious treat. It was Möbius who pushed her away since he saw that the fox girl was awake.

    "Pant... pant... You almost killed me, you know?"

    Möbius gasped for air heavily as he hadn't breathed at all while being electrocuted. Before him was a beautiful woman with bright emerald eyes and straight, shimmering golden hair slightly tilting her head and biting her index finger lightly in regret for having to let go of such a tasty snack.

    "No, you must not die because you are my snack."

    The fox girl replied seriously, contradicting the content of her statement. Although Möbius was surprised why a snack must not die, there was something else he was more interested in.

    "Why did you transform into a human? Is it some kind of ability of the fox tribe?"

    "Um... it's a special thing of mine. In my tribe, only I can turn into a human when I'm really exhausted. Others would turn back into foxes. Mom said I'm the most special in the celestial fox tribe."

    Gumiho said with a smile and spread her arms wide joyfully, considering that the rule about snacks not dying must be because she likes to eat them fresh. The young man stroked his chin, thinking, before realizing he hadn't properly introduced himself to her.

    "Um... Ms. Gumiho, My name is Möbius."

    Möbius said, smiling at the fox girl, who looked stunning in her human form.

    "Got it, Möbius. You can just call me Miho. But usually, Mom says not to name the food."

    Miho nodded repeatedly before recounting her mother's teachings, which almost made him fall back. Just then, a growl of an animal echoed.

    "Roar...!!!"

    Both turned towards the source of the sound immediately. A boar as large as an elephant, with jet-black fur all over its body. On its left eye, there was a long scar about four inches long. Its lower tusks were so long that they couldn't fit entirely into its mouth, glistening like dual swords, and its bright red eyes indicated that it had found its desired prey for the night. Before either of them could prepare, the giant boar was already charging towards them.

    "You've encountered a Level 20 Black-Tusked Wild Boar, a mini-boss monster."

    “Growling…”

    A mysterious noise came from behind Möbius, making him think he might unluckily encounter two bosses at once. The young man slowly turned around, only to find the fox girl, playfully poking her own cheeks to ease her embarrassment.

    "Ah, it can't be helped, right? It's been 3 days since I last ate while we've been searching for Xiao Chuan."

    Finally, the young man understood why Gumiho had been nibbling on him so much—it was because she was very hungry. While he was lost in thought, the fox girl warned him about the imminent danger with a loud noise.

    "Watch out behind you, Möbius, run that way quickly."

    The fox girl warned and pointed towards a lone, large tree standing about ten meters away. Möbius turned and saw the wild boar nearly on him, so he immediately ran towards the tree Gumiho pointed to.

    "Pant...pant."

    The young man ran for his life towards that tree because his life force was critically low. A hit from the boar could be fatal. Luckily, his fox partner's timely warning gave him just enough distance to escape to the tree. Fortunately, in a stroke of bad luck, the tree had many branches, allowing Möbius to quickly climb up.

    Meanwhile, after directing Möbius to the tree, Gumiho hid in a nearby bush, sparing herself the need to run. She then observed her partner's situation from a safe distance in a bush. At that moment, the large wild boar was violently ramming the tree where Möbius was, creating a loud crashing sound in the forest.

    "Miho, help, help, shoot fire at this wild boar."

    Möbius cried out after the boar, as big as an elephant, crashed into the tree. Even he, perched atop it, felt the tremor. But the real problem was that the tree was beginning to tilt from the impacts.

    (It won't work, Möbius, I'm too hungry and don't have the strength to shoot any fire.)

    Gumiho sent a telepathic message mixed with a tone of resignation, meaning Möbius had to fend for himself against the large black boar in front of him. Möbius looked around for anything that might help him and found only dozens of teardrop-shaped fruits the size of a fist. He immediately used his left hand to absorb all the fruits.

    ‘You've obtained 20 Lone Teardrop Fruits.’

    Once again, the wild boar with the black tusks charged fiercely at the tree, causing it to lean dangerously. It seemed like the tree could no longer withstand the boar's power for long. Möbius did everything he could immediately.

    "Enough already, you psychotic boar."

    Möbius spat all 20 teardrop fruits from his right hand with great speed, aiming the sharp ends directly at the back of the wild boar.

    50 × 3

    Due to his poor accuracy, only 3 fruits hit the target. The sharp shapes of the fruits managed to draw some blood from the boar, but it didn't weaken the beast. Instead, the pain enraged the boar even more, causing it to gather tremendous strength and charge into the tree, breaking its trunk until it fell. Startled, Möbius clung to the falling tree tightly.

    120 (remaining 85/205)

    600

    "Ouch... that hurts, it hurts."

    The young man groaned from the pain of falling from the tree. Fortunately, the tree had many branches supporting its trunk, preventing it from crushing him, and narrowly saving his life. Möbius ‘s luck didn't end there; the wild boar also sustained damage from the falling tree and was now dazed by the immense force with which it struck the tree.

    (Get out of there fast, Möbius.)

    Gumiho alerted her partner to quickly get up from there because if the boar recovered from its daze, he would surely die.

    "Ah... Um, I wonder if this will work."

    Möbius heeded the fox girl's advice, hoping that his black hole palm could absorb such a large tree. If successful, he might be able to handle this mini-boss. His unique ability did not disappoint, as the tree crushing him was quickly absorbed into his left palm, motivating him to fight once more.

    'You have received a lone tree.'

    "Alright, let's give this a try."

    Möbius said as he started running in the opposite direction from where the fox girl was, grabbing a blue potion bottle and drank it to replenish the magical energy he had lost from firing over 20 fruits.

    "Grunt...!!!"

    The boar, having regained its senses, quickly pursued Möbius. Meanwhile, Gumiho, after seeing that the blue potion has restored her partner's magical energy, also starts running after Möbius and the boar.

    (Möbius, throw me the same blue potion you just drank.)

    A sweet voice sounded in Möbius’s head, prompting him to toss two bottles of blue potion that the fox girl requested over the boar's head right away. The situation was dire as the boar continued to charge closer and closer.

    Gumiho leaped to the left to catch one bottle, then run to pick up another that had fallen to the grass on the right, and drank both immediately, discovering they tasted remarkably good. To compare how good they were, it would be fair to say they were as good as it gets, just like the young man himself, leaving him speechless.

    "Ah... so delicious~~~"

    As her magical power slightly increased, all nine of her tails appear, even though she was still in human form. Flames spiraled around her tails, indicating that the celestial fox was preparing to attack the enemy in front of her.

    As Möbius continued to run for his life, the boar gradually closed the distance until they were only about 20 meters apart. Suddenly, he stopped running and turned to charge at the boar instead. His actions greatly surprised Gumiho, who soon understood that he had a plan when she heard his telepathic message.

    (Just when the boar is airborne, Miho, set it on fire immediately.)

    Möbius reached into his pocket to grab the items for his plan, while Gumiho nodded in acknowledgment and stopped to prepare to set the giant boar on fire.

    "Here goes, you crazy boar, take this."

    'Hands of Möbius, White Hole, White Sword, Full Strength'

    A white arrow on Möbius's right hand that he thrusted forward glowed brightly before a long sword shot out from his palm at the fastest speed he had ever unleashed. He used all 90 units of his magical power, praying in his heart that this attack hits its target, otherwise it could be disastrous.

    1000

    "Roar!!!"

    The sound of the blade piercing flesh, the numbers that popped up, and the boar screaming in pain into the sky let the young man know that his attack has hit its mark. The long sword embedded itself in the boar's back, handle deep. Möbius grabbed the last blue potion and drank it to finish off the crazed boar screaming in front of him.

    Using the momentum from running, the young man slid under the boar's belly with swift speed, then raised his hand to press it against the boar's chest, invoking a power that he initially thought was ridiculous, but it turned out to be a lifesaving ability for him and his partner at the most critical moment.

    'Hands of Möbius, White Hole, Lone Tree, Full Strength'

    3500

    "Eek!!!"

    The boar howled loudly as a tree full of branches shot out from Möbius's hand at a shocking speed. The tree's top pierced through the boar's back, visible from the front, and with the colossal impact of Möbius's attack, the huge boar is launched into the air.

    'Congratulations, Mr. Möbius, you have successfully eliminated the Black-Tusked Wild Boar, a mini-boss.'

    "We did it!!! No need for you to shoot fire, Miho."

    Möbius sighed with relief at having managed to deal with the boar, but there was no response from Gumiho. When he looked at her, he noticed that instead of containing the fire power surrounding her, she was releasing it.

    A tremendous amount of fire was unleashed at the boar floating in the air. Möbius was stunned at why Gumiho didn't conserve her power but soon understood when he saw her face.

    "Meat, meat, food, food, roast pork, roast pork."

    Now, Gumiho's face was broadly smiling, her eyes glinting with images of cylindrical pieces of meat skewered with large bones in the middle on both sides. Möbius could only blink rapidly in surprise at how ecstatic the beautiful Gumiho appeared.

    'Your level, Mr. Möbius, has advanced to level 10.'

    Items dropped from the boar fell right in front of Möbius, even as its body was still floating and spinning slowly above. The items included 2578 reals, a basic return-to-town scroll, a black boar tusk charm, an ugly boar skin bag, and a medium earth element crystal.

    Möbius picked up the charm, which increased the health by 100, quickly put it around his neck, and swapped his bag for the boar skin bag, which had a larger capacity.

    The heavy sound in front of Möbius was none other than the boar, perfectly roasted by Gumiho's celestial fox fire. Even though she had a taste of Möbius earlier, it wasn't filling in the slightest. With a hefty meal lying in front of her, the fox girl pounced on it immediately and dealt with it using her mouth.

    While Möbius was slowly slicing off some of the meat to eat, he looked around. It was getting very late, and he should find a place to rest soon. Sleeping outdoors on the ground wouldn't be an issue for him, but he was concerned about his beautiful companion, not wanting her to suffer any hardship.

    "Ah, I'm so full; haven't eaten meat in three days."

    Soon, Gumiho lay down on the ground, filled with food. Möbius had been full for a while but waited for her to finish before he tried something. He extended his left hand to touch the roasted boar to store the remaining meat into his fourth dimension, but it was to no avail—it seemed food could not be absorbed by his hand.

    He then cut as much of the boar meat as his new bag could hold. Even when his bag was full, there was still half a boar left. He decided to leave the remaining meat behind and move on.

    "Miho, I think we should use the beginner's town return scroll now. So, we can find a hotel to sleep in, okay?"

    Möbius spoke while holding the return-to-town scroll he had obtained from the boar.

    "Sure, I'd like to see the human city too."

    Gumiho playfully sucked her fingers to clean them before grabbing Möbius's hand, which he looked at strangely. Then, the two of them turned into a mist and transported to the beginner’s town immediately.

    The white mist formed around the two companions in the middle of a wide, empty plaza. By now, all the shops were closed because it was very late. Möbius looked up at the welcome sign of the town named Gateway Town, then around this city.

    This city was made up of uniformly 2-story tall creamy white buildings arranged in a circle around an 8-story building in the center, which was the tallest building in town, surrounded by a double ring of similar structures that were created by the buildings. The town was not very large, probably because it was just the beginner’s town, and now they were in the vast plaza in front of that tall building.

    "Ah, there's the hotel."

    Möbius pointed to a building with a bed sign at its entrance, a universal symbol for lodging. Fortunately, the hotel was not far from where they were standing, making it easy to spot.

    Inside the hotel, some players were still hanging out in the lobby when Möbius and Gumiho walked in. From the entrance to the reception desk, every male player looked at the fox girl unabashedly, exuding a strange aura that Gumiho could feel. Meanwhile, Möbius sensed a strong murderous intent directed at him, causing his expression to sour and sweat profusely.

    "Are you okay? Do you want me to wipe your sweat?"

    Gumiho blocked Möbius's path and used the sleeve of her kimono to wipe the sweat from his face, sending him a mental message,

    (Hurry up, I'm really sleepy.)

    The intensity of the murderous intent felt like a breeze from a fan suddenly switched from level 1 to level 5. Möbius quickly proceeded to check in with the receptionist.

    "We only have single bed suites left, 500 reals per night. Would you like to take it?"

    The receptionist asked Möbius, sizing him up and wondering what qualities this man had to be accompanied by such a beautiful woman, despite the game having no 18+ content.

    "We'll take that room," the fox girl answered.

    The receptionist then immediately warped the two into the room without waiting for the payer's confirmation.

    "Ah, finally just the two of us, Mö~bi~us~"

    The fox girl said meaningfully, hinting that perhaps she might be the one to bring justice of the system to Möbius.