[You've Learned Commands! Show Details?]
â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’
🦊 Fox Commands! 🦊
â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’
Your link to your troops has grown stronger! You can still give them basic directives, even when separated from one another. Distance doesn't matter to a True Fox Master!
â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’â"’
Oh?! Jack focused his mind and felt the invisible link with his foxes throbbing. 'HUNT' he sent as a command, and instantly he felt the feedback; they were doing it!
Instead of just killing for XP, they'd bring some meat back this time! Jack grinned; this ability was even faster than wireless communications! He was already picturing the possibilities.
Wait... actually, could he perhaps push it even further?! What if he assigned new meaning to commands he would seldom use? What if he created an entirely new alphabet for it?!
Just as he was lost in thoughts...
Outside the carriage, the Leader of the Mad Dragons was meeting with his fellow Adventurers, his face tinted with horror.
"B-boss, are you alright?!"
"You guys, look there! What do you see?!"
He pointed toward the nearest forest. There, a Fiery Fox had just appeared, its fur utterly drenched in blood. But that wasn't the scary part... in its maw, it held a dead body!
It was human...
The Adventurers gulped, grabbing their weapons.
But just as they were about to get in a defensive posture, their Leader stopped them. "It's no use, don't make any sudden move." He whispered, shivering.
Fight? They'd bloody lose! Those things always traveled in packs! Their only chance at survival was that the creature had already eaten its fill and wouldn't attack them. One could hope, right?!
But that's when it sauntered toward them. The Fiery Fox didn't seem to care about their terrified gazes one bit as it approached the armored horses at the front.
Then just as the spectators were about to shit themselves... it stopped right in front of them and... dropped the body?! Then it pointed a paw at the carriage.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Woo!" (I brought back food! Time to HUNT again, hehe!)
Somehow, they understood its meaning. T-this was food?! No, more importantly, this offering wasn't for them, it was for the being in the carriage!
"W-what the fuck did we just sign up for?!" At this moment, they all looked at each other, drenched in sweat. But before they could discuss it, a voice resounded from the carriage.
"The Fox brought food, right? I'll leave the preparations to you! We're in luck; fresh game tastes the best!" Jack casually commented, having "felt" the fox's return.
He had felt the little one's happiness. Apparently, it had managed to get a pretty big prey, too, some sort of boar, perhaps? Either way, Jack was looking forward to supper!
"U-Understood!" Shaky adventurers answered him.
Tch-- Talk about lacking courage! They had merely seen one bloody Fiery Fox and they were already like that? Still, he was too distracted to care, already using his new ability again.
As he kept training, the poor Adventurers were about to lose their minds.
"W-We have to prepare t-this?!"
"Let's run! We'll refund the Hendersons and--"
"Fool! It's far too late. Do you think they'll just let us go?! No, this is a test! You guys can do whatever you want, but I'll be doing my job!" Their Leader nervously spat out.
Before the others could protest, he was already kneeling by the corpse, his hands shaking as he removed the remaining clothes on the victim's back.
His stomach was already twisted, but he ignored how sick he felt as he slowly but surely grabbed his Dismantling Knife with its many dents. "Here goes nothing...."
-- Splatter! Warm blood splashed on his face. It was too late to back down now. He forced himself not to vomit as he kept cutting the skin up.
"L-leader, are you really--?!"
"You guys help out too! Otherwise..."
He didn't finish his sentence, his meaning obvious. If this really was a test, who knows what would happen to whoever failed it. Perhaps they'd be fired... or worse!
But just as they were already shaking like leaves, their Leader suddenly discovered something. It was a large Fire-Breathing Lion tattoo on the victim's left shoulder.
"Oh, GOD! This guy's a Destructor!"
They shook even harder.... Yet suddenly felt better. This all made sense now!
The Destructors were one of the worst bandit groups, both in morals and power. Yet, those fools had recently attacked a minor Henderson's Caravan. Was this all for payback?!
Who knew merchants could be that SAVAGE! They'd eat their enemies as retribution?! At this moment, they resolved never to go against them... EVER! Thus, they kept dismantling.
Thanks to the group's efforts, it didn't take long for the body to be disposed of. They kept the meat and dropped the remains in the nearby forest.
But, just as they thought they were finally done... A legion of Fiery Foxes appeared on the horizon. Their eyes shone with victory, and their maws held the rewards of their hunt!
"T-this is madness! Don't tell me they're all--?!"
Destructors? Yes, all of them! They all had the same Tattoos, which were now proving very ironic. Lions getting devoured by Foxes? Those had to be some weak lions!
Fox after Fox strolled toward their Carriage.
-- Drop! Drop! Drop! --
Then before the Adventurers could even regain their bearings, a mountain of Bandit Corpses awaited them, the stench of butchered meat permeating the area.
"Woo!" (Prey delivery done! Back to hunting!)
Even now, they still happily replied.
To the foxes, the bandits were merely that, prey.
It had all started when a keen-nosed fox had caught the whiff of the BBQ the bandits had been preparing. A little one had showed up, only to be ambushed and captured!
"Guys, look at this plump Fox we caught! Perfect for BBQ!"
The bandits had chuckled at the poor thing's attempts to free itself, already getting the seasonings ready. But before they could proceed, the little Fox showed its intelligence!
It made puppy eyes, as it used every begging "woo!" in the book. This would clearly show them that it wasn't any random wild fox, they'd release it, and--
"Pfft-- So what if you're someone's pet? We'll still eat you! Even better if you're smart! I bet your meat will be much more nutritious!" They raucously laughed.
The "helpless" Fox sighed.
It had been trying to be nice... only for its efforts to backfire! What was wrong with those humans?! This wasn't how they were supposed to receive a guest!
That's when the little Fox used Fire Magic for the first time ever! The net it had been captured with instantly went up in smoke... and so did the nearest bandit!
"ARRGGGG! It Burrnnnnsss! What the fuck is this?!"
"Quick! Get water! Hurry up before it spreads!"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Shit, that's magical Fire! RUNNN!"
The hunter and prey roles had instantly been reversed! The bandits scuttled away in a bid to keep their lives, the Fox about to give chase. But before it could...
HUNT!
"Woo?!" (M-Master?!)
It had only been for an instant, but it had felt its master's presence! It was as if he was right next to it, in range to pet it. H-how?! Wasn't he still back at the Carriage?!
But then it understood. It was simply some kind of telepathic communication technique! As for how Master could even use this, the answer was obvious: MASTER'S AWESOME!
That's when its gaze landed on the burnt bandit.
Could this be called hunting?
Contains meat? âœ"︒
Part of the Wildlife? âœ"︒
Large enough to feed many? âœ"︒
YES! The little Fox rejoiced, bringing back its prey.
As it reached the camp, it saw that it had been the fastest hunter... how great!
Then it felt its emotions go in sync with its master. The latter was inwardly congratulating it for a successful hunt. It had been PRAISED! Hehe, this was fun!
Thus the Fox delivered the meat, happily returning to the forest, ready to grab some more prey! But, as soon as it left the caravan, it was instantly ambushed!
"Woo?!" (Such big prey! Where did you find it?!)
"Woo?!" (Please, big brother, tell us!)
Its brethren crowded around it, their eyes glowing with expectation. That's when the little one took the air of an expert as it puffed its chest, gesturing them to follow it!
"Woo!" (Time to HUNT, for MASTER!)
Thus started a VERY successful hunting day.
Back in the Carriage, Jack was finally understanding the limits of his new ability. While he could transmit pretty much anything to the foxes, it would be up to them whether to do it.
Still, seeing how loyal they were, this wouldn't be an issue! For the first time in forever, he opened his eyes, actually looking at the outside world.
Aisha slept peacefully, rocked by the movements of the Carriage, while Lizzy was in a corner playing with herbs and whatnot, completely absorbed in her own little world.
"Welp, time for fresh air!" Jack chuckled as he activated his Evil God body and went outside. But as soon as he opened the door, all eyes turned to him.
What was up with the odd way they were looking at him?!