Chapter 19 The Beast Within?!

Jack had orange fur on his arm!

As he tried to remove it, he felt it wiggle under his touch, and then it… disappeared under his skin? Instantly, a burning pain consumed him, as if he was burned alive!

"What the fuck?!"

This thing was stuck there! Had the Fire fox God actually fooled him?! Had it given him its blessing nonetheless? Jack opened his status with a trembling hand.

There was now a new addition to it…

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- The Beast Within! (?!%$!) ????

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What was that even?! But before he could react, the ability's name began glowing in his status screen! That's when the burning heat went from his arm to the rest of his body!

It felt like he had been thrown into hot coals!

Just as he was about to call for help, something else happened!

Under his shell-shocked gaze, his body's stats began increasing. From their initial value, they went to 2… and finally 3! This had tripled his base stats!

Overflowing with energy, he couldn't help but punch the air.

— THWACK! THWACK! —

His punches contained so much power that he even scared himself! At this rate, wouldn't he be as strong as an adult in no time?!

But the (?!%$!) part of "The Beast Within" still worried him. What if this was the first step of turning into a fox? What if he already wasn't completely human?

He'd have to get himself checked sooner than later, not that he knew where to find a healer in this place. Dawn City was bound to have one, right?

He updated his mental to-do list:

1. Learn Beginner Magic

2. Find a Cure for his father

3. Check his condition (Curse + Beast)

Thus Jack survived his first meeting with both his step-sister and the Fire Fox. As for all the damage that had been caused in the process? This wasn't his problem!

He peacefully went to sleep, his foxes watching over him. Yet, barely a few minutes after he had begun slumbering… "AHHHH!" His tiny body jumped upright, terrified.

He was drenched in a cold sweat as he rushed out of his bed, still half-dreaming. But there was one strange thing about him. For some reason, Jack was escaping… on all fours?!

His eyes were filled with dread as he finally came to his senses.

The previous nightmare hadn't been like the ones that usually plagued his nights. In this one, he wasn't running away from the Theocracy…. But from Gods of the Hunts!

But that wasn't all. In the nightmare, he had become a fox.

Hunted until his paws bled, and his fur fell down.

It had been so freaking VIVID!

For an instant, he couldn't tell whether he was human or an animal. For an instant, he lost his sense of self. For an instant, he even forgot his family! That he couldn't accept!

The foxes worriedly crowded around him when Jack suddenly went crazy! Out of nowhere, he grabbed a pointy rock… and started cutting himself?!

He was really digging into his left arm as if trying to cut it off!

"I don't want your goddamn blessing! I'm HUMAN!"

"Woo?!" (W-what?! M-master! Stop!)

Jack only stopped when he reached the bone. It wasn't there! Didn't this mean that the spell was already done fusing with him? Finally stopping his self-mutilation, he sighed:

"I don't care how, but we need to find a healer. Then we'll…." The more Jack explained, the crazier he seemed, yet the fox would do anything as long as he stopped hurting himself!

Thus they agreed to follow him out.

That night was restless, not just for Jack's party. It was the same for the Dawn Guards, who were in charge of the City's defense. They were ready for war: armor, magic staves, and all!

They were on the lookout for another "terrorist attack" and had even plastered posters all over the place calling out for the capture of the "Demonic Legion", dead or alive.

The number of patrols had increased quite a lot too. They'd go: "Halt, identify yourself!" to passersby. Seeing them, Jack could only curse.

"Tch— The looking-human cloak trick won't work here. They'll stop us for sure if we try. We need an alternative…."

"Woo!" (Run fast!)

"Woo! Woo!" (Diversion Fireballs!)

"Woo! Woo!" (Start the Biggest Fire!)

The foxes were quick to give their advice. They were confident in their abilities to brute-force through! After all, they were the strongest Fiery Foxes in Dawn! (And only)

"All of you, use your brains! Do you seriously think the patrols here are the only ones we have to face? No, they're just bait! If we face them…." He added.

There was definitely an expert hiding nearby, ready to save the patrols if anything happened! He explained it all to them in terms a 4 yo could understand.

Enlightening, the foxes began shivering. Good thing their wise Master was with them! Still, they were even more perplexed now. How were they supposed to deal with that?

"Here, this way."

As they saw where Jack was pointing, they all grimaced.

The sewers?! That place smelled so bad! Did they really have to go in there?! That place was the worst! The stench and humidity would stick to their fur and… disgusting!

"Believe me, smelling like a rat's better than dying a fox." Jack convinced them.

Thus the party located a nearby sewer entrance, quickly popping it open. Instantly the odor that drifted out of it was almost enough to make them all vomit!

But Jack wasn't about to give up because of that. After all, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly before he knew he wasn't going to turn into a fox.

Thus he dived inside, soon followed by his minions! Hopefully, navigating the sewers wouldn't be too troublesome, right? The party confidently delved deeper.

Yet, none noticed a glyph on the wall glowing ever so slightly on their passage. Somewhere else in the City, an alarm had just rung….

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Jack Bright (Classless)

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BODY 3 (STR 1 / AGI 1 / RES 1)

SOUL 42 ( MAGIC 7 / SENSE 17 / WILL 18)

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(NEW!)

- The Beast Within! (?!%$!) ????

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