Chaptername">Side Story 1—The Wolf and The Fox

Chaptername">Side Story 1—The Wolf and The Fox

Side Story 1The Wolf and The Fox

Back before the Wolf King Zephyrwolf and Demon Fox Slyfox made a name for themselves

It was a major cityat least the monitors were projecting such images. A group of people sat before their keyboards and mouses as they looked at the projected image.

Ready?

Quick, that guys coming.

Come on This is getting annoying, a man said as he rubbed his toes before lighting up a cigarette, filling the room with enough smoke to engulf them all.

Boss, I see him! The energetic shout was heard through the smoke.

Kill! Kill him!

A player was casually strolling out of the city gate when assailants rushed out from every ambushing spot possiblebushes, shadows, walls, behind him Over thirty players focused their attacks and verbal curses on the innocent player, killing him within seconds.

A player walked forth from the ambushers, his voice reaching the innocent player through the dense smoke in his room and past the monitor. Blame your stupid name for everything.

The cigarette had done its part. The man squashed the remaining cigarette to stub it out.

The innocent player would never have imagined that the reason for his death was his username, Ka Ming, but that was only the first of many deaths to come. Only death awaited him whenever he walked out of the city. Even if he managed to slip out, hed end up dead within an hour or two when others spotted him.

Ka Ming deleted his account after dying several dozen times.

Ka Ming was the name of the man who stole Zephyrwolfs first love.

Zephyrwolf was no good fellow, never had been either. He grew up in an orphanage without knowing who his father and mother were. Most of his time was spent on games, and apart from that, his life was of no particular importance.

Still, there was a single rule that he had always abided byhed never join a gang or take part in their illegal activities. The horrible crimes he committed were only in games. In the actual world, he wasnt your role-model citizen, but neither did he do anything harmful of any sort. Cyber gangster would be a good description for him.

There was no shortage of such people in the ruthless and lawless world of gaming. Birds of a feather flock together, and soon Zephyrwolf found a group of companions who committed the same stupid yet annoying deeds gathered around him.

Slyfox was his most trusted companion among the bunch. He had even once been his playmate in the orphanage, though they seldom got in touch with one another after they left the place as grown-ups. They only came to know one another through an online game two years later. Through an offline meeting, they were reunited after they realised they had once been playmates in the orphanage, and days of going through fire and water in a thrilling journey followedin the world of gaming, of course.

Both of them had unremarkable jobs in the actual world that were enough to feed themselves. Whatever was left of their salaries after settling daily necessities were dumped into the games they played. Bonding with others, forming a family, having children, none of those things passed their minds, nor did they dare to imagine them. They were not blessed with enough luck for such fortunate things to occur in their lives.

The duo had committed various shocking crimes in the gaming world and made themselves well-known, albeit notorious in nature.

One day, Slyfox came to Zephyrwolf merrily and said, Hey, got something to tell ya. Dont be mad when you hear it though.

What nonsense are you up to? Zephyrwolf rolled his eyes.

Slyfox grinned and made a supposedly handsome pose as he said, I got an online wifey.

Zephyrwolf sized up his grinning companion and asked, Got some talent you fella! Whered you kidnap her from?

Cheh, only youd need to kidnap someone to get a wifey! You know what, Ive seen her in person, an absolute beaut she is I swear. Called her over for the dungeon tonight also.

Everyone gathered outside the dungeon at night. Since Slyfox had a decent reputation in their guild, Howl of the Tempest Wolves, everyone saw him as a vice guild master and treated him with respect. Tonight, he was accompanied by a player with the ID Girl Still Here.

What a strange name

Hello everyone, Girl Still Here went through the formalities with a simple greeting.

Zephyrwolf replied with a Hi and initiated the dungeon. Everyone else followed him. As Girl Still Here was a cleric and the dungeon wasnt too difficult, Zephyrwolf didnt ask for other healers.

Woah! Heals! I need heali The member was dead before he could finish his sentence.

Im sorry Sorry the cleric kept apologising, and Slyfox calmed her down saying it was fine.

Zephyrwolf didnt take it to heart. Noobseveryone had been one at some point, not to mention she was his brothers woman.

However, a month went by, and Slyfox didnt go online for three days straight. Zephyrwolf smoked on his cigarette and plucked up his phone to call Slyfox with his other hand.

Hey man, whatre you up to?

Youve called just in time. Got five hundred bucks? An emergency.

Zephyrwolf scratched his neck and rambled a few swears, but he still transferred the money over. He had a bit of savings even though he did spend most of his salary every month, and he knew the same went for Slyfox.

Another two months went by. Slyfox rarely went online and instead kept calling Zephyrwolf for money every few days. Zephyrwolf never asked why; he knew everyone had their hard times, and he never expected to receive the money back once he had lent it out. It wasnt because he was rich. Rather, that was one of his principles: Dont expect your brothers to return the money theyve borrowed. Dont lend them money in the first place if you want it back.

Zephyrwolf stood up from his seat. His brothers didnt bother asking as they already knew about his strange habit and only yapped, Boss, come back quickly. The world boss is about to respawn.

Zephyrwolf waved his arm and strolled out of the cyber cafe with a pair of flip flops. He crossed the street, ordered a dozen lunch boxes from the restaurant, then walked lazily down the street. His footsteps were neither quick nor slow, but they seemed familiar. In fact, he had gone back and forth the same route well over a hundred times.

His destination was a dark alley where even the sun rarely spared its grace. This was where shadows exist in the mortal world. As soon as Zephyrwolf entered the alley, dark shadows dashed towards him out of nowhere.

Oi, no rush. Im here now, arent I?

Zephyrwolf took out the lunch boxes, opened them up, and lay them on the ground. Every time he placed one down, a swarm of shadows flooded over to devour it.

Those shadows were stray dogsthe kings of all strays in the Tenth Eastern City. Even stray animal organisations dared not to venture into the alley because there were simply too many stray animals for them to handle; things turned out dangerous more often than not whenever someone entered the strays territory. As for using weapons The organisation workers werent dedicated enough to their jobs to even bother.

Seven tonight, the usual place. Dont even think of logging into the game again if you dont.

Zephyrwolf stood alone in the park. While the breeze was chilly, he was still in his usual flimsy clothes.

After a while, an endearing lady walked over and asked, What do you want?

Come back to me.

You pauper, whyd I?

Im different now.

How so?

Ever heard of Hing Shing Factory? Its mine.

Ying was rather doubtful of it. Are you so broke that youve gone crazy? Do you think Ive got no idea about your background?

Zephyrwolf took out his phone, handed it to her, and said, This is Hing Shing Factorys number. Call and ask them if they know Young Master Zeph, then youll know.

After pondering for a few moments, Ying ended up making the call.

Young Master Zeph? Who are you? Are you even qualified to speak of our young masters name

Being a swindler for so many years, Ying naturally wasnt so careless. She called the number three times, each with a different voice, but the answer she received was still the same.

When did you become a young master? Yings voice suddenly became coy, a tone Zephyrwolf had heard many times as well. She had swindled him with this voice over and over again after all.

Its mine in the first place, I just didnt like it a lot and wanted to start my own thing. My geezers dead now, so Ill have to take over the family business.

How wonderful. Ying snuggled against his chest and rubbed him with her pair of melons. Actually I miss you at times too

Zephyrwolf wanted to push her away and puke, but he endured it and said, Lets go somewhere else.

Ying looked at her with a shy yet craving stare. Do whatever you want with me

Back at Zephyrwolfs home, Ying threw herself onto Zephyrwolf and kissed him eagerly. Never did she imagine that the dork she had swindled before was a young master.

This dumbass mustve never seen another woman. Before he inherits everything, I must

However, she was oblivious to the other man who was witnessing everything in the corner of the room.

Zephyrwolf suddenly pushed Ying away. Startled, she invited him coquettishly, Darling So you still like it rough Do it

Slyfox, now you know.

Slyfoxs eyes turned lifeless for a moment, but fury soon took over. What is the meaning of this!

Ying finally knew what this was all about. She clung to Zephyrwolf and said to Slyfox, Hes the man I truly love

Zephyrwolf pushed her to the ground and said, Cut the crap. I

ZEPHYRWOLF! I AM ASKING YOU! WHAT IS THIS MEANING OF THIS! Slyfox bellowed, his voice shaking the apartment.

To show you who she truly is.

Do you really think I didnt know all this? Slyfox wailed. Do you really think I have no idea that she has been scamming those in our guild behind my back? Really? Even so, I still love her! Getting fooled To go to any lengths for your loved one is a matter of course!

However! I cannot accept the fact that the woman I love is with my best friend Slyfox said and left.

Ying also left.

All alone, Zephyrwolf called Hing Sing Factory. Thanks, man.

Oh Zeph, dont mention it! Right, dont forget that youve promised to take on a months shift.

Zephyrwolf hung the phone. Today, he lost a brother and severed a past love, but was rewarded with nothing but emptiness.

Slyfox was an idiot; it was absurd to put all the blame on Zephyrwolf. He just had to do it. He had to hate Zephyrwolf for putting an end to his first love despite knowing Zephyrwolf was trying to help him. If not, hed be at a total loss of what to do in life.

Deep down, Slyfox and Zephyrwolf both valued relationships greatly. They invested their all into relationships that they believed were worthy of their efforts, regardless of whether their efforts were reciprocated, and that had turned Slyfox into a demon. Only by putting the blame on Zephyrwolf could he make himself feel better.

Zephyrwolf also knew what Slyfox was thinking, so he didnt explain anything or try to reconcile. They knew one another well, too well for the reconciliation to happen.

From that day onwards, wherever Howl of the Tempest Wolves appeared, the arch-nemesis Slyfox would always be present, persisting even till now in Real World.

Here's the side story as promised! Sheds a bit of light on the rivalry between Zephyrwolf and Slyfox, a simple yet complicated relationship if you ask me.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it! Keep the likes coming and we'll be having another side story :)

-SaltyTank, 2nd April 2022

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