Jack chuckled as he heard's his companion's pleas: 

"P-please don't eat me! I totally believe in the FireFox God!" Never had anyone changed their fate that quickly! He shakily uttered. 

"Oh? FireFox god? What's that? Either way, it looks like we're saved, no?" Jack playfully asked, only for the man to turn livid. 

Saved?! Those foxes had no reason to save them! They could as well maul their faces off than help! Who knew why they were here? What if it was a no-witness mission?! 

"Y-you. You've never heard of?!— Never mind! Follow my lead!" Even as he shook non-stop, he took a step forward, even going as far as prostrating himself before the fluffy creatures! 

— Yelps of confused foxes! — 

If the guy was with their Master, why was he bowing so deeply? Also, why did he seem afraid of them? They couldn't help but tilt their head, puzzled. 

Yet, their silence felt incredibly oppressive to the man on the ground. Had he made a mistake? They were serving the FireFox God, right?! That's when Jack finally intervened! 

"Ah! Wait, I know! If you spare us, this guy will teach you super cool movement techniques! With them, you'll go 'Zoom' and 'Zaaappp', and even 'Wataaaa!'" 

The more he continued with the onomatopoeias, the more eager the foxes became, their eyes shining! Those techniques sounded so damn cool! They glared at the human, hopeful: 

"YES! I'll teach you everything I know! We're all friends here!" He readily agreed. 

"WOO!" (Yay! Food… and cool moves?! Amazing!) 

The hyperactive fluffy balls quickly surrounded him, eager to learn! As they did, all tension left his body, all strength leaving him as he collapsed to the floor. 

The scenes from before kept replaying in his mind. What kind of miracle had allowed them to cheat death? What exactly had happened to— 

He suddenly froze, the scene before him far too shocking. With happy "Woos", the bloodied foxes threw themselves at the "Guardian" feet, eager to be petted! 

That's when he understood. 

Their survival had been no coincidence; it had been engineered. 

"You, you were buying time, right?! That's why you insisted I don't run alone? Don't tell me you're with the Flame Mansion?! That's why—" He cried out, shellshocked. 

"I'm loosely acquainted with them indeed," Jack admitted. 

Loosely?! The foxes were freaking lining up orderly… just to get petted! And that wasn't even mentioning the blissful expressions they showed! What kind of sorcery was this?! 

At this moment, Jack couldn't have been busier… 

[Ding! Title Activated: Master of the Foxes!] 

[Would You Like To Assign XP? Y/N?] 

Every time he petted a fox, he'd smash the yes button, sharing some of his banked XP with his minions. At this moment, he almost felt like he was cheating! 

[Fox STR Improved by 1!]

[Fox Agility Improved by 1!] 

[Fox Resistance Improved by 0!] 

… 

Every time he felt them grow stronger, he'd smile from ear to ear. With this, they would eventually rise! The only thing he had to watch out for was diminishing returns. 

The higher level of a STAT, the more XP it took to raise. 

But so what? It was basically free power-ups, especially after the carnage they had just done! There was so much monster blood all over that PETA should have shown up already! 

Thus he kept diligently petting them, making sure to give them love (XP) equal to their performance on the battlefield. But as he did so, his mind drifted to an earlier message. 

[Congratulations! You've Slain E-Rank Armored Tortoise! ] 

[Ding! Leader Rank! Generating Extra Rewards!] 

[Obtained 869 XP and Loot Crate!] 

This thing looked so crazy! Jack had heard before that the system could actually reward items based on one's performance… but seeing it firsthand felt crazy. 

[Open Loot Crate? Y/N?] 

"Sure!" 

The system paused as if to decide what to award him for his feat. But then it finally settled on two items: [Iron Carapace!] and [Great Tortoise Heart!] 

That's when ethereal energy came out and nestled itself in the creature's corpse! Then part of the Mana that had dispersed on its death combined to form new items! 

Iron Carapace —> Gauntlets that were especially resistant 

Giant Tortoise Heart —> A delicacy that could be cooked or eaten raw 

Jack felt like he was sitting on a mountain of treasures, the two items naturally imbued with Mana. 

As for the XP? He spent it all on his Spectral Daggers skill! The previous fight had shown him his flaws. 

He had barely defeated that Elite monster thanks to playing dead and the other guy acting as a distraction. If he wanted to survive the next time, he needed more potent magic! 

[Ding! Spectral Daggers Gained SHARP!] 

[Their Penetrating Power Has Been Greatly Increased!] 

With this, he sighed, satisfied, and only then did he pay attention to the guy by his side. The latter still seemed like he couldn't wrap his head around the recent events. 

He clearly had countless questions but knew better than to ask them. No, instead, he simply bowed as deeply as he could. 

"T-Thank you for saving me! I vow on the Brook name that I won't spread a word of what happened here! Once again, sorry about the—"

"It's fine. Apologize with your actions." 

"Gulp. Yes, Chief!" 

Jack nodded approvingly, unfazed by this development. Sure, he had woken up from his nap into a monster pack, but at least he had gotten a new training partner for his foxes! 

But just as he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt something wrong as all his foxes perked their ears up. Something, no, someone was coming… actually lots of someone! 

"Scout, now!" Jack gave the order, soon getting more information. 

There was a huge group coming over. At their head were two strange ice creatures that seemed to be following a trail, his new subordinate's tail that was. 

"I see, they're coming…." 

"They?!" 

"A certain Ice lady is coming over, and she seems pissed. You might want to disappear for a little while. Leave; I'll handle the rest." Jack nonchalantly remarked. 

"Gulp! Alright! I won't let you down!"

As the man left, Jack started preparing. He had to get a few things ready before their arrival. This was an excellent opportunity for a show! He turned toward his foxes: 

"Hehe, get ready, you guys…." 

.

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Jack Bright (Classless)

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BODY 20 (STR 7/ AGI 7 / RES 6)

SOUL 48 ( MAGIC 11 / SENSE 18 / WILL 19)

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(NEW!)

- Spectral Daggers... SHARP!🆕

- Playing Dead Like a Boss! 🆕

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