‘Hey System, I know my status says I'm Animal grade, but what does that even mean? Can I increase my grade over time?’ Her head tilts slightly to the side as she ponders the possibility of growing stronger.

  [Yes. The host can increase her grade from Animal by leveling up and evolving. The possible grades, from lowest to highest, are: Animal, Savage Beast, Demonic Beast, Beast Lord, Spirit Beast, Divine Beast, Primordial Beast, and Beast God.]

  This shocking news causes her to stop walking for a moment as she comes to an exciting revetion. ‘Wait, Savage Beast is the next grade? Does that mean I'll finally be able to use magic when I evolve?!’ She stomps her small paws in the snow below her with excitement. If anyone saw this scene, they would immediately melt from its cuteness.

  [Yes, that is correct. Once you evolve into a Savage Beast, you will be able to use magic.]

  ‘That’s really great news! Once I can use magic, protecting myself should be much easier. Maybe I should focus more on my spirit stat, so I have enough mana to use magic.’ She continues walking towards her den while thinking about the kind of magic she would want to use.

  ‘What kind of magic would I want anyway? Maybe since I'm an arctic fox, ice magic would be a good fit for me.’

  [In order to use ice magic, you will need a frost seed to integrate with your beast core.]

  ‘What is a frost seed? How does one even get it?’

  [Frost seeds are a mutation of the aqua seed that has been cultivated with chilling ice Qi. There is a seed for every basic element, and there are many mutations stemming from those basic element seeds.]

  She continues walking, thinking deeply about what this might imply about her future abilities. ‘So in order to use elemental magic, I need an elemental seed… okay, but how do I even get a seed?’

  [Seeds can be obtained by absorbing the basic elemental Qi in your surroundings. For example, if you want an aqua seed, you must cultivate near a body of water and absorb its Qi into your beast core. This method will work for all the basic elements. If the Qi in that body of water happens to be exceptional, you may get a higher quality seed. However, you can not directly get a seed that requires a mutation such as a frost seed without cultivating its base seed or stealing it from someone else.]

  ‘Okay, that makes sense, thanks System! Is there any question you can’t answer?’ she says pyfully. Now that she knows she should be able to use magic soon, she is in a good mood and willing to look over her gripes with her system.

  [I am currently limited to system reted questions at the moment as I am not all knowing. However, I am able to interface with your mind, as well as your skills, and process information you have already learned.]

  She freezes in pce as she realizes just how OP her system really is! ‘I wasn't expecting much from you, System, but you’ve really impressed me! That's incredibly useful. I have to browse the system store ter and see what kind of skills I can pick up that can benefit my system.’

  After a bit of walking, she returns to the front of her den. Near the entrance of the den, is a rabbit with a crushed leg, ying dead on the ground. A quiet rustling can be heard from the bushes nearby. Walking up to the den, she notices the rabbit and goes on high alert.

  ‘Something isn't right. That rabbit has a crushed leg, and I doubt a predator would leave its prey right in front of someone else's den.’ She looks around and notices some slight rustling in the bushes. On guard, she approaches the bushes, ready to attack at a moment's notice, growling quietly.

  Inside the bushes is the same human she saw earlier. While she was out, he had hunted another rabbit and decided to give it to her as an offering. As he notices her approaching the bushes' hostility, he slowly stands up and holds his hands up, showing he has peaceful intentions.

  “Wait, wait, please don't attack me Miss Fox, I wish to be your friend.”

  Looking at him strangely, she stops where she is and tilts her head in confusion. ‘What is he talking about, wanting to be friends? This guy must be crazy! I'm a wild fox! Who just approaches a wild animal and expects to be friends? Well, I guess I'm technically not a good example of a wild animal, but still…’

  Noticing her confused expression, he points at the meat. “Look right next to you, I got some meat for you to eat. Don’t you want to have some?”

  She looks back at the rabbit’s corpse and then looks back at the human. ‘He doesn’t seem to want to harm me in any way as far as I can tell, and he even brought me food. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have someone else around. It would certainly make me less lonely.’ Sitting down, she looks at the human with an approving nod, but still continues to keep her guard up to protect against any unforeseen actions.

  The human stares at the fox cub in complete disbelief, bewildered by its actions. “Wait, don't tell me you can understand me, can you?” he asks, not believing his eyes.

  She nods her head once again, the human almost fainting from the shock of seeing such a strange creature. He approaches her slowly, causing her to tense up anxiously.

  “It’s okay, Miss Fox, I truly mean you no harm. I just want to take a closer look at you, is all.” He stands next to her and looks around her body, admiring her fluffy snow-white fur that is still covered in crimson blood. “As far as I can tell, you are just an ordinary Animal grade arctic fox, so how do you have intelligence?”

  ‘Oh no. Should I not have acknowledged him? I forgot that my current grade should have very little if any intelligence.’ Panicking internally, she tries to think of how to react to such a question. She has already acknowledged that she understands him, so there is no point trying to hide it anymore. Though, there is just one small problem.

  “Kyaaa~” As she tries to reply to him, her words never leave her head and only cute fox sounds escape her muzzle. Realizing she can't communicate with him, she stomps her paws on the ground in frustration, causing the human to stare and smile at her, admiring her cuteness. ‘This SUCKS! He is now openly staring at me and making a weird expression, and I can't even tell him off! I am not your eye candy!’

  “S-so cute…” the human mumbles under his breath unconsciously. Hearing this, the little fox cub jumps up and smacks his cheek with her paw as a way to get her revenge on him. She might not be able to tell him off, but she can still find ways to put him in his rightful pce.

  “Ouch…” Rubbing his cheek, he looks back at the little fox apologetically, realizing he may have offended her. “I am sorry, Miss Fox, I did not mean to offend you. It is a pleasure to meet you, I am called Xu Hao. Do you happen to have a name?”

  Not remembering that she can’t speak, he asks for her name. ‘Are you an idiot? I still can't speak, genius. Though, I don’t have a name just yet, so I suppose answering him is simple enough.’ She shakes her head to indicate she does not have a name. This causes him to stand there with his finger on his chin, thinking.

  “Then perhaps I should give you one for now. It would be much more convenient if I could refer to you with a name, right?” he says, trying to think of a name that would suit her. ‘Hmm, I met her earlier this morning when she found my rabbit in the trap.’ Looking down at the little fox, her snow-white fur steals his attention once again, enjoying it flow in the wind. ‘Her fur really reminds me of the snow, too. Even when she's covered in blood, it's beautiful.’

  “How about Han Xi? That seems like a suitable name, doesn't it?” The fox cub looks up at him, considering the name he has proposed to her.

  ‘That doesn't sound like a bad name. I guess it's better than having no name at all. Han Xi it is!’ She nods her head approvingly at the name. Xu Hao smiles happily that she accepted the name he gave her.

  “I hope we can be good friends, Miss Han Xi!” he says enthusiastically. “Would you be interested in me cooking this rabbit for you?”

  Her eyes light up brightly, hearing that she can finally have some cooked meat. She doesn't mind the raw meat, but she can not stand the texture of it. ‘YES, PLEASE!’

  Shaking her head vigorously up and down, Xu Hao can't help but ugh at her enthusiasm. “You hate raw meat that much? Are you really a fox?” he says in-between his ughter. While he thought it was a light-hearted joke, Han Xi immediately froze in pce, thinking she had been found out.

  ‘Does he know I wasn't a fox before now?! No, there's no possible way he could know that. I barely know that! I should pretend like I have no clue what he is talking about.’ Tilting her head with confusion, she lets out an audible whine, pretending to not understand what he means.

  “It's okay, it was just a joke.” Finally calming down from his ughter, he points towards the left of her den. “My camp is a little ways down this way. Come follow me.” He reaches down and pces the rabbit's corpse into a storage pouch and starts walking towards where he pointed and looked back at Han Xi. She hesitates for a moment but decides to follow him.

  ‘I’m still really exhausted from the fight with the deer, and I'm still pretty full as well. I guess it won't hurt to follow him. He doesn't seem to have bad intentions, so I think he’s safe to be around.’

  Following closely to Xu Hao, her ears droop a little from being sleepy, and she starts to stumble. Noticing this, Xu Hao looks back at her and stops for a moment.

  “Are you doing okay? Do you want me to carry you so you can take a nap?” Xu Hao offers her with open arms.

  She gnces at Xu Hao’s outstretched hands, feeling torn. Accepting help from a human feels… wrong. ‘I really don’t know how I feel about letting a human carry me, but I don’t really think I have any other choice right now. My stamina is at its limit from not resting enough, and my body aches.’ Her eyelids grow heavy as she ys down on the ground and curls up into a small ball, surrendering to her exhaustion.

  The sight of seeing a cute fox cub curl into a ball and sleep melts Xu Hao’s heart, causing him to stare at her adoringly. He reaches down and picks her up, holding her small body in his arms. He continues walking towards his camp, which is almost in sight now. As he walks, he gently caresses her fur, admiring how soft and fluffy it is.

  ‘Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fox cub have such soft fur before. Something tells me that she is special. I really hope we can continue to get along…’ he thinks, still caressing her fur as he arrives at his camp.

  AnDwHaT5