Han Xi wakes up groggily, her ears flopping over to the side as her eyes are half open. She looks out the window and sees mostly darkness as the sun has just started to rise. ‘Wha… what kind of dream was that?’ she thinks to herself sleepily, still trying to gather her thoughts. ‘I think I was a human in that dream?’

  [Your dream was actually a memory from your past life. As you grow stronger, your soul and mind will strengthen, and such memories will continue to surface.]

  Han Xi stands up and stretches her body after getting a good night's sleep. ‘Ok, but wasn't I male in that dream? Was I a guy in my past life?’ She sits back down, pondering the events of the dream. ‘I guess I really liked fishing too? System said I was still recovering from my death in the mortal world, so maybe System was referring to this life? It seemed peaceful. I wonder what I ended up dying from? Maybe from fishing too much.’

  Looking out the window again, she notices the sun rising in the distance, a thin yer of frost on the gss separating her from the outside. ‘You know, I don't think I’ve ever actually explored this vilge, and somehow, I'm now its guardian beast. I should become more acquainted with it and take a look around.’

  Confidently, she approaches the door and then stops in front of it. Only after a few seconds, does she finally realize the obvious. ‘I… can’t get out. I have been reduced to a house pet…’ While looking at the door, she sighs sharply, slightly irritated with her helplessness. ‘I guess I should look for another way out.’

  She approaches the door to the left of Xu Hao’s bedroom and inspects it carefully, seeing if she is able to get into the room. ‘It looks like this room is closed, so I can't get into it.’ Looking around the rest of the room, she is unable to find any potential exit points. ‘I’m not even going to bother with upstairs. Sorry, Little Perv, looks like you’ll have to let me out!.’

  Looking at Xu Hao’s room, she smirks mischievously as she devises a pn to wake him up. Not a very complex pn, but sometimes, simplicity is best. Walking up to the door, she positions herself and smacks it with her tail, making a very loud banging sound. Immediately after, a thump can be heard inside of Xu Hao’s room. ‘Wakey wakey, Little Pervy!’

  Shortly after, Xu Hao walks out of his room drowsily and looks down at Han Xi, letting out a long yawn before speaking. “Miss Han Xi… It's really early, is everything ok?”

  Han Xi giggles, figuring Xu Hao fell out of bed due to her “knocking”. Her giggling stops as she then points at the door with her paw, effectively asking to be let out. ‘Just hurry up and let me out already! It's humiliating I even need to ask.’

  After seeing her point, he follows where she was pointing at and notices the closed door. “Oh, do you just want to be let out? Sure, I’ll leave it open a little so you can get back in, too.” Xu Hao walks towards the door, opening it. “We will need to look into installing a small door for you to get in and out from.”

  Han Xi nods at Xu Hao to thank him and then walks out the door towards the vilge. The door closes behind her, left slightly ajar so she may return on her own. Xu Hao returns to his bedroom to sleep for a while longer.

  After stretching once more, she looks left and right, trying to take in the sights of the vilge, despite how dark it is outside. They live on a long street that goes from the vilge gate straight to their house, the street presently dimly illuminated by flickering mps. Along this street, are many houses of simir design lined up. Each house is made of wood and cobbled stone, as well as most appearing worn down from ck of proper maintenance. Their house sits on the right side of the street, farther from the vilge gate. Directly in front of it, a road leads to the vilge center

  Since she has already seen the road coming from the gate to her house, and she was at the center of the vilge st night, she decides to take a right out of the house. Walking down the road, she continues to observe each house as she passes by, some of them already starting to show signs of life. ‘I guess people in this vilge tend to wake up early. Considering how little everyone here seems to have, they probably have to work hard for what they do have.’

  She reaches the end of the street and decides to turn left, bringing her to the way back of the vilge. ‘What the heck, is most of this vilge just residential housing? Are there no real businesses? Well, looking for something interesting at least gives me time to think.’

  Continuing down the road, she remembers some of the events that happened yesterday. ‘Yesterday, when I got that massive headache after acquiring a divine ability or something, I saw an image of a purple fox fsh through my mind. She looked really beautiful and elegant. I wonder if that also was a past life of mine? Does that mean this isn't my first time being a fox?’ While walking, she decides to take a left going straight for the center of the vilge. If she were to find any shops, it would make sense they are near the center. By now, people start waking up and begin preparations to start their day. The sky starts to turn a gentle hue of orange as the sun rises in the distance.

  Stopping in pce, she sits down, thinking deeply. ‘I’ve only been alive 3 days so far, but hints about my past lives keep popping up here and there. System said that this is because I have special circumstances. What about me is so special? Naturally, I am a big deal, but what specifically?’ She lets out a long sigh, frustrated she doesn't have the answers she wants. ‘I wish I had more to go off of.’

  Shaking her head to bring her back to the present, her face looks more determined than before. ‘If I am to get answers, sitting here and thinking about it won't give me any. That means, it's time to take the next step!’ Her eyes shine brightly as a big smile creeps onto her face. ‘It’s time to consider evolution! But what options do I have, System?’

  [Please review the possible evolution options below:Berserker FoxRequirements: None

  Flicker FoxRequirements: None

  Fade FoxRequirements: None…]

  Han Xi frowns at the avaible choices, shaking her head. ‘Those all sound incredibly boring. Let’s see if there’s any more options.’

  [Frostveil FoxRequirements: Affinity with the Ice element. Must evolve in a frigid environment.

  Ghostail FoxRequirements: Must have a stealth reted skill and a spirit stat over 40.

  Swiftcw FoxRequirements: Must have a speed reted skill and an agility stat over 40.…]

  Han Xi looks at her options thoughtfully, her eyes falling on one of the options. ‘Frostveil Fox could be a good option, as It's probably aligned with ice. Since I should be able to acquire ice abilities after evolution, it is definitely my first choice for now.’

  [Host, it is recommended that you start your evolution tonight when the moon reaches its peak in the sky. Additionally, it would be wise to do it in the forest.]

  Surprised by her system's suggestion, her eyes look at her system's evolution screen suspiciously. ‘Why tonight? Why can't I do it some time early today?’

  She waits a few moments, but her system does not respond to her question, causing her to become very irritated. ‘You always seem to ignore the important questions, System! Tell me why!!!’

  Despite her persistence, the system still will not speak back to her. ‘UGH, this stupid system is so irritating! I know you know the answer, System!’ She stomps on the ground in frustration, her system still completely ignoring her.

  Sighing deeply, now feeling unsure what she should do, she decides to start walking towards the center of the vilge once more. She could choose to evolve into a Frostveil Fox this afternoon, after Xu Hao wakes up. But her instinct is telling her to listen to her system's advice. ‘I really don't know what the best option is, especially since evolution is a big deal. But for now, I will listen to System and see if anything interesting happens during that time. Expining this to Little Perv, however, is not going to be an easy task…’

  As she enters the center of the vilge, she notices people starting to emerge from their houses. Some of whom, notice her and decides to approach her. “Honored Guardian, good morning!” one of the vilgers greet her warmly, looking down at her adoringly. “Good morning, Honored Guardian. Are you hungry? Please, have a few pieces of my homemade jerky.” another says, bringing some jerky in front of Han Xi, who without hesitation, grabs it and nibbles on it cutely, holding it between her paws. This adorable act spreads a feeling of warmth to the growing crowd as they appreciate Han Xi. ‘It's a little embarrassing eating like this in front of all these people… but this jerky is really tasty.’

  After finishing her jerky, she decides to walk around the center of the vilge, the crowd that had gathered before, following closely behind her, curious what she was up to. ‘I really want to see if there are any interesting shops nearby. I know I have no money, but I still want to see what they look like.’ Wandering around for a little while longer, she finally approaches a building that looks different than the others. This building has a sign above it in strange writing she has never seen before. ‘This building looks like a shop, but I can't read the writing on the sign. I wonder what things this shop sells?’

  One of the vilgers from the crowd approaches her and cups his hands. “Hello, Honored Guardian. My name is Lu Zhi, and I am this vilge's inscriptionist. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Lu Zhi introduces himself earnestly.

  Han Xi looks up at him with intrigue, curious about the type of wares he makes. ‘Oh, so this guy is an inscriptionist? I'd be interested in learning more about what that is.’ She nods her head, accepting his introduction, and then looks back at his building, now pointing at it.

  Lu Zhi raises his eyebrows, realizing he has an opportunity to impress their new guardian beast with his shop. “Honored Guardian, would you like to visit my shop and see what I do here in this vilge?”

  Han Xi looks back at him and nods happily, her tail wagging behind herself. ‘Yes I would! I’m not completely sure what an inscriptionist’s job is, but it sounds kind of cool.’

  Her response causes Lu Zhi to smile brightly, becoming visibly eted. Truthfully, he does not get the opportunity to talk about inscription reted topics very often, as few people in the vilge are actually interested in his wares. Most people living here do not focus on cultivation and only focus on daily living, so he typically does not have any customers in his shop. The only time he ever has a customer, is when Elder Fu commissions something for the vilge, or someone purchases a basic talisman to make certain tasks or hunting easier and safer.

  Stumbling on his words a bit from excitement, Lu Zhi motions Han Xi to follow him into his shop. “Y-you really want to see? Ah, — of course, Honored Guardian. Please, right this way~.”

  Han Xi nods, and follows him towards his storefront, curious about the things he is going to show her.

  AnDwHaT5