When light receded, Lin Yao's world reassembled itself piece by piece.
The first sensation was smell.
Damp grass. Crushed leaves. Fresh soil mixed with the faint sweetness of ripening fruit. The air felt thicker than he remembered—richer, layered, carrying information rather than just scent.
Then came touch.
Soft pads pressed against the ground. Cool moisture seeped between fine strands of fur. He could feel individual blades of grass bending beneath his weight.
And finally—his body.
Lighter. Smaller. Unfamiliar in every way.
Lin Yao opened his eyes.
Above him stretched a canopy of emerald leaves, layered so densely that sunlight broke through only in scattered beams. Within those beams, tiny motes of light drifted slowly, like suspended dust—or spores.
This was Emerald Grove.
The Novice Sky Isle.
The starting zone.
He tried to sit up.
His arms trembled violently.
Before he could even react, his strength failed him. His body pitched forward, and he fell face-first into the grass again.
"…What?"
Lin Yao froze.
Slowly, he lifted one forelimb.
It wasn't a hand.
It was a paw—slender, covered in silver-white fur, the pads faintly pink, the claws short and retractable. Built for agility and finesse.
Not for power.
He pushed himself upright more carefully this time. Something swayed behind him.
Tails.
Three of them—
No. Four.
Four silver tails spread behind him, moving almost independently. Their tips glowed with faint, unstable blue light, like cold stars flickering on the edge of extinction.
The strangest part wasn't seeing them.
It was feeling them.
They responded like extra limbs, reacting to his thoughts with unsettling precision.
"…Great," Lin Yao muttered. "So this is my life now."
A translucent interface unfolded before his eyes.
[System Notification]
[Welcome to Emerald Grove – Novice Sky Isle]
A second line followed immediately, pulsing red.
[Warning: Severe Bloodline–Class Conflict detected.]
His status panel opened automatically.
HP: 62 / 62
Rage: 40 / 40
Spirit: 88 / 88
Attributes:
Strength: 3
Agility: 7
Endurance: 4
Spirit: 14
Lin Yao stared.
Strength.
Three.
A Berserker Warcry Shaman.
With three points in Strength.
"…This has to be intentional."
He opened his equipment interface.
There was one item.
[Rough Wooden Stick]
Damage: 1–2
Condition: Poor
Lin Yao stared at the stick.
Then at his paw.
Then back at the stick.
He tried to stand and grip it properly.
The stick wobbled.
His arm shook.
Just lifting it made his muscles protest.
"…So even this is a challenge."
Around him, movement caught his attention.
Players.
Dozens of them.
Boarkin with thick arms and tusks. Wolfkin moving in packs. Bearkin laughing loudly as they crushed slimes with clubs. Hawklin perched on branches above, watching with idle interest.
Slimes burst one after another.
EXP notifications flickered.
Lin Yao took a step back instinctively.
That was when the laughter started.
"Hey, check out that fox!"
"Silver Moon Foxkin? Damn, that's a rare skin."
"Why does he look like he's about to fall over?"
A Boarkin stepped forward, grinning.
"Hey, little fox," he said casually. "You new?"
Lin Yao didn't answer.
Another Boarkin snorted. "Look at that weapon. You planning to tickle monsters to death?"
Laughter rippled outward.
Someone added, "What's your name? Or are you about to delete already?"
Lin Yao exhaled slowly.
Delete?
No.
Not yet.
He took another step back.
The Boarkin's expression shifted.
"No running," he said cheerfully. "Emerald Grove has a rule."
The club swung.
Everything inside Lin Yao snapped.
Humiliation. Rage. Panic. Calculation. The overwhelming absurdity of it all compressed into a single, uncontrollable surge.
His throat tightened.
He opened his mouth.
And screamed.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't majestic.
It was a sharp, shrill fox howl—thin, desperate, raw, stripped of dignity.
"YIP—!"
The sound tore through the clearing.
The air visibly rippled.
Leaves shuddered. Light motes spasmed violently.
The Boarkin froze mid-swing.
Around them, players staggered as if struck by an invisible wave.
Fear.
Pure, instinctive fear.
[Warning: Extreme Emotional Resonance detected.]
[Source: Player "Fox Nao Ah"]
[Race Talent "Silver Moon Howl" reacting abnormally…]
Lin Yao's vision flooded with system alerts.
[Skill data overflow detected.]
[Bloodline Conflict interference unstable.]
[Skill structure collapsing…]
[Reconstructing… Merging… Redefining…]
The fox scream cut off abruptly.
Silence fell.
A new icon burned itself into his skill bar, searing and heavy.
[Sovereign Howl: Dreadbreak]
(Type: Unique · Mutated Skill)
A cascade of information followed.
Effect:
— Emits a fear-infused howl that disrupts enemy mental stability.
— Causes hesitation, terror, or forced aggression shift depending on target psyche.
— Effect strength scales with Spirit, Emotional Intensity, and Mental Pressure.
Penalty:
— High Rage and Spirit consumption.
— Strong feedback when overused.
At the same time, system notifications detonated across the world.
[Global Announcement]
[Player "Fox Nao Ah" has triggered a deep skill mutation.]
[Unique Skill created: Sovereign Howl: Dreadbreak.]
[Condition: Extreme Emotional Resonance + Bloodline Conflict.]
[Global Announcement]
[Hidden mechanism unlocked: Skill Mutation Tendency — Permanently Active.]
[Global Announcement]
[Rewards granted:]
— Reputation +100
— Free Attribute Points +3
In Emerald Grove, no one spoke.
Several players were still on their knees.
The Boarkin who had attacked him lay on the ground, gasping, eyes wide with lingering terror.
Lin Yao stared at the new skill.
Then at the stunned faces around him.
His four tails bristled, blue light crackling violently at their tips.
"…So that's how it is," he murmured.
Somewhere in the distance, chat channels exploded.
Someone typed:
"WHAT THE HELL IS A 'YIPPING RAGE FOX'?!"
Lin Yao—no.
Fox Nao Ah—straightened.
And the system quietly recalculated his future.