Chapter 16

“Huh.”
Ming Hu, hunting for bears, made his way toward the cave and soon arrived in front of it. The cave was silent, without a single sound. Ming Hu looked at the cave and couldn’t help but sigh.
Sigh
Eventually turning around to catch the bear again, Ming Hu started walking toward the bear’s habitat. That’s when it happened.
-croak
A sound came from inside the cave. Ming Hu stopped walking and turned around to look at the cave.
-croak
Ming Hu smiled at the sound of the great fox once again. Then he began to wait for the great fox to come out.
“…?”
But after a while, Ming Hu had to shake his head.
“Why isn’t it coming out?”
There was a sound in the cave, but it was only a sound. The great fox didn’t come out of the cave.
“Should I go…”
Ming Hu eventually started walking toward the cave himself.
-Crack!
-Crunch!
“…?”
But two different sounds soon made Ming Hu stop in his tracks. Ming Hu looked toward the cave.
“Did I hear you wrong?”
Ming Hu shook his head and began to walk back toward the cave.
-Crack!!!
-Crack!
“…”
But when he heard the two sounds again, he stopped walking and looked toward the cave. After listening to the two sounds for a while, Ming Hu quietly muttered to himself.
“…What is it, two?”
I couldn’t believe it, but then something unbelievable seemed to happen. The two sounds coming from the cave were clearly those of the great fox.
Swoop
Jumbled
Ming Hu smiled. Then he started walking back toward the cave. It was certainly implausible that there were two great foxes.
But that was it. There was nothing wrong with having two foxes. In fact, having two foxes was a good thing.
-Crunch!
-Crack!
“…Huh?”
From the cave came the sound of fighting. Ming Hu couldn’t help but stiffen at the sound.
“I shouldn’t be dead.”
Ming Hu gradually increased his pace as he headed toward the cave.
-Crack…!
Just then, a great fox leaped out of the cave. Ming Hu stopped walking and looked at the great fox, which was bleeding from its side and face, probably having been pushed out of the cave in a fight.
-Crack!
Boom!
The great fox leaped forward, paused for a moment when it saw Ming Hu blocking its path, and then swung its front paws at him. But Ming Hu didn’t care about the flying paws; he just looked at the great fox’s wounds and sighed in regret.
Puck!
‘200…’
The Great Fox’s forepaw slashed at Ming Hu. Seeing his health slashed, Ming Hu punched right back at the Great Fox as it tried to swing its forepaws again.
Puck!
-k..lung
whisk
[Level Up!]
The Great Fox has fallen.
-You have acquired the pelt of the Great Fox.
-You have mastered the claws of the Great Fox.
Ming Hu picked up the item, turned away from the fallen fox, and looked toward the cave. Suddenly, the one remaining great fox emerged from the cave. It was clean and unharmed.
“Oh.”
Seeing the unharmed Great Fox, Ming Hu’s expression, which had been filled with regret, brightened.
-croak?
Emerging from the cave, the great fox stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the fallen great fox, then looked back and forth between the fallen great fox and Ming Hu, before crouching low and poised to pounce at any moment.
Jumbled
Ming Hu walked past the fallen Great Fox and began to walk toward the Great Fox, who was poised to pounce on him.
-Crunch!
At the same time, the Great Fox began to run toward Ming Hu. When Ming Hu saw the great fox running toward him, he stopped walking and clenched his fists.
Boom!
The big fox arrived in front of Ming Hu and raised its right front paw and swung. The speed of the three tiger foxes that Ming Hu had captured earlier was incomparably faster.
Puck!
The Great Fox’s forepaw slashed at Ming Hu, and he checked for life.
“…800?
The attack was the same as the others, but it took more than twice as much health. Ming Hu approached the pawing fox again and punched it.
Puck! Puck!
At the same moment the Great Fox’s forepaw slashed at Ming Hu, Ming Hu’s fist slammed into the Great Fox’s abdomen.
whisk
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
The Great Fox fell with a level-up message.
-You have acquired the pelt of the Great Fox.
-You have mastered the Order of the Great Fox.
-You have obtained the Claw Key.
“Claw key?”
When Ming Hu finished picking up the items, he couldn’t help but shake his head. He had never seen this item before. Ming Hu opened his inventory to check the item’s information.
<claw key
The claw of the Great Fox and the key to the forest. Unlike the claws of a normal Great Fox, this claw is energized with magic.
The claw key was literally a key. Ming Hu closed his inventory and looked at the cave.
"It's in there somewhere, right?"
The claw key must be used somewhere in the cave. Ming Hu began to walk toward the cave.
Jumbled
Once inside the cave, Ming Hu walked down the passage, looking around.
"That's normal…"
The cave was very ordinary. There was nothing special about it, and I couldn't see where I could use the key.
"Is this the end…"
Reaching the end of the cave and the Great Fox's chamber some time after the passage, Ming Hu muttered to himself as he looked around the large, seven-meter radius space.
DuribunDuribun
Ming Hu looked around, but nothing in particular stood out.
"What should I do…"
Ming Hu wondered if he should go back to hunting bears or explore the place a bit more.
"Let's find it."
Eventually deciding to try and find a place to use the key, Ming Hu began to explore the Great Fox's chamber with more care than he had at first.
"Ha…"
Soon, after a thorough search of the seven-meter wide space, Ming Hu had to sigh: He had searched as thoroughly as he should have, but he couldn't see anything that would allow him to use the key. Nothing in particular stood out.
"Let's just go kill a bear. We'll search for it later."
Ming Hu looked around the Great Fox's chamber once more and walked out, leaving it for later.
That was the moment.
"Huh?"
As Ming Hu entered the passageway from the Great Fox's chamber, he was forced to stop in his tracks. Just before entering the Great Fox's chamber, Ming Hu looked at the wall on the left side of the passage. It was dark and hard to see, but it was definitely deeper than the rest.
"This looks like…"
Sigh
After retrieving the claw from his inventory, Ming Hu tried it on a deep hole. It seemed like the claw would fit perfectly in the hole.
Sigh
Ming Hu inserted the claw. The claw settled into place perfectly, as if it had always been part of the wall, and then the magic that had been flowing through it began to flow out of the claw and up the wall, forming a round circle.
Siaak
Soon a round circle was formed, and the magic filled the circle, glowing brightly.
"Portal…"
Ming Hu stared at the portal that had been created before him. He didn't know where the other side of the portal was. The other side of the portal could be a very dangerous place.
Of course, that doesn't mean you can't use a portal, and if you're afraid of that, you shouldn't put in the effort in the first place.
"Let's go."
Ming Hu walked toward the portal.
Siaak
The portal glowed brightly with the minghu, and then faded away in an instant.
* * * * *
Once on the other side of the portal, Ming Hu could not help but tense as he looked around at the grass that rose to his knees and the overgrown trees.
"I wonder where…"
There was no information about this place except that it was a forest, as described in the Talon Key. Now he had to find out. Ming Hu decided to make his move.
Jumbled
As Ming Hu moved through the bush, he saw the grass and trees getting taller and taller, and realized he was going deeper and deeper.
"Not good.
After realizing that he wasn't going into the deep end without any information, he turned around and started walking back the way he came.
Squeak
"…!"
But as soon as he started walking, he heard a noise that made him stop and hold his breath. The sound was definitely not his own. The sound was coming from a considerable distance away. Ming Hu began to focus on his surroundings.
Blah blah blah blah
Footsteps began to be heard again, accompanied by the sound of rushing through the bushes. The sound began to grow louder, and Ming Hu realized that something had arrived on the other side of the bush, directly in front of him. Ming Hu swallowed hard and looked toward the bush.
Squeak
And then, through the bushes, something came into view on the other side.