Nathan slowly opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, his brain refused to cooperate with reality.
He felt… good.
Suspiciously good.
Not "I slept eight hours" good — but rather "I just spent the night floating in divine cosmic therapy space" good.
Warm morning light brushed against his skin, gentle and comforting. The air carried the faint scent of damp soil and burned wood. Somewhere nearby, leaves rustled lazily in a soft breeze.
Nathan blinked.
Above him stretched an unfiltered pale-blue sky. Judging by the angle of the sunlight, it was still some time in the morning — the fortress wall casting a long shadow across the interior like a protective grasp.
Huh. I lived.
He exhaled slowly.
"Well… that's promising." he whispered groggily.
Instinctively, Nathan opened his System interface.
[09:37]
"…Late morning already?" he groaned.
Man, I should've asked Lunarinas more about the System instead of teasing her, he thought bitterly.
Now I still know absolutely nothing about how this thing works. Genius move, Nathan. Truly peak intellectual performance.
He sighed internally.
Well, experimenting by yourself makes things more interesting anyway…
Hmm…?
His thoughts halted.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
He tried to move his fingers—
Nothing.
He attempted to shift his shoulders—
Still nothing.
A cold realization crept in.
…Wait.
Nathan tried moving his legs.
Only his knees twitched uselessly.
What the hell?!
His heart rate spiked.
He was lying sideways on the ground. His hands were pulled behind his back, tightly bound by thick vines. His ankles were tied the same way, rough fibers pressing into his skin.
Primitive restraints.
But effective.
Very effective for someone like Nathan.
Okay, he whispered internally. Not ideal. Definitely not ideal.
Who did this?
Definitely not zombies — zombies didn't tie knots.
…Hopefully.
Keeping his breathing steady, Nathan scanned his surroundings as much as his limited angle allowed. The wooden walls of his fortress still stood intact. Charred remnants of last night's campfire lay scattered in the center.
There's no obvious trace of an attack.
He saw no movement.
No sounds besides subtle wind blows either.
Instead of panicking, Nathan forced himself to relax.
Calm head… always calm head.
The memory of fighting the Jumper resurfaced clearly. Panic got him almost killed, thinking kept him alive.
Slowly, he whispered, "Hunter's… Parallax."
His newest skill activated instantly.
His vision split.
A second perspective bloomed over his normal sight — elevated and distant, like an invisible drone hovering slightly behind him.
Oh wow… that is incredibly disorienting.
After resisting the urge to throw up from the dual perception, he focused.
The higher viewpoint revealed the upper section of his fortress wall.
And there—
Someone sat cross-legged atop it.
Nathan sharpened his focus.
A rusted sword rested beside the figure. He faced the forest calmly, as if standing guard.
Short white hair swayed in the wind. Black clothing — formal, almost butler-like.
But that wasn't what captured Nathan's full attention.
White fox ears rested atop the figure's head.
Behind him, a fluffy white tail that looks really pleasant to sleep with swayed lazily.
Nathan's brain rebooted.
A fox-human hybrid?!
Excitement exploded inside him.
This world just keeps getting better and better!
His thought process paused.
Okay, focus. Kidnapped first, cultural appreciation later.
He cleared his throat loudly.
"Umm… why am I tied up?"
He intentionally sounded harmless — confused rather than threatening.
The reaction was immediate.
The fox-man's ears perked upright. His tail stiffened.
Slowly, he turned.
Nathan finally saw his face.
Soft features. Large blue eyes. Sharp nose. Thin lips. Handsome — yet carrying a delicate femininity that softened his appearance.
He looks like a K-pop idol… Nathan concluded instantly. —Cosplaying K-pop idol.
The fox-man picked up his rusted sword and stood. With effortless grace, he leapt down from the wall, landing silently despite the height.
He approached slowly, gaze lowered before lifting to meet Nathan's eyes.
Bro's trying to aura farm so hard, Nathan thought flatly.
"So you're finally awake," the fox-man said.
His voice was soft, slightly higher than expected, contrasting with the visible Adam's apple at his throat.
Up close, his features were even more striking.
Nathan realized he had been staring too long.
"…Is there something on my face?" the fox-man asked.
Nathan leaned fully into deliberate awkwardness.
"T-this is the first time I've seen someone with animal features."
The fox-man tilted his head.
"First time?" A faint frown formed. "That is strange. Humans usually recognize my kind immediately… considering how much they enjoy enslaving us and treating us like livestock."
Contempt colored his voice.
Nathan internally raised both hands.
Wow, wow, wow. Trauma detected.
"Hey, hey," Nathan said quickly. "I ain't enslaving anybody. I barely remember anything before yesterday."
The lie came smoothly.
Amnesia, a classic excuse — reusable, flexible, and extremely convenient.
The fox-man narrowed his eyes.
"…Memory loss?"
"I think so. I only remember my name and stuff after waking up yesterday."
Technically not false, just… selectively truthful.
The fox-man studied him carefully.
"And yet you constructed this imposing wall and survived the night. You do not appear to be strong."
Nathan smiled sheepishly. "I had a goddess's blessing."
He remembered Lunarinas mentioning blessed followers weren't rare. Safe explanation.
Recognition flashed across the fox-man's eyes.
"Oh. Then you must be a follower of Verdanessa, Goddess of the woods and carpentry — considering your woodworks here."
Nathan's brain performed emergency gymnastics.
"…Yes," he lied smoothly.
"When did you got her blessing?"
"Yesterday morning." Another flawless delivery.
The fox-man nodded slowly. "I see. Memory fragmentation after divine blessings is not unheard of."
Nathan nearly laughed.
I guessed and got lore confirmation. I am unstoppable.
Luck stat secretly maxed.
An awkward silence followed.
Nathan wiggled slightly against the vines.
"So… could you maybe undo this? It's kinda uncomfortable to be honest."
The fox-man's expression hardened instantly.
"I did not intend to harm you," he said calmly. "But that didn't mean I will trust a human either. You are all the same scum."
Nathan stared.
Uwaaaah… what a racist fox.
Still… he hadn't killed Nathan while he slept.
That suggested restraint.
Maybe he's decent. Just extremely traumatized.
Alright then.
Time for social experimentation.
Nathan relaxed deliberately, lowering all tension from his posture.
"Fair enough," he said casually. "Honestly, if roles were reversed, I'd probably tie up suspicious strangers too."
The fox-man blinked.
Nathan continued before he could reply.
"But since I'm already tied up… mind telling me your name? Feels weird if I were to call you 'mysterious fox guy.'"
The tail flicked once.
Suspicion remained — but curiosity slipped through.
"…Natsu."
Nathan squinted.
An isekai fox guy with a Japanese name. Interesting…
"Nice to meet you, Natsu. I'm Nathan — professional survivor, accidental cult member, and currently your very cooperative prisoner."
Natsu stared.
"…You speak strangely."
"I get that a lot."
The silence returned, but it felt less tense now.
Nathan observed carefully.
The ears were no longer fully rigid.
Noticeable progress.
"So," Nathan added casually, "if you planned to kill me, you probably would've done it already, which's mean — you need something from me."
Natsu hesitated before answering.
"Again, I promise not to harm you as long as you remained still," he said. "This forest lacks sufficient food sources… and you got some nice shelter here — don't worry, I will feed you enough so you won't die in exchange for borrowing it… if I actually could get some."
That's a bullshit tier trade off…
What do you think of me? Some kind of domesticated animal?
"I ran out of food yesterday." Natsu added "Two people needed to be present for beast-type monsters to spawn, I could replenish my food supplies as long as killed some."
Nathan's eyes brightened internally.
Hoho! Valuable information acquired.
So beast-type monsters spawned when at least two people were nearby — and likely dropped food items.
maybe…
Either way, that was a great news.
Because Emergency Provisions sucks.