When the light faded, Lin Yao—now properly called **[Foxmotion]**—experienced three things.
First, the wind.
A breeze carrying the scent of green grass, moist earth, and ripening berries flowed through the fur on his ear tips and between the gaps in his three tails' fur. His fox ears automatically rotated toward the wind's direction, capturing the forest's fragmented sounds: rustling leaves, insect chirps, distant babbling streams.
Second, his body.
Lightness. Unprecedented lightness. The human body felt like a shed heavy shell. This Silvermoon Fox-kin vessel moved with every muscle coordinating like precision machinery. He could clearly feel the soft paw pads beneath his feet (yes, foxes had paw pads, though not as thick and prominent as cat-kin) sensing minute undulations as they contacted the ground. The three tails' roots connected to the end of his spine—with just a thought, they could move and curl as easily as his own arms.
Finally, his vision.
His field of view was slightly wider than when human, and colors seemed richer and more layered. He could clearly see the veins on leaves ten meters away and notice the tiny rainbows refracted through dewdrops.
But none of this was the point.
The point was his skill bar in the lower right of his vision, and his equipment slots that were nearly empty except for a crude wooden stick.
**[System Notification: You have descended upon starting floating island 'Emerald Forest - East District'.]**
**[Current area player density: High.]**
Lin Yao raised his head—this motion made the fur on his neck extend—and surveyed his surroundings.
He stood at the edge of a forest clearing, ancient trees towering overhead, their canopy leaking broken sunlight. Typical fantasy newbie village scenery. The difference was that running, talking, and fighting here—not a single humanoid creature in sight.
A brown bear-kin player was using his broad bear paws to slap a tree trunk, testing attack power, each strike shaking down leaves. Several spirit cat-kin leaped nimbly between branches, their paw pads making their landings silent. Not far away, a pack of gray wolf-kin had formed a simple formation, gang-beating several glowing "Forest Sprites" (level 1 mobs), their canines reflecting cold light in the sun, throats emitting threatening growls.
And Lin Yao's appearance quickly drew attention.
After all, Silvermoon Fox-kin were already rare and elegant, and most would choose magic or agility system starting areas. Appearing in this East District clearing where physical-class players gathered was somewhat out of place.
Even more out of place was his equipment—or rather, lack thereof.
Other players, even bear-kin who rolled magic classes, at least wore system-gifted crude robes or leather armor pieces. But Lin Yao wore only the Silvermoon Fox-kin's innate silver short fur that seemed woven from moonlight, plus some simple ancient runic leather ornaments at key areas that were more decorative than defensive. Those three excessively fluffy and conspicuous silver-gray tails with their quietly flickering deep blue tips clashed dramatically with the surrounding atmosphere of bulging muscles and sharp claws.
"Yo, look who's here?"
A rough, grating voice rang out.
Lin Yao's fox ears turned toward the sound source. Three Wild Boar-kin players walked over together. They were stocky and robust, with brown-black skin covered in coarse bristles, protruding snouts with curved tusks on either side, and short tails excitedly swishing. Their IDs were **[Tusk Charge]**, **[Uproot Everything]**, and **[Mud Wallow]**.
Typical low-tier race (high early strength growth but low intelligence and agility), typical provocative IDs.
The leader **[Tusk Charge]**'s small eyes (Wild Boar-kin had small eyes, deeply set in thick skin folds) sized up Lin Yao, especially his slender limbs unrelated to any concept of strength and his conspicuous tails. He snorted derisively, spraying a bit of breath:
"Silvermoon Fox? What're you doing in our East District? There's no elegant dancing for you here." His hoof-like hands (thick-knuckled fingers with blunt rounded hooves at the tips) made a twisting motion.
Beside him, **[Uproot Everything]** sniffed hard with his nose (Wild Boar-kin's sense of smell seemed quite keen): "Tch, reeks of broke 'mage.' What'd you roll? Illusionist? Come on, turn into a rabbit for us to see?" As he spoke, he deliberately stomped his mud-covered hooves on the clean ground near Lin Yao's feet.
Lin Yao said nothing. His golden amber fox eyes calmly regarded them, only his ear tips pressing backward almost imperceptibly—the fox clan's instinctive expression of displeasure and vigilance. Behind him, his three tails that had been naturally hanging now had their tips' blue lights brighten slightly, the fluffy fur silently standing on end, making the tails appear a size larger.
This was a threat posture. In fox clan social language, equivalent to humans furrowing their brows.
Unfortunately, the Wild Boar-kin either didn't understand or pretended not to.
"Hey, bros," **[Mud Wallow]** chuckled, exposing more yellow teeth, "did you guys see the announcement? Just now in the Hall of Fate, wasn't there a Silvermoon Fox who rolled some… Berserker Warcry Shaman?"
All three Wild Boar-kin froze, then burst into even more exaggerated laughter.
"Pfft—hahahaha! Berserker Warcry?! Him?! Those skinny arms and legs?"
**[Tusk Charge]** laughed so hard he rocked back and forth, the fat on his thick neck rolling in waves: "No wonder he came here! So he rolled a 'warcry' class and wants to mix with us warriors?" He leaned in closer, bringing a muddy grass-root stench almost to Lin Yao's face: "Kid, it's warcry, right? Come on, howl one for grandpa to hear! Let's see if you crack your voice first or grandpa laughs himself to death first!"
Surrounding players were drawn by the laughter, and many looked over. After recognizing Lin Yao as that "Whimpering Rage Fox" from the announcement, the pointing and gossiping grew louder.
"It really is him…"
"He actually didn't delete? Got guts."
"Guts are useless—look at him, who can he beat?"
"Wild Boar-kin are dumb, but level 1 strength attributes are high, plus they have 'Thick Hide' passive. Three on one—this fox is screwed."
Lin Yao took a deep breath. The fox clan's chest expansion wasn't large, but breathing was sustained. He could feel an unfamiliar energy stirring within—that was the "rage value" inherent to the **[Berserker Warcry Shaman]** class, currently empty but slowly generating with his emotional fluctuations.
Fight? How?
His skill bar had only three active skills. **[Warcry: Shatter Morale]** and **[Warcry: Rally]** required rage consumption—he currently had none. **[Savage Strike]** had no cost but from the description was just an enhanced basic attack.
And his only weapon was a system-gifted **[Crude Wooden Stick]** with 1-2 attack power. He tried swinging it—the stick made a faint sound cutting through air. The fox clan's wrist strength clearly couldn't make this stick produce any威 intimidation. He could even feel the awkwardness of his slender fingers (fingertips had slightly sharp but definitely not claw-like nails) gripping the wooden stick.
Not to mention the **[Bloodline Conflict]** debuff—even with rage, his roars would be at 70% effectiveness.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Wasn't the system announcement pretty loud just now?" **[Uproot Everything]** impatiently scraped the ground with his hoof, kicking up a small cloud of dust. "Can't roar? Then grandpa will teach you—warcries go like this—"
He took a huge breath, his Wild Boar-kin's broad chest swelling, then opened his tusk-filled mouth and emitted a harsh, ugly sound:
"Awooo—ugh!"
The volume was sufficient, but completely chaotic with no technique, and definitely no skill glow—pure noise. Drew another round of laughter from surrounding players.
**[Tusk Charge]** felt his companion had embarrassed them, elbowed him, then glared viciously at Lin Yao: "Kid, East District rules—newcomers gotta 'pay tribute.' Since you don't have much gear, hand over that broken stick, then imitate two fox sounds, and grandpa will let you pass. Otherwise…" He clenched his sandbag-sized hoof-fists, knuckles cracking.
Naked robbery. During the newbie period when resources were scarce, even a 1-2 attack wooden stick had people fighting over it.
Lin Yao's tails—all three—simultaneously went still. The deep blue lights at their tips shifted from flickering to steady, cold bright blue.
He slowly raised his eyelids. The fox clan's elongated eyes now had those golden amber pupils contracting into narrow vertical slits in the sunlight, like a bird of prey locking onto its quarry—though his race wasn't avian.
"What if," Lin Yao spoke, his voice deliberately adjusted—clear and cold with a trace of the fox clan's naturally magnetic tremor, "I say no?"
"Oh? Got a temper?" **[Tusk Charge]** grinned. "Boys, looks like we gotta teach this little fox who runs Emerald Forest!"
The three surrounded him in a triangular formation. Though Wild Boar-kin weren't fast movers, their encirclement was solid, their stocky bodies like three walls.
Lin Yao's brain raced. Run? The fox clan's high agility might allow escape. But being forced to flee by three low-tier races at the start would be unbearable humiliation, and he'd become a complete laughingstock.
Fight? Zero chance of winning.
Maybe… he could try that?
He recalled the skill description for **[Warcry: Shatter Morale]**'s "intimidation" effect. Though he currently had no rage and couldn't cast the full version, the essence of warcry was sound. Sound required not just rage, but vocal organs and technique.
And he was Silvermoon Fox-kin. Though the fox clan's talents didn't include "warcry," they had…
**[Silvermoon Howl]**.
It wasn't a combat skill but more a racial trait—a sustained howl used for long-distance communication and expressing emotions under the moon. The game system didn't list it as a skill, but it existed in this body's instinctive memory.
What if he used howling to simulate "warcry"?
The thought was crazy and bold. But at this moment, there were no other options.
The three Wild Boar-kin had closed to within five paces. **[Tusk Charge]** raised his fist, the hoof-shaped fist glowing faintly white—a basic boxing skill.
Lin Yao suddenly hopped backward, the fox clan's agility making this leap cover over two meters, creating some distance. Without hesitation, he poured every bit of his pathetically small, just-generated rage into his throat!
Then he opened his mouth—
Not the crude roar of Wild Boar-kin, but tilting back his slender neck, throat vibrating, forcing out from deep in his chest a…
High-pitched, shrill, extremely penetrating fox shriek!
"Yiiing—awooo—!!!"
The sound wasn't loud, even somewhat… mournful? Completely unlike the deep domineering quality a "warcry" should have.
**[Tusk Charge]** and the other two froze, as did the surrounding spectators.
The next second, earth-shaking laughter erupted!
"Pffthahaha! What was that!"
"Warcry? That's someone stepping on his tail!"
"Whimpering monster! Truly a Whimpering Rage Fox!"
Even the three Wild Boar-kin were laughing themselves silly: **[Tusk Charge]** pounded his chest: "Oh my god, that's a warcry? Dying of laughter!"
Heat rose in Lin Yao's cheeks beneath the silver fur. The fox clan's muzzle couldn't produce obvious blushing expressions like humans, but his ears completely pressed backward flat against his skull—extreme shame and tension. His tails also stood rigidly upright, the blue tips flashing chaotically.
Failed. No, worse than failure—ridiculous.
**[Tusk Charge]** finished laughing, his eyes turning vicious: "Done playing around? My turn!" He suddenly stomped forward, activating the Wild Boar-kin's racial skill **[Brutal Charge]** (low-level linear acceleration skill). Though only level 1 with weak effects, combined with his stocky build, the momentum was terrifying!
Can't dodge! Too fast, and too wide!
Lin Yao's pupils contracted sharply, instinctively trying to side-roll, but his body couldn't keep up with his consciousness. Just as the charge wrapped in grass and earth smell was about to strike—
**[Ding!]**
A clear, distinctive system notification sounded deep in his mind.
Not the cold mechanical voice, but something like an ancient chime with reverberations.
**[Non-standard skill activation detected…]**
**[Vocal technique detected: Silvermoon Fox-kin - High-frequency Vibration Throat Sound]**
**[Energy infusion detected: Weak Rage (Berserker Warcry Shaman class attribute)]**
**[Extreme emotion detected: Anger, humiliation, resolve…]**
**[Conditions met… Analyzing skill underlying logic…]**
Time seemed to stretch in this moment.
Lin Yao saw **[Tusk Charge]**'s grinning pig face enlarging before his eyes, saw the white glow coalescing on the opponent's hoof-fist, saw the surrounding players' mocking or pitying gazes.
Simultaneously, he "felt" that his failed fox shriek hadn't completely disappeared. A trace of extremely weak vibration—mixed with rage and the fox clan's unique mental fluctuation—still lingered in the air, like the final ripple from a stone cast into water.
**[Analysis complete.]**
**[Skill logic reconstructing…]**
**[Warning: 'Bloodline Conflict' (Silvermoon Fox-kin/Berserker Warcry Shaman) producing abnormal resonance…]**
**[Redefining skill parameters…]**
A series of prompts flashed impossibly fast. External time flow seemed to resume normal speed.
**[Tusk Charge]**'s fist was already roaring toward Lin Yao's face!
Lin Yao had no time to think—survival instinct made him perform one last, futile resistance: he opened his mouth again and used every ounce of strength to emit a short, piercingly sharp screech toward the pig face right before him!
"Yiii—!!!"
This sound was even more ear-piercing than the earlier fox howl, more unlike a warcry, almost like some small animal's death scream.
But just as this screech erupted—
**[Reconstruction complete!]**
**[New skill generated!]**
In Lin Yao's vision, the originally grayed-out **[Warcry: Shatter Morale]** skill icon suddenly flashed with eerie silver-blue intertwined light, then violently exploded and reorganized!
A new, temporary icon appeared: a silver fox shadow howling skyward, surrounded by shattered sound waves and bewildering starlight.
The skill name twisted and transformed—
**[Silvermoon Howl: Shatter Morale (Mutated)]**!
No rage cost notification! No cooldown notification!
"Yiii—!!!"
The shriek exploded!
A visible cone-shaped sound wave mixed with silver light particles and pale blue ripples burst forth from Lin Yao's muzzle, spreading rapidly forward! Where the sound wave passed, the air visibly distorted!
**[Tusk Charge]**, bearing the brunt, had his grin freeze instantly.
His fist smashing toward Lin Yao's stopped less than an inch from his nose—completely halted!
Not just his fist stopped. His entire stocky body froze as if struck head-on by an invisible sledgehammer!
The ferocity in his small eyes rapidly faded, replaced by confusion, daze, and even… a trace of eerie infatuation?
He stared blankly at Lin Yao, at those nearby golden amber vertical-pupil fox eyes, at those slightly trembling, fluffy silver pointed ears.
Then **[Tusk Charge]** performed an action that dropped everyone's jaws.
He lowered his fist.
He extended his large, mud-stained hoof-like hand, seeming to want to touch Lin Yao's face (or rather, muzzle), muttering incoherently in a tone completely different from his previous ferocity: "Such… such pretty eyes… fluffy… sparkly…"
The voice was tender enough to raise goosebumps.
Immediately after, he whirled around to face his companion **[Uproot Everything]**, who was also in a dazed state from the sound wave's splash damage, his face contorting with both "deep affection" and "furious rage."
"You!" He pointed at **[Uproot Everything]**, roaring, "You just wanted to steal his stick?! And make him imitate fox sounds?! How dare you—!!!"
Before finishing, **[Tusk Charge]** executed a perfect **[Brutal Charge]**, solidly ramming into the defenseless **[Uproot Everything]**'s belly!
"Aowu!" **[Uproot Everything]** flew through the air and crashed down hard, a red "-8" damage number floating above his head.
"Boss! Why'd you hit me?!" **[Uproot Everything]** was stunned, clutching his belly and wailing.
"Hitting you is right! Bullying the little fox! Scum!" **[Tusk Charge]** with bloodshot eyes (literally, the boar's eyes were bloodshot) then turned toward the petrified **[Mud Wallow]**.
**[Mud Wallow]** snapped out of it and bolted.
"Stop right there!" **[Tusk Charge]** truly roared (an actual roar this time) and gave chase.
The clearing descended into chaos. Two Wild Boar-kin fled from their own boss, screaming as they ran: "Boss has gone crazy! Boss is possessed!"
And the instigator, Lin Yao, stood in place, his three tails standing rigidly upright like three fluffy flagpoles from extreme shock. Though his ears still pressed backward from lingering fear, the deep blue lights at his tail tips now flashed at an extremely high frequency, revealing his inner tumult.
Around him, deathly silence.
All players—bear-kin, wolf-kin, cat-kin—stared dumbfounded at this absurdly ridiculous scene.
Until—
**[Ding! Area-wide Server Announcement (Emerald Forest):]**
**[Congratulations to player 'Foxmotion' (Silvermoon Fox-kin) for successfully triggering deep skill mutation and fusion under extreme conditions!]**
**[Uniquely created hidden skill: [Enchanting Howl: Shatter Morale] (temporary name)!]**
**[Skill Effect: Emit peculiar sound waves infused with Silvermoon Fox clan charm talent and Berserker Warcry intimidation, causing affected enemies to fall into 'Infatuation/Hostility Transfer' confusion state, prioritizing attacks on friendly units. Effect intensity and duration influenced by caster's mental power, charm, and emotional fluctuations.]**
**[As the first player server-wide to uniquely create a mutated skill, rewards: Reputation +100, Free Attribute Points +3, Skill Mutation Tendency permanently enabled.]**
**[A new legend is being written…]**
The announcement scrolled three times.
The Emerald Forest East District clearing completely exploded.
-----
**(End of Chapter 01)**
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**[Current Character Status Overview]**
- Race: Silvermoon Fox-kin (Adult Male)
- Class: Berserker Warcry Shaman (Bloodline Conflict -30% effect, +20% cost)
- Unique Status: Skill Mutation Tendency Enabled
- New Skill: [Enchanting Howl: Shatter Morale] (Mutated, special effect, unknown cost/cooldown)
- Titles: Whimpering Rage Fox (player mockery), Skill Innovator (system recognition)
- Equipment: Crude Wooden Stick (1-2), Silvermoon Fox-kin natural fur
- Unallocated Attribute Points: 3