「Ten minutes later.」
He stared blankly, in disbelief, at the little hedgehog in his nest munching on wild fruits.
"So, you accidentally used your Mother's invitation to come here?"
"Mhm."
"How careless can your Mother be!"
Huai Shi covered his doggy head in despair. "Fu Yi, do you understand that if you fail here, your consciousness will shatter? I have a Soul, so at worst I'll get hurt, but if you're forced out, you'll immediately become a vegetable!"
"Ah?"
Fu Yi asked incredulously, "Is it that dangerous?"
"...Forget it." Huai Shi sighed. "Don't wander off. Stay with me. I should be able to protect you no matter what. Worst case, we'll just survive until the Witch's Night ends."
"Oh…" The little hedgehog nodded, seemingly understanding.
"Wait, how did you know it was me?" Huai Shi finally realized and asked blankly. "I didn't even know I'd turned into a dog."
"Huh?"
Fu Yi looked puzzled. "Your name is floating above your head, visible from a distance. Huh? Wait a minute, oh, it's this plugin... My map system can display the names of Explorers. Let me check your profile... It shows you're Huai Shi, species Canidae, and your Level is 2... Don't you have it?"
A giant question mark seemed to materialize above Huai Shi's head, nearly piercing the sky.
Why don't I have such cool features!
"And that tiger just now..."
"Oh, that was my Skill. You don't have it?" Fu Yi asked, clueless.
"..." Huai Shi was silent for a long time before asking dryly, "Apart from that, what other functions do you have?"
"Let me see... Oh dear, these Scholars' data are so complicated. There are a lot of parameters and displays I totally don't understand. If I hadn't spent half a month working on the Sea with my Mother's instruments, I wouldn't even know how to use this interface..."
Fu Yi's little paws waved in the air. "A Telescope, a map feature that automatically displays nearby Explorers, something that shows people's levels... There's a 'Golden Relics' that's already bound to me, a storage space of about ten square meters, a small shield, a Teleporter, and... huh? Who said you can't quit? Isn't there a safe exit button here?"
"..."
In the dead silence, Fu Yi looked up, puzzled, only to see the strange expression on the Husky sitting in front of her. Unbeknownst to her, he seemed to be on the verge of tears.
Noticing Fu Yi's gaze, Huai Shi pounced on her. Disregarding her spikes, he hugged her tightly and cried out loudly,
"I really need a carry, Dad!"
"Please carry me!!!"