Wagging one’s tail was a way of luring people in.

Because of those strange words, the child was desperately trying to stop their tail from wagging.

Though “tail wagging” was a common gaming term, there was no way the child would know that.

Lee Ji-hoon kept glancing at Gyeoul, who was holding their tail with both hands.

Thanks to this distraction, they ended up losing the game, but the game’s outcome hardly mattered anymore.

Of course, Ji-hoon knew.

He knew that the child’s tail wagged when they were happy or excited.

Though Gyeoul probably knew this best, the reason she was forcibly stopping her tail from wagging…

Was likely because she didn’t want to show her wagging tail to someone who had said such strange things about it being a way to lure people in.

“Hmm…”

Lee Ji-hoon rubbed his chin and mouth as if washing his face.

The chat was filling with playful comments.

[Wooo~ Ji-hoon you meanie]

[Ji-hoon’s bullying Gyeoul!!!]

[How dare you treat Gyeoul who gets thousands of viewers when streaming like that;;]

Not a single person was on his side.

But that made sense.

After all, his opponent was the famous Gyeoul.

As Lee Ji-hoon stared at the chat with bewildered eyes, Jo Hyun-bin sent him a whispered message with a chuckle.

[LOL Ji-hoon you really dug yourself into a hole there huh?]

“Hehe…”

Lee Ji-hoon laughed at the playful message.

Well, there was no need to take it too seriously.

Scratching his head, he glanced back at the children.

“King, are you holding hands with Levinas while waiting?”

“Yeah…”

Gyeoul had taken Levinas’s outstretched hand.

Her tail wagged harder and faster, happy from the physical affection with family.

Rattle rattle-

Though Gyeoul was holding her htail with one hand, the unconstrained part still flapped like a fish.

Watching this, Jo Hyun-bin tried to suppress his twitching mouth as he spoke.

“Ahem. But tails don’t only wag when trying to lure someone.”

“R-right. When else do they wag?”

“Well… they also wag when someone’s really happy or excited, right?”

Gyeoul’s back, visible through the broadcast, tensed.

She glanced back then forward again before releasing her held tail.

Then.

Rattle rattle rattle-!

As if releasing pent-up energy, Gyeoul’s tail began wagging uncontrollably.

[LOL]

[Gyeoul is seriously too cute LOL]

[I wish I had a little sister like Gyeoul.]

The chat reactions were positive, and Gyeoul’s tail was wagging again.

This seemed like a good resolution for everyone.

Lee Ji-hoon and Jo Hyun-bin were sharing silent laughs when-

Someone stood up from their seat behind them.

Come to think of it, Gyeoul had been watching that person’s game – who were they?

Lee Ji-hoon glanced back.

It was none other than Kwon Arin, a giant in the streaming world.

Kwon Arin pointed at the broadcast camera.

Then she made a fist and smirked.

“Ah, ahem…”

Kwon Arin, who had meteored to becoming a streaming industry giant.

Lee Ji-hoon could only keep clearing his throat at her appearance.

Yeomyeong PC Bang in Yeomyeong’s neighborhood.

Lee Ji-hoon truly felt why this place was considered holy ground for streamers.

**

Back home, we played VR games in Kwon Arin’s quarters.

This time, Levinas successfully broke the watermelon.

“Wow, Levinas did it.”

“Ahem.”

After finishing the game, Levinas walked around the guild with her chest puffed out for a while.

She seemed really happy about breaking the watermelon.

It made sense to be pleased after succeeding where she’d failed before.

Just watching happy Levinas made my tail wag.

As we bounced around the building interior, I noticed things seemed unusually busy.

There were many unfamiliar faces inside.

‘What’s going on?’

Many people had tense expressions.

Some even had their eyes closed in prayer.

What could be happening?

Looking around, I spotted Sophia standing in the distance.

“Sophia.”

“Yes.”

Sophia’s expressionless face broke into a smile when she saw us.

Her rapidly wagging tail showed she was in a good mood.

“What are you doing here, Sophia?”

“I’m helping with guild recruitment tests.”

“Ah…”

That explained all the unfamiliar faces.

They were recruiting new guild members.

Now I understood why everyone looked so nervous.

“Are you selecting people after today’s test?”

“No, the tests take place over five days. Sacred and Taesan guilds are helping too…”

“Huh?”

They’re getting help from Sacred and Taesan for recruiting our guild members?

Having help from both guilds seemed good rather than bad.

“So will Uncle Taesan and Master Chae Juyeon come too?”

“Actually, we’ll be going to them.”

“Oh… can I come too?”

“You can come along, but always be careful.”

“Okay.”

**

Capability assessment and drug response.

Personality tests and qualification exams.

After two days of various evaluations and tests, we moved to Taesan Guild.

Many adventurers and test supervisors boarded the buses.

“Wow! A forest!”

That’s what greeted us at Taesan Guild’s entrance.

Taesan, being a massive guild, was located in nature rather than the city.

Cars couldn’t enter, so you had to walk quite far up a mountain path.

It truly deserved to be called a mountain village.

“Wow…”

Being in the forest just made me feel good.

I poked around different spots in the forest for no particular reason.

Poke poke-

I used branches to dig in the dirt and just ran along the mountain path without reason.

I wondered if feeling good in nature was because I was beast-kin.

Hehe.

As I climbed the mountain smiling, I noticed something odd about Gaeul beside me.

“Ci… ciii…”

She walked the mountain path with a blank expression, making cicada sounds.

Her twitching ears suggested she was listening to something.

“What are you doing, Gaeul?”

“Ci… ciiii…”

Was she copying some kind of sound?

I tilted my head and tried copying her words.

“Ci… ci… cicada?”

“Yeah. Cicada.”

Ah.

Gaeul had been listening to the forest creatures.

Being deep in the mountains, we could hear cicadas and other wildlife.

“It’s nice being in the mountains, isn’t it Gaeul?”

“Yeah.”

We walked the mountain path like this for about an hour.

Though the path was rough, everyone seemed fine since they were skilled adventurers.

“This test seems easier than expected.”

“Yeah, I heard it would be a torturous mountain climb…”

The adventurers entered Taesan Guild’s main gate leisurely.

When we arrived at Taesan Guild, many of us including myself could only gape.

Muscular men doing squats while holding massive boulders.

Muscular women doing one-armed pull-ups with what looked like incredibly heavy weights attached.

Some were even tossing and catching boulders like playing catch.

“……”

What was this?

I reflexively hid behind Sophia.

I grabbed Saebyeok’s tail with both hands as they slept on Sophia’s back.

Levinas came and hid behind me, with Gaeul hiding at the very back.

“King, this doesn’t seem like a place for children.”

“Y-yeah…”

Their training methods were intense.

Though our guild used heavy weights and metal too, we didn’t do crazy training like throwing boulders back and forth.

“Hahaha! Long time no see everyone! I see some new faces too?!”

Park Taesan, towering head and shoulders above his guild members.

He approached us with a booming laugh.

“Y-yes… it’s been a while.”

“Right! Did you come to take the test too, Gyeoul?!”

“Ah, no… this seems too difficult for me still…”

“Haha! Is that so?!”

Bang bang bang-

Master Park Taesan patted my shoulder.

Surprisingly, it made a loud sound but didn’t hurt.

“Well! You’ve all had enough rest, so let’s start the test?!”

“R-rest…? We just finished climbing the mountain…”

Someone questioned Park Taesan.

He gave them a genuinely confused look.

“Wasn’t that walk enough rest?!”

“W-walk…?”

Both the adventurers and I widened our eyes at the word “walk.”

Though it wasn’t too difficult, it had still been quite a steep mountain path.

People stood dumbfounded at Park Taesan’s incomprehensible words.

After a while, someone who appeared to be a Taesan Guild member appeared behind Park Taesan.

A muscular woman.

“We’ll start with a simple mountain climb.”

Whoosh-

The mana stone in her hand rippled.

Surprisingly, what appeared through the torn space was a portal.

Unlike dungeon portals, you could see through to the other side.

“Oh…”

A massive mountain piercing the clouds.

I unconsciously stepped backward.

This place was too scary.

My body trembled.

“King, does Levinas have to climb that too…?”

“I-I’m not sure…?”

“That’s too cruel for children!”

Maybe I shouldn’t have come along.

I fell to my knees in despair.

Levinas followed suit and lay face-down.

“Huh?”

Only Gaeul, not understanding the situation, stood there with a blank expression.

“Zzz.”

And Saebyeok slept with a peaceful face.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep