My Watch System

"Yip!"The fox's bark snapped Mike out of his thoughts. He turned to look at the colorful creature, and this time, there was no trace of the hatred he had once felt. It was clear that after eating the silver fruit, his perception of the fox had changed dramatically.

Mike saw the fox nudge another silver fruit in his direction before picking up one for herself and starting to eat. She chewed with obvious enjoyment, though she didn't seem as overly excited as Mike had been. But she was clearly relishing the sensation the fruit gave her. Seeing this, Mike wasted no time and grabbed the fruit the fox had pushed toward him, tossing it into his mouth.

GULP!

Once again, Mike was flooded with a sensation of incredible pleasure as the fruit's juice spread through his body. But this time, when the energy from the juice met his own energy, he didn't feel the same ecstatic rush as before. It was still a wonderful feeling, but it wasn't as intense. Perhaps his body had grown accustomed to the effect.

When the feeling finally subsided, Mike didn't hesitate. He sat down next to the fox, who was eating another fruit, and quickly grabbed another one from the ground, popping it into his mouth—his third fruit so far.

Thus, the human and the fox sat side by side, savoring the fruits one after the other, each burst of flavor and energy making the time pass pleasantly.

After almost an hour of eating, the fruits on the ground were all gone. Mike was lying on his back, staring up at the high ceiling of the hall they were in, simply savoring the last remnants of the last fruit he'd eaten. Mike wasn't sure how many fruits he'd consumed, but he knew it was a lot. However, something intrigued him: despite eating so many fruits, he didn't feel full at all. His body was buzzing with energy, but his stomach felt completely empty.

"Yip!"Mike's thoughts were interrupted by the fox's sudden bark right in his ear, causing him to jump to his feet. After all those silver fruits, Mike no longer hated the fox. Though he didn't fully trust her, he no longer felt the constant threat of death hanging over him.

"Yip! Yip!"The fox jumped joyfully, wagging her tail as she barked at Mike. She was clearly not full either. After Mike stood, the fox quickly turned and started running toward the huge pile of treasures in the center of the hall, making Mike feel a sense of unease about what was about to happen.

After receiving the silver fruits from the fox, Mike didn't know what to expect. But seeing her run toward the massive pile of treasures—shiny objects that seemed to be worth more than his own life—made him anxious. He had no idea if these treasures belonged to the fox or someone else. But while he was thinking about the danger of accidentally damaging the treasures, the fox didn't seem to care at all. With a burst of energy, she quickly climbed the treasure mountain, leaping easily to the top.

Mike just stood there, watching in awe. Even though he knew the fox could fly, this was the first time he saw her leap so effortlessly through the air, as the last time she had carried him on her back.

"Yip!"The fox barked from the top of the treasure pile, looking down at Mike with excitement in her eyes. Mike stood frozen, not knowing what to make of the situation. He had no idea what the fox's intentions were, but he knew there was no way he could follow her up there. However, what happened next was the last thing he expected.

THUD!

The fox, noticing Mike wasn't climbing up after her, seemed somewhat displeased. With a flick of her tail, she struck one of the objects at the top of the pile, sending it flying straight toward Mike.

"Ahh! What are you doing?!"Mike panicked as he saw the object—shaped like a watch, black and red—hurtling toward him. At that moment, his only thought was to catch it without letting it crash into the rest of the treasures.

TING!

Mike caught the watch, the metallic sound echoing through the air. The thought of how much damage he could have caused to the treasures made him shiver. Still, he was relieved he'd managed to catch it. But as he held it, he noticed something strange: the watch clicked into place on his wrist.

TING!

The sound rang out again as the watch snapped onto his wrist. Mike panicked and immediately began pulling at it, trying to get it off. He even tried using a stone to pry it off, but it wouldn't budge. Frustrated, he sat down, groaning in confusion.

"Damn, what is this watch?" he muttered to himself. After staring at it for a while, he touched it again.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in his head, startling him.

[Ding! User detected… Beginning user compatibility evaluation with the system...]

"Huh?" Mike blinked, looking around frantically. Where was that voice coming from? The voice continued.

[Ding! Evaluation complete! The user is 100% compatible with the system! Welcome!]

A surge of strange energy poured into Mike's body. It started in his arms and rapidly spread through his entire body—his chest, his stomach, his legs, down to his feet, then back up. It flowed through his legs, stomach, chest, arms, neck, and finally to his head.

"Ahhhhhhh!"The pain was unbearable as the energy reached his head. The intensity was so much that Mike lost consciousness and collapsed, face-first, into the pile of treasures.

"Mike!" The fox barked at Mike's unconscious body. A feminine voice soon shouted his name, snapping him out of his daze. "Mike, are you okay?"

Dazed and confused, Mike muttered, "Yes," as he looked up at the fox. "Wait, I can understand you now?" he exclaimed in shock.

"Finally, we can talk. Let me introduce myself. I'm Kitsune, but you can call me Kit." The fox smirked at him.

"P-pleasure… I'm Mike," he stammered, still a little dazed.

"Hahaha, I already know, idiot," Kit replied with a teasing tone.

"Hey, you damn fox! What's going on? Explain everything to me now," Mike demanded, his confusion boiling over.

"Calm down, Mike, I'll explain everything," the fox said, a playful smile on her face. "What you're wearing right now is a very ancient artifact, designed to enhance your abilities. As you've probably noticed, it has some extra benefits, like allowing you to understand me."

"Proud fox, and what abilities do I gain?" Mike asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, that depends on you, kid. The more monsters and animals you defeat, the more attacks and magic you'll be able to copy and use to your advantage." Kit continued, rummaging through the treasure pile, seemingly indifferent to the conversation.

Mike went silent, thinking. With this watch, I can finally get out of this forest and continue my mission. But Kit wasn't finished.

"But with all that power, you've made a lot of enemies. Everyone in the royal family will want that watch, and seeing someone like you, without a surname, using it? They'll be furious."

Mike looked thoughtful, but then his expression hardened. "It doesn't matter. I'll take them all down and find my brother. They'll see."

Kit grinned at him, clearly entertained by his determination. "For that, you'll need some training. I can help with that."

"Seriously? That would be a huge help." Mike was relieved, but Kit's next words made him wary.

"Of course, but everything comes with a price. You'll find out about that later," she said with a laugh. "Now, hold on to me. We're going back to the forest."

The fox started to glow brightly, and in an instant, they were both teleported.

BOOM!

They appeared in the forest once more. Mike, still in disbelief, asked, "How can you teleport like that? Why didn't you just make us fly on that damn bird?"

Kit laughed, clearly enjoying his confusion. "Because I love seeing you scared. Hahaha!"

"One day, I'm going to kill you," Mike muttered, but Kit just grinned.

"For that, you'll need to get at least three times stronger," she said with a teasing tone.

"Alright, let's start the training," Mike said, his resolve firm.

"Oh, and one more thing," Kit added, her eyes gleaming. "In addition to defeating your enemies, you can also form alliances and gain their abilities."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "You mean… you'll use your human form?"

Without warning, the fox transformed into a young woman, around Mike's age, with half of her hair blue and the other half red. She was stunning.

"Y-You have a human form?!" Mike stuttered, his face turning bright red.

"Yes, I do," Kit said with a mischievous grin, leaning closer. "And it looks like you really like it, huh?"

Flustered, Mike tried to back away but ended up tripping and falling straight into the stream, soaking himself completely. Kit burst into laughter. while Mike cursed.