It was already evening when I finally stepped into the dorm building. The place was split into three separate buildings, each for a different rank group.
Lucky me—I ended up in the second one.
"Man, I swear Leaf can be quite a handful sometimes."
He'd spent hours lecturing me on how to take care of a familiar—everything from feeding schedules to keeping them at the right temperature. I couldn't escape fast enough; three hours later, I finally ran.
"Haaaah… finally… I can rest."
As I walked toward the elevator, I realized something.
"Wait…I have no idea which room is mine."
Let's ask the receptionist.
I headed to the front desk, passing students going about their evening—some finishing training, some buying food, even a few asleep in chairs.
"This place feels more alive than I thought."
I always assumed NPCs would loop through the same routine endlessly, but apparently, they had their own lives, their own stories—things a player rarely noticed.
At the desk, the attendant didn't even glance up, scrolling through her phone without a smile.
"Umm… miss, can I ask something?"
Nothing.
"Miss! Can I ask something?" Still nothing.
Another student walked up.
"Miss, where's the ball court?"
She finally looked up, explained the directions, then went back to her phone.
"…And after turning left, you'll arrive at the ball court," she said.
"Thanks."
I tried a few more times—louder this time, sharper. Still nothing.
What the hell—was she ignoring me on purpose?
"Fuck it," I muttered.
Just as I reached out to nudge her, a voice cut in.
"Miss, this guy's been calling you since earlier. Don't just ignore him."
The voice was cold, commanding, like one of those calm, cold characters in an anime. I turned and saw him: soft blue hair, glasses, a tall frame, eyes sharp and observing. His presence immediately drew attention.
…Tendou Hajime.
No wonder she listened.
The attendant jumped, apologized repeatedly.
"I'm very sorry!"
"It's okay," I said, a little stunned.
He nodded slightly, then turned and left.
"W-wait, thanks for helping," I called.
"It's alright," he said, with a faint smile on his lips.
Still the same as ever.
"So—what can I help you with?"
"...Right! Umm... Which room was I assigned to? Name's Kylen Noor Rank 237."
"...Kylen...Noor. Found it. Your room is on the third floor, room 41."
"Thanks."
"No problem. I'm really sorry—I didn't mean to ignore you."
"It's alright."
◆
"Floor 3 room 41...There it is."
[3-41]
I swiped the room card, and the door unlocked with a tired little beep.
The dorm room wasn't fancy—two beds, a window facing a wall, and furniture that looked like it came straight out of a minimalist prison catalog.
And on one of the beds, already halfway unpacked, was my new roommate.
He looked up as I entered.
…And I froze for a second.
He was on the shorter side, about the height of a girl, with black hair and somewhat purple eyes.
"…Kim Ji-Hyun, right?"
"Yes, that's me. And you're Kylen Noor…" He examined me from head to toe.
"…Nice to meet you. I like your haircut, by the way." He said as he shook my hand with a forced smile.
"Yeah…"
I turned to my bed and saw that all of my stuff was already organized, as if I had been living here for some time.
"Oh yeah, Kylen, you've lived here for a week, right? I'd be grateful if you could help me with everything I need to know."
So I did live here already.
…Or rather, Jake did.
I guess that lines up with his storyline.
"Sure. I'm sure it's not hard," I lied.
Sorry to disappoint you, Kim Ji-Hyun, but this is the first time I've ever been here.
"Almost forgot."
"What?" Kim Ji-Hyun asked, startled.
"I need to feed my familiar."
"Hm… okay, you do that. I'll unpack my stuff."
I sat at my table and pulled out the bag that Leaf had given me.
As I opened the bag, a weird smell instantly hit my nose.
"…ugh."
I laid everything out one by one. Then suddenly, my hand brushed against something long and cold. It felt silky—no, scaly.
The moment I pulled it out—
"…S-SNAKE—!"
I jumped back, nearly knocking over the chair as the lifeless body of the snake hit the floor.
Ji-Hyun sighed and picked it up without any hesitation.
"If you're already this scared of something this small, you can say goodbye to your gate exploration."
"Why would Professor Leaf give me this as familiar food anyway?"
"It seems this is your first time handling a familiar," he said calmly. "Some of them need to eat corpses instead of processed food. This is normal."
"…I see."
I looked back at the rest of the food. Pet food, a piece of apple, raw meat, and a mana marble.
"Totally normal... I guess?"
"Well, I think you can handle it from here. Or do you want me to spoon-feed your familiar too?" he said mockingly.
"I can take it from here."
"If you say so."
I pulled the black goo out of my jacket and placed it on the table.
"Well, eat whatever you like."
The goo seemed hesitant. It touched the surface of the food, then pulled back, circling around it once before stopping.
Then, in one smooth motion, it stretched its body over the food and swallowed all four pieces at once.
"So you can eat all types of food, huh?"
"That's amazing, Kylen. By the way, what's his name?"
"Name? Oh yeah, I didn't give it one yet."
Back when I played AO, I always let my fans decide my familiar's name through chat. I never once thought about naming it myself.
A name, huh?
The image of it swallowing everything in one motion came to mind.
"…Swallow. Yeah, its name is Swallow."
"Pardon? His name is Swallow, you say?"
"Yes."
Ji-Hyun looked at me, clearly disappointed. His face practically said, this guy's naming sense is terrible.
"What's with that face? Do you have a problem with his name?"
"N-no, it's great!"
Ji-Hyun looked at Swallow for a few seconds before reaching out to touch it. The moment his finger got close, Swallow shifted slightly, avoiding him.
"I've never seen a slime familiar act like this," he said with a faint smile.
"You know a lot about familiars, huh?"
"Well, of course. My family has a—" He stopped mid-sentence. "…You know what, just forget it."
He turned away and continued unpacking his things.
"…Weird," I muttered.
I forgot to feed it the snake.
I picked it up by the tail and held it out. Swallow immediately pulled it from my hand and submerged it into its body.
[You have completed all the requirements for the hidden quest "First Step to Raise a Familiar"]
There's a hidden quest?!
There were hidden quests in AO, but you needed specific conditions to even trigger one.
And now you're saying I accidentally completed one?
…That's just too convenient.
—————
[First Step to Raise a Familiar]
+ Giving a name to your familiar ☒
+ Giving it a corpse ☒
---
You have unlocked Swallow's first skill:
└ [Polymorph] Lvl. 1
—————
[Swallow's level has increased to Level 2]
I stared blankly at the panel.
I had never heard of a quest like this before, or a familiar skill called polymorph.
I'll admit it—today was strange. Everything was happening too smoothly. Becoming friends with a main character on the first day was already weird.
And now I had summoned an unknown familiar with a skill no one had ever heard of.
"…Kylen?"
I snapped out of it when Kim Ji-Hyun suddenly touched my shoulder. His expression was filled with concern.
"What is it, Kim Ji-Hyun?"
"Just call me Ji-Hyun. Hey, if you're done feeding your familiar, let's go eat together."
My stomach growled the moment he mentioned food. I glanced at Swallow and saw its small body slowly breaking down the snake's corpse.
Nothing will happen if I leave it alone, right?
"Sure, let's go."
We left Swallow in the room and headed toward the cafeteria, not knowing what it would do on its own.
◆
Swallow finishes breaking down the snake's body shortly after they leave.
But now, something has changed.
Not intelligence—at least not yet—but awareness. A thin layer of perception that separates "self" from "surroundings."
It can recognize space now.
And it is hungry.
Outside the dorm room, something hits the window with a dull thud. A bird crashes into the glass and drops onto the balcony.
Swallow reacts immediately.
It senses it—the presence of something dead.
Using the elasticity of its body, it launches itself at the window.
The dead bird lies just beyond the glass.
It moves toward the window, pressing its body against the glass. Its form stretches thin, flattening as it tries to pass through the barrier.
But the glass does not yield.
It pauses.
For the first time, there is hesitation—not emotion, but the processing of an obstacle.
Its body retracts slightly, then presses again. Harder this time. The surface does not break.
The bird remains outside.
Something in it shifts. If it cannot pass through—then it will become something that can.
Its body twists.
Not randomly, but guided by imitation. It recalls the earlier shape it has consumed. A structure that can cut, pierce, and split.
Its form condenses, tightening along a spine-like axis.
A snake.
The transformation is incomplete at first—unstable, experimental—but functional enough.
Swallow strikes. A fang-like extension scrapes against the glass. Once. Twice. A fracture appears.
It widens.
The glass gives way just enough. Swallow reverts partially, slipping through the opening before the structure collapses back into fluid motion.
On the balcony, the bird lies still.
Swallow reaches it without hesitation.
It consumes it the same way it has consumed the snake—without preference, without hesitation, only completion.
And as it does—
Something inside it stabilizes.
Kylen has yet to realize it.
For what Swallow soon will become.
To be continued.