Chapter 27: To the Royal Capital! ○
After a hard-fought battle, I managed to defeat the Phantom Tiger and returned to the 20th floor after about ten days. The monsters that appear around here are B to B+ rank. As long as I’m not attacked during evolution, I should be fine. Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any flying monsters on this floor, so I’ll make a nest on the ceiling in a slightly open area using Earth Magic and evolve there.
I explored the 20th floor and found a hollow that was hard to see from below. I decided to create a wall with Earth Magic and evolve inside it.
(Now then, I wonder what the next evolution will be like?)
□Please select your next evolution
・Killer Dog
・Killer Cat
・Killer Fox
・Battle Horse
・Fang Wolf
Oh!? It seems like the insect line ends here. The next evolutions all seem to be animal-type monsters! If I choose well, I might be able to enter a town.
From the perspective of not being suspicious when entering a town, the Killer Fox and Fang Wolf are out of the question. Foxes and wolves don’t have a good image for humans. The Battle Horse is also a bit of a no-go. I might end up pulling a carriage. That leaves me with the choice between Killer Dog and Killer Cat.
Alright, I’ve always admired the carefree life of a cat, so let’s go with Killer Cat. As I selected Killer Cat and focused my thoughts, my body was enveloped in light…
Race: Killer Cat (Variant)
Name: None
Rank: D
Level: 1
HP: 224/224
MP: 422/422
Attack Power: 262
Defense Power: 258
Magic Attack Power: 407
Magic Defense Power: 403
Agility: 244
Skills
Special Evolution
Language Comprehension
Chant Annulment
Night Vision New!
Item Box Lv20
Appraisal Lv20
Thought Acceleration Lv21
Life Detection Lv21
Magic Detection Lv21
Hostile Detection Lv20
Danger Detection Lv17
Auto HP Recovery Lv18
Mana Auto-Recovery Lv21
Light Magic Lv19
Water Magic Lv23
Wind Magic Lv12
Earth Magic Lv12
Lightning Magic Lv15
Space-Time Magic Lv10
Gravity Magic Lv10
Poison Generation Lv18
Paralysis Poison Generation Lv14
Sleep Poison Generation Lv14
Confusion Poison Generation Lv14
Pain Resistance Lv15
Poison Resistance Lv18
Paralysis Resistance Lv14
Sleep Resistance Lv14
Confusion Resistance Lv14
Bewitchment Resistance Lv10
Water Resistance Lv13
Wind Resistance Lv13 New!
Earth Resistance Lv13 New!
Lightning Resistance Lv13
Miasma Lv13
Hardening Lv12
Lightning Cloak Lv15
Titles
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Assassin
Kin Slayer
As the light subsided, I created a water mirror with Water Magic to check my appearance. Reflected there was a cat resembling an American Shorthair, with light gray fur and black stripes.
(This is good! It’s super cute! The two fangs are a bit long, but that’s acceptable. The Killer Cats I’ve seen before were bigger and had brown fur, so it must be because I’m a variant?)
My body length is about 30cm. It’s a bit bigger than a kitten, but I shouldn’t be mistaken for a monster. My stats have carried over nicely, so I can continue to focus on magic. Also, perhaps due to the Killer Cat’s characteristics, my initial agility is very high. Even though my rank has gone down, my overall strength might be higher than the Thunder Beetle.
Next is checking my skills. The new ones are Night Vision and Wind and Earth Resistance. Night Vision is probably a skill of the Killer Cat. I don’t know why I got Wind and Earth Resistance at this time, but it’s probably linked to the magic skills I already have.
And the skills that disappeared are… Flight. It can’t be helped since I don’t have wings anymore, but it’s a shame that I can’t fly.
And then there’s magic…!? Gravity Magic and Space-Time Magic are at Lv10!! I couldn’t level them up because I didn’t have the 5th tier magic for either, but they finally reached 10 after increasing by 1 with each evolution.
Let’s see, the 4th tier of Gravity Magic is “Heavy”. It’s a magic that increases gravity in a certain area. The range and gravity increase with each level.
The 4th tier of Space-Time Magic is “Slow”. This magic slows down the flow of time in a certain area. At first glance, it looks like a debuff magic to apply to enemies, but since it’s Space-Time Magic, it can slow down movement regardless of the opponent’s resistance. With this magic, I could have defeated the Phantom Tiger much more easily.
Alright, now that I’ve checked everything, I think I’ll level up a bit. I’ll level up to about 30 here, and then start my long-awaited life in town. I won’t be able to survive on tree sap alone with this body, so I need to find a way to get food quickly.
Based on my species, it seems like I should just eat the monsters I defeat, but I don’t think I can do that. I need to find a way to get cooked food somehow…
I spent about three days leveling up to level 30 on the 20th floor, and then hurried towards the exit. I had been licking the tree sap left in my Item Box, but it was starting to run out. If I don’t eat something soon, my body and mind won’t hold up. Using my increased agility and Gravity and Space-Time Magic, I left the monsters behind and rushed to the exit.
The journey that took about seven days to descend, I covered in three days. It was good that I remembered the stairs on each floor. The entrance that was so difficult to enter was easy to exit. I just walked behind an Adventurer like a familiar, and I was able to get out easily. As expected of a cat. Everyone’s guard is down.
After leaving the Gates of Heaven, I declared in my heart, “I’ll come back and conquer it someday!” and headed east towards the Royal Capital. Along the way, I ate fruits from trees to stave off my hunger and sped towards the Royal Capital. After two days, I arrived at the Royal Capital and managed to sneak in by hiding in a merchant’s luggage.
What jumped into my eyes as I passed through the gate into the Royal Capital was people, people, people. Lots of people and buildings. Furthermore, the unique noise of the city entered my ears, and the delicious smell of something like grilled meat entered my nose. Even though it’s the Royal Capital, I was able to sneak in so easily. I worry that if a monster of a similar size could do the same. It’s my first time in the Royal Capital, but as I was thinking about such things calmly, my small stomach growled.
(First, I need to do something about food.)
I walked towards the area where the delicious smells were coming from.
After walking for a few minutes from the main gate, I arrived at a street lined with restaurants. Of course, I can’t enter the store from the front, so I use my small and agile body to look around the back entrances. Unlike the rural villages, there are no edible vegetables or fruits lying around, but I could see what looked like trash cans for throwing away leftovers behind the stores. The problem is whether I have the courage to rummage through them…
(That’s a bit much…)
I don’t know if I could do it if it was a matter of life or death, but it’s a bit difficult to do while I’m so conscious. As I was staring at the trash can filled with leftovers, the back door suddenly opened and a man who looked like a cook came out.
“Oh my, a stray cat? I haven’t seen your face around here before. And you have such a nice coat.”
(Crap. I was too focused on the leftovers and forgot to use Life Detection.)
“Meow~”
For now, I tried meowing to avoid being discovered as a monster. As I meowed, I realized that this was the first word I had spoken in this world. I haven’t been able to make a sound until now. But my first word is “Meow~”…
“Well now, are you hungry? Wait a moment.”
The chubby man, who looked good in his white apron, went back into the store, oblivious to my inner turmoil.
(Still, how did that person know I was hungry?)
A few minutes later, the man came out with a small plate piled high with grilled meat.
“Maybe a cat would have preferred fish, but the restaurant I work at is a yakiniku restaurant. We only have Orc meat. Here you go.”
No, no, I’ve always preferred meat over fish. I’ll gladly take it!
(Oh! I’ve never eaten this kind of meat before, but it’s delicious! To treat a stray cat he just met to such good meat, what a nice person!)
I forgot all about being cautious and became engrossed in my first proper meal since coming to this world.
“Hey, Ochcho! You’re giving away the store’s meat to stray cats again! I’m deducting it from your salary!”
As I was engrossed in eating the meat, a stern-looking old man poked his head out of the back door and scolded the chubby man.
“Come back here again when you’re hungry!”