Wow…? (1)

Chapter 21: Wow…? (1)

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A super intriguing loot was dropped by the final boss of the Ice Elf dungeon. Remember that shining golden fruit that my eyes brushed past?

[•Fruit of the God Tree (lowest-rank): A fruit ripened in the God Tree worshipped by Ice Elves.

Being at the lowest rank, this only has a few aptitudes it can grant! Currently, it can boost the eater's life essence, expand their mana pool, and heighten their general senses. If used on a beast – along with the previous benefits, there is a high chance for the said beast to evolve and become a Divine Beast!]

A very interesting item that can help me tremendously.

I have heard about the God Tree of the Elves, they are pretty common in every fantasy novel that includes Elves within it. It is said the fruit of this God tree can give many miraculous powers, which appears to have been true.

To start with, if I eat the fruit – by improving my life essence, I can live at least as long as the Elves (assuming from the fact that this item did drop from an actual Elf). Other than that, the general sense boost is a good power-up too.

Overall, this should be a great item. The system even said this is so rare that I might not even find something similar in any of the dungeons in Japan. Sadly, my level was too low at the time of conquering the dungeon, so the fruit is of the lowest ranking.

Back to the point,

Even with all these benefits, I shouldn't eat this fruit. That would be too much of a waste.

Suppose I did get a boost at my lifespan, how would that matter if Gods come to hunt me in more or less 20 years? That's a pointless powerup if I get killed by them.

Secondly, the other benefit, "the item would boost the mana pool of the user-" is fucking useless for me. I don't actually believe this thing would be able to bypass the curse of that Primordial God.

The only benefit is the sense boost, but honestly? It's not worth it.

The best thing to do would be to give this to someone I trust, instead. The first name that came to my mind was Nejire. By having a life essence like Elves, which may even give the eater a body like Elves too, Nejire would get tremendous help in her quirk. Heck, if she gets her mana pool expanded thus unlocking mana, I might even be able to make her learn magic.

But, again, honestly? While that was good, that would still not be the greatest use of the fruit. The greatest use of the fruit would be to use it and get a Divine Beast through it!

So! Believe it or not, there is another reason behind the adoption of a stray cat other than Kurai being a complete cutie.

I was planning to beg Dad to buy me a Lion or a Tiger, then use the fruit on it. Maybe I could have gotten a White Tiger as my pet? Would have been nice, but–

–But after meeting Kurai, I asked the system to confirm my suspicion .

[Ding! As long as the creature you're using the fruit of belongs to the Feline family, even a cat can become a White Tiger. That's not an issue. Same goes with the Canidae family.

So it doesn't matter which beast Master chooses, in the end, if you win the lottery, the beast would get stronger regardless.]

The idea of having a lion is cool, but a cat isn't bad either. More so, cats are cute.

Anyway, the whole point is – I need to grind for a while and increase my LUCK stat. Since the 'chance' of evolution is purely based on luck.

“Y- young master, we are here…”

Hearing Kimi’s call, I turned my head towards the window and knocked on it twice causing the sheet of bullet-proof glass to slowly roll down.

As soon as that happened, wind touched my skin as the smell of the sea entered my nostrils. My body felt relaxed while I was almost starting to get used to it.

My eyes got to see one of the most beautiful sceneries I have ever experienced in this journey, the torii gate 'floating' on the sea of Itsukushima island. The ominous purple light coming out of it indicated the existence of the dungeon.

Yes, today I am here. At the Island Shrine of Itsukushima.

Has it been 6 months since I started this journey? I think it’s a little beyond that.

So this would be my 75th dungeon if I recall right.

I believe the monsters in this dungeon would be "Kappa" based on the surroundings…

Yes, monsters within the dungeons are based on where it's located in the outside world. Following that fact, I might get to meet Vampires if I ever go to Rome’s Transylvania… a thing to consider.

Ah, I am getting distracted. "Kimi, drive to the hotel."

Let the night come. The greatest time for a proper hunt is always under the veil of the darkness.

«[—|Another 6 Months Later|—]»

It's been 1 year since Neji left in his quest to become strong.

Things have been going fine lately, with a few minor problems here and there. Most of the dungeons are easy to hunt except for the ones that are below rank 100. Fortunately, among the 140 dungeons Neji has gone to, among them only 13 dungeons were life-threateningly hard.

"`Mewaha! Meow! Papa Stowp!`"

Currently, Neji was in a penthouse owned by Gara in the city of Osaka. He was in the swimming pool located on the balcony, a foam of soap in his hands that he was using to aggressively wash the black kitten struggling on his hands.

The black collar around the cat's neck came off under the constant rubbing as it started meowing like a regular cat.

"Miaw! Meow!~! Gyagh!"

The cat struggled, feeling water hitting its skin as Neji's hands washed its body swiftly.

"Kurai, calm down. It's getting hard for me."

Neji shook his head while his hands moved. "You haven't bathed in a month, you need to bear with it."

"Miaw~!?"

The cat, Kurai, meowed just like any regular cat. Suddenly, as Neji's hands rubbed under her chin her body stilled as she screeched loudly.

"I am almost done. Calm down."

Strength left Kurai's body as she was rendered defenceless against Neji's hands.

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"`Miaw~, Papa is so wicked! Kurai didn't want to bathe yet.`"

Neji shook his head 'hearing' the black cat talking in her childish voice. He loosened the black collar that he had taken off during the bath around Kurai's neck as she moved her neck to get used to it.

"Seriously, you used to stink. A bath was a must." Neji said while drying Kurai's tail using a hairdryer.

"`K- Kurai used to stink?!`" The black cat looked at Neji with her golden eyes filled with disbelief. "`Are you tewlling the truth? B- but mommy used to hug me tight… she wouldn't have done that if Kurai stunk.`"

"Because mommy is dirty too, you see." Neji shot her a look. "Also, didn't I ask you to not call her Mommy? Call her 'Witch' instead."

He stared at her eyes but she just hesitantly looked the other way.

Neji deadpanned and shook his head.

Putting the hairdryer away, he picked up Kurai and nudged her cheeks with his. "Anyway, do you remember what day it is?"

"`Yes! Yes, I know!`" Kurai rubbed her cheeks with Neji. "`It's Kurai's birthday!`"

The first time Neji met Kurai, her age was 10 days. So it wasn't that hard to find her actual birth date based on that.

Neji laughed, feeling the soft fur against his cheek. "I have a gift for you, you know that right?"

Kurai's golden eyes flickered. "`Ah, Kurai almost forgot! I am looking forward to it!`"

Neji left the balcony and walked inside the penthouse.

Reaching the bed, he closed his eyes. Tiny shockwaves came out of his eardrums and went around him in a circular shape, creating barely audible sounds as they went through walls.

'Kimi is asleep.' Neji realised using his version of <Echolocation>.

Last night, he forced her to eat some sleeping pills. He needed her to sleep since Kurai might cause a scene after receiving her 'gift'.

"`Papa! Papa! Where is Kurai's giwft??`"

Putting the little kitten on the bed, Neji went down on his knees to the floor.

Neji smiled at her question. "It's here, it’s here. But first – it's the daily magic time!"

After blinking twice, realising she is going to see more of her papa's magic, Kurai cheered.

"`Yay!`"

After a soft chuckle, Neji smiled a cheeky grin as he opened his inventory with a mental command. He then drove his hand forward, it vanished as it went inside the inventory.

It looked as if his arm was suddenly cut in the middle from Kurai's perspective. Her eyes shined as her ears twitched.

Soon, following her gaze, Neji drew his hand backwards, thus his hand slowly growing back, as a golden apple-looking fruit found its place in his hand.

Neji winked at her. "Tada! A fruit for you to eat!"

The light in Kurai's eyes visibly vanished.

"`That's… Kurai's gift?`"

"Hey! It's not just a shining apple, it has more to it!" Neji patted her head while rubbing her under-chin with his fingers. "Try eating it, you'll see."

Neji placed the fruit on the bed as Kurai stared at the fruit for a second before nodding dejectedly. "`Alright, fine.`"

Neji stared at her as she went to consume the fruit while multiple thoughts came to his mind.

«—(★)—»

[Telepathic Collar: A collar that lets an animal talk to the person who wrapped it around its neck via telepathy.]

A useful item I got from a Yokai dungeon. Not really worth it if I consider the fact that I had to kill multiple fox-girl Yokai for this.

At least they were mindless beasts. So it doesn't matter in the end.

This is what Kurai is using to talk to me. I guess it works? I don't really need her to talk to others, at least not to Kimi.

I watched as Kurai took the first bite of the fruit and immediately blinked twice. The next moment, as if the fruit was the most delicious thing in the entire world, she forgot about me and started to devour it completely.

I guess God Fruit tastes good?

Unfortunately, as the system had said — only one person can eat the fruit. Cutting it into half wouldn't work, or I would have done that. Sad.

I waited for her to finish eating so I grabbed a chair, turning it the other way, and sat on it opposite to how a person normally sits. With my hands resting on the top, I observed Kurai.

Hope she doesn't die.

"~Nom nom nom~"

Kurai soon finished eating the fruit with shining eyes; she then turned to me and meowed while a golden trail of light left her gaze.

"`Papa! That was delicious!`"

After narrowing my eyes at the golden trail, I chuckled at her. "Right? See, papa never disappoints."

"`Yesh!`"

I then stood up from the chair and prepared to walk closer to her, while asking:

"Do you feel any difference?"

To my question, she tilted her head.

"`Other than the sweet taste in Kurai's mouth, there is nothing note worth–`"

My 'Intuition' sub-skill rang out loud in my head as I crossed my arms in front of me.

Kurai's body glowed red while a red bolt of fire left his open mouth and rushed towards me.

Even with my crossed arms, I was hit and thrown back, hitting the wall; feeling a sharp pain.

"Ouch-!"

[-50 HP!]

I fell face-first after the initial impact.

"`P- Papa?`"

I heard her voice and looked up. Kurai was getting up from the bed to reach me. But unexpectedly, she tripped on her paw and fell face-first on the floor from the bed.

"`Aw…`"

Kurai moaned and looked up at me, her golden eyes started to release a red light while her body started to wiggle.

"Meaw–" Her eyelids quivered as she looked at me with her gaze filled with panic. "Papa-" she stopped midway as her eyes turned completely red, her teeth growing as she roared at me. "Rawr!"

A red shockwave was released from her roar, hitting me hard. Fortunately, because of my quirk, I have a strong resistance against shockwaves. So I wasn't knocked out.

But looking ahead, at Kurai whose head wiggled and fell on the floor as if it was noodles, I sighed.

"A success, I guess."

<Observe>!

[Status—

Nameless Wild Cat → Kurai

Race: Bombay Cat → Nergal

Age: 10 days → 1 year

Tier: 1 → 2

State: Brimming with Mana.]

The status that I saw the first time when I met her came along with the status she possessed right now.

Immediately after that, as a red aura jumped out of Kurai's unconscious body and vanished the next second, countless notifications started to fill my retina.

[Ding! The evolution has been a success!]

["Kurai, the Bombay Cat" evolves and becomes a "Nergal"!]

[Master is warned to prepare his mind for the backlash Kurai would go through!]

"..."

A quick google search showed me,

"Well–"

Nergal is not a race. Instead, it's an individual's – more precisely, it's the name of a God.

The Mesopotamian God of Death, Pestilence, Plague, and Sun – who holds the title, Lord of the Underworld. Nergal is the Cat Deity.

"It's a wonder why the system considers "Nergal" as a race," I asked with a cheeky smile on my face. "Though I have no intention to peek at the gift horse's mouth."

I have hit a jackpot.

[Luck plays a HUGE role! You have used all your lucky encounters for this year!]

Worth it!

What can possibly happen if I have a God of Death as my fucking pet?

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Unfortunately… At that time, if only I knew what the "backlash" would be...

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Author's Note:

Well, my exams are going to start in a day. Updates would be a bit late.

Though – ahem – if you can't wait for more chapters, visit my patreon.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/Master4thWall