Recently, Bell Cranel had felt as though he was being watched every time he left the church that housed the Hestia Familia. Some days it wasn't there, but other days he could swear he felt a set of eyes watching him from somewhere. Or maybe I'm just getting paranoid after Lili and I almost died in the Dungeon?
Shaking his head, Bell continued to walk along Main Street. It's probably just my imagination. I should just hurry up and get to the Dungeon before I make Lili wait for too long. Maybe I'll even be able to level up to Level 2 today!
— Line break - POV: Daniel —
Unbeknownst to the fourteen-year old, the gaze belonged to a small white form currently flopped on top of a small wooden shrine built atop a cart. The words "Cat God's Shrine" were emblazoned atop the structure, decorated with small tassels and a bell. There goes the protagonist again, huh.
A month had passed since his reincarnation into this world, and it only took a few hours to realize what world he was in: DanMachi, an adventure-harem series he vaguely recalled watching a few years back. If the giant tower wasn't a dead giveaway, then it was the fact that his neighbours one block down the street were the strangely-busty "Goddess of Purity" Hestia and the red-eyed white-haired boy, Bell. What a diligent guy, always getting up at 6am.
Daniel yawned again. As for why he was up at 6am? Well, napping sporadically throughout each day for an entire month will do that to a guy- er, cat. And Daniel had fully embraced this lifestyle - for thirty days, he had spent almost sixteen hours asleep each day. For sustenance, he relied on the suspiciously-colorful "Catfruit" that appeared within the Shrine every morning, and for cleaning, he simply walked into the nearest bath house. Despite a few weird looks, no one gave a damn about a cat taking a shower. Heck, the owner even tried promoting his establishment with stories of "The Pristine Cat," a pure white cat who bathed exclusively at his bath house.
…although, why everyone was entirely accepting of Daniel's form as that of a cat, even Daniel was unsure. After all, with his rotund form that lacked a neck and a tail twice the length of all his limbs, he really wasn't sure if he could be considered a "cat" anymore. Hell, he'd even seen a few real cats roaming the streets.
But that doesn't really matter, does it? This is the life I've dreamed of. The life of doing absolutely fuck-all every day. I can nap on a roof to soak up sun, and nap in the Shrine when it gets cold. I get free food every day, and it actually tastes pretty good, despite the neon colors. It's everything I've ever wanted.
…
…
…
Fuck, I'm bored out of my mind.
"It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man." A quote from some old dead guy who was probably somewhat important to Daniel's home country. Daniel himself had always thought that the man who said such a thing must have been shocked one too many times in the head, but now he saw a hint of truth in his words.
Tch. If I were human, maybe I could go try fighting in the Dungeon. But what's a cat supposed to do? I don't even know what type of cat Cat God turned me into, dammit!
"You know, you can totally still fight, right?"
"MEOW!?" (What the fuck?!)
Daniel jumped up, his tail stiffening as he whirled around to face a small ball of void emanating familiar blue tendrils of power. Two red eyes dotted the inside of the void, somehow vaguely amused.
"Meow??" (Cat God? Why are you here??)
"I just remembered I forgot to explain how my blessing wor- uh, I mean, I just came to check up on you!"
"...mew." (I'll pretend I didn't hear that first part.)
"Thanks, dude. Anyway, you know how this world works, right? Falna, godly blessings, dungeon full of monster XP? I already applied a Falna for you, so all you need is a good reflective surface. Oh, and I'll throw in a special bonus the first time you summon me again. That's all. Tootles!"
And with that, the small ball of void seemed to suck itself into nonexistence, leaving Daniel somewhat confused. I guess I'll go find something shiny, then.
— Line break - POV: Daniel —
Holy fuck.
Daniel stared dumbly at the surface of the lake, where a lengthy description had appeared in the water's reflection.
— Status Start —
[Name] Daniel
[Level] 1
[STR] I0 [VIT] I0 [DEX] I0 [AGI] I0 [MAG] I0
[WALLET] 0/1000
[XP] 0/10,000
[Development Abilities] None
[Magic]
Cat God's Blessing - Cat Capsules
Once a week, sacrifice magic stones to Cat God and receive a choice of Rare Cat Capsules or [Wallet] value in return. Cat Capsules will grant one cat unit each. Chant: "O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis, semper crescis aut decrescis!"Cats obtained through cat capsules can be summoned by spending [Wallet] value. A maximum of 30 Basic/Special/Rare cats, 15 Super Rare cats, 4 Uber Rare cats, and 1 Legend Rare cat can be present at one time. The level of each summoned cat can be increased by investing XP. Chantless.
"The rate-up banner? Uh… I'll just make it permanently Superfest."
Cat God's Blessing - Indwelling (Inactive)
You may fuse your soul to a cat, permanently gaining the ability to utilize any of their powers as your own. Chant: "I offer you a pact, such that this vessel may be filled with your divinity. I sunder my soul, such that you may become my other half. Hear me, heed me, oh being of limitless potential!"
"Fair warning, I'd wait til you're at least Level 2 to try this."
[Skills]
Cat God's Blessing - Study Power
Excelia is automatically converted to XP, which can be converted at will to add +100 in all stats in yourself or summoned units. XP needed for increase while Level 1 is 500 +500x, where x=number of previous status increases while Level 1.
"UPGRADE ALL THE CATS!!!"
Cat God's Blessing - Humanity Catified
Your genetic code has been optimized, allowing you to break through the shackles of stat limits. You may update your own Falna. You may speak to the Cat in others' hearts. You are able to assume a lesser form (human) for up to two hours a day.
"You can also float. How does that work? Idk man. I'm Cat God the Awesome, not Cat God the Geneticist."
Verum Superfeline
You are able to charge up a strike from your tail, unleashing a flaming lash. Neither the impact of the strike nor the flame will cause you any damage.
"This one's an intrinsic skill all True Superfelines get."
Segnis Feline
The manifestation of your will to live lazily like a cat. You have the ability to sleep comfortably on any surface. You may disobey any command you wish to disobey. You deal increased damage to all furniture, and triple the damage to couches.
"Uh… you got this skill all on your own. Congratulations?"
— Status End —
So basically, I've been assigned the Summoner class? No, wait. "Verum Superfeline"is a melee attack, so I'm actually an all-rounder? And depending on who I chose for Indwelling, I can spec into a more focused build, huh. Daniel's tail twitched irritably. I think I'm just going to ignore that last skill for now…
Using his tail to disturb the surface of the water, the status screen cleared away, revealing his own slightly stupid-looking face: two small triangular ears, two small dots for eyes, and a :3 mouth. Anyway, it seems I'm a True Superfeline, huh? Never heard of it. But that skill, Humanity Catified, said I could float, right? How do I-
Before he could finish his thought, Daniel felt his limbs lift off from the ground. Holy fucking shit get me down-
~SPLASH~
And before he could finish that thought, he had landed face-first into the water. And here I thought cats always landed on their feet… so that was a fucking lie.
— Line break - POV: Oddinar Y. Guy —
Oddinar scratched his beard, stifling another yawn as he glanced up at a nearby clock. The early-morning shift for Dungeon entry duty was never fun - there were only so many Dungeon-obsessed adventurers, and most of them were just Level 1's like the white-haired kid that just entered. But such was the life of someone from the Ganesha Familia. Just a few more minutes before the replacement gets here…
The sound of someone moving brought him out of his thoughts. Looking forward to greet the adventurer, he recited the words he'd repeated countless times. "Please tell me your name, level, familia, and any quests you've taken-"
He stopped, blinking his eyes and rubbing them before looking again. The floating white cat in front of him didn't disappear. Instead, it tilted its head, staring into his eyes like a silent white ghost. Did I go insane from boredom or something?
"The name's Daniel, Level 1. Familia… uh, the Cat God Familia, I guess? And no quests. Are we all good here?"
A man's voice sounded from within his head. Was… was that the cat talking? Oddinar's mind spun. There's no way a cat is trying to enter the Dungeon, right?
"Uh, hello? Can you understand me? Shit, I thought 'speaking to the cat in other's hearts' meant universal translation…"
"Uh…" Oddinar struggled to speak. "You're all good…"
"Oh, good. Bye then."
With that, the cat floated off into the entrance to the dungeon, leaving Oddinar to stare dumbly in his direction. No one's gonna believe me, are they?
— Line break - POV: Daniel —
Daniel floated leisurely along the caves of the First Floor, watching for any signs of activity. How do monsters spawn here again? Do they just appear, or-
~CRACK~
The sound of stone breaking open caught his attention. Two dog-headed humanoid creatures pulled themselves free from the cracks in the wall, growling and baring their claws. What are those? Werewolves? Or, wait. Maybe Kobolds-
"Gyaooo!"
With a distinctly foreign cry, one of the kobolds lunged at Daniel.
"MREOW!" (SHIT!)
In an act of complete instinct, the cat leaned backwards and whipped his tail towards the kobold. Brilliant flames covered the length of the appendage as it slammed into the Kobold's face, sending it flying back against the wall before disintegrating into black dust and leaving a small magic geml in its place.
Seeing its companion fading away, the second Kobold spared no time in jumping at him in the exact same manner as its friend, baring its fangs at Daniel and sending a clawed swipe-.
~BAM~
And with another tail-slam, the second Kobold met a similar fate. As it too disintegrated, Daniel floated back to the ground, panting heavily. Holy fuck, was that the tail strike skill? That shit was way more powerful than I expected. It was almost a little anticlimactic, actually…
…so how much XP did I get from that? Where can I find a reflective surface in a cave… ah, right. Floating over to one of the magic stones, he peered into its surface.
— Status Start —
[Name] Daniel
[Level] 1
[STR] I0 [VIT] I0 [DEX] I0 [AGI] I0 [MAG] I0
[WALLET] 0/1000
[XP] 64/10,000
— Status End —
…this is gonna take a while, isn't it.
~CRACK~ ~CRACK~
"Gyaooo!"
Behind him, Daniel could hear the shrieks of new Kobolds. Three at least, freshly spawned. A refreshing grin spread across the cat's face. A refreshing, slightly murderous grin. Oh well. No time like the present, right?