It was a slow day, been minding her business, one pale hand petting Tomo, her black-furred, green-eyed cat whom she loved dearly, even despite his shedding. She was lying in the bed of her two-room apartment, scrolling in the hopes of finding something new to read on her favorite web serial publishing site. But at the moment, she'd had no luck. No, the only thing she'd found is an urge to visit the bathroom. One that was hard to indulge, given the way Tomo had made himself at home kneading at her shirt and stomach. There was already a pile of black fur resting on her lap, and every once in a while, usually, when the fan turned and sent the cool air towards her and dispelling the summer heat, it was blown up towards her face.

"Tomo, buddy, I love you but get up. I gotta go to the bathroom." She said to the cat, dumping another handful of fur to the side and gently trying to nudge him up.

"Mrow," was all she got in response.

Tomo did not want to get up. He was far more dependent than his sister, Chicory. That cat was... somewhere in the apartment. Looking around, Mallory spotted the bright, intelligent blue eyes of Chicory peering down at her from atop the fridge. It was like she knew Mallory was thinking about her. At times, the cat was almost eerie with how smart she was. Normally, it was just endearing, because Mallie knew that Chicory loved her just as much as Tomo.

Finally, with a sigh, Mallory picked up Tomo and set him to the side of her bed, while she threw her legs over and stood, frowning down at the ground as slight lightheadedness set in.

"Pblegh blegh. Tomo, did you get fur in my mouth?" She asked in vain, reaching to get the nasty fur out.

It was at this unfortunate moment that things started to go dark, and Mallory felt herself falling. Oh god, I need to be better about eating protein... She thought to herself, thinking it was low blood sugar. And then, even her thoughts faded as the void consumed her.

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Mallory awoke to vibrant, obnoxiously purple text greeting her. She winced into the darkness, frowning internally.

Okay, maybe not awake. Where the hell am I? She asked again, with nothing to answer her. ...Hopefully, the text will tell me something.

Residents of , welcome to the System.

As changes are introduced, you may notice differences over the next <72> hours. These are normal.

Not only was it not helpful, but it was also still obnoxiously bright. Still, what did this mean, the System? What, were they in a System Apocalypse? She hadn't even thought those were real. But here she was, reading a system prompt... Are the cats okay? She wondered to herself, questioning whether they'd be experiencing an introduction just like her.

Please select your-

Error...

Resolving.

Your Race has changed!

Welcome to the System, .

Mallory blinked, feeling around herself. Checking in her pants, feeling at her-

"Oh god."

"..."

"I'm a catgirl. Are you kidding me? Of all the damn races I could become, you chose catgirl, system? What's next, are you gonna offer a maid class? Jesus, system." She swore into the void, annoyed with the result she had gotten. At least the text was less obnoxious.

You gain:

+1 to Strength, Intelligence, and Willpower per level

+2 to Dexterity, perception per level

-1 to Wisdom per level

+4 free stats per level

- When focusing, gain darksight up to (perception*10) feet away, and gain scent tracking within (perception*5) feet. This ability may change as you level.

Mental Physical Spiritual Intelligence: 12 Strength: 10

Magic: 8

Perception: 15 Dexterity: 11 Willpower: 5 Wisdom: 6 Constitution: 8 Soul: 10 Free Points: 4

...Actually, it isn't even that bad. I think? I don't know what average stats would be like though. I could be complete trash compared to that. She thought to herself, looking over the stats and waiting. She'd need to allocate those free points, but not until the rest of these notifications were done.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Please choose your class. Because of your race, certain options have become available.

- Due to your high Intelligence and Magic, you qualify for a route.

Okay, so those two are high. Good. I can... maybe use that to figure out how I'm sitting with the rest of them? Not sure. She thought, still looking over the class. Magic was cool, but there were other options ahead of her still. No need to pick before she has seen all the cards played.

- The Gods have taken notice of your strong Soul. This qualifies you for a route.

"No. I'm not becoming a damn cleric." She said, dismissing this option immediately. Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, she could get down with most religions. At least, most of the... Earthly ones were fine. But she's seen how these System gods work before... in stories. She wasn't trusting them within 10 feet of her.

- Due to your low Wisdom and Willpower, as well as average Strength, you qualify for a route.

"...Seriously?" She muttered to herself, rereading it. "I guess... average Strength is okay? Glad to know I've got those weak stats, at least.

- Due to your enhanced Feline senses, as well as above-average Perception, you qualify for the Racial route.

"The fact I'm getting very rare is... weird. I mean, I guess I can see why race affects it, but also, am I worth that? Not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth." She said, looking it over. It mixed well with her skills, probably?

- Due to the unique circumstances of your integration, a unique path has been offered to you. Your high Soul and soul-bond to entity qualify you for this variant of the route.

She read the last one with a look of wonder. It was Legendary after all, and it used one of her strongest stats. She was... pretty sure that each column had different baselines. Ten was average for strength, and 8 was above average for magic. Her perception was just above average, but intelligence was high... her race had to affect it. But nothing affected soul, so... It had to be pretty damn high. It was also the highest rarity, and it even mentioned Tomo! She loved the cats. A class that helped them was as important as a class that helped her. It wasn't a hard choice to make.

You've chosen . This class gains:

+3 Soul per level

+2 Willpower per level

+4 Free Stats per level

Gain

Nine stats, two skills, and a new stat? That's... a lot. She was pretty sure. She didn't know if it was a lot, but it felt like a lot. It had to have been a lot of it all came from a legendary class. Looking through them, she opened up the skills and focused on them, hoping to find out more about them. She didn't want to go into the world not knowing what she could do, at a basic level. She'd feel stupid.

- Measures the strength of the bond between you and your beasts. This stat can only be advanced with training. The level of bond can vary depending on the beast.

- Bond your brethren, and grow stronger together. This action cannot be undone and is only available when both parties wish to bind to each other. This process has its benefits, granting you an irrepressible avenue of communication through the bond of your souls, so long as you are within (soul/10) miles. There may be other, undiscovered boons, but beware, entangling your souls together may have future consequences.

- Beasts you choose to train gain increased experience, and pick up skills at a faster rate. By spending focused effort on training their stats, you may allocate your free stats to them instead, up to a maximum of two per level.

Looking at the skills, she realized something. This was a loose system. Or at least, it felt like a loose system. No numbers, fairly limited amounts of skills so far, and it didn't give much detail. Still, the ability to give Tomo benefits was the real boon for her... and whatever Bond was, it has to be at least kind of useful. It was the whole stat for her class, after all.

Please allocate your Free Stats.

Her last order of business was allocating her stats, and seeing if Chicory and Tomo were okay... and if she broke her nose. She'd hit the ground hard.

Mallory Wallace, Bobtail Cat-kin Mental Physical Spiritual Intelligence: 12 Strength: 10

Magic: 10

Perception: 16 Dexterity: 12 Willpower: 8 Wisdom: 8 Constitution: 8 Soul: 14 --------------- --------------- Bond(Tomo): 10 Free Points: 0

Having rounded out her stats, Mallory squirmed as itch enveloped her body, permeating to the depths of her soul. Still, she felt better about everything even though a slightly oppressive cotton-y feeling covered her. She couldn't... see what caused it, but she felt it. Like a sixth sense had been covered with a blindfold. Her eyes felt sharper, her body more limber, and her sense of identity felt stronger. Even after the shock of no longer being human. With a sense of finality, Mallory looked for an exit and felt the darkness receding.