As my cat pet digested his blood vial, the red gem in the middle of his forehead began to glow and change color, reaching a deep violet while the cat curled and purred in a deep timbre.

*Mystic Carbuncle evolves to Epic grade.

-Magic Barrier can be extended to his tamer.

What? Did I hit the lucky jackpot? I had a pet who could make me invulnerable?

Tremble puny monsters of Floor 90, for Pef is coming down for your loot and skins! Hurray!

Mystic opened his eyes, and glared at me as if it could read my thoughts.

I petted his head, and clumps of fur began to fall. I think my pet is molting. Or going bald. Some cats go bald, don't they?

Mystic rose to his feet and gently smacked my head, somehow managing to transmit his need for more crystals. Was I being abused by my pet?

Did I mind?

I had a wonderful pet that will be useful. Much better than Blue, who could only heal. I would never get hurt, so no need to heal.

Laughing to myself, I grabbed Mystic and spun around making the cat growl even louder.

"Okay, you're best cat and the fluffiest too..." I chuckled, as the cat lost even more fur. My ghost collected the clumps of fur and deposited them into our pocket dimension, proving itself much smarter than me.

If the cat was invulnerable, surely its fur would have wondrous properties as well, right?

Mystic shook and kicked me into the nearest wall, then growled even louder.

'I get it, Mystic. Hungry, right?' I sent towards the angry cat, and Mystic glared at me once more.

Fine. Time to feet my cat.

Luckily Floor 27 was water-themed, with plenty of fish and other aquatic creatures like turtles and crabs, including some giant beavers called Afanc.

Cheerfully massacring the sea food, I managed to sate the hungry cat while also collecting clumps of green fur, while a new coat of violet fur replaced the older one.

Just before I was ready to leave, Mystic pawed and growled towards the lake, eyes locked on something underwater.

Curious at this behavior I dove into the water to see, and promptly got struck into the chest by a stone fish 3 meters long.

My body flew out and into the ceiling, where I stayed and healed myself with Chi. 'Where is my invulnerable barrier, damn cat!' I yelled in my mind, while Mystic snorted at my caved-in chest.

I dropped down and landed beside the cat, and smacked it on the head in revenge. "Not funny, Mystic! I could have died..." I spoke out loud, making the cat roll and snort louder.

Well, I wouldn't have died for long...but still.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Inflating my lungs and binding my sternum back into place hurt quite a bit.

Anyways, this new monster could be useful for my training. I did need to increase my Skills, especially Honing and Amplification, as those were the ones providing most of my damage.

And test the Deflection as well? Yeah, I could do that.

I took out my shield and called the Spirit Weapon in hand.

Ready and prepared for a fight to the death, I focused on the underwater monster and dove into the lake again.

This time I saw it clearly, and placed the shield to deflect its strike. Contrary to my expectations, it was me who flew out of the water and smacked into the Dungeon ceiling again.

Damn it! And stop laughing at me, stupid cat!

This is called combat fishing!

I meant for this to happen. Lure the rare stone fish, called Voltimeria into a false sense of complacency, and then hang it out to dry, like a fish out of water.

I was a human, thus far more cunning than a mere fish.

Preparing myself, I dove from the ceiling on top of the fish, while the Voltimeria jumped out of the water and struck back at me.

Obviously, the result was certain. I was flung far away and struck a distant wall, my head embedded into the Dungeon wall like a fool.

"So, you chose death!" I uttered in rage, and jumped back into the fight.

After a dozen failed tries, I relented and sat beside my violet bobcat to draw breath and circulate my Chi.

"Mrouw?" Mystic asked in a disappointed tone.

"Failed..." I admitted in a sad voice.

I could kill a Dungeon Boss like the Amphisbaena, but this fish had me beat easily.

Then again, Mystic himself could beat me just as easily. Rare monsters were rare for a reason.

I walked away, planning revenge in my mind while the cat strutted at my side with an evil smirk on his face.

Maybe my smart wife will have an idea. Her Mind was already at 37, compared to my meager 28. Even the game considered I was a bit slow.

The climb up to Floor 18 where our base was, didn't take long. Mundane monsters were far to easy too defeat now, and Mystic helped as well, eating their crystals for fun.

Luckily, on Floor 24 we encountered the Green Dragon again, and I took my revenge on it, chopping it in half with a single Honed strike, while Mystic drank the Dragon blood with a content purr.

On the other hand, my Honed Skill just reached high as well, probably for killing a high level Dragon in one hit.

So when I reached Rivera, I was quite surprised.

A hundred new people had arrived, including Serena and a dozen mecha suits from the Academy. And I was fully naked and covered only in blood.

"Pef, you look quite battered. Something bad happened?" Serena asked while coming closer to examine me.

"Ah...I killed the Floor 27 Boss, a twin-headed Dragon called Amphisbaena. And you brought guests to the Dungeon." I noted in a curt voice.

Serena nodded carelessly, then jumped to pet and smother Mystic. "Mystic, I missed you! And this new violet fur is wonderful too!"

My cat accepted the petting with a superior smirk towards me, without a single hint of his sadist nature and abusive behavior it showed to me.

Lisa emerged from our tent with a pair of Potions in hand, and measured me with a discerning look. 'Well done, husband. Things outside have become complicated.'

I sighed inward. Earth was a mess even without magic powers and Beasts.

Casting Clean on myself, I removed the dried blood then I jumped in the lake for a quick bath.

Then I tapped the character screen and dressed instantly via the equip clothes menu, before landing on the lake's shore.

"Anything I should care about?" I asked out loud, but Lisa just shook her head.

'Geopolitics and near-Earth orbit incidents, not of importance right now. Plus the Dalai Lama gained the Cultivator class somehow.' my wife explained in a short telepathic message.

Alicia emerged from the tent as well, holding a blue-glowing Potion.

I glanced at the Game description and my eyebrow rose.

*Mind restore potion. Uncommon grade.

Well, that was probably a greater achievement than my own. If her Mixing Skill worked similar to the Orario ability, then she could make Elixirs and Dual potions one day too.

Then an Academy guy in robes came forward, escorted by two mecha suits.

"Dragonslayer...we have an offer you can't refuse." he said in a soft voice.

I sighed inward again. I only wanted to kill monsters...