“But I’m a human, not a kitten!”
”You look like a kitten to me.”
”I don’t have ears on the top of my head!”
”I know. You need to work on your hearing little kitten.”
“I’m not covered in fur!”
“The universe can’t bless us all equally. You should put on a shirt before you get cold.”
”I don’t have a tail!”
”And you’re all the clumsier for that lack, but what is it but just another obstacle to overcome.”
”I don’t run around showing off my butthole to everyone!”
”When we first met, you were showing off more than that. You’re doing it again now.”
”Argh!”
”Lets go get you some soup, your voice sounds weird.”
”Wait, what is tha—?! How are you—?! Put me down!”
”Drink your soup kitten.”
”I am not a kitten!”
----------------------------------------
Jun silently fumed as she choked down another mouthful of the bitter soup. The cat— Shiori, she mentally corrected herself, had done something strange. One moment she’d been arguing with a cat, a talking cat! And the next she’d felt herself get lifted up by some strange force and floated behind the cat as she led them back into the cavern and roughly dropped on the pile of furs.
She’d watched in mixed shock and fascination as the cover of the pot slid to the side and a stream of sludgy green liquid flew from the small pot on its own to land in a floating wooden bowl that then zipped over to press against her lips. So preoccupied was she with this casual display of what definitely had to be real magic, that she didn’t realize the bowl had started tipping before the bitter liquid flooded into her mouth and down her chin!
Doing her best not to retch, she forced the bitter brew down and snatched the bowl from the air before it could force feed her more of the vile liquid. Drops of the stuff dribbled down her chin as she shot a death glare at Shiori. "I can feed myself!" The cat turned her head to stare at a wall, ignoring Jun's protest.
Jun jerked as the invisible force holding the bowl aloft vanished, spilling some of the contents over herself. Shooting a death glare at the cat, Jun grumbled under her breath. "You were cuter when you were just a talking cat."
Shiori's ears twitched slightly and returned Jun's glare with the indifferent stare of a predator contemplating if you'd make a better snack or toy. "Do you need help drinking your soup kitten?"
Jun yelped as she felt an invisible force press down on her, freezing her in place as the cauldron rose into the air, orbited by several more wooden bowls. Cringing at the display, she shook her head back and forth as much as the force would let her. "No no no no! I can feed myself!" Jun strained against the force, trying to pull the bowl toward her mouth. The force suddenly vanished and Jun, no longer restrained, sent the bowl flying towards her own face with all her might!
She reacted quickly enough to stop pulling on the bowl, but inertia was a cruel law of the universe, reminding Jun of it's existence as the warm sludge splashed her in the face!
Wiping the soup from her eyes, Jun turned to glare at the cat as she began cleaning herself. She did that on purpose!
Shiori cracked an eye open to look at Jun as she licked her paw.
Jun shook with impotent rage at the cat's demeanor as the droplets of soup gathered in a ball in front of her, each droplet floating out from her hair and off of her skin until every drop of the spilled soup came together in an amorphous blob before dropping back into the empty wooden bowl in Jun's hands. "Oh dear kitten, you've made a mess of yourself. You really should be more careful when you eat."
Staring at the casual display of magic Jun hadn't even thought was possible just a few days ago, she sighed in resignation and pulled the bowl to her lips. Each sip was as bad as the last so she hurriedly drank it in as large mouthfuls as she could handle, quickly draining the bowl. At least it was over now.
"Good, you have your appetite back. Finish the pot."
Jun's tongue recoiled as the floating cauldron landed in front of her, steam curling from the top as the lid was removed to reveal unidentifiable chunks of meat floating in the green sludge amidst roughly chopped chunks of some root and half disintegrated shreds of a dark green leaf. The pot had seemed much smaller hanging by the fire. Grimacing, Jun dipped her bowl into the pot and began to eat, swallowing the chunks and broth while chewing as little as possible.
Some time later, Jun felt like she was going to burst as she dropped the wooden bowl into the pot alongside a few bones and the dregs of the nasty soup. The only thing keeping her from hurling it all back up was willpower and the memory of what had happened the first time she'd spit some back up. She shivered at the memory of her spewing it out, only for the soup to float into ball and shoot back into her mouth. She hadn't thought it could taste any worse, but she'd been wrong!
Groaning, Jun leaned back against the pile of refreshing smelling flowers and took slow deep breaths. She imagined herself as an engine, her stomach the gas tank, and the soup as fuel. In her mental image, she pictured the engine revving, burning the soup to fuel her body, strengthening her muscles, southing the aches in her muscles, and powering her mind. Picturing the image again and again, she imagined the engine slowly using up the soup-fuel, consuming the excess. She wasn't sure how long she sat there for, but slowly the painful fullness in her stomach subsided to a dull ache. Opening her eyes, she recoiled back as she saw Shiori's furry face hovering just a few inches away and staring intently!
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"Well that was surprising kitten. Where did you learn to cultivate?"
"Cultivate? Like growing plants?" Jun absently rubbed her still sore stomach. What did that have to do with anything?
"Refining yourself to be stronger with the energy of the universe. Cultivating the energy to enhance yourself. Touching the true magic. Enforcing your will on reality. Whatever fanciful way it was said." The cat's voice dripped with derision as it stared more intently at Jun. The cat's eyes moved, tracing a pattern from Jun's head down to her chest, before coming to a rest at a spot just above Jun's belly button. The cat lazily drifted back in the air while she stared at that spot, before suddenly snapping her gaze up to glare at her with widened pupils blazing with fury! "Open your status page! Now!"
Jun stared back at her with a mix of fear and confusion at the cute but terrifying cat's sudden ferocity. "Status page?" The words brought back Jun's confusing first few moments in the new world, the boxes that had randomly popped up in the space between lives that had briefly followed her into this world. A screen that had summarized who she was, that could be summoned if she just thought the proper phrase with the right intent. System Status.
Karmic Balance: 150,210,661,343 (-4,000,000) World: Merinthia (Tier 1) Name: Jun Race: Human (Balance) Gender: Female Mana: 100/100 Stats:
MIND - 15 (+5 from karmic fortification)
CON - 11 (+1 from karmic fortification) STR - 10 AGI - 10 DEX - 10 CHA - 15 SPR - 10 Traits: (5/5) [Touched by Karma] (Hidden) [Born of Karma] (Hidden) [Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) [Fast Learner] [Charismatic] Skills: [Karma Manipulation]
Jun jerked back as the screen suddenly appeared in her vision, blocking Shiori from sight!
The hovering black cat's eyes began to glow a golden yellow as she turned to look at where Jun's screen hovered in her vision. "Interesting. Your system hasn't synced to Merinthia's yet." As Jun watched, Shiori floated over to the screen and pawed at it, manipulating the screen! Smaller boxes began to rapidly pop up and disappear with a swipe of the cat's paw. Faster and faster she moved, until Shiori's paws became a blur of movement that Jun couldn't make any sense of!
After what felt like minutes, but had only been a few seconds, Shiori's paws stopped moving, leaving 3 screens floating in Jun's vision.
System upgraded to Merinthia Ver. 6.2.06.107c!
Leveling unlocked! You may now be empowered by the world!
Unlocked balance subsystem! You may now receive quests!
NEW QUEST ADDED!
Introduction to Magic 101! (MANDATORY)
Learn the basics of magic from Shiori, [TITLE REDACTED].
Drink the soup.
Survive.
Rewards: Repaired foundation, varies.
Penalty for Failure: Loss of [Touched by Karma] and [Born of Karma], increased risk of corruption.
Karmic Balance: 150,210,661,343 (-4,000,000) World: Merinthia (Tier 1) Name: Jun Titles: Adopted Kitten (HIDDEN) Level: 0 (17/100%) Race: Human (Balance) Gender: Female Mana: 53/100 Core Status: (HIDDEN) Fractured, Integrity critical Stats:
MIND - 15 (+5 from karmic fortification)
CON - 11 (+1 from karmic fortification) STR - 10 AGI - 10 DEX - 10 CHA - 15 SPR - 10 Traits: (5/5) [Touched by Karma] (Hidden) [Born of Karma] (Hidden) [Magic Touched] (Disguised; [Affinity Hoarder]) [Fast Learner] [Charismatic] Skills: [Karma Manipulation] Quests: Introduction to Magic 101
Jun read the screens with growing horror. Losing traits? Risk of corruption? Fractured core? Adopted Kitten?!
A small paw gently patted her on the cheek, drawing her attention back to the hovering cat. "We have work to do, and not much time to do it. It's time for class kitten."