I sat back after finishing the last of the mackerel, licking my paws clean with a sense of satisfaction that was deeper than just satiety. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, and a chilly breeze swept through the alley, ruffling my fur. The city was quieter now, its frantic pace having slowed down as night crept in. I was alone in the alley among the murk. After finishing my meal, I peeked out of the alley. The street was almost entirely empty now, except for a few stragglers. Some were rushing home after a hard day of work, others looked like drunkards who didn’t have a care in the world and stumbled aimlessly, their slurred voices carried by the wind. I also saw a couple of beggars lying on the ground in the distance.

I was safe, for now at least. As I settled into the silence, my mind drifted back to everything that had happened since I got reborn into this bizarre new world as a cat. It was still surreal. I had been Jack—a regular guy living a regular life. No big ambitions, no great story, just an unremarkable existence. My death had been an ordinary, forgettable event, the kind of thing that wouldn't make headlines or even a decent story. And now, here I was reborn as a stray kitten, fighting for scraps in a medieval world that was as brutal as it was magical.

A wave of sadness washed over me as I thought about how abruptly my life had ended. What would my friends and family think? Would they even know? I could almost hear their voices—my mom’s worried tone, my dad’s awkward attempts at humor to lighten the mood. They’d be missing me right now, thinking that I’d died. If only I could tell them that I hadn’t died; instead, I’d become a furry little creature rummaging through alleys!

I mean it was a given this world would be brutal, wasn’t it? If this world had magic, that means power was something tangible, something that you own yourself and won’t have to depend on others for. Back on Earth, power came from immaterial concepts like public support and so on. Though money was a tangible aspect of it, it wouldn’t help you when someone pointed a gun at your head. Magic made power to be within you, not depending on other’s mercies. But it also made people much more ruthless and competitive. Everyone would want to be the strongest. It was harsher world, sure, but more honest. Power here wasn’t some abstract concept tied to politics or money. It was real, tangible—something you could hold in your own hands, or claws, if you were strong enough to grasp it.

Though I had yet to see anyone perform magic or something magical. There were no fireballs or enchanted swords, not yet anyway. But magic didn’t have to be flashy. It could be subtle, lurking beneath the surface. The existence of Venomous Rats itself seemed to be something out of the norm. Never heard of a venomous rat back on Earth, except for some African species that had poisonous fur.

I blinked, looking down at my white paws. The contrast between what I was and what I had been was staggering. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I had already changed. The instincts and the pure, raw urges that were built into this feline body were slowly shaping my mind and actions. Jack from my past life would’ve never dared to try to swipe food from a market stall, let alone pull off the stunt I did with the donkey. Yet today, I didn’t even think twice. The hunger, the desperation, the need to survive—it pushed me into action in a way I never would have acted as a human. My mind had raced through the possibilities and the risks, but my body had acted as if it knew exactly what to do. It seemed as if my body worked faster than my mind.

Maybe it was the cat in me, but there was a certain thrill in living on the edge. My heart still pounded with the leftover adrenaline and the satisfaction of a successful theft. It was something primal. I felt more daring, more alive than I had in years as a human. And then there was the physical side of it. My senses were sharper, and my reflexes quicker. I was getting used to this body—my feline muscles, the way my ears twitched at every sound, my nose picking up the murky scents around me. It was like I was learning a new language, one made of instincts and sensations I’d never experienced before.

Still, it wasn’t all good. Along with the perks came the dangers. There were moments when I felt like my human thoughts were being overridden by this body’s natural urges. I was more impulsive, more reckless. The calm, calculated part of me, the part that had gotten me through life as a human, was sometimes drowned out by my feline body. It was scary, in a way. The idea that I could lose myself in these instincts.

Who knew being a cat would come with such primal urges? One minute I'm pondering existential dread, and the next I'm chasing my own tail like it’s the Holy Grail!

But at the same time, I knew that without them, I wouldn’t survive. I wasn’t a human anymore. I was a stray. The world of strays didn’t have its rules and safety nets like the human world. It was a harsh, unforgiving place where survival meant relying on wits and instincts.

I glanced at my reflection in a puddle of murky water, the faint light from a distant streetlamp illuminating my face. I wasn’t Jack anymore. Not really. I was something else now. Something new. A stray kitten. Nameless, small, vulnerable... but not powerless.

And speaking of power, that chime from earlier echoed in my mind. The system had acknowledged my meal. Eating the fish had healed me, and restored some of my stamina. It was subtle, but I could feel the difference. My body was lighter, and the pain in my leg was all but gone. There was some kind of magic at work. Thinking about it made me wonder: if this world had real magic… maybe there’d be a way back home? I sighed and called up the Status.

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“Meow.”

Name: Unnamed

Species: Feline

Level: 1

XP: 0/20

Class: None

Job: None

Health 22/24 Stamina 16/34 Mana 0/20

Strength 2 Dexterity 4 Constitution 2 Wisdom 1 Charisma 5

Free Points: 5

Skills: [Choose New Skill]

I glanced at the glowing numbers hovering before me. The Status window hanging in the air like an invisible ledger of my existence. Health and Stamina had recovered a bit, but Mana still sat at zero, untouched by the meal. Maybe the mackerel I ate didn’t have any magic in it and you needed to eat magical food to get mana? I frowned slightly. No magic, not yet at least. I had no idea how that worked or if I even had the capacity to use it. But I’d figure it out in time. One thing was for sure—I wouldn’t rush into anything just yet. I had five free points to distribute, but the truth was, I didn’t know enough about this world or the dangers lurking in it.

I contemplated the free points I had to spend. Five points to distribute however I wanted. Would it be smarter to pour points into Dexterity and boost my agility, making me even harder to catch in the streets? Or maybe I should focus on Strength, in case I found myself in a situation where running wasn’t an option. Charisma seemed like a good option, too. I mean, who wouldn’t like a charismatic kitten?

No, I decided that it was better to hold off. If I’d learned anything as a human, it was that jumping into decisions without enough information could get you into more trouble than it was worth. I’d wait. Watch. Gather more information before making any irreversible changes. Right now, I was still flying blind.

As for the new skill, I was curious, but again—I’d wait. I needed to know more about the world and the people in it before I started locking in permanent decisions. Besides, I didn’t want to waste a precious opportunity on a skill I didn’t fully understand or need yet. Knowledge was power, and I didn’t have enough of it.

I tried a couple times to get the system to change my name to no avail. Bastard.

I stretched myself like just like I had seen cats do numerous times in my previous life, and it felt great. As if all the kinks in my body were coming undone. The alley around me was still quiet, the occasional clink of a bottle or distant chatter the only sounds that broke the stillness. My body felt energized, more awake than I had been in hours. I wasn’t tired—not yet, at least—and the city had just settled into the rhythm of the night.

This can be my chance to explore and learn more about the world I am in now.

I stepped out into the street, moving cautiously, my ears twitching to pick up any signs of danger. The few people I’d seen earlier had mostly cleared out, leaving the streets even quieter than before. The occasional drunkard staggered past, muttering to themselves, but they paid no attention to the small kitten that darted past them. I kept to the shadows, sticking close to the walls. I moved in the direction opposite to where I had stolen the fish from. Didn’t want to encounter any other stray animals. My paws moved silently over the cobblestones as I slipped from one corner to the next, my senses alert.

A few hundred meters later, I came across surroundings that were much better. The streets were wider and cleaner and the houses grew more elaborate. They were made of sturdier stuff like baked bricks and concrete. Although their shapes still looked medieval. They had steep, gabled roofs. The lighting improved as well, with more lamps hanging outside homes, casting a warm glow over the cobblestones.

The nightlife was also more vibrant. I once came across a square that had what looked like a few taverns and inns. People regularly moved in and out of them. Some of them were drunk beyond wits. There were also a couple establishments that looked like brothels. Women and men in gaudy clothes stood outside them trying to solicit customers. A lot of the people around carried weapons like swords and daggers in the open. They were wearing all kinds of armor from leather to mail and plate. Some of them wore robes that were associated with mages in stories I’d read. This confirmed my conjecture that this world wasn’t exactly peaceful and had things like magic at play.

This wasn’t the kind of place where a small kitten could blend in easily, so I took care to stay away from the crowds. A pair of stray dogs fought over scraps behind one of the taverns. Their growls echoed through the alley, and I made sure to steer clear of their territory. I wasn’t eager to get caught up in their quarrel, not when I was so outmatched. I quickly moved away from the crowded square and entered relatively quiet streets. I had completely forgotten the way back to the alley but I guess anywhere can be a home for a stray.

I was enjoying my peaceful surroundings when I came across the girl.