I thought I had seen enough world-view-changing things for a day. But clearly, I was wrong. This new world I found myself in was still waiting to amaze me. The farther I moved through the city, the more I realized how strange and awe-inspiring this place truly was. While the buildings I had seen before were typical medieval in look, they got more elaborate as I moved to the richer parts of the city. They got taller, bigger, and more imposing. It was clear that building these with medieval technology was impossible. So, the only answer was the use of magic. Magic was doing the work that electricity did on Earth. But even then, it seemed this world was still a few centuries behind Earth.
My wandering eventually led me to an open space. The market and the buildings ended abruptly. I came across an area that appeared to be circular. It was huge. I couldn’t see for sure from where I was standing, but it looked to be a few hundred meters in diameter. The border of this circular area was a cobbled walkway around a hundred feet wide. After the cobbled space was a low wall. I walked towards it to get a closer look.
I had no idea what I had just wandered into, but compared to all the chaos of the marketplace, this place was far calmer. The people walking around here were an entirely different breed. There were only a couple of ethnicities present here, unlike the other parts of the city which were a bit more diverse. Most of the people were light-skinned, with tanned-skin people being the second majority.
Wealth seemed to ooze from their every pore, from their clothes to their jewels. Whether it was their fur-lined capes, their intricate armor, or their delicately embroidered dresses, everything screamed money. Even the air felt richer here, as if the gold floated on the breeze. I couldn’t help but glance around at all the jewelry. There were rings, necklaces, and bracelets that sparkled with gems as large as my eyes. This was clearly the high-end part of the city, bustling with people who had never known a day of hardship. It was clear that this was where the elite of the city spent their time.
In this world, the upper class was prosperous. It seemed as if the middle class also had a fulfilled life. And the lower class? Well, the life of the lower class is the same everywhere, whether it be on Earth or in a fantasy world.
Eventually, I reached the wall. It had a grand archway that seemed to serve as a gate into this exclusive area. A few guards stood by, armored and armed, their posture casual as they lounged against the wall. Some of them were wearing leather armor and some wore plates. I figured they were soldiers in service to some noble house, judging by their uniforms and the insignia of a flying gannet on their breastplates. There were more of them sitting and talking away on top of the wall as well. The wall was around one-story high.
People moved in and out of the doorway and the guards stopped none of them. On the other side of it were grass, flowering plants, and trees. I couldn’t see any buildings on the other side from the open gate.
I guess it’s a park.
Now if I had learned one thing from social media on Earth, it was that when trying to enter a place you aren’t supposed to, it’s best to act as if you belong there. No questions, no hesitation.
But apparently, that trick doesn’t work in a fantasy world. As soon as Ireached the gate, the guards shooed me as if I was stray.
I call speciesism! Also, I need a bath.
Anyway, since cats are individuals with high self-respect, I didn’t stay where I wasn’t honored and decided to explore the buildings nearby.
The buildings circling the area were extravagant. They were tall, polished structures that gleamed in the sunlight. It turned out I was in a district filled with fancy restaurants, fancy clothing shops, and fancy everything. My eyes couldn’t help but pop out at the absolute decadence on display.
I passed by a jewelry store where a woman was trying on a necklace whose stones seemed to change color. Next to it was a clothing store where the dresses were flying around and arranging themselves in the air instead of being on mannequins. I observed a group of rich women sitting and gossiping around a fountain. Their dresses were dyed with every color in existence. Precious stones glistened in the sun around their necks. One of them held a small creature that looked like a cross between a lizard and a bird. Its body was that of a Comodo dragon with fleshy wings. Was it some distant relative of dragons?
I walked around taking in the sights. And that was when a particular shop caught my attention. It was a bakery, and the display case outside it was filled with pastries and sweets that made my mouth water. I wasn’t that hungry, as I had eaten a lot in the morning. But I saw something that looked like a croissant. It was covered in caramelized sugar, making it glisten like gold in the sun. My mouth watered.
I carefully slunk over to the side of the shop, my belly low to the ground as I plotted my next move. Just as I was about to inch closer to the display, I heard barking. I became alert, and before I knew it, a hound barreled out of the shop.
Fu-
I barely had time to react before the dog swatted at me with its giant paw.
“Meow!” I cried as sharp pain assaulted my side. I saw the dog opening its mouth to catch me in its jaws and I quickly ducked under the display case. The space below wasn’t much. I was barely fitting under the display case with me lying on my belly in an awkward posture. I turned my head to see two claw marks on my left side. Scarlet blood dripped out of them. The pain wasn’t being helpful and I started feeling a little dizzy.
My heart was racing. The dog continued barking outside, trying to shove its head and paws under the case to get to me, to no avail. Its hot breath and growls filled the air, sending chills down my spine.
A few people had gathered by the shop now, attracted by the commotion. Some of them even shouted at the dog, probably because it was ruining their day out. But their words had no effect. They all became silent when someone exited the sweet shop.
From where I was, I could see black high heels. A couple of people wearing armor flanked the lady. She came near the display case and patted the dog while murmuring soothing words, trying to calm it down. But the bastard wasn’t listening at all. It was laser-focused on me, still barking aggressively, trying to claw its way beneath the display case. I scrambled backward, pressing myself as far against the wall as I could.
Then one of the woman’s guards knelt and peeked at me. He stood back up and conversed with the woman for a bit. And that bitch started clapping!
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What the hell!?
I couldn’t understand what she was saying to the dog but it seemed as if she was encouraging it to catch me. The dog was all too happy. It started barking even louder and its attacks got even more aggressive. It seemed as if the people who had shouted at it before were now encouraging it. It started circling and rattling the display case. At that moment I felt as if I was going to die.
Shit! I didn’t want to do this yet.
I called up the status.
Name: Unnamed
Species: Feline
Level: 1
XP: 0/20
Class: None
Job: None
Health 19/24 Stamina 25/34 Mana 0/20
Strength 2 Dexterity 4 Constitution 2 Wisdom 1 Charisma 5
Free Points: 5
Skills: [Choose New Skill]
Phew. Time to make some investments.
My health was full when I had finished eating in the morning. My leg hadn’t healed completely but it seemed it’d take only a couple more days. It wasn’t hurting anymore. But now, that one claw swipe had taken away five of my health.
I will need to run away from here, so points in dexterity. I also don’t want to die if I get hit again, so some in the constitution as well. I wanna put some in strength as well so I can fight back, but I don’t think it’ll be any use. Ugh!
I quickly put 3 points in dexterity and taking it to 7 and 2 points in constitution taking it to 4. I saw my stamina and health change as well.
Name: Unnamed
Species: Feline
Level: 1
XP: 8/10
Class: None
Job: None
Health 39/44 Stamina 40/54 Mana 0/20
Strength 2 Dexterity 7 Constitution 4 Wisdom 1 Charisma 5
Free Points: 0
Skills: [Choose New Skill]
I saw that both my total health and stamina increased along with my current stamina and health. The pain in my side subsided a lot and when I looked at the wound, it seemed to be closing up a bit, though not entirely. It had stopped dripping blood at least. My dizziness also ended and I felt as if my whole body was energized. I felt hopeful about getting out of here now.
I don’t think it’ll be enough.
I clicked on [Choose New Skill] and a list of skills appeared in front of me. They each had stuff like description, consumption, duration, cooldown and so on written in front of them. I didn’t have the time or leisure to read through all of that, so I just quickly scanned through their names.
[Venom Resistance]
[Night Vision]
[Path Finder]
[Feline Agility]
[Feather Fall]
[Claw Swipe]
[Beginner Nail Fighter]
Damn. Each one seems better than the last. Ugh! Except for the Nail Fighter one. Do you want me to fight with a nail, system? Other isekai protagonists will laugh at me.
Calming down my inner turmoil and frustration at having to choose a skill so soon, I quickly clicked [Claw Swipe]. A part of me wanted to choose [Feather Fall], so that I don’t die from falling again, but it was completely useless at the moment. If I was a human, my face would’ve been red. I wanted to kill that dog, for forcing me to make my decision so soon. A blue window describing the skill popped up in front of me.
[You have chosen the Claw Swipe skill]
Claw Swipe
Type: Passive
Rank: 0
Description: Increases the sharpness and speed of your claw attacks. Deals minor additional damage.
Having chosen the skill, I focused on the dog. It was still barking a lot but it seemed a little tired from before, probably because its tantrums were consuming a lot of stamina. I was trying to formulate a plan to come up with a way to get out of this pickle when the woman said something. The two soldiers who accompanied her came to the display case and started pushing it, trying to get me in the open.
Mother! Fuckin! Bitch!
“Meow!”
Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.
I needed to do something and I needed to do it now. As the guards shoved around the display case, the space left for me to hide became smaller and smaller. Each shove took away space from me to hide. I took a deep breath, steeling myself.
I didn’t wait for the guards to completely remove the display case and ran out from under it. The dog was shocked with me suddenly appearing in front of its face. I used my claw swipe on its snout and I guess I even took away some of its flesh with my claws. It yelped trying to distance itself from me. But I wasn’t about to give up. I quickly jumped and swiped again catching it in its left eye. That was enough to get rid of the dog.
I stopped my attacks and turned to run away when one of the guards kicked me. I felt the air rush out of me and I was hurled a few feet away. It felt as if my breath was stuck and I was hyperventilating. I steadied myself and took unsteady steps towards the main road I had first come here from. I could hear the armor of the guard running behind me clink.
Shit. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.
I couldn’t do anything much and turned around. I had decided to tear the eyes of the bastard off. The guard reached near me and bent down to catch me when a leg caught him on the head. A person - a masked woman, had come up from behind him, jumped up, and kicked his head. I was awed seeing the performance. The guard fell with a heavy thud, groaning.
The woman quickly picked me up and started running away. I could hear the dog’s owner shouting behind her and the rustle of armor as people tried to chase the girl. And then I blacked out.