"Cats don't deserve their own blacksmiths, or what?" He mumbled, feeling aggrieved by the whole affair. His easily diverted attention, however, quickly recalled the feeling and approached the dagger once again. He sat down, hind legs curled beneath his body whilst both of his forelegs stretched out in front of him. He gently moved his right paw and put it on the dagger's handle, turning his head toward the unconscious man.

With his golden pearls unwavering, he looked at the unconscious man with a deep meaningful look as his bushy tail playfully moved from one side to the side in an unpredictable pattern.

After a long while, the cat's ears pointy ears twitched. He had already rested his head on the ground and drifted off to a light sleep when he sensed some movement. His neck stood upright once again, and eyes alert as he watched the man move.

Melvin slowly regained consciousness, groaning as he once again became aware of all the aches and pains he still had. Opening his eyes, he was able to make out the ceiling through the gloom of the room. Suddenly, recollections of what happened previously flashed through his mind and his eyes widened in shock at the realization of danger.

Pushing through the pain, he sat upright, only to find a large black cat fiercely glaring at him. The unexpected appearance of this giant animal in this eerie place sent a jolt of terror through his body and he unconsciously tried to crawl backward, his eyes never leaving the cat.

A pitch-black cat in a dark ominous home, the combination of these two factors made him audibly gulp as he gazed at its calm and collected appearance. 'Is it a ghost?' He pondered nervously, and deep down he had a very bad feeling in his heart, especially as he gazed at its intelligent eyes.

Fate proved to be relentless, it seemingly wanted to see something even deeper from Melvin, because to his absolute shock, the cat spoke.

"The cat's got your tongue?" It said, or rather he said as he could clearly discern the grown adult voice. Its expression morphing into something that resembled a smile.

Needless to say, encountering a talking cat, he was absolutely certain he had just met a ghost. Thus, Melvin's sitting posture immediately began to change as his legs carried him, attempting to retreat even further than he already had.

Watching the man in the corner scramble to move away, the cat stood up and hissed while glaring at him.

Melvin's heart thumped loudly in his chest and his lips felt so dry that he was afraid his tongue might get stuck if he attempted to swallow. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and he found himself wishing that he had the ability to pass through walls and disappear from here.

The cat seemed to enjoy that, clearly not his first time doing it. After a while of teasing Melvin more, he sat down once again, and spoke, "Just calm down, I was just playing with you."

Hearing that Melvin indeed began to slightly calm down, not precisely because of the words, but more so because what he was most afraid of was the unknown in that whole ordeal. So observing how the creature before him seemed rather normal, at least from a certain angle, his mind indeed calmed down.

It was precisely at that moment that he suddenly remembered that he wasn't as weak and powerless as he always was, he was now in a world of magic and skills, and he had a Legendary Class! This thought slightly emboldened him, and his heartbeat gradually began to calm down, same with his breathing.

His mind quickly jumped to fight mode, and so the first thing that flashed in his mind was none other than his weapon. His eyes slightly moved, and he caught sight of it under the cat's paws, and he understandood its intentions.

In the midst of his contemplation, the cat's voice echoed once again, effectively waking up from his reverie, "Why are you so afraid?" He asked, and with a sigh he added, "Your life must be very difficult," He declared, both amused and surprised, "Look at me, I am having a wonderful day, and here you are maybe living the worst day of your life because you fell from above." Saying that, he kept shaking his head in disappointment as if lecturing a junior about the ways of life.

However, those words indeed made Melvin less tense, but he was still very alert in case something happened. For some reason, that dagger made him feel very protected although it didn't give much strength, and he wasn't even proficient in using it. Still, the presence of a very sharp object was always his reassurance in the past events, now he felt naked and vulnerable.

Noticing his expression, the cat smirked and said, "Don't worry I won't eat you. Human meat is very gross, I don't know why."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"You tried it?" Melvin mumbled, shock evident on his face.

Feeling caught, the cat felt awkward and tried to change the subject, "Moreover, you're pretty strong yourself. I am not even sure I can win against you."

Hearing that Melvin's eyebrows quirked, 'He can sense how strong I am?' He thought, but he quickly believed his words, the existence of such a skill or an ability wasn't that inconceivable to him. Now that he had his wits about himself, he looked at the cat and probed, "What are you?"

The cat's face contorted into one of amusement and stupefaction replying, "What do I look like? A cat."

"Cats don't talk," Melvin replied as a matter of factly.

Similar to a human, the cat's eyebrows furrowed as it spoke mysteriously, "They all talk, it's just there is a condition to be able to hear them."

Registering such shocking news, Melvin began to get anxious once again, "What condition?" He muttered nervously.

With a deep sigh, it said, "It's an arrangement by the God of Death. In the last two hours of every person's life, they gain the ability to understand cats."

"What?" Melvin reflexively uttered, unable to believe such news. 'Is he threatening me?' He thought, slightly afraid of the mysterious cat, and the fact that it was holding onto his dagger as it evilly grinned at him didn't help ease his suspicions at all.

The cat fiercely hissed at him once again upon noticing his greedy gaze on his newfound treasure, his back arched, yelling, "It's mine."

"No. It's mine, look." He gestured to both his bloody nose and messed up state, then to the dagger that more or less resembled him.

"You are lying. People always fall here, how would I know it wasn't someone else who no longer wanted it?" The cat argued back with a face filled with conviction, but his eyes flashed with a mocking glint.

Gritting his teeth, Melvin didn't want to fight for the dagger, especially now with his back, nose, and everything else still in pain. However, he continued to ask, "Is what you said true?"

The more he learned about this cat from his behavior the more he began to doubt his words, and naturally, the fact that he would be dying in two hours seemed like a stretch.

The cat had a surprised expression on his face, his encounters with other humans rarely went in such a way. Understanding what the man was talking about, he admitted, "No I was just lying."

Melvin's eyebrows furrowed together, scrutinizing the cat's expression in an attempt to glean something. "So, what are you?" He questioned once again.

This time, he only smiled and replied, "A cat of course. The mightiest you've ever seen, but a cat still."

Sitting down, Melvin leaned his back against the wall and faced the cat, thinking about something. Just as he was about to say something, his stomach loudly growled in protest. He was both starving and thirsty, he glanced up at the cat and asked, "Where is the exit."

The cat's smile beamed, and his right paw pointed to the top. Understanding what he wanted to say, Melvin argued, "It can't be? There is no door? It's impossible."

Shrugging his shoulders the cat replied, "You can go look, this is an abandoned home. The doors are closed with bricks. The only way out is up."

Hearing that Melvin became exasperated, his head glanced up at the starry night once again, thinking of ways to leave. 'There is no way I can jump that high.' He thought with some trepidation in his heart, his mind already imagining the worst scenario of him dying here without food. 'Maybe I can last longer because I have high Vitality.' He reasoned, and thinking of vitality a confused expression appeared on his mind.

He had already checked it in his interface and found that it was full. Yet, he was still clearly still injured. 'It seems like there is more to it than I first assumed.' He thought, but he quickly dismissed such thoughts, for now, he had other things to pay attention to. Mainly, how should he leave this place?

As he was lost in his thoughts, he heard a slight clinking sound. Turning his head to follow, he noticed the cat hitting the dragger, dragging it into other rooms. Seeing that, he cursed the cat in his mind. Suddenly, a bright idea flashed into his mind.

"Wait!" He yelled, prompting the cat to stop and turn to look at him in confusion. "How about we make a deal?" He offered, trying to tempt the cat. He realized that if he was indeed as strong as him, and then with his feline capability, they could make a plan to get him out of there.

Noticing that the cat was waiting for him to speak, he cleared his dry throat and began broaching the subject, "You like that runic dagger?"

As if afraid of his gaze stealing it, he hid it behind his body, and asked, "What of it?"

Melvin smiled and explained, "But it's not suitable for a cat's body."

"Better than nothing."

"What if there is something other than nothing?" Melvin asked with a smile, dangling the bait in front of the cat.

True to his expectation, upon hearing his words, the cat's ears twitched, and even his swaying tail became still. "What do you mean?" He asked, clearly intrigued.

Melvin explained, "I can give you something better than the dagger with a rune, something like a bracelet and it'll stay with you."

The cat smiled, disbelief evident on his face, "And where would you get that?" He gestured toward Melvin's clothes with his paw, his meaning clear.

Melvin shrugged his shoulder, nonchalantly clarifying, "I can make them."

"I don't believe it." The cat resolutely expressed his disagreement at such an inconceivable notion. Rune Masters were far and few in between, what were the chances that a shabby-dressed young man who fell into his temporary residence would be one?

A palpable silence ensued as the two looked at each other. Melvin was thinking of ways to make the cat believe him, and after a while, he thought of something and said, "I can prove it to you, just give me a dagger and I'll show you."

The cat's eyes lit up, and a sudden realization dawned on him as his intrigued expression quickly morphed into one of disinterest, "You are just lying to get your hands on the dagger." He said, shaking his head in disagreement.

Another clang echoed after the cat swiped at the dagger once again, "Wait," Melvin shouted asking, "Why would I lie to you? You are already stronger than me, and if I stole the dagger you can just take it away from me, no?"