This had indeed puzzled him, for some reason he noticed a lot of inconsistencies in the cat's behavior, and this was one of them. 'Is he actually weak and is just bluffing?' Melvin thought in confusion because even after what he said, the cat still seemed hesitant although he clearly yearned for an item like that.

In an attempt to gauge the reality of the matter, Melvin smiled and countered, "Or maybe you're actually weak, and you're just lying?"

Hearing that, the cat's eyebrows stuck out, and with a condescending tone he said, "Nonsense." Just as his words echoed through the empty dark hall, Melvin's eyes widened in shock.

The cat's previous golden pearls for eyes turned completely pitch black. Not just the golden pupil, even its bright golden sclera was painted black. His figure started to become blurry seemingly merging with the nearby darkness, and after a while Melvin wasn't even able to discern where its body started and ended. He just knew that before was an eerie shadowy figure, and he couldn't help but audibly gulp.

'Shit!' He cursed internally, regretting challenging the cat in such a manner. His palms started to sweat a little as his heartbeat increased once again. In an attempt to conceal his nervousness and unease, he awkwardly shouted in its direction, "I was just joking."

'No wonder this cat lives in such a dark environment.' He thought as he waited with bated breath for the cat to return to its previous form.

Thankfully, he only remained as such for a couple of seconds before transforming back with a victorious expression on his face. Melvin's fear and unease were both evident in his face and tone, and the cat witnessed it all.

Melvin also saw his smug look which made him feel both irksome, but also a threat. He realized that in this dynamic between the two, the cat clearly held the upper hand, and in his injured state he didn't have that much hope about being able to emerge unscathed. In an attempt to change the subject, he quickly asked, "So, what are you afraid of? Give me the dagger and I'll show you something cool."

His attempt proved to be successful. The cat's previous gloating look quickly turned into one of uncertainty once again, which further confused Melvin. 'Maybe it's all just show and no bite?' He thought, pondering over its fear of giving him the dagger, but this time he wasn't willing to find out.

Gritting its teeth, the cat seemed to finally come to a decision and said, "Okay, here. But just so you know, I don't even want it." After that, it began hitting the dagger from one place to the next, until it reached close to Melvin's right leg.

Glancing down at the dagger, Melvin pushed his body in an attempt to grab it, but a jolt of pain immediately made him give up on that plan midway. 'What should I do?' He thought.

He had three options in front of him, ask the cat to push it forward, but this would make him seem even weaker which was dangerous in this situation because he was still suspicious of the cat's motives. Try to pull it with his leg, but this would look too awkward, which in essence was another display of weakness. Finally, just soldier on through the pain and grab it, but this might result in him groaning in pain, which would be a reflection of his vulnerable state.

Finding himself overthinking such a simple action, he was both amused and surprised by it. 'Am I just overly analyzing things? Or does this actually warrant that?' He questioned himself.

He clenched both lips forcefully together, trying to close his mouth, and his nose reflexively scrunched up. With a swift move, he pushed his torso forward and grabbed the dagger's sharp edge with two fingers. When his back leaned against the wall once again, beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead.

Not wanting the cat to observe such a sorry state for too long, he immediately got to work. Though work was a stretch, what he was attempting to do was very simple. Feeling the connection between him and the Brutal Strength Rune inside of the dagger, he gently tugged at that string, and before long a stream of energy began to emerge from the dagger.

Step by step, the energy continued, and suddenly it began to converge into a glowing brown Rune. This was the Brutal Strength Rune, it only offered a single Vitality and Strength, but it was still a rune.

Witnessing all of this unfold before his eyes, the cat was shocked! His golden eyes stared directly into the rune, seemingly enchanted by its beauty. Taking advantage of his momentarily stunned, Melvin waved his hand as if throwing a baseball, and the rune dashed through the air aiming for the cat.

The unexpected turn of events immediately woke the cat from his stupor, and he immediately pivoted and began running back, attempting to escape whatever was thrown at him. However, the rune proved to be too fast, and it was already almost in front of his face when he decided to run, and so silently, it entered the cat's body and disappeared.

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Its absence was immediately noticed by the fleeing cat because, in that dark environment, the light exuded from it was quite striking. The sudden jolt of strength that immediately reminded him of the dagger, made him pause under one of the doorways and look at Melvin suspiciously.

Melvin then soon noticed, the cat's eyes becoming unfocused as he stared in a particular direction aimlessly, 'He must be looking at his stats window' He thought with a faint smile. Upon noticing his gaze becoming focused once again, Melvin asked, "So what do you think?"

With graceful steps, the cat gently approached and sat down in an attentive posture, his tail coiling around his body. Although he attempted to hide it, an astonished expression was still evident on his face, and he asked, "You can make them?"

Melvin suddenly thought of something very, very dangerous. He had just given away one of his important secrets to a cat he was in an antagonistic relationship with. He had displayed his ability to infuse Runes into living beings, and as far as he knew this wasn't something Rune Masters were capable of in this world. Moreso, their process was infinitely more complicated than his.

However, noticing that the cat seemed to not make that distinction, he sighed in relief, at least temporarily. In an attempt to further divert the cat's attention, he explained, "Well I can control them so yes. But, forget about that. How about we make a deal? If you help me I'll give you a better one."

His mind once again proved to be too late, he had just thought of the perfect way he could salvage his previous mistake. Just as the cat was about to say something he interjected, "Haven't you noticed something? I made the rune enter your body."

The cat's face was colored in confusion, not understanding his point. Noticing this, Melvin added, "Well, have you ever seen a Rune that enters the body of someone?"

Hearing that, the cat immediately made the connection and seemed shocked. He knew that if such a thing was possible he would have long learned about it, and he had never heard of that. "You... How?" He asked shocked.

"Well," Melvin explained with a smile, trying to feign some confidence and amusement, "It can work temporarily, but if we don't remove it, the rune will dissipate inside of your body because it doesn't have anything to hold on to. And..." He finished with a mysterious tone.

Registering the tone, a bad feeling rose in the cat's heart, and he asked a bit nervously, "And...?"

"It'll make you sick from mana and rune poisoning, and you might die." Melvin finally said, shrugging his shoulders with a nonchalant expression.

An audible gulp was heard, and the cat's tail began frantically moving from one side to the next with an unmoving face as he processed the news.

Observing how much that news affected him, Melvin knew that the cat had no idea about runes and decided to take this opportunity to revenge. He was already resenting the cat for humiliating him before, in his long life that was the first time he had ever fainted from both shock and pain, and it was all because of that black cat.

The fact that it took advantage of his injured state to steal his dagger was the icing on the cake.

With an evil smirk on his face, he continued pouring even more cold water on the petrified cat's heart, "I am the only one who can remove that rune out of you. And even if you kill me now you'll never find anyone who can take it."

The cat's face fell, and for the first time a serious expression appeared on his face as he spoke solemnly, "Ok, what do you want me to do?"

'Oh no,' Melvin thought, clearly unprepared for such an unexpected turn of intensity. Though he resented the cat, he didn't want the both of them to reach some blood feud. He already had something that tempted the cat to help him, so there was no reason for him to go that far and sour their possible alliance.

After chiding himself for always not thinking ahead, he smiled innocently and said, "Why so serious? I was just joking. Just come here and I'll remove it."

The cat's serious face showed a hint of surprise, "Really?" he asked, tone filled with hope.

Simultaneously nodding and smiling, Melvin answered, "Of course."

Observing all of that, the cat decided to trust him, and thus it slowly approached Melvin step by step.

When the cat got close enough that Melvin could feel the heat emanating from his feline body, and an aroma of musk and earthiness, with a faint undertone of fishiness, Melvin was a bit anxious.

He had never in his life encountered such a big cat, especially one that was so fierce. Recollections of its previous shadow form surfaced in his mind, further adding to his nervousness as a dry gulp echoed. His tongue darted out, tracing the outline of his lips with a swift motion, leaving behind a glistening trail of moisture. A subconscious gesture born out of his nervousness, but also the extreme dryness of his dehydrated body.

Feeling awkward by the still atmosphere, Melvin asked, "So what is your name?" After the cat sat down less than an arm's reach from his right, looking at him. His eyes unconsciously studied its sharp claws, and its long teeth when the cat spoke, "They call me the black fish demon, but my parents called me Firrol."

"Firrol, huh." Melvin mumbled as he tugged at the rune once again, and made it enter the dagger, "That is a good name."

"So, what is this deal?" The cat, or rather, Firrol asked with some uncertainty, seemingly apprehensive about this upcoming task.

'So he will just stay here?' Thought in his mind with some disagreement. "You have two options," Melvin offered, "One is to just help me get out of here, and I will give you a bracelet that you can wear with a rune just like this one." He finished, pointing at the dagger.

"Then, the second." He smiled when saying, "You'll help me get out of here, and also help me deal with some things, I will make you a rune ten times stronger than the one you saw."

A deep meaningful look appeared on Firrol's face, seemingly pondering the consequences of each option. However, needless to say, ten times stronger was too alluring for anyone to refuse. "Can you make one that is focused just on Agility?" He asked, eyes drenched in hope.

With a nod, Melvin replied, "Maybe, I can try."