! WARNING ENEMY WAVE APPROACHING !

“Oh nooo whatever shall I do?” I said sarcastically as I flipped through the tabs on the menu screen.

I'd mostly gotten used to the itching sensation that had plagued me every time some assortment of rats had decided to invade.

Mostly.

I sighed and closed my menu.

“There, there, and a few in the corner,” I muttered as I highlighted the intruders for my cats.

It had been a while since that first day and I had developed an effective strategy for fighting the rats. I would have two of the cats hide around the shelves and the remaining 1/3rd guard my core. The cats on the shelves would perform hit and run attacks and Tom would take care of any other rats that had managed to make it past my strays.

“Good luck everyone,” I said as I opened the menu back up.

All in all, it was a rather successful strategy. A little too successful. Once I had assigned the cats to their roles, I could pretty much leave them to it. The rats never seemed to learn from their mistakes and my cats were content to take care of them. The wave encounter alerts had gone from a nerve wracking situation to a nuisance you had to pay at least some attention to.

I flipped through some of the tabs in the menu.

>Core

>Inventory

>Mobs

“Is it just me or does the menu seem a little bare bones?” I thought.

“What do you think, Tom?”

Tom let out a mighty yawn and snuggled himself around my core. The fight with the rats had left him with a few scars including one extending down from his left eye where the rat had bit him. It had left him with an expression that seemed to be constantly assessing everything around him.

A very badass look for a very badass cat.

“Yeah that’s what I thought,” I chuckled as I opened up the ‘mobs’ tab in the menu.

The [Stray Cats] were all grouped together in a row, but Tom had earned his own row for two reasons.

I noticed that each of my mobs could be leveled up with an expenditure of mana and EXP, so to reward Tom for sticking it out for as long as he did, I decided to use my new overcharge ability to level up Tom.

Tom was now twice the size of any of my other cats and his tag had changed from [Stray Cat] to [Greater Cat].

[Greater Cat]

>Level 2 Common Mob

>Size: Small*

>Durability (+)

>Stealth (+)

>Size* (+)

>All other stats within expected parameters for common feline

“I guess he’s bigger than most other cats, but not big enough to qualify for the next size category?” I wondered as I looked at his new stats.

The second reason was that Tom was now a ‘named mob’ whatever that meant. I had tried giving some of the other cats names, but nothing had changed in the menu for them like it had for Tom.

! Wave Defeated !

! EXP acquired !

! Mana acquired !

“GG everyone,” I said to nobody in particular.

>Spawn Feline Scion? (Y/N)

I quickly thought ‘no’ at the menu and dismissed the notifications.

“The hell’s a scion?” I thought to myself.

Truthfully there was something else weighing on my mind besides the bare bones menu and the lack of a tutorial.

This whole ‘second chance’ thing had been game-ifyed to the point ridiculousness and I was afraid of what that meant.

I was familiar with the MMO style game loop. Do thing. Number go up. Monkey brain like big number. Do thing again to make number go up more. The grind even came to you instead of the other way around.

Hell this ‘game’ or whatever you wanted to call it even had loot boxes! That feathery asshole was definitely trying to push me in a certain direction and I didn’t like not knowing what that direction was.

Sure I was just killing rats for now, but if I started to upgrade my mobs, would something stronger than rats show up? Where would it stop?

Would I need to start needing to defending myself against dogs?

Lions?

People?

Would I need to start fending off overzealous people with no survival instincts itching to get to my core?

Maybe this was the point. Punishment for wasting my life playing video games and never leaving my house in my previous life so now I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Well not participating in my life is what got me in this situation in the first place, so I didn’t think I was supposed to do nothing at all for however long a dungeon is supposed to live.

I focused on the [Cat Spawner] again and looked at the scion notification in the menu.

>Spawn Feline scion (Y/N)

With that last wave, I noticed that I had just enough to overcharge a scion.

“You’d think my second time around would be a little easier,” I chuckled darkly as indecision wracked my mind.

It’s times like this where I wish I could go to sleep. Not needing to worry about eating or getting physically tired was pretty cool, but at times like this, a good nap would be really help sort my thoughts.

“Oh great judgemental holy being,” I began in a mock reverent tone, “please send me a sign.”

BOOM!

A crash of thunder rattled my windows and shook my walls. Rain began to pelt against my roof.

I froze like a kid who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“So what’s that supposed to mean?” I began before feeling hands on the loading bay door.

Human hands.

“Hurry up, it’s looking to be a bad one!” a male voice called out before holding the door open for two other people.

“Shit shit shit shit SHIT!” I swore before throwing a hail mary and shoving as much mana as I could at the ‘Yes’ option to spawn a scion.

I stared in horror as a fifteen minute timer popped up above the crate.

“Well at least it’s dry and out of the rain,” one of them said as he took off his coat and hung it from one of my broken shelves.

A quiet panic set over me as I stared at my uninvited guests.

Before me stood three people who had apparently stepped out of the pages of a fantasy novel. A rather water damaged and disheveled fantasy novel from the looks of things.

The first was a human with a complexion that had seen quite a lot of time out in the sun. Hard lines crossed his features, but wore an expression that was full of life in spite of things.

The second I almost mistook for a child and was wearing a coat that looked several sizes too large for him.

The third was clearly an elf with a dark complexion and even darker bags under his eyes.

All of them were wearing dirty clothes with rips and patches.

“How old is this building?” the short one asked.

“No idea,” The human replied, “It’s not like it’s a new building.”

“Nobody’s built anything on this side of the city for years, maybe decades,” said the elf before sitting down on a mostly together crate.

“Oh what a relief, here I was thinking that they added all of the dust and broken shelves on purpose,” said the small one as he ran a finger through the dust before wiping it on his shirt.

“Look on the bright side,” said the human, “nobody else is here.”

“Then why does it feel like we’re being watched?” asked the elf.

“Yeah, something is giving me the shivers and it’s not the rain,” agreed the short one.

“You’re both imagining things,” assured the human, “how about some dice to pass the time?”

The short one seemed to perk up at that.

“We just rolling to roll or do you feel like losing some coin?” asked the small one.

“I think I’ve got a bit to spare,” said the human with a grin.

“You’re on,” said the short one before sitting down and rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

“Zee, you in?” asked the human.

“Pass,” replied the elf named Zee, “I barely have enough money to make it to the temple tomorrow.”

“Suit yourself,” said the human with a shrug as he reached into his pack and pulled out a fistful of dice and a pair of cups.

The two of them began a game of dice while the elf kept a weary eye out.

If I had a heart, it would have been pounding out of my chest. My core rested on a low shelf just four isles down from the trio.

Tom stared unblinking at the three of them and wrapped himself tighter around my core.

“Two twos,” the short one began.

“Hmmm” replied the human.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Oh come on, you can’t be serious, we just started,” groaned the short one.

“Yeah, but you're so full of it, that it’s hard to tell sometimes,” joked the human.

“Whatever Duke,” said the short one as he rolled his eyes, “either call or make your own statement.”

The one name Duke laughed, “Two threes.”

“Wait, is that liar's dice?” I thought as my panic died down a bit.

“Four threes,” the short one shot back.

“Liar,” Duke replied almost immediately.

“What!” the short one exclaimed, “how did you know so fast?”

“Like I said Jasper, you’re full of it,” Duke replied.

Suddenly the building groaned and settled from the rain.

The three of them paused and looked around.

“Seriously, it feels like we’re being watched,” Jasper commented, breaking the silence.

Duke’s expression took a dark turn.

“I’ve already told you, there’s nothing watching us,” he said with a tone of finality.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Jasper said, “the building is just creepy is all.”

Duke’s hand curled into a fist before he looked down and slowly uncurled his fist into a trembling hand.

“Sorry Jasper, I -” he began.

“It’s ok Duke, let’s just keep playing,” Jasper mentioned as he picked up his dice again.

“Yeah,” Duke sighed, “sorry.”

The rest of the game continued without incident before the timer finally reached zero and an alert popped up in the UI.

! Special Scion unlocked !

[Twin Lucky Cats Scion]

>Level 1 Scion

>Twinned soul Lvl 1: two bodies, one soul; magical effects applied to one body effect both; other minor effects apply

>Fortune magnet: certain situations cause treasure generation

>Stealth (+)

>Magic (+)

>Intelligence (++)

>Skills:

-Telekinesis Lvl: 1

>All other stats in normal parameters for common feline

Two cats hopped out of the crate. One white, one black. The white cat seemed to immediately adopt a playful expression that seemed to suggest that she knew something you didn’t. The black cat had a very neutral, almost deadpan expression that spoke of careful consideration.

Both of the cats had beautiful eyes. The white cat had ice blue eyes that seemed to draw you in. The black cat had deep green that gave an air of mystery to whatever he seemed to be thinking. And if you looked close enough into either of their eyes you would notice small shining flecks of gold radiating out from the center.

“Alright! Now that I had some scions, I could… do what exactly?” I wondered while focusing on the cats.

“You could try distracting them until the storm is over,” a feminine voice replied from the white cat.

“Holy crap, a talking cat!” I thought.

“Two talking cats, actually,” a deep masculine voice injected from the black cat.

“Oh awesome!” I thought with a mix of anxiety and awe, “ok we need to keep the guys playing dice from walking over to my core.”

“Nice! Pay up, Duke!” shouted the small one.

Without warning, my mana suddenly shot up.

“Wait, why did that do anything? Nevermind that gives me an idea,” I thought bouncing from emotion to emotion.

“What’s your idea?” asked the white cat calmly.

“See if you can’t join the game,” I replied focusing my attention back on the three of them.

“Interesting, you know I can’t talk to them, right?” asked the white cat.

“Fortunately you just need to use numbers for this game,” I said, “just tap the cup how I tell you to.”

“And for me?” asked the black cat.

“Sit up on the top of one of the shelves and take the strays, be ready to chase them off if they get aggressive,” I ordered.

Both of them looked at each other and split up, the black cat taking the high ground, the white cat taking the low.

Thunder boomed outside while dim light diffused through the room as my white cat strutted up the middle of the warehouse to the group.

The elf named Zee noticed her first as he got the attention of the other two.

“What in the world?” questioned Zee.

“Huh? oh it’s just a cat,” replied the short one.

“That’s not just a cat, Jasper,” said Zee, panic rising in his voice as he stood up, “it has way too much mana to be a normal cat.”

Jasper and Duke both stood up and took defensive stances.

My white cat calmly strutted up to the two of them and sat down, seemingly dismissive of the atmosphere in the room.

Confusion and caution played across the faces of the three people as they looked between each other and back to my cat.

The rain tapped a staccato on the roof and windows of the warehouse only broken by my cat tapping her paw expectantly on one of the cups.

“Does- does the cat want to play?” asked Zee.

“Ha, sorry kitty, we’re playing for money,” chuckled Jasper nervously.

“Shit I didn’t think of that,” I thought searching the shelves for something remotely valuable.

“Not a problem,” she replied calmly as a gold coin appeared under her paw before she slid it forward.

“Is that an entire gold?” Jasper asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Jasper, no,” Zee said sternly.

“Oh come on,” Jasper moaned, “didn’t you say that you were short on coin?”

“Yeah, but I’m not desperate enough to gamble with a magical cat,” Zee replied tensely.

“Whatever, you can be a coward, but I’m going for that coin,” Jasper said resolutely before stepping forward.

“Wait,” Duke said as he put a hand on Jasper’s shoulder.

Duke’s hand was trembling.

“Duke you don’t have to join me,” Jasper said.

“No, I don’t,” Duke said, “but I don’t want to see you get suckered into losing more coin than you can afford or worse.”

“Thanks Duke,” Jasper replied, “Alright kitty, let’s play.”

Duke took more dice and an additional cup out of his pack and set them in front of my cat.

“Er- do you need me to shake the dice for you?” Duke asked.

The cup and dice were enveloped in a soft glow and levitated up before being shaken and rolled under the cup.

“I guess that answers that,” Jasper said before he and Duke followed suit.

“I have their attention, what now?” my scion said as she stretched and sat down in front of her cup.

“Just tap the cup how I tell you,” I replied.

My black cat spoke up from the top of the shelves, “and how do we know they won’t cheat?”

“Hmm, let’s see if I can’t do something,” I replied as an idea began to form in my mind.

I narrowed my focus down further than I had ever tried to before. My awareness narrowed down further and further. Maybe if I zoomed in close enough I could…

“A-ha!” I exclaimed.

I could just make it out, but I could just see the dice under the cups.

“Don’t you know? The house always wins,” I cackled gleefully as the game began.

“So I guess we ante up,” Jasper suggested as he slid three pieces of copper forward.

“I guess so,” Duke sighed as he did the same.

My cat slid her gold piece forward.

“Sorry kitty, we don't have enough for that,” Duke apologized.

“Duke, it's a cat,” Jasper said.

“A magical cat,” Zee pointed out.

“Sorry Jasper,” Duke said before an argument could begin, “old habits die hard.”

Jasper sighed, “whatever, hey cat, do you mind if we can't meet your ante?”

My scion meowed happily in response.

“I guess we keep playing,” Jasper shrugged and threw a spare dice.

“Two?” Jasper groaned.

“My go,” Duke said before throwing the dice.

The dice landed on five.

“Alright kitty, your throw,” Duke said.

“You might as well just start, Duke,” Jasper said, “I doubt the cat is going to beat a five.”

“You never know. Go ahead kitty,” Duke said, holding out the dice.

My cat took the dice with telekinesis and rolled it with a back spin flourish.

The dice rolled forward and then back towards my cat before landing on a six.

“What!” exclaimed Jasper.

“Luck be with you, kitty,” Duke said, rubbing his chin.

“Hold on, how do we know the cat isn't cheating?” said Jasper accusingly.

“It's a legit six,” Zee said, “she let go of it while it was in the air.”

Jasper just leaned back with a sour expression.

Duke chuckled, “alright kitty, what is your claim?”

“Tap the cup twice, pause, and then tap it twice again,” I said.

My cat did as she was told.

“Two twos I think,” Duke said.

“Starting off bold aren't you?” Jasper said sarcastically, still annoyed at the starting roll, “three twos.”

“Don't let a kitty cat get to you Jasper,” teased Duke, “three threes.”

“Go three fours,” I said.

Duke paused for a minute.

“Three fives,” he said.

“Something the matter, Duke?” asked Jasper.

“Just realized that it's difficult to tell if a cat is bluffing,” Duke said.

“Doesn't mean we can't get lucky,” Jasper said, "four fives.”

“He's lying out his ass,” I said, “there's only three fives and he doesn't have any of them.”

My cat let out a long yowl.

“Sounds like kitty is calling your bluff,” Duke said as he lifted up his cup.

Jasper rolled his eyes and did the same.

“Jasper what are you doing?” Duke asked as the two of them examined the dice.

“Failing at bluffing, apparently,” Jasper said with an annoyed look.

“Well we just hit a new low,” Duke chuckled, “we lost a game of dice to a cat.”

Jasper let out a snort of laughter.

“Yeah that’s a new one for me. Hey Zee looks like we’re joining you in the bread line tomorrow,” He said with a sardonic expression.

“Aw crap,” I thought.

I had gotten so caught up with the idea of trying to win and making them leave that I ignored the fact that the three of them were likely extremely poor if not homeless.

They probably would have left quicker if they got the gold in order to buy food or something.

“No you aren’t,” Zee replied with a serious tone.

“What?” Jasper said dumbfounded.

“Hey cat, you still want to play?” Zee asked slapping down two copper.

“Zee, no, that’s the last of your money,” Duke said as Zee sat down on the ground and pulled out his own dice and cup.

“How many times have we helped each other out of tight spots?” Zee asked.

“Allright Zee! That’s what I’m talking about!” Jasper exclaimed.

“And here I thought you were the voice of reason,” Duke sighed.

Everyone picked up their cups and shook their dice. Cups slammed on the ground and everyone checked their rolls.

“Do one tap and then four,” I said.

My cat tapped on the top of the cup like I asked.

“Looking to make this a quick round?” Duke asked, “two fours.”

“Three fours,” Jasper said.

“Three fives,” Zee said as sweat began to bead on his head.

“Do five fives,” I said, “tilt your head to the side and squint before you do though.”

“That sounds like an obvious tell,” the white cat mentioned.

“The goal isn’t to win, it’s to get them to leave,” I said.

“Aw, and I was having so much fun,” she whined before doing as I asked.

A smile spread on Duke’s face.

“Kitty, I’m calling your bluff,” he proclaimed before lifting up his cup.

The dice were revealed and cheering erupted from Zee and Jasper.

“Sorry to cut and run kitty, but I think we’ll be bowing out,” Duke said before gathering up the coin.

“Hey cat, where did you get that gold,” Jasper said with a gleam in his eyes.

“Jasper, what are you doing?” Zee asked cautiously.

“You saw it too right?” Jasper asked, “that gold just appeared under that cat’s paws.”

“Be ready with the strays,” I said to the black cat, sensing the mood change.

“The first one to touch my sister is losing a hand,” he replied as his pupils dilated wide.

“Here kitty kitty kitty,” Jasper said stepping forward.

“Jasper, you might want to look up,” Zee warned as he took a step back.

“Wha- oh shit,” Jasper began before noticing all of my cats looking at him.

“Zee, run!” Duke exclaimed as he grabbed Jasper by the collar and bolted for the door.

My cats all began to hiss in a feral chorus as Zee took one last moment before dashing out into the rain with Duke.

There was a moment of silence after the hissing died down.

“Whew, that was a close one,” I sighed as I finally relaxed.

! Invaders repelled !

! Mana rewarded !

! EXP rewarded !

“Invaders, huh? Let’s see how much I got from that,” I thought as I pulled up the game menu.