Chương 4: Abby

[Name: Yona] [Age: 0] [Species: House Cat. Tier: 0. Level: 2.] [Class: Locked] [Profession: Locked] [Titles: Second Lifer] [Traits: Cat-like Reflexes, Gluttony] [Stats] [Power: 14 (+10)] [Finesse: 23 (+11)] [Resilience: 16 (+10)] [Memory: 14 (+10)] [Willpower: 14 (+10)] [Sensitivity: 21 (+11)] [Skills: Scratch] Oh boy, another Annoying Blue Box. [This one is actually important. I suggest you look closer.] So you're saying that the other ones weren't? … Fine. Whatever. So I'm a House Cat. So what?

I already knew that. Level 2? I guess it's like a video game then. Why are Class and Profession Locked? [The Class will be unlocked once your species reaches tier 1] Why can't I have it now? [They should have given you the Greed Trait too] Hey! [Unfortunately, I don't make the rules, so both you and I are just going to have to deal with it. Profession unlocks when you get either Class or species to tier 2, by the way.] Whatever. So I don't get either of those yet. I have the Second Lifer title.

What does that mean? [You can focus on any item on your Status Window to see a more detailed description of anything you're confused about] Okay. Second Lifer. [Second Lifer: This isn't your first rodeo. It's your second. +10% to all stats. +10 to all stats. 1 mutation of your choice (not chosen)] Mutation? [Mutation options:] [Fire] [Water] [Air] [Earth] [Light] [Dark] [Lava] [Lightning] [Steam] [Mud] [6285 more rows] Woah, that's a lot of options. Annoying Blue Box, which one is best? [It's subjective. Dependent on your taste. You should look through the list and-] Don't wanna. Too much work. Which one is best? [As I was saying-] Just tell me which one is best. It's not that hard. [Fine. In your current situation, the Storm mutation is likely the best] Why? [Storm is a powerful and versatile affinity that will let you use some larger area of effect skills, great for taking out groups of enemies. It will let you control lightning to a degree, which is typically strong against water-based monsters, and if you level up further, you'll be able to ride the winds and fly back to shore] Ooh, flying! But wait, don't storms usually have lots of water? [Yes, but-] I don't like it. What's the next best? [How did I end up stuck with you?] How did I end up stuck with you? [The next best mutation would be Shark, because-] Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Sounds wet. No thanks. What's the next best? [Lightning] Doesn't lightning create thunder? My ears are very sensitive. [! @#$%] [Fine, just pick Space then] What does that do? [It will let you hold more food] I choose Space. The moment I think that, my vision goes dark. When I open my eyes again, I'm laying on the ground right where I was standing before. It's still night, so not much time has passed. [You're finally awake. It crossed my mind while you were passed out that you may have forgotten your current situation] What do you mean? [You're stranded on an island that is surrounded by monsters that you can barely defeat on your own, and your mutation was a way to gain a powerful new set of abilities. And you chose your mutation based on your love of food] Hmmm… Well, I'm stranded on an island, right? I need food to survive. I was thinking ahead! [You were not. But it doesn't matter. You should continue your examination of the System. You haven't even gotten to the most important parts yet] I pull up my Status Window again and start examining it again. It's mostly the same, but I'm a Spatial House Cat now, and when I check my title, it says "Space Mutation." The numbers are the same. I think. I didn't look too closely before, but I'm pretty sure they're the same. [They are not the same] Really? [Your Memory has gone up by 4 and your Willpower has gone up by 7] Oh. Cool!

Anyway, my numbers have changed just a tiny bit, and I have a new skill! But it's called Stomach of the Glutton… It seems useful, I guess, but the name is a bit rude [Stomach of the Glutton: Your Gluttony is so powerful that it has caused your Inventory skill to mutate. Stomach of the Glutton allows the user to store anything edible within an extradimensional space. Items within the Stomach of the Glutton are preserved in the state that they enter. Compatible with other Gluttonous abilities.] There's a fishman corpse nearby, so I walk over to it to test the skill. Well, I take a bite first, as a snack, but then I try to use the skill, and the entire corpse vanishes. As soon as it does, I feel something inside me, like a new organ has just appeared, and for some reason, I'm keenly aware of it. Not only that, I know what's in it. It's a fishman corpse. Surprise! I try it on another fishman, and it disappears as well.

I proceed to store all five of the fishmen that Johnny killed, and my Stomach of the Glutton doesn't even feel close to full. This is amazing! [It would be more amazing if you could store non-edible things] Shut up, Abby. [Abby?] Annoying Blue Box is too long, so I shortened it. ABBy. See? [… It's actually not a bad name] Okay, Abberford. [Please change it back to Abby] Do you promise to be helpful? To serve me in everything I need you forever and ever? [I have been helpful. And I'm bound to you for life whether I like it or not] Okay, Abbernathy. [Oh great Princess Yona, I swear my utmost loyalty to you and your goals forever and ever to the end of my days] Perfect! Thank you, Abby. [Of course, Your Highness] Now, tell me what I need to do next. [First, Your Excellency is advised to finish going through the Royal Status Window. You may find the Traits and Skills to be particularly Intriguing.] Alright. Let's see. Gluttony… [Gluttony (Stage 1): Your hunger will never be sated. No matter how much you consume, you will always want more. Includes Traits: Poison Resistance, Food Sense, Calorie Burner, and Stuffed] [Poison Resistance (Stage 1): You are moderately resistant to most poisons] [Food Sense (Stage 1): You can sense nearby items that are edible] [Calorie Burner (Stage 1): When injured or exhausted, you will heal somewhat faster at the expense of Satiety. Current Satiety: 189756%] [Stuffed (Stage 1): While beyond 100% Satiety, your stats are increased by 20%. Current Satiety: 189756%] Huh. That doesn't seem right. I don't feel 189-whatever percent satiated. In fact, I'm feeling a bit peckish. How much would I even have to eat to reach that level? Five whole fishman corpses? … Ohhhhh. I see. So that's what the Stomach of the Glutton meant when it said it was "Compatible with other Gluttonous abilities." Cool! Food Sense seems a bit useless right now.

I kind of vaguely noticed it working in the background, but ignored it because it's marking just about everything as edible right now. Everything but the ground, really. The trees, the grass, the bushes, Johnny… I don't really want to eat any of those things right now, but I guess it's good to know that they're edible? The next Trait is Cat-like Reflexes, and I have a feeling that one is going to be pretty basic. [Cat-like Reflexes (Stage 1): You have the reflexes of a cat] Yup.

After choosing my mutation, I also have a new Trait, Spatial Affinity. [Spatial Affinity (Stage 1): You are naturally inclined toward learning Spatial magic. Skills based on spatial magic will be easier to acquire, and easier to use. May influence evolution options.] That seems simple enough. And now for my only other skill, Scratch. [Scratch: Use your claws to unleash a scratching attack. Proficiency: Early] Yeah, I didn't expect anything more than that. How is that any different from what I already did?

[It's more powerful, Your Highness] Really? I run over to the nearest tree and unleash my new skill on the bark. To my shock, it leaves four large gashes a full centimeter deep in the bark. Woah! [Some of that added strength is due to you gaining access to the System and increasing your stats] That makes sense. Now that I think about it, my whole body feels better than it did before. Not only is it stronger, I feel like I have better control over it too.

I push myself up onto my hind legs, and to my surprise, I find that it's not difficult at all to maintain my balance like this. I try to take a step forward, walking like a human, and then I wobble and fall back to all fours. Yeah, that was a silly idea. Anyway, all this System stuff is cool and all, but what do I do now? I guess I should level up, right? If it's like a video game, then leveling up should make me stronger. [Correct] And if I'm stronger, I'll be able to kill all the fish men.

Even that big one with the trident that killed Old Man Frederick. So, since the last time I leveled up, it was after I killed that fishman, that means that I need to kill things to level up? [Also correct] Right. So I just need to kill weaker fishmen until I level up enough to beat the Named fishman, and then I'll be able to head back to- Wait. How am I supposed to get back to the mainland? [How indeed. If only someone had shown you a mutation that would have let you return to the mainland] Shut up, Abbercrombie.

This is serious! [Oh great and powerful Princess Yona, may your name be known throughout the multiverse, there is one way that you may yet return to mainland] What is it, Abby? [Swim] F-! [Report: Avatar #4 has completed her Starter Quest]"Oh thank the heavens, finally!" the goddess said, rolling out of bed and teleporting to her desk. She summoned a steaming cup of tea and a cozy blanket as she pulled up the live video feed of her Avatar.

The message was a few hours old, since the goddess was asleep at the time it arrived, but thankfully, her avatar was doing fine. Better than fine, actually. She had already selected her mutation and gained a level. That was about where the good news stopped, unfortunately. The goddess scrolled through the System chat logs, then let out a long sigh as she put her face in her hands.

"Dammit!" she shouted.

"Four weeks! Four weeks late, and this is what I get stuck with?!" The reason she was so angry was simple. Actually, no it wasn't. It was quite complicated. The short explanation was that she and nineteen other deities were participating in a bit of a competition. Thirty souls selected for their uniqueness were thrust into animal bodies and given a quest to gain full access to the System, and at the same time, the twenty deities were randomly paired with one of the candidates.

This particular goddess had drawn Avatar #4. At first, she was happy. Her avatar had a versatile base form, a remote starting location with excellent leveling opportunities, and an easy Starter Quest to get her going. When the Avatar woke up, she watched eagerly as the newly felinified person saw their first System window… and then ignored it. The goddess hoped that her Avatar was simply in denial about her situation, but after two more days, she realized that she herself was in denial.

Her Avatar wasn't denying reality. She was enjoying it. And she didn't care one bit about the System. Now, here she was four weeks later, finally using the System, and she was calling her assistant names and refusing to take her own progression seriously.

"Should I just try to get her killed so I can redraw?" the goddess muttered. It was a legitimate option. Her placement in the competition would be heavily penalized, but she'd probably still have a better chance of winning with one of the yet unchosen Avatars than with this one.

"No, I should at least give her a chance," she told herself, rubbing her temples.

"She at least got a powerful mutation. And she's in a situation where she'll have to evolve. I'll see what she gets for her first evolution. Then, I'll decide whether to try to win with her or not."