This time I put all my stat points into Intelligence, leaving me with a small, but respectable for my level, 9 points.
My mana pool looked a little better for it.
I still felt weird. I was gaining levels doing nothing more than eating Aetherite and fulfilling a few simple quests. I guessed it wasn't like the System could give me quests to kill ten of this or that, because there weren't ten of anything to kill.
Except people.
And that had never really been the System's way. It didn't like giving experience points for killing things which weren't already a part of itself.
I shook my head.
I felt weird.
I was getting levels by doing nothing but eating Aetherite and fulfilling some easy personal development quests. I wished there were at least some creatures already roaming the world, so I could get some simple hunting quests.
The situation was making me frustrated. Worse, it was making me lazy. With nothing to do, I was doing nothing.
Trust the System, I told myself in hope it would perk me up and keep me ready. It gave me Nekos!
Thinking of my Nekos, I smiled. I hoped Jade and the others on Neyteria were okay.
Putting those thoughts aside, I concentrated on my new skills.
I hadn't been offered any new Outworlder skills, which was a bit disappointing. It seemed it was going to be one of those bare minimum trees. Or, because I hadn't used the skills much, other than to teleport down the street now and then, I hadn't unlocked anything.
As such, I only had the option to select a single Nekomancy skill. I'd be able to pick another at level 9 and 10, but from 11, I'd only get to pick one every 2 levels for a while. Eventually, that would decrease to every 5, and then 10 levels. After about level 200, I'd only get one new skill every 50 levels.
I remembered the long dull stretch as I worked to get to level 1000. Every new skill had felt like Christmas.
That made me pause.
When was Christmas? What was the date today?
I made a mental note to ask Licorice.
Content to figure that out later, I checked the skills on offer.
(Nekomancer) Paws: Freeze target in place for 3 seconds. 10 second cooldown.
(Nekomancer) Swipe: Inflict slashing damage on up to 3 targets in front of you.
(Nekomancer) Tomcat: Increases Neko submissiveness, allowing for greater numbers to be dominated and controlled.
(Nekomancer) Mark Territory: Allows caster to claim up to 5 unclaimed locations.
I read through, frowning as I read the description for Tomcat. That didn't seem right.
Last time, it had been different.
I read it again.
(Nekomancer) Tomcat: Increases Neko happiness, allowing for greater numbers to be freed from their shackles.
I shook my head, surprised by the sudden glitch in the System. Then I remembered it did that now and then. It's one of the reasons I had always assumed there was a conscious force behind it.
Like, sometimes it just updated quests or skill descriptions on whim as if there was someone editing them in real time.
Whatever.
The old skill sounded horrible. This one at least didn't make me sound like…
Like…
I lost my train of thought there. Anyway, I read through my skills.
(Nekomancer) Paws: Freeze target in place for 3 seconds. 10 second cooldown.
(Nekomancer) Swipe: Inflict slashing damage on up to 3 targets in front of you.
(Nekomancer) Tomcat: Increases Neko happiness, allowing for greater numbers to be freed from their shackles.
(Nekomancer) Mark Territory: Allows caster to claim up to 5 unclaimed locations.
I knew I wanted to get Tomcat, but right now I was trying to keep Neko numbers low. Mark Territory was an interesting one.
In Neyteria, I hadn't bothered with it for a long time. It hadn't been useful there. Most of the land was either claimed by private citizens or already claimed by the Demon Lord. The world had been set up just to deny this ability. Many classes had similar abilities.
The idea was I could find, say, an abandoned tower in the middle of nowhere and could claim it as my own. This would let me build a town around it and then, if I worked hard, a city.
It was a lot of work and I hadn't bothered with it until I found that if I killed those who had claimed a location, it would open it up to my ability.
On Earth, however, I was the only person with the System as far as I knew, so pretty much everything might be considered unclaimed.
Like a lot of skills, it could make me incredibly overpowered.
I could accumulate a ridiculous amount of resources before anyone else. My Nekos would be set for life! I'd need to preserve it for using only at strategically important sites.
I selected Mark Territory.
Do you wish to make any changes?
"No, thank you." I raised my hands to the sky and smiled. "Ding me!"
Plasma bolted down to smash into me. I felt my body disintegrate and then rebuild itself. It was like being eaten alive by ants then spat out again to be reassembled by those same ants.
I had often wondered, in the beginning, if this is really what was happening. Was I being killed and some kind of clone with my memories being put back in my place?
After explaining my thoughts to Jade, she'd chewed on it for a bit before giving me a shrug and telling me that kind of thought would make me crazier than I already was.
I agreed, so tried not to think about it again.
Licorice was waiting, a gin and tonic in her hand. She handed it to me as I blinked myself out of my screens.
"Thank you," I said. I don't know why she had made a gin and tonic for me. It sounded a bit posh.
Tasted nice, though.
I looked down at Jumper, who was still spread out on the kitchen floor with her legs wide open. A thick pool of my cum had puddled beneath her.
Really.
It was too much. The System was over-compensating.
We left her there and headed into Licorice's office. I felt bad about leaving her on the floor, but I needed…
I needed something.
I sat in a small sofa in the corner of Licorice's office, sipping my drink. "When is Mina arriving?"
"In about two hours." She wrinkled her nose. "You should shower and get changed. Hunny will drive you there."
"Hunny? Where's Skye?"
"She said she had to drive Shadowpaw somewhere."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot." I scratched my head. "And Tippy?"
"She's gone to look at furniture. She said she had an idea for those Arcane Pockets."
"Alright," I said, happy to hear she was looking to experiment with her spells. If she kept doing it, they'd level quickly. "Has she been going out to the hills to practice her spells?"
"Skye takes her every second day."
"Good." I finished my drink and put it on the table. I needed to get ready. I wanted to look my best for Mina.
I paused before leaving the room, thinking about the skill I'd been offered. Tomcat.
"Licorice?"
"Yes, Master?" Her blue eyes gazed at me with vacant adoration. I wondered what she was thinking.
"You're doing a great job," I told her. "I'm real proud of you."
Her cheeks flushed and she swooned in her chair. "Master! I don't know what to say…"
She was humming to herself when I left the room. As I went down the hall to the bathroom, Jumper was limping out of it. She shot me a shocked expression. "Master!" She froze like a deer in spotlights, her face draining of colour. "I can't… I mean…"
"Jumper?" I took her hand and leaned close, looking for any way she'd hurt herself. "Are you okay? What's happened?"
The cream-coloured Neko cocked her head as though thinking. "I don't know, Master. I think I'm fine." She giggled. "But my tummy is so sore now. I think… I think I can't do it any more today. I'm sorry!"
I patted her head and kissed her cheek. "You worried me."
"Why?"
"You looked upset."
"I did?" She now looked confused. "When?"
"Just then."
"Oh." She shrugged. "I don't know why. Maybe I was thinking about something."
'What were you thinking about?"
'I don't know. I forget.'
"Hmm." I checked her again, but she seemed fine. "Are you going down to the store again?"
"I have to take over from Caramel for the meeting."
"How about you have a shower with me, then. And you can get a lift with me and Hunny."
"Oh." She looked down at herself, then giggled. "I guess I should have a shower. Master, you made me so messy."
I was gentle with her as I sponged her down. Our kisses were soft. Her lips were softer. Everything about Jumper was softer than the other Nekos. Her heart was a fragile thing I wanted to smother with love and protect forever within a steel cage.
As I dried her down with a towel afterwards, she turned and kissed me on the cheek. "You're nice, Master."
"I try."
And I did. In my heart, I knew I tried. I tried so hard.
I had her kneel in front of me so I could use a hairdryer on her hair and fur. She purred loudly, her tail swishing as I slowly brushed her fur until she was fluffy.
Again, I thought of Tomcat. I really didn't like the sound of it. "Are you happy, Jumper?"
"Yes, Master." She looked up at me, her smile dazzling my soul. "I'm so happy because of you."
I felt a buzz in my core and blinked.
Achievement Granted!
Achievement: The Velvet Collar
Achievement Bonuses: Congratulations, you have reduced a minion to 0 Resistance within 7 days. All Nekos have their Resistance reduced by 10%. Additionally, Transform to Neko costs 50% less when a Neko with 0% Resistance is present.
I didn't know what that really meant, but the 50% less on Transform to Neko would be helpful. I just had to check if I had any Nekos with 0% Resistance.
I wondered what they were resisting.
I couldn't remember seeing that stat anywhere.
Maybe it was buried in the Neko Management Workshop. I made a mental note to check later.
I let out a long sigh and put my arms around her, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla soap and Neko. "I love you," I told her.
She patted my hand, and we stayed there in comfortable silence until Licorice made us get dressed.
***
If you're enjoying this story, I put it here for free because I'm a nice guy. I'm also very poor, unemployed, and not doing so great. If you'd like to support me so I can keep this up, please consider dropping by patreon.com/lucasthorn - I don't mean to beg, but being a writer isn't easy.