I forced myself forward, limping as my vision was slowly starting to blur. Every breath I took was hurting my ribcage, and it was impossible to get any leverage.
"C'mon, get up! I'm not dying again! Not like this!" The frog launched forward with terrifying speed as its maw opened wide. I could smell the disgusting rot and venom inside its throat from afar.
This was it—I couldn't dodge—I couldn't even lift my dang paws.
[No... please... not again!]
I pretty much accepted my fate at this point. Closing my eyes, I lowered my head, but then, out of nowhere, a shadow dropped from above, faster than thought.
SLASH!
"CROAAAK!"
Hearing the Boss Frog wail in pain caused me to widen my eyes, thus, I was met with a large cat with black fur, and I immediately knew who it was. "M-Mom??" I mewed in disbelief, staring at my mother with bewildered eyes.
The poison mist had even dispersed from the shockwave that spread outward from a simple slash of her claws.
When the domain of poison cleared, I dropped my jaw. At this point, I was at one freaking HP!
"I-I can't believe it... she destroyed the Swamp King Domain!"
My mother stood in front of me, protecting me at all costs as she hissed at the giant frog, but the thing that surprised me the most was what the robotic voice in the sky said next.
[[Divine Beast Detected: Tabby of Bastet]]
[Wait, what?! Divine Beast?! What the hell is that?! Do you mean my mom?"]
The frog lunged again, but the divine beast was already gone. She had quite literally dashed forward, faster than my eyes could track, and slashed upward.
"Whoa!"
Her claws ripped across the frog's face and cut through its skin like butter. The Boss Frog screamed and stumbled back in pain, but my mom didn't stop.
With a single pounce, she leapt onto its back and bit down into its neck.
The frog was thrashing at this point, splattering mud and poison everywhere, but her jaws didn't let go; she only bit harder and harder until blood gushed everywhere.
"H-Holy Catnip!"
It croaked in agony before finally collapsing with a heavy thud, and thus, everything went still.
[[King of the Swamp has been slain.]]
[It's... finally over?]
I lowered my head before releasing a sigh of relief. My mother, or well, the Divine Beast of Bastet, stood above the fallen boss like a literal god.
"M-Mom...?" My voice came out as a weak, uncertain mewl, like the small kitten that I was. "W-What are you?"
She turned her head as her golden eyes met mine until suddenly—
[[Experience gained. Absorbing Soul to Level Up!]]
"Huh? Absorbing, what now?"
Out of nowhere, the Boss Frog started spasming all over until a burst of energy shot out from its body and up into the air. "Hey, whoa!" I crouched down, hissing at the display, but before I could react, the stream of energy shot right into my body.
"W-What the hell is going on?"
My body convulsed, and I let out a strangled meow as it surged through me like liquid. My claws dug into the mud uncomfortably as the system voice spoke out loud.
[[Absorbing Boss Soul Energy...]]
[[Processing Experience...]]
[[Level Up!]]
[[Level Up!]]
[[Level Up!]]
[[Level Up!]]
[[Epic Skill Level Up!]]
[[Intrinsic Skill Level Up!]]
[[Current Level: 1 → 5]]
[[Obtained Title: King of the Swamp]]
[[Name: Unnamed
Titles: Otherworlder, King of the Swamp
Race: Beast—Black Cat
LVL: 1/10 → 5/10
Strength: 5 → 9
Speed: 20 → 39
Intelligence: 10 → 18
HP (Health): 20 → 54
MP (Magic): 25 → 68
SP (Stamina): 40 → 113
Intrinsic Skills: Purr-suasion (LV: 1 → LV: 2), Night Vision (LV: 1 → LV: 2), Silent Steps (LV: 1 → LV: 2), Keen Senses (LV: 1 → LV: 2)
Special Skills: Ninefold Rebirth (LV: 1), Lucky Dodge (LV: 1), Bad Omen (LV: 1)
Epic Skills: Phantom Claw (LV: 1 → LV: 2)
Resistances: Disease (LV: 1), Curse (LV: 1), Luck (LV: 1), Poison (LV: 3)]]
"Five levels? I jumped five levels from that?"
There was a rush of energy coursing through my body, and it didn't stop. Every hair on my feline body was tingling like pins and needles. Needless to say, I felt stronger and a lot more sharper; like my muscles and instincts had been reforged from the inside out.
"I-I can't believe I just ate its soul! That's so messed up... but kinda awesome?"
My Mom, who was still standing next to the defeated Boss Frog, finally walked over, staring down at me as if she were disappointed.
"Yikes..." I lowered my head in submission, closing my eyes. "I-I'm sorry Mom!"
"I'm proud of you, my beloved daughter."
"Eh?"
Hold on a freaking second, did my cat mom just talk? Looking up at the motherly cat, I widened my eyes, seeing her wear a small smile on her feline face.
"Y-You can talk?! Since when can you talk?!"
She stared at me with her golden eyes before lowering her head.
[O-Okay, this is too much. I just leveled up, absorbed a soul, and now my cat mom is talking casually to me?!]
"You surprised me today, my daughter. You've shown that a great power courses through you. This further proves that you are of my lineage, blessed by Bastet herself. But, even with my blood, you were nearly devoured by that thing." Her voice sounded regal, and somehow gentle all at once.
I was just standing there with my mouth opening and closing like a broken toy until I finally spoke up.
"S-Sorry, mom!" I lowered my head, not knowing what to say—she felt too menacing to talk back to.
"You are reckless... but alive, nonetheless." She softened her divine gaze as she lowered her head and nuzzled the top of mine. "That is what matters. Still, you have much to learn before you can even dream of surviving out here alone."
"W-Wait, before we talk any further, you said blessed by Bastet? Are you saying I'm some kind of divine cat too?"
"In time, perhaps. Only a few are chosen if they're proven worthy by the Spiritus Mundi."
I tilted my head in confusion.
"Spiritus whatnow?"
My mother nodded her head, staring me dead in the eyes.
"The Spiritus Mundi is the System of our World, the Axis Mundi, and it is created by the Gods. It governs skills, abilities, and our Status Hubs that decide our ranking in the Axis Mundi."
"So... are you saying the weird voice that talks to me all the time is the Spiritus Mundi?"
My mother widened her eyes as if I had said something bewildering.
"No one can hear the Spiritus Mundi speak, my child, but it is always there, watching over everything."
My fur practically stood on end.
"W-Wait, what do you mean no one can hear it? You're telling me I'm the only one who can?"
She glared at me quietly before narrowing her eyes with intrigue.
"That is unheard of, my child... even the highest evolved of our kind only receives its messages on our status hub, never its voice directly."
[So not only am I a reincarnated cat, but apparently I'm also hearing the literal voice of the world. Totally not concerning at all! This is straight out of an Isekai novel at this point...]
I looked nervous, scratching my cheek with my paw as if I were a human.
"Is that normal? M-Maybe I'm mistaken about something."
My mother didn't answer right away, instead, she stepped closer until I could feel her warmth.
"You may be something beyond what even Bastet foresaw." She said, amused. "Perhaps you're a soul reborn from another world, and bound to the Axis Mundi itself, but you'll never know that since Otherworlders forget their memories. However, if the Spiritus truly speaks to you, then your fate is not that of a mere beast, like the rest of us."
I widened my eyes, trying to process all of that.
[I was supposed to forget my memories? And wait a second, what's this stuff about fate? Don't say stuff like that, ma! I'm not some chosen one! I'm a shut-in who died because of a horrible school shooting.]
I sighed before lowering my head, deep in thought as my mother continued.
"Bastet is the sole creator of our species. She created the cats, and loves them dearly, and it is because of her that we can see in the night, have nine lives, and influence fortune itself."
I looked back up, glaring at my mother with curious eyes.
"I-Is Bastet the only goddess in this world? Aren't there others?"
My mother closed her eyes and nodded.
"Yes, the Axis Mundi simply refers to the Center Universe; the world that we live in right now. Many who have died from other worlds reincarnate here, but no one knows why. They lose their memories and are bound to the laws of this world. But beyond it is the Empyrean, or in other words, the Celestial Realm. It is where all pantheons reside."
[W-Wait a second, all pantheons? Zeus, Odin, Bastet and all the other mythological gods actually exist?!]