Castra slowly took a step back as he watched the tiger grow bigger and bigger.
Creak creak.
With the sounds of bones creaking, huge white wings several meters wide slowly grew from the big tiger's back, blocking the sun and the moon.
SHAAA—
A huge pressure suddenly pressed down on Castra's entire body, almost flattening him to the ground!
Castra's eyes widened in disbelief.
This...this is a rank suppression!
Castra's mind went blank for a few seconds and his stomach churned.
BEEP. [The passive skill Gut Feeling is triggered.]
[Gut Feeling: I don't feel so good. This cat must be a high-level spirit— at least an S-rank!]
....thank you, what a useless gut feeling.
Castra felt his chest tightened as his brain slowly turned mushy, his mind floating aimlessly.
[D-damn it! Poo! What...kind...of... "orange cat" is this...?]
He knew it! There's no way there would be a normal thin orange cat!
[Uh, uh, but isn't this tiger also an orange cat, host? And, I said it's an orange cat with black stripes!]
Poo looked at the sky, the ground and the cat, just not at Castra.
[Next time, you need to read terms and conditions, host! Don't skip it!]
Poo's nonsense cleared Castra's mushy mind a bit and his temple twitched violently.
He had an urge to slap the floating poop mascot with a shovel!
Unknowingly, the huge pressure slowly dissipated, but the big tiger suddenly snorted.
"Hmph!"
The wind behind Castra suddenly blew him away, pushing him straight into the tiger!
!! What kind of cheat is that??
An automatic feeding machine??
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Castra stumbled a few steps, almost falling flat to the ground, but he quickly stabbed the ground with Llyod, barely stopping just a few meters in front of the giant tiger.
The next second, the system rang and a new interface popped up.
DUNG! [You have triggered a side mission!]
[Survive from the tiger king in one minute!]
[Reward: A Gacha ticket]
[00:00:60]
No penalty this time?
Is it because it's just a side mission, or is it because if he failed...
He would die anyway!
Castra broke into a cold sweat as he gripped his shovel hard and smiled stiffly at the huge...fur wall in front of him.
The fur wall slowly became bigger and bigger, and then...a huge head slowly approached from above.
Castra only felt his surroundings darkened.
A golden eye as big as his two-meter-tall body slowly stopped right next to him.
"Hmmmm. You look delicious, hooman."
The tiger's voice became deep and majestic, unlike the cute and high-pitched voice before.
If Castra didn't see the tiger transformed from an orange cat, he would have thought it was a different creature altogether!
Castra's heart leapt out of his chest.
"Wait, wait— achoo! Y-your majesty, I'm not delicious! I'm full of muscles and bones with no fat! I'm tough as hell— acho!"
Castra rambled as he scratched his skin, his mind spinning fast.
Think! Think! What to do to appease this grumpy big cat?
At this moment, thinking of running would be a suicide!
[00:00:50]
"Grrrrr. I like tough meat the most. I love to shred the meat...one piece at a time."
The big tiger's hot breath hit Castra from head to toe and it slowly opened its mouth, showing the clear, 4k gigantic fangs.
Even Poo, who was sure that the big tiger couldn't see him, subconsciously cowered behind Castra while screaming cowardly,
[Ah! Ah! Host! You're done for! Just write a will leaving all your wealth to me, and and— ]
Poo was already choosing the type of coffins and the plot of land to bury his host.
Seeing Poo's attitude, Castra's breath hitched and he almost spurted blood from anger.
This useless system!!
[00:00:20]
The tiger head grew even closer, already enveloping half of Castra's body.
Castra gritted his teeth, unwilling to let go of his life.
No, think! There must be something! Even a tiger has a weakness—
Wait.
A light bulb went on with a ding and Castra immediately squatted and rolled over a few steps to the right, avoiding the big mouth.
Then, before the tiger could react, with his back on the ground, Castra thrust his shovel forward, aiming straight at the tiger's defenses— chin!
"Eat this!!"
Castra's shovel stabbed straight at the tiger's chin and was instantly buried in the thick fur.
The entire shovel turned bright red, but Castra still pushed harder. His own face turned as red as a tomato.
Go!!
The tiger's golden eyes contracted for a split second and a deep roar echoed from its throat.
"PUNY HUMAN— "
Castra's shovel touched the skin hidden under the thick fur and his eyes instantly flashed with a hint of determination.
"Ah!!! Taste my ultimate skill— "
The shovel scratched the surface skin and Castra activated his "ultimate skill"—
"Purr purr no jutsu!"
Rub rub. Rub rub.
Castra rubbed the tiger's chin, and the tiger, who was about to swing his head to hit Castra, suddenly froze.
Nya? Why is this so...comfortable?
No, no, this must be that puny human trick—
But it's so good~
Castra's 5-star charm animal version shone brightly.
"Purrrrrr purrrrr~"
The big tiger subconsciously purred like a cat and it slowly laid down on all four, inching its head closer to Castra's shovel.
More, hooman! More!
Unknowingly, the tiger's big wings slowly shrunk, its body also became smaller and smaller, its long fangs were gone...
And it returned to the size of the previous orange cat.
At that moment, the system notification immediately rang.
DUNG! [Congratulations, you have completed the side mission!]
DUNG! [You have unlocked a gacha feature!]
DUNG! [You have received a gacha ticket × 1]
Castra's tense body instantly relaxed and he almost retracted his big shovel but the orange cat immediately pressed the shovel with its paw.
"Meowww! Don't you dare run away, meow! Continue!"
"O-okay, okay, your majesty..."
Not daring to confront the cat king, Castra did a whole-body massage for an entire hour, only then did the cat slumped to the ground, its eyes narrowing in satisfaction.
"Meow! You're not that useless, meow!"
It's a pity to kill this human now...
Hmph! Let's spare him and keep him as a personal massager!
With this thought, the cat suddenly sprung up and slapped Castra's forehead with its paw.
Pa!
"Ouch! Y-your majesty?? Acho!"
Castra's head was thrown to the back and he almost got a concussion.
He didn't see the cat paw-shaped mark glowing on his forehead that slowly disappeared without a trace.
"Hmph! Puny hooman, you should be honoured to serve this king!"
Simultaneously, the Spirit World's notification sounded.
BEEP. [Congratulations, you have been marked by King Garfin.]
[Your coordinates will be shared to King Garfin 24/7!]
Castra's fragile heart once again leapt to his throat, almost running away from home.
Nani?? Marked?? Did he become this cat—'s slave or something??
Uh, well, a poop shoveler is often called a cat slave, but, but!!
Castra wanted to cry blood and tears but then, as if the Spirit World's administrator just remembered something, a crimson virtual screen suddenly popped up.
BEEP. [Warning! Warning!]
[Dear spirit, it is detected that you have accumulated five 1 star reviews in a row!]
[As per the Spirit World's regulation, you will be annihilated in 3...2...1...]
Wait, wait, what the hell!!