Ravensdagger_Kittypunk_Cyberpunk_Kitrpg

Chapter Thirty-Four — Last Night, First Prey

Chapter Thirty-Four — Last Night, First Prey We returned to the Bloody Bat just a few minutes before opening. Sharp clutched her hands together as she asked to talk to Paris, then she stuttered though an explanation that basically boiled down to 'thank you for the job and the room, but I'm heading out not.'"Well, can't say I'm surprised," Paris said. "I'll have the room cleaned out. Fold the sheets up on the bed, if you could.""Okay," Sharp said.Paris eyed her, then raised an eyebrow. "Well?""Oh! Uh, yes, okay, thank you," Sharp replied quickly. "I'll get changed for my last shift!"She darted off, which meant she missed the woman shaking her head ruefully. It seemed like Sharp's lack of sharpness had won the woman over, at least a little. I missed the days when I could pass myself off as a bright-eyed, innocent youth. People were so quick to judge from appearances alone and assuming that a person who was so daft and sincere-seeming wasn't a threat.It made getting close to a target so easy.Ah, but it wasn't time for reminiscing. We'd be leaving the bar for the last time in the morning, heading to a bank, then off to my place, hopefully before mid-morning was done. Sharp wasn't going to stay for very long, as she still had some courier work to take care of.Sharp got dressed in a hurry, then darted out to get to work, leaving me all alone. I, of course, chose that as a good time for a nice nap.I had nothing better to do, and the day had been quite busy.Naps did as naps were wont, and made time slip by without notice. I blinked awake some time later, vaguely aware of the shift in the air in the room as Sharp slipped in. "Finished your shift already?" I asked before stretching my paws out and my rear up.Sharp nodded and sat on the bed, then reached down and removed her shoes. "Yeah. Last one. I think I might miss it... a tiny bit. A man pinched my butt.""His physical description," I demanded.Sharp snorted. "The bouncers flung him out the back. He wasn't someone important enough to be untouchable or anything.""I see," I replied. "That would certainly put a damper on wanting to work here.""I guess. Ah, it'll be nice to not have to work as hard."I harrumphed. As If I wouldn't be working her to the bone once we were at my place. I had a small home gym, and there was a larger one of the entire apartment. That, and I'd have her enrolled in self-defence courses, gymnastics, maybe even music, for the dexterity practice. If this idiot girl thought I'd be letting her coast along without turning her into a lean mean killing machine, she had another thing coming.Sharp changed into a loose shirt and shorts, then crumpled onto the bed to sleep. She pulled me closer, and I allowed it, for a period.I wasn't terribly tired, however.The music in the bar continued for another hour, and I decided to fiddle with our laptop while Sharp slept, but I couldn't get the damned thing to open. It was clearly not designed with cats in mind.Eventually the bar settled down. An hour or so passed, and yet... I still wasn't tired.Sighing to myself, I stood and made my way to the door. It was easy enough to open it and peek my head out. The coast was clear. The kitchen was closed for the night, and the lights in the back section were all shut except for a few glowing red emergency exit lights.I padded across the corridor, walking back and forth along it. I tried some light jogging, then a full on sprint. The last almost ended with me meeting the exit door face-first, but I managed to stop by using my claws on a carpet by the door for traction.I had to get used to this body some more, and a bit of additional exercise couldn't hurt. I wanted to get those next couple of levels in Body, if only to see what would happen. It seemed like the most logical skill to increase, and it was close.Cat was closer, but I genuinely didn't care for that one except to be curious about what it might give. I wasn't even sure if the system I had access to was complete like Sharp's. For all I knew, it might well give me nothing but the vague pleasure of seeing numbers rise.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.I was just going for another run when I heard something.A clink and clatter, like someone moving a plate on a table. It was coming from the kitchen. No light under the door, no footsteps. I felt my ears swivel a moment before I lowered myself and stealthed over to the doorway.Keeping low, I squeezed into the kitchen and scanned across the room. It was only lit by LEDs on some of the stoves and ovens and fridges and by the emergency exit light, but that was more than enough to see by.I stayed still for an interminable second before I heard it again. A clink, then a clatter.There! On one of the tables by the far end of the kitchen. There was a sort of window into a space behind the bar for waiters to pick up meals. A sink was next to that, empty, but someone had left a couple of plates with leftovers out. A lazy last-minute pick up left for the morning crew?It didn't matter, because someone else had found the plate.A large, overweight little mouse was standing on its hindlegs right atop the plate. It had some piece of food in its forepaws. A fry? It didn't matter. The little bastard was munching away, beady eyes scanning the room but mostly out of the window.I ran.Not towards the table, but behind cover. Then I slowed so that my paws wouldn't make any noise. Circling around and keeping furniture between us, I reached the bottom of the table.I could hear the mouse now, faint little crunches as it ate. I felt my blood spike with adrenaline. That would be its final meal.With a powerful leap that had me spring upwards, I cleared the edge of the table and landed on my hindlegs. The mouse squeaked, but I was already lunging forwards.The plate flew off the side of the table and exploded below, but not before I gave the mouse a serious wallop across the face.It was flung off the side, and I gave chase.The mouse landed, rolled, then hopped onto all fours.I crashed next to it, mouth clamping down at its neck, but the little bastard zipped away. I did bat him with my paw though. My claws sank into some flesh, but I think I did more to trim its fur than actually injure it.The chase was on.The mouse ran through the fallen debris left by the plate, scampering around sharp porcelain spikes, then it was on a straight-away. I could see the gears turning in its little head as it dashed towards the underside of an oven.So I pushed harder and leapt, my forepaw swinging as hard as I could.My claws grabbed onto the little mouse's flank and I swung it around and away from the oven. It got loose, but not before leaving some blood behind.The mouse squeaked as it tried another dash, this time under the table.I followed. It zigged, but I had predicted it and crashed into the mouse chest-first. We tumbled, and even as I spun and it went airborne, I refused to look anywhere else.When the mouse came down, it was into my open jaws.I only realized how disgusting it was when my mouth had clamped already.I wasn't about to let go, however. Spinning around, I brought my rear legs up, and started to kick repeatedly while gripping my teeth into the mouse as hard as I could.I didn't play with my targets.A minute later the mouse and its insides were spread out across the kitchen floor and I was covered in entrails, but I was victorious!I almost wanted to howl into the night, but that was a little melodramatic. Instead, I started to inspect the area. I didn't want to leave bloody paw prints around. Maybe I could wipe my paws off on a paper towel?That's when the ding arrived.Cat Has Levelled Up!Cat 4 5You Have Reached a Threshold Pick a Perk!You have... 30 Available Cat Perks!Pick one!I swallowed as I opened the list, then stared. Why were there so many options?

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Chapter Thirty-Five — Curiosity Chose the Cat

Chapter Thirty-Five — Curiosity Chose the Cat It was a good thing that Sharp was a heavy sleeper, because otherwise she might have heard me pacing the room as I scanned through the list of options I had.It hadn't truly struck me at the time, but Sharp's level five perk for Anima was... strong, wasn't it? Summoning a knowledgeable expert in the form of a living animal with their own growth ability? That wasn't anything to scoff at as far as powers went.I supposed it was possible that Sharp had just found the best possible option, but Sharp wasn't that sharp in the head. She probably picked out the skill that had the highest chance to give her something small and cuddly to squish.A list of options sat before me. There were more past that, greyed out. Those had prerequisites that I didn't meet and would likely not meet for some time, and so I didn't focus on them. Instead, I observed the list before me.

Abyssal Curiosity​

Illusory Kitty Cat Clones​

Purr of Tranquility​

Can Has Cheezburger?​

Infinite Batting​

Purr-fect Healing​

Cat Nap Resurrection​

Karmic Scratch​

Quantum Cat​

Cat's Paw Impact​

Meme Material​

Shadowstep Pounce​

Eternal Curiosity​

Moonlight Slink​

Spirit of the Cat God​

Feral Spirit Bond​

Nine Lives​

Stray Cat Strut​

Feline Frenzy​

Nightmare Visions​

Time-Crinkle Pounce​

Furry Forcefield​

Pawsitively Purrfect​

Unfathomable Grace​

Hiss of Terror​

Paw of Infinite Mischief​

Voidstep Blink​

Hunter's Mark​

Paw of Unyielding​

Wallrunning Paws​

Thirty options.Just on a whim, I opened three of the first ones.Abyssal CuriosityOpens a rift into the curious dimension next door where lost things are found. Caution, however, is due, as not all that is lost wishes to be found, and curiosity has killed several cats.Cat Nap ResurrectionTaking a nap heals all wounds and all ills.Cat's Paw ImpactGive 'em the old one-two smack! Your paws are capable of delivering blows of immense strength. Topple (small) buildings and kill even the largest prey with just a few smacks!"What the hell?" I muttered to myself. These were all incredibly potent abilities. Any one of these could turn a normal person into a threat. The first had some terrifying implications and I was definitely far too risk-averse to even tempt it, but it had some powerful potential utility. Having instant full healing on tap? That was obscenely powerful, and the impact skill seemed like the kind of thing that would immediately turn me into a real danger.The rest of the skills were no less disgustingly powerful.Karmic ScratchYour scratches do more than hurt the body, they tilt the karmic scale. The crueller your foe has been to catkind, the worse their luck and the greater their ailments.A luck-manipulation ability? That was obscene. The very best killings were the ones where a target died to what seemed like sheer ill luck and coincidence, and this looked like something that could ruin anyone's life.Hiss of TerrorA terrifying hiss that causes enemies to flee or become paralyzed with fear.No specified duration. Could I scare a person to death? Would additional hissing add to the effect? Comparing this to other abilities suggested that yes, it was exactly that broken.Spirit of the Cat GodOnce per day, channel the power of the Cat Eidolon, doubling all stats temporarily and making you immune to damage while the effect lasts.Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.I shook my head in exasperated amazement.Sharp hadn't picked the strongest skill available in Anima, she'd definitely picked the one that would give her a furry friend! The idiot!There were even more that were broken.Eternal CuriosityGrants the ability to instantly unlock, decipher, or bypass any magical or physical barrier, fueled by your innate curiosity.Purr of TranquilityWhen the cat purrs, nearby allies receive regeneration, reduced anxiety, and temporary immunity to mind-affecting abilities and spells.Quantum CatCan be in two places at once, creating a duplicate that can act independently for a brief period.I almost wanted to wail. These abilities were so stupidly strong. I had expected... I didn't know, something mildly useful. A small perk like better night vision, or a slight increase in agility. These were just an order of magnitude more than that.Almost all of them were, in any case.Can Has Cheezeburger?Can has! Summon Cheezeburger.That one disturbed me. On several levels. Why was Cheezeburger a proper noun? Was it a... person?I wasn't picking that one to satisfy my curiosity.I continued to pace the room. I had to make a choice here. These were too good to pass up, though... there were still options that were greyed out.Purr of the CosmosYour purr soothes all living beings within your dimensional area. Time pauses for all but you. Peace abounds.Requirement: Appease an angry god. Purr for a year without pause. Bring peace to a living world."What the fuck," I muttered.Voidwalker's Nine LivesLive again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Be immune to harmful detection. Move freely as only a cat can.Requirement: Give up all of your lives. Have the Abyss stare back. Spend an eternity in the void.There were so many implications there that I was not ready to dig into. A lot of the greyed-out perks required some wild things. A thousand kills? A perfectly even karmic balance? A mastery of elemental magic?Things that I wasn't sure I could achieve with any ease, though some were more probable than others. Did my previous kills count retroactively?Honestly, if these perks and the little bit of information they gave was accurate, then this was a treasure trove. Sure, it was small tidbits, but it was the kind of knowledge that researchers could spend years studying to obtain, or which was simply outside of mortal means of accessing.I'd have to be an idiot of the highest order to reveal that I had access to even this much, but if a method arose to obfuscate my identity while also confirming the veracity of my knowledge, then a small fortune awaited.That was a whole issue for another time, however.I spent the next hour reading through every one of the options I had. A lot of these weren't... reliable, as powerful as they might be.I narrowed the list down to five options. These weren't necessarily the strongest, but they felt like the most reasonable. Things that would have daily utility and which didn't have very narrow fields of application. Sure, killing things dead was nice, but I could do that already. One didn't need mystical powers when Samuel Colt's legacy was still available.Cat Nap ResurrectionTaking a nap heals all wounds and all ills.Paw of Infinite MischiefSwipe away a creature's items and tuck them into a pocket space for later.Nine LivesYou have nine lives. Regain one every month.Purr of TranquilityWhen the cat purrs, nearby allies receive regeneration, reduced anxiety, and temporary immunity to mind-affecting abilities and spells.Voidstep BlinkPhase through objects and walls as long as you remain unperceived. One moment there, and a blink later, not.The nap power seemed to just be a powerful survivability tool. Healing of any sort was, but that seemed particularly useful and was what I was leaning towards. It was a little mundane, but not something so easily overlooked.Nine Lives was stupidly broken as well. That was immortality, of a sort. Though the lack of more descriptions made me question its full utility.The other three were more potent abilities in some ways. Voidstep would depend a lot on whether cameras counted as perception. Purr of Tranquility was more something I might use on Sharp to keep her hale and healthy, and Paws of Mischief...I didn't know how that one worked, but I really wanted to try it.I was an assassin, not a thief, but... there was a certain bit of overlap in skills there.Ah, but making a final choice now might be unwise. Sharp had a similar system, and there was no immediate hurry. I could be patient for a morning, discuss things with her, then pick my perk.I sat on Sharp's chest and poked at her cheeks with my very cold paws.At first she didn't do much but make faces. Then she started to twist and turn, but it was morning already, and while this was a few minutes before she'd normally wake up... well, she had her eight hours already, and besides, this was perfectly normal cat-like behaviour.One could say that I was just grinding out my next five levels to get a second perk."Queeenie, what are you doing?" Sharp asked."Wake up. We need to talk, and I'm hungry."Yup, just grinding those levels.

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