Curse of the Kat – ch 23

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Chapter 23 – The cat can’t move

Unfamiliar ceiling.
Where am I?
Ugh…
I can’t get up.
My entire body feels like it’s been put through a woodchipper.
I can only move my head.

Hmm…
Is this a medical facility?
It reminds me of the place where I woke up after the werewolf battle.
Why am I-

Oh no…
I remember now.
I finally found and caught the criminal.
But then she summoned a huge wolf and I got tackled.
They didn’t finish me off and walked away.

What happened after that?
Unlike the werewolf case, I had no backup.
Which means…
They went ahead and…
Attacked the school?!
Or… ran away?

Which is it…?
I need to know!

But…
Ugh…
But I can’t get up.
Come on!
I thought I have hyper regeneration!
Why is-

Wait…
No, something is wrong…
I’m not wearing my Kat clothes!
What is this?!
Who stole them?!

“Cough, cough!”

Kuh…
It’s hard to breathe…
Trying to raise my voice hurts…
And I can’t even move…
This is the worst.
What kind of torture is this…?
Is this supposed to remind me of my last day on earth?
Screw that!
I don’t wanna die this way again!

The door opened.
Finally someone…
A nurse?
No, I guess they are called medics in here.

“Oh my, you are awake.”
Yes I am.
Now, give me back my regeneration underwear.
I’m in pain.

“You shouldn’t move yet, you have a serious rib fracture. It’s a miracle you are still alive.”
It’s fine!
Just give me back my stuff!
Argh!
I know I usually don’t talk much, but if I can’t talk at all, it’s frustrating!

“…ive… back…”

“Don’t try to speak either… Just rest for now, okay?”
Stupid woman!
Don’t ignore me!
And don’t rub my head with a smile!
I’m serious here!

“Alright, alright… I’ll call the doctor and we’ll do a quick check-up on you, how about that?”
I don’t care about your comforting smile!
Give me back my clothes!
I don’t wanna spend an eternity in bed again!

She left.
Curse you!
At least give me back the clothes!
Or tell me what happened after I collapsed!
Argh!

A few minutes later, the door opened again.
The nurse returned along with an old woman in black robe.
Umm, is that the doctor?
I thought doctors wear white.

“Good morning, miss. I’m here to do your check-up. Don’t worry, though! I won’t hurt you, so just relax.”
I don’t want a check-up!
Just return my stuff and go away!
No!
I said go away!
Don’t strip me!
DON’T TOUCH ME!
AAARGH!
SOMEONE HELP!

 

I have been violated.
My chest, touched all over.
Well, there isn’t much to touch…
But still!

“Most of your ribs are cracked, but none of your vital organs were pierced. Truly, a miracle.”
I wonder if that wolf did that on purpose…
Hah!
No way!

“Well, it’s much better than when you were first brought here, but still, make sure to rest and don’t move too much. Try to avoid speaking as well.”
‘Become a corpse’, you say?

All of this would have been fine if you didn’t take away my clothes!
Where are they anyway?!

“Oh, by the way.”
What is it?
Are you going to make fun of my chest size?

“You don’t need to worry. The monster that attacked you has been defeated.”

Say…
What…?

“Well, I’ll come back later to do another check-up. Until then, rest up.”
Wha-
Wait!
Don’t leave!
You still didn’t explain anything!
Tell me what happened!
Dammit!

The door closed behind them.

Why are you doing this to me?!
A simple explanation would be enough!
A hint, or even a freaking riddle!
Anything!

Great…
Now I’m alone in an empty room and I can’t move a muscle.
And I’m too restless to fall asleep again…
Forget about getting to hear what happened or getting my clothes back…
Right now, I think I’m gonna die of boredom.
Hmm, maybe count cracks on the ceiling?
Or listen to muffled sounds coming in through the closed window?
As if!

Well, there’s still one thing I can do.
I can still look at my status.
I wonder if anything changed?

Name: Nina
Level: 13
Strength: 7/30
Endurance: 11/31
Speed: 3/40
Magic: 21/24

Equipment:
Hospital gown

Skills:
Cat soul+
9 lives

Special:
Blessing of the Kat

Ugh, no wonder I can barely move.
Those are the lowest stat values I have ever had.
Except for magic, I guess…

And why is this cloth a hospital gown?
I thought these buildings are called medical facilities and not hospitals.
Whatever…

Let’s inspect cat soul.
Maybe I finally unlocked a variant!
Yeah, as if…

Cat soul+
Temporarily turns you into a wild animal. You gain bonus agility for the duration.
You have mastered this skill and are now able to unlock its variants.

Available variants:
Panther soul


Oh…
I DID unlock a variant…

Hah, of course I did!
I was obviously just using reverse psychology!
Everything according to plan!

But, what is this…?
Panther soul?
When did I unlock it?

Panther soul
In addition to cat soul effects, it allows use of shadow magic and enhances stealth at night.

Huh…
Alright.
Another perfect skill for an assassin.
Someone really wants me to become one…
But I still refuse!
Also…

Magic…
YEAH!
FINALLY!
I’ll finally get to unleash all of my hidden potential!

“Argh, cough cough…”


What the hell, I can’t even get excited?
This sucks!
Someone bring me my clothes already!

Also, what’s shadow magic?
Does that mean dark magic?
Or is this a special type of magic?
Hmm, let’s test it out!
… not.
If I can’t even speak, what makes me think I can use skills?
Yeah, I feel like just activating cat soul would kill me…
I guess I’m just gonna keep being bored to death…

 

 

A knock on the door.
Huh?
Who is it?
Is the nurse back?

The door swings open and in comes…
A redheaded girl.
Mable, the gorilla.
What is she doing here?

“Oh, hello there…”
Hi.
Sorry, I can’t really speak…

Also, you seem a little… different…

“Are you doing alright? You looked quite terrible when I found you in that back street…”
Huh?
You were the one to find me…?
Not a guard…?

“Oh by the way, you don’t need to worry. The monster has been defeated.”
Yeah, I know that already…
But I still don’t know who did it!

“Well, I’m sure you have questions… but first of all, let ME ask YOU about something.”
I really don’t like this…
You are just a stupid gorilla!
Why is your expression so serious?!

“Ah, but I heard you can’t really speak, so just blink twice for yes or three times for no, got it?”
Twice for yes and three times for no?
Why not once and twice…?
Well, whatever.
I blink twice to answer.

“Good…”
A smile…
But not the usual playful one.
This one feels a lot more sinister…

“Well, here’s my question… Do you think Hitler was wrong?”

What…?
What kind of question is that?
Of course Hitler was-

W-wait a second!
I’m pretty sure Hitler didn’t exist in this world!
How does she-

“Ah, I was right then… you’re also a reincarnated person…”
Reincarnated person, she said…
‘Also’…?
She’s a…

No way…
That doesn’t make sense…

Wasn’t this world made for me…?
No…
I just specified what it should be like…
Nobody said other people similar to me couldn’t enter it…
But…
I…
Ugh…
I didn’t expect this…

“Yeah, I was also surprised… but I mean, there’s no way a normal sixteen-year old girl can survive being tossed into a building so hard that it cracks…”
Fair point…
No, I mean, the building cracked?
Seriously?

“Moreover, double jumping should also be impossible…”
That’s true…
But why are you so observant…?
Aren’t you supposed to be a musclebrain?

“Those are probably the two skills you picked. Air jumping and high defense… not a terrible choice I suppose…”
Huh?
Skills I picked?
I didn’t pick any skills!
I randomed!
And those two aren’t even the skills that I have!
It was the Kat clothes!

“Now, to elaborate on what I said earlier…”
She came closer to me and put up her fist while smiling.

“I was the one to beat that monster…”

What the hell?
You did?
I know you’re a freaking gorilla…
But that was a monstrously huge wolf!

“People think it was the school guards, but don’t tell anyone alright?”

I answer by blinking twice.

But what does she mean?
Did she stealthily help?
How?

“Anyway! I’m glad I finally found someone like me!”
Back to your cheerful gorilla mode, huh?
Also, what do you mean ‘finally’?
You expected this?

“Well, let’s talk later when you can actually reply. One-way conversations are no fun!”
After that, she swiftly left the room.

Well…
At least one of my questions was answered…
But a whole lot more questions popped up…
Sigh…
Let’s just get some rest…

Hmm, but…
It feels like I’m forgetting something…

T-that’s right!
What happened to the criminal?
Everyone just said the big wolf got taken down, but what about her?!
Nobody even mentioned her!


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