Season 3: Catpurr 9: A Nekomancer has to nekomance.
In his basement, lined with rows upon rows of strapped-down test subjects, Adam groaned and winced, his head exploding with pain as he slit his wrist with a dagger forged of solid gold.
-25 HP!
Gold Detected! HP Regeneration Inhibited!
Adam sucked his teeth, the system information before him showing him no change in his condition other than his health.
BETA SYSTEM v1.05
TITLE: The Primordial Eli’s Chosen (+20% Mana recovery, +5 Arcana. Undead Favorability)
NAME- Adam F. Glow
SPECIES: Nekoboy
LEVEL- 45
EXP BAR: 27670/30000
MAIN CLASS- Nekomancer
HP: 335/360
MANA: 780/810
EVOLUTION POINT: 0
Gatcha Coins: x 458
Free Points: 4
[Followers: 04]
[Bonded: Junith OathHeart T2 LvL 20]
[Bonded: Eh’liza Oktober T1 LvL 39]
[Bonded: Kathrine Dominica T1 LvL 11]
[Bonded: Elirra Hali T1 LvL1]
Stats:
STR: 25(15+10)
CON: 46(36+10)
DEX: 25
ARCANA: 150(162)+5+2+5(EQ)
SENSE: 23
EGO: 48(33+15)
FAITH: 25
[RESISTANCES]: Fire (5%) Inertia 10% +[Heat Resistance 8% Cold Resistance 8% Blunt Resistance 15% Wind Resistance 8%(EQ)].
Buffs: Loved by Undead(Unique), Blessing of Eli(Unique), Eyes of a Predator V1, Corrupted Blessing of Nyx(Unique), Adherent of Death V1. Explosive Renaissance V1, Pain Tolerance V1, Blessing of the King Maker(UR), Boots Made For Walking(EQ). Regal Scepter of the Full Moon(EQ) Tenacity.
Debuffs: Ha! You Sacrificed Your stats for a Cat?!V1(CURSE) Catsification V1 (Curse)
Skills: Animate Bones V2, Irritating Touch V1, Cat Claws V1, Identify V1. Summon Greater Skeleton V3(+++), Mana Bolt V1(++), Artificial Linguistics{Rigellian}, Genocidal Aura, Summon Morian Crab, Mana Claws V1(+). Summon Red-Eyed Death Knight of The Bronx V1(++). Mana Dash V1(+), Regal Smash(EQ), Waning Moon Shield(EQ) [UR]Purple Lightning Spear V1:
Skill Points: 6
Adam sighed, placing his bleeding arm over a nearby vat that held a mixture of water and oils to dilute and preserve his blood. Despite several months passing, his progress in terms of leveling up had been slow, nearly glacial due to his isolation within his dungeon. Not that he minded too much, he’d been busy dealing with adventurers and testing the limits of his catisfication.
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There was also his newly acquired faith stat which seemed to have come from Dominica’s addition to his pack, although oddly, it had been growing over time rather than diminishing.
He turned, side-eyeing the terrified naked male nearby who had made the unfortunate mistake of trespassing into his domain.
“mMMLASIH! mmmm!mGHM!” The human let out, his mouth held open by a clamp while he struggled against his restraints fashioned from the leather of fallen adventurers and gold Dungeon had scavenged.
Despite all the setbacks and being surrounded by incompetent help, Dungeon and Redfield at least proved to be valuable assets in his research, both, either finding or fashioning anything he required. Of course, everything created paled in comparison to the drowthrakki laboratory, but it was nice that he at least had some tools.
Ignoring the man’s cries, Adam summoned a nearby skellie cat that brought him a vial in its maw.
Of course, there was the moral argument that Redfield made about using live subjects, but Adam countered that if they were going to die anyway, they might as well be of use. AND if they survived his trials, then it was a better alternative than just snuffing them out.
At least Dungeon followed his directives with keen zeel to follow his orders.
“Thank you,” Adam said, the cat chittering a response as its master dripped several droplets of his blood into the vial before he picked up a notepad and began reviewing the information aloud, “Subject fifty-three. Male, six-one, one hundred and fifty-two pounds, age thirty-one. Occupation: Mercenary. Class, swordsman. Blue eyes, brown hair. Did I get that all right?”
Adam turned to his captive. “Joey was it?”
“MMhslafh!”
Then Adam moved, eyeing his victim before dropping splashes of his blood into the man’s open mouth. “And now we wait. Dungeon set timer.”
“Of course,” a formless voice replied through the walls of the dungeon.
Almost immediately, upon the crimson ichor from the vial striking the man’s tongue, the adventurer began to writhe in pain, thrashing about widely before his eyes began to shift from blue to gold. His canine teeth began to elongate, his body growing hair, muscles ballooning in mass as his fingernails shifted into claws that twitched widely.
“I see, just like the others,” Adam muttered to himself, watching as the monster-like cat-man broke the leather strips that bound him, only for the gold chains to tighten as dozens of skeletal hands emerged from the soil to pull simultaneously. “Subject fifty-three confirms blood contamination does not trigger pack leader brand, but rather creates a stronger variant of cat person. Feral.”
Then, without warning, the feral man went silent, then still, his body going limp a moment later as steam billowed off his form. The subject soon began to deflate, whatever energy empowering it evaporating as the gold bonds stripped the fallen of his catsification.
“And just like forty-nine through fifty-two, subject fifty-three died within twenty seconds of catsification,” Adam recorded before moving on to the next subject who shook her head with tears in her eyes. “However, transformation via blood exposure seems to produce an amplified power-up effect. More testing is required.”
“BMMH! MMMMMMMMH!” The captured woman sobbed.
“Don’t blame me, blame yourself,” Adam muttered, grabbing the chart that hung at the bottom of his next subject’s bed. “When you break into someone’s home to rob and kill them, there are consequences.”
“King!”
“Hm?” Adam turned, sensing a familiar companion nearby. “Oh, Krabby, how can I help you?”
“King! Come! King!” The tiny crab wearing a cat-head band sent as it rode atop a miniature duckysuar with a top hat that was his reward from the last trial.
“You want me to come with you?” Adam said, raising a brow. It was rare for the crab to speak, rarer still for it to ask him anything.
Come to think of it, he’s been pretty much fighting adventurers and coordinating his crabs with Dungeon on my behalf. Probably my most trustworthy ally.
Adam pursed his lips, eyes shifting from the terrified test subject and the dancing crab before sighing and setting the notepad down.
He winced, the headache coming again as a heat rose in his chest.
“Alright, sure, show me what you have for me Krabby,” Adam said, following the jovial crab into a nearby tunnel opened up by Dungeon.
It wasn't long before Adam was led into a spacious chamber, one equipped with a statue of his visage and a thousand crabs dancing in unison around as Dominica knelt before it.
A… crab dance party?
“Uh… what is this?” Adam said aloud, drawing the attention of every crab within.
“KING!!”
Adam winced at the chorus of voices from the horde of crabs. “Oh great… why do I have the feeling my headache is going to get worse?”
“Lord Adam,” Dominica said, the black leather wearing woman rising to her feet. “It is with jubilation that I must report! I have received a divine revelation!”
“Oh?” Adam sighed, looking at the woman who towered over him with a fervor brought on by whatever God she worshipped. Of course the being she worshipped just so happened to be Adam's patron who was a mysterious seventh god no one had heard of. “Please tell me it's something that begins with me finding my cat and ends with the gods leaving me alone.”
“No, on the contrary!” Dominica said, her eyes crazy as the swarm of crabs parted for her like a river. “I have received a divine quest from the Master of the Endless. A new trial for you to embark upon in his name! Rejoice! Rejoice!”
“REJOICE!” The crabs echoed out in unison.
“Oh… yay…” Adam sighed, hanging his head low.
