Lurk

Back in Chandola.

In a remote alley lit by a dim light, I jolted awake from my sleep as the image of an enormous rat, its teeth bared and eyes gleaming with hunger, flashed before my eyes. My breathing was labored, and I could feel the sweat rolling down my forehead.

It had been a few days since my encounter with that abnormally large abomination of a rat, and I had been plagued with nightmares about it ever since.

I admit, I underestimated this world. If that large rat was a bottom-tier monster, then I had no interest in finding out about the top-tier monsters. That rat alone could have killed me without breaking a sweat. This world isn't a game; one unlucky day was all it would take to make me end up as a nice hot meal for some monster.

Taking a deep breath, I steadied my racing heart. "Are you okay, human?" the cat asked while yawning.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

"Tch, fine. Hey, focus on earning some money. Are you going to make me sleep on this hard road forever? I am Terra-sama's pet, damn it; I deserve better," the cat mumbled with an annoyed huff before drifting back to sleep.

Why is the cat acting annoyed? I should be the one annoyed. But still, I could use this to my advantage.

Frankly, I am terrified of going outside the city. Starting tomorrow, I will just focus on earning money and try to stay inside the city as much as possible. With that thought in mind, I quietly drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, I entered the guildhall with the cat perched atop my shoulder. Even though it was early morning, the guild was filled with the chatter of adventurers and the smell of alcohol. I approached the mission board and looked for a safe mission. One mission immediately caught my eye:

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Remove weeds from my garden

Requirement: none

Reward: 200 cents

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This mission didn't require me to go outside, and it provided a decent reward. I immediately grabbed it, half expecting the cat to snarl at me for choosing such a lame mission. But instead, it looked happy with the mission reward. I guess it really didn't like sleeping on the streets.

I took the mission poster to the receptionist, and after receiving her seal of approval, made my way toward the central noble district.

"How long will it take to finish this mission?" the cat asked.

"It will be done by noon," I replied.

After we reached the garden, the cat jumped to a secluded corner and, after asking me to wake it up when the work was done, drifted to sleep.

By noon, with my work done, I received 200 cents and walked out.

"So, what next?" I asked.

The cat immediately took me to the grasslands outside the city. We went to a relatively safe area and searched for low-level monsters to hunt.

As we walked along the grass, I noticed a sudden movement to my right. Looking around, I found a small forest rat jumping toward me. I bent down to dodge its charge and sliced its front legs with my kitchen knife. With its legs injured, it stumbled, and I used that chance to stab its neck. The rat screeched in pain and collapsed to the ground.

"Woohoo, that was a level 3 rat. Let's continue and eradicate rats from this planet!"

"Easy there," I calmed the overexcited cat jumping atop my head when suddenly a large pigeon-like bird swooped down toward me, talons extended. I barely had time to raise my knife before it was upon me. The bird's talons scraped against my knife, and the force of its attack nearly knocked me off balance.

"It's a level 3 wind dove," the cat informed me as the bird swooped down for another attack. But this time, I was ready. I waited for it to get within my range and stabbed my dagger upwards with all my strength. The blade pierced its chest, and the bird let out a squawk before crumbling to the ground.

*Ding*

*You leveled up and reached level 5.*

*You can now learn the <Lurk > skill.*

*Use 2 skill points to learn the skill, yes/no.*

A small grin spread across my face as I heard that prompt. I had 4 skill points with this level-up included, more than enough to learn the skill. I thought for a bit and then pressed 'yes'. Two skill points disappeared from my status, and the details of the skill flowed into my mind.

<Lurk: a non-damaging skill. < p>

Consumes 2 MP to use.

Reduces the smell and sound of the user, making it difficult for others to detect them.

Prankster ability bonus: Due to the Prankster ability, the effectiveness of all non-damaging moves increases.

While using Lurk, people of a similar or lower level than the user won't be able to sense the user's location.

Warning: the user's location will be exposed as soon as they attempt any attack.>

Wow, that's one broken skill right there, or maybe not. It's definitely not useful against high-level opponents, so I don't think I can use it to sneak into any noble estates. Still, having a skill is better than not having any.

With that, we made our way back to the city.

Weeks passed in this routine. During the day, I did some easy jobs to earn money, and in the afternoon, we ventured out to hunt, avoiding the place where we encountered the mutated rat.

I gained 2 more levels, and my new status looked like this:

Name: Ervin

Age: 12 years old

Gender: Male

Level: 7

Class: Rogue (basic class) - evolve upon reaching level 20

Ability: Prankster

Stats:

HP: 17

MP: 21

Physical Attack: 21

Physical Defense: 10

Magic Attack: 8

Magic Defense: 11

Agility: 22

Skills:

Slot 1: Lurk

Slot 2:

Slot 3:

Slot 4:

Skill points: 4

With the money gained from work and some 'borrowed' money from unwilling donors, we eventually accumulated enough to rent a modest room and afford three meals a day.

Despite the relative comfort, I felt that something wasn't right. I expected the cat to complain about the goddess's mission every now and then, but it didn't even bring up that topic once. Something felt off.

Determined to uncover the truth, I decided to keep a close watch on the cat. Throughout the day, it did little more than sleep, which, to be fair, wasn't that surprising for a cat. Still, I kept my suspicions to myself.

That night, we had a hearty dinner containing fish and meat, which the cat very much enjoyed. With shining eyes, it asked, "Human, can we afford more of those? I want to eat it tomorrow."

"Sure," I replied, chuckling. "But we can't afford it every day. Maybe twice a week."

"So, we'll have it tomorrow?" the cat asked with practically sparkling eyes. How could I say no to those eyes?

"Alright," I agreed with a nod.

We chatted a bit longer before bidding each other goodnight. As the room fell silent, I pretended to sleep, keeping one eye slightly open.

Hours passed until, finally, the cat stirred. It fluffed around, gave me a snuggle, and then slipped out of the room.

Wa-what was that?

I immediately used <Lurk > and followed behind the cat.