As Yuki continued singing her song and picking herbs, a rustle came from the bushes not far from her. But because Yuki was in her own little world, she did not notice the two yellow eyes staring at her. It watched Yuki closely for a while before disappearing back into the forest.
Yuki was completely focused on the herbs. Her main goal was to collect all the items needed for the heavenly potions. While most of the ingredients were easy to get, she was having a hard time finding any more wild yam root. "What should I do?" Yuki frowned as she looked around the area she had dug one up before. But no matter where she looked, she could not spot another wild yam root plant.
"Meow!" A cry came from behind her, causing Yuki to almost jump out of her skin. She turned around to see a palmed sized black cat with two tails and big yellow eyes.
Yuki completely let her guard down as she saw the cat. She had a soft spot for cute animals. If it was not for the fact that she could not afford or have a pet in her current place of residence, she would have a few cats herself. She smiled and knelt down and held her hand out towards the black cat. "Are you alone?"
"Meow!" The black cat called out before turning around and then looking back at Yuki.
Seeing this, Yuki knew she would not get an answer, but she still asked: "You want to follow me?"
"Meow!" The cat let out a happy cry and pushed its way through the bush. Yuki, who was surprised that the cat seemed to have answered her, decided to take the chance and follow after it, even knowing that she may die due to her own curiosity. The cat sped up when it saw Yuki was really following.
After almost five minutes, Yuki came to a clearing where her eyes opened wide. "Wild yam root!?" She looked over at the cat who was sitting in the middle of the clearing licking its paws. "You knew that I needed this?"
"Meow!" The cat gave a happy cry. It then walked over to Yuki and rubbed itself all over her legs. Then it did the most surprising thing. It hopped up Yuki's body and perched itself on top of her head. Because it was so small, it did not weigh much at all, and Yuki did not feel bothered by it in the slightest.
Yuki was very happy right now. There were at least a hundred or more wild yam roots here. She knew it would take a while to dig them up as well. So she quickly went to work digging. As she did, she kept her mind occupied by singing another random made up song. She did not notice the black cat on top of her head swaying back and forth to the sound of her voice. It seemed to be enjoying the song very much.
After almost two hours, Yuki had finally pulled up the last wild yam root giving her 300 in total. She figured with this much, she would not need to find more for a while. "Okay, inventory full! Now I can go back and store them all and craft more potions. I wonder if I sold anything yet."
Yuki walked her way towards the forest exit, but when she got to the exit, she remembered the little black cat on top of her head. She reached up and picked it up before setting it down on the ground. She knelt down next to it and patted its head. "I have to go back now. Hopefully, I will see you again when I come next time."
"Meow?" The black cat looked up at Yuki, confused, before vanishing from where it stood and reappearing back on top of her head. Seeing such a thing, Yuki really did not know what to make of it.
Sighing, Yuki asked: "Do you want to come with me?"
"Meow!" The little back cat let out an excited cry and danced on top of Yuki's head.
"Alright, then you can come along. But you need a name, so how does Nergal sound?" Yuki asked. She felt this cat resembled an ancient Babylonian cat god Nergal with how it was black and had yellow eyes.
"Meow!" The little black cat, now named Nergal, happily meowed. As it answered, a window popped up in front of Yuki.
[Hidden Skill: Taming Unlocked!]
[Sing a song to soothe the hearts of beasts.]
[New Companion added: Nergal]
[From the twin tail cat race holding the blood of the ancient God Nergal. Has a chance to ascend to godhood.]
[Cultivation Stage: Fortification Realm/ Stage 5]
[Level: 10/20]
"This? Did I just unlock a skill!? Wait, what does it mean to sing a song!? My voice is always off key!" Yuki could really not understand what this game was thinking! How did her off key singing enable her to get a hidden skill!? "Well, whatever, this means that Nergal is now officially mine, right? But I wonder if it is a coincidence that I named Nergal after a cat god named the same, and the game also says Nergal has the blood of an ancient cat god in him named Nergal... I really should read up on the lore of this game..."
"Meow!" Nergal meowed happily.
"Still, it's sad when my pet is stronger than me..." Although she said this, she also felt rest assured that she could rely on her little palmed sized cat to protect her. Well, at least she thought so anyway. As she began thinking about how big the little guy was, she slowly started doubting herself until it got to the point that she got it in her head that she would need to be the one to protect the little guy. But now, Yuki could say she was not alone. She now had Nergal to keep her company as she played the game.
As Yuki was making her way back to the trade skill guild with her new companion, the Soul Fusion Online forums were going nuts once again due to her potions.
@WiredToes: Who was the freak that bought up all the potions for 100 gold!
@GreenHat: What!? Someone paid that outrageous buyout price!?
@WiredToes: Not just paid, they bought every stack of potions! That's a thousand gold!
@SmexyInPink: Do you think the person who made those would let this ladyboy hug their thighs? If it is a female, I do not mind going straight!
@WhiteLotus: !!!!! I already called that big thigh! Take your ladyboy ass and walk on out of here!
@SmexyInPink: You want to fight!? I do not mind slapping a hoe!
@GreenHat: Can you stop fighting! By the way, WhiteLotus, I am still waiting for the nudes!
@WiredToes: Why did it come to this! You guys are missing the point! There is now a player in the game with 1000 Gold!
@GreenHat: I bet a lot of gold sellers made a lot of money today then. Now that I think about it, I need to check my account!
@WiredToes: I want to kill GreenHat!
@WhiteLotus: +1 on killing GreenHat
@SmexyInPink: +1 on killing GreenHat
As for Yuki, who still did not realize she had made a killing, she was currently being surrounded by a bunch of girls, all due to Nergal. "He's so cute! Just as cute as its owner!"
As this novel is also part of the spirity awards, I hope for those who are liking the novel can take some time to leave a review and, if possible, give it a vote.
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