Chapter 82: Meow
“What kind of riddle are you playing at?”
Xu Zhi muttered to herself as she opened the familiar-but-long-unused “Familiar Selection” screen.
This time, in addition to the two relatively high-level Aberration animals she could choose from, there was also a new, special option.
[Familiar: Nightmare Lv1]
“What is this?”
Though she didn’t quite understand, it sounded really cool.
Without hesitation, she selected the pitiful little Level 1 option.
[Please note: This familiar possesses special traits and abilities. It has an extreme personality and must be strictly supervised.]
Looking at the warning, Xu Zhi was reminded that the game had also issued a special warning when she chose the little Aberration creature before.
“You two are really troublesome.”
Despite her complaint, her finger still honestly pressed the confirm button.
[Selection complete. Due to the unique nature of this familiar, it will be sent directly to your side. Please take note of its arrival.]
Xu Zhi was already quite familiar with this process. As the subtitles faded, she looked ahead—and sure enough, a faint puff of greenish-blue smoke appeared before her. It gently unfurled in the breeze, and upon sensing her gaze, transformed into a very familiar black cat.
Yes, the very same black cat with green eyes that she had seen in the middle of the night.
An exact replica.
The kitten stood proudly on Xu Zhi’s desk, lifted its chin haughtily under her gaze, turned around to sit down with its butt facing her, and even flicked its tail elegantly, exuding an attitude of “I don’t care to acknowledge you.”
“…What is this supposed to be?”
Xu Zhi’s voice carried a subtly accusatory tone.
[I told you it wouldn’t disappoint. There’s a surprise in store.]
“A surprise?”
Xu Zhi pointed at the little cat showing her its rear. “That thing’s the surprise? It doesn’t look like it likes me at all. Are you sure it’ll listen to me?”
[Uh… well, it will listen to you. Maybe not willingly, but it will. You just have to coax it a little, okay?]
“That’s crap!”
“This is outrageous!”
“What kind of familiar is this noble that I have to coax it?”
[Well, why don’t you check its stats?]
“Let me see.”
Xu Zhi quickly opened the Nightmare’s stats panel.
*
[Familiar: Nightmare Lv1
Mind: 100
Body: 0 (Because your familiar is a special entity, all purely physical attacks are ineffective against it.)
Attribute: Moth
Traits:
Dreamweaving Lv3; Fear Lv3; Chaos Lv2; Agility Lv1; Insight Lv1
Special Ability: Nightmare Creation
[Nightmare Creation]: Consumes extraordinary energy and mental strength. Your familiar can construct a nightmare and pull any creature into it. Within the nightmare, everything can be real and everything can be false. The greater the difference in mental strength between your familiar and the target, the more devastating the nightmare. The number of targets depends on the familiar’s own strength and the power disparity.
As the master of the nightmare, you may provide materials for dream construction and may also enter the nightmare to manipulate it indirectly. The degree of control you have depends on the nightmare’s level of trust in you.
This ability is currently undeveloped. As your familiar levels up, it will grow more powerful. Please work to unlock Nightmare’s full potential.
“I take back what I said,” Xu Zhi said calmly, as though nothing had happened.
“So I need to coax a kitten? No problem.”
A kitten?
This was clearly her little ancestor!
Immune to physical attacks, with mental stats at Level 1 that rivaled other familiars at Level 9 or 10, and with an attack method that invaded the opponent’s mind—a tactic Xu Zhi sorely lacked until now.
She did have the moth, but it wasn’t a direct damage-dealing tool. And as for physical attacks, she already had plenty of those. What she lacked was exactly this: mental attacks.
If she could show the moth first to cause some mental confusion, and then drag the enemy into a nightmare… maybe it would have a special effect?
But first, she’d need to build trust with Nightmare.
Xu Zhi found this part tricky. She had no idea how to build bonds with pets. Her previous familiars came with built-in closeness—they didn’t need bonding at all.
“Anyway, I should start by finding a few books on pet care.”
“Also, you said the next familiar selection will take a long time. How long exactly?” she asked the game console.
[You’ve reached the limit with five familiars. Your next selection will come only after your life level increases.]
“Life level increase? Do you mean evolution level?”
[No, I mean a higher tier of life form—like transcending the mortal realm.]
Xu Zhi raised an eyebrow. “Transcending mortals? What do I have to become then?”
[There are many possibilities. For example—the Archbishop.]
“I have no interest in becoming something like that.”
[What are you even thinking? Even if you wanted to become an Archbishop, it’d be hard. You have your own path to follow.]
Xu Zhi didn’t argue with that. She just asked, “Is it hard?”
Transcending mortals… Even though she was already an extraordinary being, it didn’t mean she’d surpassed the mortal realm in terms of life level.
It already sounded difficult—she just wanted to hear it confirmed.
[Extremely hard. But, your luck is unusually good. I think you’ll come across a fate uniquely yours.]
“Of course.” Xu Zhi’s voice was full of confidence. She also took the narrator’s words to heart—this wasn’t something she could rush. It depended heavily on fate.
So she’d leave it alone for now.
Five familiars were plenty to work with anyway.
After finishing her questions, Xu Zhi turned to look at the black cat again. After a moment of thought, she asked, “Does it still remember what happened at midnight?”
[It’s not the same Nightmare from midnight. You’re not yet capable of having a familiar of that level. You can think of this one as a ‘super baby’ version of that Nightmare.]
[No memories—completely blank slate.]
“That’s good.” The one from midnight had a temper she couldn’t handle.
Hesitating slightly, Xu Zhi reached out her right hand toward the black cat’s sleek, smooth-looking fur. But before she could touch it, the cat sensed her approach, let out a meow, and leapt away, looking at her with proud eyes as if to say: Don’t touch me!
Xu Zhi awkwardly withdrew her hand. “Fine, if you don’t want to be touched, I won’t touch you!”
“Is there anything you like?” she asked.
The cat lifted its chin and looked at her with disdain, not responding or showing any emotional reaction.
Xu Zhi changed tactics. “Or anything you hate?”
The cat merely flicked its tail and ignored her.
“Do you eat cores?” Xu Zhi pulled out the ultimate temptation—a core with the Moth attribute.
This time, the cat moved. It leapt nimbly to Xu Zhi’s side, like a puff of smoke, completely silent. It gently picked up the core from her palm with its mouth and jumped back to a high perch. Despite the gift, it still didn’t show the slightest bit of friendliness.
Xu Zhi sighed.
“Are all cats this hard to please?”
