My return to the waking world es with a bright fsh of sunlight apanied by the rustling of leaves and smell of smoke. A groan escapes my maw as I stand up. I look around and find myself directly outside the cave I’d retly exited.

  “rade Quasi, is you, yes?”

  I turn around to find Boriss, Cillian, and Irmgard sitting together around a campfire.

  That expins the smell of smoke.

  I nod and walk towards the three.

  I must have been out for rather long if they’ve already got a campfire burnin.

  “Looks like you haven't been able to ge back.” Cillian says at my arrival.

  Yea, I know. You don't o remind me.

  “Is fine. Little ge.” Boriss excims.

  Cillian rolls his eyes.

  “Anyway, we’ve been talking about our new, uhh, csses we got. Apparently this world is like a videogame.”

  “Da. Is fun, yes?” Boriss points at himself, “Boriss is [Skirmisher]. Little ball say is rare css.”

  Little ball… oh, they probably didn't have a goddess and instead had something else.

  “I chose the css [Sword Officer].” Irmgard announces.

  “And I chose [Mert].”

  Really? [Mert]?

  “Yea, yea. Boriss gave me the same look. Here's the thing, of the three csses offered, none were for bat. sidering [Trader] sounded basid [Atant] doesn’t sound useful. I’m left with [Mert].”

  Ok. So they ALL were given choices and allowed to choose. Bastards.

  Irmgard clears her throat. “Since we’ve all shared our csses with each other, it would be only proper for you to share yours.” She points at the ground under my feet. “Just use a cw to write it out since you 't speak.”

  I could do that… or, I could demonstrate it instead. Now, how do I activate shift? Do I just think about transf into a cat?

  With just a thought, a floating box arrives in front of my vision.

  [Shift] - (Baby-Mimicus)

  Activation Cost: 58 Mana

  Sustain: 0.543 Mana/Minute

  Would You like to activate this skill?

  Um, yes?

  The moment the thought leaves my mind, my body instantly grows warm. I feel energy ing throughout my body. It moves rapidly, seemingly resonating and f into a plicated matrix. I try to ascertairucture and memorize the movement, but it is far too plicated and plex. The moment the matrix is pleted, my vision disappears and is quickly shifted downward. Then, all at once, I feel my new body.

  “Huh, it worked.” My eyes widen. “Oh shit, I talk.”

  “Holy shite you’re a fu talking cat.” Cillian excims.

  “Da,” Boriss nods, “tiny kitten. Is killer.”

  I ighe two and focus oing my new limbs. Which isn't too plicated. I’m effectively a housecat with the full human vocal range.

  “Alright,” I say aloud, “My css is [Shifter]. And as you see, I gained a skill that lets me transform into a Mimicus- a cat that talk.”

  “Permaly?” Irmgard asks.

  “Maybe? I’m not sure. If I’m regeing mana while transformed, then yes. If not, then I’ll probably transform back. Regardless, I talk now, so this is very helpful. Now, what are all your skills? I’m sure you’ve obtained one.”

  “Da, one. Skill is [Night Vision]. I see in dark.”

  “I’ve got [Sense Rarity]. It’s supposed to let me sehe rarity of items. I’m not sure how exactly it is supposed to work.” Cillians expins.

  “And I have [Boosted trol]. It boosts my trol trait by ten.” Irmgard says.

  So, skills are pretty simple for the most part. I wonder if the ter levels will be more iing?

  “Well, thanks for sharing. I think the first order of business is to see if we find civilization. Unless anyone here has a better idea?”

  I am met with the shaking of heads.

  “Good, then I’ll climb one of these trees and see if I see anything.”

  Gng up at all the trees, I choose one of the taller ones and walk up to it. I pce my paw on the bark and release my nails. I test the bark with several scratches to make sure that I would have a firm grip.

  With my test plete, I hop onto the bark with all four limbs and tto the side. Then, I start to climb. To facilitate my climb, I hop from brao branches, getting higher and higher until I see something that has my mouth drop open. Far in the distance are small floating isnds. Mere specs, but they are floating in the air. Looking around from my vantage, I also hat I am currently on an isnd surrounded by water?

  I look around me and analyze the isnd I’m on. We are more iskirts of the isnd, with the ter of it a massive dead s. I also notice that though it is daytime, there is no sun in the sky. It seems like the sky is just lit up with light of some kind.

  Eventually, my eyes see a puff of smoke rising at the edge of the isnd not too far from where I am.

  Seeing everything I , I desd the tree aurn bap.

  “Alright, we’re on an isnd surrounded by water. I see floating isnds in the distahe sky seems magically lit up. And, I see some distant smoke not too far from here. I say we head there and see what we find.”

  The group nods to my decision and I climb atop Boriss’s shoulder and direct them towards the smoke. Our traversal through the forest was iing to say the least. Various alien species from single eyed camoufged deer to snakes with twenty pairs of legs. We even had a pack of alien foxes with three tails following us and hungrily staring at me. Thankfully, my mount was an effectively intimidating presehroughout the journey.

  When we finally reach our destination, night has fallen and the Harbor town is smothered in the light of torches. The town, a good five dozen wooden buildings, rests o the shore where a dozen oddly made sailing ships are moored. Far into the distance, past the water is the sight of floating isnds which look like bck shapes in the night.

  Even with night so prevalent, there are still many people w at the docks. All of them are human and dressed as though it is the thirteenth tury.

  “So, should we ask for dires or what?” Cillian asks.

  “No, Da.” Irmgard and Boriss answer.

  The unist and Nazi g one ahen Boriss looks at me.

  “rade Quasi, what say you?”

  I look around at the various buildings and the names pstered ohen I find it. The most important building that a harbor could ever have.

  I raise a paw at a building with an image of a bottle at the top. “We’re going to Arbor’s Butchers to gather information.”

  All eyes swerve to the building.

  “That's a pub!” Cillian excims, excited.

  “Yup. Best pce to gather information is where tongues are g. But first, I need you and Irmgard to stay out of sight. Me and Boriss are going to get some currency to pay for it all.”

  “Is that wise?” Irmgard asks. “Staying together is safer, and I would rather not risk losing you, especially si seems like you’ve dohis before.”

  I wave a paw, “it is precisely that I’ve dohis before that I am asking both of you to sit tight. Right now, we o be sneaky, and I doubt either of you have stealth training.”

  She frowns and crosses her arms. “Fine. You’ve guided us well, so I will accept your orders for the time being. Viel Glück.”

  “Good. We’ll be back shortly. My stead!” I tap Boriss on the cheek. “Head to the port. There is moo be gained.”

  _________________________________________________________________

  “Ah, you must be asking about old Myron and his grandson. They stay at the Arbor’s Butchers.”

  Hmm. That might be him.

  I write the words Arbor’s Butchers on my booklet.

  “I see. This Myron, what does he do and how long has he been here?” I ask the native.

  The native scratches his beard. He is an older man, but still in peak w dition in at to the man's muscles. Which makes sense sidering the man is a level 24 [Shipwright]. He probably spent all of his trait points to boost his strength and endurance.

  “Well, Myron came here about three years ago with his grandson. Currently, he tutors children. A very smart man, that one. I heard that he used to be a [Mert Captain] until he was forced to sell his ship to pay off his son's debt and free his grandson. Stoes that the son got himself into debt with the wrong people and ended up getting himself and his wife killed.”

  Three years matches the timing, as does [Captains] experiehis could actually be him. If it is, I should be careful. He may be old, but the man could very well end me if I fight him alone. I’ll o get my crew.

  I write down [Mert Captain] and three years in my notebook. Then I close it.

  “Thank you, mister Lance. Your information was most useful.” I reato my poud retrieve a single deca-trist and raise my hand to give it to Lance.

  Before Lance take it, a cat jumps iween us and snatches the deca-trist from my hand.

  “Shit,” I curse. “One moment, Mr. Lance.”

  I run after the cat as it runs from me. I lose sight of the cat from the darkness. I look around, and then I year a small Meow. I follow the sound to a dark alley. In the middle of the alley is a siorch illuminating the cat and the at its feet. The cat curiously looks at me and tilts its head.

  “Man,” I shake my head and start walking to the cat, “If I’d lost Trist to a damn cat, my [Bounty Hunter] friends would seriously lose respee.”

  Halfway to the cat, the cat smiles at me with a iving grin. It opens its mouth and says a word.

  “Dumbass.”

  ___________________________________________________________________

  I watch the man's eye widen right before Boriss silently s an arm around the man's throat while pushing him into the ground and pinning him in such a way that he 't fight back. Which the man tries, but ultimately fails. After ten seds of pressure oery, the man loses unsciousness.

  “ form, Boriss. Very .”

  “Da,” he nods happily, “Is easier than bear.”

  I snort. “Right. Anyway, grab his poud see if he has anything else valuable.”

  My eye falls on the man's cutss on his hip. The on looks rather fancy, what with the Raven hilt and all.

  “Grab his cutss toard needs a new sword since I broke her st one.”

  “Done.” Boriss excims. “Now we go to rades?”

  I chuckle. “The night is young, Boriss. The night is very young.”