Final Preparations to Welcome Them

The black cat showered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me with praise as I returned to my original form. “Well done! That was a truly flawless hunt. I… might have been a little moved, sob.”

Only after hearing that voice did I finally come back to my senses. And when I belatedly recalled everything I had just done, I looked down at my trembling hands with wide eyes.

“Ah… What… what have I done…”

I had devoured a magical beast—several times larger than myself. At first, my will hadn’t been involved, so there was some room for excuse. But from the middle onward, that was no longer true. Watching the beast melt inside my body, I had felt a sense of fullness. While savoring that moment, I had even lent my strength without hesitation to the body that was moving on its own. Could I really claim that my own will had played no part in any of it?

The moment that doubt surfaced, terror flooded my mind. Even though I had become this body, it felt as if the humanity I had barely managed to hold onto was disappearing as well.

When I failed to recover easily from the shock, the cat approached me as if to comfort me. “Hmm… It seems the shock is quite severe. It may not be much consolation, but as a hero and a magical girl, you did the right thing! You perfectly eliminated an evil magical beast. As proof, the system itself has acknowledged your contribution, hasn’t it?”

Now that I thought about it, even in my dazed state, I vaguely remembered hearing a voice. I couldn’t recall the rest clearly, but the words “magical girl” stood out vividly in my memory.

Having successfully drawn my attention, the entity continued without delay. “A magical girl of justice who defeats evil! The title granted to you was specially created to support exactly this kind of battle. If you want to know the detailed effects, why not check it yourself?”

The cat whispered in a tone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that subtly stirred my curiosity. My head was still spinning from the earlier shock, but I wasn’t entirely without curiosity either. I opened the status window and brought up the detailed description of the title.

“This… isn’t this completely broken?”

After carefully reading the description displayed above the status window, I couldn’t hide my shock at the unexpectedly powerful effects. The name of the ability bothered me, but aside from that, the effects were not just decent—they were top-tier. The ability to temporarily raise any stat I wanted based on the target’s Karma value, plus bonus experience on top of that… Even without knowing much about titles, there was no doubt this ranked in the top one percent.

The experience bonus in particular was outrageous. Normally, to raise your level stably, you had to hunt magical beasts around your own level. But this was reality, not a game, so you had to risk your life, and even for skilled hunters, leveling up was extremely difficult. While the desire to grow faster existed, a single life was far more precious. Considering all of that, this title’s performance was downright fraudulent.

When I stood there with my mouth open in astonishment, the cat looked at me with an air of triumph. “How about it? Aren’t the benefits incredible? All of this is special support prepared for a magical girl!”

If only that “magical girl” part didn’t exist, it would have been perfect. Whether it knew my feelings or not, the entity kept talking. “Even though the magical beast was already dying, with your current stats it should have been impossible to dissolve it. The only reason it worked was because its Karma value reached one hundred—an absurdly, abnormally high number.”

My eyes widened at those words. According to common knowledge, a single intentional murder raised your Karma by about ten. One hundred… that was beyond shocking.

“It’s probably because of the civil war. Since they fought among their own kind, the sin of killing their own kind must have raised their Karma even higher. As a result, according to the title’s effect, your Acid stat rose by ten points, allowing you to safely melt the beast’s tough hide.”

The entity struck a haughty pose, as if boasting of its own greatness. I ignored it and began examining my status window, which had undergone a storm of level-ups.

The first thing that caught my eye was that my level had risen five stages to 15. Now that the familiar number 10 had disappeared from its place, I stared at it with a gaze full of many emotions. That number had seemed like it would never change. To think it had shifted in an instant. Of course, the process had been anything but smooth, but it was still a fresh shock. Seeing my own growth with my own eyes was enough to stir a faint sense of anticipation that even someone like me could become stronger.

Next were the stat points gained from leveling up. A total of 15 points remaining. Just as rumored, three points were awarded per level-up.

“Ah, wait a moment! You need to invest all those points into Acid.”

Noticing where I was looking, the cat quickly spoke up. When I stared at it questioningly, the entity gave me a sly smile.

“…I have my own plans, so just follow what I say. You’ll understand the reason eventually.”

I instinctively felt uneasy at that ominous tone. But since the cat was the one in control of the situation, I couldn’t voice any objections. To begin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with, even I still had a lot of unknown information about this body.

“And keep this in mind. You are no longer human. The word ‘Outsider’ attached to the title isn’t just decoration. So don’t try to judge what’s going to happen from now on with human common sense. If you do something so reckless… your mind won’t be able to endure it.”

The entity began with those words and gazed at me with calm eyes. At the same time, the shock and terror I had momentarily forgotten came creeping back to the surface. The meaning was simple: abandon the human way of thinking I had taken for granted. It was hard to accept, and I wasn’t even sure if it was possible, but reality was merciless. The warning the entity had given was something I was already painfully aware of even now. My mind was already shaking—how much worse would it get from here? That worry already clouded my thoughts.

Seeing my serious expression, the cat this time curved its eyes gently and smiled. “Still, there’s no need to worry too much! Everything just needs a little time. I’m sure you’ll adapt.”

To speak so casually about something that wasn’t its own problem—there really was no creature more irritating than this one. Grumbling inwardly like that, I let out a deep sigh.

“So… what’s next? This isn’t the end, is it?”

The cat’s eyes sparkled as if surprised that I had asked, then immediately gave its answer. “I like that motivated look! But now that you’ve finished the minimum growth, it’s time to make other preparations. Since this is a place we’ve claimed in advance, we should make full use of the home-ground advantage.”

The entity began a detailed explanation. As I listened in silence, my expression shifted from doubt to growing paleness, and finally to outright horror. Yet despite my reaction, the cat looked at me with bright, sparkling eyes, as if to say, “You can handle at least this much, right?”

I desperately wanted to object to that ridiculous, insane plan. The problem was that I had no right of refusal. The only answer I could give in this situation was to nod with tears in my eyes while swallowing my complaints. All ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while inwardly cursing this suspicious lifeform.

-----

Near the dungeon’s entrance, somewhere inside the cave.

The party that had just entered the dungeon was making their final checks on their gear. Their faces matched the party that had come here last time. The only difference was that one of the porters was missing. Moreover, because they had prioritized mining equipment over weapons, their overall appearance looked quite different from before.

“Aah~ I hate this, I really hate it. Why do I have to be the porter? This is so unfair…”

At that moment, one of the young men in the party complained in a sulky voice. He was the same man who had discovered the life-changing stroke of luck during the previous dungeon raid. As the party’s assassin, he was now carrying a heavy backpack instead of scouting or searching. For someone who had always darted around with quick movements, the frustration was only natural.

The party leader, the very person who had assigned him the role, frowned and spoke. “Of course it has to be you. Then who else is going to do it? Should the tanker, Mr. Park, carry it? Or should I, the one who actually fights the beasts?”

“That’s… not really an option, is it.”

Faced with the leader’s fierce retort, the man could only lower his head without any rebuttal. Even he had to admit that no one else besides himself—who didn’t participate directly in combat—could take on the porter role. The leader had probably made this decision because the path leading to the boss room had already been cleared last time.

The man thought this to himself and lamented his situation. But contrary to that thought, if an assassin’s feet were bound inside the dungeon, the danger would be beyond imagination.