Dawn's Hidden Kitten
“Haaah~!”
Han Ji-woo had zoned out staring at the clouds, and before he knew it, sleep had claimed him. When he opened his eyes, the sky was dimly lit in that hazy way that made it hard to tell if it was late evening or early dawn. If it was the former, he'd taken a nap; if the latter, he'd slept like a rock.
To figure it out, he checked the growth status of the flowers he'd planted.
Sunflower: 1 day until bloom
Lavender: 1 day until bloom
Salvia: 1 day until bloom
Chinese Bellflower: 1 day until bloom
“Dawn it is.”
If it had been evening, it would've said half a day plus one day until bloom. The half-day part was gone, so he'd slept straight through to dawn. Back on Earth living his grind of a life, Han Ji-woo could've only dreamed of this. Sleeping as much as he wanted, deeply and soundly!
Even so, still shaking off the last bits of drowsiness, he lay there gazing at the sparkling stars reflected in his eyes. About ten minutes passed like that.
Staring at a distant point for 10+ minutes has slightly improved your eyesight.
Astronomy
Discover constellations to earn rewards.
“Oh?”
A new skill. Astronomy. Find constellations, get rewards. 'Nice.'
He didn't know what the rewards were, but free stuff was free stuff. He tried to focus on the night sky, but his vision kept blurring. He took off his glasses—and suddenly, everything sharpened. His eyesight had improved bit by bit until now he didn't need them at all.
A shiver ran through Han Ji-woo as he trembled with excitement. No more annoying glasses! He stowed them in his Inventory and jumped to his feet.
“The sky, seen purely with my own eyes.”
It felt so good, a grin crept across his face. He squinted up at the stars dotting the heavens, wondering what constellations might be hiding among their twinkles.
One problem, though: he had no clue how to spot them. And who knew if the dungeon's night sky matched Earth's anyway?
Then, something magical happened. Constellations he'd never seen before flooded his mind: Slime, Orc, Ogre, Wyvern, Unicorn, Vampire, Doppelganger, Golem, Fairy, Elf, Dwarf, and tons more. He could even picture their shapes. That was the Astronomy skill at work.
Forced-fed this star map, Han Ji-woo refocused on the dawn sky.
'Is there something up there right now?'
He mentally overlaid each constellation one by one. They almost matched, glowing faintly but not quite.
'Not that one? Shift a bit and try again...'
He kept at it, but no luck—just sore eyes. Still, every ten minutes, that eyesight improvement message popped up reliably.
“Ugh, making me dizzy. I'll try again tonight.”
Dawn was breaking, stars fading one by one. But then—
“Huh?”
A few lingering stars shone with unusual brilliance. Curious, Han Ji-woo traced them with his eyes. A cat shape emerged: round bottom, pointed triangular ears on top.
No Cat constellation in his mental map, though. 'Strikeout.'
Just a random cat-like pattern. He closed his stinging eyes—then the stars flared brighter, and a message appeared.
The Cat Tribe's Seal Location has been marked.
“Cat Tribe?”
A beam of intense light shot from the Cat constellation, illuminating one wall of the cavern. Drawn like a moth to flame, Han Ji-woo approached and tapped the stone.
Tap-tap! Tap!
Not even that hard, and part of the wall crumbled away. Beyond it yawned a small hollow space—and inside slept a kitten with cheese-like fluffy fur.
“Whoa, a cat!”
Being alone here had gotten to him more than he'd admit; a smile tugged at his lips. Above the kitten's head floated [Affection: 0/100%].
Wondering what that meant, he stared—and a message appeared.
This Cat Tribe member is tamable. Fill its affection gauge, and it will become your pet.
'Pet?' So this cat could become his loyal companion?
'But how do I raise affection?'
No detailed instructions. After a moment's thought, Han Ji-woo started with the obvious: he gently stroked the kitten's head.
The sleeping cat, breathing softly, stirred at the warmth. Purrrrrr~ It rumbled happily, rubbing against the unfamiliar hand.
Affection rose.
19/100%
“Whoa.”
A natural cat lover, Han Ji-woo's heart raced with excitement. He leaned in closer—and right then, the kitten opened its eyes. Emerald orbs locked onto him, and it made the cutest expression, almost like it was smiling.
Nyaaang~ It mewed sweetly.
“So... cute.”
In that instant, he pictured it marrying another cat, having kittens, living happily in a big cat family. Affection climbed higher.
32/100%
“Hey there?”
The kitten mewed thinly in reply, like a greeting. Nyaa~ It stretched languidly, then padded out of the hollow, glancing around the cavern. Han Ji-woo watched, noting the Cat Tribe label above its head.
“Just the species name, huh.”
He wanted to give it a proper name, but first things first—more affection. “What else can I do?”
His eyes fell on the pond. “Aha!”
He scooped water into an apple cup and set it down gently. The kitten sniffed, then lapped it up eagerly.
Lap. Lap. Lap. Lap.
Its tiny pink tongue didn't stop until the cup was empty. Nyaaang~ It meowed triumphantly, affection surging.
65/100%
It must've been parched—affection nearly doubled.
“Thirsty sorted. Now food.”
Not much on hand: dungeon weeds and apples. “This work? Eh, whatever.”
No point overthinking; food didn't magically appear. He mashed weeds and apple with a rock, served in the cup. The kitten sniffed, licked tentatively—then dove in happily.
Nyanyanyaaang.
“Ooh, likes it?”
Feeling oddly proud, Han Ji-woo sat beside it, munching an apple. When the kitten finished, affection jumped.
91/100%
Belly full, it was almost maxed. Just 9% left to make it his pet.
“Petted it, fed and watered it. One thing remains: playtime!”
He dangled a dungeon weed in front of its face. The kitten's eyes locked on, mesmerized by the swaying green.
Nyaa!
It pounced and missed—Han Ji-woo had lifted it just in time. “Heh, not so easy, huh?”
Another leap, another miss. They repeated the game, Han Ji-woo grinning at his impromptu cat fishing. Finally, he let it catch one.
100/100%
“Yes!”
You've tamed the Cat Tribe member. It is now your pet. Please name it.
“Finally!”
He pumped his fists. Naming after taming was the way to go.
“What to call you...”
Studying it closely: a bit bigger than his palm, fluffy as cheese, radiating clever mischief despite being a kitten.
'Reminds me of Lucy.'
Lucy was the orphanage cat from before he went independent. Not officially adopted, but one stray tabby claimed the yard like family. The staff hated it, shooing or tormenting it on sight. Han Ji-woo secretly fed it, cared for it—and soon it timed visits to avoid them, coming only when he was around.
“Yeah. You're Lucy from now on.”
Memories bubbling up, he bestowed the name. The kitten, gnawing the weed, mewed as if understanding. Nyaaang!
Cat Tribe member's name set to Lucy.
The label shifted from Cat Tribe to Lucy.
Opening Lucy's Status Window.
“Status window?”
Pets had them too, apparently. Han Ji-woo glanced at the floating window casually—then froze.
“...What?!”
He gasped at one of her skills.