Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Ghost City (1)
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The effect of the [Cat Lord] title, as you know, was nine lives. Nine lives—who wouldn't covet such power?
But those nine lives came with some pretty tricky conditions.
First, if afflicted with the curse of 'immortality,' the nine lives vanish. Well, 'immortality' literally means not dying, so of course the nine lives would disappear. Usually, to gain 'immortality,' you'd need to sacrifice souls on the scale of a city or even a whole country, so that's got nothing to do with me.
Second, the soul must be 'free.' If it's bound to something or tied into a serious contract involving the soul as collateral, then upon death, the soul gets delivered to its rightful owner, making revival impossible. This doesn't apply to me, either.
Third, the soul's resting place must be preserved. In simple terms, the body needs to be kept in a state where revival wouldn't seem out of place. Losing an arm or a leg might be fine, but if 80% of the body is missing, revival would be tough. So, even in death, die 'cleanly'!
"The last one's the hardest."
On top of that, [Cat Lord] came with one passive skill: [Cat's Eye].
Just as it sounds, it was a skill that let you borrow a cat's 'eyes.' It was a bit different from the [Familiar] skill. Rather than me directly controlling the cat, it was more like peeking through the cat's vision for a moment.
It had limitations since I couldn't send a cat to scout a specific place—I could only borrow the vision of cats already there—but it was still a pretty good skill.
Cats are everywhere, after all.
"This'll come in handy too."
I closed the worn book and tucked it into my inner pocket, then lightly touched the new cloak draped over my shoulders. This cloak, received at the Cat Lord appointment ceremony, boosted stealth and speed. It wasn't as impressive as [Shadow Cloak], but since [Shadow Cloak] was too powerful for everyday use, this was just right for constant wear.
"Theo. Cat. Smell."
"Yeah? You don't like it?"
"Theo. Me. Hate."
Haha. What can I do? Like it or not, I'm already the Cat Lord. I chuckled and stroked Legion's head.
"Wanna hang with El for a while?"
"Theo. Me. With Theo."
"Then you'll have to tough it out. Cat smell."
"Ughhh."
I placed the protesting Legion on my shoulder and asked Lloyd, who had come near the window.
"How much farther? El said we'd reach the village soon."
"I saw lights, but they don't seem to be getting closer. Might be a mirage."
"A mirage?"
I stuck my head out the window and looked where Lloyd pointed. Far off, amid the blurring gray horizon, a small light flickered. At that distance, by carriage, it'd take maybe thirty minutes to an hour...
'Did we take a wrong turn?'
I knocked on the door to stop the carriage, got out, and switched places with El. Then, instead of Lloyd, I had Ayla take the lead and followed her.
'...Maybe everyone's just tired.'
How much time passed like that? Far more than the thirty minutes or hour I'd estimated...
-Prriiing!
-Thud! Thud!
Storm, who had been pulling the carriage steadily, suddenly halted and started snorting wildly.
"Storm, Storm?"
Pulling the reins wasn't enough to calm the snorting, so I got out and soothed him. But he wouldn't settle easily, and eventually, the carriage even began to shake.
'What's gotten into him?'
Horses were far more sensitive than their size and appearance suggested. Storm was a wild horse once, but he'd been tamed long ago, and we'd traveled together for ages, so rebellion now was unlikely. That left only one guess.
Some kind of 'danger' lurked nearby.
A 'danger' that prey like Storm could sense, unlike predator Ayla.
"Yeah, yeah. Calm down."
I soothed Storm, pulled out an apple for him to munch on, and said to El and Lloyd,
"Change of plans. We'll rest here tonight."
Lloyd nodded, and El jumped down from the carriage to start setting up camp with practiced ease—finding a spot for the fire, gathering firewood. While the group prepared, I parked the carriage and tied Storm securely under a safe tree.
Storm finished his apple and still looked uneasy even with me there. I gently stroked his neck and mane. He let out a low prrr and pawed the ground.
"Why are you so anxious, Storm?"
This was the horse who'd charged fearlessly into forests with dire wolves and maple bears. The one who never backed down from Ayla's presence. What could be setting him off now?
I gazed at the light in the distance, still not drawing nearer on the horizon.
"Is it that?"
-Prriiing.
"...Ayla, stay with Storm tonight."
I called Ayla over, sat her by Storm, and headed to the campfire El had lit.
"Why's Storm acting up?"
"Who knows."
Using the [Song of the Beast] skill would let me communicate with Storm. But even then, I couldn't understand everything he wanted to say. The gap between Storm's intelligence and perception versus mine was too vast. Even with [Song of the Beast], the info I'd get would be something vague like 'this area's scary for some reason.'
That unchanging light was suspicious too, so camping here was the only option.
"Nothing salvaged from Dehid, so 'whatever stew' it is tonight."
"I like Master's 'whatever stew.'"
"Haha, glad to hear it."
Lloyd would patrol and bring back edible meat, so I'd forage for stew ingredients. Maybe snag some seeds too.
"El, watch the fire."
"Yes, Master."
I stood and pushed through the underbrush. The dense forest was pitch black beyond the campfire's glow, visibility near zero, but [Owl's Eye] let me navigate without issue.
"Oh, wild butternut here?"
Edibles were plentiful too. Small but creamy and richly sweet wild butternuts hung in clusters, and nearby were dark red wild berry bushes. I pocketed a few butternuts and berries.
'If there's enough sugar left, maybe pudding?'
No dessert leisure in Dehid, so sweets were calling lately.
I gathered various wild fruits and herbs, then returned to camp. I wanted to forage more, but unlike proud Koreans who conquer every weed and poison plant from childhood, folks in this pseudo-medieval land don't eat toxic stuff...
Last time, adding ferns to the stew gave El a stomachache despite my blanching, drying, and boiling to remove toxins.
Fiddleheads, taro stems, lacquer, angelica shoots, aster, ginkgo—Koreans tame most poisons young, granting de facto poison immunity.
'Thanks, Grandpa Dan-gun...'
A rare prayer to my true god(?) over this land's twelve. I clasped hands briefly, then returned.
"Just a few rabbits."
Lloyd was skinning them at camp. Perfect for 'whatever stew.'
"That'll do."
Slicing the golden-fleshed butternuts into the pot and sautéing released a sweet aroma. Pumpkin, sweet potato-like sweetness. When peanut notes emerged, it was ready—add water, herbs, and simmer.
Butternut's creamy texture and rich flavor meant no milk or butter needed for a smooth, hearty cream stew. While simmering, I skewered rabbit meat over the fire. Once fire-kissed, into the stew to braise tender.
Rabbit legs went into a pan with leftover oil, grilled. When half-done, basted with honey mixed with chopped herbs and wild garlic, crisping golden.
-Sizzle...
-Bubble...
Time till done, so I scraped remaining butternut flesh, mixed with wild berries and all leftover sugar, boiled, and chilled. Not quite pudding, but cold as dessert? Perfect.
"Dinner time."
We sat around the fire, tearing into rabbit legs. The garlic added a spicy kick for great flavor—I loved it, but El and Lloyd found it a bit hot. Haha, foreigners!
The butternut-herb-rabbit stew was oily yet smooth, hearty, and savory. Like pumpkin, sweet potato, peanut melded—nutty, sweet, warm, went down easy. Ideal camp belly-filler. We each downed two bowls.
"Eat it cooled a bit, Legion."
"Theo. Me. Wait."
Legion flicked his tongue, eager. I set cooled stew before him, then stood for the prepped butternut-berry cold soup.
-Rustle...
"...Hm?"
At the bush hiding my perfect sweet butternut-berry cold soup, something rustled. Wild animal? But Lloyd said only rabbits...
I approached cautiously.
-Rustle...
Then.
-Awooooooo!
Ayla's howl tore through the night sky.