Death's Cat's Desperate Deal
My entire body tensed up. I knew exactly one being who would initiate a conversation like this. The most melancholic savior. And my memories of that entity were far from pleasant.
[Lick. Lick.]
‘Why… no response? From the context, is this one of those “others” the madman mentioned…?’
I cautiously tried again.
“Who is this?”
The other side finally answered my repeated question.
[Huh? Were you talking to me? I am Death’s Messenger!]
“Messenger…? Is your title Death’s Messenger?”
[No. I’m a cat!]
Confusion hit me instantly. Had I gotten the wrong weirdo?
‘Tch, stay calm. My crazy-person radar is still working.’
“Uh… Then, Death’s Cat? What brings you here?”
[Hmm… Wait a moment. I’m almost done eating. I’ll tell you the proposal soon. Lick. Lick. Delicious!]
She seemed to be in the middle of a meal. Regardless, I had zero intention of accepting whatever “proposal” she was offering. The last time I took one, I’d stood at death’s doorstep and barely made it back. The risk-to-reward ratio was basically garbage.
“I… I’ll pass.”
The cat exploded.
[Y-You little—! I came with a good offer!]
I was the one who should be exploding. I’d slaughtered a vampire giant only to be handed a [Tool Set]. There was no value in going through that again.
“What are you trying to pull this time? I said no! The rewards are trash too! I’m not doing it! Go away!”
When I firmly refused, silence followed. Something felt off. The thought that she might throw a tantrum for rejecting the offer flashed through my mind.
But the message that came back contained words I never expected.
[Ah… I can’t! The boss said if I fail again, no snacks for ten years…]
‘What?’
I reread the cat’s message. So she had to succeed with the “proposal,” and failure meant no snacks for ten years? Plus, she’d already failed multiple times? I didn’t even need to ask why—she gave off that vibe.
‘Is this thing… just an idiot?’
It wasn’t impossible. No matter what their society was like, every world had its share of lunatics and fools. It was perfectly normal for “the others” to have fools too.
The tension drained out of me. Looking at it again, the whole “make a proposal and get snacks” setup was textbook sales work. This one was a half-wit salesperson.
Maybe her “proposal” would actually be safe. Still, I couldn’t let my guard down completely. Time to probe.
“Ahem… Well, I suppose I could at least hear you out. Snacks are important, after all. Can’t judge too hastily!”
[Right, right. You actually know a thing or two!]
But the promised proposal never came. Only silence stretched on.
Quiet.
Eventually I couldn’t hold back.
“Hey, you still there?”
A frantic reply arrived.
[This is bad! I accidentally only brought the Stage 6 proposal manual. I’m in real trouble now.]
How on earth had this creature become a “Death’s Messenger”? I just stood there, dumbfounded.
Baengnae, who had been watching our entire exchange, wandered over. She’d finished eating the dwarf and was bored. Suddenly she puffed out her chest, pointed at the air, and shouted.
“Dat one dere, I know! Dat cat’s gonna get Baengnae’s big bro in trouble! Go ‘way!”
‘…Why are you fanning the flames? Also, it was ten years, not a hundred.’
But the effect was tremendous. The cat panicked completely.
[Eek?! No! Then I’ll die! A hundred years?! That’s too cruel. Save me!]
Baengnae was only making things messier. I pushed the zombie’s back. Having her around would make extracting information harder.
“Go play with the dogs. Don’t interrupt.”
“Baengnae’s bored.”
“I know. Go play. I’m working right now.”
“Mmm, ‘kay.”
After finally sending Baengnae away, I turned back to see the cat alternating between licking and sniffling. She still had snacks left, apparently. If things continued like this, she’d be living without them.
‘Ah, whatever.’
I decided to go on the offensive. Since the choice was ultimately mine, forcing her to reveal the proposal would work in my favor.
“Listen up, cat! After careful consideration, we’ve decided that confiscating ten years of snacks is too harsh. So let’s make a Stage 3 proposal instead. I’ll help you.”
[Th-Thank goodness! You’re a good summoner! But I just checked—there’s a crumpled Stage 3 manual in the corner of my bag! What a relief!]
‘This cat…?’
Talking to her gave me a pounding headache. I could sympathize with whoever her “boss” was. How much had they suffered to threaten confiscating ten years of snacks?
“Yeah… good for you. Read the proposal…”
[Huh? The proposal’s contents are secret from the summoner. I’d be in big trouble if I told you. Ah, this part’s okay to say. For Stage 3, you get three tokens per difficulty level.]
‘Tokens?’
“What do I get if I collect them?”
[Nya-ha. Collect tokens? The rewards from tokens are given randomly and immediately. Are you an idiot? Weak summoners can’t survive high difficulties without advance sponsorship. Nya-ha-ha. Idiot, idiot. But you’re nice, so I’ll forgive you.]
A different kind of stress from the madman’s flooded my head. Since I was annoyed, the best revenge was to listen to everything like I was interested, then reject it at the very end. The ultimate payback for a salesperson.
Still, the structure itself was reasonable, separate from my feelings. According to the cat, rewards were paid upfront. In other words, difficulty would rise, but you’d receive enough compensation in advance to handle it. The word “sponsorship” wasn’t wrong.
‘Then what was the madman’s deal…?’
Don’t think about it. Just because I met one Korean psychopath didn’t mean every Korean was crazy. That guy was simply an abnormal case.
“The rewards should be decent, right? Honestly, the Tool Set from last time was pretty lame.”
[Nya-ha? What are you talking about? The Tool Set is what you get for hunting wild dogs. Anyway, you’ve received a proposal before? The records don’t show anything. You… an idiot and a liar?]
The cat suddenly burst out laughing.
[I get it! You’re jealous because another summoner got a proposal! So you imagined getting sponsorship. Nya-ha-ha, how pitiful… But don’t worry. I got lost and ended up here too, but now you’re getting sponsored by me!]
I lost the will to argue. I knew the cat wasn’t a bad sort, but talking to her was draining. Explaining the madman at this point was basically impossible anyway. Without rewards, there was no proof I’d ever received a proposal.
“Fine… Let’s just go with that.”
[Will you accept Death’s Cat’s sponsorship?]
I’d planned to listen and then coldly refuse. But the cat had only misunderstood and made me look like an idiot—her intentions were actually quite favorable. Wasn’t she essentially offering to turn my “delusion” into reality?
‘The conditions look good… and who knows when I’ll meet another friendly one… Might as well take it.’
“Yeah… I accept.”
[Great! I’ll take special care of you! You’re a very lucky summoner! Nya-ha-ha.]
Stage 3 wave difficulty has been set to maximum. Difficulty +12 applied to all domains.
Theme: ‘Blooming Death’
I stood there blankly before my eyes widened.
“W-Wait. Weren’t we supposed to discuss the difficulty increase together? What’s with 12? Death’s Cat!”
No answer came. She’d said what she wanted and left.
‘D-Don’t tell me another giant’s coming?’
At that moment, various items rained down from the air.
◈ [Low-Grade Zombie Enhancement Potion] x 10
◈ [Deep Well Boots]
◈ [Fugitive’s Cloak]
◈ [Binding Gloves]
◈ [Corn Breastplate]
◈ [Leap] x 5
Consumables, equipment, and skills alike were distributed.
The “proposal” was truly worthy of being called “sponsorship.”
‘Th-This is sponsorship?!’
I raised both arms toward the sky and shouted three cheers for the great Death’s Cat. I was the idiot for thinking she was an idiot. Death’s Cat was a magnificent patron.
Then I suddenly realized something. When the vampire giant appeared, the System had warned of an [Error]. But now nothing was happening. The madman’s actions—rewards and difficulty both completely abnormal—made my blood boil.
‘I knew something felt off!’
Having easily met her quota in one go, Death’s Cat happily bit into a fresh snack.
“Nya-ha-ha, thank goodness. Thank goodness.”
With only eight hours left on her quota deadline, she’d gotten lost and wandered into Stage 3. Realizing this, she’d despaired. Among this cycle’s summoners, those still stuck in Stage 3 were the slowest of the slow. And usually, these weak, sluggish summoners refused “proposals” even when offered.
“My ten years of snacks…!”
Clutching at straws, Death’s Cat peeked at various Stage 3 summoners. But as expected, most had already half-given up and were settling down to live in the city. ‘Am I in big trouble…?’
A few were still attempting rounds, so she tried speaking to them, but every single one refused. They feared the difficulty increase more than they desired the rewards.
So she gave up. Deciding to at least savor what snacks she had left, she licked them slowly while wandering around Stage 3.
“Delicious! Delicious! Lick.”
The taste of snacks she wouldn’t feel for ten years. She had to eat as slowly as possible.
During this, she happened to spot a summoner clearing 3-1. And he did it with ridiculous ease. She couldn’t understand why he was still in Stage 3.
‘That guy…’
She had a feeling he might accept the proposal. But she gave up. To meet her quota in Stage 3, she’d have to raise the difficulty by a full ten levels. Even if he accepted, he wouldn’t agree to that many.
So while she was just eating snacks and watching, the guy suddenly spoke to her out of nowhere.
[Who is this?]
Death’s Cat thought. What a strange one. But as they talked, he accepted the proposal without even setting the difficulty. An idiot! She’d known he was an idiot. So she cranked the difficulty all the way up. Fulfilling her quota in one shot.
‘Nya-ha-ha, hurray.’
Death’s Cat thought, ‘He’s a nice idiot, so even if he dies, I’ll revive him and bring him to the boss. Then I’ll give him work!’
She’d fill her quota and take care of him even if he died. Her workplace was a major corporation, so the summoner wouldn’t have any complaints. The perfect plan had come to fruition.
Nya-ha-ha – nya-ha-ha –
Death’s Cat no longer needed to ration her snacks. She pulled a fresh one from her bag. Then she happily laughed while biting into the freshly baked corpse of a summoner who had failed a wave and died.
“Crunch! Crunch! Delicious!”