How to Tame a Cat (Complete)
A day passed, then two.
The sun that heralded morning never rose, but according to the clock, it was time for sunrise anyway.
Stepping out of the cabin, I stretched lightly, loosening up my body.
“Hoo……”
Unlike the perpetually dim forest air, the atmosphere here was as sweet as the Evergreen Tower’s.
Filling my lungs with fresh air, I exhaled slowly and glanced back.
“……”
The door remained firmly shut.
Gini hadn’t come out of her room since that first day.
Thanks to that, I hadn’t seen her face properly since then.
Now it was really time to figure something out.
What the hell am I supposed to do? I’ve got no clue.
Eh, it’ll work itself out somehow.
Shrugging, I trudged back to the cabin and rolled up my sleeves.
Anyway, today was bright too, so time to get to work.
Another day passed, then two more.
Those two days, I stuck to the same routine.
Each day, my success rate at landing hits on Elpinire was climbing—and surprisingly, it was fun.
But in all that time, I still hadn’t gotten a proper look at Gini’s face.
Even after those extra two days, there was no sign of her coming out.
After washing lightly at the well and returning to the cabin, I found the bowl exactly as I’d left it when I went out that morning……
“Huh?”
It was empty.
Not completely, but about half the stew was gone.
I clapped a hand over my mouth, overcome with emotion.
“Master. Why are you standing there like that?”
“……Nah.”
It’s nothing.
Shaking my head, I started humming cheerfully.
“You look pretty upbeat, Master.”
“Yeah? Suddenly, I don’t feel tired at all.”
“Is that so……”
Hold up.
Why that look on your face?
No.
That’s not it.
As Elpinire approached with a grin, I made a horrified face.
Gini now openly plopped down and watched the uninvited guests who’d come to her home.
It had been over five days since they’d stayed here.
At first, she’d only wanted them out of her space as soon as possible, but now……
Somehow, it didn’t matter if they stayed or not.
Gini stepped outside after them.
They usually sparred for about five hours, but today they seemed ready for more.
As always, she followed, sitting on the ground with excited eyes to spectate.
“Master. You’re getting better.”
“Feels, like I’m, dying.”
“If you’ve got breath to talk, how about swinging once more?”
“……Can’t you just go home?”
“You’d get bored without me, right, Master?”
“I’ve got Cheori, so no.”
Pffft.
She didn’t know what “going home” meant exactly, but watching them made her laugh.
After a round of bickering and yelling, they dove straight into serious sparring without needing a signal.
Even then, smiles lingered on their lips.
“……”
Squatting with her head on her knees, Gini watched them.
Han Mir, rolling across the ground from hits but popping right back up unfazed.
Elpinire, sparring with him and passing on her techniques.
What made them so tight-knit?
What exactly?
“……”
Was it a bond of ‘trust’?
She didn’t know.
In her world, those two were unknowns.
So she could only watch them with damp, sunken eyes.
“One more to finish, then rest.”
“I decide that. Not you, Master.”
Gini smiled faintly again, as if the gloom had never been there, watching them resume.
“……”
Omen quietly observed her.
Gini, cheering both sides with an thrilled smile.
She’d watched from afar at first, but now……
“Ah!”
She was only about 50 meters away.
It was now the sixth day in the tower.
“Today, I’ll land one for sure.”
Yesterday, I’d nearly tagged Elpinire properly.
It was a razor-thin miss, but the damn elf blasted mana to shove me away just before impact.
I was so pissed I could die.
How close was I!
“……I wonder how Earth’s doing by now.”
Six days in, curiosity about Earth was creeping up.
I trusted Seong Yu-mi and Jeong Chan-woo, so no worries about my sister-in-law.
Just pure wonder about what was happening back home.
Guess today, focus on clearing the floor’s condition over training.
With that thought, I opened the door.
And.
“Oh, what’s for breakfast today……?”
I froze at the sight of Gini out of her room, sitting at the table.
I’d assumed she wouldn’t be there, but here she was.
Even asking me what was for breakfast.
……Is she finally telling me to leave?
Damn.
Maybe I got too complacent.
What now……
“Uh, is there no breakfast today……?”
“……Huh?”
I blinked dumbly at Gini.
No way.
“You actually came out to eat breakfast?”
“W-Was that not okay……?”
It felt like a hammer to the back of my head.
That Gini.
The one who wouldn’t answer no matter how I called.
Coming out first and asking about breakfast.
I played it cool as best I could, looking at her.
This was her cabin, her living space.
But she didn’t look comfortable at all.
Her hands fidgeted nonstop, eyes darting everywhere.
I didn’t know why she suddenly came out, but it was clearly a big decision.
I asked in the most casual tone possible.
“Doenjang jjigae today.”
“Doen……jang?”
“Fermented soybean paste. Got enough ingredients to make it.”
Elpinire’s power was seriously handy.
Thanks to her, our supplies overflowed again.
Though every time she used it, she winced like she’d been shot……
Eh, what can you do.
People gotta eat.
Licking my lips, I rolled up my sleeves.
“Wait a sec. I’ll make it tasty.”
“Y-Yes!”
Five years of solo living.
Time to show off skills honed from YouTube cooking.
“Haa……”
I chuckled watching Gini slurp the soup with a dopey expression.
“Tasty?”
“Hup!”
Only then did she notice me, clamping her mouth shut.
I nodded at her rolling eyes.
“Soup’s best when it’s hot.”
“……I see.”
“Next time, don’t wait for it to cool. Eat with us. I always make extra.”
“Okay.”
Gini smiled faintly, eating quietly.
I glanced at her.
Her expression was less guarded than when she first came out.
At this rate, we might clear the third floor soon.
Smiling too, I kept eating.
As our bowls neared empty.
“Gasp! Master, did you eat without me…… Gini!?”
“……You noticed quick.”
Unlike my 8 a.m. wake-ups, our guard woke at 10.
I sighed long at Elpinire.
Gini just watched us, smiling for some reason.
“Master. Hate to say it, but you’ve got real talent.”
“Yeah? Thanks.”
“No, really. I was your level at fifteen. Started training at thirteen after Grandpa beat it into me.”
So I’d caught up to two years of her grind in days?
Makes her words ring true.
“So from today, use that mist of yours in sparring.”
“This?”
I widened my eyes at the mist.
I’d sparred Elpinire purely with fists and feet so far, no mist.
“You got Mom’s blessing, but you’re not an elf, right?”
“Nope.”
“So you can’t perfectly mimic elf combat.”
No matter how similar elves and humans look, we’re different species.
Lifespan, pointed ears, etc.—but one big difference.
“Elf mana’s a bit special.”
Elpinire wrapped her right hand in verdant mana, eyeing me.
Her mana was definitely off the norm.
Fresher than usual mana, green instead of blue.
Because elf mana inherently held World Tree power.
That’s why their techniques didn’t suit humans.
“Yours is the same, Master. Your mana’s pretty unique too, huh?”
“Yeah.”
My mana was basically Smoke itself.
Far from ordinary.
“Even normal mana would be tough, but yours is too wild. That’s why you can’t learn our techniques.”
Too bad.
Her moves looked badass, but no dice.
Still, her explanation clicked.
“Basics are solid, so tweak the technique part?”
“Exactly.”
“……Kinda stings my pride.”
I admitted my basics sucked.
Lived far from fighting my whole life.
But getting dismissed on technique? Not fun.
Black Dragon might hate it, but I loved it.
And all Smoke variants? My own creations.
Getting those dissed sucked.
“Then come at me. Prove it, Master.”
“You’re on.”
I never back down.
Grinning too, I thrust the rising black mist forward.
Smoke - Mist Shadow
Whish!
Dozens of black mist tentacles lashed out like whips.
Elpinire tracked each one with her eyes, then lightly kicked off the ground.
“Ha.”
Whoosh!
Mist tentacles grazed past her feet.
She stomped one lightly, spinning mid-air.
The rotating tentacles missed her by a paper’s width.
After deflecting them all, she landed and kicked off again.
“That all?”
“Like hell.”
A month fighting villains taught me plenty.
This wasn’t the end.
I clenched my fist at the charging Elpinire.
The tentacles exploded in a burst.
Not Fury level, but enough for villains.
Obviously not for Elpinire, though.
Thick smoke billowed.
Exhaling calmly amid it, I glanced aside.
Then kicked off toward the front, vanishing into the smoke.
Gasp!
Gini clamped her mouth with both hands, watching Han Mir charge.
Their eyes met just now.
She felt it.
Did I get too close?
She’d wanted a closer look.
So she’d boldly approached the well.
But today wasn’t just fists and feet.
Green mana clashed with black mist, shaking the ground.
Caught off guard, Gini clutched her pounding heart and ducked behind the well.
……They’re strong.
She’d thought so even in pure sparring.
Very strong.
If they’d wanted to subdue her, she wouldn’t have stood a chance.
But they hadn’t.
They respected her wariness while living steadily here.
“……You two really didn’t come to capture me.”
Muttering, Gini smiled unwittingly.
That smile was.
—……
Brighter than anything Omen, her years-long companion, had ever seen.
“Kuhuk—!”
“M-Master!”
A sudden window popped up beside me.
Distracted, I couldn’t even block Elpinire’s punch and took it full.
Pain like my bones shattering, organs twisting.
I tumbled, spitting blood, body trembling.
Pale-faced Elpinire rushed over, yelling.
“You okay, Master!? I used Grandpa’s technique……”
“N-Not dead.”
Now I got it.
Full-power Elses-to would send me to the afterlife, Ultra Regeneration Blessing or not.
With her healing, I struggled up, exhaling steadily.
Luckily, she hadn’t gone full power either—just painful enough to feel near-death.
I groaned softly, letting her heal.
Her treatment plus the blessing restored me fast.
Pain fading, I checked the window again.
“What is it?”
“What, Master?”
“……Nothing.”
Just.
I hadn’t done anything, yet the floor cleared automatically.
Staring blankly at the system, I glanced aside.
Lately, I kept seeing a faint shadow-like figure there.