This isn’t a wish.
I only said it would be nice if such things happened.
From the start, [King of the Cat Country] doesn’t grant human wishes, and any being that isn’t a cat has no right to become its vassal.
Well, if I had to put it into words...
It’s closer to the kind of “deal” Cheongeumdang makes when it sells cursed items.
The problem is, unlike [King of Ten Thousand Gold], who has a quantified trading system, the capricious [King of the Cat Country] has little interest in trading at all.
It’s just how the game is set—doesn’t ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) mean there are no rules.
Anyway, this is an event awarded as an achievement reward.
If you can catch its attention, the system randomly fulfills about zero to two of the player’s stated requests.
Ah, of course, since it’s a deal, there’s a cost.
“I’ll show you.”
I drew the Sain Chamjeong Sword from my waist.
— Grrrrrrrr...
With a beastlike rumble, the Sain Chamjeong Sword took on a form utterly unlike usual.
A vast shape as if torn from the night sky.
Within it, countless stars were studded.
A beast so abstract and beautiful that “tiger” alone can’t contain it.
It is a single sword—and at once the soul of a single tiger.
[King of the Cat Country] marveled with thousands of mouths at that proud figure.
『Admirable.』
— Grrrrrrrr...
『Your brother has recognized you. The fight will begin soon.』
That wasn’t said to me. Likely to the Sain Chamjeong Sword.
— Grrrrrrrr...
『You’ve been well treated. Since I have stroked you, you shall grow stronger.』
— Grrrrrrrr...
A royal blessing. The Sain Chamjeong Sword hunched its body and offered respect.
Srrrrrk— srrrrrrrk—
The strange things hidden in the darkness drew closer toward us.
“U-ugh... uuuu...”
A breath rattled through Jang Hyundeok’s teeth as if it might stop any moment.
Seems he grasped what [King of the Cat Country] truly is.
“Thousands of cats”?
That’s not correct.
Like branches off one trunk: one cat with thousands of heads—that is its form.
Thousands of heads, with eyes that shone like the Milky Way, stared at us, and thousands of mouths opened.
If you act for the sake of my vassals, one of the things you babbled will come to pass.
I am ignorant and don’t know what act would be good.
Tear down your house, heap up 4,000 kwan of gold, and make a giant cat statue. Then marry the mate I designate and bear four sons and four daughters. Afterward, across eight generations your descendants will serve the cats.
Wait, wait, wait.
One kwan is 3.75 kg.
Four thousand kwan is 15,000 kg.
A kilo of gold is roughly 900 million won.
Just the gold is 1,350,000,000,000 won.
No—money and gold I could maybe wrangle somehow, but tear down the hungry mansion? What? Marry who and do what with descendants?
Unacceptable.
I stroked the Sain Chamjeong Sword’s grand back and spoke.
That is excessive.
Then we’re done. Withdraw.
For the tiger that has been with me, please offer another proposal.
Mobilize eight hundred thousand humans, mask them all with cat masks, and compose eighty-one new songs praising cats to be sung with them for three days and nights. Then ordain that day Cat Day, and see that every cat in the land may eat and drink their fill.
I’m going to lose it. Truly.
If the counterpart were human—or similar—I’d think they were messing with me just to avoid a deal.
But [King of the Cat Country] isn’t joking.
Demands from beings on this level... generally go like this.
With a view too far from human, they don’t know where human possibility starts or ends.
Still, the fact I can understand the words it uses means it is adjusting to humans in its way...
Tell an ant: “I’ll give you a pinch of sugar; now bring me five hundred won.”
The ant doesn’t know what five hundred won is, and it can’t lift five hundred won anyway.
Of course, there are humans who somehow meet such demands.
We call them madmen—or cultists.
That is excessive.
Withdraw. Pester me further and your life ends here.
Do not one hundred of your vassals vouch for my identity? For their sake, please offer another proposal.
Imbue with my power one of the masks that holds an Abyssal Being’s power. When you fight that one, you must wear this mask. Also, accept one hundred of my vassals into your domain. You must care for them so they are never cold, hot, or hungry.
I accept.
One of your desires has been granted.
Thank you.
I am hungry. Leave the one who came with you.
I cannot.
Then leave a leg.
I will leave my left hand.
Good.
I figured as much.
End it before it has a new whim.
So, the instant the words fell, I cut off my left hand with the Blade of Flesh and set it on the ground.
“Huh? Wizard?”
Seeing a hand that hadn’t been there sprout and be cut, Jang Hyundeok flinched in shock—but before this fool could blurt nonsense, I rushed my words.
“Thank you for your attention. We’ll withdraw now. Hyundeokfromnowonwe’regoinghomebutunderno circumstancesmayyoulookbacktheinstantyoulookbackyou’llbeacatandtrappedhereforever.”
Knowing he’s not one to listen to reason, I spread mana, bound Jang Hyundeok head to toe, and beat a hasty retreat.
An eerie forest without end.
An overwhelming multitude of cats watching us from all sides.
Cr-rrrunch— crk-crk-crunch—
A horrid sound behind us.
A massive being was tearing into my left hand.
And a low, dreadful whisper.
『You tricked me. But you offered your left hand. Your left hand will never grow back.』
[System: You have received the curse of ‘Old God – King of the Cat Country.’ Penalty Trait ‘Left Hand Cannot Regenerate’ is applied.]
“That hand from before—w-what was it?”
The moment we left the ghost road, Jang Hyundeok asked.
“A fake, made of mana-stone.”
“Are you allowed to pull a stunt like that? That so-called King Cat said something scary at the end...”
A sigh.
“The one that was cut off originally won’t grow back.”
W-wasn’t the plan to, you know, pop it back with magic someday?
I was looking for a way—forget it now.
Cursed by a god, I won’t be able to fix my left hand by regeneration or restoration.
“No helping it. ‘Won’t grow back’ still means ‘can be reattached,’ so it’s fine.”
He was overly rattled, so I put it lightly...
Honestly, it stings.
Maybe it’ll change its mind someday and lift the curse. If not—tsk... maybe I’ll talk to King of Ten Thousand Gold about undoing it?
For now, I just need a replacement.
As the talk seemed to wind down, a new message popped up.
[Achievement Unlocked! You have traded with ‘King of the Cat Country.’
You have acquired ‘Advanced Achievement: Cat Merchant.’
As an achievement reward, one of your owned masks mutates into ‘Mask of Nine Lives’ and gains bonus experience.]
“Ah, it said it would infuse a mask with power, didn’t it?”
The mask [King of the Cat Country] meant...
No way!? Nile!
“Oh, come on. Nile! What is this!? It’s fine, Kim Sinhwa. It’s nothing.”
“Wizard?”
Nile had been a crocodile mask imbued with [Scales’ Stratagem].
The exact name: [Desert Mask (Revised)].
When we fused two into one, his eyes became four.
My right hand, gripping Nile, trembled.
“If I’d known it’d end up like this, I... damn... hey, Kim Sinhwa. Even like this, I’m still your friend Nile.”
“Wizard? What are you doing? Roleplay?”
Nile’s appearance had changed.
An alien jet-black metallic body.
Four green-glowing eyes. A strange rune etched on the brow.
And, uh...
“It has cat ears.”
And I’m supposed to fight wearing this?
[Mask of Nine Lives (L-grade Accessory) — A mask born by imbuing an Old God’s power into a mask that held an Abyssal Being’s power. Both desert and cat powers dwell within.
Reptile Slayer — Converts the Abyssal influence dwelling in Target 1’s body into Old God influence (once only). To trigger this effect, you must sever the bond between the target and the Abyssal Being.
Nine Lives — When the owner takes a blow that would be fatal, auto-casts the spell ‘Limited Resurrection’ (up to 9 times).
Cat’s Allure — Charm +2 against Abyssal Beings, extradimensional beings, and surreal beings only.
Friend of Cats — Charm +10 toward the feline family in general.
Schrödinger — Can reduce the owner’s presence to the extreme. Duration is ...]
No need to read every line.
“It granted the wish to bring Hyuna back.”
[! Time Limit: Jung Hyuna will cease to exist in (1) day. !]
One day left.
I’ve got what I need—time to move.
“Let’s go, Hyundeok.”
“W-where are we going?”
“Home first. From now, prep hard, eat a solid breakfast tomorrow, then head straight to Cheongho’s.”
And this time, I won’t go alone.
I’ll show everything I can bring to bear.
“Got it!”
“Good. By the way, how’d you even get here? Did you take a taxi?”
“Ah! This way. I brought a car!”
“A car?”
“Yeah!”
“What car?”
“Oh, I mentioned it before, right? The, uh—2021 mana-stone engine?”
What now?
“Don’t tell me—the five hundred million one?”
“Yep!”
“With the annual interest of one point nine billion?”
“Aw, c’mon, yes. That one. That car. It was a really good deal.”
I’m going to lose it.
Can’t breathe.
Clutching my throbbing head, I shook it.
“For now... yeah, let’s just go home. We’ll solve this case, then solve that.”
“Yahoo! Let’s roll!”
“Yahoo?”
“Huh?”
“You’re laughing?”
“Uh?”
The next day.
Same place as three days ago.
“Second try?”
In game terms, it’s a reattempt at a failed mission, but in many ways today isn’t like last time.
First of all, the map layout’s different.
A vast desert spread wider than before.
“Damn, I was wondering why the pyramid wasn’t showing.”
Just like Jang Hyundeok said.
A giant pyramid rising in the middle of the desert.
Dry Abyssal mana pouring out from all sides.
They didn’t make a desert just for vibes. It’s an environment built so the Abyssal Being can wield maximum power.
“I can feel the juicy terrain bonuses. So—this side came prepared too?”
I prepared as well.
The phone rang. Caller: Blood Marquis, head of [Blood Demon Cult].
I answered as I donned the cat-eared [Mask of Nine Lives].
— Venerated One. Deployment is complete.
“Understood. Trigger on my signal.”
Preparation one: complete.
Next—
I dumped a mountain of mana-stones.
“Good. Baby. Eat your fill.”
Krrrk— krrrk— krk— krk—
“Baby” crunched the high-purity mana-stones.
Didn’t I say I wouldn’t come alone?
I pressed a quick kiss to the nearest of the white-glossy tendrils and poured in a flood of mana.
Churururururk— churururururk—
A chorus from dozens of mouths on [Child of Darkness]’s body.
“Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—” “Fun—”
A plan?
Whatever—betray, double-cross, trick, hide—
I’m sick of it.
I decided to throw every resource I have at the problem and bulldoze with force.
“Alright. Let’s go tough. Doldola! Bring out the ship!”
Grrrrruk!
The Dragon King’s ship I stole from Dagon burst forth.
The instant that colossal, conspicuous thing appeared, the desert sands churned.
Shraaaaaaa!
[System: Penalty Trait ‘Feast’s Offering’ activates.]
Shhhhhhh!!
Gigantic crocodiles and scorpions surged up from beneath the sand.
Why a desert in a season when late-summer heat hasn’t even fully faded?
Does this game not have a summer event? Ah—Gwangalli... I wrecked Songjeong Beach, didn’t I. Was that a summer special?
“I don’t care! Okay, everyone got their swimsuits? See that gorgeous white sand up ahead?”
Krrrrrrk!!
Skeletal golems clattered aboard all at once.
And the massive tentacled monster—no, [Child of Darkness]—began towing the ship forward.
Rrrrrrrrrrr—
The ship sliced the desert sands and began to advance.
“Alright! To the beach!”
