Ah, I can see the light.

Pure whiteness in front of me.

Has my time finally come?

I can extend my arm towards it, but I can’t reach it…

Wait.

Why are there irregular bumps in that light?

Huh.

That’s not light.

It’s just the white ceiling.

Oh, dammit.

Where am I?

A bed?

…

Am I in a medical facility again?

Well, I guess that’s to be expected.

I passed out because of cheetah soul.

I wonder just how long it’s been though.

Or rather, does this mean the pirate king didn’t come back and everyone got safely out?

Hmm…

I got up and looked out of the window.

Where is this hospital, anyway…?

Am I back at Heiliya?

I can’t see the ocean from here…

There are too many buildings in all directions…

And none of them look familiar…

…

Oh, that’s right…

That guy had a teleport ability, so their base could have very well been on the other side of the world…

Ah, crap…

…

Where are the others?

I better find them and let them know I’m awake.

Done scanning the town through the window, I decided to go outside directly.

It seems like they didn’t strip me this time, and they even left my completely-curse-free sword by my bed.

After grabbing it and putting it on my back, I opened the door and walked into the hallway.

As soon as I did, a doctor-ish looking man noticed me and pestered me with things like ‘oh, you are awake?’ and ‘you shouldn’t be moving yet!’.

Reluctantly, I let him examine me before he let me leave.

Well, at least he told me some useful information.

First…

We’re in the capital.

Oh, boy.

We really aren’t in Heiliya.

On top of that, the capital?

The place I was planning on visiting later?

Perfect.

…

Although, I feel bad for Kent.

My past lion self left him in the port city.

Oops.

Well, he said he has spies in the capital, so I’m sure he’s gonna find out where we are sooner or later, right?

Anyway…

The doctor also told me what happened to everyone else.

According to what he said, everyone is alright.

So, that’s good.

I walk out of the building and look around to get my bearings before heading towards the place where the others supposedly are.

On my way there, I think about what happened back there.

There is a lot to take in…

All of the things Kat told me, this ominous ‘panther of wrath’ thing…

Really, god of balance you say?

How is this balanced at all?

Every cat soul variant has been quite disturbing, and this new thing really takes the cake.

They are not very different from the curses they originated from…

…

Huh?

Wait.

If she said ‘god of balance’, would that mean…

That I can absorb blessings as well?

Since they are the opposite of curses?

Would that balance me out more?

Hmm…

Well, I don’t know.

I don’t think I can take everything she said at face value.

Moreover, wouldn’t it be really rude to just steal someone’s blessing?

I mean, I wouldn’t mind if I was cursed, and someone slurped that curse away.

But if I had a blessing, I would get pretty mad if someone just-

…

Wait.

But I DO have a blessing!

Blessing of the Kat

Allows the user to wear equipment blessed by the Kat. The user is also sometimes able to communicate with the Kat at designated locations. Lastly, all feline creatures will become friendly.

Heheh…

Haha!

That’s it!

I’m gonna try to absorb my own blessing…!

…

Except, wouldn’t that already happen by now?

I know that I sap curses simply by being near someone with that curse.

So if the blessing is literally attached to myself…

…

Argh!

Stupid contradictions!

Whatever…

For now, let’s take a step back and look at this ‘panther of wrath’.

Mmm, let’s see…

…

Hmm…?

Cat soul+

Temporarily turns you into a wild animal. You gain bonus agility for the duration.

You have mastered this skill and are now able to unlock its variants.

Available variants:

Panther soul

Tiger soul

Cheetah soul

Lion soul

It’s…

Not there?!

What the heck?!

Was it all a dream or something stupid like that?

Nonono, no way it was!

Clearly, there’s something wrong here.

Maybe if I examine panther soul…?

Panther soul

In addition to cat soul effects, it allows the use of shadow magic and enhances stealth at night.

It’s still the same…

Gh…

The culprit got rid of all the evidence.

Now, there’s no lead to go off of.

Damn…

Perhaps it was just a special temporary state when I was overloaded with the mana from my sword?

Will it happen again if I repeat that…?

…

What am I thinking?

I DO NOT want that to happen again!

I could demolish a town with that blast!

Nope, nope, nope!

Stop thinking about that manifestation of evil!

Think about nice things!

That’s right!

The whole balance thing!

I’ll try consciously absorbing my own blessing!

Uoooo!

Come on, me!

Absorb that useless feline harem maker and create something nicer out of it!

Hnnnng!

Gulp.

…

What?

I felt like I just swallowed something.

But not in a physical sense at all.

What did I just…

Wait, it couldn’t be…

Name: Nina

Level: 20

Strength: 38/38

Endurance: 40/40

Speed: 52/52

Magic: 33/33

Equipment:

Kat underwear

Kat dress

Kat ear headband

Kat gloves

Kat slippers

Enchanted handbag

God-slayer shadow cursed sword

Skills:

Cat soul+

9 lives

…

It’s gone.

GONE.

WHAT.

Did I just eat the blessing?!

How did I do that?!

Why did I do that?!

Wha-ughghhh!

…

Blessing of the Kat

It’s back…

I…

Hurled it back out.

…

This is not funny.

I’m weirded out.

Is it normal to eat and vomit back vague things like blessings?

It’s not, right?

I just experienced something insane, haven’t I?

Oh, jeez.

Literally everyone on the street stopped whatever they were doing and are staring at me.

What’s your deal?

Have you never seen a girl dressed in cat outfit almost vomit in the middle of the street?

…

Ok fine, I would be surprised if you have…

But still!

Stop staring!

Argh, fine!

I’ll just run away!

The simplest solution!

Off I go!

…

Well, here I am…

The inn where everyone is supposedly staying.

…

But I don’t feel like meeting everyone just yet.

There are still so many things on my mind.

Why is the ‘panther of wrath’ not showing?

Why can I treat an immaterial blessing like an object?

Ugh…

Well, it’s not like I’m gonna figure it out anytime soon.

So might as well just think about it later…

…

No!

What’s with this procrastinator mindset?!

I’m gonna think about it NOW!

I can’t keep going with this ‘whatever happens, happens’ attitude!

Back there, everyone got captured, and it would have been seriously bad if I didn’t suddenly get that power-up!

I can’t rely on it randomly happening again!

I need to get some time to investigate all of this!

…

Sigh…

But if I suddenly disappear without saying a word, they would be worried.

I guess I’m gonna go in, and tell them I need some time alone or something…

Well, here goes nothing.