The last thing I saw before falling asleep was Lein's sadisctic smile. As I fell asleep, it appeared.

Mirage cat

Emperor cat

Feline seer

Esper cat

Mirage cats are masters in the art of illusion and subterfuge, they can create fake copies of anything and are master at immitating other species, humans included.

The noblest of cats! Emperor cats are born rulers, they have high control over subordinates and the array of magic gems on their forehead allows use of most magic types.

A wise cat who decided to look into the unknown, being able to either take a peak at unknown or distant plances or seeing the world a few seconds in the future(predictions aren't allways accurate).

Espers are powerful mind-based mages, this cat is the same, it can control other's mind or just grab objects with his empowered telekinesis. It is also possible to communicate telepathically.

Well that was expected after such a slaughter. Still, 16 levels in one go is a lot.

My mind focused on the events from before the rank up, a brief summary appearing in front of my eyes.

Congratulations, you are now a lvl 60 Amethyst cat STR+2 END+4 VIT+4 INT+9 WIS+8 PER+5 DEX+4 AGI+7 LCK+3 CHR+2

You have unlocked new skills: Sugestion, Forced empathy, Mind read.

The first one let me subtely incline someone's mind toward a choice I want them to make. The second one transmit forcefully my feelings to someone and the last one allows me to see someone's thoughts, though it is limited to what they are thinking off at the moment and can be detected or blocked.

You have unlocked new perks: Strong mind.

Quite simple that one, more resistance to mind attacks and more power for my mind based spells.

Now back onto my choice of evolution. Emperor is out, too flashy and i have no subordinates. Mirage cat isn't really good for fights with my master. Which leaves me with two options, the esper cat that would allow me to talk with master or the seer which is far more interesting but wouldn't fulfil my desires of communication. If I was still the me from before, i would probably have gone for the practical esper cat. But now I am far too curious to pass on the ability too see into the future.

Feline seer wins.

Congratulations, you are now a rank 2 witch's beast. Choose your new form.

Not an ability this time ? Maybe it's alternating. Let's see what we have.

The two pannels from before reapeared, joined by a few new arrivals. The crow and wisp are still there, but i can also choose snake, horse or wolf. A lot of larger beasts. And now I'm realizing how bad my choices of evolution were. My cat form is both a caster, physical fighter and scout now that i have the seer's power, which means it's jack of all trades but master of none. So it means I don't really have a way to decide on my next form.

I think wisp and crow are still out as my cat form most lacking point is physical power, so either wolf or horse. Snake looks good too but it's more of an assination oriented beast, and i have no intention of becoming a murder machine. Plus horse would be good to get Lein around quickly. I think I'll get the horse.

You have now unlocked Black horse(form) STR+4 END+6 VIT+6

Black again? How original.

You have unlocked new skills: Gallop(Specie: Horse),

You have unlocked new perks : Steed(Specie: Horse)

Basically a skill to run and one to be a mount for someone. Now good night.

I have a horrible headache. Where am I ? This looks like the underground base of the beastman that wanted to feed me to the drakes. Lein is sleeping next to me, she looks calm, way more than before. I can hear faint screams in the distance, probably the woman she captured. The maid must be the one doing the interogating.

I can smell blood and burnt flesh, not the best wake up smell but it'll do. I don't know why but it's actually making me a bit hungry. Maybe it's just because I evolved.

I climbed down from the pile of hay I shared with my master and went to the door. Thankfully not closed the large wood panel was pushed aside to reveal the large underground facility. Empty. All the cages and beasts are gone! The place is completely empty.

When the shock was gone, I searched the place for other living beings. Now that the place was empty, i could see that the cross shaped hall had three doors and a pond, one on each end. I went to the pond and drank in it. The refreshing feeling was a perfect way to make me forget the after-evolution stiffness.

I looked at my new appearance in the water. The gem on my forehead was replaced by a polished eye-like one, my eyes are a burning red and my fur turns grey toward the paws. The eye shaped ornament on my forehead has some sort of strange feeling to it, like it is always staring at you, whatever angle your are looking at it from.

Checking my status I also noticed that feline seers have a lot more base mana, I'm now at 112, still a lot less than in my previous life, but should be enough for basic spells.

Up next is exploring the two remaing doors, the left one smells like blood, probably where the captive is. The other one should be where I met Askan. I recall it was filled with paperwork and encyclopedia entries. I could enjoy a few hours of reading right now so I'll go look here.

I slowly opened the door, it creaked loudly but didn't wake up any monster or cultist hiding behind. I slipped through the opening.

There is nothing. The ground, walls and even ceiling are covered in burn marks, all of the books and sheets are gone. The only things that survived are a few wooden bookcases and the iron chandelier And Askan is here. Alone, sitting on a charred chair. His haggard eyes staring on the tragedy in front of him. Years of work, gone, his encyclopedia is ashes now. And I have nothing to read.

I left Askan alone and went back to the hall. Still not interested in what the maid was inflicting on her prisoner, I climbed the stairs and went outside.

The fires have stoped, leaving a desolated town behind, half of the houses are ashes or rubble and the only living beings I can hear or smell are crows. The smell of ashes is a bit different from the one the fire gave, the stench of blood mixed with it is still the same though. I walked aimelessly in the alleys, from wich i could now see the stary nightsky.

I entered a small square and tried transforming into a horse. My body slowly covered itself in some sort of dark ghostly fumes. I felt as if I was throw into the air as my eyes went up in the air. My body turned liquid and stretched to a larger size. The whole process emitted strange sounds of sloshing. Once it was done, the fumes dissipated, revealing to my eyes the hoves that replaced my paws.

I checked my status. My mana went down from 112 to 26 while my vitality went up from 100 to 275. Clearly not a magic oriented beast. Now let's try the physical part.

I galloped at full speed in the streets, intoxicated by the feeling of speed and power my new body gave. When I stopped it was only to crush pieces of wood from a broken carriage in some stables, to test the strenght my hooves could muster. My rampage went on until I colapsed exhausted on a large piece of rubble.

Wild animals are so weak compared to me! I can stack multiple jobs like humans, this is clearly overpowered.

"Not really."

What? Who? Is that Pampil?

"Indeed it is, I told you I would be able to communicate more as you rank up, remember?"

Oh yeah I forgot that part.

"Also you are completely wrong, wild animals can have multiple jobs too, they have acces to extra ones depending on their species."

Really? What kind of job can a horse get?

"Knight or juggernauth for war horses, traveler for travel horses, warrior and sentry for wild ones plus a few exeptional cases."

Seems legit I guess. On another topic, will you be able to talk like that all the time?

"No, with your current power i get about ten minutes a day."

Ok

"You know I wouldn't mind you showing a bit more concern."

Sure, by the way do you know who the lunatics that attacked the town are?

"Oh come on! I'm sure you want to spend more time with a beautiful and wise women like me! The guys are cultists of araneir, god of spiders, traps, scams and deception."

She was indeed beautiful when i summoned her.

"Damn right I am!"

Wait you can understand all my thoughts?

"Yes, but you don't need to worry, I am the only one who can, the other witches just get to see the action. Also, time's up for today, see you later."

I still disapprove this, but I don't really have a choice. I should go back, Lein will be looking for me.

I rushed back using my new horse form's power. Once there, I used metamorphosis again and went through the same unpleasant feeling.

When I was about to sneak in, Lein opened the door. She still was in her adventure clothes, but it was the first time her hair was tied . A simple low ponytail that prevented her hair from hiding her emerald gaze. She would have been dazzling if not fot the grief that twisted her beautiful face.

I Meowed to grab her attention.

"Oh there you are. You need to stay here Fenrir, we're going to leave soon. Say wouldn't you have found a carriage that could still be used or some horses, it's going to be hard if we have to travel on foot."

Is she asking that to a cat. Well a cat that single-handedly wiped an army of cultists. But still a cat.

I led her to the stables where i went wild to see if we could find a carriage. We had no luck. When Lein suddenly shouted:"of course" and dashed toward the next street.

She stopped next to a large fortified building, probably a bank. Lein pointed the door to the stables for the heavily armored carriages used for money transportation.

"Can you open it?"

I have serious doubts, even with gigantification, my strenght won't be enough. It may be possible as a horse, but I'm not sure I want Lein to see that I'm a shapeshifter. Then again she must have suspicions. And I don't want to walk to the next city with those tiny paws.

I choose to transform and began my metamorphosis. Lein's eyes went wide, as she stared at something she probaly wouldn't have dreamt of. Once the process was over, I triggered Gigantification and kicked the door out of it's hinges. It fell in a loud metallic crash that disturbed the ghost town around us. The process was easier than expected, mostly because of the added efficiency of the level up gigantification went trough.

Lein was still out of it, so I went inside without a word. After a few seconds of extra down time, Lein dashed after me, a beaming smile on her lips and a curious gaze in her eyes.

"How can you turn into a horse? What are you? Can I ride you?"

I can't answer but I'm glad she's in a better mood.

Lein took one of the carriages that didn't sport the emblem of the bank, probably to avoid problems with other branches of the company. She spent half an hour trying to harness me, without any kind of success.

The maid interupted us.

"Let me show you, miss", she said as she took Leins hands and helped her put everything in the right place. When she was about to put the bit in my mouth, Lein spoke up.

"Did you deal with the girl?"

"Yes"

"What did she say."

"Not much sadly, she was just a basic grunt, she didn't have acces to important informations."

Once everything was in place they filled the carriage with whatever money they could find, not any from the bank since it was locked, some food and commodities and other random valuables like weapons from the guardpost.

It was noon when they were finished. We made our way back to base and Lein went inside to grab her stuff and bring Askan.

The beastman she brought outside still had the same gaze and would barely react when she pushed him into the carriage.

"I think we have everything, miss"

"Please just call me Lein, that title doesn't have any worth anymore. I'll call you Veria."

"As you wish Lein. By the way may I ask where you found that horse?"

"It's Fenrir."

Five heavy seconds of slience went by then the obvious:

"What?"

Status:

Name: Fenrir

Master: Lein Ardegarde

Age: 2 weeks

Specie: Witch's beast (Rank:2)

Gender: Male

HP:275/275

MP:26/26

Level: 44

Attributes:

STR:21 END:24 DEX:29 INT:36 LCK:26

AGI:55 VIT:25 PER:30 WIS:26 CHR:16

Jobs:

Feline seer lvl 60(0%)

Black horse lvl 0(0%)

Skills:

Metamorphosis (Active) lvl 0(25%)

Change between availables forms.(2 min duration,1 h cooldown, unlocked forms: Black cat)

Cat's eye (Passive) lvl 2(15%)

Enhanced vision in low light environments.(55% increase)

Stealth (Active) lvl 2(67%)

When activated, you are harder to notice . (-12% presence, affected by agility)

Plague eater (Passive) lvl 0(79%)

You have less chance of being infected by diseased food. (20% reduced infectivity of food)

Track (Active) lvl 1(22%)

You can follow the traces of preys that will appear as colored trails.(Range 3km, precision based on lvl and target)

Luck stealer (Passive) lvl 2(12%)

Reducing someone's luck will boost yours.(+5% of stolen LCK for 20% of duration)

Pounce (Active) lvl 2(23%)

You lunge at an enemy, damage increased on unalerted targets. (2.10m range, +45% stealth damage, damage based on strength and dexterity)

Natural weapons (Passive) lvl 1(3%)

Your claws, fangs or other biological weapons are strenghtened. (+20% damage)

Stalk (Passive) lvl 0(56%)

Increase speed when following a target in stealth.(+15% speed, affected by agility)

Curse perception (Toggle) lvl 0(29%)

When used you will be able to see curses. Higher levels allows to see with more precision and to differentiate curses. (affected by perception)

Telekinesis (Active)(Linked:cat) lvl 1(32%)

You can generate force by will.(4.5m range, 1.2kg max weight, affected by intelligence)

Magic sight (Toggle) lvl 0(13%)

Allows one to see mana. Higher level will allow to differentiate magic types and mana concentration.(affected by perception)

Mind cast (Toggle) lvl 0(0%)

When the skill is active, known spells can be casted by thought but cost extra mana and are less efficient(+30% mana cost increase,-40% spell power)

Spell copying (Passive) lvl 0(0%)

You can learn spell by watching peoples use them. The more you see and the more you learn about a spell will increase chance of obtention. The more complex and powerful a spell is the harder it will be to imitate. You will still need to meet the spell's requirement.

Sugestion (Active) lvl 0(0%)

You can incite the mind of others. Your suggestions can be resisted or blocked but are near impossible to resist. Higher level will allow use in combat.(5m range, efficiency based on intelligence and wisdom)

Forced empathy (Active) lvl 0(0%)

You forcefully send your feeling to someone. Can only be used when in contact. Higher level will allow the transmition of fabricated feelings.

Mind read (Active) lvl 0(0%)

You can read the mind of peoples. Higher levels will allow acces to memories and feelings.(3m range, efficiency based on intelligence)

Gallop (Active)(Linked:horse) lvl 0(0%)

Greatly increase speed but takes increased time to slow down and rapidly consume stamina.(60%speed increase,20% extra stamina cost,40%less deceleration efficiency, efficiency based on strenght and endurance)

Abilities:

Gigantification (Active) lvl 1(36%)

You temporarily gain size and the strenght to move with said size. The spell constantly drains mana and cost more for bigger sizes.(2.9s base transformation time, 9.5 min cooldown after end of effect)

Perks:

Reborn (Achievement)

You were given a second chance as a new being ! EXP and Proficiency gained +10%

Black cat's curse (Specie)

You are an omen of bad luck. LCK -20% for 2 h to anyone who looks at you. Can't be stacked, doesn't affect allies.

Feline(Specie)(Linked:cat)

Your claws can be retracted.Your steps are lighter. (-40% noise generated by movement.)

Curse affinity(Specie)

Curses are 30% less efficient on you and 30% more on your enemies(only affect curses casted by the owner of the skill)

Man's best friend(Achievement)

You helped your master selflessly, affinity with all master's increased. In addition, you gain extra experience by helping your master.

Strong mind(Specie)

Your mind is powerful, mind attacks are reduced by 20%, mind magic is 20% more efficient.

Steed(Specie)(Linked:horse)

You are an trained steed, stablility of rider is increased by 40%, rider weight impact on endurance consumption is reduced by 20%.