While I was busy spending extremely important one-on-one time with the status window, Zarra was waiting patiently somewhere else.
Inside a palace.
A vast hall stretched before her, lined with chairs placed neatly along the walls. The polished marble floor reflected warm torchlight, giving the entire space a quiet, ceremonial atmosphere. She sat alone near the center, absentmindedly bouncing a domesticated slime against the ground.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
The creature wobbled happily each time it struck the floor, elastic enough to function almost like a ball. In my previous world we called that 'dribbling'. Here, however, it seemed closer to the local equivalent of reading a newspaper while waiting for an appointment.
Two guards stood before massive double doors, their spears crossed to block entry.
“Your audience with His Majesty is ready,” one of them said. At the announcement, they separated instantly.
Zarra rose at once.
She placed the slime gently on the floor and offered it a brief smile that vanished the moment she turned toward the doors.
The long hall was huge, big enough to host a thousand people and still have leftover space for roomservice. This one on the other hand? It was twice as big. The size alone screamed power while everything else whispered discipline.
Minimal furniture filled the space, allowing attention to settle naturally upon a massive white chandelier hanging overhead. Red runes glowed faintly along its frame, sustaining small spheres of fire that bathed the entire room in light.
Along both walls stood alternating ranks:
Three soldiers.
One maid.
Three soldiers.
One maid.
A repeating pattern from the entrance all the way to the throne, defense and service intertwined.
Zarra walked the length of the crimson carpet alone. Each step echoed.
At the far end sat the king.
He was younger than expected, perhaps in his early thirties.
Sharp blue eyes framed by golden hair, matched by a neatly kept beard. One ruby burned within the crown resting upon his head.
Beside him, stood a boy with small white horns curved subtly from his forehead. His dark attire contrasted the hall’s regal palette perfectly. Copper hair fell across dark violet eyes, and even his fingernails followed the same shadowed aesthetic.
He stood out with two very unique characteristics.
Despite being male, he bore clear androgynous traits. If not told otherwise, one would surely mistake him for a woman.
Secondly... a throat tattoo...
A mark of slavery.
But why would a king need a slave?
Answer: intellect.
His horns betrayed his legacy, showcasing that he was an Oni, from the Oni race. When they grow into adulthood, one of two paths must be chosen. War or enlightenment.
War simply meant soldiers, fighters and mainly brutes. They would excel in battle, but not in diplomacy.
The second path, was the one chosen by this boy.
His mind surpassed scholars across the kingdom, valuable enough that the king himself had bound him into royal service. A pact ensuring the loyalty of an advisor meant to outlive generations of human rulers.
However, despite his status, he was not treated with cruelty. Privileges, education, family visitation were granted alongside wealth. Such luxuries were unheard of among slaves. Even civilians weren't living in such comfort.
Still.
A chain was a chain.
Zarra stopped at proper distance and knelt.
“I present myself before you, Caesar Zel Gosetth,” she said formally. “I am pleased to see you in good health… Father.”
“Raise your head, Zarra.”
She obeyed immediately.
The king studied her in silence.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Then sighed.
A long, weary sound.
“Daughter… I am disappointed.”
Her eyes widened.
Confusion flickered across her face. She had upheld her oath without fail; protecting civilians, maintaining discipline, never abandoning her duty; so why was he dissapointed?
“Sire,” she said carefully, “I do not understand. Could you please explain.”
The king leaned forward slightly.
“Since childhood you pursued the sword, drawn to it with unmatching admiration. You rejected nobility for your goals and I allowed it. I even permitted you to cast aside your royal name.”
His gaze hardened.
“So tell me… why have you brought a monster into my city? Why would you invite that abomination amongst the people you swore to protect!?”
Zarra froze.
“Monster?”
“The bloodsucker,” the king continued coldly. “Within my walls.”
He exhaled slowly.
“White skin. Snow-colored hair. Crimson eyes.”
A pause.
“A Harbinger carrying a scythe.”
It finally clicked. The daughter understood that word travels fast, especially when it comes to royal informants. She had been careless despite Durand's gift.
“…Diana?” Zarra whispered.
The accusation sounded absurd.
Yet the pieces aligned too easily.
She was surprised at first, but it wasn't exactly a baseless accusation. After all, vampires are known for their pale skin; a side effect from their sun allergy. For their crimson eyes, reflecting blood hunger. Even the silver hair was mark of their abandonment of humanity.
Zarra's mind jumped at the café scene, where her new friend had bit into the succulent meats with unnaturally sharp fangs.
It all made sense now, but at the same time it didn't.
Could such a helpless girl, truly, be an accursed vampire?!
???????????????????
While Zarra was busy questioning my very existence somewhere else in the world, I unlocked a new skill.
My extremely important 'thinking time' was interrupted by a notification.
════════════════
? Morph Assimilation Complete
════════════════
“…Haaa?!"
════════════════
Assimilated species: Chicken
════════════════
"Please don’t.”
The window expanded anyway.
════════════════
Chicken Entry Acquired
════════════════
Toggles: None
Permanents: None
Abilities: Eggmaker — Create one egg in the palms of your hands. Cooldown: 600 seconds.
════════════════
I stared at the screen.
“…So that’s it.” I sighed. “I guess I’m a hen now.”
Honestly, compared to everything else that had happened today, this barely ranked in the top ten weirdest things.
I was far too relaxed and far too pleased with my progress to let a damned poultry ruin my night. Even being surrounded by level-35-to-88 walking disasters disguised as household staff couldn’t dampen my good mood. After all, it was finally time to raise my stats!
“Lemme see… Status Window, show only upgradable options!”
The interface expanded obediently. Stats and arcana only apparently. No possibilities for morph upgrades, which further reinforced my main theory about it being a physical skill.
════════════════
? STATUS WINDOW ?
════════════════
Name: Zephyr Diana Von Gaahr
Race: H?um??aN?
Sex: Female
Age: 17
════════════════
Level: 5
XP: 7 / 16
════════════════
System Points: 18 ??
Dice: 0 ??
Currency: 15B; 16S; 10G; 0P ?
════════════════
════════════════
? VITALS ?
════════════════
Health: Don’t Die ?
Mana: 50 / 50??
Mana Regen: 3 / Min??
SPD: 18Km / H??
════════════════
════════════════
? TITLES & SKILLS ?
════════════════
? Reincarnator??≡
?────────────?
? Unlocked Naturally??≡
════════════════
════════════════
? KNOWLEDGE ?
════════════════
? Arcana??≡
════════════════
? Fireball Lv. 1??
└ Cost: 3 Mana
? Torch Lv. 1??
└ Cost: 5 Mana / Min
? Sleep??
└ Cost: 6 Mana
? Cleanse Lv. 1??
└ Cost: 7 Mana
? Surge??
└ Cost: 25% Mana
════════════════
? Weaponry??≡
════════════════
? BESTIARY??≡
════════════════
? Culinary Grimoire??≡
════════════════
? Lexica Botanica??≡
════════════════
? Plants??≡
?────────────?
? Biomes??≡
════════════════
════════════════
? MORPH??≡
════════════════
?? Demonic Rabbit??≡
════════════════
?? Salmon??≡
════════════════
?? Slime??≡
════════════════
?? Chicken??≡
════════════════
“Alright,” I muttered, sitting up. "Not too many choices, but all good. Let's begin with a sustainable torch, the spell that was there with me at the very beginning!"
I tapped the upgrade.
Mana Regen:
〔3/min〕→〔4/min〕
System Points:
〔8 ??〕 → 〔7 ??〕
That felt good.
Very good.
Seven remaining points became six instantly, because obviously five mana per minute meant infinite torch uptime.
Mana Regen:
〔4/min〕 → 〔5/min〕
System Points:
〔7 ??〕 → 〔6 ??〕
Peak survival efficiency.
What was not peak survival efficiency… was leaving the window open. A breeze, carrying cool nightly air, slipped into the room.
And a cat.
A gray cat with white paws hopped gracefully onto the sill. Its fur pattern looked like tiny socks, perfectly symmetrical and infinitely adorable.
It sat down and began cleaning itself with royal indifference.
Lick paw.
Face wipe.
Repeat.
“Awww,” I whispered. “You’re adorable. Are you Zarra’s pet? I wouldn’t be surprised if she secretly had more girly habits than she lets on—”
THUMP.
The cat launched itself directly onto my stomach.
“Aaargh!”
The impact knocked the air from my lungs as it calmly sat there, tail slapping my face left and right.
It stared forward.
At... my status window?
My brain froze.
“H-hey… buddy…” I whispered slowly. “You can’t actually see the stat wi—”
The cat raised a paw.
Tap-tap.
(? ? ? ?)
System Points:
〔6 ??〕 → 〔5 ??〕.
° ° ° ( °ヮ° ) ?
System Points:
〔5 ??〕 → 〔4 ??〕.
(⊙_⊙)
Skill Updated:
Cleanse Lv.1 → Cleanse Lv.2 → Cleanse ?.
?|!(0?0)!|?
“…NONONONONO—!”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
I shot upright in panic.
“Those were important points! I worked hard for them!”
The cat blinked at me with complete innocence.
No remorse.
No guilt.
Just a "Meeeow".
I grabbed the tiny criminal and stared it in the face.
“You have betrayed my trust,” I sobbed. The creature simply replied with another "Meeooow" as if it did it on purpose.
With painful marks of betrayal forming around my eyes, I carried the villain to the door, then placed the offender outside.
I returned to the bed, shut the window for maximum security, and stared at my status screen with watery eyes.
My precious system points…
Gone.
Stolen.
By a cat.
?﹏?
