Wait! Was I Seriously Just Reincarnated As a Cat?-Chapter 32: My First Time Meeting Humans

And so we entered the forest and outside the village where Greenwater followed my every step. Currently, my mind was overrunning with thoughts—way too many thoughts—like what did I evolve into and what happened to my mother when I was out cold.

[Damn it, do all evolutionary processes take so long? I never wanna go through that again!]

[[Answer. No. First Stage evolutions are the only ones that put the user into hibernation.]]

[Oh, so that’s how it works, huh? Then why didn’t the animals of Greenwater go through it when I did?]

[[Their evolution process only gave them smaller changes in accordance to your own.]]

[Hah? Whatever the heck that means!]

I didn’t understand how this evolution stuff worked since I was still learning, but so far all I know is that creatures of the swamp can evolve whenever I evolve since we’re spiritually connected or something, from my title.

I mean, I guess it’s pretty simple to grasp.

"Hey, Stoneback, question!" I said, keeping my pace steady.

"Yes, My Queen?"

"Erm... those animals back at the village, where did you find them from?"

Stoneback seemed proud of my comment, as if taking pride in recruiting other creatures.

"I’m glad you asked, Lady Keiko. They’re known as Unnamed Beasts, just like us, however, their environment is the forest rather than the swamp. We recruited them to help us build the village, and in return, they get free food and shelter."

Wait wait wait, what did he just say?

"Eh?" I stopped in my tracks, turning around to face him before tilting my head. "What do you mean unmanned beasts?"

Stoneback seemed taken by my comment, but he answered nonetheless.

"All beasts are naturally unnamed, however, there is something called Beast name evolutions and Human name evolutions." He responded. "Beast name evolutions allow a beast to evolve into a more humanoid state, though they keep their beastly features, however, it can be different when they undergo Human name evolutions, which would allow a beast to evolve into a more humanoid state but with more of a human appearance; obtaining skin and less beastly features. Something like a primate, to be exact."

[Whoa, seriously? So there’s a naming system in this world. Wait a second, I named the turtle, Stoneback, so why didn’t he evolve?]

[[You’re truly slow in the head.]] Said Spiritus.

[Oi! What are you getting at??]

I swear I could hear the Grand System sigh.

[[Even if you were to give out names, it wouldn’t do anything since you yourself have yet to be named.]]

[Ah! Wait a second, you’re right! I’m still using my Otherworlder name, Keiko! Crap, why didn’t I think of this?]

"So that explains why Leapmouth and Vipermouth were humanoid beasts, huh? I guess that makes more sense."

Stoneback nodded his head.

"The reason why there are so many beasts roaming around with other humanoid beasts is that they come from a bloodline of another unnamed beast. So the cycle continues unless they’re named."

Okay, now it’s starting to make more sense. So basically, beast name evolutions grant the beast a humanoid appearance, but they keep all their beastly features, while a human name evolution grants them more of a human appearance, but they lose most of their beastly features.

"Eeeeeeek! Monsters, monsters!!"

All of a sudden, a loud scream came from deep within the forest, catching all of our attention.

"The two-legged creatures! It must be!" Said one of the frogs.

"Craaap, it sounds like they’re in trouble." I couldn’t just let this slide. "Alright, all of you, stay behind! I’ll handle this."

"B-But Lord!" Stoneback stepped forward. "Allow us to assist you!"

"No, I got this! Just stay where you are!"

I decided to book it deeper into the forest, leaving my Greenwater army behind.

This was my first chance to see a human in my new life. I couldn’t let them ruin this moment. But first, I had to save this human from whatever was attacking them, at all costs.

Branches blurred past me as leaves snapped under my paws, and my body moved faster than my thoughts. My limbs responded like they were made for this terrain, easily weaving between roots and leaping over fallen logs with ease.

[...Woah! I definitely evolved into something stupidly fast.]

The screaming grew louder.

"Help! Someone, please!"

I burst through a curtain of hanging moss and skidded to a stop until I could see three humans.

Two men and one girl, all wearing mismatched leather and metal armor, clearly travelers rather than soldiers. One of them, the girl, had fallen on their back, scrambling desperately as something loomed over them.

That something was definitely not human. It was a beast twice the size of a boar crouched low to the ground with its body covered in jagged plates and antlers twisted from its skull. It snarled at her with saliva dripping onto the forest floor.

"Appraisal!" I whispered under my breath before bringing up its stats.

[[Name: Unnamed Beast

Race: Skinwalker

LVL: 7]]

"Level 7? It must be super strong... but it’s nothing I can’t handle!"

"P-Please don’t! W-We’ll leave the forest!" One of the humans cried out while holding up a trembling spear, but the beast didn’t care and lunged at the one on the ground.

I didn’t have time to form a strategy as I moved in the blink of an eye.

The world seemed to blur past me as I slammed my claws into the creature’s side with far more force than I expected. The impact sent it skidding across the dirt, crashing into a tree with a loud crack.

"Groooooaaaar!" It wailed in agony.

The humans froze at the sudden turn of events, and so did I.

I landed lightly on the ground, barely feeling the recoil from my attack as I stared at my own paws in disbelief.

[...Oh. So levels really do matter in the grand scheme of things, huh? That was my first time fighting someone lower level than me.]

The beast roared and staggered back to its feet, shaking its head violently before locking onto me, and without further hesitation, it charged.

"Bring it on! You overgrown shrub!" I hissed, bracing myself. "You’re messing with the wrong kitty cat!"

I leapt again as my claws turned a purplish color.

"Phantom Claw!"

Slashing forward, I sent a purple arc from my claws that cleaved the creature into three parts; decapitating it whole.

Phantom Claws had Defensive Cleaving aspects which allowed me to ignore durability—there was no way in hell any other creature was surviving it unless they were a boss.

Behind me, I heard a sharp gasp as I slowly turned my head. The three humans were staring at me like I had just done magic tricks in front of their eyes.

The girl—still on the ground—was frozen with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. One of the men had dropped his spear entirely as the weapon clattered uselessly against the ground while the other stood stiff, holding a sword and shield.

No one could say anything as I padded closer to the girl and gently nudged her thigh with my paw.

"You’re safe now!" I said. "It’s gone."

She flinched at the contact, then looked down at me in utter shock.

"...Y-You just talked!" She said shakily. "You’re... intelligent?"

"...I would hope so?" I replied, a bit confused. "I mean, I think therefore I am..."

One of the men stepped forward cautiously, raising both hands that carried his sword and shield.

"T-thank you!" He said. "You r-really saved her life while we couldn’t do anything!"

I flicked my tail awkwardly.

"...Yeah, I guess that’s what I do."

They helped the girl back onto her feet, though she kept glancing at me like she expected me to eat her or something.

"You’re a... beast..." The other man said cautiously. "But not like the others. What exactly are you?"

"Correct!" I said out loud. "I’m the good kind of beast! But what I am is a loooong story."

That... did not reassure them. I sighed and sat down, deliberately lowering myself to appear less threatening.

"Uhh... I know you’re all confused, trust me, I get it. If I were you, I’d be lost as hell too." I gestured to where the Skinwalker had been. "But that thing was actually a beast that wanted to kill, and I’m nothing like that."

The girl blinked multiple times trying to process all of this.

"...Um, then what kind of beast are you exactly?"

Her question hit harder than I expected as I opened my mouth... but then stopped.

What kind of beast was I, she asked.

Am I really a beast? Or maybe I’m considered a reincarnated human? Man, this is all surreal.

"...I’m just a cat, and my name is Keiko," I finally said, releasing a sigh. "I, err, rule the village nearby, I guess?"

I mean, I don’t even have a name for the village.

"You guys are welcome if you like."

Their eyes all widened simultaneously.

"A cat... as a ruler?" one of the men said in disbelief.