The cabin air froze. Every eye snapped to the source of the nasal voice. A flickering black cat sat on the corner table. Its fur seemed to phase in and out of existence. A visual static. Like a poorly tuned broadcast.

The checkered shawl around its neck seemed to be the only stable thing about its appearance. No one had even heard it approach. Even Jack and Rune, with their heightened senses, hadn't detected a thing until the words hit the air.

"Well, don't just stand there with your mouths agape, Kids. You'll catch flies." The cat drawled. A flick of its tail sent a ripple through the air that wasn’t quite real.

"Or perhaps... are you admiring my exquisite tailoring?" It licked its paw, casually. "You've got great fashion sense, then. This isn't just any shawl. Hand-stitched by a particularly grumpy gnome-weaver. Took three days and a very persuasive tuna sandwich to get him to part with it."

The crew remained stunned. Moby's jaw hung loose. Ned gripped his grimoire, though it stayed unopened. Leon Drake had a slack expression. Even Baroness Artheim had a slight widening of her eyes.

Reina had already drawn his twin handguns. Their tips were glinting. But she held them loosely. Unsure whether she should shoot or not.

"It won't work, you know?" The cat glanced at the guns and disregarded it. "I'm mostly here now. But I'm also slightly yesterday and a little bit of tomorrow. It makes shooting me very difficult. Not to mention rude."

Jack raised his eyebrows in bafflement to hear that. But, he quickly regained his composure. This world was full of strangeness. A talking, glitching cat was just another one of these strange things.

He focused his vision. Activating his [Eyes of Judgement]. The world shimmered. And a panel of glowing information materialized before him, overlaying the cat.

[Name: Glitcherimistionodon (Glitch)]

[Race: Mysterious Cat]

[Archetype: Experimental Anomaly]

[Age: 136]

[Affiliation: -]

[Karma: Neutral]

[Power Level: Moderate]

[Power Class: Otherworld Planeswalker]

[Power Traits: Realm Jump, Endless Inventory Space, Toon Physique]

[Personalities: Lazy, Witty, Fair]

[Description: Glitch is not a natural creature, but a fascinating accident of transcendent energies. It began as a simple, yet unusually intelligent, familiar of a reclusive Otherworld Mage. During one of the mage's experiments, a spatial rift tore open. It fused the cat with a nearby goblin merchant and a spatial pearl. The result was Glitch. It retained the familiar's cat-like form, the goblin's power of speech, and the spatial pearl's ability to warp between dimensions. It drifts between realms, trading oddities and avoiding anything resembling a permanent address or responsibility.]

Jack absorbed the information. An 'Experimental Anomaly'. An 'Otherworld Planeswalker'. This cat was far more complicated than a simple talking animal. It was a walking, flickering paradox. The description explained a lot. It was a creature born of chaos, existing outside the normal rules.

"Fascinating!" Jack murmured. Loud enough for his crew to hear. "An accidental fusion, eh? That explains why you're so... shifty."

Glitch flicked an ear. "Shifty? Me? Come on! I prefer the term... 'dimensionally flexible'. And for your information, that 'accidental fusion' was a rather traumatic experience. Imagine your very being constantly trying to decide if it's a cat, a goblin, or a pocket dimension. It gives one a certain... perspective."

It paused. "Now, about those 'Fish Tokens' you were discussing. You wanted to know what they're for, didn’t you?"

Jack nodded. "You know about it? Even my appraisal ability couldn't tell me what it is for, you know?"

"Of course it won't tell you. They're useless to you, humans." Glitch stated. A touch of superiority could be heard in its nasal voice.

It hopped off the table. Landing silently on the wooden floor. Its form was shimmering as if it were struggling to remain solid.

"To humans like you, they're just pretty little fish-shaped small objects." The cat said. "No nutritional value. No enchanting properties. And they don't even make good fishing baits. But..."

The cat looked around. Its flickering eyes seemed to look at everyone. "... they are highly prized by certain aquatic communities. Specifically, the Mermaid Clan. They use them as a form of currency for rare items, favors, lost treasures, you name it. The little shiny tokens resonate with their unique physiology, apparently."

"Or..." He added. "... this is where it gets interesting for you. They are also acceptable currency for the great me."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

It puffed out its chest a little. Making the checkered shawl wrinkle. "The great I, Glitcherimistionodon, am a connoisseur of the peculiar, a collector of the rare, and an enthusiastic purveyor of the utterly bizarre."

It focused its eyes on Jack. "And I find the [Fish Tokens] rather delightful. They're compact. They don't stink. And they look appetizing."

As it spoke, Glitch suddenly pawed at the air. A small, shimmering portal opened next to it. It wasn't a clean rip. Instead, it was a messy, static-filled tear in reality.

The cat ignored the mess and dipped a paw inside. It rummaged for a moment, and then pulled out a tightly rolled scroll. It was tied with a thin, almost invisible thread.

The scroll was an old, yellowed parchment. Covered in what looked like faded ink. The portal snapped shut behind it. Leaving no trace.

"Here!" Glitch tossed the scroll to Jack. "This is my current inventory. A selection of fine, unique wares. Prices listed in Fish Tokens. No haggling. Take your time. When you've made decision, just call my full name: Glitcherimistionodon."

With that, the cat seemed to stretch. Its body was elongated unnaturally. Then, it compressed itself. Then suddenly, it wasn't there.

It didn't teleport. It didn't go through a portal. It was simply gone. Like a picture losing resolution until it vanished from view.

Jack immediately activated [Eyes of Judgement] again. Sweeping the cabin. Nothing. No residual energy. No shimmer. No scent. No further information. It was as if Glitch had never been there.

Rune flickered intensely. She used all of her sensing capabilities. But she couldn't track the cat. Her glow turned purple and magenta. Showing confusion.

"Bloody hell!" Leon Drake breathed deep. Running a hand through his hair. "A ghost cat that blinks out of reality? What next, sentient barnacles?"

Reina picked up the scroll. "Well, he certainly left his calling card."

She untied the thread and unrolled the parchment carefully. They could see the content quickly. The script it was used for writing was crooked and ugly. Almost child-like. And the ink seemed to waver on the page.

The crew gathered around. Peering over Reina’s shoulder.

[Glitcherimistionodon's Glorious Goods]

[Set Pricelist for Fish Tokens]

[Yummy Big Snakefish Bone: delicious power up, strong bone.]

[Price: 2 fish tokens]

[Hot Birdie Feather: fire no longer burns you.]

[Price : 2 fish token]

[Shiny Scale of Old One: tough skin, water breath.]

[Price: 2 fish tokens]

[Sparky Critter Fang: electrifies things, fast bites.]

[Price: 2 fish tokens]

[Wispy Ghost Hair: sees secrets, floaty feeling.]

[Price: 1 fish token]

[Muddy Earth Heart: strong body, quick growing plants.]

[Price: 2 fish tokens]

[Wet Blue Rock: makes the boat go fast, hates the sun.]

[Price: 3 fish tokens]

[Rusty Scrap-Metal: fixes anything with sharp edges.]

[Price: 1 fish token]

[Tiny Dream Seed: sleeps better, happy thoughts.]

[Price: 1 fish token]

[Stinky Swamp Drink: invisible hiding, bad smell.]

[Price: 1 fish token]

[Gleaming Star Shard: night vision, bright thoughts.]

[Price: 2 fish tokens]

[Whisp of Ancient Breath: ages gracefully, hears wise words.]

[Price: 2 fish tokens]

[Lost Echo Shell: hears whispers, remembers past.]

[Price: 2 fish token]

A stunned silence fell over the group as they read the list.

"Yummy Big Snakefish Bone?" Ned finally managed. A frown was on his face. "What in the seven seas is a 'yummy big snakefish'?"

"Sounds like something a child would write." Bell commented. Peering closer.

Chloe Chase tapped her temple. "Hot Birdie Feather? Is that perhaps a phoenix feather? The description 'fire no longer burns you' certainly suggests a strong fire resistance. Or even immunity."

Sparkle, her kirin cub, let out a small, questioning whine. Chloe patted it softly on its back.

Argust Osprey, the navigator, scratched his beard. "And the Wet Blue Rock? Makes the boat go fast? I only know one blue thing that could do such thing. The [Heart of the Ocean]. A super rare mystic pearl. It's said that when it is fused with the keel, a ship could always move to the destination twice as fast."

Barnaby cleared his throat. "What about this one? A Tiny Dream Seed for 'sleeps better, happy thoughts'? Sounds like a sleeping pill. But still, it felt terribly vague."

Mirella also pointed. "The 'Stinky Swamp Moss: invisible hiding, bad smell.' Is it a potion of invisibility, perhaps? One with a rather unpleasant side effect?”

Jack scanned the list again. An amused grin spread across his face. These weren't just vague descriptions. They were, very likely, deliberately childlike. Yet the implications of these objects were immense.

His [Eyes of Judgement] didn't work on the content of the scroll. He needed to see the real object. But his gut instinct felt that Chloe and Argust were on the right track.

"You all might be right." Jack said. Tapping the scroll. "This Glitch cat is either supremely eccentric or deliberately trying to obscure the true nature of its wares."

"Yummy Big Snakefish Bone could easily be something like a Leviathan Bone." He continued. "Something that confers immense strength and durability. Hot Birdie Feather is almost certainly a phoenix feather, just as Chloe suspected. As for the others, they might also be precious objects."

Reina nodded. Her expression was thoughtful. "It makes sense, in a way. If it's dealing in such high-value items, it might not want them too easily be identified by casual observers."

"So we can convert dangerous, unusable artifacts into these tokens. Then, we can trade them back for other powerful items described in a child's scrawl? And sold by a cat?" Leon raised an eyebrow. "It's a... well, peculiar system."

"It's a system designed by an experimental anomaly that's an accidental fusion of a mage's familiar, a goblin merchant, and a spatial pearl." Jack commented with a dry chuckle. "Peculiar is probably its default setting."

"And we do have a few... problematic artifacts sealed in the Mirror Mansion." He continued. "Converting them into Fish Tokens might be a good way to clear out some of the clutter and acquire potentially useful tools for our adventures."

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