A Cat and His Human (League of Losers Book #1): LitRPG Series

by Atamanov, Michael

  While I was washing the guts and slime off my axe, my sister arrived. Julie jumped for joy when I told her we were going on a long journey. She was excited. The girl told me she got bored easily in the village, spending her days cooking, doing laundry or cleaning. Safe and peaceful work inside safe walls, sure, but my sister wanted something more. She wanted adventure, exploration in this new world, and, of course, to level up.

  “I was three levels above you once, bro. Now you’re already level fifteen and I’m only eleven. It’s not fair! I have Beastmaster, Veterinarian and Trainer as possible classes. I could be really useful to you and your beasts!”

  Oh, that’s right. When we first met, Julie’s suggested class was Scout. Now it was Veterinarian, apparently because of how much time she’d spent with the creeping crocodiles, which the girl had fed, cleaned and bandaged. I had to promise to take Julie on my hikes beyond the village’s island walls more often, but only if she made sure to always listen to her elder brother.

  I lifted my sister onto Tick-Tock the huge creeping crocodile and then personally checked the knots on the safety rope. I didn’t forget to take the kitten along too — Whiskers had proved himself a good-luck charm yet again today. I wanted to keep him with me just in case. The kitten proudly took his usual spot on my backpack. Shelly had been ready a while, and we were just planning to leave when Varya suddenly appeared at the village gate. Pale and barely holding herself upright, the girl stubbornly walked toward us and waved, drawing our attention. I jumped up and ran to the wounded girl’s aid.

  “Sergeant, take me with you!” Varya’s voice was quiet, barely audible.

  What? I looked doubtfully at the frail and still wounded Engineer’s daughter. The girl’s eyelids fluttered, her hands trembled with weakness. Each step pained her. It was hard for her to even stand. How could we take her along like this..? I was about to refuse her as gently as I could, but Varya spoke first.

  “Wait. Don’t hurry to say no. Hear me out first!”

  The girl fell silent, screwed up her face, even pressed a hand to her stomach. Her burst of movement had caused a flash of sharp pain in her still tender post-operative stitches. Varya waited for the pain to pass, then spoke, this time more evenly and more confidently.

  “Yeah, I’m in a bad way now, and I won’t be much use to you. But don’t forget, this new world has its own laws. I’m only a little experience away from level thirty-four. As soon as I level up, I’ll heal all my wounds and be just fine. Sure, it’s hard and painful, but it’s better than lying around in bed all week. And believe me, Sergeant, I’ll make myself useful!

  Hmm… From that point of view, the girl’s desire to get up and do something instead of sitting for days at a time in a sickbed seemed reasonable. All the same, I felt some doubt.

  “Does your father know?” I asked. She shook her head.

  “No, he wouldn’t have allowed it. I took dad’s flask without asking too. To dull the pain with vodka if it gets too much.”

  This was all I needed… I sighed deeply and glanced at the village’s palisade anxiously. I could hear axes thudding and saws screeching behind it. The house build was well underway, and Varya’s father was deeply involved. I looked back to the light brunette girl standing before me in her dirty army uniform. The Engineer would kill me if anything happened to his daughter.

  On the other hand, Max Dubovitsky himself had said that his daughter didn’t see this world as real. She lived as if in a dream, and nothing kept her here. She had no anchor, no friends, no skin in the game. And now she wanted to join a trip along the river. What if it was this very trip that gave the ghostly girl that anchor, to hold her in the new world, keep her from one day disappearing into the mist? The Engineer himself had said that there must be something that could.

  I pointed at the female creeping crocodile, already ready to get going.

  “You’ll ride with Shelly. And please… try not to die.”

  * * *

  Our journey wasn’t the easiest — a cold wind blew in from the south and kicked up waves on the river. My sister was looking green around the gills from all the rocking. Myself, I was sick with worry for Varya. But the female creeping crocodile didn’t seem to lose speed with the two girls on her back. She lanced through the waves far ahead. It took a lot of effort to keep Katy in view. I had to constantly urge on Tick-Tock so he didn’t lag behind.

  Eagle Eye skill increased to level sixteen!

  Riding skill increased to level twenty-seven!

  The game system also suggested that I take the Swimming and Diving skills, but I refused for now. I was already pretty much decided on my final skill: Heavy Armor, the skill I needed to wear the heavy giga-komodo plates without penalties. It wouldn’t have even occurred to me, but the Engineer told me about it after I brought him the armor plates. I hadn’t yet taken the skill, though — it would take quite some time to make the armor, and what if I found myself with an urgent need for something else?

  In the meantime, Katy began to tire steadily. The creeping crocodile’s speed fell noticeably. Tick-Tock had no stamina problems yet, so we almost caught up to the girls. Then Shelly and Varya fell about themselves laughing. Varya had leveled up, her wounds were healed! They waved at us and suggested a contest to see who could reach the river meadow first. The last couple of miles turned into a breakneck race, and we would have needed a camera on the finish line to determine the winner. The best possible outcome; nobody lost out.

  “I feel so good!” Scout Varya said, having now reached level 35. It wasn’t just the fact that her wounds had healed that put her in a good mood. I’m no psychologist, but I suspected that the Engineer’s daughter was in serious need of such life-affirming moments, opportunities to live without self-consciousness, to enjoy each day to the full.

  “There he is!” Shelly pointed out a lone giga-komodo grazing on the meadow about three hundred yards from us. It was a giant armored beast with an unusual purple and black coloring.

  Giga-komodo. Herd Bull. Level 93 Male.

  Level ninety-three! And a ‘herd bull,’ although I had no idea what that title meant. Did it mean the beast was stronger? Larger than usual? More aggressive? I swallowed nervously, imagining a range of problems. It had taken me at least six hours to tame a level forty beast. I shuddered to even think how much time I’d need to tame a level ninety-three giga-komodo. Days, at least.

  All the girls were looking at me, awaiting instructions. I wiped the grimace of despair and uncertainty off my face, tried to make like a paragon of calm and confidence instead. If it took days, then it took days. I’d still get the bull eventually. I’d already tested the strategy for taming these beasts more than once. Time to get to work!

  “Five minutes, let’s get ready! Varya, make a saddle out of rope like on the creeping crocodiles. We’re going to need it. Julie, be ready to turn invisible! You’re going to creep up on it from the side and jab your harpoon between its plates! Shelly, Varya, stay close to Julie and help her out! Shout and stab at the giga-komodo to scare it. Shelly, when it rolls up into a ball, you hit it with the sleeping potion! Dip your darts in it now!”

  In the meantime, I used some pliers to make a loop out of the thick steel wire I’d brought. I hoped to throw it like a lasso around the reptile’s neck or leg. Then I cut and dressed a thick wooden stake with my axe. After all, the long taming time was nothing compared to the chance that the beast might awaken terrified from the sleeping potion and career off who knows where with me on its back, leaving me with a long way home.

  Item Crafting skill increased to level ten!

  Five minutes passed and we were already ready to begin. It was time! The girls did a great job! My sister attacked right out of stealth, making the beast roar in pain. When he saw Varya and Shelly running at him screaming like Amazon warriors, he rolled up into a huge purple and black ball. A couple of dozen precise darts between the plates and a minute later, the giga-komodo unfurled, stretching out its legs. The riskiest phase
of our plan was done. Good teamwork made it so easy!

  While the sleep potion worked its magic, I ran up and threw my lasso around the reptile’s neck, then hurried to drive the thick stake into the ground nearby with the back of my axe. I made a loop in the other end of the wire and put it over the stake. I just had time to jump onto the creature’s back and tie on the safety rope. As soon as I put my feet in the stirrup loops, the giant came round!

  “Everyone back off!” I shouted to my helpers. After that I was beyond all conversation — a furious rodeo began.

  The armored giant jumped up, tensed all its muscles and launched itself, trying to run away as fast as it could. The steel wire stretched out and thrummed like a guitar string, stopping the creature short and flipping it over. My safety rope barely kept me on. For an instant it seemed as if the thick steel wire would rip or pull the stake out of the ground. Thankfully, they both held. Almost immediately, my steed ran in the opposite direction only to be pulled up short again when his steel leash ran out. The reptile started bucking, trying to throw off its rider or break the loop around his neck. I laid myself flat down on the giga-komodo’s back and held on for dear life to its shell and the rope.

  Fortunately, the bucking soon ended. As he realized that his actions were fruitless, the giga-komodo took to his heels again, this time running in endless circles around the stake, snorting in displeasure and trampling a perfect circle of grass on the green meadow. Only about ten minutes after that did the taming bar finally appear, alongside a pop-up message that Sergeant’s skills had increased:

  Taming skill increased to level twenty-eight!

  Riding skill increased to level twenty-eight!

  In the first two minutes of the circular race around the stake, the taming bar filled up by a mere 0.2%. Ugh… Yep, I was here for the long haul. By my estimates, at least thirty hours. I definitely wouldn’t make it by nightfall. At this rate, I’d be lucky to be done by tomorrow night.

  I told the girls to unload Katy and Tick-Tock and let the creeping crocodiles feed in the river, then to get ready to spend the night up a tall tree to avoid the night beasts. But first, I asked them to pick as many blue flowers as they could and stack them up nearby, the ones that had been so useful when I tamed Dinotard. I still hoped to avoid riding the giga-komodo for thirty hours — the beast would tire and get hungry, and then I’d be able to feed it and quickly fill up the taming bar.

  Chapter 31 [Kitten]

  Nighttime Visitor

  THE CREEPING CROCODILES were on form today. They broke all their records with their catch. Maybe the two long river trips in one day had done them good, or maybe the place was just rich in fish. Either way, Katy and Tick-Tock pulled one fish after another onto the bank. The girls got tired of cleaning the catch and decided to cook only some of it, wrapping the rest in broad leaves for later. We had enough food to feed the whole village for a week. I stuffed myself to bursting and meowed happily, lying in the grass and watching as Varya and Julie climbed a tree and made a big bed in its boughs out of twigs, ropes, grass and scraps of thick cloth.

  Shelly had a completely different job to do. At Sergeant’s request, the furry girl took a couple of heavy black bags from him and went to the neighboring woods. My master warned her that the contents stank and that it had to be taken deep into the forest and poured on an animal track. He asked for her to wash the priceless waterproof bags in the river and return them if she could. But she came back without the bags and with her hair standing on end. Her squeamishness must have gotten the better of her.

  The shelter up in the tree was soon ready, and the girls went off to sleep. They wanted to drag me up there too, but I protested. I howled as gratingly as I could and even scratched them. Sergeant might need my help, so I wanted to stay with him! Sergeant asked them to hand the kitten to him anyway. Varya carefully threw me to the boy on the giga-komodo’s back. A flask of strong tea followed after me — the night promised to be cold, and a hot drink would be nice to have.

  Sergeant stayed up on the giga-komodo’s back, yawning in boredom and singing to himself to stay awake. The sky was cloudless and starry, the night cold. I had no fear of freezing with my thick fur, but the boy had to put on his warm sweater and jacket to stay warm. All was calm and monotonous. I was a little concerned that the night beasts or other predators might appear in the darkness, but neither had made an appearance on the river meadow yet. Sometimes we heard heavy splashes and strange howls from the direction of the river, but whatever was happening was safely far away and didn’t concern us. I rolled up into a ball on the backpack and snoozed.

  The reptile never seemed to tire. It kept racing around in circles, still at the same speed. Its stamina was amazing. Astride such a mighty and tireless beast, you could gallop all day without taking a break. The big human was already planning on how to use the pet. He talked to himself about bringing metal from Orshi-Ur to the river settlement. He daydreamed as far as organizing twice-daily trips on the giga-komodo to help the humans stay in close contact and remain a single whole even after the split.

  Sergeant reminded me of old Pan then. That man was always talking to himself to stay awake during his nightly watches. Now and again the boy’s face lit up when the Riding or Taming skills leveled up. Somewhere in his ramblings he said he was near character level sixteen. He muttered unhappily as he read the game info for the Taming skill. It said that as the skill leveled up, then not only would creatures be less aggressive, but it would also take less time to tame them. So far he’d seen no evidence at all of that. The taming bar was filling up too slowly for his liking too. It had only reached twenty-one percent. It was looking like he’d have to spend the next night up on the stubborn beast too.

  Then, suddenly, Sergeant shuddered, tensed. I was just starting to nod off from my master’s monotonous moaning, but the human’s sudden anxiety jolted me awake. I jumped up, twitching my ears and trying to figure out what had put the man’s back up.

  Choose the learnable skill Eagle Eye for your character?

  No, no thank you. Even without the skill, I could see the tracks of some two-legged creature appearing in the dewy grass. Someone in invisibility slowly approached, then stopped three paces from the giga-komodo’s ring of trampled grass. The invisible watcher stood and did nothing, just watched while the beast ran in circles. The figure was short, two-legged, with shoes. A sherkh? I wondered… What was that fearsome Swordmaiden’s name again? My master remembered first.

  “What do you want from me, Avelia?”

  My other self seemed to think the same way I did. There didn’t seem to be many sherkhs around here. Their lands were far away. The ones here were probably part of a small group of long-range scouts. We’d seen two members of the group — Avelia and her younger brother. And Arvedo seemed impulsive and bad-tempered. He was more likely to shoot you in the back than stand there calmly watching.

  We both guessed right! The short, long-eared blonde in her form-fitting dark clothes appeared out of thin air. The girl looked furious.

  “How did you see me, Sergeant? Answer me! Do you have a thermal vision modification?”

  Interesting. That meant you could see sherkhs in the infrared spectrum. I filed that away for future reference and waited for Sergeant to respond. Talking was inconvenient — the stubborn reptile kept taking us away from the girl as she waited for an answer, which came only when the next revolution brought us back round to her.

  “Not at all. You just leave footprints in the dew,” Sergeant pointed at the chain of easily visible prints in the grass. “I have the Tracking skill, so I see things like that easily.”

  That answer satisfied the Swordmaiden. She relaxed and took her hands off the pommels of her swords. My master still had enough of his wits about him not to mention the fact that he had the Eagle Eye skill, and that Night Vision was a potential modification for it. Or maybe the boy didn’t know.

  The tireless giga-komodo made another couple of circles, twice passing by the sh
erkh girl. She just stood and said nothing. The third time, the Swordmaiden suddenly made a short run and jumped high into the air, coming down standing onto the scaled reptile’s back behind us. She stood a moment, easily balancing with her arms on the galloping animal, but then decided to sit down for safety. She stared daggers into the human’s back.

  “If you let your hands wander, you’ll get stumps back!” It’s just inconvenient to talk you to you when you’re riding around in circles.”

  Sergeant said he got it. And lightly rapped me on the head for some reason, although all I was doing was sniffing our nighttime visitor — she smelled of those leaves the veichs used to protect against midge bites. That was important. It meant the sherkhs could be detected by their smell!

  Choose the learnable skill Sharp Nose for your character?

  No, I waved it away again. Not wanting to get another rap on the head for doing nothing wrong, I climbed onto Sergeant’s shoulder. In the meantime, the boy decided to show some basic politeness and offer some hot tea to the shivering Swordmaiden in her thin bodysuit, to warm her up in the night’s cold. Real black tea from the last world. It even had a little sugar in it, which was considered a great luxury in the new world. But Avelia’s reaction was strange:

  “I will not drink, human.”

  “Why not? Don’t trust me? Worried I’ll try to poison you?”

  “Not at all. Any attempt to poison me would be suicidal, and you don’t seem like you want to die. It’s just that among my people, sharing nourishment is akin to accepting someone as a friend. And I am not at all certain that I have the right to make friends among humans. War could break out between our races any day now, and our commanders may take a negative view on friendship with the enemy.”

  Woah! That was some news. So it turned out humans were on the brink of war with the sherkhs. That meant conflict might be around the corner. Not a happy thought. But Sergeant didn’t take the information seriously, just laughed it off.