So, after investing stats from all the level-ups, my mana is well over a thousand. That means no more leveling for a while. I grew way too quickly and I need to get used to it. My own pride won't allow me to have all that mana and not be used to it or not be able to handle it. In the same way, people from Hard difficulty were to my standard terrible at handling their skills and stats.

After getting to the others, I will spend some time training, testing, and all that good stuff. My current level is high enough for me to have some time to scam the system and improve my base.

And let's quickly forget what just happened. Surely nothing wrong will come of it.

It's fine. Totally fine.

Oh boy.

I force myself not to look at Primary Classes options. That's something I will do after a shower and nice sleep, and booping Biscuit's nose a few hundred times. I haven't seen him for a few days, so the debt has increased quite a bit.

Letting myself land on the ground, I slow down and, while walking, I continue to observe the mountain range behind me. There are no ants defending it and staring at me, which makes me even more nervous. Plus, even now, I get a notification once in a while. Most of them are for ants much lower than level 100, and the notification sounds only once every few dozen minutes.

OH BOY.

It's FINE.

I start running, only using my stats, and let my mana regenerate. Even though I am nervous, I start enjoying the speed I am running at. My physical stats, passively boosted by my constructs that take a big chunk of my mana, are quite high and I run at speeds that would make me faster than some cars back on Earth.

And I am not getting tired at all.

Enamored by it, I boost my body slightly and my legs start cracking the ground under my feet as I continue to spring myself ahead, feeling the wind in my face.

The speed I move at is slower than when I am quasi-flying, yet there is some charm to it as I feel my feet hitting the ground and continue jumping over obstacles.

My body moves like a perfectly oiled machine and somehow, this act of running makes me realize how much my body changed. It's weird as I am already able to create flames with my mind and mana and other amazing things. Yet I am so excited by just running quickly.

It's hard to explain but it's relaxing, and I focus more on feeling my body, and my muscles while increasing my speed even further until the landscape around me turns into a blur when I am not actively focusing on it.

I don't even try to fly and just continue to run.

The city that towers in front of me is beautiful. It's a mess, but it's a beautiful mess. A mix of buildings of all styles, some of them ancient-looking. There are trees inside the city as tall as skyscrapers. There are towers even higher than those trees.

Colors are everywhere: the green of flora, smaller buildings with walls painted in vibrant yellow, red, blue, and multiple other colors. Towers of so many different styles. The impossibly high trees create shade and seem to have some buildings on them as well.

That's what I can see from atop one of the hills near the city. Unlike the plains I just passed, this hill is covered by trees and vibrant green, a striking contrast to the lack of colors on the plains.

Unlike the mountain range, even the air here is warmer and the sun feels better on my skin.

I am still a few miles away from it and I am currently taking a short break before getting in. That's when I sense a few presences moving closer to me, all of them feeling humanoid, and they send me something like a greeting by touching my mana.

My touch on them weakens and I send back a similar greeting. I stop examining them to not seem too rude and then wait for them to get closer.

It doesn't take too long and three figures appear in front of me. Two women and one man, all of them at least two heads taller than me. Their eyes are sharp, yet they are smiling excitedly after spotting me.

“Wow, this one is especially cute!” one of the women says.

“Right? And he seems so feral!” another woman adds.

“His eyes are pretty,” the man joins in.

[Astral Archer - lvl 178]

[Elemental Warden - lvl 188]

[Phantom Assassin - lvl 175]

Other than their height, there are a few more interesting things about them.

Cat ears poking from their heads.

A little bit sharper canines than normal for a human.

And a tail that each of them has.

Their tails flicker around excitedly like cats eyeing a new toy.

So, yup, this is something the others refused to tell me, wanting me to experience it firsthand while they laughed behind my back.

My revenge will be terrifying.

It's as it looks. A race of cat people that are much taller than humans that seem to rule this place. They look just like human, just taller and have cat ears, tail and sharp canines.

There are humans as well that live together with them in symbiosis, and the cat people race doesn't seem to treat them harshly or anything.

They are just weird.

“Hey, feral one, want to work with me? I promise I will pay you well,” one of the women says.

Very weird.

“Myrra! This one is mine! I saw him first,” the other woman complains while the man just remains quiet and acts patiently. Yet, I see his eyes looking at me a bit.

“Look, look! His expression changed a bit!” the woman called Myrra says.

“Oh, you're right, he's so annoyed!”

“Right? He looks so regal, yet so wild!”

“Yes, yes! And he moves so elegantly!”

What the fuck. What's wrong with them?

Even though all of them are of a higher level than me, they are not trying to force me into anything and do not even try to touch me. They just continue to blabber while giving me offers to work for them. What that work would include I don't know, and I don't even want to know.

“Feral one, tell me, do you belong to the group of people that came from the Colony´s territory some time ago?” Myrra asks.

“Yes. Did you meet them?” I ask carefully, and she reacts by swinging her tail even more excitedly. It's quite fascinating to see it move, and she smiles when she notices me looking at her tail.

“We did. That group also had a few cute ones,” Myrra turns to the other woman, “Lysara, do you remember them?”

“Of course I do. There was this cute small black-haired girl and a tall blonde,” she pauses, “They seemed to be quite rich,” Lysara seems to be disappointed as if someone escaped her claws.

“Tell me, feral one, what do you like? Food? Riches? Magical items? Mana stones? I'm quite rich so I would be able to pay you nicely,” Myrra interrupts Lysara.

Myrra is the highest-leveled one out of them: a level 188 elemental warden. Her hair is white and her eyes are golden in color. Her ears and tail are of a gray color that nicely contrasts with her long hair. Horizontally across her nose, a deep but healed scar passes through, which is weird to see in a place where constitution should be able to heal it.

“What does working for you include?” I ask, and listening to them up until now made me quite curious.

The white-haired woman seems excited as if smelling a chance, “Nothing much, feral one! You would live in my mansion and come to me when I am bored. We could talk, and I could observe you doing whatever you like to do. I could ask you to be my attendant once in a while. You would come with me shopping and carry my things. I would require you to dress nicely and sometimes show you off to my friends. Normal stuff,” she explains quickly.

This doesn't sound normal at all.

Are all of them like this? “Would you mind if I ask why you would do that?” I ask carefully while cursing the others. I bet they thought it would be so funny to put me in this situation.

Once again, I promise terrifying revenge. Yet, it doesn't feel dangerous, and I also think they would have told me if it was.

“Because you're cute!” this time it's Lysara who says that, “You look so feral and almost bored the entire time. The way you look around is as if everything is beneath you, even though you are just a weak human. Your differently colored eyes too.”

Oh, I see.

Myrra joins in, “And when your expression changes a bit, it's so fun. I want to bully you until you finally show some emotion.”

Damn, it looks like this race of cat people looks at humans in a similar way humans look at cats back on Earth.

While moving back to the city, I keep asking them questions while fighting against their increasing offers to “hire me.” Myrra seems to be a boss here, and the man who barely speaks is her guard, while Lysara is her friend.

They are all of a race of cat people called lynthari. They and humans live together in the city in front of us. Everything seems peaceful, and even as lynthari are often much stronger than humans, they seem to be weird enough to treat humans somewhat nicely. Only sometimes do they take in some humans they find interesting, cute, or funny.

There seem to be some strict rules about how lynthari treat humans that I don't know yet, and being often much stronger than humans, lynthari seem to view the human race in a similar way we look at pets. It's not exactly the same, as humans often work alongside them, and sometimes, though rarely, hold higher positions, but it's close to that.

Lynthari are born stronger than humans and live longer. Lysara and Myrra are a few hundred years old, while humans here rarely live over one hundred fifty years; only the stronger ones live longer, and that seems rare.

Looking at the power levels, anything close to level two hundred seems to be the cream of the crop, and individuals that reach over level two hundred are few and far between, treated exceedingly well.

When we enter the city, most of the humans carefully avoid the three lynthari I travel with, and the trio barely gives them any look.

The humans on the edges of the city are almost all under level fifty, but the deeper we go, the average level increases, and more and more lynthari appear. Even their clothes seem to look more expensive. There are so many shops, auction buildings, places Myrra calls guild halls, and dueling areas. The city is bustling with life and magic everywhere that I can sense.

“Oh, so you do like magical items,” Myrra smiles at me, showing her sharp canines. “Feral one, if you work with me, I can give you a lot of them,” she says, her eyes glowing with a dangerous light.

It's almost like a suspicious individual calling me to an unmarked van to get some candy.

Danger! Stranger danger! I remind myself and force myself to refuse, but I try to do it carefully to not insult her. She seems to be disappointed but she doesn't push it.

As they leave, she pushes a rare graded magical item into my hand. A bribe.

Before I can check it, she also gives me a small mana stone as well, “Use this stone if you change your mind, feral one,” her ears perk up, and she smiles at me and leaves with her companions.

I finally check the item in my hand.

Brooch of the Silent Whisper (rare) - A small, unassuming brooch that has the power to absorb sound in a localized area when activated. It's perfect for stealth missions or for keeping conversations private.

Deep breath in.

Breathe out.

Repeat to yourself: Stranger danger.