"It’s the Pocket Dimension Pearl... so you really are Serena." Tyler’s eyes lit up as everything clicked together.

Without hesitation, he scooped up the orange cat with both hands and lifted her into the air like a trophy.

"Reincarnated as a cat, huh?" he laughed. "Of all things, you ended up as this fuzzy creature."

He turned her around, inspecting her from head to tail. Then he paused, narrowed his eyes, and checked the rear.

"Oh. You’re still a female," he said casually.

That was when the cat’s paw moved faster than his eyes.

SWISH!

Serena delivered a mid-air spinning kick straight to Tyler’s cheek. It didn’t leave a mark thanks to his durability, but it almost scratched him. The speed alone showed her annoyance.

Tyler blinked, rubbing the spot.

"So you do show emotions. You used to be completely expressionless. When you were human, I even stripped you naked while you’re working and you wouldn’t even blink."

The cat hissed, clearly offended.

Tyler only chuckled and gently patted her orange head. Her fur puffed up, but she didn’t attack him again.

"Alright," Tyler said, lowering her and looking around the forest. "Since we’re stuck here, we should find a way out of this place. Where the hell is nearby settlemen–."

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes slowly met Serena’s. The orange cat froze as well.

"You sensed it too?" Tyler asked.

Serena gave a tiny meow and nodded, her tail standing upright.

Tyler wasn’t imagining things. The air around them shifted, faintly glowing. Then golden letters suddenly appeared in front of Tyler’s eyes, shining like divine text.

[Just farm and level up in the forest.]

Tyler stared at the words for a long second.

"This isn’t the usual status window," he muttered. "It must be the mission from the Trial itself."

He read it again, "’Just farm and level up in the forest.’"

Serena, meanwhile, blinked and looked upward. Tyler noticed she was staring at nothing, well she was also reading something above her own line of sight.

"So you got a mission too?" Tyler asked.

Serena meowed and nodded again. Her ears flattened a little, as if her mission wasn’t something she liked.

Tyler frowned. "Is your mission different from mine?"

Serena meowed twice.

Tyler exhaled. "Of course. Nothing is ever simple. My trial tells me to farm and level up... like some kind of farming simulator." He rubbed his face. "And your trial is something else."

The cat’s whiskers twitched. She looked troubled.

Tyler sighed. "Great. So not only am I a Farmer Class with a DNA Fertilizer skill, but now I also have to play gardener for real to get stronger."

He glanced down at Serena. "And you... what kind of mission could a cat possibly get?"

Serena stared at him with big round eyes, refusing to answer.

Whatever it was, it was definitely going to be trouble.

Growl~

Tyler’s stomach rumbled loudly.

"Hunger... of course." He sighed. "I’m mortal again. I’m really gonna miss Darla and Taka’s spirit food. Those meals were worth millions of Lydia per day. Even though cultivators don’t feel hunger, I lived so luxuriously..."

Immortal Practitoners can just meditate and absorb Aura and Prana, because of that they won’t feel hunger.

He rubbed his stomach, suddenly realizing how empty it felt.

"This is painful."

He looked around the forest, hoping to find something edible. Serena, the orange cat, flicked her tail toward the fallen Kobold.

Tyler stared at the corpse. "No way. I’m not eating that."

He turned away immediately, face scrunched in disgust. Serena rolled her eyes in a very cat-like way and hopped onto a nearby tree stump. Within seconds she climbed to the top of the tree with smooth, feline agility and began sniffing around.

Meanwhile, Tyler picked up the Pocket Dimension Pearl she had dropped earlier. He tried to activate it.

Nothing happened.

He tried again, concentrating harder.

Still nothing.

"Hey, Serena! Give me permission to use this!" Tyler called.

Serena leaped down gracefully. Then, without warning, she pounced at his hand and bit his palm.

"Ouch! What the— Serena!" Tyler yanked his hand back, blood dripping from the bite mark.

The blood fell onto Serena’s mouth.

A message floated in front of Tyler’s eyes.

[Contract formed...]

Tyler blinked. "Huh?"

He quickly opened his status window.

---

Name: Richard \ Tyler White

Age: 19

Species: Human

Occupation: Level 1 Farmer

Skill: DNA Fertilizer

Familiar: Serena (A Normal Cat)

---

MP: 2/5

Strength: 5

Stamina: 4

Vitality: 10

Speed: 4

EXP: 003

Skill Points: 0

---

"I lost another MP... And did you just become my Familiar?" Tyler looked at her in disbelief. "That’s actually kinda cool. It’s like Zuzia... though I barely used her."

Serena meowed proudly.

Then suddenly she ran.

"Hey Serena! Why are you running and where are you running?" Tyler chased after her.

He followed her through thick trees, stepping over roots and bushes. Then he noticed squirrels jumping around above them on branches.

He also gasped for air, "My body is too weak..."

Serena swatted at one squirrel, causing it to screech and leap away. Then she bit down on a round yellow fruit hanging on a branch. She also kicked another fruit off the tree.

Tyler barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Ah... so this one is edible?" he asked.

Serena was already munching on her fruit happily.

"Alright then." Tyler took a cautious bite.

The taste surprised him sweet, juicy, like a mix of berries and mango. Whether it was hunger or this body’s taste buds, he didn’t know, but it tasted heavenly.

He devoured the whole thing instantly.

He licked his fingers. "Serena! Throw me another one! The best one on the tree!"

Serena sniffed around like a professional fruit inspector, then kicked down another fruit. It landed perfectly in Tyler’s hands.

Instead of eating it immediately, Tyler placed it inside his copper pot.

He took out one fruit at a time from the pot...

Tyler picked a few more fruits and tossed some toward Serena. Then, he noticed something is looking at him. Those are the squirrels that had been chased away by Serena

He threw a few fruits toward the squirrels. The squirrels hesitated for only half a second before rushing towards the fruit.

Their movements were so quick that Tyler almost didn’t see them move at all. They grabbed the fruits, shoved the whole thing into their tiny mouths, and darted away like lightning.

Tyler blinked. "Those squirrels are definitely faster than normal squirrels."

He watched one leap from one tree to another, covering a distance far too wide for a normal animal.

"Hmmm... maybe the animals in this world have skills too," Tyler said with a grin forming on his face. "Even ordinary Squirrels has skills ... this place is gonna be interesting."

Feeling more relaxed, Tyler leaned against the tree and continued eating the fruits he copied using copper pot.

Serena jumped down and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Hehehe... don’t pretend you don’t know," Tyler smirked. "You were like the ship’s AI back then. You definitely noticed the pot’s power whenever I used it in the ship and played dumb."

Serena looked away like a guilty child.

"Also," Tyler added teasingly, "you’re the only girl who never formed a soul contract to keep this as secret."

Serena hissed lightly in embarrassment.

Tyler looked at the sky. The sun was beginning to drop.

"Now I need to find a place to stay for the night," he said. "Before it gets dark."

Serena suddenly dashed again.

"Hey! Serena! Don’t run off like that!" Tyler followed her quickly.

She ran toward a clearing but suddenly stopped, ears up, tail puffed. She then turned around.

Tyler got curious, he peeked past her and immediately backed away slowly.

Goblins.

But not the cute kind like GG. These were wild, vicious goblins covered in scars. They held rusty knives and crude spears. Their eyes glowed with hunger. They were roaming in group.

Tyler’s heart pounded, "Nope. Not dealing with those."

He turned around and followed Serena down another path. Soon, he heard something in the distance.

Splash... splash...

"Running water... a river?" Tyler muttered.

He rushed forward and found a clear river flowing through the forest. The water sparkled under the fading sunlight.

Without hesitation, Tyler knelt and shoved his face into the water.

"Ahhhh~~~" he exhaled deeply. "I didn’t realize how thirsty I was..."

He finally pulled his head out and wiped his face, "Good girl, Serena. You always know where to go."

He reached out to pat her. His hand touched something rough, hard And very, very big.

"Serena...? Why are you so hard?" He turned his head, It wasn’t Serena. It wasn’t even a cat.

Standing beside him, breathing heavily through huge nostrils was a massive crocodile monster, easily three times the size of Tyler.

It stared at him with cold eyes.

Tyler froze, hand still resting on its scaly head, "...Oh crap. Mode Dragon..."

Nothing happened.

The crocodile opened its jaws. Its breath smelled like death. Tyler gulped.

"Serena... help?"

"Meow~" Serena was already on his shoulder, watching like it was entertainment.