I knocked on the door and waited, the cat tucked carefully under my arm. It didn’t struggle, just blinked up at me with those lazy, half-lidded eyes like this whole thing had been a mild inconvenience at best.

A few seconds passed before I heard slow footsteps approaching from inside. The latch clicked, and the door opened just enough for Mrs. Jeng to peek through.

Her eyes widened the moment she saw what I was holding.

"Oh... oh my..." Her voice caught in her throat as she pushed the door open wider. "Is that..."

I lowered the cat gently toward her. "Found him."

For a second, she didn’t move. Then her hands came up, slightly trembling, and she took the cat from me as if it might disappear if she wasn’t careful. The moment the cat settled into her arms, it let out a soft, annoyed meow, like it was complaining about being moved.

Mrs. Jeng laughed. It wasn’t loud, but it was full. Relieved.

"You little troublemaker..." she whispered, pressing her forehead gently against the cat’s head. "Where did you go, hmm? Two days... two whole days..."

The cat purred.

I leaned lightly against the doorframe, watching the scene. The tension I didn’t realize I was carrying eased off my shoulders. Guess the system quest wasn’t the only reason I bothered with this.

"Thank you," she said, looking back at me, her eyes glossy but steady. "Truly. I thought I’d never see him again."

"No problem," I replied with a small shrug. "He wasn’t exactly starving out there. Found himself a nice little... camp."

"I can imagine," she sighed, gently stroking the cat’s back. "He always was stubborn. Just like his owner."

I raised an eyebrow. "Owner?"

She nodded slowly, her hand still moving over the cat’s fur in soft, repetitive motions.

"My husband," she said. "He named him. Said the little thing had more fight in him than most grown men." A faint smile touched her lips. "Called him ’Boro.’"

I glanced at the cat. Boro. Yeah... he did look like the kind to pick fights he couldn’t win.

"He passed a few years ago," she continued, her voice quieter now. "Since then... it’s just been me and this stubborn creature." She chuckled lightly. "Keeps the house from feeling too empty."

There was a short silence.

Not an awkward one. Just... heavy in a soft way.

"Well," I said, straightening a little, "looks like he’s doing his job."

Mrs. Jeng smiled at that, a bit wider this time.

"He is."

She shifted the cat to one arm and reached into the pocket of her robe with the other, pulling out a small pouch. The faint clink of coins followed.

"Please," she said, holding it out. "Take this. It’s not much, but..."

I raised my hand, stopping her.

"No need," I said. "I told you already. I’m good."

She frowned slightly. "Young man, you went out of the city at night, searched for him, and brought him back safely. That deserves..."

"I got what I needed out of it," I cut in, giving a small grin. "Trust me."

That wasn’t entirely a lie.

She studied me for a moment, then slowly lowered the pouch.

"Gods be my witness...you’re a strange one," she said.

"I’ve been called worse."

That earned a soft laugh from her.

"Still," she said, her tone turning warm again, "if you ever need anything... anything at all, don’t hesitate to come to me. I may not have much, but I am a healer. And I take care of those who help me."

I nodded. "I’ll keep that in mind."

She stepped back slightly, adjusting the cat in her arms as it curled in comfortably, already acting like it had never left.

"Thank you again, Ace," she said. "You’ve done more than you know."

"Take care of him," I replied.

"Oh, I will," she said, smiling down at Boro. "And I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble... though I doubt he’ll listen."

"Yeah, good luck with that."

She laughed again, softer this time, then gave me one last grateful look before gently closing the door.

I stood there for a moment after it shut, listening to the faint sound of her voice inside as she talked to the cat like it could actually answer back.

Then I exhaled, turned around, and started walking.

Quest done. Now, another quest for me.

Taking a hot shower.

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

I decided to wait for Ken to explain how the showers worked. When I followed the signs earlier, I found the door locked. While waiting for him, I opened the system menu.

Leveling up had given me a Class point, and completing the quest added another. I spent one on Ranger and one on Mage. Now I had access to every class, plus an extra point in Mage. It felt like I was finally making real progress.

╔═══════════════════════╗

> LEVEL UP: CLASS

────────────────────────

[1] Warrior: Strong in melee combat, high HP

────────────────────────

[2] Mage: Masters magic, high INT and MP

────────────────────────

[1] Rogue: Fast and stealthy, excels in critical hits

────────────────────────

[1] Cleric: Supports allies, heals and wards

────────────────────────

[1] Ranger: Skilled with ranged attacks

╚═══════════════════════╝

Satisfied, I closed the menu and checked my main stats.

"I’m exhausted..." I muttered, rising from the chair. "What a day."

With all classes unlocked, I could now spend my perk points freely. I lay on my bed and scrolled through the options. One perk immediately caught my eye: Light of the Believer under the Cleric tree. It reduced healing spell costs by 10%. Since most perks could be leveled, I invested a point into it right away.

╔═══════════════════════╗

> Ace | LC: 156 | EXP: 136/490 | LVL 6

╠═══════════════════════╣

> HP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 115/115

> MP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 85/85

> STA ▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱ 47/100

────────────────────────

> Class: MAGE

> Known Abilities:

• Fireball

• Heal

• Shield of Aangr

────────────────────────

> PERKS

• +15% Magic Damage

• +10% Critical Chance

• Backstab Damage

• Light of the Believer

╠═══════════════════════╣

> [ BAG ] [ MAP ] [ SHOP ] [QUESTS]

╚═══════════════════════╝

"Now, let’s see my attributes..."

╔══════════════╗

> Attributes

───────────────

> Attack Damage: 20

> Magic Damage: 25

> Crit Chance: 10%

> Crit Damage: 157%

> Evasion: 15%

> Armor: 8

> Magic Resist: 15

╚══════════════╝

The door suddenly burst open.

"Maaan!" Ken shouted as he stormed in. "What the hell happened?!"

"Huh?"

He rushed over and crouched beside my bed, grabbing my shoulders. "A pervert broke into the girls’ dormitory? Is that true?!"

"Yeah... the guy who attacked Jelda, right?"

"Yes! Gods, I missed everything!"

I shrugged. "Maybe it was you. Suspicious that you just happened to visit your mother right when it happened."

Ken laughed. "You’re evil." He walked to his wardrobe and started changing into comfortable clothes. "Did they catch him at least?"

"No. The idiot got away. Poor Jelda was pretty shaken."

"I heard you used some calming magic on her," he said, pulling on a shirt. "Didn’t know you could do that. Especially since you’re still F-rank..."

"Hmm."

He climbed onto the bunk above me and let out a heavy sigh. "Gods, I’m wiped. My mother lives on the other side of the city. Visiting her is such a pain."

"Buy a horse then."

"A decent horse costs fifty gold, Ace," he groaned. "At this rate, the best I can afford is a donkey."

"To ride... or?"

Ken barked out a laugh. "Look at you making jokes now."

"You learn something new every day, Ken."

He chuckled again. As the clock struck ten, the wall lamps and candles flickered out one by one. Only faint moonlight slipped through the half-open curtains.

"Hey," I said into the darkness. "The showers were locked."

"Yeah, they close at eight. You didn’t know?"

"Nope."

"Well, now you know." He chuckled. "Gods, I’m gonna sleep. My legs are killing me. Night, man."

"Hmm..." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎