Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Chapter 16 – Cat Dad is a Bully

Xiaomao hopped on the stage. He glanced at the warrior’s name and level.

Harry Cox, Level 10.

‘What a typical NPC’s name. Does the game developer use a name template or something to come up with an immature name?’

Xiaomao confronted Harry. He brought out the wok shield.

An ordinary NPC in newbie towns like Harry had similar status attributes as common NFT characters. As level 1 common characters started out with only 5 allocable status attributes, their total attribute points were always 11.

As they leveled up, they gained more allocable status points.

Common characters gained 5 points per level up.

Uncommon characters gained 10 points per level up.

Rare characters gained 15 points per level up.

Super Rare characters gained 20 points per level up!

And Ultra Rare characters gained whopping 25 points per level up!

This disparity between P2W characters and common characters would become clear when the characters reached a high level.

As for Harry, he was on the common tier. Even at level 15, his total stats was merely 81. Even if he allocated all his attributes to one attribute, he would have one perk at 76 while the rest remained at 1.

What about Xiaomao?

He had 50 points in all stats!

He had the overwhelming advantage at level 1!

Unfortunately, Harry couldn’t see through Xiaomao’s status points. He believed that Xiaomao was a cocky cat.

“Listen, kitty. Do you know why we stop newbie adventurers from crossing the borders?”

“Is it because of monsters, munya?”

“Exactly. Our Seaside Town is at peace because the Pangu Church has already eradicated all dangerous monsters for us. But do you know what happened to other towns and cities?”

“They are constantly attacked by monsters, munya?”

“Yes! And that comes to my point, kitty. We set this rule to warn the young adventurers like you before you do something stupid, such as rushing into a goblin dungeon, provoking a man-eating slime, and so on. All predecessors before you tried that and never returned.”

“Understandable, munya!”_.

“And here you are, a level 1 little talking catopus that wants to go out there and get yourself killed. Why don’t you become someone’s pet and stay home peacefully? If you want a fish, you can simply act cute in front of some fishermen and they will give you for free!”

“Not interested, munya!”

Harry’s expression turned solemn, “I’m doing this for your own good.”

“But I’m in a hurry, and I’m confident in my abilities, munya!”

Harry nodded. He walked toward a weapon rack and picked a wooden long sword. Then, he returned to the stage.

“Since you insist, I’ll teach you the danger of our harsh world. If you can’t defeat me, you can’t go out there.”

Ding

<You have triggered a newbie graduation quest!>

.

Personal Quest: Newbie Graduation

Before you can spread your wings and move out of the non-aggression area, you need to prove that you’re capable enough to protect yourself from local monsters, dangerous beasts, and unfriendly players.

The test is simple. Defeat Instructor Harry Cox and show him who’s the man and who’s the kitty!

Quest Objective: Defeat Harry Cox in a sparring match by decreasing his HP by half.

Failure Condition: Lose the sparring match.

Reward: (Unknown)

Failure Penalty: Harry Cox will personally coach you for one week.

.

Xiaomao closed the quest screen. He took his time and wiggled his tentacles, walking toward Harry.

Harry sighed as he didn’t want to bully the cat. He walked toward Xiaomao and bent his right foot, preparing to softly kick Xiaomao.

“Too slow, munya!”

Xiaomao suddenly kicked the ground and jumped while he used the wok as a helmet.

Catopus Headbutt!

BONK

The wok hit Harry’s chin and knocked him backward.

15 Damage!

The HP bar of Harry decreased by 10% in one hit.

Xiaomao’s head also received damage as his head hit the metal surface of the wok as well.

The impact made Xiaomao dizzy. He struggled to adjust his posture in mid-air.

Meanwhile, Harry regained his composure. He looked left and right, searching for the little catopus.

But the catopus had jumped too high. He was above Harry.

By the time Harry realized it, Xiaomao’s tentacles extended and coiled around his head. His butt sat on top of his eyes.

Xiaomao was still dizzy. Because of the fish that he ate, he felt like he needed to take a hard dump.

PUU

The old habit died hard. He accidentally farted.

As a catopus, farting was another form of attack command. His body automatically fired black ink from his octopus mouth.

Just like that, Xiaomao inked Harry’s face. The black liquid got into Harry’s eyes.

“MY EYES!”

Ding

<You have blinded your opponent.>

Xiaomao came back to his senses. He looked at Harry, whom he had caught with his chubby tentacles.

“Oh, look, munya! I win, munya!”

Xiaomao raised the wok and smashed the poor guy’s head over and over.

BONK

15 Damage!

BONK

15 Damage!

The damage was not high, but it was enough to stun Harry. After three hits, Harry grabbed Xiaomao with one hand and tried to yank the cat off his face.

“STOP! STOP!”

“Give up, munya!”

BONK

15 Damage!

After three hits, Harry’s HP bar was decreased by 40%.

Harry panicked he shouted, “I give up! I give up! Stop!”

BONK

15 Damage!

Harry spoke too late. Xiaomao bonked him the fourth time and decreased Harry’s HP by half.

Harry was knocked out. He fell to the floor, and he saw stars orbiting around him.

Xiaomao got down from Harry’s face. He proudly raised the Fuiyoh Wok.

“Victory, munya!”

Ding

<You have completed the Personal Quest: Newbie Graduation.>

Even though the quest was completed, Xiaomao didn’t get the reward instantly.

He looked at Harry. The guy was still unconscious.

“Whoops, munya.”

…

10 minutes later, Harry came back to his sense and found himself in the town hall’s infirmary.

The workers had carried Harry here, and they were waiting for his evaluation of Xiaomao’s abilities.

Xiaomao was also there, waiting for the adventurer guild to issue a passport for him.

Harry scratched the bumps on his bald head. He grumblingly groaned, “That doesn’t count. That was dirty, you little cat!”

Xiaomao rolled his eyes, “Do monsters out there waiting for you to get ready, munya? I kicked your butt with my skills, munya!”

Harry was speechless. He sat up and glared at Xiaomao, unable to accept his defeat.

“Again! Let’s do it again! That one doesn’t count. We didn’t actually cross swords!”

“Does it even necessary, munya? It’s like you’re asking me to stay still, so you can hit me first, munya! Look at me. Do you think I’ll come out unharmed if your sword hit me, munya? Earlier, you also tried to soccer-kick me! I would have died, munya!”

The guild staff and the nurse also gave Harry a disapproved look. One of them approached Xiaomao and hugged him as if he had done nothing wrong.

One of the infirmary nurses glared at Harry, “Are you bullying the poor cat, Mr. Harry Cox?”

“N-No. I would never-“

“Ahem!”

While Harry was flustered, an elderly man in medieval nobleman clothes coughed. He held a cane and carefully stepped forward, approaching Harry’s bed.

“B-Branch manager!”

The elderly man was the adventurer guild’s branch manager. He always stayed in the town hall and took care of miscellaneous documents.

However, because of the commotion, he came to look at the troublemaking adventurer.

The elder gently smiled at Xiaomao.

“I haven’t seen a catopus in ages. Hello, there.”

“Wassup, grandpa, munya!”

“Even your meowing voice is cute. It’s a pity that everybody always underestimated people of your race.”

The elder petted Xiaomao’s head, “Come with me to my office in the other building. I will issue the passport for you.”

“Thank you, munya!”

The guild workers overheard the conversation. One of them rushed to the staff room and brought a wheelchair for their branch manager.

The branch manager sat in the wheelchair while the nurse pushed the chair for him. As for Xiaomao, the elder put him on his lap, going to their guild building together.

.

Adventurer Guild Building

The 3-story brick building was located in the residential district of Seaside Town. Many similar houses looked similar to the guild building, yet the players loitered around here and talked to the local NPCs.

This area was a craftsmen’s paradise in this newbie town. Several of them gave mundane daily quests to players, such as chimney-cleaning jobs, finding pets jobs, farming jobs, or procuring crafting materials. Even some of the master craftsmen NPCs lived here.

As for the Adventurer Guild’s building, they were guarded by two NPC town guards. This place didn’t allow any player inside as it was for storing documents, items, and monster parts that the guild had accepted from the adventurers.

The branch manager and Xiaomao entered the private office on the top floor. Xiaomao jumped off the elder and sat on the marble coffee table. As for the nurse, she excused herself after she helped the elder sit on his office seat.

“Well, little friend. Why are you in a hurry to leave if I may ask?” The elder smiled while he chose a jade plate from the drawer.

“I’m visiting the Pangu Church, munya.”

“Oh? I’ve never seen a piety catopus before. Are you worshiping Pangu God?”

“Not really. It’s just a business trip, munya.”

“That must be urgent.”

“Sort of, munya.”

“I see. Last question.”

The elder smiled. He suddenly brought out a small jewel box and placed it on the coffee table. Then, he opened it.

Inside the jewel box was a black stone.

The branch manager gave Xiaomao a meaningful look.

“Have you, by chance, seen a similar stone somewhere before?”

“Munya?”

Xiaomao narrowed his eyes. He sized up the old man again.

The old man grabbed the black stone and played with it in his palm. He moved it around on his fingers as if he was a modern magician.

“This is one of my collections. I found this precious stone recently, and our guild branch has already appraised it. It turns out that the stone is a treasure that can regress one’s age.”

Xiaomao secretly reached out for his inventory. Something was not right about this guild branch manager.

“Little Xiaomao. By chance, do you have a similar stone like this? If you have one, I would like to purchase it for 100,000 gold coins.”

Ding

<Congratulations, a Chain Quest has been triggered.>

<The Guild Branch Manager, Otto, has offered you an opportunity. You may choose between the following choices.>

<One: Sell the unidentified black stone in your inventory for 100,000 gold coins. Otto will issue you a passport, and he will deploy a party of adventurers to escort you to the Pangu Church at the Provincial Capital City for you.>

<Two: Haggle for a better price. Result: Unknown.>

<Three: Tell Otto that you don’t have one. Result: Unknown.>