CHAPTER 660: LITTLE SKELETON AND BLACK CAT (4)

The current batch of players seemed a little better; at least no one died on the first night.

In the little skeleton’s limited observation, a particular player stood out. She remained calmer than most, had quick reaction time, and could deal with the nightmare creatures in this haunted school with relative ease.

With this display of skill, she naturally rose to become a leader among the newbies and Intermediate players, creating a semblance of order and harmony, which was a stark contrast to the previous batch’s surging hostility and malice.

They called her a Veteran player.

The little skeleton watched in curiosity as the veteran player petted the black cat, running her hand from the top of its head to the tip of its tail, making the cat so comfortable it couldn’t resist rolling back to show its tummy, meowing coquettishly and purring softly from its throat.

"Where did such a cute kitty come from?" she cooed.

"Meow~"

"Aww, how cute! Are you a stray cat from this Cycle? Hmm? Does that make you a nightmare creature too?"

"Meow!"

"Sigh, if only all nightmare creatures are as lovely as you..."

"Meowmeowmeow~"

The little skeleton: "..."

Who was that sweet and enthusiastic feline and what had it done to the menace it knew?

The little skeleton experienced a brief moment of disorientation, and if it had skin, perhaps a wave of goosebumps would have risen on its arm. Alas, in its current state, it only felt its jaw aching faintly with a hint of sourness. Of course, it was all psychological, because the little skeleton was not equipped with pain sensors.

When the black cat got its fill of petting and visited the art room with its tail raised high, it was welcomed by the little skeleton’s peculiar gaze.

"What’s wrong with you? Hungry? Just wait, I will definitely earn some food tomorrow."

The little skeleton opened its jaw, and a hoarse voice floated out, "...meow?"

Black cat: "..."

Rather than a sweet kittenish cry, it sounded more like a growl from Cerberus, the King of Hell’s beloved pet, with the destructive power capable of tormenting evil spirits to the point of madness.

"Meowmeowmeow?" The little skeleton still did not know when to quit, causing the black cat to erupt in anger.

"Stop—stop imitating me, damn it! Arghhh, you’re so annoying! How did you think I earned the food to feed you?!" Not surprisingly, the little skeleton bore another set of claw marks to its bones, courtesy to the black cat’s exploding mortification.

Glancing at the black cat, who had stormed off in a fit of rage, a trace of fleeting smile crossed the little skeleton’s ghostly eyes, one that even it was not aware of. A subtle feeling welled up inside it, as elusive as the morning mist, vanishing before it could comprehend it clearly.

***

That night, the sulking black cat did not come to visit the little skeleton.

And the food it had promised to bring did not arrive even after the day changed.

For the veteran player, who was overly benevolent, was betrayed by the newbies she was protecting at the juncture of life and death, becoming another sacrifice to the nightmare creatures in this school.

***

The cycles continued meaninglessly.

How many times had the Cycle restarted since then? The little skeleton did not bother to count. Either way, it was long enough that the black cat’s anger subsided by itself and they once again returned to their routine, with the cat bringing it food whenever it could.

Players came and went; some survived but more perished, and the little skeleton watched over them all without getting bored.

Humans are so interesting, it thought.

They could utter words they did not mean without changing expression, switch faces faster than flipping a palm, and easily break promises which were sworn on their own lives. They were vain, hypocritical and pitiful, yet at desperate moments, they could explode with a lot of potential, even breaching their own limits. They experienced such layered and rich emotions, which the little skeleton did not possess.

It was like seeing a burst of fireworks—dazzling yet ephemeral. The more the little skeleton could not figure them out, the more it got the urge to observe. Yet the more it observed, the less it understood.

"Give up," the black cat told it lazily while grooming its paw. "You’re just a low-level nightmare creature. You’re too stupid to understand them."

The little skeleton couldn’t help but pause upon hearing that. Its ghostly green eyes flickered briefly. "You... how..."

How did you do it, then? It wanted to ask. How did you understand them enough to trick food out of them?

"Heh," the black cat raised its small and arrogant head, looking as smug and haughty as ever. "Of course, I was born this way. It’s a matter of genetics. Genetics! Do you hear me?"

The little skeleton heard; it had not gone deaf yet, but it did not want to pay attention to the black cat for some reason. Who said that observing was useless? If it was in the past, the little skeleton wouldn’t think much of it, but now it knew that the black cat was mocking it for being slow and dimwitted.

"Have you thought about my questions back then?"

The little skeleton ignored it, pretending not to hear.

"Hey, I’m talking to you! Heavens, you’re already slow to begin with, we can’t have something wrong with your hearin—mrooow!!"

With a swipe of its hand, the little skeleton pushed the black cat off the window on the fifth floor. Albeit shocked, the feline instinct still enabled it to land safely, although the shocking act of betrayal left it huffing and puffing in anger.

Glaring at the ghostly green eyes peering down at it, the black cat hissed in a threatening manner, "Just you wait, you stupid pile of bones!"

The little skeleton’s jaw bones rattled, and it countered for the very first time, "...s... stupid... stupid..."

The black cat’s jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. "S-Stupid..." it sputtered. Did this dull and pathetic pile of bones just curse at him?! "You’re the one who’s stupid. Your whole family is stupid! Your bones are ugly and smelly as hell!"

The little skeleton could not beat black cat in terms of fluency and vocabulary, so it could only repeat again and again, "Stupid... stupid..."

But it was enough to make the black cat almost faint out of anger.

***

The little skeleton and the black cat entered a long-term cold war that lasted for several active periods.

Without the black cat keeping it company at night, the little skeleton could only spend it all alone. Only when players breached the art room could it get a brief entertainment. But its act of observing, which was supposed to be fun and engaging, suddenly seemed to lose its charm, becoming dull and uninteresting.

Gazing at the moon obscured by thick clouds outside the window, the little skeleton came to a sudden realization—

Its days were really boring without the black cat.