I Am the Weakest Cat, but If I Keep Evolving, Can I Become the Strongest? - Episode 29: Evolution

Episode 29: Evolution 

▽ Episode 29: Evolution 

Fighting in the Rank IV zone. 

Leveling up is going smoothly. 

Just as there’s a tremendous gap between me and the Undead Dragon, there’s also a gap between me and the other Rank IV monsters. 

I feel this is the difference between a final boss, a mid-boss, and a mob grunt. 

I’m probably a mid-boss class monster. 

Having a Unique Skill makes a big difference. 

And probably, the Two-Headed Dog that calls this Steam Forest its territory also has some kind of Unique Skill. 

That guy occasionally soaks slowly in a hot spring. 

I’m jealous. 

I once wondered if it might be a reincarnated being like me and tried to make contact. I carved letters into a tree and threw it. 

As a result, I was nearly killed. 

Apparently, it can fire a breath attack. 

I barely avoided it with [Counter Gate]. But it almost turned into a deadly fight. Now that my trump card has been exposed, I don’t want to fight it. It seems to have remembered my scent, and I’ve had several encounters with it since then. 

At this rate, things might get bad. 

Personally, I’d like to make peace. 

But that guy is just strong and doesn’t have any treasure chests or anything. So there’s not much merit in fighting and winning. And it doesn’t seem to be a reincarnator, so even more reason not to bother. 

Days of steady leveling. 

Maybe because of the difference in strength, leveling didn’t progress that quickly. 

As a result, it took me three whole weeks to max out my level. 

It was a period of fierce battles. 

Though, I basically just ran away at full speed every time I sensed the Two-Headed Dog. 

The Flame Lizards, Water Birds, and other monsters weren’t that scary. 

Now, it’s finally time for the long-awaited evolution. 

1. 1. [Flash Cat] 

 A cat with incredible speed. Excels in melee, light-type, and lightning-type magic. Rank V 

2. 2. [Life Cat] 

 A cat specialized in sustaining life. Not very strong in combat. Rank V 

3. 3. [Bl00d Cat] 

 A cat that specializes in bl00d magic. Low direct combat capability. Rank V 

4. 4. [Heaven Cat] 

 A cat that is close to the heavenly beings. Excels in [White Magic]. Rank V 

…Whoa. 

This is going to be a really tough decision. 

Most gamers would probably be torn between Bl00d Cat and Heaven Cat. 

But for me, it’s a tough call. 

Recovery-specialized or support-specialized types… would probably have a hard time in the Rank V zone. 

You’d end up with the usual lack of firepower. 

If I can’t level up comfortably, I’ll become stronger more slowly. And that increases the danger of dying. 

But still, I want some kind of recovery method. 

Situations like this last one, where a fracture = death, are just too much. 

Heaven Cat is a very tempting option… but the problem is, can a healer-type character really evolve in the Rank V zone? 

Also, I don’t seem to have talent in healing magic. 

What makes me stronger than other monsters of the same Rank is the ability to choose inherited and skill traits. 

If my base species isn’t combat-oriented, I probably won’t be able to overwhelm my enemies. 

If I can’t overwhelm them, it’s dangerous, and I’m more likely to get injured. That would delay my evolution too. 

….…What should I do? 

My cautious hesitation stems from a lack of confidence in my combat instincts. 

What would other people do in this situation? 

Times like this, my [Instinct Detection] always leaves the choice to me. 

Though, when I consider choosing Life Cat, it does nudge me with a “That’s probably not it.” 

Well, I understand enough to know that it has low combat capabilities. 

I can already foresee a future where I just endure, endure, and endure… without being able to fight back. 

“Nyaou.” 

It can’t be helped. 

After much hesitation and suffering, I chose to evolve into Flash Cat.

Name: [Unset]  Gender: [Male] 

Species: [Flash Cat]  Level: [1 (50)] 

Unique Skill: [Choice Link (The Future to be Determined)] 

Species Skill: [Battle Fur], [Scratching], [Physical Enhancement・Medium],  

[Lightning Magic・Intermediate],  [Lightning Enhancement・Small], [Flash Claws],

[Light Magic・Intermediate]

Inherited Skill: [Charm], [Instinct Detection], [Quick Escape], [Invite Fortune],

[Survival Growth・Slight], [Fire Magic・Beginner], [Water Magic・Beginner], 

[Wind Magic・Beginner], [Earth Magic・Beginner], [White Magic・Beginner], 

[Spatial Magic・Intermediate], [Magic Talent・Small], 

[Wonder Time (A Laugh Without a Cat)], [Battle Fur], 

[Lightning Magic・Intermediate]

Abilities: [Poison Bite III], [Great Acceleration II], [Thunder Claw IX], [Terror Howl VI]

Now, this is how I’ve turned out. 

I think I’ve gained a lot of upgrades. 

I have seven species skills now. 

I wonder if that’s normal for Rank V monsters, or if Flash Cat just happens to be a species with a lot of species skills. 

Probably the latter.

According to the explanation from [Instinct Detection], it said I could do all sorts of things. 

That probably refers to the number of species skills available to achieve that. 

Personally, I feel like cheat-tier species like the Freestyle Cat might not be blessed with a large number of species skills. 

However, two of the inherited skills overlap with species skills. 

So in effect, it’s like I have five species skills. 

First, I tried the easy-to-test [Flash Claws]. 

The moment I focused on activating it, a one-meter area in front of me was slashed apart. 

I felt the sensation of cutting with my claws. But I didn’t actually move my front paws. 

Apparently, it’s a technique that slashes one meter ahead with claws. 

It tired me out a little. Not bad in terms of energy efficiency. 

It’s a good species skill. 

A cat’s front legs are very short. 

A melee combat skill that compensates for limited range is useful. 

While it’s weaker in power and area, it’s like a more usable version of [Scratching]. 

I really want to inherit it. 

But I have a feeling I’ll end up inheriting [Light Magic・Intermediate]. 

Still, it’s [Light Magic]. It seems to have effects different from [White Magic]. 

I always thought it was strange that all the other types were named things like [Fire Magic] and [Water Magic], but only white used a color. 

Of course, I tried out [Light Magic・Intermediate] as well. 

Apparently, [White Magic] is focused on healing. 

In contrast, [Light Magic] is good for offense and support. 

Unfortunately, I seem to lack talent in light-type magic. 

With [Light Magic・Beginner] I could learn two spells, but with [Light Magic・Intermediate] I only got one. Too bad. 

The spells I learned from [Light Magic・Beginner] are: 

1. 1. [Enchant Flash] 

 An enchantment of the light attribute. 

 The [Enchant Holy] from [White Magic] seems to be a holy-element enchantment in the strict sense. 

2. 2. [Speed Up] 

 A buff that increases speed. Duration: 1 minute. 

So that’s how it turned out. 

From what I can tell, you can learn about 7 spells from  [Light Magic・Beginner]. 

This is just speculation, but there are probably buffs like [Attack Up] or [Guard Up] too. 

I definitely want those. 

I’d like to get [Magic Talent・Medium] somewhere. 

If it has to be, even [Magic Talent・Max] would be fine. 

Now, the spell I got from [Light Magic・Intermediate]: 

1. 1. [Damage Up] 

 Slightly increases dealt damage. Duration: 1 minute. 

It’s a standard damage boost buff. 

I think this one’s a jackpot. 

It seems to increase the damage of any kind of attack. 

I wonder if it boosts poison damage too. 

It’s hard to test because poison damage varies from individual to individual. 

Still, I’m happy to have another buff I can just throw out as a general benefit. 

The concern is that using all buffs at once would consume too much MP. 

I’ll need to carefully choose which buffs to use and which to hold back. 

I should be cautious about that. 

Thanks to this, my hand (my available skills) has increased. 

On top of that, just by evolving to Rank V, my physical stats have increased compared to before. 

They don’t call it evolution for nothing. 

The difference between Ranks is bigger than I thought. 

Now, in terms of Rank, I’ve surpassed the Undead Dragon I have a grudge against. 

Maybe I should level up a bit more and challenge it again, nya. 

I just can’t give up. 

After all, [Instinct Detection]-san is very curious about the treasure chest. 

I’m sure something good is in there. 

Actually, I want it so badly I can’t stand it. 

At this point, I’m not even sure whether I’m the main body or if it’s [Instinct Detection]. 

▽ 

Too easy. 

It was way too easy. 

I was one-sidedly hunting the Flame Lizards that I’d only had moderately good fights with before. 

The speed difference is just too big. 

Part of that is probably because I’m using the [Speed Up] buff. 

But more than that, Flash Cat seems to be a species specialized in agility. 

“Nya ([Flash Claws]).” 

A phantom claw that slashes a meter in front. 

I can also stack it with the effects of [Thunder Claw]. 

From my testing, the effect of [Enchant] also applies. 

Even though it’s a phantom claw, it’s judged as if I cut with my real claws.

The Flame Lizard is tough. 

Even so, there’s a difference in Rank and buffs. Also, [Flash Claws] simply has high firepower. 

Using my actual claws to attack feels kind of ridiculous in comparison. 

If I’m not careful, [Dimension Strike] might end up being unnecessary. 

…But that would be jumping to conclusions. 

After all, a one-meter forward slash and a melee attack that ignores distance feel very different in use. 

Also, the fact that I can still use [Poison Bite] is a nice advantage. 

Right now, I’m grinding levels. 

Even if I hunt Rank IV monsters, I barely get any experience at Rank V. 

Especially if it’s a monster I’m already used to hunting. 

But skill levels still go up. 

That’s the goal—to max out my skill levels here. 

That said, constantly hunting weaker enemies isn’t ideal either. 

The vibe of “hunting down lower Ranks” becomes apparent to monsters of equal Rank. 

Even if I can dominate Rank IV, I’m still considered weak among Rank V. 

I don’t intentionally drop down a Rank, but there are plenty of individuals who purposely target weaker enemies. 

I can’t afford to be ambushed by an unfamiliar monster. 

And of course, those kinds of enemies tend to specialize in stealth and ambush tactics… 

While I was doing all this, one of my skill levels hit the cap. 

The skill that will evolve now is [Thunder Claw]. 

I’ve been using it heavily. So having it grow stronger is welcome. 

On the other hand, if I make the wrong choice here, I risk severely weakening myself. 

I need to be careful. 

1. 1. [Strong Thunder Claw]

 A claw attack with increased lightning power. 

2. 2. [Enhanced Thunder Claw] 

 A claw attack with increased claw (physical) power. 

3. 3. [Thunder Claw Blast]

 Unleashes a shockwave of lightning. 

4. 4. [Thunder Claw Slash] 

 A slash attack with lightning-charged claws. 

I see. 

The first two are the typical “upgraded version of claw attacks” type. 

The last two seem to be active skill evolutions. 

They might be a bit harder to use, but I think their offensive power is significantly higher. 

I’ll go with one of the latter. 

There is a concern about increased fatigue. 

But pure attack power is more useful. And I believe they’ll become easier to use in the end. 

They might even work against stronger enemies. 

Thinking about the future, it’s probably time to shift to an active skill. 

I made my choice. 

I chose [Thunder Claw Slash]. 

It’s a choice that prioritizes single-strike power. 

I’ll leave area attacks to magic and focus on claws for killing individual targets. 

I’ve evolved as a species. 

My skills have evolved too. 

Now all that’s left is… to level up. 

What level I need to beat the Undead Dragon is still unknown. 

I might need to go through several more evolutions. 

Still, [Instinct Detection] is telling me: 

Defeat it quickly. 

Maybe defeating that thing is required to unlock a future evolution path. 

If I don’t, maybe only weak evolution options will remain…….… that’s definitely possible. 

Seriously. 

This world is brutal.