《He Was Transmigrated By A Cat》


 Chapter 01 - How was that even possible? (p1)

    Kay crouched beside his old motorcycle, his brow furrowed in concentration. The golden sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm amber hue over the rusted metal and faded paint as he twisted the throttle, pressed the battered kickstarter again with all his might.


    The engine coughed and sputtered, a pained groan escaping from the depths of the machine like a patient nearing their death. It just refused to roar to life despite all his efforts.


    Taking a deep breath, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, his determination unwavering, he decided to try again. He adjusted the choke, hesitated for a moment and then gave it another kick, harder this time. Again, still nothing but the sound of gears grinding in protest, reminding him of the neglect the motorcycle had endured, the painful times he tried to baptize his cat.


    Sighing. He checked the fuel gauge, confirming it wasn¡¯t empty. He inspected the spark plug, grimacing at its worn condition before he carefully cleaned it with a rag he found stuffed in his jacket pocket. For a brief moment, he thought he felt victory close at hand as he began to reassemble everything, but after several more kicks, each more desperate than the last, the motorcycle continued to mock him with its silence.


    Kay slumped against the tire, exhausted and utterly defeated. He felt a pang of nostalgia for a time when his motorcycle soared on one wheel, sharing the dream of racing on the open road. He remembered a friend who had always been there for him during his endless job hunt, driving him through every hellish challenge and hardship the interviewers unjustly imposed upon him before the interviews even began. The memories of a friend with whom he had seen better days.


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    He closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the soothing rustling of the wind, trying to recall those golden times and yet, despite his mightiest resistance, the sound of a random funeral dirge kept echoing in his mind.


    The new white striped dress shirt and black trousers, which had been perfectly neat just moments before, were now wrinkled and damp with sweat, adding to his misery, offering his weary soul no comfort. But he was just too tired to do anything.


    Only after a long while, did he seem to break out of the stupor. Jolting awake and as if remembering something, he fumbled for his brown waxed jacket, which he''d left on the end of the seat of his motorcycle.


    Taking out a poster from the inner pocket of the jacket, he unfolded it carefully.


    In the center, a handsome young man in a striking red helmet and jacket, with the word "Shipper" emblazoned in gold on his back, raced his motorcycle off a collapsed bridge. He soared through the air above the sea, half-standing on the motorcycle, which had ascended at a perfect 45-degree angle. His face was a mask of tense coolness. His posture was professional, poised for the landing. Clutched tightly in his hand was a pristine package, held close as if it were precious.


    Behind him, on the far side of the broken bridge, a group of gangsters¡ªperhaps thieves, street robbers, car blockers, or some combination thereof¡ªwatched with a mixture of anger and awe. Some, the more daring, attempted pursuit, but most plunged into the water along with the collapsing rubble of the bridge, a few triggered massive explosions as they fell. Others, who managed to launch themselves after him, flew through the air on motorcycles or in cars, weapons out, gleaming dangerously.


    On the right side of the poster, directly in his path, was an enormous door with a nearby, beautifully decorated silver sign that read "Destination."


    From the bottom right to the upper right of the poster, the path beyond the opened door seemed to lead to a beautiful castle. The surroundings were decorated with countless small, colorful light bulbs and whimsical animal icons. At the end of the path, near the castle, a charming, romantic girl sat on a bench in a dreamlike garden. Oblivious to the mayhem just beyond her doorstep, she seemed to be waiting for someone, her cheeks flushed as she glanced shyly at her ring finger.


    At the top of the poster, the words "SHIPPER WANTED!" blazed in a large, colorful font, playfully styled with white stripes, while at the bottom, a golden quote, enclosed in quotation marks, read: "Take your package, ride your bike, it''s time to change the world."


    Kay looked at the beautiful poster, yet his heart ached.

 Chapter 01 - How was that even possible? (p2)

    Like a cherished dream, yet having to realize he could never make it come true and had no choice but to let it go.


    With his eyes closed, he could still vividly see another, brighter vision of himself and his old motorcycle-a stark contrast to what they were now. He saw himself, cool black sunglasses on, riding his newly fixed and revitalized motorcycle. A package, secured in a golden lockbox at the seat''s end, was fastened with a silver chain bearing an enormous label: "National Secret". Beneath the brilliant sky, he and his motorcycle moved freely, unconstrained. Sunlight shimmered off the motorcycle''s polished surface, igniting the chain and lockbox with what seemed like a golden-silver aura-a blinding flash to all passersby and even innocent animals alike. Yet he alone, shielded by his cool black sunglasses, remained unaffected. With a charming smile that could change hearts, he inspired awe and respect across the world.


    His thoughts were like that, he couldn¡¯t help but regretfully linger, looking at the valiant image of the young man in the poster, staying a tad longer than he should have. It was a pity that, had he been luckier, his life might have been the same as the young man¡¯s, with his image and his motorcycle replacing the one on the poster. Life would be better if not the best, if only it could have been so.


    "Here goes my last chance. I''m sorry, my motorcycle, I have no choice but to leave you behind. Farewell, my naive dream, for life has forced my hand. Farewell, my bright future, for I must walk this dark path..." Kay thought. His heart felt as heavy as a one-ton weight, growing heavier with each passing moment. Saddened and hesitant, yet eventually resolute, he mournfully made his decision. Guided by the vision of his new fate, of a far future on the alternate path he was about to tread. He slowly and laboriously turned the poster over with trembling hands, casting a constrained glance to see what lay on the other side.


    In contrast to the colorful, eye-catching, and vibrant front of the poster, the back was surprisingly straightforward and simple, consisting mostly of plain text-except for the "SHIPPER WANTED!" title, which resembled the one on the front-and a few funny, warm-hearted decorations playfully placed here and there, adding a touch of charm and dreaminess to the otherwise minimal design.


    Relaxing, the small shipper icon moved slowly, with ease and gentleness, all over the back of the poster. Its path was marked by multiple colorful dashes, twisting, turning, and waving like a thread of silk wherever there was empty space.


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    The package icons, as if graced with angel wings and halos, playfully appearing here and there¡ªno one knew where¡ªfloated in midair, awaiting someone''s claim.


    Far from the shipper, a gang of thugs squinted at the direction boards, their brows furrowed in utter confusion. They attempted to follow the shipper''s trail of colorful dashes, only to find themselves staring at a hopelessly tangled knot, their eyes wide with comical bewilderment.


    From time to time, the lovely images of the sun, the clear sky, and dreamy clouds appeared, brightening the whole space.


    Meanwhile, at the bottom right of the poster, where the text ended, there was an image of a girl gazing absentmindedly out of her window. Her hand rested on the windowsill, her palm against her cheek. The scene was decorated with flowers all around, and near her was a board with the word "Destination" written on it.


    The font of the text was gentle, fragile, and wavering, as if it could blend seamlessly into the background scenery, making everything¡ªthe shipper, the girl, the gang of thugs, and the package icon¡ªappear as part of a single image. And in his mind, it did.


    Taking a look, he saw that a lot of information was given on the back of the poster¡ªthe introduction, job description, payment, requirements, date, location... Maybe not that much, as it was all fitted onto a single sheet of paper.


    But with his motorcycle broken, the content had become irrelevant to him. Besides, his heart ached too deeply for him to truly focus. So, he skimmed over nearly everything...


    Eventually, Kay came across a section he had been waiting for.


    "Applying for a Company Vehicle."


    It was a line he faintly remembered. He hadn¡¯t really paid much attention to it back then when his motorcycle was still running, so¡­ he had skimmed over it too.


    He couldn''t believe it was actually there.


    His last hope¡ªto become a shipper. To escape this jobless hell. He had even decided to sacrifice his dream with his old motorcycle for this dark path.


    With a trembling hand, he forced power back into his eyes, which had long wandered once again, and read the first line.


    "Date & Location:"


    Just as he was about to go through the whole section, his habit hit him again¡ªhe skimmed the whole thing.


    Last line:


    "Requirements: No losers, no jobless. Must be a professional driver, as the job requires high skill in maneuvering to prevent any danger to the packages."


    His whole body lost power, his eyes dilated¡ªso badly that he might be mistaken for a corpse.


    His hand let go, and the poster flew away, carried by the wind. It reminded him of the way it had come to him before, on a fateful day when the wind blew furiously and a certain poster fell from the sky, like a fallen star, offering him a chance to change his fate. But somehow, he had lost it.


    Escaping joblessness wasn¡¯t that easy after all.


    Eventually, dejected and full of sorrow, he closed his eyes and turned away, unable to bear watching it fly away.

 Chapter 01 - How was that even possible? (p3)

    Casting a look at the scenery around him, which he had been too preoccupied to even notice before.


    The warm orange light of sunset had dimmed quite a bit, blocked by the tall buildings and mountains, seemed to have separated the world in two different halves, one dark and one light.


    The desolate street, save for a few small movements-distant figures of students in white uniforms happily leaving their nostalgic school with friends on bicycles, the occasional small animal playfully darting in and out of the gentle field, briefly disrupting the sorrowful town-seemed so strange, so quiet yet for some reason, so comforting at the same time.


    The golden wheat field, right in front of his eyes and to the left of the empty street-except for a few gusts of wind that blew every so often, lightly bending the stalks, and a thin column of smoke rising from a wooden house in the midst of the rice field-seemed too peaceful, too still, as if it belonged in a painting.


    Neither was exempt from being divided into light and dark.


    "If only my life could be like so," he thought bitterly and turned away.


    Pushing himself up from his motorcycle tire, he brushed off his clothes to smooth out the wrinkles, then moved to the front of his motorcycle.


    Holding the grips steadily, he pushed the kickstand up and began pushing his motorcycle forward on his own.


    Turning the motorcycle back in the opposite direction. The wind blew through him gently, as if trying to push him back. But he just kept going.


    He had decided to head back after all, as there was no point in continuing.


    He sighed in pity, heart pained, but what could he do except this?


    The road ahead, shrouded in darkness, stretched like a path into the abyss, ready to swallow him whole. Yet, the world around him seemed to sympathize¡ªdancing and singing a gentle symphony of light, freedom, joy, beauty, and hope.


    Life ahead was harsh, but what choice did he have except to keep moving forward?


    But just as he was about to go back to his sorrowful way, all while wondering where he would sleep for the night-and the nights to come.


    Suddenly, he heard loud rustling sound coming from the side of the golden field, seeming to head straight toward him. He stood still, worried and confused.


    Who knew what kind of danger he might encounter? A snake, or something worse?


    Living in the countryside, those things actually happened quite a few times.


    Until, appearing out from the rice plants, protruding its cute head from a wheat bun and looking around playfully, he finally realized¡ªit was just a cute kitty.


    Kay sighed in relief and looked at the kitty.


    It was very adorable, cute kitty its fur a vibrant shade of orange with soft white stripes running along its body. The fur itself looked unbelievably fluffy, like cotton, and despite its small size, the kitten seemed full of energy, constantly moving about.


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    A few stray stalks of wheat clung to its head and fur, as if it had just tumbled through the field. Most notably, its tail had a small bundle of wheat loosely tied to it¡ªthough at the rate it was moving, it seemed like it would fall off at any moment.


    Wait, what? ¡­Tied?


    Kay blinked in confusion and checked again, just to be sure. Who knew¡ªjust a moment after spotting him from the wheat field, the kitty had playfully leaped toward him like a predator pouncing on its prey. Instinctively, he took a small step back.


    It ran near him, then stopped a short distance before him. After observing him for a moment, it approached, running in circles before it started scratching his pants while looking up, as if trying to say something.


    "Haiz, wait for me a little,"


    Kay was full of questions, hesitating, but eventually crouched down to look at the kitty after using his remaining leg to set the kickstand down and letting go of his motorcycle. The kitty immediately offered him its tail, swaying it with the tied bun of wheat on it, which began to fall out, as if trying to say he should tie it back for it.


    "You want me to tie it back?" Kay asked, puzzled. The kitty didn¡¯t answer, only continued swaying its tail.


    "Ah, okay..." Not like it can understand him anyway.


    Touching the cat¡¯s tail, which was very soft and fluffy, he first examined the wheat bun. A lot of wheat stalks were tied into the cat¡¯s tail; many had fallen off, and some needed to be replaced as they were very worn out. The wheat stalks had been tied together with stems, which someone had stripped of the wheat, leaving only the bare stems. These stems were then tied to the cat¡¯s tail by making a few loops.


    After inspecting the bun, he began searching for and picking out a few good-looking wheat stalks. Then, he returned and tied the stems around the wheat stalks he had just found, while also removing the old wheat that was worn out or nearly fallen off.


    "All done," he said, reaching out his hand to pet the cute kitty, as a reward, of course.


    The kitty tried to shy away a little, but to no avail; in fact, it didn¡¯t actually resist much.


    After a while, the kitty tried a few sways and seemed to feel nice about the new wheat bun. It ran around in circles, dragging the wheat bun, causing it to start wearing out.


    Then, it ran back into the field again.


    Kay could see the rustling from where he was standing, and, hell, he could even see a strangely tall and worn-out wheat bun raised high in the sky, standing out from the field of wheat. Don¡¯t even mention that he could clearly see it moving in a zigzag, sometimes circular, pattern.


    "It''s good to be a kitty, heh, just playing all day without a care in the world," Kay sighed again, but he felt warm in his heart. At least his journey to come this far from his distant and backward town wasn¡¯t entirely in vain, as he had experienced the hardships of life, seen beautiful scenes, learned to enjoy the moments, something he had been too rushed to notice before. And not least of all, he had been able to help a cute kitty and stealthily give it a petting.


    "Haiz, if only I could be like that, living without a care in the world like the kitty, even just a little bit. It would be a lot better," he lamented, but he knew better that his life ahead was set in hardship. He went back to his motorcycle and continued from where he had left off.


    But after a long while, when he had passed the spot where his motorcycle had broken down, quite a distance away, a loud rustling sound came again.


    Like last time, the cute kitty''s head appeared from the wheat field, looking around playfully. This time, though, it carried a beautifully glowing stone in its mouth.


    He noticed that there was a lot more wheat stuck in its fur than when he had first seen it, suggesting that it might have been playing in the field the entire time.


    Upon spotting him, it immediately ran and jumped toward him, just like it had before. The bun of wheat he had tied to its tail was worn down a lot, but not to the point where it needed to be retied. It shook up and down as the kitty moved in a funny way, a mix of jumping and running, which made him smile a little bit.


    When it came close to him, it dropped the stone in front of him, then moved closer, scratching his pants just in the same spot as before before and giving a few light taps with its front paw on his shoe.


    Kay crouched down, smiled a little more, and stealthily petted the kitty, which this time resisted slightly more by trying to dodge, but to no avail.


    Looking at the glowing stone, he asked the kitty,


    "For me?" to which the kitty answered with a meow while sitting on its hind legs.


    He doubted that it even understood a thing he said. Reaching out his hand, he took the stone into his palm and looked at it in wonder.


    The stone was really beautiful, a red vermilion color, almost like a crystal he had seen once before, though he wasn¡¯t sure if it truly was one. In short, it was striking. But the most astounding thing was that it was glowing¡ªthere was something inside the stone emitting light, even in broad daylight.


    Puzzled, he brought the stone closer, starting to inspect the inside for why it was emitting light. Then, as he remembered something, a question began forming in his mind.


    ''Wait, it only faintly glowed when the kitty brought it to me, right? But why is it so bri¡­''¡±


    But at that moment, before he could even finish the question in his mind, the stone suddenly erupted with light, engulfing him entirely. A column of brilliance shot upward, seemingly reaching beyond the sky, while a blinding flash spread across the horizon, bathing the world in its radiant glow¡ªor perhaps even more.


    In those final moments, still unsure of what was happening, Kay turned to look at the culprit, only to see it dashing off into the field once again. Strangely, time seemed to slow¡ªthough he wasn¡¯t sure if it was real or just his perception. The kitty, mid-air, was frozen in a comically dramatic pose, resembling a flying squirrel, its legs stretched out as it leaped away.


    The sight made him chuckle despite the confusion.


    And then, he vanished.


    He didn¡¯t remember what happened after the light fully consumed him¡ªhis consciousness faded to black.


    "Only when he woke up did he realize...


    [System Notification]


    Welcome, Traveler, to the World of Vaelthar.


    That the world was... somewhat different...

 Chapter 02 - Where the hell am I? (p1)

    Kay found himself floating in a completely black space,


    There was absolutely nothing except himself and¡­ a strange, faintly glowing blue display, similar to the ones he had seen in video games, floating before his eyes.


    It was truly strange for him to be floating like this in a vacuum without even the slightest discomfort¡ªno struggle to breathe from a lack of oxygen, no freezing from the cold emptiness of space, or anything worse...


    But instead, he felt very comfortable, light, and drowsy, as if he were lying on a luxurious bed¡ªif he had to be honest.


    Taking another look at the display¡­


    [System Notification]


    You have been transmigrated to the World of Vaelthar from an unknown world outside the Magical Worlds Circle¡ªa vast realm that spans the entire multiverse, encompassing all magical worlds. This event was triggered by the unintentional activation of the recalled stone (unknown).


    You are currently inside a temporary black box, positioned at the edge of the circle. The time limit for this black box is 100 minutes. If the time limit expires, the black box will disappear, and your transportation will continue regardless of your current situation. Please complete your selections before the time runs out, as any unselected options will be considered forfeit.


    There may be a delay before your mind fully awakens from the blackout induced by traveling through space, as compared to your physical body, which has already been transported.


    Page 1/3 Next


    The white words appeared on the blue, ethereal, transparent display. The language it used was indeed the same as his, and the words were written in a way that was very easy to understand. Yet, the content seemed codified or something, as it was too difficult to digest.


    Deciding to ignore the nonsense for a while, he reached out his hand, trying what he had always wanted to do since the moment he found himself floating in this strange space: to touch it and see what would happen, dodging the "Next" button, of course.


    As expected, his hand simply passed all the way through the other side of the display, without causing even the slightest change.


    ''Was this that 3D thing or something? It was completely passable, and not only that¡ªit looked like a ghost...'' he thought.


    ''If I remember correctly, there was a movie that used this 3D thing and was really popular a year ago... right? What was it about again...? Hah, forget it. Let¡¯s think of something else... And then there were the 3D TVs... oh, and the 3D games from the city too. I really wish I had enough money to buy and play them, to be honest... Too bad, I''m just a jobless loser...''


    He tried his best to figure out what the 3D thing was again by recalling the popular movie about the blue aliens wearing primal clothes, fighting off the invaders'' machines; the TVs that made things on the screen look like they were popping out or going deep inside when you wore special glasses, making movies seem more real, like you were right there in the action; and the 3D games that some stores near his place had just brought back from the city, which captivated and distracted him for a little while, starting from the moment during yet another fruitless job-hunting attempt when he happened to pass by a game store with a few new posters for those games. But midway through his delightful recollection, he was reminded by reality that he was just a jobless loser, forever hunting for jobs in the countryside, not knowing how to live for the days to come, not to mention not having money for something so expensive and modern¡ªthings that only rich kids in the big city could have.


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    Someone like him, just knowing that those things existed, was an accomplishment in itself, let alone anything beyond that.


    Oh. And now that the subject of being a jobless loser was mentioned, wasn¡¯t he being transported here while he was still on his way to hunt for the shipper job?


    Kay tried to remember his memories as he realized that, for some reason, his mind felt very tired and heavy, as if he had just woken up from a long sleep. His recent memories were vague and blurry.


    ''Oh, my motorcycle broke... then I met the... kitty! And the stone it brought!''


    ''... and the column of light, then I was here...'' he thought with difficulty, finally able to remember the whole thing.


    ''... Ehm, so... the kitty was the ultimate culprit in all of this?'' he thought, recalling the cute kitty that had naively appeared from the field and brightened his sorrowful day. Then, he remembered the last unforgettable moment¡ªwhen it dashed off with all its might, its tail between its legs, but was frozen in the air like a flying squirrel. He found his thoughts a little funny, if he had to be honest.


    But just the fact that he was floating in midair without face-planting to the floor¡ªass up¡ªwas enough to make him think twice about everything. The black box could be contributing to the totally black room, and the display could be linked to the 3D technology, but the floating... there was no explanation for that at all.


    ''So, the truth was... the kitty was... a magical cat with the ability to transport someone to another world just by letting them touch a stone?'' He imagined the kitty, wearing a big witch''s hat, lounging lazily on the empty street near the wheat field, in the shadows of the tall stalks. A sweeper was somewhere nearby, automatically sweeping, and, by chance, it swept a glowing stone towards the kitty. The cat, in annoyance, flicked it away with its front paw using magic. Meanwhile, a poor guy¡ªsomehow looking a bit like him¡ªwas pitifully walking his broken motorcycle back home and just so happened to come across the kitty. One coincidence after another occurred, creating an odd chain of events that seemed to transcend the mortal understanding of the world, producing a cosmic effect not much different from the Big Bang. The only person who could understand it was the guy, his face filled with terror as he stared at the flying stone. Seconds later, he disappeared without a trace, except for the fact that he left behind his motorcycle. The sweeper kept continuing its work, and the kitty kept continuing its sleep, as life turned back to peaceful, as if nothing had happened.


    He thought like that, but he found that this idea was even more nonsensical than the one he had just made fun of.


    ''Or maybe... it just happened to come across the Recalled¡ªor whatever¡ªstone in the field and unknowingly brought it back to me because it thought the stone looked nice and that I would like it, without knowing what the stone could do? And if so, why wasn¡¯t the kitty transported like me? Why did nothing happen to it? ... And was there anyone else in the same situation as me?''


    Kay was filled with confusion but found this reasoning indeed more reasonable than the possibility of the kitty being a magical cat.


    After thinking about random things for a little while longer, he came back to his senses.


    ''Hah, let''s stop thinking about those things now¡ªnot like it could change anything. Oh right, let''s focus back on the present. Haiz,'' he thought.


    Using his hands, he pushed himself closer to the display while remaining in a posture that resembled sitting¡ªjust as he had been before, with his hand resting below his chin. But for some reason, from a distance, it simply looked like he was trying to push the invisible wheels of an invisible wheelchair.


    He conveniently forgot about his lame posture¡ªsince this was the best he could do¡ªand focused back on the display. After all, no one had ever taught him how to move in a vacuum before. This time, he started reading it properly.


    ''...''


    ''Hm... System... Another world... Vaelthar... Unknown world... Magical Worlds Circle... Unintentional... Recalled stone... Black box... Hah!¡ªmy head!''


    Midway through his reading, his skimming habit kicked in again, and he clicked the next button. This time, however, to avoid making the same grave mistake as when he skimmed the shipper poster before, he skimmed properly¡ªspecifically, only focusing on the words "a delay," as they seemed kind of important.


    [System Notification]


    Your location after being transported was an unknown, designated location based on the preset information of the recalled stone (unknown).


    The system was unable to analyze the recalled stone¡¯s information to pinpoint your exact location.


    You may choose to use the Transport Modification function, which will slightly adjust your location from the preset destination to a nearby, safer place¡ªif such a place is found.


    Page 2/3 Next


    ''... location... unknown... hell... based on the recalled stone... wasn''t able to analyze... modified function... safer... wait... if such a place was found...''


    He read the nonsense on the display, yet his heart filled with dread. Midway through his serious reading journey, as he was about to scream in frustration and skim again, he accidentally caught the words "if such a place was found" at the end of the message, which seemed too vile for him to ignore. He recoiled in fear and went back to reread the whole thing again... or maybe just the latter half, where he had left off before.


    After a while, having finished reading, he clicked the Next button again.