Unchosen Champion

Jett stirred awake sometime in the afternoon, warm and comfortably embraced by thick blankets. Her personal schedule wouldn’t be dictated by minor details like the sunrise; rest was much too important. She was surrounded by her attendant’s pillows, embedded in the center of the mattress. A big stretch almost lured her back to sleep, but she was disciplined enough to only fall into that temptation once or twice a day. If she slept any longer on this particular afternoon, she might miss her first meal. Food was certainly not an insignificant thing.

The horror of missing a meal had her fully roused and laser focused, ready to start her rounds. She delicately hopped off the mattress to the wooden floor, with a gentle pitter patter of each paw, and squeezed into the darkness beneath the bed. In the crook of the wall, underneath the headboard, she stepped into the darkest of the shadows. For a fleeting moment, she was embraced by a perfect void of complete darkness and absolute silence. With a second step, she reappeared beneath the bar of the Clumsy Shark, in a corner specifically reserved for her Shadow Gate. It was the first portal that she installed upon receiving the skill, more than a month prior.

When she emerged from the cabinet, a bowl was already laid out for her on a padded tray at the end of the bar top. Some of the new attendants were significantly more diligent than #1, but she recognized that he always did his best. Jett was generous enough to appreciate the effort. She only needed to be pampered most of the time and his labors had been satisfactory up to this point.

She noted the tiny blonde human, doing her best to remain undetected within the camouflage of decorative curtains along the wall adjacent to the bar, but Jett instantly identified her steady breathing with her triangulating ears. Otherwise, Jett pretended not to notice, rewarding the child’s genuine efforts. She really was a generous cat.

Instead, she silently hopped up to the bar and enjoyed her breakfast while she planned her visits for the day. There were so many that needed her attention within her territory, but she had to leave enough time for her patrols afterwards. Those that she skipped would need to be patient until their turn arrived.

The little human crept along the floor. She was on her hands and knees, carefully selecting where to place her limbs to avoid alerting the cat by inadvertently pressing on a creaky floorboard. She wanted to sneakily touch Jett’s tail while the cat lapped at the meal, but in the instant before her fingers reached her black fur, Jett’s tail swung out of the way.

“Aww..” The blonde human pouted, realizing she hadn’t had a chance from the start. The game was over and the human consoled herself by petting Jett’s coat for a moment. “Nice kitty,” She cooed, before she recovered her morale and chose her next target. She went to try stealthily ambushing the demon waitress, sliding between booths to await an ambush opportunity. Even Jett had no hope of accomplishing such an ambitious task, but the child was earnestly practicing. Jett approved.

She continued her meal while subtly observing the residents. The bowl of food gave Jett several buffs, improving her resource recovery bonuses temporarily while also extending her rested buffs from a high-quality sleep. While she ate, the handsome bartender came out and took his turn stroking her fur, adding yet another boost to her stacked well-groomed bonus.

Her first attendant had begun his day earlier than normal, so she knew something was in the works, but she had her own responsibilities to tend to. He was a busy human, but he left the nightly patrols to her, and she had to prepare for keeping her territory secure. She supposed it was their territory now, not just hers. Not that it made any practical difference.

After she finished eating, she took another Shadow Gate. This one was hidden beneath a decorative shelf that held a thick hanging fabric away from the corner of the tavern. The gap between the wall and the hanging rug was only wide enough for a cat to slip into. The rest of the visitors to the tavern would never notice the narrow empty space.

Jett reappeared inside an unused cauldron that was tipped over, nestled on its side, and filled with folded blankets to create a small cathouse. She left the comfortable space dedicated specifically to her and entered a room filled with a slightly bitter chemical haze from bubbling kettles sitting upon open flames. Her whiskers tingled pleasantly, but the sensation made her want to wash her face.

She meowed to announce her presence, but only once as befitting her standing. An amorphous blob solidified from bits spread across the room, forming a transparent humanoid that revealed a toothless smile directed toward Jett.

“It’s so wonderful for you to visit again, Lady Jett.” Sojjah, the alchemist politely greeted the cat. “Please, enjoy this tribute.” She placed a ceramic saucer on the ground with a single cube shaped treat in the center.

Jett sniffed it and decided it was suitable. Upon biting into it, she found that it was wonderfully chewy. Each bite revealed more nuance to the taste and delightfully provoked her teeth as they sank into the inviting texture. The alchemist was certainly a worthy attendant for presenting her with such a thing.

Sojjah bubbled with happiness as Jett clearly enjoyed her gift. “I spent all week working on that one. If it’s good enough, I will continue expanding the taste profile and have a stock of them reserved for you at all times.”

Jett meowed in response, deciding she might make this particular stop more frequently. The alchemist nodded before she splashed across her workshop, igniting a series of cauldrons to begin preparations for more of the cat treats. Jett rarely had the need to check her status, letting her presence speak for itself, but she recognized the physical effects of a significant boost to her attributes after enjoying the treat. She licked her paws and prepared for the next visit, taking a moment to admire the increased gracefulness of her own movement. Her Agility was ascending to new heights.

Sojjah watched proudly, providing some commentary on the effect. “The duration of the buff should be increased by double this time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t also improve the efficacy of the buff without asking the Champion to gather Legendary materials. I hope it is good enough for the time being.” Sojjah explained regretfully.

Jett purred, perfectly happy with a simple, tasty treat. The other benefits beyond taste were unnecessary in her mind, not that she couldn’t enjoy them as well.

She took her leave, stepping through a second Gate cloistered within a nook in the wall, shielded by crates full of finger-sized glass tubes. As she left, she belatedly noted the absence of the Elder with her gnarled staff. Her nails ached to scratch it some more, but she would have her satisfaction in her next destination.

When she reappeared, she was beneath a tent of fabrics. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her nose against the edges, delightfully rubbing her cheeks all the way to the base of her whiskers until she revealed an opening. She took her time finding the right spot as she enjoyed the feeling of the smooth layers of cloth against her fur. Once she fully emerged, her coat was fully fluffed up, and another bonus was added to her status.

“Welcome, Lady Feline, so nice to see you this week. What can I do for you?” Erasimus Doomthread asked, waiting for her to appear. He was ever the diligent attendant, she didn’t even need to meow for him to notice she had entered his shop, despite her absolute silence. He had an uncanny ability to always be ready to receive her.

In response to his question, Jett kneaded her claws against the floor. He nodded in understanding and took mere seconds to retrieve a pad and place it on the ground. Jett moved to offering and spent a good few minutes sharpening her claws, doing her best to gently rip and tear the fabric, but it was magically able to withstand their extraordinarily sharpness, providing just enough resistance to leave her satisfied. Her shoulders rotated back and forth as she worked each and every nail through the mat.

“The new scratchpads use some extremely rare materials, including a pure manaweave that would never be possible outside of an assimilation. I’m sure it will be up to your standards.” The clothier boasted. “Thanks to an unexpected windfall from the Champion, I can keep a supply of the absolute highest quality available for you at all times. He’s surprisingly generous with the residents, paying fair prices despite his authority. He must be influenced by your modest generosity.” Erasimus continued, praising her for raising her first attendant appropriately.

Jett silently agreed, squeezing her eyes shut as she concentrated on her claws. Her first attendant was also generous with the cat treats and petting, so it stood to reason he would be generous elsewhere.

When she finished with her manicure, she had received multiple more buffs and bonuses through her sharpness affinity. She hopped onto his counter and pushed through even more fabrics that separated the desk from the wall. She was greeted by another Shadow Gate, hidden behind rolls and rolls of cloth. Before she left, she curled into a ball for a quick nap amongst the soft bedding, preparing for the rest of her rounds.

When Jett woke, feeling refreshed, a step through the Gate took her to the shadows beneath the exterior eaves of the tavern, where she could overlook the shiny crystal and its protective stone playground. She made sure everything continued to be acceptable before she moved on.

Her rounds were thrown off completely when she spotted attendant #2. He had fully recovered from his illness, finally. She knew he was her oldest friend, so she was glad. It took her first attendant long enough to get the job done, but at least he delivered eventually. She stepped through the Shadow Gate beneath the chimney and appeared in the rafters of the citadel. From there, she meowed and jumped down into the newly recovered attendants arms. He was suitably delighted.

“There’s our senior lighthouse keeper!” His voice came happily. “Have you been taking care of the fort for me as well?” He asked facetiously. Of course she was. She pressed her paw against his chin as he cradled her.

Her two attendants properly entertained her, carrying her out into the shallows of the surrounding ocean, but preventing her from getting her feet wet. Once they were sufficiently in the water, they let her bask in the warm sun while being pet the appropriately extravagant amount, making up for lost time. They discussed things that didn’t overly concern her or that she was already aware of as they prepared her second attendant for resuming his duties in the territory.

Jett’s first attendant kept throwing toys that made her want to reach out and cut them down. She held back from batting them out of the sky since he was clearly taking care of his own responsibilities. He didn’t interfere while she did hers, so she let him continue. Jett let her patrols be delayed for the special occasion, but when they carried her back to the settlement and parted ways, she went to work.

She dipped into a shadow underneath the stoop of the stonemason and reappeared in the northern most room of the fort’s stone basement. Her rounds were done, so the hunt was on. Her claws itched to tear into something, over a dozen buffs still lingering in her status, but her darkness senses told her the rooms were clear of invaders.

However, when it came to exterminating pests, she was the ultimate. Unwilling to rely entirely on remote sensing, she physically checked each space, bouncing through a series of Shadow Gates. 10 rooms were cleared, then 20, 50, 100, she kept going until she confirmed the north was clear of invaders.

She checked the southern basement, her oldest hunting grounds, as far as mana was concerned, and found nothing in any of the rooms except broken stones, the damp, and more darkness. The Excavators, mindless as they were, still didn’t dare reenter the southern basement after she had thoroughly hunted them for the first month. She wouldn’t be surprised if their numbers simply never recovered to the point that they could push into the fortress again.

Jett took a break to clean her tail. Finding the results of her fort patrol acceptable, if a bit calm. Pest free as it was meant to be. She had to decide on her next destination.

As the fort became more secure, she had been expanding her territory in two directions. One addition was through incorporating the second island. The first trip had been a challenge to her sensibilities, requiring her to get her feet wet and sandy. It was something she didn’t wish to repeat, but her Gates prevented such a miserable experience from occurring a second time. The smelly pigs generally had the place under control, and she was waiting for the largest to give her a ride to the third island. The big pig was diligent about his own series of wallows, so she wasn’t left with urgent matters on his island, nor anywhere in the waters between.

The other direction her territory was expanding was through the underground, beneath the fort. She decided she would head deeper tonight.

Satisfied with her bath, she took one of her newer Gates, emerging in the darkness at the edge of a distant cavern, one that no humans had come close to reaching yet. She slipped through the murky gloom, silent and on the hunt. It only took a few chambers before she found some prey.

[Elite Ruin Excavator (Level 64)]

Weaklings, unfortunately. Hardly worth dulling her claws for, but her duty was hers alone.

A thousand elites had formed a swarm, embedding themselves in concentric traps in the ceiling, designed to overwhelm their targets. It might work if they had any opportunity to detect her, but she was indistinguishable in the darkness. The terrain demanded attention on the floor as it was full of rocky boulders, earthen pits, and cracks with no clear bottom, but she knew what to do. The monsters depended on trickery as they hid among splits in the stone cap of the chamber, seeking unaware victims.

If she had been counting, she would realize she had already defeated over a hundred thousand Excavators on her own, effectively completing 10 entire Slayer titles if they were repeatable. She was the world’s preeminent expert on defeating the monsters. They had been her primary enemy, as they had the audacity to try and set up near her territory and even encroach it. They had once had a satisfying crunch when she cracked their shells as she toyed with them, but they weren’t much fun anymore.

Jett diced the ones on the ceiling, carving the stone itself to get to their hidden burrows, and used her shadows to crush the ones that dropped down in a panic, recognizing that the swarm was under attack, but unable to perceive the intruder. The darkness was her domain, they were nothing but imitators, confused about their strengths and destined to fall beneath her majesty.

[You defeated Elite Ruin Excavator (Level 66)]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

Even a single level was a surprise, but she supposed it was because they were the larger, crispier version of her foes. When her task was finished, she strode through the darkness, chewing contentedly on the final prey’s leg until it dissipated into smoke. She was completely at home as she slowly expanded her territory to the next, wide open cavern.

The edges of the area were covered in unnatural shallow recesses, masking their presence with irregular shadows. There was already no light this deep within the twisting caves beneath the fort, but in the pockets of absolute darkness, Jett detected a rare treat.

There were aggressive pack monsters that only appeared where the darkness lingered, as if they dragged it along and cultivated it themselves. In other words, this was a perfect location for another Shadow Gate, thanks to their contribution. She had to expend a significant amount of mana, and put her skill on a long cooldown to create one, but as long as the portals had darkness to feed off of, they never expired. She hadn’t had any disappear since she was careful when choosing the locations to establish a Gate.

Her basic claw attacks conserved her mana as she sliced the creatures into pieces, ripping and slicing the air, leaving narrow stripes in the earthen walls where she went just a little too far. Halfway through, she leveled again and she received an unusual notification, it was too soon to naturally level, so she paused for a moment to clean her elbow while she observed the cause. The neighboring monsters weren’t even aware of her presence, despite the defeat of hundreds of their pack. They remained in their pits, unaware of the predator in their midst.

[You defeated Primal Fiend (Level 87)]

[Quest Complete! Defeat Primal Fiends V]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Slayer title upgraded!]

Jett was almost satisfied. However, this pack was a bit too boring. Instead of continuing as she was, she approached the next monster and stood directly behind it, stalking her prey and pushing the limits of her stealth against its senses. She was forced to press down on its tail before the monster noticed her, but when it did it made a racket, struggling to ascertain her. She disappeared as it spun to attack her, reappearing where it had been facing previously, and ending it with a casual swipe.

But allowing the monster to detect her presence had accomplished what she desired. The rest of the pack became a chaotic and violent mess upon hearing the disturbance in an adjacent nook. It wasn’t exactly the fear she hoped to inspire, but it was something. If she couldn’t play with her food, what was even the point?

She finished off the rest of the pack with them aware of her presence, but unable to pinpoint her location. She swatted at them gently, without her claws, giving them hints that confused them before she finished them off. Jett was casually strolling through the chaos of hundreds of monsters rampaging in a panic, smoothly utilizing the shadows as if they were an invisibility cloak with grace that befitted her position and investment into Agility.

When she was completely done, she finally accepted the Slayer IV title’s Agility bonus, stacking the Primal Fiends with the Ruin Excavators, Ancient Defenders, and Ancient Prowlers. Her satisfaction was interrupted by the clangor of obnoxious shrieks that typically heralded one of her subordinates. She pressed her ears against her head and couched low on the ground, remaining still, just in case she decided to spring an ambush and teach one of them a valuable lesson in manners.

A few moments later and the air was disturbed by the batting of a thousand leathery wings, led by a single enormous bat. They had been practicing their coordinated maneuvers in the dark caverns, exploring even further than she did, though they were mostly performing reconnaissance rather than securing territory. They really didn’t understand the value of silence, constantly squeaking as they flew. This time, she let them go, and they never noticed they had been within her reach.

Instead, she chose a spot in the inky darkness to create a Gate, far enough out of the way that nothing would ever discover its location. Then, with three steps, she passed through three Gates, arriving in the town hall.

The big bird left a meal for her to enjoy, so she enjoyed another bowl at the center podium of the auditorium, then another two Gates and she was emerging from the shadows adjacent to the lighthouse’s front door.

It was an acceptable night. Jett slipped through the front door and yawned. Gently padding her way through the living area, she rubbed her cheek all the way down to her shoulder against the top of the sleeping dog’s head while he ‘protected’ the first floor. His attentiveness left something to be desired, but he made up for it in enthusiasm, much like her first attendant. Even Jett recognized a good boy. As long as he remembered her lessons, he could stay.

She stepped behind the couch and slipped through another Gate, reappearing beneath the lightroom. She hopped the last few steps and slid onto her back in the beacon’s room and batted the small bird’s tail, unwinding after a pleasant hunt. The bird danced back and forth, enjoying the playtime as much as she did, gently cooing when the tail was captured and chirping in celebration when Jett, rarely, failed to score a hit. The tiny bird had been diligently fabricating an interesting spectral magical defense around the lighthouse after she had completed her nest. Jett approved.

When Jett was satisfied, and the horizon was hinting at the approach of dawn, she headed back downstairs. She carefully chose her spot in the bed, ready to sleep the start of the day away.

Her first attendant slept deeply, and she watched to make sure he wasn’t having any more nightmares. It seemed like the responsibility of being her first attendant sometimes left him with anxious dreams. She would sleep close to reassure him, just in case, and only partially because she enjoyed the warmth.