Wait! Was I Seriously Just Reincarnated As a Cat?-Chapter 38: Skinwalkers

Aristella clasped her hands together as her eyes sparkled far too innocently.

"It will be just a small demonstration! Nothing dangerous, I promise!"

The beasts leaned in immediately at her words, excited.

"A human test subject!"

"So rare!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Is he strong?"

"Will he explode?"

"...WHY IS THAT ONE AN OPTION?" Rowan shouted, uncrossing his arms.

I plopped myself down and curled my tail around my paws, fully invested.

"Oh, this I gotta see!"

"You are enjoying this way too much." Rowan muttered.

Aristella waved her hands quickly.

"There will be no explosions! I was thinking something simple to entertain you all! How about an illusion spell?"

Whoa, she was doing all of this for entertainment—I guess the village needed stuff like that, especially the kids. And from the way she was pulling off magic tricks, this definitely isn’t her first time. She must’ve done this a lot back home in the Mundus.

Rowan now eyed her suspiciously.

"What’s your deal with illusion spells? And why do I have to be the Guinea pig? You never choose Conndo for these stupid tasks!"

"That’s because Conndo isn’t a jerk sometimes, unlike you who’s deserving of punishment.

He widened his eyes before furrowing his brows, knowing she was right.

"This is nonsense!"

About thirty pairs of eyes landed on him—and several baby beasts already chanted his name and gave him the puppy dog eyes treatment. Rowan just sighed in defeat.

"...Tsk! Fine, I’ll do it. But if I die, I’m haunting both of you."

"What the hell did I do?!" I shouted.

Aristella stood up and approached him before placing a hand near Rowan’s shoulder, careful not to touch his armor directly.

"Just relax." She said. "Let my mana flow around you. Don’t resist it."

"Yeah well, you have way too much mana for me to resist anyway." Rowan replied angrily.

Well, he wasn’t lying, she had a crap ton of mana for her level—how is that even possible—does she have some kind of mana-enhancing artifact or something? It was pretty crazy, maybe even on my level, and I was level 10.

KABOOOM!

All of a sudden, completely out of nowhere, a massive explosion took place at the walls of the small village, shaking everyone to their core, and halting our small slice of life moment.

I could hear animals panicking as we all turned toward the commotion, gazing upon five... humans?

What the hell, there were humans attacking us?! How did they get past our defenses? Weren’t the frogs watching from their posts? Wasn’t the Dragonflies scouting the area?! Just what the hell!

"Everyone, stand guard! Nekoria is under attack!" Stoneback quickly rushed into the battle, asking no questions.

Shit shit shit, my adrenaline was spiking, I didn’t know what to do, everything was happening so fast... but this is my village, and these are my people.

I mustn’t let them down.

My body moved before my thoughts could catch up.

"Everyone, stay calm!" I shouted as my voice came out louder than I expected. "Please, get behind the huts! Frogs and turtles, defensive formation!"

[[Threat detected. Hostile intent confirmed.]]

"Yeah, no kidding, Spiritus!" I yelled back mentally as I bolted forward.

[[Notice. These aren’t your average humans. Be on the lookout.]]

The five humans stood just beyond the damaged palisade as smoke was still rising from whatever the hell they’d used to blow it open.

They weren’t dressed like Rowan or Conndo; there was no practical gear, nor adventurer vibes to them.

These guys had dressed like members of a native tribe as I came to a stop.

One of them was angry.

"Which beast dares kill our brethren in cold blood? We shall have your head!"

"M-Members of the Skinwalker tribe!" Said one of the foxes, gaining my attention. "T-They are the ones who own this forest... feared by many! Oh no, what have we done? Who pissed them off?"

Skinwalker tribe? What did they want with us- oh, shit

[SHIT! YOU GOTTA BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!]

I totally forgot—I killed that one beast who attacked Aristella—it was called a Skinwalker. Just what the hell did I get us into?

Every beast around me was visibly afraid of them; specifically the forest beasts. Foxes backed away. Rabbits froze stiff. Even the frogs swallowed nervously as one of the deer’s voice dropped low.

"M-Missus Keiko." She said nervously, gaining my attention. "Skinwalkers are not mere hunters. They are zealots! They claim dominion over forests through blood and ritual."

Yeah, that tracked.

The angry one stepped forward, holding something behind him. My stomach curled in freaking knots when I realized what it was.

It was the decapitated head of one of the rabbits here in Nekoria.

"You slaughtered one of ours..." The man said, lifting the head. "Defiled his spirit. Killed him as he hunted. So I decided to kill one of your own!"

My claws dug into the dirt as I scowled, as much as a cat could.

"I saved an innocent life!" I said, now ticked off. "He attacked them first! I was only protecting the weak!"

The Skinwalker laughed at my comment.

"What a foolish response! That is the way of life. That is the way of nature! The strong live, and the weak die!"

Another one of the five raised his staff with feathers and teeth all around it.

"You beasts have grown arrogant. Building nests. Playing at civilization. And now..." His eyes locked onto me. "...You let a false Ruler govern you."

False ruler? Excuse you? Before I could retort, Spiritus’ voice echoed again, but it was far more serious this time.

[[Warning. Skinwalker Tribes utilize sacrificial skills and ancestral bindings. Their combat strength increases in forested terrain. Probability of ambush is high.]]

There it was again, one of the rare times where Spiritus chimes in to help out and give clues. Just what was up with the Grand System out of all things helping me? For some reason, I was getting Deja vu.

Rowan suddenly stepped up beside me, wielding his sword and shield.

"Keiko!" He said, furrowing his brows. "Be on the lookout. I’ve dealt with Skinwalkers before. They’re sneaky."

"Right!"

All of a sudden, my ears twitched. I could hear movement coming from the tree lines in the forest around us thanks to my Keen Senses skill.

"AMBUSH!" I shouted. "FROM BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT!"

The moment the words left my mouth, figures burst from the forest; more Skinwalkers, leaping from branches with their bodies painted in ash and blood.

"DEFENSIVE LINE!" Stoneback roared, gaining Greenwater Predation Forces’ attention, though one of them leapt straight at me.

"Toxic Cloud!" I shouted as green mist exploded outward, eating through the air.

The Skinwalker screamed as poison burned his body, sending him crashing face-first into the dirt.

But I didn’t stop there. More of these guys kept coming, so I was gonna teach them a lesson.

"Poison Stream!"

A magic circle appeared in front of me before a concentrated jet of green, poisonous liquid shot out, forcing two more Skinwalkers back as their skin blistered on contact, killing them immediately after.

Behind me, Aristella’s voice rang out, catching the attention of many.

"Rowan, close your eyes!"

"What—HEY—!" He said.

Light suddenly flared, blinding all things in Nekoria as illusions bloomed across the battlefield; phantom beasts, towering spectral wolves roaring from every direction.

Skinwalkers began to falter, shouting in confusion.

"...So many beasts, where did they come from?"

"If more comes, then we shall turn into beasts as well."

"Even if I die, my soul will live on!"

They were all crazy, every single one of them. I could hear it with my Keen Senses! Are they alright in the head? But to make matters even worse, Conndo charged past us with a wild grin.

Yeah, that Conndo, the one who seemed the most nervous, was now rushing into battle like a lunatic.

"Finally! Some action!"

He rammed his spear into one of the Skinwalker’s bodies, before using it to hit another one in the face like a stick. He was doing exactly what he bragged about earlier.

"Told ya!"

His frog-faced glazers just cheered him on, happy to see his skill and experience.

But I barely had time to breathe before the angry leader locked eyes with me again.

"So you admit it... you did kill him."

I straightened up, feeling my heart pounding in my chest, lashing my tail.

"Yeah!" I said. "And I’d do it again if he comes messing with the wrong hood!"

He went dead silent for half a second before smiling.

"Good." He whispered. "Then you’ll be worth taking."

Out of nowhere, the ground beneath my paws started making shapes.

There were ancient symbols beneath me, carved into the earth itself.

It looked like some crazy ritual circle. Maybe it is!

"Oh no you don’t—" I hissed, jumping high into the sky to try and escape.

[[Urgent. Ritual-type skill detected. High danger.]]

"I KNOW!"

Mana surged through me as I dug deeper than ever before.

I had to fight this guy, there was no questioning it. He came here attacking my village to assert his dominance, so it’s time I do the same!