Chapter 49: Not Listening to the Old Cat's Words

The Cat, whose thoughts were laid bare by the old man's remark, swished its tail in annoyance.

A spirit like this should be sealed in a glass bottle with that screaming bitter grass, not let out to wreak havoc on the Cat!

He must protect Witch Miss, lest this stinky old man corrupt her...

Meow meow meow; even dogs shake their heads upon hearing it.

Inside, the Cat no longer needed to waste its brain cells complaining about Lin Du, the stinky old man; instead, it kept a composed expression, leveraging its black fur to adopt a superior look, and said to Lin Du,

"I have a stash of contraband, quite valuable, that I want to sell for money, and I wish to conduct long‑term trade with humans. Any suggestions?"

Lin Du:...?

Contraband? Valuable? Long‑term trade?

The Cat's information‑packed statement left Lin Du momentarily stunned.

Only two days out, and this demon is already dabbling in this line of work?

Then... after I join the crew, will I also have to draw the sword of sin against my own kind?

No way!

When punishing the sinful, his conscience is clear, but as a lucky fellow with a jade stone in his pocket, his heart can't bear it!

"Glug."

With a heart full of anxiety and struggle, Lin Du tentatively asked the Cat,

"How about you elaborate a bit?"

"Ah..."

Amid the butler's furrowed brows, the Cat realized its description had been careless.

Proudly lifting its tail, it pretended indifference and nonchalantly described,

"Basically, I ran a B Level Dungeon, slayed its boss, and he dropped a lot of good stuff; the bits I don't need, I want to sell for gold.

The loot in that dungeon was also decent, seemingly inexhaustible; I thought I'd earn some pocket money and, from a business perspective, learn about human society."

To use as asset reserves for those irresistible terms at future negotiation tables.

Of course, the Cat didn't utter the latter half.

Even so, as a monster, its words would have shocked the butler for eight hundred years.

Ran a B Level Dungeon?

B Level?! The B Level among F, E, D, C, B?!

Previously, as a member of the Vanguard Expedition Team, Lin Du was fortunate to take part in the first B Level Dungeon raid.

At that time, the East‑West Alliance jointly assembled six elite squads of about a hundred people, each averaging around level 110, to assault the newly emerged B Level Dungeon.

His level was 117 then, placing him in the first tier among the recruits.

Only...

Such a high‑end team at the time nonetheless failed the raid.

Information gaps, insufficient preparation, and other factors caused them, after entering the sixth floor, to lose more than half of their forces within just twenty minutes.

And the so‑called trial from the seventh‑floor boss nearly wiped them out completely.

In the end, only nine emerged alive from that dungeon.

Excluding one healing priest, the eight survivors were all melee awakeners with high agility.

Although afterward the two major alliances compiled experience reports and discussions based on the intel the surviving adventurers brought back, raising the priority and rewards for joint high‑level dungeon raids, recruiting more and broader adventurers, and assigning roles such as 'Command' and 'Logistics', it was only then that B Level Dungeon raids began to see success.

But...

That's not something a lone Cat could accomplish in just two days!

Even if we speak of two days, at his peak, the Sword Saint would only claim he could clear a D Level Dungeon in that time; possessing a demon breed or any rare type might still take a few more days...

What on earth is this black coal monster?

And gold coins, money?

A monster actually wants to earn money legally?

Aren't they usually just looting?

The more a monster resembles humans, the more terrifying it is, because it could at any moment replace humans as the 'overlord'.

After a brief moment of silent lament for his small brain, now flooded with information, Lin Du decided to clear his mind.

Abandoning thought means no difficulties!

Having taken an uncharacteristic action, he found his thoughts surprisingly clearer.

Combining his known information and experience, he advised the Cat,

"The sale of rare items has always had a market but no set price. If you want to sell, any method works.

The black market, individual or large guild trades, or even registering your own guild for solo commerce.

It depends on your price expectations and future plans.

If it's just a one‑off deal, I'd recommend the black‑market auction.

But if you aim for long‑term trade, you might consider sacrificing potential profit to use these rare goods to build your guild's brand effect."

Lin Du's recommendation coincided perfectly with the Cat's imagination.

In his mind's fantasy, he was a Cat CEO presiding over a cross‑alliance conglomerate.

"The ideal solution is to establish a guild, a legal one."

"In that case, the only trouble is you might not find a legal representative to help you."

"But now that Magic Power Revival is here, human society must have some workarounds, right?"

"Yes, you can refer to Article 3 of the Identity Confidentiality Regulations of the Magic Tower Association and use a dedicated magical seal as your personal ID."

The Magic Tower Association, that is, a high‑level mage organization under the management of the Mage Association dedicated to researching magic‑related topics.

Because of an unknown habit, mages tend to conduct secluded research in tall tower‑shaped buildings, so this group was classified as an affiliated association of the Mage Association and named "Magic Tower."

High‑level, highly learned scientists, in any era, require secrecy and protection.

Therefore, to safeguard themselves in this increasingly brutal Magic Power Revival era, the Mage Association passed the "Identity Confidentiality Regulation" proposed jointly by the Magic Tower Association.

Article 3 states that when a Magic Tower owner or staff belonging to the Magic Tower Association needs to conduct trade, governmental signing, or related matters for official duties, they may use a magical seal that represents the Magic Tower owner's identity to sign agreements.

Moreover, the owner or staff need not be present during the process.

A commissioned spirit, a dummy, or any third party may be used.

The special magical seal incorporates the caster's magical aptitude, strength, and traits, cannot be Mimic‑ed at all, and is unique.

At present, only thirteen Magic Towers have publicly disclosed magical seals, names, and research topics.

But looking at the countless High Towers that rise in the city, one could never count only thirteen.

Regarding this, the Magic Tower only provides an instrument to identify whether a seal belongs to a Magic Tower, yet it has not tallied the recognized Magic Tower names or numbers.

This led Lin Du, who knows little about magic, to constantly think that this loophole surely has great potential for exploitation.

The Magic Tower's anti‑counterfeit and identification devices can stump ordinary mages, but they certainly cannot thwart this scheming devil.

Lin Du believes he has already plainly informed this devil of the loophole, so he only needs to watch its operation and will be absolutely fine.

He trusts that this casually described monster, which dispelled the Colorless King's curse, will certainly not be stumped by a trick devised by a mage just over level 100.

Although Lin Du does not know why he is so confident about that black sphere, nor why he thinks from its perspective.

But…

Whatever.

So he continued to explain to Cat,

"This regulation is more complicated to process in the Eastern Alliance; the Western Alliance is easier to handle.

I don't know if you understand, but in short, there…

Hmm, more freedom.

Hmm… without using any disparaging words, I guess only 'freedom' can describe it.

But with your strength, you certainly won't need to worry about the guild's security, so registering in the West and starting development should be fine.

Under the Western Alliance's law of freedom, you can develop with confidence and easily harness that freedom."

(o´ω`o)…

The old man's gentle tone left Cat momentarily unsure how to react.

Could he think Lin Du is flattering him?

Is that really possible?

"After you register in the West, if you run a business for a while with good reputation or… whatever means you have, you can obtain permission to operate in the Kua Alliance.

In this regard, approval is relatively fast.

"I see."

After listening, Cat nodded thoughtfully.

Having an old‑timer at home still proves very useful.

Although he was removed from the front line by a curse, his experience and information channels are certainly far greater than those of the little kitten.

The money matters have already taken shape; the plan will be implemented after Witch Miss evaluates it.

Cat thought that this year perhaps could earn Witch Miss half a minor goal.

Wait, why am I earning for her?

Hmm…

Also, isn't dad's earning money all for his daughter~~

Having asked everything, Cat, who always believes in equal trade, began the usual transaction segment.

"By the way, I also brought you a local specialty on this trip."

"It was originally meant to be sold, but I thought you might need it, so I kept it as a token of thanks.

Hmm… it's somewhat valuable, though not overly so; I hope you can use it, and if not, please sell it for a good price for me."

"The blessings on this item are still intact, though it's a bit low‑grade; however, you can pay me a small fee and I'll think of a few ways to help you."

Saying that, Cat skillfully used its tail to pull a large box out of the shadows, placed it before Lin Du and opened it.

Inside the box lay a long sword.

【Royal Long Sword】:

When attacks land consecutively, the chance of a weak‑point critical hit increases.

On the second consecutive hit, the critical rate will rise.

The increase proceeds as 8%/10%/12%… up to 100%.

The boost is a bit slow, but Cat thinks that for a Sword Saint—an old swordsman whose whole body is seasoned—easily chaining over a hundred hits shouldn't be a problem.

After all, as long as the swing isn't empty and avoided, even a block counts as a 'hit'.

"Well, don't mind that it's a bit old… okay, it's a bit old, but you can replace the hilt and re‑sharpen the blade…"

Speaking as it did, Cat, seeing its tail hair being clipped, instantly swallowed the words that had reached its mouth.

"Um… I think just polishing it will do."

"Afterwards… just use your power to nurture it."

Cat discovered that when a Sword Saint—a melee class—uses skills or practices martial techniques, although MP is consumed, the attached power cannot be considered magic.

Primordial force?

It is the strength forged through daily grind and level‑up refinement.

Those who can materialize this power and use it are called Qi Gong Masters.

Hmm……

If this isn't something of the same system as magic…… then can the cat also train to produce this?

Magic circles are a very good defensive measure, but…… I always feel that if I don't have more life-saving trump cards, he can't sleep well.

On the surface he looks like a magic cat, but in reality it's Wan Hao using a skin-changing software.

Hiss……

The little kitten can't resist the temptation of Cat's Fist, each punch landing on the flesh.

￥￥￥￥￥￥

Witch Miss's efficiency remains as high as ever; although training is mostly measured in hours, thanks to Witch Miss's painstaking efforts, at half past nine in the evening she returned to the living room, crouched in front of the "Dungeon Exploration Special Backpack" issued by the school, and began to gather ideas to pack her luggage for the dungeon trip.

Although it was supposed to be a brainstorming session, Witch Miss didn't bother to have the butler think of solutions or offer suggestions.

She just chatted with Cat while stuffing things into the bag.

"Cat…… what are you carrying all this?"

Watching Cat drag a sack of snacks with its tail, Witch Miss felt a bit helpless for a moment.

Her cat is fine in every way, except that sometimes it feels like it's missing a screw in its head, kind of weird.

He clearly understands that this is a dungeon test, so…… why then……?

Indeed, there's more than just reproductive isolation between humans and cats!

After Witch Miss repeatedly stopped him, Cat not only didn't give up the idea of bringing snacks, but even redoubled his efforts, sending his clones to fetch another sack of food.

It seems to him that Witch Miss's refusal is merely because the food he picked isn't to her taste.

"Cat, I'm not really going on a picnic."

"Meow!"

"No! Everyone else brings it like this!"

"Your cooking is definitely not tasty; bringing this kind of instant food will definitely be a profit!"

The stubborn cat guarded the various snacks and food he had rolled from the warehouse, now fighting with Witch Miss for ownership of the backpack.

"Cat! You don't need to bring these! Don't worry, I've learned this simple dungeon recipe! And if we really need to fill our stomachs, we can eat nutrient paste!"

"No! Cat doesn't want it!"

"Nutrient paste has no nutrition at all, and the texture is bad!"

"The cat strongly resists the nutrient paste, which is similar to jelly."

Seeing the cat's stubbornness, Witch Miss also let out a helpless sigh.

"Cat, for our first trip to the dungeon, we're definitely going to gain experience."

"Whether it's cooking, setting up a tent, or even surviving in dire straits, we should give it a try, right?"

"There will surely be times when we can't use Shadow, or maybe our storage gear happens to have no food."

"Meow!"

"Some things really aren't necessary!"

"As long as his little cat is around for a day, you won't encounter any of these things."

Seeing Cat still unwilling to back down, Witch Miss had no choice; after thinking for a while, she could only compromise, saying,

"……Well then, Cat, you bring some of what you like to eat, and when the time comes I'll cook; if you like it, you eat it, how about that?"

"After all, you should consider the teacher's dignity; putting too many snacks in the backpack isn't appropriate……"

"Moreover, my Shadow Space isn't that big, and the magic power consumption when using it isn't very friendly either."

"……"

ummmmm

After thinking it over, Cat decided to compromise on Witch Miss's proposal.

"Hmph, just don't come over and steal my food when the time comes."

He had seen it all—those adventurers in such a sorry state they didn't even have time to pick up their pots.

"Don't you dare regret it!"

"If you don't listen to the old cat's words, you'll suffer a loss right before your eyes."