The young kitten called out to him again and Mark could see it trying to keep its eyes open but it could not. It was far too young and likely not a cat at all.
The markings on its body indicated it as a black Jaguar, a rare specimen of the breed and highly sought after. How had one made its way to him? But the bigger question was - would it mutate? What should he do then?
He quickly decided to scan the animal with the system because if anything could tell him what this was about, it could only be that. The light passed over the kitten's body causing it to open it's beady eyes and look at Mark.
Mark felt his heart melt but he had to hold firm because it was a question of his life here. One he had worked hard to preserve till this point and he was not about to lose it here anytime soon.
There was a ding sound as the scanning finished and the screen with information popped up.
______________________________
Animal type: Panthera pardus
Class: Familiar - Type S
Genes type: Alpha mutation
Age: 5 weeks
Name: ?
Owner: Not found - give name to claim ownership
______________________________
A pet? There were pet's in this world who were safe? Was that even possible?
But he still had no information on the topic so he turned toward his one and only source of information - the system guide. He opened the panel and checked for the sections on the pets.
It was not in the usual section and he browsed down to find a new area of content unlocked. Looked like it was a criterion unlocking for this one and he accidentally achieved it.
He looked through it quickly to get a general understanding. The pets range from class SS-F and only certain individuals with high enough animal affection level could tame them. They needed to be raised or gain the trust of and they would become allies.
However, the higher the level, the more complex and mythical they would become. The spoiler index said that the 'protagonist' would only get to choose one of the four SS-types available and two S-types out of the twelve so he had to be careful.
There were 50 A types available and 100 B types. Rest were common but they were a danger since anything below A rank could lose control to the mutation.
The ones chosen were safe and the rest appeared as enemies throughout the story. Major bosses even made Mark sweat.
What should he do with this one then? Should he claim it? He was not the 'protagonist' though so he had no idea what would happen if he did so.
But then the kitten called out to him again and he felt the rough tongue make contact with his hand near it and his heart could not take it. He will keep this kitten and claim it. Quickly looking at the system, he filled out the name for the kitten.
______________________________
Name: Kuro
Owner: Mark (ERROR - DOES NOT EXIST - ERROR)
Status: Claimed
______________________________
The kitten was shining, the spots on the black fur illuminating with a blue light before they faded in a soft electric blue shade of the original pattern and the kitten blinked the big black eyes at him.
"Come here Kuro '' Mark called out to the kitten in the gentlest of voices he could and the kitten purred as it made its way toward him. Mark checked it out and it was a female making it her now.
"Are you hungry? Want to eat something?" Mark asked her as the kitten just purred at his petting. Gently, Mark ran his finger through her young fur to find anything missing or abnormal but there seemed to be nothing physically wrong with her which relieved him a lot.
He did want to check her over though, but he lacked most of his tools to do so. He would just have to observe her for the time being then.
He took out some dried food from his storage (not milk through because market milk of cows was not good for them) and allowed the kitten to eat the safe food he had packed. He would have to buy extra supplies for it on the way too then.
He allowed the kitten to finish as he got ready in an almost oversized hoodie. It's side pocket was huge and connected on both sides. He picked up the kitten in his arms and opened the main door.
Making his way outside was relatively easy when one one paid you any real attention and soon Mark was outside in the town with the kitten in toe.
The first stop had been the supermarket and it was easy to find. The town layout was provided right as he exited the hotel and he marked the place and all the others in the town. He will come back for supply later on too.
The market was full of things he needed so he did not hold back. The first thing he filled upon was his inventory. Food and medicine was a must but he also needed pet food now, which was stored in a separate compartment of his inventory.
He stocked it up, not caring about the money at all because he would likely not need it after a few days. He made his way toward the counter with his two trolleys full of shopping supplies and a kitten on top of one.
The line was not long at this late hour and he quickly made his way out. Scanning what he could to put it into his inventory, he made his way toward the other mart. Of course, buying a lot of stuff from a single place would not be a good idea.
He quickly followed the same procedure before he was satisfied. He wanted to go back toward the hotel room before he felt a moment in his arms. The kitten was restless as it turned around and twisted in displeasure.
Something was bothering her a lot and he let her down. She dashed toward an alley and he ran after her to keep up with her. Something was wrong with her but he did not know what it was.
It was difficult to keep up but he somehow managed to do so. However, he had to make a quick scoop to pick her up before she made the turn around the corner. He could hear the low growls right now and they sounded familiar.
He looked around the corner only to see a dog corner a teen. The child was relatively young, almost thirteen in age and the dog looked not to be normal.
It looked somewhat mutated but not by a lot. It was still in the beginning stages of it's mutation but it was gradual. The teen looked frightened out of his mind which was understandable.
Mark could save him but once again he hesitated. He was not sure that was someone who was supposed to be alive in the main story. What if he was messing up something here again? After all, he was sure he already messed up with the kitten in his arms.
But then the teen let out a terrified scream and Mark could no longer bear to stay hidden. He took out his gun and aimed the shot at the still mutating dog and it disintegrated into light particles.
Once again, there was no blood in sight but the teen had been saved. That should have been it - the teen was saved and everything was good. The teen should have ignored the normal rules, but he was looking at him.
Looking at him with a look of gratefulness and wonder which made his skin crawl. Why was the kid looking at him like that? Why was he looking at him, period?
"T-Thank you for saving my life" the teen called out in a still shaky voice which gave Mark a pause. The child was acknowledging him which was different from how he had been treated till now.
Was this a character then? Someone in the original video game? Or perhaps Mark broke another taboo by saving the child. He had to check it out right now, but he was sure he could not do it in front of the kid.
But he could not leave the kid alone here too because he had no idea how the kid would survive. The blue eyes that were looking at him from the soft face made him winch. What had he done here?
"M-Mister? W-what was that monster?" The child was incredibly polite in his words and his tone was soft and pleasant to hear. Mark wondered what to do with him. Should he leave the child here?
But after a thought, he decided differently. The child could be his chance if he could get him on his side. He would have an alley inside the place, perhaps even help in the future.
And the child had already seen his capabilities so taking the child was no more danger to his own self.
"That is something that this world would face in a week when most animals mutate. I'm currently fighting against them so would you like to join me?" Mark extended his hand to the child who took it with awe-filled eyes.
"Please take me with you" the child almost yelled and the cat in his arms meowed in protest at the loud noise. Mark smiled at the child gently but his heart was rather heavy.
He was deceiving an innocent child to gain a future ally after all.