It takes more than 10,000 hours

Chapter 14: Chapter 14 – Come here, Kitty-Kitty


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Chapter 14 – Come here, Kitty-Kitty

 

Summons are famous because of many reasons. First off, they are artificial constructs that relied on mana, which meant no food and other necessities, which largely reduced costs. As a result, it became popular in lower income households. It also meant that owners who lacked time and commitment to care for a real animal preferred them.

They were also customizable, as was evident with Ron. Unique personalities, conversational features, alarm systems – you name it, they can add it. Apart from powerful combat abilities, summons became all time popular for everything.

Manufactured by Xutra Pet Inc., Ron was a Siamese cat summon fitted with several customizations. The company modified the cat to hide whenever a human notices it, prompting the person to seek the playful summon in a hiding game. They also gave him the minimal combat abilities, as well a warning system to alert intruders. Of course, they were just following Emilia’s order. She wanted a cute and lovely house cat, with the ability to defend her home — like two birds with one stone.

Noah closed the article on his phone and resumed his search. He looked around before making a turn ten steps ahead. The wind whistled as his clothes and the shrubs near him waved. Stopping ahead, he opened the small gate of a house and walked towards the door that had railings across each of its sides. Noah rang the bell before looking around the side of the house. He found kids’ toys and swing sets peeking from the back. Just in case, he called out the Ron’s name.

Nothing replied, so he quickly surveyed the other side and found the house owner’s garage and a few garden plants. Coming back towards the door, he noticed a few people sticking their head out just behind the curtain of the large two-section window on the right. Noah waved his hands and smiled; they waved back to his amusement.

The door opened a second after, and out came a man in a blue tight blouse for women which made Noah almost lose his composure. The man’s polite smile was slowly turning into a playful one as he spoke. “May I help you?”

“Uh.. Have you seen a purple cat walking around the neighbourhood?” Noah’s voice came out higher than normal. “Purple fur, black ears, and he’s a summoned cat. He looks like this.”

He showed Ron’s image to the man, who had formed a pondering expression.

“Nope. I don’t think I’ve seen him before.” He shook his head. “Actually, let me ask my friends if they’d seen him.”

Noah rested on the left railing after the man closed the door. He glanced at the big window but didn’t see the three people earlier.

He must’ve started asking them. Noah opened their group chat.

 

[You: Got anything?

James Williams: Nope. I went to ask at each house in my area. They didn’t see anything.

You: That’s what I’m doing right now. @Casaaa find anything?

Casa Encor: I haven’t found a clue. Make sure you look at every nook and cranny.]

 

Noah nodded and pocketed his phone. Soon, the man opened the door again. Accompanying him was a woman wearing a black shirt and brown shorts.

“I think my friend here knows something.” The man said.

“Hi, I’m Meela.” The woman held out a hand, which Noah shook. “I’ve seen it before on Osmalm Street, just two blocks from here.”

She pointed right behind him. “Turn left, then move two blocks. You’ll see a playground and a field across.”

A clue! Noah nodded. “Thank you. Is there anything else?”

“Nothing else.” Meela said as she shook her head. “Are you the owner?”

“Nope. I’m taking a quest to find it.”

“I see. Well, good luck.” The woman left the door, so Noah bid goodbye to the man as well.

“What a dumba-”

Noah picked up his phone again when he heard the man cuss as he closed the door. He scratched his head. What did I do... I don’t even know you who are.

He sent his findings on the group chat.

 

[You: Found a clue: the playground on Osmalm Street.

James Williams: Should we go there?

Casa Encor: Yeah, let’s meet up.]

 

Noah walked towards the location. He saw the playground when he got close. Behind was a wide and empty field, and a building stood on the left. It wasn’t as tiny to be thought as a bathroom, but only big enough for medium-sized gatherings. Small windows peppered the sides in his eyesight, while a few chairs and table lay in front of the main door facing the road.

Switching back to his target, apart from the chairs, which a person would see in a standard park, they were all standard playground furniture. The first thing he noticed was the seesaw. Behind it was a three-swing set. After that, the playhouses. No one was on the playground, judging by the still swings.

Noah surveyed the seesaw once more when he arrived. Other than feet marking, there were no signs of the cat. The swing set, nothing as well. Next, he tried climbing up the playhouse to see if there were any markings. No signs at all, even on the slides coming off the playhouse.

Coming back down, he walked towards the empty field. He didn’t forget to give the other two what he knew.

 

[You: No marks on the playground. I’ll go see the playing field.]

 

Noah raised his head and began inspecting the ground. Patches of grass swayed from the wind and occasional dirt patches lay here and there. Still, Noah didn’t find any marks. Then he mentally slapped himself for thinking he’d find a slash or two here. Obviously, the cat wouldn’t stay here. It would first approach a person first before doing such a thing. But evidence suggests otherwise.

Maybe it came here and left after. Now, where would it go?

Shaking his head, he came back towards the playground and found James and Casa talking to each other. The former held the cat carrier, while the latter had their notes in his hands.

“Hey. Did you guys find anything?” Noah asked.

“Nope.” James said. “I asked the neighbourhood around. They didn’t see a purple-coloured cat on the sidewalk.”

“I see.”

They looked at Casa as the man spoke. “People in my area heard loud noises coming from somewhere. It might be a clue.”

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“Okay.” Noah nodded. “I didn’t find any marking on the playground and the field behind me. So, I’m going to that building right there.”

The group talked for a minute before walking towards the establishment. Noah checked the chairs and table outside, James surveyed the other side, and Casa looked inside from the windows. A few minutes later, they gathered again.

Noah didn’t see anything extraordinary. Just the stationary mundane things and the wind. James also was the same. Casa, however, pointed at the small window facing them.

“I saw something inside.” He came closer, with the two following him. “Look.”

The two peeked their head into the windows and saw darkness. Then Casa’s hand from behind brightened, illuminating the one side of the building.

Tables and chairs littered the room. Many of them were in the centre of the room, while some stuck close to the window. Just like the table in front of the window they’re gazing from. On the right side, a six feet tall drawer and a shoe rack lay side by side of the door.

James’ voice sounded. “I see nothing bad.”

“Really?” Casa replied. “Now, what do you see?”

He shifted light towards the left. Of course, Noah and James followed his actions and saw the other side-

“Hup..!” Their heart skipped, and they recoiled. Noah’s eyes widened as a bright face showed up in front. Then he heard Casa emit a laugh, so he took a closer look and found the face was just a mask brightly lit by Casa’s spell.

“Don’t scare us like that.” Noah muttered softly. James agreed.

Casa snickered. “Not my fault. Look behind.”

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Noah noticed shallow gashes decorating the wall. Subsequently, he gazed down and saw broken stones and clattered things. It was as if two people had a fight and trashed the place and left without paying for damage. Nonetheless, it provided them a clue, so Noah’s face brightened.

“How do we get in?” He said, then he raised his eyebrow. “Do we break in?”

“No, silly.” Casa shook his head. “You guys stay here. I’m going to get the keys from the community leader.”

Casa left, so Noah and James shared a glance. Noah smiled as he asked. “You know what I’m thinking?”

James didn’t reply, instead he had a smirk on his face as he left the carrier on the side and went around the house. Next, the man piled the chairs and tables, almost reaching the roof. When Noah asked why, James formed a puzzled expression.

“I’m trying to find if there’s a chimney somewhere above.” He said.

“Oh. I thought we’re breaking in the window.” Noah replied.

Shaking his head, he steadied the chair James stood on. Then, the man jumped above and stood on the roof. James lowered his hand for Noah to grab on.

“Wait. Let me try something.” Noah said, as he removed the chairs. Standing only on one corner of the table, he wanted to test his increased strength. Casa mentioned before that they have enhanced bodies — for example, when they ran earlier in the morning, the two could keep up with a soldier despite having no prior training. Likewise, Noah wanted to test whether he could jump higher. James understood his words, braced himself, and placed his other hand for support. Noah saw this as confirmation and jumped. His left arm clamped on the gutter, while James almost fell as he grabbed Noah by his right hand.

“I could really jump higher than normal now.” Noah climbed up, pleased with the results.

The roof wasn’t overly big, but it had two dormers and a few valleys. Glancing around, James was right. There was a chimney in the middle. So, they both skipped over a dormer, heading for the white-bricked chimney. They came closer as James inspected the hole.

“There’s a chance the cat came inside and became trapped.” James said. “That would explain why no one saw it again, apart from the person you talked with, Noah.”

Noah nodded. “I guess we can’t get in from here then... It’s too small for us to go through. Besides that, we don’t know what’s inside or whether the thing inside would attack us.”

James agreed. They can’t come inside unless they want to face that thing inside by themselves. Noah remembered Emilia added a warning system, and especially a combat module on the cat. Making it more dangerous that it looks. In addition, apart from their physique, the two cannot stably cast magic by themselves. They needed to concentrate and in such a space, that was out of the window.

The two came back down and waited for their third man.

 


 

Luckily, in five minutes, he arrived holding two keys with him. Noah unlocked the door while Casa stood beside him. James walked after.

As Noah flipped the light switch and the entire room brightened.

Swish. BEEEP!

Suddenly, a blurry shadow rushed towards them, blasting noise in the surrounding.

“Woah..!”

Noah and James jumped and recoiled in fear as their faces twisted upon hearing the loud sound. They retreated as the dark blue leaped towards them.

“Watch out!” Casa shouted hurriedly as he reached out to Noah.

The shadow sped for him but stopped as it hit a curtain of light their friend erected.

“James, get the cage.” Casa said, while trying to envelop the summon with his spell. James responded by going outside. Noah stood and watched what attacked them. Purple fur, black pointy ears, and feline teeth as it hissed. It was the summon they were looking for.

Meanwhile, the cat still blared with its loud, aggravating warning system. It dodged to the side and hopped on a table. Its tail stretched out as if to threaten them and purred with malice.

“How do you stop the sound?!” Noah shouted to Casa, who shook his head.

“There are no instructions to stop the warning system.” Casa said. “It thinks we’re intruders. If there is a way, only Emilia could make it stop.”

Damn. Noah clicked his tongue, as he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t use his combat spells, since they needed it alive. Who knows if the summon could still function when it’s damaged? Moreover, he didn’t want to fight it head on. Not with that sharp claw and quick movements. Fortunately, James came back behind them as Noah thought of something.

“Let’s corner it while Casa tries to catch it.” He called James, who agreed with the plan. “On my mark... Go!”

The two of them split off. Noah spread his arms on its left side, while James boxed the cat’s right. They formed a tight barrier around it while Casa’s hand lit up with a green color. The summon looked at each of them and hissed, ready to pounce.

“Come here, kitty-kitty.” Noah smiled gently, opening his arms. “We’ll take you back to Emilia.”

In response, the cat wiggled its butt and swiftly jumped towards him. Claws brandished, it slashed towards his direction. Noah stumbled and landed on his butt, dodging the attack by a margin. He quickly sprang back up and turned behind. Eyes wide, he spoke.

“Bad kitty!”

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