In the warm rays of the midday sun, two snow leopard cubs embarked on their steep descent down the mountain in search of a suitable training ground. The giant mountain range seemed even bigger from their tiny vantage point, but they marched onward undeterred.

Nothing could shake their resolve. Nothing could make them tremble. ‘Fear’ wasn’t a part of their—

“Ohmygod Sasha, look how far away the ground is below!!” Arwen gasped, peering over the edge of a cliff. “Do we really have to go all the way down there?!”

Sasha did not look over the edge. It’s not because she was afraid; it’s because she was… not afraid. Obviously.

“Arwen, l-let’s just keep going down this mountain pass. For our first quarry, perhaps we can sneak up on some wild fowl. Just… stay away from the edge.”

Glancing around, the majestic mountain scenery gave Sasha a bittersweet sensation. She couldn’t help wondering if this might be the last time they saw this view for a while. It could be years before they returned—if they ever did.

It wouldn’t hurt to drink in the sights of this untamed landscape, just one last time.

The rugged mountain pass they traveled downward grew steeper and narrower. On one side, a sheer cliff face rose upward far above. On the other, a sheer cliff edge dropped to a perilous depth. And now after what felt like hours of travel, something lay in their path…

“Halt!” Sasha whispered.

Close to the mountain, she could barely make out what appeared to be a wild, plump bird pecking at the ground far ahead. But each careful step forward brought the creature more into focus—and made Sasha a little less certain.

No, this wasn’t Earth anymore, and this was no ordinary bird. Sasha finally identified what could have been a massively oversized chicken… at least, if chickens in this world had scaly flesh all over, with two arms covered in thick feathers, a body hunched forward like a dinosaur, and a beak full of ridges so sharp they might as well have been teeth.

Sasha paused. It was a little bigger than she had been expecting for their first prey. But maybe, just maybe—

[Target identified: Level ?? Giant Mountain Raptor]

[Status: Hungry]

[Favorite food: Small, fluffy critters. Like you!]

Okay, it was official now: this was the worst starting zone ever!

Arwen shuddered. “Oh no! Aren’t we Level 1? We can’t fight that thing! W-what are we going to do?!”

What fate, to have stumbled into a deadly obstacle like this so soon… but this was merely a test! This would be nothing compared to the demon king! “Arwen,” Sasha said after a long pause, “a true warrior does not need a sword. We’ve already come this far; we can’t turn back and give up like this! For now, we’ll have to sneak past it.”

“B-but, Sasha—!”

“I’ll go first. Just wait here!”

The raptor had its back to the cliff, its large talons now raking the ground below. Whatever unfortunate creature had chosen that spot for its burrow was having a very bad day… but this made for a perfect distraction.

Slowly, Sasha began to prowl down the path behind the beast, right alongside the cliff’s edge. Step by careful step, she made her way forward on silent paws. A sudden gust of wind threatened to make her shiver, but the wind was no match for Sasha’s fluffy coat of fur.

The ground wasn’t so lucky. The wind stirred up a handful of pebbles, sending them clattering down the mountainside below.

Sasha froze. Slowly, she glanced to her side… only to meet the piercing gaze of a hungry raptor, its eyes zeroing in like a hawk spotting its next meal.

Oh, fluff. “Uh… Growl, growl? Hiss!”

[Your Purrsuasion attempt wasn’t very effective.]

“CA-CAW!” With a piercing battle cry, the raptor spun around and charged.

There was no time to run back and hide now. There was hardly even a moment to think. Sasha retreated backward until she felt a paw slipping over the cliff’s edge behind her.

The cliff? Yes, of course it would come to this. It was a game of chicken with a big, overpowered chicken. There could be only one winner—and sometimes…

Sometimes, a true hero must risk everything.

“SASHA!” Arwen cried.

“CA-CAW!” The raptor’s toothy beak opened like the jaws of death. In just a few short strides, the beast would close the distance and it would all be over.

But Sasha was no ordinary cub. With the lightning reflexes of her supernatural agility, Sasha dashed out of the way at the very last moment.

The charging raptor snapped its beak shut on the ground where Sasha had been a moment before… and now, the creature could do nothing to stop its momentum. It continued its charge straight over the edge.

“CA-CAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw—!”

The raptor plunged down the cliff in a mess of feathers and squawking. No matter how hard it flapped its feathery arms, the oversized beast simply could not fly. It plummeted further and further, crashing somewhere far below with a sound that no one would ever hear.

[Giant Mountain Raptor defeated. Everyone in your party earned 4124 EXP!]

“Sasha, y-you… you did it!” Arwen cheered. “You really DID IT!” She ran forward and gave her sister a round of fluffy headrubs.

“N-naturally. Just as planned, of course. Like I said—”

[You grew to Level 2! +1 PURR, +1 CLAW]

“We leveled up, Sasha! We’re really doing it!”

“Arwen, you got that message too? Good, but… we should have gotten more levels than that.”

[You grew to Level 3! +1 MEOW, +1 TAIL, +1 CLAW]

“Sasha, it happened again!”

“Indeed. That raptor just gave us thousands of—”

[You grew to Level 4! +2 FLUF]

“W-wait, what’s going on? It’s making my body feel all tingly! Sasha, how many more?!”

“We must have gotten far more EXP than we needed, so it’ll keep on—”

[You grew to Level 5! +1 PURR, +1 FLUF]

“WAIT! I can’t take any more tingly right now! Sasha, make it stop!”

“We can’t! All the overflow EXP will make us level up until—”

[You grew to Level 6! +2 MEOW, +1 TAIL, +1—]

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!”

🙀🙀🙀

After finally reaching the bottom of the pass, the stalwart hero and her fluffy sidekick took a brief respite within a rocky crevice. The setting sun had already begun to dip beyond the mountain peaks towering far above, painting the forest around them in the warm rays of twilight.

“S-Sasha, I thought that was never going to end,” Arwen whimpered. “It felt like a lightning bolt struck with every level…”

Sasha patted her sister on the head until she purred. “Well, let’s just see what we have to show for it. Status!”

 

[Sasha Snowcub, Level 16 Snow Leopard Cub]

[A new evolution is available to you! You may choose:

Lesser Dire Cub

Smol Floofy Cub]

 

“What’s this? We can pick an evolution now?” It seemed this would not be the end of their empowerment today. Now, they could take their next step toward the power worthy of a true hero.

“Sasha, look!” Arwen said. “This one is perfect for us!”

“Indeed. The Dire form is clearly the stronger pick, so we should—”

“No way! Sasha, we have to pick the fluffy one,” Arwen insisted. “It sounds so cute!”

“What? Absolutely not!” Sasha was used to her sister’s antics by now, but this was going too far!

“…Please?”

“Why don’t you pick that one then?” Sasha asked.

“We have to match, duh!” Arwen pouted. “And I mean, who wants to be a ‘lesser’ anything? Come on! Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty pleeease?”

“No!”

Arwen stared at Sasha with big, pleading kitty eyes. “Sasha, who’s your favorite sister?”

…

“Pleeeeeeeeeease~?”

Sigh. Sometimes, a true hero must make sacrifices.

“Yaaaaaay!” Arwen cheered. “Thank you Sasha, I love you!”

[What? Sasha is evolving!]

For a moment, it felt as though another lightning bolt had struck… but this time, everything changed. The whole world seemed to shift and blur. A kaleidoscope of light and dark flickered before her very eyes. In an instant, her snow leopard cub body was unmade and reforged in the primordial ether, over and over again.

And when it all finally stopped and Sasha returned from that dreamlike vision, everything felt so much… fluffier.

[Sasha evolved into Smol Floofy Cub! +5 MEOW, +5 PURR, +5 TAIL]

[New perk acquired: Floooofy! +20 FLUF, Cold Resistance]

“We did it!” Arwen said. “Sasha, look! Your fur is so much thicker and softer now!” Arwen started rubbing her head against her sister, purring again.

Sasha instantly had a dangerous urge to purr after feeling how irresistibly fluffy Arwen’s fur had become. They were not just mere snow leopard cubs any longer. Now… now, they were—

[You grew to Level 17! +2 MEOW, +2 TAIL]

“Wait, there’s more?!” Arwen screamed. “Oh no! Sasha, it’s making me feel even more tingly!”

“We must still have some overflow EXP,” Sasha said. “It appears that we just couldn’t it use until after—”

[You grew to Level 18! +1 MEOW, +2 PURR, +2 FLUF]

“NO! Everything’s all tingly again! Sasha, I can’t take it anymore!!”

“Just relax! This is probably the last—”

[You grew to Level 19! +3 PURR, +2 TAIL, +1—]

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

🙀🙀🙀