Elemental Cats

Toz and the cats boarded the ship. They stayed on deck and admired the view as the ship filled up and took off.

Although Toz suppressed his mana so that others couldn't sense his level, he and the cats still stood out, not only because of the four cats sitting on the railing next to Toz. Mindle, the most eye-catching cat, hadn't even left the familiar space. The others on the ship paid notice to them because of their attitudes.

They weren't as giddy or nervous as the fresh recruits, and they weren't as depressing or traumatized as the veterans, so people naturally began paying attention to them.

However, it didn't take long until the sounds of explosions and battle occupied people's minds. A single man and four cats weren't much in comparison.

Since the prison where Toz and the cats had been held wasn't very far from the battlefield, it didn't take long for them to arrive. And before they knew it, the battlefield was already within sight.

From afar, it only looked like an ordinary plane, but as the ship got closer, it was clearly the sign of a battle. Magic and aura flew up into the air above the plane, lighting up the Void with various colors.

Since they were so far away, it was impossible to gauge the might of the attacks that soared into the sky, but since they could stand out even when compared to the size of the plane, the attacks and combatants were undoubtedly powerful.

And as they got closer, the tremors and shockwaves even reached the ship.

The ship had some barriers to protect it, but it couldn't withstand the attacks and headed to a relatively calm area. But it was only calm when compared to the fiercest hotspots of battle.

The ship arrived at the Alliance of Kingdom's base camp on the high level battlefield without issue. Maybe it was a rule not to attack supply ships. Toz didn't think too much about it since it didn't matter. He would rather focus on his present circumstances and surroundings.

Since the transport ships only accepted one-way tickets, he would be staying on the battlefield for some time, maybe even for the entire year he and the cats had to accumulate enough achievements to accompany Dyra to the Transcendent Realm and the Obsidian Empire.

Since it was an opportunity to leave the Mortal Realm, something that not even a fraction of the Mortal Realm's inhabitants would get for their entire lives, it only made sense that it would require an incredible achievement or contribution.

Toz suppressed his blood that had begun boiling due to the fighting and battle as he followed the rest of the ship's passengers to leave the ship.

Toz took a look around the camp as he followed everyone to line up in front of a military officer. The only thing that it reminded Toz of was the supply camp that the Forest Janitors set up during the Scorched Earth Rat extermination. But it was a lot bigger and more suitable for battle.

All the tents were strictly organized, with signs pointing to various areas like the mess and medic tents. However, the medic tents didn't really need signs for people to find since the screams of the injured soldiers were more than enough for people to find them.

Toz turned his attention to the military officer that started speaking.

"I'm keeping this short, and I'm not repeating myself. If you don't know what to do, just run straight outside the camp and begin fighting. It doesn't matter whether you have fought in a war before. You haven't experienced anything like this. You fight until you make it back, or you fight until you die.

"Now, you have a day's reprieve before you have to leave the camp to kill at least one enemy before you make it back. If you come back, eat and head right back out.

"It might sound like something a masochist would like, but this is worse. It's almost comparable to childbirth. However, in order to motivate you, we have prepared rewards suitable for your accomplishments.

"Grab two of these bracelets. They'll monitor and measure your achievements. Any questions?"

Although the military officer asked if anyone had any questions, it was clear from his tone that he didn't actually want anyone to ask anything.

However, a naive-looking guy still reached up with his hand. The military officer sighed and rubbed his eyes before pointing at him.

"U-um, why do we need two?"

As the military officer expected, it was a useless, redundant, and unnecessary question, but he still fulfilled his duty and answered.

"In case you lose an arm, you have a backup."

Fear was visible on the naive-looking man's face as he slowly put down his arm.

If Dyra hadn't told him about the bracelets already, Toz would have wondered if the cats would also have to use them. But since they were bonded to him, their accomplishments counted as his.

Toz grabbed two bracelets and put them on before he started walking toward the battlefield.

A single day's rest would be nice, but it was unnecessary, and since accumulating enough achievements seemed nearly impossible, Toz didn't want to waste time dawdling and fooling around. And the sooner they gathered enough achievements, the sooner Dyra would be able to leave and bring them to the Transcendent Realm, which meant they would be able to find and help Taienra faster.

The cats also didn't have any intentions of slacking off. Mindle, who had spent the transport to the battlefield inside the familiar space, came out. After ruminating and theoretically developing her magic, she was eager to test it out. Toz's words and inspiration had helped give her an idea on how to improve, but just like the other cats, she used magic by instinct, by actually doing it. Not by merely thinking about it.

And if the chaos caused by the battlefield was any indication, Mindle would have ample opportunity to try out various things.

Mindle wasn't the only one excited to let loose. All the cats had been chained with their movements and magic restricted. The only thing they could do to avoid going insane was to spend all their time asleep.