Dungeon Salvation

The first step of the plan was convincing Isabela to participate. With her involvement secured, enlisting Kitty’s help would be a simple matter. The inseparable pair were adorable enough to easily tug on the heartstrings of most people. They would be responsible for getting people emotionally involved in their scheme.

Kitty would pretend to run away and go missing in the jungle of the dungeon, while his little sister would act distressed and heartbroken to garner sympathy from those around them. Then, Elias would swoop in like a hero and recapture the cat in an emotional display, hopefully reaping many Salvation Points from the onlookers.

Elias could admit to himself that his plan was morally dubious at best, but it was the best he could come up with that wouldn’t truly endanger anyone involved. Although Kitty typically acted just like a regular house cat, he knew for a fact that she possessed a deep well of intelligence and power beneath the surface. The mana beast would be in as much danger in the jungle of the newbie zone as a fox in a room full of bunnies.

The willy cat was more than smart enough to understand the plan and go along with it, as long as Isabela was the one to ask. No one else outside their immediate family should suspect her true capabilities.

If she looks like a cat, acts like a cat, and smells like a cat, she is just a cat, right? Kitty was the perfect feline for the mission.

The best time and place for enacting their plan would be during lunchtime at the clearing. Even on a slow day, there were usually a few hundred people present, and a couple thousand on a busier one; during lunchtime, the place would be packed. They had only one shot to get this plan to work, so Elias had to make it count and involved as many people in his scheme as possible.

They would need to be convincing and loud to draw as much attention to themselves as possible, but it was feasible. Of course, he didn’t expect everyone to provide him with a Salvation Point. However, if he managed to get a point from a large enough fraction of the crowd, he should have enough to upgrade his soul weapon to the Uncommon rank outright. Hopefully, playing the part of the hero in front of such a large audience would be enough.

When he was seen rescuing the pitiful cat and triumphantly returning it to a distressed Isabela, he just had to watch as the points rolled in. It was like a play, all of it done as visibly and dramatically as possible. He would sell his audience a tragedy but deliver a glorious and wholesome finale. Everyone loves a happy ending, even one made of smoke and mirrors. It provided a rewarding payoff for their emotional investment, reigniting their hope.

Another important aspect of the plan was ensuring his parents didn’t know about it. Elias doubted they would appreciate him using Isabela and Kitty to cheaply and quickly obtain Salvation Points. The solution was simple: bribery. He promised his sister money to participate in his plan, so he only had to slightly increase the pot. It likely hadn’t been necessary anyways, but it was good insurance of her cooperation.

Isabela always had a propensity for mischief and chaos; the mere excitement of being involved in the plan would likely have been enough to secure her participation. Getting her to participate was easy. The difficulty in ensuring the plan’s success lay in the setup and execution.

Isabela coached Kitty all morning on how to behave when they arrived in the clearing. The friendlier and nicer they were, the better. She chose a cute, and innocent-looking white outfit to enhance her vulnerability and distress when the time came. Elias was genuinely impressed by his sister’s preparations, and his optimism grew with each practice session he observed.

A couple of hours before lunchtime, the siblings and cat arrived at the clearing, game faces on. There were still very few people around, and the trio made the rounds to make friends and acquaintances. His sister charmed the older folks setting up the food stalls, while he offered to help them, asking nothing in return. He even gained a few Salvation Points from doing that.

They walked all over the clearing, helping people with anything and everything, talking and joking around, and generally accumulating goodwill. All things considered, it was an enjoyable time, as most of the people they interacted with were very nice and genuine. Of that, Elias was sure, and he had a point system to prove it. He made note of the people that thanked them for their help but provided no Salvation Points.

“Eli, how do you think I should act?” Isabela asked him in a hushed voice, fidgeting with her dress. Now that the time to enact their plan was approaching, she was getting butterflies in her stomach.

“I don’t know, Isabela. Just try to look cute, I guess. You’re playing the part of a young girl in distress, it should be easy to garner sympathy. The most important thing is to get as many people paying attention to you as possible, so remember to be loud and visible. Keep in mind, the difference between an adventurer and a hero is presentation,” Elias said with a wink, drawing a small giggle from his sister.

Isabela was positively bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement, walking this way and that, and talking to a bunch of different people. They even met Agnes, the old lady from yesterday, who was immediately enchanted with the young girl.

“Elias, you didn’t tell me your little sister was such a lovely and well-behaved young woman,” said Agnes with a laugh, while Isabela preened. Elias, who actually needed his little sister’s help, did not dare to disagree with the woman’s statement.

“I know, she is incredibly well-behaved. You wouldn’t believe it,” Elias lied nervously. His sister eyed him suspiciously for a moment, narrowing her eyes, but said nothing. She probably understood that he was lying but let it go since he hadn’t actually said anything bad about her.

They accompanied Agnes as she walked around the clearing for as long as possible. The older woman had a lot of goodwill among the servers and food stall owners, as well as many of the more regular adventurers. She was probably the most well-known person in the entire area. Eventually, when the activity in the clearing was reaching a fever pitch, Elias gave the signal to Isabela and Kitty to finally put their plan into action.

Their group discreetly walked to the center of the clearing, where the crowd was thickest. At Elias’ nod, Kitty suddenly bounded away from them, sprinting toward the jungle at breakneck speed. They made sure Agnes saw the cat running off, and Elias was pleased to note the alarm in the old woman’s eyes.

“Stop!” Isabeled yelled at the top of her lungs, her heart-rending cry echoing through the clearing. Even Elias felt a pang of sadness at the sound, turning to look back at his sister, impressed by her acting. “Where are you going, Kitty?! Stop, please!”

Isabela looked pale as she yelled and wailed, her eyes wide with panic. For all the world, she appeared to be a young girl in distress. Whether it was her nervousness showing or part of her act, the slight incoherence in her cries made her performance even more convincing.

Elias activated his Overexertion (Common) Skill to sprint after the cat, relying on Grace (Common) and Kinesthesia (Common) to weave through the crowd. He wouldn’t actually catch the cat, of course, but the chase needed to be believable. His actions drew a lot of attention as people turned to see what was happening.

The key to their plan’s success was ensuring Kitty did not display more strength than what a regular house cat was capable of. They had made sure that she would run in a direction free of powerful adventurers. No one could know the cat’s true strength, but Elias couldn’t hold back in his attempts to catch her; otherwise, the scene wouldn’t be believable.

Although slightly impeded by the crowd, Elias caught up to the cat and leaped into her path to grab her from behind. Kitty simply jumped the other way without even slowing down. Elias transitioned his grab into a roll and flip, landing in front of her once more, but he couldn’t match the feline’s reaction speed. With the path ahead obstructed, she jumped onto him instead, using his body as a springboard to launch herself further toward the jungle.

Elias restarted the chase at an even faster pace as the crowd thinned, eventually overtaking the cat before she entered the jungle. He positioned himself in front of her again, hands up and spread wide like a goalie. As the cat ran by him, he leaped to the side to intercept her. However, Kitty simply arrested her momentum instantaneously, waiting for him to fall.

He relied on his Grace (Common) Skill again to turn his fall into a roll for one final attempt at catching the cat. She effortlessly jumped on top of him again as he rolled, digging her claws slightly into his clothes to restart her momentum. There was no stopping the cat from reaching the jungle after that.

Elias could still hear his sister screaming and wailing behind him, making a huge fuss about wanting her cat back. She had attracted quite a bit of attention with her tantrum, but not nearly enough. The help they would be getting from a crowd of strangers was too limited. He had a plan to fix that, but before they could proceed, Agnes inserted herself into the situation.

The old lady had seen the entire scene unfold and was now comforting the seemingly inconsolable Isabela. Their plan didn’t rely on her help, but Elias thanked his lucky stars that she did. She called out to the food stall owners, urging them to help retrieve the cat. Elias was surprised by the strength of her voice as she bellowed to get everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, please give me your attention! This little girl's cat has escaped into the jungle, and as you can see, she is devastated. Now, I know that a group of brave and strong adventurers like yourselves wouldn’t let a little girl go home sad and heart-broken without at least offering to help. So, what do you say!?” The inspiring speech did a fantastic job at getting everyone’s blood boiling, and the crowd responded with murmurs of approval. Seeing how successful the plan was turning out, Elias seized the opportunity to add his own fuel to the fire.

“Please, everyone, my sister would be devastated if she lost her beloved cat. She’s a long-haired tortoiseshell with patches of brown and black. I am willing to offer 100.000 energy to whoever catches my sister’s cat!” The roar from the crowd this time was deafening. As always, greed was a powerful motivator, especially among adventurers.

To better sell the image of a pitiful little girl, he gave Isabela a gentle side hug, patting her head as if to comfort her. He bumped his hips against hers, signaling her to make puppy eyes. She did, and even took the initiative to whimper sadly, like an abandoned and kicked puppy.

The pity show, combined with the promise of a reward, worked wonders in rounding up people to join the search. The reward of 100.000 energy wasn't much in truth, but newbie adventurers didn't make much to begin with; it was pretty much all the money he had saved up. While his sister’s acting attracted attention and provided a motive to help, the promise of a reward cemented that desire, and people began getting ready to head out.

There were several shouts of “You better pay up, kid,” and “We'll hold you to your word,” and then they were off. Elias was surprised by the sheer number of people that were mobilizing to help; there had to be more than a hundred groups involved in the search. That was only counting those actively searching for the cat, with several times that number simply watching the show, waiting to see what happened. Elias planned on delivering a moving performance. If he managed to pull this off, he wouldn't need to worry about Salvation Points for a long time.

Seeing he was getting left behind, Elias joined in on the search for the wayward cat. With so many people involved, he began to worry that someone else might actually find and capture Kitty. She was pretending to be a common house cat, so she couldn't demonstrate strength beyond her apparent means. In this performance, neither of them could break character. Before leaving, he left Isabela with Agnes, as they had gotten along so well.

Entering the jungle, Elias realized the first mistake of his plan. He hadn't defined a meeting place with the cat, so he would actually need to search for her along with the other groups. He could only hope that she would find him instead. Therefore, he started running as fast as he could deeper into the jungle to get away from the crowd. It would be easier for the cat to reach him there while avoiding capture, as most people were searching near the clearing.

Elias wasn't even two minutes into his run when he heard a distant voice shouting, “I found the cat! Nessa, go around so we can–damn it, go after it!”

Elias urgently changed directions and ran as fast as he could toward the voice, relying on Grace (Common) to move through the foliage unimpeded. Seconds later, he stumbled upon a scene that made his blood run cold. Kitty was in real danger of being caught.

A group of six adventurers, four men and two women, surrounded the growling and hissing cat in a tense standoff. Elias fervently hoped she would either escape the encirclement or that he would be the one to actually catch her.

“I can help catch her,” he began, but one of the men in the group quickly interrupted him.

“Ha! Like hell you’ll help, that reward is ours!” The group erupted in laughter and shouts of agreement, and Elias cursed under his breath.

The adventurers were having a blast with the whole ‘find the missing cat’ business, treating it like a game they very much wanted to win. Elias signaled for Kitty to try and get close to him, hoping he could be the one to catch her.

Sorry, boys and girls, but this game is rigged.

Kitty launched herself forward at incredible speeds, and one of the women dove in front of the cat with her arms outstretched. Just like before, the cat simply jumped on top of the woman. This time, however, the group seemed to anticipate the move, as one of the men tried to catch Kitty mid-jump.

Elias' heart caught in his throat when he saw this, desperately cheering for the cat inwardly. It seemed the group had learned from his earlier attempts in the clearing. Thankfully, Kitty contorted her body gracefully, landing on the man's outstretched arms and using them to spring to the side in an impressive maneuver, escaping the encirclement.

Elias sighed in relief, thinking he would capture her after all. She darted toward the clearing, and for a moment, his mind went blank. He blinked.

How am I supposed to catch you if you run from me too?!

Elias took off running once more to catch up to the cat, the group of six adventurers close behind him. Their noisy capture attempt had attracted the attention of many others. He heard many shouts of “Over here!” and “Get it!” and even one “Damn it, I almost had it!” Elias' heart tightened with every close call and yell, pushing himself to run faster.

Given the current circumstances, Elias was extremely glad he had picked up the Grace (Common) Skill for his Agility attribute. It was immensely helpful in navigating the jungle quickly. He was moving at nearly twice the speed he could before gaining his skills, easily outpacing the competition.

The Kinesthesia (Common) Skill also helped him feel his own movements and keep track of his positioning, allowing him to move more efficiently. More importantly, it helped track someone else's position to a lesser degree, and he was pushing the Skill to its limits to not lose the cat. His head throbbed from pushing his Skill beyond its intended purpose, but he persevered. He needed to catch that little beast sooner rather than later.

They would soon be reaching the clearing once more, and the shouts of adventurers grew louder and more frequent. He finally spotted Kitty, and the light from the clearing filtered through the foliage behind her. The cat looked at him for a moment but then continued to run away. Elias was perplexed at her behavior; she was supposed to let him catch her.

Is she mad at me?

Having spotted his quarry, Elias activated his Overexertion (Common) Skill to burst forward with renewed vigor. He weaved between people and tree branches alike in a manic scramble to catch up to the cat once more. Then, with heroic effort, he pounced on her just as she was about to break through to the clearing. He caught Kitty in a hug at the last moment, bursting into the clearing and sliding on his back with the cat in his arms.

“I caught her!” screamed Elias in triumph.