Chapter 515 Where are my Keys? Part 1 of 3
With his great acting talent and his innate emotion manipulation, Alex thought that the negative feelings that he had for Tabby will not be detected by it.
But to his disappointment and surprise, Tabby seemed to have realized Alex's feelings for him.
"Male hooman, you seem to be not happy with the way I speak. You seem to be… in a rush." Tabby said as it lazily licked its left paw. Its face had a look of confusion of it, which was made cute by its tiny fangs. "Why are you that urgent? We still have a lot of time to talk here-"
The cat then paused, as it also stopped licking its palm on mid-air. Tabby's eyes then widened as it stared at Alex, as if it had seen something surprising from him.
Before Alex could question this sudden behavior, the cat resumed talking, this time with a hint of pity present on its voice.
"I see, I see. So that's why you are in a rush. From the looks of it, your Lifespan is about to run out today…" Tabby the orange cat murmured. The pity on its voice grew larger after saying this, making Alex feel somewhat conflicted.
"Hmm, you only have… around 3 hours remaining before your lifespan runs out. Hm, with that kind of lifespan, you're lucky to have defeated that Emperor today." The cat continued to say. "Were you to have any delay, your death could have been a guarantee. Nya, you are really lucky, male hooman…"
"…."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Tsk, you really are a powerful creature. You even detected my dwindling lifespan. I guess that I should have expected this, seeing that you are the pet of the Infernal Monarch." With his emotions and secrets revealed, Alex was left with no choice but to admit the truth to the orange cat. "Yeah, I admit it. My Lifespan is about to run out today, that's why I am in a rush."
"Interesting, male hooman. Do you care to tell me about how you lost it? I want to know more about it-"
"Heh, don't ask me how I lost it. Just thinking about it makes my heart bleed…" Alex hastily said before the cat could start intervieweing him. "Don't even think about it."
"Ok."
Alex meant it when he said that his heart almost bled from his remembering his lifespan. After all, he used almost all of his Lifespan just to buy the items that he used for fighting against Emperor LItch.
Even if he won using these items, the feeling of losing his lifespan was something that Alex will never be happy about.
"Just the Queen Hydra's Mirror alone took half of my Lifespan. As for the other items, they dwindled my lifespan until I only have around 3 months of lifespan left." Alex thought miserably as he tried to avoid the cat's interested stare. "And after all the things that I did here, all that was left of me was 3 hours…."
Just thinking about these things made Alex feel worse again.
But even if Alex was unhappy about losing his lifespan, his mood was certainly better now especially because he managed to obtain a lot of benefits.
"Out of all the Bonus Missions given, I succeeded on two. I managed to kill two Travelers, while also finding a way to free the Four Moons World from Emperor Litch. Of course the latter will still take long to happen, but at least I am on the right track already." Alex thought, with his happiness starting to cloud over his anxiety. "Oh, and I am about to obtain the Legacy Weapon too. That will surely make all my lifespan spent worth it…"
At this point, Alex chose not to talk anymore, as he had already stated everything that he wanted to say to Tabby already. It will now depend on the cat itself on how it should continue with the conversation. Of course, Alex would prefer if the cat will speed it up…
"Ah fine, since you two are the first people to meet me, I will be generous and speed up my conversation with you." Tabby said with its face covered in disappointment. Alex took no notice of this disappointment, as he immediately focused his hearing.
"So like what I said, the Infernal Monarch had the four realms under his control. His power made him the rules of these places, and none were able to defeat him." Tabby said calmly. "But then one day, these realms began to rebel, and after a shocking turn of events, the Infernal Monarch was defeated. He then fled from his enemies, and he died here in this planet. The end."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"That's your story? Isn't that just too generalized?" Alex snarled as he resisted the urge to smack the cat in the head. To say that he is irritated now is right, as he found himself boiling over the cat's attitude.
"How about the origin of the Four Moons World? What about the reason for the imprisonment of the Four Divine Beings in the moons? What about the reason for the calamities that plagued this world before? Aren't you going to explain that?" Alex tapped his temple as he said these words, a gesture that the nearby Delia also did. "Those things made our mission in this world more difficult, and now you're not telling it to us?"
"Oh, don't blame me for what I said. That's the original story that I am only allowed to tell you. Even if you are not in a rush, I will still not tell you about the origins of this world…" Instead of complying with Alex's demands, Tabby instead tried to explain his actions. "If you want to know about the truth of the Four Moons World, then you must first take an ownership of the Legacy Weapon…"
"…I see"
With Tabby's admission, Alex and Delia realized that right now, they have nothing else left to do but to obtain the Legacy Weapon. After all, this the only way that they can know the truth and also finish the main mission. Such realization made the two somber, but it did not deter Alex from feeling excited.
"Oh, so this is where it always comes back. The Legacy Weapon. I see, I see. So I must first own this weapon before I will know the truth? If that's the case, then give us the trial already!" Alex said these words while grabbing Delia's shoulder, a gesture that made the latter tremble. Alex ignored these, as he just focused his attention on Tabby alone.
"Go on, give us the trial already. I am waiting here.."
"Hoomans, before I tell you what the trial is, let me clarify something first." In face of Alex and Delia's raging excitement, Tabby kept a composed face as it began flicking its tail. "This house that you see right here is a Fortress-Type Treasure that the Infernal Monarch himself had personally made. It can take the forms of any fortress, but my master preferred this Fortress to look like this. It reminds him of his hometown after all…"
Alex felt that there was something interesting with what Tabby just said, but he did not point it out as he let the cat continue talking.
"Before my master died, he realized that his Legacy Weapon will become alone in this world. This made my master melancholic, so he decided to find new successors to his Legacy Weapon." After saying these words, the cat suddenly spat out an object from its mouth, which it caught deftly with its paws.
Alex's and Delia's enhanced eyesight allowed them to observe this object, which turned out to be a set of keys.
9 keys, to be exact.
"With my master's power, he can control his Legacy Weapon alone. But when he died, he has decided to split the ownership of his Legacy Weapon into 9 parts. That means that at a given time, 9 people can control the Legacy Weapon. Don't ask me why my master did that. Maybe he just wanted the Legacy Weapon to feel happier…"
The cat then brandished the keys that it held on its paw, making these keys glint on the light.
"For you to obtain a control of this Legacy Weapon, you must obtain at least one key. That will allow you to be a co-owner of this Legacy Weapon…" Tabby almost smirked as it said these words, something that made Alex and Delia feel tense. "Now, those who manages to finish my trial can accept all the 9 keys from me. Of course, that will depend on this person's performance… Nya, if you want all 9 keys, then you better impress me greatly!"
"!!!"
"Now male hooman, are you ready to receive the trial? I can see that you are the only one with the qualifications to succeed this. The female hooman with you is just a bystander…" Tabby said as it ignored Delia. "Succeed my trial, and you will receive my keys. If you succeed, then that female hooman will be happy too…"
"Wow, after explaining the reason for the trial, you went straight to giving the trial already? How kind of you." It was Delia who said these words, as Alex suddenly became silent. "Now, what is this trial of yours? I want to hear it already!"
It was obvious from Tabby's face that it was incensed by Delia's interruption, although the cat did nothing to snap back at her. Tabby just continued to ignore Delia, as if she was just a decoration at this point.
"One of my master's disappointments when he died was the fact that he did not obtain love and loyalty from his subjects. They rebelled on him after all. As such, my master decided that the person worthy to use the Legacy Weapon is someone that can obtain the loyalty of the four races from the Four Realms." Tabby said these words with a teasing grin on its face, as if it found its words interesting. "Only that kind of person is fit to use the Legacy Weapon, and I am not allowed to entertain anyone until this person comes…"
"Loyalty of the four races from the Four Realms? Tabby, does this mean-"
"Show me one resident of the Abyss Realm, one resident of the Holy Order Realm, one resident of the Goetic Order Realm, and one resident of the Primordial Serpent Realm that is loyal to you!" Tabby almost shouted out as it interrupted Alex. "This is the only way that you can pass my trial. Oh, and if you fail to show me these 4 people right now, I will kill you."
"…"
"Oh, and this loyalty must be natural, not something artificially induced." Tabby added as it wagged its paws. "This means that the people loyal to you because of Conqueror's Aura are counted out. Only those that are sincerely loyal to you shall be accepted! Hmph, if you show me a fake one, I will really kill you!"
"…"
"The more that these people are linked to their realms, the better your score will be." Tabby said cheerfully, as if it had forgotten its threat to kill Alex. The better your scores are, the more keys you can receive from me…"
"…"
"Nya, what are you waiting for? Show me these hoomans now!"
"…"