The Rise from Max Level 1: How I, the Lowest Level, Became the Strongest in Another World

Phew. I was a bit freaked out there towards the end, but at least I was able to take it down.

The thought of touching this smashed spider made me shudder, but I pressed my hand against it.

HP +1, MP +5, Attack +1, Defense +1, Speed +20, Gained skill points: +3. Gained skill: Level 1 Absorb Thread.

Whoa, I could use that skill? That would come in handy.

That said, my speed definitely shot up. I used to be heavy on the defense, but I’m veering more towards the speedy type now.

Hm, oh. Oh yeah, that cat.

I looked back to where it’d been, and it looked like it had collapsed again, but it seemed like it was still breathing. I wondered if the spider had done this to the cat. It looked exhausted, so that theory’s probably on the mark. It was all thanks to the cat I even noticed the spider so quickly in the first place that there was no way I could leave it behind. I had to save it.

I picked the cat up and went back on my hunt for a water source.

It was only after going in quite a bit deeper that I finally spotted some. It was a decent body of water and I could hear the water running through to somewhere. I briefly wondered if I could swim through it and find an exit, but dashed that thought quickly enough. I’d just drown, more than likely.

The water was beautifully clear, though. I drank from my hand after scooping some up – it was refreshingly cool and delicious. I wondered if there was anything I could carry some in, but gave up on that idea. It’d be hard to make a canteen out of the crap close to me.

Well, I’d found a water source, so this would be an ideal place to take a break.

Now, back to that cat.

I’d brought it with me to save it, but how exactly was I supposed to go about doing that? It’d been listless the entire time I’d carried it. If the spider is what caused its current condition, I had a feeling it might regain its strength if it rested for a while, but there was a possibility it might not, too. I’d just have to see if it could get it to drink anything, first.

Cupping some water in my head, I held it out near its mouth. The cat weakly started licking at it. It could have been that it was really thirsty, but either way, it drank up every drop in my hand. I scooped another handful of water, and it drank that, too.

The cat would probably recover with both food and water, but I had nothing on me for it to eat. There were the mushrooms, but it couldn’t eat that unless it had some resistance to poison. I’d just monitor its condition over time, and since the ground was super hard, I went ahead and laid it down in my lap. I could feel its warmth straight through my knee. The cat-lover couldn’t miss the chance to pet at the creature – I gently ran my hand down its head and body. The cat let out a content sigh as I did.

Would you look at that? It seemed like it was starting to feel better. Did I have the power to heal, too?

…Yeah, right. It’s probably because it drank some water.

I continued to stroke it gently.

Suddenly, the weight on my knee multiplied, the feeling beneath my palm changed to something else, like the hair of an actual person instead of fur.

I did not have a good feeling about this. I looked downward.

“Uh?” I said dumbly.

The cat I’d been petting had disappeared, and in its place, was a girl.

Before I’d known what was happening, I’d been petting a girl with cat ears and black hair. She let out another contented sigh as she was petted. Even her voice was different – it was completely and intrinsically the voice of a girl.

…I must be imagining things.

With how much I love cats, I’ve dreamt of stuff like this before – stupid fantasies like cats becoming human girls and the two of us doing this and that together…

I must’ve been hallucinating. I’d have to have been. I mean, I was exhausted. This was all just something I thought up.

Obviously, there was no way a cat could become human…

The fuck there ain’t! This is a whole different world! A cat becoming a human wouldn’t even be the oddest thing in this place!

Speaking of, I never did use my skill on her. She was just a normal cat before, so the thought never occurred for me to bother, but now, I had to see for myself.

“Cat Sith. Name: Lenya, 15yrs, Lv 25/55. A cat of the Cat Sith Beastman tribe. Turns into a regular cat when weakened.”

Huh, a Cat Sith? She’s part of a Beastman tribe? So, to recap, she drank some water, and returned to her original form after recovering her strength. And, her name was Lenya. Got it.

I shook her shoulders to wake her up. Her face had wonderfully beautiful and young features, and it seemed like she was wearing clothes. I would’ve thought she’d been stark naked when transforming, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case.

“Hey, you. Come on, get up.”

“Mmm, meoooow. Pet me moooore,” she pleaded, her eyes squinting.

Get a load of this sleepyhead. I shook her some more.

“Mew, meow… Meooow?”

Her eyes came open, and I could see they were a big and beautiful amber color.

“Huh, what? …Mew! I’m back to normal!”

Lenya the Cat Sith looked both at her hands and feet, checking her entire body to see that she’d returned to her original form.

“Yes! I’m back to normal thanks to you! Thank you so much, mew!” she cried out, shaking both of my hands up and down.

“Y-yeah, y-you’re welcome. I-it was the right thing to do.”

Again, I was a virgin. Just being touched by another girl’s hands shook me to the core. She was 15 and ten years younger than me, but her face was so pretty and she was just my style. I felt like shit that my heart was beating this hard.

“My name’s Lenya! What’s yours?”

“Tetsuya…Takahashi. My first name is Tetsuya, and my surname is Takahashi.”

“Oh, so your name’s Tetsuya? You were so fast when you beat that spider earlier. You’re so strong!”

With no ill will felt whatsoever, her compliments made my face flush a bit.

“Mm, I wish I could give you something to repay you, but I don’t have anything with me…” she said, looking dejected.

“No, no, it’s all good. I don’t need anything anyway,” I reassured her.

“B-but… Oh, I know! I’ll take you with me there!”

I guessed she’d made up her mind about something because she started walking forward determinedly.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“My house!” Lenya replied. “We just have to leave the cave first!”

Oh, she had a home here somewhere?

Since she was already making her way towards the cave exit, I got up and followed after her.