Finally, Saturday! Her day off!
Claire sprang out of bed, bursting with energy. In one swift motion, she threw open the curtains. Sunlight poured in, catching the glossy sheen of her long, blonde hair and lighting up her beaming face.
She stretched with a contented sigh, inhaling the crisp morning air. The scent of dew and the geraniums she'd planted on the balcony filled her with delight.
"Ahhh~ This is amazing!"
Lisa had been right: those geraniums were a stroke of genius. They burst with brilliant color, and their fragrance was a playful mix of rosy sweetness and citrusy zest. Claire let her gaze drift past the floral display, down toward the park below.
Already, it was alive with a weekend bustle. There were joggers on the paths, people stretching, others walking their dogs. At the nearest corner, morning food vendors were setting up, the tempting smells of hot dogs and bacon mingling in the air. Nearby, a boombox blasted the newest trending hip-hop songs while a dancer showed off some impressive moves.
Claire leaned on the balcony railing, relishing the gentle breeze that ruffled her hair. The weather was perfect: not too cold, not too warm, with a vast blue sky dotted by just some tiny lazy wisps of cloud.
It was, without a doubt, the perfect day to step outside, soak up the sun, and touch some green, fresh, beautiful blades of grass.
Maybe even meet someone special and go on an amazing date too.
However…
Claire had no interest in such things.
"Alright, that's enough of the outside world!" the girl grinned.
She stepped back and "Heyaaa!", shouted cutely and yanked the curtains shut, plunging her apartment into a cozy darkness once more.
And then, within minutes, she had brushed her teeth, washed her face, brewed a mug of black hazelnut flavor coffee, and devoured an old muffin in her fridge which had been there since Monday. She paused only to give Charcoal—her roommate's cat—a quick pet on the head before filling his bowl.
With Charcoal happily munching away, Claire waltzed into her room and plopped into her gaming chair, sinking into its familiar cushions. A tap of her toe powered on her PC, the RGB lights danced to life as she stretched languidly, arching her back like a contented cat.
When the monitor flickered on, her whimsical desktop wallpaper appeared: a tiny-winged, snow-white cat that was almost too cute to handle.
"Aww, good morning, Marshmallow! You're adorable as always!" Claire cooed at her digital pet. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, entering her password.
"All right! Time to grind some dungeons and evolve Taffy and Marshmallow!" she declared. "Hell yeah, I can't wait to see what skills they'll get!"
And after logging in, she clicked on the familiar icon of a chibi Goddess flashing a radiant smile. The game launched, transitioning to a loading screen: a celestial doorway suspended in a starry sky, a staircase leading up to it. Light, upbeat music played, and Claire found herself swaying to the tune.
"Oh! I should invite Lisa, too," she thought aloud, reaching for her phone and opening Thiscord. "I wonder if she's off today…"
The loading bar ticked forward.
90%
95%
100%.
A low rumble sounded as the heavenly door swung wide.
With a single click, Claire's character stepped through, reentering the expansive fantasy world she knew and loved so well.
_____________________________
Arventia Online.
That was the name of the game, a groundbreaking MMORPG developed by the gigachad game developers in Korea.
A few years ago, the genre was thought to be on its last legs. MMORPGs had once ruled the gaming world ten, twenty years ago, but slowly, their magic faded. Despite dozens of new titles coming out every year, none of the new releases could become successful. One flopped after another, until the market was left barren, and players moved on.
Until that one fateful day, out of nowhere, Arventia Online was launched.
And it changed everything.
From the moment it hit the store, it was an instant success, it was everything an MMORPG fan had ever dreamed of.
Impossible graphics and arts beyond anything seen before.
A vast, breathtaking open world that could take thousands of hours to fully explore.
Combat that was fast, fluid, and exhilarating.
The leveling and class system was interesting.
And then, the final nail in the coffin…
It was free to play.
Yes.
Free To Play!
No pay-to-win mechanics, no intrusive monetization, no gambling!
Just pure gaming bliss, with only cosmetic microtransactions for those who wanted them.
No wonder Claire was so hooked.
From the moment she started playing, every other game lost its appeal. By the end of her first session, she had dropped everything else. No more backlog, no more switching between games, just Arventia Online.
And now, years had passed.
Yet, she was still here.
Still playing.
Still loving every moment.
It's like… the game was her second life now, and the character had become her new identity. And Claire… despite being a female gamer, was actually one of Arventia's best players.
Guild Master of the Number one Guild in North America.
The strongest Beast Master in the entire world ranking.
And all across Arventia, her name had become legendary and famous.
ShadowWhizkersz_2603
Title: Queen of the Legendary Beasts.
——————————————
Many, many hours later…
"HELL YEAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The room rumbled with the triumphant, diabolical scream of a dedicated gamer girl.
Taffy, a legendary divine dragon, and Marshmallow, a legendary angelic cat, had both successfully evolved and reached their newest evolution forms - 10 stars magical beasts.
With this, everything was now perfectly prepared for the next raid, which was added very recently. Apparently, no guild in the entire world had cleared it yet.
However, as Claire glanced at the clock…
"What? It's already… 4 AM?" she exclaimed, her face horrified.
And not only that…
"IT'S FREAKING MONDAY?!!!"
Urrrgghhh!!!!
NOT AGAIN!
The girl suddenly felt her soul leaving her body.
Honestly… just how many hours had this game addict spent playing?
Even she couldn't believe it herself.
Well, the boss had been ridiculously hard to kill, and the drop rate for the last legendary material needed for her high level pet ascension was insanely low! That was why she had to retry so many times, wasted so many hours grinding the same boss over and over again.
"Damn it… I have work in just three hours!!!" Claire cursed under her breath and looked at her bed.
"Hmm… should I sleep? Or should I eat something first?"
Her stomach was rumbling like a thunderstorm, but her eyelids felt like they could no longer kept their shape.
"I guess… I should eat some cup ramen then go to sleep… I'm tired."
However…
The moment she stood up, she felt it.
The blood rushed away from her brain, causing an overwhelming dizziness.
…
"Fuck… I don't feel so good."
Her legs shook violently.
Her vision blurred, and the world began to spin.
Her body lost balance.
She fell.
And then…
There was only black.
—————————————
As Claire's eyes fluttered open, a wave of disorientation crashed over her. This wasn't her room. The familiar walls, the soft bedding was gone. Instead, she lay sprawled atop a glowing surface, a circle etched with some kind of luminous paint. The light pulsed beneath her, casting her surroundings in an eerie, bright red glow.
"What?" she murmured, her voice thick with sleep. "What… is going on?"
Then, like a thunderclap, reality slammed into her.
The walls.
The intricate, glowing patterns.
The flickering candles.
The emblem.
Her pulse spiked, her heart racing.
Because she had seen the emblem before.
House of Silvervein, the most prestiged Clan of Beast Masters in all of Arventia Online!
And she, for some reason, was now inside a beast summoning chamber!
But that wasn't the worst part.
Claire's breath hitched as her gaze lifted. There were now towering figures loomed over her, their imposing silhouettes clad in ritual robes. They stared down at her, and there was disbelief in all of their expressions.
Her stomach twisted.
Because those humans…
They were enormous.
"AAAA!!! WHY THE HELL ARE GIANT PEOPLE SURROUNDING ME?!" she shrieked.
Or at least, she tried to.
Because what actually came out was—
"MEOOW?!?!"
A horrified silence stretched between her and the gathered people.
Another frantic attempt to say something…
"MEOOOOOOOOOOW?!?!"
No. No, no, no.
Panic gripped her chest like a vice. She stumbled back, only to realize something even worse.
She wasn't standing. She was crawling.
Her breath turned shallow.
What?
Why am I on all fours?
A sickening dread settled in her stomach. Slowly, hesitantly, she looked down at her hands.
Except… there were no hands, no fingers, no palms.
Just paws.
Small, delicate paws with soft, beanie-like pads.
Meanwhile, black, thick, silky fur covered every inch of her body.
Her blood ran cold.
"…Fuck."
She muttered instinctively, but once again —
"Meow."
That was the only sound that came out of her tiny, curvy little mouth.
Her heart pounded against her ribs.
Oh shit…
Is this…
Is this what I think it is???
She had read stories like this, played games with similar premises. So, it didn't take long for her to realize exactly what had happened.
She must have died. Maybe she'd gamed herself to death. Who knew? The cause of death didn't matter anyway, because now…
Now, she was reincarnated.
As… what, exactly?
Her ears twitched, her tail bristled.
"What? Noctifelis?" She let out an incredulous yowl. "Why the hell am I a Noctifelis now?!"