Achievement Granted!

  Achievement: My First Neko (Again!)

  Achievement Bonuses: Congratulations on Transforming your first Neko (again!). Unlocks additional Customization options.

  I sighed happily as I dropped into a large round beanbag positioned in front of a gigantic screen. On the screen, my lawyer stood looking confused and lost against a plain black background. A menu of options was listed to her left in pretty pink digital style.

  Above her head, in the same style were the words: Welcome to the Neko Customization Workshop.

  I felt completely relaxed for the first time in two days. Not since spending my time customizing Belly did I feel so relaxed.

  I looked at my current options.

  The usual body and face adjustments.

  Ears.

  Tail.

  Fur.

  I ignored the tattoos and piercings. I didn’t like them. I know lots of people do, but I didn’t. I won’t judge you for your kinks, so don’t judge me for mine. Pure Nekos all the way, please!

  Looking into the fur options, I saw it had indeed changed. It had been expanded.

  Where before the options were mostly simple (ginger, tabby, black), I now had them sorted into different Earth breeds (Siamese, Blue Russian, Tabby, etc.). There was quite a list here and I looked forward to exploring them all.

  There were now also some additional claw options. Mostly just cosmetic.

  And a few more shades of pink in the optional toe and fingerpads. I didn’t often select cat-style feet or hands, but on Rogues they could be helpful.

  The most interesting changes were in the secondary options, where Class options had also changed to reflect my world. While the normal Mage, Warrior, and Rogue options were there, there were also a dozens of additional classes and sub-classes. Everything from Clerk to Special Forces.

  That was nice.

  One thing I’d always loved about my Nekos was sifting through their stats and upgrading them. I remember when one of my favourite Nekos, Jinksie, was upgraded from Rogue to Assassin.

  She’d curled up in my lap for days, purring happily.

  Feeling a fresh wave of warm fuzzies go through me, I stretched my fingers and got to work. My lawyer’s hair had been black, but a little dry. That wouldn’t do. I knew she’d want something shiny and full of life!

  So, I gave her a lush cascade of beautiful black hair. Her eyes, which were naturally blue, I made brighter and more azure in colour. Like the Mediterranean, I thought. She was looking much prettier already.

  Her skin needed smoothing. She also had some drooping, probably due to stress. That was easily fixed. A few adjustments to her nose, and cheeks. Her lips needed a little more, but not too much. I didn’t like that plastic look which is popular on Instagram.

  She let out a yelp as I swiped her clothes away.

  Eyeing her critically, I began toying with the body adjustment sliders. Slimmer waist. Little more boob. The thing I liked most about Neko boobs was how they defied gravity. I hummed happily as I worked on those.

  I removed her pubic hair, save for a small slender strip. There were practical reasons as much as cosmetic for this decision. Some Nekos preferred no hair down there, but I always started with a strip and let them change it later if they wanted.

  No one ever wanted more hair.

  She started yelling as I turned her around so I could get a look at her butt. I switched off the audio. At this stage, it would break my concentration. I needed to get the curves just right so she could be just curvy enough for my tastes while maintaining the agility and grace of a Neko.

  Finally, after a few more tweaks, I turned her around again and started looking at the Neko enhancements. Furry ears were a must. I had them match her black hair and dialled up the inner skin to a bright pink so they looked adorable.

  That was one of my favourite enhancements.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “You look so cute,” I told her. I know she heard me as she started frantically waving to get my attention. I guessed she was real impatient to see me. “It’s alright. It’s nearly done.”

  I added a tail, but not too long. I didn’t expect her to be doing much combat so thought to make it slim and graceful.

  After giving her another critical look over, I made a few more minor tweaks and then moved on. I selected Oriental Shorthair as her breed and moved on to the Class options.

  These weren’t all strictly combat. As I said, she could be a Clerk.

  She had been a lawyer, so I hoped she’d be good at organising things. And researching. That would be good. I opened the options and started checking for what I needed.

  Previously, I would have assigned her the Scribe class and then specialized in Assistant. Scribe wasn’t there anymore. But there was a Personal Assistant.

  Perfect.

  I selected it and moved on.

  Finally, I had to choose her name. It was this part that I usually dreaded and loved with equal measure. What to call her?

  I turned the audio back on.

  “Hello?” I said. “Did you give any thought to what you want to be called?”

  “Bexley? Is that you?”

  “Yes. Yes, it is.” I paused, letting her gather herself. “What name do you want?”

  “I don’t know what is happening to me,” she wailed. “I’ve got a tail, Bexley. Why have I got a tail? Please let me go.”

  “It’s a very cute tail,” I told her. “Do you like it?”

  “Please let me go…”

  “Look, I kind of need to know. What name do you want to be called? And please don’t choose Fluffy. Everybody always wants to be called Fluffy.”

  “Bexley! Let me go!”

  I pursed my lips. “Well. Alright. I’ll choose, then.” I frowned at the screen which blinked gently as it awaited my input. I frowned at my first Neko and waited for inspiration to strike. She needed a nice name. A name which was special and thoughtful. Her black hair looked silky smooth, I thought. Like black silk. My eyes roved up and down her perfect body. I wondered what she’d taste like. “Licorice. That’s your name. You are Licorice.”

  Do you wish to make any changes to Neko Licorice?

  “No,” I told the screen.

  Neko Transformation Initializing.

  Licorice froze as she was suddenly bathed in pink light. She let out one loud scream which faded into a cute high-pitched Neko-style meow at the end. Then she slumped, naked, onto her butt with her head lolling forward.

  “Licorice?” I leaned close to the screen. “Licorice? Are you okay?”

  “Okay?” Her voice was similar to her old voice, but more youthful. A higher pitch. It was like music to my ears. My heart raced as I waited for her final judgment. “I… don’t…”

  There was something in her voice which pulled at my heart, so I clicked the Summon option and she disappeared from the screen and reappeared in front of my bean bang. I slid off and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s going to be okay, my sweet Neko!”

  “Bex-” she grimaced as though tasting something horrible. “Master. Master, I feel…”

  “Yes?”

  “I feel amazing!” She grinned up at me, her white teeth so pearly and her eyes so bright and full of fun. “Oh, God. Look at me. I look cute. So cute. Am I cute?”

  “You are the cutest Neko in the whole wide world,” I told her as I hugged her tight.

  “Really?”

  “Truly.” I held out my hand. “Pinkie swear.”

  Giggling, she grabbed my pinkie and looked up into my eyes. Hers were so big and round. “Master, I was so scared before.”

  “I know,” I told her. “And I’m sorry about that. But before, you were a lawyer.”

  “My job was haaaaard!” She closed her eyes. “I wanted to be a good lawyer. I did. But it’s not like I thought it was going to be. It’s so boring. And everyone’s so mean. I had to work all the time and hardly ever got any sleep. I hated it so much! You’re not going to make me be a lawyer again, are you?”

  “No,” I said, patting her head. “You can be my Personal Assistant instead.”

  “Oh?” She wrinkled her nose in a cute way. “I could do that. I think. I mean, I’ve never done it before, but I’ll try my best.”

  “I know you will.”

  “It’s so strange,” she said softly. “I can almost feel who I was before. Did I change? Am I still me?”

  “Which person do you prefer to be? Licorice or the lawyer?”

  “Licorice,” she said without hesitation.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  I ruffled her hair and got to my feet. “I’m sure it will come to you.”

  “Umm, what are we going to do now, Master?”

  “Well, we’ve finished the Customizing process, so we can go back to where we were.”

  “In the Police Office?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded cheerfully. “Time doesn’t move while we’re in here, so we’ll appear right back where we started.”

  “Won’t that mean they’ll arrest you again? And put you in prison?” She blinked rapidly as fear for my safety made her panic. Nekos were adorable that way. “And what about me? They’ll take me away from you! I don’t want to be taken away! I only just found you!”

  I checked my mana levels and cooldowns. Everything seemed to have reset while I was in here. I sometimes think the Customizing process was a bit of an overpowered cheat. This never stopped me using it, though.

  “It’s okay, Licorice,” I told her, lifting her up into a hug again. I could never resist hugging a Neko at any opportunity. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

  With those words, I selected to end the Customization process.

  There was a blink.

  A flash of light.

  My stomach rolled uncomfortably as nausea swirled through my body like a rainbow wave.

  Licorice, unused to System-inspired Teleportation, wobbled as she appeared next to me in the Interview Room. She looked up at two very confused cops.

  Said; “Excuse me.”

  And vomited all over their nice clean table.

  “Teleportation,” I explained to their shocked faces. “Please forgive her mess. It’s her first time.”

  “Sorry, Master,” she moaned,her hands pressed to her belly.

  “Don’t be silly, Licorice. There’s nothing to be sorry about. It used to happen to me all the time until I got used to it.”

  “Then I’ll try my best to never let it happen again.”

  It’s at that moment that two more cops and someone in a medical outfit arrived. The two cops had their guns out, ready for anything. One of the cops was, to my joy, female. Blonde and slightly chubby. She looked a bit tired, but there was immediate potential. I looked her in the eye and grinned. “Hello, there,” I said, feeling a wave of almost predatory joy. “Do you know what name you’d like to be called?”

  The female cop looked from me to the little cop, whose eyes suddenly widened. He went for the gun nestled under his shoulder.

  I lifted my hand and, once more, spoke my favourite words. “Transform to Neko.”

  Everything went pleasantly black.