Of course, the skill didn't actually turn Liam's feet into cat paws.
It simply gave his feet the abilities of a cat's—allowing him to jump incredibly high and run at extreme speed.
It seemed like a simple skill, but it was rated as an A Tier Skill because a cat's jumping height and running speed were far beyond average.
With his current 3.8 Agility, using this skill allowed him to run up to three times faster and jump up to five times higher.
Unless he was careless like that cat earlier, he could basically dodge even lightning-fast attacks.
He decided to test it, and the result exceeded his expectations.
Before, he could only jump slightly over 3 meters—perhaps over 4 meters after his recent progress.
But now, with just a casual jump, he soared over 20 meters into the air.
Lisa and Melly, who were still fighting nearby, were both shocked by how high he jumped.
BANG!
He landed heavily, smiling faintly.
'It does seem to consume a lot of stamina though. No wonder cats usually tire quickly,' he thought, noticing the skill's drawback, though it wasn't too troublesome.
After all, he didn't have to use the skill all the time during battles.
He reached out his hand and summoned his red portal to call forth the Orange Cat.
Since it was a Boss Monster, of course he had to make it fight alongside him.
However, when the Orange Cat appeared, Liam noticed that it seemed reluctant to bow to him.
It even appeared to hold a grudge.
But there was an invisible force compelling it to submit.
Seeing the Orange Cat now serving Liam like itself, the Black Rat finally dared approach, even seeming to smile.
Liam couldn't blame the rat for its fear of cats—it was simply part of its nature.
"Perhaps I should give you both names," he said, looking at the cat and the rat.
He pondered what names to choose from his ideas.
"You'll be Simba from now on," he said to the Orange Cat, finally deciding on names for the two creatures.
"And you'll be Milo," he added while looking at the Black Rat.
Neither of them could object to the names he gave; they simply nodded in agreement.
'I wonder if there's anything stronger than a Boss Monster,' he thought.
Boss Monsters seemed equivalent to Meta Zombies, but Liam felt they weren't that special—there had to be something even stronger.
Since he had reached Level 6, fewer zombies and monsters could help him level up. Even Level 6 was becoming rare, let alone Level 7.
He watched Lisa and Melly continue fighting. They were being pushed back toward the large house, but since they were merely cornered and not overwhelmed, Liam didn't step in. They needed training in difficult situations.
Not long after, he noticed another group of students arriving—it seemed they too had encountered trouble with Joel and Anthony.
Liam waited a bit longer to allow his condition to fully recover.
Once he felt ready and the rain had completely stopped, he signaled to Lisa and Melly to return.
They seemed to have just leveled up again, so they were satisfied and had no problem accepting his invitation to return to the fortress.
Liam mounted Simba, the Orange Cat, and invited Lisa, Melly, and Alice to ride with him.
The Orange Cat, proud as ever, could only suppress its frustration as Liam and the others climbed onto its back.
They then headed toward the school.
Behind them trailed numerous zombies carrying refrigerators and various kitchen supplies—a strange sight that puzzled the other students.
The journey back was entirely uneventful.
They arrived at the school in no time.
Liam noticed more zombie and frog corpses scattered around the school grounds, while only a few remained alive.
From what he observed, the students—including Alex—were fighting some distance from the school but still within sight.
On top of the fortress, he spotted Joel and Anthony, using binoculars to scan the surroundings.
Right beside them was Carlos, the little boy, lying comfortably on the lap of a beautiful blonde woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, wearing formal trousers and a white shirt.
The woman was one of his followers. She seemed very fond of the boy.
Not only was she allowing him to rest his head on her lap, but she was also gently massaging his head.
"This kid really sees himself as the big boss," Lisa said, clearly annoyed at the sight.
Melly reacted more calmly. As someone who had already worked in an industry, she seemed accustomed to people with power acting however they pleased.
And with supernatural power, it became even easier for some to assert their dominance over others.
Had it not been for her awareness of this—and nearly becoming a victim of Anthony herself—Melly figured she might still be overwhelmed by her fear of zombies and monsters.
She glanced briefly at Liam, wondering if he would one day become like that too as his strength continued to grow.
Joel and Anthony soon noticed Liam's return.
Seeing that he had even more forces now—zombies and monsters following him, not just one rat but also a massive Orange Cat—they looked slightly pressured for a moment, but then jealousy filled their eyes.
When Carlos heard that Liam had returned, he quickly sat up and looked toward the back of the school.
His shock was even greater than Joel and Anthony's.
'Maybe I should just head into the school building,' Liam thought, feeling too lazy to enter the fortress.
He saw that the school building was now safe. Though somewhat damaged, it was very spacious.
After some thought, he signaled the zombies carrying the kitchen supplies to take everything up to the second floor of the school building.
"Master, I have good cooking experience. If you wish, I can prepare meals for you," Alice suddenly offered as she looked at the zombies.
Although she was obligated to obey him, Liam was slightly surprised that she proactively offered her help without being asked.
Unconsciously, he nodded.
Of course, it was better to let a woman handle the cooking since he wasn't very skilled at it himself.
Alice immediately followed the zombies upstairs.
"Liam, I'll go help her," Lisa said.
She dismounted from the Orange Cat and followed Alice.
As someone who had been invited to her house to be friends with her, she seemed to still feel a sense of friendship towards her and did not want her to do the kitchen work herself.
Meanwhile, Melly remained standing beside Liam.
"I don't know how to cook," the woman said as Liam glanced at her.