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Chapter 17 - Puss in Boots
🕑 Added 2025-03-30 12:42:17 +0000 UTCAfter the celebration ended, Puss stood in front of the old orphanage mirror, with Imelda and Humpty by his side.
This world confused Puss a little since it didn't seem right for the medieval era to have a glass mirror that was accessible to the poor. But considering there were toilets and a sewer system, he didn't think too much about it.
'Estoy en el universo de Shrek, I need to remember not to use common sense… Just like me, a cat, getting boots. But one thing I have to admit…'
He thought, looking at himself in the mirror. There, a handsome cat—though slightly smaller than a normal one—stood, wearing beautiful boots, a belt, and a hat, along with a fine sword at his waist.
'... I look good!' He thought, excited and happy to finally be Puss in Boots in the truest sense of the word.
Stepping away from the mirror to let Humpty admire his new golden look, Puss moved aside.
Getting used to walking in boots felt a little strange at first. The boots were very comfortable, and the hat as well, but he felt something odd in his heart.
After a year of walking barefoot, it felt weird to lose direct contact with the ground. Another thing he had to adjust to was the hat covering his cat ears—though fortunately, it didn't seem to muffle his senses.
Crouching down and pressing the front of the boot, Puss found it strange—it felt empty. After all, his paw wasn't a real foot; it only filled a little over half the space inside.
'That must be why Puss hid a sack of coins in his boot without feeling uncomfortable with a pouch pressing against his foot.' He thought, testing further.
He lifted his paw with the boot and shook his leg, but despite the apparent looseness, the boot didn't even threaten to fall off, no matter how much he shook.
Stopping, he placed his paw back on the ground, relaxed it, then lifted it again. This time, it slipped out of the boot easily.
He then put it back in just as effortlessly and took off his hat. He could hear the birds singing outside perfectly fine. Putting the hat back on, he still heard them just as clearly.
He nodded wisely to himself, as if confirming something.
'De hecho, as expected, nothing makes sense.'
No longer concerned with the lack of physics in this world, he turned his gaze to Humpty, who was now dressed in gold with a wide smile on his face. Humpty looked at Imelda for approval, and she nodded gently with a warm smile, approving his new look.
'A bit too golden, but it suits him.' Puss thought, amused by the scene.
Then, eager to update his talents, Puss stopped hesitating.
"Mamá, Humpty, I have something to do. I'll be going first." He said, and before they could react, he leaped out the window on all fours and kept running, getting used to the new sensation of running in boots.
"Wait! Puss!" Humpty apparently wanted to say something, but since he reacted too late, Puss was already gone.
Imelda simply watched in silence and patted Humpty's back—or head, or whatever it was—in comfort.
…
Puss quickly reached the city's bell tower and checked if anyone was there. Seeing it was empty, he entered calmly and removed his belt with the sword, cape, hat, and, of course, boots.
Now "naked" again, he lay on the ground like an ordinary cat and accessed his panel.
[Host: Puss in Boots
Age: 1 year
Status: 9 Lives Remaining
Talents:
Mutant Cat (Gold): Level 2 (Evolvable)
Natural Swordsman (Gold): Level 2 (Evolvable)
Furry Lover (Silver): Level 0
Lucky Feline (Silver): Level 7 → Level 8
Equipment:
Leather Belt (No Rank)
Corinthian Boots (No Rank)
Musketeer Hat (No Rank)
Black Cape (No Rank)
Cheshire Sword (Bronze)]
'This panel is getting too big. Can I minimize something?'
He thought, and by manipulating the panel with his intention, he suddenly managed to do it.
[Host: Puss in Boots
Age: 1 year
Status: 9 Lives Remaining
Talents:
- Mutant Cat (Gold): Level 2 (Evolvable)
- Natural Swordsman (Gold): Level 2 (Evolvable)
- Furry Lover (Silver): Level 0
- Lucky Feline (Silver): Level 7 → Level 8
Equipment: (+)]
'Woh! It worked. Good! Now let me see… Hmm… Lucky Feline leveled up again. Must be because I became the town's hero and got the boots. Speaking of which, I'll pick up the original boots and hat from mamá later. Even if they're worn out like she said, they still have sentimental value for me, so I'll keep them as relics.' Puss thought and then remembered something.
The boots he was referring to were the original ones Puss was supposed to receive, but since he improved the orphanage's condition, he ended up getting much higher-quality, brand-new boots and a hat instead. However, the originals were still with Imelda.
Shaking his head to clear distracting thoughts, he clicked on the evolution option for Mutant Cat without further hesitation.
After a few seconds of silence, the pain hit suddenly.
"Rrrhhh!!" He growled, enduring the pain.
The process repeated itself once again.
Puss began to grow slightly; his fur became softer, his strength increased, his senses sharpened, and finally, his claws became even deadlier and sharper. It was essentially the same strengthening process as last time.
'Damn, it still hurts a lot!' Puss complained after the quick but painful process was over.
He then analyzed himself. Observing the subtle yet powerful muscles in his body and his even more handsome appearance, Puss nodded in satisfaction.
Extending his claws, they seemed a little longer, shinier, and crystalline. They were beautiful claws.
After examining himself a bit more and testing his senses, he stopped and walked toward his clothes while thinking.
'I still have a lot to test. I can't precisely measure my real strength now… Well, let's put Humpty to work and have him create some machines to calculate strength and speed, tools to help with muscle training, and some moving obstacle courses for reaction training…'
An apparently endless list was forming in his mind to request his egg-shaped friend to build. If Humpty knew what awaited him, his happy smile would probably freeze.
'Besides, with my memories clearer than daylight, I remember perfectly a fan-made timeline about Shrek that I read once. According to it, the original Puss fled San Ricardo at fifteen, which must be accurate—after all, in the movie, he did say he was a teenager when he left…'
Puss thought while picking up his belt from the ground, along with his other things. Fastening the buckle around his waist, his sword gleamed slightly under the San Ricardo sun.
'Though I'm not fixated on leaving only when I turn fifteen, I still have a lot I want to learn and train before I go. First of all—dancing! I'll lose a lot of my charm if I don't know how to dance! Second, playing the guitar! I know so many songs from my world, it would be sad if I could only sing.'
Slipping his fine leather boots back on, he tapped the toe of his right boot against the ground a few times to adjust them better.
'Not only that, but since I'll be an adventurer, I have to learn how to gamble and, of course, cheat! How can I be a good adventurer if I get cheated in games instead of the other way around? Well, there are a few other things, but these are the most important for now.'
Grabbing his cape from the ground, he swung it over his shoulders with a graceful motion. Letting it fall smoothly onto his back, he held the cape's brooch, which was shaped like a cat's head with green eyes—very similar to the one Puss wore in his second movie.
Fastening the cape's ends around his neck with the brooch, he slowly bent down, picked up his hat from the ground, and placed it over his lowered head.
Rising slowly, lifting both his body and head, his face came into view. A sly smile, with one corner of his lips raised higher than the other, was present.
His complete look was that of a handsome adventurer cat—but not just any adventurer. He was…
"HA!" He shouted and hopped back, unsheathing his sword.
"I am Puss in Boots!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
With three precise slashes, a clear letter "P" appeared on the beam of the tower. His sword, after the cuts, was pointed forward, as if challenging all who saw it.
His rough, deep voice, tinged with a hint of audacity, echoed through the San Ricardo bell tower.
"Fear me… if you dare!"
