Inori Cat let out a sigh.
If you were to quantify the results Mobius had brought using data, the newly acquired knowledge would probably look like this:
Basic Honkai Energy Knowledge +3
Biological Genetic Modification Knowledge +3
Honkai Beast and Herrscher Knowledge +27
…
Well… how should she put it?
With the buffs of Pioneer of the Stars, Descender: End, and Base Intelligence 10 stacked together, Inori Cat could barely tell right from wrong in what Mobius was teaching.
Barely, and that was really stretching it.
To put it simply:
The first lesson Snake Doctor taught was like middle school physics. Cat actually understood it pretty well, and Snake Doctor was satisfied.
Then came the second lesson.
The difficulty shot up instantly, skyrocketed, exploded straight into the stratosphere, and turned into something on the level of a world-class physics journal.
Sure, the knowledge went into Cat's brain, but aside from taking up mental storage, it was completely useless. What Cat needed was simpler, more fundamental material.
"Looks like I really have to look things up myself, meow."
Inori Cat shook her head.
All she wanted was to understand the principles of Honkai Energy a bit better so she could grasp Fairy Magic. After all, Fairy Magic was something Elysia had come up with using Honkai Energy.
But what Mobius was teaching was way too advanced.
Herrschers, Judgment-class Honkai Beasts, Emperor-class Honkai Beasts. Inori Cat found all of that fascinating, but it was completely useless to her right now.
If it were not for how pitiful Snake Doctor looked, living on ham sausages and instant noodles, Inori Cat would have left long ago.
"Hmm… helping a destitute, ham-sausage-munching Snake Doctor achieve her dreams for free. Such kindness. I am clearly destined to become an incredible cat in the future."
The lofty mindset of a noble cat lady.
Still…
Inori Cat planned to leave as soon as Mobius finished this lesson. She did not have time to waste.
Time was limited.
She remembered it clearly. Her original self was still lying in the school infirmary. She needed to gather the Honkai Energy data she needed and get back to her original world before the school closed.
Just as that thought crossed her mind.
"Inori-chan, I'm here to save you!"
Elysia burst into the lab with overwhelming momentum.
She familiarly scooped Inori Cat into her arms, then turned to Snake Doctor with a serious expression.
"Mobius, what weird things are you stuffing into my adorable kitty's head?"
Inori Cat: (⊙_⊙)
So fast!
While Elysia was hugging her, Mobius had already swapped out Experimental Records on the Thunder Herrscher's Companion Honkai Beast: Sesha for Advanced Honkai Energy Theory.
"Oh? Is this your cat?"
Interrupted in her research, Mobius scanned Elysia up and down with obvious displeasure, then broke into a provocative smile.
"I think it likes me more. Otherwise, why would it sneak into my lab? Right, cute little kitty?"
"?"
Elysia looked down at the cat in her arms.
Overexposed flaxen fur, icy blue eyes, a gentle yet faintly chilly presence. This could only be Kiyono Inori turned into a cat.
Hmph. No way she would lose.
Elysia believed in their bond. They had both been each other's cats before. That was an unbreakable connection.
And yet.
Inori Cat: (⊙▽⊙)
Inori Cat completely ignored the battlefield of girls.
She stretched her neck as far as it would go, staring intently at the Advanced Honkai Energy Theory Mobius had pulled up, studying it like her life depended on it. This was exactly the knowledge she needed.
But in the next second,
A giant pink piggy face filled her entire field of vision. The girl's expression was more serious than ever.
"Listen up, Inori Cat. Meow once if you like the naughty Doctor Mobius. Meow twice if you like the cutest pink fairy lady in the world."
Elysia blinked her watery eyes.
"Meow meow."
"I like you, I like you. Hurry up and turn me back. I'm studying, meow. Stop messing around, meow."
Inori Cat gave a perfunctory double meow.
Innate Cat Skill Set: Affectionate.
It made her more inclined to cling to others, especially those she was closely connected to, cats summoned from her original world. At the same time, it lowered her rational thinking ability.
So,
She chose Elysia almost without thinking.
"Mm-hmm!" Elysia was over the moon. "See, my dear Mobius? I really am universally adored. Even cats are no exception."
"Hmph…"
Mobius put on an annoyed act.
She had expected this outcome.
After all, the cat was smart, and front-line reports already said the cat was highly dependent on Elysia.
In truth, she had thrown out a question she was guaranteed to lose precisely to buy time to clean up the lab.
During the discussion with the cat earlier, she had pulled up far too many classified documents. She could not let Elysia see those. While Elysia was busy with the meow-once-meow-twice routine, Mobius deleted every single record.
Victory.
But she could not laugh yet. Not now. Holding back her grin, Mobius prepared to wrap up this experiment and seminar.
Through observation, she had more or less figured out what interested the cat and what did not. The cat was very interested in basic Honkai Energy concepts.
Her eyes sparkled every time.
Thanks to the inspiration she had gained from the cat, Mobius decided to build a better relationship with it. She would teach it some foundational Honkai Energy knowledge and, at the same time, keep Elysia occupied.
"You have noticed it, right?" Snake Doctor tilted her head, looking at the pink piggy. "Your cat is extremely intelligent. It can even understand language and knowledge meant only for humans."
"Ah, yeah…" Elysia rubbed her chin against Inori Cat's fluffy head.
Of course it could.
This was not an ordinary cat. It was a cat that used to be a beautiful girl who could turn beautiful girls into cats. It sounded complicated, but that was basically it.
"Hehe. This cat has mysterious power and decent intelligence, so I am running a rather interesting little experiment."
Elysia: (⊙_⊙)
A very bad feeling suddenly crept up on her.
The excluded atmosphere when she burst in, Mobius pointing at the screen with a ruler, the cat craning its head to stare at incomprehensible formulas on the big display.
Could it be that…
These two were not researching a virus to turn all humanity into cats.
And they were not secretly cuddling behind her back.
They were studying.
"Ahaha, something just came up, meow." Elysia reluctantly set Inori Cat down.
Accompany Inori Cat to class, or go home and play on her phone.
Elysia chose the latter without hesitation.
After all, since Kiyono Inori had turned into a cat, as long as she tried hard enough and acted cute, there would always be chances to pet her. But brain cells that died in class were not so easy to recover.
And this was Mobius's class. The most senior scientist of Fire Moth. There was no class in all of Fire Moth harder to understand than Mobius's.
That was what old professors were like, right?
Even when teaching simple material, once they got excited, they would dive into extremely advanced topics that were completely unnecessary in practice.
Then you would not even know what you should or should not learn. In the end, the experienced old professor would force-feed everything into your brain.
The result was dizziness, hollow eyes, and mental burnout that took weeks to recover from.
Just thinking about it made Elysia's head hurt.
"Ahaha."
Mobius laughed. Her snake-like eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
"This is not something you can laugh off, my dear Elysia. If you do not stay, who is going to prove that poor Doctor Mobius did not do anything strange to your cat?"
"Shh, can we switch to someone else?"
"No. Were you not shouting about becoming Doctor Elysia? Perfect timing. Let me see the results of your hard work."
Mobius said it with complete confidence.
"Meow meow!"
"My dear Elysia, stay and study with me, meow."
Inori Cat rubbed against her in a spoiled manner, clearly expressing that sentiment.
Pink piggy: (＃>д<)ノ
This was bad, really bad. How was she supposed to refuse now? Also, was Inori-chan even cuter after turning into a cat? She could not bring herself to say no at all, meow.
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.