"So, what can our newest cat do, other than ignite her paws?" I asked. While I had been talking with Gronir, the others had paid more attention to the cats.

"No idea, but she likes bones." Cassie replied, while feeding the newest glutton in our mix.

"Maybe we should start with a name." Skadi suggested.

"Burning Paws of Doom." Cassie proposed, with a grin.

Helena shook her head. "Paws does not sound menacing enough."

"Maybe we should go for a more normal name?" Hatsaumi said. "Nyx, Yoru, Ivy,... it should fit with the others, right?"

"Different question, but what does a tier three cat know?" Skadi asked. "Like, you knew quite a few things when you were created, Hatsumi."

That was an excellent question. "I have no idea. Hatsumi, any insights?"

"Hm. I suspect they have some inborn powers and know how to use them. They will have to learn actual magic. Their cores feel rather small. I don't think they will be as capable as Nyx, or myself, for a while. They will also have instincts when it comes to hunting and fighting." Hatsumi replied.

"Ok cats, no killing unless it's necessary! Nyx, you know the rules. Teach them, please. And teach them how things work around the school." I instructed her.

Nyx looked at me, then she nodded.

"Hatsumi, please keep an eye on them too, in case they get into trouble. Especially at night." Hopefully they would not go on a rampage, or raid the kitchen.

"I shall do my best." Hatsumi replied.

"So they know what an academy is? And how to behave around people?" Helena asked.

"I am not sure if they know about an academy but there should not be any problems with them randomly attacking people." Hatsumi replied.

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"Hey, are they real cats elevated to tier three, or newly created undead?" Cassie asked.

"I don't know…" I admitted. "Undead can evolve, usually over a longer period of time though. I guess they formed new souls? I don't think you can just make a normal cat a tier three?"

"Just look at them as smarter cats who have some knowledge about the world." Hatsumi suggested. "Have you considered more names? What about Sabrina?"

"Hm. Kind of ordinary. We could at least go for something more exotic." Helena mused.

"Do you know any more names from Kitara? Yoru was your idea." Skadi asked.

"We could also try something with fire!" Cassie suggested.

"What language do they speak in Kitara?" I asked.

"The language is called Kitan and is rather complex." Hatsumi replied. "I believe fire was something like Kasai?"

"Do you speak Kitan?" I asked Hatsumi.

"I have learned a bit, yes. Some of the foxkin in Ilestria speak it as well but most of the country shares our language." Hatsumi replied.

I scratched my head. "Huh. I thought our whole continent spoke the same language."

"There is Dwarvish but most of Thorus speaks Imperial, like everyone else. There is also Elvish, not sure how many elves use it though." Skadi replied.

"We are getting sidetracked again! We need a name." Helena pointed out.

"Kasai works for me." I said.

"Meow." Kasai nodded.

"I guess she likes it too." Cassie pouted. I think she would have preferred a more ridiculous name.

"Hey, do the cats have more powers now? As tier three?" Skadi asked, while petting Ivy.

"Maybe? The cores allow them to cast magic, in theory. But not every monster is a mage. Maybe their cores will tend towards reinforcing their bodies. I guess the inborn powers they already had will become stronger as well. Nyx was already a tier three when I bonded with her and Hatsumi was a rather powerful corpse. The cats are tier three but they won't be on the same level." I replied. "Honestly, their biggest improvement is likely their intelligence, in the short term. They can now properly plan ahead and coordinate their powers with us."

"Do not underestimate the physical benefits the core provides. Their bodies are small so they should improve relatively fast. So far they have focused a lot on evasion, with the mana reinforcing them their skin will be harder to penetrate." Hatsumi pointed out.

"I suppose. We shall have to wait and see." I replied. I also wondered if they would develop the ability to change their size. That would make them a lot deadlier. But maybe that was something only Nyx' species could do.

Meanwhile, Nyx had recovered some of her strength. Her bones looked better again too. My undead heal was not that strong but it certainly helped, at least with surface wounds. Sadly I had no way of really diagnosing an undead. Were there doctors for undead? Maybe I should look more into healing them. My books focused mostly on keeping normal undead going for a bit longer during a battle.

Nyx stretched and then looked at me. She looked hungry.

"We should clean up here and get food, for ourselves and the cats." I suggested.

Suddenly every cat was purring.

Cassie giggled.

"It's good that we have all those chicken bones. We haven't really done many Iron Beaks lately. How about we just feed a bunch of them to the cats?" Skadi suggested.

"Good idea. I wonder if they can use the materials to grow?" Helena mused.

"I am sure the cats will be very willing to try…" I replied.

The cats nodded.

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