Chapter 11: The Bold Young Fox

Vinego was already able to immerse himself in the role of Cress. The initial waves of nausea and revulsion were soon replaced by a surge of heroism rising from the depths of his heart.

Suddenly, Vinego became alert.

Role immersion required understanding the character’s thoughts and attempting to blend oneself into them. However, with each instance of immersion, Vinego still needed to maintain his own core self. When the battle was over, he had to decisively break free from the character and return to his own existence as Vinego.

Otherwise, his sense of self would gradually fade, possibly to the extent that he’d become addicted to a particular role and lose himself entirely.

At that point, would Vinego still be Vinego?

He charged into the enemy ranks, his longsword flashing with unstoppable momentum. Yet, within, Vinego’s own will was contending against that of Cress.

It was a delicate balance—close, but never fully merged. He had to experience Cress’s will without letting it consume him. This was no easy task, but, fortunately, Vinego possessed a unique treasure.

The Mirror of Self, his left eye that could perceive the intricate details of his being, allowed Vinego to “see” his own mind, carefully regulating the balance between his will and that of Cress.

Under this equilibrium, the Cress that Vinego embodied could perform at the highest level.

Through the Mirror of Self, Vinego could see that, under the same conditions, the closer his own will aligned with Cress’s, the greater his abilities became. Likewise, the more his attire matched that of the character he embodied, the stronger his performance.

He also saw that, as he slew more enemies, the lizardfolk and the Lambsong cultists grew increasingly terrified of him.

Speaking of which, Honey’s fear spell seemed to amplify this effect... As a result, Vinego found himself pleasantly surprised by how efficiently he was accumulating experience.

With Honey’s help, Vinego swiftly cleared out the entire troop of lizardfolk archers and Lambsong cultists. The “experience points” he gained propelled him up several levels.

According to the Mirror of Self, Vinego was now level 5. Assuming the Cress who could wield the Demon Sword was at LV2, the Cress Vinego could now embody was one with increased strength and speed, capable of using the Swallow Kick.

Vinego understood that the role level he achieved wasn’t simply a direct reference to the character’s level in the game. Rather, it was a comprehensive assessment of the character’s combat and production capabilities, resulting in an overall evaluation—a “level,” so to speak.

Or perhaps it could be called a combat rating. Whatever the name, it was essentially a numerical estimate of strength.

For example, if the in-game LV1 Cress was equipped with the secret technique of the Yarbein School—Abyssal Sky-Slashing Sword—his rating would not be much lower than that of an LV10 Cress who possessed only the Demon Sword and Swallow Kick.

The last lizardfolk leader fell beneath his blade.

Vinego let out a breath, sheathed his sword, removed his headband, tucked it into his pack, and turned to give Honey a thumbs-up.

“Hee hee! Honey is the best!” Honey said smugly.

“Yes, very impressive,” Vinego replied carelessly.

“What now?” Honey tilted her head curiously.

“We’ll rest for a bit. Then, I’ll play with you.”

A few minutes later, after a short rest, Vinego transformed once more into Scavenger Meow, roughhousing with Honey as they scavenged the battlefield.

Gold coins, silver coins, even copper coins. Cheap decorative rings, the occasional magical ring, potion ingredients...

“Honey, let’s find an inn in the lower town for the night, then ask around at Ironfist Castle. With gear like yours, you’re almost certainly a noble,” Vinego suggested.

“No rush! Honey still wants to play with Big Brother Vinego!” Honey leapt over, pinching Vinego’s feline cheeks.

“Don’t pull my face...” Vinego protested, trying to pin Honey beneath him. But despite being a little girl, Honey’s gear gave her enough strength to send Vinego’s small body spinning in circles.

Wait, did I just say something strange?

In Ironfist Castle, Vinego wandered aimlessly through the streets with Honey in tow.

He still had enough mercury for a while, so he considered buying some things to make a little money.

But how to earn it?

The Inventor’s Workshop—Nanoka. For this role, Vinego needed a princess dress and a ram-headed staff...

Dressed in a skirt, Vinego imagined strolling through town hand in hand with Princess Honey. Hm, it sounded rather fun. In fact, he didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed. He had actually prepared the outfit.

Role selected, analysis complete... Reconstruction commencing. Level five Nanoka, ready!

A staff carved from a solid block of wood, an inexpensive wooden pole, a splendid princess dress, and a face pure and innocent... Who would suspect that such a lovely girl concealed such a character within?

“Wow, so pretty—Vinego has turned into a big sister!” Honey shrieked.

“Don’t make a fuss.” Vinego, now in Nanoka mode, tilted his head slightly and poured out his recent acquisitions from his pack.

Nanoka could use Food Processing, General Goods Crafting, and Mechanical Crafting, all at the cost of mercury. Though it worked a bit differently from the game, it still allowed her to invent strange items, changing the properties of materials according to mysterious rules.

Rather than invention, it was closer to a form of alchemy.

But it was very useful, as Nanoka often “invented” peculiar yet practical items. Though this world wasn’t the same as the game, Vinego was eager to explore what this skill could achieve.

He took some herbs suitable for mixing single-color potions and applied Food Processing. A tiny drop of mercury vanished from his fingertip, and the herbs in his hand instantly melded together, forming a lump of tricolored, clay-like substance.

Soon, the lump solidified into a jelly-like consistency. Vinego sampled it briefly... then handed it to Honey.

Honey, bewildered, pinched off a small piece, bit into it, let out a shriek, and dove for him.

Vinego deftly whisked the tricolored jelly away.

“What was that? What was that just now?!” Honey exclaimed, excited.

“It’s simple. Do you know about blessing potions?” Vinego asked.

“Of course,” Honey nodded.

“This is the weakest form of a blessing potion,” Vinego explained.

“That’s not what Honey was asking—what a delicious treat!” Honey protested.

So that was it. He should have realized that a little girl’s thoughts would differ from those of ordinary people. Vinego nodded, but still didn’t give her the jelly.

He repeated the process several times, and after using up all his herbs, he had several different types of tricolored jelly. After a moment’s thought, he decided not to sell them as potions, but to keep them as reserves in his pack.

Next, Vinego brought out some purchased tools and used General Goods Crafting.

Clearly, Nanoka’s invention ability wasn’t entirely under control. Even with the Mirror of Self constantly observing every detail, Vinego discovered that, even when using identical materials and performing identical actions—even down to the minutest detail—the final result could still be completely different.

For example, with the same metal sheet and wooden handle, he might produce a pot or a broad-bladed sword. The good news was that Nanoka’s inventions usually turned out to be much better than the original items.

However, considering the mercury cost, Vinego realized getting rich this way was impractical.

“Wow, wow, wow! All these things—so amazing!” Honey’s eyes sparkled as she watched Vinego conjure various gadgets out of thin air, thoroughly delighted.

“All right, preparations are finished. Honey, any plans?” Vinego asked.

“Plans? What are those? Honey doesn’t know,” Honey replied, blinking in confusion.

Of course. This little girl never seemed to consider questions like “what’s next?” She acted entirely on instinct.

“In that case, let’s clear out all the monsters around Ironfist Castle,” Vinego said with a smile. “It might do some good.”

“Yay, let’s do it! But Honey’s divine arts aren’t very strong.” Honey began counting on her fingers. “Projectile spell, heartstopper... and they all use up a lot.”

“It’s fine. Just use your fear and frenzy spells—that’s enough,” Vinego replied. “The most important thing is to keep yourself safe.”

“Don’t worry, Honey is very powerful,” Honey said, patting her breastplate.

Monster clearing, leveling up. That’s what Vinego wanted.

Of course, this would also raise his reputation at Ironfist Castle. Even if that wasn’t very useful, this was a real world, not a game. Reputation could prove quite valuable if properly leveraged.

Prince Nikola, Earl Wilber—if he could win the favor of these two, the road ahead would be much smoother.

Let’s begin.

Although Vinego could, in theory, construct an endless array of roles, each required a distinctive token: Cress’s headband and longsword, Nanoka’s impact hammer and long dress, the alchemist’s robes and potion vials.

What was his plan?