Chapter 13: The Young Fox in the Wizard’s Robe

"The opponent excels at using large shields and javelins. It's not suitable for me to use a longsword against them," Winigo replied to Hani's question.

He took a cloth robe from his backpack and draped it over his shoulders, then removed the head of his impact staff and screwed on a new one made of inferior crystal.

Character selection complete, analysis finished... commencing formation. Level 5 Wizard, composition complete!

In the Royal Knights' Side Stories, the wizard excels at four basic elemental attack spells: slow in speed, high in attack, low in defense...

In the Royal Knight system, basic attack spells expand their range from one square to five if "Intelligence" is high enough. In this realistic world, that means a focused strike broadens into a small area attack.

But a level 5 wizard simply can't reach that threshold, unless equipped with a large amount of intelligence-boosting gear. However, Winigo's character build did not include equipment.

"Fire Orb," Winigo murmured, pointing the tip of his staff. The closest ogre warrior was instantly engulfed in flames conjured from the element of fire.

Though only at the level of a fifth-level wizard, it was more than enough to deal with ogres. Those brutes with wooden shields and animal hides were easily set alight.

Winigo need not worry about mana; all his skills consumed only mercury...

One fire orb, one life, and a small, precious glob of mercury. Winigo advanced slowly, unhurried, while beside him the petite priestess Hani gleefully cast spells of fear and frenzy, watching the ogre warriors dash about in chaos.

Suddenly, a buzzing cloud of insects swept in from the side. Without hesitation, Winigo stepped sideways, shielding Hani.

The wizard template from Royal Knights granted strong resistance to elemental damage. Though the ogre shaman used witchcraft, his summoned swarm was actually made of earth elementals. They looked fearsome, but the actual damage was negligible.

Hani squealed and hurried to cast a spell at the shaman. Winigo called out urgently, "Use Frenzy!"

Hani obeyed instantly.

Winigo patted Hani's head—well, her helmet. The wound he'd taken was not serious; the shaman's magic was nearly negligible to him. He had calculated that blocking for Hani minimized the overall harm.

In truth, Hani was the mainstay of the team. Without her mind-affecting divine spells to control the battlefield, even if Winigo were the poacher himself, his mere fifth-level skills would be no match for the swarm of ogre warriors.

Fighting their way forward, Winigo and Hani entered the town within Bootgray Bay. Winigo was curious—how could such a small town survive in such a perilous place?

As the two entered, the town gates slammed shut behind them. The guard at the door immediately held out his hand, demanding an entry fee, clearly ready to expel them if they didn't pay.

Winigo only chuckled; he was not short of money right now, and a single silver coin for entry was well within his means.

"Brother Fox, where do we go now?" Hani asked, bleary-eyed, glancing around. Though the town was small, for Hani, who got lost after just two intersections, it was already too complex.

"First to the Sun Temple, then a stroll through the market," Winigo replied with a smile. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling there's an opportunity for me in this town."

"What kind of opportunity?" Hani asked, eyes wide.

The Sun Temple lay outside the town, on a central island reached only by boat, and to reach the docks, one had to avoid ogre attention.

Because of the ogre threat, business in this town was lackluster. Winigo wandered for a long time and saw little of interest. However, the trinkets he brought fetched a good price.

After all, only one caravan came each month, and with ogres encircling the area, every item sold for at least double its cost to cover the risk.

"Fragrances, five silver coins a bottle; special fibers, one gold coin a bundle; gourmet steaks and other foods..." Winigo recited as he laid his final items on the counter. "A total of one hundred sixty-five silver coins, or sixteen gold coins."

"How can it be so expensive!" the shopkeeper grumbled, his eyes darting with calculation—until they landed on Hani's luxurious gear and the glowing magical badge on her chest.

The badge of Iron Fist Castle!

Everything Winigo offered was crafted through general goods and food preparation skills, items rare in this world. His prices weren't exaggerated, but merchants are always out for profit, and the shopkeeper was hoping for a windfall.

But seeing that badge, the shopkeeper realized that was impossible. He quietly handed over sixteen gold coins at the proper value.

Mercury was an expensive commodity, and Winigo never missed a chance to make money. After inquiring, he learned that Bootgray Bay had no alchemical materials of such quality for sale, but the fine red stone he needed was abundant nearby.

A merchant caravan had brought the stone in as building material to repair the Temple of the Divine Fist, but the temple priests deemed it insufficiently sturdy and dumped it at the docks to sell cheap. When Winigo heard, he hired workers with a cart to bring all the stone back and rented a warehouse for storage.

He closed the door, changed into his alchemist's garb, and activated his character build.

These stones were rich in cinnabar. If the cinnabar's purity reached a certain level, it would become almost crystalline—and its price would multiply hundreds of times. But for refining mercury, the quality here was sufficient.

Skill: Basic Alchemy.

After a night's work, Winigo had refined only half a vial of mercury—just enough to replenish what he'd used, with a bit left over. He shook his head with a wry smile; the efficiency was not unprofitable, but still far from getting rich overnight.

Still, there was plenty of cinnabar ore left in the warehouse. He calculated that with a few more days of effort, he could stockpile about two vials' worth of mercury.

Now, Winigo had a full reagent vial of mercury on him, plus enough to fill his custom pendant—about twenty milliliters.

Once fully prepared, he and Hani set out from the town, needing to cross an open field to reach the dock.

No sooner had Winigo left town than he spotted signs of ogres. Persistent creatures, he mused.

He grinned, glanced back at Hani, and asked, "Shall we take those guys out?"

"Whatever, Hani is so bored," Hani replied lazily, lacking all enthusiasm.

Winigo vigorously ruffled Hani's hair. He was fond of this somewhat scatterbrained but highly capable young girl—sometimes, he instinctively shielded her with his body. Winigo considered himself cold by nature, selfish; he could hardly imagine that one day he would protect someone so reflexively.

Character build: Alchemist.

In Descent of the Mad God, the alchemist is a starter magic class, and thus not strong in combat. Still, Winigo had thought hard about how to make the most of this template to maximize his own fighting strength.

The alchemist’s weapons were reagent vials; different reagents produced different effects—low in power but guaranteed to take effect if they hit. Winigo carried at least three different varieties.

Quicklime to blind, crafted from brittle white stone with the "general goods" skill; instant adhesive to immobilize, made from ooze bought at the apothecary and processed likewise; and poison gas, concocted from a mix of toxic substances.

In Descent of the Mad God, character rules forbid changing equipment during combat, unless one has the "Preparation" skill. From this, Winigo realized that building a character’s level wasn’t the same as in the game—it was a comprehensive evaluation based on base stats, skills, and more.

Winigo had long known that even a level 1 "painting dog" could slaughter divine beasts with the right skills. But this time he discovered that, compared to games like Descent of the Mad God, Royal Knights, and Final Fantasy Tactics—where you could freely switch classes—there was room to exploit the rules.

For example, now he could build an alchemist focused on "Basic Alchemy" with a secondary shooting skill, supported by "Preparation" and the passive "Increased Accuracy." This was a notably higher-rated build than a simple alchemist, and the cost was greater—but it made his tactics much more flexible and powerful.

The right fit is the strongest.

"Well then, let's begin. Hani, take care of yourself," Winigo said.

"Yeah, yeah, Hani’s not a little kid," Hani grumbled in protest.

"But you are, aren’t you?" Winigo chuckled, stepping forward to face the ogre warriors.

A cloth-robed class, advancing on fighter-type foes?

Winigo was unfazed, striding forward as two ogre warriors charged. With a slight smile, he slid his hand along his belt, letting a small reagent vial drop into his hand.

What kind of reagent would make his enemies writhe in agony? What kind would secure victory in a single stroke?

Chapter Fourteen