Chapter 80: The Young Fox Who Abducted the Little Wolf Princess

Clearly, like Honey, the little she-wolf was fundamentally a lollipop-loving little girl who could be lured away with a single sweet. Once more, a few pieces of tricolored candy appeared between Vinniegar’s fingers, swaying temptingly. It was obvious—the little she-wolf and Honey nodded, shook their heads, and twirled in sync with Vinniegar’s motions.

“Can you understand me?” Vinniegar asked, “Come with me.”

“Too weak,” the little she-wolf frowned and replied in a delicate voice.

“Too weak? Want to fight?” Vinniegar grinned.

He extended his hand, and a round shield materialized in his grasp. His helmet, gloves, and bodysuit were already prepared. With just a thought, Vinniegar could activate his imaginary construction.

Divine power infused! Character selection confirmed, analysis complete... Reconstruction beginning. Level 31—Captain America, construction complete!

The little she-wolf’s eyes widened as she stared in astonishment at her opponent, who had suddenly grown much larger. While she was still dazed, Vinniegar showed no mercy and swung his shield directly at her.

Limit... breakthrough! Vinniegar could distinctly feel that, although it was only a single level increase, with the infusion of divine power, this Captain America was far closer to his own “vision.”

The little she-wolf sprang up, planting both feet fiercely on the shield to vault herself into the air, twisting twice mid-leap to pounce at Vinniegar’s back, her claws slashing ruthlessly at his neck.

Without turning, Vinniegar lunged forward, kicking his foot upward to meet her swipe with a heavy clash.

The little she-wolf yelped in pain, leaping aside to nurse her paw, glaring at Vinniegar with ferocity. Vinniegar stood, smiled at her, and gave his shield a playful spin.

Silver Slash!

Faster. Stronger. The dual enhancements didn’t just increase his attack power—they made Vinniegar’s movements more fluid and harder to counter.

The shield swept toward her, and with a shrill cry, the little she-wolf darted aside, zigzagging before shooting like an arrow at Vinniegar’s left flank. Vinniegar met her with his empty left hand, clashing with her claws.

Clearly, her claws were more vicious than his fists; she left a long gash on his left arm.

But Vinniegar didn’t even glance at the wound. Instead, with a swift motion, he grabbed her paw.

Once caught, the little she-wolf’s extraordinary speed was useless.

Yet her reflexes were faster than Vinniegar anticipated. With a twist, she yanked her arm free just before his grip tightened, slashing another wound along his arm in passing.

“Amazing speed, plenty of power—just lacking combat experience...” Vinniegar said with a chuckle, crouching low, eyes fixed on the little she-wolf.

Under the scrutiny of his Eye of Insight, the little she-wolf felt her skin crawl. She growled, lowering her stance to prepare for a pounce.

But before she could move, Vinniegar surged forward.

Stellar Charge!

Enraged, the little she-wolf mirrored his move.

Rapid Dash!

But she was too riled by Vinniegar’s taunting. Though her speed outstripped his, she was still slightly weaker, and, after all, Vinniegar was wielding a heavy steel shield!

The collision sent the little she-wolf flying. Before she could land, a gleaming Silver Slash chased her down, sending her crashing into a corner.

“Ultimate—Star-Spangled Banner!” Vinniegar shouted, leaping upwards, catching his returning shield mid-air, and with three consecutive swings, battered her higher and higher. With the final strike, he launched himself up, smashing the little she-wolf into the ceiling, and, hanging in the air for a moment, gave her a wicked grin.

“How about that?” Vinniegar pressed her down, pinning her to the floor.

“Who are you?” she blinked up at him and asked in return.

Vinniegar said nothing, pulling a thin cord from his pouch to tie her thumbs behind her back before releasing the character construct.

“What did you just say?” he asked softly, running his hand through her long hair.

“Where did that man go?” she blinked her red eyes.

“That was me,” Vinniegar answered.

“Liar, he was obviously taller and stronger,” she pouted.

“Can’t your fingers turn into claws?” Vinniegar grinned. “I just changed a bit more than you did.”

“Still weak,” she muttered, pouting again.

“But I beat you,” Vinniegar laughed, pinching her cheeks, unable to deny how pleasant it felt.

“I’ll bite you! I’ll bite you to death!” she shrieked, but Vinniegar held her mouth, pulling her cheeks into all sorts of funny expressions.

In the end, the little she-wolf finally surrendered under the tyranny of his face-squishing, bowing her head in defeat.

“Do you have a name?” Vinniegar asked, patting her on the head.

“I will be the future Queen of Wolves, so... let’s go with Arcana. Yes, that’s a good name,” she declared, naming herself with pride, “Arcana Fang!”

“All right, Arcana it is.” Vinniegar stroked her hair, and she closed her eyes, wearing a blissful look like a dog being petted.

“Let’s go. We’re having barbecue tonight,” Vinniegar announced.

Through this battle, Vinniegar gained a deeper understanding of his abilities. Facing an opponent like Arcana, he hadn’t even gone all out. As he sparred with her, he watched himself through the Mirror of Self.

Divine power infusion was a necessary prerequisite for constructing any character rated level 30 or above. Characters built with this infusion enjoyed all-around performance boosts and gained powerful special abilities.

—For example, Captain America’s ability to ricochet attacks with his shield.

We might call these “fantasy abilities.” Every powerful character had a corresponding fantasy ability—a trump card that could overturn the odds.

“Fox brother, do you like that strange woman?” Honey tugged at Vinniegar’s sleeve, asking timidly.

“Where did you get such odd ideas?” Vinniegar smiled wryly. “Don’t you think she’d make a great ally?”

“Don’t we already have Sophie?” Honey blinked her large blue eyes.

“Sophie is a mighty warrior—or rather, a rock-solid knight. But Arcana is an excellent scout, assassin, and recon; we need that kind of help, too. And besides, she’s easy to please...” Vinniegar sighed.

Indeed, a little girl who could be bribed with a single lollipop was certainly easy to keep.

But Arcana’s appetite could out-eat the three of them combined. She could polish off an entire lamb nearly her own size and still look unsatisfied.

Vinniegar had taken the Pure Pearl, pocketed the **Pearl, and now had lured away the little she-wolf. Even with his thick skin, he felt he couldn’t claim any more spoils from the adventurers. Oddly enough, this actually improved his standing among them considerably.

Of course, the main reason was still the strength Vinniegar and his team had displayed.

With the werewolf problem of Blackshire solved, Vinniegar’s reputation soared throughout the kingdom. They even won the admiration of Sir Tamp, the swordmaster-turned-noble, who generously presented his treasured “Full Dragon Scale Mail.” This enchanted armor automatically adjusted to fit the wearer and granted a significant boost to agility and strength.

Without hesitation, Vinniegar gave it to Sophie, who, unceremoniously, changed out of her chainmail and donned the dragon scale armor right in front of him.

Vinniegar had hoped Arcana might want the chainmail, but she clearly wasn’t interested in armor. Instead, she eyed Sophie’s greatsword longingly, always trying to sneak a grip.

Naturally, Sophie didn’t let her succeed.

Vinniegar just laughed, holding Arcana in his arms to keep her from mischief, all the while pondering what sort of weapon would suit her best. Just then, a crisp knock sounded at the door, and old Ronny cleared his throat outside.

“Come in, old man,” Vinniegar called cheerfully. “Cunning old fox—you made out like a bandit this time, didn’t you?”

Old Ronny grinned, not bothering to deny it.

“I heard you caught a... well, I suppose it’s her, isn’t it?” He nodded at Arcana, who was still wriggling in Vinniegar’s arms, “I thought you might be interested. It concerns her.”

“What is it?” Vinniegar asked, puzzled.

“Dragon lineage,” Ronny said, dropping the bombshell. “She has dragon’s blood in her veins.”

“How do you know?” Vinniegar stood, releasing Arcana and fixing Ronny with a careful gaze. “No wonder you’re Sir Ronny Mlac—you seem to know a great deal...”

“Don’t be surprised. I found this in the werewolf leader’s room,” Ronny tossed him a notebook. “Anyway, I know her draconic heritage isn’t fully awakened—otherwise, you might not have managed to catch her.”

“And then?” Vinniegar pressed.

“If you head toward the Dragon Desert, there’s a small oasis on the edge, where you’ll find a great serpent temple—you’re familiar with it, right?” Ronny said. “There used to be a gold dragon there.”

“I wouldn’t dare cross a gold dragon,” Vinniegar replied.

“No need, no need,” Ronny waved his hand. “Recently, my people ran into a few Krygans near the serpent temple and overheard them talking. They mentioned a method to awaken dragon blood—by grinding the horn of a thunder lizard into powder, mixing it with dragon blood, and performing the werewolf transformation ritual.”

This was good news—though, perhaps, it was also a deadly bait.