Chapter 67 The Young Fox of the Royal Knights

Although the girl could also become a dangerous close-combat weapon, Venigo judged that compared to the peril of her icy daggers, her fearsome magic was a far greater threat.

“Character construction... This time, it’s decided—it will be you.” Venigo murmured to himself. “It’s been a long time since I played this game.”

He pulled a specially-made headband from his belt pouch, fitted it over his brow, tugged at his bodysuit, and dismissed the currents beneath his feet, letting himself plummet forcefully to the ground.

Character selected, analysis complete... constructing now. Level 25 Ninja, one enhancement: Cold Resistance—construction finished!

The Royal Knights’ ninja template lacked formidable skills, but its basic attributes were quite solid—especially speed and maneuverability, making it highly practical whether as an assassin or a scout.

The cold resistance enhancement was simply to prevent his speed from being hindered by the enemy’s frost and chill.

Venigo drew a dagger from his belt pouch and fixed his gaze on the long-haired girl. He seemed to have discerned a pattern; from the expression in her eyes, he could roughly guess which persona was currently in control.

Each persona corresponded to a different combat style... Once he determined her tactics, Venigo wasted no time and charged forward at once.

The ninja’s running speed was truly unmatched. Venigo’s left hand hovered in the air, his right hand grasped the dagger in a reverse grip at his waist, and his eyes remained locked on the snow-haired girl.

Their gazes met, and as Venigo anticipated, her eyes instantly turned cold as ice.

Swish, swish, swish... She spread her fingers, and five icy blue beams shot through the air. Where the light passed, a chill condensed the moisture in the air into visible pillars of pale blue mist.

The icy blue light grazed Venigo’s left shoulder as it flew past. With the ninja’s agility and the “cold resistance” enhancement, the passing chill had little effect on him.

Thus, Venigo closed in on his opponent.

Her expression shifted once more; she gave a startled cry and nimbly sidestepped. In that instant, two ice daggers silently flew from bizarre angles, while a pair of longer icy blades materialized in her hands, thrusting toward Venigo’s flank.

The flying daggers were clearly meant to cut off his escape, but Venigo had no intention of dodging.

He was not especially brave, but neither was he a coward. Facing the snow-haired girl’s relentless onslaught, Venigo narrowed his eyes and surged forward with a sudden burst of speed.

Azure Vault, Extreme Jet Mode.

Venigo’s abrupt acceleration shattered her expectations. Before she could adjust, his dagger was already slashing toward her.

While the ninja template boasted speed and agility, it lacked true assassin abilities—its stealth and aura suppression were no better than an ordinary warrior’s. Yet its attack power was hardly inferior.

At best, one could call it a swift and agile warrior.

“Shuriken,” Venigo intoned silently. With a flick of his hand, a flurry of shuriken appeared seemingly from thin air, shooting toward the snow-haired girl—an instinctive ability of the ninja, requiring no training or magical energy.

Thud, thud, thud... She deftly batted the shuriken aside with her ice daggers. At that moment, Venigo’s blade, carried on a fierce wind, slashed diagonally at her.

Clang... crack!

Her ice dagger was no match for Venigo’s blade.

The Scarab Dagger.

The magical array upon the Scarab Dagger granted it anti-magic and purification properties. As a treasure protected by high-grade, multi-layered enchantments, its durability far surpassed that of its peers. In comparison, the snow-haired girl’s ice daggers were little more than low-grade magical trinkets—shattering on contact.

She retreated hastily, conjuring new blades. Venigo, however, had no intention of letting her recover; with a sweep of his left hand, a violent gust shot forth.

Ninjas could use basic elemental attack spells, such as the “Vortex Wind” Venigo unleashed. As the spiraling wind howled out, the left-hand module of Azure Vault gave it an extra push, accelerating the vortex’s rotation dozens of times over.

With a screech like glass being scraped, the vortex wind grazed the girl’s left shoulder, tearing away a swath of flesh and a lock of snowy hair.

“Shirley Haagen-Dazs? It really is you!” Suddenly, Honey burst onto the scene, riding her Cait Sith.

“What are you doing here?” Venigo frowned, noticing that Honey seemed rather familiar with the enemy.

“Honey Shurabein... you...” The snow-haired girl seemed about to speak, but suddenly screamed, clutching her head and collapsing to the ground.

“Honey?” Venigo blinked, turning to her.

“Um... well... it’s not that Honey didn’t want to say—it’s just that Big Brother Fox never asked,” Honey stammered.

“Honey Shuyinbella... traitor...” The long-haired girl—Shirley—struggled up, her icy eyes fixed on Honey.

“Ahaha...” Little Honey laughed awkwardly, shrinking back to hide behind Venigo.

“I won’t let you... argh!” Shirley’s words were cut off by another scream as she clutched her head. Venigo stepped forward, about to stab with his dagger, but Honey threw her arms around him.

“What are you doing, Little Honey?” Venigo asked, glancing back.

“Don’t... don’t hurt her.” Honey’s large eyes glistened with tears as she gazed at Venigo.

The innocent, tearful gaze of a young girl—a forbidden spell to which even Venigo was not immune. With a helpless shake of his head, he stepped back.

Taking advantage of the moment, Shirley fled without looking back.

“Little Honey, you’d better come clean. Otherwise, I have all sorts of strange tricks I can show you,” Venigo said with a sinister smile, his eyes fixed on her.

His tone was calm, his expression ordinary, but for some reason, Honey shrank back in fear.

Honey was no ordinary person.

Honey, Shirley, and about twenty other girls of similar age were all illegitimate daughters of minor and lesser nobles. Though noble by birth, they held no real status or favor within their families—an awkward, overlooked existence. And so, at a certain time, they were chosen to undergo a ceremony.

Or rather, an experiment. The purpose was to select the best “specimens” from among the gifted girls and, through magic, induce “mutation” to create superior, more controllable “dolls.”

For example, Shirley, who after fusing with ice elemental traits, could skillfully manipulate frost and snow; or Honey, who bore the qualities of a Fey Trickster... Yet, those behind the experiment remained unsatisfied with such results.

Ultimately, they sought out the Lambsong Cult and borrowed the alien technology wielded by those who pulled the strings from behind the scenes—though they themselves were unaware it was alien science. The result: the girls underwent genetic modification and gained attributes that magic alone could not grant.

For instance, Shirley’s muscle strength was enhanced from that of an ordinary mage to the level of an elite assassin. As for Honey... her strength and speed saw little increase, but her brain was augmented, allowing her to meditate and pray with absolute focus, producing the appearance of a fanatical devotee’s piety.

Thus, Honey gained powerful divine spells bestowed by the gods—a feat that bordered on deceiving the divine, yet somehow succeeded.

Shirley had always been the most gifted among the girls, while Honey was branded a failure. Yet, now, it was hard to say which of the two was the more remarkable.

Certainly, Shirley’s destructive power and adaptability were superior, but as a member of a team, Honey’s ability to control the flow of battle was something Shirley could not match.

Venigo made no particular comment on Honey’s true nature as a modified human girl; he merely patted her head and sighed. Sophie, on the other hand, was seething with rage—not at Honey, but at those bastards who so recklessly tampered with the human body.

It seemed... Sophie was especially furious at anything involving human modification. Venigo cast her a sidelong, thoughtful glance.

Shirley had escaped, and the Merak Squad was still scouting ahead. Remembering that Sir Tamp’s commission was to assist the Merak team—and, truth be told, Venigo was also curious to see if the Lambsong Cult had made any progress, or at least prepared some worthwhile loot—

He sheathed the Scarab Dagger and switched to a new weapon. After acquiring Mary’s alchemist abilities, Venigo had combined the purification alchemy of the Strange Scholar and Nanoka’s inventions, enabling him to finally craft many items he’d long imagined but never before had the means to create.

Such as an exquisitely crafted revolver.

The design of a revolver was simple enough; as long as the metal was strong and the workmanship precise, there would be no problem. The technological level of this world might not be that advanced, but if they could forge armor rivaling tank plating, making steel for a revolver should hardly be an issue.

An ordinary blacksmith could produce the basic steel parts, which a master smith would then refine into finished form. Venigo was amazed to discover that this master smith, with the simplest tools, could hand-forge beautifully precise rifling.

Rifling—the most complex and crucial step in the manufacture of a firearm.

Once the basic pistol was complete, it was handed over to a gold- and silversmith to coat with a layer of gleaming silver alloy. Not only did this give the gun a dazzling sheen, it was also a necessary base for carving magical arrays—the alloy’s special composition made it easier to channel magical energy, allowing intricate, mysterious runes to be inscribed to produce magical effects.

An intriguing little toy, wouldn’t you say?