Chapter 6 The Young Fox on a Reconnaissance Mission

The Young Fox on Reconnaissance

Vinigo canceled his transformation and began preparing lunch. After making a simple meal, he once again activated his materialization ability.

Scavenger Trait: Meow-Meow, character construction!

It was harvest time, and Vinigo had no patience to search through each corpse individually. Transforming into Meow-Meow, he circled the battlefield, and upon returning, he had acquired a pouch.

It was a magical pouch belonging to an elder of the Bleating Church, now filled with the most valuable spoils that Vinigo had selected: dozens of gold coins, some sparkling gems, and various pieces of jewelry that could be sold. Among them was a pendant that slightly increased hit rate, which Vinigo handed to Villany, and a ring that boosted endurance, which he slipped onto his own finger without a hint of modesty.

“You’re quick, little fox,” Jemore laughed.

Vinigo nodded and smiled, saying nothing. Now, he had a bit of spare money; the problem with mercury seemed solvable…

Suddenly, Vinigo froze as he looked at the vial in his hand. The mercury inside—why had so much been used up?!

During previous transformations, the consumption hadn’t been nearly so rapid.

A realization dawned on him: the rate at which mercury was consumed was not only related to the strength of the character but also to the abilities or traits used. Perhaps, if the character suffered injuries, the consumption would skyrocket to an alarming degree.

This time’s heavy expenditure was likely due to Meow-Meow being gravely wounded.

It wasn’t good news, but Vinigo was already becoming accustomed to it. The world’s will rejected him to such an extent that he could almost predict the extraordinary obstacles he would face on his path to power—obstacles unimaginable to ordinary people.

Yet, there was some good news. Vinigo had discovered the knack for extracting mercury through basic alchemy.

Not just mercury—basic alchemy could extract a variety of substances, provided the raw materials were sufficiently concentrated. Fortunately, this world contained many minerals that met the extraction standard.

And not just minerals—even… living beings.

Character selected, analysis complete… construction beginning. Level one Alchemist, construction complete!

With the vial in hand and under the cover of night, Vinigo reassembled himself into the image of the Alchemist from Hyperdimensional Heroic Saga III. Dressed in a simple robe and carrying empty bottles, he paced around the camp.

An alchemist’s combat skills were unremarkable, and Vinigo had none of the tools proper to the class—no lime powder, adhesive gels, or gold-solvent. He couldn’t use other substances, like mercury, as weapons; doing so meant he couldn’t employ the Alchemist’s unique skills, and the resulting damage would be negligible—like his feeble original self swinging a stick.

Orc corpse… alchemy failed.

Bleating Church cultist… alchemy failed.

Advanced cultist, failed. Bleating Church elder… extraction successful?

Using basic alchemy on the elder’s corpse, Vinigo extracted two tiny crystals. He sniffed them and sensed a trace of magical energy within, so he stored them away.

Nearby, Vinigo also found some yellow poppies, blue mushrooms, and red berries—common alchemical materials in the vicinity of New Sopic Town, used to craft basic potions. On a whim, he applied basic alchemy to these ingredients and produced several drops of liquid in red, blue, and yellow—these must be the base potions.

Returning to his lodgings, Vinigo borrowed some empty bottles from Jemore, added the drops, shook them, and, finding the volume too small, topped them up with water and shook vigorously—could it really be that simple?

It worked. When Vinigo returned the bottles to Jemore, there were six full vials of basic potions. Jemore confirmed that, compared to his own concoctions, these were hardly inferior.

Jemore now looked at Vinigo as if he were an orc in a tuxedo, bowing with gentlemanly grace.

“Mr. Jemore, won’t you try mixing the potions?” Vinigo asked, blinking.

Mixing potions? It was far more than just pouring two bottles together; one had to consider the strength, ratios, temperature, and pH of each potion.

Vinigo’s alchemy could only extract, not concoct. His materialization ability, though mysterious in its power to “construct laws not belonging to this world from existing worlds,” was still bound to the rules of whatever he constructed and could not be arbitrarily altered.

Thus, whatever the alchemist in Hyper III could do, Vinigo as an alchemist could do—no more, no less, unless he constructed an alchemist from another game, in which case he would be bound by a different set of laws, still unable to act freely.

Jemore soon finished his work. Vinigo once again proved that most of this world’s skills were beyond his reach—though he remembered every step Jemore took, including the temperature, humidity, and pH at each stage, whenever he tried to mix a potion himself, his fingers simply would not obey.

“Damn this rejection!” Vinigo cursed, throwing down the vial and giving up.

“Won’t you give it another try, marvelous young fox?” Jemore teased.

“No, I won’t. My bloodline is clearly cursed by the gods. Though I have a miraculous shapeshifting power, all other abilities elude me—except, perhaps, gardening and cooking,” Vinigo complained.

Jemore and Merak exchanged a smile. Though still puzzled by Vinigo’s abilities, they had grown relaxed around him.

“Don’t you think the enemy encounter this time was rather odd?” Vinigo asked, focused on roasting meat.

“What was odd about it?” Yarrow replied.

“All the Bleating Church cultists and orcs outside New Sopic Town were lured here and wiped out. The trade routes will be safe for at least three months,” Vinigo said. “To draw so many monsters together isn’t much easier than defeating them outright.”

“Speed, defense, and a mind that sees the whole picture,” Villany concluded.

“Speed and defense are hard to balance, and as for oversight… a wind mage could manage that,” Vinigo mused. “But someone with both speed and formidable defense—or at least excelling in one and not lacking in the other—is a true powerhouse. Why would a strong individual go to such trouble to set this elaborate trap?”

“This ambush was dangerous, but hardly worth the effort it must have taken,” Merak agreed.

“Then, could it have been a test?” Vinigo suddenly suggested. “Perhaps someone important, on a whim, wanted to see just how strong the legendary heroes—the regent’s special guests—really are?”

“You must be joking. How could—” Yarrow giggled, but stopped mid-sentence.

It did seem the likeliest explanation.

“Let’s not worry about it for now. Whatever the case, we’ll find out eventually. We just need to be cautious going forward. Villany?” Merak turned to her, meeting her gaze.

“Understood.”

“I’ll take the second watch,” Merak added.

Only then did Vinigo realize they were discussing the order of night watch. Without close camaraderie, it would be impossible to decipher Villany’s terse responses.

“Excuse me, may I ask about the next assignment you mentioned? I’d like to join you,” Vinigo said, raising his hand.

“No, it’s too dangerous,” Yarrow replied.

“I may not be as strong as you, Sister Yarrow, but in terms of survival skills, I might surpass you,” Vinigo countered.

“No, I wouldn’t feel at ease bringing a little cub like you along.”

“I see…” Vinigo scratched his head. He really was still too weak.

How frustrating—when had Vinigo the Poacher fallen to the point of being pitied?

Ironfist Castle was not far from New Sopic Town; by carriage, it was a bit more than a day’s journey, or two to three days on foot.

Despite a half-day delay from a monster attack, the group soon arrived at the gates of Ironfist Castle.

The castle town—or rather, the fief of the regent of Ironfist Castle.

Vinigo looked around curiously. Indeed, the layout matched the reports he’d seen, only there were now several times more houses, with all manner of professionals, shops, guilds, and a large number of farming households.

“We’re to pay respects to the regent. Vinigo, wait for us at the inn,” Merak instructed.

“Yes, sir. But I’d like to visit the shopping district first,” Vinigo said, bowing slightly.

“Very well… but remember, Abdullah’s Discount Store is anything but cheap,” Merak warned.

Vinigo smirked inwardly. That Abdullah—someone who could build a safe resort in the perilous heart of the Wyvern Desert could hardly be an ordinary merchant.

Yet, this mysterious magnate had opened a small general store in Ironfist Castle, named it the Discount Store, but the prices were so outrageous one could scarcely resist the urge to punch him…

Vinigo’s first destination was, of course, Abdullah’s Discount Store. Entering, he surveyed the shelves, piled high and messy like a mountain of junk, and couldn’t help but marvel.

Well, with prices this high, let’s see if I can pluck a feather or two from this iron rooster, Vinigo thought with a sly grin.

With that mischievous smile, the young customer pushed open the door of Abdullah’s Discount Store and stepped inside.