Mythos Of Narcissus: Reborn As An NPC In A Horror VRMMO

"So, what am I supposed to do with this magically preserved head of a beastman?" Kuzunoha asked with genuine curiosity.

After signing off the contract, Kuzunoha ended up being bound to me, just like how my Gloamkeeper's Beacon was to my soul.

However, unlike a one-way connection like the lantern, Kuzunoha also acquired some extent of access that she could use to 'study' me.

I also did my obligatory spook of citing some information that I got from her detail screen to raise the power of my leash. To my surprise, Kuzunoha didn't mind all that much.

In fact, she was rather overjoyed that I called her out, especially when it comes to the three of her abilities: Arcane Manipulation, Mystic Sight, and Elemental Conjuring.

Yes, the reason why I did this was to inform Verina probing Kuzunoha out of her comfort zone, now that we had already been bound by a contract—something that didn't have much effect on her.

But most importantly, I unmasked her for being a Lovehexer. Kuzunoha herself might not mind all this much, but it should be an important context for Verina to factor into.

The method on how the Lovehexing work was still a mystery to us, but it was explained as ineffective against an individual with great psionic prowess. This should mean Verina. As such, she won't be a target for this power.

At first, I hypothesized that Kuzunoha might have done that hex to me, which caused me to wake up with her bloodied face in the first place, but I digress after seeing her reaction.

Her Highlighted Traits implies that she was a person of centuries wisdom and ages. She should have more than one aces to her sleeves, hidden for the sake of thrill and enjoyment.

She might haven't used this love-hex yet, and was trying to find a vulnerable gap in me.

"She is a valuable individual, and I want your wisdom on the method to fully revive her back to her spirited self," I said to the ancient fox, trying to gauge how willing she was to heed both the contract and my words.

"The rest of her body is long-gone unretrievable, I assume." Her eyes lazed to the intricate preservation spell that was cast on Lupina's head. "That Kilnalan did this spell, supposedly. Hmm~ not bad for a young house heater. I guess there is a little bit of hope for the descendants of my so-called creators."

Verina snorted. "It's funny how you say that, despite being a blood-sucking imitation of human and Calamity Object."

I didn't mention the Lifeline Dependency part of Kuzunoha in front of Verina. It must be common knowledge that an animaphage survives by drinking blood.

The more I looked into it, the more convinced I was that the animaphages were just vampires.

"Yes, I need a lifeline to survive. You need air. We all have our little dependencies. Mine just happens to be more interesting," Kuzunoha rolled her eyes, possibly toward both of us. "As for this frozen pet's head of yours, it is not advisable to fully regenerate her whole vessel. Body replacement, however, is always possible."

"As expected, we need an entirely new body to accommodate her head."

"How about hunting for a Theotech Vessel?" Kuzunoha suggested with a smile.

Theotech Vessel? That was a new term.

"There are only two instances of Theotech Vessel found in the uncovered history of Carcosa," Verina interjected. "Even if we found it, it is nearly impossible for us to attune it without reaching for an Anthropriest or the nearly extinct Theotech Specialist.

"And even if we did make a hard-fought deal with the Anthropriest and Theotech Specialist to let us keep the owner of a Theotech Vessel with us, the problem of finding one is still a massive hurdle to overcome."

I want to ask what a Theotech Vessel was, since it wasn't mentioned in the info dumps, but I don't want to destroy the illusion of a fairy with a long history of knowledge and wisdom, especially now that we have Kuzunoha in our cause.

Though, I felt bad for not telling Verina of one thing that shows up on Kuzunoha's Highlighted Traits.

[Scholar of Forbidden Lore: This individual possesses extensive knowledge of ancient and forbidden magical texts, granting them insights into lost spells and arcane secrets that are not commonly known]

"There is a sure-fire way to find and enter a Theotech Chamber with a Theotech Vessel inside it." Kuzunoha put on a smug face. "This elder has dabbled with my Theotech-related discovery in the past. So don't fret, and remember bits of information well, little fumes-exhaler."

"Huh, should we give this elder a cane to help her sniff for the Theotech Chamber from the ground?" Verina riled.

"Still going to be more useful than an brain-cells exhauster who have no knowledge to dispense for this occasion~"

Looks like I have another destination to add on my list outside of going to Torie Citadel.

Like, bringing back Lupina with a new normal human body might sound more feasible, but giving her a whole Theotech Vessel sounds more enticing.

Wait, was that the reason why Kuzunoha mentioned that instead of just suggesting we kidnap an individual with matching blood type and similar genetics? Because kidnapping someone was the first thing that came to my list, so that answer was already a boring one.

"So, is there an alternative to the hunt for a Theotech Vessel?" I asked, since I doubt that Kuzunoha only had a single idea on this issue.

"Ohoho~ of course there is, my darling." She then twirled her right gloved hand as arcane dust manifested into existence, converging and forming into an alien gold injector-like object. "This Theotech here is known as a Xenogene Injector. If used, it will inject a swarm of theonites into your body and modify the very structure of your physicality.

In this case, adding a new trait and power beyond a mere human comprehension.

"This Xenogene Injector in my hand is holding the alien gene of an old and extinct Theotech Race, hypothesized to be capable of healing other races and species through their bodily liquid.

"I have already tinkered this Theotech to safely culture under anyone's flesh and blood without turning their entirety to that of the old race, giving the benefits of imbuing their bodily liquid into that of an all-healing panacea~!"

"Does this panacea include restoring an entire body from a beheaded person?" Verina intruded.

"That, my dear, is precisely why I proposed this method in the first place." Kuzunoha gave a small, mocking smile, her tone dripping with condescension. "But thank you ever so much for stating the obvious~"

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