Chapter 5: Personal Interface

In the basement.

At this moment, the place was somewhat clean, with many items piled up, quite different from what he remembered.

At least there was no rotting flesh or foul bloodstains.

Kana immediately cleared a clean spot nearby, gathering the surrounding thatch together and placing Aliris on top.

He then turned to rummage through a messy cabinet beside him.

“Found it.”

A packet of medicinal powder, a roll of bandages, and a bottle of potion.

These were the remnants left in the village chief’s basement.

In the Meat-Eating Village dungeon, reaching this point always guaranteed these pickable items.

He also found several bottles of wine on a nearby cabinet.

In the game, these bottles could still be sold for some money.

But drinking was out of the question; after all, the game had no sense of taste.

Once opened, the value would plummet dramatically.

Kana quickly treated Aliris’s wounds.

“Hmm!”

Using the wine to cleanse the wound caused Aliris to emit a muffled groan.

He sprinkled the medicinal powder and wrapped the wound with bandages.

He straightened the twisted leg back into place and secured it with a wooden stick.

Then, he poured the healing potion into Aliris’s mouth.

After completing all this, Kana leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

Even though Aliris wasn’t as strong as in the later stages, she should at least be level three, and her recovery ability should be guaranteed.

At the very least, she wouldn’t be troubled by complications from the wound.

Of course, if the game’s background was flawed, then it was over. But this was the best he could do.

Now, he finally had time to check the cheat code.

With a thought, the personal panel from the game appeared before him.

[Character: Kana Safro Sat]

[Level: 1]

[HP: 4/10]

[Constitution: —]

[Agility: —]

[Spirit: —]

?

What’s this? Something’s wrong?

The stat bar that popped up during the battle earlier was a garbled mess; now it was slightly better, but still problematic.

Moreover, this character’s stat panel was extremely simple, vastly different from the game’s usual personal panel, with much information missing.

For example, experience, inventory, equipment, titles, gender, and so on.

Looking at the stats, he suddenly realized something—he seemed able to control it.

Following his intuition, he began adjusting.

The stat panel instantly changed.

[Character: Kana Safro Sat]

[Level: 1]

[Status: Bleeding, Fatigued]

(Bleeding: HP slowly decreases)

(Fatigued: Movements slightly slowed)

[HP: 4/10]

[MP: 5/10]

[Constitution: 5]

[Agility: 5]

[Spirit: 5]

[Title: Clown Emperor!]

Not bad? Using his current physical condition as a baseline, he added a status bar and a title section, as well as the necessary mana bar.

He had also tried to add an experience bar, title, and inventory slots, but they wouldn’t show.

In other words, although he had a stat panel, this was reality; it was impossible to truly give himself an experience bar.

Yet, he had genuinely acquired some form of digital ability.

He initially thought it was a system, but now it seemed otherwise—more like his own power.

The so-called personal info panel was more like visualizing his own status.

It allowed his body to become somewhat digitized.

Ah, and the weapon too.

Thinking of this, he quickly picked up the sword beside him.

A stat panel appeared on it as well.

[Brilliant Royal Companion Sword]

[Type: One-Handed Sword—Decorative Sword—Common]

[Attributes: Lightweight, Sharp]

[Special Effects: Prince’s Sword, Custom-Made]

[Prince’s Sword: When equipped by Kana—provides Strength bonus (Strength +)]

[Custom-Made: When equipped by Kana—provides Swinging bonus (Attack Speed +)]

[Evaluation: A noble companion sword crafted specifically for Prince Kana. Exquisitely designed with fine materials. It should be displayed in a room rather than used for cutting.]

The equipment stat panel was almost identical to those in the game.

He picked it up and put it down repeatedly.

The attribute bonuses weren’t illusions; he could feel the increase in strength.

For his mediocre stats, the effect was quite noticeable.

“So, the known manifestations of this digitized body are weakened weaknesses and attribute boosts from equipment.”

According to the original owner’s memories in his mind, this companion sword was purely ornamental, with no magic attached.

So normally, it wouldn’t provide a strength bonus.

From the game’s background, some magical equipment could grant similar bonuses.

If he were holding magical gear, the boost should surpass the equipment’s original effect.

This was a clear manifestation of digitization.

Besides equipment, the most important aspect was the digitized body itself.

Like the wound earlier, which had pierced through the lung.

Normally, with this body’s quality, that would be almost certain death.

But after digitization, this negative effect vanished and turned into HP loss.

However, negative effects like fatigue and bleeding still existed.

Bones wouldn’t break, but limbs could be severed.

Though he hadn’t tested this, this strange ability made him aware of these effects.

In other words, an injury that bent a hand would translate into HP loss rather than a fractured arm.

But if the hand was cut off, the severed limb effect would occur—the hand would truly be gone.

As long as the blow didn’t sever the hand, it would cause external injury but not affect movement, instead converting into HP loss.

Understood: blunt objects were tolerable, but sharp weapons with strong strikes were dangerous.

It was a kind of digitization but with an uncomfortable compromise with reality.

With this realization, Kana clearly felt he was beginning to understand and master this digitized ability.

He pulled the medal out of his pocket.

Made of brass, roughly half the size of his palm, with a silver inlaid spear design in the center that had darkened from oxidation.

There was dirt and sand in the crevices; if he washed it off, it would be clear that the medal was very well maintained.

It was the relic of a soldier captain; neither the original owner nor he was familiar with him.

But, in the end, the captain had saved his life.

The medal felt very ordinary in his hand, without any special qualities.

Hmm... maybe like this?

He gripped the medal tightly.

Upon opening his hand again, attributes appeared on the medal.

Kana felt his head swell and even a sharp pain.

He held his head, massaging it for a while before recovering.

He glanced at his own stats nearby.

As expected.

[MP: 0/10]

His mana had been halved—emptied.

And two negative effects appeared: [Mana Overdraft], [Mental Fatigue]

(Mana Overdraft: Increased mana recovery rate, mild headache)

(Mental Fatigue: Slower reaction speed, drowsiness)

What a fragile body? Forget these negative states for now.

This digitized ability, when applied to external objects, required consuming his own mana.

It cost 5 points per use, but the two pieces of equipment he had transformed were ordinary items.

Equipment varied; magical items might require more mana.

He focused on the medal’s attributes.

[Thunder Spear Guard Medal (Silver)]

[Category: Medal—Relic—Common]

[Attributes: Commemorative, Precious]

[Special Effects: Soldier’s Honor, Royal Guard]

[Soldier’s Honor: When the user is not mounted—improves recovery rate (HP Regen +)]

[Royal Guard: When the user equips a shield—boosts constitution (Constitution +)]

[Evaluation: Thunder Spear Royal Guard—the capital’s defense unit, established by King Safro. Soldiers! Chose the oath, picked up honor, and charged into death.]

Reading these attributes and the evaluation, Kana silently pinned the medal to his chest.

Feeling the warm flow the medal sent out, he clearly sensed the warmth spreading to his wounds.

Along with this warmth, fatigue surged, and the mental exhaustion from mana depletion followed closely.

He leaned against the wall, holding the one-handed sword, and closed his eyes.