Cappuccino

[Frost] 100 points.

Frost was no longer my enemy.

The Demonic Cultists were too weak to compare, but even when I froze the freak to death, not a single frost flower bloomed on my skin.

“Hoo.”

My breath thickened.

I wasn’t out of breath.

Rather, it felt pleasantly cool.

Dwarfneer’s market sold a variety of equipment, but I couldn’t find any that resonated with me.

Around lunchtime, I returned to the inn.

“I’m back.”

‘(Why are you only coming back now!)’

“Why?”

Cappuccino shouted as if she had been waiting.

“….”

“….”

I exchanged eye contact with Caramel.

My gaze turned to the room.

Caramel, who had been drawing a Magic circle on the paper on the desk, had expanded her work beyond the paper, covering the entire desk with the Magic circle.

‘(Everything’s ready.)’

“Really?”

‘(Come and sit down quickly. Witness my magnificent transformation with your own eyes.)’

“….”

Almost an attention seeker.

I still can’t believe that she’s my split personality. She could have just quietly humanized and waited.

The memories that [Dream Frog] has accumulated must be negatively affecting my split personality.

Caramel stepped away from the Magic circle.

She was just standing there blankly, so I called her.

“Caramel, over here.”

“….”

I called her to my side and sat her next to me on the bed.

Cappuccino stood in the center of the Magic circle, looking at the audience.

‘(The real debut I’ve been waiting for is about to begin!)’

No one was waiting, though.

Rather, it was unhelpful.

Even during the [Death Knight] incident, when the [Heat] Magic was cast, it was decisive.

A double-edged sword that I couldn’t easily use because it was slower to cast than the Blue Flame of the [Magic Sword] and carried the risk of death.

Cappuccino frowned as if she noticed my gaze.

‘(I’m becoming independent from you as of today. I can wander around on my own. Then you’ll realize how precious I am.)’

“Sure, sure.”

‘(Just you wait! I’ll show you what a role reversal is!)’

The Magic circle brightened.

The open window closed on its own.

The room darkened.

On top of the quietly shining Magic circle, Cappuccino’s frog body was dyed with a blue fluorescent light.

Cappuccino became a blue silhouette.

Her body swelled slightly.

The expansion continued.

Her size continued to grow.

The frog, which was smaller than the palm of my hand, became bigger than my hand,

bigger than my arm.

While becoming as big as my upper body.

Soon.

Swish.

The fluorescent light cracked and shattered like an eggshell.

The shell of Magical Power broke away like ice, revealing human skin underneath.

As the shell around her head broke, green hair flowed down and fell below the desk.

All the remaining shells crumbled, and a human child appeared on the desk, crouching down like a larva.

Did it work?

It went more smoothly than I thought.

‘If it looks easy, it means you’re a master?’

That saying suddenly came to mind.

The reason it looked easy was probably thanks to the Witch in the Ring of Contract.

“….”

“….”

“….”

The green-haired child was crouching on the desk, looking down.

“Cappuccino?”

“What.”

She spoke.

“Do you still have to leech off my personality?”

“No.”

[Dream Frog] has a weak sense of self.

That’s why it borrows other people’s memories.

Cappuccino raised her head.

She stretched her crouching body slightly and stared blankly at the floor, slumped on the desk.

“I don’t think I need to do that anymore. It feels like what used to be your self-awareness has now become entirely mine?”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s like downloading a video that was being streamed from the cloud.”

“….”

I think I understand something.

“Now, even if I’m separated from you, even if I take off this Ring of Contract, the personality that formed me now won’t disappear.”

Cappuccino got up from the desk.

She spread her hands wide.

She spread her feet as wide as the desk.

She took a deep breath,

and shouted.

“I am now free!!!”

“Are you leaving?”

“Who’s leaving?! Why would I abandon a powerful ally like Anonymous? Do you think I’m a terrible party member who abandons the protagonist?”

Cappuccino lowered her hands and curled and unfurled her fingers in front of her eyes.

She would have shared the experience of moving her hands and feet in addition to her memories, but the sensation changes when the body is different.

Cappuccino feels that subtle difference by moving her body.

“More than that, there’s something I want to try.”

“What do you want to do?”

I already know.

Even though she had humanized, the [Ring of Contract] was still on Cappuccino’s finger.

She raised her clenched fist high.

“Swordsmanship!”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it?! What do you think will happen if I, who have shared your memories and experiences, can fight like you? What do you think will happen?”

Cappuccino’s voice became more and more excited towards the end.

“….”

I looked at myself objectively.

I imagined that there were two of me.

I could only laugh in disbelief.

Cappuccino nodded as if she had finally realized it.

“That’s what it is.”

“But that’s only if your life can be Resurrected.”

“So I’ve been thinking, can’t I learn Resurrection with the Wish Stone at the Temple?”

“I haven’t thought about it. That’s because Resurrection is the most useless Divinity when solo climbing.”

“But isn’t it different now?”

“….”

Cappuccino looked triumphant.

Her green hair swayed.

It was definitely worth raising a [Prayer].

Still,

“I guess so.”

I bothered to say.

“Prove to me that the Wish Stone is worth using.”

The backyard of the inn.

I faced off against Cappuccino.

A green-haired girl.

That’s Cappuccino.

It feels strange.

The development flowed too easily, so I couldn’t reconcile the Cappuccino who was just a frog with that green-haired girl.

‘Well, even if I deny it, it doesn’t mean she’s not Cappuccino.’

I took out a sword from the Inventory and threw it, and it stuck at Cappuccino’s feet.

Cappuccino grabbed the handle and lifted it, but it was heavy.

With the tip of the sword touching the ground, the angle gradually narrowed until the handle touched the ground. Cappuccino’s thin fingers got caught in between.

“….”

“Ah, wait, time out.”

[Dream Frog].

The real-world combat ability of that Monster, which specializes in Dream Magic, is close to zero.

Even if she shared memories and experiences,

‘She won’t be exactly the same as me.’

“…Hmph…”

Cappuccino used Mana.

[Ready Posture].

She strengthened her body.

She lifted the sword lightly.

“Okay.”

“Then come at me anytime.”

Cappuccino kicked off the ground and rushed in.

The size of the green-haired girl was compared to the sword.

“….”

[Sword Aura]

I cut off the end of the sword before Cappuccino swung it.

“Wh-what?”

“To adjust the length. The sword is a bit long for your size.”

The size of the sword is usually appropriate for the user’s arm length.

“Still, judging by the fact that you couldn’t even react to that attack, your level is obvious. Aside from the talent that comes from the body. Judge based on the skill that comes from memory and experience.”

“….”

I aimed my sword at her without a word.

Cappuccino breathed out.

To put it bluntly,

she uses Skills.

“Haa… Haa…!”

“Come to think of it, that’s right. You’re not a Hero, so you don’t have levels or Skills, do you?”

Cappuccino shared the experience.

Based on that experience, she reproduced it.

[Ready Posture]

[Sword Aura]

[Phantom Sword]

[Heavenly Destruction Fist]

But she lacked stamina.

Both Vitality and Mana.

Compared to Americano, who is a Hero, her physique was different from the start, so she couldn’t move for long.

Besides,

“Why… won’t it work?”

[Execution Sword] doesn’t work.

It didn’t work when I practiced in my Dream,

but it still doesn’t work now.

No, it feels even more blocked than when I used it in my Dream while looking like Americano.

“That’s because Anti-Magic Power is delicate. Even if you have the experience, your body is very different from mine, so you can’t use it right away. Since our bodies are different, the way to squeeze out Anti-Magic Power is also different.”

Americano crossed her arms.

Her ample chest stood out.

It stood out even more because of the wrinkles in her robe.

Cappuccino, who was short, had no choice but to look up at her prominent chest and accept it.

“That influence must have come. I would have adapted quickly, but you…”

“Yeah, I’m not a genius.”

“But you’re sharing an experience that’s more valuable than a thousand words. You’ll be able to imitate it soon.”

“Imitate. Whether I can use it in real combat is another matter?”

“….”

It doesn’t end with learning Skills.

In fact, Skills and techniques are like tools.

No matter how strong the tool is, if you don’t know how to use it, you’re just a strong but unskilled kid.

The message that Americano wanted to convey was transmitted through the [Ring of Contract].

‘But why Execution Sword of all things.’

The most destructive and ultimate technique among the Skills that Americano possesses.

If you use [Boost], you can use it almost like a normal attack, but it cuts most enemies in half.

How many Monsters have withstood [Execution Sword] without dying in one hit so far?

The most memorable opponent was still [Death Knight].

But [Death Knight] was an existence of extraordinary strength.

I know the symbolism of that existence more than Americano realizes.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we won thanks to Anti-Magic Power. That was evident just from the fact that it endured even though the Anti-Magic Power of [Execution Sword] was its weakness.

That’s why I wanted to use it.

“Execution Sword is the easiest technique.”

“You have to say it right. It’s the easiest of the most difficult. Why don’t you start by mastering the basics of Northern Empire Swordsmanship first?”

“Too lazy. You know that too. You want me to practice something I already know from the beginning again?”

“You don’t know how to use it.”

Americano sighs.

That sigh contained a lament, ‘This is another me.’

But Cappuccino doesn’t care.

That’s because she’s aware of it.

Cappuccino knew that this version of herself was Americano’s nature, wanting to rely on others.

Unlike the main body, who is trying to stand on her own, she is relaxed, safe, and protected. She had someone she could completely trust and entrust her body and mind to.

An absolute ally called Americano.

That’s why I want to act like a child.

I want to be mischievous.

I want to be scolded.

I want to receive her sincerity.

Americano, who doesn’t have such an existence by her side, can understand Cappuccino’s feelings in her head but not in her heart.

The Telepathy of the [Ring of Contract] wasn’t omnipotent either.

“I understand that you don’t like being bothered, but if you want to use Execution Sword quickly, master the first chapter of Northern Swordsmanship first.”

“Ugh~…”

“Hmm.”

“…I will.”

Americano’s gaze contained the meaning, ‘Is this the value you wanted to prove?’

Even if I’m lazy, she probably won’t hate me,

‘But her expectations will drop.’

I didn’t like that.

I am amazing.

I want to be recognized.

For Cappuccino, it wasn’t just the experience she shared with her.

‘Win, don’t you know what Anti-Magic Power is?’

‘(I don’t know. It’s definitely different from Mana, and it seems more like Divinity, but it’s also different from Divinity.)’

It seems like Win doesn’t know either.

Americano said.

“What are you doing? Keep going.”

“I know, I know!”

Cappuccino swung her sword.

A simple vertical Slash.

But within it was the special Mana manipulation unique to Northern Empire Swordsmanship.

Anti-Magic Power was also at the end of this Mana manipulation.

Americano saw the [Execution Sword] used by the Bronze Golem and did it in an instant. I knew the feeling and sensation, but I couldn’t even imitate it.

“I really hate geniuses.”

“That’s why I lived cautiously in reality.”

“You’re annoying.”

“Haha.”

Then I suddenly realized.

“Ah, that’s right!”

“What is it now.”

“I went to the Duel Arena. Share it with me.”

“Here.”

“Okay.”

I took the hand she offered.

I shared it,

───the memory cuts off.

That’s how a day passed.

I got a text from Chris.