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Endless Lands
Art of Puppetry (Chapter 8)

Art of Puppetry (Chapter 8)

Author’s notes:

No chapter tomorrow,a double chapter in 2 days though.

From now on,the Light/Wind elemental fusion will be called Divine Wind.

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[Boss Monster [Troll Voodoo Shaman] has entered the scene]

Looking at the notice,as well as sensing the increasingly violent mana fluctuations around the monster’s body,I quickly leaped in his direction in an attempt to stop whatever spell he was casting...50 meters...30...20...Suddenly the troll uttered a single sentence:

[Umbra Nox]

Just as I neared him,darkness seeped out of his body,slowly engulfing the nearby space…

I lunged at my opponent,the spear aimed at his chest...a “whizz” was heard as my spear,engulfed in a layer of divine wind collided with the black mist,easily splitting it in two...there was no body inside though!

As I hit empty air,the forward momentum caused me to stumble...just at this moment,the boss appeared again,this time right in front of me,extending his darkness-covered hand towards my neck…

I couldnt dodge,as unstable footing prevented me from using movement techniques,my spear was also useless at this moment,as it was facing downwards.Without a choice I covered my left hand in divine wind energy and used it to meet the troll’s fist before gathering all the force I could muster in my legs,attempting to leap backwards…

[BANG]

The collision sent me flying a dozen meters,also numbing my left arm.The boss’s figure merely staggered a step backwards...luckily I didnt take actual damage,as due to [Adrenaline]’s STR and VIT boosts my leap was halfway done before the impact,the remainder of the blow simply dispersing itself over my arm,without causing any injuries.

As I landed on the ground,dazed by the blow, the monster’s figure already approached me...suddenly a few arrows flew at the troll,forcing him to change into the mist,causing the arrows to pass through and buying me time to get back on my feet..

The troll, still covered in his shroud of darkness, began to recite an incantation causing nearby mana to go wild...I was unable to stop the boss myself, as I still couldnt feel my left arm (and using a spear one-handed is...impractical,to say the least), which combined with the fact that physical attacks are ineffective against him,I could only wait for the monster to finish…

After the troll uttered the spell’s name,his dark mist transformed into a beam that flew at me with terrifying speed.As it was just too fast,I could only raise my spear to try and block it…

The beam passed through my spear without causing any sort of reaction from it and directly slamming into my head…..not feeling any effect of the spell,I glanced at the now exposed troll...

The shocked expresion on his face told me that it definitely wasnt the expected outcome,which combined with the spell passing through my weapon could only mean one thing -

This was mind magic! Unfortunately for the troll,he had no way to know that, being an AI I didnt have a mind to affect...using the moment of surprise i charged at him with my [Brilliant Gale Spear],this time controlling my movements so that I dont lose the balance, should he shroud himself again…

The troll quickly jumped back,my spear leaving a semi-deep wound on his left leg...by the time of my follow-up hit,he already changed back into a dark mist,nullifying my attack…

Suddenly,the black shroud started flying towards the [Girallons],the monster initiating a yet another incantation...As I ordered both squads to pull back,the troll finished his spell once again.

The mist on his body started to expand,leaving his body and forming a sphere of darkness around him...the sphere then started to emit cracking sounds…

It was only at this moment that I realized the creature’s aim - it was some sort of AOE spell!

Not having time to run,I quickly gathered as much sacred wind mana as I could,releasing it all around myself just as the sphere was about to explode-

[BOOM]

The dark orb suddenly tranformed into countless small black beams that wildly flew in all directions,some of them hitting the [Girallons],with a few flying towards me and the academy’s members.

Stretching the energy as far as possible,I formed a wall of glowing mana...the black beams slammed into the the barrier,causing it to momentarily shudder before the darkness evaporated completely.

Even with the worst outcome prevented,the situation still didnt look good,as in front of us were now 70+ crazy apes…

The troll looked at me with a furious expression,seemingly trying to say “this is only the beginning”,before a devilish smile formed on his face...finally after a couple seconds of staring at me,he transformed back into the mist and flew away into the distance.

[Boss Monster [Troll Voodoo Shaman] has left the scene]

Meanwhile,the [Girallons] all charged towards us...with my mana pool almost empty after continous usage,I could only have the group use projectiles to gradually diminish the ape’s numbers,in addition to slowing them,as fighting head on against so many opponents would surely result in someone dying,which was an outcome i wanted to avoid at all costs.

After a few minutes,my mana has recovered sufficiently for me to use my [Brilliant Gale Spear] once again,and each time I charged in,a few [Girallons] would die,after all they were only a [Lesser] race with PSM of 1,5,with [CPR] even lower than an average human’s,and I was anything but average,having nearly 27 [CPR] not to mention my PC status(Equal to an elite monster,being twice as strong as normal at any given rating)

Soon enough,at least 60 [Girallons] were laying dead on the ground,with the remainder retreating.

Battle Conclusion: VictoryCodex Entry Acquired: GirallonsYour group gains combat experienceAllies:Enemies:Dead: 0 Injured: 23 (NPC)Dead: 65 [Girallons] Injured: 8 [Girallons], 1 [Troll Voodoo Shaman]

Extermination Event:Objectives:Kill at least 90% of the area's [Girallons] - SuccessKill the [Troll Voodoo Shaman](Optional) - FailureMission Rewards:Base Reward: [Girallons] will no longer spawn in the forestLeader Reward: 200 CP

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Divine Wind Aura(Active)Level: C-D EXP: 10,96%Allows its user to manipulate the body’s internal mana to form a protective barrierThe aura is now 28% more effectiveCurrent Internal Mana Element:Divine Wind

<(Rare) Class acquisition conditions met : [Divine Wind Protector (Class)] Create Class?(Y/N)>

…Seriously,why does it even ask at this point?!

<[Divine Wind Gathering Method],[Brilliant Gale Spear],[Divine Wind Aura] have fused into Divine Wind Protector(Class]>

Divine Wind Protector(Class)Class Stage:Master(Stage 5)Growth Bonuses:Currently fused skills: Divine Wind Gathering Technique,Brilliant Gale Spear,Divine Wind Aura

VIT Growth: +10%

STR Growth: +10%

AGI Growth: +15%

INT Growth: +15%Skills of the [Divine Wind[ element use this class's rank instead of their own (currently B-F)

Yes

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[A week later]

Our group is back at the academy...I keep remembering the weird look that troll gave me though…well,enough of that.

As expected,everyone made great progress during the hunt.Most inner disciples and even some outer ones can now use [Divine Wind Gathering Method],while Thomas(the staff elder) even started training in [Brilliant Step].

Additionally,new classes were unlocked,specifically [Archer] and [Warrior].

In other words,things’ve been progressing nicely...oh,I also added my new skills to the academy’s teaching list,which gave an unexpected result - as the collection is now “whole”,everyone’s progress is now double on the [Divine Wind]-element skills.

I guess it’s time to leave the academy for a while,as I have to manage my [Dimorth Kingdom]’s matters as well.After all, academy’s members aside,everyone else has been given the “middle finger” for quite some time now and its time to change that.

I decide to somehow teach them non-combat skills,as my nation’s military side is covered for now,with things like food production still being entirely up to [Hunters].

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[Three months later]

The Kingdom's citizens have advanced considerably since I introduced them with concepts such as money(the economy was barter-based before), [Agriculture],[Mining],[Blacksmithing] (apart from me,everyone else was still using stone-weapons...kinda forgot about it…) etc.

The newly unlocked classes for the general population were: [Farmer],[Merchant],[Miner],[Blacksmith],[Bowyer] and [Builder].

Right now I’m sitting on my throne,meditiating- I’ve been neglecting training my affinities,both still being at 10%.Despite doing this for a month,they still havent improved though,so perhaps its some sort of bottleneck like what happened with my past spear technique.

Suddenly someone ran into my throne room,interrupting my thoughts-

Random Citizen - M-my lord...some of u-us were out hunting a-and…

Eldrith - What happened? - I ask confused as to why he’s stuttering so much…

Random Citizen - A-a-

He’s interrupted by someone else-

Random Citizen #2 - Just say it already! My lord, a huge army of ogres,trolls,orcs,goblins and kobolds has been spotted by some of our hunters...from the looks of it,they’re headed towards us!

WHAT?!

Suddenly I cant help but recall the [Troll Voodoo Shaman]’s evil grin...

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Eldrith Status

Eldrith(3,06)Race:HumanClass:Divine Wind ProtectorTitles: Divine Wind Master , LordCapabilties:Physical:Defensive:Magical:VIT Growth: 120%Physical Resistance: 110%Affinities:STR Growth: 120%Elemental Resistance: 120%Wind(10%),Light(10%)AGI Growth: 125%Mind Resistance: N/AMana Capacity:INT Growth: 120%Poison Resistance: 110%MP Growth: 140%