Chapter 6: Battle Against the Puppets

Ain emerged victorious in his first battle as a spirit master. After scanning the Plundering Rosewood, he sifted through the debris but failed to discover anything of value. Carrying around pieces of the dark wood didn’t seem feasible either.

He completed his brief search and turned to the next pair of puppets, whose appearance was identical to the one lying scattered at his feet. He assumed their ranks were likely no different.

“Nox, sneak over and try to quickly destroy their heads.”

The first puppet died upon its head shattering, so it was possible to tackle two puppets simultaneously if Nox was fast enough.

“Wooo…!” Nox expressed its agreement and eagerly flew over.

After some thought, Ain remained at the grand door, far from the enemies. He was still a little afraid and hesitant about engaging personally.

When Nox appeared within three meters, the two puppets detected the intruder and immediately sprinted over. Large claws extended out from Nox’s cloudy body as it slashed at both puppets simultaneously.

The puppets displayed great agility and weaved around the claws, dodging the strikes to their heads. One of the puppets returned a punch to engage Nox while the other continued dashing.

Ain watched incoming enemy and was instantly alarmed. “It’s coming after me!”

“Wooo…!” Nox sensed his agitation, dodged the incoming punch, and then slashed at the closest puppet with both claws. The puppet maneuvered its neck to evade the first attack, but the second claw still struck its head as intended. Nox ignored the scattering puppet and rushed towards Ain, trailing behind the second puppet.

Ain’s gaze was locked onto the incoming enemy, his mind racing to the limit. He attempted to steady his wavering heart, “It’s only at Rank-0 while I’ve already reached Rank-1. My rank is higher, so there’s no need to be afraid.”

Faint beads of sweat peppered his forehead. Once the puppet reached within a couple of meters, Ain narrowed his eyes and punched out instinctively. As his fist approached the puppet’s head, hope arose from within his heart. However, just before the strike connected, the puppet’s head tilted sideways, and his arm flew past its head.

The puppet dodged his attack!

Damn it!

Ain realized his blunder with widened eyes, his heart in dismay. Nevertheless, the puppet didn’t spare him another chance and viciously struck his chest with its heavy fist that was akin to a wooden hammer.

With a loud thud, Ain’s feet left the floor, and his back crashed against the grand door, knocking the wind out of his lungs as he slid onto the floor.

“Cough! Cough!”

While he overcame the suffocating sensation, Ain spotted the puppet’s next strike. He hurriedly tilted his head to dodge and kicked out the puppet’s legs from underneath, disrupting its balance. As the puppet fumbled over its legs, he overcame his nerves and took to his feet, ready to counterattack.

However, Nox bolted over at this moment and furiously battered the puppet’s head with Phantom Claws.

“Wooo…!”

The stumbling puppet failed its evasion, and wooden chunks flew across the floor again. As its remains scattered on the floor, Nox delivered a few more fierce attacks to its fallen pieces before hurrying to Ain’s side worriedly.

“Wooo…”

The adrenaline had yet to wear off as Ain panted lightly. He stared at Nox’s violent attacks and only recovered upon sensing its concern.

“Thank you, Nox. I’m fine. It actually didn’t hurt as much as I’d thought it would.”

Confirming Ain’s safety, Nox instantly brightened up.

Ain felt joy and warmth at another’s concern. He petted its chilly body, arousing a merry response from his spirit pet, and glanced at the remaining puppets.

This encounter allowed him to weigh his strength, and the outcome was surprising. The puppet’s attack hadn’t actually injured him whatsoever.

Ain had seldom fought in the past, and it was against regular humans. He’d just been caught unprepared in this ordeal.

“Spirit masters often battle, so I’ll have to get used to this.”

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He looked down at his chest and then sensed the strength within his body. He wondered about the outcome if his attack had connected. His anxiety and apprehension unknowingly dissipated, giving rise to anticipation.

Ain turned towards the next batch of puppets and asked, “Do you need to rest?”

Nox immediately answered negatively, “Wooo….”

“Alright then, here’s what we’ll do…”

Nox listened along and nodded with the vigorous movement of its eyes, excited to execute his ‘brilliant’ plan. Ain enjoyed the admiration he sensed from Nox, despite his plan being as simple as it could be.

“Ready?”

“Wooo…!”

“Let’s go, use Possession!”

Nox eagerly activated its innate skill, Possession, and merged into his body. A chilling and ghastly aura began emanating as his eyes morphed into a shade darker than black.

Stepping against the sturdy floor, Ain sprinted towards his target with powerful momentum. Possession’s enhancement of his physique was significant, turning him into a blurry specter.

“I’m much faster than the puppets!” Ain noted in passing as he reached the puppet’s detection range.

Just as the puppets reacted, Ain’s fists, propelled by the momentum like bull horns, potently crashed into the heads of two of the puppets, instantly destroying them!

“Amazing!” Ain uttered, drowning in the thrilling sensation of destruction as bits and pieces of the puppets exploded all over. With a smile on his face, he turned to face the remaining puppet, whose fist knocked into his chest at that exact moment.

The attack swayed Ain’s body a little; however, his feet remained firm on the floor as he countered with a punch of his own. The puppet failed to avoid the attack, and its fate didn’t differ from the rest.

Before he had the chance to appreciate his efforts, the sound of footsteps suddenly alerted him. He quickly glanced over to find the last four puppets already rushing over!

Taken aback, he subconsciously questioned this unexpected occurrence, with the answer emerging soon after, courtesy of his improved cognition.

Ain was fifteen meters away from that group of four puppets, so it wasn’t his proximity that alarmed them. However, once he spotted the scattered bits of wood at their original location, he promptly realized the ridiculous reason.

The pieces from the destroyed puppets hit them!

The two puppets he’d crashed into had exploded so wildly that their bits and pieces were launched almost twenty meters away…

Ain was momentarily surprised, but there was no fear in his eyes.

“There’s not much of a difference between three or four puppets. My abilities surpass theirs greatly after Possession.”

Instead of waiting, he rushed towards the puppets, intent on the same strategy.

At this moment, Ain received some surprising feedback from Nox, brightening his eyes.

Wooo…!

Really?

Wooo…!

Then let’s use it!

As the two communicated internally, the four puppets gradually drew closer.

Ain’s footsteps didn’t halt. A gaseous white substance strangely emerged near his elbows, quickly shrouding his forearms and hands. His forearms grew larger as his hands morphed into dreadfully large and sharp claws, much like Nox’s when it used Phantom Claws.

This sight wasn’t just an imitation because it was really Phantom Claws!

Possession allowed Ain to use Nox’s skills!

The puppets didn’t realize the changes and swung their fists at him simultaneously. Without retreating, Ain leveraged the momentum from his sprint and swung his newfound claws in wide arcs.

Four dark wooden fists and two deadly white claws collided in the air chaotically, resulting in a subtle shockwave.

There was no deadlock nor resistance. Ain’s claws tore through the wooden fists, shredded the wooden arms, and then slashed through four puppets like a hot knife through butter. Unlike Nox, his claws were large enough to encompass their heads and upper chests concurrently.

With just one attack, four puppets lay shredded on the Crescent Azurlite floor as Ain stood looming over their remains. It was a stark contrast to his earlier plight.

Ain reveled in exhilaration from this pleasant sensation while staring at his claws with passion. Nonetheless, all good things came to an end eventually. A lethargic and hazy feeling suddenly overcame him, causing him to almost stumble onto the floor face-first.

Ain exited the Possession state, and Nox appeared beside him listlessly, devoid of its initial enthusiasm and manic energy. At the same time, he himself instantly recovered from the fatigue.

“Woo...oo…”

With its explanation, as well as his own experience, Ain grasped the root of the problem. Possession was quite taxing on Nox, especially with a difference in rank between the two.

When Ain initially tested this innate skill, he’d only used it for a few seconds, without much activity. The collective consumption from the longer duration, stress of battle, and using its skills accelerated the consumption and revealed Nox’s limits.

“We’ve already defeated the enemies so just rest up.” Ain reached out to hold Nox with a gratified smile. Nox and Wisdom Root might be his greatest opportunities aside from the unknown power that’d saved him. He was also more trusting of the two. Nox was his spirit pet and Wisdom Root was his innate talent, but the unknown power was as he knew it, unknown.

Ain didn’t let these thoughts linger and began his exploration of the hallway. Currently, it looked no different from before he stepped inside. There were scattered puppet remains on the floor, leading up to the gray portal at the other end.

“This portal is the only way out of here. Those two spirit masters must’ve passed through it as well.”

Possession had boosted Ain’s combat capabilities, but he wasn’t confident in facing the spirit masters who’d brought him here.

Earlier, he’d noted the disappearance of the broken dagger alongside the previous batch of puppets. Aside from that, he didn’t make any new discoveries in the hallway.

Nox still required more time to recover, so Ain took the opportunity to meditate while studying the Chronarch Precept. He still had a long way to go before mastering it.

The Crescent Azurlite hallway was a stunning sight with its soft radiance, but there were only the carvings and designs on the wall to accompany him. There were depictions of hourglasses every so often, with white sand flowing within. However, this white sand seemed unending, with no changes observed in its volume on either side. These hourglasses naturally lacked any real reference for time.

Ain could only estimate Nox’s recovery time to be about an hour.

“Wooo…!” Nox’s languid mood was no more as it flew circles around him before settling on his right shoulder.

Ain revealed a smile at its antics, “Are you ready?”

“Wooo…!”

“Let’s enter the portal then.” With Nox’s agreement, he heightened his vigilance and entered the gray portal.