Chapter 9: Appearing in a Puppet War
“Another portal. So I can leave here without mastering Temporal Blitz?” Ain muttered while slowly relaxing his guard. No new threats appeared after the puppet’s disappearance.
“When I first arrived in this hall, I was teleported to this platform without a choice. But since I wasn’t teleported automatically just now, can I just stay here to practice?” He pondered while staring at the swirling gray vortex. If he followed the train of thought that the puppets disappeared to give him time to train, it would make sense.
“Nox, take a break and recover. I’ll continue to study Temporal Blitz. We’ll leave once I’ve mastered it.”
“Wooo…” Nox tore its gaze from the portal and nodded with its eyes. Ain patted its cloudy body with a faint smile. During the previous battles, he had used the move multiple times in succession. Besides the aether consumption, he was otherwise in perfect shape.
While going through the motions for Temporal Blitz, Ain continued contemplating the concepts behind the move but still failed to gain any enlightenment.
A few hours passed by as he engrossed himself in studying and training. Nox had already recovered some time ago. After staring at him, it began practicing its skill as well, slashing at the air with Phantom Claws.
Ain’s training bore fruit as he gained proficiency in the motions and spell rune, but the conceptual understanding still eluded him. While taking a break, he stared at the azure walls with furrowed brows.
“It’s taking too long to analyze and understand the Chronarch Precept and Temporal Blitz. Although I’ve comprehended a little more than before, there are too many things it assumes that I’d already know.”
As he said, comprehending the Chronarch Precept was helpful, but Ain’s lack of foundational knowledge as a spirit master was hindering his progress. This couldn’t be avoided. It hadn’t been long since he became a spirit master. He’d never even studied any related knowledge either.
Ain didn’t know that if the Chronarch Precept was handed to other newly awakened spirit masters who lacked basic knowledge like him, they wouldn’t even get past the preface, much less gain ‘a little’ comprehension. Despite that, the lack of progress was still disheartening. He couldn’t even estimate how long it’d take him to overcome this hurdle.
He turned to stare at Nox’s training figure and finally decided. He stood up and said, “Nox, let’s go.”
“Wooo…?” Nox’s black eyes turned to him as it asked about his training.
Ain shook his head helplessly, “I didn’t make much progress. Let’s think about it after we leave here.”
“Wooo…” Nox nodded its eyes, floated over, and rested on his shoulder. Ain patted its chilly body and walked across the silver bridge, stepping onto the suspended altar. He paused for a second to glance at the surrounding walls one last time. Without any new discoveries, he entered the portal with raised vigilance.
Whoosh!
A sense of disorienting nihility overcame him for an instant. When the unreal sensation ceased, Ain had already crossed over to a different location.
Clang! Thud!
Boom!
Loud noises assaulted his eardrums like thunder the moment he regained his bearing. Ain widened his eyes in shock as information was transmitted to his brain from his senses. Although stunned at the sight, his guard was still raised, and he suddenly dodged to the side with haste. At the same time, a wooden fist swept past where he’d been just a moment ago.
After dodging the sneak attack, he didn’t counterattack but instead retreated while weaving through the crowd to the best of his ability.
That’s right. Crowd.
Ain’s heart was in his throat as he continuously dodged the numerous fists raining down at him. A few even struck his body and almost broke his momentum, but he still continued running regardless.
Why are there so many puppets!? Ain’s thoughts raced like never before as panic, anxiety, and determination to live appeared inside him. Nox held onto his tattered shirt tightly while transmitting a similar reaction.
While running, he took in the scene around him. Just from a glance, there seemed to be thousands of puppets! The ones nearby turned and attacked him as he dashed past them anxiously. After just ten seconds, Ain’s body ached from the numerous punches he’d received as he finally left the encirclement.
During his brief escape, panic from the abrupt occurrence receded slightly. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that only a few puppets had actually followed him. The remaining thousands of puppets were entangled in a chaotic battle, most shockingly, amongst themselves!
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“Puppets fight each other? What’s going on?” Ain observed incredulously.
Their appearance was similar to before, and the attacks he’d eaten so far confirmed that they were Rank-0 puppets. However, unlike before, some of the puppets were equipped with wooden weapons such as swords, daggers, spears, and axes.
“It's a good thing that only the punches hit me.” Ain muttered wearily. The wooden weapons possessed an unexpected lethality. From the corner of his eye, he’d seen a puppet’s arm being cleanly dismembered.
As he ran with all his might, an azure wall appeared in the front, blocking his path of retreat. Behind him, four puppets were still chasing. Among them, one held a spear while the rest were unarmed.
Ain’s eyes flickered, “Nox, let’s destroy them!”
“Wooo…!” Nox replied with vigor. It targeted the puppet wielding the spear without any instructions.
“Be careful!” Ain reminded, before using the incomplete Temporal Blitz.
Boom! Boom!
There were no surprises in the fight. Within moments, the four puppets were laid to waste. They’d already gained precious battle experience in the previous hall. With his increased proficiency, Ain could use the incomplete Temporal Blast more smoothly as well.
Breathing out to relax his nerves, he checked on Nox with his back pressed against the wall for safety. At a distance of tens of meters, no more puppets left the battlefield to attack him, affording him an opportunity to observe the situation.
Similar to past experiences, he’d once again appeared in a large hall constructed completely from Crescent Azurlite that radiated a soft glow. This hall was much wider than the previous two, resembling a big azure box from within. Below his feet was the white sand he’d encountered outside the black monolith.
At a distance, sounds of intense battles continued ringing, with the occasional explosion mixed in. Swords clashed, daggers slashed, and fists collided. If furious roars were to be thrown into this battlefield where the puppets were silent, the image of a violent war would be perfected.
The puppets looked identical, but a clear battle frontier demarcated two distinct sides in this war. Upon further observation, Ain caught sight of faint flashes of light behind the two armies.
“More puppets are spawning! No, that’s wrong. The destroyed puppets are being replenished constantly!” For each puppet destroyed, a new one spawned behind the armies, maintaining a fixed number.
“Wooo…!” Nox was similarly scrutinizing the battlefield. It senses were much better, and it soon spotted an anomaly, immediately relaying it to Ain. There were others in the depths of the two puppet armies!
Alert from Nox’s findings, he followed its gaze and squinted at the two armies. With some effort, he spotted a few dissimilar figures mixed into the crowd. Due to the chaotic movement of the puppets, combined with the distance, it was difficult to see them clearly. After observing for almost half a minute, Ain finally identified two of the figures. “It’s those two spirit masters!”
There was apprehension and anger suffusing his tone. His familiarity with the unknown figures roused Nox’s curiosity, and it inquired, “Wooo…?”
Ain frowned deeply before answering with displeasure, “They tried to kill me before!”
“Wooo…!” The statement instantly triggered Nox’s anger. It manifested Phantom Claws and prepared to rush over.
“Wait!” Ain hurriedly grabbed it from behind. “Let’s observe them first. I still don’t know how strong they are.”
“Wooo…!” Nox voiced its reluctance while dispelling its two white claws. Ain petted its body in an effort to appease it, “They’re both spirit masters with spirit pets. They’ve likely mastered some spells as well. I’m not sure if we can defeat them.” After a pause, he added, “Also, they’re surrounded by puppets, so we might not need to do anything at all.”
Nox observed the battlefield and replied after pondering, “Wooo…”
“Hmm? They’re not being attacked?” Ain was stunned at its statement again. He vaguely spotted their figures but couldn’t confirm their exact situation due to the dense crowd of puppets around them. His mind spun as information poured in from his various senses. Soon, a realization struck him. “They’re part of the two sides that are fighting!”
The two spirit masters – Carl and Mason, weren’t beside each other, but stood amidst the two armies on opposite sides. He initially assumed that they’d been separated in the chaotic battle. However, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“They aren’t being attacked by the puppets around them because they’re part of that army. And now, the armies are battling each other. But why are they fighting? How did they join up with the puppets?”
Facts and conjectures constantly formed connections within his head, courtesy of Wisdom Root. His thoughts raced ahead of his mouth, as possible answers to his own questions formulated.
The sequence of events so far, initiating from the stone monument where he’d ‘died,’ resembled a trial. This he’d already established before. The purpose seemed to be to pass on the Chronarch Precept and its substituents. The puppets were part of the trial, and the two spirit masters had entered alongside him, so they couldn’t have had prior arrangements here.
A clearer picture was painted in Ain’s mind.
“Is this part of the trial? The trial mechanism here assigned sides and now they have to defeat the other party to leave? Then, what about me? Can I also join a side?”
He’d already gotten used to Wisdom Root's effects over the past couple of days, but it was still difficult to build the confidence in himself. He couldn’t assure himself of the validity of his conclusion, but there seemed to be no other options.
The two spirit masters couldn’t spare any attention; hence they were still unaware of his existence. While being surrounded by allied puppets, opposing puppets would still break through the frontier to attack them. Furthermore, aside from the two spirit masters, there were two more anomalies in the battlefield.
Two puppets, differing greatly from the rest, wandered around the battlefield like ghosts, stealthily targeting the two spirit masters. These anomalous puppets supported a complete humanoid frame, lacking the dainty and crudely carved limbs of the Rank-0 puppets. Their movements were more agile and intricate as well. The only similarity they held to the Rank-0 puppets was their color. It was still the same dark brown.
One such puppet drifted amidst each army, attempting to assassinate the spirit master within. The explosions appearing occasionally were a result of spells and skills used by the spirit masters and their spirit pets, mostly against these two puppets.
Ain observed for a while longer before taking his eyes away from the battlefield. After instructing Nox, they began scouting the surroundings for more clues.