The Puppet's First Dance
I pretended to carefully read through the documents, furrowing my brow in thought. Truth was, I didn't need to read any further.
"Hmm..."
Why would anyone turn down benefits like these? But in movies, they always drag it out on purpose, right? Gulp. The team leader watched me with a tense expression.
"I'll do it! Let's sign the contract!"
"Thank you so much, Hunter Yoon Jaeha!"
Did I really deserve thanks for something like this? Normally this would have just been information I'd post on the Hunter Gallery.
"Then could you please write up the strategy in written form?"
"Sure thing."
But before that.
"Could you check this first?"
"This is...?"
I pressed play.
"It's the bank raid footage."
"You already recorded it?!"
"Yes."
The team leader watched without blinking once.
"This is truly astonishing... But I have one question."
"What is it?"
"Why doesn't the Phase 2 zombie return to the bank?"
"It's simple. There was too much dispersed aggro."
The LP player, the glowing mannequin, the zombie horde's cries, and the sounds of structures being smashed. Every time the security zombie's aggro started to fade, we took turns pulling it back.
"Then could you explain why the Phase 2 zombie ended up destroying that distant bus stop much later?"
"I think it hit the limit of its aggro maintenance time."
Territorial instinct versus aggro removal. The collision between those two wills left it unable to decide, until it ultimately leaned toward aggro removal.
Once the strategy documentation was finished.
"For item three, residential support, we'll assign you the location and type that best reflects your preferences. Do you have any specific conditions in mind?"
"Um, well..."
Even if you suddenly ask me like that. I'd never thought about it before.
"You don't need to worry about location or cost."
I could ask for an expensive area, but that wouldn't be a smart choice. The first floor region would change completely.
I can't throw away my greatest strength.
Besides, the residential support came with a condition to maintain a top ranking for one year. There were too many risks involved. If there was a better farming area, maybe, but the established theory was that every first-floor zone had identical opportunity costs. Therefore, even with residential support, I couldn't leave the area around Hongje Station.
"I'll think about this a bit more."
"Of course. Take your time and contact us when you're ready."
"Thank you."
And just like that, I safely completed the contract and registration.
Probably the anticancer drugs.
Texting was no problem at all. So why did words always fail me the moment I saw her face?
"Excuse me, receptionist."
"Yes, Hunter Yoon Jaeha!"
Hmm. The overly enthusiastic welcome felt a bit overwhelming.
"Can I use the exclusive training room right now?"
It was one of the perks I'd received in exchange for sharing my know-how.
"Of course! You can use Room 5 on the basement level!"
"Thank you."
I already had the key card. Now I just had to wait for Sia.
"Whoa, this is your personal training room?"
"Yeah."
I answered casually, but I was the one most surprised.
"Wow, the facilities are amazing."
"Right?"
There were workout machines, training dummies, and even partial recreations of the Tower of Calamity's interior environments.
"You're going to show me your unique skill here?"
"That's right."
And not just show it.
"I was hoping you'd help me test it too."
"Test it?"
I pulled a mannequin out of my spatial backpack.
It bowed politely.
"Kyaa!"
Sia jumped at the mannequin's sudden movement.
"Ah, sorry. Stay there and wait without moving."
I left the mannequin on standby.
"My unique skill is Puppetry."
"Puppetry?"
"Yeah. It's a skill that grants will to targets with human shapes."
Her expression said the explanation alone wasn't enough to get it. So I decided to demonstrate immediately.
"Come here."
Its walking posture and movements were indistinguishable from a real person.
"Whoa, it really moves just like a human!"
"It can attack too. Try throwing some punches in the air."
Whoosh, whoosh— Whoosh—
Huh? Now it was doing one-two-hook combinations? It seemed to be moving even better than before.
"So this is what you meant by helping with the test? I just need to spar with this mannequin?"
"No no, that's not necessary. You might get hurt."
"Don't worry about that. The training room has training equipment and healing patches brought from the tower."
Oh right, she did mention she'd received training from the Association.
"Are you really okay with this?"
"Yeah. Actually, this is perfect. I've always been hesitant about sparring with real people anyway."
Well, I'd probably be more worried about her opponent than her.
"Then let's start by testing if Adrenaline activates."
"Sounds good."
I mentally commanded the mannequin to treat her as hostile.
"It activated! The amplification range isn't bad either. It's about the same as drawing aggro from five zombies."
"That's pretty generous, huh?"
No matter how human-like the mannequin's movements were, its size couldn't compare. Its power would naturally be weaker too. Yet it still got that kind of reaction.
"Before we get into the real testing, let's put on the training gear first."
"Okay."
It looked like soft taekwondo protective gear along with a rubber bat. I equipped the mannequin as well.
"Let's start slow and gradually increase the intensity."
"Got it."
The mannequin raised its bat as if signaling it was ready.
Just threaten her without letting her get hurt.
It nodded.
Tap—!
"Hup!"
The mannequin sprang forward.
Whoosh—
It swung the bat in an intentionally large motion.
"Wow, it really feels like a person!"
Sia dodged by pulling her head back and immediately counterattacked.
They can actually coordinate with each other?
I'd expected her to completely overwhelm it, but they were matching up better than I'd thought.
But something's weird.
The mannequin's movements felt strangely familiar. The moment I thought I would've stepped in and swung here, the mannequin actually stepped forward and swung widely. A bizarre sense of dissonance, as if my thoughts and the mannequin's movements were perfectly synchronized. But it didn't feel like I was directly controlling it. It was more like watching another version of myself fight.
"Sia, that's enough for now. Let me try."
I stopped it for now. Just in case she got hurt.
"Aww, I was just getting warmed up!"
Warmed up?! The mannequin was completely fine despite taking hits from her. Whether that was because it was just a rubber bat or because it had high durability...
I can just check!
I ordered it to go all out.
Taht— Whoooong—!
I also swung my bat with full power.
Thwack!!
The bats collided with enough force that I felt a massive rebound. But the mannequin was pushed back due to the size difference. Undeterred, it used that rebound to spin around and attempt a counterattack. I immediately shoved its back with my shoulder, then delivered a front kick to the off-balance mannequin!
Thud!
The thing that rolled backward quickly regained its stance.
Tap tap tap.
It started running away.
"Huh?"
I hadn't expected this pattern at all. It was suddenly fleeing? Curious about what would happen next, I chased after it.
The training room was a massive space. Large enough to build sets that looked like actual buildings.
The moment I stepped into the alley between two walls—
Whoosh—
A bat came crashing down toward my head.
Damn, I can't block it!
It was too late to attack, and the space was too narrow to lift the bat horizontally to defend. But this was still within expectations. I knocked the bat upward and barely deflected it. The mannequin immediately fled again.
Whoa, insane. This is actually really tricky.
It genuinely felt like I was fighting a real person. No, the mannequin's back somehow overlapped with my own. If I were facing an opponent I couldn't beat head-on, I'd probably use hit-and-run tactics like this to catch them off guard.
"That's enough for the spar."
The mannequin returned to its original position.
"Wow, that was crazy!"
"The mannequin's movements were way better than I expected."
"You were going easy on me earlier, weren't you?! I want to try again!"
Was she a kid who'd just found a new toy?
"Hmm, aren't you going to break the mannequin?"
"I won't break it!"
"Alright, go ahead then."
"Yay!"
Was Sia always this innocent and playful? Where did that prickly stray cat go? I couldn't help but smile.
After letting them spar for a while.
"Now let's test its offensive power."
I sharpened the hand ax's blade with an E-grade whetstone.
"Try smashing the dummy with this."
It nodded. It charged forward with full power and brought the ax down on the dummy's head.
Crunch!
"Whoa!"
"Holy crap!"
It split the dummy all the way down to its chest in one blow. And these dummies were pretty sturdy too. Its attack power exceeded expectations.
At this rate, I need to get the mannequin a proper weapon.
Preferably an item.
"Sia, were there any useful weapons among the auction items?"
"There were some normal-grade weapons from the tower, but no items."
Too bad. Should I at least give it a hammer for now?
"Try attacking the dummy with this."
It nodded.
Clang! Clang! Crack! Crunch! Snap!
The power was definitely lower, but it wasn't bad. At this level, it could easily handle Phase 1 zombies.
"Jaeha."
"Yeah?"
"What do you think about getting some formal combat training?"
"It'd be good, but why suddenly?"
I had been planning to try it anyway.
"The mannequin's movements seem really similar to yours."
"Huh? Yeah, I guess they are."
"If your movements improve, wouldn't the mannequin's improve too?"
"Ohhhhh!!"
I knew I was missing something! So that's what it was!
"Whoa! Sia, are you a genius? You caught that right away?!"
"T-this much is obvious! You would've realized it soon too, you know!"
Her smug expression was so cute that I ended up teasing her with praise. We were both giggling when—
Skill level has increased!
Puppetry (EX) Lv.2
"This is...!"
Puppetry's level had gone up.
Why did it suddenly increase?
Could it be because we were training together? It leveled up just from this?!
Then what if I just train until I enter the tower?
I was pondering how to raise the skill level more efficiently when—
EX Mannequin's level has increased!
EX Mannequin Lv.2
"What the—?!"
Even the mannequin's level had gone up.