Puppet and Puppeteer

"Fuck... what a shitshow."

I muttered as I scrolled through my phone.

The community forums were on fire.

The branch raid last night, and some unregistered hunter breaking records...

A lot must've gone down while I was sleeping. Well, that unregistered hunter's probably me, so whatever.

"Haa..."

I sighed and glanced sideways.

Han Yuseon was there, slouching sulkily as she half-assed the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cleaning.

Our eyes met. Hers screamed injustice, like she was the wronged party.

This crazy puppet bitch.

I furrowed my brow to signal my foul mood.

She quickly averted her gaze and kept picking up trash.

Seeing her fluster around softened me up a bit.

Puppets are great for housework, huh? No complaints there.

"I almost got my appearance and name sold nationwide."

Transcendent grade, floor 1.

I nearly fucked up big time from a choice I had zero control over.

If I hadn't holed up in my room without stepping out, I'd have been pinpointed and nabbed already.

Han Yuseon says she cleaned up the mess... but can I trust that?

Leaking my info does me no favors. It's all bad. Real bad.

With Anthropophobia, I can't even meet people, and Hikikomori keeps me from going outside.

Any intruder or approacher is instant death.

A grumble from behind—"I handled it clean..."—grated on my nerves.

"I've been wondering since yesterday: you're a puppet—don't you have to obey your puppeteer? And quit the bitching or I'll kill you."

"Oh, you heard that?"

Han Yuseon flashed an awkwardly forced smile, gauging my reaction.

"My own brand of... humor?"

"..."

My face twisted.

Fuck, that... seriously... should I just puppet-control her ass?

I'd tested Puppet Control this morning while checking my status window.

Puppets obey unconditionally. No mental drain, total slave mode. They'd die on command.

But I held back.

She's got her own thoughts, at least.

Her top priority is "protect the puppeteer," ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so no need to micromanage.

Pulling the control strings would just breed resentment. Without overcoming my traits, I'll be stuck with her forever—that's on me.

Seeing my sour expression, she backpedaled late.

"It's because you didn't set any controls, right? No strings, no puppet..."

"Oh, so I should string you up? Nice and tight?"

"...My apologies."

She conceded fast.

At least she's learning patterns. Small ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mercies.

Anyway, she's paying for it now.

I've got a ton to check...

Right now, investing beats hoarding.

Weapons and stat boosts stand out most in the Point Shop.

No modern firearms inside the Tower.

But shop-bought ones work.

Better have some self-defense... but...

I don't know shit about guns.

Skipped the military.

Orphan with a weak body from birth—got public service instead.

Best ask Han Yuseon, who's got Tower intel.

"Yuseon."

"Yes?"

She snapped back sullenly while wiping the window, not even looking.

"I'm buying a weapon. What do you recommend?"

"A wea...pon?"

She finally turned, eyes wide in disbelief.

I nodded.

"Yeah. Gotta have something for protection."

"So... a Hikikomori with Anthropophobia, zero martial skills, shut in their room—wielding a weapon?"

"Got a problem with that? Some grudge?"

Even after I speak up, that's her tone.

But fair point. Never touched a weapon in my life—won't help much.

Still, something simple like a pistol...

"I'll say it straight: you can't."

She shook her head. That you? look pissed me off.

Rage bubbled, but I breathed deep. There's a reason.

"Why not."

"Useless. Think bullets would've helped against that floor 1 golem?"

"That was Transcendent."

I countered.

She shrugged.

"Stick to Transcendent. At this point, scraping points fast—you gonna waste a week on Easy?"

"...True."

Reasonable, even if her delivery sucks.

Even on Hard, guns would suck. Useless for defense.

Better leave it to Han Yuseon.

Ditch these traits ASAP.

Can't rely on her forever. I need a life too!

As I pondered, she added:

"Stat increases are best. Costs more per stat later, but handles crises."

"...Got it."

I dumped all points per her advice.

Got 10 stats. Next one's 20 points.

Balanced scaling, huh?

Probably ramps up every 10 or so.

Makes sense—points pile up higher in the Tower.

"Whoa..."

I'd dumped everything into looks back then, hitting 50 Charm.

No wonder I'm so damn cute. Self-praise, but facts.

Others at minimum. If I'd balanced...

Staring at the absurd window, she asked:

"Something wrong?"

Curiosity piqued.

"Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom—all 1s. Charm's 50..."

"Uh..."

Han Yuseon went speechless, blinking before nodding.

"Cute covers it anyway."

"Hey!"

I bristled.

She nodded again, oddly satisfied.

Hunters are all hot stuff. Custom traits, huh?

Korea's top official hunter babe was stunning, I recall.

Han Yuseon'd probably match if she had a window.

"Anyway. No need for more Charm—what to pick?"

"All-in Charm meta. Useless on Tower mobs, but humans? Worked yesterday—got hit on a few times outbound."

"What?"

I gawked. Phone numbers?

She tilted her head, like why so shocked?

"No phone, though?"

"Oh."

"Hoo, jealous?"

"Die. Drop dead."

Barely suppressed the urge to smack that smirk off.

"It's fine. I only have eyes for you, Master."

"That should be romantic, but why's it sound like shit?"

"Aw."

She chuckled.

As I shuddered into UFC mode, she pivoted quick.

"For stats... prioritize Stamina and Agility."

"Strength? Wisdom?"

"I handle Strength unless you're super strong. Wisdom... for mage path. Doesn't make you smarter—just boosts talent."

"Gotcha."

I allocated: 10 Stamina, 5 Agility.

Feel different...?

How to test? I tilted my head—

"Hit me."

"...Pardon?"

She blinked, baffled. Misheard?

"Tested Stamina. Wanna check."

"...Ah, verify?"

Her lip curled slyly.

I caught on.

Oh shit—

A fist loomed before my eyes.