Let's Take a Look
Originally, the dolls could only eat, sleep, and stretch.
But crafting was ultimately a matter of proficiency.
With materials like these, he could make something equivalent.
Or even better quality.
'I've been wanting to try making all sorts of things anyway. Perfect timing.'
At the words that it would help with training, Dullahan's green eyes glimmered faintly.
Rune gave a slight smile as he looked at him.
"If I make them properly, we could even practice ways to handle an army."
Currently, lessons were one-on-one with Dullahan or Christina.
Or one against multiple.
But if Rune could create dolls that moved on their own, they could practice many-against-many fights.
'Of course, I'd need Christina's permission to use them.'
Either way, with this much material on hand, making them was no issue.
Rune had selected the ones in the best condition, perfect for immediate crafting.
"Alright. Let's do this."
Rune pulled a large tooth bone from his subspace pouch.
It was heavy.
Even though it was a milk tooth, it was sturdy and quite large.
Thud.
Rune's hand rested on the thick tooth.
'To make something useful, this one should do.'
It was a tooth from a Monster Bear that Rune had chosen with purpose.
Next, he took out the Dark-stained Scent Box and the Curse Tool Crafting Kit.
"Since Christina dislikes demons, we need to cleanse any gloomy aura."
Rune placed pure water infused with water energy into the Dark-stained Scent Box.
'To get her permission to use the dolls, they should look less like the original monsters—more harmless. These are just for practice, after all.'
Rune activated the Curse Tool Crafting Kit and checked the recipes.
He reviewed the Monster Doll recipe and gauged the materials.
'For Dullahan, we used a precious soul and matching tribal relic. But these don't need that effort.'
Rune used ground pearl powder, along with odds and ends and fabrics from the Elf Kingdom and dwarf village.
He mixed in hides from deep-sea monsters to adjust the body composition ratios.
This meant far more cotton and fabric than monster materials.
'This should keep the monster features minimal. Even if it fails, we won't waste much.'
Finally, Rune added feathers he'd harvested from Baekya in advance.
With all materials loaded, he activated the Curse Tool Crafting Kit.
Clack. Clack.
Hiss!
The sounds of materials mashing and combining.
The success rate was fairly high.
Flash!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The three completed dolls were slightly smaller than Rune.
So, this was...
"They look just like kids' teddy bears?"
Clank!
Dullahan nodded in response to Rune's mutter.
'Aiming for mass production with minimal raw materials led to this.'
Substituting easily obtainable materials was inevitable.
If he'd used materials to form a full monster body like with Dullahan, they'd have come out as fierce, rugged Monster Bears...
But they weren't hunting every time, so using monster corpses felt wasteful.
The dolls stirred to life.
Grah!
Grrawk!
Grrawk?
Having inherited the Monster Bear's temperament, the dolls had fierce glares from the start.
The teddy bears let out roars.
Grraaaawr!
"......"
They seemed to think it was a terrifying cry.
Rune rubbed his chin as he watched the three dolls gnashing pathetically.
"They turned out pretty decent."
After some thought, Rune decided to get some feedback.
He pulled out the Mokoji Stone and tapped out a message.
The training grounds were the space Christina had prepared for their lessons.
Perfect opportunity, thought Rune. He tapped again.
Rune nodded at the reply.
'Great.'
It was an ideal spot to test them.
Rune eyed the teddy bears gnawing furiously at Dullahan's armor.
Then he looked up at the unflappable Dullahan.
"We're heading to the training grounds. Wanna come?"
Clank!
Dullahan nodded and pried a teddy bear off his armor.
***
They arrived via teleportation magic.
On the bright gray stone platform, Heungmi and Perdikion were sparring.
"Kyaaang!"
Heungmi bared her sharp fangs with a cry, darting across the gray arena at blinding speed.
Even a trained eye would struggle to track her.
"Ha! That all you got?"
Perdikion shouted triumphantly, unleashing rings of fire.
"Hoi!"
Heungmi nimbly leaped through the fiery hoops, summoning two fire cats to blast Perdikion with flames.
Whoosh!
Perdikion blocked the spirit flames.
But they burst like fireworks, obscuring his vision.
Rune was impressed inwardly.
'Heungmi's got skills. She can't be hurt by fire anyway, so she sealed his sight.'
Heungmi leaped high, her kick poised to land true.
"There!"
Perdikion cupped his palms and swept her heel aside.
"Tchii!"
Heungmi stuck out her tongue like a raspberry and landed without losing balance.
'They're just playing around.'
No joke.
Heungmi could hide her intent perfectly for a successful strike.
Perdikion could keep her at bay with fire.
But they were bickering playfully during training, so they held back.
Rune approached Amelia, who was shaping a large water orb fluffy in her hands.
"Ah... R-Rune, you're here. Dullahan too, h-hello..."
Clank!
The massive armored knight nodded silently.
"B-But... wh-what's that?"
The water girl's puzzled gaze fell on the dolls gnawing Dullahan's arms and shoulders.
Rune answered.
"New dolls I made."
Amelia tilted her head slightly.
Grraaaang!
The teddy bear looked ready to chomp anything.
Amelia asked curiously.
"Um, Rune... are these dolls... s-supposed to be like that?"
She'd never seen one, but dolls in her mind were fluffy and soft.
Friends for children, harmless even to human kids.
Not this ferocious gnawing and snarling.
Rune explained.
"They look like that for combat training purposes."
"Ah..."
Amelia nodded faintly, satisfied.
Now Rune asked.
"How long have those two been at it?"
"Um, n-not long. They ate... and said they felt s-stuffed, so post-meal exercise... and came here."
Amelia seemed uninterested in joining.
Rune's gaze shifted back to Heungmi and Perdikion.
Up all night playing, yet feeling stuffed and sparring.
Another clash, sparks flying.
Truly energetic bunch.
'Resting would be harder for them.'
Heungmi never still, always playing.
Perdikion needing constant productivity.
Opposites, yet they synced perfectly.
'No rush. I'll wait a bit.'
As Rune crossed his arms and watched, Heungmi spotted him first.
"Ah, when did you get here? Rune-nim!"
She waved wildly.
Perdikion dropped his stance and looked at Rune.
He'd sensed him ages ago but delayed greeting mid-spar.
"You're here."
His gaze shifted to Dullahan.
Grah!
Grrawk!
Grraaawr!
At the end of the fire dragon boy's stare: tangerine, pink, and ivory teddy bears.
With no real strength, their fabric teeth tore at Dullahan... or rather, clung like fruit.
This evoked different reactions from Perdikion and Heungmi.
"What the hell are those freaks?"
"Ah, what's this? So cute!"
Heungmi beamed with interest; Perdikion scowled openly.
Rune explained to them both.
"Combat training dolls I made. Basic temperament from Monster Bears. Just whipped them up."
"Ooo... For training? So these teddies spar with me?"
"With those puny things?"
Heungmi's eyes sparkled curiously; Perdikion sneered.
Rune peeled off the tangerine teddy bear.
"Gonna test 'em out. If they're good, make more. Fix any issues."
Dissatisfied in the young darkness tribe girl's hand? No, Rune's.
The tangerine teddy thrashed, baring teeth and snapping.
Grraaawr grraawr!
"......"
It looked ready to foam at the mouth and charge.
Perdikion glared, itching to smack it.
"Yeah. Looks punchable."
Snap!
A bone-cracking sound from Perdikion's hand as Heungmi peeked out.
"Aww! I'd take it home and raise it!"
Rune shut it down instantly.
"No. I'll make you something else later."
"Hiiing."
Heungmi pouted, finger to chin, ears twitching.
'Should I have made them fiercer?'
He pondered, but cost-cutting was key.
'Testing will tell.'
Later, rarer, stronger dolls.
For now, mass-producible quality was the goal.
As they chatted and waited, warp magic activated.
Christina appeared, her beautiful golden hair shining.
"Oh my, Rune. Dullahan too. What brings you?"
She treated him as a 'great soul' warrior now, but Dullahan valued duty and rarely left the Black Room.
His unannounced presence here surprised her.
Especially gnawed by two teddies.
Her blue eyes turned to Rune.
"Looks like our little mischief-maker's been up to something again."
Rune replied.
"Yeah, I made these. For training related to our lessons. Mind checking if we can use them?"
"Hmm."
Christina stepped lightly closer, eyeing the teddy in Rune's hand.
"Alright, let's take a look."
Her blue eyes revealed draconic pupils.
The teddy bear, facing the ruler's gaze directly, froze stiff.