The Puppeteer's Awakening
Ability — Legion Command
A skill specialized in commanding others. The greater the number of troops under command, the more the ability's effects are amplified.
Upon leveling up, a portion of bonus stats are invested into Charisma.
*5 troops: Increased fighting spirit
*10 troops: Pain resistance
*50 troops: Selected stat +10%.
*100 troops: Selected stat +20%.
*(Unconfirmed)
…….
“What exactly is Charisma?”
Jiyoung tilted her head.
Kim Youngsoo cleared his throat with a cough.
“It’s a stat related to command-type abilities. Not very useful in direct combat.”
He avoided my gaze.
The fact that Charisma was rated highest was probably a penalty from his unique ability. That’s why he’d been stuck as a perpetual Iron-ranker. To reach level 101 or higher, he’d need to win a promotion match and advance to Bronze.
“Then let me ask. What do you think you need most right now, hyung-nim?”
“To supplement my lacking stats.”
“Wrong.”
My fingertip pointed at the Charisma stat.
“You need to make use of your highest stat in actual combat.”
“But all of the Centurion job’s special skills are focused on team play.”
“You don’t have to find the answer only within the job.”
I turned on my phone and opened the Babel Tower app. Under Mission Matching, I tapped the [Exchange] menu.
Midron Exchange Access Guide.
To connect from outside, you must use an Exchange Pass or summon your exclusive merchant.
Exclusive Merchant: Mors
Would you like to connect?
“Of course.”
The moment I pressed the button, the gnome merchant’s face appeared on screen.
『You called, dear customer!』
“Yeah. I want to buy a skill book.”
『Just say the word.』
“Puppetry.”
『You have quite the unusual taste.』
“Can you get it?”
『Of course. The price is 10,000 CP.』
Damn expensive. Still, this was an investment looking toward the future.
“I’ll buy it.”
『Please wait a moment.』
Mors disappeared from the screen. Jiyoung stared at the Exchange menu with curious eyes.
“Master, you really are different.”
“What is?”
“Even as an Unranked, you have an exclusive merchant!”
“I am pretty amazing.”
Nyx, perched on my shoulder, let out a sigh.
— Thou requirest the virtue of silence, Contractor.
“Is it wrong to admit I’m great when I am?”
— Truly unchanging.
“They say people who change too much are worse.”
While we were exchanging pointless banter, a blue light flashed across the phone screen. Like a 3D printer, the light gradually formed an object in midair. Moments later, a skill book appeared on the floor.
『Thank you for your purchase, dear customer. Please note that skill books cannot be refunded after acquisition.』
“Got it. I’ll call again next time.”
I closed the Babel Tower app and turned to Kim Youngsoo.
“What is this?”
“A skill that will make your Charisma shine.”
Puppetry
Grade: ★
Classification: Active
Forms the user’s mana into threads to control dolls. Consumes a small amount of mana.
“Dolls?”
“There’s no rule saying the targets of command have to be people, right?”
“That is true, but…”
Kim Youngsoo nodded with a reluctant expression. He must be confused. But the effect was certain. After all, this was the method you used in the first timeline.
— Contractor, I have a question.
“What?”
— Must they be dolls? Spirits, summons, or even the unholy could be controlled instead.
“If it were as Master says, that would be ideal.”
Jiyoung chimed in as well.
“Those skills come with job restrictions.”
Creating undead required being a Necromancer. Summoning spirits also demanded the corresponding job class. Items like the Flame Birthstone could let non-spirit users command spirits, but…
“Those go for around ten billion, don’t they?”
“T-ten billion?!”
Jiyoung’s jaw dropped. There were people who’d earned nearly four billion in under a month. Lucky, sure, but still.
“This skill is cheaper than that.”
“You just spent ten thousand CP.”
“Only because Youngsoo hyung will earn it back by pulling his weight.”
Kim Youngsoo let out a sigh of relief. Of course. I wasn’t running a charity. Just because they were teammates didn’t mean I’d hand everything over. If nurturing them hindered my own growth, that would be putting the cart before the horse. What I needed were people who could support me and fill in when I was away.
“Then I’ll make good use of it.”
Kim Youngsoo read the book containing the essence of Puppetry. The skill book crumbled into dust.
“How do you feel?”
“I need a doll.”
“I already prepared one.”
I took a training wooden doll out of the Pocket of Desire. It wasn’t meant for this, but it was perfect for a demonstration.
Puppetry
Blue threads woven from mana extended from Kim Youngsoo’s hands. They attached to the doll’s arms, legs, and back. When he twitched his fingers, the doll’s limbs moved in tandem.
— The doll dances.
“A bit outdated, though.”
I let out a chuckle. His adaptation speed to Puppetry was faster than expected. As expected, he had a natural talent for command-related fields.
“Youngsoo hyung, check your command count.”
“Just a moment. …It really increased by one!”
Kim Youngsoo, who had been looking bewildered, deactivated Puppetry and stared at me. For a moment, his eyes glistened with tears.
“Team leader, thank you. Truly, thank you!”
His voice trembled, choked with emotion.
“Uncle found his talent thanks to Master too.”
“What about you, Jiyoung?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I figured out how to use my ability.”
Jiyoung grinned.
* * *
Kim Youngsoo decided to focus on training rather than missions until he grew accustomed to Puppetry.
“I’ll cover the cost of making the dolls myself.”
The training wooden dolls weren’t meant for combat. Even if they copied my stats when activated, Puppetry wouldn’t register them in that state. To apply Puppetry in real battles, he’d need separate combat dolls.
“That’ll cost quite a bit.”
“I have savings.”
“If that’s the case, fine.”
Seeing his motivated expression lifted my mood.
“Use that doll for now.”
“Understood.”
The training wooden doll could only be activated once every twelve hours. There was still time left, so I left it with Kim Youngsoo for training.
“Is it my turn now?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll show you how much I’ve improved.”
Let’s see how much she’d grown since last time.
Polar Night Dominion activated.
A long blade of Polar Night energy shot straight toward her. The speed was too fast for an ordinary player to react to.
— Art thou not taking this too seriously?
Nonsense. This was how training worked. Just as the blade of darkness was about to touch Jiyoung’s neck—
Clang! A powerful rebound sent it flying backward. Jiyoung’s unique ability, Vibration Barrier.
“Whoa, Master, you’re going all out from the start?”
Jiyoung’s face had gone pale as she raised her voice.
“Reaction speed matters too. An arrow without eyes doesn’t discriminate.”
“Still counts as passing, right?”
“No. The real test starts now.”
This time, I split the Polar Night energy into five. The total power was twenty, so each carried four units. A half-baked barrier would be pierced.
“Try blocking this.”
Shhhk! The dark energies rushed in from multiple angles. Jiyoung deployed barriers in the air, stopping two of them. The Polar Night scattered left and right upon hitting the barriers. I could have wrapped and crushed the barriers themselves if I pushed harder, but there was no need for that in a test. The two deflected strands were recalled. The remaining three aimed for Jiyoung’s openings—above her head and both sides.
— Three directions at once. Quite troublesome indeed.
Vibration Barrier x 3
Hexagonal barriers formed around her sides and head. The low-flying attacks skimming the ground were all stopped. However—
“Your focus broke.”
A blade of darkness lightly touched her crown. The one aimed at her head had slightly changed direction, causing the barrier placement to miss.
“Tsk. I messed up at the end.”
“You did well enough.”
I spoke with genuine sincerity. Jiyoung’s unique ability, Vibration Barrier, had an extremely high application difficulty. Ordinary defensive magic activated immediately upon rearranging mana according to a set pattern, but Jiyoung’s Vibration Barrier required first “perceiving” the space. It had to account for even the slightest air currents to maximize its effect.
“Calculating coordinates calmly in a crisis is difficult.”
“I… I worked really hard.”
It had only been a little under a month since she learned the true applications of barriers, yet she’d already reached this level. It showed how much she’d practiced deploying them. Combined with her innate talent…
“It’s also good that you never took your eyes off the enemy’s attacks.”
“Th-thank you, Master!”
“Except for the last part.”
Jiyoung let out a groan.
“How many floors have you cleared?”
“The fourth.”
“Pretty fast.”
Only a week had passed since the tutorial ended. Thanks to my regression experience, I’d climbed nonstop to the seventh floor, but most people repeated already-cleared missions because their stats or equipment were lacking.
“Do you have a job in mind?”
“Not yet. Once I reach the fifth floor, I plan to promote into a barrier or shield-related job.”
“Good idea.”
I patted Jiyoung’s shoulder. In the previous timeline, she hadn’t chosen a barrier-related job at her first promotion. Back then, she couldn’t see uses beyond defense, so it was an unavoidable choice. But because of the penalty on Vibration Barrier, her emission-type magic never reached full power, and she never properly utilized her job’s advantages. This time, she’d made the right choice.
“Master, I can now stack up to three barriers.”
Pride filled Jiyoung’s voice.
“Show me.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Jiyoung focused with wide eyes. Prism-like hexagonal barriers layered one, two, then three times. At that moment—
Zzzzzzing! An intense vibration rang out, and Jiyoung’s fingertips trembled as well.
“U-ugh.”
“That’s enough.”
Jiyoung dismissed the barriers.
“Already succeeding at stacking three. Impressive.”
“Hehehe, it’s all thanks to you, Master.”
“Don’t use it in real combat yet. You need to focus more on controlling the barrier’s wavelength.”
“Yes!”
I controlled Polar Night energy to assist Jiyoung’s barrier training. Attacks poured in from every angle. When I sharpened the timing, she grew quite flustered.
“M-Master, why are you so fast?!”
“Testing and training are different.”
While helping Jiyoung train, my own proficiency with Polar Night increased as well.
— I cannot tell who is training whom.
“Mutual benefit.”
I brushed off Nyx’s remark and focused on training. When night fell, I found the two of them a place to rest and returned home.
— Thou hast worked hard.
“Hard work? This is just the beginning.”
I picked up my phone.
— Dost thou intend to train and then climb the Tower as well?
“There’s still time until midnight. Enough to clear two missions.”
— Thou art truly a workaholic.
I knew that. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have survived the Age of Destruction. I chuckled lightly and opened the Babel Tower app.