Puppet

The gigantic Black Cat was the first to charge out of the room, Arro gripping his Knight's Longsword as he followed close behind.

Where was the enemy?

Whoosh!

Before Arro's eyes could make it out, the hairs on his body stirred, and his body reacted at once.

Advanced Skill—Upswing!

Clack!

The horizontally swatted longsword was like a ping-pong paddle, rapidly batting away the inexplicable flying sphere.

His eyes narrowed slightly as they quickly adjusted to the corridor's brightness, and the scene around him swiftly came into view.

Puppets?

More than a dozen half-grown puppets stood in the narrow corridor, nearly as tall as the well-trained Arro.

Their eyes were pitch-black hollows, and below those dark holes were crescent-shaped smiles, with a pointed wavy line painted in the middle. Their entire heads looked like unfinished pumpkin lanterns.

Each wore a Long-tailed Tuxedo that trailed behind it, like clothes hangers left out to dry, their smooth round wooden rods plainly visible beneath. Yet they held wooden spears far taller than themselves in both hands. They swayed as they walked, their bodies constantly emitting "clack, clack, clack" sounds, looking utterly absurd.

"Arro, deal with them!"

The Black Cat casually glanced them over, tossed out those words, and leapt several times, vaulting past the puppets from the side.

Only after the Black Cat had run far away did the few puppets at the back slowly turn around, seemingly preparing to chase it. But the puppets in front of Arro had already raised their spears and "walked" toward him.

So weak?

Arro's past opponents had all been his age, but they had also trained for years. Whenever they fought him, hadn't they always given it everything they had?

Suddenly encountering opponents even weaker than ordinary people made Arro feel oddly as though the whole thing had been exaggerated.

But then he remembered how Teacher Gemma had repeatedly sent him into Anomaly Spaces, and how she had just told him to deal with these puppets. That made it seem normal again.

There were many of these puppets to begin with. They were probably grunt-level enemies, so naturally their strength could not be anything too outrageous.

After all, his mother's test had confirmed that he possessed the strength of an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice.

If someone with his strength found even the grunts in an Anomaly Space difficult to deal with, then the Anomaly Space would be far too dangerous. Teacher Gemma could not possibly let him take such a risk.

These puppets looked strange. If ordinary people saw them, their first reaction would probably be to run away, wouldn't it?

Though Arro pondered as he entered a fighting stance, his body did not pause in the slightest.

Having fought one against many for years, he deeply understood one principle.

Never let the enemy prepare!

Fighting many was not the same as a duel. How could the attack speed of one pair of hands compare to that of five or six pairs?

Before the puppets could surround him, Arro lowered himself and burst forward.

Compared to the puppets' sluggish movements, Arro's strike was lightning-fast.

Clang!

So hard!

The Knight's Longsword in Arro's hand was naturally no ordinary weapon, yet even relying on its sharpness and the momentum of his charge, he could only barely sever one wooden rod from the puppet's body.

I can't hope to chop them into scrap wood. I don't have that much time, and they aren't worth wasting so much stamina on!

Arro made his decision at once.

Seeing that the puppet in front of him, whose supporting wooden rod had been severed, now had one arm hanging limply to the side, while the spear it had previously gripped in both hands had tilted crookedly, Arro first sensed his surroundings. Once he confirmed that the other puppets had not yet closed in, he rushed directly to the half-crippled puppet's side and launched a flying kick.

Bang!

So light!

The half-crippled puppet flew away at the impact, knocking down three more puppets in succession and instantly throwing the area ahead into chaos.

The flying kick had actually been more effective than his full-force slash.

Their weaknesses are far too obvious!

Their bodies were light, their reactions slow, and their movements stiff. No wonder Monli, an ordinary Young Man, had been able to escape this space.

It could be said that as long as they were not so terrified that their legs went weak, these Puppet Soldiers could not outrun an ordinary boy in a normal state. Even if they Encountered each other around a corner, the strength of a ten-year-old boy would be enough to shove them away.

Since that was the case, Arro decided to change his method of attack.

Attack those ridiculous necks!

His right foot withdrew half a step to brace himself, while also guarding against the possibility that the puppets' strength might exceed his expectations. With his right foot already drawn back, he could switch moves and jump away at any time.

Block!

He blocked the thrusting spear with a single move. Relying on the arm perception enhanced by Advanced Cat Form Fist—Tree Climbing, Arro roughly gauged the puppet's strength.

I can block it!

Upswing!

The Knight's Longsword in Arro's hand immediately sprang upward, carrying the spear before him in a semicircle. His right leg, planted in a horse stance, exerted force as well, and his body swiftly leaned forward before the Knight's Longsword came down in a diagonal slash.

Slash!

The two additional abilities of Cat Form Fist worked together. The perception from Tree Climbing swiftly sought out the direction with the least resistance, while the Subtle Muscles control granted by Dash made minute adjustments to the sword blade's trajectory.

A sphere was swiftly cut off!

Buzz!

A spring suddenly popped out from the puppet's neck. The head that had just fallen off was launched into the air and shot rapidly toward Arro.

Arro, who had kept Cat Form Fist—Dash active the entire time, immediately sensed the sudden air pressure. With a glance from the corner of his eye, he judged its speed. The longsword that had not yet returned from its strike could only angle into a block, and the instant they made contact, he exerted force and struck it sharply outward.

Clang!

The familiar sound reached him. Feeling the contact just now, Arro suddenly understood what had flown at him when he first stepped out of the room.

It had been a puppet's head too!

Was it Teacher Gemma's attack?

She had only gone out half a second before me, and she had already dealt with a puppet?

She's so strong!

Clack, clack, clack...

The Puppet Soldiers were closing in. Arro had no time to Think Too Much. He hooked up the headless puppet on the ground and swiftly kicked it out.

As long as a method worked, it did not matter if it was old!

With its head missing, the headless puppet's body was lighter. Moreover, Arro first had to hook it up, and the consecutive exertion weakened the force of his kick considerably. This time, it did not send other puppets flying along with it, but it still caused some chaos and blocked the advancing Puppet Soldiers' Footsteps.

Before the puppets could settle down from the disorder, Arro raised his sword and charged in.

The power of spears lay in their numbers. Faced with enough spears, even someone with exceptional reactions would find it difficult to evade them. But once the Puppet Soldiers were thrown into disarray, even if a few could react and attack him, Arro could easily dodge.

If there was truly no way to dodge, he would directly parry and Block.

Aside from their rather hard wooden bodies, the Puppet Soldiers were inferior in every other respect to the Young Men who had once sparred with Arro.

Yet at this moment, his mind was utterly focused, and he did not dare relax in the slightest.

This was completely different from training. Back then, even when the Young Men carried weapons, their blades had not been sharpened. Even if Arro accidentally failed to dodge, he would at most get a bruise, and his Combat Power would not be affected in the slightest.

Now, however, things were different. No matter where he was struck, his movement speed, strength, reaction speed, stamina—every aspect of him could be affected.

Once he was injured, a single tug could move the whole body, and it could very likely lead to defeat!

He had wanted to use the Puppet Soldier whose body he had cut in half earlier, but when he sliced open one puppet's ill-fitting tuxedo and saw the hollow body beneath it, he could only abandon that unrealistic idea.

No more wishful thinking. Deal with them one by one!

Come on, Arro!

These puppets aren't strong. Just judging by their weight, you can easily kick them flying. Even if several Puppet Soldiers surround you, you can use the headless puppets on the ground to break out!

Arro silently encouraged himself. Taking a moment, he drew in a deep breath and swallowed before hurriedly dodging another thrusting spear. Seizing the moment when the Puppet Soldier left itself wide open, he swiftly closed in.

The longsword swung!

Slash!

Then he immediately leapt backward, avoiding the Wooden Pumpkin Lantern that sprang out while also evading attacks from both sides.

Keep retreating!

There are fallen puppets on the ground. They can't all maintain the same speed!

Sure enough, after retreating several steps, the Puppet Soldiers trying to catch up were each separated by the scattered puppet bodies lying on the floor. Arro charged in again and dealt with them one by one.

The cramped passageway had now become a grinder for the Puppet Soldiers. Having grasped the tactics, Arro found the battle growing smoother and smoother. He used movement for defense, and his Knight's Longsword swung less and less, but whenever he struck, he hit a puppet's neck with extreme precision.

Crack!

Arro finally severed the neck of the last Puppet Soldier. Maintaining the rapid breathing of the Knight's Breathing Technique, he slowly walked outward.

He was relying on the Knight's Breathing Technique to rapidly recover his stamina. At the same time, walking slowly helped the Lactic Acid in his muscles absorb and break down, accelerating his Recovery Speed.

The situation around him was still unknown. He had to keep himself at peak condition at all times.

"Not bad!"

The gigantic Black Cat came walking from the end of the corridor with light steps, a sleeping Linen-clothed Boy held in its mouth. "You're just a little slow. I was already done with my work, and you had only just finished dealing with these pieces of wood."

"Black Cat?"

Arro's shoulders lowered slightly as he relaxed with a smile. "What's that in your mouth?"

The Black Cat loosened its jaws and let the Linen-clothed Boy fall, then looked at Arro with an amused, mocking smile. "Timid Arro, what, you don't even want to call me Teacher Gemma anymore?"

Hearing that familiar teasing voice, Arro finally relaxed for real. With a bitter smile, he said, "I just couldn't figure out the rules of this Anomaly Space."

The Black Cat glanced at the longsword Arro still held in his hand, nodded in satisfaction, skipped over the subject, and lightly nudged the Linen-clothed Boy on the ground with a paw. Raising its head, it said, "This is the boy who told you that story just now."

Monli did not look very well at the moment. His eye sockets were pitch-black, making him somewhat resemble the Puppet Soldiers Arro had encountered earlier. One shoe had fallen off his leg, revealing not a foot, but a round log as thick as an arm.

Arro frowned as he looked at the sleeping Monli on the ground. "How did he become like this?"

"Don't underestimate how he looks now. He no longer needs to take any tests. Any Wizard Academy would be willing to accept him."

Arro froze for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Why?" The Black Cat looked down at the ground with undisguised delight at another's misfortune. "He actually successfully absorbed the core of this Anomaly Space. Any Wizard Academy that gets him would be gaining a living resource industry. What Wizard Academy would refuse?"

"Wouldn't that mean being kept in captivity for the rest of his life?"

The Black Cat did not deny it. Gray Mist drifted from its body as its form gradually shrank, and it said, "That has nothing to do with us. I got something good just now. I'll Give To you later."