First Combat

Holding the puppet in my arms, I could feel its weight and real size, "Probably around 70kg...or even 80kg," using the wall for support, I used my body to help lift the puppet. "Hmm, it must be around 1.80 meters (5.9 ft) tall."

Now it's time to see what my Puppet Master ability does. Activating the skill, threads that appeared to be made of Falna or even mana started forming in my hands. I didn't have enough knowledge to discern the material, but it was definitely a material I had never seen before.

"Should I tie them to the puppet's body parts?" However, when I approached the thread to the puppet, I felt something that I couldn't quite explain. It was as if the puppet had a nervous system that spread throughout its body (something like Naruto's chakra points), and in the middle of it, there was something that looked like a core that connected all these points. I approached the thread to the puppet's chest, and as if it were an illusion, the thread passed through the puppet's external wood and entered its body.

After the thread touched the core, I felt a connection being created, and at that moment, the initial single thread at its tip separated into several threads that interconnected various parts of the puppet's body. Then I felt like I could control it, moving the finger that had the thread linked to the puppet.

Firstly, I commanded the puppet to move its arms and legs. It was a strange form of control, a mixture of finger movements and mental controls. After understanding a little bit of how to control the puppet, I started testing more abrupt and complex movements, and I had a pleasant surprise. The puppet didn't have human limitations. It could rotate its arms completely on their axes and could also rotate its trunk 360 degrees like an owl.

Another thing I discovered while testing the puppet was that if I closed my eyes, I could see and hear through the puppet. Apparently, even though it didn't have facial features, the puppet had one side of its head that represented the face. Despite not having ears, it had some way of picking up sounds.

After conducting some tests, including using the ax, I used the Recall ability, which made the Mystery Box appear and swallow the puppet. Despite being inside the box, I could still feel the connection between me and the puppet. It was time to put its use into practice.

So I moved to a distant area from the main route and, still under the effect of stealth, I sat on the floor of one of the empty rooms of the Dungeon. "This is perfect. I can focus on controlling the puppet without any monsters accidentally bumping into me." After verifying that this area had some goblins and no adventurers nearby, I activated the Mystery Box and made it spit out the puppet. "Let's see what it's capable of in combat."

Controlling the puppet, I made it walk towards the nearest goblin wielding the axes in its hands. The goblin, upon noticing the puppet's arrival, grunted and ran towards it. Waiting for the goblin to get closer, I already had the strategy in my head. "Just a little closer, and..." The goblin, being much shorter than the puppet, jumped and tried to scratch one of the puppet's arms. But when he tried to do so, I put my plan into action. I made the puppet spin its upper torso, causing the creature to miss the target completely and now be in a completely exposed position.

Shuush.

I made the puppet attack using centrifugal force, hitting the beast's neck with the axe.

Probably due to a miscalculation or simply overestimating the puppet's strength, the scene I envisioned of the axe completely cutting off the Goblin's head did not happen, but the damage was more than enough to remove any chance of the Goblin reacting. The creature, now lying on the ground with the axe stuck in its neck, was motionless, but not yet dead.

Deciding to finish the job quickly, I made the puppet step on the center of the goblin's back so it wouldn't move anymore, and when I removed the axe, I delivered another blow to its head, this time finally finishing off the creature.

"My theory was really correct. The fact that it is not limited to human movements creates several combat options. Will I ever have a puppet capable of doing the same as General Grievous?" Stopping my daydreaming, I made the puppet pick up the goblin's stone and bring it to me.

After bringing the stone, I summoned the Mystery Box again and threw the stone into its mouth. Already knowing how it worked, I said, "I want a Tanker puppet." After shaking a bit, the box spit out a completely different puppet from the first one.

This one had a more robust shape and didn't have as many joints as the Warrior Puppet. Its body seemed to be made of a substance that made it easier to absorb impacts and had something similar to a lubrication that seemed to be for sticking things, similar to the adhesive traps in the previous world, probably to facilitate the immobilization of targets. The puppet's body was very robust, with various rounded parts, and its color was somewhat grayish. Its arms had a large wingspan, and this puppet also didn't have facial features.

Realizing it would be a hassle to try to lift this puppet, I didn't even try, as it was much larger than the Warrior Puppet, standing at around 1.90 meters (6.2 feet) tall and appeared to be heavier. Activating the Puppet Master ability, I created another thread, this time with another finger. But to my surprise, when I tried to connect it to its core, I felt that...