Who kicked me?!

'Dammit. You scared me there for a second,' Seth felt like whacking his first-ever puppet.

However, despite his brief bitterness, the black armor puppet just stood there, dazed, as though it couldn't process anything.

Except for the faint red light on its eyes, its appearance didn't change much. But its aura... or the life within momentarily frightened Seth. He felt as though he was being preyed on by a predator when the black armor looked at him.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before he felt the intangible connection with the black armor.

'Slap yourself,' Seth ordered plainly.

A thump resounded throughout the room. The black armor followed his order without hesitation. It continued to slap itself until Seth ordered again to stop, pleased by the puppet's unwavering obedience. He thought they weren't called a puppet without any reason.

Seth prepared to create puppet storage to hide his black armor puppet, however, the commotion from the inn's occupant interrupted him.

"What happened? Why is there a sudden burst of soul energy?"

"I think it came from upstairs."

"Could it be?"

"I dunno. It seems to be different. Let's check"

His improved hearing allowed Seth to eavesdrop on their conversation. The white pillow trembled.

It was then when he remembered the disturbance caused by the black armor during its creation.

'Blacky what should we do?!' panicked Seth, creating puppet storage requires ample of time, and obviously, he no longer has that right. He was so anxious he subconsciously named his first puppet like a dog.

The footsteps were getting closer as he heard them inquire in every room. Sooner or later, it would be their turn.

'Blacky are you a pervert?! Why are you looking at fatty like you want to violate him?!'

Blacky heard him and look at the pillow in a confused manner. What's violate? Can it be whacked like that creature? Blacky thought.

Seth realized that it just gained intellect and has knowledge was limited. It only has basic instinct—fighting, it was its core—and it wouldn't help Seth a bit if he continued to ask the oblivious puppet.

His silly mistake allowed Seth to gradually cool down. 'Should we make a run for it?' he thought.

Seth looked through the window and saw a busy street. With that, his bold plan was immediately expelled.

'Wait. Isn't blacky look just like before. It could simply pretend like a normal armor and they won't even know!' Seth realized how much his brain has regressed. 'Did becoming a pillow made me stupid?' He asked himself.

. . . . .

"Room 8." Greg led seven other people and stood directly at Henry's room, barred by a plain white door.

"Hello Room 8, this is the White Could Inn owner, Greg Dela Cruz. I would like to investigate about a sudden disturbance in the Inn. This is very crucial for everyone's safety."

Greg knocked on the door with a serious expression. This could result in dangerous circumstances if not taken properly.

A sudden surge of soul energy could either be a disaster or fortune. However, in Greg's case, both were bad news for him and the White Cloud Inn.

If it were the latter, the seven puppeteers behind him would fight for the treasure. And if it were a disaster like the black void, Greg could only evacuate his family and say goodbye to the inn.

He had already reported the unusual activity to the PA and they were already on their way. Still, his nerves couldn't be relaxed with the looming threat and thus investigated it himself.

"Hello room number 8, can you please open the door. I would like to investigate an unusual surge of soul energy."

Greg called out again after waiting for 3 minutes with no response.

1 minute...

2 minutes....

Again. Nothing. No response could be heard from the other side.

Greg once again looked at the doorknob and saw the occupied green sign. He wasn't mistaken. There certainly is an occupant in Room 8.

Greg continued to knock on the door and call the person within the room for about 10 minutes. Seeing no response, Greg opened the door with his master key.

"The hell?"

Greg and seven other people blurted. It was unrestrainable. On the bed, they saw Henry hugging a black armor while snoring loudly.

"This guy is still sleeping despite the ruckus?"

"And sleeping heavily at that."

"Was he cursed by a witch or something?"

They were astonished by Henry's ability to sleep peacefully like he was a 5-year-old kid.

Greg's mouth also twitched. "The hell fatty. How can you call yourself a puppeteer?!" he yelled as he kicked Henry off the bed.

Thump!

Henry's heavy body fell to the floor loudly with his face firmly planted on the cold hard floor. His butt raised to the ceiling as if it was reaching the heavens.

All that... and he was still sleeping!

Greg was stunned and so was everyone.

What did he eat this evening? they all thought.

A man wearing a white sleeveless shirt grew impatient and viciously kicked Henry's butt.

However, his aim was slightly off. Instead of hitting his ass, it landed on the area beneath it.

Crack.

Was that the sound of an egg breaking? Seth who has inhuman senses immediately heard the faint noise.

Greg and the others also made a painful expression. Although they didn't hear the cracking noise, they thoroughly saw the scene where a man shouldn't ever experience.

"Ouch!" Henry uttered a painful cry.

He couldn't even stand up as he tried to look for the person responsible for his pain. "What the f*ck?! Why are you all here in my room?! And who kicked me just now?!"

Everyone pointed at the man with a sleeveless shirt.

"Eh? Wait-" he tried to explain but a huge fist suddenly covered his sight.

The force caused the man to stumble on the floor with several teeth lying beside him.

Henry looked at the group who was frozen from shock with a deathly glare. Not only did they invaded his privacy, but also beat him up while he was asleep.

"Wait we can explain!" Greg shouted.

"And you think there is any explanation that could save you at this moment?"

"Yes, and yes," Greg said unperturbed as he took out a crystal badge.

Henry was stunned. He almost forgot about the crystal badge given by Sage Lucas. He would be courting death if he moves single hair from Greg.

Seeing him in silence, Greg narrated the situation.

Henry looked at them aghast, "That really happened while I'm sleeping?! How could that be possible- Wait, there really is a turmoil of soul energy in the air."

Henry closed his eyes and felt the chaotic soul energy in his room with a pale face.

He had actually slept while a commotion this dangerous was happening! Fortunately, there wasn't any sign of a black void.

"How can I sleep like that? Is it because of the pillow?" He shifted his gaze on the bed.

His eyes widened, terrified. "Where's my armor?!"

The black armor on the bed was gone. Henry shivered as he surveyed the room and still couldn't find the armor.

"Who took my armor?!"

Everyone was baffled. An armor that large couldn't just disappear without any traces.

The only explanation was someone hid it with a space pouch, however, no one could ever afford that. Even Henry—a blue realm puppeteer—can't. Only someone with great power and position is capable of owning a space pouch.

But even so, Henry tried to search every person in the room. The result baffled them once again.

"Could that sudden surge of soul energy be related to your armor?" A foreign voice suddenly sounded on the back, interrupting their thoughts.

Everyone gasped as they spotted the person.

The investigator is here. And the man standing in the door wasn't someone they could easily trifle with.