The First Step

As Moonlight gazed at the lifeless 3-foot-tall doll, she couldn't help but wonder, "Is it really you, Finn?"

The doll, with its painted face and the absence of a mouth, offered no words but instead nodded its head in response.

Moonlight's smile, though filled with curiosity, was tinged with hesitation as she remarked, "I suppose communication might pose a challenge in this form."

Suddenly, the doll lost its animation, and Finn reappeared, his sigh echoing in the room. "You're absolutely right," he admitted, "but, this is all I have right now."

In the midst of their preparations, Creambell cleared his throat to capture the attention of the group. "Pardon me, Your Highness, but we should hurry," he urged.

Moonlight nodded, her eyes filled with determination. "Yes, yes. Please go, and keep in touch whenever you can," she said.

Finn once again tapped into his Dead Control ability, manipulating the wooden doll. With their plan set, he and Creambell embarked on their journey into the Serpent Forest, in search of Rugu. However, before they departed, their gaze turned to Butterbell. He lay on the bed, his face contorted in pain, eyes tightly shut, and struggling for each breath.

"Don't worry, my friend. We will return in the blink of an eye," Creambell reassured him, a faint but reassuring smile on his lips.

Finn, controlling the doll, also cast a glance at Butterbell, but his emotions remained hidden behind the wooden facade.

After expressing their concern for Butterbell, Creambell, and Finn set off on their small adventure. As they reached the main door and ventured a few meters ahead, Moonlight called out, "I'll be waiting!"

Upon hearing her words, Creambell and Finn both turned to look back. Creambell's eyes were filled with worry as he shouted, "Your Highness, please close the doors and windows. If you can, reinforce them. And whatever you do, do not open the door until we return."

Having given their instructions to Moonlight, Creambell and Finn made their way to the island's edge. However, Finn couldn't shake off his skepticism. He had never ventured beyond the boundaries of the house, which effectively marked the extent of the island. The memory of the lantern incident still haunted him, where a creature had snatched it away, causing him to lose health points (HP). That experience had taught him that if any part of the house was destroyed or taken too far from the house's area, it would result in a loss of HP.

With numerous questions swirling in his mind, Finn decided to seek answers. He reached out to Manual telepathically, a method he had never tried before. To his surprise, it worked. "How may I help you?" Manual answered telepathically.

"Will this doll be destroyed once I step outside the house's area?" asked Finn.

"No, you will only lose HP when any object from the house is taken 100 meters away from the house's area. The object will not be destroyed, but it will no longer remain a part of the house, thereby reducing the HP," explained Manual.

"How much HP will I lose if this doll is taken away more than 100 meters away from the house's area?" asked Finn.

"You will lose 20 HP," replied Manual.

"Ok. Will I be able to control this doll using dead control from a kilometer or 10 kilometers away from the house?" asked Finn.

"Yes. Right now you have 2000 mana points (MP) that will allow you to control the doll from 200 kilometers, given that you don't use mana for any other abilities. Moreover, dead control ability consumes 1 MP per second, but since your MP regenerates at 1 MP per second, both are getting nullified, thereby not reducing any MP due to the usage of dead control ability," explained Manual.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, something he hadn't considered before. He pondered, "Dead control is a skill that technically involves my physical form, yet I can use this ability from a distance of 200 kilometers away from the house. Does this mean I could potentially utilize my other abilities from the same distance?"

While he was already engaged in telepathic communication with Manual, Finn posed his question. Manual, in turn, provided an answer, "Yes, you can. However, the effectiveness of the abilities will be reduced by 50%. For example, if you are currently doing 200 damage with your sonic blast, then sonic blast will do 100 damage when you are using the dead control ability," explained Manual.

"That's a relief," Finn thought to himself as he walked alongside Creambell. Even though he had received all the answers he sought, the prospect of leaving the island he had grown so accustomed to made him anxious. The island had been his home from the very beginning.

As Creambell ventured beyond the island's boundaries and continued walking, he noticed that Finn hadn't followed suit. Curiosity piqued, Creambell turned to look back and saw Finn standing at the edge of the island. Finn appeared conflicted, his wooden form frozen in hesitation.

However, Creambell wasn't the only one observing Finn's moment of uncertainty. Moonlight, standing at the doorway, sought to bolster his resolve. She shouted encouragingly, "YOU CAN DO IT!"

Hearing her voice, a spark of encouragement ran through Finn's wooden form, and he finally took that crucial step beyond the island and onto the frozen lake. After the initial step, he felt a growing sense of confidence and took a few more strides towards Creambell. Now, all his anxiety had dissipated, all thanks to the petite yet powerful shout of encouragement from the pixie queen.

To express his gratitude, Finn turned around to look at Moonlight. He smiled as best as his wooden face allowed, though it couldn't physically convey his emotions to Moonlight. Somehow, she managed to discern the unspoken sentiments, and with a matching smile on her face, she shouted back, "YOU'RE WELCOME."

Finn's heart swelled with satisfaction, knowing that Moonlight understood his gratitude. Filled with this newfound happiness, he turned back around and walked toward the forest alongside Creambell.