Paper Puppet and Scarecrow (Part 1)

Saleen wasn’t sure how the others saw him. He cast another Grade 1 spell and filled his cup with restorative water, drinking it.

Squanderer!

Walnut thought to himself. Casting a magic spell expended magic chords, and Saleen had cast a Grade one spell just to quench his thirst. Upon seeing that, even Flamenco, who had regarded Saleen as a ritzy mage, felt a sense of pity.

The mood turned awkward as everyone turned their attention to Nailisi. Only then did Walnut realize his misdemeanor and give an awkward laugh. Raising his wine glass, he gulped it down to hide his uneasiness.

After dinner, Saleen and the others went back to their own rooms. However, the Nut Mercenary team gathered in Flamenco’s room for him to give the orders for this mission.

"This mission, we will not be earning gold coins, but will instead earn two pieces of phlogopite. Walnut, you are a mage and this reward is not significant to you. How would you like to be paid?"

Walnut understood the leader’s temperament and replied directly, "Just give me the same as usual one-eighth of the rewards."

"Alright. I estimate the two pieces of phlogopite to be worth around two thousand gold coins. If you have no objections, that will be one hundred and sixty gold coins." Seeing no disagreement from Walnut, Flamenco nodded his head in satisfaction and said to the others, "This mission is not difficult. The people we are protecting already possess fighting skill aside from Aini. But nonetheless, Aini is from the Clyde family and there is definitely some value in preventing him from being killed. The one we need to keep an eye on is the mage, Saleen. "

"Why?" Walnut couldn’t help but ask.

"Because the reward of this mission might be in his hands. A Grade 1 mage doesn’t have much close combat fighting ability. Wachowskis, the two of you will be responsible for sticking by his side and protecting him. Take care of the Caucasus warrior Sika too, and if need be, defend her as well. The Caucasus people have decent fighting skills and I’ve seen the boomerang at her waist. She has decent long-range fighting abilities and if a fight truly breaks out, we will need her help as well.

"Yes, chief."

The Wachowskis were the heavy swordsmen in the team and had the thickest armor. They usually supported Walnut in battle.

"Javelin, you will be the scout."

"What about me?" Hearing Flamenco assign the role of scout to the only marksman, Walnut was confused. Usually they used his puppet as a scout. Why had the leader change their roles this time?

"You will be with me. We will be in charge of support."

Thinking about it, Walnut began to understand his chief’s intentions. By supporting the battle, he could avoid expending a large amount of magic nuclei or magic scrolls. The reward for this mission was not large and if he used too many of them, he would be creating a loss for them. If he had to control puppets, he would need to continuously expend Grade 2 magic nuclei. For three months, this was no small sum.

"Raul, the four of you will protect Aini. We do not have any cars this time and the entire journey will be on horseback. Be careful of arrows from bandits and it should not be too much of a problem."

"Yes, chief."

"If Aini’s health allows, we will walk an extra hour every day. Everyone will go back and check on their equipment. Is that understood?"

"Understood!"

"Walnut, you will stay. The others are dismissed." Flamenco waved his hand and dismissed the team, leaving the mage behind by himself.

On this night, Nailisi’s moaning came from Saleen’s room again, confirming the thought in everyone’s minds. Saleen had definitely come from a large family, and had used his wealth and authority to become a mage. How could a real mage still engage in physical pleasure, much less with his maid?

A mage like him wouldn’t go far.

How much of an upstart were the people from Sikeqinya? He definitely brought shame to the class of mage.

Saleen did not consider these problems. Once they began their journey, he would not be able to use his badge for training. He had to make full use of the time he had now. Every time he used the badge, his concentration would increase a little and its effect was much stronger than meditation. Who would resent more concentration as a mage?

The breathing in the room slowed down. As Saleen laid in bed, he suddenly grew alert. Outside the window, a shadow the size of a palm entered the gap in the window. It was a paper man.

The face of the paper man had been filled in using red ink, the color bright yet menacing at the same time. Entering the window, it tried to follow the wall and sneak onto the floor. Saleen immediately sat up, nearly launching the bright light that was now his hands.

Saleen’s icicle magic was the magic that he was most familiar with, and it had also been the first Grade 1 magic spell he had learned. The flaw of this magic, however, was that it had too short of a range. When Saleen had been in the Red Forest, he had needed to use a water shield for protection, and only after closing the distance with the archers could he make use of the powers of this spell.

The room in the inn was not big and there was no problem with the range of the magic. The icicle accurately pierced through the paper man’s body, pinning the paper man to the wall. It struggled and let out a low chirping sound, attempting to use its hands to tear itself away from the icicle and escape.

Nailisi sat up from the floor and pounced on it like a leopard. She ripped the paper man off of the wall and crushed it in her hands. The paper man looked menacingly at Nailisi’s face. Its eyes, which had been drawn on with red ink, were still moving. Nailisi placed it under her nose and sniffed it. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and swallowed it.

"Nailisi!" Saleen was shocked, afraid that Nailisi would be put under some evil curse.

Nailisi returned to the bedside. Sitting on the floor, she said softly, "It is a paper puppet, an ancient magic trick."

"How do you know?" Saleen grew suspicious. Ever since she had come to the Myers Mainland, she had been stuck in the temple of the Goddess of Nature. How would she have known any human magic?

Nailisi pointed to her brain and said, "It’s in here. I can’t explain it either."

"Do you know how to use it?"

"I only have an impression."

Saleen did not feel that Nailisi was lying and thus believed her words. Many abilities of many demons were passed down through magic lineage and did not require any guidance from a teacher. This was where demons were superior to humans. However, it seemed that a long time ago, humans had also possessed this ability. But, after the fall of the Second Dynasty, this ability had slowly waned. By this time a few thousand years ago, it had completely disappeared.

From a room not far away, Walnut gave a snort, fresh blood flowing from his mouth and nose as he lay gingerly on his bed.

He had not expected Saleen to be this perceptive and even break past the stirring mark of his puppet magic. Without even allowing him to clearly see Saleen’s room, his puppet had been destroyed.

Walnut’s face contorted. His expression was even more menacing than that of his paper man. Flamenco had asked him to stay behind earlier specifically to remind him not to offend Saleen.

Walnut had appeared to listen, but could not have been angrier.

It just so happened that you were richer than me. If I had been born into a rich man’s family, I would have become a grand mage a long time ago. Hiding his anger in front of Flamenco, Walnut had returned to his room and grown even more agitated and sleepless from the noise coming from Saleen’s room. Once an evil thought arose in him, he could not control it.

Hence, he had secretly released a paper puppet and waited until Saleen was tired before taking action. Even if he could not kill Saleen, perhaps he could use this opportunity to steal something from him.

If he was able to steal the crystal white ring, even if he had to retire from the Nut Mercenary, it would be worth it. With this item in hand, he would flee to a faraway place. Even if Flamenco was angry, what could he do? Walnut would have quit by then.

Walnut rubbed the blood off of his face, not caring about his injury. He grabbed his bag, slung it behind his back, opened the door, and snuck out.

Since Saleen had discovered his paper puppet, he could not stay in the Nut Mercenary any longer. If this matter were to leak out, Flamenco would kill him.

The professional union hated it most when a mercenary betrayed their employers. Once something like that occurred, if the chief did not take care of the matter, the mercenaries would be removed and placed on the wanted list.

Flamenco would not give up the entire mercenary regiment just for him. Walnut knew clearly that if it were not for the fact that he possessed such special skills, a Grade 5 mercenary regiment would not have taken in a Grade 2 mage like him. The situation now did not leave him any room for regrets, and he could only quickly leave this place and never again appear within the Qin Empire.

Taking advantage of the night, Walnut left the inn and escaped for the outskirts of the town. As he got further away from the inn, he felt increasingly wronged. Why didn’t he have as good a life as Saleen? Moreover, he had to leave this country where he had lived for so many years for some foreign land, all for this ritzy mage.

He didn’t stop to think that throughout all of this, Saleen had never offended him. The only thing that had brought about this ending was his own jealousy.

"Who is it!"

Making his way to the gate, the soldiers on night patrol spotted him. If it wasn’t for the fact that this small town was on a border, it wouldn’t have been this heavily guarded. This place was too close to the Chaotic Swamp, and magic beasts constantly appeared on the outskirts of the town.

"It’s me," Walnut replied thoughtlessly. His two hands, however, were already casting a spell. While the two soldiers were still lost in their confusion, he had already completed it.

"Go and die!"

Two spears made from rock rose from the ground and pierced the two soldiers between their legs right through to their guts. At this moment, Walnut had taken the two soldiers who obstructed him for Saleen and had not been able to control his killing intent at all.

The two soldiers were common people, and under the assault of Grade 2 magic, they had possessed no means of defending themselves. They were killed almost instantly.

Walnut still wasn’t appeased as he threw two small fireballs onto the bodies and let them burn completely into ash. Only then did he cast a strengthening spell, opening the door and going on his way.

After killing the soldiers, Walnut grew afraid as well. He didn’t dare walk along the main roads and went east using small routes. He didn’t dare walk west as the forests to the west were not a place for a Grade 2 mage to enter. If he wanted to leave the Phoenix Duchy, he would have to take an alternate route and exit from Kroraina Duchy by cutting through Laiyin Duchy.

As he walked faster, he was suddenly pleased with himself. Thinking back to how he had ended the lives of the two soldiers, he let out a low laugh, completely entranced. He did not notice that after he had crossed a maize field, a scarecrow in the field had turned around and followed him behind.