Master Of None

Expecting a larger workshop or maybe a lot more movement, Walker was somewhat disappointed finding that he was looking at a small workshop behind a bar of all places. He had entirely expected that he would have been somewhat nearby the crafting guild.

He even imagined that he would find this workshop in the heart of the merchant roads so that materials could be bought. Yet, this demon had found a spot on a farm and was quietly working in a field full of corn. The farmers weren’t even nearby.

Yet, the demon had paid the rent and was working easily without a care. It was even more shocking since the demon was barely ten years old. Just old enough to know the truth of the slavery they had been born in to and young enough to be able to go out in the world and face the new potential that was right there to grasp in their hands.

Regardless, there was also the fact that this peaceful environment greatly contrasted what they were able to see compared to what they were born in to.

As he understood this, the setting didn’t feel so wrong. There was peace in the environment here. It was simple and calming. Food grew all around that would nourish many others allowing for a better future without suffering or chaos.

”Maybe asking them to come on an expedition will be wrong…” Onyx curled around Walker’s neck before coiling up on one shoulder. He had been resting while Walker moved here but he wanted to help a little more before they were all leaving for the expedition. This was his way of offering support while also preparing himself.

”Brother, I believe that asking them can not hurt. They have something to offer if they join us. They may also wish to see more of the world, we don’t know yet.” The way that onyx saw it, was that this demon might not understand anything about the world other than the chaos and peace they had been in and were now in. They might be isolating themselves instead of facing what the world truly has within it.

The mix of good and evil.

”Hello?” Walker grasped what onyx was thinking but he just nodded as he opened the door to the workshop revealing a saw dust covered mess.

Thin threads hung from the ceiling and various other tools or shelving. It was like someone offered a ball of yarn to a herd of cats and they dragged it through a workshop someone forgot to clean after sanding for the entire day.

Yet there was a balance in this. The tools had some thread wrapped around them and it appeared the thread was full of mana. It was not stagnant. And to prove this, one of the wood carving tools was rapidly pulled away deeper in to the workshop only for the sound of cutting wood to be heard a moment later.

Moving further in and dodging the mana infused threads, Walker could see various parts of dolls. Some had a more human shape while others appeared to be replicating demons, angels and even a few small monsters. The scariest part was that some had bits of metal carved and inlaid in to them. The eyes of some were also mana gems used to absorb mana using some small rune formations.

Whoever had first met this demon puppeteer were wrong in their evaluation. Their skills were much greater than just controlling puppets. Su and Remey had heard about this demon before Walker but they had not gone to check them out themselves. If they had they would have known that this puppeteer class user might be more than just a puppeteer for dolls.

Two sawdust covered horns matched slicked back hair as Walker finally found the thin demon toiling away with various tools pulled towards him by threads. It seemed that the fine mana control and dexterity were part of the class features trained to be a puppeteer.

The spark in the demon’s eyes also made it clear that he was seeing more than just what he was doing in the dim lighting. He was seeing the flow of mana in the pieces that he was carving. Although, the more that Walker examined the demon boy, he realized that he was entirely wrong.

”Got a problem? Huh? Yeah you think rough hands and short hair makes me some crafting apprentice boy hm? Maybe you should stop being some hero if you can’t even observe that.”

”You did surprise me, I thought you might be a young demon boy with the puppeteer class, but I am using my all around appraisal skill and I figure it should show me… or you can use your threads to keep trying to block my vision.” Walker sighed, he wasn’t actually using his all around appraisal, he was just trying to make sure that the annoyed response wasn’t all he would get.

This also aggravated the puppeteer girl to move her threads more. He saw the ways she moved her mana. So perfectly that the threads were like extensions of her limbs. While she clearly couldn’t use outer magical skills or spells, the puppets she used would certainly utilize her mana to use rune formations and other items attached to them to replicate magic or skills. It was like having extended magic tools rather than using magic herself.

”And what do you want from the demon who makes puppets outside of some farm then? Want me to make toys for kids or something?” The bad attitude didn’t disappear, it only seemed to grow even more. ”That’s what I was told would be good for me, a puppeteer, puppet builder, doll craftsman, or wherever they say I am.”

”Whatever your class is, I actually came to ask you to join the upcoming expedition to a new continent. We will explore it and your puppets might be a safer way to test the waters so to speak. No one would be hurt if they went to check out dangerous areas or passageways. Especially if we are going in to magical ruins.”

”Why would I waste time on that? I could stay here and do whatever I want.”

Walker sighed a bit and then took various materials and magical rune carvings out of his multi dimensional storage. ”Because I can get you materials you would have to spend years working for the fund to purchase. Meaning you can get a headstart on being more than just a puppeteer or wherever you are.”

It was blunt but it was true. It was also better than trying to convince her with sweet words or talk his way around what else she could get. It felt like she also wouldn’t say yes if he tried anything but being blunt like this. Then again, years of being raised as less than made trusting even a hero probably impossible right away. Actions had to speak for themselves here.

”Arcane puppeteer, Mela. I make puppets using magic and other things that can move at my command.” The threads all around the workshop began to move, pulling away to wrap around her arms and legs. Several puppets stood up and walked in to a line around her.

An angel with wings holding needs missing an arm. A small dragon the size of a palm. Several guards in wooden guard uniforms matching the guards that protected the main walls of Genesis And even what Walker believed to be a smaller version of Su carved with twin shields and struggling to move fluidly due to missing a few parts around the legs.

”The pay is acceptable. I will come but I won’t stay after we explore wherever is needed. I also want to take more materials up front so I can finish these dolls and make them better. I also want to be able to work alone so that I don’t have to worry about anyone breaking my threads.” Her demands were not hard to meet.

If she fights beside some people they might cut her threads and cost her a doll she made. But they also would wrack her flow of mana. It was risky for her to work with others. But the bounty she would gain from going was enough to keep her inner spark going.

”Then it’s nice to meet you. I am Walker and this is Onyx. we will help you with what you need before we leave. There isn’t much time so I hope you can improve your dolls easily.” He didn’t see her shake her head since he was examining the dolls. However, she also was looking at him very clearly.

She was measuring him mentally to see if she could make a doll that she could use like him. She could see the ways that his mana might flow. How she might be able to do more with a puppet like him for combat and protection.

Whether he realized it or not, their party had been the ones to directly free her from the demons who had treated them so poorly.

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