A person's time and energy are ultimately limited. And each individual's talent was different. Because of this, the direction in which one chose to invest their effort and time would never be the same.
In the village, Tris knew of Mages whose puppet control skills were so refined that their puppets could fight like real Warriors.
But some Mages merely used puppets as a medium to release magic, much like a staff. For them, the puppet mainly served as a convenient platform for attaching mechanisms and auxiliary weapons.
For example, after a simple activation, the puppet might suddenly release a barrage of hidden arrows. Any remaining time would then be invested in learning more magics rather than improving their puppet control.
Despite its disadvantages, puppet magic was still Tris's top choice.
Magic techniques and their methods of application were not wild weeds one could find anywhere. In contrast, puppet magic in this village had a long-standing tradition and a well-developed system that made learning and advancement much easier.
More importantly, learning puppet magic seemed strangely smooth for him — almost as if an invisible hand had arranged everything beforehand…
While lost in thought as he guided "Feathers" back toward him, Tris suddenly heard an angry roar from somewhere not too far away through the puppet's magical sensory link.
Activating a Space magic integrated into the puppet, Feathers gradually became translucent, blending into its surroundings.
Tris then guided it gently toward the source of the sound.
This was a form of Space magic that bent light to create invisibility. The magic worked best at night or when the target remained still.
However, thanks to "Feathers" small size and the natural cover provided by the trees, the magic remained quite effective even while it moved during the daytime.
Gliding through the treetops, Feathers quickly approached the target. Through its eyes, Tris looked down at the scene below.
A child who appeared to be around six years old lay tied up tightly, both eyes and mouth covered.
Nearby stood four men wearing leather armor.
Three of them were restraining a young woman, stuffing cloth into her mouth while tearing at the clothes she wore.
The fourth man was busy bandaging his bleeding hand. The earlier shout must have come from him after the woman had bitten him.
Nearby lay a blade still stained with fresh blood.
'Bandits?' - Tris thought.
'There were probably others, but they've already been killed.
The child was kept alive… which means these are probably human traffickers as well.'
He quickly assessed the situation, frowning slightly.
What disturbed Tris the most was not the blood on the blade, nor the sight of the thugs preparing to assault the woman.
It was their identities.
He recognized their faces.
All four of them were villagers.
Although they were not Mages, they usually worked as hunters, killing magical beasts around the village for a living.
'Or maybe hunting is just their side job… and this is their real profession' - Tris cursed inwardly.
'Is this just an impulsive act by a few individuals? Or is there an organized group behind them? Could there be some larger scheme involved?'
Out of habit, Tris began expanding his speculation.
But when he realized there were no clues to follow, he stopped and turned his focus back to the present situation.
'Well… the wireless control test was a success. Mobility seems fine, too.
So how about its combat capability?'
Silently, he began channeling his spiritual energy into the puppet.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Uhh… mmm…!"
The young woman struggled desperately, her mouth bound and body restrained.
"Damn it," the man with the bandaged hand snarled.
"I didn't get injured killing those guards, but I ended up bleeding because of this bitch."
"That's because you're stupid." - Another one laughed.
"Yeah, because you're an idiot."
"Why don't you go home and rest? We'll take care of things here."
The others mocked him one after another.
"You want to die? I'll cut you down first."
"This is really lucky, though." - One of them grinned.
"Who would've thought we'd catch such a nice catch today?"
The last pieces of cloth covering the woman's body were torn away.
She watched in despair as one of the bandits began pulling down his trousers.
Just as the men were busy undressing—
The bandit standing farthest away suddenly collapsed.
Hearing the sound, the others quickly turned their heads.
"What the hell are you—"
Before he could finish speaking, the head of the bandit standing closest to the fallen man was suddenly severed.
From her position on the ground, the woman saw something strange.
It looked as though a small object had suddenly shot forward from the direction of the first fallen bandit, slicing past the neck of the second.
In the blink of an eye, before the remaining two bandits could even react, half their group had already fallen.
Thanks to their combat training and real battle experience, the two remaining bandits quickly grabbed their weapons and tried to locate the thing that had attacked them.
However, with his trousers tangled around his legs, one of them was delayed while trying to free himself and grab his weapon.
The mysterious object flashed past him again at that exact moment.
By the time the last bandit finally grasped his weapon and took a defensive stance—
All of his companions were already lying on the ground.
He stood there in shock, unable to understand what had just happened.
Just seconds ago, he and his companions had been laughing and chatting, preparing to enjoy the prey they had captured.
Now he was the only one left standing.
Three of his companions lay dead.
Two of them had even been beheaded.
At the corner of his eye lay a severed head rolling across the ground.
He gripped his blade tightly.
His heart pounded violently against his ribs as a chill of fear ran down his spine.
Even as sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, he didn't dare blink or wipe it away.
Instead, he stared intensely at his surroundings, afraid of missing anything.
Although he lacked the talent to become a Mage, he and his companions all knew how to use spiritual energy to enhance their combat abilities.
While he could not project spiritual energy externally, he was skilled at strengthening his senses and reflexes—something that had proven extremely useful many times.
Fully focused, he suddenly heard the sound of a branch snapping behind him.
He spun around instantly.
The next moment—
His vision abruptly dropped from high to low, spinning strangely.
The final thing he saw was a familiar headless body standing where he had been.
Then darkness swallowed his sight forever.
Lying on the ground, the woman finally saw more clearly what had attacked the bandits.
The moment the last bandit turned toward the sound behind him, a nearly transparent object shot out from a bush on the opposite side.
It flew straight toward his neck.
At the instant the strange object passed by, the surrounding space seemed to distort.
It was as if a thin slice had suddenly been inserted into space itself, separating the upper and lower halves.
Moments later, the final bandit collapsed—his head severed just like the others.
Although the bandits were no longer a threat, the woman trembled, fearing the mysterious object might now turn toward her and her child.
This world was full of dangers — not only from humans, but from countless other species and creatures as well.
Suddenly, the ropes binding her body were cleanly cut.
At the same time, a voice echoed nearby, guiding her to the location of a wagon not far away and explaining the direction toward the next village.
No one appeared.
The voice sounded as though it came from a distance.
It carried a strange resonance unlike a normal human voice, making it impossible to determine the speaker's gender or age.
From what she knew, she guessed the speaker was using some kind of magic to project their voice.
She immediately understood.
The owner of that voice had no intention of revealing themselves.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she burst into tears and hurriedly bowed her head repeatedly, thanking the unseen benefactor who had saved both her and her child.