Chapter 217: The Combination Combo
I slit open the puppet's stomach, pushed aside the stuffing, and stuffed a bomb inside.
For some reason, my eyes were naturally drawn to the puppet's face.
Its eyes seemed to sparkle brightly.
'It feels a little pitiful to make it self-destruct...'
It was only a passing thought, and I quickly shook my head.
It was nothing more than an Object.
This puppet didn't have a consciousness.
“All right, move out.”
The moment I gave the order, the puppet saluted me before it began to move.
Step, step...
It slowly walked toward the watchtower with steady, soldier-like steps.
Apparently intrigued by the sight, the large-built Schuler stationed at the watchtower watched the puppet for quite some time.
'Good. This should be enough.'
It had reached a suitable distance just outside the watchtower's attack range.
When I gave the signal, the puppet suddenly toppled forward as though it had broken down.
The enemy observed it for a moment before casually approaching and picking it up.
Soon, the other two gathered around as well.
Seizing the opportunity, I pressed the button on the remote control.
BOOOOOOM—!
The explosion engulfed the entire area.
Even the tree I was hiding behind shook violently, showering leaves onto the ground.
'The firepower... It's stronger than I expected?'
However.
“Cough, cough. I figured something like this would happen.”
As the smoke cleared, all three of them were completely unharmed.
Shield Magic.
A translucent barrier surrounded them.
“If we'd been just a little slower, we would've been done for. You owe me one now.”
“S-Shut up.”
The large-built Schuler stood up while clutching his head.
It looked like he was searching the area for me.
'If I just keep hiding and only send out the puppets...'
No.
That wasn't a good idea.
The puppets had no evasive ability, making them easy targets.
On top of that, they were destroyed the moment they took a hit.
'I do have a defensive skill.'
Boogie's overwhelmingly powerful shield ability.
But it was a skill that could only protect me alone, so it couldn't defend the puppets as well.
'...So in the end, I have to become the bait.'
It was rather ironic.
I was becoming the bait for a puppet that had originally been made to serve as bait.
I deliberately made noise with my footsteps as I walked out of the forest.
“...Villed?”
Just as expected, they didn't show even the slightest bit of caution toward me.
“I think we got a communication saying Villed did something earlier. I was asleep, so I didn't hear it properly.”
“It's Villed. Why would it matter?”
Thankfully, they had completely let their guard down.
As I drew closer, I took out a cloth bundle wrapped around 'something' from my Subspace.
“A present.”
I threw it toward them before quickly retreating.
The cloth bundle unraveled in midair.
Hidden inside were...
Ten puppets.
“What...?!”
Humans were creatures that learned.
The puppet that emerged from the bundle looked exactly like the one that had exploded earlier, causing their eyes to widen.
It wasn't just the appearance that was identical.
These puppets also had bombs hidden inside them.
Bang!
Craaash!
BOOOOOOM!
A chain of explosions erupted in midair.
Pitch-black smoke spread throughout the area, obscuring their vision.
“Cough! So all those puppets really were yours!”
Even so, it seemed they had blocked every explosion with Shield Magic.
“But how did you gather that many Objects?”
“Cough...! He must've used some kind of trick. Forget about that and focus on the fight!”
Now was the perfect opportunity.
Their vision was still completely blocked by the thick black smoke.
I took out a fist-sized toy rocking horse from my Subspace.
After placing it on the ground, I immediately retreated.
Moments later, the toy...
Boom!
Instantly grew into a giant iron horse standing more than twice my height.
B-rank - Wheel-less Trojan Horse
A giant horse made of sturdy iron.
It has no wheels, making it difficult to move. Once deployed, it is difficult to relocate, so placement should be carefully considered.
It has high watchtower targeting priority. After taking a certain amount of damage, it will be destroyed.
Normally, it was an Object placed in front of a watchtower to serve as a shield.
As such, it was primarily meant to be deployed within the watchtower's attack range.
But...
I had placed it outside that range.
Whoooosh—!
After dispersing the smoke with wind-element magic, the three burst into laughter the moment they saw the iron horse.
“Pwahaha! That idiot misjudged the distance!”
“He made that mistake because he couldn't see!”
I didn't answer.
I simply waited.
Step...
From within the smoke that had yet to fully disperse, a small silhouette staggered into view.
It was one of the puppets I had thrown earlier.
The half-destroyed puppet stumbled toward them before weakly clinging to the large Schuler's leg with a soft thud.
“What's this supposed to be?”
The Schuler frowned as he casually nudged the puppet with his foot.
“...Wait, there's something attached to it.”
His gaze shifted to the puppet's back.
Instead of the usual winding key, an unfamiliar piece of metal was attached there.
It was colored blue and red.
“A magnet?”
B-rank - Universal Magnet
Uses magnetic force to pull one Object toward itself.
After pulling an Object once, it exhausts its power and is destroyed.
Rumble!
Normally, the giant iron horse was far too heavy to move easily.
But the Universal Magnet pulled it with tremendous magnetic force.
Ruuuuumble!
The overwhelming magnetic attraction accelerated it in an instant, sending the massive iron horse charging toward them at terrifying speed.
They didn't even have time to dodge.
CRAAAAASH—!
A horrifying collision.
The impact kicked up a dense cloud of dust that spread like thick fog.
'A combination combo.'
One of the most basic combos the developers had created to teach players the importance of combining Objects.
'...They're still alive, right?'
It had happened so quickly that they hadn't even had time to scream.
Fortunately, Professor Ruber's protective spell was active.
Otherwise, if this had been real, the outcome would've been horrifying.
...Not long afterward, movement could be seen between the fallen iron horse.
“Damn it! Is this really how it ends?!”
“You coward!”
“Villeeeed!”
Wrapped inside yellow barriers—the proof of their defeat—they were carried away into the distance.
After watching them go, I shifted my gaze toward the nearby blue watchtower.
'An empty house.'
Now that no one remained around the watchtower, this was my chance.
I opened my Subspace.
Meanwhile.
The first Red Team watchtower on the right path.
The Red Team and Blue Team remained locked in a fierce stalemate, like two sides pulling on opposite ends of a rope.
Kaelyn, riding atop the Watchtower Golem, was wildly swinging her staff while unleashing spell after spell.
At that moment, an urgent Magical Communication came through.
It was from the defense leader on the left path.
[Ka-Kaelyn! We've been defeated!]
“Whaaat~?!”
Kaelyn doubted her ears.
Ren's group should've been overwhelming the enemy on the opposite path.
On top of that, Kaelyn alone was holding back all three of the Red Team's aces.
“Defeated? By who?”
[W-Well...]
The voice over the communication suddenly became much quieter.
[Dedencman...]
“Ooooh?”
Kaelyn blinked.
“You lost to Young Master? How did you lose? Can you tell me in detail~?”
[...]
Kaelyn had asked purely out of innocent curiosity, without any ill intent.
But perhaps the defense leader's pride had been wounded, because he couldn't continue speaking.
“Why'd you go quiet~? Is the communication not working?”
[...We let our guard down. We never imagined he'd bring that many puppets.]
“Puppets? What kind of puppets?”
[Rabbit puppets...]
“Rabbit puppets?”
Kaelyn tilted her head as she imagined it.
Villed.
Tall as a pole.
With intimidating eyes.
Yet lovingly hugging rabbit dolls like a little child.
“...Pfft!”
In the end, Kaelyn couldn't hold back her laughter.
[...! A-Are you laughing at us?!]
“No, no! It's not like that. I just imagined it and... Pfft! Hahaha!”
[Grrgh...! Don't laugh, Kaelyn!]
Just as Kaelyn covered her mouth while laughing—
“What are you getting distracted for?!”
Kunking's voice came from the opposite side.
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the battlefield.
The golem tilted, throwing Kaelyn's body sideways.
As a result...
Thunk!
She smacked her head against the golem's body.
“Eek! Owie... Well... It doesn't really hurt. But somehow it feels like it should...”
She had gotten so absorbed in the conversation that she made a mistake.
The lower part of the golem had been struck.
“Mmm, I'm busy. I'll hear the rest later. Also, once you revive, can you all handle Young Master yourselves? At this rate, I'll end up losing~! I'm going to focus now, so I'm cutting the communication!”
[W-Wait, Kae—!]
Click.
Still smiling brightly, Kaelyn cut off the communication without listening any further.
“Hehe, looks like Young Master is finally getting interested too.”
Kaelyn couldn't confidently say that Villed possessed incredible combat ability.
But she had long realized that he was hiding "some kind of ability."
Villed.
His magical power was undeniably pitiful.
She had personally witnessed that he possessed the weakest magical power in all of Yggdrasil.
But...
What he had shown her was unquestionably special.
Kaelyn rolled up the sleeve of her academy uniform.
Wrapped around her wrist was a wool wrist protector.
It was a piece of equipment Villed had made.
She had purchased it from him last spring for an enormous sum.
Whenever she wore it, she felt her mind become calmer and her magical power settle into place.
...The truly astonishing moment came when she visited the Aubes Snowy Mountains to subjugate a dragon.
The dragon saw the wrist protector and approached Kaelyn without any hostility.
“This looks amazing. Where did you get it? Ah, a friend made it for you.”
Astonishingly, she ended up talking with the very dragon she had been sent to subjugate.
Kaelyn even put down her staff, chatted about various things, and before long...
They had become friends.
Her supervising professor had instructed her to submit one of the dragon's horns as proof of the subjugation.
But she couldn't kill her friend.
She had been preparing to descend the snowy mountain empty-handed when—
“If you need a horn, I'll gladly give you one. It's fine. They're heavy anyway.”
The dragon cut off one of its own horns and gave it to her.
Kaelyn also gifted the dragon one of Villed's wrist protectors before they parted.
...In the end, thanks to Villed, she had become friends with a dragon.
Then, during this winter vacation, she once again traveled alone to the Aubes Snowy Mountains to visit her dragon friend.
She showed the dragon the pendant made from the horn it had given her.
That, too, had been crafted by Villed.
“Your friend is incredible. If my mother saw something he made... she'd be absolutely shocked. It feels very similar to something she's been searching for for a very long time.”
Even a dragon acknowledged Villed.
That fact alone was enough.
Villed was special.
Not only because of his abilities, but because he was far more interesting than any noble had the right to be.
...That was why she wanted to know more about Villed.
She wanted to witness the Young Master becoming serious with her own eyes.
She absolutely had to see it!
Kaelyn's eyes widened.
“All right! I'll finish you three off first, then I'll go see Young Master! Bring it on!”
Kaelyn's presence completely changed.
Countless barriers spread around the golem.
The density of magical power visibly increased.
The other students failed to notice.
But Heidel, Kunking, and Sia, all capable of reading the flow of magical power, immediately sensed the change.
“What the hell...! Has she been going easy on us this whole time?!”
“Shut up and attack, sea urchin.”
Although Sia replied curtly, her eyes narrowed.
The magical power surrounding Kaelyn had grown even stronger.
There was no doubt that an even fiercer barrage of attacks was coming.
The silver-haired nobleman, Heidel, halted his movements and addressed Sia and Kunking.
“Cover me.”
The moment Heidel gave the order, Kunking bared his teeth and growled.
“Don't make me laugh. Who'd take orders from trash like you?”
“Tch. You two cover me. You're weaker than I am.”
The moment Sia spoke, Kunking immediately shouted back.
“Oh yeah?! Then take off your armband and let's settle this!”
“...Talking to you feels like talking to a wall.”
Apparently fed up with the complete lack of teamwork between the three of them, Heidel let out a quiet sigh and shook his head.
Meanwhile...
The second Red Team watchtower on the left path.
The Blue Team's offensive continued without interruption.
The enemy watchtower was already riddled with cracks and on the verge of collapse.
At the center of it all, Elined, the attack leader, halted her assault for a moment and blinked.
“What did you just say? Please repeat that.”
The Magical Communication she had just received...
...She couldn't believe it.
She thought she must have misheard.
Elined focused her hearing once more.
“Villed? You were defeated by Villed...?”