"Three days from now, we will join a merchant caravan heading to Aldor."
While having dinner, Rin suddenly heard the announcement. Surprised, she asked:
"We're leaving here so soon?"
Tris: "I already told you about my travel plans. I've stayed in Dorn long enough; it's time to move on."
Rin: "Wherever Master goes, Rin will follow."
She nodded firmly.
Tris: "Do you have anything left to do in this town? If so, finish it in the next few days. Once we leave, it may be a very long time before you get another chance to return."
Rin: "Rin has nothing else to do here."
She shook her head immediately.
Tris: "Is that so?"
For some reason, Rin felt a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Rin: "Did Rin say something wrong?"
Tris: "Oh, I thought you might want to go back and take revenge on those who nearly beat you to death. After all, I strongly believe that blood debts must be repaid in blood."
He still remembered clearly the look in Rin's eyes when they first met. That was not the gaze of someone who would endure humiliation without fighting back.
Rin: "Could Rin really fight them back?"
Her question seemed directed at herself, half doubtful, half realizing something.
The memory of being beaten was still fresh, making it hard for her to recognize how much she had changed in such a short time.
Tris: "They're just ordinary thugs from the slums. If they were strong enough, they'd be hunters or adventurers, not pathetic lowlifes."
Rin: "Rin knows they were only underlings of someone else. Would that cause trouble for Master?"
That was her biggest worry.
Tris: "It's not a big problem, I can handle it. And since we're leaving soon, there's even less to worry about."
Rin: "Then in two days Rin will visit the slums one last time."
She smiled brightly.
* * * * * * * * * *
A group of three rough-looking men was patrolling the slums. Many people quickly avoided them at first sight.
"Damn it, life's getting harder these days."
One of them cursed in frustration.
"Money's running low, yet the boss ordered us to sit still and do nothing?"
The second complained.
The third, more cautious, replied:
"Don't you idiots even know why the boss had to give that order? These past few days, plenty of guys have been casually killed by that crazy woman. If you want to live longer, shut your mouths and follow along."
"Damn it, without money it's no different from being dead."
The second muttered weakly, clearly afraid.
As they walked on, near a corner, a shadow suddenly rushed out.
It was a child—or at least someone with the body of a child—dressed in dark, fitted clothes, a mask covering the lower half of the face.
With a wooden stick raised high, the child struck hard at the head of the first thug within reach.
The sudden, powerful blow made the other two hear a disturbing crack from their comrade's skull.
As the first collapsed, the child didn't stop, charging straight at the second.
Barely managing to panic and shield his head, the second thug suddenly felt the child's wooden stick drive straight into his stomach.
Even though the end of the stick was just blunt and had no sharpness at all, the pain it caused still made his vision go dark as he clutched his stomach and fell to his knees in agony.
The child then swung sideways at the third thug. Unlike the others, he had time to react.
By bending his knees and lowering his body and head, he perfectly dodged the swung stick.
Using the rebound from his knees and a twist of his hips, he launched a right hook straight at the child.
His movements were fluid and swift, showing that he was highly experienced in street fighting.
The child quickly pulled back the stick and held it across in front of himself. Thanks to its considerable length, he managed to block the punch successfully.
However, the blow from the third thug was so heavy that the stick snapped in two, and the child was hurled across the ground.
Yet the thug wasn't pleased.
The stick was thick, leaving his finger bones seemingly fractured.
On top of that, the broken wood splintered into his flesh, making the condition of his hand even worse.
With fresh blood dripping from his fingers, the thug couldn't help but grimace—partly from pain, partly from rage.
Knocked back, the child quickly stood up, gripping the two halves of the broken stick as if they were large knives.
Since the stick had split in two, the ends were now jagged and sharp, looking dangerously lethal.
The thug saw the child rushing toward him. He lowered his body slightly into a fighting stance, fists clenched—his right hand near his waist, his left near his chin.
As soon as the child entered the thug's striking range, he suddenly halted, twisted his body, and hurled the stick in his left hand straight at the thug's face.
The thug reacted instantly, shifting his weight onto his left leg and leaning to that side. The stick flew past harmlessly, posing no threat.
The child, without looking at the stick that had missed and flown off, twisted his body and launched a low kick with his right leg straight at the thug's left shin.
'Foolish.'
The thug tensed the muscles in his leg to block the kick. Confident in his larger build, he believed that a strike from such a small foot could never break his stance. Clenching his left fist, he timed the moment to finish off the foolish brat who dared to fight him.
Yet his past brawling experience turned into betrayal.
The instant his left shin took the kick, his earlier confidence was shattered—just like his leg itself.
The child's kick landed like a steel bar smashing into his shin.
A dry crack echoed, his leg bent unnaturally, and he collapsed in agony. Sweat poured down his pale face as pain wracked his body.
Before he could recover, the child raised the remaining stick and smashed it down on his head.
Seeing his comrades' fate, the second thug, still clutching his stomach, backed away in terror, shouting:
"Stay back!"
Instead of advancing, the child bent down, picked up stones, and hurled them.
The stones flew with unnatural speed and force, especially coming from the thin arms of a child.
They struck his chest, thighs, and arms, leaving swollen, painful bruises.
Only after exhausting all the stones did the child rush forward.
Just as the child was about to rush in, the thug's once fearful expression twisted into something vicious. From behind his back, he drew a small knife and thrust it straight toward the child.
But instead of hitting its target, the knife struck a large rock that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, standing between the child and him.
The knife bent and snapped, the shock spraining his wrist and making him drop it.
From behind the rock, the child emerged and punched hard into his ribs.
A crack sounded; blood spurted from his mouth as he collapsed unconscious.
With ribs and lungs severely damaged, death was inevitable without immediate treatment.
After all three were down, the child turned and quickly fled the scene.
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My reflections on the work after the first two volumes:
So the first two volumes of Pupper Master have passed. Thank you all for continuing to accompany this work up to this point.
(´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)
This is my debut novel, so I feel many things didn't turn out as I wished when writing the first volume. Fortunately, by the second volume, I felt my expression of the story had become more refined and significantly better, though it still needs much more improvement.
(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Looking more deeply into Volume 1, the book mainly served to introduce the background and origin of the protagonist's power, and to slightly reveal the secret of the god behind it.
A secret for readers: that divine character is actually the protagonist of another novel I had in mind. The idea for that character was conceived even earlier than Tris, the current main character of this work. If you know the Fate series, it's similar to Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night.
Later, when Pupper Master is completed, I may write about the true origin story—what happened in the past before this tale.
But for now, it's too early to talk about it. Perhaps I might even give up writing before then. After all, reaching the point where writing can become a full‑time job and earn enough to cover monthly living expenses is extremely difficult.
Up until now, I have had only one reader who has become my supporter on Patreon.
(┬┬﹏┬┬)
Let's forget the painful reality and talk about Volume 2. In this second book, I introduced a very important character: Rin.
Because she starts very weak, she doesn't contribute much to the story at present. But over time, as she grows stronger, her importance will increase, and more stories will revolve around her. I plan to make her the central character in the arc at the magic academy, where the protagonist will act more like a background figure, hidden behind Rin.
Writing about high‑level battles like Tris's is certainly exciting, but simpler, lower‑level fights also have their own appeal, which makes me want to write more of them. Perhaps you already noticed this in Chapter 80, the final chapter of Volume 2. Who says a simple fight with stones and sticks can't involve fascinating tactics?
(/≧▽≦)/
Speaking of Rin, many readers may have realized that I deliberately built her as a seemingly cute and harmless character, only to suddenly give her a fierce performance in the final chapter of Volume 2. Many of you may have heard of the term Gap moe. This is exactly how I wanted to shape her. Like a cat—you see it as gentle, adorable, and harmless at home. But when it goes outside to play and hunt, in the eyes of its prey, that cat can look like a demon from hell.
(ﾉ*ФωФ)ﾉ
This reflection has become quite long, so I'll stop here. Tomorrow, the first chapter of Volume 3 will be updated on the websites. Please continue to support my work by becoming a follower (or adding it to your collection), leaving more feedback, or introducing it to other readers.
And if possible, I would be very happy if you could support me on Patreon (patreon.com/PeName), where you can follow the latest content related to the work. Each of your contributions will help me move closer to the goal of becoming a full‑time author, while making this book more complete and polished.
Once again, thank you sincerely for accompanying this novel.
<(＿ ＿)>