Chapter 362: Entertain More

Even before Ned could juggle his mind, it was ICE that brought light to him.

[Park Han Fu mentioned it.]

So even here, they're on to something, Ned thought. Looking at the man who called himself the Tailor, it seemed that he wasn't lying even from the tone of his voice.

He stood high, almost a foot taller than Ned. He was wrapped in a black leather coat, just like his minions, who for some reason stopped moving. Ned could barely see any threads of hair inside his hood, not even a skin was visible.

As the other black hooded men stopped moving, Ned assumed that they were being controlled. Ned wanted to focus to sense how the Tailor does it, but it seemed that he knew what Ned was up to. He even stopped Ned from using the skill Detect. If Ned was right, then the Tailor was an elite among elites.

"What does the Order wants in the Hunter Exam?" Ned asked, trying to gain information and stall time.

The Tailor stood and left Ned hanging, he walked back to the dead worm-like beast and examine and it even further.

After quite some time, he raised fingers and snapped them. It was at that moment that the six of the black-hooded man started to move. And it was also at this moment that Ned closed his eyes and focused.

By then, Ned sensed threads of Mana that were connecting to each of the black-hooded men. Ned had heard of these people.

"Puppetmaster," Ned muttered. "You're controlling them with your Mana."

Puppet masters were mages of a higher tier. There were a handful of people that master this kind of profession. According to Master Will, once a student graduate from an academy, they were given choices to become a Hunter or enlist themselves in the army, and if given chance, they might join the Griffith Kingdom's Royal Knights. But others continue to study in many, and extended schools of magic. And there was a school that specifically teach their student how to become puppet masters. But little to none were attending this class, cause it takes years, and a ton of dedication to become a puppet master. Controlling multiple Mana alone was more than enough for the mage to do it. But for puppets masters, their Mana must be set to the finest form to control a puppet.

Once, Master Will revealed to Ned that puppetry was nearly banned in the kingdom as it was as close to necromancy. But, due to its lacking proof that puppet masters could raise the dead, it was never passed and is still being taught in the kingdom. The kingdom was right, unlike necromancy, puppetry wasn't able to raise or summon the dead. But what made them devastating was even if the puppet master was weak, on both physical and mental, but as long as he or she perfects the control of Mana, they were able to control strong puppets.

As for the puppets used, there were many different types, ranging from wooden to metal, or ceramics, each having its kind of uses and control types. Some puppets are specifically used for spying, fighting, and even some trained to use them for utility works.

But the one the person calling himself the Tailor has more advanced puppets, they moved as though real humans, although counted. They were even created with voices. Whoever this Tailor from the order wasn't something Ned should take lightly.

"Oh, boy," the Tailor said with wonder. He spun, rubbing his finger (wrapped with gloves) at the candidate mage's hair. He then reached where the head of the archer was set, and picked it up for everyone to see. "How sad I am to kill you all. You"—he pointed at Ned—"with silver hair. How cute you are to know I'm a puppet master. But you will die first." He then snapped his finger once again, then the hooded man (now puppet) picked up Ned and pushed him toward the Tailor, and toward the dead magical beast. Throwing the head towards the dead worm-like magical beast.

The remaining candidates: the mage and warrior were forced to look down after the pair of a hooded men stood behind them.

As Ned stopped before the dead magical beast, he could sense a massive amount of Mana pulsating off the lump of meat attached at the bottom part of it. The Mana leak was so strong Ned doesn't even need to focus to feel it.

"Now," the Tailor said and bent as he reached his hand toward the pulsating lump of meat.

He then injected his mana into the lump of meat.

"This lump of meat you see here is a Core of a magical beast and is enhanced then attached to the target," he explained, "this time the target is the hole worm, a beast mostly leaving in the dessert. I don't know exactly how the Order the Core, or how they manage to attach it to the beast, but once a Mana was injected." He continued, uncaring of the information he was leaking. "It will regrow a new missing body. Thanks to you, I get to see how it is done."

The Tailor then forced his mana to the Core and once he did, the missing head it has started to regrow too fast Ned could see it as though it was being fast-forwarded.

Before Ned could react to the phenomenon in front of him, the Tailor snapped his fingers once again and the only noise Ned able to register was the sound of a blade cutting or stabbing against a lump of meat.

Ned spun, only to see the dead body of the male candidate warrior and the mage, their heads nowhere to be found. Or so Ned thought.

Both their heads were thrown to Ned, spilling blood all over the Silk Road, while Ned barely caught them after his hand went to the Krisalix. He took a sidestep to evade the flying heads and wanted to dash toward the hooded men only to realize that they were gone a good seconds ago.

"I'm supposed to kill as soon as you saw my puppets," the voice of the Tailor was echoing inside the forest. Ned was having a hard time pinpointing his location. "But oh well, entertain me some more."

Once the Tailor stopped speaking in the woods under the starry sky, the whole worm started to screech as though its head hasn't even been lost.