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Ike whistled to Loup, who pulled close to his side. He set off at a jog. Pushing through the crowds, he nonetheless arrived at Ket\'s house in record time. A mob stood at the front door, jeering and shouting at the door. Ike raised his brows. He veered around to the alley and hopped over the back garden wall to arrive at the back door. Ike knocked.

The door flew open. A dagger pointed at his face.

Ike threw his hands up. He backed away. At his side, Loup growled, showing her teeth.

Behind the dagger, Ket stared at him, narrow-eyed. A beat later, his eyes widened, and he stood up straight. Retracting his dagger, he rubbed the back of his head with a laugh. "Sorry. I thought you were trying to break in."

"I guess you\'re not a fan of otter meat?" Ike joked, patting the beast on his shoulder.

Ket raised his brows. "It\'s not the most delicious, but I can make it work." Looking over Ike\'s shoulder, he gestured him in. "Hurry. Before someone sees you."

Ike stepped inside. "You sure about the otter?"

"Huh? Oh. It\'s fine. I can clean the carcass," Ket said.

Ike stared at him, then startled. Wait, with that house-cleaning spell? Does it work on meat, too? Damn, that\'s a nice skill! That would save so much time!

Ket took the carcass. Ike followed him down the hallway to the kitchen, where Ket waved his hand and summoned a hook to hang the carcass on. Another wave. The carcass shimmered, and the skin lifted off on its own. The blood pooled down, draining into a grate in the floor Ike hadn\'t noticed until this moment. The carcass\' stomach split open on its own, and the organs removed themselves, neatly nestling into the trash.

Leaning against the countertop, Ket nodded at Ike, seemingly paying no attention as his skill took care of the kill. "I take it you saw what\'s going on outside?"

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"Yeah. What\'s all that about?" Ike asked.

Ket grimaced. He sighed. "I told Tana about the rings."

Ike matched his grimace, already knowing where this story was going. "Right."

"Ah, she didn\'t do anything wrong. Well. I told her not to say anything. But…" He sighed again. "I should\'ve seen it coming. She announced the soul-draining array, right in the middle of town square. Linked together the puppet army and everything. Now everyone\'s going insane. Demanding more news from us. Berating the king for ignoring the threat. Of course the king instantly denounced Tana\'s statement as being merely that of a rabble-rouser, but Tana told everyone she had proof."

The hairs on the back of Ike\'s neck stood on end. "Proof?"

"The puppet army."

He grimaced. Shit. I was much happier when no one was paying that any attention. No—they might even try to destroy them. I need to get there first. Absorb all that mana. He grabbed the rings off his shoulder and passed them to Ket. "I need to go."

"Go where? Tana\'s already on her way to the puppets."

Ike whistled to Loup. She whirled about, leaving behind her close observation of the organs. He ran out the door, and she followed close behind.

No—this is even worse than I thought at first! he realized, as he ran. Not only did Tana alert the ordinary citizens—she also inadvertently alerted the city lord! Shit. I need to get to the puppets, right now! My chance to recover my mana, my chance to Rank up and finish the Clad skills, is vanishing right before my eyes!

"Wisp!" he shouted as he exited the city, hoping against hope that she\'d hear. "Wisp, if you\'re nearby, please!"

"What?" Wisp asked.

He looked up. She sat in a tree nearby, watching as he ran past. Lazily, she lifted her hand and gripped a piece of spider web, using it to swing to the next tree, where she once again relaxed.

"Can you run ahead of me? There\'s a group of people headed to the puppet army…"

"I know where that is," she said, noticing his pause.

Ike nodded. "Good. Can you slow them down? I need to get to the puppets before them."

Wisp chuckled. "I can lay a few webs for them." Kicking off the tree, she vanished in a blur.

If the city lord knows, it\'s not a bad idea to share the mana with everyone. Abyssal is full of once-mages, who failed to convert to lunam. If I reawakened them with the puppets\' mana, Abyssal would go from a joke to a serious threat. I\'m sure a threat the city lord could take on with little effort, but anything is better than nothing.

But before that, I need to make sure I use it to its fullest, myself!

He sped up, holding nothing back. Lightning crawled from his feet to his hips as he charged ahead at full speed. Loup ran beside him. Lightning sparked off her fur as she bounded through the forest. The two of them chased through the forest. Leaves flew up behind them.

Almost before he knew it, he came to the edge of the cliff. The dolls stood in neat lines below him. There was no sign of any other mages in the vicinity.

Ike sighed in relief. He hopped down the cliff, landing amidst the dolls. At the bottom, he paused. He wanted to fill his core, max out his Clad skills, and reach Rank 2… or at least gather enough mana to get close. And all of that, before the other mages made it to the puppets. The best way to tackle his goal…

He looked around, then nodded. Time to tap some puppets.