Quick to Learn

I was finally done with Ripper’s upgrades. He stood before me. His gauntlets were now a bit longer, now almost reaching all the way to the elbows. Furthermore, I improved the hardness of his clothes, it should be almost as hard as armor now. They were made of magic, so it wasn’t that hard to make something like it. Even on Earth, I heard that they had made fabric that could potentially protect them from bullets. I just forgot the term for it.

And there was also a big improvement on his gauntlets, aside from the sharp claws he now had something more. I had Ripper extend his hand forward, and blades instantly extended from his forearm towards the top of his knuckles. A couple of blades positioned side by side were now on the back of his hand, like claws, which should increase his range.

I protracted the blades on his other hand. Afterward, I made him swing his hands around. The power of his swings was incredible, I could hear the swishing sound of the blades cutting through air. I nodded. But that was not the only thing. I had another puppet which was quite meant for him, and also myself. They were there mainly for support.

I held out my hand and materialized the new set of puppets. Light took shape right behind Ripper, gradually forming into a pair of giant hands that were almost as big as him. They were puppet hands, dark and red in color, with sharp points at the tips of their fingers. Crimson strings were linked to them.

The two giant hands positioned themselves beside Ripper. The purpose of those hands was to support him in battle, but they would be mostly used for my own protection. If Ripper was busy fighting off an opponent, these would either be my shields or weapons. They had no names just because they were just hands.

I made one hand move, and it slowly shifted behind me, opening up its palm. Like a princess, as I was, sat down on it and laid down. The fingers gradually closed, but it was gentle with me. Pleased, I let out a relieved sigh. Somehow, being in the grasp of my own creation was a relief. I felt safe.

These hands were made robust, fitting for defense. These would be my personal armor, my own hands to fight. As there was no way I could directly fight anyone. I did not know swordsmanship or martial arts, or anything. If I were faced with a direct fighter, I’d be done. With the little time I had, there was also no time for me to learn those. The only choice was to build on what I already had.

I just wanted to rest here for a while, but there were still more things to do. The hand opened up, and it slowly tilted, gently dropping me off, and I landed on my feet. I caressed the hand.

“My puppets, we shall try our best to survive.”

Creepy, here I was talking to my lifeless creations. But I had no one else but them. No allies, no friends… These puppets were my only companions… Hm, thinking about it, could this be why Avenelle chose this class?

I didn’t reckon that Avenelle was lonely… But, it was indeed a bit hard to find genuine friendship. Dolls or puppets could also be good company.

Now that was two puppets, I could still control way more. I waved my hand, and a feminine-shaped puppet from the corner suddenly stood up and floated towards me. It was still bare except for the face. I touched her face and stared at it closely. I slowly moved her short pink hair.

“Hm, your eyes still need a little work.” It needed a little more life. I touched her golden eyes, adding a little more shine of life to them. When I was done, I nodded. “There, much better.”

Now soon, all I needed to do was add some more details to her, and some clothes. I made her smile. I had been focusing on her face lately, just to get some more idea of her overall form. But her face had that beauty and sweetness in it, a touch of purity. I smiled. This one here shall be in contrast to Ripper. This one shall express beauty and grace, captivation and admiration. Where everyone shall praise her.

“You shall be my dancer,” I whispered to the puppet. “When you are done, I shall give you a name you so deserve.” I stepped back and had the female puppet move to my bed. It sat down at the edge. “Let’s continue working on you.”

***

I met up with my father again in the knights’ training hall. It was time to put Ripper to the test once again. Given that I was an utter failure in the last match, Father decided I should try it again a second time. He mentioned he would keep making me train in battle until I could defend myself. Which was sweet of him. Despite the tough exterior, he was quite protective, huh?

Also, given ‌the way he was acting, he was still oblivious to the matter concerning me. If he knew, I doubted whether he would do something like developing my experience in fights.

“Daughter, have you made improvements to your puppet?”

“Of course, Father. I’m certain I will put up a better fight this time.”

“Is that confidence I sense from you? Good. Even without knowing the outcome, one must be confident in the face of battle. Hesitation and doubt will be your undoing. Remember that.”

I nodded. “Yes, Father.”

“You’ll be fighting Onesto again.”

Onesto the elite knights approached me, and bowed his head deeply. “We meet again, Your Highness.”

“And fighting again.” I smiled slightly. “I hope this time I get to beat you.”

“Hehe, we will see.”

“And don’t hold back. I won’t hold back.”

He smirked. “I see. Very well then.”

We moved into our positions, Onesto this time was wielding an actual sword. I spawned Ripper.

“Begin!”

Ripper immediately charged towards the knight. I was still not directly in control. Onesto summoned three celestial swords and charged towards my puppet. He grabbed one magic sword while the two shot towards Ripper. Ripper held out his hand, and his blades extended. He heavily swung his blades at the flying swords, parrying them off the air.

“What?!” Onesto was surprised.

Ripper swiftly thrust his blades towards the knight. For a quick response, Onesto cast forward the celestial blade in his one hand and let it block the blades. Just as Ripper thrust his other hand with blades, Onesto held out his steel sword, one hand on the broad of the blade, to block the attack. I couldn't see his face, but he must be wincing as he was slightly pushed back.

While keeping contact with the enemy’s sword, Ripper swiftly shifted to the side and kicked Onesto with the bottom of his foot.

“Ugh!” He was blown away, but he immediately regained his footing. He waved his hand, and the pair of swords from before shot out from behind Ripper.

I manipulated Ripper a bit, and he instantly swung his blades at one sword, while he raised his other gauntlet to block the other. At that moment, Onesto charged towards my puppet as he sent the third celestial sword at Ripper. The sword hit his leg, but the damage was negligible, merely on the fabric, and seeing that surprised Onesto. It wasn’t like before, never again could my puppet be impaled that easily.

Ripper kicked away the celestial sword before blocking the knight’s attack. Immediately, Ripper retracted the blades on his other hand, and he curled his fist, striking Onesto to the side. The latter braced for impact, and he tumbled back. Before he could recollect himself, Ripper leaped up above him, his blades aimed down at him.

Onesto swiftly dodged, and Ripper’s blade pierced the floor. The knight saw an opening, and he conjured another blade, and moved in to strike from Ripper’s back. He swung down both blades as he jumped, and he cut through Ripper’s clothes, hitting his body. But they were far from fatal. I quickly waved my hand and manipulated Ripper's leg, strongly kicking the knight away. Considering how sudden, and how unnatural of an angle the leg moved, Onesto was caught off guard.

Ripper pulled out the blade out of the floor and faced the knight as he protracted the blades on his other hand.

“Hey now, aren’t you moving way faster than before?” Onesto said.

“I reflect on my failure.”

“Heh. Incredible.” He smirked.

The two charged at each other again. And this time, it would seem that even Onesto was giving it his all now. More and more of the knights paused their training to watch the intense battle. Sparks lit up as swords made contact. Ripper dodged, and as he turned he waved his blades sideways, causing Onesto to frantically block the attack. Truth be told, I was holding back from causing fatal damage.

It would be troublesome if I accidentally stabbed Onesto fatally. Ripper had pretty big blades after all. One pierce of a blade may be enough to kill a person instantaneously. All I wanted from this was the attack exchange. How would one react to this attack? How would a knight move in to strike? What weakness does Ripper have in every move he makes? There were many things to learn.

Ripper thrust both hands simultaneously towards Onesto as two swords moved in to strike his elbow. Ripper halted for a bit to remove the swords embedded in his arms. They were not deep, but they obstructed movements in the joints. Onesto leaped and took the chance to strike at Ripper’s face. The latter shifted back his head as he stepped to the side, dodging the attack.

Ripper was indeed moving more quickly than before, and his movements were way better. That was because I improved the way Ripper fought through my imaginations. I made him more aggressive yet wary of any other attacks. That was why his swings were heavier, and his movements were faster. He had also been using more of his body parts. Ripper now truly looked more intimidating.

Onesto slashed Ripper’s leg. The latter closed his fist and slammed it sideways at Onesto. Onesto slid on the ground, and Ripper quickly moved in and slammed his fist. But the knight dodged the attack, and Ripper hit nothing but the floor, sending dust and debris into the air.

“Whoa, that was powerful.”

Indeed, it would have neutralized him right there. But it was a bit annoying that Onesto was still able to evade that.

Ripper was about to continue his attack, but then my father raised his hand.

“That’s enough!”

Ripper and Onesto immediately froze in place. I turned towards my father with a puzzled expression.

“Father, the winner has not yet been decided.”

He looked at me with the usual stoic face. “I’ve seen enough. If you keep going, it will be a prolonged match.”

“... B-But…” I sort of wanted to try winning. I let out a sigh. But then again, best not to be too greedy. “Very well.”

I made Ripper stand down. I approached Onesto, showing a bit of concern towards him. His armor was scratched and dented. But there shouldn’t be any extensive damage.

“Onesto, will you be okay?”

He promptly removed his helm and directed me with a wide smile. “A bit of bruises, but I’ll be fine. That was impressive, Princess! I didn’t expect that you would improve this much in such a short amount of time.”

“Is that so? Well, it was mostly because of Ripper here.” I patted Ripper.

“Ripper has also grown stronger and sturdier. His clothes are somehow as strong as steel armor.”

I shrugged.

My father approached. “You learn quick, daughter. Excellent work.” He suddenly patted my head.

Caught off guard, I blushed a little. Being patted by a father truly was strange… especially being praised. “I… um, thank you.”

“Although, you’ve grown stronger way faster than I anticipated. The way your puppet moved, and the way you assisted it, how did you improve so quickly?”

I tilted my head, puzzled. “I just reflected on where I was lacking.” It was not that complicated.

My father stared at me for a moment. “Hm, I suppose we royals are stronger than the common people. Perhaps I underestimated you.”

“R-Right…”

Did father truly not expect that I would grow this fast? Well, I didn’t know about growth, but I just really made some changes to make up for where I was lacking or failing. That being said, I was pretty motivated in my work. I mean, who wouldn’t want to struggle hard just so they wouldn’t die?

Survival was a pretty powerful motivator.

“You’ll be fine during the ritual,” my father continued. “In case something bad happens.”

So he has been preparing me for that day.

I lowered my head, and a small smile blossomed on my lips.