Catpurr 28: Silk the Doll Maker

Catpurr 28: Silk the Doll Maker

"Just bob and weave! Bob and weave! Stay on your toes and dance around him!" Sehn yelled as Adam caught Arnold's fist with his face, sending him rolling through the sand.

As a healer whose ability was channeled via skin contact, Arnold was the perfect sparring partner, with every punch that connected healing Adam and counteracting the injuries.

That wasn't to say Adam wasn't getting hurt.

Because he was.

A lot.

But with each blow obtained was another lesson to spur his training, reinforcing the idea of not getting hit.

"I'm very sorry for this little boy!" Arnold yelled, leaping into the air and slamming his fists downward.

Crapbaskets!

Adam rolled, moving away just in time to clamber to his feet as dust choked the air.

Now at level three Adam huffed, raising his palm to fire a bolt of mana, his newly acquired and only offensive skill. A neutral skill he had chosen to keep up appearances.

“Mana bolt!”

At Adam’s command, a bolt of blue magic in the shape of a cat's face spun up in his palm, immediately firing through the smoke and striking Arnold who came barreling out of the sand cloud.

The attack splattered against the titan's skin, the ability having no effect against the charging wall of pure muscle.

Fortunately the point of the attack wasn't to deal damage, but to connect with his target, showing that Adam could hit his foe, the whole point of this training.

Adam leapt to the side as Arnold's fist came down, cratering the ground. In response, Adam threw one of his weighted wooden daggers, striking Arnold in the head.

Another hit!

"That's good lad! Just a few more hits!" Sehn yelled.

"You got this Adam!" Titania cried out as several maids looked on, cheering and making bets.

The blue-haired Ravi.

The short pink-haired Sinclair.

The twin maids making bets with Sehn as Tilith laid at their feet, curled up into Lunafreya's giant muscular lap.

Spurred by their cries, Adam felt invigorated.

I can do this! Just three more an-

Distracted, Adam took a blow to his side, sending him flying and tumbling through the dirt.

He spun, rolling several times before his curse kicked in and planted him face down with his hands in the sand.

"No time for distractions child!" Arnold bellowed, continuing his assault as Adam clutched his rib and rose to his feet.

Adam pivoted, eyes wide as Arnold's balled up phalanges failed to take his head.

Wasting no time Adam bolted, going low and gripping his remaining dagger at an outward angle. He lifted it up, "slicing" Arnold's external abdominal oblique before spinning and slashing the man's latissimus dorsi. Two muscle groups, two hits.

One more. Adam huffed, backing away as Arnold spun.

“Very good Adam.” Arnold said, his muscles bulging beneath his thin white shirt. “BUT LET US SEE HOW YOU HANDLE THIS!”

Oh no.

Arnold flexed, striking a pose that sent a irritating pulse of bright vibrating energy that reverberated out with the man as its epicenter.

[-10 HP]

Adam crossed his arms, the hit making his innards jiggle and his small stature fly a few inches into the air.

He landed on his feet, dust kicking up as he slid across the ground and braced himself upon Arnold rapidly switching poses. Another pulse, Adam attempted to race forward yet the attempt was the same as the last, forcing him back.

I need a different approach. Adam grimaced, clutching his wooden dagger tightly as each wave of energy knocked him back. Coming up with a plan, Adam waited for Arnold to flex waiting for the next pulse of energy.

This time, Adam leapt back, allowing the wave to catch him and send him flying. Tumbling through the sand with exaggeration, Adam hit the sand, face in the dirt where he immediately went limp.

“HMP! A good try Adam!” Arnold bellowed out, halting his attack as he spied the boy who was unmoving and covered by sand. When Adam didn’t move, his expression shifted, one filled with panic. “Oh? Oh no! SWEET CHILD ARE YOU OK?!”

Arnold raced over, immediately dusting the sand off Adam as everyone raced forward, various faces filled with worry as Arnold began to hug Adam’s limp body.

“BE HEALED LITTLE BOY! BE HEALED!” Arnold cried, only to get smacked in the face with Adam’s remaining dagger.

“Ten hits.” Adam said, brandishing a smile before he was suddenly crushed by Arnold’s massive biceps. “ARRGH!”

****

“Good job lad.” Sehn said, his arms folded as he walked Adam down the wooden halls of the Vilenciel guild office. “But there’s much room for improvement. Like with your dagger throw.”

“I thought it was a good throw.” Adam frowned, picking sand out his red hair.

“The problem with throwing a weapon is that if you let it go, its something you’ve lost from your arsenal.” Sehn explained. “Sure some situations it might be beneficial, say if your blade was coated in poison, but often than not, most damage a knife throw does is often non-lethal unless you get their face or throat.”

“I see.” Adam responded as Sehn opened a wooden door leading into a workshop. Inside, the entire facility was covered in spinning machines, with hundreds of spiders and cobwebs running to and fro within the shop.

Looking up, Adam could see a sign that read Follow the path markers please, followed by arrows on the floor that directed foot traffic away from the bug infested machines.

“Moral of the lesson is, once you’ve thrown a weapon you’ve basically given it to your enemy to reuse. Otherwise, good session all around, especially that last ploy.” Sehn said as a short white haired maid holding a doll that eerily resembled her approached, the same girl that had spied on Adam during his first day at the guild.

“Hi Silk. We’re here for the pick up.” Sehn said, addressing the white-haired seamstress as a tiny spider caught Adam’s eye. He watched it swiftly crawl along the girl's chest, a sudden inclination to swipe at the bug. Yet seeing the thousands of spiders milling about, Adam refrained.

‘Hello Sehn.” The doll in the girl’s hand replied, speaking to the coffin bearer. “Your order is done. That will be five silvers.”

Adam frowned, watching as Sehn handed over the payment, unphased that the doll spoke instead.

“I’ll pay you back for your help.” Adam blurted, realizing he hadn’t thanked him or Titania for all they’d done.

Sehn turned, his usually slanted eyes wide before it settled on a smile. “No problem lad.”

With the payment in hand, Silk spun, turning to open a hidden door behind a wall. Watching it open, Adam could make out dozens-no, hundreds of tiny dolls, each unique in its own way lining the walls that flanked the open space within the vault. Some wore armor, some wore clothes, some were even nude with a couple splattered with what looked to be blood. But what really caught Adam’s attention was the doll on the far corner of the wall that was in the shape of Adam. Cat ears and all.

Weird. Adam thought to himself as the woman returned, this time with a fur-lined black cloak.

“Come here kid.” Sehn beckoned, positioning Adam in front of Silk who draped the cloak over his shoulders. “Normally I’d say capes are tacky, but this looks good lad.”

[C Grade Luminweave Cloak of Protection+2]

[Synthetic fabric that hardens in response to physical trauma, offering physical protection against blunt and slashing forces.]

[Manufactured by Silk, the Voice of Thousands]

Upon the cloak touching his shoulders, a notification lit up, displaying pertinent information regarding the enchanted item he now wore.

Voice of Thousands? Adam’s eyes buzzed toward Silk, the little girl shuffling off and disappearing into the cobwebs.

“So? How is it?” Sehn asked, already ushering Adam out the door.

“Fits nicely.” Adam said. Which it of course did, after all, the woman who designed all the armor and clothes he’d been wearing was the little girl that left.

“Good, we’ll try and get you a few more things before you leave tomorrow.” Sehn said, the pair exiting the workspace to enter back into the hallway.

Adam paused, turning to the man.

‘Thanks… Sehn. I really mean it.”

Sehn smiled. “Just come back alive kid. That’ll be thanks enough.”

‘Yea… sure.” Adam sighed, pulling up his quest tracker.

[PROVE YOUR WORTH!]

[ENTER THE ABYSSAL TOWER]

[Possible Rewards: EXP 500, Copper Pieces x500, Cicero’s Gacha Coin x1, Minor Health Potion x1, Minor Mana Potion x1 ]

[Time remaining 22:46:18]

Less than a day. That was all the time he had before he would be forced to enter for his trials.