The Soul-Harvesting Puppeteer - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 17
In any case, Han Eol selected only the three artifacts he truly needed, and he did so quickly.
A thin membrane called Bark Skin became his first choice.
The semi-translucent Bark Skin stretched like spandex, and it was a prized possession that the Sammokmalmee beast wore directly on its body.
Through an influx of knowledge from an unknown source, Han Eol came to understand the utility of the Bark Skin.
So he promptly peeled the Bark Skin from the Sammokmalmee’s corpse, rinsed it thoroughly in water, and put it on himself.
The Sammokmalmee beast had been taller than Han Eol.
So at first he worried: would this even fit me?
It was needless worry.
The Bark Skin’s elasticity was so excellent that it fit Han Eol perfectly.
Of course, the sleeves were too long, so Han Eol had no choice but to fold them over several times.
‘Well, it doesn’t show much anyway. This should be fine.’
It wasn’t just the sleeves—the tail section of the Bark Skin was equally troublesome to deal with.
Originally, the Bark Skin had been crafted to fit the Sammokmalmee’s body, with eight slots for tails.
But Han Eol had no tails.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Han Eol rolled up that portion and wrapped it around his waist like a belt, then moved his limbs and torso this way and that to test it.
The Bark Skin was so extremely thin and elastic that he felt nothing at all wearing it.
Moreover, though the Bark Skin had appeared semi-translucent before, once Han Eol put it on, it became perfectly transparent, making him look as though he wore nothing but his bare skin.
Han Eol considered this an advantage of the Bark Skin.
But the true virtue of the Bark Skin lay elsewhere.
According to the knowledge inscribed in his mind through unknown means, this Bark Skin possessed defense power over ten times superior to the A-grade vest he currently owned.
And that wasn’t all.
The Bark Skin offered extraordinary resistance against flame, cold, poison, and lightning.
Though he couldn’t be certain, he suspected it might even outperform the Holy Group’s S-grade defensive gear.
‘It might even surpass Ex-grade equipment.’
Han Eol’s weakest point had always been his defense power and resistance.
But with the Bark Skin alone, that vulnerability seemed substantially remedied, and his spirits lifted.
After the Bark Skin, the second artifact Han Eol secured was a ring.
A ring bearing the name Pyros’s Ring.
The ring was fine as a spider’s thread.
So it was barely visible when worn on a finger.
Han Eol forcibly pulled Pyros’s Ring from the elongated finger of the Sammokmalmee beast.
The ring was so delicate that without the knowledge suddenly injected into his mind, he would never have known such a ring was fitted to the Sammokmalmee’s finger at all.
Pyros’s Ring possessed two qualities.
First: Stealth functionality.
Second: dramatically increased movement speed.
Regrettably, Han Eol could only utilize the second function.
To take advantage of the Stealth function of Pyros’s Ring, one needed to know how to manipulate Magical Energy, the beasts’ source of power.
But Han Eol was no beast.
He had no Magical Energy Stone embedded in his body.
‘I wish I could activate the Stealth ability too, of course. But even just increased movement speed—that’s plenty for me.’
Even after awakening his Ability Power, Han Eol’s speed and agility stat stood at merely eight.
Among ordinary people, eight meant national-level sprinter class; among Ability Power users, eight was the bottom tier—a true weakling.
For someone like Han Eol, Pyros’s Ring would prove invaluable.
‘Besides, this ring could also help me escape if the Giret Clan pursues me.’
Han Eol quickly slipped Pyros’s Ring onto his middle finger and then selected one final artifact.
The last relic he chose was a flying craft.
This sleek aircraft, resembling a polished surfboard, bore the name Pyros’s Fallen Leaf.
‘The name suits it well enough. It resembles a surfboard, but it looks like a fallen leaf too.’
According to the knowledge Han Eol possessed, Pyros’s Fallen Leaf was far faster than any fighter jet or missile humanity had ever created.
Moreover, Pyros’s Fallen Leaf could maintain communication with its owner from tens of thousands of kilometers away.
It also possessed Stealth functionality and automatic combat capability.
‘Just riding Pyros’s Fallen Leaf alone, I could subdue any ordinary beast.’
Han Eol was delighted with the aircraft.
Though there was one problem.
Pyros’s Fallen Leaf wasn’t designed for the rider to sit inside. To ride it, one had to maintain balance standing atop the craft itself, the way a surfer rides a wave.
What if Pyros’s Fallen Leaf were to reach maximum speed while he stood on it like that?
‘No—absolutely not.’
Just imagining it made Han Eol’s teeth chatter.
‘I’d never be able to withstand a headwind like that. I’d just get blown away.’
Surfing leisurely atop Pyros’s Fallen Leaf at a dizzying height, flying faster than any intercontinental ballistic missile?
Han Eol’s stamina, defense power, and sense of balance fell far too short for that.
Even wearing Bark Skin wouldn’t change that shortcoming.
So if Han Eol wanted to fully utilize this remarkable artifact in the future, he’d need some other means.
Of course, even without mastering it completely, Pyros’s Fallen Leaf was plenty useful as it was.
‘I don’t have to fly faster than a missile, do I? I’m fine moving a bit slower, close to the ground.’
In the Highland where even cars didn’t exist, using Pyros’s Fallen Leaf at that level of performance would be more than enough to satisfy him.
That’s what Han Eol thought.
Chapter 8
After collecting those three artifacts, Han Eol added a few more items.
First, he crammed Magical Energy Stones, materials, medicinal herbs, and other goods worthy of presenting as achievements to the Holy Group into a Space-Compression Vacuum Pack inside his backpack.
These were things that had been scattered carelessly throughout Sammokmalmee’s lair.
The reason Han Eol prioritized materials over artifacts was simple.
‘If I take something too precious, they’ll interrogate me about why I didn’t bury Mo Metal in that precious goldmine. Better to keep it moderate. Moderate.’
Then Han Eol’s eyes fell upon the corpse of Sammokmalmee the Magical Beast.
Sammokmalmee carried one Magical Energy Stone each in its throat, chest, and the crown of its head.
Han Eol had experienced firsthand how difficult it was to extract a Magical Energy Stone from a Giret Clan member’s body. Right now, he didn’t have the leisure to covet those stones.
But because two of the beast’s tails had twisted backward, puncturing its organs and jutting out through its mouth, one of the Magical Energy Stones embedded in Sammokmalmee’s throat had come half-loose, dangling precariously—and Han Eol’s eyes caught this.
‘Ugh. With things like this, I can’t just leave it behind.’
Han Eol drew the Ultra-Vibration Blade from his calf and began chiseling out the Magical Energy Stone lodged in the beast’s throat.
He slashed the skin around the throat with all his might, then scraped furiously with the blade’s tip.
After Han Eol had labored for nearly ten minutes, sweating profusely, the triangular Magical Energy Stone finally came loose from Sammokmalmee’s neck and dropped onto his palm with a soft tap.
It was the size of his fist.
This was only half the size of the Magical Energy Stone Han Eol had extracted from the male Giret’s chest last time.
‘But somehow this one looks more precious than the last.’
Han Eol examined the Magical Energy Stone from every angle.
The stone excavated from Sammokmalmee’s throat displayed a mysterious phenomenon—as if five-colored clouds were flowing through it.
The aura the stone emanated was equally strange and subtle.
Han Eol thrust it deep into his combat pants’ side pocket and quickly clambered onto Pyros’s Fallen Leaf.
Whirrrrring—
The moment Han Eol willed it in his mind, Pyros’s Fallen Leaf oriented itself and took flight.
Since Han Eol had no confidence in riding Pyros’s Fallen Leaf as gracefully as the Magical Beast did, he pressed himself flat against the flying platform and clung to it as tightly as possible. Then he curled his fingers and toes with all his might.
Han Eol was aware of it.
‘My appearance must look absolutely pathetic and unseemly.’
But what did it matter?
When one’s life hung by a thread, appearance meant nothing. Han Eol evacuated Sammokmalmee’s lair at maximum speed and rushed toward the location where the transmitter was embedded.
‘Right now, at this very moment, Giret Clan members across the Six Continents must be flying hard to avenge Sammokmalmee.’
So Han Eol had to plunge into the Blue Mist as quickly as possible and return to Midland Seoul.
That alone was his path to survival.
‘Hurry. Let’s go faster.’
Whoooosh—
As Han Eol urged it on, Pyros’s Fallen Leaf accelerated further. Dust from the wasteland swirled up behind the flying platform, forming a jet-stream effect.
‘Faster. Even faster.’
Han Eol’s nerves were on edge.
By the time Han Eol reached the wasteland where he’d first fought the male Giret, no Girets from the Six Continents had appeared. A truly fortunate turn of events.
‘I shouldn’t use Guided Teleportation near this area for a while. If the Giret Clan from the Six Continents catches me, it’s all over.’
To avoid Guided Teleportation, Han Eol would need to replace the Watch Hand he was currently wearing with a new one.
Han Eol separated the Mo Metal and Ja Metal from his backpack, then swapped out the Watch Hand fashioned from Ja Metal for the needle currently in his watch.
The first time Han Eol had done this, his heart had raced with anxiety.
But now that it was the second time, his heart didn’t pound nearly as much.
‘That must be why there’s a saying—steal a needle, become a petty thief. Sigh~.’
Han Eol let out a sigh of unclear meaning, then combined the swapped Watch Hand with the Mo Metal and carefully stowed it back in his backpack.
‘Next, I need to get this.’
Han Eol dug up the two fist-sized Magical Energy Stone he’d buried in the ground before—the spoils he’d harvested from the male Giret’s chest—and packed it into his backpack.
‘Let me take this to the Holy Group. I seem to have been unconscious for quite a while, and if my achievements look too meager, they might grow suspicious.’
Instead, Han Eol buried Sammokmalmee’s Magical Energy Stone in the ground.
After enough time had passed, the Giret Clan from the Six Continents would have no choice but to withdraw.
‘I just have to wait until then. I’ll come back here much later and retrieve it.’
Now Han Eol’s work was finished.
Han Eol rode Pyros’s Fallen Leaf swiftly toward the Blue Mist.
The location where Han Eol had been guided-teleported two months ago lay only about ten minutes’ walk from here.
But as he traveled on Pyros’s Fallen Leaf, the Blue Mist appeared within mere seconds.
‘Now you run far too. Don’t let yourself be caught by the Giret Clan from the Six Continents. Hide yourself well. Then we’ll see each other again later.’
Han Eol gently stroked Pyros’s Fallen Leaf.
Ping-ping, ping, ping.
Pyros’s Fallen Leaf seemed to cry out mournfully.
‘I can’t. I can’t stay here any longer. I have to go.’
Han Eol soothed the whimpering Pyros’s Fallen Leaf, then plunged straight into the Blue Mist.
Whooosh―.
A violent vertigo struck Han Eol.
When Han Eol opened his eyes again moments later, he stood in the underground of a secret platform constructed beneath the Han River in Midland Seoul.
Han Eol’s third visit to the Highland had been on June 9th, and today was August 9th……. So Han Eol had returned to the Midland in exactly two months.
The Puppeteer Who Harvests Souls
Author |
Junon
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editorial Director |
Editorial Department
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
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UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260703071
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blog.naver.com/dreambookss
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@dreambookss
Submissions |
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No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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