The Soul-Harvesting Puppeteer - Chapter 5

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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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Episode 5
First Highland Expedition
Chapter 1
Han Eol stared down at the Compass Watch fastened around his wrist.
‘So the watch hand we’re wearing right now corresponds to an S-pole Object.’
In the meantime, Yi Ruin didn’t forget to mention an important caveat.
“Unfortunately, the Guided Transmission technology of our Seongsang Group isn’t perfect. There’s a low probability that transmission could fail, causing some people to land in entirely the wrong location.”
“Oh no.”
At this bolt-from-the-blue warning, the interns’ eyes trembled visibly.
Yi Ruin pressed on with an even sterner expression.
“Don’t feel safe just because the transmission succeeded. As I said before, Highland is a place far vaster and more volatile than anything you can imagine. Even if you’re successfully transmitted to a region that our senior members have secured, that region alone is many times larger than the entire area of Seoul. You will have to survive alone in that vast expanse, separated from your peers. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
“Yes, we understand.”
The interns answered even louder. The reason they were shouting so forcefully was to ease their own anxiety, however slightly.
‘Heh.’
Yi Ruin stifled a laugh internally.
In truth, there were no dangerous Magical Beasts in the region where the interns would be transmitted.
Thanks to the frequent visits of Seongsang Group’s Ability users, who eliminated any Magical Beasts that appeared, it was actually a relatively safe zone.
Of course, there was still that low probability of transmission failure.
‘If they arrive somewhere completely wrong instead of the safe zone, then they’re finished. For the unlucky ones, there’s nothing I can do.’
Yi Ruin muttered this to herself, then confirmed once more with the interns.
“Surely none of you are cowards who’d want to turn right back around the moment you arrive because you’re scared of Highland?”
“No, we won’t.”
The interns gritted their teeth.
“Good. Now let me tell you what you’ll be doing. As soon as you arrive at Highland, you’ll begin Gathering.”
‘Gathering.’
As Han Eol focused on the word Gathering, Yi Ruin offered several examples.
“For stones called Mana Stones, your Gathering quota is one kilogram. For Medicinal Herbs and New Materials, you can return once you’ve collected one kilogram or more. Well, there are Mana Core Stones too, but I doubt any intern here would have the nerve to attempt collecting those.”
‘Mana Stone, Medicinal Herb, New Material, Mana Core Stone.’
Han Eol mentally rehearsed each key term in order.
Yi Ruin swept her gaze across Han Eol and continued speaking.
“As you know, a Mana Core Stone is the stone embedded in the body of a mid-rank or higher Magical Beast. To gather a Mana Core Stone, you must successfully hunt a Magical Beast—a challenge well beyond the capabilities of interns like yourselves. In any case, once you’ve met your quota, return to where you first arrived and re-enter the blue mist to return here to Midland Seoul. I trust you’ve already learned in class what’s worth gathering.”
“Yes, we have.”
“Oh, and one more thing! Should you happen to discover an Artifact in Highland, you can ignore the gathering quota entirely. Take only the Artifact and return immediately. Interns who bring back a high-value Artifact will receive special commendation from the Group, so you have something to look forward to. Understood?”
“Yes, understood.”
The moment the interns replied, Yi Ruin clapped her hands together sharply.
“All right, now we begin. Move in order of your employee numbers—quickly now, quickly.”
The interns, urged on by Yi Ruin, filed into the blue mist one by one.
Han Eol also plugged his nose with his right hand and plunged forcefully into the haze.
The instant he entered, a dense, suffocating pressure rushed toward him.
Yi Ruin’s warning had been spot-on. This wasn’t mist—it felt like diving into deep seawater.
‘Ugh.’
Bubbles escaped between Han Eol’s lips as he realized he couldn’t open his eyes properly here.
Yet strangely, his clothes weren’t getting wet.
How long did this last?
Just as the worry that he might suffocate and die here began creeping into Han Eol’s mind, a brilliant flash suddenly erupted before his eyes.
Then Han Eol emerged into a world utterly remote from Midland Seoul.
The first place Han Eol’s feet touched was a tree branch 1.5 meters above ground.
The branch snapped under Han Eol’s weight.
“Ow!”
Han Eol, suddenly hitting the ground, cried out before he could help himself.
‘No, wait!’
In that instant, Han Eol’s pupils shrank tight.
In Highland, any number of dangers could be lurking. Making noise carelessly as a weakling like him in this strange place was practically begging to die.
‘Survival Rule. Survival Rule. Survival Rule. Idiot, get your head in the game and remember the rules.’
Han Eol hurriedly recalled the knowledge he’d learned during training.
Rule Number 1: Never let go of your weapon.
Shink!
Han Eol drew the thirty-centimeter blade worn on the outer side of his right shin and gripped it tightly. As he did, he mentally went through the other Survival Rules.
Rule Number 3: Erase your scent.
Pssssh—psssh—psst—
Han Eol pulled the Deodorizing Spray from its clip on the side of his Backpack and sprayed it evenly across his face and body.
Survival Rule Number 4: Always keep your posture low. That way, the wind won’t carry your scent far and wide.
Han Eol immediately dropped flat onto the snow.
Only then did the surrounding landscape come into view. Before him now stretched a vast expanse of the snowy landscape, blanketed in white.
Chapter 2
Wheee―
A bone-chilling wind cut through the air, and bitter cold lashed at the exposed portions of Han Eol’s body.
‘Christ, it’s freezing.’
The extreme cold made Han Eol feel as though the flesh on his face was flaking away piece by piece.
The real problem, though, was that his hand gripping the sword hilt had gone stiff as ice, his senses dulled.
‘At least this isn’t a flame zone or a lightning zone—count my blessings. My Cold Resistance is a bit higher than my resistance to fire or electricity.’
Han Eol clung to this small comfort.
But there was no time for idle consolation now. When Han Eol glanced down at his Compass Watch, the needle spun aimlessly, refusing to settle.
When the needle couldn’t find direction like this, it meant there was no N-pole Object buried within a hundred kilometers of this place.
‘They said there’s a rare chance someone gets unlucky with the Guided Transmission and drops into the wrong area. That someone was me? Damn it.’
Han Eol wasn’t just bewildered—he was furious.
While Han Eol sank into bitter rumination, a massive wolf with silver fur emerged from behind him like a phantom.
Strictly speaking, it didn’t deserve the name “wolf.”
It was an entirely different species from any wolf found on Earth.
An amber-colored octagonal Mana Core Stone gleamed in its forehead, and two curved horns jutted from beneath its jaw on either side—a wolf-type Magical Beast had arrived.
This creature, known as a Seolrang, possessed three defining characteristics.
First, they excelled at coordinated pack hunts.
Second, they rendered their bodies transparent to become invisible, and would strike prey from behind like ghosts using this concealment strategy.
Third, these Magical Beasts possessed high resistance to cold, fire, lightning, and poison—Elemental Magic barely worked on them at all.
Even veteran Ability users from the Seongsang Group found themselves struggling when they encountered a pack of Seolrang.
So what did it mean for a mere Intern, not even a rookie, to face a Seolrang in the Highland?
It meant death.
In this regard, Han Eol’s luck was truly abysmal.
Of all places, he’d been transmitted into the vicinity of a Seolrang den.
And then, when he’d fallen from a thin branch and cried out, it had proven disastrous. A Seolrang with its keen sense of smell and hearing would never miss such a sound.
One Seolrang, still invisible, crept toward Han Eol from behind, then abruptly revealed itself and opened its jaws wide.
Grooo―waaaagh―
A deafening roar shook the air, and snow cascaded from nearby trees in a steady stream.
“Huh?”
Han Eol spun in shock, and his blade, swung on pure reflex, struck the horn jutting from the beast’s jaw and shattered with a metallic clang.
Then the Seolrang’s powerful fangs sank diagonally into Han Eol’s chest and back.
“Ngh!”
Han Eol cried out in agony.
Crunch!
The creature’s razor-sharp upper and lower teeth pierced through Han Eol’s left arm and pulverized bone. Its fangs raked through his chest and back, shredding his Combat Vest and Backpack without mercy.
By all rights, Han Eol’s ribs should have been crushed and his heart punctured.
But the Combat Vest he wore absorbed a substantial portion of the beast’s assault.
Fortune smiled on him that day.
Ordinarily, Interns are issued Vests with E-grade defensive power.
Han Eol’s, however, was A-grade—hundreds of times superior in performance.
The HR Manager, Yi Jae-in, had secretly furnished him with top-tier equipment without anyone else knowing.
Because of that, Han Eol escaped instant death.
Grooo, grooo, groooaaagh!
Enraged by the failed kill, the Seolrang seized Han Eol’s upper body and thrashed its massive head side to side.
Han Eol’s frame was whipped about like a ragdoll.
“Gahhh―”
Han Eol couldn’t breathe properly.
The cruel cold transmitted through the Seolrang’s fangs had turned his muscles rigid as stone. His mind went blank white.
Yet even amid this horror, Han Eol’s remarkable will grasped one thin thread of reason.
He forced himself to gauge the size of the Seolrang mauling him.
From paw to shoulder, its height was nearly two meters.
If it reared up on its hind legs, its full length would likely exceed seven or eight meters.
The rounded horn jutting from its jaw was nearly a meter long.
At this weight class, comparing it to Earth’s wolves felt almost offensive. Facing such a Magical Beast—larger than a Siberian tiger—on his first deployment was proof that Han Eol’s luck couldn’t possibly be worse.
‘I’m done for.’
Han Eol judged there was no chance of survival.
But to die like this felt so unfair.
With a miraculous effort, Han Eol swung his frost-covered right hand and drove the half-broken blade toward the Magical Beast’s leg.
Clang!
But the Seolrang beat him to it, batting Han Eol’s blade aside with a heavy foreleg. Then it slowly withdrew its teeth from Han Eol’s body and pinned him down with both paws, immobilizing him completely.
‘Ugh… ack.’
Han Eol thrashed, trying to break free.
He pushed with all his strength against the Seolrang, but the creature didn’t budge—solid as stone.
From this alone, Han Eol could tell he had not awakened any Ability related to physical strength.
‘Then what about magic?’
Han Eol squeezed energy from his heart and stretched both hands upward.
But he failed again. Not even a single fireball erupted from his palms. No ice arrows. No lightning.
Clearly, Han Eol possessed no Ability related to Elemental Magic.
Chapter 3
‘Could it be poison?’
Han Eol held a faint hope that perhaps poison glands had formed in his mouth or under his fingernails.
That hope crumbled too.
And it wasn’t as though his senses had grown noticeably sharper.
‘If my senses had been heightened, I wouldn’t have been caught defenseless by that ambush.’
So what on earth was Han Eol’s Ability?
‘Could it be… that I’m powerless? Did I fail my Awakening?’
This was despair.
‘No. If this is all I have, I’m nothing but food for Magical Beasts.’
At that moment, the Seolrang that had captured Han Eol slowly relaxed the pressure from its paws.
‘What?’
A flicker of hope kindled in Han Eol’s eyes.
Beloved by Magical Beasts—a Tamer.
This was an exceedingly rare Ability.
Of course, a Tamer couldn’t charm every Magical Beast, and there were limits to how many could be tamed, but still—the strategic value of a Tamer was high.
Moreover, Han Eol had always preferred Abilities like Tamer, Necromancer, or Summoner—ones that let you stay safely in the rear and simply give orders.
But Han Eol’s meager hope curdled into despair just as quickly. Another Seolrang had appeared before him.
This one, sauntering forward, had shoulders at least 1.5 times higher than the beast that had ambushed him from behind. Its frame was proportionally massive as well.
The newly arrived Seolrang bore a Mana Core Stone embedded in its forehead—a slab as large as Han Eol’s fist.
Around that octagonal Mana Core Stone, a ghostly cold aura hung in the air.
‘Ah!’
Then Han Eol understood.
The reason the Seolrang that had first bitten him had backed away was the arrival of a stronger one—the pack leader of all the Seolrang in this territory.
Even beasts follow protocol when eating; the chief eats first.
The Puppet Master Who Harvests Souls
Author |
Jounon
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editorial Director |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
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7F, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260703071
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submission |
[email protected]
This book may not be reproduced or used in any form or manner without the written consent 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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