Chapter 23: To Face a Plot Armour

"So, they indeed have limitations," Compass Carburettor nodded, asking when he noticed that all the puppets were humanoid, "Is it not possible to create Puppets with other shapes?"

"It is possible," Ephemella nodded, "But, every design requires the inlaying of complex Darble circuits within the Puppet. And, doing that would mean we have to invest tremendous manpower and research into it. And even then, the Puppet may not fare as well as a humanoid puppet."

"Humans have the most versatility," She said, "We can wield any object thanks to our flexible fingers. Our legs are strong, so the Puppets created after us have our advantages without the exhaustion we face."

Right as she said it, numerous images flashed through Compass Carburettor's mind as thoughts flickered in his head, 'Right, suppose there is a Puppet in the shape of a tiger. Even though it can serve as a mount, run at tremendous speeds, and use its powerful teeth to hunt, it cannot use its limbs to attack without losing balance. But, a human Puppet can attack using the hands and legs and adapt accordingly. And best of all, we have the personal experience of moving our bodies. So, we can easily manipulate the Puppet based on our experience to achieve the utmost efficiency.'

"Right, the Puppets can also wield swords and shields. So, they are better." Compass Carburettor nodded, then asking a question that caused Ephemella to mentally flinch once, "So, are they able to wield an Armament too?"

"They can," Ephemella sighed, "But, the Darlac expenditure would be too much. There would be a loss based on your affinity to the Puppet craft. And then, it would face another loss based on your affinity to the Armament craft. Wielding an Armament using a Puppet is more energy-draining than wielding an Armament yourself."

"Understood," Compass Carburettor didn't ask about Darble Puppets, as it seemed the Queen was unwilling to continue further on the topic. 'I have asked plenty enough already. I'll first digest this information and experiment myself first before clarifying my doubts with her.'

He then gave a formal bow, "Thank you for giving me all this information. I'll be training now. Please tell me everything Regriel does daily so that I can prepare myself accordingly."

"Alright, I'll keep you posted on everything." Ephemella said, exiting the room along with him as she turned around, "If you need anything else, you can ask the servants. I'll post two of them to remain in your service throughout the day."

"Thank you," Compass Carburettor bowed formally as he returned to his room, carrying the basic Armament with him. He noticed the two servants standing at his room's entrance, instructing them, "Please send me meals six times per day at equal intervals from today onwards."

"Yes," The servants bowed as one of them walked away, soon returning with a plate of dishes.

Compass Carburettor gorged through them quickly, watching the servants exit the room as he closed his eyes, sleeping, feeling his body's state of exhaustion as he thought, 'One hour should be enough.'

Exactly an hour later, he woke up, feeling refreshed.

Health—Level 10!

Natural Recovery—Level 6!

Resting—Level 10!

These three Skills that were part of his physique allowed him to have a rest whenever he wished and wake up shortly after, feeling refreshed. After working nonstop for 21 hours, Compass Carburettor only required 3 hours of sleep to feel perfectly fresh once he woke up.

He won't feel any fatigue, both physically and mentally. This was the advantage of his physique-related Skills. Compass Carburettor then patted his stomach, noticing that he had digested part of the food already, thinking in regret, 'If only I obtained the body-related Skills from the Money-Making System. At Level 7, it would have awakened food-related Skills. That would have made my situation even better.'

'Still, this is good.' He thought, feeling the energy in his body had become a tad denser. But, he didn't practice yet, opening the door as he looked at the servant, "I need a simple item."

He then gave its description, detailing it quickly. After listening to it, the servant nodded, "We should have the materials lying around. We'll make the item and return immediately."

As she left, Compass Carburettor sat on his bed in a meditative pose, closing his eyes as he focused on the energy in his body, 'It feels like...water, but slightly colder. And, it has mixed into my blood and is being transported through it. So, the stronger my heart is, and the more vigorous its pumping is, the Darlac I can output would be equally higher.'

'If possible, I should learn this craft so that I can create items accordingly to the situations.' He thought, eradicating the thought process as he simply focused on the Darlac in his body, familiarising himself with the sensation, silently observing it.

It was similar to how when a person meditated, they would soon hear the sounds of their heartbeat and experience the mild flow of blood through the blood vessels. They would also hear and feel the actions taken by the various organs in their body, the mild twitching of the various muscles, etc.

It required one to meditate in a silent place, free from all distractions and thoughts, focusing entirely on their selves. When he was young, it was impossible for him to be seated for more than a minute before feeling restless or bored.

But as his mentality was affected by the System, he had changed, turning into a completely different character from his youth. He learned patience, gentleness, and focus. And now, he was applying that to understand Darlac better.

As it was something unfamiliar to him, having grown up on Earth where such energies were only part of fiction, there was an instinctive rejection stemming from his body against the unknown. It was part fear of the unknown and his body's unwillingness to accept change.

And, this stemmed from his 35 years worth of life on Earth. It wasn't something easy to get rid of. But, he had to do that and wholeheartedly accept Darlac. Only in that way would he be able to assimilate it into him faster and grow stronger than Regriel that relied on the System to grow and obtain strong companions one after another.

'To face a plot armour, I have to break the fourth wall first.'