Chapter 49: Puppeteer

It was already late.

Levi slumped on the sofa, enjoying the soft and comfortable feeling beneath him.

The sound of music drifted into his ears, mingling with the fragrance of milk tea, creating a sense of incomparable leisure.

“Sigh……………”

He took a sip of milk tea, narrowed his eyes, and felt all the fatigue in his body fade away.

Only then did Levi raise his head, open the system panel before him, and begin the settlement.

【Mission 《Haunted House Phantom》 complete】

【Time spent: S】

【Investigation efficiency: S】

【Impact: S】

【Overall evaluation: SSS】

【Lifespan +80, additional lifespan +40】

Good, steadily increasing.

Looking at the increase in his remaining days, Levi nodded with satisfaction.

Calculating it this way, he now had more than half a year of life left.

However, Levi was also a little curious—did this lifespan actually have an upper limit? He had crossed into this world for less than a month, yet after completing three consecutive missions, he had already gained nearly two hundred days of lifespan.

If he continued at this pace, then let alone living as long as an ordinary person, let alone reaching a hundred years old… could it be possible that he might actually… become immortal?

Not only that………

Levi stared at the lifespan counter before him, frowning slightly.

Out of curiosity, he had calculated his lifespan upon returning.

After all, Levi and the others had felt as if they stayed in the haunted house for most of the day, yet the soldiers outside told them they had only been inside for a short while.

So Levi wanted to check whether the lifespan was calculated according to his subjective sense of time, or according to objective reality.

The result gave Levi an unexpected discovery.

First of all, lifespan was indeed calculated by objective reality.

That is to say, no matter how much subjective time Levi felt he had experienced, the countdown to his lifespan still followed the real-world clock.

Secondly, Levi discovered that during the whole process, there had been a sudden rapid decrease in his lifespan, about five days lost in one go.

After some calculation, he realized this happened precisely when Katie had punched him flying.

This gave Levi another idea.

Could it be……… that lifespan was equal to his health bar?

Instead of losing HP when injured, he lost lifespan?

And conversely, as long as his lifespan didn’t run out, he wouldn’t die?

If that were the case, then when he lost two hours of lifespan from smoking a cigarette earlier, that too counted as taking damage? Meaning that his body regarded smoking as a form of harmful behavior?

Levi recalled how, after returning to MI7, he wanted to treat his left arm.

But after seeing a doctor, the latter told him his arm had no problems.

Levi’s own 【Diagnosis】 also indicated that his former 【Bone Fracture】 had already disappeared.

Did this mean that even if he were shot in the head or had his heart pierced, as long as he still had remaining lifespan, he would live? For example, if he had two hundred days of lifespan, and then an enemy shot him in the head costing him one hundred days, would his wound then heal and he would crawl back up, resurrected?

“How come this feels like being a vampire………”

Levi frowned and gave a bitter smile.

But clearly, his condition was far better than a vampire’s.

After all, vampires feared sunlight, while Levi had virtually no such weaknesses—at the very least, he could sunbathe without issue.

That said……… Katie’s single punch cost him five days of lifespan.

What kind of damage was that………

If this system had damage data, Levi really wanted to see just what Katie’s DPS was.

Then came the most important part.

Levi stretched out his hand, swiping through the information before him until he reached the final entry—Random Reward.

【Special equipment Crimson Temptation detected, unlocking special reward】

【Special Reward: Profession Skill——Puppeteer】

【Specialization: Flesh Manipulation / Soul Manipulation / Creation Manipulation】

Puppeteer, huh……… Seeing this reward, Levi wasn’t surprised.

After all, this case had been entirely connected to puppets, with the final boss based on this very concept.

So it wasn’t strange that he would receive this reward.

The foundation of all three specializations lay in the use of threads called “Soul Threads” to control a target and thereby manipulate them.

Levi carefully read the descriptions of the three specializations.

Flesh Manipulation referred to what he and the others had already encountered before—transforming human bodies into puppets and commanding them to act.

Those soldiers had been such flesh-modified puppets.

As for their power… it couldn’t be denied.

After all, a group of fearless soldiers was indeed terrifying.

But of course, Levi would never choose this.

For the same reason he had refused the sonic attack option earlier—he and the others had been chased endlessly by these very creations.

If he now used them himself, who knew how the others would look at him?

As for Soul Manipulation, that was the technique the boss had used to control Katie and Henry.

But this move seemed to only control their bodies without affecting their will.

And based on Levi’s own firsthand experience, this move wasn’t invincible either—he himself had resisted it, hadn’t he?

Therefore, Levi quickly made his decision, choosing———Creation Manipulation!

This skill was actually more “orthodox.” Simply put, Levi could create constructs and then manipulate them to act.

Just like a puppeteer creating a puppet and then controlling it.

The reason Levi chose this specialization was simple.

After this case, he realized that at his core, he was essentially a glass cannon—his offense was strong, but his defense was virtually nonexistent.

On top of that, he knew no close-combat techniques, so if anyone got close, he could only raise his hands and surrender.

Katie couldn’t always be his meat shield.

Levi couldn’t always let Katie take hits for him.

Thus, finding a proper shield was absolutely crucial.

But relying solely on people was impossible, and Levi wasn’t cold-blooded enough to use others as sacrificial shields.

Artificial creations, however, were different.

Whether they broke or were destroyed, he wouldn’t feel heartache.

And they could also act according to his will……… Hmm, thinking about it this way, they really were the perfect shields.

With that thought, Levi made his choice.

【Creation Specialization】

“—————！”

The moment Levi chose 【Creation Specialization】, his brain suddenly roared like thunder.

Immediately after, countless information and knowledge flooded into him—techniques on how to create, repair, and manipulate constructs.

Moments later, when Levi opened his eyes again, he could feel that this knowledge had already been completely engraved in his mind.

What remained was for him to consolidate it through constant practice………

This was really convenient.

If only the college entrance exams had been this easy too—just pour the knowledge into his brain, nothing to worry about.

Levi muttered this to himself, raising his hand to gaze at the ring on his right index finger.

The ruby embedded on it wasn’t very large, but under the lamplight, it shimmered endlessly, like flowing blood.

This reminded Levi of the streak of red that had appeared in the puppet’s shattered head.

There was definitely a connection between it and this ring.

Unfortunately, Levi didn’t yet know the origin of this ring.

Perhaps afterwards, he should continue investigating the Lancaster Family’s affairs.

After all, according to Sister Elizabeth, this ring had been found by Stephen’s wife in the Lancaster old mansion’s secret chamber, following the instructions of that mysterious person.

Which meant that this ring had always belonged to the Lancaster Family.

So then, what exactly was its origin?

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