Amid the dull sound of crushing noises behind us, we were running at full speed.

We knew that if we stopped even for a second, the enemy right behind us—a rank A monster, the Minotaur—would catch up.

“Damn it, why did it come to this? This is ridiculous!”

The leader of this hero party, the hero Nord, couldn't hide his frustration and shouted. He must have been unable to handle the unexpected danger.

I, Ike, running at the back of the group, couldn’t help but curse my bad luck as well. Just a moment ago, I never would have imagined it would come to this.

The Kingdom of Greisea’s highest difficulty dungeon—the Great Labyrinth of Septem. This dungeon, said to have seven levels, contains countless dungeon resources. This time, we aimed to clear the third level and acquire a magic-storing stone (low) found on that floor.

Our progress was going smoothly, and we successfully defeated the boss of the third level, the Goblin General, along with dozens of its goblin subordinates. After retrieving the magic-storing stone from the boss room, all that was left was to head back.

It was at that moment when Nord said:

“What’s this? The density of magic power in this part of the wall is abnormally high.”

Nord reached out toward the wall. The moment I realized what he was doing, I shouted in shock.

“Wait, there’s a teleportation spell formula—”
"Roooooaaaarrr!!!”

But it was already too late.

As soon as Nord touched the wall, a blinding light engulfed the area. A few seconds later, when the light subsided, a rank A monster, the Minotaur, which should have been the boss of the fifth level, appeared.

It was an irregular, rare trap in the Great Labyrinth of Septem. We had been warned about the teleportation traps beforehand, but having just defeated the third-floor boss, we had let our guard down. Nord, without thinking deeply, had fallen right into the trap.

With our magic power running low, we were in a dire situation. Whether to fight or retreat, everyone was hesitating. But Nord was the first to move.

“Waaaahhh!”
“Hey, Nord!”
“Wait, where are you going!?”
“Don’t leave us behind!”

Nord turned his back and ran. Following him, the heavy warrior Luid, the magician Yun, and the priest Yol all started running.

The only ones left behind were me, the weakest member of the party, a puppeteer, and—

“Flare, we’re running too!”

—my sword-wielding puppet, Flare. At first glance, she’s indistinguishable from a human, but she lacks the ability to think or speak. Although I could control her without speaking, I still gave orders out loud as I always did.

“Grrraaaa!!!”
“Damn it!”

Of course, the Minotaur wasn’t going to let its prey escape so easily. It swung its massive axe and charged at us with terrifying speed. At this rate, it would catch up in no time—there was no choice.

“Flare! Aim for the legs!”

Seeing the Minotaur fix its gaze on Nord, who was farthest ahead, I put my plan into action. Flare crouched low and slipped under the Minotaur’s legs. With a swift slash, she cut one of its legs.

“Roooaah?!”

The Minotaur, stunned by the sudden injury, stopped moving. Its cloudy eyes fixated on Flare and me. This was our only chance to escape.

“Let’s go, Flare!”

As the Minotaur began to regenerate, I grabbed Flare and we sprinted at full speed. By now, the distance between us and Nord’s group had widened considerably.

That’s how we ended up in this situation. Flare and I kept up our hit-and-run strategy, buying as much time as we could. However, no matter how much time we bought, it was impossible to outrun an A-rank monster forever in this vast dungeon.

The Minotaur was already closing in, just a few meters behind us.

At that moment, we arrived at a massive stone bridge. Below was nothing but darkness—falling meant certain death. But if we crossed it, we would reach the stairs leading to the second level, a place too narrow for the massive Minotaur to follow.

I was just starting to feel relieved when—

“Divine Sword!”

“—What?”

For some reason, Nord, who had crossed the bridge first, swung his holy sword at the stone bridge. Cracks spread across the bridge, and it shook violently.

“What are you doing, Nord?!”
“Shut up! As long as we can get rid of that monster, who cares?! I’ll collapse the bridge and send it into the abyss!”

In response to Yun’s protest, Nord replied without a hint of remorse. Realizing it was futile to argue, Yun, Luid, and Yol hurried across to the other side.

But I… Flare and I… We had been buying time until now, which meant we were too far behind. There was no way we could make it across before the bridge collapsed.

“Wait, Nord! Flare and I are still back here!”
“Shut up! Who cares about Flare! Giving a puppet a name like it’s a person?! You’re nothing but dead weight anyway! You’re only good as bait! Be grateful you get to die for us!”

“What…?!”

I was speechless. Sure, I’m just a puppeteer with a so-called unfortunate job. I don’t have much power myself and can only give commands to my puppets. But even so, I’ve tried my best as a member of this hero party.

Yet to Nord, I was nothing more than disposable bait.

The shock of his words momentarily froze my thoughts. As a puppeteer, that brief hesitation was fatal.

I had lost focus, preventing me from controlling Flare.

“Damn it—”

By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late. The Minotaur was already standing in front of Flare, raising its axe. At that moment, two choices flashed through my mind.

One was to abandon Flare and make a run for the other side of the bridge. The bridge was about to collapse, but I might still make it in time. After all, the job of a puppeteer is to use their puppets as decoys to support the party.

Yeah, that’s probably the right choice.

But—!!!

The other choice. Without hesitation, I dashed toward Flare. I grabbed her with all my strength and leaped away from the spot.

The Minotaur’s axe smashed into the ground where Flare had just been standing, shattering the bridge completely. Flare and I were thrown into the air.

Just before the Minotaur lost its footing, it jumped and landed on the opposite side of the bridge, far from Nord and the others.

In that fleeting moment, memories of my life flashed before my eyes.

I once admired adventurers. But at the age of ten, I was given the job of a puppeteer, an unfortunate profession only good for being a decoy. Amid ridicule and scorn, I struggled desperately. Unlike other puppeteer, I never treated my puppets as mere tools to be sacrificed. That was my only belief that had carried me this far.

I’m probably going to die here. But no matter what, I won’t let Flare get hurt. I’ll protect her at all costs!

“Roooaaarrr!!!”

The Minotaur, unable to finish us off, grabbed a chunk of the crumbling bridge and hurled it at us. I held Flare tightly to shield her from the debris.

With a heavy thud, something struck the back of my head. At the same time, my consciousness began to fade.

Just before I blacked out completely, I thought I heard a strange voice.

【Breaking Through Conditions Met】
【Puppeteer Evolved to Puppet Master】
【Derived From Magic Supply Resource: Magic Creation Acquired】
【Derived From Magic Thread Manipulation: Self-Act Acquired】
【Base Stats Improved】

I couldn’t understand what that voice meant as my consciousness slipped away.

“Huh!”

I jolted awake.

“Ouch!”

A sharp pain throbbed in the back of my head. When did I get hurt here? As I slowly traced back my memories before I lost consciousness—

“Flare!”

I remembered everything and immediately called out Flare’s name. I could rejoice over still being alive later. First, I needed to check if Flare was safe!

I knew she wouldn’t respond if I called her name. I had to look around and check directly. That’s what I thought, and then—

“Oh, you’re awake, Ike.”

“...Huh?”

The moment I heard a voice other than my own, my eyes widened in surprise.

No, it wasn’t just hearing a voice that surprised me. What mattered was who the voice came from.

A beautiful girl with fiery red hair tied in a ponytail, exuding both kindness and strength. I knew her. I couldn’t be mistaken. After all, we’d been together all this time.

I called out her name once more.

“...Flare?”
“Yeah! I’m glad you’re awake, Ike!”

She responded with a bright smile.

A smile that didn’t belong to a puppet, but to a real person.

Thus, I had awakened to my new power, and Flare had gained a will of her own.

From that moment, my journey as a Puppet Master began. And my revenge on Nord and the others who betrayed me had only just begun.