The Reincarnation of the Red Dragon
06. Magic Doll

With a greater determination to succeed than before, I decided to double the amount of practice I did before.

My stamina and strength are above other 4-year-olds. It seems like every time I want my body to do something, there will be a pause between the commands in my brain and my arms. There's only one thing I can think of to be a better fighter. That is to gain a more real fighting experience. This will allow me to gain the experience needed in actual combat and will add a real fear factor in fighting, allowing my body to move instinctively. I went around the house looking for my father, when I saw him outside the front door with a bag on his back.

"Where is Dad going?" I asked.

"Sorry Ray, I was called to a mission. The kingdom really needs my help this time so I'll be gone for a few days, maybe longer."

"but what about my training!" I'm yelling.

"Don't worry, I don't forget, when you have time to check the warehouse, I'm sure you'll find a pleasant surprise there." My father said as he walked towards the carriage that was waiting for him.

I walked back home and slammed the door shut behind me. What was so important that he had to leave in such a short time. I took a deep breath and calmed down, anger was not going to take me anywhere.

I decided to go to the warehouse and check out what that idiot father was talking about. To my surprise, the warehouse has been completely cleaned up. The warehouse was completely empty regardless of one thing. In the middle of the warehouse stood a human-sized wooden puppet. The puppet held a wooden sword and shield in its arms. I walked over to the doll and could see that a note had been attached to it.

The note contains:

"Ray, I hope you like my gift. These were special puppets that had been given magic, they used it on all the new recruits in the knight academy. I have to go to great lengths to get one for you. The hand in the magic circle is written on the back of the doll and say it out loud (Level 1).

The puppet could rise to level 10. You only need to pass level 1 to enter the knight academy, so don't try to pass level 1. I love you"

I squeezed the letter into a ball and threw it into a corner of the room.

"Truly how powerful the wooden puppet was."

I pulled my sword and swung as hard as I could on the doll. A magic circle appeared in the spot I was aiming at just before my sword touched the wooden puppet. I couldn't move my sword any closer. It was like hitting an invisible wall.

"Arghhh" I shouted furiously.

If only I had not been cursed. Magic seemed much more powerful and useful than swordsmanship. I refocused my mind and went behind the doll. A large circle of the same size as my head could be seen. I put my hand inside the circle and shouted "Level 1". The puppet lit up in a purple light from head to toe. I jumped back and prepared myself in a ready-to-fight position as the puppet prepared to attack.

I stood there for 30 seconds when nothing happened. The doll was still in the same position as when I first came. Was it broken, of course that idiot father wouldn't check if it worked or not? I ran towards the doll as fast as I could and left with a stabbing attack towards her wide-open body.

Clack

The sound of my sword hitting the wooden shield could be heard. The puppet had moved the shield in front of my attack. The puppet then swung its sword towards me. I retreated to avoid the attack and I tripped on my other leg. My body was moving slower than my mind again.

I'm lying on the floor now. I closed my eyes bracing myself for the next attack. A few seconds passed and I realized I had no pain. I opened my eyes to see what was going on. The doll had returned to its original position.

I took the stone from the ground and threw it towards the doll. The puppet reacted again blocking the stone and then struck the stone with his sword. It seemed like the puppet was only reacting to the attack.

I decided to test my theory. I slowly walked towards the doll and got as close as possible until I was right in front of the doll. It still hasn't moved an inch even though I'm within striking distance.

I went to attack the puppet again at close range, but this time it moved backwards and dodged my attack. Then the doll ran towards me and swung into my face from the side.

I couldn't duck in time, but I could see his movements clearly so I parried the sword with mine. My reaction was a little slower than that puppet sword.

Brakkk

I've been hit directly on the head. My face was attacked. After the attack I knelt on the floor. Red blood drops began to drip onto the ground. A purple light began to shine on the wooden puppet again and a voice could be heard.

"Level 1 Failed, System disabled"