"Are you the one who made this puppet?"
Hearing this question from the mysterious girl, Christian’s expression didn’t change.
It was a question that meant she understood Alpha wasn’t human — but that didn’t come as a surprise.
In the first place, he had long since known that his androids couldn’t deceive truly strong people.
Even second and third stage users could sense something was off with Alpha almost immediately. So those stronger than them?
It was bound to be noticed right away.
That’s why, now, he became certain that the girl standing before him was no ordinary one.
And knowing that, he also knew it was best not to provoke her. He thought carefully about his words before replying, "Yes, I made her."
The mysterious girl smiled at his answer.
She finally moved away from Alpha and came to stand directly in front of him, her eyes shining with open desire as she said, "I want her. So, tell me what you want in exchange."
She made her demand clear — and Christian’s expression turned ugly.
He was aware that he was in the presence of someone far stronger than him. And so, if possible, he wanted to fulfill all her requests.
He wanted to conclude this meeting peacefully, if possible.
But this one... this one, he didn’t think he could accept.
Still, he held himself back from losing his temper and replied evenly, "Can’t I make a new one for you? This one is a precious ’puppet’ to me, after all."
In response, the girl turned her gaze back to Alpha. She studied the android for a moment, her expression unreadable, before finally turning to Christian and saying, "I’m fine with that too."
Along with her words, something else seemed to shift in the air.
And Alpha, who had been standing in a frozen state, finally began to move again.
She tilted her head slightly, as if trying to confirm something — and Christian, noticing that, felt cold sweat slowly gather across his back.
What happened? And how?
He was someone far too sensitive to the movement of essence in the air. Yet, he hadn’t felt the slightest shift. So what exactly was going on?
Christian wondered for a moment, before deciding to drop the thought.
It wasn’t the time for that.
Instead, he quickly told Alpha to go inside the house, his voice calm despite the weight that pressed on him.
He felt quietly relieved that the girl hadn’t insisted on taking Alpha or become unreasonable.
After that, he turned his attention back to the girl standing before him and said,
"Making this kind of puppet takes time. So... can you come one month later?"
But unfortunately, this time the girl shook her head and said, "No. I want to watch you as you make it."
Silence fell between them at her words — a silence that lasted only a breath before she suddenly added, "It’s about the price, right?"
"Okay, tell me what you want."
’It’s not about the price though,’ Christian thought, his mood darkening. He exhaled slowly and said.
"My puppet wasn’t able to see your appearance. It’s probably because of some item, right?"
"Can I have the same item?"
The mysterious girl chuckled softly at his request, then tilted her head and asked, "You mean... you can see my appearance?"
Christian couldn’t finish his sentence. He suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened, and he instinctively took a step back from her.
What was her appearance?
He asked himself — but aside from the fact that she was a girl, giving the vague impression of being probably young, probably short... there was nothing else.
When he focused his mind, it struck him immediately: her appearance was blank.
That meant... it wasn’t just Alpha who had been unable to see the girl.
Even he couldn’t see her.
How had he not noticed that until now?
What the fuck was he facing?
It had already been two years since he started getting involved with essence. He had even encountered people too strong for him — like that pair, the man and woman.
And yet, nothing he’d seen... nothing he’d learned... felt like it could compare to the girl standing in front of him now.
Observing his shaken reaction, the mysterious girl chuckled again and said, "Okay, calm down. I don’t intend to harm you."
"If I had that intention, you couldn’t possibly resist anyway."
"But you should know — what you’re asking for isn’t something caused by an item. It’s something that comes naturally with strength."
"And helping you reach that kind of strength?" Her smile lingered. "Unfortunately, that’s out of the question."
"I mean... your puppet doesn’t have that kind of worth."
"But if you want, I can give you an item that makes you invisible — something that works on all mortals, regardless of their stage."
"I wouldn’t recommend it though. You’re already training in a shadow technique, after all. And it seems you’ve upgraded it more than once."
"So, a defensive item would be better."
"After all, you’re too weak."
The girl had spoken a lot.
And Christian stood still, stunned by everything he had just heard.
An item that worked on mortals regardless of the stage?
Didn’t that mean it would affect everyone currently on Earth?
Through his System, where his rank was listed as Mortal, First Stage, Christian understood something very clearly —
That before any of the official stages, there was still a prefix.
So what was the rank of the girl in front of him, if she could speak about all mortal stages this casually?
And what the fuck had she come to Earth for?
Someone with her strength — someone from such a high map —
What was she doing in this beginner village, namely... Earth?
Wait... maybe she was lying?
But... would there even be a reason to lie?
All kinds of thoughts swirled through his mind.
Eventually, Christian let out a simple tired sigh, before he finally asked.