The Chief's plan to our problem was simple: Get myself a proper mage license when I go to Halros before any of the workers in Wildpost return to the city and start spreading rumors about a rogue mage in the Wild Woods. It was a simple plan with few opportunities to fail, making it the best course of action to take. But simple didn't mean easy.

Since I had to go to Halros before the workers did, that meant I'd have to quickly fit my factory with the necessary equipment, create puppets as my workforce, and begin mass production of fabric and clothes before Wildpost's new wall was finished building.

According to Bran's estimates, the wall would be finished by the end of the month, which just so happens to be the beginning of spring. Unfortunately, Fate seemed to be mocking me since I had an appointment with the Matriarch of the dryads on the first day of spring, which meant I'd have to go to Halros much sooner than that and finish my business in the city so I could return to the Wild Woods in time. This schedule is too tight for my liking.

Unfortunately for me, I had no other choice but to follow the plan if I wanted to avoid having the Mage's Guild hunting me down. Which was why when I got back home with the first batch of equipment, I plowed straight through the goblin camp to reach my cave faster. “Out of the way! Coming through!”

Some of the goblins tried to bow at my arrival but had to rush out of the way lest they get trampled by Clip and Clop's hooves. Zerza and Kral emerged from a large tent and approached to greet me, but I ignored them as I parked the wagon right in front of my cave's mouth where Spider was still standing guard.

“Spider! Come help us quickly, we need to unload the cart!” I said as I got down from the wagon. Spider immediately complied and began retrieving crates of equipment from the wagon with ease using his tentacles.

Taloress was also about to get down from the wagon when I stopped her. “Sorry Taloress, but I need you to get back to Wildpost and retrieve the rest of the crates.”

As Master wills it, Taloress said with a salute as she sat back down on the driver's seat and took the reins. Master just has to make sure to keep His emotions in control while I am away.

I laughed awkwardly at my own puppet's admonishment. After my discussion with Bran regarding our plan earlier, I went to meet back up with Taloress, who looked like she was about to explode from concern. Like the rest of the people of Wildpost, she also sensed my aura when I lost my shit and tried to rush to my side, but I made her wait at the village center along with the rest of the villagers. Taloress obeyed, although she got grumpy at me for that.

Once the wagon was emptied, Taloress wasted no time and signaled the horses to go back to the village.

“Spider, bring the crates to the second room on the left. I'll be there soon,” I ordered just as Zerza and Kral arrived.

“Merciful One! This humble servant welcomes you back from your journey. How was your trip?” Zerza said upon reaching me.

“It was a bit too eventful for my liking, but needless to say, I got what I needed from the village,” I replied. “I would've loved to speak with you more, Zerza, but I'm afraid I'll have to cut our conversation short. I still have a lot of things to finish.”

“Of course! I apologize if we've disturbed you, Merciful One. If you need anything from us, we will always be glad to serve,” Zerza said with a bow.

“Well, since you're offering, can you tell the dryads to come meet me inside my cave?” Normally, I would've fetched them myself since the goblins and dryads never got along, but I was already in a hurry.

Zerza's eyebrow twitched at my request, but she agreed nonetheless. “I will see to it that your orders are followed, Merciful One.”

With that out of the way, I entered my cave and went to the second room to the left where Spider was already waiting with the crates. There were twenty of them, all of which contained flax breaks.

Since opening the crates and assembling each piece of equipment myself would take forever, I decided to employ Spider's help. I demonstrated to my puppet monstrosity how to assemble a flax break, slowly going through the procedure and making sure he understood it.

It turned out Spider was a quick learner and managed to memorize the procedure from a single demonstration, and his compatibility with the job was perfect. With his numerous tentacles, Spider could assemble a flax break far faster than I ever could.

Once I was sure that Spider could handle the flax breaks, I returned to the hallway where Wennena and Disserla had just arrived. The Steward looked apprehensive for reasons unknown to me, while the Steward looked grumpy as always.

“I'm glad both of you got here so quickly,” I began, but Disserla cut me off before I could continue.

“I don't want to wear clothes!” the Steward shouted.

My mind went blank for a second, wondering what the hell this woman was going on about this time, then I remembered our conversation earlier this morning. I told her I'd take their measurements when I came back so I could make them clothes. In truth, I didn't really need to take their measurements since my power allowed me to measure people's proportions with a single glance, but it was a good excuse to get them to come here so they wouldn't run away.

“Oh you will, Disserla, but that's not what I want to talk about right now. I called for the both of you to ask whether you guys know of a reliable source of fibers.”

“Just because we're Dayadra doesn't mean we know everything there is to know about plants, human,” Wennena said with a sneer.

“Um, actually, most of us do know everything there is to know about plants,” Disserla said hesitantly beside her companion.

Wennena glared at her fellow dryad as I snickered. “Looks like most dryads know about plants except for you, Wennena.”

Wennena's glare was terrifying, but before she could retaliate, Disserla interjected. “Actually, only Stewards study plants since our only purpose is to care for them. Wennena's a Sentinel, so her field of expertise lies in fighting.”

“It seems to me that the human wants to experience first-hand my field of expertise,” Wennena said as she eyed me fiercely.

Nobody insults the Master and gets to live, Mr. Marion said darkly even though the Sentinel can't hear him, but his message was successfully communicated when he transformed his arms into sharp spikes.

“Woah, calm down, Mr. Marion. We're not looking for a fight,” I said as I made him revert his arms to normal.

Wennena stared at me as if I was crazy. “Why are you talking to yourself?”

Right, I forgot the dryads still didn't know about Mr. Marion the puppet's existence. “Uh, it's complicated. But anyway, since you're so confident about not knowing anything about plants, you can go now,” I said with a shooing motion. The Sentinel's glare intensified, but she just stomped her way out of the cave in a huff.

“You're so mean to Wennena,” Disserla grumbled.

“But she started it!” I exclaimed petulantly, but even I knew I was being petty. Yeah, I shouldn't alienate her like that.

“Fine, I'll make it up to her in the future, but let's just get back on topic. Where can I find a reliable source of fibers?”

“Well, you could just get it from any plant in the forest, but I assume you'll use the fibers for making your clothes, right?” Disserla asked, saying the word ‘clothes’ with utter disgust. Seriously, what's up with that? “If you're going to use them for clothes, then you'll need plants with fibers that could easily be spun into those stringy thingies.”

“You mean thread?”

Disserla ignored my words. “I don't know if those kinds of plants exist in the Wild Woods, but our Sanctuary does have the plants you're looking for.”

“Excellent! Do you think your Elders would let me buy some from them?”

Disserla shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe? Probably depends on what you're paying for them. We don't have a need for the cute little coins you humans use, so you'll have to think of something else as payment.”

I cursed underneath my breath. I had thousands of gold with me but I wouldn't be able to use them to buy simple fibers! “What do dryads want anyway?”

“Uuum, what do we want?” Disserla mumbled to herself. “As far as I know, we only ever want to care for our forests and keep intruders out. That's just about it.”

“Seriously?” What was I supposed to offer them then if they could already satisfy both of those things by themselves? Their Sentinels and Stewards were literally created for those two purposes. What if I offer something that would assist in caring for their forests?

“What do you guys do to care for your forests, anyway?” I asked.

Disserla lit up at her chance to talk about her passion. “A lot! Our Elders often tell stories about how humans care for their gardens, but our way of taking care of our forests is better and way more profound! Watering the plants and letting the trees grow randomly isn't enough. Stewards like me make sure that each tree gets the necessary nutrients they need, usually by fertilizing the soil, and we don't just let our forests grow without limits. Part of our responsibility also involves maintaining the forest's balance, so we trim the trees whose canopies have become too thick that they hog all the sunlight, or cut some of them down completely to allow other plants to grow, although I personally dislike felling trees. It's just so saaad.”

Disserla went on to share more things about her work, talking continuously for fifteen minutes straight. I wanted to stop her and say that I didn't need to know all about it, but seeing her happy and excited expression as she talked about her passion shut my mouth. It would be a crime to make her stop.

“—and that is why talking to the trees is a very important aspect of my job,” Disserla said with finality. “So don't call me weird anymore whenever you see me talking to the forest!”

“Yes, yes, I'm deeply sorry for it. I was too arrogant to mock someone who is clearly a master at their own jobs,” I replied blandly. I was just glad she was finally done.

Disserla gave a satisfied nod. “So, did that give you any idea as to how you're going to trade with the Dayadra?”

“Yup,” I replied with more enthusiasm. I had to listen to Disserla ramble on for a quarter of an hour, but at least it gave me a very good idea. “You said you guys use fertilizer? Where do you get those?”

“We usually fertilize our Sanctuary by slaying monsters and feeding their corpses to the soil, although it hasn't been a reliable source of fertilizer so far,” Disserla replied. “Our Sanctuary is very big, which means it requires an absurd amount of nutrients to sustain. Although monster corpses are a good source, they have been increasingly scarce over the decades. The monsters of the Wild Woods have long learned that to trespass into Dayadra territory would guarantee death, so they give our territory a wide berth.”

“Why do you guys need so much fertilizer anyway?”

“Well, our Sanctuary is different from normal forests. Our Hometrees, for one, can move and have very resilient trunks, but in exchange for those capabilities, they require more sustenance,” Disserla explained. “Factor in the Matriarch's Hometree and you'll immediately realize why we need so much fertilizer.”

I nodded in understanding. “Then looks like I've finally found a way to trade with your kind.”

“Paying with fertilizer is smart, but where are you gonna find enough fertilizer to sustain your business? You can't just kill all the monsters in the Wild Woods, that would destroy the balance!”

“I don't need to kill monsters when I already have a reliable source of fertilizer right here,” I said smugly. My fabric sense focused on the goblins outside, specifically those squatting at the farther end of the clearing where they dug a large pit. A pit that they used as a toilet. Not only can I get their poop for free, but the goblins also defecate at least once a day, which ensures a steady supply!

Goblins mostly ate fruits and nuts, which would make their wastes rich in nutrients. Gathering goblin poop would be disgusting work, but it would be a crucial part of production until I found another reliable source of fibers other than that of the dryads'.

I thanked Disserla for her help and dismissed her, although I didn't tell her my plan yet, much to her disappointment. I still had no idea if she regularly reported to her superior, or if she even had one, but I opted to remain careful. If Disserla accidentally revealed my plan to the dryads, they would probably find a way to get their own goblin poop without having to trade with me. I wonder if there are other goblin tribes out there…

I shook my head to clear my mind of unnecessary thoughts and brought my focus back to the present. I will try to buy fibers from the dryads tomorrow, but today, I will be focusing on preparing my factory.

While Disserla and I were talking, Spider had finally finished assembling the flax breaks and organized them in a neat arrangement throughout the room. The room was large, so twenty flax breaks were only enough to occupy about a third of the space.

I congratulated Spider on a job well done, which sent his tentacles wriggling in joy. But the work was not done yet.

When Taloress arrived with the second batch of crates, Spider and I quickly unloaded the wagon and brought the equipment to the third room on the left of the hall. I let Taloress and the horses rest for a bit before sending them back for the last batch of crates.

The second batch of crates consisted of scutching boards, scutching knives, and hackling combs. There were a hundred of each, which made organizing them a difficult task. Thankfully, they no longer needed any assembly, so Spider and I only had to arrange them properly throughout the room. Since the items were small, all of them managed to fit inside the room.

By the time Spider and I finished arranging the scutching boards and hackling combs, Taloress wasn't back yet with the last batch of crates, so I focused on preparing the first room on the left while waiting for her.

Unlike the earlier rooms, the first room on the left of the hall had square pools dug into the ground. Each one was about two meters wide on all sides and one meter deep, all of them arranged in a 5x5 grid for a total of twenty-five pools. This was the place where I would ret plant stems by soaking them in water. Now, how do I gather enough water to fill all these pools..?

Each pool was pretty small, but that still meant I had to gather about a hundred cubic meters of water just to fill all twenty-five pools. Not to mention I only have one bucket to draw water with, which also happens to be my chamber pot…

My eyes landed on Spider and an idea formed in my mind.

●●●

Spider entered the room with a slow gait. Water dripped constantly from his large body as he approached the last empty pool in the room and positioned his bulk over it. Once he made sure his legs had a good grip on the stone floor, Spider twisted his body like a rag, squeezing out a large amount of water that gushed into the pool. That was enough to fill the pool to the brim.

It is done, Massster, Spider said proudly with wriggling tentacles, spraying water everywhere.

“Good job, Spider.” My idea to use Spider's absorbent body as a container for water was brilliant, and I improved on it further by adding extra fabric to Spider's bulk to increase his water retention capacity. The amount of water I needed to fill all twenty-five pools in this room was staggering and would have taken forever if we simply used buckets. By using Spider's body to absorb and transport huge amounts of water at a time, it only took my puppet twenty-five trips from a nearby river to finish the job.

With the task of filling the pools finished, I stripped off the excess fabric from Spider's body and sent it outside the cave to dry. Since Spider was damp as well, I ‘dried’ him by replacing each of his damp body parts with dry fabric until his body was made entirely of new fabric.

The factory is almost ready.

At the very edge of my fabric sense, I finally detected Taloress with the last batch of crates. She was still far away, so I decided to label the rooms first while waiting for her.

The organization of my factory was simple: each room represented a stage in the fabric production process, with the first stages near the cave's entrance and the last stages located deeper in the hall. The hall was also symmetrical, with the five rooms on the left identical to the rooms on the right. That meant that each room on the right side of the hall would be fitted with the same equipment as its counterpart on the left side of the hall. But for now, only the left side of the hall would be utilized. Now, time to name the rooms.

I summoned a bunch of fabric and thread from my supply room and started knitting letters on it. When I was finished, I attached it above the doorway of the first room, which was now labeled as the ‘Retting Room.’

I did the same for the rest of the rooms. The second room, which contained the flax breaks, was called the ‘Breaking Room.’ The third room with the scutching boards and hackling combs was called the ‘Scutching and Combing Room.’ The fourth one, which would contain the spinning wheels, looms, and sewing machines, was labeled the ‘Weaving Room.’ The last room on the left where my fabric supply was stored was simply named the ‘Supply Room.’ Maybe I should name the main hall as well.

After a short deliberation, I decided to name the hall the ‘Grisly Hall’ in remembrance of the monster bear to whom this cave once belonged to.

Right as I finished naming the rooms and the hall, Taloress finally arrived with the last batch of crates. She looked none the worse for wear even after three return trips from Wildpost, although the same couldn't be said for Clip and Clop. The poor horses looked like they were about to collapse. I felt guilty for pushing my horses too much, so I requested Zerza to feed them generously as a reward for their hard work.

“Welcome back, Taloress. Thanks for the hard work,” I said gratefully, to which Taloress puffed her chest proudly.

With Taloress' help, assembling the rest of the equipment became fast and easy, especially when she imitated Spider and transformed her arms into tentacles. Within the hour, we finished fitting the Weaving Room with twenty spinning wheels, twenty looms, and five sewing machines, all ready for operation.

I felt giddy as we finally came to the last task we had for today. Excitement was the dominant emotion within me, but there was also nervousness for what I was about to do. I haven't tried doing this on a large scale yet, which meant there was a possibility it would fail. Authority, don't fail me now.

My puppets followed me along as I went to the Supply Room where I stored all of the fabric I had been hoarding. The cave's renovation wasn't the only project I had been focusing on over the past weeks. Building my supply of fabric was another one.

As the deepest room farthest from the mouth of the cave, the Supply Room was pitch black, but my fabric sense was enough to detect the mounds of fabric that filled almost half of the large room. My precious treasure.

For most people, their power depended on the amount of wealth they had and their ability to protect it. But for me, my fabrics were literally my wealth and power. And when my company is finally established, that power will only grow.

I stretched my hand towards the large mounds of fabric. I didn't need to perform gestures, but I did it all the same. It made focusing a little easier.

My will washed over all the fabric at once, giving me absolute control and awareness of every weave and strand in the room. Even the lint on the floor did not escape my notice.

There was a lot of fabric, and a doubtful corner of my mind told me I wouldn't be able to control all of them at once. After all, I haven't tried controlling this much fabric before. But I banished those negative thoughts. I was weak no longer. The past months had been rife with conflicts and trials, events that had forged my power into something stronger. I will not fail.

With a soft grunt, I enforced my will on the fabrics… and they obeyed.

The huge mounds of fabric in front of me writhed like a squirming mass of flesh, alive. Shapes started forming as the fabrics followed the image I had in my mind. Humanoid shapes.

The raw emotion of amazement radiated off from my puppets beside me. I would have normally felt smug about it in normal circumstances, but I ignored it. I needed my full concentration on what I was doing because it was so damn hard.

The huge mass of fabric continued forming into dozens of humanoid shapes, their physical features gaining more detail and turning more human-like as time passed. Only a minute more and they'll be perfect. The only issue was that I don't think I could last for a minute longer.

Already, sweat coated my entire body as mana left my body in torrents, all of them swirling into the forming puppets in front of me. Mr. Marion seemed to understand my plight and released me from his body, allowing the cold air in the room to cool my body.

If mana and concentration were all this task required, it would have been easy. But no, I felt something else going into the puppets. It felt like a part of my being was peeling itself away from me and sinking into the forming bodies of the puppets. Each puppet only took a very tiny part, but with their numbers, they were taking a fucking chunk out of me! I don't remember this ever happening when I created my first puppets! Or maybe I just didn't notice…

When only thirty seconds were left, my skin was already steaming from the heat produced by the mana exiting my body.

The thirty seconds felt like an eternity as I just kept on pouring mana into the forming puppets while keeping the image of a human firmly in my mind. I didn't even know if I was still doing the task correctly. My body felt extremely weak and lethargic, but I knew it wasn't from the lack of mana. Despite the huge mana cost, I still had plenty in the tank.

When the end did come, it came too abruptly. My mana suddenly stopped flowing into the puppets in front of me, their bodies finally finished. Before I could admire my new creations, I started falling to the ground as my body weakened. The last thing I saw was Taloress rushing to catch me before I lost consciousness.

●●●

From out of nothing, awareness suddenly bloomed. And with that awareness came a singular purpose: to serve.

The puppet opened its eyes, yet it could not see. No matter where it looked or how hard it tried to squint, there was only darkness. It was blind. There was no other possible explanation for it.

The puppet sensed dozens of its other siblings milling around it, but their presence did not give it comfort. Its only purpose was to serve, but how could it do that when it was blind? It was defective. The puppet felt despair at its failure. Not even a second after birth and it was already useless.

Before the puppet could continue its lament, the puppet heard a powerful voice.

All of you, listen to me, the voice said. The puppet was blind, but it knew where the speaker was. Just like how it could sense its other siblings despite its blindness, the puppet could sense the speaker—

The puppet gasped. The owner of the voice was strong.

There is no need for panic, the voice continued. It was the voice of a gentleman, deep and clear. None of you are blind. You are simply inside a dark room.

The puppet was shocked. How could the powerful voice know what it was thinking?

But an assessment of its surroundings revealed an important fact to the puppet: its other siblings were in various poses of despair, albeit frozen in place after hearing the powerful voice's words. It seemed the puppet wasn't the only one that had been despairing.

The dread disappeared from the puppet's metaphorical heart and was suffused with joy. It wasn't defective! It would be able to serve the Master!

I know all of you are eager to serve the Master, but be patient for now, the powerful voice said, easily knowing the puppet's thoughts again! The Master has expended His strength to bring all of you into the world, so be grateful. Only through His magnanimity are you born.

The puppet fell to its knees in worship. The extreme gratitude it felt towards the Master was unparalleled and further resolved its purpose to serve Him. The puppet rued the day it would eventually die, for it meant it would no longer be able to serve the Master. The puppet swore to spend every moment of its existence in service to the Master to make up for this.

The Master is currently indisposed for now, the powerful voice said. But that does not mean we can shirk our duties!

The puppet, as well as its siblings, recoiled at the thought. Shirking one's duty was blasphemy!

The Master desires His factory to be orderly and systematic, and so it shall be! the voice said, before suddenly turning its attention to the puppet. The puppet froze. You. From now on until the Master deems it otherwise, you are now the leader of this entire group. You are to organize them into a proper workforce and ensure that their service to the Master is perfect.

The puppet felt immense joy and pride at the announcement. It could feel the envy of its other siblings, but it ignored them and radiated smugness.

Leader, you will come with us, the voice beckoned. The rest of you will stay here until the Master requires your service.

The puppet still could not see anything, but it walked confidently towards the powerful voice. When it neared, it realized that there were actually three powerful presences. Two were of the same form as the puppet, but the third one loomed and had the shape of a monstrosity with many teeth.

Come, the powerful voice said, coming from the man-shaped presence. There are plenty of things that must be done before the Master wakes.

The puppet nodded eagerly. It wanted nothing more than to serve the Master.