Dolls were not ordinary corpses.
Severed limbs could be sewn, bones could be joined, and flesh could be patched, but what truly determined a doll's upper limit was the compatibility between its body, soul core, and remnant soul.
Low-tier dolls only needed to be able to move and follow orders.
That was how faceless servants were made.
A body was pieced together from a broken skeleton, stuffed with a few fragments of a soul lacking self-awareness, and finally bound by a contract. In essence, they were little more than moving furniture.
Lia was different, which indicated that the remnant soul used to create her was of very high quality.
Unfortunately, the original host had botched the creation.
The more Isolde thought about it, the deeper her brow furrowed.
If she just wanted to patch an eye for Lia, ordinary materials would suffice.
A glass eye, an undead eye, a beast's eyeball, or even the lens of a low-tier magical beast could be stuffed in.
As long as it was secured with Soul Threads and carved with a sensory spell, Lia would be able to “see.”
But that kind of thing was just a patch.
Even patched up, it would still be broken.
To truly upgrade Lia, Isolde would either have to craft a better body for her or find her original eyeball.
“The materials must be top-tier, and the soul core needs to be nurtured slowly,” Isolde murmured to herself.
This wasn't something to be rushed.
The loot she currently had was only enough to mend Lia's bones, stabilize her remnant soul, and smooth out her limbs.
Remaking her body was still a long way off.
She needed high-tier bone materials, stable soul materials, and a core capable of holding a contract.
Ideally, she also needed an uncontaminated, high-grade remnant soul to reinforce Lia's soul core.
Isolde paused mid-thought.
Wait.
High-tier bone materials?
She looked up as a crow cawed outside the window, as if someone were reminding her of something in the dark.
Isolde had almost forgotten.
Wasn't Valen's massive body a ready-made treasure?
To piece himself together into that Skeletal Serpent, Valen had devoured countless players, passersby, monsters, and animals.
His bones were cobbled together, his internal organs were sewn, and his mana pathways were crudely forced into place.
Disgusting as the thing looked...
From a materials perspective, it was practically a breathing, high-grade, recyclable pile of trash.
Now that it was no longer breathing, recycling it would be even easier.
Isolde clapped her hands in excitement.
Earlier, she had been so focused on cleaning up the garbage left by the three players that she had almost forgotten the largest loot drop back in the Banquet Hall.
That wouldn't do. One had to be thrifty in life, and as a boss, she had to know how to recycle waste.
Isolde stepped out of her room and walked down the corridor toward the Banquet Hall.
The castle had already quieted down.
The candles on the walls lit up automatically for her, their blue flames swaying gently against the wicks.
The bloodstains on the floor were slowly absorbed by the array runes, as if being swallowed back into the castle's stomach.
When she reached the entrance of the Banquet Hall, the heavy doors opened silently.
Valen's massive corpse still lay on the floor.
The body of the Skeletal Serpent occupied nearly half of the Banquet Hall. Broken bone segments were piled on the ground, the flesh was blackened and decaying, and the stitches had burst open one by one.
Since the Silver-White Core had been removed, a large section of its spine had collapsed, looking like a hollowed-out mountain of corpses.
Isolde stood at the doorway, suddenly feeling a bit reluctant to enter.
Even though she knew it was a pile of materials, the sight was indeed a blow to her appetite.
Fortunately, she had already thrown up yesterday.
Isolde stepped closer, Soul Threads dropping from her fingertips as she prepared to sift through Valen's corpse for usable parts.
But the moment her Soul Threads touched the remains, the castle array runes beneath her feet suddenly lit up.
A dark red light spread along the floor tiles, wrapping around Valen's remains in concentric circles.
System prompt popped up immediately after.
【Former Master's remains detected】
【Target: Valen Sylvian】
【Identity: Previous Castle Owner / Skeletal Amalgam / Mutated Noble】
【Current Authority detected: Castle Owner Isolde】
【Do you wish to activate the Castle Owner skill: Deconstruct Former Master's Remains?】
Isolde paused.
Was there really such a convenient feature?
She had originally planned to dismantle the corpse manually, but it turned out the castle came with a one-click deconstruction feature.
This level of service was far more user-friendly than that of certain predatory corporations.
Instead of rushing to confirm, she scrolled down first.
【Deconstruction Description: Can dismantle the former master's remains into usable materials】
【Potential Outputs: Skeletal Bone Materials, Stitched Flesh Blocks, Mutated Organs, Residual Contract Threads, Decayed Mana Crystals, Noble Bloodline Residue】
【Special Note: As the former master controlled the castle for a long time, the remains contain a portion of the castle's power, which can be used as castle reinforcement materials】
【Risk Warning: The lingering thoughts of the former master may be released during the deconstruction process】
【Do you wish to proceed?】
Isolold looked at the words “lingering thoughts of the former master,” and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
She had dared to stab Valen when he was alive; why would she fear a bit of lingering resentment now that he was dead?
“Yes,” she answered in her mind.
In the next second, the entire Banquet Hall shuddered violently.
The array runes on the floor crawled onto Valen's remains like living creatures, their dark red light boring into the gaps between bones, flesh, and broken stitches.
Valen's massive body began to collapse, as if being dismantled piece by piece by the castle.
Bones separated to bones, flesh to flesh.
Organs were stripped away, stitches were pulled out, and residual mana was compressed into dark crystals.
The entire process was eerily clean.
Standing to the side and watching the mountain of corpses get sorted into neatly organized piles of materials, Isolde suddenly found herself in a very good mood.
That was more like it.
A big boss should drop loot after dying.
A boss that didn't drop loot was disrespectful to both players and its fellow bosses!
Suddenly, a low roar echoed from deep within Valen's corpse.
A distorted human face emerged from the black blood.
The face belonged to Valen.
Or rather, it belonged to the tiny shred of obsession he had left behind in the corpse.
“Isolde...”
His voice was raspy, dripping with venomous hatred.
“You... ungrateful wretch...”
Isolde raised her eyelids to look at him.
“Still so fond of lecturing even after death.”
With a flick of her fingers, several Soul Threads pierced straight through the residual face.
Isolde's expression remained calm, her tone even carrying a hint of disgust.
“Disgusting when alive, and still popping up with ads after death. This dungeon experience of yours really deserves a one-star review.”
The Soul Threads tightened violently, ripping the residual face into several pieces, which were then swallowed by the castle's array runes.
【Former Master's lingering thoughts cleared】
【Deconstruction of former master's remains continuing】
Valen's last trace of voice vanished completely, and the Banquet Hall fell quiet once more.
A moment later, system prompts popped up one after another.
【Deconstruction complete】
【Obtained: High-Tier Skeletal Bone Materials ×36】
【Obtained: Stitched Flesh Blocks ×24】
【Obtained: Mutated Organs ×7】
【Obtained: Residual Contract Threads ×12】
【Obtained: Decayed Mana Crystals ×9】
【Obtained: Noble Bloodline Residue ×3】
【Obtained: Castle Core Fragment ×1】
【Obtained: Former Master's Spine Fragment ×1】
Isolde's gaze lingered on the last two items. They looked highly valuable.
Stepping closer, she found a pale segment of spine lying quietly in the center of the pile of materials.
The bone was about half the length of an average human's body, its surface wrapped in dark red patterns, with a faint silver-white light still lingering in the joints.
It was the part of Valen's body that had been closest to the Silver-White Core.
Although the core had already been gouged out by her, this segment of the spine still possessed an incredibly strong capacity to channel power.
Rate on N.U.
