Before long, a half-open iron door appeared at the end of the left corridor.
A rusted plaque hung on the door, with a few ancient characters faintly visible.
【Storeroom】
Seeing the plaque, Zheng Chuan's wariness instantly cut in half.
Since it was labeled so bluntly, there couldn't possibly be anything else hidden inside, right?
Isolde stood by the door and said cautiously:
“I can only accompany you to the door. My soul contract does not allow me to approach the Duke's armory.”
Meng Yinyin sized her up. “A contract restriction?”
Isolde lowered her head, revealing a section of dark red patterns on her wrist.
Looking at the pattern, Meng Yinyin's expression softened, and she let down her guard completely.
“It seems she really is being controlled.”
Lacking the patience, Zheng Chuan pushed the door open and walked right in.
Luo Qi followed close behind. Meng Yinyin hesitated for a second before stepping inside as well.
Isolde stood outside, her fingertips quietly resting on the runes along the edge of the doorframe.
The next second, blood-red lights flared up inside the room.
The three finally saw clearly that what hung on the shelves were not swords or shields at all, but rows of human bones.
Stripped arm bones had been ground into the shape of blades, while shields were pieced together from ribs and skulls.
Atop a treasure chest in the corner lay half of a human face that had not yet fully rotted.
The half-face suddenly snapped its eyes open and grinned at them.
Zheng Chuan's face turned pale. “What the hell is this?!”
A system prompt popped up at the same time.
【You have disturbed: Skeletal Remains.】
【Warning: Non-castle faction members entering will trigger the guards.】
Meng Yinyin screamed, “I thought this was an armory?!”
Isolde froze outside the door as if completely shocked by the scene:
“I-I don't know... This place really used to store weapons.”
The moment her voice fell, the skeletons in the corner stood up one by one, eerie green flames igniting within their hollow eye sockets.
Dozens of skeleton guards drew their bone blades, turning in unison to glare at the intruders.
Meng Yinyin shouted, “Get out, quick!”
Before the words could fully leave her mouth, the Skeletal Remains lunged forward.
Zheng Chuan had no choice but to swing his axe to block them.
His 【Heavy Slash】 shattered the sternum of the first skeleton, sending bone shards flying, only for them to be trampled by the skeletons behind it.
Luo Qi scrambled to open up some distance, activating 【Mark Weakness】. Instantly, the eerie green cores inside the skeletons' chests lit up.
Meng Yinyin gritted her teeth and raised her staff. “Purifying Light!”
A burst of white light exploded, causing the front row of Skeletal Remains to instantly freeze in their tracks.
Isolde stood outside the door, looking too terrified to draw near.
Yet, her eyes never wavered.
Every trajectory of a skill release, every pause in the incantations, and every point where light elements gathered was meticulously observed by her.
Prompts that only she could see floated before her eyes.
【You have observed the skill: Purifying Light.】
【Analysis Progress: 12%】
【You have observed the skill: Mark Weakness.】
【Analysis Progress: 9%】
Inside her sleeves, Isolde's fingertips tightened slightly.
Not enough.
A single glance could only scratch the surface of the spell's structure.
She needed them to fight a little longer, to be driven into a corner, preferably forcing out their trump card survival skills.
The next second, Luo Qi was cornered by a bone blade. Cursing, he raised his bow once more.
“Mark Weakness!”
Ash-gray spots of light swept across the chests of the Skeletal Remains, lighting up their green cores.
【You have observed the skill: Mark Weakness.】
【Analysis Progress: 41%】
Meng Yinyin gritted her teeth and squeezed out the last of her mana.
“Purifying Light!”
White light erupted, freezing the front row of Skeletal Remains once more and dimming the green flames flickering in the gaps of their bones.
【You have observed the skill: Purifying Light.】
【Analysis Progress: 48%】
They fought, and she watched.
As long as she observed them thoroughly enough, she could dissect and reconstruct the skills.
Inside the bone storeroom, the three were driven into a pathetic state.
Zheng Chuan's health bar had dropped by a third, Meng Yinyin's mana was nearly depleted, and Luo Qi was in even worse shape—his shoulder had been slashed open by a bone blade, causing his Corruption Level to steadily rise.
But players were players, after all.
Coordinating their system class skills, they managed to grind down and defeat the very last Skeletal Remains.
Skeletons collapsed and scattered across the floor.
Meanwhile, Isolde had successfully finished analyzing the skills they used the most.
【You have acquired the skill: Purifying Light (Beginner)】
【Skill Description: Deals 5% extra magic damage to abnormal creatures and slows down their movement speed.】
【You have acquired the skill: Mark Weakness (Beginner)】
【Skill Description: Briefly reveals the enemy's weaknesses.】
Isolde kept her eyes downcast, concealing the emotions swirling in them.
After watching the entire fight, she had finally learned something useful.
Panting heavily, Zheng Chuan rushed out of the room, grabbed Isolde by her collar, and roared:
“Did you do that on purpose?!”
Isolde looked utterly terrified, her eyes wide with fear.
But the moment Zheng Chuan raised his hand to take his anger out on her, the noble portraits hanging on the corridor walls suddenly turned their heads.
Hollow, dark eye sockets glared fixedly at him.
A crimson system warning popped up.
【Warning: You are about to trigger Castle's Wrath】
【Castle Reputation will drop to: Hostile.】
Zheng Chuan's movements froze instantly.
At the same time, the dark red mark on the ground flashed, and a small chunk of his health bar silently vanished.
Luo Qi was also startled. “Don't touch her! We'll lose big time if the quest fails!”
Leaning against the wall to catch her breath, Meng Yinyin looked up at Isolde with a complicated expression.
This NPC was indeed weak—so weak she didn't even know how to resist.
But the problem was that their way back was now blocked, and the plot protection on her was far too troublesome.
They couldn't hit her, they couldn't kill her, and they still had to rely on her to lead the way. That was the most sickening part.
Isolde seemed to finally recover from her fright. She took half a step back, her voice so thin and fragile it sounded as if it might break at any moment:
“I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to harm you. I've been locked up for too long, and so many places have changed.”
“If the esteemed heroes think I am useless, I will stop speaking.”
The more she acted this way, the more irritated Zheng Chuan became.
Yet, they had actually managed to obtain items from the chest just now.
【Descender Zheng Chuan has obtained: Bone Blade Fragment】
【Descender Meng Yinyin has obtained: Undead Afterglow】
【Descender Luo Qi has obtained: Damaged Bone Bow Accessory】
Although the items looked ordinary, the system labels were crystal clear.
Material Quality: Rare.
The anger Luo Qi felt from nearly being hacked to death was instantly halved by the word “Rare.”
Zheng Chuan's expression shifted repeatedly. While he had lost some health, he had gained materials.
They could still keep going.
Meng Yinyin took a moment to compose herself, softening her tone. “My lady, we were just too anxious earlier. Please don't be afraid. This place is far too dangerous for us, and we only want to survive... and of course, we will rescue you!”
Isolde looked at her.
The apology was fake. Finding out they couldn't fight her and resorting to moral manipulation was the real deal.
Sure enough, the next second, Meng Yinyin said with reddened eyes, “Everyone got trapped here just to save you. You're an NPC... no, you're a human too, right? Humans are supposed to have feelings, aren't they? Then you should help us even more. If we die, we are dead for real. Do you really have the heart to watch something happen to us?”
Isolde almost laughed out loud.
It was the exact same flavor, the exact same familiar recipe.
This time, however, she would never believe any of this rhetoric again.
Isolde lowered her eyes, her voice soft and delicate:
“Of course I don't have the heart. I am already so grateful that you heroes are willing to save me.”
Meng Yinyin's expression relaxed, a smug sneer rising in her heart.
Just as expected of an NPC. As long as she followed the dialogue tree, her favorability could easily be reeled back in.
She immediately pressed on, “Then where is the safest place you know of right now?”
Isolde fell silent for a moment. Growing impatient, Zheng Chuan roared:
“Spit it out!”
Startled, Isolde trembled and said, “Once the night mist descends, all the wandering monsters in the castle will come out. There is only one place where monsters temporarily will not attack guests.”
Luo Qi immediately asked, “Where?”
Isolde raised her face, a flicker of fragile hope appearing on her pale, beautiful features.
“The Banquet Hall.”
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