Want Weapons? Earn Them Yourself

"Basement?" Meng Yinyin frowned. "Is it dangerous down there?"

Isolde fell silent.

It was as if she had recalled something terrifying. Even the fingers clutching her skirt trembled faintly.

"...Dangerous."

"But I have no other choice."

After saying that, she lowered her head. Tears hung from her lashes, making her look even more pitiful than if she had actually cried.

Luo Qi rolled his eyes. "A classic rescue quest. First enter the instance, then go down to the basement, and finally open the treasure chest. They didn't even bother changing the template."

Isolde looked up at him.

Her eyes were still misty, humiliation buried deep within them, forcibly held back.

"If you aren't willing, that's fine." She managed a smile. "I can wait a little longer. Maybe... other warriors will pass by."

The implication was clear: if they did not go, they could give the opportunity to someone else.

Sure enough, the moment she said that, all three of their expressions changed.

Zheng Chuan had been inspecting the castle gates. At the words "other warriors," his grip around his iron axe immediately tightened.

A hidden quest was right in front of them. If they did not take it, were they supposed to wait for someone else to pick it up?

Meng Yinyin said nothing more. Her gaze moved from Isolde's pale face to the depths of the castle, then quickly shifted back.

It was not that she had no suspicions at all.

But unknown rewards, a special location, and an NPC actively asking for help—put together, none of it looked like an ordinary side quest.

Besides, this game was not one of those lifeless programs where all you could do was click a mouse.

The greater the danger, the more likely there was something good waiting.

Luo Qi hated letting others get a bargain, especially one laid out so plainly before him.

"Why wait for the next one?" Zheng Chuan suddenly sneered. "The quest has been delivered right to our faces. Why let someone else take it?"

Meng Yinyin glanced at him without objecting. She merely lowered her voice. "Let's go into the castle first and take a look. If something really feels wrong, we can retreat."

Luo Qi scoffed. "As if you'd be willing to retreat."

Meng Yinyin's expression darkened. "Still better than someone who starts eyeing junk the second he walks through the door."

"Enough." Zheng Chuan impatiently cut them off. His gaze returned to Isolde, his tone carrying an unmistakable command.

"You. Lead the way."

It was as though Isolde had finally grasped a lifeline. Her eyes brightened slightly.

"You're willing to save me?"

Zheng Chuan waved a hand impatiently. "Less nonsense. Move."

Meng Yinyin softened her voice as well, putting on an air of comfort.

"Don't be afraid. As long as what you said is true, we'll help you."

Isolde nodded gently, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"Thank you."

She turned and walked toward the castle gates. From an angle the three could not see, the corner of her lips curved ever so slightly.

In her previous life, they had used a bowl of hot soup and the words, "Follow us from now on," to trick her into a mine.

In this life, she used a frail face and the word "warriors" to invite them into a grave.

Greedy people truly only needed to catch a whiff of profit. They would reach out and touch it first, even if a mountain of blades or a sea of fire lay behind the door.

The castle was even colder inside than it had appeared from outside.

Its lofty vaulted ceiling vanished into darkness. The candles on the walls had burned for who knew how many years, their light dim enough to leave the portraits around them blurred and indistinct.

The moment Luo Qi stepped inside, his gaze stuck to the silver candlestick on the wall.

The candlestick was coated in dust, but its edges still glimmered with a cold sheen.

Even without appraisal skills, anyone could tell it was not ordinary scrap metal.

"We can take this, right?"

That was how he phrased it, but his hand had already reached out.

Luo Qi wrenched hard, tearing the silver candlestick from the wall and bringing down a small cloud of dust.

The next second, the dark red runes on the wall flared to life, and the castle gates behind them slammed shut with a thunderous boom.

Meng Yinyin stumbled back in fright. "Why did the door close?"

Zheng Chuan immediately turned around, glaring fiercely at Isolde.

"What's going on? Did you do this?"

Standing at the edge of the shadows, Isolde spoke softly.

"I-I'm sorry... I forgot to remind the warriors. You can't touch things in the castle carelessly..."

Zheng Chuan's face darkened. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

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"I thought... the great warriors wouldn't casually take things from here."

Luo Qi choked on his words. It sounded gentle, but the more he considered it, the more it felt like a slap across the face.

Meng Yinyin frowned. She knew her teammate had been too quick with his hands, but she still comforted him.

"Forget it. A lot of NPCs are like this. They won't give hints on their own until the conditions are triggered. If you're really unhappy..."

She glanced at Isolde, moved closer to Luo Qi, and lowered her voice. "After we get the items, there'll still be time to deal with her."

Luo Qi understood at once and thought she had a point.

Once they cleared the "instance" and took the rewards, wouldn't this NPC be at their mercy?

At that thought, his expression eased, and something else flickered in his eyes.

Zheng Chuan looked terrible after being mocked. He turned and took out his anger on Isolde instead, raising a hand and shoving her.

"Hurry up and lead the way."

Isolde staggered half a step from the push. She braced herself against the wall, lowered her head, and walked at the front.

The three of them did not notice that the instant they stepped into the hall, a dark red mark appeared beneath each of their feet.

[Castle Blood Feast—Marked]

[Current number of prey: 3.]

Isolde's peripheral vision swept over the dark red glow. Valen's banquet mechanism had activated even faster than she had expected. This was probably the instance mechanic the players had mentioned.

The castle's owner could use the skills of [Castle Blood Feast] to mark prey and trigger buff formation patterns.

As long as the prey bled in fear, a portion of their blood would be returned through the formation patterns to the castle's owner. It was essentially Valen's healing mechanism.

In her previous life, the players had brought an inventory full of high-grade healing potions just to keep his health from growing thicker and thicker during the fight, preventing him from triggering the buff effect.

She did not know how many rounds of Valen's attacks these three pieces of trash could withstand.

If they were lucky enough to wear Valen down, she could use the methods she had prepared to finish him off.

If they were unlucky and still died, then for her, it would only be a costless trial run. She would also get her revenge in the process. Either way, she profited.

Led by Isolde, the group ventured deeper and deeper inside.

The portraits on the walls followed their movements, like a group of dead people hiding within the walls and pressing against their frames to peer outside.

Meng Yinyin felt increasingly uncomfortable under their stares. She instinctively moved closer to Zheng Chuan and called to Isolde ahead of them.

"Hey! Is there anywhere here where we can get something good? I mean... if we're going to save you, we need decent equipment too, right?"

Isolde said, "Yes."

Meng Yinyin immediately asked, "Where?"

Isolde seemed to search her memories for a moment before speaking.

"The duke once had a storage room where knightly swords, shields, and other weapons were kept."

Luo Qi's eyes immediately lit up.

"Weapons?"

That was exactly what Meng Yinyin wanted. Their current equipment was not very good. Although they had robbed plenty on the way here, it was still not enough.

Especially now that they had entered this damned place, no one knew what they would encounter next. If they could get a batch of weapons first, they would at least have more confidence.

Zheng Chuan looked at Isolde. "Where is it? Take us there."

Isolde said, "But... no one has entered that storage room for a long time. I don't know what it has become now."

Zheng Chuan scoffed. "Here we go again. Aren't you an NPC? Just lead the way and stop talking so much."

Isolde seemed to tremble at his harsh tone, then nodded lightly. "I understand. I'll take the warriors there."

Of course, she knew what it had become.

Though the original owner of this body had been a lunatic, her memory had been exceptionally sharp.

Every corridor, every door, every formation pattern in the castle that could trigger a mechanism—she had inspected them all carefully. Like a list, they had been firmly etched into her mind.

They wanted weapons, so naturally, she would give them some.

As for whether they could hold on to them, that depended on their own abilities.

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