Just a Frail NPC

Before long, a half-open iron door appeared at the end of the left corridor.

A rusted plaque hung on the door, with several ancient characters barely visible.

[Storage Room]

When Zheng Chuan saw the plaque, his guard immediately dropped by half.

It was written so plainly. There couldn't possibly be something else hidden inside, could there?

Isolde stood by the door and said cautiously:

"I can only escort you to the entrance. My Soul Contract does not allow me to approach the Duke's armory."

Meng Yinyin glanced her over. "Contract restrictions?"

Isolde lowered her head, revealing a stretch of dark-red markings on her wrist.

Meng Yinyin looked at the markings, and her gaze softened as she completely lowered her guard.

"Looks like she really is being controlled."

Zheng Chuan had no patience for that. He pushed the door open and went straight inside.

Luo Qi followed close behind. After hesitating for a second, Meng Yinyin stepped in as well.

Isolde remained outside the door, her fingertips quietly resting against the rune along the edge of the frame.

The next second, blood-red lights flared inside.

Only then did the three of them see clearly that what hung from the racks were not swords, shields, or armor at all, but rows upon rows of human bones.

Cleanly stripped arm bones had been ground into blades, while the shields were pieced together from ribs and skullcaps.

Half a human face that had not fully rotted away was even sprawled across a chest in the corner.

That half-face suddenly opened its eyes and grinned at them.

Zheng Chuan's face went pale. "What the hell is this?!"

[You have alerted: Corpse Skeleton.]

[Warning: Non-Castle faction members will trigger the guards upon entry.]

Meng Yinyin screamed, "Wasn't this supposed to be an armory?!"

Isolde froze in terror outside the door, as though she had never expected this scene at all.

"I-I didn't know... Weapons really were kept here before."

As soon as she finished speaking, the skeletons in the corner rose one after another, ghostly green flames igniting in their hollow eye sockets.

Dozens of skeletal guards drew bone blades and turned in unison toward the intruders.

Meng Yinyin shouted, "Get out!"

Before her words had even faded, the Corpse Skeletons lunged at them.

Zheng Chuan could only swing his axe and meet them head-on.

His Heavy Slash shattered the first skeleton's rib cage, sending bone fragments flying, only for the skeletons behind it to crush them underfoot.

Luo Qi scrambled backward and used Weakness Mark. The ghostly green core in the skeleton's chest immediately lit up.

Meng Yinyin gritted her teeth and raised her staff. "Purifying Light!"

White light burst forth, and the Corpse Skeletons in the front row immediately faltered.

Isolde stood outside the door, seeming too frightened to come any closer.

But her eyes never looked away.

She carefully observed every skill's trajectory, every pause in the incantations, and every point where light-element energy gathered.

A notification only she could see appeared before her.

[You observed the skill: Purifying Light.]

[Analysis progress: 12%.]

[You observed the skill: Weakness Mark.]

[Analysis progress: 9%.]

Isolde's fingers curled slightly within her sleeve.

Not enough.

With only one look, she could at most grasp the outer shell of the spell structure.

She needed them to fight longer, to struggle more miserably—preferably until they were forced to reveal their last-resort survival skills.

The next second, Luo Qi was driven into a corner by bone blades. He cursed and raised his bow again.

"Weakness Mark!"

Grayish-white motes swept over the Corpse Skeleton's chest, and its ghostly green core lit up.

[You observed the skill: Weakness Mark.]

[Analysis progress: 41%.]

Meng Yinyin clenched her teeth and squeezed out the last of her mana.

"Purifying Light!"

White light exploded, and the front-row Corpse Skeletons stiffened as the ghostly green flames between their bones dimmed.

[You observed the skill: Purifying Light.]

[Analysis progress: 48%.]

They fought once, and she watched once.

As long as she observed enough, she could break the skills apart and learn them.

Inside the bone storage room, the three of them were forced into a miserable state.

Zheng Chuan had lost a third of his health bar. Meng Yinyin's mana was nearly depleted, while Luo Qi was in even worse shape—his shoulder had been sliced open by a bone blade, and his corruption value kept rising.

But players were still players.

With their system-granted class skills working together, they stubbornly wore down the last Corpse Skeleton.

The skeleton collapsed into a pile of scattered bones.

And Isolde successfully finished analyzing the skills they had used most often.

[You have acquired the skill: Purifying Light (Beginner)]

[Skill Description: Deals 5% additional magic damage to abnormal creatures and slows their movement speed.]

[You have acquired the skill: Weakness Mark (Beginner)]

[Skill Description: Temporarily reveals an enemy's weakness.]

Isolde lowered her eyes, hiding the emotions within them.

After watching the entire battle, she had finally learned something useful.

Zheng Chuan burst out of the room, gasping for breath, and grabbed for Isolde's collar in anger.

"Did you do that on purpose?!"

Isolde looked as though she had been frightened senseless, her eyes filled with terror.

But the moment Zheng Chuan tried to take out his anger on her, every noble portrait on the corridor walls suddenly turned its head.

Their pitch-black eye sockets stared fixedly at him.

A scarlet system warning appeared.

[Warning: You are about to trigger Castle's Wrath.]

[Castle reputation will fall to: Hatred.]

Zheng Chuan's movements abruptly froze.

At the same time, a dark-red mark flashed on the ground, and a small portion of his health bar silently vanished.

Luo Qi was startled as well. "Don't touch her! We'll lose too much if the quest fails!"

Meng Yinyin leaned against the wall, catching her breath. When she looked up at Isolde, her gaze had become more complicated.

This NPC really was weak—so weak that she did not even know how to resist.

But the problem was that their retreat had now been cut off, and the plot protection around her was far too troublesome.

They could not hit her, could not kill her, and still had to rely on her to lead the way. That was the most disgusting part.

Isolde seemed to finally recover from her fright. She took half a step back, her voice so soft it nearly broke.

"I'm sorry... I truly didn't mean to harm you. I've been imprisoned for too long, and many places have changed."

"If you brave warriors think I'm useless, I can stop talking."

The more she acted like that, the angrier Zheng Chuan became.

But they really had found items in the chests just now.

[Adventurer Zheng Chuan obtained: Bone Blade Fragment]

[Adventurer Meng Yinyin obtained: Undead Afterglow]

[Adventurer Luo Qi obtained: Damaged Bone Bow Part]

Although the items looked ordinary, the system's label was crystal clear.

Material Quality: Rare.

The fury Luo Qi felt from nearly being hacked to death was immediately suppressed by half at the sight of the word "Rare."

Zheng Chuan's expression shifted again and again. They had lost some health, but gained materials.

They could keep going.

After recovering slightly, Meng Yinyin softened her tone. "Miss, we were too hasty just now. Don't be afraid. This place is too dangerous for us. We only want to survive... Of course, we'll rescue you too!"

Isolde looked at her.

The apology was fake. Realizing they could not beat the enemies and changing tactics through moral pressure—that was the truth.

Sure enough, Meng Yinyin's eyes reddened in the next second as she said, "Everyone got trapped here trying to save you. You're an NPC... no, you're a person too, right? People should have feelings, shouldn't they? Then you should help us even more. If we die, we'll really die. Can you bear to watch something happen to us?"

Isolde nearly laughed aloud.

It was still the same flavor, still the same familiar formula.

But this time, she would never believe such words again.

Isolde lowered her eyes, her voice soft and yielding.

"Of course I can't bear it. You brave warriors are willing to save me, and I'm already deeply grateful."

Meng Yinyin's expression eased, and she sneered smugly to herself.

Just as expected of an NPC. As long as she followed the plot and said the right things, she could win back favorability.

She immediately continued, "Then where is the safe place you currently know of?"

Isolde fell silent for a moment. Zheng Chuan grew impatient and roared:

"Speak!"

Isolde flinched in fright and said, "After the night mist descends, all wandering monsters in the Castle will emerge. There is only one place where monsters will not attack guests for the time being."

Luo Qi immediately asked, "Where?"

Isolde raised her face, and a faint, fragile hope appeared on her pale, beautiful features.

"The Banquet Hall."