Vale's pupils contracted as he looked at the ancient box, inside of which lay a straw figure.
"Yes, when you only have one life, having a puppet body gives you another chance. But one is still not enough."
Vale raised three fingers. "Master Alex, I know there are at least three of these. If you already know the locations of the other two, I'm willing to accept your deal."
"Master is indeed well-informed." Alex swallowed hard, his throat dry as dust. "The first puppet has already been retrieved. "
"The second is hidden in the depths of the Drowned Well in the Forest of Whispers. But the third…" He suddenly lowered his voice, his eyes narrowing. "It requires passing through the territory of a 30-level boss."
Vale's expression instantly turned cold, his fingers subconsciously tracing the hilt of his sword.
"Fine, I accept your offer. But first, I need to verify the location of the second one." Vale raised an eyebrow, his tone grave. "You're going to lead me there."
Alex's face paled, and a thin layer of sweat broke out across his forehead. "Understood, Master. I will lead you."
His voice was steady, but the tremor in his hands betrayed his unease.
He knew what was coming.
And he also knew that, no matter what, he had to survive long enough to reach the second puppet.
Because if Vale found out that the third one wasn't real…
Well.
There were no second chances in the world of the cursed and the damned.
"Soon, the group passed through the forest and arrived at a lowland. In the distance, there was indeed a dry well. Vale narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from deep within the jungle."
"Damn it, the boss really treats us like slaves. We're just newly promoted to squad leader, and already he's barking orders at us." A 15-level soldier with a thin dagger and steel gear muttered.
"I heard that the new captain was promoted by snitching, maybe it was about that girl, Lora." Another 14-level soldier, also in steel gear, added with a smirk.
"I wonder when our deputy captain will be promoted to captain. The old captain Pony was killed, and they still haven't found that player called Vale." The 15-level soldier sighed.
While the two were talking, a hurried footstep echoed from the other side of the forest. The two exchanged a knowing glance and immediately followed.
Louise grabbed Anna's hand and ran through the forest. Anna was nervous.
"Auntie, maybe we should go back to father. This forest is too dangerous. Our levels are too low."
Louise smiled. "Following them is safer? Anna, come with me to find my mentor Lisa. She's the most powerful woman in Victoria City."
As they ran, two soldiers suddenly emerged from the side of the path. The 15-level soldier, with a lecherous grin, said,
"You two girls, how can you be out here alone? The commander said that after 9 PM, no employees are allowed to go out to level up."
Louise noticed the insignia on their arms and her eyes lit up. "You're from the city guard? Great! I want to find Lisa. Can you introduce us? We're her juniors."
The two soldiers exchanged a look and immediately understood. The 14-level soldier said,
"Of course we know her. But before that, we need a little something from you. You know, we won't do it for free."
Louise quickly replied, "What do you want? As long as we can afford it, we'll give it to you."
The 14-level soldier's lips curled up, and he said in a serious tone, "I just want you to take off your gear and give it to us."
Louise's face turned pale. "But our gear isn't that good. It's not worth much."
The 15-level soldier's face twisted. "Yeah, I know it's not worth much, but we just like to see the beauty of your bodies. That's not allowed?"
He took a step toward Anna. "Come on, little beauty. Take off your clothes and let me check if you've developed properly."
The 15-level soldier lunged at Louise, tearing at her clothes. Anna's health was already at 50%, just 50% away from death.
The 14-level soldier wasn't satisfied with the slow damage from the game's health system. He slashed at her clothes, and her white skin and white bra were exposed.
Louise was worse. Her resistance made the 15-level soldier even more excited, and her health dropped to 95%. She was left in just her underwear, while the soldier kissed and bit her, leaving bloodstains.
Just as Anna was about to be exposed, a red dagger sliced through the air. A red figure appeared behind the 14-level soldier, and blood filled the space, suffocating everything.
"Pfft!" Before the Level 14 soldier could even make out the attacker, a fountain of blood erupted from his neck. His injury meter spiked rapidly, hitting 100% in just three seconds, and he dropped dead on the spot.
The Level 15 soldier beside him recoiled, his pupils shrinking in horror. He shuddered, quickly fastened his armor, and drew his sword with a trembling hand.
"Who the hell are you?! How dare you kill the City Guard—you're dead meat!" he shouted. The soldier couldn't believe his comrade had been instantly killed by a group of low-level novices.
"So what if we killed them?" Vale said coldly. "You City Guards are just barking dogs. Without your game privileges, you're nothing."
The Level 15 soldier knew the crimson-clothed girl before him was a terrifying presence. He didn't dare confront Vale head-on, instead muttering a recall spell under his breath while threatening them. "You'll regret this! I've marked you! Captain Lobin will deal with you!" he yelled, sending their coordinates through the team channel.
Vale scoffed. Even against Lobin, he was confident in his abilities. As long as he wasn't swarmed by high-level players, his Scarlet Soul skill could easily dispatch Lobin. "Alice, take him down," he ordered.
Alice vanished in a blur of movement. The Level 15 soldier collapsed before he could react.
Brilliant beams of light erupted from the corpses, one of which glowed purple. Vale snatched the purple item and found a Level 20 purple-quality staff. "Perfect, this will suit Victoria," he said, trading the weapon to his sister.
"Brother, this looks too valuable… I shouldn't take it," Victoria said, blushing.
"Nonsense. I can't use mage weapons," Vale replied, stroking the strands of hair on her head with affectionate pride.
weakly, "Help me! Please, someone help me!" Vale glanced at her coldly and turned his attention to Anna instead.
"Fortunately, she's not seriously injured—just some torn clothes," Alex said, rushing to his daughter's side as she lay weakly on the ground.
His heart ached as he rummaged through his inventory for spare clothing, only to find it completely empty.
Vale studied Anna's disheveled state, then met Alex's pleading gaze. "Fine. Lora, give Miss Anna a steel armor set.
This is purely for your father's sake," he snapped. "Don't get any ideas—these are just loans." Lora tensed but quickly traded the steel gear she'd looted to Anna.
Louise's eyes reddened with fury. Once a revered noble in the game, now ignored by common "trash," she shrieked, "You little bitches! Didn't you hear me? Save me now!"
Vale smirked coldly and glanced at Alex. "I only agreed to your terms—nowhere did I say I'd save anyone else, did I?" Alex sighed wearily. "Yes, Vale sir. Let's go." Soon the group departed, leaving Louise alone.
"You little bitch Anna! How dare you abandon me here! I left this party for you!" Louise snarled, but no one spared her a glance.
Lora clicked her tongue as she walked. "So shameless. Wasn't it her who refused our terms and left? She even had the nerve to pretend it was for Anna's sake."
Vale shook his head, glancing at Anna. "This is a snow lotus—it will heal you quickly. Don't forget to return it." He tossed the flower to her. Anna's heart raced as she caught it. "Yes, I'll return it, sir. Thank you!"