Isolde took half a step forward on her own initiative and lowered her voice:
“Father, since you are going to perform the fusion, I would like to check the materials in the underground laboratory in advance.”
Valen did not speak, his cloudy eyes resting on her slender figure.
Isolde acted as if she did not notice his scrutiny and continued, “The black salt, soul-sealing wax, potions, and the ashes used to anchor souls all need to be inventoried again.”
She looked up, her tone softening slightly.
“The body parts this time are far more precious than before. I do not want any low-level mistakes to affect your perfection. That way, a part of me will also be in your perfection.”
These words clearly struck a chord with Valen's morbid obsession with "perfection," and he slowly nodded.
“Very well, go then.”
Isolde bowed her head. “Yes, Father.”
This kind of extreme flattery was indeed exactly to Valen's taste.
A madman and a madwoman, a loving father and a filial daughter—their dynamic was pitch-black and damp, and absolutely everyone here was insane.
Then, Valen waved one of his deformed forelimbs, gesturing for her to leave.
The tight knot of tension in Isolde's mind loosened slightly. Pretending to be reluctant to leave, she withdrew from the room.
The moment the study door closed behind her, the expression on her face vanished instantly, and she was finally able to breathe normally again.
Lia stood outside the door, her grey eyes turning toward her.
“Miss, you look very pale.”
Isolde glanced at her.
“I was simply awed by Father's magnificent figure.”
Lia paused.
“Shall I prepare a vomit basin for you?”
Isolde: “...”
She raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “No need. Let us return to my room.”
Back in her room, the moment the door shut, Isolde leaned against it for a long while, only then managing to suppress the waves of nausea.
This dungeon was even more morbid and sinister than she had imagined.
In her past life, she had only heard people say Valen was disgusting. How could she have known the real version would be sickening to this degree?
So this game just skipped the virtual buffer and forced players to experience the horror in full, immersive reality, did it?
But now was not the time to complain. She had to confirm as quickly as possible what cards she actually held in her hand.
If this was still the world from her past life, then players had status panels, and the NPCs influenced by it should have them too.
Besides, what was she now?
An awakened NPC?
Or some limited-edition hybrid of rebirth and game-world assimilation?
Isolde closed her eyes and experimentally called out in her mind.
System?
Status panel?
Hello?
The air was dead silent, save for the metaphorical crow that might as well have flown over her head.
She frowned. Is there really nothing?
No, that is impossible.
In her past life, someone had leaked that the inhabitants of this continent had abilities no different from those of players.
If there was any difference, it was simply that they could not summon a system interface.
But just because they could not summon it did not mean it did not exist.
Furthermore, choosing to join different classes or faiths would grant different basic abilities, whereas commoners would have none.
Since Isolde was a Soul Stitcher, she must possess the most basic class stats.
She changed her approach, focusing her mind to tap into that inexplicable sense of familiarity in her head.
The next moment, a semi-transparent grey light screen indeed floated before her eyes.
【Name: Isolde】
【Primary Affiliation: Malice】
【Class: Soul Stitcher】
【Sub-class: None】
【HP: 350】
【MP: 80】
【Defense: 50】
【Agility: 10】
【Strength: 10】
【Intelligence: 120】
【Passive Skill: Witch's Mask】
【Skill Description: You possess extremely exquisite disguise and acting skills. You can bewitch creatures with lower Intelligence than yourself, reducing their alertness by 60%.】
【Active Skills: None】
In 《Fallen Realm》, one's primary affiliation was not a moral judgment, but rather the source of their power.
The Malice affiliation encompassed darkness, curses, the undead, souls, and decay.
Her early-stage stats were not bad, but as Isolde stared at the final line, she fell silent again.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, facing this reality still made her feel like collapsing.
She was a grand mad beauty NPC, the adoptive daughter of Duke Valen, and a crucial character in a castle death-trap dungeon—yet she did not have a single active skill.
Was this reasonable?
This...
Was extremely reasonable.
Isolde supported her forehead, laughing in sheer exasperation at the status panel.
No wonder the original owner was mainly responsible for tricking people in the dungeon; she really was a pure method actor.
Squishy, low attack, low agility, and zero skills—if she got caught, she was dead.
Her only saving graces were her high Intelligence and her decent MP.
With her current stats, trying to fight Valen head-on would probably not even qualify as dealing chip damage; it would be more like giving him a free localized massage.
But she was not completely without hope.
The name of the continent in 《Fallen Realm》 was Celantia.
The most absurd thing about Celantia was that it possessed multiple faiths, races, and factions. The level of freedom was ridiculously high, and it was equally chaotic.
She remembered the five major factions: the Holy White City, the Frost-Ridge Northern Alliance, the Red Kite City-States, the Emerald Slumber Sylvan Court, and the Hearth-Mountain Dwarf Alliance.
Each faction controlled different resources, and their beliefs each had their own unique characteristics.
Their skills were diverse, each showing unique prowess, and the methods of acquiring them were countless.
Since there was no direct representation of levels, how to increase basic attributes and skill intensity became a key subject of research for everyone.
Based on the information Yu Lingye knew, one could increase attribute values by wearing equipment, consuming potions, or through training. As for skills, one could open treasure chests, steal scrolls, learn from others, or collect fallen shards—one could even create high-level skills based on basic spell structures.
In her past life, there was a group of insane and hardcore elemental players who, relying on collecting basic spell structures, managed to hand-craft heaven-defying skills to sweep through the game, with one person even soloing an entire city.
This was already the elite of the elite; the vast majority of the rest died along the way.
At that time, Yu Lingye could only watch their glory from afar, or hide nearby to eavesdrop on a few pieces of advice.
It was different now.
Although this body lacked physical strength, it had a brain—and a high-IQ brain of 120 at that.
If she still only knew how to kneel and beg others to carry her with this, then she really deserved to stuff herself back into the snake pit to start over.
Isolde continued to look down. At the very bottom of the light screen, there was another line of small text.
【Soul Contractee: Lia】
【Primary Affiliation: None】
【Class: Puppet】
【HP: None】
【MP: None】
【Defense: 50】
【Agility: 60】
【Strength: 100】
【Intelligence: 20】
【Status: Absolute Obedience】
Isolde's gaze froze.
She slowly raised her head and looked at the maid standing not far away.
Lia stood quietly in the shadows, half of her face wrapped in yellowed bandages, her grey eyes completely devoid of emotion.
She was as thin as a withered branch, and her wrists were so slender that the hard knots under the bandages were visible. She did not look like she could fight at all.
Yet her Strength was 100. The limit for normal humans was 99, meaning she was exactly one point stronger than the limit—a pure stat monster.
As her master, her own Strength was 10, as weak as a newly spawned chick by the roadside in a starting village.
If Lia wished, she could probably punch her and her self-esteem straight into the wall with a single blow.
But fortunately, she was just a puppet who could barely think, and she was absolutely obedient to her. The two of them perfectly complemented each other's weaknesses; she was practically a bodyguard custom-made for her.
However, according to the memories of her past life, information about Isolde was extremely scarce. No one ever mentioned where she went after Valen died.
Looking at Lia again, Isolde suddenly felt her sense of security return a little.
“Lia,” she said.
Lia immediately looked up. “Miss.”
“Pick up that cabinet.”
Lia walked over and gripped the heavy, old cabinet with both hands. Without even a hint of exertion in her movements, she lifted the cabinet up completely level and steady.
The jars and bottles inside the cabinet clattered loudly.
Isolde: “...”
What kind of frail maid was this? She was a domestic-version human forklift.
Though she seemed weak, and her setup was purely that of a utility character.
But what was wrong with a utility character?
If a utility character was used well, they were the meta-defining answer.
“Put it down,” Isolde ordered.
Lia complied and returned the cabinet to its original place.
Isolde looked at her and asked again:
“Lia, if I ordered you to attack Valen, would you do it?”
Rate on N.U.
