Vol. 6 Ch. 29

"Is it true that we can only clear this stage without using violent methods to destroy the doll?"

"…"

The rule was easy enough to understand.Even though this city was specifically designed for dragons, some of the activities naturally prohibited the use of magic.Without such rules, every interactive game would probably be as simple as the time Leon single-handedly breezed through half of the dragon games.

"And we can't let the doll touch us. Otherwise, we'll be infected with the plague."

Aurora spoke as she lowered her head to glance at the bracelet on her wrist."The staff said earlier that once you're infected, the bracelet will turn purple. Once that happens, we’ll have one hour to complete the puzzle before being disqualified."

"Everyone, be careful not to let the kids get too close to that thing."

Leon’s gaze swept across the bedroom as he said,"Since solving this puzzle is one of the game’s objectives, there must be some mechanism in this room that can stop the doll’s movements. Let’s find it quickly."

The little dragon girls nodded obediently in unison and replied, "Okay!"

Meanwhile, Constantine stood silently to the side, watching as the group grew serious. He thought to himself, It’s one thing for the kids to be this immersed in the game, but Leon Casmod… how are you this into it too?

At times like this, Constantine couldn’t help but sigh and mutter internally:This childish fool is the same guy who almost chopped my head off and hung it from a tree back in the day?

Unbelievable.

“Click-clack—” The doll moved again, the crisp sound of its joints snapping Constantine out of his thoughts.He looked over at the bed and saw the doll casually leap off it.

Its body was surrounded by a faint purple mist, likely a special effect representing the "plague."Although it was made of wood, the doll seemed to be enhanced with remote control magic, allowing it to perform complex and highly challenging movements.

Seeing this, Leon couldn’t help but sigh.“This feels way more high-tech than that game of Werewolf we played last time.”

As he commented, the doll suddenly lunged toward the group.Leon immediately grabbed Muse and scooped up Aurora, who had already darted to the side on her own. She was nimble and didn’t need much protection.

Aurora took Hefei by the hand and led her toward the doll’s flank.Left behind in the middle of the room was Constantine, who became the doll’s sole target. Naturally, the doll charged straight at him.

Having already guided the women to a safe corner, Leon glanced at Constantine and noticed the dragon instinctively raising his hand to summon dragonfire. Is he seriously about to burn the doll to ashes?

Leon quickly opened his mouth to stop him—no one knew if breaking the rules would result in immediate disqualification.But before Leon could say a word, Constantine had already dodged the doll’s attack with practiced ease, fluidly sidestepping its grasp.

"Hey, Hefei, looks like Uncle Constantine is pretty agile, huh?" Aurora remarked.

But Hefei's expression remained tense."We need to deal with this doll quickly, Aurora," she said urgently.

"Why?"

"Because if this goes on much longer, I’m afraid my father won’t be able to hold back."

"…Alright, let’s hurry and find something in this room that can stop the doll.""Mm-hmm!"

For some reason, after its initial attack, the doll seemed to focus solely on Constantine. No matter what anyone else did, it completely ignored them, relentlessly pursuing him instead.

Thus, a slightly absurd yet oddly comedic scene unfolded in the bedroom:The once-mighty Red Flame Dragon King—who had stood at the pinnacle of the dragon race, only to later fall from grace—was now dodging a doll, darting around the room in chaotic frenzy.

Leon stood at the foot of the bed, furrowing his brow in thought."If it’s controlled by remote magic, then there must be some item in the room that disrupts magical transmission, right?"

(Meanwhile, Constantine dodged another lunge from the doll, narrowly avoiding its grasp.)

"No, the doll’s movements rely on control magic. That’s an external factor and likely unrelated to the puzzle mechanics."

(Once again, Constantine sidestepped the doll, this time vaulting over a chair as it lunged past.)

"Does this mean we have to deal with the doll itself?"

(With a sudden burst of speed, Constantine and the doll passed by Leon, the dragon’s expression growing more exasperated with each lap.)

"Or… maybe it’s not about the ‘doll’ itself, but about the identity it represents—the castle’s owner…"

BOOM!

A loud crash interrupted Leon’s train of thought. Everyone turned toward the sound.

They saw Constantine standing in a corner, his fist still extended in a textbook-perfect straight punch.Opposite him, embedded in the wall, were the shattered remains of the doll.

A purple mist swirled around Constantine’s fist, and the bracelet on his wrist gradually changed from the normal green to a poisonous purple.

“Father! You’ve been poisoned!” Hefei cried out in alarm, immediately running forward to check on him.

However, Constantine raised a hand to stop her.“I don’t know if the plague can spread through contact, so don’t come any closer, Hefei.”

“Understood,” Hefei responded, stepping back as instructed.

Constantine said no more and instead turned his focus to Leon.“I held back and didn’t destroy the doll, but you’d better figure out a way to stop it quickly, Leon.”

Leon gave a helpless smile.It seemed that forcing a battle maniac like Constantine to keep dodging wasn’t exactly the best strategy.

And that reckless doll—what was it thinking? It refused to give up, relentlessly chasing Constantine.

Well, now it had gotten a few punches and seemed to be a bit more subdued.Still, Leon didn’t have time to dwell on the absurdity of the situation. If what Constantine said was true, he needed to find a way to solve this puzzle quickly.

Leon couldn’t afford to stay stuck here with his family. There was even the potential risk of having to compensate the NPCs for damaged props…

While Leon was deep in thought, Aurora ran up to him and asked,“Dad, when you were completing tasks earlier, did you get any items or hints from the ‘castle owner’? Hefei and I only got a few things related to the dragon-themed missions, but they all seemed interconnected.”

“So, I was thinking, since you got the ‘castle owner’s bedroom’ hint, there might be other linked items or clues.”

Aurora’s words jogged Leon’s memory.

“Earlier, in the storage room, we completed a task involving music.We didn’t get any items, but we did receive a message from the castle owner.It said something like this:

‘Whenever the castle owner suffered from insomnia, his wife would play a specific melody to help him sleep.That melody is the one we heard on the piano when completing the task.’”

Father and daughter simultaneously turned to look at the doll still grappling with Constantine.

Following her father’s train of thought, Aurora continued,“So, if we play that melody again, it might stop the doll’s movements?”

Leon nodded, murmuring, “Looks like we need to find an instrument to play that melody…”

“…”

The two furrowed their brows in unison.

After a brief pause, they turned to each other and spoke at the same time:“The flute on the bedside table!”

When Leon first entered the bedroom, he’d done a quick scan of the room.Thanks to his sharp memory, he recalled that the flute on the bedside table stood out oddly, making it seem like an important clue.

Under Constantine’s cover, Leon quickly made his way to the bedside table, picked up the flute, and called out to Muse on the other side of the room.“Muse, catch this!”

Leon tossed the flute across the room, and Muse, Hefei, and Aurora all focused intently on the flying instrument.The three little dragon girls tilted their heads left and right, shuffling a few steps to either side to ensure they wouldn’t miss it.

Finally, Muse, standing in the middle, exclaimed excitedly,“I caught it! I caught it—ouch!”

The flute bounced off her head with a perfect three-step ricochet before landing securely in her hands.

“Play the melody we learned in the storage room, Muse!”

Muse nodded, recalling the tune from memory. She raised the flute and began to play.

As the soothing sound of the flute filled the room, the doll gradually began to slow down.

Muse continued to play, and the doll slowly returned to the bed before lying down.

Once they were sure the doll had stopped moving, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, the bedroom door reopened, and a hidden compartment on the doll’s chest popped open, revealing two cards inside.

Leon retrieved the cards: one was an item card, and the other was a hint card.

[Item Card: Roster][Hint Card: The owner of the antlers was a meticulous and serious individual in life. They once dismissed a maid and servant who worked for them.]

[Usage: For every two tasks completed, you may reveal one player’s identity.][Note: Tasks completed before obtaining this item card can also be counted toward the total.]

As for the hint card, Leon read the contents aloud:“The basement is a very dangerous place. Back then, it was where they conducted research on the elixir of immortality.After the plague broke out in the castle, the basement became a forbidden zone. Staying there for more than an hour greatly increases the risk of contracting the plague.”

After reading the hint, Leon frowned slightly.“No more than an hour in the basement… Does that mean Rosvisser and Noa are about to run out of time?”