The Stone Crusher team moved swiftly along the path they had come from, with Herman leading the way. The wound on the back of his right hand, from which the red mist had been cleansed by the spring, had already formed a thin scab, but his mind was still preoccupied with that spring, turning over and over the question of what its origins might be.
"Captain, look ahead."
Nia's voice came from behind, tinged with a barely suppressed excitement.
Herman looked up, his pupils contracting sharply. At the bend in the passage ahead, three palm-sized Pure White Mini Dolls were walking forward on their short legs, lined up in a row, their steps as orderly as if they were on parade.
"Again?" Dom slung his shield over his shoulder, grinning broadly. "This is the second time today, isn't it?"
The short mage adjusted the goggles on his nose, his tone also betraying unconcealed anticipation:
"Last time we encountered these Mini Dolls, the red mist on your hand was cured, Captain. Meeting them again now might bring more good fortune."
Nia even crouched down, resting her hands on her knees, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the three little things. "Do you think they came looking for us on purpose?"
Herman remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the three Mini Dolls.
His previous experience had left him with a subtle feeling toward these little white beings; not quite trust, but certainly not hostility, especially since that spring had undoubtedly saved his life.
"Don't let your guard down."
Herman lowered his voice. "Let's see what they're up to first."
The three Mini Dolls stopped in the middle of the passage.
As if sensing something, they simultaneously turned to face the Stone Crusher team. Their smooth faces were featureless, yet Herman couldn't shake the feeling that these little things were "looking" at him.
In the next moment, the surface of the leading Mini Doll changed. Lines of clear text protruded from its body. Herman narrowed his eyes, took two quick steps forward, and carefully examined the characters.
"It's a riddle," he murmured.
"A riddle?" Dom leaned in, his shield nearly bumping into the back of Herman's head. "What kind of riddle?"
Herman raised a hand to stop him, signaling him not to get too close.
The text on the Mini Doll's body was arranged neatly; a short riddle phrased in the common tongue, though the wording was somewhat peculiar.
"I have no mouth yet can swallow all things, no eyes yet can reflect the stars. The deeper I am, the darker I become; the darker I become, the truer I am."
After reading the riddle aloud, Nia tilted her head, thinking hard for a long moment before looking utterly bewildered and turning helplessly to the mage.
The mage stroked his chin, muttering, "No mouth yet swallows all things, no eyes yet reflects the stars, the deeper the darker..."
Dom simply shook his head. "My brain doesn't work well with this kind of thing. You guys handle it."
Herman stared at the text, his mind racing.
No mouth yet can swallow all things, no eyes yet can reflect the stars. The deeper, the darker; the darker, the truer.
Where were they now? The Dungeon's sixth floor, in a natural cavern passage.
Herman suddenly looked up, glancing at the dark rock ceiling above.
"It's a well," he said, his voice quiet but firm.
"A well has no mouth, but it can hold rainwater, stones, anything thrown into it. When the water in a well is still, it can reflect the stars in the sky. The deeper the well, the darker it is inside, but the deeper the well water, the clearer it becomes, and the reflections it shows are sharper."
As soon as he finished speaking, the text on the Mini Doll's body vanished instantly.
Instead, a soft white light surged from within the small doll, like a warm mist, drifting directly toward Herman.
"Captain, watch out!" Dom raised his shield, positioning himself in front of Herman.
But the white light bypassed the shield, slipping into Herman's chest as if it had a life of its own.
Herman felt a warm surge of Strength flow through his body for an instant.
Right after, the small doll placed two items into his palm–a gold coin and a thumb-sized Magic Crystal.
"A reward?" Nia widened her eyes. "Solving the puzzle gives a reward?"
Herman looked down at the items in his hand. Before he could speak, a sudden "buzz" echoed in his mind, as if something had exploded deep within his consciousness. His vision went dark, and his body stiffened, falling straight backward.
"Captain!"
Dom reacted the fastest, dropping his shield to catch Herman's body.
Nia and the mage rushed forward at the same time, and the three of them laid Herman flat on the ground.
"What happened? Is his pulse still there?"
The mage crouched down, pressing his fingers against Herman's neck. After a moment, he sighed in relief. "Heartbeat is normal, breathing is steady. It seems like he suddenly fainted."
"Was it that white light causing trouble?"
Nia nervously glanced back at the three small dolls, but the passageway was now empty and silent. The dolls had vanished without a trace at some point.
Dom propped up Herman's head and said in a low voice, "Protect the captain first. Everyone, stay alert. Nia, watch the left. Mage, watch the right. I'll guard the front."
The three quickly formed a defensive circle, placing the unconscious Herman in the center.
After about three minutes, Herman's eyelids twitched; He opened his eyes to see Dom's tense, large face looming over him.
"Captain, you're awake!" Dom grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth. "You scared me to death."
Herman pushed himself up from the ground, rubbing his temples. His head still felt swollen, with a dull ache like the aftermath of a hangover. "How long was I out?"
"Less than three minutes," the mage replied, crouching nearby and scrutinizing him. "Captain, your face..."
The mage's voice suddenly faltered. Nia saw it too, covering her mouth with a short, sharp gasp.
"What's wrong with my face?"
Herman reached up to touch his face, his fingertips brushing against a faint, raised line extending from below his left eye to his cheekbone. It felt like a shallow scar, but the texture was cool and smooth, nothing like a wound.
The mage pulled a small copper mirror from his waist pouch and handed it over.
Herman took the mirror, holding it up to the light–His pupils contracted sharply.
A silver crack now adorned his left cheek.
It wasn't like a wound or a scar but resembled the fine, intricate cracks on the surface of porcelain, shimmering with a faint silver glow.
"What is this?"
Herman rubbed the crack vigorously, but it remained unchanged, as if embedded within his skin.
Nia suddenly gasped sharply. "Captain, do you remember the intel about that Silver Mage?"
Herman froze.
The Silver Mage.
Allen, the retired adventurer who claimed to have inherited the legacy of an ancient Alchemist on the sixth floor, also had a silver crack on his face.
Someone had once asked Allen at his dessert shop what the crack was. Allen's reply was, "A Puppet Mark."
"Allen said it was a mark he obtained after completing a hidden quest in the Ruins, called the Puppet Mark. With this mark, he could control those Pure White Dolls," the mage continued.
The passage fell silent for two seconds, then everyone simultaneously looked at the silver crack on Herman's face.
"My god," Dom murmured, "Captain, did you also get a Puppet Mark?"
Herman didn't answer.
He stared at his reflection in the bronze mirror, his heartbeat unconsciously quickening.
If this really was a Puppet Mark, then it meant…
He took a deep breath and tried to focus his psychic power on the crack on his face. It was an instinctive reaction as a seasoned adventurer–when encountering an unknown power, first test whether it could be activated.
Psychic power gathered there, like a drop of water falling into a desert; Albeit there was no reaction at all. The crack remained etched on his face–no glow, no heat, no vibration.
"No response," Herman shook his head.
"Maybe it requires specific triggering conditions?"
The mage adjusted his goggles. "Allen said he could control Dolls, so the function of this mark should be related to Dolls. Captain, why don't we go find a Doll to test it?"
Herman hesitated. Instinctively, he wanted to refuse–after all, things that fall from the sky often come with bigger traps. But then he reconsidered: the spring had indeed cured the red mist on his hand, the little Doll's reward was real gold coins and magic stones, and the Dungeon did have various hidden reward mechanisms.
If this mark really allowed him to control Dolls… then… then, he'd take back his earlier words.
In the end, an adventurer's success still depended on strength.
"Let's go."
Herman stood up and handed the bronze mirror back to the mage. "Let's find a Doll."
The Stone Crusher squad walked back along the passage for about a quarter of an hour and found a Pure White Doll at a fork in the path.
This Doll was much larger than those palm-sized little Dolls–about the height of a real person. Its entire body was snow-white, with no facial features, and its hands hung at its sides. It stood by the edge of the passage like an unpainted statue.
It seemed to be waiting for something, motionless.
Herman led the team closer. When they were about ten steps away from the Doll, he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Nia whispered.
Herman didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the top of the Doll's head.
In his vision, a line of text appeared out of thin air above the Doll's head; not carved onto the Doll itself, but floating in the air like a label, visible only to him.
[Pure White Doll]
Just these three simple words hovered above the Doll's head.
"Captain? What are you looking at?"
Dom followed Herman's gaze but saw nothing–just an ordinary Pure White Doll.
Herman swallowed hard. "You can't see it?"
He pointed to the space above the Doll's head. "There are words there."
All three teammates looked at the top of the Doll's head, then shook their heads in unison.
"There's nothing there," Nia blinked.
Meanwhile, the mage grew excited, slapping his thigh. "It really is related to Dolls! Captain, what did you see?"
"Three words," Herman said slowly. "Pure White Doll."
The mage rubbed his hands together excitedly. "That's right, the function of the Puppet Mark is to interact with Dolls. Captain, try again and see if you can do something else."
Herman took a deep breath and refocused his attention on the Doll.
Then he felt a strange sensation, as if there was an invisible thread between him and the Doll. If he wanted to, he could pull it taut.
"I think... I can establish some kind of connection with it."
Herman frowned, carefully choosing his words. "It feels like a contract."
"A contract?" Dom widened his eyes.
Herman didn't hesitate for long. Following his intuition, he concentrated his psychic power on the Doll, as if extending an invisible hand to grasp that unseen thread.
His mind jolted violently, as if something clicked into place. Herman shook his head and looked again at the text above the Doll's head–the content had changed.
⌜Pure White Doll⌟
[Quality: Common]
[Skills: Dessert Making (Beginner), Housekeeping (Beginner), Combat Techniques (Beginner)
Herman froze.
What was this?
Dessert making? Housekeeping?
What kind of Skills were these?
He opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Captain, what happened?" Nia anxiously leaned closer.
Before Herman could speak, the Pure White Doll suddenly moved. It turned around, faced Herman, placed its hands together in front of its body, and bowed slightly, performing a standard server's bow.
Dom took a step back in fright, nearly dropping his shield.
"It... it's bowing to you?"
Herman tentatively gave a command in his mind: Take three steps forward.
The Doll straightened up, stepped forward–one, two, three steps–then stopped.
"It listens to me," Herman's voice was slightly hoarse. "This Doll listens to me."
The corridor fell silent for a moment, then Nia let out a shriek:
"Really?! Captain, can you command Dolls now?"
"Wait, let me try again."
Herman gave another command in his mind: 'Turn around.'
The Doll turned around.
Raise your right hand.
The Doll raised its right hand.
Lower it.
The Doll lowered it.
Herman's breathing grew rapid. He turned to look at his teammates, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"It has information above its head. Its quality is Common, and it has three Skills: Beginner Dessert Making, Beginner Housekeeping, and Beginner Combat Techniques."
After hearing this, the mage's mouth fell open into a perfect circle. "Beginner Dessert Making? This Doll can make cakes?"
Dom scratched the back of his head. "Beginner Housekeeping? Isn't this just a maid?"
Nia's eyes sparkled. "Captain, does that mean we can also get Puppet Marks?"
"Not so fast."
Herman raised a hand, forcing himself to calm down. "This is too sudden. We need to figure out more. Let's go, let's find a few more Dolls to test."
Stone Crusher team, along with the Doll that had now become Herman's "subordinate," continued searching along the corridor.
Over the next half hour, they found four more Pure White Dolls scattered in different locations. Herman attempted to use his psychic power on each of them, one by one.
During the second Doll contract, a sharp pain shot through his mind, followed by the contract being repelled–as if blocked by something.
"Not possible," Herman pressed his temples. "I can't contract a second full-sized Doll. It seems there's a limit."
The mage beside him quickly took notes, muttering under his breath: "One Puppet Mark can only contract one full-sized Doll, there's an upper limit..."
"Try a small one."
Nia pointed to a palm-sized mini doll in the corner. Herman then focused his psychic power onto that small doll.
Click.
That same locking sensation again, but this time it wasn't repelled.
Text appeared above the small doll's head:
⌜Pure White Mini Doll⌟
[Quality: Common]
[Skills: Carry (Proficient)]
"Success."
Herman breathed a sigh of relief. "An additional small Doll can be contracted."
The mage adjusted his goggles, summarizing rapidly: "So the current pattern is: a Puppet Mark can establish contracts with Dolls. Different Dolls have different talents and Skills. Full-sized Dolls can only be contracted one at a time for now, while small Dolls allow an additional contract."
"Also," Herman added, "Skills vary greatly between different Dolls. The first one handles desserts and household chores. If we switch to another, the Skills might be totally different."
Dom rubbed his chin, a simple, honest smile spreading across his rugged face:
"So, finding a good Doll is like opening a treasure chest? With good luck, we might get a combat-type one?"
"Possibly."
Herman glanced back at the Pure White Doll obediently following behind him, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside.
Excitement, of course, but also a hint of unease.
This Puppet Mark came too easily–just solving a riddle, and such a huge windfall fell from the sky.
Having spent so many years in the Dungeon, he knew one principle all too well: free things often come at the highest cost.
Regardless, this Puppet Mark in hand was undeniably a good thing for now.
"Let's discuss it back at base." Herman clapped his hands. "We've gained enough for today. Head back to town first."
The Stone Crusher team, with their two contracted Dolls in tow, quickly made their way toward the floor exit.
...
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