【Cursed Doll: (Enhancement Level 3)】
【Love Potential: 0 (She has high intelligence, but she cannot experience feelings of love)】
The monster before him had three heads, six arms, and six legs, each holding a different weapon.
Axe, sword, spear, blade…
Not only that, her combat intelligence was extremely high. Ever since she recognized her enemy as a slime, her attacks always targeted the core before striking.
The most bizarre thing was that this multi-armed monster, resembling a spider, had an angelic face on each head, and every limb was no different from a human’s.
Instead of being beautiful, it only made one’s sanity value plummet.
They were, without a doubt, the weakling dolls from just moments ago.
Only, they had merely evolved three times.
This was exponential growth… terrifying beyond measure.
Lin Ran barely managed to defeat the second and third wave of evolved dolls.
But the fourth wave, which was now—
A slime suddenly swelled its body, blocking in front of Lin Ran and forcibly absorbing a slash.
Its body was torn open with a huge gash, slime splattering everywhere.
Doing this only bought Lin Ran less than half a second to catch his breath.
Against a doll that had evolved three times, just keeping himself alive was already his limit.
The more serious problem was the black patterns beginning to spread across the doll in front of him.
It was the precursor to evolution.
The sign of a fourth evolution.
Once evolution was complete, he would have no chance of victory.
“Huff… huff…”
Lin Ran panted, leaning against the corner of the dormitory.
Although Rim and the group of slimes still had vacant eyes, they continued to protect him.
He racked his brains desperately, searching for a sliver of hope.
But…
Nothing.
Before absolute power, all effort was meaningless.
“Isn’t this difficulty a bit too high…?”
Healing the wound on his right arm with the slime’s ability, Lin Ran once again gripped the fruit knife.
He gave a bitter smile… though he figured this thing was probably long since useless against dolls.
There had been screams in the surrounding dorms, but they had gradually turned into wails of agony.
By now, the surroundings were eerily silent.
In fact, Lin Ran could hear—
After killing the students in their respective dorms, the dolls were gathering toward him.
Could his judgment have been wrong? Was this a one-sided massacre from the very beginning?
Otherwise, why did the second wave of enemies ramp up the difficulty so insanely?
He couldn’t even determine the maximum number of times a doll could evolve, or how many evolutions would bring it to an end.
Was it really supposed to end here?
At that thought, Lin Ran suddenly realized something.
Maximum evolution count?
No one had ever said there was a limit to the number of times a doll could evolve—
Most of the other dormitories’ screams and wails had already ended by the second wave, and by the third wave of evolution, the school had fallen into a deathly silence!
In other words, the maximum wave for all the other students was the third.
But he, relying on the power of slimes and their assistance, had reached a fourth wave that others could not achieve…
If no one could survive the fourth wave, then who was the fifth wave designed for?
If all humans died, what use would the subsequent Worlds Invasion and later waves have? Decoration?
At that thought, he was suddenly enlightened.
Despair and confusion vanished in an instant.
——From the very start, these dolls were invincible.
This apocalyptic invasion was also a game.
So, in game terms, this battle with the dolls was a Mechanic Kill for everyone!
In a game, what’s the best way to deal with a Mechanic Kill?
When facing an enemy that can consistently achieve a first-strike kill or Mechanic Kill…
Think carefully—what was the designer’s real intention?
No game would force players to delete their accounts over a guaranteed death mechanic.
Then, the answer was already clear——
He stepped in front of the slimes, spreading his arms to shield them behind him.
Facing the incoming long blade, he showed a confident smile.
Get killed, gather information in death, revive, and start over.
Then, find the way to clear the stage!
…
——Blood sprayed, the world spun.
Consciousness blurred, and darkness swallowed his vision.
To be honest, in the last moment before his awareness faded, even Lin Ran was scared.
He couldn’t guarantee he would really revive.
But with no other options, this was the only result his reasoning could reach.
Fortunately, he bet correctly.
The good news was, he did revive.
As for the bad news…
Where was this?
The overall scenery was similar to the previous slime plains—endless grasslands.
But the differences were, there were no slimes this time, and no dormitory doors to return through.
But now there were mountains, water, flowers, pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks.
And, countless wooden houses, so many they couldn’t be counted.
Lin Ran tried walking toward a relatively nearby wooden house——
It looked to be only seventy or eighty meters away, something he could reach in no time.
But——
He walked for three minutes, and not only did he not get closer, the distance seemed to stretch further.
What was going on…?
Fortunately, there was a wooden house behind him.
This wooden house stood alone, belonging to him from the start.
If you asked why…
Because his name and photo were on the door.
“Where is this…? Rest Point? Interchange Station? Or the world after death?”
Lin Ran muttered to himself, walking into the wooden house.
But as soon as he opened the door, a soft, bouncy thing shot out and crashed into his arms.
“Master——”
It was Rim.
Her expression was no longer blank, no longer emotionless.
Tears poured from her eyes, then were absorbed back into her slime body, never running dry.
Lin Ran’s clothes were soaked before she finally caught her breath.
“How did this happen?”
Seeing Rim had calmed down, Lin Ran gently patted her back, quickly asking.
“Master… Doesn’t Master know?”
Rim raised her tear-streaked face, tilting her head, and instead questioned Lin Ran.
“This is already… the sixth time, Master… You’ve been killed six times…”
Sixth time? My memories were erased?
Lin Ran was shocked.
And Rim continued to tell him, sobbing, what had happened.
“When we challenged the dolls, our minds were controlled. We could only watch as… as you fought to protect us…”
“Every time you died, you’d be sent back in pieces… I… I felt so heartbroken… Uwaaa…”
“If we can’t win, then forget it… Let’s not fight anymore, okay? Look, there are mountains and water here, let’s just live together.”
Lin Ran looked at the scene before him and smiled with relief.
Like an old father on the battlefield, watching his daughter plead tearfully for him to stay.
But wasn’t this romantic plot going off the rails?
Yet, he shook his head, still determined to leave.
Rim nodded through her tears, and with a wave of her hand, a Black Transfer Gate appeared.
“As long as you go in, you can challenge again.”
Lin Ran nodded, entering without hesitation.
The gate began to activate, and his vision started to change.
But before his sight completely vanished, Lin Ran’s thoughts raced.
The six challenges Rim spoke of…
He had no memory of them.
But——if he had truly given his life six times in a row to protect her…
Six tragic deaths, six selfless sacrifices—any stone should have warmed by then.
So, the question was——
How much would her affection increase?
The answer was 0.
Yes, until now, not a single new message had appeared in the system.
Actively checking Rim’s affection level, it always remained at 【85】.
That foolish child who gained 25 affection from a sausage crumb—how could her affection remain unmoved until now!
So——
“Who are you, really.”
Lin Ran looked at the “Rim” before him, and the moment he asked, the scene returned to the dormitory.
…