Chapter 3

[I agree with the comment above. How would someone like a god ever fall for an ordinary person?]

-

The fire in the forest kept spreading.

The ragdoll and I were terrified it would draw even more players, so we decided to move somewhere else to scare people.

According to the system map, there was a small wooden cabin about two miles to the east.

New players always passed through that area when they entered the dungeon, so weaker monsters were supposed to lie in wait there.

We followed the map for over an hour, but still ended up lost.

At one point, we even got startled by a group of passing players.

Their clothes and weapons were splattered with blood from recent kills. Honestly, they looked scarier than we did.

[Hahaha, since when did the monsters in this dungeon get so cowardly? They’re supposed to scare us, but we actually scared them instead.]

[This is next-level dumb. Getting lost in a dungeon is embarrassing.]

[Those poor things. They had better hide. Anyone else might let them go, but if they run into Big V, they’re dead before they know it.]

[Come on, Big V only hunts the nastiest bosses. He wouldn’t even bother with trash like that. They would scare themselves to death first.]

[Am I the only one who thinks the girl monster is kind of cute? She even braided her new hair just to run faster.]

Most of the chat was laughing at me.

Some people sounded like they couldn’t wait to see me get ripped apart by players.

I had no idea any of that was happening.

All I knew was that a much bigger problem had appeared: a player who clearly had no intention of letting the ragdoll or me walk away.

-

'Are you a player?'

He was tall and broad, built like a tank, with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.

My hair was braided now, and aside from being a little pale, I didn’t look much different from a player.

But his mouth curved into a strange, knowing smile.

'You have beautiful eyes.'

Players had black eyes. Only monsters had gray ones.

He had already figured me out.

'I never thought an SSS dungeon would have such a pretty ghost. I wonder what you feel like under me.'

He licked his lips and stepped closer.

The chat erupted.

[This guy is gross. He will even harass monsters!]

[Honestly, most SSS dungeon monsters are hideous. Anyone would react like this after meeting a cute ghost girl.]

[She’s not getting away. I know him. He’s ranked 23rd on the leaderboard. He’s good, but he’s also famous for being a creep.]

[I don’t think I wanna watch this anymore. Ghost girl, run!]

[You’re feeling sorry for a monster now? Well, I’ve never seen people do it in a dungeon. My pants are off. Showtime!]

[You’re worse than the monsters. Keep it in your pants!]

I tried to run, but the man blocked my path in one step.

The ragdoll jumped in front of me and shouted for me to go.

Then it threw itself at him.

Its mouth split open, ready to swallow him whole.

The man sneered and whipped out a knife, slashing across its mouth and eyes in a single motion.

'With skills like that, you should be ashamed to show your face.'

Then he looked at me sinisterly.

'If you do as I say, you won’t end up like this doll. I promise I’ll be gentle with you, sweetheart.'

Some people in the chat couldn’t stand it anymore and told me to run.

I didn’t move.

The man kept walking closer, his gaze crawling over me.

'Smart move. You can’t escape anyway. Might as well make it easy for both of us.'

His hand reached out, then his expression stiffened.

He stared at the ice erupting across his arm, frost racing up his skin like living glass.

'What did you do to me?'

Someone in the chat finally recognized it.

[Isn’t that the Frost Curse? It’s a rare item you only get from killing the final boss in the Frostfall City dungeon!]