The town was called Hollowsford, and it smelled like fish.

It sat at the mouth of a wide river, its docks thick with boats and its streets crowded with merchants shouting over each other's voices. Leo had never seen so many people with name tags in one place. Every level from 3 to 30 walked past him, and he felt like a mouse in a field of cats.

"Relax," Maya said, catching his look. "Most of them are merchants. They couldn't fight their way out of a wet sack."

"Easy for you to say. You're Level 16."

"Jealous?"

"Curious how you got to 16."

Maya's smile flickered. "I was born here, farmer. Some of us have been in this world a long time." She steered him toward a tavern with a faded sign — *The Gilded Hound* — and pushed through the door.

The inside was loud, smoky, and full of the kind of people who looked like they'd been in a hundred fights and won most of them. A board on the far wall was papered with contracts.

"Welcome to the real work," Maya said. "Pick one."

Leo studied the board.

**Contract #114: Bandits on the South Road. Reward: 80 gold. Difficulty: Moderate.**
**Contract #117: Haunted Mill. Reward: 120 gold. Difficulty: High.**
**Contract #131: Escort caravan to Iron Gate Town. Reward: 200 gold. Difficulty: High.**

His eyes stopped on the last one.

"Iron Gate Town," he said. "What's there?"

Maya's face went still. "Nothing good. It used to be a trading hub — biggest city in the north. Then about a year ago, something changed. The roads got quiet. The merchants stopped coming back." She shrugged, but her voice had lost its edge. "People say it's a plague. People say it's worse."

"Worse how?"

"People say the city's still alive. People inside, walking around, doing their jobs. But they're not... *there* anymore." Maya met his eyes. "Like puppets."

Leo looked at the contract again. 200 gold. High risk.

"How long to get there?"

"Five days on foot. Two if we find a caravan."

"Then we find a caravan."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "You want the puppet city?"

"I want the gold. And I want to see what's there." Leo tore the contract off the board. "A city that swallows people is exactly the kind of thing that has high-level secrets. And I need high-level secrets."

"You need high-level everything," Maya muttered. But she followed him out the door.

---

They found the caravan in the square — a line of wagons, a dozen armed guards, and a fat merchant named Bartram who was shouting at everyone within earshot.

"No more contracts! I've already hired all the guards I need! If you're not on my list, you're not coming!"

"We're not guards," Maya said, strolling up. "We're passengers. And we pay for the road."

Bartram eyed them. "Passengers don't fight."

"That's why I'm also offering us as extra protection. No pay — just a seat, food, and a ride to Iron Gate."

The merchant's eyes narrowed, then widened as he took in Leo's sword and Maya's easy confidence. "Fine. Two seats. You fight, you earn your keep. If the roads are clear, you eat free. If not..." He shrugged. "Well, then you earn your keep the hard way."

"Deal," Leo said.

They climbed onto the last wagon as the caravan lurched into motion. The wheels groaned. The guards talked. The sun climbed.

Leo sat with his back to the crates and watched the countryside roll past.

"The world's big," Maya said, sitting down beside him. "Bigger than you think. Most people never leave their village. Most people never see a Level 50 in their lives. The ones who do..." She trailed off.

"The ones who do what?"

"The ones who do don't come back the same." Maya looked at him. "There's a reason the high-level zones are empty, farmer. It's not because no one wants the power. It's because the power takes something in return."

Leo thought about the blue light. About how good it felt to devour. About how hard it was to stop.

"I'll handle it," he said.

"Everyone says that."

---

The bandits hit them on the third day.

They came out of the treeline at dusk — twenty riders, whooping and waving blades. The caravan guards formed a circle, spears out. Maya drew her knife. Leo stood up on the wagon, sword in hand, and watched the riders come.

**【Taste of Power: Bandit Captain (Lv. 14). The captain leads from the back. Break the formation, break the will.**】

"Captain's at the back!" Leo shouted. "Keep them off me!"

Then he jumped off the wagon and ran straight at the riders.

The guards yelled. Maya cursed. The bandits laughed.

And Leo hit them like a hammer.

He was Level 15 now. Not a farmer. Not a Level 1 nobody. He was a wall of stolen strength and three years of game knowledge, and he carved through the bandits' front line like they were made of paper.

**【You have killed a Bandit (Lv. 12).】**
**【You have killed a Bandit (Lv. 11).】**
**【You have killed a Bandit (Lv. 13).】**

The riders broke. The ones who weren't dead wheeled their horses and fled, and the captain tried to follow, but Leo caught his horse's reins and yanked the animal to a stop.

"Get down," Leo said.

The captain got down.

"Now," Leo said, "tell me about Iron Gate."

The captain's face went white. "It's cursed, man. Cursed. Everything that goes in, stays. The Lord of the city — they call him the Puppet Lord now — he catches travelers and... and makes them part of his collection. I've seen people walking around with empty eyes, doing his bidding. No soul. No will. Just... puppets."

"How strong is he?"

"Strong! I don't know, sixty? Seventy? I'm just a bandit, I never got close! But his guards—" The captain shuddered. "His guards are all puppets. Former heroes, former mercenaries, all of them turned. They do whatever he says. They never stop. They never sleep. They never feel pain."

Leo released him. "Go. And don't come back."

The captain scrambled onto his horse and fled.

Maya appeared at Leo's side, silent as ever. "Seventy levels," she said quietly. "You heard him. You're still fifteen."

"I heard him." Leo looked north, where the smoke of Iron Gate Town rose against the gray sky. "And I'm still going."

"You're mad."

"Maybe." Leo smiled, and it was not a kind smile. "But mad farmers make good stories. Now let's finish the road. I want to see this Puppet Lord for myself."

---