Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Not Only Killed Him, but Also Took Over His House
Faye Yardley saw the outline of a town just before the sky turned completely dark.
Faye Yardley dismounted and patted the Skeletal Horse’s head. She tried to store it in her backpack, but a system prompt notified her that she couldn’t store Undead Creatures.
"So, you’re a living thing after all. I guess I can’t take you straight into the city. Why don’t you head back on your own?"
The Skeletal Horse seemed to understand. It nodded obediently, snorted, and circled her once. After a final look back, it galloped directly toward the town ahead.
Faye pulled her cloak tighter and walked forward.
It took her about ten minutes to reach the city gates.
People were lining up at the gates. After a moment’s thought, Faye took off her ring and stored it in her backpack.
Then she went to the back of the line.
However, the people in front of her couldn’t help but move aside at the sight of her outfit, motioning for her to go ahead.
Though she didn’t understand why they were being so courteous, Faye walked forward calmly under the watchful eyes of the guards.
The guards gave her a slight nod and let her pass without even collecting the entry fee.
Faye didn’t say a word as she entered the city. To her surprise, the Skeletal Horse was waiting just inside the gates. It trotted over and nuzzled its head against her.
"You were waiting for me?"
When the Skeletal Horse nodded, Faye simply mounted it again. "Then lead the way."
Faye didn’t know where they were going, but she figured the Skeletal Horse did.
She had also noticed that the common folk here seemed quite afraid of her.
’That’s strange. I’m just wearing a black cloak. I even put the ring away.’
’Whatever. I’ll take things as they come. At worst, I’ll just survive the seven days of the Dungeon and return to the raft empty-handed.’
’Then again, I can’t say I’ll have nothing. I did just get a huge pile of money.’
The Skeletal Horse carried her down the street, made a right turn, and stopped before a white house. Unlike the tightly packed buildings they had passed earlier, these homes were detached, with considerable space between them.
Dark green vines dotted with small red flowers were wrapped around the front yard’s fence.
The Skeletal Horse nudged open a low gate in the fence and walked right in.
Faye dismounted and walked straight to the white house. She knocked, but there was no answer. The door swung open easily when she pushed it.
’Don’t tell me this is the residence of the tax collector I killed?’
’So not only did I kill the guy, but I’ve now somehow taken over his house too?’
She turned on the lights. The house was spotless; it didn’t look like the home of a single man at all.
’As for why the Skeletal Horse is so friendly,’ Faye thought, ’it’s probably because of the tattoo Yvonne Lynch gave me. Plus, I have a damage bonus against Undead Creatures.’
Although the tattoo was most effective against the Zombie Clan, it could still affect other members of The Necro-kin.
A photograph of a man with a gloomy expression hung in the living room. His eyes seemed to bore into her with hatred. Faye stood before it for a moment. "Heh, quite the narcissist."
Without a second thought, she took the photograph down and casually tossed it into the nearby fireplace. Since the hearth was cold, she threw a torch in after it.
A mark appeared on the wall where the photograph had been. Faye took out her Iron Axe and swung it at the mark a few times, revealing a hidden alcove. Inside was a small box.
She took out the small box and opened it.
[Acquired: Lumina Medal of Honor x1, Treasure Map Fragment x1, Lumina House Deed x1]
She raised an eyebrow. ’My Talent didn’t trigger? What a waste.’
[House Deed discovered. Bindable. Bind now?]
’A house deed?’
’There’s no name on it. Does that mean it belongs to whoever finds it?’
It listed a specific address and even showed the floor plan. This place was clearly much smaller than her current location; the deed described a two-story building with each floor being only fifty square meters.
After some thought, Faye decided not to bind it just yet. She would wait and see.
She put the new items back in the small box, then placed it, along with other items from her backpack she didn’t need at the moment, into an empty wooden crate before storing the entire crate in her backpack.
「Meanwhile, in the village, the locals who had been waiting all day for the tax collector grew restless. He had never been late before. They couldn’t help but mutter amongst themselves, wondering what could have happened this year.」
"Mama, if the man from the city doesn’t come, does that mean we can’t go?"
The woman stroked the little boy’s head. "He’ll come."
Faye had no idea that her single fight had delayed the little boy and his family’s journey to the city.
By now, she had turned the house upside down, searching every room and every corner.
Short of taking the furniture and decorations, there was really nothing else of value.
She found some new, wearable clothes. Even though they were men’s, Faye packed them away. ’I’ll take these back for my brother,’ she thought. ’With more than ten people over there, someone can use them.’
As for any superstitions about the belongings of the dead being unlucky, such thoughts never crossed Faye’s mind. In her view, she was being generous by not stripping the clothes right off the corpse.
His kitchen also had some food supplies, but Faye wasn’t sure if it was safe for her to eat.
After a moment’s thought, she packed it all up anyway, especially the sack of potatoes in the corner.
’It’s strange,’ she mused. ’People here seem to really love potatoes.’
’Do they taste especially good or something?’
She was curious, but not enough to risk trying one herself. After all, it was only the second day in the Dungeon.
The only certain way to clear the Dungeon was to survive for seven days. She didn’t have a single clue about the other two methods.
Still, Faye wasn’t worried. She was quite confident in her ability to survive for seven days.
A door off the kitchen led to a backyard, where the Skeletal Horse was resting in a stable.
Outside, the sky had turned completely black.
A fog was beginning to roll in. Lights glowed from the nearby houses, their shapes hazy in the mist.
Faye closed the door and went to the fireplace. She was surprised to see that the photograph she had tossed in still hadn’t caught fire.
She picked up a nearby fire poker and prodded the picture. The man’s face stared back at her, his expression venomous.
"Heh. Still defiant, are we?"
Faye stabbed the poker straight through the man’s eyes in the photograph.
"Keep looking! Keep looking! Just die already!"
Pah!
Faye took out a Fire Pit and used the poker to shove the photograph inside. It burst into flames instantly. In the roaring fire, she thought she heard the faint wail of a man, begging for mercy.
’What a joke. We’re mortal enemies. You think I’d let you go just because you’re begging? Am I an idiot?’
She watched until the photograph had burned to ash. Faye didn’t put the Fire Pit away, leaving it right where it was.
She believed that a system-issued Fire Pit could not only provide warmth but also ward off evil.
’If it can protect the raft,’ she reasoned, ’it can certainly protect this house.’
Taking out the pumpkin carriage, Faye planned to make do and spend the night inside it.
The fog in the city grew thicker, and within it, will-o’-the-wisps began to bob and drift through the air.
