Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The skeleton beamed at Bianca’s compliments and gave a courteous bow. I’ve always found it peculiar that the way the round-headed skeleton carried himself was quite composed and graceful. Perhaps he’d been a member of the nobility in his past life.

I directed the other skeletons to resume their duties. Each went back to whatever they had been doing before we arrived—watering the garden, drying the herbs, building the fence, decorating the graves, or whatever else there was to be done. It all came together to form a tranquil countryside scene.

“I was initially a little worried, but it looks like everything worked out! This is a fabulous little farm.”

“It’s all thanks to their hard work. They’ve already harvested two varieties of herbs.”

There were baskets full of herbs resting in the cool shade of the pavilion where the skeletons stored them after harvesting. The plump leaves of the nymbayense and Little Gem succulents were the primary ingredients of the healing potion.

“I’d better take these to Dad to have him verify the quality.” I stuffed the herbs, basket and all, into my satchel.

Bianca gave me a bewildered look as the huge basket disappeared into a bag less than half its size. “How did you do that?”

“Oh, this. This was an item dropped by Ardiman when we defeated him. It’s called the Grave Robber’s Treasure Bag.”

⟬«Item» [The Grave Robber’s Treasure Bag]

Inventory. Can be used as an interdimensional storage space a little over 500 sq ft.

Note: Live humans and animals cannot be stored.⟭

Bianca’s eyes lit up as I explained the item to her. “That must mean you don’t feel the weight of the things you put in there!”

“Mm-hmm.”

“That’s perfect. You can use that to transport the skeletons’ gravestones.”

The skeletons perked up at the sound of the word “gravestones.” Was it my imagination or were their empty eye sockets sparkling with excitement? Now that I had everyone’s attention, I might as well make the announcement.

“All of you, I’m going to put in the order for your gravestones, so let me know the shape you want, your name, birthday, day you died, and any other infor... Why all the long faces?” I stopped talking when I noticed that their usually friendly clacking had fallen silent.

Bianca stepped up to interpret for them. “Maybe they don’t remember.”

“Oh, you’re right.” All of their brains probably rotted away a long time ago. Hmm, maybe that’s taking it too far.

The skeletons all fervently nodded their heads in agreement to Bianca’s explanation.

“Okay. You can stop shaking your skulls now. How about you all just pick out the shape and inscription? I’ll give you new names. Is that okay with you guys?”

Judging from the way they jumped up and down, I assumed they were happy about it.

Now that the gravestone plans were settled, Bianca changed the topic to business. “Judging from the rate at which things are progressing here, we should probably start establishing a trading company to distribute the potions. Leave that to me.”

“Huh? You’re not going to accept bids from the pre-existing distributors?” I asked.

“I’ve been observing the companies doing business with Gilette Castle and so far, I’m not impressed. Things are probably going to run a lot smoother if I’m in charge.”

Now that she mentioned it, I was reminded that even my dad was constantly plagued by issues with his herb suppliers. It was a pretty convincing argument.

“And it’s also going to be a good route to gather information.”

That’s my genius future countess. I was touched by all the thought she had put into our plans. “Thank god you’re here to help me, Bia. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s nothing.” Bianca began to lay out her idea to supply the local shops within the Gilette fiefdom first as a test run.

As I listened to her master plan, it looked like all I really needed to do was make the potions. We further discussed the logistics of acquiring ingredients but ended up mostly talking about the advantages of having a dungeon farm.

Bianca marveled at the benefits it provided us. “I’m just realizing yet again how fast we can harvest the herbs here, thanks to how fast time flows inside this place. The fertile soil here helps them flourish as well.”

“You’re right. The quality of the soil is superb. I’ve never seen such arable land.”

“Hmm, maybe it’s because the land used to be a cemetery?”

“Huh? Oh, you mean because the dead bodies fertilized the land.”

The morbid realization rendered us both silent. We wordlessly set down our cups full of herbal tea that had been harvested from the dungeon. A brief, uncomfortable pause grew between us while our skeletal laborers continued to plow the land in the background.

“Oh, so what,” Bianca said, breaking the silence with a shrug. “Every farm is bound to have a dead body or two, Allie.”

“You’re right. Besides, the last corpse buried here was probably put in the ground at least a few centuries ago. That’s more than enough time for decay to set in. It’s all just dirt by now.”

We both gave each other a squeamish smile before turning our attention elsewhere.

“There are also some disadvantages to the time flowing so quickly in here. I have to stop by more often to check up on things.”

The skeletons took care of most of the manual labor, but the technical aspects of the job were still up to me. Even visiting once a day meant I was only showing up every three days in dungeon time, which was a little inconvenient.

The skeletons were eager to learn, but they still had a long way to go before they’d be able to run the entire farm unsupervised. It would’ve been mighty convenient if one of the skeletons had been a farmer in its past life.

Just as I let out a deep sigh, an unfamiliar system message popped up.

⟬«System» Checking for [Transmigrator Support System] updates.⟭

Oh, I forgot that was today. The system began to update itself as soon as the countdown ended, but the process was completed within five minutes.

“Bia, can you give me a sec?”

“Sure.”

I pretended to scribble something down as I scanned over the new messages.

⟬«Notice» Ultimate Library Update

The Ultimate Library has been upgraded. It will now save books that you’ve read or purchased post-transmigration.⟭

You’re the best, Lord Voice! The suggestion I gave before was reflected in this patch. I felt my urge to read suddenly ignite. Every other update was just about new products, but the first item on the list caught my eye.

⟬«Product» [Genre-Change Voucher]⟭

This must be it! Has the time finally come? The chance to fulfill my dreams of entering a real childcare fantasy romance? But my joy was fleeting as I read the item description.

⟬«Product» [Genre-Change Voucher]

The ultimate item that allows the transmigrator to change the genre of the story.

Note: Genre changes are randomly generated among fantasy, romance, 21 and over, GL/BL, etc.

Price: 10,000,000,000 Cash⟭

What? 10 billion? And you’re stuck with a random genre to boot? I thought this was a public works project, but apparently not. With price gouging like this, they’re just mocking the consumers!

They never intended for it to be purchased. I scrolled through the other items on the list and found a few decent options.

⟬«Product» [Companion Growth Package (Limited Time Offer: This week only!)]

A gift item that included the features [Job Advancement Package] and [Blessing of Rapid Growth]. Recipient must be a rookie with sufficient hidden potential and have less than a year’s experience in the skill field.

Note: Targets that satisfy these conditions will be marked with a hovering icon.⟭

A package deal gift huh? Not bad at all. This could potentially awaken an aura, magic, or even divine power. My head jerked up as I looked in front of me.

“Allie?” Bianca gave me a puzzled look as I stared intensely at the space above her head.

My shoulders soon drooped when I didn’t see anything. I groaned inside.

Seems like the cutoff is higher than I expected. I wouldn’t have minded spending some money on Bianca, but oh well. I guess it was only natural since most of the job advancement packages contained battle and labor skills. Bianca was more of a big-brain type character than a fighter.

“That’s right, Bia. You’re perfect as you are right now. You’ll grow up to be a great countess.”

“Um... What’s gotten into you?” She gave me a funny look but didn’t seem displeased.

Just then, I caught sight of a light blue icon hovering above someone I least expected. I slowly lowered my gaze to an unsuspecting skeleton.

Huh?

⟬«Target» [Skeleton Serf No. 1004]

Hidden potential for cultivation. Who knows? This skeleton could very well manifest as a druid and end up revolutionizing the farming industry of Serentra. The future of this serf is in your hands!

Use 3,000,000 cash to purchase gift?⟭

It was the round-headed, elegant skeleton that brewed us tea. No.1004? Is this his name? I tried my best to ignore the overwhelming sense of pity I felt and motioned for him to come over.

“Hey, come over here for a sec.”

Cl...ack?

“Yeah, you. Don’t be shy.” I mulled over my options as the timid, round-headed skeleton stood in front of me. Was this really worth 3 million cash? The answer was actually quite obvious.

Send gift!

⟬«System» Skeleton Serf No. 1004 has been gifted [Job Advancement Package (non-combative)] including [A Farmer’s Hand That Puts Druids to Shame] and [Blessing of Rapid Growth].⟭

⟬«System» Skeleton Serf No. 1004 has awakened Cultivation Lv.1.⟭

⟬«System» [Blessing of Rapid Growth] has been applied to Skeleton Serf No. 1004 and will now receive X2 experience points.⟭

The round-headed skeleton suddenly shot up like an arrow, standing rigidly in place.

“You know what to do now, right?”

Clickety clickety clack!

He gave an energetic nod and ran off to finish making the herb seedlings that I’d started.

Bianca opened her eyes wide and blinked. “He’s suddenly good at working.”

“I guess hearing about the gravestones motivated him.”

Now the farm is set up for success without my constant supervision. From now on, I could visit only when I wanted to and not get dirt on my hands.

All of the skeletons, including the one I just buffed, were obedient to me thanks to the Infamy passive and were fundamentally bound to this dungeon. I didn’t have to worry about any midnight runs happening.

“Bia, are you done with your tea? Let’s start heading out.”

“What do you want to do next? You wanna go to the library?”

“That’s a great idea!”

My sweet little Bia, always on the same page as me. I was itching to test out the new Ultimate Library function update. We exited the dungeon and spent hours holed up in the library. The upgraded functions were terrific. The contents of the book were automatically stored when I flipped the pages, even if I didn’t actually read them.

This is basically a scan function. It was especially invaluable in this universe where books were rare. I was basically downloading an entire library into my brain. I knew I’d be able to read them anytime, so I mostly focused on scanning as many books as possible. I picked out a book to use as a cover and left the library. We walked along the second-floor hallways to return to Bianca’s room.

I was peering outside through the large glass, enjoying the warm afternoon sunlight when something stopped me in my tracks. I turned my head to get a better look and my eyes widened.

“That’s...”

“What’s wrong Allie? Oh... Looks like my brother’s attending his swordsmanship training. A bit unsightly, isn’t it? I don’t see how anyone could call it training.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess you’re right, but...”

It wasn’t Romdeo that stopped me but something else. A light blue icon the shape of an inverted triangle glimmered in the sky. And the message next to it read...

⟬«Target» [???]

Possesses immeasurable swordsmanship potential to awaken an aura. The future of a sword master with the potential to be revered by the world is in your hands. A guaranteed successful investment! For the low low price of 11 million cash!

Use 11,000,000 cash to purchase gift?⟭

A future sword master was among us.