CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 52: GAINS AND DISCOVERIES

The two Skeleton Soldiers listened to Gu Xi’s orders and decisively lifted the corpse of the elderly Twisted Mage, charging headlong at the monster stag.

The monster stag had just gotten up and didn’t expect anyone to dare charge at it. Without much thought, it extended its right front paw to strike down.

At this moment, Luna’s Touch of Frost fell upon the monster stag, slowing its actions by a step.

The two Skeleton Soldiers, carrying the corpse of the elderly Twisted Mage, charged to the wound on the monster stag’s belly and stuffed the corpse in with a swift motion.

"Corpse Burst!"

Boom!

This time, the power of the Corpse Burst was no less than that of a giant serpent. With a single explosion, the monster stag’s body was blown into two halves on the spot.

The remaining Skeleton Soldiers did not remain idle either; they frantically attacked the monster stag until Gu Xi heard the notification from the system, then he called them to stop.

[You have killed the transformed but failed Twisted Mage (mutated, elite template, Level 6), you gain 106 experience points, the Contracted Undead involved in the battle gain 66 experience points, and all summoned creatures involved in the kill gain 9 experience points.]

With the death of the monster stag, Gu Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He never expected that merely coming to take possession of a house would lead to such an event.

Now it’s alright; the building in front of him had become a ruin whether it was a ruin before or not, so it seems he needs to find someone to clean this place up and rebuild the structure.

Fortunately, this place already looked like a ruin from the outside, so cleaning it up wouldn’t raise any suspicions.

Otherwise, he would have to explain why this place turned into its current state less than a day after he acquired it.

"Clean up the stuff here and send everything to Yalidov."

Gu Xi pointed at the collapsed building and the enormous corpse of the monster stag, instructing the Skeleton Soldiers to clean up the battlefield.

Luna, taking advantage of her ghostly nature, floated towards the ruins of the small building, searching for suitable treasures there.

Standing before the monster stag’s corpse, Gu Xi quickly rummaged through, soon discovering some treasures from its eyes, heart, and the area around its neck.

Meanwhile, items were also left behind at the places where the giant serpent died and the two Twisted Mages perished earlier.

[You obtained a Living Snake Nail (white) *1]

[Living Snake Nail (white): A nail that can pin snakes to a certain place. The impaled snakes will not die but instead be nourished by magic, rapidly transforming, and their poison will become extremely potent.]

[You obtained Magic Pattern Cloth (white) *3]

[Magic Pattern Cloth (white): A cloth affected by magic, which can be used to make clothing, the surface of a battle banner, or pages of a magic book.]

[You obtained Broken Birch Fragment (green) *1]

[Broken Birch Fragment (green): A piece of birch wood that has lost its magic, previously part of a magic wand but now only serves as a memento, usable as a holy relic to summon the obsession of certain souls.]

[You obtained Crystalized Eye (green) *1]

[Crystalized Eye (green): An eyeball turned into a crystal body by a mysterious power, still holding strong magic and eerie power, which can be used to craft equipment or serve as alchemy materials.]

[You obtained Demonized Heart Blood (green) *1]

[Demonized Heart Blood (green): A source of some kind of wizard’s magic power, although this magic has been corrupted, it can only serve as alchemy material, used to enhance weapons and equipment or to strengthen the undead.]

[You obtained Transformation Ring (blue) *1]

[Transformation Ring (blue): A ring with special power, capable of transforming a person into a special creature (linked to the heart of the transformer), with a Level and Power increase of +4 after transformation (unable to revert to the original form, and the power cannot be further increased).]

Glancing at the items he had just found, Gu Xi finally smiled.

Although he suffered some losses in this battle, it wasn’t a total loss.

At least judging by these items, he could recoup the costs.

At this moment, Luna, from amidst the small building’s ruins, excitedly called out, "Master, look what I’ve found?"

Gu Xi hurried over to see, discovering that Luna was holding something resembling a birdcage.

Seeing Luna’s enthusiastic expression, Gu Xi knew this must be no ordinary item. He took it and a notification promptly popped up before his eyes.

[You obtained Owl Tower Design Map (medium-sized) *1]

[Owl Tower Design Map (medium-sized): Use 500 resources, 10 units of stone, and 10 units of wood to construct an Owl Tower (medium-sized building) within the city, increasing Intelligence by +1 for all players and creatures entering the city, and providing 50 units of meat weekly (can be upgraded).]

"Oh, this is a good find."

Gu Xi nodded with satisfaction, looking at the birdcage.

"Indeed, I found that besides offering intelligence bonuses and weekly meat, the Owl Tower can also send messages through owls. Once upgraded, it can even function as a flying point."

"Sending messages might be feasible, but acting as a flying point? Those owls are a bit too small for that; let’s not consider it."

Gu Xi shook his head, not quite buying into Luna’s words, though this was another gain nonetheless.

"Alright, this has been a fruitful endeavor; let’s continue to search and clear this place before dawn."

With such gains, Gu Xi and Luna searched the small building more thoroughly.

Soon, Gu Xi sensed there was a strong Yin Qi in a particular location within the small building.

Thinking of the Resurrection Stones in the hands of those Twisted Mages, Gu Xi realized that it was likely where the Twisted Mage had imprisoned innocents.

He moved aside a large stone that had fallen over, managing to discover a hidden basement door.

Without even opening the hidden door, the thick scent of blood was already wafting up from below.

Gu Xi knew he had found the right place. He carefully opened the hidden door and looked down the stairs, then he was stunned.

Below the stairs was a place resembling both a kitchen and a slaughterhouse, with a large number of human corpses hanging from the ceiling or meat racks.

However, what shocked Gu Xi was not this; what he immediately noticed was a familiar red dress.

The body hanging on the kitchen’s meat rack was unmistakably the maid Shaya of the Destiny Compass.

Seeing her disemboweled with all her organs exposed, Shaya’s face transformed by fear and pain into something terribly grim.

Witnessing this scene, Gu Xi understood why the servant had worn such a grim expression when delivering the news.

"Master, do you know her?"

"Yes, a very promising thief; it seems she died with unresolved grievances."

Glancing at Shaya’s wide-open eyes, Gu Xi calmly commented.

Luna did not think much of the corpse, as there were enough bodies already within the small building, making one or two more inconsequential.

With a sigh, Gu Xi eventually took down Shaya’s body, reassembling her internal organs.

As Gu Xi prepared to sew up Shaya’s skin, leaving her a complete body, Shaya’s hand suddenly moved.

In such an environment, most people would have jumped up in fear.

But as an Undead Mage, Gu Xi had seen all sorts of scenes. He merely paused his work and took a glance.

He realized that under this environment, Shaya, due to her unresolved grievances and some special influence, had begun self-transforming into an undead.

Although it was just the beginning, judging from Shaya’s now-twisted face and her red dress, Gu Xi felt that there was potential.

Gu Xi thoughtfully considered, thinking that since he had encountered this, he might as well help Shaya along.

Coincidentally, Gu Xi still had one Contracted Undead he hadn’t signed yet. If Shaya showed promising potential, he might as well sign her up.