Free Real Estate

After ruffling through the equipment that the crow had gathered, Eidiri didn't find anything particularly worthy of notice.

The armor that Eidiri found was slightly damaged, but it would be a quick patch-up job. A simple enough task for Eidiri.

The armor he currently had was only used for the set anyways, but now it was disrupted due to him acquiring the Silken Boots of the Matriarch.

So equipping the new armor, a standard Steel breastplate and chausses, nothing too extraordinary.

The stats were slightly higher than the soldier previously looted off the soldiers, making it a worthwhile swap.

The armor was slightly bulkier than what he had previously worn, but the extra boost from the Miner's Hardy Constitution helped him with that.

While not exactly a snug fit, you can't exactly expect that out of looted armor, it's not like it was custom-fitted.

But the real thing that captured his interest was the egg that was softly tucked away in the little twigs of the nest.

Its shell had a tinge of black varnish, much like the glossy look of the Murder Crow's feathers.

With this egg, it might be possible for Eidiri to tame a pet! With the abilities of the Murder Crow, surely it would be quite useful.

But after this brief fantasy, Eidiri abandoned such ideas, especially since the Murder Crow's abilities revolved around the consumption of souls, something that was morally questionable.

He couldn't just subject the innocents to the reaping of another Murder Crow, that would make the whole point of killing this Murder Crow moot.

Sometimes, power wasn't quite worth the tradeoff.

Eidiri would be just fine without it.

With that, he decided to eliminate the threat of yet another Murder Crow before it came to bite him in the ass.

With that, he simply dropped the egg.

An appalling choice, but incredibly efficient. It may not have been the most humane choice, but it would eliminate a threat.

Rationally, it was the right choice, he could've gone about it better, yes, he acknowledged that, but still, he had done what he believed to be right.

With this matter settled, Eidiri turned around to head back before stopping.

'Technically, since the previous owners of the land here are dead. It's not like real estate has actually been developed way out here right? Shouldn't the unspoken rule be the land is yours as long as you develop it?'

'So, therefore, it wouldn't exactly be wrong for me to claim this land as my own right?' Eidiri reasoned with himself.

'I wouldn't be able to really develop the land, but free land is free land. It doesn't have to look nice right now.'

'The undead also seem to spawn around here. The boys and I could use this as like some sort of leveling base,' Eidiri planned.

'This place could do with a bit of refurbishment though, would it be worth the effort to clean up the smell?' he asked himself.

'Oh what am I doing, it'll probably be too much of a hassle to develop anywhere else. Or maybe I could sell this land to Protinus? Get a hefty wad of cash, Edgar, Ken, and I could use this as a grinding spot. It'll be great.'

'Wouldn't even need to spend my own resources on developing it,' of course, was the most important part.

Eidiri simply didn't possess the knowledge, nor know people who had the knowledge on construction.

Protinus on the other hand, contracting someone with the knowledge in-game or having 1 of their own members do it was but a small matter.

Quickly, Eidiri sent a message to Rachel, the representative, informing her of potential land development.

Her reply, was quite simply, 1 of astonishment, clearly not expecting EIdiri to have land in his hands.

The terms and negotiations for the price were quickly hashed out, Eidiri raking in a sizable check, something that would go to a better home for his family, repaying them and showing them he was now a capable adult who could take care of them.

The Protinus players were informed of the directions that Eidiri had gone through to arrive at the location, Eidiri warning them that about the territory of Death that encompassed the land.

For those who didn't possess hardier constitutions, they would surely perish, as such the guild had to wait to send players over.

Speaking of the guild players obtaining better constitutions, Eidiri still possessed the tome that carried the Miner's Hardy Constitution but the appearance wasn't the same as before.

Before, the lettering on the cover was an earthy brown, resembling the walls of the cavern.

But now, the color had dimmed out, leaving only empty gray words in its place.

Initially, Eidiir had thought they had come across some god-tier lower level gear, 1 that could teach anyone and supply better constitutions to everyone.

But clearly, this wasn't possible, as evident by the grayed-out letters.

Clearly, Eidiri was too optimistic in thinking that the game had provided for him as the chosen son of God.

After a brief moment of thinking, he considered that 'Maybe this tome needs some sort of energy source. Maybe mana or some alternative energy source. It's not like energy can come from nowhere right? Something needs to fuel the process.'

'It's already lucky enough that the tome had enough energy for the 3 of us in the Caverns.'

'Maybe I should consult Jarid on this, after all, he did own the mines before right?'

And just like that, Eidiri made his way on back to the village, intent on consulting Jarid about the tome and what made it tick.

After flashing his verification to the guards, he dropped by Miss Gloria's kitchens, intending to drop off the body of the Murder Crow to see if anyone would be able to cook it.

When opened the door, the cute little bell rang overhead, announcing his entrance.

Miss Gloria's head peeked out from the kitchen, a bead of sweat dripping down her neck.

"Oh! It's you Eidiri! Thank your seat darling. I'll get you something real quick," she said.