Chapter 69: Delectable

Here lies Marta Droet, my one and only.

Those were the words engraved on the bone-white gravestone in the middle of the beautiful garden.

My eyes squinted, and my expression turned complicated. "Marta... Droet?"

I briefly looked down to see the grave bed, but strangely, there was none. The ground was just like the rest of the garden, sprawling with beautiful flowers. The only oddity was the erect gravestone and its engravings.

Did...the flowers grow from the grave...?

I thought with a somewhat bewildered expression, but then I shuddered.

"Wait...is...was this person...the previous owner of this house? Or one of them? I did conclude that there were two people here...so...could this be one of them?"

I spoke in a baffled tone.

If this...'Marta Droet' was one of the owners of this house...then where was the other...male?

Obviously...Marta is a female name...and she was referred to as 'my one and only' so obviously she lived with a man as his lover.

But...if that was true...then where was the man...?

I gulped loudly, and said aloud, "Is he dead...? D... did he die outside of the house...? Or did he commit suicide?"

The thought of finding a dead body inside this seemingly tranquil cottage made my skin crawl and my breath hitch but just as I was about to imagine the worst, the system spoke.

[You have felled Level 5. Stray Ogre.]

[You have gained 10 EXP.]

Huh? Another ogre?

I twitched slightly at the sound.

They sure have been running rampart huh?

I thought as I glanced over to the stone wall before shaking my head and taking a deep breath.

Calm down...

HOO...

FWOO...

As my steadying breath calmed my heart, my mind became clearer. I remained silent for a moment before saying, "Stats."

[Name:] Vicki

[Epithet:]???

[Level:] 4

[EXP:] 70/100

[Skills:] Saturation, Ease of Learning, Parallel Processing, Seduction, Total Assimilation, Air Affinity, General Knowledge (depreciated), Thousand Tongues

[Aliases:] Little Devil, Dr. Vicki, Tiny Girl

[Debuffs:] Myopic Vision, Weakness, Naivete, Lolita

Thousand Tongues...?

In response to my inquisitive thoughts, the system's interface changed, displaying the full description of the new skill.

[Skill:] Thousand Tongues: Thousand Tongues grants mastery over all forms of communication, allowing the user to speak, understand, and manipulate any language. Words become tools to charm, deceive, or command, bridging divides or sowing discord with unparalleled eloquence. This skill lets the user understand and speak any language whether written or unwritten.

"What?!", I exclaimed in bewilderment, before clasping my mouth and muttering, "How?"

All languages?! I can both speak and understand them?!

I was utterly amazed before my face, dreaming up all the amazing things I could do with it before my face slowly scrunched up, "But of course...it's only in the game...tsk."

I clicked my tongue, momentarily losing all my previous excitement and dismissing the panel.

Well...it's a good skill...I guess...

With a shrug, I turned back to the gravestone and looked at it with a complicated expression before speaking, "It's highly unlikely that I'll find a dead body in this house, I mean..."

My gaze turned over to the cottage's elegant frame and tightened, "I've pretty much been to every corner of this house well...except a few..."

Indeed.

In the first few days that I arrived at this house, I searched every inch of it; the kitchen, the master bedroom, the bathroom, the dining, the living room, the storage room and the study room. I even stumbled across the top floor of the cottage which seemed to be some sort of training room.

It had a large magic circle etched on the floor board and a large window that allowed light to suffuse the room.

Other than that, the room was plain, too plain.

It gave me the heebie-jeebies.

A couple of other places were either inaccessible to me or seemed to scary to enter.

"But..."

My voice trailed off as my gaze returned to the gravestone. A strange sensation washed over me, one I couldn't quite place. It wasn't fear, but it wasn't comfort either. It felt like the garden itself was holding its breath, waiting for something.

The gravestone's simplicity contrasted sharply with the vibrant, almost otherworldly garden that surrounded it. The flowers around it seemed to bow slightly, as if paying respect to the name carved into the stone. "Marta Droet, my one and only..." The words echoed in my mind, a haunting refrain.

I lingered for a moment, seemingly lost in the surreal beauty of the garden before suddenly asking,

"Was this Marta Droet's garden?"

If so then she was a truly amazing gardener...

I thought for a moment before rising to my feet, the odd feeling I was having earlier was starting to grow stronger.

Subconsciously, my body moved on its own as if it were guided by some unseen force. My feet moved slowly before coming to a halt, my body stopping before the pond.

What?

I shuddered and cold sweat slowly trickled down my face; water truly was a source of dire trauma for me.

Fu...

I wanted to step back, to get away from the frighteningly pristine pond and retreat to the safety of the old cottage when suddenly the surface of the water rippled.

"What?"

The lotus nestling on the surface, slowly floated away as the water lost its reflective property.

BURBLE! BURBLE!

Several more ripples spread across the surface before the water finally turned transparent.

Ah!

The moment I laid my eyes on the pond; my heart skipped a bit and my voice vanished.

Because before my eyes, in the pond was the envisage of a beautiful woman.

Flawless ivory skin, flowing golden locks, supple flesh, delicious curves and perfect proportions; the delicate young lady laying in the pond looked like a goddess in human form.

The sheer flawlessness of her figure made me question mine and blush – the lady in the pond was undressed after all.

Yet, even despite my flustered demeanor I knew one thing for sure.

This is definitely Marta Droet!

I thought in astonishment, as I admired her delectable frame when I suddenly muttered, "Is she dead?"

She definitely was.

She had a gravestone after all and of course, a human couldn't possibly survive being submerged in water.

I nodded in conclusion and yet, before my very eyes.

The lady in the pond opened her eyes.