Chapter 5- Serendipity Inn (5)

Chapter 5- Serendipity Inn (5)

The Inn suprisingly was a partially remodeled mansion, the structure itself seemed to be a scaled down version of the Highclere Castle- A Unisco World Heritage from the 18th-century with a British Baroque style

It wasn't as big and grand to the point of it being intimidating like the Highclere Castle, instead it looked like like a summer villa that aristocrats would use for relaxation

Like a sufficiently majestic country house with a blend of Baroque and Victorian style

Tall, elegant windows punctuate the pale stone walls, hinting at the opulent interior. The large front garden meticulously landscaped, with beautiful exquisite flowers. The castle's overall impression is one of timeless elegance, a blend of formality yet an air of warmth and hospitality also seems to permeate its stone.

Entering through the entrance hall what greeted her sight was a grand staircase made from oak, it's sight made her remember the unpleasant childhood spent in her aunt's villa where her cousin had pushed her off the stairs, ofcourse she got back at them by secretly chopping their toy models and throwing them in the bonfire during the gathering

The entrance hall of the inn also served as a reception area, although empty at the moment, had a telephone she can use to call and reassure her 'parents' which if she wasn't mistaken were 'losing their shit while worrying about her'

It made her cringe momentarily, although it was a lie she had spun at the top of her head, she couldn't help but be slightly repulsed by the bullshit that came out her mouth

If it were her real parents, and she had dissapeared so suddenly after an unpleasant argument, instead of worrying about her, they would have frozen her cards just to make her feel disgruntled and to come crawling back after starving in the streets

That tactic may have worked if she was 8, but now that she was an adult, she probably would have just flipped them off and told them to die faster so she can have the inheritance sooner

Clyde led her towards the sofa in the reception area where the telephone was placed on a glass coffee table

"Call your parents, I'll check you in after I find the receptionist, she's probably slacking off in the smoking area, after that you should wash up and change your clothes"

She was slighty surprised, her first impression of the man was a cold and reserved individual who wouldn't even bothering explaining his actions if he inadvertently caused a misunderstanding

Even at their first meeting, the first thing that came out if his mouth was rude questioning without even a proper greeting, he certainly didn't strike her as someone attentive

She didn't expect him to personally arrange her accomodation, she thought he would just lead her in, and after that, leave her to her own devices

Not to mention he just spoke more words than he had at their conversation in the forest

Could it be...

Is he secretly a nag?

But after thinking further she understood why he was acting that way

If he convinced himself that she was some sort of hen that can lay golden eggs, ofcourse he'd be kinder to the hen so it can keep laying clues he could use to clear this dungeon

"Thank you, I'll find a way to pay you back later"

He nodded then went off to find the receptionist

Now left alone, instead of grabbing the telephone, she used this chance to check her status

Due to some circumstances, she had some certain privilege that made it was easier for her to gain skills and titles in dungeons in exchange for losing control when she'd get suck in these copies and being assigned some annoying tasks

Like right now, she have one special task, one supplementary task, and one additional task. Usually players would only get two task- the main task and individual task

She was lucky that she only has 3 task this time, if she wasn't then it'd be like last time where she was assigned 6 tasks

Recalling that dreadful memory of having to crawl through the sewage full of rotting corpses while dragging a burdensome teammate she was required to save, she shuddered

————

[PLAYER INFORMATION]

NAME: ELAINE CALION

SEX: FEMALE

ASSIGNED TASKS :

[SPECIAL TASK: GAIN THEIR TRUST 1/5]

[ADDITIONAL TASK: KILL THEM AFTER ACQUIRING THEIR TRUST 0/4]

[SUPPLEMENTARY TASK: (PERMISSION TO FAIL) CHOOSE ONE TO KILL YOU 0/1]

PRIVILEGE: BLACK BOOK UNLOCKED- 1 CHAPTER (6%)

PRIVILEGE: CHAPTER 1- AWAKENING (ACTIVE)

[CRISES RIDDEN LAND BREEDS THE FINEST HEROES, BUT CRISES COMES WITH PERIL, ONLY THROUGH TESTS AND CHALLENGES CAN ONE REACH THE PEAK OF POTENTIAL. OPPORTUNITIES LAY A PLENTY BUT SO DOES DANGER, TO WIELD THE TITLE OF HERO, ONE MUST SACRIFICE THEIR HANDS TO WIELD A SWORD]

[SKILL 'SACRIFICE A HAND TO WIELD A SWORD' ACTIVATED- DEBUFF 'VAMPIRIC LUST' APPLIED, TEMPORARY SKILL 'BLACKHOLE BURST' GRANTED]

————

She froze, there was something else she had to pay for her privilege, aside from the annoying task and sporadic dungeon summons, she also had to deal with debuffs that would last until the dungeon run, though it was accompanied by some temporary skill making it an equivalent exchange so she wasn't complaining

But just sometimes...

She could feel the world's malice through these debuffs

[DEBUFF 'VAMPIRIC LUST' APPLIED- FEED ON THE BLOOD OF A YOUNG VIRGIN MAN THROUGH THE TRADITIONAL FEASTING CEREMONY, IF UNABLE TO FEED WITHIN MIDNIGHT, PLAYER WOULD GET CONSUMED BY HUNGER AND LOSE THEIR SANITY WITHIN 6 HOURS]

Fuck

***

Clyde walked towards Lina talking on the telephone after checking her in and getting her a room, as he approached he could faintly hear the middle aged voice from the phone

"Don't come hom... rot in the... ungrateful bloodsuckin.... you monst... come back? bullshi... ven think..... get lost!"

As he stopped behind her, he managed to clearly hear those words of disgust and rejection before hanging up

Lina slowly put the phone down in the receiver, her hands faintly trembling, acting like he didn't hear anything he handed her the keys to her room and her room number

"I paid for it first, you can wire me the money after you get your phone, I had the inn arrange your clothes, you can change in after you wash up"

"Thank you, I already told my family where I am and reassured them I'm fine, but...."

Looking troubled, she cautiously opened her mouth

"I might not be able to come home for the time being, but don't worry I won't impose on you, my brother would deliver my phone and other neccessities then I can pay you, but can you help me extend my stay?"

Clyde curtly nodded, he had expected this, this woman might be an important npc that would provide some helpful clues to the players so the possiblity of her encountering some 'circumstance' that can extend her stay was high

That was why he was trying to be nicer to her so she wouldn't withhold what she knows just because of some lack of trust

Ofcourse he didn't try to excessively show kindness so as to not arouse her suspicion about his motives, being moderately kind and considerate should suffice without raising her guard

"Okay, how many days would you like to extend it to?"

She furrowed her brows, forming creases in her delicate skin

Any normal man faced with such an otherworldly beauty wearing a troubled look would have awakened some latent sleeping protective and delicate instincts for the fairer sex

With every furrow of her brow it would lead some to clench their chest in heartbreak, feeling like whoever put that expression on her face deserved death by a thousand cuts but Clyde felt none of that

Being cold by nature he just thought that 'this npc seems to have some mysterious background' and stopped there

"A month maybe? No maybe longer, how about a month and a half?"

Lina seeing a slighty stunned look in Clyde's face felt embarrassed

"I'm sorry is it too much? I won't extend my stay here for now, I'll wait until my brother gets here to pay for my room, I'm sorry for being inconsiderate"

Clyde's momentary lost of composure wasn't because of her request but rather the implication of her words

If she was gonna stay here for a month and a half then that meant this dungeon could last that long as well

This was an A-class dungeon but was he really that unlucky?

It this was the real world, then spending a month and a half in this vacation spot with great view and wine would have been delightful but this was inside a dungeon

God knows what sort of bullshit the system wpuld cook up and no one knows what would happen, actually no matter what it was, there was only one certainty

It was definitely gonna be hell

Snapping out of his thoughts just in time to see Lina's apologetic appearance he recognized his blunder

Lina must have thought that her request was financially burdensome, this inn was quite expensive with it's structure and facilities being luxurious and high-quality, deserving of the locals high praise but she misunderstood

Money wasn't a problem for him in the real world and it mattered even less inside dungeons where it can be exchanged for points

In fact money was the most useless thing inside dungeons, so he quickly tried to correct the misunderstanding but on second thought...

If her brother were to come here then that would mean an appearance of a potentially important npc, if he could meet and talk with her brother under the guise of collecting payment then he could get some information

"You don't need to apologize, you can just treat me to a meal sometime"