Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Butler Harvin

The carriage door opened slowly.

A figure stepped out.

It was a zombie dressed in a formal black butler uniform. His skin was pale and slightly decayed, but his posture was straight and refined, like a servant who had spent his entire life serving nobility.

The zombie walked forward calmly and stopped a few steps away from Aiden.

Then he bowed deeply.

“My lord,” the zombie said in a respectful voice.

His speech was slow but clear.

“Please allow this servant to escort you to the carriage.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow slightly.

The zombie lifted his head and spoke again.

“My name is Harvin,” he said politely. “In life, I served as the chief butler of the Dustwind clan.”

He placed a hand on his chest.

“But now, the Dustwind clan villa belongs to you, my lord. I have come to bring you there.”

Aiden stared at him for a moment.

Then he glanced toward the skeletal horses and the carriage again.

“…You prepared this?” Aiden asked.

Harvin bowed his head slightly.

“Yes, my lord.”

Aiden let out a quiet chuckle.

“Well… that’s convenient.”

Without another word, he stepped forward and entered the carriage.

Inside, the carriage was surprisingly well maintained. The seats were covered in dark red fabric, and the interior smelled faintly of old wood and dust.

Aiden sat back comfortably.

Outside, Harvin closed the carriage door.

Then the zombie climbed up to the driver’s seat.

“Let us return to the villa,” he said quietly.

The skeletal horses began to move.

Clack… clack… clack…

The sound of bone hooves echoed softly through the empty streets as the carriage rolled through the town.

The undead citizens stepped aside respectfully as the carriage passed.

Some of them even bowed as it moved through the streets.

Inside the carriage, Aiden watched the town through the small window.

His town.

After a short while, the carriage reached the highest part of the town.

A large estate stood there.

The Dustwind clan villa.

Stone walls surrounded the property, and a wide iron gate stood at the entrance. The gate slowly creaked open as the carriage approached.

But something immediately caught Aiden’s attention.

There were no guards.

None at all.

Instead, pale figures floated quietly around the courtyard.

They were women, though their bodies were translucent and ghostly.

Wraiths.

Each one wore the uniform of a maid, their movements graceful as they floated silently through the air. Some were cleaning the courtyard, others arranging furniture near the entrance.

The moment the carriage stopped, all the maid wraiths turned toward it.

Then they bowed simultaneously.

The carriage door opened.

Harvin stood beside it and bowed again.

“My lord,” he said politely.

“Welcome to your residence.”

—-

Night had fully settled over the town.

Inside the Dustwind clan villa, the atmosphere was quiet and strangely calm compared to the chaos that had happened earlier. Pale blue lanterns burned along the corridors, giving the place an eerie glow.

Several maid wraiths floated silently through the halls, cleaning bloodstains that had been dragged in earlier by soldiers or servants during the clan’s final battle.

Inside the largest bedroom on the second floor, Aiden sat on the edge of a wide wooden bed that once belonged to the clan head.

The room was large and luxurious. Thick curtains covered the windows, expensive carpets lay on the floor, and carved wooden furniture filled the space. It was clear that the Dustwind clan had lived comfortably.

Aiden leaned back slightly, staring at the system screen floating in front of him.

“Five thousand gold coins…” he muttered.

More precisely, 5,583 gold coins.

With that kind of money, he could do quite a lot.

He could try the gacha system and see what kind of undead creature he might get.

But Aiden didn’t rush.

Instead, he opened the Building System again.

A long list of blueprints appeared before his eyes.

He slowly scrolled through them while resting his elbow on the armrest of the chair beside the bed.

“Let’s see what kind of things I can build…”

Several blueprints immediately caught his attention.

[Stone Wall Reinforcement Blueprint

Upgrade the town’s outer walls into thick reinforced stone capable of resisting siege weapons.

Price: 2,800 Gold Coins]

[Watchtower Construction Blueprint

Build tall watchtowers around the town that increase vision range and defensive capability.

Price: 2,400 Gold Coins]

[Necromancer Tower Blueprint

A special tower that increases the effectiveness of undead within the territory and slightly increases mana regeneration.

Price: 3,000 Gold Coins]

[Dark Mana Fountain Blueprint

Creates a fountain that slowly gathers and stores dark mana for the lord of the territory.

Price: 2,900 Gold Coins]

Aiden leaned back in the chair, rubbing his chin while reading the descriptions.

“Hmm…”

Aiden leaned back in the chair beside the bed, slowly scrolling through the list of blueprints again. The system screen floated quietly in front of him, glowing faintly in the dim room.

His eyes stopped on one particular entry.

Dark Mana Fountain Blueprint — 2,900 Gold Coins

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Dark Mana Fountain…” he murmured.

Aiden tapped the blueprint, opening the full description.

Lines of text appeared on the screen.

[Dark Mana Fountain

A structure that gathers and condenses dark mana from the surrounding land.

Effects within the territory:

• Greatly increases dark mana density.

• Reduces the mana cost required to summon and maintain undead.

• Undead summoned within the territory consume significantly less mana over time.]

Aiden read the description twice.

Then he slowly leaned forward.

“Wait…”

A small grin appeared on his face.

“Does that mean… as long as I’m inside the town, I can keep my undead summoned almost indefinitely?”

He reread the description carefully.

The answer was obvious.

“Yes… that’s exactly what it means.”

Normally, his undead constantly drained mana while they remained summoned. The stronger the undead, the more mana they consumed. That meant he had to unsummon them often unless he wanted to exhaust himself.

But with this fountain…

His undead would consume far less mana.

Maybe even barely any at all.

Aiden let out a quiet laugh.

“That’s ridiculous.”

For someone like him, this structure was almost unfairly strong.

Without wasting another second, he pressed the purchase button.

2,900 Gold Coins deducted.

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