After the zombie turned to ashes, Jake picked up the drops, which were a skill called Shift, quite a good skill as it could shift all other stats to a particular stat for a few seconds. He also found a paper with ''7B'' written on it.

    Jake then came out of the building and showed the paper to Liliac, asking, "The key fragments are codes?"

    Liliac nodded and asked back, "What did you expect? A primitive key?"

    Jake opened his mouth to say something but then closed it and thought, ''Yes, why would I expect a key or such fantasy setting in a scientific + magic world.''

    [Even I thought it would be something like a magical key fragment,] Nexus said in confusion.

    ''Fortunately, I am not alone,'' Jake thought and then asked Liliac, "Where is my gift?"

    Liliac nodded and then pointed her small finger at Jake. A light appeared at her fingertips and reached Jake''s head and went inside it.

    [New skill acquired: Dullahan Creation.]

    Jake exclaimed seeing this, as this notification came from his original system, not the game system.

    "I can use it in real life?" Jake asked.

    "Yes," Liliac nodded and then told Jake to follow her.

    Liliac then re-entered the Guard tower, and upon reaching the top, she tapped on a specific wall, and then a secret passage opened.

    "Now, this is a fantasy setting," Jake thought and followed after her inside.

    Soon they reached the end and found a heap of treasures.

    "This is the entrance price collection vault," Liliac said, and Jake collected all the gold and other coins.

    "Now let''s go and get the next key part," Liliac said, and then coming out of the tower, she led Jake inside the Ruined Kingdom.

    Jake, while following her, kept looking at the burned-out and broken houses and wondered, ''I wonder what kind of place this would be.''

    Although the houses are now burned and broken, they still couldn''t hide the beauty of those houses. Some intricate patterns are still visible, while some interiors have half-burned paintings.

    "There are also some beautifully designed houses, as well as the traces of fights, blood stains, marks, and bones," Jake observed.

    "It was one of the most beautiful cities," Liliac suddenly said.

    Jake listened to her.

    "Although it was ruled by Zombies, it was counted under the top 10 most beautiful cities. Various people would come to see this magnificent city; it was one of the greatest tourist spots, with people coming from all walks of life. That place was a vast garden that hosted over 70% of the whole Celestaria flowers variety; it was the symbol of this city."

    Jake looked at the dried and empty land, which now doesn''t have any resemblance to its past self, and felt pity.

    "I would have loved to see it in its prime glory," Jake said.

    Liliac nodded and said, "Me too, this was one of my favorite places."

    "Then how about we rebuild it?" Jake asked.

    "We can''t, not until we defeat the owner of this place," Liliac smiled and shook her head and pointed at the Castle located in the middle of this Ruined Kingdom.

    "The owner is still alive?" Jake, on the other hand, felt scared hearing this.

    "Don''t worry, he won''t move until we reach the center part of the city. We are still exploring the outer part, and at most, we will explore the inner part too, but not the central part," Liliac giggled and said.

    "Phew, I almost felt I will die," Jake sighed in relief and asked about the owner.

    "He was one of my lower generals. He was a benevolent King too, who loved to help everyone, but after my death... I meant, after a tragedy, he became a mindless monster like others," Liliac said in a sad tone.

    "His name is Rutherford Vaon Tymus; he was a king of a certain kingdom which was on the verge of destruction. At that time, he reached me and asked for my help. I gave him power, but he also became undead, a Zombie King to be precise. He happily accepted that power and helped his kingdom out of destruction and then vanished. But for centuries, he protected his kingdom from shadows.

    When his kingdom reached its end after an internal strife, he took control of the kingdom and joined my Empire."

    "And thus, this City of Twilight Blossoms was established. He was someone who loved flowers; it was under his supervision that made this city one of the most beautiful cities."

    "I... wanted... to... be... free."

    "Help.... King.... too."

    Saying so, he turned to ashes.

    "It seems he still had some of his consciousness left," Liliac said calmly as she picked up the last code.

    "You don''t have to feel bad," Liliac said, and then snapped her fingers. Both her and Jake teleported back to Jake''s territory.

    "You should be happy; you helped them," Liliac said to Jake, who still has a sad look on his face.

    "I know, but..." Jake shook his head and logged out, saying he wants to rest.

    Nexus, who was watching Jake, thought, [Why did Cube choose you?]

    [A weak heart can''t handle such power.]

    [So, why?]

    Perhaps hearing Nexus'' thoughts, Cube felt the need to answer, so he said something to him.

    [I see; no wonder.]

    [Don''t make me wait too much, oh *%^&%]

    Nexus said he is simply a guide for Jake, but is it true?

    [My purpose is much grander.]

    ///////////////

    Jake wakes up the next morning and reaches the living room and eats breakfast, prepared by Luna.

    Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Will you attend the classes today?"

    "No, I need to check out the library today," Jake said as he ate his food.

    "I will book a room for you then," Luna said.

    "The library also has private rooms?" Jake asked.

    "Yes," Luna nodded, and then went to book a room.

    "Nexus, what are undead?" Jake asked as last day''s encounter is still vivid in his memories.

    [...It depends on how you see them.]

    [They can be cool summons.]

    [Or soul enslaved to serve.]

    Jake nodded and then asked, "A soul is necessary to create an undead?"

    [Yes, it is], Nexus confirmed.

    Jake nodded and didn''t ask anything more.

    [Don''t think much about it; they were enslaved because they were weak or, in that guard captain''s case, it was his own choice.]

    "His choice?"

    [Yes, if it wasn''t his choice, then he wouldn''t have had any consciousness.]

    "Hmm, I see," Jake nodded and made a goal for himself of restoring that beautiful city.