Chapter 292: Lumina’s Neighbors
To be honest, Lumina was a lot like the main city of a massive game. The towering fountain plaza was basically a respawn point.
That was because men and women, clad only in their undergarments, would pop out from it from time to time.
The expressions on their faces were, for the most part, ones of dejection and frustration.
Faye Yardley didn’t linger around the edge of the plaza. Instead, she took her Invitation Card and went to ask a guard patrolling the street.
Seeing the gilded Invitation Card, the guard captain’s attitude toward Faye Yardley changed from dismissive to fawning, and he personally led her to the City Lord’s Manor.
Thanks to the City Lord’s Invitation Card, Faye Yardley was treated with the utmost courtesy.
The steward of the City Lord’s Manor said apologetically, "My apologies for the poor reception, esteemed guest. The City Lord’s banquet will begin in the evening. For now, if you wish, we can have someone show you around our Lumina. Of course, you may also rest here in the City Lord’s Manor first."
Faye smiled and asked, "Am I the first to arrive?"
"Not at all. Guests have been arriving over the past two days. It’s just that they all chose to look around other parts of Lumina first."
Faye let out a soft "oh" before pulling out the deed to a property in Lumina, the one from Dungeon 2. She said, "Could I trouble you to have someone take me to see this place? Even though the deed is in my name, I’m not really sure what the situation is there."
"So our esteemed guest also owns property in Lumina! That’s no problem at all, of course. I’ll take you there myself right now."
’So the City Lord’s Invitation Card really is this useful.’ With a guide from the City Lord’s Manor, Faye quickly found the small, two-story building in a less-than-bustling area.
And, fortunately, it hadn’t been occupied by anyone else.
She took possession of the property without a hitch. The man from the City Lord’s Manor was very meticulous; he even arranged for people to help her clean the building and also had it repaired.
Faye was very grateful, so she gave him a jar of flower and fruit tea that Willow had just made the day before as a thank-you gift.
The man accepted it with great delight.
After thanking him again, Faye offered to buy him lunch. After he politely declined, he left happily with the jar of tea.
Faye now stood before the brand-new two-story building, looking at it with a happy heart.
’Another property to my name!’
"Hey! Are you a new player in Lumina? You’re making a big splash, renting a two-story shop right off the bat."
The person who came over to greet her had an air of easy familiarity.
Faye turned to face the newcomer. His outfit, a combination of cloth armor and denim, was certainly eye-catching. "And you are?"
"Oh, hey! I’m Warren Dixon, the owner of the clothing shop next door."
Looking at his mismatched outfit, which could rival something from The Beggars’ Sect, Faye had serious doubts about how his clothing store managed to stay in business.
Warren Dixon, seeing Faye’s skeptical look, immediately chimed in, "Whoa, whoa, don’t judge! This getup may look like a mess, but the Attributes are incredible. Anyway, what’s your name? What are you planning to sell in your shop?"
’It was already weird enough that he assumed I was a new player who just arrived in Lumina. Now he’s talking about his clothes having incredible Attributes... So is this really just some massive game?’
’A virtual reality game?’
Faye Yardley put on a smile. "Hello, I’m Faye Yardley. Could you show me some clothes in your shop with good Attributes? Or can you custom-make clothing with specific Attributes?"
"Ahem... We’re not quite that advanced yet. This way. To be honest, I don’t make the clothes. I just rent the building. My sister’s the one who does all the work."
Warren glanced at Faye, a bit sheepishly, then led her to the clothing shop two doors down.
The buildings on this side of the street all seemed to be a standard size, with the ground-floor shops each being about 50 square meters.
"Welcome~"
A sweet female voice drifted to her ears.
The moment she saw Warren was the first one through the door, the woman’s voice changed instantly. "Why aren’t you at the assembly point yet? Scram."
Faye, who had followed Warren into the shop, just smiled and said, "Hello, could I see the clothes you have with the best Attributes?"
"Ah?~ Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there, please, come in." Rhonda Dixon shoved her brother, Warren, aside and beamed at Faye. "Right this way. May I ask what your specialization is? The enchantments I put on my clothes can be a bit random, so..."
Faye wasn’t bothered. "That’s fine. I’ll just take a look first."
After Faye spent 15 silver coins on two beautiful garments, each with a single attribute, Rhonda began treating her like her new best friend, answering every question put to her.
’So my real world really is just a game to others. What a bizarre reality.’
As Faye was asking Rhonda for information, Rhonda, in turn, was probing Faye for details about her.
Finally, Rhonda sighed in relief. "I get it. You’re not from our planet, Planet Xylos. When the game was projected to us, we were told this was a world filled with competition. It wouldn’t just be people from our world; people from other planets would also be logging into this game and entering the same space. I just never expected you to look so much like us. You’re completely different from the other off-worlders we’ve met."
In truth, Faye was not in a good mood at all, but she maintained a polite smile and gave a slight nod. "Indeed. I initially thought you were from the same place I am. I really can’t see much of a difference."
"See? See? I pride myself on having a good eye, and even I couldn’t tell the difference! Maybe we branched off from the same part of the Human Race way back when." Rhonda was genuinely happy. The person she’d met was relatively amicable, and, most importantly, rich and generous.
’She didn’t haggle at all! As a customer, she’s absolutely perfect!’
"I need to buy some basic furnishings for my shop, like shelves and things. Do you have any recommendations?" Faye figured asking Rhonda might lead to an unexpected discovery.
Sure enough, Rhonda’s eyes lit up. "Is your game interface different from ours? Ugh, I’m an idiot, of course it is. It seems your side is closer to reality. How about this: I’ll help you buy them from my system’s marketplace. You just give me the money."
"I have to see them first. I’ll only buy if I like them and the price is right."
"Relax, relax. They’ll definitely be practical, pretty, and cheap." Then Rhonda asked, "By the way, what are you planning to sell?"
Faye blinked. "I have no idea."
"*Cough, cough*—You have no idea, and you’re opening a shop?!"
"Yep. I needed a foothold here."
"You... you’re... so extravagant."
Rhonda’s gaze on her was like she was looking at a spendthrift—a particularly shiny, glittering one.